Axle unit for driving wheel

• US 7,118,182 B2
• Filed: 04/03/2001
• Issued: 10/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NSK Limited
• Original Assignee: NSK Limited
• Inventors: Kayama, Shigeoki, Ouchi, Hideo
• Primary Examiner(s): Bellinger, Jason R.
• Application Number:
  US10/240,857
• Publication Number:
  US 20030155803A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,016 Days
• Field of Search: 301/105.1, 301109-110, 301/111.01, 301/111.03, 384/544, 384/543, 384537-538, 180/252, 180/258, 180/259, 298/943.6, 298/943.61
• US Class Current: 301/105.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60B 27/00 Hubs non-metallic B60B5/00; of high resiliency B60B9/00
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 19/184 in O-arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 19/527 related to vibration and noise
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 2326/02 Wheel hubs or castors in general B60B
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 33/768 between relatively stationary parts, i.e. static seals
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 35/063 Fixing them on the shaft with interposition of an element F16C35/07
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 35/073 between shaft and inner race ring
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 43/04 Assembling rolling-contact bearings
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 2003/22326 Attachments to the outer joint member, i.e. attachments to the exterior of the outer joint member or to the shaft of the outer joint member
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 3/223 the rolling members being guided in grooves in both coupling parts

Abstract

A drive-wheel axle unit which prevents the mutual contact portion between a caulk portion (29a) of a hub (6a) and an outer-end face (39) of a housing portion (11) of a drive shaft member (31) from being exhausted, thereby preventing the occurrence of shaky motion, strange sounds and vibrations for a long period of time. A flat surface (38) is formed in the end face of the caulk portion (29a), and is contacted over a large area with the outer end face (39), which makes it possible to reduce the contact surface pressure in the mutual contact portion between the flat surface (38) and outer end face (39).

Claims

1. An axle unit for a drive wheel, comprising:

an outer ring including an outer raceway in an inner peripheral surface of said outer ring, said outer ring being unrotatable even when said axle unit is in use;

a hub including a mounting flange formed in an outer-end portion of an outer peripheral surface of said hub for supporting the drive wheel, a first inner raceway formed directly or through an outboard-side inner ring in a middle portion of said outer peripheral surface of said hub, a second inner raceway formed in a direction of an inner-end portion of said outer peripheral surface, and a spline hole formed in a central portion of said hub;

a drive shaft member including a spline shaft disposed on an outer-end portion of said drive shaft so as to be engageable with said spline hole, said drive shaft having an inner-end portion formed as a housing portion to serve as an outer ring of a constant velocity joint; and

,

a plurality of rolling elements rollably interposed between said outer raceway and said inner raceway,

said axle unit further comprising;

an inside engaging portion formed so as to extend around the outer periphery of said spline shaft;

an outside engaging portion formed so as to extend around the inner periphery of said hub, said outside engaging portion being disposed in a position that corresponds to said inside engaging portion; and

a retaining ring made of elastic material,

wherein said retaining ring is bridgingly interposed between said inside and outside engaging portions to thereby prevent the spline shaft from slipping out of said spline hole,

an inboard-side inner ring with said second inner raceway formed in an outer peripheral surface of said inboard-side inner ring, said inboard-side inner ring being fixed to said hub in such a manner that an inner-end face of said inboard-side inner ring is held by a caulk portion formed in the-inner end portion of said hub, which inner-end portion of said hub projects beyond said inner-end face of said inboard-side inner ring, by caulking and spreading the inner-end portion of said hub outwardly in a diameter direction of said hub,

a portion of said caulk portion, that is opposed to an outer-end face of said housing portion, is formed as a flat surface parallel to said outer-end face of said housing portion,

wherein said flat surface and said outer-end face of housing portion are butted against each other,

wherein the retaining ring urges the flat surface of the caulked portion against the outer end face of the housing portion.

2. The axle unit for driving wheel according to claim 1, wherein the retaining ring is formed in a substantially triangular shape in a sectional view so that a thickness of the retaining ring is reduced toward an inner radial direction.