DE102021110621A1 - Combined radial/axial bearing unit with components manufactured by metal forming - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a combined radial/axial bearing unit with a bearing sleeve (1) manufactured monolithically from a formed sheet metal material, comprising a hollow-cylindrical radial bearing area (2) with an outer circumferential raceway (4) for rolling elements (6) guided in a radial cage (5) and a Adjoining disk-shaped axial bearing area (3) with a raceway (7) arranged on one of the two side surfaces for rolling elements (9) guided in an axial cage (8), with axial securing of the axial bearing and the radial cage (5) on the axial bearing area (3 ) the end of the hollow-cylindrical radial bearing area (2) facing away is provided with a radially outwardly angled edge area (10) for axial securing, in order to form a structural unit that holds itself together.

Description

The present invention relates to a combined radial/axial bearing unit with components produced by forming, in particular a bearing sleeve made from a formed sheet metal material, comprising a hollow-cylindrical radial bearing area with an outer circumferential raceway for rolling elements guided in a radial cage, which form a radial bearing component. Adjacent to this is an axial bearing component.

The field of application of the invention extends primarily to motor vehicle technology. Bearing units of interest here are used there, for example in a drive train, wherever a shaft is to be mounted both in the radial and in the axial direction, for example in a pinion shaft mounting of an axle differential.

State of the art

From the DE 10 2011 079 750 A1 a combined radial/axial bearing unit of the type of interest here emerges. In this case, the radial bearing component has an inner ring and an outer ring, between which cage-guided rolling elements, here in the form of rollers, are located. The thrust bearing component includes two thrust washers, between which the cage-guided rollers, which are also standard, are arranged. The outer ring of the radial bearing component and the axial disk of the axial bearing component facing it are mechanically coupled to one another and at the same time movable relative to one another to form a prefabricated structural unit. Analog The same thing is realized between the inner ring of the radial bearing component and the outer thrust washer of the thrust bearing component.

It is true that this previously known, self-contained component assembly can be assembled in a simple manner, but the pre-assembly of the various individual parts and their production requires a corresponding manufacturing outlay. In particular, the pre-assembly also requires the distal end region of the inner ring of the radial bearing component to be heated in order to subsequently bend it over, with the result that the combined radial/axial bearing unit is held together.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to further improve a combined radial/axial bearing unit of the type described above in such a way that it can be produced as far as possible by forming and consists of a minimum number of individual components designed to be easy to assemble.

Brief description of the invention

The object is achieved by a combined radial/axial bearing unit according to claim 1. The following dependent claims reflect advantageous developments of the invention.

The invention includes the technical teaching that a combined radial/axial bearing unit with a bearing sleeve made from a formed sheet metal material has a hollow-cylindrical radial bearing area with an outer circumferential raceway for rolling elements guided in a radial cage and an adjoining disk-shaped axial bearing area with one arranged on one of the two side surfaces Raceway for guided in an axial cage includes rolling elements, wherein for axially securing the radial cage at the end of the hollow cylindrical radial bearing area facing away from the axial bearing area, a radially outwardly angled edge area is provided in order to form a self-contained structural unit.

The advantage of the solution according to the invention lies in particular in the fact that the functionally integrated, formed bearing sleeve gives the entire assembly rigid stability and the various components can be assembled in a simple manner by first placing the axial bearing cage with rolling elements, then the axial washer, then the radial bearing cage with rolling elements on the hollow-cylindrical area of the bearing sleeve can be slid in order finally to bend or bead the distal edge area of the bearing sleeve radially outward. The technical prerequisite for the easy-to-assemble and self-contained structural unit is formed by the bearing sleeve, which encompasses the axial bearing area and the radial bearing area and is provided with respective raceways. In terms of the invention, a monolithic bearing sleeve is understood to mean a component formed in one piece from a sheet metal material, which includes the function of one of the raceways of the axial bearing area, the function of one of the raceways of the radial bearing area and also the function of an axial lock for the radial cage. The bearing sleeve, which is functionally integrated according to the invention, specifies that the two bearing areas are aligned exactly at right angles to one another.

With regard to the axial securing function of the bearing cage, which ultimately holds the structural unit together, the angled edge region serving this purpose should preferably come to rest directly on the front side of the radial cage. Included The length of the edge area should correspond at most to the height of the radial cage, in particular it should also be below the rolling element diameter, in order to ensure both a maximum contact surface of the two adjacent components and to additionally protect the end face of the radial cage, which is usually made of plastic, and prevent dirt from penetrating this end face in the radial/axial bearing unit.

The functionally integrated bearing sleeve according to the invention is preferably designed as a stamped and bent part, the radial bearing area of which is produced by deep-drawing, with the raceways being introduced by embossing. The angled edge area preferably has a transition area stretched out starting from the hollow cylindrical shape of the radial bearing area, with an adjoining edge area bent radially outward for axial securing. In particular, due to the ironing, the material thickness in the edge area turns out to be smaller than the material thickness in the area of the raceway of the radial bearing area. In this way, on the one hand, a functionally stable raceway is produced and, on the other hand, the thinner edge region can be bent over or beaded more easily in order to form the desired axial lock. This difference in material thickness can be produced in a simple manner by deep-drawing, so that no expensive machining steps are required for this. Overall, the bearing sleeve according to the invention can thus be manufactured completely as a deep-drawn stamped and bent part.

According to a first preferred embodiment of the radial/axial bearing unit, the raceway for the axial bearing area of the bearing sleeve is arranged on the side surface of the axial bearing area facing the radial bearing area, with an internal axial disk having a corresponding raceway being provided. According to a measure that further improves this embodiment, it is proposed that the inner axial disk forms an axial stop for the radial cage on the inner edge and is held in relation to the bearing sleeve by positive anti-rotation means, for example by non-circular contouring. However, it is also conceivable to provide other form-fitting anti-rotation means, such as a pinned tongue-groove connection or the like. As a result, a functionally coordinated and compact bearing unit with a simple profile can be produced.

According to a second embodiment, it is proposed that the raceway for the axial bearing area of the bearing sleeve is arranged on the side surface of the axial bearing area facing away from the radial bearing area, with an outer axial disk being provided with a corresponding raceway. This variant of an external axial disk allows for relatively wider raceways for the radial bearing area and, in contrast to the first embodiment discussed above, is longer.

The combined radial/axial bearing unit according to the invention can advantageously be implemented with rolling elements which are designed in the radial bearing area and/or axial bearing area in the form of needles for a needle bearing. However, it is also conceivable to pair different types of rolling bodies, such as rollers, balls, with one another, for which purpose the raceways must be adapted accordingly.

character list

• 1 einen Teillängsschnitt durch eine kombinierte Radial-/Axiallagereinheit gemäß einer ersten Ausführungsform, und
• 2 einen Teillängsschnitt durch eine kombinierte Radial-/Axiallagereinheit gemäß einer zweiten Ausführungsform.

Further measures improving the invention are presented in more detail together with the description of two exemplary embodiments of the invention with reference to the figures. It shows:

• 1 a partial longitudinal section through a combined radial/axial bearing unit according to a first embodiment, and
• 2 a partial longitudinal section through a combined radial / axial bearing unit according to a second embodiment.

According to 1 the combined radial/axial bearing unit of the first embodiment comprises a bearing sleeve 1 monolithically manufactured from a formed sheet metal material, which is provided with a hollow-cylindrical radial bearing area 2 with a raceway 4 stamped on the outside circumference for rolling elements 6 guided in a radial bearing cage 5 and an adjoining disk-shaped axial bearing area 3 with a one of the two side surfaces arranged likewise embossed raceway 7 for rolling elements 9 guided in an axial cage 8.

For the axial securing of the radial cage 5 at the end of the hollow cylindrical radial bearing region 2 facing away from the axial bearing region 3 , an edge region 10 angled radially outwards in one piece is provided for axial securing. In this way, a structural unit that holds itself together is formed.

The angled edge region 10 comes to rest directly on the face side of the radial cage 5 for axial securing and has a length which corresponds approximately to the height of the radial cage. For this purpose, the angled edge area 10, starting from the cylindrical shape of the radial bearing area 2, extends over a transition area 11 that is stretched out in relation thereto, which forms the bending radius, to the hereto subsequent edge region 10 pointing radially outwards.

In this embodiment, the raceway 7 of the axial bearing area 3 of the bearing sleeve 1 is arranged on the side face of the axial bearing area 3 facing the radial bearing area 2 . This is assigned an inner axial washer 14 with a corresponding raceway 15. The inner edge of the inner axial washer 14 forms an axial stop for the radial cage 5 and has an outer peripheral edge region 16 which extends in the axial direction and serves to enclose the axial cage 8, which has several peripheral caulking 17 is fixed. With the caulking 17, the radial / axial bearing unit is held together.

At the in 2 In the illustrated second embodiment, the track 7' for the axial bearing area 3 of the bearing sleeve 1 is located on the end face of the axial bearing area 3 facing away from the radial bearing area 2. An external axial disk 14' is assigned thereto with a corresponding track 15'. The axial cage 8 is fixed in position via an inner peripheral edge section 18 of the axial disk 14 ′ with caulking 13 which engages behind the axial cage 8 . Between the radial bearing area 2 and the axial bearing area 3 there is an embossing groove 12 so that the radial cage 5 comes to rest on the end face approximately over the entire surface of the axial bearing area 3 of the bearing sleeve 1 .

The invention is not limited to the two preferred embodiments described above. It is also conceivable that rolling bodies other than needles for the combined radial/axial bearing unit can be used, for example rollers, and the hollow-cylindrical radial bearing area 2 of the bearing sleeve 1 can also be combined with an associated outer sleeve, depending on the application.

reference list

1

bearing sleeve

2

radial bearing area

3

thrust bearing area

4

career

5

radial cage

6

rolling elements

7

career

8th

axial cage

9

rolling elements

10

edge area

11

transition area

12

embossing groove

13

caulking

14

thrust washer

15

career

16

edge area

17

caulking

18

edge section

QUOTES INCLUDED IN DESCRIPTION

This list of documents cited by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent Literature Cited

• DE 102011079750 A1 [0003]

Claims (10)

Combined radial/axial bearing unit with a bearing sleeve (1) made monolithically from a formed sheet metal material, comprising a hollow-cylindrical radial bearing area (2) with an outer circumferential raceway (4) for rolling elements (6) guided in a radial cage (5) and an adjoining and separate one Radially outwardly extending, disk-shaped axial bearing area (3) with a raceway (7) arranged on one of the two side faces for rolling elements (9) guided in an axial cage (8), with the axial securing of the axial bearing and the radial cage (5) on the at the end of the hollow-cylindrical radial bearing area (2) facing away from the axial bearing area (3), an edge area (10) angled radially outwards in one piece is provided for axial securing, in order to form a structural unit that holds itself together. Combined radial/axial bearing unit according to claim 1 , characterized in that the angled edge region (10) comes to rest directly on the front side of the radial cage (5). Combined radial/axial bearing unit according to claim 1 , characterized in that the angled edge area (10) has a transition area (11) stretched out starting from the hollow cylindrical shape of the radial bearing area (2) with an adjoining edge area (10) bent radially outwards. Combined radial/axial bearing unit according to claim 1 , characterized in that the length of the edge region (10) corresponds at most to the height of the radial cage (5). Combined radial/axial bearing unit according to claim 1 , characterized in that the material thickness in the edge area (10) is smaller than the material thickness in the area of the raceway (4) of the radial bearing area (2). Combined radial/axial bearing unit according to claim 1 , characterized in that the raceway (7) for the axial bearing area (3) of the bearing sleeve (1) is arranged on the side surface of the axial bearing area (3) facing the radial bearing area (2), an inner axial disk (14) with a corresponding raceway (15) is provided. Combined radial/axial bearing unit according to claim 6 , characterized in that the inner axial disk (14) forms an axial stop for the radial cage (5) on the inner edge and is held captive relative to the bearing sleeve (1). Combined radial/axial bearing unit according to claim 1 , characterized in that the raceway (7') for the axial bearing area (3) of the bearing sleeve (1) is arranged on the side surface of the axial bearing area (3) facing away from the radial bearing area (2), an outer axial disc (14') with a corresponding track (15 ') is provided. Combined radial/axial bearing unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bearing sleeve (1) is designed as a stamped and bent part, the radial bearing area of which is produced by deep-drawing, with at least the raceway (7) being introduced by embossing. Combined radial/axial bearing unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rolling elements (6) of the radial bearing area (6) and/or the rolling elements (9) of the axial bearing area (3) are designed in the form of needles for a needle bearing.

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