Ntn Corporation

Akira Fujimura

Takayuki Norimatsu

Isao Hirai

Kikuo Fukada

Kazunori Kubota

Hiroya Kato

Tetsuya Hashimoto

Syougo Suzuki

Masahiro Kiuchi

Takayasu Takubo

Hironori Imanaka

Hiroshi Kawamura

Hisashi Ohtsuki

Kazuo Komori

Hiroshi Matsunaga

Shinji Morita

Hiroaki Itakura

Kazuhisa Shigeoka

Kazuhiro Baba

Kohei Yoshino

Jun Numamoto

Koji Nishino

Takuya Obata

Hisashi Ohtuski

Keiji Saitou

A wheel bearing apparatus has an outer member, an inner member, at least one inner ring fit onto the inner member. Double row rolling elements are rollably arranged between the outer and inner raceway surfaces, via cages. A seal is mounted on one end of the outer member. The seal has side lips adapted to be in sliding contact with the wheel hub. The seal has three inclined side lips each extending radially outward from the seal body. The lips are adapted to be in sliding contact with the base of the wheel mounting flange. Interference of the side lips against the base of the wheel mounting flange is set so that the radially inner side lip has a smaller interference than that of the radially outer side lips, in order.

Wheel bearing apparatus

A method of manufacturing a wheel support bearing assembly having a plastically deformed portion engageable with an inclined surface portion of an annular stepped area in the inner race segment. The method includes that the plastically deformed portion, which is of a cylindrical configuration before it is deformed, is formed by pressing a crimping punch, of which front end portion outer peripheral surface is a tapered shape, axially into an inner peripheral surface of the inboard end portion of the hub axle to allow the cylindrical plastically deformed portion to be crimped in the diameter expanded condition.

Method of manufacturing wheel support bearing assembly

A vehicle wheel bearing apparatus which reduces the weight, size and number of parts and also prevents ingress of rain water or dusts and leakage of differential gear oil has an axle housing supported under a body of a vehicle. A hollow drive shaft is inserted into the axle housing. A wheel bearing is arranged between the drive shaft and an opening of the axle housing and is structured as a unit including a wheel hub and a double row rolling bearing. The wheel bearing includes an inner member with a wheel hub integrally formed with a wheel mounting flange on one end and an axially extending cylindrical portion. At least one inner ring is press-fit onto the cylindrical portion of the wheel hub. The inner ring is formed with at least one of the inner raceway surfaces on its outer circumferential surface. An outer member is arranged around the inner member and formed with double row outer raceway surfaces on its inner circumferential surface opposite to the inner raceway surfaces. Double row rolling elements are arranged between the inner and outer raceway surfaces of the inner member and the outer member. A cage freely rollably holds the rolling elements. Seals seal an annular space between the inner member and the outer member. A cap, having a metal core formed from steel, is press-fit into an end of a central bore of the wheel hub.

Bearing apparatus for a wheel of vehicle

A wheel support bearing assembly, which enables an increase in the strength and the fatigue strength of its wheel mounting flange or vehicle body fitting flange against high stress and repeated stress and the suppression of the increase of the number of processes, includes an inner member and an outer member rotatable relative to each other through rolling elements. The flange is formed on the inner member or the outer member. A component part having the flange is a hot-forged product of steel in which a matrix portion is formed as a standard structure and the non-standard structural portion is formed on the surface of the flange. The non-standard structure is formed of either of a fine ferrite/pearlite structure, an upper bainite structure, a lower bainite structure, and a tempered martensite structure, or mixture of two or more of these structures.

Bearing device for wheel

A support bearing assembly includes a plural rows of rolling elements between opposed raceway surfaces of outer and inner members, respectively. The inner member is formed from a hub unit and an inner ring mounted on an outer periphery of an inboard end portion thereof. An annular stepped area is provided in an inner periphery of the inboard side of the inner ring. A crimped portion engageable with the stepped area is provided on an inboard end of the hub unit and has a cylindrical shape prior to a crimping process. By setting the amount of change in an inner diameter of the inboard end of the crimped portion within a preset range when a crimping punch is driven in, the amount of radially outward augmentation of the crimped portion is regulated.

Method of making wheel support bearing

A wheel support bearing assembly includes an outer member, an inner member and double row balls. The inner member includes a hub unit, which has a wheel mounting flange defined in an outer periphery thereof, and an inner ring mounted on the outer periphery of the inboard end of the hub unit. A shoulder is provided in an inner peripheral edge of the inboard end face of the inner ring. A crimped portion, engageable with a stepped face of the shoulder, is provided in the inboard end of the hub unit by diameter expansion. The crimped portion is formed by crimping such diameter expanded portion which is thin walled by providing a hub inner diameter setback in the inner periphery of the inboard end of the hub unit. This thin walled portion is positioned on a side inboardly of the straight line defining a ball contact angle in the inboard raceway surface.

Wheel support bearing assembly

A vehicle wheel bearing apparatus has an outer member formed with a body mounting flange on its outer circumferential surface. The body mounting flange is to be mounted on a knuckle of the vehicle. The outer member inner circumference includes double row outer raceway surfaces. An inner member includes a wheel hub with a wheel mounting flange formed on one end. A cylindrical portion extends from the wheel mounting flange. At least one inner ring is press-fit onto the cylindrical portion of the wheel hub. The inner ring outer circumference is formed with an inner raceway surface arranged opposite to the double row outer raceway surfaces. Double row rolling elements are freely rollably contained between the outer raceway surfaces and inner raceway surfaces of the outer member and the inner members. Seals are mounted within annular openings formed between the outer member and the inner member. The inner ring is axially secured relative to the wheel hub by a caulked portion. The caulked portion is formed by radially outwardly plastically deforming the end of the cylindrical portion of the wheel hub. Outer side rolling elements of the double row rolling elements are balls. The inner side rolling elements of the double row rolling elements are tapered rollers. The fundamental rated load of the inner side row of tapered rollers is set larger than that of the outer side row of balls.

A wheel support bearing assembly includes an inner member having a hub axle and an inner race mounted on the hub axle. This bearing assembly includes one of an engagement recess formed in a portion of an inner peripheral surface of the inner race corresponding to an inboard edge portion of the hub axle and an engagement projection is formed in the hub axle for engagement with the engagement recess, and an annular recess formed in the outer peripheral surface of the hub axle and is opposed to an inboard side face of the inner race by the radially outward deformation of an inboard edge portion of the hub axle.

To provide a wheel support bearing assembly, in which the sufficient proof strength of an inner race during assemblage onto the vehicle body can be secured without its function being lowered, the wheel support bearing assembly includes an outer member, an inner member, and rows of rolling elements interposed therebetween. The inner member includes an hub axle having a flange and an inner race on an inner race mount, with raceways defined in the hub axle and the inner race. The inner race has a counterbore at its inboard end. The hub axle has a plastically deformed portion which engages an axially oriented surface of the counterbore when radially outwardly crimped and does not protrude outwardly beyond an inboard end face of the inner race. The difference P between the inner race mount and an outer peripheral face of the plastically deformed portion is 0.13 mm or more.

A vehicle wheel bearing apparatus has an outer member with a body flange and double row outer raceway surfaces. An inner member includes a wheel hub and an inner ring. They include inner raceway surfaces arranged opposite to the double row outer raceway surfaces. Double row rolling elements are freely rollably contained between the outer and inner raceway surfaces. Outer side rolling elements of the double row rolling elements are balls and inner side rolling elements of the double row rolling elements are tapered rollers. A pitch circle diameter of the inner side tapered rollers is set smaller than that of the outer side balls. A substantially conical recess is formed at an outer side end portion of the wheel hub. The depth of the recess extends to at least near the bottom of the inner raceway surface of the wheel hub. The thickness of a portion of the wheel hub where the inner raceway surface is formed is set within a predetermined range. The outer side wall of the wheel hub has a constant thickness substantially along the inner surface of the recess.

A vehicle wheel bearing apparatus has an outer member with double row outer raceway surfaces on its inner circumferential surface. An inner member includes a wheel hub and at least one inner ring. An outer joint member forms a constant velocity universal joint. The outer joint member has a cup-shaped mouth portion. A shoulder portion forms the bottom of the mouth portion. A shaft portion axially extends from the shoulder portion. The shaft is axially separably and torque transmittably inserted into the wheel hub with the shoulder abutted against the caulked portion to transmit torque. The inner ring is axially secured relative to the wheel hub by a caulked portion. The caulked portion is formed by plastically deforming, radially outwardly, the end portion of the cylindrical portion. The caulked portion has a flat surface formed by a cutting process that is adapted to surface contact the shoulder. The radially outermost end of the flat surface is arranged so that it does not abut against the shoulder.

Vehicle wheel bearing apparatus

A vehicle wheel bearing apparatus is formed as a unit and has a wheel hub with a wheel mounting flange at one end. A cylindrical portion extends from the wheel mounting flange, via a shoulder portion. A wheel bearing, formed by a double row rolling bearing, is press fit onto the cylindrical portion of the wheel hub. The wheel bearing has an outer member formed with double row outer raceway surfaces on its inner circumferential surface. A pair of inner rings, formed with inner raceway surfaces, is arranged opposite to the double row outer raceway surfaces. The rings are press fit onto the cylindrical portion of the wheel hub, via a predetermined interference. One ring abuts the shoulder portion. Double row rolling elements are freely rollably contained between the opposed inner and outer raceway surfaces, via cages. The inner rings are axially immovably secured by a caulked portion. The caulked portion is formed by plastically radially outwardly deforming the end portion of the cylindrical portion. The inner circumferential surfaces of one end of the inner rings are formed with predetermined chamfer portions. The chamfer portion of the inner ring of the inner side is smaller than the chamfer portion of the inner ring of the outer side.

A wheel bearing apparatus is formed as a unit of a wheel hub and a double row taper roller bearing. An outer member is formed with double row tapered outer raceway surfaces, each opened axially outward, on its inner circumference. An inner member, including the wheel hub, has a wheel mounting flange integrally formed at one end of the wheel hub. On its larger outer diameter side, the inner ring has a larger flange portion to guide the tapered rollers. The at least one inner ring is secured on the wheel hub by a caulked portion. A predetermined hardened layer is formed by high frequency induction hardening over a range from the base of the wheel mounting flange to the cylindrical portion. A position of the inner side end of the hardened layer is set within a range from an edge of a chamfered portion at the caulked side of the inner ring to a position corresponding to a root of the larger flange portion.

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Iwata, Japan

Akira Fujimura