US20110229312A1 - Rolling bearing assembly and wind turbine equipped therewith - Google Patents

Rolling bearing assembly and wind turbine equipped therewith Download PDF

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Publication number
US20110229312A1
US20110229312A1 US12/737,819 US73781909A US2011229312A1 US 20110229312 A1 US20110229312 A1 US 20110229312A1 US 73781909 A US73781909 A US 73781909A US 2011229312 A1 US2011229312 A1 US 2011229312A1
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United States
Prior art keywords
rolling bearing
cage
bearing assembly
rolling
spine
Prior art date
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Abandoned
Application number
US12/737,819
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English (en)
Inventor
Hubertus Frank
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IMO Holding GmbH
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IMO Holding GmbH
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Publication date
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Publication of US20110229312A1 publication Critical patent/US20110229312A1/en
Assigned to IMO HOLDING GMBH reassignment IMO HOLDING GMBH ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: FRANK, HUBERTUS
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16C—SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
    • F16C33/00—Parts of bearings; Special methods for making bearings or parts thereof
    • F16C33/30—Parts of ball or roller bearings
    • F16C33/38—Ball cages
    • F16C33/41—Ball cages comb-shaped
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16C—SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
    • F16C33/00—Parts of bearings; Special methods for making bearings or parts thereof
    • F16C33/30—Parts of ball or roller bearings
    • F16C33/38—Ball cages
    • F16C33/3806—Details of interaction of cage and race, e.g. retention, centring
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16C—SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
    • F16C33/00—Parts of bearings; Special methods for making bearings or parts thereof
    • F16C33/30—Parts of ball or roller bearings
    • F16C33/38—Ball cages
    • F16C33/3818—Ball cages formed of unconnected segments
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16C—SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
    • F16C33/00—Parts of bearings; Special methods for making bearings or parts thereof
    • F16C33/30—Parts of ball or roller bearings
    • F16C33/38—Ball cages
    • F16C33/42—Ball cages made from wire or sheet metal strips
    • F16C33/422—Ball cages made from wire or sheet metal strips made from sheet metal
    • F16C33/425—Ball cages made from wire or sheet metal strips made from sheet metal from a single part, e.g. ribbon cages with one corrugated annular part
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16C—SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
    • F16C19/00—Bearings with rolling contact, for exclusively rotary movement
    • F16C19/02—Bearings with rolling contact, for exclusively rotary movement with bearing balls essentially of the same size in one or more circular rows
    • F16C19/14—Bearings with rolling contact, for exclusively rotary movement with bearing balls essentially of the same size in one or more circular rows for both radial and axial load
    • F16C19/16—Bearings with rolling contact, for exclusively rotary movement with bearing balls essentially of the same size in one or more circular rows for both radial and axial load with a single row of balls
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16C—SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
    • F16C2300/00—Application independent of particular apparatuses
    • F16C2300/10—Application independent of particular apparatuses related to size
    • F16C2300/14—Large applications, e.g. bearings having an inner diameter exceeding 500 mm
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
    • Y02E10/70—Wind energy
    • Y02E10/72—Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction

Definitions

  • the invention is directed to a rolling bearing arrangement, particularly in the context of a (drivable) rotary joint, preferably for a main, blade and/or nacelle bearing of a wind turbine, comprising two annular connecting elements arranged concentrically to each other and at least regionally one inside the other, and comprising a gap between said connecting elements, such that the latter are rotatable in opposite directions about an imaginary axis at the center of the connecting elements and approximately perpendicular to the ring plane, wherein at least one raceway that is closed on itself in a circular shape in a plane and is provided for at least one row of rotationally symmetrical rolling bodies rolling between the connecting elements is disposed between the connecting elements in the region of a gap portion surrounding the axis of rotation at an approximately constant radius, wherein the rolling bodies of one row are guided at approximately equal spacings by a cage having at least one approximately disk-shaped region that is placed in a continuously circumferential, groove-shaped depression in the region of the raceway of one connecting element, and wherein the cage is shaped
  • Rolling bearings or rotary joints provided with rolling bearings—some of these being drivable joints—have applications in a great many areas.
  • Large rolling bearings for example with a raceway diameter of 1000 mm or more, are used, inter alia, in wind turbines, preferably in wind turbines having a wind wheel with one or more vanes and an axis of rotation that is pitched roughly parallel to the wind direction during operation.
  • Such large rolling bearings are relied on in particular to support the blades and the nacelle as a whole, but also to serve as the main bearing or rotor bearing supporting the hub of a wind turbine; with suitable dimensioning, they can absorb all the axial and radial forces and tilting moments that occur.
  • raceways In many such applications, for example in the case of blade bearings, preloaded, i.e. play-free, raceways are used.
  • One advantage of this is improved load distribution in the raceway system, and thus improved service life.
  • a frequent choice here is a four-point type of bearing, i.e., a bearing with spherical rolling bodies and two raceways shaped so that each ball has two contact points with each raceway.
  • Such bearings are easy to preload.
  • cage segments that are only loosely juxtaposed can create additional problems in preloaded bearings, since under the substantial forces acting on a large rolling bearing during operation, for example in a wind turbine, the individual cage segments can shift despite best efforts, as a result of which individual rolling bodies can jam and thus suffer increased wear.
  • the cage is completely interrupted in at least one location and is formed from a spring-elastic material, such that it can be elastically bent open and/or closed in the area, particularly the plane, of the approximately disk-shaped region.
  • a cage is preferably interrupted only once, and therefore, as a whole, is of one piece or simply connected. It is also possible, however—as may be the case with particularly large rolling bearings—to divide the cage two or three times, but, insofar as possible, no more than for example five times, preferably no more than four times, particularly no more than three times.
  • the spring-elastic material is capable of changing its bending radius so that it can be placed in a groove optimally and with minimal effort, for which purpose it first must be forcibly deformed in order to be slipped past the end face of an annular connecting element to the raceway of the latter; once in the groove provided for it, the cage relaxes again, rebounding toward its original shape.
  • the cage has proven advantageous for the cage to consist of a metal, for example steel, preferably spring steel or quenched and tempered steel.
  • a metal for example steel, preferably spring steel or quenched and tempered steel.
  • Such a material particularly has a high compressive strength, so that it can withstand the high forces inside a rolling bearing.
  • the spacers of the cage are connected to one another, such that three, more or all of the pockets each provided to receive a respective rolling body are connected to one another. Since displacements in the bearing are most likely to be caused by abutment locations between unconnected cage segments, these should be avoided insofar as possible.
  • the cage should be fashioned in such a way that should the distance between the end faces of two neighboring spacers change, their end faces do not deform, in particular their top and bottom edges do not shift in relation to each other. This is the only way to ensure that the rolling bodies will not jam even if the ring deforms, for example as a result of thermal expansion.
  • a preferred measure for obtaining high shear strength inside the cage is to make it from only one layer of material. At worst, macroscopic deformation of the material itself could cause jamming, but this is highly unlikely, especially if the cage is made of metal.
  • At least one spacer has a greater height than the spine region of the cage. This makes it possible to surround a ball over a large area; the ball can thus be constantly forced into the particular desired position with very low surface pressure, hence extremely gently and with the utmost freedom from wear.
  • All the pockets of the cage should be open on the opposite longitudinal side of the cage from the spine region. On the one hand, this gives the cage good flexibility, since the pockets can open or tighten, as required; on the other hand, in this way all the pockets can be filled with rolling bodies from the same side or raceway, i.e., through one and the same fill opening.
  • the cage has at least one designated bending area, preferably in its spine region. This can preferably be a narrowing of the cross section of the cage, where its resistance to bending is lower, due to the more or less homogeneous properties of the cage material.
  • At least one designated bending area preferably extends transversely to the circumferential direction of the rolling bearing, for instance following a line of smallest cross section through it.
  • At least one such designated bending area can be provided in the region of a (or each) spacer, since the spacers are located between two adjacent rolling bodies, and thus any deformation in this area, for example as a result of hyperextension during assembly, will not cause a rolling body to become jammed.
  • the invention recommends configuring at least one designated bending area as a notch in the cage, particularly in the end face of the spine region.
  • the cage is thereby intentionally given lines of weakness where it can deform under excessive loading without any adverse effect on its ability to function.
  • the maximum depth of at least one notch should approximately correspond to the minimum width of the spine region at the base of a pocket.
  • the spine region can be completely interrupted at the notch locations, such that the cage is held together only by the spacers at those locations. This gives the cage very high flexibility in the region of the spacers.
  • the spacers are not very deformable at all in their central vertical plane or plane of symmetry, but rather, right next to it*, i.e., approximately in or at the foot region of the two flanks of a spacer.
  • a notch should pass all the way through the spine region of the cage from its top face to its bottom face, so that the cage is uniformly flexible over the entire cross section of the spine and local overstrains are prevented.
  • At least one notch has rounded edges, preferably at the edges extending vertically relative to the base of the rolling bearing, particularly in the region of the transition between the flanks of the notch, i.e. at the base of the notch, and/or beyond its two flanks, i.e., at the transition into the adjacent spine region.
  • the rolling bodies are preferably embraced by the cage where their peripheral speed is highest as they roll, i.e., preferably approximately in the region of their equator.
  • the groove that guidingly receives the spine of the cage is located approximately centrally in the raceway of the connecting ring concerned, i.e., approximately at half the height of the raceway.
  • the rolling bodies are embraced over no more than 270° of their circumference, for example only over 230° of their circumference or less, preferably only over 190° or less, particularly only over approximately 180° of their circumference.
  • the spacing elements of the cage should not be too long, since their free ends move the most during bending, so the spacing between these ends can change considerably. In particular, inelastic deformation of individual portions of the cage—during assembly, for example—could therefore cause individual rolling bodies to jam.
  • the inner face of at least one pocket for receiving a respective rolling body is at least regionally given a concave curvature parallel to the plane of the rolling bearing, approximately at the level of the spine region of the cage, then such a hollow curvature can be optimally adapted to the convex surface curvature of a rolling body, so that in the embraced region only a very small gap remains between the rolling body and the cage pocket, and the rolling bodies can therefore be guided so at closely toleranced spacings.
  • the subsequent filling of the cage with rolling bodies is also facilitated particularly by the fact that after the cage is placed in the groove provided for it, the radius of the concavely curved region in the area, particularly the plane, of the spine region of the cage is equal to or greater than the equatorial radius of curvature of the rolling body received in the pocket concerned.
  • the rolling bodies can thus be introduced without any risk of jamming.
  • the invention is suited in particular for rolling bearings whose rolling bodies have a doubly curved, particularly doubly convexly curved, jacket surface or outer surface, preferably for spherical rolling bodies, particularly in the context of a four-point bearing.
  • the inner face of at least one pocket for receiving a respective rolling body has at least regionally a double concave curvature, i.e., is concavely curved in two mutually perpendicular directions.
  • Spherical rolling bodies in particular, can thus be embraced over a substantial area, making it possible to align the rolling bodies at uniform spacing with the least possible surface pressure, thus eliminating local overloading of the cage.
  • This aspect of the invention can be further enhanced in that the doubly concavely curved region of a pocket approximately follows the surface of a hemisphere or two spaced-apart quarter spheres, or follows one or two smaller segment(s) of a hollow sphere. A compromise is thereby reached between maximum encapsulation of a spherical rolling body and a large enough opening so that the balls can be subsequently introduced.
  • a spacer each follow a segment of the surface of a hollow sphere, preferably each approximately one fourth of the surface of a hollow sphere or a smaller portion thereof.
  • the pockets receiving the rolling bodies are symmetrical to a vertical plane extending centrally between two spacers, this results in an arrangement in which a spacer has two mutually symmetrical, doubly concavely curved flanks on its front side and back side, referred to the particular direction of rotation.
  • a rolling bearing arrangement according to the invention can, by all means, have two or more mutually offset rows of rolling bodies, the offset being in the axial direction of the bearing. Under these circumstances, cages according to the invention are preferably inserted in all the rows of rolling bodies.
  • One, more or all of the rows of rolling bodies can be fashioned in the manner of a four-point ball bearing, particularly in the manner of a preloaded four-point ball bearing.
  • a cage according to the invention is capable of applying the forces needed to align such preloaded rolling bodies without deformation.
  • the invention further provides that the gap between the two rings is sealed at one or preferably both end faces of the rolling bearing to keep out foreign bodies that might damage the raceways, the balls and/or the cage.
  • Sealing at both ends also makes it possible for the gap between the two rings, particularly within the two end-face seals, to be filled with a lubricant, particularly with grease. Since the grease cannot leak out, the regreasing interval can be chosen to be very long, which is especially advantageous precisely in the case of wind turbines, including, under some circumstances, in the offshore environment.
  • a filling channel that extends from one end face or jacket side to the raceway and serves to introduce rolling bodies, particularly balls. It has proven particularly effective to dispose the filling channel in an annular connecting element that does not have a groove for receiving the cage spine, so that the rolling bodies can be introduced into a pocket of the cage from the open side.
  • a filling channel can preferably open into a connecting-element jacket surface that faces the gap, so that it can extend in a straight line, i.e., parallel to the base plane of the bearing.
  • annular connecting elements comprise coronally distributed fastening means for connection to a frame, machine part or system part, preferably coronally distributed bores perpendicular to an end face.
  • the invention can be developed further by providing at least one of the annular connecting elements with a continuously circumferential row of teeth, particularly on a jacket surface disposed oppositely from the gap.
  • torques can be introduced into or tapped from the rotary joint, for example to deliberately move to a given angle of rotation and/or to keep the angle stable, and/or to drive the rotary joint.
  • the invention further provides a rotary drive, particularly one or more electric or hydraulic motors, for rotationally adjusting the two annular connecting elements relative to each other.
  • Such a rotary drive can, in this application, be coupled to a connecting element via a (respective) pinion, toothed wheel, worm or the like meshing with a continuously circumferential row of teeth of that connecting element, and can be affixed to the other annular connecting element or to a housing part or frame part attached thereto.
  • a (respective) pinion, toothed wheel, worm or the like meshing with a continuously circumferential row of teeth of that connecting element, and can be affixed to the other annular connecting element or to a housing part or frame part attached thereto.
  • a rolling bearing according to the invention preferably finds application as a rotor bearing or main bearing of a wind turbine, and/or—particularly in the form of a rotary drive with an inwardly or outwardly toothed connecting ring—as a blade bearing of a wind turbine, and/or as a nacelle bearing of a wind turbine.
  • a wind turbine according to the invention is distinguished by a rotor bearing or main bearing configured according to the criteria articulated above, and/or by at least one blade bearing so constructed, and/or by a like-constructed nacelle bearing.
  • FIG. 1 is a cross section through the rings of a rolling bearing according to the invention
  • FIG. 2 is perspective partial cutaway view of the outer ring of the rolling bearing from FIG. 1 , together with a cage guided therein, having a plurality of pockets each provided to receive a respective rolling body, a rolling body being placed in one pocket by way of example;
  • FIG. 3 shows the cage of the rolling bearing from FIGS. 1 and 2 in perspective view and largely straightened out
  • FIG. 4 is an enlarged representation of a detail from FIG. 2 ;
  • FIG. 5 is a perspective representation of a cage according to another embodiment of the invention.
  • the rolling bearing 1 depicted by way of example in the drawing serves to rotatably connect a first system part or machine part to a foundation or to a second system part or machine part.
  • the rolling bearing 1 is provided with two annular connecting elements 2 , 3 .
  • the section through the rolling bearing 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 reveals its internal construction.
  • the typical structure of a radial bearing is evident, in which a first connecting element 2 is configured as a flat outer ring, which can be seen on the left in FIG. 1 , while the second connecting element 3 is configured as an inner ring 3 , on the right in FIG. 1 , that is disposed concentrically inside the outer ring 2 .
  • the two connecting elements 2 , 3 each have an approximately rectangular cross section.
  • the two connecting elements 2 , 3 are kept oriented exactly concentrically with each other by a multiplicity of rolling bodies 7 disposed in the gap 6 between the two connecting elements.
  • These rolling bodies 7 each have a spherical shape and roll between two raceways 8 , 9 , one 8 disposed in the inner jacket surface 4 of the outer connecting element 2 , and the other 9 in the outer jacket surface 5 of the inner connecting element 3 .
  • Each of the two raceways 8 , 9 has a cross section that is approximately semicircular but nevertheless differs minimally from the ball cross section; for example, the radius of the raceway cross section can be minimally larger than the radius of the ball cross section.
  • each rolling body 7 thus always has two nearly punctiform areas of contact with each of the two raceways 8 , 9 ; these contact areas are always at an angle of ⁇ 45° to each other, viewed from the center of a spherical rolling body 7 , but can shift in various directions when the rolling bearing 1 is under load.
  • the bearing is also preferably preloaded, i.e., play-free.
  • the spherical rolling bodies 7 and/or the raceways 8 , 9 are each minimally elastically deformed by this process.
  • the gap 6 is closed by a respective seal 12 , 13 in the region of its debouchment at each of the two end faces 10 , 11 of the bearing.
  • the gap 6 thus sealed to the outside is filled with a lubricant, particularly with grease.
  • each of the two annular connecting elements 2 , 3 comprises a relatively large number of coronally distributed fastening means, particularly in the form of fastening bores 14 , 15 , which optionally can be implemented as blind bores sunk from one bearing end face 10 , 11 and/or as through-bores passing all the way through the particular connecting element 2 , 3 between its two bearing end faces 10 , 11 , as illustrated in FIG. 1 .
  • fastening bores 14 , 15 are used to screw in or push through machine screws that are simultaneously anchored to a machine part or system part.
  • one of those two jacket surfaces 16 , 17 of the two connecting elements 2 , 3 which face away from the gap 6 can be provided with teeth, with which a, for example, driven pinion, toothed wheel, worm or the like can be brought into engagement, while the housing of such a drive would preferably be fixable to the respective other connecting element 2 , 3 .
  • Such a cage 18 preferably consists of a spring-elastic material, for example of spring steel, and can thus be bent without damage and without residual deformation.
  • the cage 18 need not be pre-bent to the raceway diameter of the rolling bearing 1 , but can, where appropriate, be fabricated as a straight-extending part, particularly stamped or laser-cut from a (metal) sheet or (metal) strip.
  • the cage could also be pre-bent to a standardized curvature and would still be usable for a large number of rolling bearings 1 irrespective of their exact raceway diameters; for this purpose, it could also be shortened by a given amount as needed.
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic construction diagram of the cage 18 : the latter has the shape of a flat strip in which regularly recurring recesses 23 , 24 are cut into both narrow longitudinal sides 21 , 22 , which, for example, were originally straight or extended concentrically with a common center.
  • Smaller recesses 24 are cut into the opposite longitudinal side 22 ; these notches 24 serve to locally reduce the stiffness of the cage 18 , and can serve as designated bending areas if necessary.
  • the notches 24 are preferably each located on the line of symmetry between a respective two adjacent pocket recesses 23 . Since the center-to-center distance between pocket recesses 23 is (slightly) larger than the width of a pocket recess 23 , a projection remains right on the line of symmetry between two adjacent pocket recesses 23 and serves as the spacer 25 between two adjacent rolling bodies 7 , to keep them from coming into direct contact and to ensure instead that the spacing between them remains the same.
  • the free end face of such a spacer 25 can be rounded and/or have rounded edges.
  • the cage strip 18 is wider than the depth of a pocket recess 23 , and thus is preferably wider than the radius of a ball 7 received therein, and is also wider than the depth of a notch 24 , the spacers 25 are simply connected on the longitudinal side 22 facing the pockets 23 ; the result is a comb-like structure, with the tines of the comb corresponding to the spacers 25 and the comb spine or cage spine 26 corresponding to the region of the cage near its longitudinal side 22 , which is incised only slightly by the notches 24 .
  • the cage 18 is not bent like a cylinder jacket, according to the usual practice, and inserted in the gap 6 of the rolling bearing 1 ; instead, the cage spine 26 is bent in a plane in the manner of an annular disk and is placed in a circumferential groove 27 machined into a raceway 8 , 9 —in the illustrated case, in raceway 8 of the radially outer connecting element 2 . Since this groove 27 is located (approximately) at half the height of the raceway 8 and thus divides the latter into two (approximately) equal large halves of approximately quarter-circle-shaped cross section, the flat cage 18 placed therein extends to the height of the centers of the spherical rolling bodies 7 . The free ends of the spacers 25 lie approximately on a circular line that passes simultaneously through the centers of all the spherical rolling bodies 7 .
  • a notch 24 is provided across from each spacer body 25 , on the line of symmetry thereof.
  • the depth of each notch 24 approximately corresponds to the minimum width of the cage spine 26 in the region of the base of a pocket 23 , or can even be greater than said width.
  • the notches 24 can have an approximately V-shaped base surface, preferably with rounded edges in the region of the notch base and at the two regions of transition to the approximately straight longitudinal side 22 of the cage 8 .
  • a notch 24 can be shaped so that a section through the cage 18 taken from the base of a notch 24 and/or from the thereto-adjacent region of a flank of the notch 24 and extending approximately radially with respect to the center of the adjacent pocket 23 has a relatively small cross section or even the smallest cross section of the cage 18 , so that the latter has a tendency to bend at those locations as needed, owing to the weakness of the material there.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of a cage 28 according to the invention.
  • Cage 28 differs from the previously described cage 18 primarily in the shape of the spacers 29 , whereas the cage spine 30 that is to be placed in the groove 27 is identical to the cage spine 26 of cage 18 .
  • a horizontal longitudinal section along the main central plane of the cage 28 is also identical to a corresponding longitudinal section through cage 18 .
  • cage 28 does not have a flat shape with a constant thickness, but rather, the spacers 28 additionally extend in the third dimension, upward and downward out of the plane of the cage spine 30 .
  • Each spacer 29 is essentially bounded by five surfaces and is formed together with the cage spine 30 on the remaining side.
  • the top face 31 and the bottom face 32 of a spacer 28 have a curvature that is complementary thereto, so that they are able to slide in the raceway 8 with as little friction as possible.
  • the transverse curvature diameter of the spacers 28 can be slightly smaller than the transverse curvature radius of the raceway 8 .
  • the top face 31 and the bottom face 32 can also have a slight curvature in the longitudinal direction of the cage 18 , approximately corresponding to the longitudinal curvature of the raceway 8 .
  • the top face 31 and the bottom face 32 diverge from each other to an end face 33 that joins the free edges of the two surfaces 31 , 32 .
  • This end face 33 follows approximately the course of the gap 6 above and below the raceway 8 ; it can be flat or slightly curved in the manner of a cylinder jacket surface, correspondingly to the cylindrically curved course of the gap 6 .
  • the two surfaces 35 , 36 adjacent the neighboring pockets 34 of a spacer 28 each follow a segment of the surface of a hollow sphere; they form the counterpart to the spherical rolling bodies 7 received in these pockets 34 , and are curved with approximately the same radius as they are, but concavely rather than convexly.
  • These surfaces 35 , 36 taper in the direction of the pocket 34 down to the cross section of the cage spine 30 . However, they preferably continue thereinto without a step or bend, i.e., continuously and differentiably, preferably in the form of a portion of the surface of a cylinder jacket or hollow sphere.
  • the two mutually facing pocket boundary surfaces 35 , 36 of neighboring spacers 28 could also pass directly into each other, especially if the pockets 34 do not extend into the groove 27 , i.e., if their depth is equal to the width of the cage 28 minus the depth of the groove 27 . Nevertheless, a gap of approximately constant width and extending approximately to the plane of the cage spine 30 should still remain between the facing pocket boundary surfaces 35 , 36 , so that the rolling body 7 received in the pocket 34 concerned has enough free space to form areal regions of contact with the raceway 8 . Consequently, the area of each pocket boundary surface 35 , 36 is preferably slightly less than one fourth the area of a hollow sphere.
  • the groove 27 is provided in the radially outwardly disposed connecting element 2 , it could just as well be located in the radially inwardly disposed connecting element 3 .
  • the longitudinal side 22 of the cage 18 , 28 that runs along the cage spine 26 , 30 would then be concavely rather than convexly curved.
  • At least one sealable filling channel whose cross section is at least equal to the cross section of a spherical rolling body 7 .
  • Such a filling channel is preferably provided in the particular connecting element 2 , 3 that does not have a groove 27 ; it begins at the raceway 8 , 9 there and debouches in a surface region of that connecting element 2 , 3 outside the gap 6 , particularly beyond the two seals 12 , 13 , preferably at a jacket surface 16 , 17 facing away from the gap 6 .
  • the rolling bodies 7 of the rolling bearing 1 are always guided at approximately equidistant relative positions, even under heavy loads.
  • Rolling bearings 1 equipped with such cages 18 , 28 can therefore also be operated in the preloaded state, the spherical rolling bodies 7 always being loaded in compression.
  • Such high-load-capacity rolling bearings 1 are especially suitable for wind turbines, where they can be used as blade bearings, main rotor bearings and nacelle bearings.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Rolling Contact Bearings (AREA)
US12/737,819 2008-08-20 2009-08-20 Rolling bearing assembly and wind turbine equipped therewith Abandoned US20110229312A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE102008038534A DE102008038534A1 (de) 2008-08-20 2008-08-20 Wälzlageranordnung und damit ausgerüstete Windkraftanlage
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US20110109099A1 (en) * 2008-07-07 2011-05-12 Henrik Stiesdal Wind Turbine
US20110262276A1 (en) * 2010-04-23 2011-10-27 Eastern Wind Power Vertical axis wind turbine
US20140054102A1 (en) * 2012-08-22 2014-02-27 Aktiebolaget Skf Cage for a rolling bearing, notably for a motor vehicle electric power steering bearing
US20160003297A1 (en) * 2013-01-25 2016-01-07 Aktiebolaget Skf Cage for a rolling bearing, notably for a motor vehicle electric power steering bearing
US20170138337A1 (en) * 2015-11-18 2017-05-18 Clarkson University Aft Rotor Ducted Wind Turbine
US20200256385A1 (en) * 2017-12-22 2020-08-13 Aktiebolaget Skf Flexible cage for rolling bearing
CN113661333A (zh) * 2019-04-03 2021-11-16 保尔木勒股份两合公司 无保持架的滚动轴承

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US8174144B2 (en) * 2010-12-21 2012-05-08 General Electric Company Bearings having radial half cage
DE102014106587B4 (de) * 2014-05-09 2019-06-06 Thyssenkrupp Ag Wälzlager, insbesondere Vierpunktlager oder Doppelvierpunktlager für Windkraftanlagen
DE202017107296U1 (de) 2017-09-08 2018-12-12 Liebherr-Components Biberach Gmbh Wälzlager
JP7290928B2 (ja) * 2017-09-25 2023-06-14 ロレックス・ソシエテ・アノニム 時計軸受
CN109820466B (zh) * 2019-04-04 2024-06-25 杭州老板电器股份有限公司 旋转喷臂组件及洗碗机
CN110081071A (zh) * 2019-04-24 2019-08-02 洛阳汇工轴承科技有限公司 具有分体式保持架的新型四点接触球轴承
CN110821751B (zh) * 2019-10-17 2021-03-26 射阳远景能源科技有限公司 一种用于改变变桨轴承的受力部件的负载的方法

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US3366429A (en) * 1965-09-13 1968-01-30 Thomas L. Fawick Bearing
US3980359A (en) * 1975-05-08 1976-09-14 United Technologies Corporation Ball bearing
DE3300653A1 (de) * 1983-01-11 1984-07-12 FAG Kugelfischer Georg Schäfer KGaA, 8720 Schweinfurt Axial ausformbarer kammkaefig fuer kugellager
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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20110109099A1 (en) * 2008-07-07 2011-05-12 Henrik Stiesdal Wind Turbine
US8669672B2 (en) * 2008-07-07 2014-03-11 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Wind turbine
US8373294B2 (en) 2010-04-23 2013-02-12 Eastern Wind Power Vertical axis wind turbine
US8258647B2 (en) * 2010-04-23 2012-09-04 Eastern Wind Power Vertical axis wind turbine
US8376688B2 (en) 2010-04-23 2013-02-19 Eastern Wind Power Vertical axis wind turbine
US20110262276A1 (en) * 2010-04-23 2011-10-27 Eastern Wind Power Vertical axis wind turbine
US20140054102A1 (en) * 2012-08-22 2014-02-27 Aktiebolaget Skf Cage for a rolling bearing, notably for a motor vehicle electric power steering bearing
US9057404B2 (en) * 2012-08-22 2015-06-16 Aktiebolaget Skf Cage for a rolling bearing, notably for a motor vehicle electric power steering bearing
US20160003297A1 (en) * 2013-01-25 2016-01-07 Aktiebolaget Skf Cage for a rolling bearing, notably for a motor vehicle electric power steering bearing
US9677614B2 (en) * 2013-01-25 2017-06-13 Aktiebolaget Skf Cage for a rolling bearing, notably for a motor vehicle electric power steering bearing
US20170138337A1 (en) * 2015-11-18 2017-05-18 Clarkson University Aft Rotor Ducted Wind Turbine
US10563635B2 (en) * 2015-11-18 2020-02-18 Clarkson University Aft rotor ducted wind turbine
US20200256385A1 (en) * 2017-12-22 2020-08-13 Aktiebolaget Skf Flexible cage for rolling bearing
US10907686B2 (en) * 2017-12-22 2021-02-02 Aktiebolaget Skf Flexible cage for rolling bearing
CN113661333A (zh) * 2019-04-03 2021-11-16 保尔木勒股份两合公司 无保持架的滚动轴承

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CN102132055A (zh) 2011-07-20
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