Radial Bearing Separators for Pure Rolling Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional angular and radial bearings experience high friction and wear due to sliding contact between rolling elements and cages, leading to reduced lifespan and increased risk of failure.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of anti-friction separators that facilitate pure rolling contact among all bearing components, replacing conventional cages and allowing for the use of solid materials like aluminum, plastics, or ceramics, which are easy to manufacture and assemble, and are designed to fit between rolling elements and track extensions without sliding, ensuring no load is supported by the separators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional cages are used to maintain rolling elements, then the bearing structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but sliding contact occurs between rolling elements and cages resulting in high friction and wear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the conventional cage component entirely and replaces it with individual separators positioned between adjacent rolling elements. This extraction of the cage function eliminates the sliding contact interface between the cage and rolling elements, thereby resolving the friction and wear problem while maintaining the spacing function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces individual separators as intermediary elements between adjacent rolling elements. These separators act as mediators that maintain the spacing between rolling elements without creating sliding contact, thus eliminating the harmful friction and wear generated by conventional cages.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional cages are used, then manufacturing is easier, but the cage breaks frequently due to fatigue or high pressure from centrifugal forces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cage function into multiple individual separators, each responsible for spacing between adjacent rolling elements. This segmentation distributes the mechanical loads and centrifugal forces across separate components rather than concentrating them in a single cage structure, eliminating fatigue failures and breaks.
Solution Approach 2:
The individual separators are designed as simple, easily manufactured components that can be produced from various materials including plastics and ceramics. While each separator is a discrete component, their simplicity and ease of manufacture compensate for the increased number of parts, and their individual nature prevents catastrophic failure of the entire spacing system.
3Stability of the object's composition
If cages contact tracks for additional support, then bearing stability improves, but sliding friction increases providing additional wear sources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical sliding contact system (cage contacting tracks) with a rolling contact system where individual separators are positioned and guided between rolling elements. This substitution eliminates the sliding friction interface while maintaining the stability and positional control of the rolling elements through the spacing function of the separators.
Data Source
AI summary
An anti-friction radial bearing has an inner track, an outer track, a pair of extension members, load-carrying rolling members, and double coaxial, cylindrical individual spacers. Each of the extension members has an internal cylindrical hoop surface and is securely mounted to at least one of the inner and outer tracks. The rolling members are equidistantly spaced and rotatably engageable with the inner and outer tracks. The spacers are disposed in pure rolling contact at their ends with the internal cylindrical hoop surfaces of the extension members. Each of the spacers is positioned in pure rolling contact between a corresponding adjacent pair of the rolling members.