Self-Aligning Bearing Inner Ring for Roller Retention and Sealing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing self-aligning roller bearing designs face challenges in maintaining roller containment during operation and assembly, particularly under misalignment conditions, and require different inner ring designs for sealed and open bearings, leading to increased complexity and cost.

Innovation Solution

The inner ring design features a retaining flange with a flange radius between 100.2% and 103.7% of the raceway connecting portion radius, allowing for reliable roller containment and efficient assembly, while also enabling the same ring design to be used for both sealed and open bearings.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the retaining flange height is increased to prevent rollers from falling out during operation, then roller containment reliability is improved, but the difficulty of assembling rollers between the bearing rings increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveroller containment reliabilityVSAvoidassembly difficulty

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The retaining flange is segmented with a filling slot that divides the flange into separate sections. This segmentation allows rollers to be inserted through the slot during assembly, reducing assembly difficulty, while the remaining flange structure maintains roller containment reliability during operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The filling slot is pre-formed in the retaining flange structure before assembly. This preliminary action creates a predetermined pathway for roller insertion, enabling easy assembly without requiring disassembly or special tools, while the flange's overall structure remains intact for reliable roller containment during operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If different inner ring designs are used for sealed and open bearings, then sealing performance is optimized, but production complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesealing performanceVSAvoidproduction complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The inner ring design incorporates a universal retaining flange structure with a filling slot that can accommodate both sealed and open bearing configurations. The same basic design serves multiple functions: it provides roller containment, enables assembly through the slot, and supports both sealed and open bearing types, thereby reducing production complexity while maintaining sealing performance where required.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS20250043818A1An inner ring for a self-aligning roller bearing

Publication Date: 2025.02.06 AB SKF SKF PATENT DEPARTMENT

AI summary

An inner ring for a self-aligning roller bearing has a raceway, a rolling-element retaining flange at a first axial side of the raceway, a filling slot in the retaining flange, a first axial end face, and a seal surface having a first end at the first axial end face and a second end at the retaining flange. The retaining flange has a flange width between the seal surface connecting portion and a raceway connecting portion, the raceway connecting portion has a first radius and the retaining flange has a flange radius, and the flange radius is from 100.2% to 103.7% of the first radius.