WHEEL BEARING ASSEMBLY AND INSTALLATION METHOD

Abstract

A wheel bearing assembly includes at least one hub having an axial outboard end, a first bearing installed in the hub and having an outer ring and an inner ring, and at least one seal element that seals against a radially inner surface of the first bearing inner ring in a liquid-tight manner. The first bearing is the outboard-most bearing of the wheel bearing assembly.

Claims

1. A wheel bearing assembly comprising: a hub having an axial outboard end, a first bearing installed in the hub, the first bearing having an outer ring and an inner ring, and at least one seal element that seals against a radially inner surface of the first bearing inner ring in a liquid-tight manner, wherein the first bearing is the outboard-most bearing of the wheel bearing assembly.

2. The wheel bearing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the first bearing inner ring includes a groove on the radially inner surface, and wherein the at least one seal element is at least partially mounted in the groove.

3. The wheel bearing assembly according to claim 2, wherein the groove is axially spaced from a raceway of the first bearing inner ring.

4. The wheel assembly according to claim 2, wherein the groove is axially spaced from rolling elements of the first bearing inner ring.

5. The wheel bearing assembly according to claim 1, including an axle pin, and a second bearing having an outer ring and an inner ring, wherein the wheel bearing assembly is free of seals that are disposed between the axle pin and the second bearing inner ring.

6. The wheel bearing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the wheel bearing assembly is free of seals that seal against a radially outer side of the first bearing inner ring between the first bearing inner ring and a second bearing inner ring.

7. The wheel bearing assembly according to claim 2, wherein the seal element comprises an O-ring.

8. The wheel bearing assembly according to claim 1, including an axle pin, wherein the seal element seals between the first bearing inner ring and the axle pin in a liquid-tight manner.

9. A wheel bearing inner ring including a groove on a radially inner surface and an O-ring at least partially disposed in the groove.

10. A truck comprising: the wheel bearing assembly according to claim 1, and a wheel supported by the wheel bearing assembly, wherein the wheel is configured to be driven by an oil-lubricated driveshaft of the motor vehicle.

11. The wheel bearing according to claim 1, including sealing means for sealing between the bearing inner ring and the hub.

12. The wheel bearing according to claim 1, wherein the first bearing outer ring is pressed into the hub.

13. The wheel bearing according to claim 12, including a second bearing installed in the hub and having an inner ring and an outer ring, wherein the second bearing inner ring is connected to the first bearing inner ring at a joint by a connecting ring.

14. A wheel bearing assembly comprising: a hub having an axial outboard end, an axial inner bearing installed in the hub and comprising an outer ring pressed into the hub and an inner ring, the inner ring having a first raceway on a radially outer surface, an axial outboard-most bearing installed in the hub and comprising an outer ring pressed into the hub and an inner ring, the inner ring of the axial outboard-most bearing having a second raceway and a groove on a radially inner surface, the groove being located axially outward of the second raceway, and an O-ring in the groove, wherein the axially outboard-most bearing is located between the axially inner bearing and the axial outboard end of the hub.

15. The wheel bearing assembly according to claim 14, including an axle pin supporting the inner ring of the axial inner bearing and the inner ring of the axial outboard-most bearing, the O-ring forming a liquid-tight seal against the axle pin.

16. The wheel bearing assembly according to claim 15, including a seal between a radial outer surface of the inner ring of the axial outboard-most bearing and the hub.

17. The wheel bearing assembly according to claim 14, wherein the inner ring of the axial inner bearing and the inner ring of the axial outboard-most bearing meet at a joint, wherein a connecting ring is located at a radial inner end of the joint, and wherein no seal element is located at the radially outer end of the joint.

18. The wheel bearing assembly according to claim 17, wherein the radially outer surface of the inner ring of the axial inner bearing is flush with the radially outer surface of the inner ring of the axial outboard-most bearing.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] FIG. 1 is an axial section through a conventional wheel bearing assembly.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a partial axial section through a wheel bearing assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] FIG. 2 shows an inventive wheel bearing assembly including a first tapered roller bearing 54 and a second tapered roller bearing 56, which are pressed in from different sides into a hub 35 of the wheel bearing assembly. A bearing inner ring 36 of the tapered roller bearing 54 and a bearing inner ring 52 of the tapered roller bearing 56 have end sides that abut against each other. The bearing inner rings 36, 52 are attached to each other in an interference-fit manner by a ring 58 of the wheel bearing assembly. The bearing inner ring 36 has a shorter distance from an axial outboard end 38 of the wheel bearing assembly than the bearing inner ring 52. Furthermore, the bearing inner rings 36, 52 are the only bearing inner rings of the wheel bearing assembly. In a state in which the wheel bearing assembly is part of a motor vehicle, the axial outboard end 38 is that axial end of the wheel bearing assembly that is facing away from a center of gravity and/or a longitudinal centerline of the motor vehicle. The motor vehicle can be a truck.

[0022] On a radial inner surface 42 of the first bearing inner ring, the wheel bearing assembly includes a seal element 40 that seals against the inner surface 42 in a liquid-tight manner. For this purpose the first bearing inner ring 36 includes a groove 44 on the radial inner surface 42, in which groove 44 the seal element 40 is disposed, and by which groove 44 the seal element is attached to the bearing inner ring 36. The tapered roller bearings 54, 56 are disposed on an axle pin 50 of the wheel bearing assembly, and the radial inner surface 42 abuts against the axle pin 50. The groove 44 and the seal element 40 extend completely around the axle pin 50 in the circumferential direction. In addition, the seal element 40 continuously abuts in the circumferential direction over 360° against the axle pin 50 and a base of the groove 44 so that the seal element seals between the bearing inner ring 36 and the axle pin 50 in a liquid-tight manner, and in particular with respect to oil. The seal element 40 is configured as an O-ring.

[0023] The wheel bearing assembly is free of seals that are disposed between the axle pin 50 and the second bearing inner ring 52. In one alternative design of the invention, such a seal or a plurality of such seals can be present in order to reliably prevent dirt from a spatial region 60, which is farther inboard-side in comparison to the tapered roller bearing 56, from reaching between the bearing inner ring 52 and the axle pin 50.

[0024] Furthermore, the wheel bearing assembly is free of seals that seal against a radial outer side of the first bearing inner ring and a radial outer side of the second bearing inner ring between the first bearing inner ring and the second bearing inner ring of the wheel bearing assembly. In one alternative embodiment of the invention, such a seal can be present.

[0025] The bearing inner ring 36 includes a raceway 46, on which rolling elements 48 roll during operation. The groove 44 is spaced from the raceway 46 in the axial direction of the wheel bearing assembly.

[0026] The axle pin 50 is hollow. Through it a driveshaft (not shown) extends, which is provided for driving a wheel (not shown) supported by the wheel bearing assembly. For this purpose, in a fully installed state the driveshaft is attached to the hub 35 with the aid of screw holes 62. The respective wheel is attached radially farther outward of the holes 64 of the hub 35. The driveshaft is oil-lubricated, and oil is located between the driveshaft and the axle pin 50. The oil can also lubricate a differential disposed on the driveshaft. Furthermore, a planetary transmission can be disposed outboard relative to the tapered roller bearing 54, which planetary transmission can also be lubricated by the oil.

[0027] In a method for installing the wheel bearing assembly, the seal element 40 is first attached in the groove 44, and subsequently the tapered roller bearing 54 is pressed into the hub 35. Then the hub 35 is installed on the axle pin together with the tapered roller bearings 54, 56. Thus, already prior to a delivery of the tapered roller bearing 54 to a location at which it is installed on the axle pin 50, a manufacturer of the tapered roller bearing 54 can ensure by installing the seal element 40 that in a fully installed state, no oil that is provided for lubricating the driveshaft and that can be disposed in a spatial region 66 that is outboard of the tapered roller bearing 54 can move forward. In comparison to the O-ring 24 of the embodiment according to FIG. 1, the seal element 40 has the advantage in particular that an optical monitoring of a correct seat in a final installation position is significantly better able to be done. The seal element 40 also prevents oil from reaching the spatial region 66 into a region between the outer ring of the tapered roller bearing 56 and the bearing inner ring 52, and subsequently reaching into the spatial region 60, in which a brake disc is disposed, through a seal 68 facing the spatial region 60. Oil that reaches the brake disc can seriously impair a brake function of the motor vehicle. The seal element 40 is also more cost-effective than a seal including the O-ring 24 according to FIG. 1.

[0028] The tapered roller bearings 54, 56 are both lubricated by lubricating grease.

[0029] Representative, non-limiting examples of the present invention were described above in detail with reference to the attached drawings. This detailed description is merely intended to teach a person of skill in the art further details for practicing preferred aspects of the present teachings and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Furthermore, each of the additional features and teachings disclosed above may be utilized separately or in conjunction with other features and teachings to provide bearing assemblies.

[0030] Moreover, combinations of features and steps disclosed in the above detailed description may not be necessary to practice the invention in the broadest sense, and are instead taught merely to particularly describe representative examples of the invention. Furthermore, various features of the above-described representative examples, as well as the various independent and dependent claims below, may be combined in ways that are not specifically and explicitly enumerated in order to provide additional useful embodiments of the present teachings.

[0031] All features disclosed in the description and/or the claims are intended to be disclosed separately and independently from each other for the purpose of original written disclosure, as well as for the purpose of restricting the claimed subject matter, independent of the compositions of the features in the embodiments and/or the claims. In addition, all value ranges or indications of groups of entities are intended to disclose every possible intermediate value or intermediate entity for the purpose of original written disclosure, as well as for the purpose of restricting the claimed subject matter.

REFERENCE NUMBER LIST

[0032] 10 Tapered roller bearing [0033] 12 Tapered roller bearing [0034] 14 Inner ring [0035] 16 Inner ring [0036] 18 Ring [0037] 20 Outer ring [0038] 22 Outer ring [0039] 24 O-ring [0040] 26 Plastic ring [0041] 28 O-ring [0042] 30 Spatial region [0043] 32 Seal [0044] 35 Hub [0045] 36 Bearing inner ring [0046] 38 End [0047] 40 Seal element [0048] 42 Inner surface [0049] 44 Groove [0050] 46 Raceway [0051] 48 Rolling elements [0052] 50 Axle pin [0053] 52 Bearing inner ring [0054] 54 Tapered roller bearing [0055] 56 Tapered roller bearing [0056] 58 Ring [0057] 60 Spatial region [0058] 62 Screw hole [0059] 64 Hole [0060] 66 Spatial region [0061] 68 Seal