Rolling bearings are widely used in various mechanical applications, including the automotive field. One type of rolling bearing is an angular contact rolling bearing. Tandem ball bearings are a type of angular contact rolling bearing and include two sets of rolling elements that run on axially and radially spaced apart raceways defined on an inner and outer ring. Tapered roller bearings are another type of angular contact rolling bearing and include a single inner and outer raceway with a plurality of rolling elements located therebetween. Both angular contact tandem roller bearings and tapered roller bearings are typically mounted on a shaft and abut a housing on an outer surface for supporting axial and radial loads. In both angular contact tandem rolling bearings and tapered roller bearings, the inner and outer rings must have proper contact with the housing and shaft to keep the rolling bearing assembled and working properly. Existing angular contact rolling bearings include inner and outer rings with large cross sectional areas for abutting the housing and shaft, and are generally rectilinear in cross-section, sometimes including radiuses or chamfered edge regions to allow a tight fit as well as provide for easier handling.
It would be desirable reduce the cross sectional areas of the inner and outer rings to reduce the mass of the angular contact rolling bearing while still providing adequate abutment surfaces for mounting the inner and outer rings between the shaft and housing. Additionally, reducing the cross sectional area of a rolling bearing would also lower the amount of material required to form the rolling bearing, reducing the cycle time to form the inner and outer rings, as well as post formation processing. The angular contact rolling bearing with the reduced cross sectional area should still provide proper stiffness and loading capacity to support the anticipated rolling bearing loads.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds