JP2007016804A - Rolling bearing unit and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smoothly manufacture a product of high quality and to realize a structure of high traceability. <P>SOLUTION: An outer ring 2, a hub main body 5 and an inner ring 6 are respectively provided with recording mediums 18a-18c. Information on actual dimension or the like of each component is recorded in each of the recording mediums 18a-18c. Thus optimal combination of the components can be easily studied on the basis of the information only by reading out the information from the recording mediums 18a-18c when the components are assembled. Further a number of pieces of product information can be easily obtained from the information recorded in the recording mediums 18a-18c after the products are distributed to be marketed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides, for example, a rolling bearing unit incorporated in a rotational support portion of various mechanical devices, such as a rolling bearing unit for supporting a wheel so as to rotatably support a wheel with respect to a suspension device of an automobile, and an improvement of the manufacturing method thereof. About. In particular, the present invention has been invented to realize a structure that can smoothly manufacture a high-quality rolling bearing unit and that is excellent in traceability (trackability).

  In order to support the wheel of an automobile on a suspension device, a wheel bearing rolling bearing unit is used as described in, for example, Patent Document 1 and the like. FIG. 7 shows the wheel-supporting rolling bearing unit 1 described in Patent Document 1. The outer ring 2, which is a stationary ring, is supported and fixed to a structural member of a suspension device such as a knuckle by an outward flange-shaped mounting portion 3 formed on the outer peripheral surface, and does not rotate during use. A hub 4 that is a rotating wheel is provided concentrically with the outer ring 2 on the inner diameter side of such an outer ring 2 so that the hub 4 rotates during use. The hub 4 includes a hub body 5 and an inner ring 6.

  Of these, the hub body 5 is axially outside (outside in the axial direction is the side that is outside in the width direction when assembled to the vehicle, left in each figure). 7 is formed. When assembled to the vehicle, the wheel is fixed to the mounting flange 7. The tip of the cylindrical portion 8 provided at the end in the axial direction of the hub body 5 (the inner side in the axial direction means the side that becomes the center side in the width direction when assembled to the vehicle, and the right in each figure). A caulking portion 9 is formed by plastic deformation radially outward, and the caulking portion 9 suppresses the inner end surface of the inner ring 6 constituting the hub 4 together with the hub body 5.

  Double row outer ring raceways 10 and 10 are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring 2, and inner ring raceways 11 and 11 are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate portion of the hub body 5 and the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring 6, respectively. . A plurality of rolling elements 12 and 12 are provided between the outer ring raceways 10 and 10 and the inner ring raceways 11 and 11, respectively, so that the hub 4 can freely rotate inside the outer ring 2. The rolling elements 12 and 12 are held by the cages 13 and 13 so as to be freely rollable. In the illustrated example, balls are used as the rolling elements 12, 12, but in the case of a vehicle bearing that is heavy, tapered rollers may be used as the rolling elements. Further, the inner ring raceway 11 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate portion of the hub body 5 may be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring by fitting a separate inner ring on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate portion of the hub main body 5. .

  Further, between the outer peripheral surface of the outer end portion of the outer ring 2 and the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate portion of the hub body 5 and between the inner peripheral portion of the inner end portion of the outer ring 2 and the outer peripheral surface of the inner end portion of the inner ring 6. Sealing devices 14 a and 14 b are provided, respectively, and the openings at both ends of the space 15 in which the rolling elements 12 and 12 are installed are closed between the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring 2 and the outer peripheral surface of the hub 4. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, the structure which provides the encoder 16 in the sealing device 14b provided in the inner end part outer peripheral surface of the said inner ring 6 among the said sealing devices 14a and 14b, and detects rotation of a wheel, For example, as described in Patent Document 2, it is conventionally known.

  That is, it is conventionally performed to detect the rotational speed of a wheel in order to control an automobile ABS (anti-lock brake system) or TCS (traction control system). In order to detect the rotational speed of the wheel, the encoder 16 is provided on the inner surface of the slinger 17 constituting the seal device 14b that is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the inner end of the hub 4 that supports and fixes the wheel. The rotation of the encoder 16 is detected by a suspension device or a sensor supported by the outer ring 2. As a result, the rotation speed of the hub 4 and thus the wheel can be detected. As the encoder 16, for example, a rubber magnet or a plastic magnet mixed with powder made of a magnetic material such as ferrite is formed in an annular shape, and N poles and S poles are alternately present on the side surface in the circumferential direction. A multipole encoder or the like magnetized in the same manner is known.

  Conventionally, the assembly of the wheel support rolling bearing unit 1 as described above is performed by measuring the dimensions of each component of the wheel support rolling bearing unit 1 and combining these components based on the measured information. I did it after I decided. That is, there is an inevitable manufacturing error for each component of the outer ring 2, the hub body 5, the inner ring 6, and the rolling elements 12 and 12 that constitute the wheel support rolling bearing unit 1. If the above-described components are combined without taking such manufacturing errors into consideration, the error may increase depending on the combination and a predetermined quality may not be obtained. Therefore, in order to ensure a predetermined quality, before assembling the above-mentioned constituent members, the actual dimensions of the constituent members are measured, the constituent members suitable for the combination are selected, and the selected constituent members are assembled together. As a result, the wheel bearing rolling bearing unit 1 has been manufactured.

  For example, the wheel-supporting rolling bearing unit 1 is normally used in a state where a predetermined preload is applied. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly manage the gaps (internal gaps) between the respective rolling elements 12, 12 and the outer ring and inner ring raceways 10, 11. This gap is determined by the dimensional relationship such as the diameter of each of the rolling elements 12, 12 and the pitch and the radius of curvature of the outer ring raceway 10 and the inner ring raceway 11, so that the management of the gap is based on this dimensional relationship. Thus, it is necessary to determine the combination of the rolling elements 12, 12, the outer ring 2, the hub body 5, and the inner ring 6. For this reason, conventionally, the outer ring 2, hub body 5 and inner ring 6 constituting the wheel bearing rolling bearing unit 1 are measured for dimensions such as the radius of curvature of the outer ring raceway 10 and the inner ring raceway 11, and based on the measured data. Thus, the rolling elements 12 and 12 are selected so that the clearances between the respective rolling elements 12 and 12 and the outer ring and inner ring raceways 10 and 11 have a predetermined value. And the rolling bearing unit 1 for wheel support was assembled by incorporating the rolling elements 12, 12 selected in this way between the outer ring 2, the hub body 5 and the inner ring 5.

  Moreover, it is necessary to appropriately manage the dimensional error (phase error) between the rolling elements 12 and 12 incorporated in the same wheel support rolling bearing unit 1. That is, when these rolling elements 12 and 12 having different diameter values (a large dimensional difference between the rolling elements 12 and 12) are combined and incorporated in the same wheel support rolling bearing unit 1. May cause rattling or abnormal noise during operation of the wheel-supporting rolling bearing unit 1. On the other hand, if the dimensional difference between the rolling elements 12 and 12 incorporated in the same wheel-supporting rolling bearing unit 1 is reduced, rattling and abnormal noise are less likely to occur during operation.

  Thus, in order to ensure the quality of the wheel support rolling bearing unit 1, it is important to manage the dimensions of the respective components when the wheel support rolling bearing unit 1 is assembled. However, the work of measuring the dimensions of the constituent members before assembling the wheel-supporting rolling bearing unit 1 and appropriately selecting the constituent members suitable for the combination is laborious and increases the manufacturing cost.

  In recent years, it has been demanded to improve the traceability of products in case a problem occurs after market distribution. That is, after a wheel bearing rolling bearing unit 1 is distributed in the market, if a defect occurs in a part of the constituent members of the wheel supporting rolling bearing unit 1, where the defective component is produced. It is necessary to be able to check product information such as Taka. Such a survey is performed, for example, by specifying a product by a production number or the like stamped for each component. However, it is time-consuming to specify a product based on the production number and the like, and it cannot be said that the traceability is excellent. Further, if more product information can be attached to each component, the traceability can be improved, but the amount of information that can be attached to the product by engraving or the like is limited.

JP 2004-353709 A JP 2004-332938 A

  The present invention has been invented to realize a structure excellent in traceability as well as being capable of smoothly producing a high-quality product in view of the circumstances as described above.

Of the rolling bearing unit and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention, the rolling bearing unit described in claim 1 includes a stationary wheel, a rotating wheel, and a plurality of rolling elements.
Among these, the stationary wheel has a stationary raceway surface on the stationary peripheral surface.
The rotating wheel has a rotation-side raceway surface on the rotation-side peripheral surface. Each of the rolling elements is provided between the rotation-side raceway surface and the stationary-side raceway surface.
In particular, in the rolling bearing unit according to claim 1, at least two kinds of constituent members of the stationary wheel, the rotating wheel, and the rolling elements are provided on each of the constituent members. A recording medium on which information on the constituent members is recorded is provided.
As the recording medium, for example, a bar code, an IC chip, or the like that does not have a large installation space, can record a large amount of information, and can read the recorded information instantaneously is preferable.

The manufacturing method of the rolling bearing unit according to claim 5 is performed as follows.
First, information on at least two types of constituent members among the constituent members of the stationary wheel, the rotating wheel, and each rolling element is read from a recording medium provided on each constituent member.
Next, based on this information, the combination of these components is determined.
And each of these structural members is assembled and it is set as the said rolling bearing unit.
Note that the recording medium provided on each of the constituent members is not necessary after the combination of these constituent members is determined. For this reason, the recording medium may be removed when the rolling bearing unit is completed, for example, by removing the components after assembling them. However, when considering the traceability of the rolling bearing unit, it is preferable that the recording medium remains after completion.

  In the case of the present invention configured as described above, a high-quality rolling bearing unit can be manufactured smoothly. That is, since recording media on which information such as actual dimensions of each component of the rolling bearing unit is recorded are provided on each component, a combination that satisfies a predetermined quality can be easily obtained by reading this information. You can investigate. As a result, the process of combining can be simplified, the high-quality rolling bearing unit can be manufactured smoothly, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In addition, since a recording medium in which product information is recorded is provided for each constituent member, it is possible to easily and quickly investigate a constituent member that has failed after market distribution, thereby improving traceability. .

In order to carry out the present invention, preferably, as described in claim 2, a recording medium is provided for each of the constituent members.
If comprised in this way, the combination of a structural member can be performed more easily. In order to provide a recording medium on the rolling element, it is conceivable to print the barcode directly on the surface (rolling surface) of the rolling element.
More preferably, as described in claim 3, a recording medium in which information on the rolling bearing unit is recorded on at least one of the constituent members in addition to information on the constituent members. Provide.
According to this configuration, information on the rolling bearing unit, for example, the line and date / time when the rolling bearing unit is assembled can be checked instantaneously, and the traceability can be further improved.
More preferably, as described in claim 4, the present invention is applied to a rolling bearing unit for supporting a wheel. That is, this rolling bearing unit is used to support a stationary wheel on a suspension device and to support and fix a wheel on a rotating wheel, and to support the wheel on the suspension device so as to be rotatable.
In recent years, rolling bearing units for supporting wheels are particularly required to be of high quality and excellent traceability. On the other hand, it is possible to meet such a demand by applying the present invention.

  1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. The feature of the present invention is that the product information of each constituent member can be easily read at the time of manufacturing the wheel bearing rolling bearing unit 1a, and the above constituent members are provided in order to improve traceability. The recording mediums 18a to 18c are provided respectively. Since the structure and operation of the other portions are the same as those of the conventional structure shown in FIG. 7, the overlapping description will be omitted or simplified, and the following description will focus on the characteristic portions of the present invention.

  In the case of the wheel bearing rolling bearing unit 1a according to the present invention, the recording mediums 18a to 18c are provided on the outer ring 2, the hub body 5, and the inner ring 6 at predetermined positions of the members 2, 5 and 6, respectively. Yes. In each of the recording media 18a to 18c, the dimensions and the like actually measured after the production of each of the outer ring 2, the hub body 5, and the inner ring 6 are recorded. For example, the actual radius of curvature and the axial spacing of the outer ring raceways 10 and 10 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring 2 and the inner ring raceways 11 and 11 formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the hub body 5 and the inner ring 6 respectively. (Pitch), and further, the inner diameter of the inner ring 6 and the outer diameter of the inner end portion of the hub body 5 are recorded on the respective recording media 18a to 18c. Further, the date of manufacture of the wheel bearing rolling bearing unit 1a after completion is mounted on at least one of the recording media 18a to 18c or another recording medium attached to any of the constituent members. Record product information such as manufacturing factories and production lines.

  Each of the recording media 18a to 18c does not have a large installation space such as a barcode or an IC chip, can record a large amount of information, and can read the recorded information instantaneously. In order to provide each of the recording media 18a to 18c at a predetermined position of each of the constituent members, for example, the following is performed. When a barcode is used as each of the recording media 18a to 18c, a sheet or the like on which the barcode is printed is attached to a predetermined position of each component member or printed directly at the predetermined position. When an IC chip is used as each of the recording media 18a to 18c, the IC chip is fixed at the predetermined position with an adhesive or the like.

  Information is input to each of the recording media 18a to 18c as follows. First, when each of the recording media 18a to 18c is a bar code, a bar code is created based on information of each constituent member, and then attached or printed on each constituent member. Alternatively, information on each of the recording media 18a to 18c can be obtained by rewriting information of a file (existing in a computer or the like) that is fixed in advance to each constituent member and that corresponds to a predetermined barcode different for each constituent member. Can be input. On the other hand, when each of the recording media 18a to 18c is an IC chip, information in the IC chip can be directly rewritten by electromagnetic waves before or after the IC chip is fixed to each constituent member. However, when the IC chip is simply fixed to the metal surface, there is a possibility that information is difficult to read due to the influence of the magnetic field generated from the metal surface. For this reason, it is preferable to use an IC chip (of a metal surface type) that can cope with such influences.

  The locations where the recording media 18a to 18c are installed for the respective constituent members are as follows for the respective constituent members. First, in the case of the hub body 5, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outer periphery of the mounting flange 7 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the outer end of the hub body 5 is recorded with a recording medium 18 a on which information of the hub body 5 is recorded. Install on the surface. However, the place where the recording medium 18a is installed may be other than the outer peripheral surface of the mounting flange 7 as long as there is no possibility of interference with other members. For example, it can be installed in a recessed portion 19 formed at the center of the outer end surface of the outer ring 2. On the other hand, the outer peripheral surface of the mounting flange 7 and the outer peripheral surface of the base end portion of the cylindrical portion 20 formed so as to protrude axially outward from the base end portion of the mounting flange 7 constitute a wheel. Since a wheel or a rotor or a drum constituting a braking device is installed, the recording medium 18a cannot be installed in this portion.

  In the case of the inner ring 6, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a recording medium 18 b on which information on the inner ring 6 is recorded is set on a stepped surface 21 formed at the inner end of the inner ring 6. That is, an inner ring raceway 11 is formed in an intermediate portion on the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring 6, and a slinger 17 (FIG. 8, which will be described later) constituting the seal device 14b is located axially inward from the inner ring raceway 11. 6)) is formed. The recording medium 18b is installed on the stepped surface 21 provided between the shoulder 22 and the inner end surface 23 of the inner ring 6. In the case of the inner ring 6, the place where the inner ring 6 does not interfere with other members is limited. However, in addition to the stepped surface 21, for example, a portion of the outer end outer peripheral surface of the inner ring 6 that is separated from the inner ring raceway 11 is It can be considered as an installation place of 18b.

  In the case of the outer ring 2, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the recording medium 18 c on which the information of the outer ring 2 is recorded is installed on the outer peripheral surface of the outer ring 2 at a portion removed from the mounting portion 3. ing. As with the hub main body 5 and the inner ring 6, the place where the recording medium 18 c is installed on the outer ring 2 should not interfere with other members. However, it is not preferable to place the recording medium 18c on the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring 2 because it is difficult to read information on the recording medium 18c from the outside. Therefore, it is preferable that the recording medium 18c is installed at any part of the outer peripheral surface of the outer ring 2. However, the outer peripheral surface of the outer ring 2 on the inner end side with respect to the mounting portion 3 is a portion that is fitted and fixed to a knuckle that constitutes the suspension device. Since accuracy is required, the recording medium 18c is placed in this portion. Installation should be avoided.

  In the case of the present embodiment, any one of the recording media 18a to 18c provided on the constituent members of the hub body 5, the inner ring 6 and the outer ring 2 or another recording medium includes: Information on the wheel bearing rolling bearing unit 1a after completion is recorded, but only information on the constituent members is recorded on other recording media. Such information on each component only is information necessary only when the wheel support rolling bearing unit 1a is assembled. Therefore, after the assembly, the wheel support is obtained by removing the recording medium from each component. When the rolling bearing unit 1a is completed, there may be no recording medium from each constituent member, or information information on the recording medium may be unreadable.

  That is, among the recording media 18a to 18c, for example, when information on the wheel support rolling bearing unit 1a after completion is further recorded on the recording medium 18a provided on the hub body 5, the information is provided on the inner ring 6 and the outer ring 2, respectively. Only information relating to the inner ring 6 or the outer ring 2 is recorded on the recording media 18b and 18c. Accordingly, the recording media 18b and 18c provided on the inner ring 6 or the outer ring 2 may be lost or unreadable after the wheel bearing rolling bearing unit 1a is assembled. Further, when the information of the wheel bearing rolling bearing unit 1a is recorded on a recording medium different from the recording mediums 18a to 18c and the other recording medium is attached to any of the constituent members, the recording medium Any of the mediums 18a to 18c may be lost or unreadable after the assembly of the wheel support rolling bearing unit 1a.

  In order to make it easy to read the information of the wheel support rolling bearing unit 1a when attached to the vehicle body, the hub main body 5 is provided with a recording medium on which information of the wheel support rolling bearing unit 1a is recorded. preferable. More preferably, it is in the recessed portion 19 of the hub body 5. A plurality of recording media for recording information on the wheel supporting rolling bearing 1a may be provided. For example, in addition to the information on each component, information on the wheel support rolling bearing unit 1a may be recorded on all the recording media 18a to 18c. When configured in this manner, if any recording medium can be read after the wheel supporting rolling bearing unit 1a is completed, the traceability of the wheel supporting rolling bearing unit 1a can be ensured.

  The wheel-supporting rolling bearing unit 1a of this embodiment configured as described above is assembled by the following process. Prior to the assembly of the wheel support rolling bearing unit 1a, the dimensions and the like of each component of the wheel support rolling bearing unit 1a are measured in advance, and recording media 18a to 18c on which the respective information are recorded are recorded. Each of the corresponding components is installed as described above. When assembling the wheel-supporting rolling bearing unit 1a, first, information on the recording media 18a to 18c respectively installed on the hub main body 5, the inner ring 6 and the outer ring 2 that are present in plural numbers is read. For example, if each of the recording media 18a to 18c is an IC chip, the reading operation can be performed by receiving information transmitted from an antenna installed in the IC chip. If 18c is a bar code, it is performed by reading it with a bar code scanner.

  Next, based on the information of each structural member read as described above, the combination of these structural members is determined. That is, the members are selected from the hub main body 5, the inner ring 6, and the outer ring 2, each of which is present in plural, so that an optimum combination is obtained. As a criterion for this selection, for example, it is conceivable to consider the clearances (internal clearances) between the rolling elements 12, 12 and the outer ring raceway 10 and the inner ring raceway 11.

  That is, in order to make the preload of the wheel support rolling bearing unit 1a appropriate, it is necessary to strictly manage the gap. Therefore, in this case, the outer ring raceway 10 or the inner ring raceway 11 is provided so that an appropriate clearance can be obtained in relation to the actual diameter of the rolling elements 12 and 12 incorporated in the wheel bearing rolling bearing unit 1a. It is necessary to select the outer ring 2 or the hub body 5 and the inner ring 6. For this reason, in order to make the preload of the wheel support rolling bearing unit 1a appropriate, among the information recorded in the recording media 18a to 18c, the actual radius of curvature of the outer ring raceway 10 or the inner ring raceway 11 or From the information such as the axial dimensions of the fitting portions of the inner ring 6 and the hub body 5 and the pitches of the tracks 10 and 11, the optimum combination is selected in consideration of the diameters of the rolling elements 12 and 12.

  In order to perform such a combination, if the information read by the recording media 18a to 18c is directly sent to a computer and the computer can perform a calculation process for determining a predetermined combination, each component It is possible to automatically perform from reading of member information to determining a combination. In any case, when the optimum combination of the respective constituent members is determined, the respective constituent members are assembled based on this combination to form the wheel support rolling bearing unit 1a.

  In the case of the present embodiment configured as described above, it is possible to smoothly manufacture a high-quality wheel bearing rolling bearing unit 1a. That is, as described above, recording media 18a to 18c such as barcodes and IC chips, in which information such as actual dimensions of each component of the wheel supporting rolling bearing unit 1a is recorded, are provided on each component. Therefore, by reading this information, a combination that satisfies a predetermined quality can be easily determined. Further, as described above, this information can be checked instantaneously by receiving the information transmitted from the antenna of the IC chip or by reading it with a barcode scanner. As a result, the process of combining can be simplified, the high-quality wheel bearing rolling bearing unit 1a can be manufactured smoothly, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In addition, since each of the constituent members is provided with recording media 18a to 18c in which product information is recorded, it is possible to easily and quickly check the history of constituent members that have failed after market distribution. , Traceability can be improved.

  In the case of this embodiment, among the recording media 18a to 18c provided for each of the constituent members, the wheel support is added to at least one recording medium in addition to the information of the constituent members where the recording media are installed. Since the information related to the rolling bearing unit 1a is recorded, the traceability can be further improved. In addition, if any product information other than dimensions, such as the date and place where the actual dimensions are measured, is recorded on any of the recording media 18a to 18c as the product information of each component, for example, Even if there is no information on the rolling bearing unit 1a (or even if it is not readable), one of the recording media 18a to 18c (readable) is one of the recording media 18a to 18c when a problem occurs after market distribution. By reading the information on the recording medium, it is useful for specifying the manufacturing location of the product.

  In this embodiment, no recording medium is installed on each of the rolling elements 12, 12, but a recording medium can also be installed on each of the rolling elements 12, 12. When installed on each of these rolling elements 12, 12, the barcode is directly printed on each of these rolling elements 12, 12. As a result, even for each of the rolling elements 12, 12, it is possible to easily read information such as the respective dimensions and contribute to smoothing the manufacturing process of the wheel bearing rolling bearing unit 1a.

  That is, in addition to the outer ring 2, the hub body 5, and the inner ring 6, it is possible to efficiently combine the constituent members by reading the information of the rolling elements 12 and 12 from the recording medium. In addition, since it is easy to examine the dimensional difference between the rolling elements 12, 12, it is easy to select and incorporate the rolling elements 12, 12 having a small dimensional difference. The barcode printed on the rolling surface of each of the rolling elements 12 and 12 is considered to disappear when the outer ring raceway 10 and the inner ring raceway 11 are in rolling contact with each other in use. Since the information recorded by is no longer necessary after the wheel bearing rolling bearing unit 1a is assembled, there is no problem.

  5-6 has shown Example 2 of this invention. In the first embodiment described above, the structure in which the recording media 18a to 18c are directly provided on the respective constituent members has been described. However, in this embodiment, some of the recording media provided on the respective constituent members are recorded. In addition, each component member is provided via another member. That is, in the case of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 described above, both axial openings in the space 15 in which the rolling elements 12 and 12 are installed are provided between the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring 2 and the outer peripheral surface of the hub 4. Recording media 18c and 18d are installed in the sealing devices 14a and 14b for closing the parts. Information on the outer ring 2 or the inner ring 6 constituting the hub 4 is recorded on each of the recording media 18c and 18d. As for the hub body 5, the recording medium 18 a (see FIGS. 1 and 2) is directly provided on the hub body 5 as in the first embodiment.

  Among these sealing devices 14a and 14b, the sealing device 14a shown in FIG. 5 is a block that closes the axially outer end opening of the space 15, and is made of a metal such as a mild steel plate and formed in an annular shape as a whole. It consists of a substantially L-shaped cored bar 25 and an elastic material 26 such as an elastomer such as rubber attached to the outer surface of the cored bar 25 over the entire circumference. In use, the core metal 25 is fitted and fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the outer end of the outer ring 2 by an interference fit in order to close the axial outer end opening of the space 15, and the outer surface and inner surface of the elastic member 26 are fixed. Seal lips 27, 27 respectively formed on the peripheral edge portions are slidably contacted with the inner surface of the base end portion of the mounting flange 7 of the hub 4 or the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate portion of the hub 4 over the entire circumference.

  In the case of the present embodiment, a recording medium 18c on which information on the outer ring 2 is recorded is embedded in the elastic member 26 constituting the sealing device 14a. That is, the sealing device 14a is usually fitted and fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the outer end of the outer ring 2 before the outer ring 2 and the hub 4 are assembled. Therefore, the sealing device 14a is fixed to each of the plurality of outer rings 2 before the combination. For this reason, in the case of the present embodiment, information of each outer ring 2 is recorded on the recording medium 18c embedded in the sealing device 14a. The recording medium 18 c is embedded in the elastic material 26 by being placed at a predetermined position in the cavity when the elastic material 26 constituting the sealing device 14 a is molded into the core metal 25. In this embodiment, the recording medium 18c is an IC chip that can transmit information by an antenna.

  On the other hand, the sealing device 14b shown in FIG. 6 closes the axially inner end opening of the space 15, and is formed by combining the seal ring 28 and the slinger 17. Of these, the seal ring 28 is made of a metal such as a mild steel plate, and has an L-shaped cored bar 29 formed in a ring shape as a whole, and the inner peripheral surface and the inner side surface of the cored bar 29 all around. And an elastic material 30 such as an elastomer such as rubber attached thereto. The slinger 17 is formed by subjecting a magnetic metal plate such as a steel plate or a stainless steel plate to press working or the like, and has an L-shaped cross section and is formed in an annular shape as a whole. In use, the core metal 29 constituting the seal ring 28 is fitted and fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the inner end of the outer ring 2 by an interference fit so as to close the axial inner end opening of the space 15 and the slinger 17. Are fitted and fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the inner end portion of the inner ring 6 constituting the hub 4 by an interference fit. Then, seal lips 31, 31 formed respectively on the inner surface and inner peripheral edge of the elastic member 30 attached to the core metal 29 are slidably contacted with the outer surface and outer peripheral surface of the slinger 17 over the entire periphery. Let

  The sealing device 14b is provided with an encoder 16a for detecting the rotational speed of the wheel. The encoder 16a is formed of a rubber magnet or a plastic magnet in which a powder of a magnetic material such as ferrite is mixed in rubber or synthetic resin in a ring shape, and is magnetized in the axial direction. Then, on the side surface of the encoder 16a, S poles and N poles are alternately arranged at equal intervals along the circumferential direction. Such an encoder 16a is a rubber material or a synthetic resin material in which a powder of a magnetic material is mixed on the surface located on the inner surface of the slinger 17 on the side opposite to the seal lips 31, 31. Is attached and supported by molding. Alternatively, it is formed as a single body by injection molding or the like and attached to the inner surface of the slinger 17 with an adhesive or the like. Other structures and operations relating to rotation detection are the same as those of the conventional structure shown in FIG.

  In the case of the present embodiment, a recording medium 18 d on which information on the inner ring 6 is recorded is embedded in the encoder 16 a that is supported and fixed to the inner surface of the slinger 17. That is, the slinger 17 constituting the sealing device 14b is externally fitted and fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the inner end portion of the inner ring 6. When the wheel bearing rolling bearing unit 1 a is assembled, the inner ring 6 is externally fixed to the inner end of the hub body 5 after the hub body 5 and the outer ring 2 are assembled. At this time, the slinger 17 fitted and fixed to the inner ring 6 and the seal ring 28 fitted and fixed to the inner end of the outer ring 2 are combined to form a sealing device 14b. Therefore, if the recording medium 18d in which the information of the inner ring 6 is recorded is provided in the encoder 16a attached and supported on the inner surface of the slinger 17, a plurality of inner rings can be obtained by reading the information on the recording medium 18d. From 6 it is possible to easily select one suitable for combination.

  As a method of assembling the seal device 14b, after the inner ring 6 is fitted on the inner end portion of the hub body 5, the seal device 14b is connected to the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring 6 and the inner end portion outer periphery of the outer ring 2. In some cases, it is installed between the surface. In this case, as described above, the information on the inner ring 6 cannot be recorded on the recording medium 18d before the inner ring 6 is assembled to the hub body 5. For this reason, it is preferable to record information of the wheel bearing rolling bearing unit 1a after completion on the recording medium 18d. In this case, as in the first embodiment, the recording medium 18b in which information on the inner ring 6 is directly recorded is provided on the inner ring 6. In any case, the recording medium 18d is placed in a predetermined position in the cavity when the encoder 16a is molded into the slinger 17 or as a single unit. Embed in. The recording medium 18d is also an IC chip that can transmit information by an antenna.

  In the case of the present embodiment configured as described above, since the recording media 18c and 18d are installed in the sealing devices 14a and 14b, respectively, the recording media 18c and 18d are placed on any of the surfaces of the constituent members. There is no need to install it in any part. Therefore, the recording media 18c and 18d do not interfere with other members when assembling these constituent members. Further, since the recording media 18c and 18d are not easily dropped or damaged during the assembly, the recording media 18c and 18d are not assembled or assembled when the wheel bearing rolling bearing unit 1a is assembled. Difficult to read. As a result, traceability can be further improved. Other structures and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the recording medium is provided on all the constituent members of the outer ring, the hub main body, and the inner ring (in some cases, also on the rolling element), but the present invention is at least two of these constituent members. What is necessary is just to provide the recording medium in the above structural member. Thereby, the combination of the structural members provided with at least the recording medium can be easily performed. In each of the above embodiments, the outer ring is a stationary ring and the inner ring is a rotating ring. However, the present invention is also applied to a structure in which the outer ring is a rotating ring (hub) and the inner ring is a stationary ring. it can. Moreover, although the structure shown in FIG. 1 is a structure for driven wheels, the present invention can also be applied to a structure for driving wheels. Further, the present invention can be applied to a rolling bearing unit that constitutes a rotation support portion of various mechanical devices in addition to the above-described wheel supporting rolling bearing unit. In short, the present invention can be applied to any rolling bearing unit including a stationary wheel, a rotating wheel, and a rolling element.

FIG. 2 is a half sectional view showing Example 1 of the present invention. The half part sectional view which takes out and shows only a hub main part. The half part sectional view which takes out and shows only an inner ring. The half section view which takes out and shows only an outer ring. The fragmentary sectional view which shows one sealing device integrated in Example 2 of this invention. The fragmentary sectional view which similarly shows the other sealing device. Sectional drawing which shows an example of the conventional structure of the rolling bearing unit for wheel support. The fragmentary sectional view which shows one example of the conventional structure which attached the encoder to the sealing device incorporated in the rolling bearing unit for wheel support.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a Rolling bearing unit for wheel support 2 Outer ring 3 Mounting part 4 Hub 5 Hub main body 6 Inner ring 7 Mounting flange 8 Cylindrical part 9 Caulking part 10 Outer ring raceway 11 Inner ring raceway 12 Rolling element 13 Cage 14a, 14b Sealing device 15 Space 16 , 16a Encoder 17 Slinger 18a-18d Recording medium 19 Recessed portion 20 Cylindrical portion 21 Stepped surface 22 Shoulder portion 23 Inner end surface 25 Core metal 26 Elastic material 27 Seal lip 28 Seal ring 29 Core metal 30 Elastic material 31 Seal lip 31 Seal lip

Claims (5)

  A stationary wheel having a stationary side raceway on the stationary side circumferential surface, a rotating wheel having a rotational side raceway on the rotational side circumferential surface, and a plurality of provided between the rotational side raceway and the stationary side raceway surface In the rolling bearing unit provided with the rolling elements, at least two or more types of structural members of the stationary wheel, the rotating wheel, and the rolling elements are related to the respective structural members. A rolling bearing unit comprising a recording medium on which information is recorded.   The rolling bearing unit according to claim 1, wherein a recording medium is provided for each of the constituent members.   The rolling bearing according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a recording medium on which information on the rolling bearing unit is recorded in addition to information on the constituent member is provided on at least one of the constituent members. unit.   The stationary wheel is supported by the suspension device, and the rotating wheel supports and fixes the wheel, and is used to rotatably support the wheel on the suspension device. The rolling bearing unit described in any one of the above.   A stationary wheel having a stationary side raceway on the stationary side circumferential surface, a rotating wheel having a rotational side raceway on the rotational side circumferential surface, and a plurality of provided between the rotational side raceway and the stationary side raceway surface A rolling bearing unit comprising a rolling element, and information on at least two kinds of constituent members among the constituent members of the stationary wheel, the rotating wheel, and the rolling elements, A method for manufacturing a rolling bearing unit, comprising: reading from a recording medium provided on each component, determining a combination of these components based on this information, and assembling the components.

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