FIELD
The present disclosure relates to field of bearings.
BACKGROUND
In developing countries, manual transmission vehicles and dual clutch transmission
vehicles are becoming more popular by the day. It is required that the bearings 5 s used
in the aforementioned transmissions have greater rigidity to help reduce the overall
length of the transmission. To this end, retainer plates have been developed in the art
for use with the conventional ball bearings. As a result, retainer plate equipped ball
bearings are increasingly being used for such applications. A conventional bearing
10 retainer assembly typically comprises a bearing, a retainer plate, and the snap ring.
The retainer plate is mounted on a groove configured on an outer ring of the bearing,
and the snap ring is used to limit the axial motion of the retainer plate with respect to
the bearing. However, the assembly is time consuming and costly as well, since
separate snap rings are also used in the assembly.
15 Therefore, there is felt a need for a retainer plate that overcomes the requirement of
snap ring during assembly with the conventional bearing retainer assemblies.
OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein
satisfies, are as follows:
20 An object of the present disclosure is to provide a retainer plate for bearing assembly
that does not involve the use of snap rings.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a retainer plate for bearing
assembly that facilitates thickness reduction of the transmission housing.
3
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the
following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present
disclosure.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure envisages a retainer plate and bearing assembly. The bearin5 g
retainer assembly comprises a bearing which includes an inner ring, and an outer ring,
wherein the outer ring has at least one groove configured along an outer periphery
thereof. At least one rolling element is disposed between the inner ring and the outer
ring to facilitate relative rotary movement of the inner ring with respect to the outer
10 ring. The bearing retainer assembly further comprises a retainer plate having an
aperture configured thereon for facilitating the fitment of the outer ring within the
retainer plate. The aperture has at least one pair of tabs configured along a periphery
thereof. The pair of tabs is configured to be received on one of the at least one
groove, subsequent to which the pair of tabs are pressed against each other to
15 facilitate abutment of the pair of tabs with the outer ring at locations on one of the
grooves, thereby facilitating locking of the outer ring with respect to the retainer
plate.
In an embodiment, the at least one groove includes a main groove and a sub groove
configured on the main groove, wherein the pair of tabs are configured to be fitted on
20 the sub groove.
In an embodiment, the retainer plate has a plurality of mounting holes configured
thereon.
In an embodiment, the retainer plate has a polygonal shape. In another embodiment,
the retainer plate has an irregular hexagonal shape.
25
4
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWING
A retainer plate for bearing assembly of the present disclosure will now be described
with the help of the accompanying drawing, in which:
Fig. 1 illustrates an isometric view of a bearing retainer assembly, in accordance with
an embodiment of the present disclosure5 ;
Fig. 2 illustrates an isometric cut view of a bearing used in the bearing retainer
assembly of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 illustrates a front view of the bearing of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 illustrates a front view of a retainer plate used in the bearing retainer assembly
10 of Fig. 1;
Fig. 5A and Fig. 5B illustrate front views of a pair of tabs of the retainer plate of Fig.
4; and
Fig. 6 illustrates a schematic cut view of the bearing retainer assembly being mounted
on a transmission housing.
15 DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In developing countries, manual transmission vehicles and dual clutch transmission
vehicles are becoming more popular by the day. It is required that the bearings used
in the aforementioned transmissions have greater rigidity to help reduce the overall
length of the transmission. To this end, retainer plates have been developed in the art
20 for use with the conventional ball bearings. As a result, retainer plate equipped ball
bearings are increasingly being used for such applications. A conventional bearing
retainer assembly typically comprises a bearing, a retainer plate, and the snap ring.
The retainer plate is mounted on a groove configured on an outer ring of the bearing,
5
and the snap ring is used to limit the axial motion of the retainer plate with respect to
the bearing. However, the assembly is time consuming and the costly as well, since
separate snap rings are also used in the assembly.
In order to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, the present disclosure envisages
a retainer plate for bearing assembly that does not involve the use of snap rings, 5 , and
that facilitates thickness reduction of the transmission housing.
A retainer plate and bearing assembly 100, in accordance with the present disclosure,
is now described with reference to Fig. 1 through Fig. 5B. The bearing retainer
assembly 100 comprises a bearing 102 which includes an inner ring 102A, and an
10 outer ring 102B. The outer ring 102B has at least one groove configured along an
outer periphery thereof. At least one rolling element 106 is disposed between the
inner ring 102A and the outer ring 102B to facilitate relative rotary movement of the
inner ring with respect to the outer ring. A bearing cage 102C is also provided for
securely holding the rolling element 106 between the inner ring 102A and the outer
15 ring 102B. The bearing retainer assembly 100 further comprises a retainer plate 108
having an aperture 110 configured thereon for facilitating the fitment of the outer ring
102B within the retainer plate 108. The aperture 110 has at least one pair of tabs 112
configured along a periphery thereof. The pair of tabs 112 is configured to be
received on one of the at least one groove 104B, subsequent to which the pair of tabs
20 112 are pressed against each other to facilitate abutment of the pair of tabs 112 with
the outer ring at locations on one of the grooves 104B, thereby facilitating locking of
the outer ring 102B with respect to the retainer plate 108. In an embodiment, the at
least one groove 104A, 104B includes a main groove 104A and a sub groove 104B
configured on the main groove 104A, wherein the pair of tabs 112 are configured to
25 be fitted on the sub groove 104B. The operative configuration of the bearing retainer
assembly 100 has been described in more detail in the subsequent sections of the
present disclosure.
6
In an embodiment, the retainer plate 108 has a plurality of mounting holes 114
configured thereon to facilitate the mounting of the retainer plate 108 onto
transmission housing. In an embodiment, the retainer plate 108 has a polygonal
shape. In another embodiment, the retainer plate 108 has an irregular hexagonal
shape5 .
The operative configuration of the bearing retainer assembly 100 is now described
with reference to Fig. 3 through Fig. 5B. It is to be noted that the diameter of the
outer ring 102B of the bearing 102 is denoted by “D”. The diameter of the main
groove 104A is denoted by “D1”, and the diameter of the sub-groove 104B is denoted
10 by “D2”. Furthermore, the diameter of the aperture 110 of the retainer plate is
denoted by “D3” when the pair of tabs 112 are not is a pressed configuration, whereas
the diameter of the aperture 110 is denoted by “D4”, when the pair of tabs 112 are
pressed against each other.
To lock the retainer plate 108 with respect to the outer ring 102B, the bearing 102 is
15 inserted into the aperture 110 until the main groove 104A configured on the outer
ring 102B is completely received within the aperture 110, and the outer ring 102B
abuts the retainer plate 108 along the periphery of the aperture 110. The partial
insertion of the outer ring 102B into the aperture 110 is facilitated by the difference of
diameters. More specifically, the diameter D3 of the aperture 110 is greater than D1
20 of the main groove 104A, which allows obstruction free insertion of the main groove
portion of the outer ring 102B into the aperture 110. After the insertion of the main
groove portion, the portion of the outer ring 102B beyond the main groove portion
outer ring 102B has a diameter D which is greater than the diameter D3 of the
aperture 110, thereby causing the abutment of the outer ring 102B with the retainer
25 plate 108.
The pair of tabs 112 are configured on the retainer plate 108 such that the pair of tabs
112 is received in the sub-groove 104B. It should be noted that subsequent to the
7
entry of the pair of tabs 112 into the sub-groove 104B, the pair of tabs 112 are
pressed against each other, by a tool such as prongs, to define a diameter D4 which is
smaller than the diameter D2 of the sub-groove 104B. This causes the pair of tabs 112
to abut the surface of the sub-groove 104B in a manner that is tight enough of
facilitate the locking of the retainer plate 108 with respect to the outer ring 102B 5 of
the bearing 102.
Fig. 6 illustrates a schematic cut view of the bearing retainer assembly 100 being
mounted on a transmission housing 200. As seen in Fig. 6, the inner ring 102A is
supported on a transmission shaft 202. The retainer plate 108 has a configuration that
10 facilitates the reduction of the transmission housing 200, thereby reducing the weight
of the transmission housing 200. As seen in Fig. 6, the thickness of the transmission
housing is reduced by “T” mm, which is nothing but the thickness of the retainer
plate 108. The reduced weight of the transmission housing 200, in turn, improves the
vehicle efficiency.
15 Furthermore, the configuration of the bearing retainer assembly 100 is such that the
axial locking of the retainer plate 108 with respect of the bearing 102 is facilitated by
the construction of the retainer plate 108 and the bearing 102. A separate component
like a snap ring, is not required to lock the relative axial movement of the retainer
plate 108 and the bearing 102. Therefore, since the use of a separate component is
20 prevented, the assembly of the bearing retainer assembly 100, as disclosed in the
present disclosure, is fairly simple and not as time consuming as the conventional
bearing retainer assemblies involving the use of the snap rings.
TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS
The present disclosure described herein above has several technical advantages
25 including, but not limited to, the realization of a retainer plate for bearing assembly
that:
8
 does not involve the use of snap rings; and
 facilitates thickness reduction of the transmission housing.
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof
are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following
description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques a5 re
omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples
used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the
embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to
practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed
10 as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general
nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge,
readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments
without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and
15 modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and
range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the
phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not
of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms
of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the
20 embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of
the embodiments as described herein.
Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises”
or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element,
integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any
25 other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.
9
The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more
elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the
disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like that has
been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context 5 t for
the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters
form a part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field
relevant to the disclosure as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this
application.
10 While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and
component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many
embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred
embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other
changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the disclosure
15 will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to
be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted
merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.

WE CLAIM:
1. A retainer plate and bearing assembly (100) comprising:
a bearing (102) which includes:
an inner ring (102A);
an outer ring (102B) having at least one groove (104A, 104B5 )
configured along an outer periphery of said outer ring (102B);
at least one rolling element (106) disposed between said inner ring
(102A) and said outer ring (102B) to facilitate relative rotary movement
of said inner ring (102A) with respect to said outer ring (102B);
10 a retainer plate (108) having an aperture (110) configured thereon for
facilitating the fitment of said outer ring within said retainer plate (108);
at least one pair of tabs provided configured along a periphery of said aperture
(110), said pair of tabs (112) adapted to be received within said at least one
groove (104A, 104B) subsequent to which said pair of tabs (112) are pressed
15 against each other to facilitate abutment of said pair of tabs (112) with said outer
ring (102B) at locations within said at least one groove (104A, 104B), thereby
facilitating locking of said outer ring (102B) with respect to said retainer plate
(108).
2. The retainer plate and bearing assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
20 at least one groove (104A, 104B) includes:
a main groove (104A); and
a sub groove (104B) configured on said main groove (104A), wherein said
pair of tabs (112) are configured to be fitted on said sub groove (104B).
3. The retainer plate and bearing assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
25 retainer plate (110) has a plurality of mounting holes (114) configured thereon.
11
4. The retainer plate and bearing assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
retainer plate (108) has a polygonal shape.
5. The retainer plate and bearing (100) assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
retainer plate (108) has an irregular hexagonal shape.