Rotary shafts – gudgeons – housings – and flexible couplings for ro – Housing – With rolling body supporting shaft in housing
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-20
2004-05-25
Browne, Lynne H. (Department: 3679)
Rotary shafts, gudgeons, housings, and flexible couplings for ro
Housing
With rolling body supporting shaft in housing
C464S905000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06739977
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a wheel bearing device which rotatably supports a wheel of an automobile on an car body.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wheel bearing device (hereinafter referred to as “bearing device”) shown in
FIG. 45
is for a driving wheel and has a constitution in which a hub ring
1
, a bearing
2
, and a constant velocity universal joint
3
are unitized.
The hub ring
1
is provided with an outboard inner raceway
4
on its outer peripheral surface as well as a wheel mounting flange
6
for mounting a wheel (not shown). Hub bolts
7
for fixing a wheel disc are studded on the wheel mounting flange
6
with equal intervals in a circumferential direction. A pilot portion
40
having a wheel guide portion
38
and a brake guide portion
39
is unitizedly formed with an outboard end portion of the hub ring
1
. Also, a brake rotor (not shown) is mounted on the wheel mounting flange
6
together with the wheel disc.
The constant velocity universal joint
3
is provided at an end of a shaft
8
and comprises a joint outer ring
11
with a track groove
9
formed on its inside periphery, a joint inner ring
12
having a track groove
10
formed on its outside periphery opposing the track groove
9
of the joint outer ring
11
, torque transmission balls
13
installed between the track groove
9
of the joint outer ring
11
and the track groove
10
of the joint outer ring
11
, and a cage
14
supporting the torque transmission balls
13
disposed between the joint outer ring
11
and the joint inner ring
12
. Between the joint outer ring
11
and the shaft
8
is a boot
15
for preventing entry of water and foreign matter from outside and leakage of grease contained inside.
The joint outer ring
11
has a mouse portion
16
storing the joint inner ring
12
, the torque transmission balls
13
and the cage
14
, and a stem portion
19
axially extending from the mouse portion
16
, with a serrated portion
17
being formed thereon. Transmission of torque from the stem portion
19
to the hub ring
1
is enabled by inserting the stem portion
19
into a through-hole of the hub ring
1
so that they are fit each other through serrated portions
17
and
18
formed respectively on an outside peripheral surface of the stem portion
19
and an inside peripheral surface of the through-hole. An axial end of the joint outer ring
11
is plastically deformed to be roll-formed to an outboard end portion of the hub ring
1
, and the joint outer ring
11
is fixed to the hub ring
1
by a roll-formed portion
20
.
Double-row inner raceways are formed with an outboard inner-raceway
4
formed on an outer peripheral surface of the hub ring
1
and with an inboard inner-raceway
5
formed on an outer peripheral surface of a shoulder portion
21
of the joint outer ring
11
. The joint outer ring
11
is inserted into the hub ring
1
axially from the inboard side and is roll-formed to the hub ring
1
. Thereby a shoulder portion
21
of the joint outer ring
11
butts against an inboard end portion of the hub ring
1
, thereby pre-load is applied to the bearing
2
.
The bearing
2
is of a double-row angular ball bearing constitution, and is constituted such that rolling elements
25
and
26
are disposed between the inner raceways
4
and
5
formed respectively on outer peripheral surfaces of the hub ring
1
and joint outer ring
11
and outer raceways
23
and
24
formed respectively on an outer ring
22
, and the rolling elements
25
and
26
of each row are supported by cages
27
and
28
at equal intervals in a circumferential direction. The outer ring
22
is provided with an car-body mounting flange
29
for mounting an car body (not shown) on it. The car-body mounting flange
29
is fixed with bolts on a knuckle extending from a suspension device (not shown) of the car body. At opening portion at both ends of the bearing
2
, a pair of seals
30
and
31
sealing an annular space formed by the outer ring
22
, the hub ring
1
and the joint outer ring
11
are fitted into inner peripheral portions at end portions of the outer ring
22
to prevent inside grease from leaking and water and foreign matter from entering from outside. The seals
30
and
31
are provided with seal lips that are in sliding contact onto outer peripheral portions of the hub ring
1
and the joint outer ring
11
.
While the bearing device shown in
FIG. 45
is a type having a non-separable constitution in which the hub ring
1
, the bearing
2
and the constant velocity universal joint
3
are unitized together,
FIGS. 46 and 47
show other examples of bearing devices of a type having a separable constitution in which a hub ring
1
′ and the bearing
2
are unitized together, and the constant velocity universal joint
3
is fixed to the hub ring
1
′ with bolts
32
or nuts
33
. A separable type differs from a non-separable type as described below.
An inner ring
35
, a separate element from the hub ring
1
′, is fitted onto a small-diameter end portion
34
formed on an outside periphery of an inboard end portion of the hub ring
1
′, and an inboard inner raceway
5
is formed on an outside periphery of the inner ring
35
. The inner ring
35
is pressed into position with an appropriate interference to prevent creeping from occurring. Both an outboard inner raceway
4
formed on an outside periphery of the hub ring
1
′ and the inboard inner raceway
5
formed on the outside periphery of the inner ring
35
form double-row inner raceways. The inner ring
35
is pressed onto the end portion of the small-diameter portion
34
of the hub ring
1
′, the end portion of the small-diameter portion
34
of the hub ring
1
′ is outwardly roll-formed by plastically deforming it, and the roll-formed portion
36
serves to prevent the inner ring
35
from loosening and coming off, and to apply pre-load to the bearing
2
.
In this type of bearing devices, because of the constitution in which the roll-formed portion
36
serves for the prevention of coming off and application of pre-load, the joint outer ring
11
is fixed to the hub ring
1
in the following way: a stem portion
19
of the joint outer ring
11
is inserted into the through-hole of the hub ring
1
′, then the joint outer ring
11
is fixed to the hub ring
1
′ with tightening torque necessary and sufficient to prevent the joint outer ring
11
from loosening from the hub ring
1
′ either by engaging a bolt
32
into a threaded hole
37
formed on a stem portion
19
of the joint outer ring
11
(see
FIG. 46
) or by engaging a nut
33
onto the stem portion
19
of the outer joint ring
11
(see FIG.
47
).
The bearing device in
FIG. 45
is constituted such that the stem portion
19
of the joint outer ring
11
is roll-formed by plastically deforming it, and the joint outer ring
11
is fixed to the hub ring
1
by a roll-formed portion
20
. Therefore, considering the convenience in assembly of this bearing device, a serration fit between the hub ring
1
and the stem portion
19
of the joint outer ring
11
is preferably loose.
Also, in the bearing devices in FIG.
46
and
FIG. 47
, the roll-formed portion
36
of the hub ring
1
′ serves to prevent the inner ring
35
from loosening and coming off, and to apply pre-load to the bearing
2
, and the bolt
32
or the nut
33
fixes the constant velocity universal joint
3
to the hub ring
1
′. Because the swaged portion
36
of the hub ring
1
′ serves to prevent the inner ring
35
from loosening and apply pre-load to the bearing
2
as described above, applying pre-load by fastening torque of the bolt
32
or the nut
33
becomes unnecessary, and the bolt
32
or the nut
33
fixes the joint outer ring
11
to the hub ring
1
′ with fastening torque that is necessary and sufficient to prevent the joint outer ring
11
from loosening.
However, when the serration fit between the hub ring
1
or
1
′ and the stem portion
19
is loo
Fukushima Shigeaki
Ogura Hiroyuki
Ohtsuki Hisashi
Sera Akira
Suzuki Syougo
Arent Fox Kintner & Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC
Browne Lynne H.
Dunwoody Aaron
NTN Corporation
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