Roller body for roller bearing

1. A roller body configured for use in a roller bearing comprising:

at least one cavity extending from an end face of the roller body,

at least one retaining element disposed in the cavity,

at least one sensor unit disposed on or in the retaining element, wherein the at least one retaining element has at least one recess, the sensor unit being retained in the recess; and

a first elastic material at least partly filling the recess and at least partially surrounding the at least one sensor unit.

2. The roller body according to claim 1 , wherein the retaining element is fixedly connected with the roller body for rotation therewith.

3. The roller body according to claim 2 , wherein a second elastic material is disposed in at least one of the cavity and the recess and at least partially surrounds the retaining element.

4. The roller body according to claim 3 , wherein the sensor unit includes an electronic circuit having at least one sensor element.

5. The roller body according to claim 4 , wherein the sensor unit includes at least one signal transmitting element.

6. The roller body according to claim 5 , further comprising:

a second cavity extending from another end face of the roller body,

an intermediate portion disposed between the first and second cavities and being comprised of the same material as the rest of the roller body,

a passage extending through the intermediate portion, and

an attachment element disposed at least partially in the passage and being connected with the retaining element.

7. The roller body according to claim 6 , further comprising:

a second retaining element disposed in the second cavity, and

a power supply unit retained by the second retaining element, the power supply unit being connected with the sensor unit.

8. The roller body according to claim 7 , wherein the second retaining element is connected with the attachment element.

9. The roller body according to claim 8 , further comprising an electrical connecting element disposed in the passage and connecting the sensor unit with the power supply unit.

10. The roller body according to claim 9 , further comprising at least one additional sensor unit disposed in the second cavity.

11. The roller body according to claim 1 , further comprising a second elastic material disposed in the cavity and at least partially surrounding the at least one retaining element.

12. The roller body according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor unit includes an electronic circuit having at least one sensor element.

13. The roller body according to claim 12 , wherein the sensor unit includes at least one wireless signal transmitting element.

14. The roller body according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a second cavity extending from another end face of the roller body,

an intermediate portion disposed between the first and second cavities and being comprised of the same material as the rest of the roller body,

a passage extending through the intermediate portion, and

an attachment element disposed at least partially in the passage and being connected with the retaining element.

15. The roller body according to claim 14 , wherein a second retaining element is disposed in the second cavity, the second retaining element retaining a power supply unit connected with the sensor unit.

16. The roller body according to claim 15 , wherein the second retaining element is connected with the attachment element.

17. The roller body according to claim 14 , further comprising an electrical conductor disposed in the passage and electrically connecting the sensor unit with a power supply unit disposed in the roller body.

18. The roller body according to claim 14 , further comprising at least one additional sensor unit disposed in the second cavity.

19. The roller body according to claim 1 , wherein the roller body has a longitudinal axial centerline extending in the at least one cavity.

20. The roller body according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one cavity has at least one longitudinal axial centerline, and wherein the at least one longitudinal axial centerline of the at least one cavity lies on a longitudinal axial centerline of the roller body.

21. The roller body according to claim 1 , wherein the first elastic material comprises a body of the elastic material and wherein the at least one sensor is embedded in the body of the elastic material.

22. A rolling element for a roller bearing comprising:

a body having at least one end face,

at least one cavity defined in the body and extending from the end face,

at least one sensor disposed within the at least one cavity,

at least one retaining element disposed in the cavity, wherein the at least one retaining element has at least one recess and the sensor is retained in the recess; and

an elastic material at least partly filling the recess and at least partially surrounding and protecting the sensor.

23. The rolling element of claim 22 , further comprising an antenna configured to wireles sly transmit data to an external device, the antenna being in electrical communication with the at least one sensor and being disposed within the at least one cavity.

24. The roller body according to claim 22 , wherein the elastic material comprises a body of the elastic material and wherein the at least one sensor is embedded in the body of the elastic material.

25. A roller body configured for use in a roller bearing comprising:

at least one cavity extending into the roller body from an end face of the roller body,

at least one retaining element fixedly mounted in the cavity for rotation with the roller body,

at least one sensor unit disposed inside the cavity on or in the retaining element, and

an elastic material at least partially surrounding the at least one sensor unit.

26. The roller body according to claim 25 , wherein the at least one sensor unit is embedded in the elastic material.