Improvement of Water Resistance of Idler Bearings with Rotating Outer Ring

摘要

The idler bearings, which are used to adjust the layout of the driving belts for engine accessories, are often exposed to a water-rich environment during operation. As there have been cases where water enters into the idler bearings, it is necessary to improve their water resistance. While the addition of a slinger that prevents the water from directly hitting the seal allows an improvement of the water resistance, we have determined the contribution of the labyrinth geometry to the water resistance in order to optimize the geometry. Also, in order to deal with such an extreme condition as the idler bearing being fully immersed in water, we have added an axial lip in contact with the slinger to the seal, so that greater improvement in water resistance from baseline has been achieved.