BEARING ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A bearing assembly includes a bearing unit configured to support a rotatable component relative to a stationary component which may be a bearing carrier, the bearing unit including a stationary bearing ring and a rotatable bearing ring. The rotatable bearing ring is connectable to the rotatable component and the stationary bearing ring is connectable to the bearing carrier such that they are rotationally fixed. At least part of the bearing unit is not covered by the bearing carrier.

Claims

1. A bearing assembly comprising: a bearing unit configured to support a rotatable component relative to a stationary component, the bearing unit including a stationary bearing ring and a rotatable bearing ring, wherein the rotatable bearing ring is connectable to the rotatable component, wherein the stationary bearing ring is connectable to the stationary component such that they are rotationally fixed, and wherein at least part of the bearing unit is not covered by the stationary component.

2. The bearing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the stationary component is a bearing carrier.

3. The bearing assembly according to claim 2, wherein an area of an axial end face of the stationary bearing ring directly contacted by the bearing carrier is less than a total area of the axial end face of the stationary bearing ring.

4. The bearing assembly according to claim 2, wherein a portion of the bearing carrier overlies an area of a radially outer surface of the stationary bearing ring, and wherein the area of the radially outer surface directly overlain by the bearing carrier is less than 75% of a total area of the radially outer surface.

5. The bearing assembly according to claim 2, wherein the bearing carrier directly overlies an area of a radially inner surface of the stationary bearing ring, and wherein the area of the radially inner surface directly overlain by the bearing carrier is less than 75% of a total area of the radially inner surface.

6. The bearing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the bearing carrier is connected to the stationary bearing ring by a friction fit, by an interference-fit, and/or by a material-bonded fit.

7. The bearing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the stationary component is formed from a thermoplastic or a thermoset or a light metal alloy.

8. The bearing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the stationary bearing ring includes a retainer, and wherein the stationary bearing ring is connected to the bearing carrier via the retainer.

9. The bearing assembly according to claim 8, wherein the retainer is embedded in the bearing carrier.

10. The bearing assembly according to claim 9, wherein the retainer is formed of a metal that has a same modulus of elasticity and/or a same coefficient of thermal expansion as the stationary bearing ring.

11. The bearing assembly according to claim 9, wherein the retainer is a retaining ring, and wherein the retaining ring is sleeve-shaped or bowl-shaped.

12. The bearing assembly according to claim 9, wherein the retainer is disposed on the radially outer surface or the radially inner surface of the stationary bearing ring.

13. The bearing assembly according to claim 9, wherein the retainer includes recesses configured to be filled with a material of the bearing carrier.

14. The bearing assembly according to claim 9, wherein the retainer is electrically conductive.

15. The bearing assembly according to claim 2, including a retainer connecting the stationary bearing ring to the bearing carrier, wherein the bearing carrier directly overlies an area of a radially outer surface of the stationary bearing ring, wherein the area of the radially outer surface directly overlain by the bearing carrier is less than 75% of a total area of the radially outer surface, wherein the retainer includes a first portion embedded in the bearing carrier and a second portion extending from the bearing carrier, and wherein the stationary bearing ring is mounted inside the second portion and does not extend inside the first portion.

16. The bearing assembly according to claim 15, wherein the first portion is conical and the second portion is cylindrical.

17. The bearing assembly according to claim 16, wherein the second portion includes a radially inwardly projecting lip overlying an axial end face of the stationary bearing ring.

18. The bearing assembly according to claim 17, wherein the first portion includes recesses or through openings.

19. The bearing assembly according to claim 18, wherein the retainer is electrically conductive.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] FIG. 1 is a first perspective view of a bearing unit disposed in a bearing carrier.

[0026] FIG. 2 is a second perspective view of the bearing unit disposed in a bearing carrier.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a bearing unit disposed in a bearing carrier, which bearing unit includes a retaining element according to a first embodiment of the disclose.

[0028] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a bearing unit disposed in a bearing carrier, which bearing unit includes a retaining element, according to a second embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] In the following, identical or functionally equivalent elements are designated by the same reference numbers.

[0030] The appended Figures show preferred exemplary embodiments of a bearing assembly 1 including a bearing carrier 2 in which a bearing unit 4 is disposed, the bearing unit 4 including an inner ring 6 and an outer ring 8. The exemplary embodiments depicted show a bearing assembly 1 that can be used, for example, for supporting a shaft in a housing, wherein the housing is stationary and the shaft is rotating. Of course, the bearing assembly 1 is also usable in other applications, for example, with a stationary pin and a rotating housing.

[0031] The inner ring 6 of the bearing unit 4 is configured as a rotatable bearing ring, and the outer ring 8 is configured as a stationary bearing ring and is connected to the bearing carrier 2. Between the bearing rings 6, 8, rolling elements 10 are disposed that are guided and held uniformly spaced by a cage 12 (see for this purpose in particular FIGS. 3 and 4).

[0032] In the exemplary embodiments depicted, the bearing unit 4 is configured as a ball bearing, but all other types of rolling-element bearings are also possible, such as, for example, roller bearings, or plain bearings.

[0033] For attaching to the housing (not depicted), the bearing carrier 2 includes receptacles, in this case through-openings 14, into which attachment means, for example, screws, can be introduced. Other receptacles are also possible, such as, for example, threaded collars or separate inserts.

[0034] In the exemplary embodiments depicted, the bearing carrier 2 includes a flange 16 including the receptacles 14 and a shoulder 18 in the center of which the bearing unit 4 is disposed. The flange 16 has a certain thickness in order to make possible a stable attachment to the housing. As is shown in FIG. 2, the flange 16 includes recesses 20 on one side. These serve to make the bearing carrier 2 lighter, while it simultaneously remains stable due to the remaining bridges 22.

[0035] In order to simplify the attaching of the bearing unit 4 in the bearing carrier 2, or alternatively directly in the housing, and in particular to avoid compromising the bearing unit 4 by exposure to high temperatures and pressures, the bearing assembly 1 includes a retaining element 30 as is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

[0036] Here the retaining element 30, instead of the bearing unit 4, is embedded in the bearing carrier 2. High temperatures during the manufacturing of the bearing carrier 2, for example, by injection-molding, thus do not act on the bearing unit 4, but rather only affect the retaining element 30. The components of the bearing unit 4, such as, for example, the rolling elements 10, thus are protected from damage by high temperatures.

[0037] As is depicted in FIG. 3, the retaining element 30 can be disposed on an outer-diameter surface 28 of the stationary bearing ring 8. The retaining element 30 is preferably configured bowl-shaped, wherein a flange 32 surrounds the bearing ring 8 on an axial end surface.

[0038] The contact between the retaining element 30 and the bearing unit 2 can be effected by a friction or interference fit. For example, the bearing unit 4 and the retaining element 30 can be connected by a transition or press fit.

[0039] The retaining element 4 is preferably comprised of metal and has the same modulus of elasticity and/or the same coefficient of thermal expansion as the bearing ring 8. In this way, in operation there is no temperature-related change of the initial fit between the bearing ring 8 and the retaining element 30, and the connection between them remains even in operation.

[0040] In order to make possible an embedding of the retaining element 30 in the bearing carrier 2, and thus a connection between the bearing unit 4 and the bearing carrier 2, the retaining element 30 includes a projection 34 extending both radially and axially. This projection 34, which preferably has no direct contact with the bearing unit 4, is embedded in the bearing carrier 2.

[0041] During the manufacture of the bearing carrier 2, molding tools 38, 40 can surround the retaining element 30 and the bearing unit 4 such that the bearing unit 4 is protected from contact with the molding compound of the bearing carrier 2. The molding tools 38, 40 can also contain a cooling system in order to additionally cool the bearing unit 4 during the molding process. The bearing carrier 2 is molded around the retaining element 30 and in particular around the projection 34. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, only a small axial contact region 36 arises between the bearing carrier 2 and the bearing unit 4. In this embodiment, the entire bearing carrier 2 is axially adjacent to the bearing unit 4. In other words, the bearing carrier does not overlap the radially outer surface of the bearing unit 4.

[0042] Alternatively, as is depicted in FIG. 4, the bearing carrier 2 can include an overlapping region 42 with respect to the bearing unit 4. However, in this case there is also no direct contact between the bearing carrier 2 and the bearing unit 4, but rather the direct contact is effected only between the retaining element 30 and the bearing carrier 2. In this way the bearing unit 4 is also protected from high temperatures during the manufacture of the bearing carrier 2.

[0043] The retaining element 30 can include radially extending recesses 44 that are fillable with the material of the bearing carrier 2. Due to these recesses 44 a particularly advantageous connection is effected between the bearing unit 4, using the retaining element 30, and the bearing carrier 2, such that the bearing unit 4 and the bearing carrier 2 are rotationally fixed.

[0044] Due to the bearing assembly disclosed herein, it is possible to embed a bearing unit in a bearing carrier or a stationary component without negatively impacting the bearing unit by high temperatures during the molding process of the bearing carrier or of the stationary component.

[0045] 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 bearing assemblies.

[0046] 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.

[0047] 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

[0048] 1 Bearing assembly [0049] 2 Bearing carrier [0050] 4 Bearing unit [0051] 6 Inner ring [0052] 8 Outer ring [0053] 10 Rolling element [0054] 12 Cage [0055] 14 Receptacles [0056] 16 Flange [0057] 18 Shoulder [0058] 20 Recesses [0059] 22 Bridges [0060] 28 Radial outer surface [0061] 30 Retaining element [0062] 32 Flange [0063] 34 Projection [0064] 36 Contact region [0065] 38, 40 Molding tool [0066] 42 Overlapping region [0067] 44 Recess