Bearing with cage-mounted sensors

An antifriction bearing assembly for accommodating rotation about an axis, including an inner race having a raceway presented away from the axis, an outer race having a raceway presented inwardly toward the axis and toward the raceway of the inner race, and rolling elements positioned between the inner and outer races and contacting the raceways of those races so that when relative rotation occurs between the races the rolling elements roll along the raceways, the assembly comprising:

• a cage positioned between the inner and outer races and having pockets in which the rolling elements are received, the cage being rotatable between the races as the rolling elements roll along the raceways, a power receiving coil configured for receiving power, a rectifier coupled to the power receiving coil for receiving at least a portion of the received power and for generating DC power from the received power, a sensing unit having one or more sensors for sensing an operating characteristic of the bearing assembly, a processor coupled to the sensing unit for receiving and processing the operating characteristics to determine the sensed condition, and a transmitter having an antenna for sending a signal indicative of the sensed condition, the transmitter being coupled to the processor for receiving the sensed condition, the sensing unit, the processor and the transmitter are each coupled to the rectifier for receiving at least a portion of the generated DC power;
• a power transmitting coil positioned circumferentially about an end of the cage for transmitting power to the power receiving coil of the cage;
• and
• an antenna positioned circumferentially about an end of the cage and configured for receiving the signal sent by the transmitter.

An antifriction bearing assembly for accommodating rotation about an axis, including an inner race having a raceway presented away from the axis, an outer race having a raceway presented inwardly toward the axis and toward the raceway of the inner race, and rolling elements positioned between the inner and outer races and contacting the raceways of those races so that when relative rotation occurs between the races the rolling elements roll along the raceways, the assembly comprising:

• a cage positioned between the inner and outer races and having pockets in which the rolling elements are received, the cage being rotatable between the races as the rolling elements roll along the raceways, a power receiving coil configured for receiving power, a load sensing unit configured for sensing a load through at least one of the rolling elements, and a transmitter having an antenna for sending a signal indicative of the sensed load, the transmitter coupled to the load sensing unit for receiving the sensed load, wherein each of the load sensing unit and the transmitter are coupled to the power receiving coil for receiving at least a portion of the received power;
• a power transmitting coil positioned circumferentially about an end of the cage for transmitting power to the power receiving coil of the cage;
• and
• an antenna positioned circumferentially about an end of the cage and configured for receiving the signal sent by the transmitter.

An antifriction bearing assembly for accommodating rotation about an axis, including an inner race having a raceway presented away from the axis, an outer race having a raceway presented inwardly toward the axis and toward the raceway of the inner race, and rolling elements positioned between the inner and outer races and contacting the raceways of those races so that when relative rotation occurs between the races the rolling elements roll along the raceways, the assembly comprising:

• a cage positioned between the inner and outer races and having pockets in which the rolling elements are received, the cage being rotatable between the races as the rolling elements roll along the raceways, a power receiving coil configured for receiving power, a torque sensing unit configured for sensing torsional stress in one of the races and coupled to the power receiving coil for receiving a first portion of the received power, and a transmitter having an antenna for sending a signal indicative of the sensed torsional stress, the transmitter being coupled to the torque sensing unit for receiving the sensed torsional stress and coupled to the power receiving coil for receiving a second portion of the received power;
• a power transmitting coil positioned circumferentially about an end of the cage for transmitting power to the power receiving coil of the cage;
• and
• an antenna positioned circumferentially about an end of the cage and configured for receiving the signal sent by the transmitter.

An antifriction bearing assembly for accommodating rotation about an axis comprising:

• an inner race having a raceway presented away from the axis:
• an outer race having a raceway presented inwardly toward the axis and toward the raceway of the inner race:
• an end ring having a power transmitting coil and an antenna positioned radially from the power transmitting coil:
• rolling elements positioned between the inner and outer races and contacting the raceways of those races so that when relative rotation occurs between the races the rolling elements roll along the raceways:
• and
• a cage positioned between the inner and outer races and having pockets in which the rolling elements are received with the cage being rotatable between the races as the rolling elements roll along the raceways, a power receiving coil positioned about an end of the cage and opposite the power transmitting coil of the end ring for receiving power from the power transmitting coil, a sensing unit for sensing a condition of the bearing, and a transmitter including an antenna positioned about an end of the cage and opposite the antenna of the end ring, the transmitter coupled to the sensing unit receiving the sensed condition from the sensing unit and sending a signal indicative of the sensed condition of the bearing to the antenna of the end ring, wherein each of the sensing unit and the transmitter are coupled to the power receiving coil for receiving at least a portion of the received power.