Crown-Shaped Bearing Retainer with Lightened Bars for High-Speed Rigidity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing snap cages for ball bearings deform radially outward due to centrifugal force at high speeds, leading to contact with other components and potential damage.
Innovation Solution
A snap cage design featuring an annular main portion and bar portions with claw portions, where the bar portions have lightened portions by notching on the inner diameter side, and the main portion has a thicker bottom thickness compared to the wall portion, ensuring rigidity and reducing centrifugal force.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the cage is made lighter by reducing material or thinning the main portion, then centrifugal force at high speed rotation is reduced, but the rigidity of the cage is reduced, causing increased deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by creating lightened portions only in specific regions of the main portion where material removal does not compromise overall rigidity. The lightened portions are positioned to reduce weight and centrifugal force while maintaining structural integrity in critical areas, thus resolving the contradiction between weight reduction and rigidity preservation.
Solution Approach 2:
The main portion is segmented into multiple lightened portions that are distributed around the circumference. This segmentation allows selective material removal in non-critical areas while preserving structural strength in load-bearing regions, enabling weight reduction without sacrificing the cage's rigidity during high-speed rotation.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the outer diameter of bar portions is reduced to avoid contact with outer ring and shield plate, then contact damage is prevented, but the deformation of bar portions increases at high speed rotation
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies preliminary anti-action by pre-positioning the outer circumferential surface of the bar portion at a specific location (between 1/4 to 1/2 of the radial thickness of the main portion) before rotation begins. This preliminary positioning ensures that even when centrifugal force causes radial deformation during high-speed rotation, the bar portion maintains sufficient clearance from the outer ring and shield plate, preventing contact damage while maintaining structural stability.
3Weight of moving object
If the main portion is made thinner at the bottom of pockets to reduce weight, then centrifugal force is reduced, but the stress of the cage increases and deformation of claw portion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by selectively thinning the main portion only in specific regions (creating lightened portions) rather than uniformly reducing thickness throughout. The bottom of the pockets and other critical stress-bearing areas maintain sufficient thickness to handle loads, while non-critical areas have reduced material. This localized material distribution reduces overall weight and centrifugal force while preventing excessive stress and claw portion deformation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design effectively suppresses deformation at high speeds by ensuring rigidity in specific portions while reducing weight, thereby minimizing contact with other components and preventing damage.
Implementation Method 1
the claw portions 112, 112 are deformed radially outward due to an application of a stress caused by centrifugal force
Data Source
AI summary
A bar portion is formed so that an outer circumferential surface on a tip portion side is located on an inner diameter side with respect to an outer circumferential surface of a main portion. On an inner diameter side of a cage, lightened portions obtained by notching in an axial direction from an axial side surface of the main portion are formed separately at positions of the respective bar portions in a circumferential direction. Each lighting portion is formed separately from a surface of a pocket and an axially outer surface of the bar portion formed between a pair of claw portions. An axial dimension T1 of a wall portion formed between an axially outer surface of the bar portion and an inner wall surface of the lightened portion is greater than an axial dimension T2 of the main portion on a bottom portion of the pocket.