Preloaded ball bearing screw and nut mechanism

Claim 1

A BALL BEARING NUT AND SCREW MECHANISM THE NUT COMPONENTS OF WHICH HAVE BEEN ROTATABLY ADJUSTED RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER TO REMOVE LOOSENESS BETWEEN THE PARTS AND THEREAFTER FURTHER ROTATED TO PLACE THE LOAD-BEARING CONTACTING SURFACES UNDER ELASTIC DEFORMATION THEREBY TO REMOVE ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF LOOSENESS BETWEEN THE PARTS WHICH WOULD OTHERWISE BE CREATED AS SAID MECHANISM IS PLACED UNDER LOAD AND SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCING IF NOT ELIMINATING THIS ADDITIONAL SOURCE OF PLAY BETWEEN THE COMPONENTS; SAID MECHAISM COMPRISING A HELICALLY GROOVED SCREW; A PLURALITY OF CONTINUOUS NUT RING MEANS ENCIRCLING SAID SCREW AND HAVING INTERNAL HELICAL GROOVES OF THE SAME PITCH AS SAID SCREW GROOVE, SAID NUT RING MEANS BEING PROVIDED WITH INDEPENDENT BALL RETURN PASSAGES THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF WHICH COMMUNICATE SMOOTHLY WITH THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE HELICAL GROOVES IN SAID NUT RING MEANS AT CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED POINTS THEREALONG; SAID BALL RETURN PASSAGES AND THE ASSOCIATED INTERVENING PORTION OF SAID HELICAL GROOVE PROVIDING A CIRCUIT FOR A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY DISTRIBUTED ENDLESS CIRCUIT OF BALLS PRESENT THEREIN; MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID NUT RING MEANS RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER AND INTO AXIAL ABUTMENT TO PRELOAD AND ELASTICALLY DEFORM ALL BALLS IN CONTACT WITH SAID SCREW AND THE AREAS OF SAID HELICAL GROOVES IN CONTACT THEREWITH THEREBY TO PRELOAD SAID MECHANISM BY FORCES CONFINED TO SAID NUT RING MEANS, TO SAID BALLS AND TO SCREW AND LEAVING SAID NUT RING MEANS FREE TO ROTATE AS A UNIT IN EITHER DIRECTION ABOUT THE AXIS OF SAID SCREW; PASSAGE MEANS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY ACROSS SAID PRELOAD NUT RING MEANS AND ARRANGED TO BE MISALIGNED WHEN SAID NUT RINGS ARE ROTATED SUFFICIENTLY TO REMOVE BACKLASH AND TO BE IN AXIAL ALIGNMENT WHEN SAID NUT RING MEANS ARE ROTATED FURTHER AND UNTIL SAID BALLS AND NUT RINGS ARE PRELOAD TO A DESIRED PREDETERMINED LOAD VALUE; AND RIGID KEEPER MEANS EXTENDING THROUGH AND SECURED WITHIN SAID ALIGNED PASSAGES FOR HOLDING SAID PRELOADED NUT RING MEANS RIGIDLY LOCKED PRELOADED AND AGAINST ROTATION IN EITHER DIRECTION RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER.