METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A WHEEL BEARING ASSEMBLY

Abstract

To assemble a wheel bearing assembly (10), a wheel hub (14) is shrink-fitted into a cylindrical shrink-fit seat (26) of an inner ring (30) of a bearing (12), parallel to an axis of revolution (1) of the wheel bearing assembly (10). Then, one end of the wheel hub (14) is plastically deformed to form a flange (22).Then, internal ribs (121) of the wheel hub (14) are inserted into external splines (122) of a shaft (40) of a transmission bowl (16) until the flange (22) of the wheel hub (14) penetrates an annular cavity (46) formed by the transmission bowl (16), and the flange (22) comes into contact with a conical flank (50) of the annular cavity (46), and the conical flank (50) is pressed against the flange (22) to induce contact pressure at a conical contact interface (54) between the conical flank (50) and the flange (22), which causes deformation of the wheel hub (14) by radial penetration of an end portion (56) of the internal ribs (121) of the wheel hub (14) into the external splines (122) of the shaft (40) of the transmission bowl (16). (Abstract figure: 3).

Description

Title of the invention: METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A WHEEL BEARING ASSEMBLY TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates to a method for assembling a wheel bearing assembly for a motor vehicle and to the wheel bearing obtained by such a method. PRIOR TECHNOLOGY

[0002] Document EP 1 621 364 describes a drive wheel bearing assembly comprising a wheel hub having a cylindrical bearing surface extending along an axis of rotation of the bearing assembly, an inner ring of a bearing press-fitted onto a portion of the cylindrical bearing surface of the wheel hub, and a transmission cup. An axial end of the cylindrical bearing surface of the wheel hub is plastically deformed so as to bear against the inner ring of the bearing to hold it in place.

[0003] The transmission bowl is provided with a shaft section having external splines that engage with internal ribs of the wheel hub and allow the transmission bowl to be inserted into the wheel hub and secured by a nut inserted into an external thread located at an axial end of the shaft section. The axial end of the cylindrical bearing surface of the hub forms a contact interface with a cylindrical bearing surface of the transmission bowl, the contact interface forming a predetermined angle with respect to an axis perpendicular to the reference axis of the bearing assembly.

[0004] To allow the transmission bowl to be mounted inside the wheel hub, a mounting clearance is provided between the outer splines of the transmission bowl and the inner ribs of the wheel hub. With this type of mounting, unwanted noise is observed during the rotation of the bearing assembly. Description of the invention

[0005] The invention aims to remedy the drawbacks of the prior art and to propose an assembly method which limits the play between the inner ribs of the wheel hub and the outer splines of the transmission bowl while maintaining a rotational lock of the assembly formed by the wheel hub and the inner bearing ring, in order in particular to reduce, or even eliminate, the parasitic noises encountered.

[0006] To this end, according to a first aspect of the invention, a method for assembling a wheel bearing assembly is proposed, the method comprising at least the following steps: • a shrink-fit of a wheel hub within a cylindrical shrink-fit seat of an inner ring of a bearing, parallel to an axis of revolution of the wheel bearing assembly; then • a plastic deformation of one end of the wheel hub to form a flange bearing against a flat end face of the inner bearing ring; then • an axial insertion of internal ribs of the wheel hub into external splines of a shaft of a transmission bowl until the flange of the wheel hub penetrates an annular cavity formed by the transmission bowl, and the flange comes into contact with a conical flank of the annular cavity, the conical flank being rotated radially towards the axis of revolution of the wheel bearing assembly and axially towards the inner bearing ring; then • tightening the conical side of the transmission bowl against the flange of the wheel hub.

[0007] According to the invention, the step of clamping the conical flank against the flange of the wheel hub induces a contact pressure at the level of a conical contact interface between the conical flank and the flange of the wheel hub, which causes a deformation of the wheel hub by radial penetration of an end portion of the inner ribs of the wheel hub into the outer splines of the shaft of the transmission bowl.

[0008] The subassembly comprising the wheel hub and the inner bearing ring is obtained by the shrink-fitting and deformation steps described above, which compensate for the play between the inner ribs of the wheel hub and the outer splines of the transmission bowl shaft. The subassembly is inserted axially from the axial end of the transmission bowl shaft to the tapered flank of the transmission bowl shaft according to the insertion step described above. The wheel hub is then clamped to the transmission bowl following the clamping step. The axial end of the transmission bowl opposite the clamping device is connected to a transmission component of the vehicle, for example, to an output shaft of a gearbox or to the output differential of a motor vehicle.

[0009] The inner bearing ring can be a roller bearing ring, in particular a tapered roller bearing, or a ball bearing ring, in particular an angular contact bearing.

[0010] According to a preferred embodiment, the conical contact interface between the conical flank and the wheel hub flange has a vertex angle less than or equal to 90°, preferably less than 45°, for example less than 30°, and preferably greater than 10°. The vertex angle of the conical interface is thus sufficiently small to to cause effective tightening, and preferably high enough to avoid a Morse taper effect which would cause a blockage preventing disassembly.

[0011] According to a preferred embodiment, following the radial penetration of the end portion of the inner ribs of the wheel hub into the outer splines of the transmission shaft, contact is established between two opposite sides of the end portion of each inner rib and complementary sides of the outer splines of the transmission shaft. The contact of the opposite sides of each rib with corresponding sides of the splines specifically eliminates unwanted noise arising from the contact of these sides.

[0012] According to one embodiment, a step of forming the conical flank by machining is provided. The conical flank can be produced, for example, by turning.

[0013] According to one embodiment, when projected onto the axis of revolution, the conical flank is located at a distance from the outer splines of the transmission bowl shaft of less than 25 mm and preferably less than 10 mm, or is partially or totally superimposed on the outer splines of the transmission bowl shaft. Alternatively, the conical flank is at least partially radially overlapped with the outer splines of the transmission bowl shaft.

[0014] According to a preferred embodiment, it is ensured that, after the step of clamping the conical flank of the transmission bowl against the flange of the wheel hub, the transmission bowl is not in contact with either the inner bearing ring or the flange outside the conical contact interface. The clamping force then perfectly defines the contact pressure at the conical contact interface.

[0015] According to an alternative embodiment, it is provided that after the step of clamping the conical flank of the transmission bowl against the flange of the wheel hub, a flat annular face of the transmission bowl is in flat contact with the flat end face of the inner bearing ring. In this embodiment, the inner bearing ring extends radially beyond the radial end of the flange of the wheel hub.

[0016] According to another alternative embodiment, it is provided that at the end of the step of tightening the conical side of the transmission bowl against the flange of the wheel hub, the flange of the wheel hub is in contact with a flat bottom of the cavity formed by the transmission bowl.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the deformation of the wheel hub induces a reduction in the diameter of a circle passing through the apexes of the inner ribs, which is greater than 5 pm, preferably greater than 1 pm. The reduction in this radius is all the smaller the further one moves axially from the conical flank of the transmission bowl.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the contact pressure at the conical contact interface between the conical flank and the flange of the wheel hub is greater than or equal to 50 MPa and preferably to 100 MPa. The stress exerted by the conical flank of the transmission bowl on the hub flange causes a radial displacement of the inner ribs of the hub within the outer splines of the transmission bowl so as to locally eliminate the existing clearance between the wheel hub and the transmission bowl.

[0019] According to one embodiment, the deformation obtained at the end of the clamping step of the conical flank of the transmission bowl against the flange of the wheel hub is an elastic deformation. After loosening, the bearing and the transmission bowl can again be removed, the elastic deformations being reversible.

[0020] According to one embodiment, the step of axially inserting the inner ribs of the wheel hub into the outer splines of the transmission bowl shaft is carried out by screwing a threaded clamping piece into a thread of the transmission bowl shaft. In particular, the clamping piece may be: a nut screwed onto an external thread of the transmission bowl shaft, or a screw inserted into a threaded hole formed in the transmission bowl shaft parallel to the axis of revolution of the transmission bowl.

[0021] According to one embodiment, the step of shrink-fitting the wheel hub into the cylindrical shrink-fitting seat of the inner bearing ring is preceded by a step of positioning an outer ring of the bearing and a row of rolling elements that come into contact with an external raceway formed on the outer ring. The first row of rolling elements comes into contact with an internal raceway formed on the inner ring no later than the end of the shrink-fitting step of the wheel hub into the cylindrical shrink-fitting seat of the inner ring. Preferably, the bearing consists of two rows of rolling elements arranged between the inner ring and the outer ring. In this embodiment, the inner ring shrink-fitted into the cylindrical shrink-fitting seat of the wheel hub has a first internal raceway oriented radially outwards to accommodate a first row of rolling elements.The second inner raceway for the second row of rolling bodies is located between the first inner raceway and the wheel hub flange, and can be formed by: . - a second inner bearing ring press-fitted into a second cylindrical press-fitting surface of the hub, the second inner bearing ring being located in the axial extension of the first inner bearing ring, on the side of the means for fixing the transmission bowl in the wheel hub, or - the wheel hub, one surface of which is heat-treated to give it the mechanical properties necessary to allow the rolling of rolling bodies.

[0022] According to another aspect of the invention, it relates to a drive wheel bearing assembly obtained by the assembly process described above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0023] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, with reference to the attached figures.

[0024] [Fig.1] Fig.1 illustrates a longitudinal section of a wheel bearing assembly according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0025] [Fig.2] Fig.2 schematically illustrates a first step of a first method of assembling the wheel bearing assembly of [Fig.1],

[0026] [Fig.3] Fig.3 schematically illustrates a second step of the first mode of the implementation of the assembly process of the wheel bearing assembly of [Fig.1].

[0027] [Fig.4] Fig.4 schematically illustrates a second embodiment of the assembly method for the wheel bearing assembly of [Fig.1].

[0028] [Fig. 5] Fig. 5 schematically illustrates a third embodiment of the assembly method for the wheel bearing assembly of [Fig.1].

[0029] For clarity, identical or similar elements are identified by identical reference signs throughout the figures. DETAILED description of implementation methods

[0030] Figure 1 illustrates a drive wheel bearing assembly 10 intended to be mounted in a hub carrier of a suspension, inserted under the body of a vehicle, and intended to rotate around an axis of revolution 1 which also constitutes a reference axis 1 of the wheel bearing assembly 10.

[0031] The bearing assembly 10 consists of a bearing 12, a wheel hub 14 and a transmission bowl 16.

[0032] The wheel hub 14 is intended to rotate around the reference axis 1. The wheel hub 14 is a one-piece annular metal piece through which a hole 120 passes centered on the reference axis 1. At one axial end of the wheel hub 14 is formed an annular retaining flange 18 perpendicular to the reference axis 1, the retaining flange 18 forming a mounting face 180 of a rim of a drive wheel, and, where applicable, of a brake disc.

[0033] From the retaining flange 18 of the wheel hub 14, a shaft 20 is formed extending axially around the reference axis 1 of the bearing assembly 10. The end The axial part of the shaft 20 has a fold of material in the form of a flange 22 oriented radially towards the outside of the bearing assembly 10. The radial end of the flange 22 forms a conical contact wall 24. Between the flange 22 and the retaining flange 18, the shaft 20 of the wheel hub 14 forms a cylindrical shrink-fit bearing surface 26 and a retaining shoulder 28.

[0034] A first inner bearing ring 30 12 is press-fitted onto the cylindrical shrink-fitting surface 26, the first flat axial end face 301 of which bears against the stop shoulder 28 and a second flat axial end face 302 constitutes an axial support for the flange 22 of the wheel hub 14. The inner ring 30 forms a first inner raceway 321, radially turned outwards, for a first row of rolling elements 33.

[0035] The wheel hub 14, between the retaining shoulder 28 and the flange 18, forms, in the axial extension of the cylindrical shrink-fit bearing surface 26, a second inner bearing ring 32 12 comprising a second inner raceway 322 for a second row of rolling elements 35. An outer bearing ring 36 12, located radially opposite the first and second inner bearing rings 30, 32, forms two outer raceways 361, 362 for the two rows of rolling elements 33, 35, the outer raceways 361, 362 each facing one of the two inner raceways 321, 322. At the radial end of the outer bearing ring 36, a mounting flange 38 can be formed to ensure fastening, for example by fixing screws, of the wheel bearing assembly 10 to a hub carrier connected via a suspension to the vehicle body (not shown).

[0036] The wheel bearing assembly 10 illustrated in [Fig. 1] constitutes a double-row ball bearing 33, 35 with angular contact at O, but this configuration is not limiting. An X configuration is also possible. One or both of the rows of rolling elements may consist of rollers, in particular cylindrical, conical, or any other shape of revolution rollers. According to an embodiment of the invention, not shown, the second inner raceway 322 may be formed on a second inner bearing ring press-fitted onto a second cylindrical press-fitting surface of the wheel hub 14, extending between the shoulder 302 and the retaining flange 18 or, in the absence of a shoulder 302, directly between the inner bearing ring 30 and the retaining flange 18.

[0037] On the inner periphery of the hole 120 formed in the shaft 20 of the hub 14 are formed internal ribs 121 which extend parallel to the reference axis 1. A shaft 40 of the transmission bowl 16 is inserted into the hole 120, the shaft comprising external splines 122 complementary to the internal ribs 121 of the hole 120 of the barrel 20. The end of the shaft 40 of the transmission bowl emerges axially at a distance from the bottom of the hole 120 of the wheel hub 14.

[0038] The shaft 40 of the transmission bowl 16 is extended by a generally hemispherical bowl wall 42 defining a bowl cavity 44. In a junction zone between the bowl wall 42 and the shaft 40, an annular cavity 46 is formed, having a bottom 48 rotated axially towards the shaft 40, and preferably flat and perpendicular to the reference axis 1. The annular cavity 46 is bordered by a conical flank 50 rotated axially towards the retaining flange 18 of the wheel hub 14 and rotated radially towards the reference axis 1 of the bearing assembly 10. The conical flank 50 opens onto a flat annular end face 52 of the bowl wall 42. Projecting onto the axis of revolution 1, the conical flank 50 is at a distance from the outer splines 122 of the shaft 40 of the transmission bowl 16 that is preferably less than at 25 mm and preferably less than 10 mm.

[0039] At least part of the flange 22 of the wheel hub 14 is housed in the annular cavity 46 of the bowl wall 42 of the transmission bowl 16, and the conical wall 24 of the flange 22 is in contact with the conical flank 50 of the annular cavity 46.

[0040] A threaded hole 51 centered on the reference axis 1 is formed in the shaft 40 of the transmission bowl 16 and opens at its axial end opposite the bowl cavity 44. Optionally, this hole 51 may pass through the shaft 40 of the transmission bowl 16 from end to end. A clamping screw 53 is inserted into this threaded hole 51. The head 530 of the clamping screw 53 abuts against a washer 55 bearing against a shoulder 57 formed on the wheel hub 14, thus tightening the connection between the transmission bowl 16 and the wheel hub 14.

[0041] According to an alternative embodiment not shown, an external thread is formed on the outer axial end of the shaft 40 of the transmission bowl 16, the external thread allowing a clamping nut to be engaged and tightened, which bears axially against a shoulder formed on the wheel hub 14, notably by means of a washer. In this embodiment, the threaded axial end of the shaft projects beyond the shoulder of the wheel hub 14.

[0042] Figure 2 shows a first step in the assembly of the wheel bearing assembly 10 of Figure 1.

[0043] In a known manner, in a preliminary step preceding the step illustrated in [Fig. 2], the inner bearing ring 30 was press-fitted onto the cylindrical seat 26 of the wheel hub 14 while the flange 22 of the wheel hub 14 was not yet formed and did not obstruct the insertion of the inner ring 30, and the diameter of the shaft 20 of the wheel hub 14 between the press-fit seat 26 and its axial end was less than or equal to the diameter of the cylindrical seat 26. Then the axial end of the hub 14 was pressed onto the flat end face 302 of the inner ring 30 of bearing 12 is shaped using a tool such as a punch, until the flange 22 described above is formed. The flange 22 of the wheel hub 14 thus obtained clamps the inner ring 30 of the bearing 12. The outer radial end of the flange 22 is of arbitrary shape. If necessary, the flange can be machined or deformed to accentuate the taper.

[0044] The conical flank 50 of the transmission bowl 16 was preferably formed by machining before carrying out the first step of the assembly process illustrated in [Fig.2].

[0045] This first step begins by engaging the inner ribs 121 of the wheel hub 14 in the outer splines 122 of the shaft 40 of the transmission bowl 16 and by inserting the shaft 40 of the transmission bowl 16 into the hole 120 of the wheel hub 14 by translation until the radial conical end 24 of the flange 22 of the wheel hub 14 comes into contact with the conical flank 50 of the transmission bowl 16. The translation is carried out along the reference axis 1 of the bearing assembly 10 and without excessive force, the inner ribs 121 of the wheel hub 14 and the outer splines 122 of the shaft 40 of the transmission bowl 16 being dimensioned with a mounting clearance.

[0046] In a second step illustrated in [Fig. 3], an axial clamping force is applied between the transmission bowl 16 and the wheel hub 14. The conical flank 50 of the transmission bowl 16 is clamped against the flange 22 of the wheel hub 14 to form a conical contact interface 54, the conical contact interface 54 having an apex angle of 30° or less. In practice, the conical flank 50 of the transmission bowl 16 exerts a stress on the flange 22 of the wheel hub 14 of at least 50 MPa and preferably 100 MPa.

[0047] The stresses generated in the end zone of the wheel hub 14's shaft 20 cause elastic deformations which result, at the level of the inner ribs 121 of the wheel hub 14, in a radial displacement towards the reference axis 1, with an amplitude greater than 2 pm, and preferably greater than 5 pm, and in practice on the order of 10 pm. The inner ribs 121 of an end portion 56 of the wheel hub 14 move closer to the outer splines 122 of the shaft 40 of the transmission bowl 16, reducing, or even eliminating, the mounting clearance.

[0048] After deformation, a contact is established between the opposite sides of the end portion 56 of each of the inner ribs 121, and complementary sides of the outer grooves 122 of the shaft 40 of the transmission bowl 16.

[0049] Finally, the threaded clamping screw 53 of the shaft 40 of the transmission bowl 16 is turned in the screwing direction to maintain the clamping tension between the transmission bowl 16 and the wheel hub 14.

[0050] It can be seen that after tightening, the only contact area between the flange 22 of the wheel hub 14 and the transmission bowl 16 is constituted by the conical interface 54 with the conical flank 50.

[0051] The assembly method of the wheel bearing assembly shown in [Fig.4] differs from that of [Fig.3] in that, during the step of inserting the wheel hub 14 into the transmission bowl 16, a planar contact interface 58 is formed between the bottom 48 of the annular cavity 46 of the transmission bowl 16 and the flange 22 of the wheel hub 14. In this embodiment, a contact pressure is exerted by the bottom 48 of the annular cavity 46 of the transmission bowl 16 on the flange 22 of the wheel hub 14.

[0052] The assembly method of the wheel bearing assembly shown in [Fig.5] differs from that of [Fig.3] in that a flat contact surface 60 is formed between the flat end annular face 52 of the bowl wall 42 and the flat end face 302 of the inner ring 30 of the bearing 12, a contact pressure being exerted by the flat end annular face 52 of the bowl wall on the flat end face 302 of the inner ring 30 of the bearing 12.

[0053] Naturally, the examples shown in the figures and discussed above are given by way of illustration only and are not intended to be limiting. It is explicitly intended that the different embodiments illustrated may be combined to propose others.

Claims

Demands

1. A method for assembling a wheel bearing assembly (10), the method comprising at least the following steps: - a shrink-fit of a wheel hub (14) in a cylindrical shrink-fit seat (26) of an inner ring (30) of a bearing (12), parallel to an axis of revolution (1) of the wheel bearing assembly (10); then - a plastic deformation of one end of the wheel hub (14) to form a flange (22) bearing against a flat end face (302) of the inner ring (30) of the bearing (12); then - an axial insertion of internal ribs (121) of the wheel hub (14) into external splines (122) of a shaft (40) of a transmission bowl (16) until the flange (22) of the wheel hub (14) enters an annular cavity (46) formed by the transmission bowl (16), and the flange (22) comes into contact with a conical flank (50) of the annular cavity (46), the conical flank (50) being rotated radially towards the axis of revolution (1) of the wheel bearing assembly (10) and axially towards the inner ring (30) of the bearing (12); then - a clamping of the conical side (50) of the transmission bowl (16) against the flange (22) of the wheel hub (14); the process being characterized in that the step of clamping the conical flank (50) against the flange (22) of the wheel hub (14) induces a contact pressure at the level of a conical contact interface (54) between the conical flank (50) and the flange (22) of the wheel hub (14), which causes a deformation of the wheel hub (14) by radial penetration of an end portion (56) of the inner ribs (121) of the wheel hub (14) into the outer splines (122) of the shaft (40) of the transmission bowl (16).

2. A method for assembling a wheel bearing assembly (10), according to claim 1, characterized in that the conical contact interface (54) between the conical flank (50) and the flange (22) of the wheel hub (14) has a vertex angle less than or equal to 90°, preferably less than 45°, for example less than 30°, and preferably greater than 10°.

3. Method of assembling a wheel bearing assembly (10), according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, following the radial penetration of the end portion (56) of the inner ribs (121) of the wheel hub (14) into the outer splines (122) of the shaft (40) of the transmission bowl (16), contact is established between two opposite flanks of the end portion (56) of each of the inner ribs (121), and complementary flanks of the outer splines (122) of the shaft (40) of the transmission bowl (16).

4. Method of assembling a wheel bearing assembly (10), according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a step of forming the conical flank (50) by machining.

5. Method of assembling a wheel bearing assembly (10), according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, when projected onto the axis of revolution (1), the tapered flank (50) is at a distance from the outer splines (122) of the shaft (40) of the transmission bowl (16) of less than 25 mm and preferably less than 10 mm, or is in partial or total overlap with the outer splines (122) of the shaft (40) of the transmission bowl (16).

6. Method of assembling a wheel bearing assembly (10), according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at the end of the step of clamping the conical flank (50) of the transmission bowl (16) against the flange (22) of the wheel hub (14), the transmission bowl (16) is not in contact with either the inner ring (30) of the bearing (12), or with the flange (22) outside the conical contact interface (54).

7. Method of assembling a wheel bearing assembly (10), according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that at the end of the step of clamping the conical flank (50) of the transmission bowl (16) against the flange (22) of the wheel hub (14), a flat annular face (52) of the transmission bowl (16) is in planar contact with the flat end face (302) of the inner ring (30) of the bearing (12).

8. A method for assembling a wheel bearing assembly (10), according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, after the step of clamping the conical flank (50) of the transmission bowl (16) against the flange (22) of the wheel hub (14), the flange (22) of the wheel hub (14) is in contact with a flat bottom (48) of the cavity (46) formed by the transmission bowl (16).

9. Method of assembling a wheel bearing assembly (10), according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the deformation of the wheel hub (14) induces a reduction in the diameter of a circle passing through the tops of the inner ribs (121), which is greater than 5pm, preferably greater than 1Opm.

10. Method of assembling a wheel bearing assembly (10), according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the contact pressure at the conical contact interface (54) between the conical flank (50) and the flange (22) of the wheel hub (14) is greater than or equal to 50 MPa and preferably to 100 MPa.

11. Method of assembling a wheel bearing assembly (10), according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the deformation obtained at the end of the clamping step of the conical flank (50) of the transmission bowl (16) against the flange (22) of the wheel hub (14) is an elastic deformation.

12. Method of assembling a wheel bearing assembly (10), according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the step of axially inserting the inner ribs (121) of the wheel hub (14) into the outer splines (122) of the shaft (40) of the transmission bowl (16) is carried out by screwing a threaded clamping piece into a thread of the shaft (40) of the transmission bowl (16).

13. Method of assembling a wheel bearing assembly (10), according to claim 12, characterized in that the clamping piece is: - a nut screwed onto an external thread of the shaft (40) of the transmission bowl (16); or - a screw (53) inserted into a threaded hole (51) formed in the shaft (40) of the transmission bowl (16) parallel to the axis of revolution (1) of the transmission bowl (16).

14. A method for assembling a wheel bearing assembly (10), according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the step of shrink-fitting the wheel hub (14) into the cylindrical shrink-fitting area (26) of the inner ring (30) of the bearing (12) is preceded by a step of positioning an outer ring of the bearing, and a row of rolling elements coming into contact with an external raceway formed on the outer ring, the first row of rolling bodies coming into contact with an internal rolling race formed on the inner ring at the latest at the end of the shrink-fitting step of the wheel hub (14) in the cylindrical shrink-fitting area (26) of the inner ring (30).

15. Drive wheel bearing assembly (10) obtained by the assembly method according to any one of the preceding claims.

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