Thrust Ball Bearing Cage with Elastic Claw Protrusions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional thrust ball bearing cages are prone to damage due to high rigidity materials and lack effective lubricant retention, leading to reduced lubricity at sliding portions.
Innovation Solution
The design features a thrust ball bearing cage with claw-shaped protrusions that are elastically deformable and a recess structure to retain lubricant, along with radially extending grooves to facilitate lubricant flow, ensuring the cage is less likely to be damaged and improves lubricity even with high-rigidity materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If high rigidity material is used for the cage, then the cage strength is improved, but the cage becomes more prone to damage during ball insertion
Solution Approach 1:
The cage incorporates a flexible membrane structure that can elastically deform during ball insertion and then recover its original shape. This flexibility allows the cage to accommodate balls without damage while maintaining overall structural strength, resolving the contradiction between using high rigidity materials and preventing damage during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the mechanical parameters of the cage by introducing a flexible membrane with specific elasticity characteristics. This allows the cage to exhibit both strength (when needed for structural integrity) and flexibility (when needed for ball insertion), effectively resolving the contradiction between strength and damage resistance.
2Strength
If the axial height of claw-shaped protrusion is increased toward the pocket center, then the ball retention is improved, but the lubricant retention capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cage structure is segmented into distinct functional zones: the claw-shaped protrusions for ball retention and the membrane portion with recesses for lubricant retention. This segmentation allows each zone to optimize its function independently, with the protrusions providing ball retention and the membrane recesses providing lubricant reservoirs, thus resolving the contradiction between ball retention and lubricant retention.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the cage are given different local qualities: the claw-shaped protrusions have high structural integrity for ball retention, while the membrane portion incorporates recesses specifically designed for lubricant retention. This local differentiation allows the cage to simultaneously achieve both ball retention and lubricant retention without compromise.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively reduces damage to the cage during ball insertion and enhances lubricity by allowing lubricant retention and efficient distribution to sliding portions, improving the overall performance of the thrust ball bearing.
Implementation Method 1
the claw-shaped protrusions are less likely to be elastically deformed
Implementation Method 2
improving lubricity of a sliding portion
Data Source
AI summary
An end in an axial direction of a cage includes a first end face located so as to surround a pocket, a plurality of claw-shaped protrusions that protrude from a periphery of the pocket in a first end face outward in an axial direction and toward a center of the pocket and extend along the periphery at intervals, and a second end face that is connected to an end of the first end face, which is located on the opposite side of the first end face from the pocket side, via a step and is located further outward in the axial direction than the first end face. A recess is defined by the claw-shaped protrusions, the first end face, and the step.