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US 11,231,069 B2Granted
Wheel hub bearing provided with a wireless power transfer device
AssigneeAktiebolaget Skf
InventorMathieu Hubert
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AssigneeAktiebolaget Skf
InventorMathieu Hubert
Estimating the term…
A wheel hub bearing for motor vehicles, comprising a hub and a bearing unit in turn comprising a radially outer ring, at least one radially inner ring, at least one crown of rolling bodies between the radially outer ring and the radially inner ring, whereas the hub has a radial stiffening. The radial stiffening of the hub has a misalignment (d) respect to a seat, i.e. a distance between a centerline axis (Y) of the seat of the radially inner ring on the hub and a centerline (Z) of the radial stiffening less than or equal to 25% of a length (l) of the seat.
A wheel hub bearing for motor vehicles, comprising:
A wireless power transfer device for a rotating bearing unit, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Hubs: one or more of the bearing races are formed by the hub
With two rows at opposite angles: in O-arrangement
Hubs: with ball bearings
Characterised by functional integration of other elements: the element being a sensor
About 13 years 11 months of term left · ends 5 Oct 2040 (estimated)
This application is based on and claims priority to Italian Application No. 102019000019124, filed Oct. 17, 2019, under 35 U.S.C. § 119 the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a wheel hub bearing provided with a wireless power transfer device.
Wheel hub bearing provided with a bearing unit for rotatably supporting a vehicle wheel on a suspension are known and commonly used. The bearing unit typically includes a pair of rolling bearings.
The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate some non-limiting embodiments thereof, in which:
FIG. 1 is a cross-section of a wheel hub bearing, according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is an enlarged detail of the flanged hub and the bearing unit of FIG. 1, schematically showing the wireless power transfer device, according to the invention, and
Potential sensors assembled on the rotating elements of a wheel that would require reliable electrical connection are, by way of examples, the followings: tire pressure monitoring system, tire wear monitoring system, tire load sensor, vibration monitoring, automatic inflation system, load sensing system on the rim.
A major limitation for smart systems accommodated into vehicle wheels is the battery relied upon by these devices. No electric connection is possible between the rotating wheel and the power network on the chassis, thus car manufacturers and suppliers use battery powered systems such as TPMS. In other words, the solution for sensor such as TPMS is to use a battery and low consumption electronic circuits and processors. Battery life limits the amount of sensor data that can be collected and/or data transmitted. A result is that the real time capabilities of sensors are drastically reduced in order to preserve a battery life of at most three years.
Several tire manufacturers and condition monitoring providers are advertising more and more sensors at the tire level without reliable power source solutions.