Roller bearing assembly

Abstract

A roller bearing assembly including an tapered inner cup ( 110 ) defining an inner raceway ( 118 ), an tapered outer cup ( 130 ) defining an outer raceway ( 138 ), the outer raceway having a convex profile, the convex profile being defined by an intersection of the outer raceway and a central plane in which a longitudinal center axis of the roller bearing assembly lies, and a plurality of cylindrical rollers ( 150 ) disposed between the tapered inner cup and the tapered outer cup so that each roller is in rolling contact with the inner raceway and the outer raceway, each roller having a first end face ( 152 ), a second end face ( 154 ) and a cylindrical body extending therebetween.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A roller bearing assembly comprising:
 an tapered inner cup defining an inner raceway;   an tapered outer cup defining an outer raceway, the outer raceway having a convex profile, the convex profile being defined by an intersection of the outer raceway and a central plane in which a longitudinal center axis of the roller bearing assembly lies; and   a plurality of straight rollers disposed between the tapered inner cup and the tapered outer cup so that each straight roller is in rolling contact with the inner raceway and the outer raceway, each straight roller having a first end face, a second end face and a cylindrical body extending therebetween.   
     
     
         2 . The roller bearing assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the inner raceway is defined by a frustoconical surface. 
     
     
         3 . The roller bearing assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the inner raceway has a concave profile, the concave profile defined by an intersection of the central plane and the inner raceway. 
     
     
         4 . The roller bearing assembly of  claim 3 , wherein each straight roller further includes a first profiled edge and a second profiled edge disposed at an outer periphery of its first end face and its second end face, respectively. 
     
     
         5 . The roller bearing assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a roller retainer defining a plurality of roller pockets, each roller pocket receiving a corresponding straight roller, and each roller pocket having dimensions so that each straight roller is limitedly rotatably about a pivot axis that intersects the longitudinal center axis of the roller bearing assembly and a midpoint of the longitudinal center axis of the corresponding straight roller, wherein the pivot axis is transverse to the longitudinal center axis of the corresponding straight roller. 
     
     
         6 . The roller bearing assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a roller retainer defining a plurality of roller pockets, each roller pocket receiving a corresponding straight roller. 
     
     
         7 . A roller bearing assembly, comprising
 an inner cup defining a tapered inner raceway;   an outer cup defining a tapered outer raceway, the tapered outer raceway having a convex profile, the convex profile being defined by an intersection of the outer tapered raceway and a central plane in which a longitudinal center axis of the roller bearing assembly lies;   a roller retainer having an inner perimeter, an outer perimeter and a frustoconically shaped body extending therebetween, the body defining a plurality of roller pockets; and   a plurality of straight rollers disposed between the tapered inner cup and the tapered outer cup, each straight roller being disposed in a corresponding roller pocket of the roller retainer so that each straight roller is in rolling contact with the inner tapered raceway and the outer tapered raceway, each straight roller having a first end face, a second end face and a cylindrical body extending therebetween.   
     
     
         8 . The roller bearing assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the inner raceway is defined by a frustoconical surface. 
     
     
         9 . The roller bearing assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the inner raceway has a concave profile, the concave profile defined by an intersection of the central plane and the inner raceway. 
     
     
         10 . The roller bearing assembly of  claim 3 , wherein each straight roller further includes a first profiled edge and a second profiled edge disposed at an outer periphery of its first end face and its second end face, respectively. 
     
     
         11 . The roller bearing assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a roller retainer defining a plurality of roller pockets, each roller pocket receiving a corresponding straight roller, and each roller pocket having a maximum width that is greater than a maximum width of each corresponding straight roller so that each straight roller is limitedly rotatably about a pivot axis that intersects the longitudinal center axis of the roller bearing assembly and a midpoint of the longitudinal center axis of the corresponding straight roller, wherein the pivot axis is transverse to the longitudinal center axis of the corresponding straight roller. 
     
     
         12 . The roller bearing assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the inner and the tapered outer cups further comprise drawn cups.