PROCESS FOR MEASURING PRELOADING OF LOW-ROLLING RESISTANCE BEARINGS
First Claim
1. A method of measuring bearing preload in a differential gear assembly'"'"'s angular contact ball bearing set, the bearing set supporting a pinion shaft within a housing having at least one cylindrical opening formed in an exterior surface of the housing, said method comprising the steps of:
- providing a multi-axis load cell having a spherical load button;
positioning said spherical load button within one of said cylindrical openings;
rotating said pinion shaft relative to said housing so that said rotating pinion shaft imparts a torque to said housing through said bearing set, wherein said housing rotates and an inner surface of said cylindrical opening abuts said load button; and
measuring a force applied by said housing against said load button.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for measuring the preload condition of a vehicle differential gear assembly includes a multi-axis load cell having a spherical load button. The differential assembly is supported by the pinion shaft and the load cell button is positioned within a carrier housing hole. The pinion shaft is then rotated relative to the housing resulting in the housing to rotate along with the pinion shaft and abut against the load button. The resulting force against the button is measured in three orthogonal directions permitting an accurate force vector to be determined. The bearings preload is simultaneously set by applying an axial compressive force against the bearings while the pinion shaft is rotated.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of measuring bearing preload in a differential gear assembly'"'"'s angular contact ball bearing set, the bearing set supporting a pinion shaft within a housing having at least one cylindrical opening formed in an exterior surface of the housing, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a multi-axis load cell having a spherical load button; positioning said spherical load button within one of said cylindrical openings; rotating said pinion shaft relative to said housing so that said rotating pinion shaft imparts a torque to said housing through said bearing set, wherein said housing rotates and an inner surface of said cylindrical opening abuts said load button; and measuring a force applied by said housing against said load button. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of measuring bearing preload in a differential gear assembly having an input shaft supported by an antifriction bearing set within a differential, said method comprising the steps of:
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lifting and supporting said differential gear assembly by said input shaft such that a longitudinal axis of said input shaft is in a known orientation; positioning a spherical load button within a cylindrical opening in the housing; rotating said input shaft relative to said housing so that said rotating input shaft imparts a torque to said housing through said bearing set, wherein said housing rotates to abut an inner surface of said cylindrical opening against said load button; and measuring a force applied by said housing against said load button in three orthogonal directions. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for measuring bearing preload in a differential gear assembly'"'"'s angular contact ball bearing set, the bearing set supporting a pinion shaft within a housing having at least one cylindrical opening formed in an exterior surface of the housing, comprising:
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an actuator arm that is movable from a collapsed rest position to an extended position; a multi-axis load cell mounted upon and end of said actuator arm; a load button mounted to a force input plate said load cell, said load button being sized to fit within said at least one cylindrical opening; and means for lifting and rotating said differential gear assembly by said pinion shaft; wherein said load button is coextensive with one of said cylindrical openings when said actuator arm is in said extended position and said load cell measures a resultant force transmitted through said bearing set when said lifting and rotating means rotates said pinion shaft. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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Specification