Land vehicles: wheels and axles – Wheel – Hub
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-15
2001-10-02
Stormer, Russell D. (Department: 3617)
Land vehicles: wheels and axles
Wheel
Hub
C301S126000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06296321
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an axle unit for driving a vehicle wheel, being a so-called fourth generation hub unit, used for rotatably supporting a driven wheel {the front wheels of an FF vehicle (front engine, front wheel drive vehicle), the rear wheels of an FR vehicle (front engine, rear wheel drive vehicle), the rear wheels of an RR vehicle (rear engine, rear wheel drive vehicle) and all wheels of a 4WD vehicle (four-wheel-drive vehicle)} supported on an independent suspension, relative to the suspension unit, and driving the driven wheel. The fourth generation hub unit has a hub unit and a constant velocity joint detachably combined with each other.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND
Various kinds of axle units have heretofore been used, in which an outer ring and an inner ring are rotatably combined via rolling members in order to rotatably support a wheel on a suspension unit. It is necessary for the axle unit used for supporting the driven wheel on the independent suspension and rotatably driving the driven wheel, to smoothly transmit the rotation of the drive shaft to the wheel (while ensuring constant velocity), in combination with a constant velocity joint, regardless of relative displacement between the differential gear and the driven wheel and the steering angle imparted to the wheel. The axle unit for driving the vehicle wheel, which is a so-called fourth generation hub unit, can be combined with such a constant velocity joint and can be constructed relatively compact and lightweight. Such an axle unit has heretofore been disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Tokukai Hei No. 7-317754, or in U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,011.
FIG. 36
shows one example of a conventional construction disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Tokukai Hei No. 7-317754. An outer ring
1
which does not rotate while being supported on the suspension unit when incorporated into the vehicle, has an outward flange shaped attachment portion
2
for supporting the outer ring on the suspension unit, on the outer peripheral face thereof, and two rows of outer ring raceways
3
on the inner peripheral face thereof.
On the radially inner side of the outer ring
1
, a hub
6
formed by combining a first element
4
and a second element
5
is disposed. Of these, the first element
4
is formed in a cylindrical form having an mount flange
7
for supporting the wheel on one end side (on the left end side in FIG.
36
), and an inner ring raceway
8
on the other end side (on the right end side in FIG.
36
). The second element
5
has on one end side (the left end side in
FIG. 36
) a cylindrical portion
9
for externally securing the first element
4
, and on the other end side (the right end side in
FIG. 36
) a housing
11
which is the outer ring of a constant velocity joint
10
of a Rzeppa type, with the inner ring raceway
8
arranged on the outer peripheral face of the middle part thereof.
By disposing a plurality of rolling members
12
, respectively between the outer ring raceways
3
and the inner ring raceways
8
, the hub
6
is rotatably supported on the inside of the outer ring
1
.
In a position where the inner peripheral face of the first element
4
and the outer peripheral face of the second element
5
are joined in an aligned manner, an outside engagement groove
13
and an inside engagement groove
14
are respectively formed, and a stop ring
15
is provided between and engaged into these engagement grooves
13
,
14
, thereby preventing that the first element
1
from coming away from the second element
5
.
Moreover, a weld
17
is applied between an outer peripheral rim portion on one end face (the left end face in
FIG. 36
) of the second element
5
and an inner peripheral rim portion of a stepped portion
16
formed on the inner peripheral face of the first element
4
, to securely connect the first and second elements
4
and
5
to each other.
Furthermore, substantially cylindrical covers
18
made of metal such as stainless steel plate, and circular seal rings
19
made of a resilient material such as rubber or elastomer are provided between the opening portions at opposite ends of the outer ring
1
and the outer peripheral face in the middle part of the hub
6
. On the inside of the middle part of the second element
5
, an isolating member
20
for closing off the inside of the second element
5
is provided. These covers
18
, seal rings
19
and isolating member
20
shut off the portion where the plurality of rolling members
12
are installed, or the portion of constant velocity joint
10
, from outside, and prevent grease existing inside the portion from leaking to the outside as well as preventing the ingress of foreign matter such as rainwater, dust or the like.
The constant velocity joint
10
comprises the housing
11
, an inner ring
21
, a retainer
22
and a plurality of balls
23
. The inner ring
21
is fixed to a tip end of a drive shaft (not shown) which is rotatably driven via a transmission by an engine. On the outer peripheral face of this inner ring
21
, there are respectively formed in a direction at right angles to the circumferential direction, six inner engagement grooves
24
having a section of an arc when cut on a virtual plane orthogonal to the central axis of the inner ring
21
, at even spacing in the circumferential direction.
At a position opposite to the inner engagement grooves
24
on the inner peripheral face of the housing
11
, there are similarly formed respectively in a direction at right angles to the circumferential direction, six outer engagement grooves
25
having a section of an arc.
The retainer
22
is formed in an overall annular shape, having a section of an arc, and is held between the outer peripheral face of the inner ring
21
and the inner peripheral face of the housing
11
. Pockets
26
are respectively formed in the retainer
22
at the six positions in the circumferential direction thereof, being positions aligned with the inside and outside engagement grooves
24
and
25
, and the above-mentioned balls (six in total) are retained therein, one inside each of the pockets
26
. These balls
23
can be freely rolled along the inside and outside engagement grooves
24
and
25
, while being retained in each pocket
26
, respectively.
When the axle unit for driving the vehicle wheel constructed as described above is fitted to a vehicle, the outer ring
1
is supported on the suspension unit by the attachment portion
2
, and the driven wheel is fixed to the first element
4
by the mount flange
7
.
The drive shaft (not shown) is rotatably driven via the transmission by the engine, and the tip portion of the drive shaft is spline-engaged to the inside of the inner ring
21
of the constant velocity joint
10
. At the time of driving an automobile, the rotation of the inner ring
21
is transmitted to the hub
6
including the second element
5
via the plurality of balls
23
to rotatably drive the driven wheel.
FIG. 37
shows a second example of a conventional construction which is disclosed in the abovementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,011. In the case of the second example of conventional construction, two rows of outer ring raceways
3
are disposed on the inner peripheral face of the outer ring
1
which does not rotate at the time of use, being internally fixed to a knuckle
40
of a suspension unit.
A mount flange
7
for supporting the wheel, is disposed on one end side (on the left end side in
FIG. 37
) of the outer peripheral face of the hub
6
a
, and two rows of inner ring raceways
8
are disposed on the other end side (on the right end side in
FIG. 37
) via a pair of inner rings
50
. The inner rings
50
are supported and secured to the body of the hub
6
a
by means of a crimped portion
27
formed by bending the other end of the hub
6
a
radially outward.
A plurality of rolling members
12
are respectively disposed between the outer ring raceways
3
and the inner ring raceways
8
to rotatably support the hub
6
a
inside of the outer ring
1
.
A splined bore
28
Mizukoshi Yasumasa
Ohkuma Takeo
Ouchi Hideo
Crowell & Moring , L.L.P.
NSK Ltd.
Stormer Russell D.
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