Field of the Disclosure:
The present disclosure generally relates to roller bearings.
More particularly, the present disclosure relates to retaining arrangement for retaining roller elements of the roller bearing in place.
Background:
Roller bearings support loads by placing rolling elements between two raceways such that relative motion of the raceways causes the roller elements to roll with very minimum rolling resistance. A large variety of roller bearings such as cylindrical roller bearing, needle roller bearing, taper roller bearing and spherical roller bearing with single row, double row and four row arrangement are known in the prior art and are classified based on the roller elements used. However, due to the various types of loads acting on the rolling elements, the rolling elements are prone to get displaced from their position and adversely hamper the efficiency of roller bearings.
Conventionally, roller elements of roller bearings are supported between spaced apart retainer plates that retain the roller elements in a desired position and restrain any un-desirable movement, particularly, axial movement of the roller elements due to various types of loads acting on the roller elements. The retainer plates are typically in form of turned rings configured from steel having A.I.S.I (American iron and steel institute) 1020 grade. The roller elements are supported on roller pins supported between the pair of spaced apart retainer plates in form of rings, wherein the first retainer plate of the pair of spaced apart retainer plates is generally referred to as a large end plate and the second retainer plate of the pair of spaced apart retainer plates is referred to as a small end plate. However, such a configuration of retainer plates used for retaining
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the roller elements requires more material for manufacturing and accordingly increases the overall manufacturing cost of the roller bearings. Still further, conventionally known retainer arrangements fail to efficiently retain the rollers when the roller bearing are subject to high thrust loads. Further, conventional retainer arrangements involve relatively larger number of steps for manufacturing elements thereof and accordingly the manufacturing cost and time associated with manufacturing of the conventional retainer arrangements is high. Further, manufacturing of the elements of the conventional retainer arrangement is complex. Still further, conventionally known retainer arrangements for roller bearing adversely affect lubrication effect, thereby reducing the service life of the roller bearings.
Accordingly, there is a need for replacing conventionally known roller retainer arrangements with an improved retainer arrangement configured from materials exhibiting enhanced mechanical properties, thereby enabling the retainer arrangement in efficiently supporting and retaining the roller elements in a desired position even under adverse operational conditions such as high thrust loads acting on the roller bearings. Furthermore, there is a need for a retainer arrangement that requires less material for manufacturing elements thereof and accordingly leads to material saving. Further, there is a need for a retainer arrangement that requires fewer steps for manufacturing elements thereof and makes the assembly of the roller bearing easy. Again, there is a need for a retainer arrangement for roller bearings that reduce overall manufacturing costs associated with roller bearings. There is a need for a retainer arrangement that enhances service life and maintainability of roller bearings. There is a need for a retainer arrangement that enhances lubricating effect, thereby increasing service life of roller bearings. Further, there is a need for a retainer arrangement configured from elements that can be easily manufactured. There is a need for a
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retainer arrangement that leads to cost saving, material saving and is lighter than conventional retainer arrangements.
Objects:
Some of the objects of the present disclosure which at least one embodiment satisfies, are described herein below:
It is an object of the present disclosure to ameliorate one or more problems of the prior art or to at least provide a useful alternative.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a retainer arrangement for effectively supporting and retaining roller elements of roller bearings.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a retainer arrangement for the roller bearings that enhances service life of the roller bearings.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a retainer arrangement for the roller bearings that enhances maintainability of the roller bearings.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a retainer arrangement for the roller bearings that enhances strength and load bearing capacity of the retainer assembly.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a retainer arrangement that requires less material for manufacturing retaining elements thereof and accordingly leads to material saving and cost saving.
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Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a retainer arrangement for roller bearings that reduces manufacturing costs associated with the roller bearings.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a retainer arrangement that requires fewer steps for manufacturing elements thereof.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a retainer arrangement that requires less time for manufacturing roller bearings.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
A retainer arrangement for retaining roller elements of a roller bearing is disclosed in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The retainer arrangement includes a pair of spaced apart retainer plates and a plurality of roller pins. The pair of spaced apart retainer plates is configured from hot rolled structural steel angles. The plurality of roller pins are supported between the pair of spaced apart retainer plates, each roller pin supports a roller element and restrains any un-desirable movement of the roller element.
Typically, the hot rolled structural steel angles has L-shaped cross-section.
Alternatively, the hot rolled structural steel angles has I-shaped cross-section.
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In accordance with another embodiment, the hot rolled structural steel angles has U-shaped cross-section.
Brief Description of the Accompanying Drawings:
The retainer arrangement for roller bearings will now be explained in relation to the non limiting accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure la illustrates a prior art retainer arrangement configured from rolled rings of A.I.S.I 1020 grade steel;
Figurelb illustrates another view of the retainer arrangement of Figure la for
supporting and retaining roller elements;
Figure 2a illustrates a retainer arrangement in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2b illustrates another view of the retainer arrangement of Figure 2a; and
Figure 3a-Figure3d illustrates cross sections of different angles used for configuring the retainer arrangement in accordance with different embodiments of the present disclosure.
Detailed Description:
The retainer arrangement of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which do not limit the scope and ambit of the disclosure. The description provided is purely by way of example and illustration.
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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 are 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 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 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 embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
Roller elements of roller bearings are generally supported between spaced apart retainer plates that retain the roller elements in a desired position and restrain any un-desirable movement of the roller elements due to various types of loads acting on the roller elements. The retainer plates known in the art are in form of turned rings configured from steel of American Iron and Steel Institute (A.I.S.I)
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1020 grade. Figure la and Figure lb illustrate a prior art retainer arrangement 10 configured from rolled rings 12a and 12b of A.I.S.I 1020 grade steel. The roller elements 14 are supported on roller pins 16 that in turn are supported between the pair of spaced apart retainer plates 12a and 12b in the form of rings, wherein the first retainer plate 12a is generally referred to as large end plate and the second retainer plate 12b is referred to as small end plate. More specifically, the first retainer plate 12a and the second retainer plate 12b include aligned apertures for facilitating passage and support of the roller pins 16. However, such a configuration of the retainer plates 12a and 12b used for retaining the roller elements 14 requires more material for manufacturing and accordingly increases overall manufacturing cost and weight of the roller bearings.
Still further, the conventionally known retainer arrangement 10 fails to efficiently retain the rollers when the roller bearing is subject to high thrust loads. Further, the conventional retainer arrangement 10 involves relatively larger number of steps for manufacturing elements thereof and accordingly the manufacturing cost and time associated with of the conventional retainer arrangement 10 is high. Further, the manufacturing of the elements of the conventional retainer arrangement 10 is complex. Still further, the conventionally known retainer arrangement 10 for the roller bearing adversely affects lubrication effect, thereby reducing service life of the roller bearings. Referring to Figure lb of the accompanying drawing the race of the roller bearing may have a double cone structure.
The retainer arrangement in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure uses hot rolled structural steel angles instead of turned rings configured from steel of American Iron and Steel Institute (A.I.S.I) 1020 grade, resulting in material saving. More specifically, use of hot rolled structural steel
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angles for configuring the retainer plates of the retainer arrangement results in material saving and the overall weight of the roller bearing is reduced by around 8-20 percent without compromising the strength and load bearing capacity of the roller bearings.
Figure 2a and Figure 2b illustrate different views of the retainer arrangement 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The retainer arrangement utilizes rolled structural steel angles of different cross sections instead of rolled rings configured from steel of American Iron and Steel Institute (A.I.S.I) 1020 grade for configuring the retainer plates 112a and 112b. The retainer plates 112a and 112b are welded in a spaced apart configuration to the raceways of the roller bearings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to any particular method for securing the retainer plates 112a and 112b onto the raceway of the roller bearing. The retainer plates 112a and 112b configured from rolled structural steel angles are lighter in weight than conventional retainer plates configured from steel of American Iron and Steel Institute (A.I.S.I) 1020 grade but still exhibit more or same strength than conventional retainer plates. The roller elements 114 are supported on roller pins 116 that in turn are supported between the pair of spaced apart retainer plates 112a and 112b. More specifically, the first retainer plate 112a and the second retainer plate 112b include aligned apertures for facilitating passage and support of the roller pins 116. The apertures may be configured on the first retainer plate 112a and the second retainer plate 112b by drilling operation. However, the present disclosure is not limited to any particular method for configuring the apertures on the first retainer plate 112a and the second retainer plate 112b. Such a configuration of the retainer plates 112a and 112b used for retaining the roller elements 114 requires less material for manufacturing and accordingly decreases the overall manufacturing cost and weight of the roller bearing.
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Figure 3a - Figure 3d illustrates different cross sections of the rolled structural steel angles that are used for configuring the retainer plates 112a and 112b in accordance with various embodiments of the retainer arrangement 100 of the present disclosure. As the retainer plates 112a and 112b are configured from angles illustrated in Figures 3a - 3d, lesser number of steps are involved in configuring the retainer arrangement 100. Accordingly, manufacturing of the retainer arrangement 100 is easy and requires less time. Further, the retainer arrangement 100 provides more open space and increases lubrication effect, thereby increasing service life of the roller bearing.
Technical Advantages and economic significance:
The retaining arrangement for retaining roller elements of the roller bearing in place in accordance with the present disclosure has several technical advantages including but not limited to the realization of:
• a retainer arrangement for effectively supporting and retaining roller elements of a roller bearing;
• a retainer arrangement for a roller bearing that enhances the service life of the roller bearing;
• a retainer arrangement for a roller bearing that enhances the maintainability of the roller bearing;
• a retainer arrangement that requires less material for manufacturing elements thereof and accordingly leads to material saving and cost saving;
• a retainer arrangement for a roller bearing that reduces the manufacturing costs associated with the roller bearing;
• a retainer arrangement that requires less number of steps for manufacturing elements thereof; and
• a retainer arrangement that is simple in construction.
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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 other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.
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 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.
The numerical values mentioned for the various physical parameters, dimensions or quantities are only approximations and it is envisaged that the values higher/lower than the numerical values assigned to the parameters, dimensions or quantities fall within the scope of the disclosure, unless there is a statement in the specification specific to the contrary.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the particular features of this disclosure, it will be appreciated that various modifications 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 modifications in the nature of the disclosure or the preferred embodiments 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.
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We Claim:
1. A retainer arrangement for retaining roller elements of a roller bearing,
said retainer arrangement comprising:
• a pair of spaced apart retainer plates configured from hot rolled structural steel angles; and
• a plurality of roller pins supported between said pair of spaced apart retainer plates, each roller pin adapted to support a roller element and restrain any un-desirable movement of said roller element.

2. The retainer arrangement for retaining roller elements of a roller bearing as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hot rolled structural steel angles has L-shaped cross-section.
3. The retainer arrangement for retaining roller elements of a roller bearing as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hot rolled structural steel angles has I-shaped cross-section.
4. The retainer arrangement for retaining roller elements of a roller bearing as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hot rolled structural steel angles has U-shaped cross-section.