Antifriction bearing construction having orbiting ball arrangement

Claim 1

AN ANTIFRICTION BEARING ASSEMBLY FOR AN AXIALLY MOVABLE MEMBER COMPRISING AN OUTER TUBULAR SLEEVE OF ANNULAR CROSS SECTION FORMED WITH A PLURALITY OF LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED PASSAGE DEFINING A FIRST SET OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SEPARATED, BALL-RECEIVING RACEWAYS; A PLURALITY OF RELATIVELY CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED, LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING AND PARALLEL SEPARATOR SEGMENTS DISPOSED RADIALLY INWARDLY OF SAID OUTER SLEEVE AND FORMING A SECOND SET OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SEPARATED, LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING, BALL-RECEIVING RACEWAYS DISPOSED RADIALLY INWARDLY FROM SAID FIRST SET OF RACEWAYS, SAID SEPARATOR SEGMENTS DEFINING IN SAID SLEEVE A CIRCUMFERENTIALLY INTERRUPTED CYLINDRICAL BORE FOR THE RECEPTION OF AN ASSOCIATED AXIALLY MOVABLE MEMBER, AND EACH OF SAID SECOND SET OF RACEWAYS OPENING RADIALLY INWARDLY OF SAID BORE; A MULTIPLICITY OF SPHERICAL BALLS SUBSTANTIALLY FILLING EACH OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND SETS OF RACEWAYS, THE BALLS OCCUPYING SAID SECOND SET OF RACEWAYS EACH HAVING SPHERICAL SEGMENTS THEREOF PROJECTING RADIALLY INWARDLY OF SAID BORE FOR ROLLING ENGAGEMENT WITH AN AXIALLY MOVABLE MEMBER POSITIONED IN SAID BORE; AND END MEMBERS POSITIONED AT AND CONNECTED WITH THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID SLEEVE FOR HOLDING SAID SEPARATOR SEGMENTS IN THEIR AFORESAID POSITIONS WITHIN SAID SLEEVE, EACH END MEMBER BEING FORMED WITH A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED GROOVES DEFINING BALL CROSS-OVER PASSAGES BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND SETS OF RACEWAYS, EACH OF THE GROOVES OF THE RESPECTIVE END MEMBERS BEING ARRANGED TO CONNECT ONE RACEWAY OF SAID FIRST SET OF RACEWAYS WITH ONE RACEWAY OF SAID SECOND SET OF RACEWAYS TO THEREBY PROVIDE FOR THE TRANSFER OF BALLS FROM ONE OF SAID SETS OF RACEWAYS TO THE OTHER.