Bearing cage segments including alignment elements

Abstract

Disclosed are a bearing cage segment (2; 4) of a sheet metal cage (1) and a sheet metal cage comprising such a bearing cage segment, in particular, the bearing cage segment is used for a needle roller bearing, the bearing cage segment comprising a first ring portion (10), at least one second ring portion (12) and a plurality of bridges (14) connecting the first ring portion and the at least one second ring portion, a cavity (16) for receiving at least one rolling element being correspondingly formed between the bridges (14), the bearing cage segment comprising at least one first joint edge (6; 8) pointing in a circumferential direction, the first joint edge (6; 8) being configured to be connected to a second joint edge (6; 8), the bearing cage segment comprising an alignment element (18; 20) being configured to align the first joint edge (6; 8) radially, axially and / or circumferentially against the second joint edge (6; 8).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a bearing cage segment of a sheet metal cage according to the preamble of claim 1. Furthermore, the invention relates to a sheet metal cage comprising such a bearing cage segment. Background Art

[0002] Bearing cages are known from the prior art which consist of one or more circular cage segments made of sheet metal which are each connected to one another at their joint edges, for example by welding.

[0003] It is known to produce the structure and contour of such a bearing cage segment by punching and stamping. For this purpose, in a first step, a metal strip is moved intermittently in the longitudinal direction, wherein transversely extending slots are formed by a punch press. In a further step, the metal strip is cut to length using a transverse cutting device, thereby forming a ladder-shaped sheet metal component, wherein the "rungs" of the component form the bridges of the bearing cage segment, the slots of the component form the cavities of the bearing cage segment, and the "side rails" of the component form the ring section of the bearing cage segment. In a subsequent step, the ring section is then bent to the desired radius of curvature by round-shaping.

[0004] Here, the “cutting to length” is usually carried out in the region of the cells, so that a joint edge is formed on each of the ring parts and a “partial pocket” is formed between the joint edges. When the bearing cage segments are assembled into the finished cage, these joint edges (after post-processing, which will be discussed in more detail below) are welded together with two other joint edges formed in a similar manner, so that a “welded cell” is formed by connecting the “partial cells”.

[0005] However, during the production of the welded connection, there is a risk that the cage segments are displaced relative to one another and are then no longer exactly aligned, so that they are offset relative to one another in the connected state. Summary of the invention

[0006] It is therefore an object of the present invention to specify a bearing cage segment which is particularly suitable for producing ( / forming) an accurate connection for forming a bearing cage.

[0007] This object is achieved by the bearing cage segment according to technical solution 1.

[0008] In the following, a bearing cage segment of a sheet metal cage is provided, in particular for a needle roller bearing, the bearing cage segment comprising a first ring portion, at least one second ring portion and a plurality of bridges connecting the first ring portion and the at least one second ring portion to each other, wherein a cavity for receiving at least one rolling element is correspondingly formed between the bridges. The bearing cage segment comprises at least one first joint edge pointing in the circumferential direction, the first joint edge being configured to be connected to a second joint edge. As shown in a further preferred exemplary embodiment, the second joint edge can be arranged on the same bearing cage segment or on another second bearing cage segment.

[0009] The invention is based on the idea that an alignment element is additionally present, which aligns the first joint edge radially, axially and / or circumferentially against the second joint edge. Due to the alignment element, the joint edges to be connected can be aligned in a precisely aligned manner before the connection process, which can be a welding process, for example. As a result, the risk of the joint edges shifting relative to each other in the connected state can be avoided or at least significantly reduced.

[0010] In this case, the bearing cage segment can be designed for a single-row bearing cage or a multi-row bearing cage.

[0011] According to another exemplary embodiment, the first joint edge and the second joint edge each comprise at least one alignment element, thereby improving the alignment accuracy.

[0012] In addition, an exemplary embodiment is preferred in which the first and second alignment elements of the first joint edge and the alignment elements of the second joint edge are configured to be complementary to each other, whereby the joint edges are automatically aligned relative to each other by the mutual engagement of the alignment elements.

[0013] Furthermore, it is advantageous if the alignment element is configured such that a movement of the joint edges relative to each other in the axial direction and / or in the radial direction is limited or prevented, thereby facilitating the connection process and enabling a more precise execution of the connection process. For example, the alignment element may comprise a first portion and a second portion extending at different distances in the circumferential direction, thereby preventing that the first joint edge could be displaced relative to the second joint edge in the event of contact of the joint edges. Thereby, the risk of the joint edges not being precisely aligned during welding is practically avoided.

[0014] It is particularly preferred here if the alignment element has a dovetail shape, since alignment and movement limitation can thereby be achieved in the radial, axial and circumferential directions.

[0015] According to another exemplary embodiment, at least one alignment element and / or at least one joint edge is formed by laser cutting. The joint edge and / or the alignment element can be precisely manufactured by laser cutting. In addition, the joint edge and / or the alignment element can be directly made suitable as a welding edge. In this way, no post-processing for a reliable welded connection is required. In addition, due to the laser cutting, the bearing cage segments can be manufactured individually ( / individually), for example, by cutting them out from a metal sheet. In this way, material losses as occur in the prior art can also be avoided. Therefore, manufacturing becomes simpler.

[0016] According to another exemplary embodiment, the joint edge is arranged in the region of the bridge to be formed by the connection of the joint edge and another joint edge. In this way, sufficient space is provided on the joint edge for forming the alignment element, so that precise alignment is possible. In addition, an overall enlarged connection surface can be achieved on the bridge surface. This is advantageous because the stability of the connection can be increased due to the larger connection surface. Therefore, the bearing cage segment is particularly suitable for producing a reliable connection for forming a bearing cage.

[0017] The cells can then be designed with a greater axial extension, so that longer rolling elements, i.e., longer needle rollers, can be used. In this way, the load capacity of a correspondingly formed bearing can be increased, so that the bearing is suitable for supporting higher bearing forces. Furthermore, in principle, it is also possible to select ring parts with a smaller cross section, as seen perpendicularly to the circumferential direction, whereby a corresponding material saving can be achieved.

[0018] Furthermore, due to the design of the joint edge, no end-side partial cells are formed in the region of the bridge to be formed, so that material losses of the “final cells” given in the above-mentioned prior art can already be avoided.

[0019] It is also advantageous here that for the width b of the partial bridges for forming the bridge to be formed, measured in the circumferential direction, the following holds: 0.5d≤b≤d, d being the width of the bridge measured in the circumferential direction. Due to this selection, the bridge to be formed can exhibit sufficient stability for a welded connection while using a small amount of material.

[0020] As an option, the joint edges and / or the alignment elements can also be formed in the region of the cavities. Since smaller surfaces need to be welded, this allows for faster but still precise manufacturing.

[0021] According to a further preferred exemplary embodiment, at least one of the cells is punched out. Since punching out is a simple and rapid production process, the cells can be produced particularly suitably thereby.

[0022] According to a further exemplary embodiment, the joint edge comprises a chamfer on the radially outer side and / or on the radially inner side. Due to this design, it is possible during the production of the welded connection to form no regions which protrude radially or axially beyond the respective ring part, in particular no protruding weld seam (so-called upper bead). The chamfer can be produced particularly simply when it is formed by a reshaping process, for example by rolling or milling.

[0023] According to a further aspect of the invention, a sheet metal cage is provided, in particular for a needle roller bearing, which comprises at least one of the above-described bearing cage segments. In this case, at least one of the bearing cage segments or a plurality of bearing cage segments are connected at their joint edges by a material-bonding connection, in particular by welding. As a result, the sheet metal cage can be manufactured particularly advantageously as a whole. In this case, laser welding or resistance welding is particularly suitable as welding. As a result, particularly small weld seams can be achieved. The sheet metal cage can be realized in a single row or in multiple rows.

[0024] Further advantages and advantageous embodiments are indicated in the description, the drawings and the claims. In this context, in particular, the combinations of features indicated in the description and the drawings are merely exemplary, so that the features may also exist alone or in other combinations.

[0025] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail using the exemplary embodiments depicted in the accompanying drawings. Herein, the exemplary embodiments and the combinations shown in the exemplary embodiments are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. The scope is limited only by the pending claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 shows a perspective detail illustration of a first exemplary embodiment of a bearing cage segment,

[0027] Figure 2 shows a perspective detail illustration of a second exemplary embodiment of a bearing cage segment,

[0028] Figure 3 shows a perspective detail illustration of a third exemplary embodiment of a bearing cage segment,

[0029] Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the bearing cage segments before they are welded, and

[0030] Figure 5 Shows the corresponding Figure 4 Image after welding.

[0031] In the following, identical or functionally equivalent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals. The directional designations (axial, radial, circumferential) used in the following always refer to the final bearing cage.

[0032] Reference numerals list

[0033] 1 Sheet metal cage

[0034] 2 First bearing cage segment

[0035] 4 Second bearing cage segment

[0036] 6, 8 Joint edge

[0037] 10 First Ring Section

[0038] 12 Second Ring Section

[0039] 14 Bridge

[0040] 16 Cavity

[0041] 18.20 Aligning components

[0042] 22 The bridge to be formed

[0043] 24, 26 Partial Bridge

[0044] 28 Guide Surface

[0045] 30 Cavity to be formed

[0046] 32 First chamfer

[0047] 34 Second chamfer

[0048] 36 Weld DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] Figure 1A detail view of a first exemplary embodiment of a sheet metal cage 1 is shown, comprising a first bearing cage segment 2 and a second bearing cage segment 4, which are respectively arranged to abut against each other at joint edges 6, 8. Here, instead of the first bearing cage segment 2 and the second bearing cage segment 4, only a single bearing cage segment 2 can also be provided, which comprises a joint edge 6 at a first end and a joint edge 8 at a second end.

[0050] For the sake of simplicity it is assumed hereinafter that the metal cage comprises at least two bearing cage segments 2 , 4 abutting against one another.

[0051] Each bearing cage segment 2, 4 comprises a first ring portion 10, a second ring portion 12 and a plurality of bridges 14 connecting the first ring portion 10 and the second ring portion 12 to each other. Of course, instead of the single-row bearing cage described here, the bearing cage can be constructed in multiple rows and include more than two ring portions, each ring portion being connected to each other by a bridge.

[0052] Pockets 16 for receiving at least one rolling element (not shown) are respectively formed between the bridges 14. In the example shown, the sheet metal cage is a needle bearing cage and the pockets 16 are each configured for receiving a needle-shaped rolling element.

[0053] As shown, the bearing cage segments 2, 4 are connected to one another at their respective joint edges 6, 8 by connection, in particular by material-bonded connection, for example by welding connection (weld connection). Here, laser welding or resistance welding is particularly suitable for producing this connection.

[0054] In order to achieve an exact alignment of the joint edges 6, 8 relative to one another or to achieve an exact alignment of the bearing cage segments 2, 4 relative to one another, alignment elements 18, 20 are provided on the first joint edge 6 and the second joint edge 8, respectively, the alignment elements 18, 20 being formed to be complementary to one another. In the exemplary embodiment shown here, the alignment element 18 is formed by a protruding portion of the first joint edge 6, the alignment element 18 being received in the alignment element 20, the alignment element 20 being constructed to be complementary to the protruding portion in the form of a recessed portion of the second joint edge 8. As a result, the bearing cage segments 2, 4 are aligned relative to one another at least in the axial direction. In addition, due to the design shown, the movement in the axial direction is also limited, thereby ensuring that the alignment of the bearing cage segments 2, 4 is also maintained during the production of the welded connection.

[0055] like Figure 1 As further depicted in , the joint edges 6, 8 are arranged in the region of the bridge 22 (also referred to herein as a "welding bridge" 22) to be formed by the connection (connection of the joint edge 6 and the joint edge 8). Accordingly, the first bearing cage segment 2 comprises a first "partial bridge" 24 and the second bearing cage segment 4 comprises a second "partial bridge" 26, wherein, due to the connection of the respective joint edges 6, 8, these partial bridges 24, 26 form the bridge 22 to be formed. Due to the formation of the joint edges 6, 8 in the region of the bridge 22, a particularly large contact surface or connection surface can be achieved, and thus a particularly stable and reliable connection can be achieved. Here, preferably, the partial bridges 24, 26 each have a width b measured in the circumferential direction, which applies as follows: 0.5d≤b≤d, wherein d is the width of the "standard" bridge 14.

[0056] Preferably, the joint edges 6, 8 are formed by laser cutting. In this way, the joint edges 6, 8 can be shaped so precisely that no further treatment is required to make them suitable as welding surfaces. Here, the surface is cleaned directly by the laser cutting process. However, the cavity 16 can also be formed by punching.

[0057] In addition, if Figure 1 It can also be seen that guide surfaces 28 for guiding the rolling elements can also be formed on the bridges 14, on the welding bridges 22 and on the ring parts 2, 4. These guide surfaces 28 can be formed during the blanking of the cells 16, for example.

[0058] Figure 2 A corresponding perspective view of a second exemplary embodiment of a sheet metal cage 1 is shown. Figure 1Similarly, the sheet metal cage 1 consists of two bearing cage segments 2, 4. Here, it is also possible to have only a single bearing cage segment, which is welded together only at its ends. Here, the joint edges 6, 8 are also arranged in the region of the bridge 22 to be formed. In addition, it is shown here that each joint edge does not have only one alignment element 18, 20, but that each joint edge is provided with two alignment elements 18-1, 18-2, 20-1, 20-2, wherein the alignment elements 18-1, 18-2 of the first bearing cage segment 2 in turn interact with the alignment elements 20-1, 20-2 of the other bearing cage segment 4, the alignment elements 20-1, 20-2 being constructed to be complementary to the alignment elements 18-1, 18-2. Here, the first joint edge 6 comprises an alignment element 18-1 with a protruding portion and an alignment element 18-2 with a recessed portion, which engage with the corresponding alignment elements 20-1, 20-2 of the second joint edge 8 that are constructed complementarily. In this way, a kind of interlock is created between the joint edges 6 , 8 .

[0059] exist Figure 3 In the third exemplary embodiment shown in , the connection between the bearing cage segments 2, 4 is arranged in the region of the cell 30 to be formed, and in particular on the ring parts 10, 12. In addition, here, each bearing cage segment 2, 4 also comprises at least one alignment element 18-1, 18-2, 20-1, 20-2 in the connection region, wherein, in the exemplary embodiment shown, the respective alignment element 18-1, 18-2, 20-1, 20-2 is arranged radially inwardly on the ring parts 10, 12. In addition, due to this design, the bearing cage segments 2, 4 are also aligned relative to each other and at least the movement in the axial direction is limited.

[0060] Figure 4 and Figure 5 Further details of the connection between the two bearing cage segments 2, 4 are shown. Figure 4 The cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 shows the connection of the joint edges 6 and 8 in a state where the joint edges 6 and 8 are actually in contact but not yet welded. Figure 4 As can be seen, each joint edge 6, 8 comprises a radially outer first chamfer 32 and a radially inner second chamfer 34. The chamfers 32, 34 are used to accommodate radial or axial material accumulations that may result from the welding process, such as upper weld beads. Figure 5 The state after welding is shown in . It can be seen here that the weld 36 formed by welding is accommodated in the space provided by the chamfers 32 and 34, so that no protrusion is formed.

[0061] Preferably, the chamfers 32, 34 are produced by reshaping, for example by rolling or milling. The laser cutting and reshaping can be performed by means of one and the same machine. Thus, it is not necessary to transfer the bearing cage 1 to another tool in order to form the chamfers 32, 34.

[0062] In summary, a bearing cage segment is provided which comprises a joint edge which is configured to be connected to another joint edge. Here, the joint edge comprises an alignment element which, on the one hand, serves to align the joint edges relative to one another and, on the other hand, can advantageously be configured to prevent a relative movement of the joint edges during the material connection (welding). Thus, it can be ensured that the bearing cage segments 2, 4 are also accurately aligned relative to one another after welding.

Claims

1. A bearing cage segment (2; 4) of a sheet metal cage (1), the bearing cage segment (2; 4) comprising a first ring portion (10), at least one second ring portion (12) and a plurality of bridges connecting the first ring portion (10) and the at least one second ring portion (12) to each other, wherein: A cavity (16) is formed between the bridges for receiving at least one rolling element, The invention is characterized in that the bearing cage segment (2; 4) comprises at least one first joint edge (6) pointing in the circumferential direction, the first joint edge being configured to be connected to a second joint edge (8) by material bonding, wherein the bearing cage segment (2; 4) comprises an alignment element (18; 20) configured to align the first joint edge (6) against the second joint edge (8) in the radial direction, in the axial direction and / or in the circumferential direction, The first joint edge (6) and the second joint edge (8) each comprise at least one alignment element (18; 20), wherein the first alignment element (18; 20) is configured to be complementary to the second alignment element (18; 20).

2. The bearing cage segment (2; 4) according to claim 1, characterized in that The alignment element (18; 20) and / or the first joint edge (6) and the second joint edge (8) are formed by laser cutting.

3. The bearing cage segment (2; 4) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The first joint edge (6) and the second joint edge (8) are arranged in the region of a bridge to be formed by connecting the first joint edge (6) and the second joint edge (8) and / or in the region of a cavity to be formed.

4. The bearing cage segment (2; 4) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that For a width b measured in the circumferential direction (U) of a portion of the bridge forming the bridge, the following range applies: 0.5d≤b≤d, wherein d is the width of one of the plurality of bridges measured in the circumferential direction.

5. The bearing cage segment (2; 4) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that At least one cavity (16) is punched out.

6. The bearing cage segment (2; 4) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The first joint edge (6) and the second joint edge (8) comprise chamfers (32; 34) on the radially outer side and / or on the radially inner side.

7. The bearing cage segment (2; 4) according to claim 1, characterized in that The bearing cage segment (2; 4) is used for a needle roller bearing.

8. The bearing cage segment (2; 4) according to claim 6, characterized in that The chamfers (32; 34) are reshaped.

9. The bearing cage segment (2; 4) according to claim 8, characterized in that The chamfers (32; 34) are rolled or milled.

10. A sheet metal cage (1) comprising at least one bearing cage segment (2; 4) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The at least one bearing cage segment (2; 4) or the plurality of bearing cage segments (2; 4) are connected at their joint edges (6; 8) by a material-bonded connection.

11. The sheet metal cage (1) according to claim 10, characterized in that The sheet metal cage (1) is used for a needle roller bearing.

12. The sheet metal cage (1) according to claim 10, characterized in that The at least one bearing cage segment (2; 4) or the plurality of bearing cage segments (2; 4) are connected at their joint edges (6; 8) by welding.

13. The sheet metal cage (1) according to claim 10, characterized in that The at least one bearing cage segment (2; 4) or the plurality of bearing cage segments (2; 4) are connected at their joint edges (6; 8) by laser welding or resistance welding.

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