Wheel Support Bearing Assembly and Method of Manufacturing the Same

A method of manufacturing a wheel support bearing assembly, which comprises

• an outer member having an inner periphery formed with a double row of raceway surfaces, an inner member having raceway surfaces formed therein and opposite to those raceway surfaces in the outer member, and a double row of rolling elements each row interposed between the respective raceway surfaces in the outer and inner members;
• the inner member being made up of a hub axle, having a wheel mounting hub flange formed in an outer periphery thereof and also having a center bore, and an inner race segment mounted on an outer periphery of an inboard end portion of the hub axle;
• the hub axle and the inner race segment being formed with the rows of the raceway surfaces, respectively;
• and
• the inner race segment having an inner peripheral surface provided with an annular stepped area that extends to an inboard end of the inner race segment and has a depth defined at an inner peripheral edge of an inboard end face of the inner race segment, the annular stepped area being of a shape made up of a straight area portion in the form of a cylindrical surface and an inclined surface portion continued from an outboard end of the straight area portion to the inner peripheral surface of the inner race segment, and a plastically deformed portion engageable with the inclined surface portion of the annular stepped area in the inner race segment as a result of crimping of the hub axle being provided in the hub axle;
• and in which method:
• the plastically deformed portion, being of a cylindrical configuration before it is deformed, being formed by pressing a crimping punch, of which front end portion outer peripheral surface is a tapered shape, axially into an inner peripheral surface of the inboard end portion of the hub axle to allow the cylindrical plastically deformed portion to be crimped in the diameter expanded condition.