Detection device for wheel hub assembly

Abstract

A detection device (1) for a wheel hub assembly (2), the wheel hub assembly (2) being provided with a rolling bearing (3), the detection device (1) comprising: a tone wheel (7) made of a magnetized material and mounted on a rotating ring (4) of the bearing (3); a shaped support element (8) constrained angularly to the rotating ring (4) of the bearing (3) and arranged directly between the tone wheel (7) and the rotating ring (4) so ​​as to lock the tone wheel (7) and the rotating ring (4) together angularly; and a sensor (9) facing the tone wheel (7); a protective component (20) integrated with the rotating ring (4) of the bearing (3) so as to simultaneously protect both the tone wheel (7) and the sensor from external contaminants.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a detection device for a wheel hub assembly.

[0002] The invention is particularly applicable to the field of wheel hub assemblies for vehicles provided with rolling bearings, in which the means for detecting the rotational speed of the rotating ring of the bearings comprise a tone wheel integral with the rotating ring and also comprise a sensor (usually a speed sensor) capable of acquiring the signal generated by the tone wheel, thus allowing the kinematic operating parameters of the wheel hub assembly to be monitored. The following description will illustrate these specific applications by way of example, without thereby losing its general character. Background Art

[0003] A known speed detection device of the aforementioned type is known from Italian Patent Application No. 102016000119368 filed in the name of the present applicant, comprising a tone wheel in the form of a cylindrical screen made of magnetized elastic material and a shaped support element angularly constrained to the rotation circle of a bearing. This detection device, although having many advantages by allowing the axial position of the tone wheel to be adjusted during assembly, compensating for any errors in the alignment of the tone wheel relative to the sensor, due to the specific form of the shaped support element, may have disadvantages, especially in some applications that are particularly critical from an environmental point of view, due to the direct exposure of said detection device to dust and contaminants. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a detection device for a wheel hub assembly which does not have the above-mentioned disadvantages.

[0005] According to the present invention, there is provided a detection device for a wheel hub assembly having the features described in the accompanying claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show non-limiting examples of embodiments of the invention, in which:

[0007] - Figure 1 A longitudinal sectional view showing a first preferred embodiment of a detection device for a wheel hub assembly provided according to the present invention; and

[0008] - Figure 2 Shown according to Figure 1 A longitudinal sectional view of a second preferred embodiment of a detection device for a wheel hub assembly. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0009] Reference Figure 1, reference numeral 1 in its entirety denotes a speed detection device for a wheel hub assembly 2. Figure 1 The assembly 2 schematically shown in FIG. 2 is provided with a rolling bearing 3 comprising an outer ring 4 rotating about an axis of rotation A of said bearing 3 .

[0010] The device 1 is designed to detect the rotational speed ( / rotational velocity) of the outer rotating ring 4 of the bearing 3 and comprises:

[0011] - a radial phonic wheel 7, integral with the ring 4;

[0012] - a shaped support ( / support element) 8, keyed to the ring 4 so as to be angularly constrained to said ring 4 and housing the tone wheel 7 so as to angularly lock the tone wheel 7 and the rotating ring 4 together; and

[0013] - A sensor 9 facing the tone wheel 7 in radial direction.

[0014] Preferably, but not necessarily, the tone wheel 7 is defined by a cylinder made of ferromagnetic material and is designed to rotate with the ring 4 in an angularly locked manner, thereby transmitting a signal dependent on the rotation of the ring 4 to a sensor 9, which is mounted on a fixed part 10 of the vehicle and protrudes axially from the fixed part 10, thereby radially facing the tone wheel 7, leaving a cylindrical gap 11 of a given radial thickness between the tone wheel 7 and the sensor 9.

[0015] The detection device 1 also includes a protection device ( / protection component) 20, which is integrated with the rotating ring 4 to protect both the sound wheel 7 and the sensor 9 from the influence of external contaminants, and the protection device 20 includes a cylindrical annular seat 21, the annular seat 21 has an annular opening 22 on the side where the sensor 9 is located to allow the sensor 9 to be introduced into the seat 21, and the sensor 9 is protected axially on the opposite side of the sensor 9 (i.e., the opposite side of the opening 22) and radially on the outside of the sensor 9 itself.

[0016] According to again Figure 1As shown, the protection device 20 includes a flanged axial protection screen 23 and a cylindrical protection screen 24, wherein the flanged axial protection screen 23 is located at a position facing the sensor 9 in the axial direction, thereby protecting the sensor 9 in the axial direction, and thus also protecting the tone wheel 7 in the axial direction, and the cylindrical protection screen 24 is located radially outside the sensor 9 and on the opposite side of the tone wheel 7, and thus is also located radially outside the tone wheel 7, thereby radially protecting the sensor 9 and the tone wheel 7. The cylindrical screen 24 radially surrounds the opening 22, is adjacent to the flanged screen 23 on the opposite side of the opening 22 and is integral with the flanged screen 23, and the cylindrical screen 24, the flanged screen 23 and the rotating ring 4 together define an annular seat 21.

[0017] The flanged shield 23 is directed perpendicularly relative to the axis A, while the cylindrical shield 24 is coaxial with the axis A, and the flanged shield 23 and the cylindrical shield 24 together define a seat 21 that accommodates both the sound wheel 7 and the sensor 9, which protect both the sound wheel 7 and the sensor 9 from any contaminants (such as dust, water, mud, gravel) that may come into contact with the wheel hub assembly 2 during its use.

[0018] The protection device 20 also includes a deflection and centrifuging screen 25, which is arranged at the axial end 26 of the cylindrical shield 24, extends radially outward from the cylindrical shield 24, and protects the sensor 9 from any impurities that may come into contact with the protection device 20, thereby actually increasing the capacity of the protection device 20.

[0019] exist Figure 1 In the example of embodiment of the device shown in , the flanged shield 23 is made in one piece with the shaped support 8 and is therefore mounted on the cylindrical surface 4a of the ring 4 that rotates with said shaped support 8. With such a solution, the protection device 20 can have a high degree of axial compactness and can be easily and quickly assembled with the bearing 3.

[0020] exist Figure 2 In the example of an embodiment of the detection device 1 shown in Figure 1In an alternative to the example of embodiment of the detection device 1 shown in , the flanged shield 23 is separate and independent from the shaped support 8 and is mounted on the cylindrical surface 4b of the rotating ring 4. To this end, the protection device 20 comprises a tubular mounting sleeve 27 which is integral with the flanged shield 23 and extends axially on the opposite side of the cylindrical shield 24 relative to the flanged shield 23. Figure 2 In the preferred embodiment of the detection device 1 shown in the figure, the tone wheel 7 and its support 8 can be installed separately from the protective device 20, if the hub assembly 2 is already provided with the detection device 1 without the protective member for the tone wheel 7 and the sensor 9, it allows a greater degree of flexibility and retro-fitting during installation.

[0021] It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described and illustrated herein which are considered to be examples of embodiments of a detection device for a wheel hub assembly, but that further modifications may be made as to form and arrangement of components and details of construction and assembly.

Claims

1. A detection device (1) for a wheel hub assembly (2), the wheel hub assembly (2) being provided with a rolling bearing (3), the detection device (1) comprising: - a tone wheel (7), made of a magnetized material and mounted on the rotating ring (4) of the bearing; - a shaped support (8) angularly constrained to the rotating ring (4) of the bearing (3) and arranged directly between the tone wheel (7) and the rotating ring (4), so that the tone wheel (7) and the rotating ring (4) are angularly locked together; and - a sensor (9) facing the tone wheel (7); The detection device (1) is characterized in that the detection device (1) further comprises a protective component (20) which is integrated with the rotating ring (4) of the bearing (3), so as to simultaneously protect both the sound wheel (7) and the sensor from external contaminants; The protective component (20) comprises a cylindrical protective portion (24) and an axial protective portion (23) extending radially from the cylindrical protective portion (24) toward the support member (8); the cylindrical protective portion (24), the axial protective portion (23), and the support member (8) carrying the sound wheel (7) form a U-shaped structure surrounding at least a portion of the sensor (9) and the sound wheel (7).

2. The detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The protection component comprises a cylindrical annular seat (21) which is open toward the sensor (9), and the sensor (9) is protected on the opposite side of the sensor (9) in the axial direction and on the outside of the sensor (9) in the radial direction.

3. The detection device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The axial protection portion (23) is arranged at a position in front of the sensor (9) in the axial direction, so as to protect the sensor (9) and the sound wheel (7) in the axial direction; the cylindrical protection portion (24) is integrated with the axial protection portion (23) and is located at a position radially outside the sensor (9) and the sound wheel (7), so as to protect the sensor (9) and the sound wheel (7) in the radial direction; and the cylindrical protection portion (24) defines the annular seat (21) together with the axial protection portion (23) and the rotating ring (4).

4. The detection device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The axial protection (23) is defined by a flanged shield formed in one piece with the shaped support (8).

5. The detection device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The axial protection portion (23) is defined by a flanged shielding member integrally mounted on the rotating ring (4) of the bearing (3).

6. The detection device according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: The protection component (20) comprises a deflecting centrifugal shielding piece (25), and the deflecting centrifugal shielding piece (25) is arranged at an axial end (26) of the cylindrical protection portion (24).

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