FLANGED BEARING OUTER RING UNIT

Abstract

A flanged bearing outer ring unit includes an outer ring formed from metal and having a sliding interface and a polymeric flange attached to the sliding interface by overmolding and/or injection molding, and, optionally including an embedded metal or organo-sheet reinforcement. Also a method and a molding form for forming the flanged bearing outer ring unit.

Claims

1. A flanged bearing outer ring unit comprising: an outer ring comprising metal and having a sliding interface; and a polymeric flange attached to the sliding interface by injection molding.

2. The flanged bearing outer ring unit according to claim 1, wherein the polymeric material is a thermoplastic material.

3. The flanged bearing outer ring unit according to claim 1, wherein the polymeric material is fiber reinforced.

4. The flanged bearing outer ring unit according to claim 3, wherein the polymeric material is reinforced by an embedded metal sheet or an organo-sheet.

5. The flanged bearing outer ring unit according to claim 4, wherein the organo-sheet is a pre-consolidated sheet of thermoplastic material being with layers of fibers.

6. The flanged bearing outer ring unit according to claim 5, wherein the fibers are made of glass or carbon.

7. A molding form for producing a flanged bearing outer ring unit according to claim 1, comprising a first molding part and a second molding part, wherein the first molding part, the second molding part and the outer ring form a cavity fillable with a polymeric material for overmolding the flange to the sliding interface of the outer ring.

8. A bearing assembly comprising: a flanged bearing outer ring unit according to claim 1, an inner ring, and rolling elements arranged between the inner ring and the flanged bearing outer ring unit, wherein the sliding interface is provided between the flange of the flanged bearing outer ring unit and the outer ring.

9. A method for manufacturing a flanged bearing outer ring unit according to claim 1 comprising: providing an outer ring, placing the outer ring in a molding form comprising a first molding part and a second molding part, wherein the first molding part, the second molding part and the outer ring form a cavity fillable with a polymeric material, filling the cavity of the molding form by injecting polymeric material into the cavity, cooling the polymeric material, and demolding the flanged bearing outer ring unit by removing the first molding part and the second molding part.

10. A method for manufacturing a bearing assembly, comprising: providing a flanged bearing outer ring unit according to claim 1, and assembling rolling elements and an inner ring into the outer ring of the flanged bearing outer ring unit to produce the bearing assembly.

11. The flanged bearing outer ring unit according to claim 1, wherein the siding interface is curved and wherein the polymeric flange has a curved surface in direct contact with the sliding interface.

12. The flanged bearing outer ring unit according to claim 11, wherein the polymeric flange has a first leg having the first surface and a second leg substantially perpendicular to the first leg.

13. The flanged bearing outer ring unit according to claim 12, including a reinforcing sheet inside the polymeric flange, the reinforcing sheet having a first portion in the first leg and a second portion in the second leg.

14. The flanged bearing outer ring unit according to claim 13, wherein the reinforcing sheet comprises metal or organo-sheet.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a molding form for manufacturing a flanged bearing outer ring unit according to the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the flanged bearing outer ring unit of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] In the following same or similar functioning elements are indicated with the same reference numerals.

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a molding form 1 for producing a flanged bearing outer ring unit. The flanged bearing outer ring unit includes an outer ring 2 and a flange 4 attached to a sliding interface 6 of the outer ring 2.

[0024] The molding form 1 comprises a first molding part 8 and a second molding part 10. The first molding part 8 and the second molding part 10 are set on top of each other. One side of the molding form 1 is closed by the outer ring 2, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0025] After putting together the molding form 1, a polymeric material is filled into the cavity formed between the first molding part 8, the second molding part 10 and the outer ring 2. The polymeric material, for example a thermoplastic material, is injected via an opening 12 formed in the first molding part 8. An injection device 14 may be used for injecting the polymeric material which injection device can be coupled to the opening 12.

[0026] After the polymeric material is filled into the cavity, the polymeric material is cooled. Because the sliding interface 6 forms one side of the cavity, the polymeric material is directly molded onto the sliding interface 6. After the polymeric material has completely cooled down, in particular cooled down to freezing temperature, the flanged bearing outer ring unit 16 is demolded by removing the first molding part 8 and the second molding part 10.

[0027] As a final step, rolling elements and an inner ring can be mounted to the outer ring 2 of the flanged bearing outer ring unit 16 for manufacturing a complete bearing assembly.

[0028] The flange 4 can thus be easily attached to the sliding interface 6 of the outer ring 2 for allowing a self-alignment of the outer ring 2. As the flange 4 is made of a polymeric material, the whole bearing assembly can be made lighter than a bearing assembly using a steel flange. Further, the manufacture of such a polymeric flange is easier than the manufacture of a steel flange because there is no need for further grinding the outer ring material to obtain the correct dimensions of the flange.

[0029] In order to reinforce the polymeric flange 4, an organo-sheet 18 may be embedded in the polymeric material as shown in FIG. 2. The organo-sheet 18 is a pre-consolidated sheet of thermoplastic material that is reinforced with layers of fibers, for example carbon or glass fibers.

[0030] The organo-sheet 18 may be placed into the molding form 1 before the molding form 1 is filled with the polymeric material. When the cavity of the molding form 1 is filled with the polymeric material, the polymeric material molds around the organo-sheet 18. By using such an organo-sheet 18, a higher degree of strength and stiffness may be added to the polymeric material, thus improving the strength and stiffness of the flange 4.

[0031] In summary, when a polymeric flange and an outer ring for a bearing which has a sliding interface with the polymeric flange for self-alignment is manufactured as described above, the manufacturing may be simplified and the material waste may be reduced as no grinding etc. on the flange is necessary.

[0032] 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 improved flanged outer bearing rings.

[0033] 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.

[0034] 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 NUMERAL LIST

[0035] 1 molding form [0036] 2 outer ring [0037] 4 flange [0038] 6 sliding interface [0039] 8 first molding part [0040] 10 second molding part [0041] 12 opening [0042] 14 injection device [0043] 16 flanged bearing outer ring unit [0044] 18 organo-sheet