Bearing housing design with dual o-ring function

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11767879-B2
Application number	US-201816229988-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 21, 2018
Priority date	Dec 21, 2018
Publication date	Sep 26, 2023
Grant date	Sep 26, 2023

Abstract

An apparatus includes a housing; a spherical bearing disposed within the housing; a shaft disposed in part beneath the housing and penetrating a portion of the spherical bearing; a bellow circumscribing a lower portion of the housing and providing an interface between the spherical bearing and the shaft; and a cover adjacent a lower end of the bellow and having a circumferential groove configured to enable rotational movement of the bellow, the cover extending to and circumferentially surrounding a portion of the shaft to seal the shaft.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising:
a housing;
a spherical bearing disposed within the housing;
a shaft disposed in part beneath the housing and penetrating a portion of the spherical bearing;
a bellow circumscribing a lower portion of the housing and providing an interface between the spherical bearing and the shaft; and
a cover adjacent a lower end of the bellow and having a circumferential groove configured to enable rotational movement of the bellow, the cover extending to and circumferentially surrounding a portion of the shaft to seal the shaft, the cover comprising a plurality of semi-circular shaped recesses extending radially inward from an outer circumference of the cover, the plurality of semi-circular shaped recesses being spaced apart from each other along the outer circumference of the cover.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the spherical bearing enables angular rotation about a central point in two orthogonal directions.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the spherical bearing comprises a dry bearing.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the bellow is configured to absorb cardanic movement of the spherical bearing while enabling conveyance of rotary steering movement.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the bellow comprises an elastomeric material.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the elastomeric material is coated with a low friction material.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of bolts, wherein each of the plurality of semi-circular shaped recesses is configured to receive a respective bolt of the plurality of bolts, and wherein the plurality of bolts are configured with the plurality of semi-circular shaped recesses to prevent rotational movement of the cover.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cover comprises a plastic material.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cover constrains rotational movement of the bellow to the groove.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an O-ring circumscribing the shaft, the O-ring disposed between the shaft and the cover.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising a bolt disposed centrally through a recess of the shaft, wherein responsive to deformation of the O-ring via a tightening of the bolt, the O-ring is configured to seal the shaft according to a first of plural O-ring functions.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising a bolt disposed centrally through a recess of the shaft, wherein responsive to deformation of the O-ring via a tightening of the bolt, the O-ring is configured to provide a friction connection between the shaft and the cover according to a second of plural O-ring functions.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a clamping ring circumscribing an upper portion and lower portion of the bellow.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the upper portion comprises a larger diameter than the lower portion, wherein the clamping ring is configured to clamp the upper portion and support the lower portion.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the spherical bearing comprises a lubricated bearing.

Assignees

• Agco Int Gmbh

Inventors

• Verbrugge Wilko

Classifications

• F16C11/0666 Primary

  Sealing means between the socket and the inner member shaft · CPC title

• B60G7/005

  Ball joints (B60G7/006 takes precedence; for steering linkage B62D7/16; ball joints per se F16C11/06) · CPC title

• F16C2310/00

  Agricultural machines · CPC title

• Y10T403/32729

  Externally packed · CPC title

• F16C11/0604 Primary

  Construction of the male part · CPC title