DE8904871U1 - Hanging ball bearing for a vehicle - Google Patents

Description

Hanging ball bearing for a vehicle

The invention relates to a suspended ball bearing.

This type of bearing, commonly used in the suspension devices for steering wheels of motor vehicles, is generally arranged between two shells.

- an upper shell which is firmly connected to the vehicle body (the body) via a rubber shock absorber block *

■■- a lower, rotatable shell on which the upper end of the suspension spring surrounding the shock absorber is supported, the lower end of this spring resting on another shell firmly connected to the shock absorber cylinder.

This hanging ball bearing, which will be determined within the scope of the bearing suspension, has the following functions:

- to transmit the axial and radial forces resulting from the compression of the spring and - at the same time to enable rotation with practically no friction between the spring and the vehicle body, whereby the rotational movement of the spring occurs during the steering angle of the steering wheels and, to a lesser extent, during the compression changes of the spring due to the rolling movement of the tires.

The type of bearing generally used for this application is a bearing comprising two sheet metal rings, balls, a cage, a means for axial connection between the rings and sealing means to protect the interior of the bearing against the frequent splashing of water in this area of the vehicle.

A Mc PHERSON type bearing with sheet metal rings is already known from the document FR-A-2 389 036, where the cage ensures a triple function, namely: 5

- the separation of the balls,

- the sealing and

- the axial support of the rings to obtain an inseparable connection when handling the bearing.

The main disadvantage of this type of bearing is that nothing is provided on the bearing with regard to its axial connection with the lower shell. On the other hand, it uses a type of one-piece cage clamp, which requires relatively simple shapes of the rings with edges that are approximately flat and parallel to the clamping face. Such a cage clamp, however, cannot be used in the case where there is a partial axial overlap of one ring with respect to the other.

Now, in Mc PHERSON sheet metal hanging bearings, a radial nesting and an axial covering of the lower ring by means of a folded-over edge of the upper ring are used for reasons of stiffening the rings and to protect the inside of the bearing against trickling water.

Furthermore, according to the document FR-A-2 591 177, a bearing with a double row of rolling elements and a double inner ring is known, which has a cylindrical cage common to these rolling elements and a cylindrical sleeve for fastening the two inner rings, the cage and the sleeve being made in a single piece and connected by connecting sections which create weakened zones in the

with regard to their tearing, which allows a reduction in the number of parts and a facilitation of the assembly operations, whereby the tearing of these &dgr; zones and the separation of the ring from the sleeve

automatically during assembly by axial pressure on the inner rings by means of an asymmetry of the arrangement and a good resistance of the two cylindrical elements to axial pressure. On the other hand, such a technique cannot be used with an almost flat cage, which is therefore equipped with a high elasticity in the axial direction.

The aim of the invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages by creating a suspended ball bearing which simultaneously ensures:

- the axial connection both between the bearing rings and between the mounted bearing and the lower shell, in order to facilitate the handling of the arrangement by the designer during assembly work for the suspension system on the body and

- increased protection of the bearing against splashing water, in a way that is particularly economical and applicable to bearings that have an axial overlap of the lower ring by the upper ring .

To achieve this object, the invention uses, first of all, an approximately cylindrical connecting sleeve which serves to be introduced into the central passage inside the assembly of the two rings, this sleeve simultaneously comprising a first annular bead for holding the upper ring, a second annular bead for holding the lower ring and a third annular bead or rim for holding the assembly on the lower shell.

The sleeve preferably has an upper edge which rests against the inside of the upper shell to provide additional protection against the ingress of water. At the same time, the sleeve preferably has a thin lip between the second and third bead which rests against the inside of the lower shell to prevent water from rising towards the bearing seat.

to prevent,
&igr;&eegr;

Λ. M*f

The bearing also includes a cage of approximately flat initial shape, which preferably has a thin lip on its outer circumference to engage with the upper ring, thus simultaneously ensuring protection against water rising on the outer circumference.

The upper ring preferably contains a shape which, at least on the inner side, covers the lower ring in the radial direction and projects beyond it in the axial direction.

The cage, with an approximately flat initial shape, and the approximately cylindrical connecting collar are molded in one piece from plastic material, being held together by connecting elements which are located between the inside of the cage and the outside of the second bead and which represent weakened zones with regard to their tearing. This tearing, which causes the separation of the cage and the collar, is caused automatically during assembly of the bearing by shearing between the inner edge of the upper ring, which is located between the first bead and the base of the second bead, and the inner edge of the lower ring at the moment when the latter overcomes the apex of the second bead, this shearing simultaneously causing the locking of the lower ring above the second bead.

and causes the conical-elastic deformation of the originally approximately flat cage, which contributes to the elastic support of the outer lip of the cage on the outer edge of the upper ring.

Further details of the invention emerge from the following description of an exemplary embodiment of the invention, which is shown in the drawings.

Fig. 1 an axial section of the arrangement of the suspension head,

Fig. 2 a top view of the cuff and cage arrangement,

Fig. 3 is a partial axial section on an enlarged scale of this arrangement in its original form,

j Fig. 4, 5, 6 and 7 each show in partial axial sections the

successive phases of assembly of the

warehouse,
25

Fig. 8, 9 and 10 also in partial axial sections

the successive phases of assembly of the

Bearing on the lower shell and the upper

Peel,
30

Fig. 11 is an external elevational view of a modified

embodiment.

In Fig. 1 you can see the shock absorber cylinder 1, the shaft 2 of which is attached to the body 3 via an external part 4 welded to the body 3, via a

inner part 5, to which the end of the shaft 2 is attached by means of a screw 6, and is fixed via a rubber block 7 glued between the two concentric parts 4 and 5. In addition, the upper end of the upper shell 8 is embedded in the rubber block, which serves as a support for the support bearing 9, the details of which are considered below.

At the same time, one can see the suspension spring 10, the upper end of which is supported on the lower shell 11, which in turn is supported on the ball bearing 9.

The assembly 4, 5, 7 and 8 is therefore fixed to the vehicle in advance and the rest of the suspension is then inserted from below and secured with screw 6 at the moment the suspension is inserted.

The hanging bearing 9 actually comprises an upper ring 12 and a lower ring 13 made of sheet metal, between which the balls 14 are arranged. The arrangement of the two rings 12 and 13 is held together by a connecting sleeve, which can be seen in detail in Fig. 3.

This sleeve 15, which is preferably made of plastic, has a generally cylindrical shape and is designed so that it can be inserted into the central opening of the arrangement of the two rings 12 and 13. In particular, it has a first bead 16 with an external diameter that is larger than the internal diameter of the upper ring 12 in order to enable a force-fitting holding of the lower edge 17 of the upper ring 12 by radial deformation of the sleeve 15 (see Figs. 4 and 8 for details). This sleeve 15 also has a second annular bead 18 with an external diameter that is larger than the internal diameter.

diameter of the lower ring 13 in order to simultaneously enable the frictional fastening of the inner edge 19 of the lower ring 13 and then to ensure the holding of this edge (see Fig. 6, 7 and 8 for details). At the same time, the base of this second bead 18 serves as a support for the inner edge 17 of the upper ring 12.

Finally, the sleeve 15 also has a third bead on the lower edge 20 with an outer diameter that is larger than the inner diameter of the lower shell 11, as shown in detail in Figs. 8, 9 and 10, such that the frictional fastening and holding of the inner edge 21 of the lower shell 11 is ensured with play.

Between the beads 18 and 20, a thin lip 22 is preferably provided, which rests on the inner diameter of the edge 21 in order to ensure additional protection against splash water. At the same time, the upper edge 23 of the sleeve rests without play on the inner edge of the upper shell 8, as can be seen in Fig. 10, in order to ensure additional protection against water and against contamination of the interior of the bearing seat.

The various bearing balls 14 are of course arranged in the recesses 24 of a cage 25 which is also made of plastic material and whose initial shape is approximately flat, as can be seen in Fig. 3, whereby this cage advantageously also has a thin lip 26 on its outer circumference which rests on the edge of the upper ring, as shown in detail in Figs. 8, 9 and 10, in such a way that at the same time protection against splash water on the outer circumference is ensured.

As can be seen in the figures, the upper ring 12 preferably has a shape which envelops the edges of the lower ring 13, enclosing them radially and projecting beyond them axially, so as to protect the inside of the bearing against water runoff. It is clear that this envelopment in no way constitutes an obstacle to the assembly and operation of the sleeve 15, which ensures its three functions of support and its functions of additional sealing. "

Furthermore, this arrangement according to the invention can be used to produce the cage 25 and the sleeve in a single molded part, the two parts being connected, as shown in Fig. 2, by evenly distributed connecting tabs 27, each of which connects the inner edge of the cage 25 to the outer edge of the second annular bead 18, via a section specially reduced to such a height that a predetermined breaking point is formed.

Despite the great axial elasticity of the cage 25, whose initial shape is almost flat and which can easily be elastically deformed into a cone, this tearing off of the connecting tabs 27 after assembly can nevertheless be achieved according to the invention by a shearing effect between the edge 17 of the upper ring and the edge 19 of the lower ring.

On the other hand, it was seen that all assembly steps are carried out by radial compression of the sleeve 15, which can finally be facilitated if necessary by providing axial slots 28, as shown in Fig. 11.

To carry out the assembly of the bearing at the bearing designer, then for its attachment to the suspension and for

The installation of this suspension on the vehicle by the vehicle designer can advantageously be carried out as follows. 5

First, as shown in Fig. 4, the upper shell 12 is placed in an inverted position and the sleeve 15 is introduced by pressing it in from above, also in an inverted position. It can be seen that in this phase the cage 25 deforms elastically and leaves its ^original flat shape to assume a slightly conical shape, without this having the effect of tearing off the tabs 27 for the reason given above.

At a second point in time, i?»n brings the balls 14 into the various recesses 24, as shown in Fig. 5.

Then, as shown in Fig. 6, the lower ring 13 is also placed in the inverted position on the assembly and an axial pressure is exerted on the rings 12 and 13 so as to bring them together. During this movement, the base of the bead 18 rests on the upper side of the edge 17 of the upper, inverted ring 12, while the lower edge 19 of the other ring slides along the slope of the second bead 18.

This simultaneously produces two effects, which are shown in Fig. 7, firstly the tearing off of the inner end of the tabs 27 by shearing and secondly the locking of the edge 19 below the second bead 18, which now ensures the holding of the assembly of parts in a non-detachable subassembly, while at the same time the cage 25 increases its movement to an elastic, conical deformation, whereby it presses the peripheral lip 26 to the inside of the outer edge 29 of the

· I

• Il
III

&iacgr;&ogr;

« upper ring 12.

In this condition, the bearing 9 is delivered to the manufacturer, who carries out the following assembly phases.

Firstly, the bearing assembly 9, now in its normal position, is placed on the lower shell 11 as shown in Fig. 8, then pressed in by axial compression as shown in Fig. 9, which has the effect of ensuring the bending of the sealing lip 22, but in particular ensuring the retention of the bearing assembly 9 on the lower shell II thanks to the third bead 20 and despite a functional play existing between the parts.

The suspension assembly, which includes the cylinder 1 and the rod 2, as well as the spring 10 and the cup 11, can now be handled without any particular care and without risk of destruction for the bearing 9, in order to introduce it from the underside of the body until it penetrates the inner part 5 so that the screw 6 can be tightened. During this last operation, the upper ring 12 of the bearing is fixed in the upper cup 8 and the upper edge 23 of the sleeve 15 rests on this cup to perform its sealing function.

It can thus be seen that the hanging bearing according to the invention simultaneously ensures triple support and triple sealing, while requiring only a minimum of parts and assembly processes.

&igr; · t · « &igr;

Claims (6)

Protection claims l. Suspended ball bearing (9) with an upper ring (12), a lower ring (13), balls (14), a cage (25) and a sleeve (15) for axially connecting the two rings, the bearing (9) being designed to be mounted between an upper, fixed shell (8) and a lower IG Leren, rotatable shell (11), - the latter shell serves as a support for a suspension spring (10), which in turn surrounds a shock absorber cylinder (1), the shaft (2) of which is attached at its upper end to the body (3) of a vehicle, characterized in that that the approximately cylindrical sleeve (15) simultaneously has: - a first annular bead (16) with a dimension that allows its frictional fastening on the inner edge (17) of the upper ring (12) to ensure its hold, - a second annular bead (18) with a suitable dimension to enable the frictional fastening on the inner edge (19) of the lower ring (13) and to ensure its hold, and - a third annular bead (20) of a suitable size to enable frictional fastening on the inner edge (21) of the lower shell (11) and to ensure its retention with play. 2. Suspended ball bearing according to claim 1, characterized in that the sleeve (15) also has a thin, elastic lip (22) which lies between the second (18) and the third (20) annular bead and is designed to rest on the inner edge (21) of the lower shell (11) in order to ensure additional sealing. J. Suspended ball bearing according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the upper edge (23) of the sleeve (15) is designed such that it rests against the inner edge of the upper shell (8) in order to ensure additional sealing of the bearing seat. 4. Suspended ball bearing according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the cage (25) has an approximately flat initial shape and has a thin sealing lip (26) on its outer circumference, which elastically rests on the bent outer edge (29) of the o'-ring by means of an elastic, conical deformation in order to improve the sealing at this point. 5. Suspended ball bearing according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sleeve (15) has slots (28) which increase its radial compressibility. 6. Suspended ball bearing according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the edges (17) of the upper ring (12) radially enclose the edges (19) of the lower ring (13) at least on the inside and project downwards over them in the axial direction and that the cage (25) with an approximately flat initial shape is connected to the approximately cylindrical connecting sleeve (15) by means of connecting tabs (27) which lie between the lower edge of the cage (25) and the outer circumference of the second annular bead (18) and form a weakened zone at the level of this bead, such that the arrangement of the cage (25) and the sleeve (15) can be formed in one piece and brought into place in this form and that the assembly during assembly of the two Mounting rings (12, 13) ensure the tearing off of these connecting tabs (27) by shearing between the inner edge (17) of the upper ring (12) and the inner edge (19) of the lower ring (13), while at the same time the retaining locking of the latter edge on the second annular bead (18) takes place.