Aktiebolaget Skf

Alessandro Ferrero

Fabio Bogliacino

Marco Gemello

Alessandro Garrone

Marco Cambiano

Simone Baliva

Paolo A Re

Davide Antonio Olivieri

Giorgio Missiaggia

Fulvio Carlo Nicastri

Andreas Knopf

Mathieu Hubert

Maurizio Bertola

Gerrit-Jan Dop

Enrico Luigi Morello

Stijn Van Eesbeek

Bernardus Maria Koperdraad

Enrico Morello

Nicastri Fulvio

Sensorised wheel hub unit and a method for detecting, in real time, forces and moments applied to an outer ring of the wheel hub unit in which piezoresistive ceramic plates are made of one piece with welded metal plates housed within respective recesses formed in an outer surface of the outer ring over respective races for rolling elements that there is a gap between the plates and a base wall of each recess; the temperature of the outer ring and the amplitude and frequency of first electrical signals (S) associated with the sensors relating to the same race are analysed to determine a frequency value equal to the frequency of the first signal having the maximum amplitude and as many amplitude values (D-Dn) as there are sensors associated with that race and each equal to the maximum amplitude of the first signal from each sensor, corrected according to temperature.

Sensorised wheel hub unit for vehicles, associated system and method for detecting final loads on wheels

Sensorised wheel hub unit and a method for detecting, in real time, forces and moments applied to an outer ring of the wheel hub unit in which piezoresistive ceramic plates are made of one piece with welded metal plates housed within respective recesses formed in an outer surface of the outer ring over respective races for rolling elements that there is a gap between the plates and a base wall of each recess; the temperature of the outer ring and the amplitude and frequency of first electrical signals (S) associated with the sensors relating to the same race are analysed to determine a frequency value equal to the frequency of the first signal having the maximum amplitude and as many amplitude values (D1-Dn) as there are sensors associated with that race and each equal to the maximum amplitude of the first signal from each sensor, corrected according to temperature.

A bearing unit may be provided with at least one row of rolling bodies and at least one cage for retaining the rolling bodies. The at least one rolling cage may include a base rib; a plurality of fingers spaced circumferentially and extending at least from one side of the base rib; and a plurality of partially spherical cavities for holding the rolling bodies, each cavity being defined by the partially spherical concave surfaces of a pair of fingers of the plurality of fingers and of the base rib. The rolling bodies and the cages are in contact with each other via a plurality of protrusions formed on the partially spherical concave surfaces of the fingers and of the base rib. At least one lateral protrusion may be formed along the surface of each finger of the plurality of fingers of the retaining cage.

Bearing unit with retaining cage

A modular wheel-hub bearing unit having an outer flanged hub for mounting the unit on an upright of a vehicle, provided externally with an assembly surface and internally with a mounting seat; and a bearing provided with an outer ring, two inner rings and two rows of rolling elements arranged between the outer ring and the two inner rings. The bearing being mounted inside the assembly seat independently of the outer flanged hub and having an outer diameter, the dimensions of which are related to the dimensions of an outer diameter of the assembly surface of the flanged hub by a first coefficient (&#x3b1;) according to the relation: D2=&#x3b1;*D1, where 0.80&#x2264;&#x3b1;&#x2264;0.95.

Modular wheel-hub bearing unit

A bearing unit for a wheel hub assembly for motor vehicles, having a first raceway which is a radially outer and axially outer raceway and a second raceway which is a radially outer and axially inner raceway, a third raceway which is a radially inner and axially outer raceway and a fourth raceway which is a radially inner and axially inner raceway; an axially outer row and an axially inner row of rolling bodied, interposed, respectively, between the first raceway and the third raceway and between the second raceway and the fourth raceway; at least one raceway is provided with a first raceway portion and a second raceway portion, the raceway portions being tangential to the rolling body of the row of rolling bodies at two different contact angles the first contact angle of the first raceway being smaller than the second contact angle of the second raceway portion.

Wheel hub assembly with optimized raceways

Equipment including a rigid plate provided with a plurality of cutters configured to be impressed in sequence against a swaged annular collar of an inner ring of a wheel hub, the collar being formed with a first radial profile; the cutters sliding axially through the plate and towards a first face of the plate resting in abutment against the collar; wherein the first face of the plate is provided in the region of the cutters with a concave annular seat having a second radial profile configured to copy at least partly the first radial profile of the collar, the annular seat being configured to be passed through by the cutters during the step for impression against the collar and to contain any radial flow of the metallic material which forms the collar.

Equipment and method for forming a front toothing on an inner ring of a wheel hub

A wheel hub assembly includes inner and outer hubs rotatably coupled by first and second ballsets of rollers. A plurality of sensors for sensing strain within the outer hub generated by the ballsets are disposed on exterior mounting surface sections. These surface sections are located at radial spacing distances within empirically derived radial boundaries to prevent interference from one ballset affecting the measurements taken by sensors monitoring the other ballset. To prevent excessive distortion of strain measurements taken through the outer hub, a certain amount of hub material is required to smooth signals generated by the first and second rollers passing proximal to each sensor, thus affecting the radial location of the mounting surfaces. Further, the sensor mounting surface sections are also located within empirically derived axial boundaries determined to enable each sensor to sense strain from one ballset while avoiding the detection of strain generated by the other ballset.

Wheel hub assembly with exterior sensors positioned to avoid interference

Sensorised wheel hub unit and a method for detecting, in real time, forces and moments applied to an outer ring of the wheel hub unit in which piezoresistive ceramic plates are made of one piece with welded metal plates housed within respective recesses formed in an outer surface of the outer ring over respective races for rolling elements in such a way that there is a gap between the plates and a base wall of each recess; in which the temperature of the outer ring and the amplitude and frequency of first electrical signals (S) associated with the sensors relating to the same race are analysed to determine a frequency value equal to the frequency of the first signal having the maximum amplitude and as many amplitude values (D-Dn) as there are sensors associated with that race and each equal to the maximum amplitude of the first signal from each sensor, corrected according to the temperature.

A modular wheel-hub bearing unit having an outer flanged hub for mounting the unit on an upright of a vehicle, provided externally with an assembly surface and internally with a mounting seat; and a bearing provided with an outer ring, two inner rings and two rows of rolling elements arranged between the outer ring and the two inner rings. The bearing being mounted inside the assembly seat independently of the outer flanged hub and having an outer diameter, the dimensions of which are related to the dimensions of an outer diameter of the assembly surface of the flanged hub by a first coefficient (&#x3b1;) according to the relation: D=&#x3b1;*D, where 0.80&#x2264;&#x3b1;&#x2264;0.95.

A method including the steps of forming an inner ring of a wheel hub, by joining a spindle and an insert ring fitted onto the spindle, on a side of a first end of the spindle; axially blocking the insert ring on the spindle by plastically deforming the first end of the spindle that forms an upset collar therewith, which axially protrudes from the insert ring; frontally obtaining on the collar, on the side opposite to the insert ring, a frontal toothing by means of a single creator tool, towards the collar, with a toothing complementary to that to be obtained, by axially impressing onto the collar, in sequence, one or more teeth of the complementary toothing by eccentrically pushing the creator tool against the collar while the creator tool is held substantially coaxial to the wheel hub, thus acting peripherally in sequence on the whole creator tool.

Method of forming a frontal toothing on an inner ring of a wheel hub

A method including the steps of forming an inner ring of a wheel hub, by joining a spindle and an insert ring fitted onto the spindle, on the side of a first end of the spindle; axially blocking the insert ring on the spindle by plastically deforming the first end of the spindle so as to form an upset collar therewith, which axially protrudes from the insert ring; and once the step of forming the upset collar has finished, frontally obtaining a frontal toothing; the finished collar has, in the part of the collar which axially protrudes from the ring, a predetermined geometric shape which substantially defines, in the radial section, a scalene triangle having the base facing the upset ring and the vertex opposite the base rounded in shape.

Method of forming a frontal toothing on an inner ring of a wheel hub, upset collar and wheel hub with frontal toothing thus obtained

A bearing ring () has a tubular steel core () around which is formed an outer body () of lightweight material. The outer surface of the core forms a circumferential shoulder (), a first side of which is subjected to a turning finishing process and provides an undercut surface () defining part of an annular groove (). An axially opposite, second side of the shoulder (), not subjected to a turning finishing process, has a non-circular portion () with radial recesses () that act as anti-rotation means cooperating with complementary portions formed by the outer body ().

Form-coupling arrangement in a bearing ring for a motor vehicle wheel

The ring () is provided with a tubular radially inner steel core () and an outer body () of lightweight metal formed around the core with a radial flange (). The outer surface of the core includes a conical surface () which tapers in the axially inner direction, having a straight profile, when viewed in axial section. The conical surface () is perpendicular to a median line which bisects an axially inner raceway () and which corresponds to the row () of bearing balls against the axially inner raceway ().

Growing community of inventors

Turin, Italy

Alessandro Ferrero