The present invention relates to a bearing unit for supporting a wheel having a disk which supports the wheel of an automobile and constitutes a disk brake used for braking the automobile. The present invention also relates to a manufacturing method of manufacturing the bearing unit.
For example, as shown by the structure illustrated in
A plurality of outer ring raceways 11a, 11b, which are stationary side raceway surfaces, are formed on an inner circumferential face of the outer ring 6, and the coupling flange 12 is formed on an outer circumferential face of the outer ring 6. The thus outer ring 6 is fixed to the knuckle 3 by coupling the coupling flange 12 to the knuckle 3 by the bolts 7.
On the other hand, in a portion of the outer circumferential face of the hub 8, which protrudes from an outside end opening of the outer ring 6, the attaching flange 13 corresponding to the flange of the present invention is formed. In this case, concerning the axial direction, the outside is defined as the outside in the width direction when the bearing unit is assembled to an automobile, that is, the outside is defined as the left in
Between the outer ring raceways 11a, 11b and the inner ring raceways 14a, 14b, a plurality of balls 17, 17 are provided being able to roll freely while the plurality of balls 17, 17 are being held by the cages 18, 18. Due to the above structure, a double angular type ball bearing is constituted. Therefore, inside the outer ring 6, the hub 8 is pivotally supported being capable of freely supporting a radial and a thrust load. In this connection, between the inner circumferential faces at both end portions of the outer ring 6 and the outer circumferential face of the middle portion of the hub 8 and the outer circumferential face of the inner end portion of the inner ring 16, the seal rings 19a, 19b are respectively provided, so that the space, in which the balls 17, 17 are provided, and the outer space can be shut off from each other. Further, the example shown in the drawing is a bearing unit 5 for supporting a wheel having a disk used for a drive wheel (a rear wheel of FR vehicle, a rear wheel of RR vehicle, a front wheel of FF vehicle, and all wheels of 4WD vehicle), the spline hole 20 is formed at the center of the hub 8. The spline shaft 22 of the constant velocity joint 21 is inserted into this spline hole 20.
When the above bearing unit 5 for supporting a wheel having a disk is practically used, as shown in
In this connection, it is known that vibration accompanied by unpleasant noise, which is called judder, frequently occurs at the time of braking an automobile. It is known that the causes of such vibration are the non-uniformity of the frictional state between the side of the disk 2 and the lining of the pad and so forth. It is known that one of the causes of such vibration is the deflection of the disk 2. Originally, the side of the disk 2 must make a right angle with the rotary center of the disk 2. However, due to inevitable errors caused in the manufacturing process, it is difficult for the disk 2 to perfectly make a right angle with the rotary center of the disk 2. As a result, when an automobile is running, it is inevitable that the side of the disk 2 somewhat deviates in the direction of the rotary axis (the lateral direction in
In order to solve the problems of the generation of judder, it is important that the deflection of the disk 2 in the axial direction is suppressed, that is, it is important that the axial deflection is suppressed. In order to suppress this deflection in the axial direction, it is necessary that the squareness of both sides of the disk 2 with respect to the rotary center of the hub 8 is enhanced. Concerning the technique to enhance the squareness, as disclosed in the specification of the U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,124, which will be referred to as “Patent Document 1” hereafter and also as disclosed in the official gazette of JP-A-2001-180209, which will be referred to as “Patent Document 2” hereafter, it is considered that after the bearing unit for supporting a wheel has been assembled, while the disk is being attached to the bearing unit, the cutting (lathe turning) work is conducted on both sides of the disk.
After the disk 2 has been coupled and fixed to the attaching flange 13 as described above, the machining work to machine both sides 24, 24 of the disk 2 according to a predetermined shape and size is conducted by utilizing the attaching surface of the outer ring 6 to the knuckle 3 (shown in
When both sides 24, 24 of the disk 2 are finished as described above while the hub 8a and the disk 2 are being rotated, the squareness of both sides 24, 24 with respect to the rotary center of the hub 8a can be sufficiently enhanced high. As a result, the deflection of both sides 24, 24 of the disk 2 can be suppressed to be small, and the problem of judder generated at the time of braking can be solved or reduced. The prior art described in Patent Document 1 can provide the same action and effect.
In the case of the prior art described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the deflection of both sides 24, 24 of the disk 2 in the axial direction caused by errors existing between the hub 8, 8a and the disk 2 can be prevented. However, according to the prior art, in the case where the rotary center itself of the hub 8, 8a is whirled, it is impossible to prevent both sides 24, 24 from whirling together with the whirl of the rotary center of the hub 8. On the other hand, the rotary center itself of the hub 8, 8a is whirled according to the mutual difference between the diameters of the balls 17, 17 incorporated into the bearing unit 5, 5a for supporting a wheel having a disk. In this case, the mutual difference between the diameters of the balls is defined as a difference between the average diameter of the largest balls and the average diameter of the smallest balls which are incorporated into the bearing unit for supporting a wheel having a disk. When the mutual difference is increased large, the deflection of both sides 24, 24 of the disk 2 in the axial direction caused by this whirling motion is increased so that the whirling motion can not be neglected.
Referring to
Therefore, as shown in the drawing, the central axis β of the hub 8b is inclined counterclockwise with respect to the central axis α of the outer ring 6. Accordingly, at the time of operation of the bearing unit 5b for supporting a wheel having a disk, when some balls 17a, 17a of the large diameter are revolved, the hub 8b whirls with respect to the outer ring 6, and the disk 2 fixed to the attaching flange 13 formed on the outer circumferential face of the hub 8b deflects in the direction of the rotary shaft (the lateral direction of
Conventionally, the deflection of the disk 2 caused by the above reasons matters little because the deflection caused by the other reasons matters much. On the other hand, when the other reasons of the deflection are removed by executing the prior art described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the deflection of the hub 8b caused by the mutual difference between the diameters of the balls 17, 17a can not be neglected. Recently, there is a demand for sufficiently suppressing the deflection of the disk 2 in order to prevent the occurrence of judder at the time of braking. However, in the case where the mutual difference of the diameters of the balls 17, 17a incorporated into the bearing unit 5, 5a, 5b for supporting a wheel having a disk is large, even if the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are utilized, it is difficult to satisfy the above demand only by the techniques of the prior art. Accordingly, in order to sufficiently suppress the deflection of the disk 2, in addition to the use of the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is necessary to reduce the mutual difference of the diameters of the balls 17, 17a.
In view of the above circumstances, the bearing unit for supporting a wheel having a disk and the manufacturing method thereof of the present invention are invented. It is an object of the present invention to provide a bearing unit for supporting a wheel having a disk capable of sufficiently suppressing the deflection of a disk in order to prevent the occurrence of judder at the time of braking. It is another object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method of manufacturing the bearing unit.
The bearing unit for supporting a wheel having a disk, which is an object of the present invention, comprises a stationary ring, a rotary ring, a plurality of balls and a disk in the same manner as that of the conventional structure described before.
The stationary ring includes a stationary side raceway surface provided on the inner circumferential face or the outer circumferential face. In the state of use, the stationary ring is supported by and fixed to a suspension device.
The rotary ring includes a rotary side raceway surface on the outer or inner circumferential face opposing to the stationary side raceway surface. The rotary ring also includes a flange on the outer circumferential face.
The balls are provided between the rotary side raceway surface and the stationary side raceway surface.
Further, the disk is coupled and fixed to the flange.
In the bearing unit for supporting a wheel having a disk of the present invention, the allowance of the mutual difference between the diameters of the balls is set at a value not more than 1.5 μm. When at least the finish working is conducted on both sides of the disk under the condition that the disk is coupled and fixed to the flange after the bearing unit for supporting a wheel having a disk has been assembled, the deflection of the disk with respect to the stationary ring caused by the rotation of the rotary ring is maintained to be not more than 35 μm.
In this connection, preferably, the allowance of the mutual difference of the diameters of the balls is set at a value not more than 1.0 μm, and the deflection of the disk is maintained to be not more than 25 μm.
According to the manufacturing method of manufacturing a bearing unit for supporting a wheel having a disk of the present invention, after the bearing unit for supporting a wheel having a disk has been constituted by combining the stationary ring, the rotary ring and the balls with each other, the disk is coupled and fixed to the flange provided on the outer circumferential face of the rotary ring, and then the finish working is conducted on both sides of the disk while the rotary ring is being rotated.
In the bearing unit for supporting a wheel having a disk of the present invention, the allowance of the mutual difference between the diameters of the balls is set at a value not more than 1.5 μm (It is preferable that the allowance of the mutual difference between the diameters of the balls is 1.0 μm.). When the finish working is conducted on both sides of the disk under the condition that the disk is coupled and fixed to the flange after the bearing unit for supporting a wheel having a disk has been assembled, the deflection on both sides of the disk is maintained to be a sufficiently low value. That is, when the mutual difference of the diameters of the balls is small, the whirl of the rotary ring with respect to the stationary ring caused by the revolution of the balls can be suppressed. Therefore, the deflection of the disk, which is fixed to the rotary ring, in the direction of the rotary shaft can be suppressed to a sufficiently low value.
In the drawings, reference numeral 1 is a wheel, reference numeral 2 is a disk, reference numeral 3 is a knuckle, reference numeral 4 is a support hole, reference numerals 5, 5a and 5b are bearing units for supporting a wheel having a disk, reference numeral 6 is an outer ring, reference numeral 7 is a bolt, reference numerals 8, 8a and 8b are hubs, reference numeral 9 is a stud bolt, reference numeral 10 is a nut, reference numerals 11 and 11a are outer ring raceways, reference numeral 12 is a coupling flange, reference numeral 13 is an attaching flange, reference numerals 14a and 14b are inner ring raceways, reference numeral 15 is a small diameter step portion, reference numeral 16 is an inner ring, reference numerals 17 and 17a are balls, reference numeral 18 is a cage, reference numerals 19a and 19b are seal rings, reference numeral 20 is a spline hole, reference numeral 21 is a constant velocity joint, reference numeral 22 is a spline shaft, reference numeral 23 is a jig for driving, reference numeral 24 is a side, reference numeral 25 is a support, reference numeral 26 is a support hole, reference numeral 27 is a bolt, reference numeral 28 is a tool, reference numeral 29 is a caulking portion, reference numeral 30 is a nut, and reference numeral 31 is a displacement meter.
An embodiment of the present invention will be explained referring to FIGS. 1 to 3. In this connection, the present invention is characterized in that: the allowance of the mutual difference between the diameters of the balls 17, 17 incorporated into the bearing unit 5, 5a, 5b for supporting a wheel having a disk is reduced; and when the finishing work of both sides 24, 24 of the disk 2 is conducted under the condition that the disk 2 is coupled and fixed to the attaching flange 13 after the bearing unit for supporting a wheel having a disk has been assembled, the deflection of the disk 2 is suppressed to a sufficiently low value. The structure and action of the other portions are the same as those of the conventional structure described before. Therefore, the same explanations as those made before are omitted here and the characteristic portions of the present invention will be mainly explained here.
In the present embodiment, the allowance of the mutual difference between the diameters of the balls 17, 17 incorporated into the bearing unit 5, 5a, 5b for supporting a wheel having a disk is not more than 1.5 μm. That is, a difference between the average diameter of the largest balls 17 and the average diameter of the smallest balls 17 which are incorporated into the bearing unit 5, 5a, 5b for supporting a wheel having a disk is made to be not more than 1.5 μm. Therefore, for example, balls of the grade 28 stipulated by JIS B 1501 Steel Ball for Ball Bearing, in which the allowance of the mutual difference between the diameters of the balls of the same lot is not more than 1.4 μm, are used for the balls 17, 17. Further, at least the finish working is conducted on both sides 24, 24 of the disk 2, which is coupled and fixed to the attaching flange 13, after the bearing unit 5, 5a, 5b for supporting a wheel having a disk has been assembled.
Since the present invention is constituted as described above, the deflection of the disk 2 can be sufficiently suppressed. The allowance of the mutual difference between the diameters of the plurality of balls incorporated into the bearing unit 5, 5a, 5b for supporting a wheel having a disk is reduced to be not more than 1.5 μm. Therefore, when the bearing unit 5, 5a, 5b for supporting a wheel having a disk is put into practical use, the deflection of the hub 8, 8a, 8b with respect to the outer ring 6 caused by the revolution of the balls 17, 17 can be reduced. In this case, the deflection of the hub 8, 8a, 8b with respect to the outer ring 6 means the deviation between the axes α and β. Further, at least the finishing work of both sides 24, 24 of the disk 2 coupled and fixed to the attaching flange 13 provided on the outer circumferential face of the hub 8, 8a, 8b is conducted under the condition that the bearing unit 5, 5a, 5b for supporting a wheel having a disk has been assembled. Therefore, when the whirling motion caused by the aforementioned mutual difference is excluded, errors such as a shape error, a dimensional error, an assembling error and so forth caused between the coupling flange 12, which is provided on the outer circumferential face of the outer ring 6, and the disk 2 do not give an influence to the deflection of both sides 24, 24 of the disk 2.
After all, in the case of the present invention, by the synergism of the following items (1) and (2), the deflection of both sides 24, 24 of the disk 2 in the axial direction is suppressed to be a low value of 35 μm. In this connection, this deflection value is measured in a portion on each side of the disk 2, on which the portion rubs on the pad lining, wherein the portion is closest to the outer diameter.
(1) A reduction of the deflection of the hub 8, 8a, 8b according to the reduction of the mutual difference between the diameters of the balls 17, 17. That is, the mutual difference between the diameters of the balls 17, 17 is reduced to be not more than 1.5 μm.
(2) A reduction of the influence which is given to the deflection of both sides 24, 24 by the error of each portion except for the mutual difference described above, when the finish working of both sides 24, 24 of the disk 2 is conducted under the condition that the bearing unit 5, 5a, 5b for supporting a wheel having a disk has been assembled.
In this connection, when the allowance of the mutual difference of the diameters of the balls 17, 17 is not more than 1.0 μm, the deflection can be suppressed to be lower value of 25 μm. In this case, for example, balls of the grade 20 stipulated by JIS B 1501 Steel Ball for Ball Bearing, in which the allowance of the mutual difference between the diameters of the balls of the same lot is not more than 1.0 μm, are used for the balls 17, 17.
In the following Table 1, the result of an experiment made by the present inventors is shown. This experiment is made to know the influence given to the occurrence of judder by the mutual difference of the diameters of the balls 17, 17 and the deflection of both sides 24, 24 in the axial direction caused by the mutual difference. Conditions of the experiment except for the deflection of the disk 2 such as non-uniformity of the frictional state between the side of the disk 2 and the lining of the pad are set as good as possible so that the judder could not be generated. The result of the experiment made in this way is shown in Table 1. As shown in
As can be seen in Table 1, when the mutual difference of the diameters of the balls 17, 17 is suppressed to be not more than 1.5 μm and the deflection of both sides 24, 24 of the disk 2 in the axial direction is suppressed to be not more than 35 μm, it is possible to suppress the judder generated at the time of braking so that passengers including a driver can not have an unpleasant feeling. Further, when the mutual difference is suppressed to be not more than 1.0 μm and the deflection is suppressed to be not more than 25 μm, it is possible to actually prevent the generation of judder at the time of braking.
In this connection, the present invention can be applied to the bearing unit 5, 5a for supporting a wheel having a disk used for a drive wheel shown in
Since the bearing unit for supporting a wheel having a disk and the manufacturing method thereof are constituted as described above, the deflection of the disk can be suppressed and the generation of unpleasant noise and vibration can be reduced at the time of braking operation.
The present invention is explained in detail, referring to the specific embodiments. However, it is clear that various variations can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
This patent application is based on the Japanese Patent Application (Patent Application No. 2003-017047) applied on January 27th in 2003. The contents of the application is taken in here as a reference.
As described above, the bearing unit for supporting a wheel having a disk of the present invention is effectively used for supporting an automobile wheel and constituting a disk brake used for braking operation.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2003-17047 | Jan 2003 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/JP03/14536 | 11/14/2003 | WO | 5/19/2005 |