Apparatus to manufacture a post ball bearing with helical arrangement of pocket holes and its product

Abstract

A post bearing and an apparatus for its manufacture in which bearing balls are loaded into a series of pocket holes arranged along a helical pattern in a cage sleeve.

1 . A post bearing comprising: 
 a cage sleeve;    a series of pocket holes machined through the wall of the cage sleeve and arranged along a helical pattern extending about the cage sleeve;    a plurality of bearing ball disposed in a plurality of the pocket holes;    the pocket holes each formed with a rim on the bottom thereof adjacent the inside diameter of the cage sleeve preventing the bearing ball disposed therein from passing out of the pocket hole while allowing the same to protrude in from the inside diameter;    a single continuous helical groove swaged into the outside diameter of the sleeve cage intermediate the turns of pocket holes to narrow the diameter of the pocket holes at the outside diameter of the cage sleeve to retain the balls in the pocket holes.    
     
     
         2 . The post bearing of  claim 1  further comprising an outer sleeve member into which the post bearing is received.  
     
     
         3 . The post bearing of  claim 1  further comprising a shaft receiving the post bearing on the sleeve cage inside diameter.  
     
     
         4 . The post bearing of  claim 1  wherein a bearing ball is disposed in each pocket hole.  
     
     
         5 . A die apparatus having a post bearing according to  claim 1 .  
     
     
         6 . An apparatus for manufacturing the post bearing of  claim 1  comprising: 
 a carriage for receiving the cage sleeve thereon, the cage sleeve having pocket holes machined therein;    a bearing ball dispenser in relative motion to the cage sleeve for dispensing balls into a plurality of the pocket holes;    a ball retention mechanism to retain the balls in the holes until the balls are permanently captured in the pocket holes; and    a swaging tool in relative motion with the cage sleeve for rolling a groove in a band between the pocket holes.    
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6  wherein the ball retention mechanism is a tape applicator.  
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 6  wherein the ball retention mechanism is a magnetic arbor.  
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 6  where in the bearing ball dispenser further comprises a loading tube that comes into registry with each successive pocket hole in a helical pattern.  
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 6  wherein the balls are dispensed into holes via gravity.  
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 6  wherein the carriage is rotatable along its longitudinal axis and imparts the rotation to the cage sleeve.  
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11  further comprising a motor for rotating the carriage.  
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 6  wherein the swaging tool is in motion longitudinally along the cage sleeve.  
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13  further comprising a motor to impart the longitudinal motion to the swaging tool.  
     
     
         15 . A die apparatus comprising a post bearing according to  claim 1.