Bearings – Rotary bearing – Plain bearing
Patent
1992-08-06
1993-08-24
Footland, Lenard A.
Bearings
Rotary bearing
Plain bearing
384209, 384903, F16C 2304
Patent
active
052383105
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to bearing assemblies and their location on shafts and, more particularly, though not exclusively, to a bearing assembly located on a brake actuating shaft for a vehicle axle.
An axle, for example for a trailer vehicle, comprises an axle beam having a hub at each end. The hubs are rotatably mounted on bearings and, adjacent to each hub, there is a brake assembly. Each brake assembly comprises a brake anchor bracket secured to the axle beam, as by welding or bolting, and carrying two opposed brake shoes which are pivotally mounted at one end on anchor pins and at the other end bear on a brake actuating mechanism. The brake actuating mechanism comprises a shaft (the camshaft) having a cam on its outboard end and which is spaced from and lies parallel to the axle beam, rotatably mounted in an outboard bearing assembly at the anchor bracket and in an inboard bearing assembly adjacent to the inboard end of the camshaft. The inboard bearing assembly is mounted on the axle beam. One end of a lever is fitted to the camshaft at its inboard end and the other end of the lever is connected to a brake actuator, operated, for example, by compressed air, to rotate the camshaft to cause the brake shoes to be expanded to engage a brake drum carried by the hub. (Expansion of the brake shoes is effected by the cam, for example an S-cam, on the outboard end of the camshaft which acts on the other ends of the brake shoes via rollers mounted thereon.
This invention aims in a first aspect to provide a combination of a shaft and a bearing assembly which, inter alia, may be the combination of a camshaft on an axle such as has been described and an outboard bearing on the camshaft.
According to the first aspect of the present invention there is provided in combination a shaft and a bearing assembly on the shaft comprising a bush having a cylindrical bore in which the shaft is received and a part-spherical outer periphery, and opposed housing members secured, or adapted to be secured, together having inner surfaces shaped to co-operate with the outer periphery of the bush so as to hold and locate the bush whilst allowing tilting of the bush within the assembled housing members, at least one of the housing members being formed to provide for axial and radial location of the assembly on or in a mounting therefor, characterised in that the shaft has a peripheral annulus, the bush has an annulus in its bore and a locating member is engaged with the two annuli and thereby locates the shaft axially in the bearing assembly.
The locating member may be a snap ring or spring clip to facilitate assembly of the shaft in the bearing assembly and removal therefrom.
In applications in which the bearing assembly is required to react a radial force applied to the shaft (such as is the case when the shaft is an S-cam brake shaft) it may be beneficial to provide for the radial location of the bearing assembly by one or more, preferably three equi-spaced, protrusions on one of the housing members adapted to locate radially against a surface or surfaces of the mounting for the assembly radially spaced from the central axis of the cylindrical bore, such that a proportion of the radial force is transmitted to the mounting through the protrusion, or one of the protrusions.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a bearing assembly adapted to be used in the combination in accordance with the first aspect of the invention as herein set forth, comprising a bush having a part-spherical outer periphery and a cylindrical bore adapted to receive a shaft of complementary diameter, and opposed housing members secured, or adapted to be secured, together having inner surfaces shaped to co-operate with the outer periphery of the bush so as to hold and locate the bush whilst allowing tilting of the bush within the assembled housing members, at least one of the housing members being formed to provide for axial and radial location of the bearing assembly on or in a mounting therefor, characterised in that the bush ha
REFERENCES:
patent: 3627389 (1971-12-01), Foote
patent: 4105261 (1978-08-01), Myers et al.
patent: 4498799 (1985-02-01), Wartelle et al.
patent: 4647230 (1987-03-01), Friedrich et al.
Footland Lenard A.
Rubery-Owen Rockwell Limited
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