Bearings – Rotary bearing – Antifriction bearing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-23
2001-11-06
Hannon, Thomas R. (Department: 3682)
Bearings
Rotary bearing
Antifriction bearing
C384S500000, C384S519000, C384S540000, C384S562000, C384S583000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06312162
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an adjustable bearing spacer, and in particular, but not exclusively, to an adjustable bearing spacer for a hub.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is often desirable to fix the spacing between two bearings. For example, consider a hub of a heavy transport vehicle such as a truck or locomotive. The hub comprises a substantially cylindrical billet of metal having an axially extending hole through which an axle of the vehicle can pass. Opposite ends of the hole are machined to have an enlarged diameter to seat the cup of a tapered bearing. When assembling the hub and attaching it to the axle, the tapered bearing on the abutment side of the hub is packed with grease or lightly oiled and a lubricant seal placed adjacent to the tapered bearing. The hub is then slid over the axle and typically the remainder of the central hole filled with grease or other lubricant. The other tapered bearing is then packed with grease, placed into its cup and a bearing lock nut screwed onto a thread formed about the end of the axle to lock the hub onto the axle. It is however important that the lock nut not be over-tightened, nor be too loose. If the nut is over-tightened, the free rotation of the hub will be hampered and there will be excessive wear of the bearings. If however the lock nut is too loose, there may be excessive play in the hub and wheel and the seals about the bearings can work loose resulting in a loss or contamination of lubricant and accelerated wear of the bearings.
In order to avoid these problems, it is known in the prior art to pack the hole of the hub with a plurality of spacers and shims to fix the distance between the opposite tapered bearings. However this is a time consuming process. Also, the distance between the tapered bearings can only be adjusted in increments equivalent to the width, of the shims. The prior art methods of adjusting the spacing between the tapered bearings also requires the use of specialized measurement equipment which is expensive, can easily lose its accuracy if roughly handled, and requires considerable training in order to be used.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an adjustable bearing spacer which can provide continuous adjustment of the spacing between bearing of a hub.
According to the present invention there is provided an adjustable bearing spacer adapted for fitting into an axial hole formed in a hub, the hub having a seat at each end of said hole for seating first and second bearings respectively, the adjustable bearing spacer including:
a first body having a first end for abutment with the first bearing; and,
a second body having a first end for abutment with the second bearing, the second body threadingly engaged with the first body so as to be extendable from a second end of the first body to allow adjustment of the length of the spacer;
whereby, in use, the bearings can be held at a desired distance apart by screwing one of the bodies relative to the other body to extend the length of the spacer to match the desired distance so that when the first and second bearings abut the first ends of the first and second bodies respectively, they are maintained apart by the desired distance.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a hub of a wheel for a vehicle including:
a hub body provided with an axially extending hole through which a vehicle axle can pass, the hub having first and second bearing seats at respective first and second ends of the hole;
first and second bearings seated in the first and second seats respectively; and,
a bearing spacer disposed in said hole and between the first and second bearings, the bearing spacer being configured to allow the vehicle axle to extend therethrough, the bearing spacer having a first body with a first end for abutment with the first bearing, and a second body with a first end for abutment with the second bearing, the second body threadingly engaging the first body so as to be extendable from a second end of the first body to allow adjustment of the length of the spacer;
whereby, in use, the bearings can be held at a desired distance apart by screwing one of the bodies relative to the other body to extend the length of the spacer to match the desired distance so that when the first and second bearings abut the first ends of the first and second bodies respectively, they are maintained apart by the desired distance.
Preferably said spacer further includes releasable locking means for releasably locking first and second bodies together to fix the length of the spacer.
Preferably the releasable locking means comprises a socket set screw threadingly engaged in a circumferential wall of the first body and having one end which can be brought into contact with the second body by screwing down the socket set screw.
Preferably the second body has a threaded portion which threadingly engages the first body and an axially adjacent and inwardly disposed portion against which the socket set screw can bear to lock the second ring against rotation thereby fixing the length of the spacer.
Preferably the spacer is provided with an indexing scale to provide an indication of the length of extension of the second body from the first body, said indexing scale comprising a plurality of evenly spaced markings about the second end of the first body, and at least one marking on the second body, the length of extension being calculated as the reciprocal of the number of threads per inch on the second body multiplied by the reciprocal of the number markings on the first body, and multiplied by the number of markings on the first body traversed by the marking on the second body during screwing of the second body outwardly of the first body. (The metric measurement in millimetres is derived by simply multiplying the above calculated extension by 25.4.)
Preferably there is a plurality of markings on the second body that are spaced from each other by whole fractions of the angular distance between adjacent markings on the first body.
Preferably the first body is provided with at least one axially extending hole on the second end for the receipt of a prong of a tool to hold the first body.
Preferably the second body is also provided with at least one axially extending hole for the receipt of the prongs of a tool for holding the second body.
Preferably the holes on the first body coincide with adjacent markings on the first ring.
Preferably the holes on the second body coincide with one or adjacent markings on the second body.
Preferably the first body is in the form of a length of tubing having a screw thread formed on an inner circumferential surface thereof and the second body is in the form of a ring of a length less than the first body.
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
REFERENCES:
patent: 1266310 (1918-05-01), Pfanstiehl
patent: 2188251 (1940-01-01), Nelson
patent: 2407532 (1946-09-01), Boden
patent: 4651590 (1987-03-01), Thun
patent: 4657412 (1987-04-01), McLarty et al.
patent: 4738551 (1988-04-01), Chi
patent: 4984910 (1991-01-01), Cogno
patent: 5211487 (1993-05-01), Hannon et al.
patent: 6906343 (1969-07-01), None
patent: 0049788 A2 (1982-04-01), None
patent: 0126607 A2 (1984-11-01), None
Hannon Thomas R.
Pearne & Gordon LLP
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