Roller Bearing Separator

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the disclosure is made in the following detailed description of several embodiments of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying sheets of drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an axial section of an angular contact roller bearing having tapered rollers and a sheet metal separator showing a first embodiment of my invention.

FIG. 2 is a section taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1 showing the relationship between the separator cross bars and a typical tapered roller adjacent the large diameter end of the roller.

FIG. 3 is a section taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1 showing the relationship between the separator cross bars and the tapered roller adjacent the small diameter end of the roller.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a portion of a flat blank strip with pierced windows from which the sheet metal separator shown in FIG. 1 is made.

FIG. 5 is a section taken along the line 5--5 of FIG. 4 showing the side face of a typical cross bar.

FIG. 6 is a section taken along the line 6--6 of FIG. 4 showing a section through the cross bar.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the blank strip portion shown in FIG. 4 after the cross bars have been bent.

FIG. 8 is a section taken along the line 8--8 of FIG. 7 showing a typical cross bar after being bent.

FIG. 9 is a front axial view, schematic in nature, showing a pierced and bent strip of requisite length rolled into a hoop to form the generally annular separator shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a view taken along the line 10--10 of FIG. 9 showing the abutting ends of the rolled strip.

FIG. 11 is an axial cross section of an angular contact roller bearing having barrel shaped rollers and a sheet metal separator showing a second embodiment of my invention.

FIG. 12 is a section taken along the line 12--12 of FIG. 11 showing the relationship between the separator cross bars and the barrel rollers at the maximum center diameter of the barrel shaped rollers.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a portion of a flat strip with pierced windows from which the separator shown in FIG. 11 is made.

FIG. 14 is a view taken along the line 14--14 of FIG. 13 showing the side face of a typical cross bar.

FIG. 15 is a plan view similar to FIG. 13 showing the strip after the cross bars have been bent.

FIG. 16 is a front axial schematic view of a proper length strip rolled to annular form.

FIG. 17 is an axial section of an angular contact roller bearing having barrel rollers and a sheet metal cage showing a third embodiment of my invention.

FIG. 18 is a plan view of a portion of a flat strip with pierced windows from which the separator shown in FIG. 17 is made.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1, a tapered roller bearing indicated generally at 20 comprises an inner race 22 and an outer race 24 concentrically disposed about a longitudinal axis 26. A series of frustoconical or tapered rollers 28 engage the races and revolve an axes 30 in an orbital movement around the longitudinal axis 26 as the races rotate relative to each other during operation of the bearing. The roller axes 30 are inclined or angularly related to the longitudinal axis 26 of the bearing thus describing an imaginary conical surface as the rollers revolve and orbit.

A sheet metal separator indicated generally at 32 comprises axially spaced end rings 34 and 36 connected by a series of cross bars 38 defining windows 40 receiving and circumferentially spacing the rollers 28. The end rings 34 and 36 are cylindrical and of equal diameter with the cross bars 38 angularly oriented to provide suitable guidance for the angularly oriented tapered rollers 28. More specifically the angularly oriented cross bars 38 comprise an elongated central portion 42 which is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis 26 of the bearing 20.

In the first embodiment of my invention, the inclined central portions 42 of the cross bars 38 are located outwardly of the imaginary conical surface defined by the roller axes 30 and have side faces 44 provided with flat roller guiding surfaces 46 which engage the rollers 28 in a line contact. The roller guiding surfaces 46 on adjacent cross bars slant toward each other in the radially outward direction and are spaced to retain the rollers 28 in the windows 40 in the absence of the outer race 24. See FIGS. 2 and 3. The roller guiding surfaces 46 are shown as extending along the entire length of the inclined central portions 42 so that they guide and retain the rollers 28 for nearly their entire length. The roller guiding surfaces 46, however, need not necessarily be uninterrupted and in some instances separate guiding surfaces near the respective ends of the rollers 28 may be sufficient. In any event the inclined central portions 42 necessarily extend for a majority of the length of the cross bars 38 for adequate roller guidance irrespective of the nature of the roller guiding surfaces 46.

The inclined central portions 42 are connected to the end ring 36 by a generally radial S-shaped portion 48 which protrudes radially outwardly from the end ring 36 in order to provide a transition between the equal cylindrical nature of the end rings 34 and 36 and the inclined nature of the cross bars 38. At the opposite ends the inclined central portions 42 are connected to the other end ring 34 by a smaller generally radial S-shaped portion 50 which extends radially inwardly from the end ring 34. However, in some instances it may be necessary only to bend the cross bars 38 slightly in the radial outward direction at their connection to the end ring 36 in order to give the central portions 42 the proper inclinations. The inclination of the central portions 42 indicated by the lines 52 need not necessarily duplicate that of the roller axes 30. In the bearing shown in FIG. 1, the inclination of the central portions 42 forms a slightly more acute angle with the longitudinal axis 26 than does a typical roller axis 30 because of the roller retainment feature and the tapered nature of the rollers 28.

The end ring 36 includes a number of circumferentially spaced lanced tabs 54 resilient enough to snap past a thrust shoulder 56 at the large diameter end of the inner race 22 and yet rigid enough to thereafter cooperate with the shoulder 56 to retain the separator 32, rollers 28 and inner race 22 in a unit handled subassembly in the absence of the outer race 24.

Referring now to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the separator 32 shown in FIG. 1 is made in the following manner. A series of windows 40a is first punched from a flat strip 32a of sheet metal into a "ladder" having flat end bands 34a and 36a interconnected by flat cross bars 38a. The windows 40a are pierced out with localized confronting enlargements 41a at the ends thereof such that the opposite side faces at end portions 48a and 50a of the cross bars 38a are relieved for avoiding interference of the completed cage with the rollers 28 and at the same time the end portions 48a and 50a of the cross bars are thinned for easier bending later on.

The enlarged central portions 42a of the cross bars 38a are also preferably coined producing slanted surfaces 46a on their side faces which eventually engage the rollers of the bearing in a line contact. After the strip 32a is pierced and coined, the cross bars 38a are then bent at the thinned end portions 48a and 50a shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 so that the enlarged central portions 42a are inclined with respect to the end bands 34a and 36a and connected thereto by the upright S-shaped portions 48b and 50b formed from the end portions 48a and 50a. See FIGS. 7 and 8. The lanced tabs 54 in the end band 36a shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 may be pierced simultaneously with the piercing of the windows 40a and bent simultaneously with the bending of the cross bars 38a or they may be provided by separate operations. However, in either event the lanced tabs are preferably formed while the end band 36a is flat. After the cross bars 38a are bent as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a strip of requisite length is rolled to annular form as schematically shown in FIG. 9 with the ends of the strip in abutting engagement. The abutting ends of the rolled strip are then resistance welded as indicated at 58 in FIG. 9 and shown more clearly in FIG. 10.

A second embodiment of my invention is shown in FIG. 11 wherein the angular contact roller bearing 120 comprises an inner race 122 and an outer race 124 concentrically disposed about a longitudinal axis 126. A series of barrel shaped rollers 128 engage the races and revolve on axes 130 in an orbital movement around the longitudinal axis 126 as the races rotate relative to each other during operation of the bearing. The roller axes 130 are inclined or angularly related to the longitudinal axis 126 of the bearing thus describing an imaginary conical surface as the rollers revolve and orbit.

A sheet metal separator indicated generally at 132 comprises axially spaced end rings 134 and 136 connected by a series of cross bars 138 defining windows 140 receiving and circumferentially spacing the rollers 128. The end rings 134 and 136 are cylindrical and of equal diameter with the cross bars 138 angularly oriented to provide suitable guidance for the angularly oriented barrel shaped rollers 128. More specifically the angularly oriented cross bars 138 comprise an elongated central portion 142 which is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis 126 of the bearing 120.

In the second embodiment of my invention, the inclined central portions 142 of the cross bars 138 are located inwardly of the imaginary conical surface defined by the roller axes 130 and have side faces 144 provided with flat roller guiding surfaces 146 which engage the rollers 128 in a line contact. The roller guiding surfaces 146 on adjacent cross bars slant toward each other in the radially inward direction and are spaced to retain the rollers 128 in the windows 140 in the absence of the inner race 124. See FIG. 12. The roller guiding surfaces 146 are shown as extending along the entire length of the inclined central portions 142 so that they guide and retain the rollers 128 for nearly their entire length. The roller guiding surfaces 146, however, need not necessarily be uninterrupted and in some instances separate guiding surfaces near the respective ends of the rollers 128 may be sufficient. In any event the inclined central portions necessarily extend for a majority of the length of the cross bars 138 for adequate roller guidance irrespective of the nature of the roller guiding surfaces 146.

The inclined central portions 142 are connected to the end ring 134 by a generally radial S-shaped portion 150 which protrudes radially inwardly from the end ring 134 in order to provide a transition between the equal cylindrical nature of the end rings 134 and 136 and the inclined nature of the cross bars 138. At the opposite ends the inclined central portions 142 extend right to the other end ring 136 and are connected thereto with slight bends in the radially inward direction. The inclination of the central portions 142 indicated by the lines 152 need not necessarily duplicate that of the roller axes 130. However, in the bearing 120 shown in FIG. 11, the inclination of the central portions 142 is the same as that of the typical roller axis 152 because of the symmetrical nature of the barrel shaped rollers 128.

Referring now to FIGS. 13 and 14, the separator 132 shown in FIG. 11 is made in the following manner. A series of windows 140a is first punched from a flat strip 132a of sheet metal into a "ladder" having flat end bands 134a and 136a interconnected by flat cross bars 138a. The windows 140a are pierced out with localized confronting enlargements 141a at one end thereof such that the opposite side faces at the end portions 150a of the cross bars 138a are relieved for avoiding interference of the completed cage with the rollers 128 and at the same time the end portions 150a of the cross bars are thinned for easier bending later on.

The enlarged central portions 142a of the cross bars 138a are then preferably coined producing slanted surfaces 146a on their side faces which eventually engage the rollers of the bearing in a line contact. After the strip 132a is pierced and coined, the cross bars 138a are then bent so that the portions 142a are inclined with respect to the end bands 134a and 136a and connected to the end band 134a by the upright S-shaped portions 150b formed from the end portions 150a and to the end band 134a by a slight bend. See FIG. 15. An axial section through the cross bar 138a now corresponds to the axial section through the cross bar 138 of the completed separator as shown in FIG. 11.

After the cross bars 138a are so bent, a strip of requisite length is rolled to annular form and the abutting ends are resistance welded as indicated at 158 in schematic FIG. 16.

Referring now to FIG. 17, a third embodiment of my invention is shown in conjunction with an angular contact bearing 220 having barrel shaped rollers 228 and inclined axes 226 similar to the bearing 120 except for the separator 232 which retains the rollers 228 in both radial directions. To this end, the cross bars 238 have their inclined portions consisting of two sections 241 and 243 respectively located radially inward and radially outward of the imaginary conical surface defined by roller axes 226. The sections 241 are connected to the end ring by a slight outward bend and have slanted surfaces 245 on their side faces which narrow the windows 240 in the radially outward direction so that the slanted surfaces 245 retain the rollers 228 in one direction as well as contribute to their guidance. The sections 241 in turn are connected to the sections 243 by generally radial S-shaped portions 250. The sections 243 in turn are connected to the end ring 236 by slight radial bends. The sections 243 have slanted surfaces 247 on their side faces which narrow the windows 240 in the radially inward direction so that the slanted surfaces 247 retain the rollers in the other direction as well as contribute to roller guidance. As shown in FIG. 17, the sections 241 and 243 do not have the same inclinations as the roller axes 226 but preferably converge toward each other to reduce the height of the S-shaped portions 238 and thereby reduce the width of the original blank strip from which the separator is made.

The separator 232 is made from a flat blank strip shown in plan view in FIG. 18. The blank strip windows 240a are punched with localized confronting enlargements 239 at the middle so that the midportions 250a of the cross bars 238a connecting the end bands 234a and 236a have their side faces relieved for non-interference with the rollers and thinned for subsequent bending. The cross bars 238a are also preferably coined to produce the slanted surfaces 245a and 247a which eventually provide the slanted roller guiding and retaining surfaces 245 and 247. The surfaces 245 and 247 are coined from the opposite directions either simultaneously or in separate operations. After the blank is of the form shown in FIG. 18, the cross bars are then bent slightly at their connection to each of the end rings and deeply at the thinned midportions 250a into the configuration shown in FIG. 17. With the cross bars so bent, a strip of requisite length is rolled to annular form and the abutting ends of the strip resistance welded as before.

When completed each of the three sheet metal separators which have been disclosed have the advantages of cylindrical end rings which have not been subjected to any heavy forming pressures and inclined cross bars having a proper orientation for guiding the rollers in an angular contact bearing. The cylindrical end rings provide convenient structure for race retaining structure as illustrated in the first embodiment of my invention and they also provide convenient structure for centering the separator from one of the races if such a feature is desired.

It has been illustrated that a separator in accordance with my invention not only guides the rollers but can be configured to retain the rollers in either or both radial directions. It is also to be understood that the separator can also be configured to simply guide the rollers without any roller retention feature in which case it is preferable to locate the inclined portions of the cross bars on the roller axes. It is further to be understood that my invention is applicable to any angular contact bearing whether the rollers be cylindrical, tapered, barrel shaped or a tapered barrel shape. Further while the method of making the separator has for convenience been described as though an entire strip was punched, then coined, then bent, etc., it is to be understood that this is not a limiting feature as the separator might be made with progressive forming techniques so that several operations are simultaneously performed on different portions of a strip of material.