A circlip

Abstract

A CIRCLIP The invention relates to a circlip The invention particularly relates to a circlip for better grabbing of bearing assemblies.

Description

[0001] A CIRCLIP

[0002] Technical Field

[0003] The invention relates to a circlip.

[0004] The invention particularly relates to a circlip for better grabbing of bearing assemblies.

[0005] State of the Art

[0006] Drivetrains used in vehicles are mechanical components that allow power and motion to be transferred from engines to wheels or other moving parts. Various drivetrains are used according to different types and purposes of vehicles. Driveshaft is a mechanical part used to transmit power or torque and are used in vehicles where power is transmitted from the engine or transmission to the wheels or other driven parts. The driveshaft ensures the transfer of torque, especially in rear-wheel drive vehicles, since the rear wheels are in front of the engine. The engine and wheels may not be in alignment, and by means of the driveshafts, this imbalance is properly corrected. The driveshaft is a shaft, usually in the form of a tube, with two or more cross assemblies on it. The cross assembly allows changing the angle between the two axes and thus helps the wheels adapt to the slope of the surface.

[0007] The cross assembly is a structure formed by four trunnions extending outwards from a central hub, and a bearing assembly is placed around each trunnion. Bearing assemblies have a closed and hollow cylindrical structure at one end. This cylindrical roller assembly is threaded through the end of each trunnion, and cylindrical needle rollers mounted around the trunnions allow the bearing assemblies to rotate.

[0008] In bearing assemblies, retaining rings, also known as snap rings or circlips, are used as a fastener that is mounted in a groove on a shaft or in a housing or channel to hold an assembly. Circlips are used as a compact, lightweight safety and limiting assembly element that requires fewer assembly operations than other fixing techniques.

[0009] It is seen that the circlips used in the state of the art are not durable enough during assembly and the entire inner surface of the circlip touches the channel surface on the cap portion and surrounds the roller body. In this case, since the holding force is distributed over the entire contact surface, the holding force of the circlip to the channel cannot be provided, and the problem of the circlip coming out of the channel may occur.

[0010] The upper and lower areas of the circlip located on the side areas are two surfaces that limit and prevent unwanted axial movement of the roller. The top area of the circlips used in the state of the art, which helps with assembly, has a radiused form. This form can cause localization of stresses on the retaining ring.

[0011] A retaining ring used in the state of the art is shown in Figure 1 . The retaining ring here is used in a way that completely surrounds the roller body by making contact with the entire inner surface around the bearing assembly channels on which it is mounted.

[0012] As a result of the research on the subject, a patent application numbered CN218564135U has been found. In the relevant application, it is described a circlip embodiment including a mounting gap in the top area. A high strength area cannot be obtained in the top area due to the low wall thickness around the mentioned mounting gap.

[0013] As a result, it has become necessary to make a development in the relevant technical field due to the drawbacks described above and the inadequacy of existing solutions on the subject.

[0014] Object of the Invention

[0015] The invention is inspired by present situations and aims to solve the above-mentioned deficiencies.

[0016] An object of the invention is to create a durable area at the top area by converting the radiused flanged form of the top area of the retaining ring into a flat flanged form without changing the sheet thickness / sheet material of the circlip with a radiused flanged form at the top area and without requiring heat treatment, and by increasing the distance between the retaining ring hole and its outer surface.

[0017] Another object of the invention is to provide a regional contact structure by reducing the peripheral contact of the circlip with the channel on the roller body, thus improving the retain feature of the circlip to the channel on the roller body by accumulating the circlip closing pressure force in the tab area at the ends of the circlip design. Another object of the invention is to prevent the circlip from coming out of the channel by reducing the retain surface area and ensuring that it retains onto the tab forms, thus increasing the retain force and grabbing the roller better.

[0018] In order to achieve the objects described above, the invention is a circlip to be used in bearing assemblies, comprising:

[0019] • a body in shape of letter C, to grab the bearing assembly without touching its inner surface, o inner surface, which is defined as the inner peripheral surface facing the bearing assembly and positioned so that its inner surface does not come into contact with the bearing assembly, o an outer surface defined as outer peripheral surface of the circlip,

[0020] • a top area located in middle section of the body, o a discharge located in middle section of the top part to provide assembly of the circlip, o a top area connected to the outer surface by the joint areas that increase the wall thickness around the discharge in order to increase the strength of the top part and to ensure that the stress distribution is spread homogeneously,

[0021] • tab structures positioned symmetrically to each other at the end areas of the body in order to increase the retain of the circlip to the bearing assembly body by gathering the circlip pressure force in one area and reducing the contact area, o a tip defined as the farthest point of the tab structure from the top part, o a retaining area defined as the surface where the circlip will locally contact the bearing assembly, o an intermediate area to ensure the retaining area is positioned further inside than the inner surface, to ensure that the retaining area is connected to the inner surface, o an auxiliary mouth form for connecting the retaining area to the tip, so as to position the retaining area more externally than the inner surface.

[0022] The structural and characteristic features of the invention and all its advantages will be understood more clearly by means of the drawings given below and the detailed description written by making references to these drawings, and therefore the evaluation needs to be made by taking these drawings and detailed description into consideration.

[0023] Figures to Help Understanding of the Invention

[0024] Figure 1 shows the retaining ring used in the state of art.

[0025] Figure 2 shows the circlip, which is subject of the invention.

[0026] Figure 3 shows the circlip, which is subject of the invention.

[0027] Figure 4 is the top view showing the contact points of the circlip, which is the subject of the invention, mounted on a bearing assembly.

[0028] Figure 5 is the view of the circlip, which is the subject of the invention, mounted on a bearing assembly.

[0029] Figure 6 is the view of the circlip, which is the subject of the invention, mounted on a bearing assembly.

[0030] Figure 7 shows another embodiment of the circlip, which is subject of the invention. Figure 8 shows another embodiment of the circlip, which is subject of the invention.

[0031] Description of Part References

[0032] 10 Top part

[0033] 1 1 Discharge

[0034] 12 Top area

[0035] 13 Joint area

[0036] 20 Body

[0037] 21 Inner surface

[0038] 22 Outer surface

[0039] 30 Tab structure

[0040] 31 Intermediate area

[0041] 32 Auxiliary mouth form

[0042] 33 Retaining area

[0043] 34 Tip

[0044] A Circlip B Bearing assembly

[0045] C Circlip channel

[0046] Detailed Description of the Invention

[0047] In this detailed description, the preferred embodiments of circlip (A), which is the subject of the invention are described only for the purpose of a better understanding of the subject.

[0048] The circlip (A), which is the subject of the invention will be used by placing it in circlip channel (C) located in bearing assemblies (B) as seen in Figure 5 and basically comprises top part (10), body (20) and the tab structure (30). The elements that form the circlip (A) are shown from different angles in Figures 2 and 3. The body (20) is part of the circlip (A) that will surround the bearing assembly (B) without contact. The circlip (A) has a C-shaped form and comprises the body (20), two symmetrical arms and the top part (10) where these arms meet.

[0049] When the body (20) is mounted on the bearing assembly (B), the inner peripheral surface facing the bearing assembly (B) is defined as the inner surface (21 ), the outer peripheral surface on the outer side of the circlip (A) and where it can retain the circlip (A) is defined as the outer surface (22). The inner surface (21 ) is positioned so that it does not come into contact with the bearing assembly (B).

[0050] The top part (10) basically comprises a discharge (11 ), top area (12) and joint area (13). The discharge (1 1 ) facilitates the assembly of the circlip (A) and is preferably rectangular with rounded corners. In order to increase the strength of the top part (10), the wall thickness around the discharge (11 ) has been increased by the design of the top area

[0051] (12) and the joint area (13). The top area (12) extends parallel to the discharge (11 ) and is connected to the outer surface (22) by the joint area (13). The top area (12) extends parallel to the discharge (11 ) and is connected to the outer surface (22) by the joint area

[0052] (13). The joint area (13) preferably has a radiused and inclined structure. This design ensures that the wall thickness around the discharge (1 1 ) is greater than the state of the art. Thus, the stress distribution was ensured to spread homogeneously in the top part (10) and the localization of the stress between the discharge (1 1 ) and the top area (12) is prevented and the stress values in this region are reduced. There is a tab structure (30) at the end regions of the arm sections of the body (20). There is a tip (34) at the farthest point of the tab structure (30) from the top part (10). The tab structure (30) basically comprises intermediate area (31 ), auxiliary mouth form (32), retaining area (33) and the tip (34). The retaining area (33) is the surface where the circlip (A), which is the subject of the invention will attach to the bearing assembly (B). By means of the two symmetrical pieces of the tab structure (30) on the circlip (A), the retaining area (33) surrounds the bearing assembly (B) locally from two points. The diameter of the imaginary circle formed between the retaining areas (33) is smaller than the diameter of the circle formed by the inner surface (21 ). In this way, the inner surface (21 ) does not come into contact with the bearing assembly (B) and the circlip (A) only holds the bearing assembly (B) from the retaining areas (33), ensuring that the circlip (A) remains fixed on the bearing assembly (B). The retaining area (33) is connected to the inner surface (21 ) by an intermediate area (31 ); and to the tip (34) by an auxiliary mouth form (32). The intermediate area (31 ) and the auxiliary mouth form (32) are preferably chamfered and ensure that the retaining area (33) is positioned more externally than the inner surface (21 ). The auxiliary mouth form (32) provides ease of assembly to the circlip channel (C) on the bearing assembly (B). The surfaces that the retaining area (33) touches after assembly are shown in Figure 4.

[0053] By means of the local contact feature of the tab structure (30), the circlip (A) pressure force is collected in the tab structure (30) at the ends of the circlip (A) and the retain of the circlip (A) to the bearing assembly (B) body is improved. With the invention, by reducing the contact area with the inner surface (21) and the tab structure (30) and applying the clamping force at a specific point, the circlip (A) has been made more difficult to come out of its housing by grabbing the bearing assembly (B) better.

[0054] With the invention, the top part (10) of the circlip (A) has been strengthened against crushing during assembly. By positioning the discharge (11 ) close to the top area (12), the rigidity of the circlip (A), which is the subject of the invention can be improved and thus its flexibility can be ensured.

[0055] Figure 7 shows a preferred embodiment of the invention, where the joint area (13) has a radius-free structure and the wall thickness around the discharge (11 ) is increased.

[0056] Figure 8 shows a preferred embodiment of the invention. Here, the discharge (11 ) is circular. Thus, the stress distribution was ensured to spread homogeneously in the top part (10) and the localization of the stress between the preferred circular discharge (11) and the top part (12) is prevented and the stress values in this region are reduced.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A circlip (A) to be used in bearing assemblies (B), characterized by comprising:• a body (20) in shape of letter C, to grab the bearing assembly (B) without touching its inner surface (21 ), o inner surface (21 ), which is defined as the inner peripheral surface facing the bearing assembly (B) and positioned so that its inner surface (21 ) does not come into contact with the bearing assembly (B), o an outer surface (22) defined as outer peripheral surface of the circlip (A),• a top area (10) located in middle section of the body (20), o a discharge (1 1 ) located in middle section of the top part (10) to provide assembly of the circlip (A), o a top area (12) connected to the outer surface (22) by the joint areas (13) that increase the wall thickness around the discharge (1 1 ) in order to increase the strength of the top part (10) and to ensure that the stress distribution is spread homogeneously,• tab structures (30) positioned symmetrically to each other at the end areas of the body (20) in order to increase the retain of the circlip (A) to the bearing assembly (B) body by gathering the circlip (A) pressure force in one area and reducing the contact area, o a tip (34) defined as the farthest point of the tab structure (30) from the top part (10), o a retaining area (33) defined as the surface where the circlip (A) will locally contact the bearing assembly (B), o an intermediate area (31 ) to ensure the retaining area (33) is positioned further inside than the inner surface (21 ), to ensure that the retaining area (33) is connected to the inner surface (21 ),o an auxiliary mouth form (32) for connecting the retaining area (33) to the tip (34), so as to position the retaining area (33) more externally than the inner surface (21 ).

2. The circlip (A) according to claim 1 , characterized in that the discharge (11 ) is in the shape of a rectangle with rounded corners.

3. The circlip (A) according to claim 1 , characterized in that the discharge (11 ) is circular in shape.

4. The circlip (A) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in the joint area (13) has a radiused and inclined structure.

5. The circlip (A) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the diameter of the imaginary circle formed between the retaining areas (33) is smaller than the diameter of the circle formed by the inner surface (21 ) in order to ensure that the inner surface (21 ) does not contact the bearing assembly (B) and that the circlip (A) only retains the bearing assembly (B) at the retaining areas (33).

6. The circlip (A) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the intermediate area (31 ) and the auxiliary mouth form (32) are of a chamfered structure.

7. The circlip (A) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the discharge (1 1 ) is positioned close to the top part (12) in order to improve the rigidity of the circlip (A).

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