Patent ID: 7908740

Claim:
An apparatus for assembling bearings into a bore of a hub, the bore extending between opposite ends of the hub, the apparatus further including a block for supporting the hub, the block having a first end opposite a second end, and a feed mechanism disposed on the first end of the block, the feed mechanism arranging a plurality of bearings in the form of an annular array, said apparatus comprising: a stub having an outwardly biased detent; and a first mandrel spaced opposite and apart from a second mandrel, the stub and hub disposed between the first and second mandrel, the first mandrel axially displaceable between the first and second ends of the block so as to displace the annular array of bearings into the bore of the hub, the second mandrel axially displaceable between the first and second ends of the block so as to push the stub axially into the hub and displace the first mandrel from the bore and maintain the bearings in the annular array within the bore of the hub, the detent being outwardly biased against at least one of the bearings to create a radial and/or circumferential force that enhances friction to retain the bearings within the bore of the hub.