Radial Bearing Spacer Elements for High Element Density
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional roller bearing cages face challenges in maximizing the number of rolling elements due to space constraints and increased assembly complexity, as thicker cage webs are required to maintain the rolling elements' separation, limiting the theoretical maximum number of elements that can be used.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of a separate spacer element, designed in two parts, ensures a predetermined minimum distance between adjacent rolling elements, allowing for a higher number of rolling elements without additional assembly complexity, as the spacer elements can be inserted during filling and do not require additional attachment steps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional bearing cages with thick webs are used to hold rolling elements, then the rolling elements are securely held in place, but the number of rolling elements that can be accommodated is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cage is divided into multiple individual cage segments, each responsible for holding a single rolling element. This segmentation allows each segment to be thin and simple, while collectively they provide secure holding for all rolling elements, enabling maximum packing density without compromising retention reliability.
2Reliability
If conventional cages are used to prevent rolling element contact, then separation is maintained, but assembly effort and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cage is segmented into multiple independent pieces that can be individually positioned between rolling elements during assembly. This eliminates the need for complex cage attachment operations, as each segment can be simply placed into position, significantly reducing assembly effort while maintaining effective separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The cage function is extracted from a single complex component and distributed across multiple simple segments. This allows the cage to be assembled incrementally during the bearing filling process, rather than requiring pre-assembly of a complete complex cage structure, thereby reducing overall assembly complexity.
3Strength
If a higher number of rolling elements are used to increase load rating, then load capacity increases, but the bearing cage requires thicker webs to maintain separation
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the cage into thin individual pieces rather than using a single thick-walled structure, the design accommodates maximum rolling element density. This enables higher load ratings through increased rolling element count while maintaining minimal cage material thickness, as each segment only needs to provide localized separation rather than structural support for the entire bearing.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A rolling bearing has a multiplicity of rolling bodies (6), wherein between two directly adjacent rolling bodies (6) along a bearing pitch circle there is arranged a selected spacer element (9) designed to ensure a predetermined minimum spacing between the two adjacent rolling bodies (6), wherein the selected spacer element (9) is formed physically separately from all other spacer elements (8) of the rolling bearing and is composed of a first subcomponent (10) situated at the inside in the radial direction and of a second subcomponent (12) situated at the outside in the radial direction, the second subcomponent being connected to the first subcomponent (10) in a positively locking, non-positively locking or cohesive manner.