NON-LOCATING BEARING ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A non-locating bearing assembly includes a bearing unit configured to support a rotating component relative to a stationary component, and the bearing unit includes a first stationary bearing ring and a second rotatable bearing ring that is fixedly connectable to the rotating component. The assembly also includes a bearing carrier to which the stationary bearing ring is attached in a rotationally fixed but axially displaceable manner, and the bearing carrier is configured to be fixedly connected to the stationary component.

Claims

1. A non-locating bearing assembly comprising: a bearing unit configured to support a rotatable component relative to a stationary component, the bearing unit including a first stationary bearing ring and a second rotatable bearing ring fixedly connectable to the rotatable component, and a bearing carrier to which the stationary bearing ring is attached by a friction fit in a rotationally fixed but axially displaceable manner, the bearing carrier being configured to be fixedly connected to the stationary component.

2. The non-locating bearing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the non-locating bearing assembly is configured as a preinstalled unit including the bearing carrier and the bearing unit.

3. The non-locating bearing assembly according to claim 1, including a spring mounted in the bearing carrier between the bearing carrier and the stationary bearing ring to preload the stationary bearing ring in the bearing carrier.

4. The non-locating bearing assembly according to claim 3, including a stop element on the bearing carrier, the stop element being configured to interact with the spring element or the stationary bearing ring to limit axial movement of the stationary bearing ring.

5. The non-locating bearing assembly according to claim 1, including means for connecting the bearing carrier to the stationary bearing ring in an axially displaceable and rotationally fixed manner.

6. The non-locating bearing assembly according to claim 1, including a connector for connecting the bearing carrier to the stationary bearing ring in an axially displaceable and rotationally fixed manner.

7. The non-locating bearing assembly according to claim 6, wherein the stationary bearing ring includes at least one groove, and wherein the connector is mounted in the at least one groove.

8. The non-locating bearing assembly according to claim 7, wherein the connector is an elastomer ring.

9. The non-locating bearing assembly according to claim 7, wherein the connector is a plastic body injected into the groove.

10. The non-locating bearing assembly according to claim 7, wherein the connector is a spring.

11. The non-locating bearing assembly according to claim 7, wherein the connector is a worm spring.

12. The non-locating bearing assembly according to claim 7, wherein the connector is an elastomeric ring or a spring, and wherein the connector is connected to the groove by adhesion.

13. The non-locating bearing assembly according to claim 6, wherein the bearing carrier includes at least one groove, and wherein the connector is mounted in the at least one groove.

14. The non-locating bearing assembly according to claim 13, wherein the connector is an elastomer ring.

15. The non-locating bearing assembly according to claim 13, wherein the connector is a plastic body injected into the groove.

16. The non-locating bearing assembly according to claim 13, wherein the connector is a spring.

17. The non-locating bearing assembly according to claim 13, wherein the connector is a worm spring.

18. The non-locating bearing assembly according to claim 13, wherein the connector is an elastomeric ring or a spring, and wherein the connector is connected to the groove by adhesion.

19. A non-locating bearing assembly comprising: a bearing unit configured to support a rotatable component relative to a stationary component, the bearing unit including a first stationary bearing ring and a second rotatable bearing ring fixedly connectable to the rotatable component, and a bearing carrier to which the stationary bearing ring is attached by a friction fit in a rotationally fixed but axially displaceable manner, the bearing carrier being configured to be fixedly connected to the stationary component.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] FIG. 1 is a sectional side elevational view of a non-locating bearing assembly including a bearing and a bearing carrier according to a first embodiment of the disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 2 is a sectional side elevational view of the bearing of FIG. 1.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a sectional side elevational view of a non-locating bearing assembly including a bearing and a bearing carrier according to a second embodiment of the disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 4 is a sectional side elevational view of the bearing of FIG. 3.

[0029] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the non-locating bearing assembly of FIG. 1

[0030] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the non-locating bearing assembly of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] In the following, identical or functionally equivalent elements are designated by the same reference numbers.

[0032] The appended Figures show preferred exemplary embodiments of a non-locating bearing assembly 1 including a bearing carrier 2 in which a bearing unit 4 and a spring element 6 are disposed. The exemplary embodiments depicted show a non-locating 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 non-locating bearing assembly 1 is also usable in other applications, for example, a stationary pin and a rotating housing.

[0033] It is advantageous here in particular when the bearing carrier 2 and the bearing unit 4 are manufactured from the same material or at least from materials having identical or similar coefficient of thermal expansions. Fit changes in operation can thereby be prevented.

[0034] In the depicted exemplary embodiments, the bearing carrier 2 is configured pot-shaped and includes a pot rim configured as a flange 20, a pot wall 22, and a pot base 24, wherein the pot base 24 includes a large recess 26 in order to attach the non-locating bearing assembly 1 to the movable component (not depicted). Furthermore, the bearing carrier 2 includes attachment elements 28 that are preferably disposed equally spaced along the flange 22. The attachment elements 28 can, as can be seen in particular from FIGS. 5 and 6, be configured as through-holes that are suitable for receiving screws. Of course, other attachment elements are also possible.

[0035] The bearing unit 4 comprises a bearing outer ring 40 that is configured in the depicted exemplary embodiment as a stationary bearing ring and a bearing inner ring 42 that is rotatable here that are spaced with respect to each other and receive rolling elements 44 between them that are guided and held uniformly spaced by a cage 46. As mentioned above, the exemplary embodiments are suited in particular for a shaft bearing assembly in a housing wherein the outer ring is rotationally fixed but axially displaceable. However, it is equally possible to form the bearing inner ring axially displaceable. Such a design is advantageous in particular with rotating housings, such as, for example, a hollow shaft.

[0036] In the exemplary embodiments depicted the bearing unit is furthermore configured as a ball bearing, but all other types of rolling-element bearings and plain bearings are also possible.

[0037] Furthermore, it can be seen from the Figures that in addition to the bearing unit 4 a spring element 6 is also disposed in the bearing carrier 2. This spring element 6 ensures that the bearing outer ring 40 is preloaded in the bearing carrier 2. Here the spring element 6 is supported on one side on the pot base 24 of the bearing carrier 2 and on the other side is supported on an end side 50 of the bearing outer ring 40.

[0038] In order to in particular provide a preinstalled non-locating bearing assembly 1, the bearing carrier 2 can furthermore be equipped on the flange side with a stop 32 that contacts and supports the bearing outer ring 40 on its other end side 52. It is thereby also possible to arrange the bearing unit overall in an already preloaded rest position in the bearing carrier 2. At the same time the entire non-locating bearing assembly 1 can be attached to a stationary component without having to take account of tolerances so that a particularly simple installation is possible. A shaft spring made of a flat wire is preferably used as the spring element 6. However, every other type of spring element 6 is also equally possible, such as, for example, a plate spring.

[0039] As mentioned above, in the depicted exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 3, the non-locating bearing assembly is a non-locating bearing assembly in which the outer ring 40 is rotationally stationary but axially displaceable, while the bearing inner ring 42 is rotatably connectable to a shaft not depicted here. In contrast, the bearing carrier 2 that receives the bearing unit 4 is rotationally and axially fixed with respect to a housing (not depicted) in which the non-depicted shaft is supported.

[0040] In order to ensure the axial displaceability of the non-locating bearing assembly 1, in the depicted exemplary embodiments the bearing outer ring 40 includes one (FIG. 3, 4) or two (FIG. 1, 2) formed grooves in which a connecting element is disposed in an interference-fit manner, which prevents a movement of the bearing outer ring 40 in the circumferential direction but allows an axial movement. Of course, it is naturally also possible to provide the groove on the bearing carrier 2 and the abutment surface on the bearing outer ring 40. The bearing unit 4 is depicted enlarged in the detail view 2 and 4.

[0041] The connecting element 60 can be configured, as depicted in FIG. 2, as an elastomer ring 70 that is received in the grooves 48-1, 48-2 of the bearing outer ring. Here an elastomer ring 70 can be placed into the grooves 48 as a simple O-ring, but it is also possible to inject the elastomer material into the grooves 48, whereby the friction fit between elastomer ring 70 and groove 48 is increased. As indicated in FIG. 1, the elastomer rings 70 contact an inner surface 30 of the bearing carrier 2 and form a friction fit with it. Due to this friction fit the bearing outer ring 40 is secured against rotation in the bearing carrier 2.

[0042] By providing two or even more elastomer rings 70, the friction force and thus the rotational securing can be increased. Of course, it is also possible to receive different connecting elements 60 in the grooves.

[0043] The grooves 48 also have the advantage that with an axial displacement of the bearing ring 40 relative to the bearing carrier 2, the elastomer ring 70 or generally the connecting elements 60 are axially co-displaced without damage to the connecting elements 60.

[0044] Alternatively or additionally, the connecting element 60 or one of the connecting elements 60 can also be configured as a spring element 72, as is depicted in FIG. 3 and the detail view of FIG. 4. In the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4, only a spring element 72 is provided in the form of a worm spring that exerts a spring force acting radially outwardly on the abutment surface 30 of the bearing carrier 2, whereby the friction force of the connecting element 60 against the abutment surface 30 is also increased. The use of a worm spring 72 also has the advantage that the windings of the worm spring 72 can engage into irregularities on the abutment surface 30 of the bearing carrier 2, so that the friction fit is also thereby increased.

[0045] Overall, using the proposed non-locating bearing assembly 1 a simple-to-handle unit can be provided that can be directly installed in its entirety without having to take account of tolerances of the housing, shaft, bearing, snap ring, elastomer ring, and spring. The usability of an entirely preassembled unit also reduces the installation time and thus installation costs. Since bearing carrier 2 and bearing unit 4 are manufactured from the same material, or from materials that thermally expand in a similar manner, a drastic reduction of the negative influence of different temperature-dependent expansions of bearings and light metal of a housing can be achieved.

[0046] 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 non-locating bearing assemblies.

[0047] 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.

[0048] 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

[0049] 1 Non-locating bearing assembly [0050] 2 Bearing carrier [0051] 20 Flange [0052] 22 Pot wall [0053] 24 Pot base [0054] 26 Recess [0055] 28 Attachment element [0056] 30 Abutment surface [0057] 32 Stop [0058] 4 Bearing unit [0059] 40 Bearing outer ring [0060] 42 Bearing inner ring [0061] 44 Rolling element [0062] 46 Cage [0063] 48 Groove [0064] 50; 52 End surfaces of the bearing ring [0065] 60 Connecting element [0066] 70 Elastomer ring [0067] 72 Worm spring