Bearings – Rotary bearing – Antifriction bearing
Utility Patent
1999-07-20
2001-01-02
Hannon, Thomas R. (Department: 3682)
Bearings
Rotary bearing
Antifriction bearing
Utility Patent
active
06168315
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a rolling bearing unit with tone wheel which rotatably support a vehicle wheel with reference to the suspension apparatus while detecting the rotating speed of the vehicle wheel supported by this rolling bearing unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
A rolling bearing unit with tons wheel disclosed for example in JP Utility Model Publication KOKAI No. HS-27679 and JP Patent Publication KOKAI No. 64-21219 is known in the art to support a vehicle wheel with reference to the suspension apparatus while detecting the rotating speed of the vehicle wheel to control the antilock brake system (ABS) or traction control system (TCS).
The rolling bearing unit with tone wheel disclosed in the publication mentioned above is constructed as shown in FIG.
1
.
There is a hub
1
having at its axially outer end portion (the widthwise outer end portion when installed in the vehicle, the left end portion in
FIG. 1
) an outer peripheral surface formed with a flange
2
to fix the vehicle wheel (not shown) to it.
The hub
1
has, at its intermediate portion, an outer peripheral surface formed with an inner ring raceway
3
a
, and at its axially inner end portion (the widthwise central side end portion when installed, in the vehicle; the right end portion in
FIG. 5
) an outer peripheral surface fitted with an inner ring
4
formed with an inner ring raceway
3
b
on its outer peripheral surface. The hub
1
and inner ring
4
form a rotating inner ring member or assembly.
Disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the stationary outer ring
5
is a mount portion
6
which supports the outer ring
5
to the suspension apparatus, and disposed on the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring
5
is a plurality of outer ring raceways
7
d
,
7
b
. Disposed between the outer ring raceways
7
a
,
7
b
and the inner ring raceways
3
a
,
3
b
are a plurality of rolling elements
8
to rotatably support the hub
1
on the inner side of the outer ring
5
which is supported by the mount portion
6
on the suspension apparatus.
Seal rings
9
,
10
are fitted and secured to the opposite opening portions of the outer ring
5
such that the seal rings
9
,
10
have an inner peripheral edges in sliding or rubbing contact with the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring
4
and hub
1
, respectively, so that rain water and muddy matter are prevented from entering the space inside the outer ring
5
where the rolling elements are installed.
As to the pair of seal rings
9
,
10
, the seal ring
9
on the axially inner side has a function of preventing the penetration of rain water and muddy matter, and a function as a tone wheel of detecting the rotating speed of the hub
1
. Specifically, the seal ring
9
as shown in
FIG. 2
, is an assembly of the radially inner seal ring
11
fitted into the inner ring
4
rotating with the vehicle wheel, and a radially outer seal ring
12
fitted into the stationary outer ring
5
.
The radially inner seal ring
11
is an assembly of a reinforcing metal
13
a
and seal member
14
a
of rubber or synthetic resin etc. while the radially outer seal ring
12
is an assembly of a reinforcing metal
13
b
and seal member
14
b
of rubber or synthetic rein etc. A reinforcing metal
13
a
has a circular ring portion
15
a
and a cylindrical portion
16
a
bent axially from the inner peripheral edge of the circular ring portion
15
a
while the reinforcing metal
13
b
has a circular ring portion
15
b
and a cylindrical portion
16
b
bent axially from the outer peripheral edge of the circular ring portion
15
b
. The cylindrical portion
16
a
is fitted onto the inner ring
4
while the cylindrical portion
16
b
is fitted into the outer ring
5
so that the seal rings
11
,
12
are fixedly supported by the inner ring
4
and outer ring
5
, respectively.
The seal members
14
a
reinforced by the reinforcing members
13
a
has peripheral edges in sliding or rubbing contact with the inner peripheral surface and side face of the mating reinforcing metal
13
b
, respectively. The seal members
14
b
reinforced by the reinforcing members
13
b
has a peripheral edge in sliding or rubbing contact with the outer peripheral surface of the mating reinforcing metal
13
a
. The seal between the outer peripheral portion at the axially inner end of the inner ring
4
and the inner peripheral portion at the axially inner end of the outer ring
5
is comprised of a plurality seal lips (three seal lips in the figure) to secure the sealing performance sufficiently.
In the reinforcing metal
13
a
fixedly fitted on the inner ring
4
rotating with the vehicle wheel, the circular ring portion
15
a
is formed with a number of through-holes
17
spaced apart from each other with a uniform space circumferentially. Accordingly, the magnetic property of the circular ring portion
15
a
is changed circumferentially alternately with a uniform interval, so that the circular ring portion
15
a
has a function as tone wheel.
A sensor
18
is supported by the non-rotating portion such as the suspension apparatus, and the detecting portion of the sensor
18
to detect the rotating speed is faced to the portion where the through-holes
17
are formed.
In the case of the rolling bearing unit with tone wheel as mentioned above, the vehicle wheel fixed to the flange
2
provided on the axially outer end portion of the hub
1
, can be rotatably supported with respect to the suspension apparatus supporting the outer ring
5
.
As the vehicle wheel rotates, the radially inner seal ring
11
fitted onto the inner ring
4
rotates, resulting in that the output of the sensor
18
opposed to the radially inner seal ring
11
changes. The frequency at which the output of the sensor
18
changes is proportional to the rotating speed of the vehicle wheel. Accordingly, the output signal of the sensor
18
is input to the controllers (not shown) to obtain the rotating speed of the vehicle wheel to suitably control the ABS and TCS.
In the case of the prior art rolling bearing unit with tone wheel as mentioned above, both of the radially inner and outer seal rings
11
,
12
are provided with the seal member
14
a
,
14
b
, respectively. Therefore, the seal rings
11
,
12
must be sufficiently cared during production and handling. Specifically, the sial member
14
a
supported by the reinforcing metal
13
a
of the radially inner seal ring
11
which functions as a tone wheel must be cared so that it is not damaged by muddy water splashing against it during the movements of vehicle. This is referred to as muddy water proof.
In addition, the seal members
14
a
,
14
b
of the seal rings
11
,
12
must be sufficiently cared so that their peripheral edges or tip ends are not damaged during the time of period from the production to the assembling them between the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring
4
and the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring
5
.
These cares will lead to cost-up of the rolling bearing unit with tone wheel having the radially inner seal ring
11
.
In addition, the seal ring
9
installed in the rolling bearing unit with tone wheel can achieve a sufficient seal performance while the rotating speed of the vehicle wheel is detected, but unavoidably increases the production cost. Specifically, since the resilient members
14
a
,
14
b
are provided adjacent to the pair of reinforcing plate
13
a
,
13
b
of the seal ring
9
, the production processes of the inner seal ring
11
and the outer seal ring
12
are so inconvenient to increase the cost of the seal ring
9
comprising the inner and outer seal rings
11
,
12
in assembly.
In order to prevent such cost increase, the resilient member
20
as shown in
FIG. 3
, is attached to only the stationary seal ring
19
fitted and secured to the stationary ring such as the outer ring
5
, and the resilient member
20
is provided with seal lips
21
in sliding or rubbing contact with the surface of the slinger
22
fitted and secured to the rotating ring s
Nagase Motohiko
Ouchi Hideo
Hannon Thomas R.
Helfgott & Karas, PC.
NSK Ltd.
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