Ribbon cage with claws

Abstract

[Problem] To suppress an increase in manufacturing cost while suppressing separation of a pair of ribbon retaining plates and breakage of a cage even when a ball with which there is a delay or advancement presses an inner surface of a pocket part. [Solution] An inner surface 4A of a pocket part 4 of a large first ribbon retaining plate 1 does not have an undercut shape in an axial direction J. A circumferentially facing inner surface 10 of the first ribbon retaining plate 1 positioned toward a second ribbon retaining plate 2 has a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction J that holds a ball B in a radial direction. A distance E in the axial direction J between an axial end part L1 of the circumferentially facing inner surface 10 far from the second ribbon retaining plate 2 and a revolution raceway surface Q of the ball B is larger than a gap GJ1 in an axial direction J between the first ribbon retaining plate 1 and the ball B. A distance F in an axial direction J between an axial end part L2 of the circumferentially facing inner surface 10 close to the second ribbon retaining plate 2 and a revolution raceway surface Q of the ball B is larger than a gap GJ2 in an axial direction J between the second ribbon retaining plate 2 and the ball B. The gap in the circumferential direction is smallest between the circumferentially facing inner surface 10 and the ball B.

Description

Corrugated retainer with claws

[0001] The present invention relates to a claw-type wave cage used in a ball bearing.

[0002] One type of cage used in ball bearings is a claw-type waveform cage, which is formed by butting a pair of annular waveform retainer plates together in the axial direction to form pockets that retain the balls, and by crimping the locking claws provided on the flat plate of one of the waveform retainer plates so that they overlap the flat plate of the other waveform retainer plate (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). Claw-type waveform cages are often used in small-diameter radial ball bearings, miniature ball bearings, and the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] When a ball bearing using a claw-equipped waveform cage is loaded, the balls that lead or lag press against the inner surface of the pocket, which can cause the pair of waveform cage plates to separate or the cage to be damaged (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3). To solve these problems, Patent Document 2 interposes an elastic material between the flat plate portions of the pair of waveform cage plates and fixes the opposing surfaces with an adhesive or the like, while Patent Document 3 welds the locking claw to the flat plate portion of the other waveform cage plate.

[0004] Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 37-28112 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-25783 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-32195

[0005] The solution to solve the above-mentioned problem in Patent Document 2 increases the number of parts and requires processes such as inserting an elastic material and applying an adhesive to the opposing surface, which increases manufacturing costs.Furthermore, the solution to solve the above-mentioned problem in Patent Document 3 requires a process of welding the locking claw, which increases manufacturing costs.

[0006] The present invention aims to provide a claw-type waveform cage that can prevent a pair of annular waveform retainer plates from separating and the claw-type waveform retainer from being damaged, even if the balls that have lagged or advanced due to the load of a ball bearing using the claw-type waveform retainer press against the inner surface of a pocket portion, while also preventing an increase in manufacturing costs.

[0007] A claw-type waveform cage according to a first aspect of the present invention is a claw-type waveform cage formed by a pair of annular waveform retainer plates butted together in the axial direction and connected and fixed by locking claws. The waveform retainer plate comprises a plurality of pockets for retaining balls, which are rolling elements of a ball bearing, and a flat plate portion connecting adjacent pockets in the circumferential direction. The claw-type waveform cage is formed by crimping the mating surfaces of the flat plate portions of one of the pair of waveform retainer plates so that the locking claws provided on the flat plate portion of one of the waveform retainer plates overlap the flat plate portion of the other waveform retainer plate, with the mating surfaces of the flat plate portions being in contact with each other. The mating surfaces of the flat plate portions are offset in the axial direction from the orbital plane of the balls. The pair of waveform retainer plates comprises a larger first waveform retainer plate and a smaller second waveform retainer plate. The inner surface of the pocket portion of the first waveform retainer plate does not have an axial undercut shape. The circumferentially facing inner surface located closer to the second corrugated retainer plate, which is the inner surface of the pocket portion of the first corrugated retainer plate, has a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction that radially embraces the ball. The axial distance between the axial end of the circumferentially facing inner surface farther from the second corrugated retainer plate and the revolution orbital surface of the ball is larger than the axial gap between the first corrugated retainer plate and the ball. The axial distance between the axial end of the circumferentially facing inner surface closer to the second corrugated retainer plate and the revolution orbital surface of the ball is larger than the axial gap between the second corrugated retainer plate and the ball. The circumferential gap is smallest between the circumferentially facing inner surface and the ball.

[0008] According to the claw-type waveform cage according to the first aspect, the inner surface of the pocket portion of the large first waveform cage plate does not have an undercut shape in the axial direction, which is the opening and closing direction of the press die, so there is no difficulty in press-forming the first waveform cage plate. Moreover, the claw-type waveform cage according to the first aspect satisfies the following conditions.

[0009] (1) The circumferentially opposed inner surface located closer to the second corrugated retainer plate, which is the inner surface of the pocket portion of the first corrugated retainer plate, has a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction that radially embraces the balls of the ball bearing. (2) The axial distance between the axial end of the circumferentially opposed inner surface farther from the second corrugated retainer plate and the orbital surface of the balls is larger than the axial gap between the first corrugated retainer plate and the balls. (3) The axial distance between the axial end of the circumferentially opposed inner surface closer to the second corrugated retainer plate and the orbital surface of the balls is larger than the axial gap between the second corrugated retainer plate and the balls. (4) The circumferential gap is smallest between the circumferentially opposed inner surface and the balls.

[0010] By satisfying conditions (1) to (4), the balls of the ball bearing reliably abut against the circumferentially opposing inner surfaces of the first waveform retainer plate of the pawl waveform retainer, and do not abut against the inner surface of the second waveform retainer plate of the pawl waveform retainer that is close to the mating surface. Therefore, even if the balls of the ball bearing are excessively advanced or delayed, no force acts to separate the mating surfaces of the flat portions of the pair of waveform retainer plates. Therefore, repeated bending stress is unlikely to act on the locking pawls or the pair of waveform retainer plates.

[0011] A claw-type waveform cage according to a second aspect of the present invention is a claw-type waveform cage formed by butting an annular waveform retainer plate and an annular flat retainer plate in the axial direction and connecting and fixing them with locking claws. The waveform retainer plate comprises a plurality of pockets for retaining balls, which are rolling elements of a ball bearing, and a flat plate portion connecting adjacent pockets in the circumferential direction. The claw-type waveform cage is formed by crimping the locking claws provided on the flat retainer plate so as to overlap the flat plate portion of the waveform retainer plate, with the mating surface of the flat plate portion of the waveform retainer plate in contact with the mating surface of the flat retainer plate. The inner surfaces of the pockets of the waveform retainer plate are not undercut in the axial direction. The inner surfaces of the circumferentially opposing inner surfaces located closer to the flat retainer plate, which are the inner surfaces of the pockets of the waveform retainer plate, have a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction that radially embraces the balls. The axial distance between the axial end of the circumferentially opposing inner surfaces farther from the flat retainer plate and the orbital surface of the balls is greater than the axial gap between the waveform retainer plate and the balls. The axial distance between the axial end of the circumferentially facing inner surface close to the flat retainer plate and the orbital surface of the ball is greater than the axial gap between the flat retainer plate and the ball. The circumferential gap is smallest between the circumferentially facing inner surface and the ball.

[0012] According to the claw-equipped waveform cage of the second aspect, the inner surfaces of the pockets of the waveform cage plates are not undercut in the axial direction, so there is no difficulty in press-forming the waveform cage plates. Furthermore, the claw-equipped waveform cage of the second aspect satisfies the following conditions:

[0013] (1) The circumferentially facing inner surface located closer to the flat retainer plate, which is the inner surface of the pocket portion of the corrugated retainer plate, has a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction that radially embraces the balls of the ball bearing. (2) The axial distance between the axial end of the circumferentially facing inner surface farther from the flat retainer plate and the orbital surface of the balls is larger than the axial gap between the corrugated retainer plate and the balls. (3) The axial distance between the axial end of the circumferentially facing inner surface closer to the flat retainer plate and the orbital surface of the balls is larger than the axial gap between the flat retainer plate and the balls. (4) The circumferential gap is smallest between the circumferentially facing inner surface and the balls.

[0014] By satisfying conditions (1) to (4), the balls of the ball bearing reliably contact the circumferentially opposing inner surfaces of the corrugated retainer plates of the pawl-type corrugated cage. Therefore, even if the balls of the ball bearing are excessively advanced or delayed, no force acts to separate the mating surfaces of the corrugated retainer plates and the flat retainer plates. Therefore, repeated bending stress is unlikely to act on the locking pawls of the pawl-type corrugated cage, the corrugated retainer plates, and the flat retainer plates.

[0015] A claw-equipped waveform cage according to a third aspect of the present invention is the claw-equipped waveform cage according to the second aspect, wherein an axial through-hole is provided in the flat retaining plate at a circumferential center position of the pocket portion of the waveform retaining plate.

[0016] A claw-equipped waveform cage according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is a claw-equipped waveform cage according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the shape that holds the balls radially is an arc, a shape that combines multiple straight lines, or a shape that combines an arc and multiple straight lines.

[0017] As described above, according to the claw-type waveform cage of the present invention, there is no difficulty in press-forming the first waveform retention plate in the claw-type waveform cage according to the first aspect, and there is no difficulty in press-forming the waveform retention plate in the claw-type waveform cage according to the second aspect.

[0018] Furthermore, according to the pawl waveform cage of the present invention, bending stress is unlikely to act repeatedly on the locking claws and pair of waveform retaining plates in the pawl waveform cage according to the first aspect, or on the locking claws, waveform retaining plates, and flat retaining plates in the pawl waveform cage according to the second aspect, so even if the measures of Patent Document 2 or Patent Document 3 are not taken, separation of the pair of waveform retaining plates, or separation of the waveform retaining plate and flat retaining plate, will not occur, and there is little risk of damage to the pawl waveform cage.

[0019] Therefore, with the claw-type waveform cage of the present invention, even if the balls that have lagged or advanced due to the load applied to a ball bearing using the claw-type waveform cage press against the inner surface of the pocket portion, the occurrence of separation and damage to the claw-type waveform cage can be prevented, while also preventing an increase in manufacturing costs.

[0020] 4 is a perspective view showing a claw-type waveform cage and balls held in the cage according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the claw-type waveform cage and balls of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a front view of the claw-type waveform cage and balls of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the claw-type waveform cage and balls of FIG. 1, viewed from the rotation center shaft side. FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of a main portion showing pockets of the claw-type waveform cage of FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along arrows X1-X1 of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along arrows X2-X2 of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along arrows X3-X3 of FIG. 4. FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing, with some exaggerated views, the axial length of the circumferentially opposing inner surfaces of a first waveform retainer plate, the distance of each part from the orbital surface of the balls, and the axial gap between the first waveform retainer plate and the balls, and the axial gap between the second waveform retainer plate and the balls. FIG. 8 is a schematic view corresponding to FIG. 6A , showing a first modified example of a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction of the circumferentially opposing inner surfaces of a first waveform retainer plate. FIG. 9 is a schematic view corresponding to FIG. 6A , showing a second modified example of a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction of the circumferentially opposing inner surfaces of a first waveform retainer plate. 12 is a schematic diagram corresponding to FIG. 6A showing a third modified example of a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction of the circumferentially opposing inner surfaces of the first corrugated retainer plate. FIG. 13 is an enlarged front view of a main part showing a modified example in which the axial length of the circumferentially opposing inner surfaces of the first corrugated retainer plate is extended. FIG. 14 is an enlarged front view of a main part showing an example of a pawl corrugated retainer formed by butting an annular corrugated retainer plate and an annular flat retainer plate in the axial direction and connecting and fixing them with locking claws. FIG. 15 is an enlarged front view of a main part showing an example of a pawl corrugated retainer having a structure similar to that of the example of FIG. 12, in which an axial through-hole is provided in the flat retainer plate at a circumferential center position of a pocket portion of the corrugated retainer plate.

[0021] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0022] In this specification, a direction parallel to the direction of the central axis of rotation of a ball bearing (see, for example, symbol O in Figures 1 and 2) is referred to as the "axial direction" (see, for example, arrow J in Figures 1 and 3), and a direction perpendicular to the direction of the central axis of rotation is referred to as the "radial direction" (see, for example, arrow R in Figures 1 and 2). The "circumferential direction" (see, for example, arrow C in Figure 2) is defined relative to the direction of the central axis of rotation. Also, a view seen from outside in the radial direction is referred to as a front view.

[0023] <Claw-equipped waveform holder> As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the claw-equipped waveform holder A is formed by a pair of annular first and second waveform holder plates 1 and 2 abutting against each other in the axial direction J and connecting and fixing them together with locking claws 3.

[0024] The first corrugated retaining plate 1 consists of a plurality of pocket portions 4 equally spaced in the circumferential direction C, which form pockets P that retain balls B, which are the rolling elements of the ball bearing, and a flat plate portion 6 that connects adjacent pocket portions 4 in the circumferential direction C.

[0025] The second corrugated retaining plate 2 consists of a plurality of pocket portions 5 equally spaced in the circumferential direction C, which form pockets P for retaining balls B, and a flat plate portion 7 connecting adjacent pocket portions 5 in the circumferential direction C.

[0026] In this embodiment, the multiple pockets 4 and 5 are arranged equally in the circumferential direction C, but depending on the specifications of the ball bearing, the multiple pockets 4 and 5 may be arranged unequally in the circumferential direction C.

[0027] 1, 3 and 4, the mating surface 8 of the flat portion 6 of the first corrugated retainer plate 1 and the mating surface 9 of the flat portion 7 of the second corrugated retainer plate 2 are brought into contact with each other, and the locking claws 3 provided on the flat portion 7 of the second corrugated retainer plate 2 are crimped so as to overlap the flat portion 6 of the first corrugated retainer plate 1, thereby connecting and fixing the first corrugated retainer plate 1 and the second corrugated retainer plate 2, and forming pockets P for holding the balls B. Note that the locking claws 3 may also be provided on the flat portion 6 of the first corrugated retainer 1.

[0028] 3 and 4, the mating surfaces 8 and 9 of the flat plate portions 6 and 7 are offset in the axial direction J from the orbital plane Q of the ball B toward the inner surface 5A of the pocket portion 5 of the second waveform retainer plate 2 (see distance I shown in FIG. 7). Therefore, the first waveform retainer plate 1 is large and the second waveform retainer plate 2 is small.

[0029] 4 and 5, a circumferentially facing inner surface 10 is formed on the inner surface 4A of the pocket portion 4 of the first waveform retaining plate 1, closer to the second waveform retaining plate 2. As shown in Fig. 6A, the circumferentially facing inner surface 10 has a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction J that is a shape S that holds the ball B in the radial direction R. As shown in Fig. 6B, the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction J of the inner surfaces 4A other than the circumferentially facing inner surface 10 also has a shape S that holds the ball B in the radial direction R.

[0030] The length D in the axial direction J of the circumferentially opposing inner surface 10 shown in Figure 7 is the sum of the distance E in the axial direction J between the axial end L1 of the circumferentially opposing inner surface 10 far from the second waveform retaining plate 2 and the revolution orbit plane Q of the ball, and the distance F in the axial direction J between the axial end L2 of the circumferentially opposing inner surface 10 close to the second waveform retaining plate 2 and the revolution orbit plane Q of the ball B (D = E + F).

[0031] The distance E is larger than the gap GJ1 in the axial direction J between the first waveform retaining plate 1 and the ball B (E>GJ1), and the distance F is larger than the gap GJ2 in the axial direction J between the second waveform retaining plate 2 and the ball B (F>GJ2).

[0032] The smallest gap in the circumferential direction C is the gap GC1 between the circumferentially opposing inner surface 10 and the ball B shown in Fig. 6A. For example, the gap GC1 is smaller than the gap GC2 between the inner surface 4A of the first waveform retaining plate 1 and the ball B shown in Fig. 6B and the gap GC3 between the inner surface 5A of the second waveform retaining plate 2 and the ball B shown in Fig. 6C (GC1<GC2, GC1<GC3).

[0033] 4 and 7, the inner surface 4A of the pocket portion 4 of the first corrugated retainer plate 1, including the circumferentially opposing inner surfaces 10, is not undercut in the axial direction J. Therefore, of the pair of corrugated retainer plates 1, 2, there is no difficulty in press working not only the smaller second corrugated retainer plate 2 but also the larger first corrugated retainer plate 1.

[0034] <Modified example of shape that holds the ball on the circumferentially facing inner surface in the radial direction> The shape S that holds the ball B on the circumferentially facing inner surface 10 in the radial direction R may be, in addition to the arc U1 shown in FIG. 6A, a shape that combines multiple straight lines such as the straight lines T1, T2, and T3 shown in FIG. 8 or the straight lines T4 and T5 shown in FIG. 9, or a shape that combines an arc and multiple straight lines such as the arc U2 and the straight lines T6 and T7 shown in FIG. 10.

[0035] <Modifications of the shape of the first waveform retainer plate> The circumferentially facing inner surfaces 10 of the first waveform retainer plate 1 shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 can be extended in the axial direction J away from the second waveform retainer plate 2. Fig. 11 shows an example in which the length of the circumferentially facing inner surfaces 10 in the axial direction J is extended. In the example of Fig. 11, the cross-sectional shape of the first waveform retainer plate 1 cut along a cylindrical surface including a circle connecting approximately the center of the locking claws 3 in the radial direction R has a rectangular wave shape with rounded corners.

[0036] <Example of constructing a claw-equipped waveform cage using an annular waveform retaining plate and an annular flat retaining plate> The claw-equipped waveform cage A shown in Figure 12 is formed by butting an annular waveform retaining plate 1A and an annular flat retaining plate 1B together in the axial direction J and connecting and fixing them together with locking claws 3.

[0037] The corrugated retaining plate 1A comprises a plurality of pocket portions 4, for example, equally spaced in the circumferential direction C, which form pockets P for retaining balls B, which are the rolling elements of the ball bearing, and a flat plate portion 6 connecting adjacent pocket portions 4 in the circumferential direction C. The flat retaining plate 2A is flat and does not have any pocket portions. The flat retaining plate 2A can be formed into a flat plate shape, including the locking claws 3 extending outward in the radial direction R, and is easy to form, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.

[0038] The claw-equipped waveform retainer A is formed by crimping the engaging claws 3 on the flat retaining plate 2A so that they overlap the flat portion 6 of the waveform retaining plate 1A while the mating surface 8 of the flat portion 6 of the waveform retaining plate 1A is in contact with the mating surface 9A of the flat retaining plate 2A.

[0039] The corrugated retainer plate 1A has circumferentially opposing inner surfaces 10 similar to the first corrugated retainer plate 1 in Fig. 11. The inner surfaces 4A of the pocket portions 4 of the corrugated retainer plate 1A are not undercut in the axial direction J, so there is no difficulty in press working the corrugated retainer plate 1A.

[0040] 12, the pawl waveform cage A shown in Figure 13 is configured such that an annular waveform cage plate 1A and an annular flat cage plate 1B are butted together in the axial direction J and connected and fixed by locking claws 3, but a through hole H in the axial direction J is provided in the flat cage 2A at the center of the circumferential direction C in the pocket portion 4 of the waveform cage 1A. By providing the through hole H, the vicinity of the apex of the ball B on one side in the axial direction J can be accommodated within the through hole H, thereby reducing the overall height of the pawl waveform cage A and enabling the dimension in the axial direction J of a ball bearing using this pawl waveform cage A to be reduced.

[0041] Even in the claw-equipped waveform holder A in which an annular waveform holder plate 1A and an annular flat holder plate 1B are butted together in the axial direction J and connected and fixed by locking claws 3 as shown in Figures 12 and 13, the mating surface 8 of the flat portion 6 of the waveform holder plate 1A and the mating surface 9A of the flat holder plate 1B are shifted in the axial direction J from the orbital plane Q of the ball B (see Figure 7) toward the flat holder plate 1B.

[0042] <Conditions Satisfied by Waveform Holder> The waveform holder A according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 11 satisfies the following conditions.

[0043] (1) The circumferentially facing inner surface 10, which is the inner surface 4A of the pocket portion 4 of the first waveform retainer plate 1 and is located closer to the second waveform retainer plate 2, has a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction J of a shape S that embraces the ball B of the ball bearing in the radial direction R. (2) The distance E in the axial direction J between the axial end L1 of the circumferentially facing inner surface 10 farther from the second waveform retainer plate 2 and the revolution track surface Q of the ball B is larger than the gap GJ1 in the axial direction J between the first waveform retainer plate 1 and the ball B (E > GJ1). (3) The distance F in the axial direction J between the axial end L2 of the circumferentially facing inner surface 10 closer to the second waveform retainer plate 2 and the revolution track surface Q of the ball B is larger than the gap GJ2 in the axial direction J between the second waveform retainer plate 2 and the ball B (F > GJ2). (4) The gap in the circumferential direction C is smallest between the circumferentially facing inner surface 10 and the ball B.

[0044] By satisfying conditions (1) to (4), the balls B of the ball bearing reliably abut against the circumferentially opposing inner surface 10 of the first waveform retainer plate 1 of the pawl waveform retainer A, and do not abut against the inner surface 5A close to the mating surface 9 of the second waveform retainer plate 2 of the pawl waveform retainer A. Therefore, even if there is excessive advance or delay of the balls B of the ball bearing, no force acts to separate the mating surfaces 8, 9 of the flat plate portions 6, 7 of the pair of waveform retainer plates 1, 2. Therefore, repeated bending stress is unlikely to act on the locking pawls 3 and the waveform retainer plates 1, 2.

[0045] The waveform holder A according to the embodiment of FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 of the present invention satisfies the following conditions in addition to the above conditions.

[0046] (1) The circumferentially facing inner surface 10, which is the inner surface 4A of the pocket portion 4 of the corrugated retainer plate 1A and is located closer to the flat retainer plate 2A, has a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction J of a shape S that holds the ball B of the ball bearing in the radial direction R. (2) The distance E in the axial direction J between the axial end L1 of the circumferentially facing inner surface 10 farther from the flat retainer plate 2A and the revolution track surface Q of the ball B is larger than the gap GJ1 in the axial direction J between the corrugated retainer plate 1A and the ball B (E > GJ1). (3) The distance F in the axial direction J between the axial end L2 of the circumferentially facing inner surface 10 closer to the flat retainer plate 2A and the revolution track surface Q of the ball B is larger than the gap GI2 in the axial direction J between the flat retainer plate 2A and the ball B (F > GJ2). (4) The gap in the circumferential direction C is smallest between the circumferentially facing inner surface 10 and the ball B.

[0047] By satisfying conditions (1) to (4), the balls B of the ball bearing reliably contact the circumferentially opposing inner surfaces 10 of the corrugated retainer plates 1A of the claw-equipped corrugated cage A. Therefore, even if there is an excessive lead or lag of the balls B of the ball bearing, no force acts to separate the mating surfaces 8, 9A of the corrugated retainer plates 1A and the flat retainer plates 2A. Therefore, repeated bending stress is unlikely to act on the locking claws 3, the corrugated retainer plates 1A, and the flat retainer plates 2A.

[0048] <Operation and Effect> As described above, according to the claw-type waveform holder A according to the embodiment of the present invention, there is no difficulty in press working the first waveform holder plate 1 and the waveform holder plate 1A.

[0049] Furthermore, according to the claw-equipped waveform holder A of the embodiment of the present invention, repeated bending stress is unlikely to act on the locking claw 3 or the pair of waveform holder plates 1, 2, or the locking claw 3 or the waveform holder plate 1A and the flat holder plate 2A, so even if the measures of Patent Document 2 or Patent Document 3 are not taken, separation of the pair of waveform holder plates 1, 2, or separation of the waveform holder plate 1A and the flat holder plate 2A will not occur, and there is little risk of damage to the claw-equipped waveform holder A.

[0050] Therefore, according to the claw-type waveform cage A of the embodiment of the present invention, even if the ball B that has lagged or advanced due to the load applied to a ball bearing using the claw-type waveform cage A presses against the inner surface 4A of the pocket portion 4, the occurrence of separation and damage to the claw-type waveform cage A can be suppressed, while also suppressing an increase in manufacturing costs.

[0051] The above description of the embodiments is given by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0052] 1 First corrugated retainer plate 1A Corrugated retainer plate 2 Second corrugated retainer plate 2A Flat retainer plate 3 Locking claw 4, 5 Pocket portion 4A, 5A Inner surface 6, 7 Flat portion 8, 9, 9A Mating surface 10 Circumferentially opposing inner surface A Claw-type corrugated retainer B Ball C Circumferential direction D Axial length of circumferentially opposing inner surface E Axial distance between first end of circumferentially opposing inner surface and ball revolution orbital surface F Axial distance between second end of circumferentially opposing inner surface and ball revolution orbital surface GJ1, GJ2 Axial gap GC1, GC2, GC3 Circumferential gap H Through hole I Axial distance between mating surface of flat portion and ball revolution orbital surface J Axial direction L1 Axial end of circumferentially opposing inner surface far from second corrugated retainer plate (flat retainer plate) L2 Axial end of circumferentially opposing inner surface close to second corrugated retainer plate (flat retainer plate) O Rotational axis P Pocket Q Ball orbital plane R Radial direction S Shape that holds the ball radially T1 to T7 Straight line U1, U2 Arc

Claims

1. A claw-equipped waveform retainer formed by butting together a pair of annular corrugated retainer plates in the axial direction and connecting and fixing them with locking claws, wherein the corrugated retainer plates are composed of a number of pockets for holding balls, which are the rolling elements of a ball bearing, and a flat plate portion connecting adjacent pockets in the circumferential direction, wherein the claw-equipped waveform retainer is formed by crimping the locking claws provided on the flat plate portion of one of the corrugated retainer plates so as to overlap the flat plate portion of the other corrugated retainer plate, with the mating surfaces of the flat plate portions of the pair of corrugated retainer plates being in contact with each other, wherein the mating surface of the flat plate portions is offset in the axial direction from the orbital plane of the balls, wherein the pair of corrugated retainer plates are composed of a first larger corrugated retainer plate and a second smaller corrugated retainer plate, wherein the inner surface of the pocket portion of the first corrugated retainer plate is not undercut in the axial direction, and wherein the inner surface of the pocket portion of the first corrugated retainer plate, which faces in the circumferential direction and is located closer to the second corrugated retainer plate, has a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction that radially embraces the balls, A claw-type wave retainer, wherein the axial distance between an axial end of the circumferentially opposing inner surface far from the second wave retainer plate and the revolution track surface of the ball is larger than the axial gap between the first wave retainer plate and the ball, the axial distance between an axial end of the circumferentially opposing inner surface close to the second wave retainer plate and the revolution track surface of the ball is larger than the axial gap between the second wave retainer plate and the ball, and the circumferential gap is smallest between the circumferentially opposing inner surface and the ball.

2. A claw-equipped waveform cage formed by butting an annular corrugated retainer plate and an annular flat retainer plate together in the axial direction and connecting and fixing them with locking claws, the corrugated retainer plate comprising a plurality of pocket portions for holding balls which are the rolling elements of a ball bearing, and a flat portion connecting adjacent pocket portions in the circumferential direction, the corrugated retainer plate being configured such that the locking claws provided on the flat retainer plate overlap the flat portion of the corrugated retainer plate with the mating surface of the flat retainer plate being in contact with the mating surface of the flat retainer plate, the inner surface of the pocket portion of the corrugated retainer plate is not undercut in the axial direction, the circumferentially facing inner surface of the pocket portion of the corrugated retainer plate which is located closer to the flat retainer plate has a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction which holds the balls in the radial direction, the axial distance between the axial end of the circumferentially facing inner surface farther from the flat retainer plate and the orbital surface of the balls is greater than the axial gap between the corrugated retainer plate and the balls, a claw-type wave cage, wherein an axial distance between an axial end of said circumferentially opposing inner surface close to said flat retaining plate and an orbital surface of said balls is larger than an axial gap between said flat retaining plate and said balls, and a circumferential gap is smallest between said circumferentially opposing inner surface and said balls.

3. A corrugated retainer with claws as set forth in claim 2, wherein an axial through hole is provided in the flat retaining plate at a circumferential center position of the pocket portion of the corrugated retaining plate.

4. A claw-type wave cage as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the shape that holds the balls radially is an arc, a shape combining multiple straight lines, or a shape combining an arc and multiple straight lines.

Images