US3579780A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method of making a bearing having a full complement of balls
Assignee: Torrington Co Ltd
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Filing: 1968-09-09
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Granted: 1971-05-25
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Expires: 1988-09-09
Abstract
Abstract A bearing having a full complement of balls is described wherein an outer ring is made of a wrought heat-resistant alloy and provided with a depth-of-track to ball-diameter ratio of at least 1 : 10. Cobalt base and nickel base alloys or a combination thereof have been found to be particularly useful with this type of bearing. A method of making the bearing includes preassembling a bearing structure by placing a thermally expanded conical outer ring over an assembly comprising an inner ring and a full complement of balls within the inner ring face. Subsequently, the conical outer ring is compressed to bring a tapered portion thereof towards the balls and produce the desired depth-of-track to ball-diameter ratio with final radial clearance and fit. A particular selection of component parameters is described for the manufacture of the device.
Inventors
- 👤 Richard J Matt
- 👤 Ronald E Restelli
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 14:01
CPC Classifications
F; F16; F16C; F16C33/00; F16C33/30; F16C33/58; F16C33/64; F16C43/00; F16C43/04; F16C43/06; F16C43/08; F16C2240/00; F16C2240/40; F16C2240/70; F16C2240/80; F16C2240/82; F16C2240/84; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T29/00; Y10T29/49; Y10T29/49636; Y10T29/49643; Y10T29/49679; Y10T29/49682; Y10T29/49684; Y10T29/49826; Y10T29/4984; Y10T29/49863; Y10T29/49865
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
182 words
A method of fabricating a bearing having a full complement of balls, comprising forming an inner ring having an annular hardened concave raceway about its external periphery and located between axially displacEd shoulders, forming from a wrought heatresistance material a conically shaped outer ring having a concave raceway of a preselected curvature substantially that of the balls, said outer ring raceway being formed between a first annular radially inward shoulder and a second radially inward annular shoulder having a larger inside diameter than the inside diameter of said first annular shoulder, mounting a full complement of balls of preselected diameter around the raceway of the inner ring wherein the external diameter of the assembly of mounted balls is selected to slightly exceed and thus interfere with said diameter of said second annular shoulder, transiently thermally treating one of said rings with respect to the other of said rings to an extent sufficient to transiently eliminate said interference, axially overlapping said outer ring over said assembly of mounted balls, and compressing the outer ring towards the balls to close said conical outer ring.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
182 words
A method of fabricating a bearing having a full complement of balls, comprising forming an inner ring having an annular hardened concave raceway about its external periphery and located between axially displacEd shoulders, forming from a wrought heatresistance material a conically shaped outer ring having a concave raceway of a preselected curvature substantially that of the balls, said outer ring raceway being formed between a first annular radially inward shoulder and a second radially inward annular shoulder having a larger inside diameter than the inside diameter of said first annular shoulder, mounting a full complement of balls of preselected diameter around the raceway of the inner ring wherein the external diameter of the assembly of mounted balls is selected to slightly exceed and thus interfere with said diameter of said second annular shoulder, transiently thermally treating one of said rings with respect to the other of said rings to an extent sufficient to transiently eliminate said interference, axially overlapping said outer ring over said assembly of mounted balls, and compressing the outer ring towards the balls to close said conical outer ring.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1, in which said interference is restored after the thermal transient and prior to compressing the outer ring.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 1, in which said transient thermal treatment involves rapid heating of the outer ring.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 3, in which said heating is by electromagnetic induction.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said outer ring is made of a material selected from the group consisting of wrought heat-resistant nickel and cobalt base alloys.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
105 words
The method as recited in claim 5, wherein said outer ring is made of a material comprising 10 to 30 percent by weight of chromium, up to about 15 percent by weight of molybdenum, up to about 20 percent by weight of tungsten, up to about 8 percent by weight of columbium, up to about 6 percent by weight of titanium, up to about 6 percent by weight of aluminum, up to about 30 percent iron, and substantially the balance at least about 40 percent by weight of a metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, cobalt and a combination of nickel and cobalt.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
62 words
The method as recited in claim 6, wherein said outer ring is made of a material comprising between 10 to 30 percent chromium, 5 to 25 percent nickel, up to about 10 percent molybdenum, about 2 to 20 percent tungsten, up to about 5 percent columbium, up to about 10 percent iron and substantially the balance at least about 40 percent cobalt.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
69 words
The method as recited in claim 6, wherein said outer ring is made of a material comprising about 10 to 30 percent chromium, up to about 30 percent cobalt, up to about 10 percent molybdenum, up to about 5 percent tungsten, up to about 5 percent columbium, about 1 to 5 percent titanium, about 1 to 5 percent aluminum, and substantially the balance of at least 40 percent nickel.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the external diameter of the complement of balls mounted around the raceway of the inner ring exceeds by between 0.002 and 0.007 inch the inside diameter of the shoulder having the larger inside diameter.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method as recited in claim 9, wherein said heat-applying step comprises heating said outer ring to a temperature between 600* and 1,000* Fahrenheit.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method as recited in claim 4, wherein said heating step comprises mounting an induction coil in surrounding relationship with said outer ring and passing an electric current therethrough for expanding said outer ring.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
186 words
The method of making a bearing having inner and outer race rings spaced and retained by a full complement of balls, comprising the steps of selecting a finished hardened inner-ring member and supporting a full complement of balls around and in the raceway thereof, forming from selected hardened ductile material an annular frustoconical outer-ring with a raceway of curvature substantially matching tHat of the balls, the outer-ring raceway being defined between two circumferentially continuous shoulders of different minimum diameter, both shoulders radially overlapping and therefore interfering with the locus of outer limits of the balls, thermally expanding the outer ring to the point where the maximum-diameter shoulder will no longer substantially interfere with said locus, axially passing the maximum-diameter shoulder over the balls to the point of overlap of said rings, allowing the heated ring to cool, whereby both shoulders interfere with said locus to provide a retained subassembly of undeformed parts, and radially and axially deforming the outer ring to expand the outer-race curvature beyond that of the balls and to radially contract the outer ring into running relation with the balls and inner ring.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
186 words
The method of making a bearing having inner and outer race rings spaced and retained by a full complement of balls, comprising the steps of selecting a finished hardened inner-ring member and supporting a full complement of balls around and in the raceway thereof, forming from selected hardened ductile material an annular frustoconical outer-ring with a raceway of curvature substantially matching tHat of the balls, the outer-ring raceway being defined between two circumferentially continuous shoulders of different minimum diameter, both shoulders radially overlapping and therefore interfering with the locus of outer limits of the balls, thermally expanding the outer ring to the point where the maximum-diameter shoulder will no longer substantially interfere with said locus, axially passing the maximum-diameter shoulder over the balls to the point of overlap of said rings, allowing the heated ring to cool, whereby both shoulders interfere with said locus to provide a retained subassembly of undeformed parts, and radially and axially deforming the outer ring to expand the outer-race curvature beyond that of the balls and to radially contract the outer ring into running relation with the balls and inner ring.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method of claim 1, in which the outer ring is compressed before the thermal transient has subsided, whereby after compression, the return of the thermally treated ring to room temperature may serve a shrinking function in establishing a desired running relationship in the bearing.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 3, in which the heated preassembled outer ring is compressed before it has returned to room temperature.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 1, in which said transient thermal treatment involves chilling the inner ring.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 15, in which the preassembly with cooled inner ring is compressed before the inner ring has returned to room temperature.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US881471A
Cited
US3013327A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1974-05-24 | 1974-11-23 | 1975-05-25 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-05-24 | 1978-11-23 | 1979-05-25 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-05-24 | 1982-11-23 | 1983-05-25 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |