阅读说明：本技术 带轮装置，特别是用于张紧惰轮或运动辊的带轮装置 (Pulley device, in particular for tensioning an idler or moving roller ) 是由 贝诺特·豪韦斯普尔 格温内尔·辛古埃 托马斯·佩罗汀 尼古拉斯·特朗基 于 2020-02-04 设计创作，主要内容包括：带轮装置(1)包括带轮(2)和轴承(3)。带轮(2)具有至少一个C形带轮部(17、18),所述带轮部(17、18)具有内部分(22、30)、外部分(19、27)和中间部分(25、33),所述内部分(22、30)安装在所述轴承(3)上,所述外部分(19、27)具有意在用于与带或链相互作用的外圆柱表面(20、28),所述中间部分(25、33)在所述内部分(22、30)和所述外部分(19、27)的在带轮装置(1)的一个轴向侧的轴向端部之间、大体上在径向上延伸。所述外圈(5)的外圆柱表面(16)设置有至少一个材料变形部(37、38),形成用于所述带轮(2)的轴向止动部。(The pulley device (1) comprises a pulley (2) and a bearing (3). The pulley (2) has at least one C-shaped pulley portion (17, 18), the pulley portion (17, 18) having an inner portion (22, 30), an outer portion (19, 27) and an intermediate portion (25, 33), the inner portion (22, 30) being mounted on the bearing (3), the outer portion (19, 27) having an outer cylindrical surface (20, 28) intended for interaction with a belt or chain, the intermediate portion (25, 33) extending substantially in a radial direction between axial ends of the inner portion (22, 30) and the outer portion (19, 27) on one axial side of the pulley device (1). The outer cylindrical surface (16) of the outer ring (5) is provided with at least one material deformation (37, 38) forming an axial stop for the pulley (2).)

1. Pulley device (1) suitable for tensioning idlers or moving rollers interacting with a belt or chain, the pulley device (1) comprising:

-a bearing (3) having a rotatable outer ring (5) and a fixed inner ring (4), the outer ring (5) and the inner ring (4) being coaxial; and

-a pulley (2) provided with at least one pulley portion (17, 18), said pulley portion (17, 18) having a generally C-shaped cross section and having an inner cylindrical portion (22, 30), an outer cylindrical portion (19, 27) and a radial intermediate portion (25, 33), said inner cylindrical portion (22, 30) having an inner cylindrical surface (23, 31) mounted on an outer cylindrical surface (16) of an outer ring (5) of a bearing (3), said outer cylindrical portion (19, 27) having an outer cylindrical surface (20, 28) intended for contact with said belt or said chain, said radial intermediate portion (25, 33) extending generally in a radial direction between axial ends of the inner cylindrical portion (22, 30) and of the outer cylindrical portion (19, 27) on one axial side of the pulley device (1), said pulley portion (17, 18) being integrally formed and being integral with said intermediate portion (25, 25), 33) An opposite axial side defining an open end (26, 34);

characterized in that the outer ring (5) is provided with at least one material deformation (37, 38) on a radial side surface (39, 40) located on an axial side of an intermediate portion (25, 33) of the pulley portion (17, 18), the material deformation (37, 38) protruding in a radial direction from the outer cylindrical surface (16) of the outer ring (5), the material deformation (37, 38) forming an axial stop for the pulley portion (17, 18) in one axial direction.

2. A pulley device according to claim 1, characterized in that the pulley (2) is formed by only one pulley portion (17, 18).

3. A pulley arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the pulley (2) comprises two C-shaped pulley portions (17, 18) mounted to an outer cylindrical surface (16) of the outer ring (5) of the bearing (3), the open ends (26, 34) of the pulley portions (17, 18) facing each other in the axial direction, the free ends of the outer portions (19, 27) of the pulley portions (17, 18) abutting in the axial direction.

4. A pulley arrangement according to claim 3, characterized in that both pulley portions (17, 18) are symmetrical with respect to a transversal radial plane (Y3) passing through the centre of the bearing (3).

5. A pulley arrangement according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that both radial side surfaces (39, 40) of the outer ring (5) are provided with at least one material deformation (37, 38) to form an axial stop for the middle part of both pulley portions (17, 18) in both axial directions.

6. A pulley arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said material deformation (37, 38) is formed by axially bulging said radial side surfaces (39, 40) towards opposite axial sides.

7. A pulley arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said radial side surface (39, 40) comprises a plurality of material deformations (37, 38).

8. A pulley arrangement according to claim 7, characterized in that said material deformations (37, 38) are equally spaced in the circumferential direction.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of pulley devices for tensioning idlers (/ idler rollers) or moving rollers (/ running rollers/moving wheels) designed to interact with chains or belts, for example, distribution belts of internal combustion engines of vehicles.

Background

These rollers (rollers) are generally used to keep a constant tension on the belt or chain within a determined range or to locally change the path taken by the chain or belt. These are called tension idlers or moving rollers, respectively. In the moving roller, a pulley is mounted to rotate on a screw (/ screw) or spindle through a rolling bearing, and then the moving roller is attached directly or indirectly to the engine block or to an element of the tensioning idler device, such as an articulated arm or eccentric.

Document GB190509598 discloses a pulley comprising a male and a female overlapping portion in interlocking relationship and forming a cylindrical outer portion for contact with a belt.

The main drawback of this pulley is that an annular recess is formed on the outer part (which is adapted to support the belt when the male and female parts are fastened together). Thus, there is a risk of premature belt wear.

Also known in document GB141829 is a pulley comprising an outer peripheral portion intended to come into contact with the belt, an inner portion and an intermediate portion between the inner and outer portions. The pulley is fastened to the outer ring of the bearing, but during use of the pulley arrangement, the pulley may move slightly in the axial direction. Further, with the disclosed pulley, the outer portion may deform radially inward by bending under the action of the belt.

It has been proposed in document DE202005011230U1 to house a damping ring within a C-shaped pulley, the damping element serving to damp vibrations from the belt and being adapted to limit the radially inward deformation of the outer portion of the pulley. However, the pulley may still deform under heavy loads.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to overcome these drawbacks by proposing a pulley that is easy to mount on bearings, has good rigidity, is suitable for avoiding premature wear of the belt, and allows effective support of said belt.

To this end, the invention relates to a pulley arrangement suitable for tensioning idlers or moving rollers which interact with a belt or chain, comprising a bearing and a pulley.

The bearing comprises a rotatable outer ring and a fixed inner ring, wherein the outer ring and the inner ring are coaxial.

The pulley comprises at least one pulley portion having a generally C-shaped cross-section and having an inner cylindrical portion with an inner surface mounted on an outer cylindrical surface of an outer race of the bearing, an outer cylindrical portion with an outer cylindrical surface for contacting the belt or chain, and a radially intermediate portion extending generally radially between axial ends of the inner and outer cylindrical portions on one axial side of the pulley arrangement, the pulley portion being integrally formed and defining an open end on the opposite axial side from the intermediate portion.

According to the present invention, the outer ring is provided with at least one material deformation portion on a radial side surface on an axial side of the intermediate portion of the pulley portion. The material deformation portion protrudes from the outer cylindrical surface of the outer ring in the radial direction. The material deformation portion forms an axial stopper portion for the pulley portion in one axial direction.

According to other advantageous but not compulsory aspects of the invention, such a pulley device may comprise one or more of the following features:

-the bearing is a rolling bearing with at least one row of rolling elements radially interposed between the inner and outer rings.

-the rolling elements are balls.

-said rolling elements are equally spaced circumferentially and are retained by an annular cage.

-the pulley is formed by only one pulley portion.

-the pulley comprises two C-shaped pulley portions (pullyparts) mounted to an outer cylindrical surface of an outer ring of the bearing, open ends of the pulley portions axially facing each other, free ends of outer portions of the pulley portions axially abutting (abutting).

-the two pulley portions are symmetrical with respect to a transversal (transverse) radial plane passing through the centre of the bearing.

Both radial lateral surfaces of the outer ring are provided with at least one material deformation to form axial stops for the intermediate portions of the two pulley portions in both axial directions.

-the total length of the inner parts of the two C-shaped pulley sections mounted on the outer ring is at least equal to 90% of the axial length of the outer cylindrical surface of the outer ring.

-the axial length of the outer part of the pulley part is greater than the axial length of the inner part, the outer part projecting in the axial direction on at least one axial side of the inner part.

The inner part of the pulley section is cylindrical with an inner cylindrical section.

-the pulley section is made of stamped sheet metal (/ sheet metal) or blank.

-said material deformation is formed by axial bulging (/ embossing/crimping) of said radial side surface towards the opposite axial side (crimping).

-the radial side surface comprises a plurality of material deformations.

-the material deformations are equally (/ equally) circumferentially spaced (equilly).

Drawings

The invention will now be explained in connection with the attached drawings, which are intended as illustrative examples and not to limit the object of the invention. In the drawings:

figure 1 is a side view of a pulley arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention;

figure 2 is an axial section I-I of the pulley device of figure 1; and

fig. 3 is a detailed view a of the pulley device of fig. 2.

Detailed Description

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the pulley device 1 is suitable for tensioning an idler or moving roller interacting with a belt or chain, and the pulley device 1 comprises a pulley 2 suitable for interacting with a belt or chain (not shown) and a rolling bearing 3 having a geometric axis X1.

The rolling bearing comprises a fixed inner ring 4, a rotatable outer ring 5, two annular cages 8, 9 and two annular seals 10, 11, between the inner ring 4 and the outer ring 5 two rows of rolling elements 6 and 7 are housed, in this case the rolling elements 6 and 7 are balls, the two annular cages 8, 9 respectively maintaining the circumferential spacing of said rolling elements 6, 7.

The inner ring 4 and the outer ring 5 are coaxial and symmetrical with respect to a transversal radial plane Y3 passing through the centre of the rolling bearing 3. Advantageously, the rings 4, 5 are solid. Solid type is understood to be rings obtained by machining, grinding machining which removes material from metal tubes (/ tube blanks), rods (/ bar blanks), forgings (rough forming) and/or rolled blanks.

The inner ring 4 comprises a hole 12, the hole 12 being intended to receive a fastening screw 13 (shown in broken lines) for fastening the device 1 to an external support. The inner ring also comprises an outer cylindrical surface 14, which outer cylindrical surface 14 is formed with a circular ring-shaped raceway, the cross section of which has a concave inner contour adapted to the rolling elements 6, 7.

The outer ring 5 comprises a cylindrical bore 15, the cylindrical bore 15 having formed thereon a circular ring-shaped raceway having a cross section with a concave inner profile adapted to receive the rolling elements 6, 7. The outer race 5 also includes an outer cylindrical surface 16.

The pulley 2 has two pulley portions 17, 18, both pulley portions 17, 18 having a generally C-shaped cross-section.

The first pulley portion 17 comprises an axially annular outer portion 19, the axially annular outer portion 19 providing a cylindrical outer surface 20 and a cylindrical inner surface or bore 21, the cylindrical outer surface 20 being designed to interact with a portion of a belt or chain.

The first pulley section 17 further comprises an axial inner annular portion 22, the axial inner annular portion 22 providing a cylindrical inner surface or bore 23 and a cylindrical outer surface 24, the outer cylindrical surface 16 of the outer ring 5 of the bearing 3 being mounted into the cylindrical inner surface or bore 23.

The diameter of the outer part 19 is greater than the diameter of the inner part 22, said outer part 19 radially surrounding the inner part 22. Advantageously, the axial length of the outer part 19 is greater than the axial length of the inner part 22, said outer part 19 projecting in the axial direction on at least one axial side of the inner part 22.

The first pulley portion 17 further comprises an annular radially intermediate portion 25, the annular radially intermediate portion 25 extending substantially in a radial direction between the inner cylindrical portion 22 and an axial end of the outer cylindrical portion 19 on a first axial side of the pulley device 1.

The first pulley portion 17 then has a generally C-shaped cross-section defining an open end 26 on one axial side of the pulley device 1. The first pulley portion 17 is integrally formed.

The second sheave portion 18 includes an axially annular outer portion 27, the axially annular outer portion 27 providing a cylindrical outer surface 28 and a cylindrical inner surface or bore 29, the cylindrical outer surface 28 being designed to interact with a portion of a chain or belt.

The second pulley portion 18 further comprises an axial inner annular portion 30, the axial inner annular portion 30 providing a cylindrical inner surface or bore 31 and a cylindrical outer surface 32, the outer cylindrical surface 16 of the outer ring 5 of the bearing 3 being mounted into the cylindrical inner surface or bore 31.

The diameter of the outer part 27 is larger than the diameter of the inner part 30, said outer part 27 radially surrounding the inner part 30. Advantageously, the axial length of the outer part 27 is greater than the axial length of the inner part 30, said outer part 27 projecting in the axial direction on at least one axial side of the inner part 30.

The second pulley portion 18 further comprises an annular radial intermediate portion 33, the annular radial intermediate portion 33 extending substantially in the radial direction between the inner cylindrical portion 30 and an axial end of the outer cylindrical portion 27 on a second axial side of the pulley device 1, which second axial side is axially opposite (i.e., opposite) the first axial side.

The second pulley portion 18 then has a generally C-shaped cross-section defining an open end 34 on one axial side of the pulley device 1. The second pulley portion 18 is integrally formed.

Advantageously, each pulley portion 17, 18 is made of a thin metal sheet or blank by folding, cutting and stamping.

Advantageously, the two C-shaped pulley portions 17, 18 are symmetrical to each other with respect to the radial plane Y3. The free end of the outer portion 19 of the first pulley portion 17 and the free end of the outer portion 27 of the second pulley portion 18 are respectively in contact with each other in the axial direction, and the open ends 26, 34 are respectively directed toward each other (open) in the axial direction. The two outer cylindrical surfaces 20, 28 form surfaces for interacting with the belt or chain. The pulley 2 formed by the two pulley portions 17, 18 arranged in axial contact with each other is suitable for guiding, supporting a belt or a chain in an efficient manner.

According to the invention, the outer cylindrical surface 16 of the outer ring 5 of the bearing 3 comprises a plurality of material deformations (material deformations) 37, 38. The material deformation 37 is provided on a first radial lateral surface 39 on a first axial side of said outer ring 5, and the material deformation 38 is provided on a second radial lateral surface 40 on a second axial side, said surfaces 39, 40 being opposite with respect to a radial plane Y3. The material deformations 37, 38 are circumferentially spaced around side surfaces (lateral surfaces) 39, 40 of the outer ring 5.

The material deforming portions 37, 38 project outward in the radial direction toward the pulley portions 17, 18, respectively. The material deformations 37, 38 extend (/ project) radially from the outer cylindrical surface 16 of the outer ring 5. Advantageously, the protruding material deformations 37, 38 are each formed by axial bulging (/ pinching/pressing bump/crimping) of the radial side surfaces 39, 40 towards the opposite (/ opposite) axial side, respectively (crimping).

In the illustrated embodiment of fig. 2, the material deformations 37, 38 are symmetrical with respect to the central radial plane Y3. Alternatively, the material deformation may be asymmetric. In the illustrated embodiment of fig. 1, the outer ring 5 comprises four material deformations 37, 38 on each side surface. Alternatively, the outer race may include one to three material deformations, or more than four material deformations on each outer race side surface. In the illustrated embodiment of fig. 1, the material deformations 37, 38 are equally spaced apart in the circumferential direction. Alternatively, the material deformations may be unevenly spaced in the circumferential direction.

As shown in fig. 3, the protruding material deformation 38 abuts against a corner defined between the inner portion 30 and the intermediate portion 33 of the second pulley portion 18. The radial deformation 38 forms an axial stop for the pulley portion 18 in the second axial direction. Symmetrically and similarly, the protruding material deformation 37 abuts against a corner defined between the inner portion 22 and the intermediate portion 25 of the first pulley portion 17. The radially deformable portion 37 forms an axial stop for the pulley portion 17 in the first axial direction. Then, the pulley 2 comprising the two pulley portions 17, 18 in axial abutment (/ abutment) is axially restrained in both axial directions with respect to the outer ring 5 of the bearing 3. The pulley 2 is prevented from moving axially even in the event of severe vibration or impact, and the pulley 2 is adapted to effectively support a belt or chain for increased and efficient service life.

Representative, non-limiting examples of the present invention are described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. This detailed description is merely intended to teach a person of skill in the art further details for practicing preferred aspects of the present teachings and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Moreover, each of the additional features and teachings disclosed above may be utilized separately or in conjunction with other features and teachings to provide improved pulley devices.

Furthermore, the various features of the above-described representative examples, as well as the various independent and dependent claims below, may be combined in ways that are not specifically and explicitly enumerated in order to provide other useful embodiments of the present teachings.