Patent ID: 8851757

Claim:
A bearing unit for a vehicle wheel, the bearing unit having an axis of rotation and comprising: a radially outer stationary ring which is axially delimited on one side of the bearing unit by a first axial surface in a first plane which is transverse with respect to the axis of rotation; a radially inner rotatable ring which is delimited on the one side of the bearing unit by a second axial surface in a second plane which is transverse with respect to the axis of rotation; an encoder fixed to an outer cylindrical surface of the inner ring; and a protective cover mounted on an outer cylindrical surface of the outer ring to protect the encoder and to extend over an opening into a space between the radially outer ring and the radially inner ring; and wherein the first axial surface and the protective cover jointly delimit a compartment for housing the encoder, and wherein the encoder comprises a flanged annular support fixed to the outer cylindrical surface of the radially inner ring and a magnetized annular element mounted at a radially outer portion of the flanged annular support, and wherein the flanged annular support includes a radially extending annular flange located between the first plane and the second plane and wherein the magnetized annular portion is intersected by the second plane.