Patent ID: 7147381

Claim:
A wheel support bearing assembly for rotatably supporting a vehicle wheel, said wheel support bearing assembly comprising: an outer member having an inner peripheral surface formed with a plurality of first raceways; an inner member rotatably positioned inside the outer member and having a corresponding number of second raceways defined therein in alignment with the first raceways in the outer member; rows of rolling elements rollingly received in part within the first raceways and in part within the second raceways; said inner member including a hub axle, made of carbon steel, having outboard and inboard ends opposite to each other and a hub flange integrally formed on an outer peripheral surface of the hub axle at a location adjacent the outboard end thereof, and an inner race member; said hub axle having a radially inwardly depressed mount defined on its outer peripheral surface at a location adjacent the inboard end thereof, said inner race member being fixedly mounted on the depressed mount, one of the second raceways in the inner member being defined in an outer peripheral surface of the inner race member while the other second raceway is defined in the outer peripheral surface of the hub axle; said inner race member having a radially inner end edge, delimited between an inner peripheral surface thereof and an annular inboard end face thereof, which is chamfered to represent a rounded inner end corner, said inner race member being fixed on the depressed mount by means of an annular end stop that is formed by staking the inboard end of the hub axle so as to protrude radially outwardly; a hardened layer formed on a surface portion of the outer peripheral surface of the hub axle that is delimited between a root of the hub flange on an inboard side of the hub flange and the depressed mount, wherein the hardened layer has an inboard end so positioned as to extend to a position between said one of the second raceways and the rounded inner end corner of the inner race member; and a hardened layer formed on respective surface areas of the first raceways of the outer member.