In recognition of these conditions, the invention is based on the objective of providing a cage section for, in particular, a meander-shaped cage of a rolling contact bearing and a method for its production. Here, the starting material should be used as optimally as possible and should make possible a simple, economical production.
The objective mentioned first with regard to a cage section is achieved according to the invention by a cage section for, in particular, a meander-shaped cage of a rolling contact bearing, comprising at least one cage part made from a Z-shaped, bent sheet-metal strip with a first arm, a connecting part, and a second arm, wherein the first arm and the second arm are bent essentially at a right angle to the plane of the sheet metal.
The cage section comprises at least one Z-shaped, bent cage part that is made from a flat metal sheet in a simple way. The cage part has, on one connecting part, a first arm that is angled essentially at a right angle to the sheet metal plane. On the connecting part there is a second arm oriented essentially perpendicular to the sheet metal plane. Cage sections or complete, in particular, meander-shaped cages can be produced from a plurality of such cage parts in a Z-shape through the series arrangement of the arms in a simple way. Through two at least partially overlapping arms and two connecting parts of adjacent cage parts, a cage pocket for a corresponding rolling body is formed. The cage parts do not have to have identical constructions. In particular, through two cage parts that are different from each other, e.g., with differently shaped arms, a meander-shaped cage could be provided. The arms of a cage part could also differ from each other, e.g., in width or length.
The objective mentioned second with regard to a method is achieved according to the invention by a method for the production of a cage section for, in particular, a meander-shaped cage of a rolling contact bearing, wherein a sheet-metal strip is cut from a metal sheet and wherein the sheet-metal strip is shaped into a Z-shape with a first arm, a connecting part, and a second arm, so that the first arm and the second arm are angled essentially at a right angle to the sheet metal plane.
Accordingly, at first a flat strip is cut out from a metal sheet. The cut-out strip is shaped into a Z-shaped cage part with a first arm, a connecting part, and a second arm, and the two arms are bent away from the connecting part essentially perpendicular to the sheet metal plane. A cage section comprises at least one Z-shaped cage part. A cage section, however, can also comprise several of the cage parts. Adjacent cage parts are placed one above the other with their arms. Several cage parts can be assembled to form a complete, in particular, meander-shaped cage.
The specified cage section or the specified cage part can be produced from a metal sheet with the help of simple tools and with minimal cutting. The sheet metal strip is, in particular, punched out and bent into a Z-shaped cage part. From the cage parts or from the cage sections comprising a number of such cage parts, a cage for large roller bearings can be easily assembled. For this purpose, two Z-shaped cage parts are placed one above the other with their arms and, in particular, connected rigidly to each other. For example, the arms of adjacent cage parts can be connected to each other by welding, soldering, swaging, beading, bonding, and/or clinching.
Preferably, a cage section comprises at least two of the previously described cage parts that are assembled into a U-shaped overlapping at their arms. Such a cage section forms, to some extent, a cage pocket in which a rolling body is held and guided. The two cage parts are advantageously connected to each other in an angled arrangement at the overlapping arms. In particular, the previously mentioned joining methods are suitable for connecting the arms. The curvature and thus the size of the complete, ring-shaped cage are defined by the angle between the overlapping arms of the two cage parts of a U-shaped cage section. The angle is greater than 90° and less than 180°.
Advantageously, a plurality of U-shaped assembled from two cage parts is set one on the other with the same orientation to form a larger cage section or a complete cage, wherein the free arms of each U-shape are alternately arranged on and under a free arm of the adjacent U-shapes. Accordingly, the individual U-shaped cage sections are arranged in a fixed pattern relative to each other. In a series arrangement of the U-shaped cage sections, the two free arms are alternately placed on and under the adjacent arm of the surrounding U-shaped cage sections. This produces overall a mechanically very stable joint. The individual U-shaped cage sections are prevented from falling out by the alternating support of the arms. In particular, tilting of the U-shapes or the individual cage parts is prevented when the rolling bodies are held in the cage.
In one preferred construction, at least one arm of the Z-shaped cage part is expanded with a rounded section. Such a rounded section expanding the arm in its width is used for optimizing the guiding of the cage in the rolling contact bearing, in particular, for a rim or raceway guidance on an inner ring and/or on an outer ring of the rolling contact bearing. The axial position of the cage part or the cage in the rolling contact bearing is defined by the radius of the rounded section. In particular, both arms of a cage part can be expanded with different size rounded sections. One arm is here guided, for example, on an inner ring and one arm on the outer ring of the rolling contact bearing. The guidance of the cage by means of the arms of the cage parts can be performed, in particular, outside of the raceway of the rolling bodies, which reduces the wear on the raceway.
In one advantageous refinement, a number of raised contours are formed at least in one of the arms of the cage part or each cage part. The raised contours can be point-shaped, round, or angular and can be formed, for example, by embossing or swaging. Through the raised contours, for the guidance of the rolling bodies, the friction is reduced, because the rolling body contacts the cage or the cage part only on these contours. The contact surface of a rolling body produced by the raised contours with the cage part is smaller by a multiple than a contact surface with direct contact on the arm of the cage part. In the present case, a roller-shaped or barrel-shaped rolling body is guided in the cage formed from the cage parts by means of its end face on an arm of the cage part.
In a further preferred way, a number of raised, in particular, alternating contours is formed in the connecting part of the cage part or each cage part. In the finished cage, a roller-shaped or barrel-shaped rolling body is supported on these contours with its lateral surface. Through alternating contours, two successive rolling bodies are guided on one connecting part. Two rolling bodies are spaced apart from each other and guided by the connecting part of a cage part.
In one preferred alternative, a tab is formed on at least one of the arms of the cage part or each cage part at the end, which encloses an acute angle with its longitudinal axis with respect to the unshaped flat sheet metal strip. For the assembly of two adjacent cage parts, the angle of the overlapping arms is set relative each other by means of the angle of the tab to the longitudinal axis. Here, the tab of an arm of the cage part is supported on the connecting part of the other cage part. A complicated tool is not required to maintain the angle specified for forming the ring-shaped cage during the assembly of the individual cage parts. The length of the tab defines the distance of the Z-shaped cage parts to be connected to each other. In other words, the tab represents an assembly aid for orienting two adjacent cage parts. In addition, the tab stabilizes a joint built from a plurality of cage parts. Through the stop of the tab on the connecting part of the adjacent cage part, in the finished cage, operating play is generated for the rolling bodies in the circumferential direction, so that jamming of rolling bodies supported one on the other is reliably prevented.
Advantageously, a recess is formed in the transition between an arm and the connecting part of a cage part or each cage part. The previously mentioned tab engages in such a recess for the assembly of the cage, which further mechanically stabilizes the shown joint made from cage parts.
In one advantageous refinement, several of the previously described U-shaped cage sections are assembled into a cage or connected rigidly to each other to form an integral cage. In particular, two different cage parts are connected to each other. The U-shaped cage sections are here arranged in a fixed pattern relative to each other. In particular, for the series arrangement of the U-shaped cage sections, the two free arms are alternatively placed on and under the adjacent arm of the surrounding U-shaped cage sections. This produces overall a mechanically very stable joint. The individual U-shaped cage sections are prevented from falling out in the axial direction by the alternating support of the arms.
Another aspect of the invention is, in particular, a meander-shaped rolling contact bearing, in particular, a roller bearing, with an outer ring, an inner ring, and several rolling bodies guided in a cage, wherein the cage is assembled from several of the previously mentioned cage sections.
Embodiments of the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to a drawing and with reference to the following description. Shown in schematic representation are:
In
In
In
Between the cage parts 11, 11′, a produced cage pocket 37 for holding a roller or cylindrical rolling body can be seen. The rolling body located therein is guided with its lateral surface on the contours 24 of the connecting parts 18 projecting into the cage pocket 37 and with its lower end face on the contours 24 of the second arm 22 of the right cage part 11′.
The second or right cage part 11′ is placed in an angled arrangement with its modified second arm 22 on the second arm 22 of the first or left cage part 11. The cage parts 11, 11′ are connected rigidly to each other at the arms 20, 22. The connection can be realized, for example, through welding, soldering, swaging, beading, bonding, or clinching. Here, each rounded section 26 of the second arms 22 of the left cage part 11 and the right cage part 11′ overlap each other. The tab 28 set on the rounded section 26 of the second arm 22 of the right cage part 11′ is supported in the recess 34 formed at the transition 32 between the second arm 22 and the connecting part 18 of the left cage part 11. Through the engagement of the tab 28 in the recess 34, on one hand the assembly of the two cage parts 11, 11′ is simplified and on the other hand a higher stability of the U-shaped cage section 36 is achieved. In addition, operating play is set in this way for the rolling bodies in the circumferential direction, so that jamming of adjacent rolling bodies is prevented.
The two arms 20, 22 of successive cage parts 11, 11′ are connected to each other so that they enclose an obtuse angle relative to each other. The angle is produced during assembly by the interaction of the tabs 28 and recesses 34. The size of the complete rolling contact bearing is given by the size of the angle at which the U-shaped cage sections 36 are joined to each other.
The U-shaped cage section 36 shown in
In
In
In
In the shown cross section a), the rolling body 42 on the left is guided on the first arm 20 of a cage part. A second arm 22 of an adjacent cage part contacts the first arm 20. By means of the rounded section 26 of the second arm, every second cage part on the left of the rolling body 42 is guided with little play between the outer ring 38 and the inner ring 40 of the rolling contact bearing 14 outside of the raceway. On the right side of the rolling body 42 there is a view of the transition area 32 of the next cage part.
In the shown cross section b), the rolling body 42 on the right is guided on the first arm 20 of a cage part. A second arm 22 of an adjacent cage part contacts the first arm 20. The rounded section 26 visible in cross section b) belongs to another cage part than the rounded section 26 in cross section a). The rounded sections 26 differ in size. By means of the rounded section 26 of the second arm, every second cage part on the right of the rolling body 42 is guided with little play between the outer ring 38 and the inner ring 40 of the rolling contact bearing outside of the raceway. On the left side of the rolling body 42 there is a view of the transition area 32 of the next cage part.
A sealing ring 52 is also inserted in the drawing on the left between the outer ring 38 and the inner ring 40 of the shown rolling contact bearing 12.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2013 203 674.4 | Mar 2013 | DE | national |
The invention relates to a cage section for, in particular, a meander-shaped cage of a rolling contact bearing, as well as a method for the production of such a cage section. In particular, the cage section is suitable for the construction of a segmented cage of a roller bearing. Typically, rolling bodies of a large rolling contact bearing are held and guided in a cage, in order to prevent, for example, clamping of the rolling bodies due to mutual support. Typically, e.g., the rollers of a large roller bearing with cylindrical bearing roller or tapered bearing roller construction have a cage-guided construction. From DE 424 712 A, a cage for a rolling contact bearing is known that encloses and individually guides the rollers of the rolling contact bearing. The cage is made from solid material through material-cutting processes, wherein the production of the cage is complicated and the material expense is high. A disadvantageous result is high production costs. An integral cage consisting of two completely identical halves that are welded together for a roller bearing is known from DE 433 223 A. The halves are produced from a sheet-metal part through shaping. A disadvantage in this type of production is that, with increasing size of the cage, the integral sheet-metal shaping becomes more and more expensive. The costs for the required tools increase, wherein simultaneously the production batch sizes decrease. In addition, there are many sheet metal cutting processes. Because two cage connecting parts lie between two adjacent rollers, the number of rollers that can be used is limited, which limits the load rating of the roller bearing. In addition, from DE 585 099 A, a segmented cage for a roller bearing is known. The cage is assembled from several cage segments that are produced from a metal sheet and are held together with additional covers. For connecting the cage segments, complicated edge projections or tabs are required. In addition, two edge plates are required. The production costs of such a cage are high.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/DE2014/200038 | 2/3/2014 | WO | 00 |