A wheel bearing unit of this type is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,214. This wheel bearing unit was provided in order to simplify production and to standardize the installation of the individual parts.
Wheel bearings usually have at least one but generally two or more inner raceways for tapered rollers directly on a wheel carrier or on one or more outer rings. The outer ring or the outer rings are accommodated in a wheel carrier. The wheel carrier is provided with one or more flanges. A flange is generally used for the vehicle-side fastening of the wheel carrier or for the fastening of one or more vehicle wheels to the wheel carrier. In the last-mentioned case, the hub is fastened on the vehicle side and the inner raceways rotate about the fixed hub. If the wheel carrier is fixed on the vehicle side, the hub is mounted rotatably in the wheel carrier by means of the wheel bearing, as a result of which the outer raceways are mounted rotatably in relation to the inner raceways which are fixed on the vehicle side. In this case, one or more vehicle wheels is/are fastened to the hub.
It is known that angular roller bearings—in particular tapered roller bearings, on account of the contact angle predetermined by the construction, are capable of absorbing forces or components of forces via the raceways that are acting radially with respect to the axis of rotation as well as axially acting forces, i.e. forces that are acting in the same direction as the axis of rotation of the wheel bearing. However, in addition, axial supports preventing the axial migration of the rollers out of the raceways have to be provided for the flanks of the rollers. These axial supports are usually inner-ring restraining flanges which protrude over the raceways of the inner rings of the wheel bearing and on which the front faces of the tapered rollers run.
With the wheel bearing according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,214, a wheel bearing was provided in which at least one of the axial supports is fastened to the outer ring in the form of a supporting ring that is separate from the outer ring. These axial supports are adjoined axially to the tapered rollers at the inner raceway on the side of the largest diameter of the tapered rollers. The axial support radially projects above the largest inside diameter of the respective inner raceway adjoined by the axial support. Consequently, the installation of the bearing is initially simplified. However, this solution is unsatisfactory in particular for bearings in which high axial forces act. In this case, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,214, the ring is securely held in position against the forces only by means of a weld seam. The heat introduced into the bearing by the welding operation can, on the one hand, negatively influence the functionally induced axial stress in the bearing, particularly since said axial stress can no longer be corrected since the ring is fastened nonreleasably by means of welding. On the other hand, the heat from the welding operation damages the grease in the bearing and also has an effect, due to heat distortion, on the precision of the arrangement. Irrespective thereof, the installation of the wheel bearing module comprising individual parts is still relatively costly.
It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a wheel bearing unit which is robust, the inner and outer raceways of which can be produced cost-effectively and the individual parts of which can be fitted in a simple manner.
This object is achieved in that the particular axial support assigned to an inner raceway is a restraining flange formed integrally with the inner raceway. If the inner raceway(s) is/are arranged directly on the wheel carrier, the restraining flange or the restraining flanges are accordingly formed integrally with and of the same material as the wheel carrier. The inner raceway(s) is/are preferably formed on an outer ring which is fitted into the wheel carrier. In this case, a respective restraining flange is assigned to each of the inner raceways, the inner raceways preferably running axially between the restraining flanges, i.e. the large front faces of the one row of tapered rollers face away from the large front faces of the axially adjacent row of tapered rollers.
The inner rings do not have a restraining flange and are therefore simpler to machine. The constructional unit is simple to fit. The number of individual parts and therefore the complexity of installation are reduced.
One embodiment of the invention provides the wheel bearing as a constructional unit which, entirely preassembled with one or two inner rings and with or without a hub, can be fitted into a wheel carrier. For this purpose, the wheel bearing has, per inner ring, at least one axial securing means which is operatively connected to the respective inner ring. For this purpose, the axial securing means axially adjoins the tapered rollers on the side of the smallest diameter of the tapered rollers and is in form-fit engagement with the inner ring. The axial securing means radially projects on the inner ring above the smallest diameter of the respective outer raceway and is thus axially opposite the front faces of the tapered roller on the side of the smallest diameter of the tapered rollers.
The wheel bearing can be transported and handled in a preassembled state, since the axial securing means holds the tapered rollers and the inner and outer rings together by means of contact with the small front faces of the tapered rollers. Alternatively to this, the axial securing means holds the unit together by axial contact with a cage, in which the tapered rollers are guided, instead of direct contact with the front sides. In this case, the simplest form of axial securing means is a securing ring which engages in a ring groove on the inner ring.
A further embodiment of the invention provides for the axial securing means to be formed directly on a cage for the tapered rollers. In this case, the axial securing means engages from the cage in a ring groove of the inner ring in a form-fitting manner. An axial securing means of this type is, for example, one or preferably a plurality of plastic snap-on lugs which are arranged on the circumference of the cage and, when the cage with the rolling bodies is slid onto the inner ring, give, and then spring into a corresponding ring groove on the inner ring.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2004 026 457.0 | May 2004 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/DE05/00937 | 5/21/2005 | WO | 7/12/2007 |