Slewing Roller Bearing with Integrated Sensing Probe
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Solution Overview
Problem
Roller bearings, especially those of large diameter used in lifting machines, experience wear due to heavy loads, leading to relative movements and potential collisions between bearing rings, resulting in costly and timely maintenance needs.
Innovation Solution
A slewing roller bearing with a sensing probe is introduced to detect relative displacements and cracks between the inner and outer rings, allowing for proactive maintenance planning and reducing maintenance costs by monitoring bearing conditions during service life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If roller bearings are used in lifting machines with heavy loads, then the bearing can transmit axial and radial forces, but wear occurs leading to relative displacements and potential collisions between bearing rings
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing probe performs preliminary detection of wear and relative displacements between bearing rings before critical damage occurs. By continuously monitoring the bearing condition during operation, the system enables proactive maintenance planning and prevents catastrophic failures such as ring collisions, thereby extending bearing service life while maintaining force transmission capability
Solution Approach 2:
The sensing probe provides real-time feedback on bearing wear and relative displacements. This feedback mechanism allows for continuous monitoring of bearing health, enabling maintenance interventions to be timed optimally - not too early (avoiding unnecessary replacement) and not too late (preventing ring collision and catastrophic failure)
2Reliability
If maintenance interventions are performed frequently to prevent bearing wear, then bearing reliability is improved, but downtime and maintenance costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing probe provides continuous feedback on actual bearing wear and relative displacements, replacing the need for frequent scheduled maintenance with condition-based maintenance. This allows maintenance to be performed only when actually needed, minimizing downtime while ensuring bearing reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The bearing system performs self-monitoring through the integrated sensing probe that detects wear and relative displacements autonomously during operation. This self-service capability eliminates the need for manual inspection and frequent maintenance interventions, reducing maintenance downtime while maintaining bearing reliability
3Loss of time
If a sensing probe is added to detect wear and relative displacements, then maintenance timing is optimized, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing probe is nested within the bearing structure, with the probe positioned in a cavity formed in the inner ring and oriented toward the outer ring. This nested integration allows the sensing function to be incorporated into the existing bearing design without significantly increasing overall device complexity, while enabling optimized maintenance timing through continuous wear monitoring
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a slewing bearing that includes an inner ring, an outer ring, at least one row of rolling elements arranged between the rings in order to form an axial thrust that transmits axial forces, and at least one row of rolling elements arranged between the rings in order to form a radial thrust which can transmit radial forces. The slewing bearing further includes a sensing probe for detecting a relative displacement between the inner ring and outer ring and/or cracks, the inner ring having a through hole in which the sensing probe arranged. The through hole has a probe positioning element provided with a positioning portion and a support portion on which the sensing probe is supported so as to face the outer ring.