Spindle for heavy duty truck or trailer axle
AssigneeRockwell International Corporation
InventorJohn Palovcik
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An improved spindle is for a heavy duty truck or trailer axle of the type which includes a support for a wheel mounted thereon at a pair of axially disposed, independently mounted inner and outer tapered-roller bearing for rotation about an axis of the spindle. The improvement includes providing a transition portion between an intermediate portion of the spindle which receives the inner tapered-roller bearing thereon and a larger major portion of the axle which first transition portion has a frusto-conical outer surface. A collar has a frusto-conical inner surface and is fixedly mounted on the first transition portion to locate a transverse surface thereon adjacent the intermediate portion to act as a bearing stop for the inner tapered-roller bearing.
Claims7
An improved spindle for a heavy duty truck or trailer axle of the type which includes support for a wheel to be mounted thereon at a pair of axially disposed, independently mounted inner and outer tapered-roller bearings for rotation about an axis of said spindle;
- said spindle being tubular and having a cylindrical end portion having a first diameter for receiving said outer tapered-roller bearing thereon, a cylindrical intermediate portion having a second diameter for receiving said inner tapered-roller bearing thereon, and a major portion having transverse dimensions larger than said second diameter;
- wherein the improvement comprises:
- a first transition portion between said intermediate portion and said major portion having an outer surface which is frusto-conical and free of any abrupt transition thereof which could produce a concentration of force stresses in said tubular spindle;
- a collar having a frusto-conical inner surface and being fixedly mounted on said first transition portion to locate a transverse surface thereon adjacent said intermediate portion which said transverse surface acts as a bearing stop for said inner tapered-roller bearing;
- and
- said collar being fixedly secured to said first transition portion at a region thereon which is axially remote from said intermediate portion to prevent said inner tapered-roller bearing from being capable of producing said concentration of force stresses in said tubular spindle at a location between said intermediate portion and said first transition portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.