Method and device for sealing a bearing
AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Toyota Jidoshokki
InventorKenichi Katae
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention provides a bearing sealing method for sealing a bearing member which is interposed between a first member and a second member and allows relative rotation between the first member and the second member. The method includes the steps of keeping the bearing member under a sealed state by interposing a seal between the first member and second member; and releasing the bearing member from the sealed state by bending a first seal element of the seal outward only upon pressure increase in the sealed bearing member. The first seal element is normally in contact with one of the first member and the second member.
Claims7
A bearing sealing device for sealing a bearing member which is interposed between a first member and a second member and allows relative rotation between the first member and the second member, wherein the first member is located radially outward of the bearing member and the second member is located radially inward of the bearing member, comprising:
- a seal washer comprising:
- a metallic washer located adjacent to the first member and the second member;
- and
- a resilient seal fixed to an inner periphery of the washer and interposed between the first member and the second member for sealing the bearing member to form a sealed space between the seal and the bearing member, the seal having a first seal element which is normally in contact with one of member surfaces of the first member and the bearing member, wherein the first seal element is bendable outward only by increased pressure in the space, wherein an outer periphery of the washer is in contact with an end face of the first member, which helps to prevent foreign matter from entering into the space.
A steering unit in a vehicle, comprising:
- a pair of tie rods;
- a cylinder arm interposed between the paired tie rods;
- a tie rod pin for connecting the cylinder arm to the tie rods;
- a bearing member mounted in a hole formed in the cylinder arm;
- a pair of seal washers one of which is located between the bearing member and one of the tie rods, the other seal washer being located between the bearing member and the other tie rod, each seal washer comprising:
- a metallic washer interposed between the cylinder arm and the tie rod;
- and
- a resilient seal fixed to an inner periphery of the washer and interposed between the cylinder arm and the tie rod pin for sealing the bearing member to form a sealed space between the seal and the bearing member, the seal having a first seal element which is normally in contact with one of member surfaces of the cylinder arm and the bearing member, wherein the first seal element is bendable outward only by increased pressure in the space, wherein an outer periphery of the washer is in contact with an end face of the cylinder arm, which helps to prevent foreign matter from entering into the space.
A steering unit in a vehicle, comprising:
- a pair of tie rods;
- a knuckle arm interposed between the paired tie rods;
- a tie rod pin for connecting the knuckle arm to the tie rods;
- a bearing member mounted in a hole formed in the knuckle arm;
- a pair of seal washers one of which is located between the bearing member and one of the tie rods, the other seal washer being located between the bearing member and the other tie rod, each seal washer comprising:
- a metallic washer interposed between the knuckle arm and the tie rod;
- and
- a resilient seal fixed to an inner periphery of the washer and interposed between the knuckle arm and the tie rod pin for sealing the bearing member to form a sealed space between the seal and the bearing member, the seal having a first seal element which is normally in contact with one of member surfaces of the knuckle arm and the bearing member, wherein the first seal element is bendable outward only by increased pressure in the space, wherein an outer periphery of the washer is in contact with an end face of the knuckle arm, which helps to prevent foreign matter from entering into the space.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.