Toroidal Roller Bearing Spacer Device with Concave Surfaces

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Solution Overview

Problem

Toroidal roller bearings face challenges in efficiently separating and supporting roller elements to prevent roller-to-roller contact and enhance load-bearing capacity while allowing axial and angular displacement, with existing spacer devices often requiring elastic material and complex assembly.

Innovation Solution

A spacer device with concave roller-contacting surfaces and outward projections from non-elastically deformable material that separates adjacent roller elements, reducing axial movement and allowing for increased roller element count, and a method for inserting these devices between closely arranged rollers to facilitate assembly and reduce wear.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a cage is used to separate roller elements, then roller-to-roller contact is prevented, but the device complexity increases and assembly becomes more difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprevention of roller-to-roller contactVSAvoidcomplexity of spacer device

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The spacer device is divided into multiple functional elements: end members with axial projections for roller separation, and body portions with concave roller-contacting surfaces. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently while simplifying the overall assembly process compared to a monolithic cage structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of using a traditional cage structure that surrounds the rollers, the invention uses discrete spacer devices positioned between individual rollers. The spacer devices have projections that extend over the roller ends, inverting the conventional approach of having the cage contact the roller sides, thereby simplifying the separation mechanism.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

2Quantity of substance

If the number of roller elements is increased to enhance load-bearing capacity, then the carrying capacity increases, but the available space for spacer devices decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenumber of roller elementsVSAvoidavailable space for spacer devices

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The spacer device body portions are designed with thin, flexible structures that have concave roller-contacting surfaces. These thin-film-like structures minimize the space occupied by the spacers themselves, allowing more rollers to be accommodated in the same bearing space while maintaining effective separation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Solution Approach 2:

The spacer devices utilize the radial dimension effectively with their concave surfaces that conform to the roller curvature, allowing compact positioning between rollers. This dimensional optimization maximizes the number of rollers that can be fitted circumferentially without increasing the bearing's overall dimensions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Ease of manufacture

If elastically deformable material is used for the spacer device, then assembly is facilitated, but the spacer device cannot effectively limit axial movement of roller elements

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of assemblyVSAvoidaxial movement limitation

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSForce

Solution Approach 1:

The spacer device combines different material properties in different locations: the end members are made of elastically deformable material to facilitate assembly through radial compression, while the projections extending over the roller ends are made of non-elastically deformable material to effectively limit axial movement. This local differentiation of material properties resolves the contradiction between ease of assembly and axial constraint effectiveness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The spacer device is constructed as a composite structure with end members of elastically deformable material and projections of non-elastically deformable material. This composite construction allows the device to exhibit both easy assembly characteristics (through the elastic end members) and effective axial movement limitation (through the rigid projections).

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

Data Source

PatentEP3018372B1Spacer device, toroidal roller bearing and method

Publication Date: 2020.06.24 AB SKF SKF PATENT DEPARTMENT

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AI summary

Spacer device (18) for roller elements (16, 16a, 16b, 16c) of a toroidal roller bearing having an inner ring and an outer ring, wherein the toroidal roller bearing allows for axial and angular displacement between the inner ring and the outer ring. The spacer device (18) comprises a first roller element-contacting surface and a second roller element-contacting surface on opposite sides thereof, which first and second roller-contacting surfaces are arranged to separate two adjacent roller elements (16a, 16b) in a tangential direction of the toroidal roller bearing when the spacer device (18) is in use. Each of the first and second roller element-contacting surfaces has a concave shape adapted to conform to respective convex contacting surfaces of the roller elements (16, 16a, 16b, 16c). The spacer device (18) comprises end members that have projections that extend outwards from first and second roller-contacting surfaces and which are arranged to extend at least partly over the ends of two adjacent roller elements (16, 16a, 16b) when the spacer device (18) is in use.