Rexnord Gmbh

Robert B Warrick

Mark R Grunze

The invention provides a roller bearing apparatus including an inner ring member supported for rotation on a sleeve, an outer ring member, rollers in the raceway space defined between the inner and outer ring members, and a guide member having roller seats against which inboard end portions of the rollers are seated. To promote roller precession when the roller bearing apparatus is used in an oscillatory application, the roller seats are slanted or pitched in a circumferential direction and at least the inboard end portions of the rollers are provided with non-planar, and in one embodiment frustoconical, end faces. Cooperation between the non-planar end faces of the rollers and the pitched roller seats controls the mean skew axes of the rollers to promote consistent roller precession through the bearing load zone, and enables increased freedom of movement of the rollers to minimize friction. This increases the life of the roller bearing by reducing roller related failures. Additionally, when the rollers precess the inner ring member is encouraged to rotate relative to the sleeve to bring new inner race surface portions into the load zone. This reduces inner ring-related failures.

Roller bearing for use in oscillatory applications

A roller bearing apparatus including inner and outer rings defining a pair of raceway spaces, a plurality of rollers arranged in oppositely axially inclined rows each occupying one of the raceway spaces, and a guide member. The guide member includes a ring between the roller rows and oppositely extending shortened prongs or stubs extending only a short distance between the rollers so as not to take up space that otherwise could be used for one or more additional rollers. The pocket bottoms are angled to skew the rollers to promote roller precession or indexing. Alternatively, the guide member can include a reduced number of larger prongs to replace one or more of the stubs.

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St. Charles, IL, United States of America

Robert B Warrick