Patents Assigned to The Torrington Company
  • Patent number: 6533459
    Abstract: A plurality of rollers is positioned between side members of a longitudinally-split, two-piece bearing race and a backup member that supports the two-piece bearing race along the length of side members. The backup member has angled surfaces such that ends of the rollers are closer to the angled surfaces than are intermediate portions of the roller. The two side members of the two-piece bearing race may be spread apart such that the angled surfaces of the backup member direct the side members of the two-piece bearing race toward the rollers to decrease the roller clearance and to create a preload.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2003
    Assignee: The Torrington Company
    Inventors: Stephen T. Podhajecki, John H. Hubbard, Daniel R. McLarty
  • Patent number: 6520685
    Abstract: Rollers are aligned radially within a bearing cage, for rolling contact with a first thrust washer concentric with the bearing cage. The first thrust washer has a flat raceway portion and a curled portion that wraps around a portion of the bearing cage to retain the bearing cage and the first thrust washer together as an assembly. The curled portion includes a rim that extends radially 360 degrees with respect to the axis of the thrust washer and has a folded configuration such that a doubled portion is offset with respect to an axial midpoint of the thrust bearing to prevent the thrust bearing from being installed with a reversed orientation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2003
    Assignee: The Torrington Company
    Inventor: Matthew G. Urmaza
  • Patent number: 6515471
    Abstract: Two lines of magnets have the same length and are aligned side by side. The lines of magnets have different numbers of magnetic pole pairs and have equal line lengths. A first sensor determines a relative position between poles of a pole pair of the first line of magnets, and a second sensor determines a relative position between poles of a pole pair of the second line of magnets. A circuit compares the relative positions determined by the sensors to determine an absolute position of the first line of magnets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2003
    Assignee: The Torrington Company
    Inventor: A. John Santos
  • Patent number: 6505969
    Abstract: A linear roller bearing includes a bearing cage retaining parallel rollers in a linear configuration. Side portions of the bearing cage extend laterally to form a mechanical interlock with an adjacent similar bearing cage such that, when two or more bearing cages are positioned about an inner tubular member for guided axial movement relative to a coaxial outer tubular member, the mechanical interlock prevents relative axial movement of the adjacent bearing cages. Adjacent bearing cages may be identical or of differing configuration provided a mechanical interlock preventing relative axial movement results. The linear roller bearing may include inner and outer races, or, alternatively, the tubular members may be formed with integral raceways.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2003
    Assignee: The Torrington Company
    Inventor: Christopher G. Senger
  • Publication number: 20020180619
    Abstract: Assembly forming a roller bearing equipped with an information sensor device containing an encoder that generates magnetic pulses and a sensor equipped with at least two sensitive elements capable of detecting these pulses. The assembly comprises a fixed spindle containing an axial bore; a rotating external ring having, on the outside of the assembly, an annular housing that protrudes coaxially relative to said bore; and roller bodies arranged between spindle and external ring. The encoder is connected on one internal lateral face of a plug arranged in the housing and the sensor is arranged in the bore supported on an external lateral surface of the spindle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2002
    Publication date: December 5, 2002
    Applicant: The Torrington Company
    Inventor: Olivier Chambert
  • Publication number: 20020181813
    Abstract: Roller bearing (1) equipped with an information sensor device, containing a rotating internal ring (3), a fixed external ring (2) and roller bodies (4) arranged between them, in which said information sensor device contains an encoder (10) and a sensor (11), said roller bearing (1) containing an assembly casing (22) of sensor (11) with the fixed ring (2), said casing (22) containing a cylindrical support (23) that extends over the entire axial length of the external transversal faces of sensor (11) and external ring (2), and means of axial holding (26, 27) arranged on both sides of said support (23), said means (26, 27) being supported on at least one part of the front and rear lateral faces (28, 29) of sensor (11) and external ring (2).
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 3, 2002
    Publication date: December 5, 2002
    Applicant: The Torrington Company
    Inventor: Jean-Michel Beauprez
  • Publication number: 20020181815
    Abstract: A unit consisting of a bearing equipped with a data sensor device and a housing in which the bearing is coupled. The bearing consists of an inner turning collar designed to be attached to a turning body, an outer fixed collar coupled to the housing, and rolling bodies positioned between them. The data sensor device consists of a coder that generates magnetic impulses attached to the turning collar and, attached to the fixed collar, a sensor equipped with at least two sensitive components capable of detecting such impulses. The housing is designed to permit said bearing to be locked radially and to lock the bearing axially in one direction. The sensor is made in monoblock construction and configured such that the bearing is locked at least in the other direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 2, 2002
    Publication date: December 5, 2002
    Applicant: The Torrington Company
    Inventor: Jean-Michel Beauprez
  • Publication number: 20020176643
    Abstract: A needle bearing cup includes an inner bearing cup having an inner surface which forms a rolling element raceway and an outer bearing cup disposed about the periphery of the inner bearing cup having a length greater than a length of the inner bearing cup to form a lip. The lip of the outer bearing cup is then formed to retain rolling elements within the inner bearing cup. Preferably, the rolling elements are needle rollers and the inner bearing cup is secured to an outer bearing cup by mechanical lock in the form of a protruding portion extending from the outer bearing cup. The bearing cup may be double drawn with first and second sheet metal blanks forming the inner and outer bearing cups.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 10, 2002
    Publication date: November 28, 2002
    Applicant: The Torrington Company
    Inventors: Richard F. Murphy, Michael D. Myers, William A. Gordon
  • Patent number: 6485186
    Abstract: A strip of metal is wrapped into a ring configuration such that ends of the strip are positioned in a predetermined relationship to each other. The ends of the strip are attached together by a temporary weld joining the two ends of the strip, thereby forming a temporary continuous ring. After heat treating the temporary continuous ring, the ring is separated at the temporary weld to provide a heat treated split bearing ring with a controlled clearance at the split.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2002
    Assignee: The Torrington Company
    Inventors: Eric A. Wood, Samuel O. Ricard
  • Patent number: 6481897
    Abstract: An annular casing partially encloses the outer race of a pair of the angular contact bearings. The casing is split along a radial plane into two casing halves, each casing half being molded of a polymer. The two casing halves are retained axially such that relative axial movement of the angular contact bearings is limited.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2002
    Assignee: The Torrington Company
    Inventors: Daniel R. McLarty, Walter Waskiewicz
  • Publication number: 20020166389
    Abstract: Device for the analogue measurement of a torsion torque, steering column and module comprising it.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 8, 2002
    Publication date: November 14, 2002
    Applicant: The Torrington Company
    Inventor: Pascal Desbiolles
  • Patent number: 6443017
    Abstract: A device for measuring torsional couple on a mechanical element, which includes two magnetic field generators attached in a first plane of the mechanical element and two magnetic field detectors arranged in a second parallel plane offset with respect to the first plane. The magnetic field detectors are attached on a support having two housings facing the magnetic field generators and which receive sensor elements on which the magnetic field detectors are attached. The shape of the housings is suited so as to allow movement of the sensor elements in such a way as to make possible an adjustment of an initial position of a sensitive element of each magnetic field detector on the support.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: The Torrington Company
    Inventor: Chrisophe Nicot
  • Patent number: 6427542
    Abstract: Two external rings and an internal ring form an assembly that is connected to a column so it rotates with it, to which column the torque to be measured is applied. Elastically deformable members connect the internal ring to one external ring, and the other external ring remaining essentially unstressed. A measurement device, such as, for example, a probe having at least one with Hall effect device, measures relative displacement of the two external rings to determine the torque applied. The invention also concerns the steering devices equipped with such torque sensors, for example, for power or assisted steering.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2002
    Assignee: The Torrington Company
    Inventor: Christophe Nicot
  • Patent number: 6419398
    Abstract: A needle bearing cup includes an inner bearing cup having an inner surface which forms a rolling element raceway and an outer bearing cup disposed about the periphery of the inner bearing cup having a length greater than a length of the inner bearing cup to form a lip. The lip of the outer bearing cup is then formed to retain rolling elements within the inner bearing cup. Preferably, the rolling elements are needle rollers and the inner bearing cup is secured to an outer bearing cup by mechanical lock in the form of a protruding portion extending from the outer bearing cup. The bearing cup may be double drawn with first and second sheet metal blanks forming the inner and outer bearing cups.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2002
    Assignee: The Torrington Company
    Inventors: Richard F. Murphy, Michael D. Myers, William A. Gordon
  • Patent number: 6419397
    Abstract: A housing encloses at least a portion of a steering shaft, and a preloaded ball bearing mounted within the housing supports the steering shaft. The preloaded ball bearing has loaded balls that are preloaded and unloaded balls that are free floating, an unloaded ball being positioned between each loaded ball. A split raceway provides two angular contact raceways that are preloaded axially against the loaded balls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2002
    Assignee: The Torrington Company
    Inventor: Michael D. Beaman
  • Publication number: 20020083784
    Abstract: Two cam plates each have at least one groove providing a non-circumferential ball ramp. The ball ramp of the second cam plate intersects with the ball ramp of the first cam plate when viewed axially. At least one ball is positioned between the first and second cam plates, in the grooves of the first and second cam plates. The ball is biased radially to ensure that the ball follows the non-circumferential ball ramps of both cam plates in response to relative rotation of the two cam plates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2001
    Publication date: July 4, 2002
    Applicant: The Torrington Company
    Inventors: Michael C. Brauer, Michael A. Ignaffo
  • Patent number: 6414479
    Abstract: A drawn cup wheel bearing is mounted within an axle tube and supports an axle shaft mounted in the drawn cup wheel bearing with a vehicle mounting flange of the axle shaft positioned axially outwardly of the axle tube. An annular target is supported from the vehicle mounting flange of the axle shaft such that the target is positioned axially inwardly of the vehicle mounting flange and is positioned over the axle tube. A sensor is supported from the axle tube over the annular target for sensing rotation of the annular target.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2002
    Assignee: The Torrington Company
    Inventors: Mark E. LaCroix, A. John Santos, Stephen T. Podhajecki
  • Publication number: 20020074466
    Abstract: A telescopic shaft for rapid length adjustment consists of a tube having a plurality of alternating circumferential ridges and grooves on at least a portion of an inner surface and having an oval cross-section with a major diameter DA and a minor diameter DB; a shaft disposed within the tube and having matching circumferential ridges and grooves, the shaft also having an oval cross-section with a major diameter DC and a minor diameter DD; and the ridges and grooves of the tube interengaging with the grooves and ridges of the shaft when the shaft major diameter DC is substantially parallel with the tube minor diameter DB.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2001
    Publication date: June 20, 2002
    Applicant: The Torrington Company
    Inventors: Gordon C. Butterfield, Allan D. Cox, Giovanni C. Albini
  • Patent number: 6405605
    Abstract: A torque sensor to determine the torque exerted on an assembly comprising a component generating magnetic impulses, with this sensor comprising a number of aligned sensor components divided into two subassemblies, the signals emitted by such subassemblies being processed by an electronic circuit capable of delivering an analog signal as a function of the torque exerted. The invention also proposes a process for processing the signals emitted by such a sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Assignee: The Torrington Company
    Inventors: Pascal Desboilles, Christophe Nicot, Fernand Peilloud
  • Patent number: 6400143
    Abstract: The invention relates to a digital sensor of relative position, which has a circular multipolar magnetic ring which is mobile in rotation opposite a stationary magnetic sensor comprised of at least two sensitive elements, respectively positioned facing a main track and a “revolution tick” reference track, and a device for processing of the output signals, such that on the magnetic ring, a magnetic pattern is produced from a pair of north and south poles whose transition is different from the transition between the other north and south poles of the magnetic ring, and of which the angular width of the north pole is different at the site of the “revolution tick” reference track. The sensitive elements can be three in number, the first of which faces reference track and of which the other two face the main track, or they can be produced in the form of two parallel bars.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2002
    Assignee: The Torrington Company
    Inventors: Francis Travostino, A. John Santos, Mark E. LaCroix, Stephen J. Lyle