Assembly forming a seal with a bulit-in encoder

• US 20030059138A1
• Filed: 09/25/2001
• Published: 03/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: The Torrington Company (The Timken Company)
• Original Assignee: The Torrington Company (The Timken Company)
• Inventors: Sand, Jean-Pierre, Nantua, Rene, Bochet, Alain
• Application Number:
  US09/963,259
• Publication Number:
  US 20030059138A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 384/448
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 33/78 with a diaphragm, disc, or ring, with or without resilient members F16C33/761 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 41/007 Encoders, e.g. parts with a plurality of alternating magnetic poles
• CPC Class Codes: F16J 15/326 with means for detecting or measuring relative rotation of the two elements
• CPC Class Codes: F16J 15/3264 the elements being separable from each other
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 3/443 mounted in bearings bearings F16C

Abstract

An assembly forming a seal with a built-in multi-pole magnetic encoder, intended to be mounted between a stationary support and a rotating support forming part of a rolling bearing. The assembly comprises a stationary armature secured to the stationary support and a moving armature bearing the encoder and secured to the rotating support. The assembly has no means allowing the association of a sensor past which the encoder moves. The magnetic encoder comprises a low even number of poles allowing the sensor to be distanced from the stationary armature such that magnetic flux of the encoder may be detected by the sensor that can electronically compensate for the reduction in the number of the pairs of poles, with detection being performed through the stationary armature.

Claims

1. An assembly forming a seal with a built-in multi-pole magnetic encoder, intended to be mounted between a stationary support and a rotating support forming part of a rolling bearing, the assembly comprising:

a stationary armature secured to a stationary support; and

a moving armature bearing the encoder and secured to the rotating support;

the assembly being capable of having no means allowing the association of a sensor past which the encoder can move;

wherein the multi-pole magnetic encoder comprises a low even number of poles to allow an exterior lateral face of the stationary armature to be distanced from the sensor such that magnetic flux of the encoder may be detected by the sensor through the stationary armature.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a seal secured to the stationary armature, the seal comprising at least one dynamic means such as a lip rubbing against the rotating support, the seal having no static sealing heel.

3. An assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a seal that covers an exterior lateral face of a seal support wall of the stationary armature, the seal comprising a static sealing heel in contact with an upper exterior lateral wall of the stationary support, and at least one dynamic sealing means running against the rotating support.

4. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the moving armature comprises a first wall and a third wall which is offset axially toward the exterior with respect to the first wall, the first wall being connected via a connection fillet to a first cylindrical surface by which the moving armature bears against the moving support, the third wall bearing the magnetic encoder.

5. An assembly according to claim 4, wherein the moving armature comprises a base piece that has a cutout forming a fourth radial annular wall, offset toward the exterior, coated in the material of which the magnetic encoder is made.

6. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein a first annular wall and a second annular wall of the moving armature form an annular groove with an opening facing toward the exterior.

7. An assembly according to claim 6, wherein the annular groove in axial section exhibits a U-shaped or pseudo-U-shaped or V-shaped or pseudo-V-shaped profile.

8. An assembly according to claim 7, wherein the exterior lateral face of the groove comprises bearing surfaces for at least one dynamic sealing lip.

9. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the encoder comprises a disk made of an elastomer filled with strontium ferrite or with barium ferrite.

10. An assembly according to claim 1, having a seal comprising, starting from the stationary support and working toward the rotating support:

a static sealing heel;

an annular band; and

at least one dynamic seal lip.

11. An assembly according to claim 10, wherein a dynamic sealing lip bears against an exterior lateral face of the rotating support.

12. An assembly according to claim 1, in combination with a sealed rolling bearing comprising a stationary support or ring and a rotating support or ring.

13. An assembly in combination with a rolling bearing according to claim 12, wherein an exterior lateral surface of the stationary armature is offset toward the interior with respect to a plane tangential to exterior lateral faces of the bearing support or ring.

14. An assembly in combination with a rolling bearing according to claim 12, wherein an exterior lateral surface of the stationary armature is practically contained in a plane tangential to the exterior lateral faces of the bearing supports or rings.

15. An assembly in combination with a rolling bearing according to claim 12, further comprising a sensor of the magneto resistor or Hall-effect probe type, characterized in that with the number of pairs of poles fixed at the lowest possible value N for a given air gap, an electronic circuit coupled to the sensor maintains a signal quality identical to the quality that could have been obtained with an encoder comprising a number of pairs of poles equal to 2N.