Angular contact ball-bearing cage with lubricant pockets

A window-type cage for an angular contact ball bearing comprising,

• an angular cage having ball pockets around a circumference,
• the ball pockets having spherical pocket surfaces for guiding balls in the ball pockets as the balls rotate;
• wherein there are bearing points in the pocket surfaces between the ball and the pocket surfaces;
• and
• lubricant pockets in the pocket surface, in regions of the pocket surfaces which lie outside the hearing points between the balls and the cage in both the circumferential and in axial directions of the cage, enabling the wall thickness of the cage at the bearing points to not be reduced as a result of positioning of the lubricant pockets outside the bearing points, wherein:
• the cage is oriented to include a first part above the radial center of a ball in the ball pocket of the cage and a second part below the radial center of the ball in the ball pocket of the cage;
• a first one of the lubricant pockets in the first cage part above the radial center of the cage has a first cross section,
• a second one of the lubricant pockets in the second cage part below the radial center of the cage has a second cross-section;
• and
• both of the first and second cross-sections increase in the radial direction of the pockets toward the center of the cage from the outer circumferential surface and from the inner circumferential surface respectively of the cage for enabling storing lubricant in at least one of the lubricant pockets irrespective of the direction of rotation of the balls.

An angular contact ball bearing assembly comprising:

• an angular cage supporting a plurality of bearing balls,
• the angular cage having a plurality of ball pockets around a circumference thereof,
• the ball pockets having spherical pocket surfaces for guiding balls in the ball pockets as the balls rotate;
• wherein there are bearing points in the pocket surfaces between the ball and the pocket surfaces;
• and
• a plurality of lubricant pockets in the each of the ball pocket surfaces, the lubricant pockets being located in regions of the ball pocket surfaces which lie outside the bearing points between the balls and the cage in both the circumferential and in axial directions of the cage, whereby the wall thickness of the cage at the bearing points to not be reduced as a result of positioning of the lubricant pockets outside the bearing points, the lubricant pockets being sized and configured to enable storage of lubricant therein for release over time.

An angular contact ball bearing assembly comprising:

• an angular cage supporting a plurality of bearing balls,
• the angular cage having a plurality of ball pockets around a circumference thereof,
• the ball pockets having spherical pocket surfaces for guiding balls in the ball pockets as the balls pocket surfaces;
• and
• a plurality of lubricant pockets in the each of the ball pocket surfaces, the lubricant pockets being located in regions of the ball pocket surfaces which be outside the hearing points between the balls and the cage in both the circumferential and in axial directions of the cage, whereby the wall thickness of the cage at the bearing points to not be reduced as a result of positioning of the lubricant pockets outside the bearing points wherein:
• the cage is oriented to include a first part above the radial center of a ball in the ball pocket of the cage and a second part below the radial center of the ball in the ball pocket of the cage;
• a first one of the lubricant pockets in the first cage part above the radial center of the cage and having has a first cross section, a second one of the lubricant pockets in the second cage part below the radial center of the cage has a second cross-section;
• both of the first and second cross-sections increase in the radial direction of the pockets toward the center of the cage from the outer circumferential surface and from the inner circumferential surface respectively of the cage for enabling storing lubricant in at least one of the lubricant pockets irrespective of the direction of rotation of the balls.