Bearings – Rotary bearing – Plain bearing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-23
2001-11-06
Footland, Lenard A. (Department: 3682)
Bearings
Rotary bearing
Plain bearing
C384S126000, C384S537000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06312160
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a bearing construction of a drive shaft, and particularly to a bearing construction of a drive shaft which suppresses generation of noise by a bearing, prevents a washer from falling during assembling work, and eliminates a possibility that assembling is finished in the state that the washer is not mounted, to enable enhancement of accuracy and reliance of assembling work.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the bearing construction for a drive shaft, the bearing construction often employs an inner ring rotation system in terms of simplification of the layout. However, in a vehicle such as a part-time type 4-wheel drive vehicle, mounting of an autolocking hub is presupposed, and a bearing construction of-an outer ring rotation system is often employed in terms of restriction in construction of the autolocking hub.
In the outer ring rotation type bearing construction, as shown in
FIG. 11
, there is used an outer joint
102
of a drive shaft extending through a hollow sleeve or spindle
104
. In the outer joint
102
, one end (which is a wheel side end) is supported by being disposed on an autolock hub
132
(or equivalent article) which is fixed to a hub
134
supported on spindle
104
by an axle bearing
136
, and the other end is supported on the spindle
104
through a bearing
106
such as a needle bearing. The aforementioned arrangement is one which is not an autolock hub used in a part-time type 4-wheel drive vehicle, but is employed for a full-time 4-wheel drive vehicle-which has a function to transmit rotation of the drive shaft to the hub.
The aforementioned bearing construction for a drive shaft is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-238516. In the apparatus for controlling intermittence between the vehicle and a drive mechanism therefor as disclosed in the 61-238516 publication, there is provided a spindle provided with inner and outer rotation supporting surfaces, the spindle being mounted on a vehicle's frame, and an axle portion is supported on a rotational shaft on the inner supporting surface of the spindle through a bearing member.
In the conventional bearing construction of the drive shaft, as shown in
FIG. 12
, a sleeve bushing
232
with a sliding member
210
is press-fitted into a spindle
204
, and an outer joint hub
202
of the drive shaft is inserted into the inner surface of the sliding member
210
of the bushing
232
, whereby the outer joint
202
is rotatably slidably movably supported. Note that the sliding member
210
is formed of low friction resin impregnated metal. In this arrangement, the construction is simple, but noises are possibly generated depending upon the use conditions, posing an inconvenience and being disadvantageous in practical use.
Further, as shown in
FIG. 13
, a bearing
306
for diametrally (perpendicularly) supporting an outer joint hub
302
of the drive shaft is provided between spindle
304
and the outer joint hub
302
, and a thrust washer
342
for axially supporting the outer joint hub
302
is provided between the hub
302
and the spindle
304
. In this case, the bearing
306
is used for the diametral support which imposes a relatively large load. An inconvenience of generating noises as described above can be avoided, and the thrust washer
342
whose both sides are sliding surfaces is provided for the axial support, which is advantageous in that the sliding member need not be used. However, there is a possibility that in the assembling work, the thrust washer falls, and the assembling is finished in the state that the thrust washer is not mounted, posing an inconvenience that the accuracy and reliance of the assembling work are low.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
For minimizing or eliminating the aforementioned inconveniences, the present invention provides a bearing construction for a drive shaft in which a spindle sleeve is disposed internally of an axle bearing of a wheel, an outer joint or hub of the drive shaft is disposed internally of the spindle, drive force from an engine is transmitted to the wheel through the outer joint, a bearing for diametrally supporting the outer joint is provided between the spindle and the outer joint, and a washer for axially supporting the outer joint is press-fitted on the outer joint.
As described above, according to the present invention, in the assembling work, the washer is press-fitted on the outer joint of the drive shaft, the spindle is disposed on the outer joint or hub
2
of the drive shaft through the bearing after the washer has been press-fitted, the outer joint is diametrally supported by the bearing, the washer is positively prevented from falling during the assembling work. A possibility that the assembling is finished in the state that the washer is not mounted is eliminated, and the accuracy and reliance of the assembling work are enhanced.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4627512 (1986-12-01), Clohessy
patent: 61-238516 (1986-10-01), None
Flynn ,Thiel, Boutell & Tanis, P.C.
Footland Lenard A.
Suzuki Motor Corporation
LandOfFree
Bearing construction for drive shaft does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Bearing construction for drive shaft, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Bearing construction for drive shaft will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2598721