An article movement system includes an article and at least one ball wheel. The article has first and second article surfaces meeting at a first article edge. The ball wheel is located along the first article edge and includes a ball, a bearing arrangement and a shell. The ball engages a surface underlying the article, the bearing arrangement supports the ball for omni-directional rotational movement, and the shell is located along the first article edge and contains the ball and the bearing arrangement. The shell defines a non-circular ball opening through which a portion of the ball extends to contact the underlying surface. The article, the bearing arrangement and the shell are configured such that the ball wheel is able to support the article for omni-directional rolling motion over the underlying surface with either of the first and article surfaces parallel thereto, and at any orientation therebetween.

The wheel bearing device includes a hub shaft including a flange portion on one axial side of the hub shaft, an outer ring, a plurality of rolling elements, a cage, and a seal member attached to an end portion of the outer ring on the one axial side. A side surface of the flange portion on another axial side of the hub shaft includes a first side surface having first roughness and a second side surface having second roughness larger than the first roughness. The seal member includes a lip provided facing the second side surface, and a distal end of the lip includes a worn surface that is worn by being in sliding contact with the second side surface.

A hubcap for a heavy-duty duty vehicle that includes mounting structure that is formed with and cooperates with a side wall of the hubcap to provide a stiff, rigid structure that enables non-cantilevered connection to a wheel hub. The mounting structure can be a plurality of elongated bosses circumferentially spaced about the side wall that are formed with corresponding elongated bolt openings to enable the non-cantilevered attachment to the wheel hub. The elongated bosses cooperate with the hubcap side wall to provide a stiffened or rigid structure between the elongated bolt openings for increased and more uniform clamping force on a sealing gasket between the hubcap and the wheel hub. The hubcap profile provides clearance for removal of an outboard mounted disc brake rotor in heavy-duty vehicle wheel end assemblies that include such rotor configurations. The hubcap may support simple mounting of a hub odometer.

A vent plug for a hub cap is provided. The vent plug includes a cover and base forming a chamber. A vent plug body extends from the base and forms a cavity. A shield is coupled to the vent plug body. The shield comprises an annularly extending disc that traverses the cavity. The shield includes a connecting surface to connect the shield to the vent plug body. The shield provides a lubrication/liquid barrier to inhibit lubrication (or other liquid) from entering the cavity formed by the vent plug body and the chamber. The connection between the shield and the vent plug body allows a gas (typically air) to vent past the shield into the cavity and, when pressure is sufficiently high, to the chamber and eventually atmosphere.

A bearing device for vehicle wheel includes a sealing ring (71) that includes: a core bar (72) and sealing rubber (73). The sealing rubber (73) includes: a first sealing lip (73b) that is formed to the radial-direction outside of the fitting part (72a) and has a tip end part that is in sliding contact with a sealing plane part (3h); and a second sealing lip (73c) that is formed to the radial-direction inside of the fitting part (72a) and has a tip end part that is in sliding contact with the sealing plane part (3h). A flat surface (73e) that can be contacted by a press-fitting tool (P) and by the tip end part of the fitting part (72a) of another bearing device for vehicle wheel is formed between the first sealing lip (73b) and the second sealing lip (73c).

A drive wheel end includes a hub assembly, an axle, an axle shaft passing through an interior of the axle and rigidly coupled to the hub assembly outside the interior, a bearing system including (i) at least one bearing between the hub assembly and the axle and (ii) a bearing seal between the at least one bearing and an air side of the bearing system, and a filter spanning gap between the axle and at least one of the hub assembly and the axle shaft externally to the axle, to filter flow between the bearing system and the interior. The filter may include a frame and a flexible lip. The frame forms a central aperture and at least one opening radially outwards from the central aperture, and includes a size-discriminating material covering each opening. The flexible lip extends radially inwards from the frame.

A sealing device includes a seal member and a slinger. The slinger has a slinger fixing part, a first radial part, a first axial part, a second radial part, and a second axial part facing a seal fixing part of the seal member in a radial direction across a first clearance. The seal member has a large-diameter part facing, in an axial direction, an end of the second axial part on the other side in an axial direction across a second clearance. An outer circumferential surface of the large-diameter part and an outer circumferential surface of the second axial part are included in a flow passage surface of a continuous outside flow passage that extends in a straight line along the axial direction. The first clearance and the second clearance communicate with each other, and the sealing device has a labyrinth clearance including the first clearance and the second clearance.

A wheel assembly includes a wheel portion comprises a web having an inboard surface. The web may define a torque bar retention slot that extends from the inboard surface of the web. The wheel assembly may also include a bushing disposed in the torque bar retention slot, wherein the bushing comprises an open end and a closed end. Still further, the wheel assembly may include a torque bar coupled to the wheel, and the torque bar may include a boss extending into the bushing through the open end of the bushing such that the boss of the torque bar is at least partially disposed within the torque bar retention slot of the wheel portion.

A wheel hub assembly for mounting on an upright of a vehicle has a flanged outer ring provided with a tubular mounting portion inserted over a first axial length (L1) inside a seat of the upright; and a plastic cover having a mounting portion which is also engaged inside the tubular portion, wherein the mounting portion extends outside the tubular portion over a second axial length (L2) which, together with the first axial length (L1), covers less than a mounting length (L) inside the seat.

A wheel hub assembly assembly having a central axis (X) and covers therefore. An outer ring provided with a tubular mounting portion, and a cover having a keying portion which is inserted inside the tubular mounting portion. The cover is made of plastic material, the keying portion comprises an annular seat made of plastic and a sealing element made of rubbery elastic material. The sealing element is defined by a solid of rotation mounted inside the annular seat over a whole of an axial length of the annular seat so as to project radially outside of the annular seat to make contact with the tubular mounting portion of the outer ring thereby sealingly closing the wheel hub assembly.