Patent ID: 7950154
Filing Date: 2011-05-31
Classification: F16C,F16H,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method for forming an assembly of a pair of taper roller bearings in which inner bearing rings are axially spaced apart by a first member and outer bearing rings are maintained spaced apart by a second member with a first of the inner and outer bearing rings of each taper roller bearing being an axially outermost bearing ring which is spaced axially further than a second of the inner and outer bearing rings of that taper roller bearing, said method comprising the sequential steps of: forming an assembly of said two members and taper roller bearings, having a taper shape, in which the axially outermost first bearing ring of at least one of the taper roller bearings is in a loose fit on one of the first and second members, and axially moving said axially outermost first bearing ring of said one taper roller bearing, which is in the loose fit, in a direction towards the second bearing ring to create a pre-load, and increasing the degree of pre-load by sufficient further movement of said axially outermost first bearing ring in said direction resulting in the creation of radial forces by virtue of the taper shape of the bearing rollers in order to elastically deform said axially outermost first bearing ring, which initially was a loose fit, to create a shrink fit location between said axially outermost first bearing ring and the one of the first and second members, wherein the first member is a rotatable shaft, wherein the rotatable shaft is an intermediate shaft of a gear unit, wherein two gears are mounted on the intermediate shaft, each of the two gears arranged for intermeshing with a gear on a shaft which is parallel to the intermediate shaft, and wherein the two gears mounted on the intermediate shaft are positioned in between the pair of taper roller bearings.