Bearing assembly

Abstract

A bearing assembly includes a roller bearing connected with a bearing support having a plate-shaped section. The bearing support has a receiving bore for an outer ring of the roller bearing, and the outer ring of the roller bearing is affixed to the bearing support with two affixing plates that are fixed to first and second end sides of the bearing support and that clamp the outer ring at two clamping surfaces. An axial spacing of the first and second end sides of the bearing support is smaller than an axial spacing of the clamping surfaces of the outer ring, and the two affixing plates have a different mechanical strength.

Claims

1. A bearing assembly comprising: a bearing support including a plate-shaped section and a receiving bore; and a roller bearing having an outer ring connected at the plate-shaped section of the bearing support by a first affixing plate at a first side of the bearing support and a second affixing plate at a second side of the bearing support, the first and second affixing plates clamping the outer ring at a first clamping surface and a second clamping surface of the bearing outer ring, wherein an axial width of the plate-shaped section of the bearing support is less than an axial separation of the first and second clamping surfaces of the outer ring, and wherein the first affixing plate is more easily deformable than the second affixing plate, and including a plurality of threaded fasteners extending through the first affixing plate, the plate-shaped section and the second affixing plate, the plurality of threaded fasteners holding the first affixing plate in contact with the first side of the bearing support and holding the second affixing plate in contact with the second side of the bearing support such that the bearing outer ring is fixed relative to the bearing support by the first and second affixing plates.

2. The bearing assembly according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of the axial width of the plate-shaped section to the axial separation of the first and second clamping surfaces is from 0.975 to 0.995.

3. The bearing assembly according to claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of threaded fasteners has a head, and wherein the heads are in contact with the first affixing plate.

4. The bearing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the second affixing plate has a greater axial width than the first affixing plate.

5. The bearing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the first affixing plate is formed from a first material and the second affixing plate is formed from a second material different than the first material.

6. The bearing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the first affixing plate comprises a first number of stacked plate elements and the second affixing plate comprises a second number of stacked plate elements different than the first number.

7. The bearing assembly according to claim 1, wherein one of the two affixing plates is disposed in a groove in an end-side area of the outer ring.

8. The bearing assembly according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of the axial width of the plate-shaped section to the axial separation of the first and second clamping surfaces is from 0.975 to 0.995, and wherein the first affixing plate is disposed in a first groove in the outer ring and the second affixing plate is disposed in a second groove in the outer ring, and wherein the threaded fasteners have heads and the heads are disposed on the first affixing plate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(1) A bearing assembly 1 is illustrated in the FIGURE, which comprises a roller bearing 2 that is to be affixed in a bearing support 3. The final mounted state is not illustrated; instead, a mounting state is illustrated before the bolts 12, of which only one is illustrated, are tightened.

(2) The illustrated bearing support 3 has at least the illustrated section, which is formed plate-shaped, with two end sides 8 and 9 that have a spacing X from each other in the axial direction a. The bearing support 3 can be a component that is fitted into a transmission housing; however it can also be a segment of a housing, e.g., of a transmission.

(3) The bearing support 3 has a receiving bore 4 for receiving the outer ring 5 of the roller bearing 2. The outer ring 5 of the roller bearing 2 is pushed into the receiving bore and axially fixed by affixing an affixing plate 6 and 7 to each of the two end sides 8, 9 of the bearing support 3 In an alternate embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 2, two affixing plates 6′, 7′ could each be composed of a plurality of plate elements that are disposed stacked on each other. In this case, the two affixing plates 6′, 7′ then have a different number of such plate elements.

(4) Clamping surfaces 10 and 11 are formed on the outer ring 5 in the area of the two end sides of the outer ring 5, which clamping surfaces 10, 11 can be formed—as illustrated—by grooves in the outer ring 5.

(5) If the bolts 12 are inserted into the corresponding through-bores of the bearing support 3 and tightened in the assembled state (the mating thread for the bolts 12 is located in the affixing plate 6), the composite composed of the outer ring 5, bearing support 3 and affixing plates 6, 7 is secured and the roller bearing 2 is thus attached to the bearing support 3.

(6) In that this is possible in a problem-free manner in a statically determined manner and in the presence of manufacturing tolerances, it is provided that the spacing X, measured in the axial direction a, of the end sides 8 and 9 of the bearing support 3 is smaller than the spacing Y, measured in the axial direction a, of the clamping surfaces 10 and 11 of the outer ring 5. Accordingly, an axial gap 14 is initially present —as can be recognized in the Figure —before the bolts 12 are firmly tightened.

(7) In that now a defined axial position of the outer ring 5 relative to the bearing support 3 results upon firmly tightening the bolts 12, it is further provided that the two affixing plates 6 and 7 are intentionally formed differently and thus have a different mechanical strength.

(8) This has the consequence that, upon tightening the bolts 12, the affixing plate having the lower mechanical strength yields more than the other affixing plate, so that the final position of the outer ring 5 relative to the bearing support 3 is defined by the mechanically stronger affixing plate.

(9) In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, it is the right affixing plate 7 that has a lesser mechanical strength as compared to the left affixing plate 6. Accordingly, the left affixing plate 6 defines the relative position of the outer ring 5 to the bearing support 3; the right bearing plate 7 yields accordingly upon tightening of the bolts 12, which occurs through plastic and/or elastic deformation.

(10) As illustrated, the different mechanical strengths can be achieved very easily by selecting the thickness d1 of a one, left affixing plate 6 to be larger than the thickness d2 of the other, right affixing plate 7. The smaller thickness preferably amounts to at most 75%, preferably at most 60%, of the larger thickness. When the different mechanical strengths are provided in a different manner, by forming the left affixing plate 6 and the right affixing plate 7 of different materials, for example, the differences in mechanical strengths should be comparable to the different mechanical strengths provided by using plates of different thicknesses as described above.

(11) A reliable securing of the assembly is possible while eliminating the to-be-expected manufacturing tolerences when the ratio of the spacing X of the end sides 8 and 9 of the bearing support 3 to the spacing Y of the clamping surfaces 10 and 11 of the outer rings 5 amounts to between 0.975 and 0.0995. Then it is possible, without expensive measures, to affix the necessary components and neverless to ensure in the assembly that a defined position of the outer rings 5 relative to the bearing support 3 is present when the mounting process is concluded, that is, when the defined axial gap between the affixing plates 6, 7 and the bearing support 3 has been eliminated by tightening the affixing bolts 12 as shown, for example, in FIG. 3.

(12) In the exemplary embodiment, it is provided that the thicker and thus stiffer affixing plate 6 is connected with the roller bearing 2 in a captive-manner. This can be effected by forming the grooves in the left end-side area of the outer ring 5 so that the affixing plate 6 snaps onto the outer ring 5 when axially slid and thus (up to a corresponding removing force) is firmly connected with the outer ring 5.

(13) Further, it is provided that the bolt head 13 of the bolts 12 abuts on the affixing plate 7 having the lower mechanical strength.

(14) Manufacturing tolerances play no large role due to the initially—before the tightening of the bolts—present axial gap 14; these tolerances are compensated and/or absorbed upon tightening the bolts 12 and are specifically eliminated by elastic or also plastic deformation of the affixing plates 6, 7.

(15) When the bearing assembly is mounted, e.g., in a transmission, the roller bearing 2 having the affixing plate 6 captively disposed on it is preferably initially pressed onto the shaft 15 (as illustrated in the FIGURE) and axially fixed. The receiving bore 4 of the bearing support 3 is brought over the outer ring 5 of the roller bearing 2 and is mounted. At this time, the pre-mounted affixing plate 6 contacts the end side 8 of the bearing support 3 in a flush manner so that no axial gap is present here between the affixing plate 6 and the end side 8 of the bearing support 3.

(16) Then the second affixing plate 7 is set into the corresponding groove in the outer ring 5, wherein the axial gap 14 then results. Then the bolts 12 are screwed into the assembly and so that the bolt head 13 abuts on the end side of the mechanically weaker affixing plate 7 (as illustrated in the FIGURE).

(17) Upon simultaneously tightening all of the bolts 12, the fixed composite of the bearing assembly results through an elasto-plastic deformation, primarily of the affixing plate 7 having the lesser stiffness. Accordingly, the position of the outer ring 5 relative to the bearing support 3 remains defined by the affixing plate 6.

REFERENCE NUMBER LIST

(18) 1 Bearing assembly

(19) 2 Roller bearing

(20) 3 Bearing support

(21) 4 Receiving bore

(22) 5 Outer ring

(23) 6 Affixing plate

(24) 7 Affixing plate

(25) 8 End side

(26) 9 End side

(27) 10 Clamping surface

(28) 11 Clamping surface

(29) 12 Bolt

(30) 13 Bolt head

(31) 14 Axial gap

(32) 15 Shaft

(33) a Axial direction

(34) X Spacing of the end sides

(35) Y Spacing of the clamping surfaces

(36) d.sub.1 Thickness

(37) d.sub.2 Thickness