Bearing assembly

An assembly for rotatably supporting a shaft, said assembly comprising a plurality of rotatable bearing elements disposed in a circular array, an outer race member circumscribing the circular array of bearing elements, an inner race member circumscribed by the circular array of bearing elements, said inner race member having a cylindrical inner surface adapted to engage the shaft and surface means for defining an annular groove which is disposed between opposite axial end portions of said cylindrical inner surface, said annular groove having a circular bottom surface with a central axis which is offset from the central axis of said cylindrical inner surface, said bottom surface of said groove having a first portion which is spaced apart from said cylindrical inner surface of said inner race member by a first distance to at least partially define a relatively deep part of said groove and a second portion which is spaced apart from said cylindrical inner surface of said inner race member by a second distance which is less than said first distance to at least partially define a relatively shallow part of said groove so that said inner race member has a relatively thin wall portion radially outwardly of said first portion of said bottom surface and a relatively thick wall portion radially outwardly of said second portion of said bottom surface, and retaining means for preventing relative rotation between said shaft and said inner race member, said retaining means comprising a ring member having a cylindrical outer surface and a cylindrical inner surface, said cylindrical outer surface of said ring member having a central axis which is offset from the central axis of said cylindrical inner surface of said ring member so that said ring member has a relatively thick first portion disposed between said cylindrical inner and outer surfaces of said ring member and a relatively thin second portion disposed between said cylindrical inner and outer surfaces of said ring member, said ring member being disposed in said annular groove in said inner race member with said cylindrical outer surface of said ring member disposed in abutting engagement with said bottom surface of said groove, said ring member being formed from a single piece of material having a substantially uniform thickness throughout its length, said relatively thick first portion of said ring member being at least partially formed by a depression which extends circumferentially along a portion of said ring member, said ring member and said inner race member being rotatable relative to each other between a released condition and a locking condition, said first portion of said ring member being pressed against the shaft by the bottom surface of said annular groove when said ring member and said inner race member are in the locking condition to thereby hold the shaft against rotation relative to said inner race member, said retaining means including fastener means for holding said ring member and said inner race member in the locking condition, said fastener means including a fastener member which extends through an opening in the relatively thick wall portion of said inner race member into engagement with said relatively thin second portion of said ring member at a location where the outer surface of said arcuate member is disposed in engagement with the second portion of said bottom surface to tend to maximize the thickness of the portion of the inner race member through which said fastener member extends.

An assembly for rotatably supporting a shaft, said assembly comprising a plurality of rotatable bearing elements disposed in a circular array, an outer race member circumscribing the circular array of bearing elements, an inner race member circumscribed by the circular array of bearing elements, said inner race member having a cylindrical inner surface adapted to engage the shaft and surface means for defining an annular groove which is disposed between opposite axial end portions of said cylindrical inner surface, said annular groove having a circular bottom surface with a central axis which is offset from the central axis of said cylindrical inner surface, said bottom surface of said groove having a first portion which is spaced apart from said cylindrical inner surface of said inner race member by a first distance to at least partially define a relatively deep part of said groove and a second portion which is spaced apart from said cylindrical inner surface of said inner race member by a second distance which is less than said first distance to at least partially define a relatively shallow part of said groove so that said inner race member has a relatively thin wall portion radially outwardly of said first portion of said bottom surface and a relatively thick wall portion radially outwardly of said second portion of said bottom surface, and retaining means for preventing relative rotation between said shaft and said inner race member, said retaining means comprising a ring member having a cylindrical outer surface and a cylindrical inner surface, said cylindrical outer surface of said ring member having a central axis which is offset from the central axis of said cylindrical inner surface of said ring member so that said ring member has a relatively thick first portion disposed between said cylindrical inner and outer surfaces of said ring member and a relatively thin second portion disposed between said cylindrical inner and outer surfaces of said ring member, said ring member being disposed in said annular groove in said inner race member with said cylindrical outer surface of said ring member disposed in abutting engagement with said bottom surface of said groove, said ring member has an axially extending gap in the relatively thick first portion of said ring member, said relatively thick first portion of said ring member including a pair of circumferentially tapering depressions formed in said ring member, each of said depressions having a relatively deep end portion adjacent to said gap and tapering circumferentially from the relatively deep end portion to a second end portion which is spaced from said gap, said ring member and said inner race member being rotatable relative to each other between a released condition and a locking condition, said first portion of said ring member being pressed against the shaft by the bottom surface of said annular groove when said ring member and said inner race member are in the locking condition to thereby hold the shaft against rotation relative to said inner race member, said retaining means including fastener means for holding said ring member and said inner race member in the locking condition, said fastener means including a fastener member which extends through an opening in the relatively thick wall portion of said inner race member into engagement with said relatively thin second portion of said ring member at a location where the outer surface of said arcuate member is disposed in engagement with the second portion of said bottom surface to tend to maximize the thickness of the portion of the inner race member through which said fastener member extends.

An assembly for rotatably supporting a shaft, said assembly comprising a plurality of rotatable bearing elements disposed in a circular array, an outer race member circumscribing the circular array of bearing elements, an inner race member circumscribed by the circular array of bearing elements, said inner race member having a cylindrical inner surface adapted to engage the shaft and surface means for defining an annular groove which is disposed between opposite axial end portions of said cylindrical inner surface, said annular groove having a circular bottom surface with a central axis which is offset from the central axis of said cylindrical inner surface, said bottom surface of said groove having a first portion which is spaced apart from said cylindrical inner surface of said inner race member by a first distance to at least partially define a relatively deep part of said groove and a second portion which is spaced apart from said cylindrical inner surface of said inner race member by a second distance which is less than said first distance to at least partially define a relatively shallow part of said groove so that said inner race member has a relatively thin wall portion radially outwardly of said first portion of said bottom surface and a relatively thick wall portion radially outwardly of said second portion of said bottom surface, and retaining means for preventing relative rotation between said shaft and said inner race member, said retaining means comprising a ring member having a cylindrical outer surface and a cylindrical inner surface, said cylindrical outer surface of said ring member having a central axis which is offset from the central axis of said cylindrical inner surface of said ring member so that said ring member has a relatively thick first portion disposed between said cylindrical inner and outer surfaces of said ring member and a relatively thin second portion disposed between said cylindrical inner and outer surfaces of said ring member, said ring member being disposed in said annular groove in said inner race member with said cylindrical outer surface of said ring member disposed in abutting engagement with said bottom surface of said groove, said ring member being formed of sheet metal having a substantially uniform thickness, said relatively thick first portion of said ring member being formed by a pair of circumferentially extending recesses which taper circumferentially around said ring member and have relatively deep end portions disposed diametrically opposite from said relatively thin second portion of said ring member, said ring member and said inner race member being rotatable relative to each other between a released condition and a locking condition, said first portion of said ring member being pressed against the shaft by the bottom surface of said annular groove when said ring member and said inner race member are in the locking condition to thereby hold the shaft against rotation relative to said inner race member, said retaining means including fastener means for holding said ring member and said inner race member in the locking condition, said fastener means including a fastener member which extends through an opening in the relatively thick wall portion of said inner race member into engagement with said relatively thin second portion of said ring member at a location where the outer surface of said arcuate member is disposed in engagement with the second portion of said bottom surface to tend to maximize the thickness of the portion of the inner race member through which said fastener member extends.

An assembly for rotatably supporting a shaft, said assembly comprising a plurality of rotatable bearing elements disposed in a circular array, an outer race member circumscribing the circular array of bearing elements, an inner race member circumscribed by the circular array of bearing elements, said inner race member having a cylindrical inner surface adapted to engage the shaft and surface means for defining an annular groove which is disposed between opposite axial end portions of said cylindrical inner surface, said annular groove having a circular bottom surface with a central axis which is offset from the central axis of said cylindrical inner surface, said bottom surface of said groove having a first portion which is spaced apart from said cylindrical inner surface of said inner race member by a first distance to at least partially define a relatively deep part of said groove and a second portion which is spaced apart from said cylindrical inner surface of said inner race member by a second distance which is less than said first distance to at least partially define a relatively shallow part of said groove so that said inner race member has a relatively thin wall portion radially outwardly of said first portion of said bottom surface and a relatively thick wall portion radially outwardly of said second portion of said bottom surface, and retaining means for preventing relative rotation between said shaft and said inner race member, said retaining means comprising a ring member having an outer surface and an inner surface, said outer surface of said ring member having a central axis which is offset from the central axis of said inner surface of said ring member so that said ring member has a relatively thick first portion and a relatively thin second portion, said ring member being disposed in said annular groove in said inner race member with said outer surface of said ring member disposed in abutting engagement with said bottom surface of said groove, said ring member being formed of a single piece of material having a substantially uniform thickness, said relatively thick first portion of said ring member being formed by circumferentially extending recess portions which taper circumferentially around said ring member and have relatively deep end portions disposed diametrically opposite from said relatively thin second portion of said ring member, said ring member and said inner race member being rotatable relative to each other between a released condition and a locking condition, said first portion of said ring member being pressed against the shaft by the bottom surface of said annular groove when said ring member and said inner race member are in the locking condition to thereby hold the shaft against rotation relative to said inner race member.