U.S. patent application number 13/588709 was filed with the patent office on 2012-12-06 for bi-directional tapered roller bearing assembly with improved wear resistance.
This patent application is currently assigned to THE TIMKEN COMPANY. Invention is credited to Gary L. Doll, Ryan D. Evans, Gary E. Kreider.
Application Number | 20120308171 13/588709 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39406121 |
Filed Date | 2012-12-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120308171 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Evans; Ryan D. ; et
al. |
December 6, 2012 |
BI-DIRECTIONAL TAPERED ROLLER BEARING ASSEMBLY WITH IMPROVED WEAR
RESISTANCE
Abstract
The wear resistance of a bi-directional tapered roller bearing
is improved by applying a tribological coating to both the small
and large end faces of the roller and to at least one of the rib
faces of the bearing assembly.
Inventors: |
Evans; Ryan D.; (North
Canton, OH) ; Kreider; Gary E.; (Massillon, OH)
; Doll; Gary L.; (Canton, OH) |
Assignee: |
THE TIMKEN COMPANY
Canton
OH
|
Family ID: |
39406121 |
Appl. No.: |
13/588709 |
Filed: |
August 17, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12526720 |
Aug 11, 2009 |
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PCT/US08/53947 |
Feb 14, 2008 |
|
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13588709 |
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60892061 |
Feb 28, 2007 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
384/464 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16C 33/125 20130101;
F16C 33/6677 20130101; F16C 33/585 20130101; F16C 33/62 20130101;
F16C 2206/82 20130101; F16C 2206/80 20130101; F16C 19/364 20130101;
F16C 33/64 20130101; F16C 33/36 20130101; F16C 2300/02 20130101;
F16C 33/124 20130101; F16C 33/127 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
384/464 |
International
Class: |
F16C 33/66 20060101
F16C033/66 |
Claims
1. A bi-directional tapered roller bearing comprising a tapered
inner raceway, a tapered outer raceway facing the tapered inner
raceway, and a plurality of tapered rollers positioned between the
tapered inner and outer raceways; the tapered rollers having a side
surface, a large end face at a large diameter end of the tapered
roller and a small end face at a small diameter end of the tapered
roller; the bearing including a first rib at one of an axial inner
or outer edge of said inner raceway and a second rib at the other
of the axial inner and outer edges of said outer raceway, said
first and second ribs each defining a rib face; one of said rib
faces being adjacent the large end of said tapered roller and the
other rib being adjacent the small end of the tapered roller; the
bearing further including a tribological coating applied to both
the large end and the small end of the tapered roller and to at
least one of the first and second rib faces; the coating being an
amorphous carbon-based or hydrocarbon-based thin film coating.
2. The bearing of claim 1 wherein the tribological coating is on
both said first rib face and said second rib face.
3. The bearing of claim 1 wherein said coating has a thickness of
less than 10 .mu.m.
4. The bearing of claim 1 wherein said coating has a hardness equal
to or greater than the hardness of the substrate to which it is
applied.
5. The bearing of claim 4 wherein the coating has a hardness of at
least about 9 GPa as measured by nanoindentation with a Berkovich
diamond indenter.
6. The bearing of claim 1 wherein the coating comprises an adhesion
layer applied to the surface to be coated and a top functional
layer about the adhesion layer; the functional layer being a hard
carbonaceous layer.
7. The bearing of claim 6 wherein the adhesion layer is chosen from
the group consisting of chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti), tantalum
(Ta), nickel (Ni), molybdenum (Mo), iron (Fe) or silicon (Si); the
adhesion layer as pure as possible in the dominant element.
8. The bearing of claim 6 wherein one or more additives are present
in the carbonaceous top layer; the additives being chosen from the
group consisting of chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta),
nickel (Ni), molybdenum (Mo), iron (Fe), silicon (Si), tungsten
(W), vanadium (V), niobium (Nb), zirconium (Zr), oxygen (O),
nitrogen (N), boron (B), fluoride (F), carbidic inclusions and
combinations thereof; the additives comprising 50 atomic % or less
of the total top layer composition, the balance of top layer
composition being carbon and hydrogen.
9. The bearing of claim 6 wherein the carbonaceous functional top
layer has no additives and consists of only amorphous carbon (C) or
hydrocarbon (C and H).
10. A bi-directional tapered roller bearing comprising: a tapered
inner raceway; a tapered outer raceway facing the tapered inner
raceway; a plurality of tapered rollers positioned between the
tapered inner raceway and the tapered outer raceway, the tapered
rollers having a side surface, a large end face at a large diameter
end of the tapered roller and a small end face at a small diameter
end of the tapered roller; a first rib at an axial outer edge of
the inner raceway; a second rib at an axial inner edge of the inner
raceway; a third rib at an axial outer edge of the outer raceway,
the first rib, the second rib and the third rib respectively define
a first rib face, a second rib face and a third rib face, the first
and third rib faces being adjacent the large end of the tapered
roller and the second rib face being adjacent the small end of the
tapered roller; and a tribological coating applied to both the
large end and the small end of the tapered roller and to one or
more of the first rib face, the second rib face and the third rib
face, the coating being an amorphous carbon-based or
hydrocarbon-based thin film coating that is non-adhesive to
metallic debris particles within the bearing such that the coating
prevents wear of the roller ends and the respective one or more of
the first rib face, the second rib face and the third rib face
caused by the metallic debris particles.
11. The bearing of claim 10 wherein the tribological coating is on
both said first rib face and said second rib face.
12. The bearing of claim 10 wherein said coating has a thickness of
less than 10 .mu.m.
13. The bearing of claim 10 wherein said coating has a hardness
equal to or greater than the hardness of a substrate to which it is
applied.
14. The bearing of claim 13 wherein the coating has a hardness of
at least about 9 GPa as measured by nanoindentation with a
Berkovich diamond indenter.
15. The bearing of claim 10 wherein the coating comprises an
adhesion layer applied to the surface to be coated and a top
functional layer over the adhesion layer; the functional layer
being a carbonaceous layer.
16. The bearing of claim 15 wherein the adhesion layer is chosen
from the group consisting of chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti), tantalum
(Ta), nickel (Ni), molybdenum (Mo), iron (Fe) or silicon (Si).
17. The bearing of claim 15 wherein the adhesion layer includes low
levels carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O) and combinations
thereof, the amount of C, H and/or O in the adhesion layer not
exceeding about 75 atomic % of the adhesion layer.
18. The bearing of claim 15 wherein one or more additives are
present in the carbonaceous top layer; the additives being chosen
from the group consisting of chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti), tantalum
(Ta), nickel (Ni), molybdenum (Mo), iron (Fe), silicon (Si),
tungsten (W), vanadium (V), niobium (Nb), zirconium (Zr), oxygen
(O), nitrogen (N), boron (B), fluoride (F), carbidic inclusions and
combinations thereof; the additives comprising 50 atomic % or less
of the total top layer composition, the balance of top layer
composition being carbon and hydrogen.
19. The bearing of claim 15 wherein the carbonaceous functional top
layer has no additives and consists of only amorphous carbon (C) or
hydrocarbon (C and H).
20. The bearing of claim 15 wherein the coating includes a gradient
layer between the adhesion layer and the top functional layer, the
gradient layer transforming from the composition of the adhesion
layer to the composition of the final layer.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/526,720 filed on Aug. 11, 2009, which is a
National Stage of International Application No. PCT/US2008/053947,
filed Feb. 14, 2008, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional App.
No. 60/892,061, filed on Feb. 28, 2007. The disclosures of which
are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to tapered roller bearings,
and in particular, to a bi-directional tapered roller bearing
having improved wear resistance.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Examples of bi-directional tapered roller bearings are shown
in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,464,401 and 5,735,612, which are incorporated
herein by reference. Bi-directional bearings handle axial loads in
both axial directions. Such bearings include a cone defining a
tapered inner raceway, a cup defining a tapered outer raceway and a
plurality of tapered rollers between the inner and outer raceways.
The bearing assembly includes at least a thrust rib on the cup
adjacent the large diameter end of the roller and a second rib on
the cone adjacent the small diameter end of the roller. The two
ribs have associated rib faces, and the rollers are positioned
between the two rib faces. In contrast, a uni-directional tapered
roller bearing will have only a single thrust rib.
[0004] Bi-directional tapered roller assemblies are susceptible to
abrasive and adhesive wear at the sliding contacts between the
rolling elements and the cup/cone rib faces in the presence of
debris or in low lubrication (e.g., oil-out) conditions.
Experiments have shown that both internally generated and external
debris are especially harmful at the rib-roller end contacts
because they can become trapped within the multi-rib bearing and
cannot easily flow away from the rib/roller end contacts.
Similarly, the presence of extra rib-roller end sliding contacts
relative to single rib tapered roller bearing designs can make
bi-directional tapered roller bearings more susceptible to
rib-roller end scuffing or scoring damage in oil-out condition.
SUMMARY
[0005] A bi-directional tapered roller bearing comprises a tapered
inner raceway, a tapered outer raceway facing the tapered inner
raceway, and a plurality of tapered rollers positioned between the
tapered inner and outer raceways. The tapered rollers have a side
surface, a large end face at a large diameter end of the tapered
roller and a small end face at a small diameter end of the tapered
roller. The bearing includes at least a first rib at one of an
axial inner or outer edge of the inner raceway and a second rib at
the other of the axial inner and outer edges of the outer raceway.
The first and second ribs each define a rib face. One of the rib
faces is adjacent the large end of the tapered roller and the other
rib is adjacent the small end of the tapered roller. We have found
that by applying a tribological coating to both the large end and
the small end of the tapered roller the wear resistance of the
bearing can be improved. The coating can also be applied to at
least one of the first and second rib faces.
[0006] The coating can have a thickness of less than 10 .mu.m and a
hardness equal to or greater than the hardness of the substrate to
which it is applied. The coating can, for example, have a hardness
of at least about 9 GPa as measured by nanoindentation with a
Berkovich diamond indenter.
[0007] The coating comprises an amorphous carbon-based or
hydrocarbon-based thin film coating. The coating can be reinforced
with titanium (Ti), tungsten (W), chromium (Cr), tantalum (Ta),
silicon (Si), vanadium (V), nickel (Ni), niobium (Nb), iron (Fe) or
zirconium (Zr) or carbidic inclusions thereof. In a specific
embodiment, the coating can comprise a tungsten carbide-reinforced
amorphous hydrocarbon nano-composite coating.
[0008] The coating comprises an adhesion layer applied to the
surface of the substrate to be coated and a top functional layer
over the adhesion layer. The adhesion layer can be chromium (Cr),
titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta), nickel (Ni), molybdenum (Mo), iron
(Fe) or silicon (Si). Although it is preferred that the adhesion
layer be comprised of the dominant element only (e.g., 100 atomic %
Cr), it can include other elements such as carbon (C), hydrogen
(H), oxygen (O) and combinations thereof. However, if the adhesion
layer includes C, H or O, the C, H and/or O shall comprise no more
than about 75 atomic % of the adhesion layer. That is, the dominant
element comprises at least 25 atomic % of the adhesion layer.
[0009] The top functional layer can be a hard carbonaceous layer
that is comprised of amorphous carbon or amorphous hydrocarbon. The
top functional layer can consist only of amorphous carbon (C) or
amorphous hydrocarbon (a:C--H). Alternatively, the top functional
layer can include the elements oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), boron (B),
fluorine (F) or combinations thereof. The carbonaceous top layer
may also include Ti, W, Cr, Ta, Si, V, Nb, Zr, Mo, O, N, B, F or
combinations thereof as additive elements. However, the additive
element(s) shall not exceed 50 atomic % of the total top layer
composition, the balance of composition being carbon and hydrogen.
It is also possible for the carbonaceous functional top layer to
have no additives and consist of only amorphous carbon or amorphous
hydrocarbon.
[0010] In one variation, the coating can include a gradient layer
between the adhesion layer and the top functional layer. In this
instance, the gradient layer transforms from the composition of the
adhesion layer adjacent the adhesion layer to the composition of
the top functional layer adjacent the top functional layer. In
another variation, the coating can include a Cr/WC/a-C:H gradient
layer over the adhesion layer and a WC/a-C:H mid-layer over the
gradient layer. The top functional layer covers the mid-layer and
is comprised of a-C:H.
DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a bi-directional tapered
roller bearing applied to a member;
[0012] FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of
the bearing; and
[0013] FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic drawing of a coating applied
to a surface of the bearing.
[0014] Corresponding reference numerals will be used throughout the
several figures of the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] The following detailed description illustrates the invention
by way of example and not by way of limitation. This description
will clearly enable one skilled in the art to make and use the
invention, and describes several embodiments, adaptations,
variations, alternatives and uses of the invention, including what
we presently believe is the best mode of carrying out the
invention. Additionally, it is to be understood that the invention
is not limited in its application to the details of construction
and the arrangements of components set forth in the following
description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is
capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being
carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the
phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of
description and should not be regarded as limiting.
[0016] A bi-directional tapered roller bearing 10 is shown
generally in FIGS. 1 and 2. The bearing 10 comprises a cone 12
defining an inner tapered raceway 14, a cup 16 defining a tapered
outer raceway 18, and a plurality of tapered rollers 20 positioned
between the inner and outer raceways. The rollers 20 are separated
from each other by a cage 22. The rollers 20 each have a large
diameter end 20a, a small diameter end 20b and a tapered surface
20c. The inner and outer raceways 14 and 18 and the roller surface
20c are all formed such that there is rolling motion between the
rollers and the raceways. The cone 12 includes a thrust rib 24 at a
wide diameter end of the raceway 14. A rib ring 25 adjacent the
small diameter end of the raceway 14 defines a retaining rib 26
which is adjacent the small diameter end of the raceway 14. A third
rib 28 adjacent the cup 16 is positioned to be adjacent the large
diameter end 22a of the roller. The retaining rib 26 is separate
from the cone 12 and the third rib is separate from the cup 16 to
facilitate assembly of the bearing assembly. The ribs 24, 26 and 28
each define respective rib faces 24a, 26a and 28a, respectively
which are generally perpendicular to the raceway. The rib 24 is
shown to be integral with the cone 12, while the ribs 26 and 28 are
shown to be separate from their respective races. However, the
bearing assembly can be made with the ribs 26 and 28 integral with
their races and with the rib 24 being separate from its race.
[0017] Sliding contact occurs between the large and small ends of
the rollers and the rib faces. Hence, in the bearing 10, sliding
contact will occur between the roller large end 20a and the rib
faces 24a and 28a as well as between the roller small end 20b and
the rib face 26a. Experiments have shown that both
internally-generated and external debris are especially harmful at
the rib-roller end contact because the debris can become trapped
within the multi-rib bearing assembly, and cannot easily flow away
from the rib/roller interface. Further, the presence of the extra
rib/roller interfaces (as compared to uni-directional thrust
tapered roller bearings which have only a single thrust rib) makes
bi-directional roller bearings more susceptible to rib-roller end
scuffing or scoring damage in oil-out conditions.
[0018] If a bi-directional tapered roller bearing experiences
failure, the debris generated from the raceways cannot escape the
contact regions. This leads to severe adhesive wear at the sliding
rib-roller end contacts, ultimately resulting in excessive bearing
torque (and failure). Application testing with coatings on only the
roller ends 20a,b protected the roller end surfaces, but did not
prevent massive adhesive wear damage on the rib faces that resulted
from debris particle/rib face adhesive interactions in the sliding
contacts. Coating at least one rib face in addition to the roller
ends is expected to delay debris-related failure of the rib and
thus improve the overall wear resistance of the bearing.
[0019] The coating is an amorphous carbon or hydrocarbon (sometimes
referred to as a diamond-like carbon, or DLC) based thin film
tribological coating. As just noted, the coating is applied to the
roller end faces and optionally to one or both of the rib faces.
Preferably, the coating is applied to the end faces of all the
rollers in the bearing assembly. One acceptable coating is a
WC/aC:H coating available from The Timken Company under the name
ES300. The coating has a thickness of less than about 10
micrometers. The coating has a hardness equal to or greater than
the hardness of the substrate to which it is applied. The coating
can, for example, have a hardness of at least about 9 GPa as
measured by nanoindentation with a Berkovich diamond indenter. The
DLC coating can be reinforced with additional elements such as
titanium (Ti), tungsten (W), chromium (Cr), tantalum (Ta), silicon
(Si), vanadium (V), nickel (Ni), niobium (Nb), iron (Fe) or
zirconium (Zr) or carbidic inclusions thereof. In one illustrative
embodiment, the coating is a tungsten carbide-reinforced amorphous
hydrocarbon nano-composite coating. The tungsten carbide-reinforced
amorphous hydrocarbon nano-composite coating is a member of this
class.
[0020] The coating C (FIG. 3) comprises at least two layers, an
adhesive layer or interlayer 40 which is applied to the substrate S
(i.e., rib face or roller end) and a top functional layer 42 which
covers the adhesion layer 40. The adhesion layer can be chromium
(Cr), titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta), nickel (Ni), molybdenum (Mo),
iron (Fe) or silicon (Si). Although it is preferred that the
adhesion layer 40 be comprised of the dominant element only (e.g.,
100 atomic % Cr), it can include other elements such as carbon (C),
hydrogen (H), oxygen (O) and combinations thereof. However, the C,
H and/or O shall comprise no more than about 75 atomic % of the
adhesion layer. Stated differently, the dominant element comprises
at least 25 atomic % of the adhesion layer.
[0021] The top functional layer 42 comprises amorphous carbon (or
amorphous hydrocarbon). The top functional layer may include the
elements oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), boron (B), fluorine (F) or
combinations thereof. The carbonaceous top layer may include one or
more of the additive elements noted above (Ti, W, Cr, Ta, Si, V,
Nb, Zr, Mo, O, N, B, and F). However, the amount of additive
element(s) shall not exceed 50 atomic % of the total top layer
composition, the balance of the top layer composition being carbon
and hydrogen. It is also possible for the carbonaceous functional
top layer to have no additives and consist of only amorphous carbon
(C) or amorphous hydrocarbon (C and H).
[0022] Typically, for a steel substrate, the adhesion layer 40 will
be chromium (Cr) and the functional layer 42 will be a hard
carbonaceous layer. A gradient layer 44 can be formed between the
adhesion layer 40 and the top functional layer 42 with the gradient
layer transforming from the composition of the adhesion layer to
the composition of the final or top functional layer. Coatings with
additional layers are also included, such as Cr (adhesion
layer)+Cr/WC/a-C:H (gradient layer)+WC/a-C:H (mid-layer)+a-C:H (top
layer). In this instance, the gradient layer will transform from
being chromium adjacent the adhesive layer to being WC/a-C:H. The
WC/a-C:H mid-layer will then transform from being WC/a-C:H adjacent
the gradient layer to being a-C:H adjacent the top functional
layer. Hence, the mid-layer defines a second gradient layer. It is
important that the top functional layer be a hard carbonaceous
layer in any embodiment of the coating (which may or may not
include the other elements as described above).
[0023] The coating composition that is applied to the roller end
faces and the rib faces need not be the same. For example, the a
WC/a-C:H coating can be applied to the roller ends and a TiC/a-C:H
coating can be applied to the rib faces.
[0024] The coating can be deposited using plasma techniques for
vapor deposition, but is not limited to physical vapor deposition
(PVD) or plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). As is
known, the gradient layers are formed by changing the ratio of
components that are being coated onto the substrate. Thus, there is
no sharp line separation between adjacent layers.
[0025] We expect that by applying a wear resistant coating to both
the small and large ends of all the rollers and optionally to at
least one rib face will improve the wear resistance of the bearing
assembly.
[0026] As various changes could be made in the above constructions
without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended
that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the
accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not
in a limiting sense.
* * * * *