U.S. patent number RE36,009 [Application Number 08/208,688] was granted by the patent office on 1998-12-29 for apparatus and method for removing bearings.
Invention is credited to William E. Shultz.
United States Patent |
RE36,009 |
Shultz |
December 29, 1998 |
Apparatus and method for removing bearings
Abstract
Apparatus and method for removing a bearing. More particularly,
the apparatus and method are designed to simplify the removal and
replacement of all bearing cups and cones in an automotive
automatic transmission. The apparatus includes an elongate bearing
drive shaft; an adjustably sized mandrel which includes one or more
bearing drive shoulders; a mandrel spreader for adjusting the
mandrel drive shoulder to a predetermined dimension; and a collar
or clamp ring for limiting the mandrel to a maximum outer dimension
surrounding an outer surface of the bearing, without substantial
slippage, during the removal and insertion steps, in one
embodiment.
Inventors: |
Shultz; William E. (Lombard,
IL) |
Family
ID: |
25503539 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/208,688 |
Filed: |
March 11, 1994 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
Reissue of: |
960726 |
Oct 14, 1992 |
05255435 |
Oct 26, 1993 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
29/898.08;
29/259; 29/263; 29/426.5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B25B
27/062 (20130101); B25B 27/023 (20130101); Y10T
29/49822 (20150115); Y10T 29/53861 (20150115); Y10T
29/53878 (20150115); Y10T 29/49698 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
B25B
27/02 (20060101); B25B 27/06 (20060101); B23P
019/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;29/256,258,259,263,265,898.08,426.5 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hughes; S. Thomas
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Marshall, O'Toole, Gerstein, Murray
& Borun
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Apparatus for removing a bearing without removal of an internal
mechanical part comprising:
an elongate bearing driving shaft;
contacting means for contacting an annular outer bearing surface,
said contacting means having a tapered outer surface and including
a bearing-contacting shoulder, said contacting means being
connected to said elongated driving shaft when operatively
assembled for removing a bearing;
adjusting means for adjusting said bearing driving shoulder to a
desired dimension to contact at least a portion of said annular
outer bearing surface; and
maintaining means for maintaining said bearing contacting shoulder
in engagement with said outer bearing surface, said maintaining
means having a tapered inner surface for contact against said
tapered outer surface of said contacting means.
2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said contacting means
comprises a plurality of segments expandably connected, at least
two of said segments including a bearing driving shoulder for
contacting an outer annular surface of a bearing.
3. Apparatus as defined in claim .[.1.]. .Iadd.2.Iaddend., wherein
said segments are expandably connected by an expandable elastomeric
material.
4. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said maintaining means
comprises a tubular ring having dimensions closely corresponding to
an other diameter of said segments, wherein said segments are
expanded to surround said outer surface of said bearing, with said
driving shoulders engaging said bearing on opposite outer
surfaces.
5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said elongate driving
shaft includes an end surface adapted for contact with a mechanical
part disposed within and upwardly extending from said bearing.
6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein said driving shaft end
includes a rotatable bearing extending outwardly therefrom.
7. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said adjusting means
comprises an annular collar mounted on said driving shaft along a
longitudinal axis of said annular collar, said collar adapted for
insertion between said segments, and longitudinally adjustable on
said driving shaft.
8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 including a plurality of
exchangeable collars, each separately mountable to surround said
driving shaft to expand said segments to a plurality of
dimensions.
9. Apparatus for removing a bearing comprising:
an elongate bearing driving shaft;
contacting means for contacting an outer annular bearing surface,
said contacting means having a tapered outer surface and including
a bearing-contacting drive shoulder, said contacting means being
connected to said driving shaft when operatively assembled for
removing a bearing;
means for adjusting said bearing drive shoulder to a desired
dimension to contact at least a portion of an annular bearing outer
surface;
means for applying a removing force to said outer annular bearing
surface through said bearing-contacting shoulder; and
clamp means for clamping said drive shoulder against said outer
bearing surface, said clamp means having a tapered inner surface
for contact against said tapered outer surface of said contacting
means.
10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein said clamp means
comprises a tubular member adapted to surround said contacting
means to prevent further expansion of said contacting means.
11. A method of removing a bearing in a device comprising:
expanding an expandable mandrel by inserting a mandrel expansion
collar within the expandable mandrel, said expansion collar being
threadedly mounted on a driving shaft and having an upper surface
in contact with an interior drive shoulder within said mandrel;
disposing the mandrel about the exterior of the bearing so that one
surface of said bearing is in contact with a driving shoulder of
said mandrel;
compressing a lower portion of the mandrel to clamp the mandrel
about the exterior of the bearing to secure the mandrel drive
shoulder under an outwardly extending lip of said bearing;
threadedly extending said driving shaft within said mandrel so that
a mandrel-received end of said driving shaft contacts a mechanical
part extending upwardly from a longitudinal axis of said
bearing;
continuing the extension of the driving shaft within the mandrel to
lift the bearing upwardly, thereby removing the bearing from its
seated position.
12. A method as defined in claim 11, wherein said mandrel is
compressed by forcing a clamping means over an outer surface of the
mandrel from an upper end of said mandrel.
13. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the collar is removed
after bearing insertion to collapse said mandrel for removal of the
bearing from the mandrel.
14. Apparatus for removing a bearing without removal of an internal
mechanical part comprising:
an elongate bearing driving shaft;
contacting means axially and internally insertable through said
bearing for contacting an annular bearing undersurface, said
contacting means including a bearing-contacting shoulder, said
contacting means being connected to said elongate driving shaft
when operatively assembled for removing a bearing;
a mandrel expansion collar threadedly carried on said driving shaft
for expanding an upper portion of said contacting means;
.[.tapered.]. adjusting means for adjusting said bearing driving
shoulder, from an undersurface thereof, to a desired dimension to
contact at least a portion of said annular bearing undersurface;
and
thrust means for transmitting thrust from said driving shaft to
said bearing drive shoulder such that rotation of said driving
shaft forces said bearing undersurface upwardly for removal.
15. Apparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein said contacting means
comprises a plurality of segments expandably connected, at least
two of said segments including an outwardly extending bearing
driving shoulder for contacting an annular undersurface of said
bearing.
16. Apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein said segments are
expandably connected by an expandable elastomeric material.
17. Apparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein said thrust means
comprises a tubular ring having dimensions loosely fitting outside
of an outer diameter of said segments, and including a washer
disposed over an upper annular surface thereof, said washer
including a driving shaft receiving aperture axially positioned
therein.
18. Apparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein said adjusting means
comprises an annular collar mounted on said driving shaft along a
longitudinal axis of said annular collar, said collar adapted for
insertion between said segments, and longitudinally adjustable on
said driving shaft.
19. Apparatus as defined in claim 18 including a plurality of
exchangeable collars, each separately mountable to surround said
driving shaft to expand said segments to a plurality of
dimensions.
20. A method of removing a bearing in a device comprising:
inserting a mandrel expansion collar, threadedly carried on an
elongate driving shaft, within an expandable mandrel to expand an
upper end of said mandrel, said expansion collar being threadedly
mounted on a driving shaft and having an upper surface in contact
with an interior drive shoulder within said mandrel, said driving
shaft carrying an inverted cone on a lower end thereof;
disposing the mandrel and cone within an interior of the bearing so
that an annular undersurface of said bearing is in contact with a
plurality of driving shoulders extending outwardly from said
mandrel;
expanding said mandrel by threadedly raising said inverted cone
upwardly into said mandrel to secure the mandrel drive shoulders
under said bearing undersurface; and
rotating said driving shaft to lift the mandrel drive shoulders to
lift the bearing upwardly, thereby removing the bearing from its
seated position. .Iadd.
21. Apparatus for removing a bearing without removal of an internal
mechanical part comprising:
an elongate bearing driving shaft;
contacting means axially and internally insertable through said
bearing for contacting an annular bearing undersurface, said
contacting means including a bearing-contacting shoulder, said
contacting means being connected to said elongate driving shaft
when operatively assembled for removing a bearing;
a mandrel expansion collar threadedly carried on said driving shaft
for expanding an upper portion of said contacting means;
a mandrel spreader for adjusting said bearing driving shoulder,
from an undersurface thereof, to a desired dimension to contact at
least a portion of said annular bearing undersurface; and
thrust means for transmitting thrust from said driving shaft to
said bearing drive shoulder such that rotation of said driving
shaft forces said bearing undersurface upwardly for removal.
.Iaddend.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for
removing bearings. More particularly, the present invention relates
to a method and apparatus for removing bearings, such as automatic
transmission bearing cones or bearing cups wherein the apparatus is
adjustable to accommodate bearings of any size or diameter for
removal by contacting the cup or cone on inner or outer surfaces
thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART
An automobile transmission includes a number of bearing cups and
cones that carry rotating bearings. The rotating bearings can be
removed easily with snips, leaving the bearing cup or cone, which
is difficult to remove and replace because of other, closely
oriented structure, such as a transmission case.
In the case of a transmission bearing cone or bearing cup, the
cones and cups often times surround a transmission shaft that is
very difficult and time consuming to remove and replace. Presently,
tools are available for contact against an inner surface of
bearings, including transmission cones, for removal and replacement
after the transmission shaft is removed, such as disclosed in my
U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,865. While such tools are extremely useful for
removal and replacement of bearings when the inner diameter is
unencumbered by a shaft or other transmission part, there exits a
need in the transmission repair art, and generally, for a tool
capable of removal of bearings, wherein an upwardly extending shaft
or other mechanical device extends upwardly through the bearing cup
or cone, by contacting the bearing cup or cone from an outer
diameter, thereby eliminating the step of transmission shaft
removal. Further, the apparatus of the present invention includes a
pressure pad for insertion onto the structure that the bearing cone
surrounds where there is no upwardly extending shaft or other
mechanical part, so that the bearing cone can be removed over the
pressure pad with the pressure pad in position. In another
embodiment, the apparatus is designed to remove bearings by contact
from an unencumbered internal diameter of the bearing cup.
Presently, bearings, such as automatic transmission bearing cups or
cones, are removed by first removing an internally disposed
transmission shaft so that the cone can be grasped from an inner
diameter with a tool such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,865;
or the bearing cups and cones are removed very crudely, after shaft
removal, by impacting the cup or cone with a hammer, sometimes
after first heating the cup or cone with a torch to loosen the
bearing from a surrounding transmission case.
In one embodiment, the present invention relates to a method and
apparatus capable of bearing removal by contact of the bearing from
an outer diameter so that internal parts, such as a transmission
shaft, can remain in working position during the removal and
replacement process. The apparatus is adjustable to accommodate
bearings of various sizes and provides constant removal force
around the entire periphery of the bearing for aligned removal
without scoring internally disposed apparatus, such as an upwardly
extending transmission shaft.
A patent to McCord, U.S. Pat. No. 2,646,619, describes a bearing
removing tool which includes a plurality of bearing-contacting
shoulders that are flexibly biased radially so that the shoulders
can be initially disposed behind a bearing by compressing the
shoulders radially to spread behind the bearing when the tool is
inserted to the proper depth. Such a tool is inefficient because,
depending upon the size of the bearing, the shoulders which should
be flush against an annular bearing surface, and aligned to provide
a maximum and non-slipping driving force, usually are not in full
contact with the annular bearing surface. The driving shoulders of
a tool such as that disclosed in the McCord patent have only a
single unbiased diameter and therefore are flush against the
bearing for removal only when the bearing is of the exact same
diameter as that of the tool driving shoulders when manufactured.
My prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,865 is incapable of removal or
insertion of a bearing without insertion of the tool through an
existing central open area in the bearing.
The apparatus of the present invention provides an adjustable
bearing drive shoulder that, in one embodiment, is maintained in
full contact with an outer surface of the bearing to be removed to
provide maximum driving force, without slippage, and without
removal of an internally disposed mechanism from its working
position. In another embodiment, the apparatus is inserted into the
bearing cup from an unencumbered internal diameter and spread to
any desired diameter, for bearing cup removal, by threadedly
raising a lower inverted cone that is carried on a driving shaft
and disposed under the bearing cup.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In brief, the apparatus of the present invention includes an
elongate bearing driving shaft; an adjustably sized mandrel, which
includes one or more bearing drive shoulders; a mandrel spreader
for adjusting the spacing between mandrel drive shoulders to
provide drive shoulders having essentially any desired dimension;
and a tapered collar insertable over the adjustable mandrel, in one
embodiment, to maintain a tight fit of the mandrel drive shoulder
against an outer surface of the bearing during removal; and in
another embodiment including a tubular structure fitting loosely
about the mandrel to provide an upper drive surface to threadedly
pull a lower, inverted cone-shaped member into a lower center of
the mandrel, thereby uniformly spreading outer mandrel drive
shoulders against a lowermost annular surface of the bearing cup
and thereafter lift the bearing cup out of its working
position.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a
new and improved method and apparatus capable of removing bearings
of any size by contact against an outer diameter of the
bearing.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved apparatus including size adjustable bearing drive
shoulders capable of being expanded to any desired size and
maintaining flush contact against an outer or lowermost surface of
a bearing, for removal.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus
for removing bearings including a removable tapered collar capable
of surrounding an adjustable mandrel to maintain a constant contact
of an adjustable mandrel shoulder against an outer surface of the
bearing for removal while maintaining the bearing in constant axial
alignment with a driving shaft during removal.
Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide an
apparatus and method for removal of a mechanical bearing including
an expandable mandrel having adjustable bearing drive shoulders,
and including a driving (removing) shaft that threadedly carries a
tapered cone upwardly into the mandrel, from a bottom end of the
mandrel, to spread the mandrel drive shoulders against a lowermost
annular, planar surface of the bearing. Thereafter, further
rotation of the driving shaft lifts the bearing out of position for
complete removal.
These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present
invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in
view of the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, made
with reference to the drawings, a brief description of which is
provided below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a partially exploded, perspective view of the apparatus
of one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a partially elevated side view of the apparatus of FIG.
1, showing the apparatus secured around an outer periphery of a
bearing cone (after removal of the rotatable bearings from the
cone), and in position for removal of the bearing cone, while
maintaining a centrally disposed transmission shaft in working
position;
FIG. 2A is a view similar to FIG. 2, showing the bearing cone
during removal;
FIG. 3 is a partially broken away elevated view of a portion of a
single mandrel segment showing the contact of the mandrel segment
shoulder against an upper, outer shoulder of a bearing cone during
removal with the apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a partially elevated side view showing the apparatus of
FIGS. 1 and 2 during spreading of the mandrel segments to surround
the outer bearing cone surface, after a pressure pad has been
inserted internally within and extending upwardly from structure
that the bearing surrounds to simulate an internal shaft (when no
shaft is found extending upwardly from the bearing cone), prior to
fitting the mandrel drive shoulders under the upper outer shoulders
of the bearing cone; and
FIG. 5 is a partially elevated side view of another embodiment of
the apparatus of the present invention used to remove a bearing by
contact on an undersurface thereof after insertion through an
internal diameter in the bearing.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
Turning now to FIG. 1, the apparatus of the present invention is
generally designated by reference numeral 10. The apparatus
includes an elongate driving shaft, generally designated by
reference numeral 12; a bearing driving mandrel, generally
designated by reference numeral 14; an internally threaded mandrel
spreader generally designated by reference numerals 16 or 16A; and
a mandrel securing collar, generally designated by reference
numeral 18 or 18A. A bearing pad, generally designated by reference
numeral 19, is provided to fit within, and upwardly extending from
structure that the bearing surrounds, whenever there is no upwardly
extending device, such as transmission shaft 52. Preferably, the
elongate driving shaft 12 includes a ball bearing 20 freely
rotatable about, and extending outwardly from, a
transmission-contacting threaded end 22 of the driving shaft
12.
The mandrel 14 is formed from a plurality of annular segments 24
expandably held together, as shown in FIG. 1, with a plurality of
elastomeric O-rings 26. The mandrel 14 also includes a planar,
lower bearing-contacting removal shoulder 28 and a planar upper
mandrel spreader-contacting removal shoulder 30 on each expandable
segment to transmit force from the driving shaft 12 through the
mandrel spreader 16 to shoulders 28 and 30 against an upper,
outwardly extending annular bearing cone shoulder 34, for removal
of a bearing, such as transmission bearing cone 32.
In accordance with an important feature of one embodiment of the
present invention, each bearing-contacting shoulder 28 of each
mandrel segment 24 extends inwardly from an internal surface of
each spreader segment 24 for contact against an outer shoulder 34
of transmission cone 32, as shown in FIG. 2.
In accordance with another important embodiment of the present
invention, for removal of bearings by contact from an unencumbered
internal diameter, the mandrel spreader segments 24 include a
plurality of outwardly extending shoulders 35, outwardly extending
from lower, outer surfaces of the mandrel segments 24, for contact
against a lowermost planar surface 37 of the bearing cup 32A, as
shown in FIG. 5, and explained in more detail hereinafter.
For bearing cone removal, as shown in FIGS. 2-4, the mandrel
spreader 16 is threadedly disposed over the lower end 22 of driving
shaft 12 for initially spreading the segments 24 about the
internally disposed spreader 16, thereby outwardly extending the
lower spreader segment internal drive shoulders 28 sufficiently to
easily slide all segments 24 downwardly over the upper bearing cone
shoulders 34 to interfit segment shoulders 28 under upper bearing
cone shoulder or lip 34, and the segments are then tightened for
flush engagement, as shown in FIG. 3. As best shown in FIG. 3, an
upper portion of the segments 24 of the mandrel 14 are spread
radially outwardly with mandrel spreader 16, and a lower,
bearing-contacting portion of the segments 24 are compressed
against an outer diameter of the cone 32, with tapered collar 18,
for flush contact of shoulders 28 against the inwardly projecting
annular bearing cone shoulder or lip 34. The tapered collar 18
tapered at 2.degree.-10.degree. from vertical, downwardly and
outwardly, is forced downwardly over an outer diameter of the
segments 24, to surround the mandrel 14, at a position lower than
spreader 16 to lock the shoulders 28 and 34 together. The collar 18
is slid over the outside of mandrel 14 so that a bearing-contacting
end 36 of each mandrel segment 24 is held tightly against the outer
surface of bearing cone 32, as best shown in FIG. 3.
In accordance with another important feature of the present
invention, the shoulders 28 extending inwardly from each segment 24
of the mandrel 14 (FIG. 2) are essentially planar and lie
substantially horizontal (.+-.20.degree.) when in working contact
with bearing cone shoulder 34, as best shown in FIG. 3. Further,
the lower end 36 of each mandrel segment 24 includes a tapered
inner segment wall 38 extending downwardly from an innermost
surface 40 of shoulders 28, tapered outwardly and downwardly (as
best shown in FIG. 3) to an essentially horizontal lowermost
surface 42, for relatively flush contact of segment drive shoulder
28 against upper bearing cone shoulder or lip 34 for removal
without interference from tapered outer bearing cone surface 43.
The angle .alpha. of tapered outer bearing cone surface is usually
about 15.degree..+-.5.degree. and the angle .alpha.', defining the
outer taper on the spreader segments (FIG. 3) should correspond,
e.g., 10.degree.-20.degree. for best contact of the segment
shoulders against the undersurface 34 of the upper bearing lips.
The angle .alpha.' on the spreader segments preferably is at least
2.degree. greater in taper than .alpha..
When a bearing is being removed, in the embodiment shown in FIGS.
2-4, the mandrel spreader 16 is slid into a spreader-receiving slot
or groove 44, formed in an upper portion of each spreader segment
24, thereby spreading the bearing-contacting end 36 of each mandrel
segment sufficiently for engagement with mandrel segment shoulders
28, under the outer cone shoulder 34, for removal of cone 32. To
provide force transmittal from the threaded driving shaft 12 to the
internal lower segment drive shoulders 35, each segment 24 includes
an upper, internal, planar surface forming internal shoulder 30,
for contact against an upper, planar surface 46 on each mandrel
spreader 16. At this point, the driving shaft 12 carrying threaded
mandrel spreader 16, together with the mandrel 14, in position over
the spreader 16, are together dropped into position such that
bearing-contacting end 36 of each mandrel segment 24 is in position
with segment shoulders 28 under bearing cone shoulder 34, as shown
in FIG. 3. The driving shaft 12 then is rotated to elongate the
shaft 12 into the mandrel 14 with ball bearing 20 in contact with
an upper end 51 of transmission shaft 52.
In accordance with an important feature of the embodiment shown in
FIGS. 2-4, a tapered cylindrical collar 18 is slid over an exterior
of mandrel 14 to compress and maintain the spreader segments 24
against an exterior of the cone 32, with mandrel segment shoulders
28 disposed directly beneath the exterior cone shoulder 34, as
shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. As shown in FIGS. 2-4, the collar 18
includes a downwardly and outwardly tapered internal surface 48 for
compression against an outwardly extending lower, downwardly and
outwardly tapered outer surface portion 50 of each spreader segment
24.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the
rotating bearing 20, rotatably mounted within the shaft end 22,
contacts an upwardly extending end 51 of transmission shaft 52.
Shaft 12 can be threadedly adjusted vertically by rotating shaft 12
so that, after mandrel spreading, the shaft 12 is extended toward
transmission shaft end 51 for engaging the ball bearing 20 of
driving shaft 12 against the upper surface 51 of transmission shaft
50, or shaft-simulating pressure pad 19 (FIG. 4), after alignment
of mandrel segment shoulders 28 directly beneath bearing annular
cone shoulder 34. After insertion of tapered collar 18 to surround
the mandrel 14, the driving shaft 12 is rotated with respect to
mandrel spreader 16, as shown in FIG. 2, thereby contacting the
upper spreader surface 46 against the upper segment shoulders 30.
Thereafter, further rotation of driving shaft 12 raises all mandrel
segments 24 in unison by contact of upper mandrel segment shoulders
30 against the upper, planar surface 46 of spreader 16. The
vertical lifting of the mandrel segments 24, in alignment, and in
unison, raises the bearing cone 32 via upward force applied by
segment shoulders 28 against the cone shoulder 34 for complete
removal of the bearing cone 32.
A plurality of differently sized mandrel spreaders 16, 16A are
provided for spreading the mandrel segments 24 to different
diameters to accommodate different diameter bearing cones 32. It is
to be understood that a single spreader, having a plurality of
different diameter annular surfaces, or a plurality of mandrel
spreaders of different outer diameters can be provided. FIG. 1
shows the disposition of the mandrel 14 prior to being spread by
mandrel spreader 16 while FIGS. 2 and 4 show the disposition of the
mandrel 14 when spread by the mandrel spreader 16. The elastomeric
O-rings 26 of mandrel spreader 16 maintain the segments 24 of
mandrel 14 evenly spaced when spread. Once the bearing is removed,
the tapered collar 18 is removed to allow outward movement of the
ends 36 of each mandrel segment 24 so that bearing cone 32 can be
removed from the mandrel 14. One or more mandrel segments 24 can be
added or removed while maintaining the segments 24 in generally
annular alignment to accommodate interfitting about larger or
smaller diameter bearing cones 32, respectively.
Referring now to FIG. 5, in accordance with this embodiment of the
present invention, the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, with some
modifications or additions, is used to remove a bearing, such as
bearing cup 32A that has an unencumbered internal diameter, by
contacting the planar, annular undersurface 37 of the bearing cup
32A after insertion of the mandrel 14 through the unencumbered
internal diameter, for contact of outwardly extending mandrel drive
shoulders 35 against the bearing cup undersurface 37. In the
embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the same mandrel 14, including the same
plurality, e.g., 5 to 7, mandrel segments 24 and the same one or
more mandrel spreaders 16, 16A are used to initially position the
mandrel segments 24 in position for contact of the outer segment
shoulders 35 against the annular undersurface 37 of the bearing cup
32A. In this FIG. 5 embodiment, however, the lower end 36 of the
mandrel segments 24 contact the bearing cup 32A from an internal
diameter, without a transmission shaft 52 and without a pressure
pad 19, since the central opening within the bearing cup 32A must
be free for insertion of the mandrel 14 therein. Additional
structure, including a loosely fitting tubular structure 56, and an
inverted truncated cone 58, threadedly received on the lowermost
end 22 of driving shaft 12, are included for spreading the mandrel
segments 24 into working position, as shown in FIG. 5, and to
provide a thrust transmitting bearing surface to lift the bearing
cup 32A upwardly and evenly out of position, as will be explained
in more detail hereinafter.
As shown in FIG. 5, when a bearing is being removed from an
internal diameter, the inverted cone 58, having an evenly-tapered
outer surface 60 tapered upwardly and inwardly from a lower
integral hex nut 62, is threaded over the lowermost driving shaft
end 22 for spreading the mandrel segments 24 from the lower ends 36
thereof. Like the FIGS. 2-4 embodiments, the mandrel spreader 16 is
slid into a spreader-receiving slot or groove 44, formed in an
upper portion of each spreader segment 24, thereby providing a
fulcrum on outer surfaces of spreader 16 over which the spreader
segments can be compressed inwardly, from their lowermost ends, to
fit the lower ends 36 of the mandrel segments 24, and the cone 58,
centrally within the internal diameter of the bearing cup 32A from
the upper surface thereof. After disposing the cone 58 and all
outwardly projecting segment shoulders 35 vertically beneath the
lowermost bearing cup undersurface 37, driving shaft 12 is rotated,
through a washer 64 and upwardly contacting threaded member, e.g.,
nut 66, to raise the inverted cone 58 with respect to the mandrel
14, thereby forcing the inverted cone 58 upwardly between the lower
ends 36 of the mandrel segments 24 to spread all mandrel segments
24 and seat upper, planar surfaces of mandrel shoulders 35 against
the lower, planar shoulders or surfaces 37 of the bearing cup
32A.
To provide force transmittal from the threaded driving shaft 12 to
the outwardly extending lower segment drive shoulders 35, the
loosely fitting tubular member 56 is disposed around the outer
diameter of the bearing cup 32A so that a lowermost annular tubular
member surface 68 contacts bearing-surrounding structure, such as
transmission case 70. A washer 72 having an axial, central aperture
larger than the outer diameter of driving shaft 12, is disposed
over an upper annular surface 74 of tubular member 56 and over an
upper end 76 of driving shaft 12. Threaded nut 78 then is threaded
downwardly over upper end 76 of driving shaft 12 against an upper
planar surface 80 of the washer 72. At this point, the driving
shaft 12 carrying threaded mandrel spreader 16, together with the
mandrel 14 in position over the spreader 16, and carrying the
inverted cone 58, are in position for lifting the bearing cup 32A
out of the transmission case 70 or other surrounding structure.
Further rotation of nut 78, with a wrench (not shown) will raise
segment shoulders 35, and bearing cup 32A for complete and even
aligned removal of bearing cup 32A, and any shim 82 thereunder, in
tact with the cup 32A.
Many modifications and variations of the present invention are
possible in light of the above teachings. Thus, it is to be
understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the
invention may be practiced other than as specifically described
above.
What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters patent of the
United States is:
* * * * *