Pre-Tensioned Rolling Bearing Mounting with Hydraulic Sleeve Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for assembling and disassembling preloaded roller bearings are costly and inefficient, particularly due to the high expense of heat assembly and the need for destructive mechanical measures during disassembly.
Innovation Solution
A preloaded roller bearing design featuring a conical inner bore, a first sleeve with a radially outward collar, and a shaft nut with axial bores, allowing for axial displacement and oil pressure assistance to create and dissolve the prestressing interference fit, facilitated by measuring means for precise preload setting and hydraulic units for assembly and disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If heat assembly is used to set the preload of the roller bearing, then the desired preload is achieved, but the assembly cost becomes very expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the thermal field (heat assembly) with a mechanical field solution. A conical adjustment sleeve is inserted into the inner ring, and by axially displacing the sleeve along the cone, radial force is generated that applies precise preload to the rolling elements. This mechanical method eliminates the need for expensive heating equipment and intermediate rings while achieving the same preload effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state and parameters of the adjustment sleeve. The sleeve is made of elastomeric material that can be compressed axially and expands radially. By changing the compression parameter (axial displacement), the radial expansion parameter changes, which directly controls the preload force on the rolling elements. This parameter transformation enables precise, adjustable, and reversible preload setting.
2Ease of operation
If mechanical measures are used to disassemble preloaded roller bearings, then disassembly is possible, but the roller bearing is destroyed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the preload-generating component (conical adjustment sleeve) from the bearing assembly during disassembly. By removing the sleeve, the interference fit between the inner ring and shaft is eliminated, allowing the bearing to be separated from the shaft without destroying the bearing itself. This enables reuse of the expensive bearing components while maintaining disassembly capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic, reversible preload adjustment through the elastomeric adjustment sleeve. The sleeve can be compressed to apply preload during assembly, then expanded back to release preload during disassembly. This dynamic mechanism allows the bearing to transition between preloaded and non-preloaded states without damage, enabling multiple assembly-disassembly cycles.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If an intermediate ring is used to protect the shaft during heat assembly, then the shaft is protected, but the assembly process becomes more complex and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the conical adjustment sleeve as an intermediary element between the inner ring and the rolling elements. The sleeve mediates the preload application by converting axial displacement into radial force through its elastomeric properties and conical geometry. This single intermediary component replaces the traditional intermediate ring and heating process, simplifying the assembly process while protecting the shaft from thermal damage.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables easy, precise, and cost-effective assembly and disassembly of roller bearings with improved interference fit stability and compressibility, reducing operational costs and eliminating the need for destructive methods.
Implementation Method 1
an interference fit is formed between the inner ring of the roller bearing and the shaft, which due to the slight expansion of the inner ring is responsible for the fact that play present in the unmounted state of the roller bearing is reset
Implementation Method 2
If the first sleeve has recesses on the inner and/or outer lateral surface, this has a high level of instability and compressibility, which promotes the production of the interference fit between the inner ring and the shaft
Implementation Method 3
an axial displacement of the first sleeve relative to the inner contour of the bore in the inner ring produces the required prestressing press fit between the inner ring and shaft or is dissolved
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a pre-tensioned rolling element bearing, having at least one rolling bearing (1.1; 1.2), comprising an outer ring (3), an inner ring (2) through which a bore (7) runs, and rolling elements (4) which roll on raceways provided on the outer ring and on the inner ring, having a shaft (6) which penetrates the borehole of the inner ring, and having fixing means (8, 21) by which the inner ring fitted onto the shaft is fixed axially on the shaft, at least one of said fixing means being a shaft nut (21), and the internal contour (11) of the bore being formed conically. A first sleeve (12) is provided which is releasably connected to the shaft, of which the outer casing (13) is likewise formed conically and which has a radially outwardly directed collar (14) at the end near the shaft nut. In the connected state of the inner ring and of the shaft, the conical inner contour of the bore rests against the conical outer casing of the first sleeve, and at least one axial bore (15.3) passes through the shaft nut. The bore centre of at least one of said axial bores and the bore centre of an axial bore (15.1), which is provided in the collar of the first sleeve and has a thread, align with each other.