Adjustable antifriction bearing arrangement

Abstract

A shaft is supported in a housing on the front and rear antifriction bearings that are mounted in opposition. The front bearing has an outer race provided with an external thread that engages an internal thread within the housing. That outer race is fitted with a locking ring provided with an inner flange that is engaged to turn the race and thereby bring the front and rear bearings into the correct adjustment. The locking ring also has an axially directed outer flange that is segmented, so that one of the segments can be bent outwardly into a recess in the housing, thus providing a tab that prevents rotation of the locking ring and outer race.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an axle center for the forward axle of a tandem axle, with the axle center being equipped with a front bearing constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the front bearing and showing a locking ring that secures its threaded cup against rotation;

FIG. 2A is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the portion of the front bearing enclosed within the ellipse in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the housing of the differential and the threaded cup and locking ring of the front bearing;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2, but showing a front bearing with an alternate locking ring; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2, but showing a front bearing with another alternate locking ring.

Claims

1. An antifriction bearing for facilitating rotation about an axis, said bearing comprising; an outer race having an outer raceway that is presented inwardly toward the axis and also having an external thread presented outwardly away from the axis;an inner raceway presented outwardly toward the raceway of the outer race;rolling elements arranged in a row between and contacting the outer and inner raceways; anda locking ring coupled to the outer race such that the outer race and locking ring cannot be displaced angularly with respect to each other, the locking ring having a flange that is directed generally axially and is divided into circumferentially arranged segments, any one of which can be bent away from the general axial orientation to form a tab that prevents the locking ring and outer race from rotating relative to that in which they are housed.

2. A bearing according to claim 1 wherein the outer race has an end face and the locking ring has a web from which the flange projects, and the web of the locking ring is against the end face of the outer race.

3. A bearing according to claim 2 wherein the locking ring has another flange that projects from the web and is located inwardly from the segmented flange, the other flange being configured for engagement by a tool designed to rotate the locking ring and the outer race.

4. A bearing according to claim 2 wherein the raceways are inclined, with each having a large end and a small end; and wherein the end face of the outer race is at the small end of the raceway for the outer race.

5. A bearing according to claim 2 wherein the web of the locking ring is secured against the end face of the outer race by a weld.

6. A bearing according to claim 1 wherein each segment of the segmented flange has a hole.

7. A bearing according to claim 1 wherein each segment of the segmented flange has a slot.

8. The bearing according to claim 1 in combination with a housing having an internal thread that is engaged by the external thread of the outer race and also having a recess that receives a segment of the flange that is bent to provide a tab.

9. The combination according to claim 8 wherein the tab is bent outwardly away from the axis.

10. The combination according to claim 8 and further comprising a shaft that carries the inner raceway of the bearing.

11. The combination according to claim 10 and further comprising another bearing that is located in the housing and around the shaft and is otherwise mounted in opposition to the bearing with the threaded cup.

12. A machine comprising: an outer member having a bore provided with an internal thread, the outer member also having a recess that opens into the bore;an inner member located within the outer member; andfirst and second antifriction bearings located between the outer and inner members for enabling one member to rotate relative to the other member about an axis;the first bearing including an outer raceway carried by the outer member and an inner raceway carried by the inner member and rolling elements located between the raceways, the raceways of the first bearing being inclined in the same direction with respect to the axis, so that the first bearing will transfer thrust loads in one axial direction;the second bearing including an inner raceway carried by the inner member, and outer race having an outer raceway and an external thread and rolling elements between its outer and inner raceways, the raceways of the second bearing being inclined in the same direction with respect to the axis and in the direction opposite to the inclination of the raceways of the first bearing so that the second bearing will transfer thrust loads in the opposite axial direction, the external thread of the outer race engaging the internal thread of the outer member so that the axial position of the outer race and the setting of the bearings can be adjusted by rotating the outer race relative to the outer member, the second bearing further including an axially directed locking ring that is divided into circumferentially arranged segments, one of which is bent outwardly into the recess of the outer member to prevent the outer race of the second bearing from rotating relative to the outer member once the bearings are adjusted to a desired setting.

13. A machine according to claim 12 wherein the raceways of the second bearing are conical and the rolling elements are tapered rollers.

14. A machine according to claim 12 wherein the outer race of the second bearing has an end face, and the locking ring has a web that is against the end face and a flange that projects from the web, with the segments being in the flange.

15. A machine according to claim 14 wherein the locking ring has an inner flange that also projects from the web and is located within the segmented flange.

16. A machine according to claim 14 wherein the locking ring is attached to the outer race at the web on the locking ring.

17. A machine according to claim 14 wherein the locking ring is attached to the outer race of the second bearing by a weld that is between the web and the outer race.

18. A machine according to claim 12 wherein the outer member is a housing and the inner member is a shaft that rotates in the housing.