Bearings – Rotary bearing – Antifriction bearing
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-07
2001-11-20
Bucci, David A. (Department: 3682)
Bearings
Rotary bearing
Antifriction bearing
C384S537000, C384S903000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06318900
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to ball bearing mounting structure and more particularly to mounting a ball bearing in a stamped housing so as to be retained therein.
Conventionally, ball bearings for motors are mounted in a stamped housing which is not machined to have tight tolerances with ball bearing. With reference to
FIG. 1
, the ball bearing
10
is mounted using two separate components, a tolerance ring
12
and a retaining ring
14
. The tolerance ring
12
is made of corrugated metal and is provided about the periphery of the ball bearing
10
such that the when the ball bearing
10
and tolerance ring
12
are inserted into the housing, the tolerance ring
12
may deform to take-up tolerances between the periphery of the ball bearing
10
and an annular wall of the housing. Thus, the tolerance ring
12
generally centers the ball bearing
10
in the housing and provides radial support. Finally, a self-locking retaining ring
14
is pressed into the housing to engage the annular wall thereof to prevent the ball bearing
10
from moving out of the housing in a direction opposite the insertion direction.
The above-described ball bearing mounting is effective, but it is costly since there are several components to be manufactured and several assembly steps to be performed. Accordingly, there is a need to provide a one-piece ball bearing mounting member which combines the functions of the conventional tolerance ring and retaining ring and is thus less expensive to manufacture and assemble.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to fulfill the need referred to above. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, this objective is achieved by providing a one-piece ball bearing mounting member for mounting a ball bearing in a housing. The mounting member includes a ring member. Tolerance take-up structure extends from the ring member in one direction and is constructed and arranged to engage at least a portion of a periphery of a ball bearing. At least a portion of the tolerance take-up structure is resilient so that when inserted into the housing the resilient portion contacts a wall of the housing to take-up tolerances between the periphery of the ball bearing and the wall of the housing. A retaining structure extends from the ring member in a direction opposite the one direction. The retaining structure is constructed and arranged 1) to permit insertion of the ball bearing mounting member into the housing in an insertion direction, and 2) to substantially prevent movement of the ball bearing mounting member from the housing in a direction opposite the insertion direction.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method of providing a ball bearing mounting member includes stamping a piece of material to form a ring member, a plurality of retainer tabs and a plurality of tolerance take-up tabs. The retainer tabs are bent to extend from the ring member in one direction. The tolerance take-up tabs are bent to extend from the ring member in a direction opposite the one direction. A resilient portion is formed in each tolerance take-up tab. The tolerance take-up tabs are constructed and arranged to engage at least a portion of a periphery of a ball bearing. The resilient portion is constructed and arranged to contact a wall of a bearing housing to take-up tolerances between a periphery of the ball bearing and the wall of the housing. The retainer tabs are constructed and arranged 1) to permit insertion of the ball bearing mounting member into the housing in an insertion direction, and 2) to prevent movement of the ball bearing mounting member from the housing in a direction opposite the insertion direction.
Other objects, features and characteristics of the present invention, as well as the methods of operation and the functions of the related elements of the structure, the combination of parts and economics of manufacture will become more apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description and appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification.
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Bere John Delbert
Smorowski Stefan Zenon
Bucci David A.
Joyce William C
Siemens Automotive Inc.
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