US 5,156,462 A · Ball guide

Abstract

A ball guide (1) has a cage (6)which is produced by coiling a strip (8). The strip (8) is pre-manufactured and includes apertures (9) to retain balls (7), for the guidance of exterior component (2) and shaft (4) relative to each other. The side edges (15) and (16) of the strip (8) are discontinuously joined with each other by spot welds. The cage (6) can additionally be equipped with a backup ring (17). The backup ring (17) is supported by the face area (18) of the cage (6). The backup ring support surface (21) serves as a contact surface for a compression spring (19). The other end of the spring is supported by the support surface (20) of a shoulder ring (22) to return the cage (6) to a center or home position. Through the use of a strip (8), the cages (6) may be produced in different diameters and lengths through a simple process.

Claims11

Dependent claims

A ball guide comprising:

an exterior component defining a cylindrical bore;
a shaft positioned concentrically within said bore, said shaft being freely movably in an axial and rotation direction within said bore;
a plurality of balls positioned between said exterior component and said shaft for providing rolling movement between the two;
a cage for retaining said plurality of balls in position between said exterior component and said shaft, said cage being an elongated plastic strip having a plurality of apertures for receiving said balls and said strip being helically wound to form a cylinder about said shaft;
and
means for connecting adjacent edges of said strip with one another to maintain said strip in said cylindrical configuration.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Ball guide

Life of this patent

Ball guide

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims11