Adjusting process for bearings

• US 4,150,468 A
• Filed: 08/01/1977
• Issued: 04/24/1979
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/1975
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: The Timken Company
• Original Assignee: The Timken Company
• Inventors: Harbottle, William E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lanham, C. W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rising, V. K.
• Application Number:
  US05/820,466
• Time in Patent Office: 631 Days
• Field of Search: 33/181 AT, 33/180 R, 33/DIG. 17, 33/181 R, 29/148.4 A, 29/148.4 C, 29/149.5 R, 308/236, 308/196
• US Class Current: 29/898.09
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 19/364 with tapered rollers, i.e. rollers having essentially the shape of a truncated cone
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 19/543 in O-arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 19/548 in O-arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 2229/00 Setting preload
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 2326/02 Wheel hubs or castors in general B60B
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 35/067 Fixing them in a housing with interposition of an element F16C35/07
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 33/17 Piston ring and bearing race gauging
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49673 Die-press shaping
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49696 Mounting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/497 Pre-usage process, e.g., preloading, aligning
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49773 by radioactive tracing

Abstract

A shaft is confined within a housing by two indirectly mounted tapered roller bearings, and these bearings are adjusted by applying opposed axial forces to their cups, the spacing between which is dependent on the thickness of a deformable spacer located within the housing. A force of sufficient magnitude is applied to plastically deform the spacer that is between the two cups, and as the force is applied the spacing between the raceways of the two cups is monitored. The force is released when the size of the spacer will cause the cup raceways to be spaced apart a distance which provides the bearings with the correct adjustment. This distance is determined by measuring a master cup and adjusting the dimension so derived for the desired amount of end play or preload and for spring back of the spacer, hub and cups when the load is released. The process may be used where the cones are press-fitted over the shaft and have their front faces abutting. In that case, further adjustments from the raceway spacing of the master may be made to accommodate changes in the positioning of the cone raceways which result from variations in the cone bore diameters and in the locations of the cone front faces. The measurement of the cone bore diameters and front face locations are made in a fixture and compared with measurements derived from master cones which are also measured in the fixture, all for the purpose of determining deviations from the master cones.

Claims

1. A process for adjusting a bearing assembly that mounts a shaft within a housing and includes a pair of outer raceways located in the housing and a pair of inner raceways adapted to be fixed in position around the shaft, with each inner raceway being located opposite a different outer raceway, and rolling elements arranged in two rows between opposed inner and outer raceways, the raceways and the rolling elements being configured such that the bearing assembly takes thrust loading in both axial directions as well as radial loading, at least the raceways of one pair being on separate races so that axial positioning of the races relative to each other determines the adjustment of the bearing, said process comprising:

placing a deformable spacer between the races on which the raceways of said one pair are located, the spacer being of lesser compressive strength than the races;

applying a compressive force to at least one of the races with the force being directed such and being of sufficient magnitude to plastically deform the spacer between the two races, but not the races themselves, whereby the spacing between the racewyas of the two races diminishes, the force being applied while the bearing assembly is disassembled so that the inner raceways are outside of and remote from the outer raceways; and

while the force is applied, measuring and monitoring the spacing between the raceways of the two races, the force being applied until the space between the raceways on the two races is such that the bearing assembly, upon being assembled, will have the desired adjustment.

4. The process according to claim 1 and further comprising measuring the races of the other pair and calculating the distance between the raceways of said one pair from the measurements derived from said other pair.

5. The process according to claim 4 wherein the inner races have bores and are press-fitted over the shaft, whereby raceways thereon are expanded, and the measurement of the said other pair includes measuring the bores of the inner races to determine deviations from nominal dimensions.

6. The process according to claim 4 wherein the inner races have end faces which abut one another and the spacer is located between the outer races.

7. The process according to claim 6 wherein the measuring of said other pair of races includes measuring the location of said end faces on the inner races with respect to the outer surfaces of the rolling elements surrounding the raceways of the inner races when the rolling elements are seated against those raceways.

8. The process according to claim 7 wherein the inner races have bores and are press-fitted over the shaft, and the step of measuring said other pair of races further includes measuring the diameter of the bores in the inner races to determine deviations from nominal dimensions.

21. The process according to claim 1 wherein the step of measuring and monitoring the spacing between the raceways of the two races comprises bringing a separate contact element into contact with the raceway on each race and measuring the spacing between the contact elements.

22. The process according to claim 1 wherein the raceways of the other pair are also located on separate races which when installed in the bearing assembly locate in a predetermined position with respect to each other.

23. The process according to claim 22 wherein said other pair of races have the inner raceway on them and the inner races have front faces which are presented opposite to each other when the inner races are installed in the bearing assembly, and further comprising inserting each inner race and the rolling elements that are assocated with it into a fixture having a reference raceway therein, and measuring the location of the front face with respect to the fixture.

2. The process according to claim 29 wherein both the inner and outer raceways are on races, the races for the outer raceways are separate, and the spacer is between the outer races.

3. The process according to claim 2 wherein an interference fit exists between the outer races and the housing, and the outer races are press-fitted into bores located within the housing.

9. A process for adjusting a bearing assembly including two tapered roller bearings used to mount a shaft within a housing, each bearing including a cup within the housing and having an inwardly presented tapered raceway, a cone around the shaft and having an outwardly presented tapered raceway, and tapered rollers between the raceways of the cup and cone, the cups of the bearings having back faces which face each other and the cones having front faces which face each other, said process comprising:

interposing a deformable spacer between the back faces of the two cups so that the spacing between the raceways on the cups is determined by the thickness of the spacer, the spacer being of lesser strength than the cups;

with the cones and tapered rollers removed from the cups, measuring the axial distance between the raceways of the cups such that any changes in the axial distance are detected; and

while the axial distance between the raceways of the cups is being monitored, forcing the cups together under an axially applied force of sufficient magnitude to deform the spacer with the force being applied until the axial distance between the raceways of the cups, after release of the axial force, will provide the bearing assembly with the desired adjustment.

10. The process according to claim 9 wherein the step of measuring the distance between the raceways of the cups comprises placing tapered plugs in the cups with the tapered surfaces of the plugs contacting the raceways of the cups, the angle of the taper on the surfaces of the plugs being equal to the angle of the taper on the cup raceways so that face to face contact exists between the tapered surfaces of the plugs and the tapered cup raceways;

and measuring the spacing between the plugs.

11. The process according to claim 9 wherein the step of measuring the distance between the raceways of the cups comprises measuring the spacing between the raceways of a master cup and comparing measurements derived from measuring the distance between said cups with the measurement of the master cup.

12. The process according to claim 11 wherein the force is applied to the cups until the spacing between the cups is slightly less than that required to provide the desired adjustment so that when the force is released the spacer will spring back and increase the spacing between the raceways of the cups to a value which provides the bearing assembly with the desired adjustment.

13. The process according to claim 12 and further comprising monitoring the force applied to the cups as the distance between the cup raceways is measured and monitored, comparing that force with the spring back characteristics of the spacer, and releasing the force when the magnitude of the spring back corresponding to the force approximately equals the difference between the desired spacing between the cup raceways and the actual spacing with the force applied so that when the force is released the spacer will spring back by an amount equalling the difference and the desired spacing will exist between the raceways of the cup.

14. The process according to claim 11 wherein the front faces of the cone abut, and further comprising measuring the location of the front face of each cone with respect to the outer surfaces of the tapered rollers surrounding the tapered raceway of that cone when the rollers are seated against the tapered raceway of that cone, and altering the desired spacing between the cup raceways to compensate for deviations of the cone front faces from a standard position therefor.

15. The process according to claim 14 wherein the step of measuring the location of each cone front face comprises placing the cone and rollers in a work cup, causing relative rotation between the cone and work cup while applying an axial force to the cone in the direction which seats the tapered rollers thereof against the work cup and the cone raceway, and measuring the location of the cone front face with respect to the work cup.

16. The process according to claim 15 wherein the step of measuring the axial location of each cone front face further comprises placing a master cone in the work cup, the master cone having a front face which locates at a known position when the master cone is placed in the master cup, measuring the location of the front face for the master cone with respect to the work cup, and comparing the measurements derived from the cone with those derived from the master cone to determine a deviation in cone front face location.

17. The process according to claim 16 wherein the axial spacing between the cup raceway is adjusted relative to the spacing between the raceways of the master cup by an amount reflecting the deviation in the location of the cone front faces.

18. The process according to claim 12 wherein the axial spacing between the cup raceways is further adjusted by a predetermined amount sufficient to provide the bearing assembly with a predetermined amount of end play.

19. The process according to claim 14 wherein an interference fit exists between the cones and the shaft and the cones are pressed over the shaft, and further comprising measuring the diameter of the bore in each cone, and altering the spacing between the cup raceways to compensate for the changes in the cone raceway positions which will occur when the cone is pressed over the shaft as a result of deviations of the cone bore diameter from a nominal value.

20. The process according to claim 19 wherein the step of measuring the bore of each cone comprises measuring the diameter of a bore in a master cone and comparing the measurement derived from the master cone with the measurement derived from the cone to obtain a deviation, converting that deviation into an axial equivalent, and adjusting the axial distance between the cup raceways relative to the axial distance between the raceways of the master cup by an amount reflecting the axial equivalent of the deviation.