Linear motion roller bearing

Claim 1

In a linear roller bearing assembly having a cylindrical outer sleeve with a central bore, a cage within said bore having outwardly extending axial projections, said bore and said cage projections defining a plurality of continuous ball circulation paths, each of said circulation paths comprising an axially-extending load-bearing channel in said bore, an axially-extending non-loaded return channel laterally adjacent said load-bearing channel, and two semi-circular channels interconnecting said load-bearing channel and said return channel, and load-carrying balls which are guided in said continuous ball circulation paths, the improvement comprising: said cylindrical outer sleeve comprising a unitary cylindrical outer sleeve having axially-extending load-carrying flat lands, extending radially inwardly of said outer sleeve, each said flat land forming a part of a respective load-bearing channel, and accompanying return channel grooves, each said return channel groove forming a part of a respective non-loaded return channel, each said return channel groove having a substantially flat deformation lying outwardly of and extending laterally from and substantially parallel with a respective land and being blended with a curved ball-conforming shape along the axial length thereof laterally outwardly of said respective land, whereby guidance is provided to said balls through said return channel, said cage comprising a unitary cage within said outer sleeve, said outwardly extending axial projections of said cage being spaced from each other a distance and having outwardly extending lengths so that a respective load-carrying land is straddled between one said axial projection separating laterally adjacent load-bearing and non-loaded return channels of a respective circulation path and another said axial projection forming a lateral outer wall of said load-bearing channel of said circulation path, with some play, said projections forming at their axially extending inner portions load-carrying axially extending depressions and non-loaded axially-extending depressions, each said load-carrying depression being located directly opposite a respective land and having an opening in the axial direction for bearing of said load-carrying balls on a loaded surface and said respective land, and each of said non-loaded axially-extending depressions being formed so that it is located directly opposite a respective return channel groove, the laterally outward side thereof being curved along the same curvature as the ball conforming shape of a respective laterally outward axial length of a respective return channel groove.