Rolling Bearing Cage with Parallel Pockets
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing of large-diameter roller bearing cages is challenging due to difficulties in demoulding, especially when made of plastic material, which complicates the process and leads to inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A cage design with parallel axes of pockets in polymer material, allowing for easier manufacturing and demoulding through injection molding, featuring conical pocket shapes to reduce friction and improve roller guidance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the cage is made of plastic material by cutting, then the manufacturing complexity increases and demoulding becomes difficult, but using metallic material or complex plastic structures would improve structural strength
Solution Approach 1:
The cage is divided into multiple cage segments (at least two) that are arranged circumferentially. Each segment contains pockets for specific rollers, allowing the cage to be manufactured more easily through injection molding while maintaining structural integrity. The segments are assembled together to form the complete cage structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The pockets are designed with parallel axes rather than radial axes. This geometric parameter change enables the cage to be manufactured by injection molding without complex demoulding operations, as the parallel configuration allows the mold to be opened and the cage to be ejected easily while maintaining sufficient structural strength.
2Quantity of substance
If the cage is made of plastic material, then demoulding becomes difficult and manufacturing complexity increases, but plastic material offers advantages in weight and cost
Solution Approach 1:
The cage is segmented into multiple parts that can be manufactured separately through injection molding and then assembled. This segmentation allows each segment to be demolded easily from the mold while maintaining the overall structural requirements of the cage.
Solution Approach 2:
The pockets are configured with parallel axes instead of radial axes. This parameter change fundamentally simplifies the injection molding process, allowing the mold to open and the plastic cage to be demolded without complex operations, thereby enabling cost-effective plastic material usage.
3Device complexity
If radial pockets are used in traditional cage design, then the cage structure is conventional, but demoulding and manufacturing become particularly difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The fundamental geometric parameter of the pockets is changed from radial arrangement (conventional design) to parallel arrangement. This parameter change simplifies the manufacturing process and demoulding operations while still achieving the functional requirement of maintaining circumferential distance between rollers.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of arranging pockets radially as in traditional designs, the invention inverts the approach by arranging pockets with parallel axes. This inversion of the conventional geometric arrangement resolves the manufacturing and demoulding difficulties associated with radial pocket configurations.
Data Source
AI summary
A cage for a rolling bearing including a plurality of cage segments is provided. Each segment has a first set of pockets for a first set of rollers, and a second set of pockets for a second set of rollers. The axes of the pockets of the first set of pockets are parallel with each other and the axes of the pockets of the second set of pockets are parallel with each other.