WO2012023000A1

WO2012023000A1 - Method for mounting a rolling bearing assembly on a vehicle and rolling bearing assembly adapted to such a method

Info

Publication number: WO2012023000A1
Application number: PCT/IB2010/002444
Authority: WO
Inventors: Franck Landrieve
Original assignee: Aktiebolaget Skf
Priority date: 2010-08-19
Filing date: 2010-08-19
Publication date: 2012-02-23

Abstract

Method for mounting a rolling bearing assembly (1 ) on a vehicle (H, F, S), this assembly comprising a target bearing (15) comprising an inner ring (31 ), an outer ring (33), rotatable with respect to the inner ring (31 ), around a rotation axis (X-X') of the assembly (1 ), an impulse ring (5) and a sealing element (1 1 ). This assembly also comprises an impulse ring cover (9), and a sensor unit (7) comprising at least one sensing element (71 ) adapted to read the impulse ring (5). This method comprises the steps of a) press fitting the outer ring (33) of the target bearing (15) in a hub (H) of a the vehicle, b) press fitting the cover (9) in the inner ring (31 ) of the target bearing (15), and c) positioning the sensing element (71 ) against the cover (9) and fastening the sensor unit (7) to a fixed part (F) of the vehicle.

Description

METHOD FOR MOUNTING A ROLLING BEARING ASSEMBLY ON A VEHICLE AND ROLLING BEARING ASSEMBLY ADAPTED TO SUCH A METHOD

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for mounting a rolling bearing assembly on a vehicle and to a rolling bearing assembly adapted to such a method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field of rolling bearing assemblies for vehicles, notatably for two wheel vehicles such as motorcycles, three important constraints must be taken into account. The impulse ring must be protected against exterior contaminants. Different parts must be assembled by press fit on the outer ring of the bearing, and allow a standard sensor unit to be used.

In known assembly methods, a sensor unit is generally installed on the fork of the front wheel of a motorcycle. Then, a target cover is mounted on the impulse ring to protect it. Positioning of the sensor unit with respect to the impulse ring and the target cover is realized thanks to a deformation of the sensor unit.

These techniques do not provide a compact and robust assembly. Moreover, the accuracy of the mounting is not satisfying.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention aims at proposing a new method for mounting a rolling bearing assembly on a vehicle, which permits a more simple and reliable mounting than mounting methods known from the prior art.

To this end, the invention concerns a method for mounting a rolling bearing assembly on a vehicle, this assembly comprising:

a target bearing comprising an inner ring, an outer ring rotatable with respect to the inner ring, around a rotation axis of the assembly, an impulse ring and a sealing element,

- an impulse ring cover, and

a sensor unit comprising at least one sensing element adapted to read the impulse ring.

This method is characterized in that it comprises the following steps: a) press fitting the outer ring of the target bearing in a hub of the vehicle, b) press fitting the cover in the inner ring of the target bearing, c) positioning the sensing element against the cover and fastening the sensor unit to a fixed part of the vehicle.

Thanks to the invention, the reliability and accuracy of the assembly are improved. The sensor unit is mounted after the bearing and the cover, thus permitting an accurate mounting of the sensing parts.

According to further aspects of the invention which are advantageous but not compulsory, such a method may incorporate one or several of the following features:

At step c), the sensor unit is fastened to the cover.

At step c), the sensor unit is fastened to a fork of a motorcycle.

The invention also concerns a rolling bearing assembly mounted according to the above-mentioned method. This rolling bearing assembly is characterized in that the cover comprises an axial portion extending around the rotation axis of the assembly and press fitted into the inner ring of the target bearing.

According to further aspects of the invention, which are advantageous but not compulsory, such a rolling bearing assembly may incorporate one or several of the following features.

The cover comprises an axial portion extending around the rotation axis of the assembly and press fitted into the inner ring of the target bearing.

The cover comprises an inner element which carries the axial portion, whereas he inner element is made of non-magnetic stainless steel.

The cover comprises an outer element protecting the impulse ring, whereas the outer element is made of plastic material.

The sealing element is molded on the impulse ring, and whereas the sealing element comprises a sealing lip adapted to lay against an inner cylindrical surface of the cover.

The sealing element is made of nitrile.

The sensing element is adapted to read the impulse ring parallely to the rotation axis of the assembly.

The sensing element is adapted to read the impulse ring perpendicularly to the rotation axis of the assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be explained in correspondence with the annexed figures and as an illustrative example, without restricting the object of the invention. In the annexed figures: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rolling bearing assembly according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a partially exploded view of the rolling bearing assembly of figure 1 ; Figure 3 is a cross-section, along plane III in figure 1 , of the rolling bearing assembly of figures 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

As illustrated on figures 1 to 3, a rolling bearing assembly 1 according to the invention comprises a rolling bearing 3, which comprises an inner ring 31 and an outer ring 33. Outer ring 33 is adapted to rotate with respect to inner ring 31 around a rotation axis X-X'.

Rolling bodies, such as balls, needles or rollers, are installed in a rolling chamber, radially between rings 31 and 33 with respect to axis X-X'.

Assembly 1 also comprises an impulse ring 5, which is fast in rotation with outer ring 33 of bearing 3. Impulse ring 5 comprises radially extending teeth 51. Impulse ring 5 is made of a magnetic material, and teeth 51 are regularly spaced around the circumference of impulse ring 5 in order to create magnetic field variations 3. These magnetic field variations are read by a sensor unit 7, which comprises a sensing element 71 , to measure rotation speeds and/or angles.

As represented on figures 1 to 3, sensing element 71 reads impulse ring 5 along a sensing axis X71 , which is parallel to rotation axis X-X'. In a non-shown alternative embodiment, sensing element 71 may read impulse ring 5 along a sensing direction which is perpendicular to rotation axis X-X'. In this case, teeth 51 of impulse ring 5 extend parallely to rotation axis X-X'. Impulse ring 5 constitutes a target for sensor unit 7.

As the magnetic field detection executed by sensing element 71 must be as accurate as possible, assembly 1 comprises a target cover 9 which protects impulse ring 5 against shocks or exterior contaminants.

Target cover 9 comprises a radial inner part 91 fast in rotation with inner ring 31 of bearing 3. Cover 9 further comprises a radial outer part 93 which extends radially around teeth 51 of impulse ring 5. Inner part 91 is made of non-magnetic stainless steel, and outer part 93 is made of plastic material. Parts 91 and 93 are fast one with respect to the other.

Assembly 1 comprises a sealing element 1 1 , adapted to prevent exterior contaminants to reach a gap G between teeth 51 of impulse ring 5 and sensing element 71 . Sealing element 1 1 is molded on teeth 51 and comprises a sealing lip 1 1 1 , which lays against a radial inner surface 95 of a ring-shaped sliding track 101 of cover 9. Sealing element 1 1 is made of a polymer material, such as nitrile.

Sensing element 71 is adapted to read teeth 51 of impulse ring 5 through a transparent or translucent diaphragm 97 of cover 9. Thanks to diaphragm 97, gap G between teeth 51 and sensing element 71 is protected against exterior contaminants. According to an alternative embodiment, cover 9 may comprise no diaphragm and sensing element 71 may read impulse ring 5 through a window of target cover 9.

Mounting of assembly 1 on a vehicle, such as a motorcycle, is realized in the following manner: rolling bearing 3, impulse ring 5 and sealing element 1 1 are provided integrated in a single sub-assembly 15, which is named "target bearing". In target bearing 15, impulse ring 5, with sealing element 1 1 molded on it, is already fast to outer ring 33 of bearing 3 by press fitting or another method.

On figure 3, several parts of a motorbike are represented in dashed line in order to show how assembly 1 cooperates with its environment. F denotes a front fork of the motorbike, S denotes a shaft supported by fork F and H denotes a hub of a wheel mounted on shaft S.

In a first step, outer ring 33 is press fitted in hub H of the front wheel of the motorcycle, rotatable relative to fork F.

In a second step, the cover 9 is press fitted on inner ring 31 of bearing 3. To this end, cover 9 comprises a cylindrical portion 99, which extends around rotation axis X-X', and which carries an outer surface 100 adapted to be in contact with an inner surface 310 of inner ring 31. From this step on, impulse ring 5 is protected from shocks or contaminants infiltrations that may occur during upcoming mounting operations.

Cover 9 is fixed relative to a shaft S, which is fixed relative to fork F and extends along axis X-X'. Shaft S may be press fitted in inner part 91 of cover 9 or fixed thereto by any convenient method.

In a third step, sensor unit 7 is mounted on fork F and positioned with respect to target cover 9 and impulse ring 5. Sensor unit 7 is fixed to fork F thanks to a U-shaped flange 73. During this operation, an end surface 710 of sensing element 71 is pushed against a reference surface 98 of cover 9 in the vicinity of diaphragm 97. Surface 98 is adapted to accurately position sensing element 71 with respect to impulse ring 5 within a predetermined axial width w_G for gap G.

According to a non-shown embodiment of the invention, sensor unit 7 may be fast to target cover 9. In this case, cover 9 may comprise fastening means such as threaded bores adapted to cooperate with sensing unit 7. The press-fitting of the different parts of rolling bearing assembly 1 provides a compact and robust design, which improves its reliability. Moreover, press-fitting of cover 9 in inner ring 31 of target bearing 15 permits to dismount the hub equipped with its rolling bearing assembly while impulse ring 5 is permanently protected during mounting and maintenance operations. By mounting sensor unit 7 after target bearing 15 and cover 9, one avoids positioning issues that occur when already mounted sensor units have to be accurately placed relative to an impulse ring and cover.

Claims

1. Method for mounting a rolling bearing assembly (1 ) on a vehicle (H, F, S), this assembly comprising:

- a target bearing (15) comprising an inner ring (31 ), an outer ring (33) rotatable with respect to the inner ring (31 ), around a rotation axis (Χ-Χ') of the assembly (1 ), an impulse ring (5) and a sealing element (1 1 ),

an impulse ring cover (9),

a sensor unit (7) comprising at least one sensing element (71 ) adapted to read the impulse ring (5),

wherein it comprises the following steps:

a) press fitting the outer ring (33) of the target bearing (15) in a hub (H) of the vehicle,

b) press fitting the cover (9) in the inner ring (31 ) of the target bearing (15), c) positioning the sensing element (71 ) against the cover (9) and fastening the sensor unit (7) to a fixed part (F) of the vehicle.

2. Method according to claim 1 , wherein at step c), the sensor unit (7) is fastened to the cover (9).

3. Method according to claim 1 , wherein at step c), the sensor unit (7) is fastened to a fork (F) of a motorcycle.

4. Rolling bearing assembly (1 ) mounted according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cover (9) comprises an axial portion (99), extending around the rotation axis

(Χ-Χ') of the assembly (1 ) and press fitted into the inner ring (31 ) of the target bearing (15).

5. Rolling bearing assembly according to claim 4, wherein the cover (9) comprises an inner element (91 ) which carries the axial portion (99), and wherein the inner element (91 ) is made of non-magnetic stainless steel.

6. Rolling bearing assembly according to one of claims 4 and 5, wherein the cover (9) comprises an outer element (93) protecting the impulse ring (5), and wherein the outer element (93) is made of plastic material.

7. Rolling bearing assembly according to one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the sealing element (1 1 ) is molded on the impulse ring (5), and wherein the sealing element (1 1 ) comprises a sealing lip (1 1 1 ) adapted to lay against an inner cylindrical surface (95) of the cover (9).

8. Rolling bearing assembly according to claim 7, wherein the sealing element (1 1 ) is made of nitrile.

9. Rolling bearing assembly mounted according to one of claims 4 to 8, wherein the sensing element (71 ) is adapted to read the impulse ring (5) parallely to the rotation axis (Χ-Χ') of the assembly (1 ).

1 0. Roll ing bearing assem bly accord ing to one of claims 4 to 8, wherein the sensing element (71 ) is adapted to read the impulse ring (5) perpendicularly to the rotation axis (Χ-Χ') of the assembly (1 ).