Curved Contact Cage Segment for Rolling Bearing Wear Reduction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Rolling bearing cages experience premature wear due to contact between rolling elements and the cage surfaces, leading to lubricant scraping off and increased friction.
Innovation Solution
A cage segment with a contact element projecting into the pocket to reduce contact with the rolling body, featuring a recess area and a contact area with a curved surface, and optionally multiple contact elements for uniform contact, which can be reshaped or formed separately and connected to the cage segment, enhancing wear resistance and lubricant distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the cage segment uses a flat surface to contact the rolling element, then the manufacturing is simple, but the lubricant is scraped off leading to premature wear
Solution Approach 1:
The contact surface of the cage segment is designed with a curved profile instead of a flat surface. This curved contact surface conforms to the curvature of the rolling element, preventing the cage from scraping off the lubricant film and eliminating edge contact that would occur with a flat surface, thereby significantly improving wear resistance while maintaining manufacturing feasibility.
2Reliability
If the contact element is formed as a separate element connected to the cage segment, then the wear resistance is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The contact element is integrated directly into the cage segment structure as an inherent feature rather than a separate component. This merging approach maintains the wear resistance benefits of a dedicated contact element while eliminating the complexity of separate parts, fasteners, and assembly steps, resulting in a simpler overall structure.
3Strength
If the corner radius of the cage segment is increased, then the notch stress is reduced, but the pocket size for accommodating rolling elements is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cage segment features localized curvature optimization where the corner radius is increased specifically in regions subjected to high notch stress to improve strength, while the pocket dimensions and geometry are maintained independently to ensure adequate rolling element accommodation space. This local quality approach allows simultaneous optimization of both strength and functional capacity.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A cage segment (1) for a segment cage, in particular for large rolling bearings, is disclosed, wherein the cage segment (1) forms a pocket (8) suitable for receiving at least one rolling element (10), wherein the cage segment (1) has at least one contact element (22) on a side (18) opposite an end face (20) of the at least one rolling element (10), which projects into the pocket (8) of the cage segment (1) and is designed to contact the at least one rolling element (10).