Method and apparatus for installing roller bearings

• US 6,588,106 B1
• Filed: 06/26/2001
• Issued: 07/08/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Capital Technology Beteiligungs GmbH
• Original Assignee: Pankl R&D GmbH
• Inventors: Domschitz, Jochen, Pankl, Gerold
• Primary Examiner(s): Vidovich, Gregory
• Assistant Examiner(s): COMPTON, ERIC B
• Application Number:
  US09/892,195
• Time in Patent Office: 742 Days
• Field of Search: 298/980.61, 298/980.62, 298/980.7, 298/980.9, 294/070.2, 294/070.4, 297/20, 297/24, 298/943.6, 298/943.61, 738/665, 73/10.9, 73/11.2, 73/18.1, 73/18.8, 738/624.9, 335/17
• US Class Current: 29/894.361
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 19/163 with angular contact
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 19/548 in O-arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 2229/00 Setting preload
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 23/06 Ball or roller bearings
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 2326/02 Wheel hubs or castors
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 35/06 Mounting or dismounting of ball or roller bearings; Fixing them onto shaft or in housing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49535 with assembling
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49696 Mounting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/497 Pre-usage process, e.g., preloading, aligning
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49766 torquing threaded assemblage or determining torque herein
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49769 Using optical instrument [excludes mere human eyeballing]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53104 Roller or ball bearing

Abstract

The invention concerns a method for the installation of pretensioned roller bearings (2), in particular angular ball bearings, for example, in wheel carriers of automobiles, airplanes, and the like.

The invention is characterized in that the installation apparatus, with a measurement probe (5), lies against a stop, a shoulder, or the like, in the axial area of the bearing race of one roller bearing, on the shaft side, and that upon tightening the shaft nut (3) against the bearing race of the other roller bearing, on the shaft side, its axial shift with respect to the stop is determined, wherein when the shaft nut is tightened, a torque wrench is used to determine the applied torque, which permits it to differentiate between the actual tensioning process of the roller bearing (2) and the previous process to bring the shaft nut (3) to the stop.

The invention also concerns an installation apparatus to implement the method.

Claims

1. Method for the installation of a pretensioned roller bearing assembly in a wheel carrier, the assembly comprising a hollow shaft having a shoulder, first and second roller bearings, and a shaft nut, wherein the method comprises:

placing the first roller bearing against the shoulder of the hollow shaft;

installing the hollow shaft having the first roller bearing into the wheel carrier, such that the fist roller bearing opposite the shoulder of the hollow shaft abuts a first surface of the wheel carrier;

placing the second roller bearing onto the hollow shaft, such that the second roller bearing abuts a second surface of the wheel carrier;

placing the shaft nut onto the hollow shaft, such that the shaft nut abuts the second roller bearing;

placing an installation apparatus having, a measurement probe and a stop member, so that the measurement probe lies against an internal stop of the hollow shaft, and the stop member abuts an outer end of the hollow shaft;

tightening the shaft nut against the second roller bearing;

determining the axial shift of the measurement probe with respect to the stop member; and

using a torque wrench to determine the applied torque when the shaft nut is tightened while measuring the change of distance between the stop member and a predetermined reference stop, which permits a differentiation between the actual tensioning process of the roller bearing and the previous process to tighten the shaft nut.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the change in the distance is determined by means of a laser distance measurement gauge.

3. Method according to claim 1, characterized by the measurement probe (5) being mounted so that it the measurement probe can move axially with respect to the member (8) to determine the distance between the measurement probe (5) and stop member (8).

4. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that a measurement surface (7) is firmly connected with the measurement probe (5) and serves as a reference surface for the distance measurement.

5. Method according to claim 1, wherein a measurement gauge is provided for evaluating the axial shift measurement.

6. Apparatus for the installation of a pretensined roller bearing assembly in a wheel carrier having a shaft nut, the apparatus comprising:

a measurement probe;

a stop member being mounted so that the stop member can move axially with respect to the measurement probe; and

a measurement gauge connected to the stop member to determine the distance between the measurement probe and the stop member so as to evaluate the axial shift between the measurement probe and the stop member, wherein the measurement probe is adapted to lay against an internal stop of a hollow shaft of said wheel carrier and the stop member is adapted to abut an outer end of said hollow shaft,

whereby the amount of axial shift between the internal stop of the hollow shaft and the outer end of the hollow shaft is determined by the measurement gauge in response to application of a predetermined amount of torque to the shaft nut of the wheel carrier.

7. Apparatus of claim 6, wherein the measurement gauge is a laser distance measurement gauge.

8. Apparatus of claim 6, wherein a measurement surface (7) is firmly connected with the measurement probe (5) and serves as a reference surface for a distance measurement.