EP4771292A1

EP4771292A1 - Roller bearing assembly with integrated labyrinth seal

Info

Publication number: EP4771292A1
Application number: EP24757891.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Rupesh CHITARI; Vinay Gaonkar; Gopal Kamble; Srinivasa VENKATAPPA
Original assignee: SKF AB
Current assignee: SKF AB
Priority date: 2023-08-30
Filing date: 2024-08-12
Publication date: 2026-07-08
Also published as: AU2024333818A1; WO2025045568A1

Abstract

A roller bearing assembly (200) includes a plurality of cylindrical roller bearings (205) guided on a cage ring (215). An integrated labyrinth seal (210) is mounted on the cage ring (215). The labyrinth seal mounted on the cage ring prevents contaminants from entering the bearings.

Description

ROLLER BEARING ASSEMBLY WITH INTEGRATED LABYRINTH SEAL

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[001] The present disclosure generally relates to roller bearing assembly and more particularly relates to a roller bearing seal.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[002] Roller bearings typically find application in industrial machines, for example, textile spinning machines. Entry of contaminants in the roller bearings is a commonly reported problem as it reduces the bearing life. Moreover, contamination of the bearings call for frequent maintenance which reduces machine hours. Though these bearings have external barrier for preventing entry of contaminants, dirt and dust still enter the raceway region during operation.

[003] FIGURE. 1 depicts a bearing assembly of a typical roller press in accordance with a prior art. In FIGURE. 1, the bearing assembly includes fillets (105a, 105b) and O-ring 110 as external seal to the roller bearings 100. Though the external seal is provided to prevent contamination, it is not enough to prevent the contamination entry into the roller bearings 100 in the prior art.

[004] There is a need for preventing contamination entry in a roller bearing keeping the existing mounting and dimensions of the bearings, keeping the existing assembly procedure, and at the same time keeping abutment parts and dimensions unchanged.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[005] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simple manner that is further described in the detailed description of the disclosure. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the subject matter nor is it intended for determining the scope of the disclosure.

[006] The objective of the disclosure is to provide a bearing assembly than can prevent contamination entry in roller bearings keeping the existing mounting and dimensions of the bearings, keeping the existing assembly procedure, and keeping abutment parts and dimensions unchanged.

[007] Accordingly, a roller bearing assembly is disclosed. The roller bearing assembly includes a plurality of cylindrical roller bearings guided on a cage ring (215) and characterised by an integrated labyrinth seal (210) mounted on the cage ring (215).

[008] To further clarify advantages and features of the present disclosure, a more particular description of the disclosure will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended figures. It is to be appreciated that these figures depict only typical embodiments of the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[009] The disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying figures in which:

[0010] FIGURE. 1 illustrates a bearing assembly, in accordance with a prior art;

[0011] FIGURE. 2 illustrates a bearing assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; [0012] FIGURE. 2A illustrates a cage ring mounted with seal, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0013] FIGURE. 2B illustrates an exploded view of the bearing assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0014] FIGURE. 2C illustrates types of seal mounted on the cage ring, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] Further, persons skilled in the art to which this disclosure belongs will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and may not have been necessarily drawn to scale. Furthermore, in terms of the construction, the bearing assembly and one or more components of it may have been represented in the figures by conventional symbols, and the figures may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure so as not to obscure the figures with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the figures and specific language will be used to describe them. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended. Such alterations and further modifications to the disclosure, and such further applications of the principles of the disclosure as described herein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure relates are deemed to be a part of this disclosure. [0017] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of the disclosure and are not intended to be restrictive thereof.

[0018] In the present disclosure, relational terms such as first and second, and the like, may be used to distinguish one entity from the other, without necessarily implying any actual relationship or order between such entities.

[0019] The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such a process or a method. Similarly, one or more elements or structures or components preceded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements, other structures, other components, additional devices, additional elements, additional structures, or additional components. Appearances of the phrase “in an embodiment”, “in another embodiment” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

[0020] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. The components, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

[0021] FIGURE. 2 illustrates a bearing assembly 200, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The bearing assembly 200 includes multiple rows of bearings. In one embodiment, the bearing assembly has four rows of bearings. FIGURE 2 depicts four rows of cylindrical roller bearings 205. The bearing assembly includes an inner ring 230, an outer ring 220, and a cage ring 215 as depicted in FIGURE 2B. [0022] Referring to FIGURE 2, the bearing assembly 200 includes multiple cylindrical roller bearings 205 guided on a cage ring 215. The novelty of the present disclosure is an integrated labyrinth seal 210 that is mounted on the cage ring 215. The labyrinth seal 210 is a floating type of seal having two sealing interfaces with the bearing. It is to be noted that the seal 210 is anchored with the cage ring 215. The labyrinth seal 210 prevents contaminants from entering the bearings. The cage ring 215 mounted with the seal 210 is illustrated in FIGURE 2A.

[0023] FIGURE. 2C illustrates types of seal mounted on the cage ring, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIGURE 2C depicts a first type of labyrinth seal 210A of a first shape and a second type of labyrinth seal 210B having a second shape, i.e. zig zag shape. It is to be noted that the cage ring 215 can be mounted with a seal of any shape other than labyrinth seal type.

[0024] The seal 210 mounted on cage ring 215 prevents entry of contaminants in the roller bearings. Further, it is to be noted that the seal 210 is configured keeping the existing mounting and dimensions of the bearings and keeping the existing assembly procedure, and at the same time keeping abutment parts and dimensions unchanged.

[0025] While specific language has been used to describe the disclosure, any limitations arising on account of the same are not intended. As would be apparent to a person skilled in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein.

[0026] The figures and the description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example, orders of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein. Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown; nor do all of the acts necessarily need to be performed. Also, those acts that are not dependent on other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no means limited by these specific examples. Numerous variations, whether explicitly given in the specification or not, such as differences in structure, dimension, and use of material, are possible. The scope of embodiments is at least as broad as given by the following claims.

Claims

WE CLAIM:

1. A roller bearing assembly (200), the roller bearing assembly (200) comprising: a plurality of cylindrical roller bearings (205) guided on a cage ring (215) and characterised by an integrated labyrinth seal (210) mounted on the cage ring (215).

2. The roller bearing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the labyrinth seal (210) is a floating type of seal having two sealing interfaces with the bearing, wherein the seal (210) is anchored with the cage ring (215).

3. The roller bearing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cylindrical roller bearings are multi-row bearings.

4. The roller bearing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cylindrical roller bearings guided on the cage ring comprising the integrated labyrinth seal prevents contaminants from entering the bearings.