Bearings – Rotary bearing – Plain bearing
Patent
1994-06-07
1996-05-28
Hannon, Thomas R.
Bearings
Rotary bearing
Plain bearing
384296, 384429, 384297, 384124, F16C 902, F16C 3302
Patent
active
055204660
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention is concerned with flanged half bearings and with methods of manufacturing such bearings.
Flanged half bearings are used, for example, for supporting crankshafts for rotation in crank cases. The bearings are manufactured as half bearings for assembly purposes and a full bearing is provided by two half bearings each embracing half of the shaft. Each half bearing has a plain bearing surface against which the shaft can rotate, this surface being provided by a shell portion which comprises a layer of bearing material, such as aluminium tin alloy, mounted on a steel backing layer. The flange portion of the half bearing extends radially outwardly at one axial end of the bearing and provides a thrust surface which enables the flange portion to act as a thrust washer to prevent axial movement of the bearing. The thrust surface has a plurality of radially extending grooves therein which assist in the distribution of oil. There may be a further similar flange portion at the opposite axial end of the bearing. Such flange portions also comprise a layer of metal bearing material mounted on a steel backing layer. Conventionally, such flanged half bearings either have the backing layers of the or each flange portion and the backing layer of the shell portion formed integrally, which is a difficult operation, or have the backing layers formed separately and mechanically secured together, which requires time-consuming assembly operations.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a flanged half bearing which is easier to manufacture than conventional flanged half bearings.
The invention provides a flanged half bearing comprising a shell portion providing a plain bearing surface against which a shaft can rotate, and a flange portion extending radially outwardly at one axial end of the bearing, the flange portion providing a thrust surface to resist axial movement of the bearing, characterised in that the thrust surface is formed from injection moulded plastics material.
A flanged half bearing, according to the invention, can be more easily manufactured than a conventional all-metal half bearing, because, if the construction is integrally moulded, no forming operation is required and, if the flange portion is formed separately, the resilience of the plastics material can be used to assist the mechanical connection between the components giving a simple assembly operation. Furthermore, the flange portion can have oil grooves and, if desired, oil film formation-enhancing shapes, moulded into it without machining being required.
A half bearing, according to the invention, may also comprise a further flange portion extending radially outwardly at the other axial end of the bearing, the further flange portion providing a further thrust surface which is also formed from injection moulded plastics material. Since a further flange portion is involved, the manufacture of the half bearing is further facilitated in comparison with a conventional half bearing with two flanges.
The shell portion of a bearing according to the invention may comprise a layer of bearing material, e.g. metal, providing the plain bearing surface, and a backing layer on which the bearing material layer is mounted, the backing layer being joined to the or each flange portion. This enables the advantages of a metal bearing surface to be combined with the advantages of a plastics thrust surface. The backing layer may be formed from injection moulded plastics material which can be moulded as one piece with the or each flange portion, thereby joining the shell portion to the or each flange portion. For example, a plastics hinge may join the or each flange portion to the backing layer, giving the possibility that the flange portion or portions can move to a limited extent axially relative to the shell portion. Such a possibility is advantageous in operation as it allows the bearing to conform under operating conditions. The bearing material layer, may have keying means, e.g. bulbous projections therefrom, which is embedded in the backing layer
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Davies Glyndwr J.
Everitt William H.
Parker David A.
Hannon Thomas R.
T&N Technology Limited
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