Axial Anti-Friction Bearing

The present invention refers to an axial anti-friction bearing and particularly to its attachment to a spring plate of a shock absorber in a vehicle.

Such axial anti-friction bearings are known from the applicant's Federal Republic of Germany Patent No. 26 58 748. The bearings are employed in a large variety of motor vehicles for the rotatable mounting of the spring pad in shock-absorber legs.

They have a disadvantage. Until the shock-absorber leg is installed in the motor vehicle, the axial bearing, which is a separate structural part, is not firmly attached to the surrounding parts, such as the spring plate or body. Thus upon the "handling" of the shock absorber leg, the bearing can fall out, slip or tilt. In view of the continuous increase in the use of automated assembly or robotizing in automobile factories, this is especially disadvantageous.

The object of the present invention is to avoid the above disadvantage by simple means and without great additional expense, and to provide a practical attachment of the axial bearing to the surrounding part.

The invention concerns an axial anti-friction bearing for mounting the spring pad in a shock absorber leg of a vehicle wheel. The bearing includes two races supporting rolling bodies between them. Each race is supported by a separate annular plastic cap. The two caps are snapped together in sliding manner with respect to each other by holding noses to form a structural unit. At least one pin and preferably a plurality of pins protrude approximately axially from the cap.

The spring plate to which the bearing is supported includes cutouts which are in the form of drain holes in the spring plate. The cutouts are placed to each receive one of the pins from the cap, and the bearing is thereby held in snap like manner on the spring plate via the pins. The pins are provided with a hook. The pins extend over an arcuate portion of the circumference of the spring plate, approximately 30.degree..

It has been found particularly advantageous to snap the pins into the drainholes which are already present on the spring plate. In this way, no changes are necessary, aside from the development of the hooks on the pin, which is simple from the standpoint of injection molding. The drainholes in the spring plate are present in any event so that the splash water, to which the shock absorber legs are exposed in the wheel box, can run off.

Other objects and features of the invention are explained on the basis of an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-section through an axial bearing in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a portion thereof in side view.

In FIG. 1, the rolling bodies 1 of the bearing are arranged between two axially separated, annular races 2 and 3. It has been found advantageous to produce the races from hardened rings that are produced by a non-machining method. This is to compensate for errors in alignment and tolerances without having to be concerned with the breaking of a race. Each of the caps 4 and 5 receives its respective one of the races 2 and 3. The caps are comprised of plastic, which contributes substantially to the compensation. The caps 4 and 5 are snapped together to form a structural unit by means of cooperating detent projections 6, 7, 8 which are lubricated "for life" and are tightly connected. The legs of the detent projections slide on each other and thus permit a swinging movement when the spring of the shock absorber leg deflects. The spring suspension of the vehicle is therefore softer and more comfortable upon small deflections.

A plurality of orientation pins 9 are developed on at least the one plastic cap 5 and extend approximately axially of the bearing. The pins 9 are each provided with hook like projections 10 which engage into and behind drain openings or cutouts 11 in the spring plate 12. In this way, the axial bearing is held in snap like fashion on the spring plate 12 to avoid difficulties that can occur upon the handling of the shock absorber leg.

As can be noted from FIG. 2, the pins 9 can be provided with hooks 10 that extend over 30.degree. of the circumference. The pins themselves extend over such an arc. The arcuate development of the pins 9 will, of course, correspond to the shape of the drain openings 11 in the spring plate 12.

Although the present invention has been described in relation to a particular embodiment thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.