DRAWN VEHICLE AXLE HOUSING COVER

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 1 19(e) of U.S.

Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62/016,801 , filed June 25, 2014, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a vehicle axle housing cover and bearing housing. More particularly, the present invention relates to a drawn vehicle axle housing cover and bearing housing.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Fig. 1 illustrates a prior art vehicle axle housing assembly 10 that comprises a vehicle axle housing cover 12. The vehicle axle housing cover 12 comprises stamped steel with a hole 14 formed therein. A forged or cast steel bearing housing 16 is welded (see upper 24u and lower 24t weld locations) to the vehicle axle housing cover material that forms the hole 14. Roller bearings 18 and an output seal 20 are disposed within the bearing housing 16. Further, an output shaft 22, with an output shaft yoke retaining nut 26, is disposed through the bearing housing 16. The output shaft 22 is in sealing contact with the output seal 20 and in rotational contact with the roller bearings 18. The output shaft 22 extends through the bearing housing 16 to a vehicle axle housing 28.

Prior art Fig. 2 presents a complete view of the weld 24 (see thick darkened line) showing the location of the upper 24a and lower 24£ weld locations along an irregular path from top to bottom of the forged bearing housing 16. This view of the weld 24 is from within the vehicle axle housing 28, between the vehicle axle housing cover 12 and the forged or cast steel bearing housing 16. Subsequently, the forged bearing housing 16 requires machining after being welded to the vehicle axle housing cover 12. Unfortunately, the prior art vehicle housing cover 12 is expensive to produce while requiring at least five machining operations to finish and bore post-weld. Hence, what is sought is a vehicle axle housing cover that is less expensive than the prior art vehicle axle housing covers, while minimizing machining operations necessary to produce a high quality vehicle axle housing cover.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A vehicle axle housing cover comprises a drawn sheet metal cover having a full height pocket with a hole disposed therethrough. Also, the pocket may have unitarily formed forward or reverse drawn extensions that eliminate a need for a separate bearing housing. Further, separate machined, forged, or cast steel bearing housings may be disposed into the hole, wherein the top of the pocket is prepared for attachment of these bearing housings to the vehicle axle housing cover, by way of fastening or welding.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of a specification, wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts of several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a cross sectional view of a prior art vehicle axle housing assembly;

Fig. 2 is a three dimensional view from within the prior art vehicle axle housing assembly of Fig. 1 showing a forged or cast bearing housing welded to a vehicle axle housing cover;

Fig. 3 is an orthogonal view of a drawn vehicle housing cover with a full height pocket in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of a first drawn vehicle axle housing assembly in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of a second drawn vehicle axle housing assembly in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view of a third drawn vehicle axle housing assembly in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view of a fourth drawn vehicle axle housing assembly in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view of a fifth drawn vehicle axle housing assembly in accordance with the present invention; and

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view of a sixth drawn vehicle axle housing assembly in accordance with the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is to be understood that the invention may assume various alternative orientations and step sequences, except where expressly specified to the contrary. It is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the following specification are simply exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts. Hence, specific dimensions, directions or other physical characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosed are not to be considered as limiting.

Fig. 3 illustrates a drawn sheet metal vehicle axle housing cover 30 that has a drawn full height pocket 32 formed therein. Specifically, a flat sheet (not shown) of metal, for example, steel, flows by being stretched as a result of being clamped to a die (not shown) that is designed to form the cover 30 into a desired shape, with the full height pocket 32. The flow of the metal is controlled through pressure being applied to the flat metal sheet with a lubricant (not shown) being applied to the die or sheet. This process results in the desired shape of the cover 30 with the pocket 32. Subsequently, a hole 34 is formed through the pocket 32 on a flat machined top surface 36 thereof, wherein the flat machined top surface 36 forms a plane.

In contrast to the forged or cast bearing housing 16 of prior art Fig. 1 , present invention sheet metal bearing housings 46, 47 (as shown respectively in Figs. 4-5) are disposed into the hole 34 and brought to rest on the flat machined top surface 36. The sheet metal bearing housings 46, 47 are then attached at the flat machined top surface 36, by way of threaded metal bearing housing holes 39 cooperating with threaded bolts 48 being tightened down into threaded sheet metal vehicle housing cover holes 38.

The sheet metal bearing housings 46, 47 are attached only at the flat machined output tube surface 36, and are centrically located in the plane thereof. This is in contrast to how the forged or cast prior art bearing housing 16, in prior art Figs. 1 and 2, is attached, where the bearing housing 16 is welded to the axle housing cover 12, between the upper weld location 24a and the lower weld location 24C, via the hole 14 which is not centrically located in a plane.

Because of the nature of ball bearings compared to that of roller bearings, it can been seen in Fig. 5 that the ball bearings 56 can be positioned vertically closer to the seal 52, along with a slightly modified shaft 23, than the roller bearings 54 and shaft 22 of counterpart Fig. 4. As a result, the sheet metal bearing housing 47, along with the position of the sheet metal bearing housing 47 on the shaft 23, can be significantly shorter than the sheet metal bearing housing 46. Since less material is required, it is a cost savings to use the bearing housing 47 with ball bearings 56 over the bearing housing 46 with roller bearings 54. More material savings can be realized over the prior art bearing housing 16 of Fig. 1 , since the material cost savings would be more extensive.

Drawn sheet metal vehicle axle housing assemblies 40, 50 of Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate that each assembly 40, 50 has the drawn pocket 32 with the hole 34 formed through the top of the pocket 32, which is in a plane of the output tube surface 36. An output seal 52 is in sealing contact with the output shaft 22, while roller bearing 54 (Fig. 4) or ball bearings 56 (Fig. 5) are in rotational contact with the output shaft 22. Both of these drawn vehicle axle housing assemblies 40, 50 may be attached to the vehicle housing 28 by attachment methods that are common in the art.

Fig. 6 illustrates another drawn sheet metal vehicle axle housing assembly 60 that has a drawn pocket 62 where a hole 64 is formed

therethrough. Here, a bearing housing 66 is welded, by way of weld 68, to the housing cover 70 where these parts 62, 66 come together at the top of the housing cover 70. The bearing housing 66 may comprise, for example, a forging, a machined steel tube, or drawn sheet steel metal. An output seal 72 is in sealing contact with the output shaft 23 and a ball bearing 74 is in rotational contact with the output shaft 23.

Fig. 7 illustrates a further drawn sheet metal vehicle axle housing assembly 80 that has a drawn pocket 82 having a unitarily formed reverse drawn extension 84 that forms a hole 86 therethrough. Consequently, the unitarily formed reverse drawn extension 84 eliminates the need for a separate bearing housing like the bearing housings 16, 46, 47, 66 illustrated in Figs. 1 -2, 4-6, and 9. Thereby, an output seal 88 is disposed in sealing contact between the reverse drawn extension 84 of the housing cover 90 and the output shaft 22. Also, a ball bearing 92 is disposed in rotational contact with the output shaft 22. The use of the ball bearing 92 with the reverse drawn extension 84 advantageously minimizes the depth of draw for the reverse drawn extension 84.

Although not shown in Fig. 7, one skilled in the art would recognize that the roller bearings 54, as shown in Fig. 4, could be disposed within the hole 86 in place of the ball bearing 92 shown in Fig. 7, where the unitarily formed reverse drawn extension 84 may need to be extended further vertically down and within the hole 86. The drawn vehicle axle housing assembly 80 may be attached to the vehicle housing 28 by means common in the art.

Fig. 8 illustrates a drawn sheet metal vehicle axle housing assembly 100, which is similar to the drawn sheet metal vehicle axle housing assembly 80 that is illustrated in Fig. 7. However, in this case of the drawn sheet metal vehicle axle housing assembly 100, a drawn pocket 102 has a unitarily formed forward (i.e., upward) drawn extension 104 that forms a hole 106 therethrough. Similarly, the unitarily formed forward drawn extension 104 eliminates the need for a separate bearing housing like those used in the bearing housings 16, 46, 47, 66 that are illustrated in Figs. 1-2, 4-6, and 9. Thereby, an output seal 108 is disposed in sealing contact between the forward drawn extension 104 of the housing cover 1 10 and the output shaft 23. Here too, a ball bearing 1 12 is disposed in rotational contact with the output shaft 23. The use of the ball bearing 112, with the forward drawn extension 104, advantageously minimizes the height of draw for the forward drawn extension 104.

Although not shown in Fig. 8, one skilled in the art recognizes that the roller bearings 54, as shown in Fig. 4, could be disposed within the hole 106 in place of the ball bearing 112 shown in Fig. 8, where the unitarily formed forward drawn extension 104 may need to be extended further vertically upward within the hole 106. The drawn vehicle axle housing assembly 100 may also be attached to the vehicle housing 28 by means common in the art.

Fig. 9 illustrates an embodiment that, in effect, combines the drawn pocket 102 and a drawn extension 104 of the vehicle axle housing assembly 100 of Fig. 8 with the forged or cast bearing housing 16 of the prior art vehicle housing assembly 10. Here, a drawn sheet metal vehicle axle housing assembly 120 has a drawn pocket 122 with a unitarily formed forward (i.e., upward) drawn extension 124 that forms a hole 126 therethrough. With this structure, the forged or cast bearing housing 16 is welded to the unitarily formed forward drawn extension 124 or is attached by way of dimensional interference (press fit) with the unitarily formed forward drawn extension 124 of the vehicle axle housing cover 120 at the hole 126. Here, roller bearings 18 and an output seal 20 are disposed within the bearing housing 16. Thereby, an output seal 20 is disposed in sealing contact between the bearing housing 16 and the output shaft 22, and a roller bearing 18 is disposed in rotational contact with the output shaft 22. The drawn vehicle axle housing assembly 120 may also be attached to the vehicle housing 28 by means common in the art.

To summarize, the drawn sheet metal vehicle axle housing assemblies 40, 50, 60, 80, 100, 120 are intended to replace the prior art vehicle housing assembly 10, which has the cast and machined or forged and machined bearing cover 12. Instead, the present invention embodiments utilize the drawn pockets 32, 62, 82, 102, 122, the reverse drawn extension 84, and the forward drawn extensions 104, 124. Also, the present invention allows for ball bearings 56, 74, 92, 112 to be used. On the other hand, the prior art cast/forged cover 12 requires more material and requires at least five machining operations to finish the hole 14 post-weld. Hence, the prior art cover 12 is more expensive to manufacture. Also, the present invention allows for drawn covers 30, 70 to accept pre- machined bearing housings 46, 47, wherein the drawn and machined flat area 36, on the cover 30, allows for the bearing housing 30 to have bolt-on or cartridge bearings 54, 56. The present invention also allows for the single ball bearings 56, 74, 92, 112 to be advantageously used to minimize depth and height of draw. The drawn covers 30, 70, 90, 110, 130 create the actual bearing housing pockets 32, 62, 82, 102, 122. The use of the single ball bearings 56, 74, 92, 112 aid in minimizing depth of draw in the housing assemblies 50, 60, 80, 100.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the principles and modes of operation of this invention have been described and illustrated in its preferred embodiments. However, it must be understood that the invention may be practiced otherwise than specifically explained and illustrated without departing from its spirit or scope.