JP2007270873A - Sealing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sealing device effectively preventing intrusion of lubricating oil to the inside of a bearing. <P>SOLUTION: A seal body 5 including a seal member 3 having an annular core 2 and a main lip part 3b, and a slinger 6 fitted to an inner peripheral face 2a1 of the core 2, are installed to an annular space formed between an inner member 10 and an outer member 11 rotating around the inner member 10. A labyrinth seal S is formed between the slinger 6 and the inner member 11. A plurality of communication holes 9 making a space part 8 between the seal body 5 and the slinger 6 communicate with an outside B are formed on an outer peripheral side of the slinger 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sealing device for sealing an annular space formed between an inner member and an outer member rotating around the inner member.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a wheel bearing device (hub unit) for an automobile equipped with a wheel suspension structure of a type generally called full floating, as shown in Patent Document 1, for example, an outer member (outer ring) rotates. On the outer side of the vehicle, a sealing device is arranged to prevent intrusion of lubricating oil and foreign matter from the outside into the bearing. As this sealing device, as shown in FIG. 3, conventionally, an annular cored bar 102 having a substantially L-shaped cross section fixed to the outer member 110, and fixed to the cored bar 102 and against the inner member (inner ring) 109. A seal member 103 including a seal member 103 having a main lip portion 103 a and a sub lip portion 103 b to be brought into contact with an annular spring ring 104 has been used. In the sealing device 101, a large amount of dirty (contaminated foreign matter) lubricating oil passes from the differential through the space between the axle tube and the axle from the external side B (vehicle outer side) when the vehicle turns. As a result, the lubricating oil may also enter the bearing interior A, causing inconveniences such as grease leakage from the bearing interior A, a decrease in seizure resistance, and a decrease in durability of the bearing.
Therefore, in order to reduce the amount of lubricating oil applied to the sealing device 101, it is conceivable to attach an annular slinger 106 having a substantially L-shaped cross section to the inner peripheral surface 102a of the core metal 102 as shown in FIG.
JP 2001-99172 A

In this case, the amount of lubricating oil applied to the seal body 5 is reduced by attaching the slinger 106, but the lubricating oil passes through the gap 107 between the inner peripheral surface 106a of the slinger 106 and the main lip portion 103a and the seal body 105. There is a case where the space 108 between the slinger 106 enters and accumulates. The accumulated lubricating oil is applied to the main lip 103a and the like while the outer member 110 is rotating, so that lip wear is promoted, and as a result, the lubricating oil may enter the bearing interior A. .
This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, and it aims at providing the sealing device which can prevent the penetration | invasion of the lubricating oil to the inside of a bearing effectively.

The sealing device of the present invention is mounted in an annular space formed between an inner member and an outer member rotating around the inner member.
A seal main body having an annular metal core fitted to the outer member, and a seal member fixed to the metal core and having a main lip portion slidably contacting the inner member;
In a sealing device comprising a slinger fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the cored bar,
A plurality of communication holes for communicating the space between the seal body and the slinger and the outside are formed on the outer peripheral side of the slinger.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the lubricant from entering the space between the seal body and the slinger by the slinger, and even if the lubricant is accumulated in this space, Oil can be released to the outside from a plurality of communication holes provided on the outer peripheral side of the slinger by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the outer member. As a result, it is possible to prevent lip wear caused by the lubricating oil being applied to the seal member and prevent the lubricating oil from entering the bearing.

In the sealing device of the present invention, it is preferable that a labyrinth seal is formed between at least one of the inner member and the seal body and the slinger.
In this case, the labyrinth seal makes it difficult for the lubricating oil to enter the space from the outside.

  According to the sealing device of the present invention, the lubricating oil accumulated in the space between the seal body and the slinger can be released to the outside through the plurality of communication holes formed on the outer peripheral side of the slinger. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively prevent the lubricating oil from entering the bearing by preventing the lip wear caused by the lubricating oil being applied to the seal member.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a sealing device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the main part of the sealing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This sealing device 1 is used for a wheel bearing of an automobile provided with a wheel suspension device of a type generally called full floating. In this type of wheel bearing, an inner member (inner ring) is fixed to the outer periphery of an end portion of an axle tube that is coaxially disposed around a drive shaft that transmits power from an engine, and a rolling element with respect to the inner member. An outer member (outer ring) that is rotatably arranged via the wheel is attached to the drive shaft and the wheel. The sealing device 1 is an annular member configured between an inner member 10 fixed to an axle tube on the vehicle body side and an outer member 11 that rotates around the inner member 10 and is attached to a drive shaft and wheels. It is mounted in the space to prevent leakage of sealing fluid, which is a lubricant such as grease inside the bearing A, to the outside B. Further, the sealing device 1 prevents the lubricating oil such as diff oil flowing from the differential from entering the bearing interior A through the gap between the drive shaft and the axle tube in the fully floating type wheel suspension device. is doing. The sealing device 1 shown in FIG. 1 shows a free state before deformation, which is before being mounted between the outer peripheral surface 10a of the inner member 10 and the inner peripheral surface 11a of the outer member 11.

The sealing device 1 includes an annular cored bar 2 having a substantially L-shaped section, a seal member 3 fixed to the cored bar 2, and a ring spring ring 4, and a substantially L-shaped section. An annular slinger 6 is provided.
The core metal 2 is a metal annular member, and a cylindrical portion 2a fixed to the inner peripheral surface 11a side of the outer member 11, and an annular plate portion 2b bent inward in the radial direction from one end portion of the cylindrical portion 2a. It consists of and.

The seal member 3 is made of an elastic member such as synthetic rubber, and is fixed to the core metal 2 by adhesion or baking by vulcanization. The seal member 3 has a main body portion 3a, a main lip portion 3b, and a sub lip portion 3c.
The main body 3a includes an intermediate portion 3a1 provided on the inner peripheral side of the cylindrical portion 2a and the outer side B of the annular plate portion 2b, and an inner peripheral portion 3a2 that covers a region on the inner peripheral side of the annular plate portion 2b. Has been.

The main lip portion 3b extends from the inner peripheral portion 3a2 of the main body portion 3a to the inner member 10 side and to the outer side B, and a peripheral groove 7 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 3b1. A spring ring 4 called a so-called garter spring is attached to the circumferential groove 7 and fastens the main lip 3b inward in the radial direction.
The sub lip portion 3c extends from the inner peripheral side of the inner peripheral portion 3a2 of the main body portion 3a to the inner member 10 side and to the bearing interior A side.
The main lip portion 3b and the sub lip portion 3c are slidably sealingly contacted with the outer peripheral surface 10a of the inner member 10 to prevent the sealed fluid inside the bearing A from leaking to the outer side B.

  The slinger 6 is provided on the outer side B of the seal body 5. The slinger 6 includes a cylindrical portion 6a that is press-fitted and fixed to the inner peripheral surface 2a1 of the cylindrical portion 2a of the core metal 2, and an annular plate portion 6b that is bent radially inward from one end portion of the cylindrical portion 6a. It is an annular member made of metal. Then, by forming a minute gap between the inner peripheral surface 6b1 of the annular plate portion 6b and the outer peripheral surface 10a of the inner member 10, the inner peripheral surface 6b1 of the annular plate portion 6b and the outer peripheral surface 10a of the inner member 10 are separated. A labyrinth seal S is formed therebetween. Further, by forming a small gap between the inner side surface 6b2 of the annular plate portion 6b and the side surface 3b2 on the outer side B of the main lip portion 3b, the inner side surface 6b2 of the annular plate portion 6b and the outer side of the main lip portion 3b. A labyrinth seal S is also formed between the side surface 3b2 of B. An annular space 8 is formed between the seal body 5 and the slinger 6 (the inner surface 6a1, the inner peripheral surface 6a2 of the cylindrical portion 6a, and the inner surface 6b2 of the annular plate portion 6b). The slinger 6 provided on the outer side B of the seal body 5 can prevent the lubricating oil from being applied from the outer side B and can prevent the lubricating oil from entering the bearing inside A. Further, it is formed between the inner peripheral surface 6b1 of the annular plate portion 6b and the outer peripheral surface 10a of the inner member 10, and between the inner side surface 6b2 of the annular plate portion 6b and the side surface 3b2 on the outer side B of the main lip portion 3b. The labyrinth seal S makes it difficult for the lubricating oil to enter the space 8 from the external side B.

Further, if the lubricant oil enters the space portion 8, the space portion 8 and the outer side B are provided on the outer peripheral side of the annular plate portion 6 b of the slinger 6 so that the lubricant oil can easily escape to the outer side B. A plurality of communication holes 9 for communication are formed. The communication holes 9 are equally arranged on the same circumference.
By providing the communication hole 9 on the outer peripheral side of the annular plate portion 6 b of the slinger 6, the lubricating oil accumulated in the space portion 8 can be released to the outer side B by the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the outer member 11. Thereby, it is possible to prevent lip wear that occurs when the lubricating oil is applied to the main lip portion 3b and the sub lip portion 3c, and it is possible to prevent the lubricating oil from entering the bearing.

  The sealing device 1 of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components can be appropriately changed within the scope of the present invention. The labyrinth seal S is formed between the inner peripheral surface 6b1 of the annular plate portion 6b of the slinger 6 and the inner member 10, and between the inner side surface 6b2 of the annular plate portion 6b and the side surface 3b2 on the outer side B of the main lip portion 3b. In the case where there is no margin in the width dimension (axial dimension) for attaching the sealing device 1, as shown in FIG. 2, the inner peripheral surface 6b1 of the annular plate portion 6b of the slinger 6 You may form between the outer peripheral surfaces 3b1 of the main lip | rip part 3b.

It is a section explanatory view showing the sealing device concerning a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a section explanatory view showing a sealing device concerning other embodiments of the present invention. It is sectional explanatory drawing which shows the conventional sealing device. It is sectional explanatory drawing which shows the conventional sealing device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sealing device 3 Seal member 3b Main lip part 5 Seal body 6 Slinger 8 Space part 9 Communication hole S Labyrinth seal A Bearing inside B Outside

Claims (2)

Mounted in an annular space formed between the inner member and the outer member rotating around the inner member;
A seal main body having an annular metal core fitted to the outer member, and a seal member fixed to the metal core and having a main lip portion slidably contacting the inner member;
In a sealing device comprising a slinger fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the cored bar,
A sealing device, wherein a plurality of communication holes are formed on the outer peripheral side of the slinger to communicate the space between the seal body and the slinger and the outside.   The sealing device according to claim 1, wherein a labyrinth seal is formed between at least one of the inner member and the seal body and the slinger.

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