Combined radial / thrust bearing unit with formed components

Abstract

Combined radial / axial bearing unit with a bearing sleeve (1) made from a formed sheet metal material, comprising a hollow cylindrical radial bearing region (2) with an outer circumferential raceway (4) for rolling elements (6) guided in a radial cage (5) and a disc-shaped axial bearing region (3) adjacent thereto with a raceway (7) arranged on one of the two side surfaces for rolling elements (9) guided in an axial cage (8), wherein for fixing the radial cage (5) at the end of the hollow cylindrical radial bearing region (2) facing away from the axial bearing region (3) an outer groove (10) produced by forming technology is provided for receiving a snap ring (11) in order to form a self-retaining structural unit, and wherein - the outer groove (10) produced by forming for receiving the retaining ring (11) has a groove region (12) stretched from the hollow cylindrical shape of the radial bearing region (2) with an adjoining, outwardly bent edge region (13), - the ironed edge-side groove area (12) is characterized by a smaller material thickness than the remaining wall area of the bearing sleeve (1), - adjoining the ironed groove region (12) is an outwardly bent edge region (13) at the end, which does not extend as far as the radial direction and forms a trough shape for receiving the snap ring (11).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a combined radial / axial bearing unit with formed components, in particular a bearing sleeve made from formed sheet metal, comprising a hollow cylindrical radial bearing region with an outer circumferential raceway for rolling elements guided in a radial cage, which form a radial bearing component. Adjacent to this, an axial bearing component is located.

[0002] The field of application of the invention extends primarily to automotive engineering. Bearing units of interest are used in a drive train, for example, wherever a shaft needs to be supported in both the radial and axial directions, such as in the pinion shaft bearing of an axle differential. State of the art

[0003] JP S50-139 854 U shows a combined radial / axial bearing unit whose bearing sleeve can be manufactured by sheet metal forming - i.e. the bearing sleeve can be monolithic from a single material with a hollow cylindrical radial bearing area and a disc-shaped axial bearing area adjacent to the radial bearing area. The bearing sleeve is an outer sleeve which is provided with an inner circumferential raceway in the radial bearing area. The axial bearing area is provided with a raceway, monolithic on one side surface with the bearing sleeve, for the rolling elements guided in an axial cage. This bearing unit is designed as a self-supporting structural unit.For this purpose, when assembling this unit, the needles of the axial bearing, which are guided in an axial cage, its axial disc and also the needles, which are guided in a radial cage, are inserted into the cup-like outer sleeve and then secured by folding over the rim at an end of the hollow cylindrical radial bearing area facing away from the axial bearing area.

[0004] Publication WO 2019 / 037 807 A1 discloses a radial needle roller bearing and a sleeve for the roller bearing, as well as a cage with rollers mounted thereon. This sleeve forms an outer sleeve provided with an inner circumferential raceway. On one side, a detent groove is formed by forming, open to the outside or open to the inside, into which the detent means of a washer are engaged. The cage is axially secured by this washer.

[0005] FR 2 089 614 A5 discloses a combined radial / thrust bearing unit with an outer sleeve. The radial bearing area of this bearing unit is provided with an inner circumferential raceway for rolling elements guided in a radial cage. For the axial bearing area, a thrust bearing raceway with a raceway for rolling elements guided in an axial cage is arranged on one side surface. There is an inner ring with an outer circumferential raceway and an axial washer. Both were solid and joined together. A self-retaining pre-assembly is formed by the inner ring with the axial washer and an axial bearing and is secured with a retaining ring.

[0006] A radial-axial bearing unit disclosed in JP 2012 - 057 666 A has an outer sleeve designed as a bearing sleeve, the radial bearing area of which is provided with an inner circumferential raceway for rolling elements guided in a radial cage. For the axial bearing area, the outer bearing sleeve is directly provided with the raceway for rolling elements guided in an axial cage on one side. The other raceway of the axial bearing is formed on an angle washer, which is pushed onto a solid inner ring. A self-retaining pre-assembly is formed by the inner ring with the axial washer designed as an angle washer and the axial bearing.

[0007] DE 10 2011 079 750 A1 discloses a combined radial / axial bearing unit of the type of interest here. The radial bearing component has an inner ring and an outer ring, between which cage-guided rolling elements, here in the form of rollers, are located. The axial bearing component comprises two axial discs, between which the likewise conventional cage-guided rollers are arranged. The outer ring of the radial bearing component and the axial disc of the axial bearing component facing it are mechanically coupled to form a prefabricated structural unit and are simultaneously movable relative to one another. The same is realized analogously between the inner ring of the radial bearing component and the outer axial disc of the axial bearing component.

[0008] Although this previously known self-contained component assembly can be easily assembled, the pre-assembly of the various individual parts and their production requires a corresponding amount of effort. In particular, pre-assembly also requires partial heating of the distal end area of the inner ring of the radial bearing component in order to subsequently bend it, thus creating the cohesion of the combined radial / axial bearing unit.

[0009] It is therefore the object of the present invention to further improve a combined radial / axial bearing unit of the type described above in such a way that it can be produced largely by forming technology and consists of a minimum number of individual components designed for easy assembly. Brief description of the invention

[0010] The object is achieved by a combined radial / axial bearing unit according to claim 1. The following dependent claims specify advantageous developments of the invention.

[0011] The invention includes the technical teaching that a combined radial / axial bearing unit with a bearing sleeve made from a formed sheet metal material comprises a hollow cylindrical radial bearing area with an outer circumferential raceway for rolling elements guided in a radial cage and an adjacent disc-shaped axial bearing area with a raceway arranged on one of the side surfaces for rolling elements guided in an axial cage, wherein for fixing the radial cage at the end of the hollow cylindrical radial bearing area facing away from the axial bearing area, an outer groove produced by forming technology is provided for receiving a retaining ring designed as a snap ring in order to form a self-holding structural unit.

[0012] The advantage of the solution according to the invention lies in particular in the fact that the functionally integrated formed bearing sleeve gives the entire structural unit rigid stability and the various components can be easily assembled by first pushing the axial bearing cage with rolling elements, then the axial disc, then the radial bearing cage with rolling elements onto the hollow cylindrical area of the bearing sleeve, in order to finally bend or flange the end area of the bearing sleeve radially outwards.

[0013] The one-piece, monolithic, single-material bearing sleeve, which encompasses the axial bearing area and the radial bearing area and is provided with respective raceways, forms the technical prerequisite for the easy-to-assemble and self-contained unit. For the purposes of the invention, a monolithic bearing sleeve is understood to be a component formed in one piece from a sheet metal material, which incorporates the function of one of the raceways of the axial bearing area, the function of one of the raceways of the radial bearing area, and also the function of an axial lock for the radial cage. The functionally integrated bearing sleeve according to the invention ensures that both bearing areas are aligned exactly at right angles to one another. The cohesion of such a pre-assembled radial / axial bearing unit is ensured by the retaining ring, which is detachably attached to the distal end of the bearing sleeve, i.e., to its end area.The outer groove which interacts with the retaining ring on the sleeve side is not produced by machining, but is also produced by forming, preferably in the same forming step which is carried out to shape the bearing sleeve.

[0014] According to a preferred embodiment of the formed bearing sleeve, it is proposed to introduce a circumferential stamping groove on the inner edge in the right-angled transition area between the radial bearing area and the axial bearing area. This avoids a bending radius in the right-angled transition area, allowing the radial cage to directly abut the disc-shaped axial bearing area of the bearing sleeve, thereby achieving a maximum contact surface.

[0015] The outer groove for receiving the retaining ring, which is also produced without cutting, is preferably produced by forming in such a way that, starting from the hollow cylindrical shape of the radial bearing area of the bearing sleeve, a flattened groove area is created during deep drawing. The flattened edge groove area is characterized by a thinner material thickness than the remaining wall area of the bearing sleeve. Adjacent to the flattened groove area is an outwardly bent end edge area, which forms at least a trough shape for receiving the retaining ring designed as a snap ring or the like. The outwardly bent edge area does not need to extend all the way to the radial direction to ensure secure seating for the retaining ring.

[0016] On the part of the axial bearing area, the cohesion of the structural unit is preferably achieved in that, in the embodiment of an external axial disc, the corresponding disc-shaped axial bearing area of the bearing sleeve has an edge section that is angled in the axial direction and encloses the axial cage, which is provided with several outer circumferential caulkings for fixing the axial bearing cage. In this embodiment, the raceway for the axial bearing area of the bearing sleeve is preferably arranged on the end face of the axial bearing area facing away from the radial bearing area. This variant of an external axial disc allows for relatively wider raceways for the radial bearing area and, in contrast to the first embodiment discussed above, is longer.

[0017] To secure the assembly, the outer axial disc preferably has an axially angled edge section on the inner edge that encloses the axial cage. This edge section is provided with several inner circumferential caulkings that engage behind the axial cage. This captive connection between the axial bearing area and the radial bearing area forms a combined radial / axial bearing unit.

[0018] In a second preferred embodiment of the invention, the combined radial / axial bearing unit has an internal axial disk. This means that the axial disk is arranged on the radial bearing side with respect to the disk-shaped axial bearing region of the bearing sleeve. For this purpose, the axial bearing region of the bearing sleeve has a raceway for the axial bearing on the end face facing the radial bearing region. The corresponding internal axial disk forms an axial stop for the radial cage on the inner edge side, according to a further improvement in this embodiment of the invention.

[0019] Furthermore, it is proposed that the inner axial disc be provided with a non-circular contour on the inner edge in order to form a positive-locking anti-rotation device with a corresponding contouring on the bearing sleeve. However, it is also conceivable to provide other positive-locking anti-rotation devices, such as a pinning, tongue-and-groove connection, or the like. This allows for a functionally coordinated and compact bearing unit with a simple profile design.

[0020] Preferably, the functionally integrated bearing sleeve according to the invention is designed as a deep-drawn stamped and bent part, the radial bearing area of which is produced by deep drawing. The outer groove for receiving the retaining ring is also preferably produced by deep drawing and bending. The running surfaces for the rolling elements are preferably applied to the surface of the bearing sleeve by stamping.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment of the combined radial / axial bearing unit, the rolling elements of the radial bearing area and the rolling elements of the axial bearing area are designed in the form of needles to form a needle bearing. However, it is also conceivable to pair different types of rolling elements, such as rollers and balls, for which the raceways must be adapted accordingly. Detailed description based on the drawing

[0022] Further measures improving the invention are presented in more detail together with the description of preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the figures. It shows: Fig. 1 a perspective partial sectional view of a combined radial / axial bearing unit, Fig. 2 a partial longitudinal section through the storage unit according to Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 a perspective partial longitudinal section through another embodiment of the combined radial / axial bearing unit according to the invention.

[0023] According to Fig. 1, the combined radial / axial bearing unit essentially consists of a bearing sleeve 1, which is made from a formed sheet material by a combination of the forming steps of bending, deep drawing and stamping and is punched out of a sheet material.

[0024] The formed bearing sleeve 1 consists of a hollow cylindrical radial bearing area 2, followed by a disc-shaped axial bearing area 3. The hollow cylindrical radial bearing area 2 is provided with an outer circumferentially embossed raceway 4 for rolling elements 6 guided in a radial cage 5, which are designed here as needles of a needle bearing. The adjacent disc-shaped axial bearing area 3 of the bearing sleeve 1 is provided with a likewise embossed raceway 7 arranged on the lower side surface 6a for rolling elements 9 guided in an axial cage 8. The rolling elements 9 are also designed here as needles of a needle bearing.

[0025] In order to fix the radial cage 5 at the end of the hollow cylindrical radial bearing area 2 facing away from the axial bearing area 3, an outer groove 10 produced therein by forming technology is provided, which serves to receive a retaining ring 11, which is designed as a snap ring in order to ensure a self-retaining structural unit of the combined radial / axial bearing.

[0026] The outer groove 10 produced by forming for receiving the retaining ring 11 consists of a groove region 12 which is stretched starting from the hollow cylindrical shape of the radial bearing region 2 and is thus relatively thin-walled, which is adjoined at the end by an outwardly bent edge region 13 which is produced by widening or bending.

[0027] According to Fig. 2, the raceway 7 for the axial bearing area 3 of the bearing sleeve 1 is arranged on the side surface of the axial bearing area 3 facing the radial bearing area 2. An associated inner axial disc 14a is provided with a corresponding raceway 15. The inner axial disc 14a forms an axial stop for the radial cage 5 on the inner edge and is secured against loss relative to the bearing sleeve 1.

[0028] The inner axial disc 14a further has, on the outer edge side, an edge section 16 which is angled in the axial direction and encloses the axial cage 8 and which cooperates with a plurality of outer circumferential caulkings 17 for fixing the structural unit.

[0029] At the Fig.In the radial / axial bearing unit shown in Figure 3, the disk-shaped axial bearing region 3 has an edge section 18 that is angled in the axial direction and encloses the axial cage 8, with a plurality of outer circumferential caulkings 19 for fixing the axial cage 8. The raceway 7' for the axial bearing region 3 of the bearing sleeve 1 is arranged on the end face of the axial bearing region 3 facing away from the radial bearing region 2. The associated opposite raceway 15' is arranged on an axial disk 14b, which in this embodiment is located on the outside.

[0030] The outer axial disc 14b has, on the inner edge side, an edge section 20 which is angled in the axial direction and encloses the axial cage 8 and is provided with a plurality of inner circumferential caulkings 21 which serve for fixing to the structural unit.

[0031] As a further forming feature of the bearing sleeve 1, it also has a circumferential stamping groove 22 on the inner edge in the right-angled transition area between the radial bearing area 2 and the axial bearing area 3, which ensures a flat contact of the radial cage 5 on the associated side surface of the axial bearing area 3 of the bearing sleeve 1.

[0032] The invention is not limited to the two preferred embodiments described above. Rather, modifications thereof are also conceivable, which are also encompassed by the scope of the following claims. For example, other rolling element shapes are also possible, and the hollow cylindrical radial bearing area 2 of the bearing sleeve 1 can also be combined with an associated outer sleeve, depending on the application. List of reference symbols 1 bearing sleeve 2 Radial bearing area 3 Axial bearing area 4 Career 5 Radial cage 6 rolling elements 7, 7' track 8 Axial cage 9 rolling elements 10 Outer groove 11 Retaining ring 12 Groove area 13 Marginal area 14 Axial disc (internal / external) 15, 15' track 16 edge section 17 Caulking 18 edge section 19 Caulking 20 edge section 21 Caulking 22 Embossing groove

Claims

[1] Combined radial / axial bearing unit with a bearing sleeve (1) made from a formed sheet metal material, comprising a hollow cylindrical radial bearing region (2) with an outer circumferential raceway (4) for rolling elements (6) guided in a radial cage (5) and a disc-shaped axial bearing region (3) adjacent thereto with a raceway (7) arranged on one of the two side surfaces for rolling elements (9) guided in an axial cage (8), wherein for fixing the radial cage (5) at the end of the hollow cylindrical radial bearing region (2) facing away from the axial bearing region (3) an outer groove (10) produced by forming technology is provided for receiving a snap ring (11) in order to form a self-retaining structural unit, and wherein - the outer groove (10) produced by forming for receiving the retaining ring (11) has a groove region (12) stretched from the hollow cylindrical shape of the radial bearing region (2) with an adjoining, outwardly bent edge region (13), - the ironed edge-side groove area (12) is characterized by a smaller material thickness than the remaining wall area of the bearing sleeve (1), - adjoining the ironed groove region (12) is an outwardly bent edge region (13) at the end thereof, which does not extend as far as the radial direction and forms a trough shape for receiving the snap ring (11). [2] Combined radial / axial bearing unit according to claim 1, characterized by that the bearing sleeve (1) produced by forming is provided with a stamping groove (22) running around the inner edge in the right-angled transition area between the radial bearing area (2) and the axial bearing area (3). [3] Combined radial / axial bearing unit according to claim 1, characterized by that the disc-shaped axial bearing area (3) has an edge section (18) which is angled in the axial direction and encloses the axial cage (8) and has a plurality of outer circumferential caulkings (19) for fixing the axial cage (8). [4] Combined radial / axial bearing unit according to claim 1, characterized by that the raceway (7') for the axial bearing area (3) of the bearing sleeve (1) is arranged on the side surface of the axial bearing area (3) facing away from the radial bearing area (2), wherein an external axial disc (14b) with a raceway (15') corresponding thereto is provided. [5] Combined radial / axial bearing unit according to claim 4, characterized bythat the outer axial disc (14b) has on the inner edge side an edge section (20) which is angled in the axial direction and encloses the axial cage (8) and has a plurality of inner circumferential caulkings (21) for fixing to the structural unit. [6] Combined radial / axial bearing unit according to claim 1, characterized by that the raceway (7) for the axial bearing area (3) of the bearing sleeve (1) is arranged on the side surface of the axial bearing area (3) facing the radial bearing area (2), wherein an inner axial disc (14a) with a raceway (15) corresponding thereto is provided. [7] Combined radial / axial bearing unit according to claim 6, characterized by that the inner axial disc (14a) forms an axial stop for the radial cage (5) on the inner edge and is held relative to the bearing sleeve (1) by means of positive-locking loss-prevention means. [8] Combined radial / axial bearing unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the bearing sleeve (1) is designed as a stamped and bent part, the radial bearing area of which is produced by deep drawing, wherein at least the running surface (7) is introduced by embossing. [9] Combined radial / axial bearing unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the rolling elements (6) of the radial bearing area (2) and / or the rolling elements (9) of the axial bearing area (3) are designed in the form of needles for a needle bearing.

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