Bearings – Rotary bearing – Antifriction bearing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-08
2001-04-03
Estremsky, Sherry (Department: 3681)
Bearings
Rotary bearing
Antifriction bearing
C384S626000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06210044
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an improved bearing assembly for supporting the main and auxiliary countershafts in a manual transmission.
Prior art manual transmissions require that two shimming operations be applied on two bearing arrangements supporting the main and auxiliary shafts when the main and auxiliary countershafts are installed in the transmission housing. Shimming adjusts the tolerance along the shafts' axis so that the bearings do not wear too quickly. Typically, one end of the housing has a bearing that is grounded, or unshimmed, and which supports one end of the main shaft. The other end of the main shaft is supported at a housing center support by a bearing arrangement that must be shimmed before the auxiliary shaft may be installed.
This shimming operation is accomplished by preloading the main shaft to obtain the desired tolerance and determine the correct shim size to achieve that tolerance. Once shimmed, the bearing is fixed in the center support. The auxiliary shaft is then installed with one end supported in the center support. A preload is applied to the auxiliary shaft to obtain the desired tolerance and determine the ideal shim size for the auxiliary shaft. The other end of the auxiliary shaft must then be shimmed to ensure that the correct tolerance is obtained for the auxiliary shaft.
Thus, for a two shaft arrangement, all the bearings are fixed to the housing and each shaft is shimmed individually.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a transmission for use in a vehicle comprising a housing having a center support with an opening. The transmission further comprises first and second shafts that are coaxial along an axis and have adjacent ends disposed within the opening. A bearing assembly supports the adjacent ends within the opening while being movable along the axis relative to the center support. This permits the second shaft to be adjusted along the axis relative to the first shaft upon assembly, thereby eliminating the need for an additional shimming operation at the center support. That is, the first shaft does not have to be shimmed after being installed. Rather, the second shaft may be installed and the correct tolerance for the first and second shaft determined simultaneously by applying a preload to the second shaft. The bearing assembly moves along the axis during this adjustment and a shimmed bearing is installed to retain the correct tolerance in the shafts.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2627120 (1953-02-01), Hotchkiss
patent: 4336969 (1982-06-01), Kahlert et al.
patent: 5115558 (1992-05-01), Bernhardt et al.
patent: 5161904 (1992-11-01), Craft
patent: 5806367 (1998-09-01), Kato
Carlson & Gaskey & Olds
Estremsky Sherry
ZF Meritor LLC
LandOfFree
Transmission floating bearing carrier does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Transmission floating bearing carrier, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Transmission floating bearing carrier will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2518534