Bearings – Rotary bearing – Plain bearing
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-15
2003-04-29
Hannon, Thomas R. (Department: 3682)
Bearings
Rotary bearing
Plain bearing
C015S250310, C384S138000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06554477
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a wiper bearing for a vehicle wiper system, including a bearing shaft that is received in a bearing housing and is connected to a bearing element and a wiper arm in such a way that a torque can be transmitted from the bearing element to the wiper arm, the bearing shaft having an axial stop means with a stop face.
The invention also relates to a method for mounting a wiper bearing.
Wiper bearings for a vehicle wiper system are known that disadvantageously have a relatively high number of mounting parts and therefore entail relatively major effort and expense for mounting them. The high number of mounting parts needed to produce a known wiper bearing has an especially disadvantageous effect on the resultant production costs, mounting times, and qualtity assurance of the wiper bearing. The relatively high number of construction parts to produce a known wiper bearing can be ascribed to the fact, among others, that for correct operation of the wiper bearing, one of more adjusting parts, securing elements, sealing elements and/or spring elements must be provided.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The wiper bearing of the invention is characterized in that the stop face is operatively connected to a contact face of the bearing housing, and the contact face and/or the stop face is surface-structured. Because of the surface structuring of the contact face and/or the stop face, it is possible in a simple and effective way, by means of the operative connection between the stop face and the contact face, simultaneously and reliably to achieve an adjusting, securing, tolerance-compensation and sealing function. These various functions are significant for correct operation of the wiper bearing and can advantageously be achieved by the surface-structured contact face and/or the surface-structured stop face by means of their operative connection. This kind of surface structuring of the applicable face is feasible relatively simply from a production standpoint. Since the surface structuring is provided on the contact face of the bearing housing or (alternatively or additionally) on the stop face of the bearing shaft, it is possible to limit the number of construction parts for producing the wiper bearing to a minimum, that is, to two components (the bearing shaft and the bearing housing). The wiper bearing of the invention is thus simple to produce from a production standpoint and is constructed in a way that makes it especially easy to mount.
Advantageously, the bearing housing radially surrounds the bearing shaft, and the bearing shaft has two ends protruding from the bearing housing, a first end being fastened to the bearing element and a second end being connected to the wiper arm. Such an arrangement of the bearing shaft and bearing housing makes it possible to use a bearing housing embodied as a relatively economical tubular semifinished product. The two ends of the bearing shaft that protrude from the bearing housing enable easy to mount fastening and connecting of this structural group (the bearing shaft and bearing housing) on the bearing element and on the wiper arm. The middle region of the bearing shaft can be received over its entire circumference by the tubular bearing housing, in such a way that the bearing shaft is supported firmly in the radial direction, that is, not radially displaceably, in the bearing housing.
Preferably, the stop face of the bearing shaft is embodied as smooth and the contact face of the bearing housing is embodied as surface-structured. Since the bearing housing can be produced in the form of a tubular semifinished product from a nonmetal material, such as plastic, as well, it is advantageous for both production-related and mounting-related reasons, especially with regard to the external connecting forces to be brought to bear during mounting into the bearing shaft and the bearing housing, to provide the surface structuring on the contact face of the bearing housing, while the stop face of the bearing shaft, which is usually made of a metal material, is embodied as smooth.
In a preferred embodiment, the stop means is embodied as an annular, closed collar protruding radially from the bearing shaft. Such a collar is relatively simply feasible from a production standpoint on a bearing shaft made preferably from a metal material. A stop means embodied as a collar also makes it possible to produce an especially compact wiper bearing, since the collar protruding radially from the bearing shaft is provided with the annularly embodied stop face of the bearing shaft, which can come into operative contact with a contact face of the bearing housing embodied as an annular end face in such a way that after the structural group of the bearing shaft and bearing housing is produced, a reliable, easily mounted and compact axial operative connection can be obtained between the bearing shaft and the bearing housing.
Advantageously, the surface-structured contact face is embodied as an annular end face of the bearing housing, the bearing housing having a receiving chamber that is rotationally symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis and in particular is cylindrical. A bearing housing designed in this way is distinguished by relatively low production costs and can be connected in an easily mounted way with the correspondingly embodied bearing shaft to make a compact structural group.
Advantageously, the surface-structured contact face has an axial sealing means, which as a closed ring is in touch contact with the stop face of the collar, forming a hermetic seal. An axial sealing means, embodied as a closed ring, on the contact face of the bearing housing is especially well suited for producing a hermetic seal between the surface-structured contact face and the stop face.
Advantageously, the sealing means is embodied as at least one annular bead on the contact face of the bearing housing, and the bearing housing is produced from a material that has a lower intrinsic rigidity than the material of the bearing shaft. Embodying an annular bead as a sealing means on the contact face of a plastically deformable bearing housing is especially well suited to achieving the various functions (adjusting, securing, sealing and tolerance compensation functions), which are all met by the operative connection between the bearing shaft and the bearing housing.
In a preferred embodiment, the stop face extends in the radial direction over the entire width of the collar. A smooth stop face extending radially over the entire collar is especially simple to make from a production standpoint and furthermore enables an easily mounted assembly of the wiper bearing, since the bearing housing merely has to be brought into operative contact with the stop face by axially approaching it along the longitudinal axis of the bearing shaft, and no special rotary motions, for instance, are necessary for establishing a certain mounting position of the bearing shaft.
In a further, alternative embodiment, the stop face is embodied as a bottom face of a receiving groove, in which the sealing means is shielded radially from the outside. A collar provided with a receiving groove is relatively simple to make without problems from a production standpoint and can advantageously be used as a receptacle across the end region, having the surface-structured contact face, of the tubular bearing housing. In this way, the contact, utilized in multiple ways, between the contact face and the stop face is protected against external factors that may possibly cause problems.
In an advantageous embodiment, the bearing shaft is secured to the bearing element by means of a rivet connection. The production of a rivet connection between the bearing shaft and the bearing element enables a fast, reliable and compact fastening of the wiper bearing to the bearing element. The possibility exists of utilizing an external, annular stop face of the collar to introduce a pressure force oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis in the direction of the bearing element, which force is necessary
Hannon Thomas R.
Robert & Bosch GmbH
Striker Michael J.
LandOfFree
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