Bearing arrangement for the input shaft of a forward axle in a tandem axle drive

• US 20070219039A1
• Filed: 03/17/2006
• Published: 09/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Timken Company
• Original Assignee: The Timken Company
• Inventors: Barnette, Wayne, Fahrni, Glenn
• Granted Patent: US 7,503,867 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 475/220
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 17/16 of differential gearing
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 19/364 with tapered rollers, i.e. rollers having essentially the shape of a truncated cone
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 19/54 Systems consisting of a plurality of bearings with rolling friction spindle bearings F16C35/08
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 2226/60 with threaded parts, e.g. bolt and nut connections in general F16B23/00 - F16B43/00
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 2361/61 Toothed gear systems, e.g. support of pinion shafts in general F16H57/02
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 25/06 Ball or roller bearings
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 33/586 outside the space between the races, e.g. end faces or bore of inner ring

Abstract

An axle center for the forward axle in a vehicle having tandem drive axles includes a housing containing input, output and through shafts that rotate in the housing about a common axis on front, rear and through shaft antifriction bearings. The front and rear bearings, which support the input and output shafts, are mounted in opposition. The front bearing has an outer race provided with an external thread that engages an internal thread within the housing. That outer race is fitted with a locking ring provided with an inner flange that is engaged to turn the race and thereby bring the front and rear bearings into the correct adjustment. The locking ring also has an outer flange which is engaged with the housing once the front and rear bearings are correctly adjusted so as to maintain the correct adjustment.

Claims

1. An axle center for the forward axle of a tandem axle drive, said axle center comprising:

a housing;

an input shaft located in the housing and projecting out of the housing for coupling to a drive shaft;

front and rear antifriction bearings supporting the shaft in the housing for rotation about a primary axis, each bearing being configured to transfer a radial load and an axial load, the bearings being mounted in opposition, the front bearing including an inner raceway carried by the shaft and presented outwardly away from the axis, an outer race threaded into the housing and having an outer raceway presented inwardly toward the inner raceway, and of rolling elements located between the inner and outer raceways;

whereby rotation of the outer race will displace the outer race axially and control the setting of the bearings.

2. An axle center according to claim 1 and further comprising:

a gear carried by the input shaft;

a pinion shaft located in the housing for rotation about an offset axis;

a gear carried by the pinion shaft and engaged with the gear on the input shaft; and

differential gearing located in the housing and driven by the pinion shaft.

3. An axle center according to claim 2 and further comprising:

an output shaft aligned with the input shaft and supported by the front and rear bearings;

a through shaft coupled to the output shaft for rotation with the output shaft at the same velocity as the output shaft; and

a through shaft bearing supporting the through shaft in the housing for rotation about the primary axis.

4. An axle center according to claim 3 and further comprising an interaxle differential located in the housing and coupling the input shaft to the output shaft so that the input and output shafts may rotate about the axis at different angular velocities.

5. An axle center according to claim 1 wherein the housing has a front bearing seat through which the input shaft extends, and the bearing seat contains an internal thread;

and wherein the outer race of the front bearing has an external thread that engages the internal thread of the bearing seat.

6. An axle center according to claim 5 wherein the front bearing further comprises a locking ring attached to the outer race, the locking ring being coupled with the housing to prevent rotation of the outer race.

7. An axle center according to claim 6 wherein the housing contains a recess that opens toward the axis, and the locking ring has a tab that is bent into the recess.

8. An axle center according to claim 7 wherein the locking ring has a flange that is divided into segments, one of which is bent into the recess to form the tab.

9. An axle center according to claim 8 wherein the segments have holes;

and further comprising a screw that extends through the hole in the segment that is bent to create the tab, and the screw threads into the housing.

10. An axle center according to claim 9 wherein the holes are slots that open out the end of the ring.

11. An axle center according to claim 6 wherein the counterbore contains a shoulder and the locking ring contains a flange that extends axially through the counterbore and a lip that turns outwardly from the flange and lies along the shoulder;

and further comprising a restraining device projecting through the lip and into the housing to secure the ring against rotation in the housing.

12. An axle center according to claim 6 wherein the locking ring has a flange that extends axially;

and further comprising a set screw that is threaded into the housing and against the flange of the ring to prevent the ring from rotating in the housing.

13. An axle center according to claim 6 wherein the locking ring has a flange that extends axially;

and further comprising a set screw that is threaded into the housing and through the flange of the ring to prevent the ring from rotating in the housing.

14. An axle center according to claim 6 wherein the locking ring is welded to the cup.

15. An axle center according to claim 6 wherein the locking ring has two axially directed flanges and a web connecting the flanges, and the locking ring is attached to the outer race at its web.

16. An axle center for the forward axle of a tandem axle drive, said axle center comprising:

a housing having at one end a bearing seat that contains an internal thread;

axially aligned input, output and through shafts extending through the housing with the input shaft projecting out of the one end of the housing beyond the bearing seat and the through shaft projecting out of the opposite end of the housing; and

front, rear and through shaft bearings supporting the shafts for rotation about a common axis,

the front bearing including an inner raceway that is carried by the input shaft and is inclined with respect to the axis, an outer race having an outer raceway presented toward the inner raceway and inclined with respect to the axis in the same direction as the inner raceway and further having an external thread that is engaged with the internal thread of the bearing seat, and rolling elements located in a single row between the raceways;

the through shaft bearing supporting the through shaft;

the rear bearing supporting the input and output shafts and including an inner raceway that is presented outwardly on the output shaft and is inclined with respect to the axis in the direction opposite to which the inner raceway of the front bearing is inclined, an outer raceway carried by the housing and presented toward and inclined in the same direction as the inner raceway, and rolling elements arranged in a single row between the inner and outer raceways,

whereby the front and rear bearings are opposed and may be adjusted against each other by rotating the outer race of the front bearing;

a pinion shaft mounted in the housing for rotation about an axis offset from the axis of the input and output shafts;

gears connecting the input shaft and the pinion shaft; and

differential gearing coupled in the housing to the pinion shaft.

17. An axle center according to claim 16 and further comprising an interaxle differential coupling the input shaft and the output shaft;

and wherein the inner raceway of the rear bearing rotates with and at the same velocity as the output and through shafts.

18. An axle center according to claim 16 wherein the front bearing further includes a locking ring attached to its outer race and being engageable with the housing to prevent rotation to the outer race in the housing.