US 12,332,272 B2
Rolling bearing having position-determining device
Gunther Elfert, Erwitte (DE); and Bernd Stakemeier, Erwitte (DE)
Assigned to thyssenkrupp rothe erde Germany GmbH, Dortmund (DE); and thyssenkrupp AG, Essen (DE)
Appl. No. 17/790,605
Filed by thyssenkrupp rothe erde Germany GmbH, Dortmund (DE); and thyssenkrupp AG, Essen (DE)
PCT Filed Dec. 16, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/086344
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jul. 1, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/136659, PCT Pub. Date Jul. 8, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 10 2020 200 032.8 (DE), filed on Jan. 3, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0068372 A1, Mar. 2, 2023
Int. Cl. G01P 3/44 (2006.01); F16C 41/00 (2006.01); G01D 5/20 (2006.01); G01D 11/02 (2006.01); F16C 19/38 (2006.01)
CPC G01P 3/443 (2013.01) [F16C 41/007 (2013.01); G01D 5/202 (2013.01); G01D 11/02 (2013.01); F16C 19/381 (2013.01); F16C 2233/00 (2013.01)] 10 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A rolling bearing comprising:
bearing rings that are rotatable relative to each other;
a row of rolling elements configured such that the rolling elements can roll between the bearing rings; and
a position-determining device configured to determine an absolute angular position of the bearing rings relative to each other, wherein the position-determining device includes:
field patterns that are arranged on a surface of a first of the bearing rings and distributed around a circumference of the first bearing ring, wherein fields of the field patterns have field heights with discrete values, wherein each field pattern is a fixed arrangement of a predetermined number of fields in which positions of the fields relative to one another in the field pattern are fixed, and wherein the field patterns differ by the field height provided for each individual field,
an eddy current sensor on a second of the bearing rings to scan the field patterns, and
an evaluation device configured to assign an associated angular position signal, which describes the absolute angular position of the first and second bearing rings relative to each other, to a scan of each field pattern.