Linear motion bearings

Claim 1

A linear motion ball bearing comprising in combination an elongated inner member and an annular outer member surrounding the inner member, a plurality of axially extending grooves formed on the inner member, a plurality of axially extending slots formed in the outer member, the number of slots being equal to the number of grooves, a plurality of inserts disposed in the slots respectively, a groove defined in the face of each insert facing the inner member, the grooves on the inserts and the inner member-defining ball tracks, as a set of balls disposed in each track, a plurality of recesses formed in the outer member intermediate the slots respectively, said recesses being of gap sufficient to accommodate the balls, a pair of end plates disposed at the opposite ends of the outer member and a plurality of channels formed in the inner face of each end plate, the channels in one plate acting to divert balls ejected from the tracks into the return channels defined by the recesses and the channels in the other plate acting to divert the balls ejected from the return channels into the tracks.