Method of assembling a bearing
AssigneeThe Torrington Company
InventorGunter J. Zinken
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A flat, thin ring is formed into a modified ring having bridge material between adjacent, initial ball pockets. Movable anvils having a rounded surface are positioned within the initial ball pockets and the bridge material is flattened such that a flat bridge is formed between adjacent final ball pockets enclosing more than a 180 degree circumference of the rounded surface. The movable anvils are then moved such that the final ball pockets do not enclose more than a 180 degree circumference of the rounded surface to facilitate removal of the movable anvils from the final ball pockets. A method of assembling a ball bearing assembly is also described.
Claims6
A method of assembling a ball bearing assembly, the method comprising the steps of:
- forming a one-piece metallic ball bearing cage having an initial configuration with ball pockets and bridge portions between the ball pockets, at least a portion of the bridge portions having a predetermined chordal length;
- positioning bearing balls within an annulus between inner and outer bearing rings, the bearing balls being separated by an average chordal distance less than said predetermined chordal length;
- and
- inserting the ball bearing cage into said annulus such that circumferential movement of the bearing balls allows the bridge portions of the ball bearing cage to pass between adjacent bearing balls as the bearing balls sequentially enter the ball pockets.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.