CN115610977A

CN115610977A - Ball assembling machine of circulating ball type steering gear

Info

Publication number: CN115610977A
Application number: CN202211616010.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李涛
Original assignee: Suzhou Yingweite Precision Machinery Co ltd
Current assignee: Suzhou Yingweite Precision Machinery Co ltd
Priority date: 2022-12-16
Filing date: 2022-12-16
Publication date: 2023-01-17
Anticipated expiration: 2042-12-16
Also published as: CN115610977B

Abstract

The invention discloses a ball assembling machine of a circulating ball type steering gear. Comprises a carrier, a material moving mechanism, a ball guiding mechanism and a screw rod assembling mechanism. The carrier is used for placing the piston assembly, the carrier comprises a connecting plate connected with the material moving mechanism, the piston assembly can rotate along the axis of the piston assembly under the driving of the rotary driving device, and the connecting plate penetrates through the connecting plate and can move up and down and extend like a piston assembly lifting rod. The ball leading-in mechanism feeds the balls into the piston assembly above the lifting rod, and the balls fall into the inner spiral groove of the piston assembly at the corresponding position from the side wall of the upper end of the lifting rod and are led into the ball guide pipe of the piston assembly along with the rotation of the piston assembly. The screw assembly mechanism is used for grabbing the screw assembly and driving the screw assembly to lift, the screw assembly is abutted against the lifting rod and then synchronously moves downwards, and the piston assembly rotates to complete assembly. The automatic assembly of the balls between the screw rod assembly and the piston assembly can be realized, and the production efficiency and the product quality are greatly improved.

Description

Ball assembling machine of circulating ball type steering gear

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of steering gear processing equipment, in particular to a ball assembling machine of a circulating ball type steering gear.

Background

The steering gear is the most important part in the steering system of the automobile, and a rack and pinion type, a worm crank pin type and a recirculating ball type are commonly used. The recirculating ball type steering gear is light to operate, small in abrasion and long in service life, but the structure is complex, and high labor cost is always consumed in assembly.

Referring to fig. 1-2, the recirculating ball-type steering gear mainly comprises a screw assembly 100, a piston assembly 200, and a plurality of balls 300, i.e., the balls 300, which are disposed in a closed pipe between the piston assembly 200 and the screw assembly 100 and function to convert sliding friction between the piston assembly 200 and the screw assembly 100 into rolling friction with less resistance. The balls 300 are circularly and reciprocally rolled in the closed pipe during the steering process of the steering gear, so the steering gear is called a recirculating ball type steering gear.

Referring to fig. 1-2, the piston assembly 200 includes a nut seat 200a, the nut seat 200a is axially provided with a through hole for the screw assembly 100 to pass through, the nut seat 200a is sleeved outside the screw assembly 100, and an inner wall of the nut seat 200a is provided with an inner spiral groove 202a in threaded connection with the screw assembly 100. The nut seat 200a is further provided with a ball guide tube 200b communicated with the inner spiral groove 202a. The nut seat 200a is provided with an upper opening 201a and a lower opening which are communicated with the ball guide pipe 200b, and the upper opening 201a and the lower opening are provided at the bottom of the inner spiral groove 202a. The inner spiral groove 202a and the ball guide tube 200b between the two openings of the ball guide tube 200b form a closed piping. After the balls 300 move a certain distance along with the rotation of the screw assembly 100, they return to the original position again through the ball guide tube 200b, and continue to enter the inner spiral groove 202a for transmission.

Since the recirculating ball steering gear is complicated in structure, the balls in the sealed pipe are also installed manually by introducing the balls into the ball guide 200b and the inner spiral groove one by one and then fixing the ball guide to the nut seat. The operation is not only low in efficiency, but also the manual assembly is easy to miss due to the fact that the number of the balls is large and the size is small, and the product quality is affected.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to overcome the above disadvantages, an object of the present invention is to provide a ball assembling machine for a recirculating ball-type steering gear, which can achieve automatic assembly of balls between a screw assembly and a piston assembly, and greatly improve production efficiency and product quality.

In order to achieve the above purposes, the invention adopts the technical scheme that: the carrier is used for placing a piston assembly, the carrier comprises a connecting plate, the piston assembly can rotate along the axis of the piston assembly under the driving of a rotary driving device arranged on the connecting plate, the connecting plate is further connected with a lifting rod which can synchronously move with the piston assembly and can move up and down under the driving of a lifting driving device, and the lifting rod can extend upwards into the piston assembly.

The material moving mechanism is connected with the connecting plate and used for sequentially conveying the carriers into the working ranges of the ball introducing mechanism and the screw assembling mechanism.

The ball guiding mechanism feeds balls into the piston assembly above the lifting rod, and the balls fall into the inner spiral groove of the piston assembly at the corresponding position from the side wall of the upper end of the lifting rod under the limit of the lifting rod and are guided into the ball guide pipe of the piston assembly along with the rotation of the piston assembly.

The screw assembly mechanism is used for grabbing the screw assembly and driving the screw assembly to lift, and the screw assembly pushes the lifting rod to synchronously move downwards after being abutted against the lifting rod.

The invention has the beneficial effects that: (1) The screw assembly is simulated by a lifting rod, and a closed pipeline is defined between the lifting rod and the piston assembly. At the moment, the ball is fed into the piston assembly above the lifting rod by the ball guiding mechanism, and the ball cannot fall off due to the limit of the lifting rod but is positioned between the lifting rod and the inner spiral groove at the corresponding position. When the piston assembly rotates, the balls in the inner spiral groove enter the ball guide pipe from the upper opening, the ball guide pipe inclines downwards, and the balls in the ball guide pipe enter the inner spiral groove at the lower end from the lower opening again until all the balls are led into the virtual sealed pipeline. The ball can be guided in by the cooperation of the rotating piston assembly and the lifting rod, so that the device is fast and efficient.

(2) The whole carrier moves to the working position of the screw rod assembling mechanism, the screw rod assembly abuts against the upper end of the lifting rod by the screw rod assembling mechanism and presses down the lifting rod, the lifting rod is made to exit from the piston assembly, meanwhile, the piston assembly rotates, and the ball enters an actual sealed pipeline between the piston assembly and the screw rod assembly, so that the assembly is completed. The assembly of the screw assembly and the piston assembly is realized by the cooperation of the rotary piston assembly, the screw assembly and the lifting rod.

(3) The degree of automation of the assembling machine is high, and the efficiency and the quality of installation are improved.

Further, the vertical distance between the lifting rod and the inner wall of the nut seat of the piston assembly is smaller than the diameter of the ball, and the distance between the lifting rod and the bottom of the inner spiral groove of the nut seat of the piston assembly is larger than the diameter of the ball. The ball is ensured to move only in the inner spiral groove of the piston assembly and can not fall off from the space between the lifting rod and the nut seat of the piston assembly.

Further, when the lifting rod extends upwards into the piston assembly, the upper end surface of the lifting rod is located at the height position of the upper opening of the piston assembly, and the upper end surface of the lifting rod is an arc surface protruding upwards. The arc surface plays a guiding role, and the ball falling into the upper part of the lifting rod can slide downwards to the inner spiral groove at the corresponding position under the guidance of the arc surface.

Further, the up end of lifter is provided with a plurality of grooves of stepping down along circumference, the ball can partially imbed in the groove of stepping down. Because the vertical distance between the lifting rod and the inner wall of the nut seat of the piston assembly is smaller than the diameter of the ball, when the inner wall of the nut seat rotates to the position of the lifting rod, the ball cannot fall into the inner spiral groove and can be temporarily stored in the abdicating groove.

Further, the rotary driving device comprises a placing seat, a transmission assembly and a rotary driving piece, the placing seat is used for placing the piston assembly, the placing seat is connected with the rotary driving piece through the transmission assembly and driven by the rotary driving piece to rotate, and the rotary driving piece is fixed on the connecting plate.

When the driving piece acts, the placing seat can be driven to rotate through the transmission component, and then the piston assembly on the placing seat is enabled to rotate. In order to improve the stability of the rotation of the piston assembly, the placing seat is further provided with a positioning pin, and the lower end face of the piston assembly is provided with a positioning hole matched with the positioning pin.

The ball guiding mechanism comprises a fixing frame, a ball storage plate, a transverse moving device and a discharging device, wherein the fixing frame is fixed on the workbench, a discharging opening which can be positioned right above the lifting rod is formed in the fixing frame, and the discharging device can open and close the discharging opening; the ball storage plate is internally stored with a plurality of groups of balls, the ball storage plate can move along the fixed frame and can reach the feed opening one by one under the driving of the transverse moving device, and when the feed opening is opened, the balls fall into the piston assembly under the action of gravity. The ball storage plate stores a plurality of groups of balls, and after each group of balls sequentially reach the discharging, uninterrupted feeding of the piston assembly can be realized. And the ball is used for blanking by self gravity, so that the blanking is more convenient and labor-saving.

The ball storage plate comprises a plurality of storage channels which are communicated up and down, each storage channel is further provided with an air blowing opening communicated with the storage channel, and the air blowing opening is located at the upper end of the storage channel and is connected with an external air blowing device. When the air blowing port blows air, a fast falling acting force is provided for the ball, meanwhile, the air can enter the piston assembly to blow the ball above the lifting rod to move towards the inner spiral groove.

Further, a blanking guide pipe is arranged at the position of the blanking opening, the blanking guide pipe is a telescopic guide pipe, and the lower end of the blanking guide pipe can be abutted to the lifting rod. The blanking guide pipe plays a role in guiding the ball into the piston assembly, so that the ball is prevented from deviating when falling, and the gas blown from the gas blowing port is guided. Meanwhile, the telescopic form is piston assembly abdicating, and the movement of the piston assembly cannot be interfered.

Furthermore, the blanking guide pipe comprises a fixed guide pipe and a movable guide pipe, the fixed guide pipe is fixed at the blanking port of the fixing frame, and the movable guide pipe is sleeved outside the fixed guide pipe and can move up and down along the fixed guide pipe. When the piston assembly reaches the position right below the feed opening, the movable guide pipe moves downwards, the distance between the movable guide pipe and the piston assembly and the feed opening is reduced, and the balls are accurately guided into the piston assembly. When the ball is completely discharged, the moving guide pipe is moved upwards, so that the interference on the movement of the piston assembly is avoided.

The lower end face of the moving guide pipe also extends downwards to form a plurality of lugs arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction, and a groove is formed between every two adjacent lugs. The lower terminal surface of lug can with the lifter butt, and the ball rolls out from the recess and falls into the piston assembly of lifter top in, has improved the stability and the accurate nature of ball unloading. And the air blown from the air blowing opening is blown out from the groove, so that the pushing force is provided for the rolling alignment to move towards the inner spiral groove.

Further, the screw rod assembly mechanism comprises a grabbing device and a pressing device, the grabbing device is fixed on the pressing device, the pressing device can drive the grabbing device to move up and down, and the grabbing device comprises a clamping jaw air cylinder used for grabbing and fixing the screw rod assembly. The grabbing device grabs a screw component, when the piston assembly moves to the position right below the pressing device, the lifting rod is still located in the piston assembly, the pressing device drives the grabbing device to move downwards, and the screw component grabbed on the grabbing device synchronously moves downwards. When the screw component is abutted against the lifting rod, the screw component and the lifting rod synchronously move downwards, and the piston assembly rotates to complete assembly.

Furthermore, the carrier further comprises a placing frame arranged along the moving direction of the carrier, and the placing frame is fixed on the connecting plate and used for placing the screw rod assembly. The screw assembly and the piston assembly are in pairs and are placed together on a carrier for conveying. In the moving process of the carrier, the screw assembly firstly reaches the working range of the screw assembly mechanism, the grabbing device firstly grabs the screw assembly, then the carrier continuously moves, the piston assembly reaches the working range of the screw assembly mechanism, the pressing device drives the screw assembly to move downwards, and in the rotating process of the piston assembly, the screw assembly and the piston assembly are assembled.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a recirculating ball diverter of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the assembled recirculating ball diverter of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a connection state between a carrier and a material moving mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a carrier according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the present invention showing the state where the lift pin is inserted into the piston assembly;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the structure of the lift pins in the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of a ball introducing mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of another embodiment of a ball introducing mechanism according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a ball introducing mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view taken at A in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a mobile catheter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a schematic perspective view of a screw assembling mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure:

100. a screw assembly; 200. a piston assembly; 200a, a nut seat; 201a, an upper opening; 202a, an inner spiral groove; 200b, a ball guide; 300. a ball bearing;

400. a carrier; 500. a material moving mechanism; 600. a ball introducing mechanism; 700. a screw assembly mechanism; 800. a work table;

11. a connecting plate; 121. a placing seat; 122. a transmission assembly; 1221. a first driving wheel; 1222. a first driven wheel; 1223. a transmission belt; 123. a rotary drive member; 131. a lifting rod; 1311. a circular arc surface; 1312. a yielding groove; 132. a lift drive device; 14. placing a rack;

21. moving the material belt; 22. a material moving driving member; 23. a second driving wheel; 24. a second driven wheel;

31. a fixed mount; 311. a feeding port; 32. a ball storage plate; 321. a storage channel; 322. an air blowing port; 33. a traversing device; 331. a rack; 332. a gear; 333. a traverse driving member; 34. a blanking device; 341. opening and closing the plate; 342. a blanking driving part; 35. a blanking conduit; 351. fixing the catheter; 352. moving the catheter; 3521. a bump; 3522. a groove; 353. a lifting plate; 36. a material pushing rod;

41. a gripping device; 42. and a pressing device.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, will make the advantages and features of the present invention more comprehensible to those skilled in the art, and will thus provide a clear and concise definition of the scope of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 3, the ball assembling machine of the recirculating ball steering gear of the present invention includes a carrier 400, a material moving mechanism 500, a ball introducing mechanism 600, and a screw assembling mechanism 700.

Referring to fig. 4, in which the carrier 400 is used for placing the piston assembly 200, the carrier 400 is connected to the material transferring mechanism 500, and the material transferring mechanism 500 is used for sequentially transferring the carrier 400 to the working range of the ball introducing mechanism 600 and the screw assembling mechanism 700. The carrier 400 comprises a connecting plate 11 connected with the material moving mechanism 500, the piston assembly 200 can rotate along the axis of the piston assembly under the driving of a rotation driving device, the connecting plate 11 is also connected with a lifting rod 131 which can move synchronously with the connecting plate and can move up and down under the driving of a lifting driving device 132, the lifting rod 131 and a through hole of the piston assembly 200 for the screw component 100 to pass through are coaxially arranged, the lifting rod 131 can extend upwards into the piston assembly 200, and the lifting rod 131 is of a rod-shaped structure with a smooth surface. The ball introduction mechanism 600 feeds a set of balls 300 into the piston assembly 200 above the lifting rod 131, and the balls 300 fall into the inner spiral groove 202a of the piston assembly 200 at a corresponding position from the upper end side wall of the lifting rod 131 under the limit of the lifting rod 131, and are introduced into the ball guide tube 200b of the piston assembly 200 along with the rotation of the piston assembly 200. The screw assembly mechanism 700 is used for grabbing the screw assembly 100 and driving the screw assembly 100 to ascend and descend, after the screw assembly 100 abuts against the ascending and descending rod 131, the piston assembly 200 rotates, and the screw assembly 100 and the ascending and descending rod 131 synchronously move downwards to complete assembly.

During assembly, the screw assembly 100 is simulated by a lifting rod 131, and a closed pipeline is defined between the lifting rod 131 and the piston assembly 200. At this time, the ball introduction mechanism 600 feeds the balls 300 into the piston assembly 200 above the lifting rod 131, and the balls 300 do not fall down due to the limit of the lifting rod 131, but are located between the lifting rod 131 and the inner spiral groove 202a at the corresponding position. When the piston assembly 200 rotates, the balls 300 enter the ball guide tube 200b from the upper opening 201a, the ball guide tube 200b inclines downwards, and the balls 300 in the ball guide tube enter the inner spiral groove 202a at the lower end from the lower opening again until all the balls 300 are guided into the virtual sealed pipeline. Then, the entire carrier 400 is moved to the working position of the screw assembly mechanism 700, the screw assembly mechanism 700 abuts the screw assembly 100 against the upper end of the lifting rod 131 and presses down the screw assembly 100, so that the lifting rod 131 exits from the piston assembly 200, and simultaneously the piston assembly 200 rotates, the balls 300 enter the actual sealed channel between the piston assembly 200 and the screw assembly 100, and the assembly is completed. The degree of automation of the assembling machine is high, and the efficiency and the quality of installation are improved.

Referring to fig. 6, in order to ensure that the ball 300 can only move in the inner spiral groove 202a of the piston assembly 200 without falling out from between the elevating rod 131 and the nut seat 200a of the piston assembly 200, a vertical distance d1 between the elevating rod 131 and the inner wall of the nut seat 200a is smaller than the diameter of the ball 300, and a distance d2 between the elevating rod 131 and the bottom of the inner spiral groove 202a of the nut seat 200a is larger than the diameter of the ball 300.

Referring to fig. 7, when the lifting rod 131 extends upwards into the piston assembly 200, the upper end surface of the lifting rod 131 is located at the height position of the upper opening 201a of the nut seat 200a, and the upper end surface of the lifting rod 131 is flush with the upper end of the upper opening 201 a. The upper end surface of the lifting rod 131 is an upwardly convex arc surface 1311, which ensures that the ball 300 falling above the lifting rod 131 slides downwards to the inner spiral groove 202a at the corresponding position under the guidance of the arc surface 1311. The inner spiral groove 202a at the corresponding position is adjacent to the upper opening 201a and is located below the upper opening 201 a.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 7, the upper end surface of the lifting rod 131 is provided with a plurality of relief grooves 1312 in a circumferential direction. Since the inner spiral groove 202a has a spiral structure, the bottom of the inner spiral groove 202a and the sidewall of the nut holder 200a alternately reach the same position of the sidewall of the upper end of the elevating bar 131. When the inner spiral groove 202a corresponds to the upper end sidewall of the lifting rod 131, the ball 300 rolls into the inner spiral groove 202 a; when the sidewall of the nut holder 200a corresponds to the upper end sidewall of the elevating rod 131, the ball 300 cannot fall into the inner spiral groove 202a and is partially inserted into the receding groove 1312. Another portion of the ball 300 extends out of the lifting rod 131 between the lifting rod 131 and the sidewall of the nut holder 200 a. Until the inner spiral groove 202a reaches the position of the relief groove 1312, the balls 300 in the relief groove 1312 fall into the inner spiral groove 202a at the corresponding position again.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 5, the rotation driving device is disposed on the connection plate 11 and moves synchronously with the connection plate 11, the rotation driving device includes a placing seat 121, a transmission component 122 and a rotation driving component 123, the placing seat 121 is used for placing the piston assembly 200, and the placing seat 121 is connected with the rotation driving component 123 through the transmission component 122 and rotates under the driving of the rotation driving component 123.

The rotary driving member 123 is a motor fixed on the connecting plate 11, and the transmission assembly 122 is a first driving wheel 1221, a first driven wheel 1222 and a transmission belt 1223 wound therebetween to form a closed loop structure. The first driving wheel 1221 is fixedly connected with an output shaft of the motor, and the first driven wheel 1222 is fixed at a lower end of the placing seat 121 and coaxially arranged with the placing seat 121. When the motor rotates, the first driving wheel 1221 can be driven to rotate by the driving belt 1223, so as to drive the placing base 121 fixed thereto to rotate, and further allow the piston assembly 200 on the placing base 121 to rotate.

In one embodiment, the placing seat 121 is formed with an insertion groove for inserting the lower end of the piston assembly 200, and a guide hole for passing the lifting rod 131 is formed at the bottom of the insertion groove. In order to improve the stability of the rotation of the piston assembly 200, a positioning pin is further arranged at the bottom of the embedded groove, and a positioning hole matched with the positioning pin is formed in the lower end face of the piston assembly 200.

In one embodiment, the lifting driving device 132 includes a lifting driving member fixed to a lower end surface of the connection plate 11 to move in synchronization with the connection plate 11. The lifting driving member is a cylinder or an electric cylinder, and can directly drive the lifting rod 131 to move linearly. The lifting rod 131 can pass upward through the connection plate 11, the first driven wheel 1222 and the placement seat 121 to protrude into the piston assembly 200.

Referring to fig. 3, the material transfer mechanism 500, the ball introduction mechanism 600, and the screw assembly mechanism 700 are provided together on one work stage 800.

Referring to fig. 4, the material moving mechanism 500 includes a material moving driving member 22 and a material moving belt 21 arranged in a closed loop and driven by the material moving driving member 22 to rotate, and the connecting plate 11 is fixed on the material moving belt 21, and when the material moving belt 21 rotates, the connecting plate 11 moves synchronously therewith to realize linear reciprocating movement.

The material moving driving component 22 is a motor fixed on the workbench 800, a second driving wheel 23 is fixed on an output shaft of the motor, a second driven wheel 24 capable of rotating is further arranged on the workbench 800, the material moving belt 21 is wound between the second driving wheel 23 and the second driven wheel 24, and when the motor rotates, the material moving belt 21 can be driven to rotate through the rotation of the second driving wheel 23, so that the carrier 400 is driven to move.

In one embodiment, to improve the stability of the movement of the carrier 400, a guide rail for moving the carrier 400 is fixed on the work bench 800. And because the lifting driving piece is fixed on the lower end face of the connecting plate 11, a through groove for the sliding of the lifting driving piece is formed in the workbench 800, and the lifting driving piece is moved and retracted. The guide rails are symmetrically arranged on two sides of the through groove, and the material moving belt 21 is located on one side, away from the other guide rail, of one guide rail.

Referring to fig. 8 and 9, the ball introducing mechanism 600 includes a fixed frame 31, a ball storage plate 32, a traverse device 33, and a discharging device 34, the fixed frame 31 is fixed on the work table 800, the fixed frame 31 is provided with a discharging opening 311 capable of being positioned right above the lifting rod 131, and the discharging device 34 is capable of opening and closing the discharging opening 311. The ball storing plate 32 stores therein a plurality of sets of balls 300, and each set of balls 300 is the number of balls 300 required for one steering gear process. The ball storage plate 32 can move along the fixed frame 31, and the balls 300 in the ball storage plate reach the feed opening 311 group by group under the driving of the traverse device 33, and the moving direction of the ball storage plate 32 is perpendicular to the moving direction of the carrier 400. When the feed opening 311 is opened, the ball 300 falls under gravity into the piston assembly 200.

Referring to fig. 8, the ball storage plate 32 includes a plurality of storage channels 321 that are vertically connected, the storage channels 321 are sized to match the balls 300, and a group of balls 300 are stacked in the storage channels 321.

In one embodiment, each storage channel 321 is further provided with a blowing port 322 communicated therewith, and the blowing port 322 is located at the upper end of the storage channel 321 and connected with an external blowing device. The blowing port 322 provides a rapid falling force to the ball 300 when blowing air, and the air can enter the piston assembly 200 to blow the ball 300 above the lifting rod 131 to move toward the inner spiral groove 202a.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 8, a discharging conduit 35 is disposed at the discharging opening 311, and the discharging conduit 35 guides the balls 300, guides the balls 300 into the piston assembly 200, prevents the balls 300 from shifting when falling, and guides the gas blown from the blowing opening 322. To facilitate movement of the piston assembly 200, the feed conduit 35 is a telescoping conduit.

Referring to fig. 11, the feeding duct 35 includes a fixed duct 351 and a movable duct 352, the fixed duct 351 is fixed at the feeding opening 311 of the fixing frame 31, and the movable duct 352 is sleeved outside the fixed duct 351 and can move up and down along the fixed duct 351. When the piston assembly 200 reaches the position right below the feed opening 311, the moving guide 352 moves downward to reduce the distance between the piston assembly 200 and the feed opening 311, so that the balls 300 are accurately guided into the piston assembly 200. When the ball 300 is completely discharged, the moving guide 352 moves upward to prevent interference with the movement of the piston assembly 200.

Referring to fig. 8 and 11, the movable guide 352 is fixed to a lifting plate 353, and the lifting plate 353 is formed with a through hole through which the fixed guide 351 passes. An air cylinder for driving the lifting plate 353 to lift is fixed on the fixing frame 31, and the air cylinder directly drives the lifting plate 353 to move up and down so as to drive the telescopic guide pipe to stretch.

Referring to fig. 12, the lower end surface of the movable conduit 352 also extends downwardly with a plurality of spaced apart projections 3521, with a groove 3522 being formed between adjacent projections 3521. The lower end face of the bump 3521 can abut against the upper end face of the lifting rod 131, and the ball 300 rolls out of the groove 3522 and falls into the piston assembly 200 above the lifting rod 131, so that the blanking stability and accuracy of the ball 300 are improved. And the gas blown from the blowing ports 322 is also blown out from the grooves 3522, the flow direction of the gas is diverted from the downward vertical direction to the horizontal direction passing through the grooves 3522, and a thrust is provided for the balls 300 to be aligned to move toward the inner spiral grooves 202a.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 10, in order to further prevent the balls 300 from failing to fall in the storage channel 321, a material pushing rod 36 is further disposed on the fixing frame 31 and located right above the material discharging opening 311, and the material pushing rod 36 can extend into the storage channel 321 communicated with the material discharging opening 311 from above to push out the balls 300 in the storage channel 321.

Referring to fig. 9, the traverse device 33 includes a rack 331 fixed to the fixed frame 31, a gear 332 engaged with the rack 331 is rotatably connected to the ball holding plate 32, and the gear 332 is rotated by a traverse driving member 333 fixed to the ball holding plate 32. When the gear 332 rotates, it moves along the rack 331, and further drives the ball storage plate 32 to move.

Referring to fig. 8, the fixing frame 31 is a door-shaped structure, and is erected on the work bench 800, and includes two vertical columns, a fixing vertical plate always located above the piston assembly 200 is fixed between the two vertical columns, and the plate ball storage plate 32 slides along the fixing vertical plate.

The fixed vertical plate comprises a ] -shaped fixed plate and two guide plates, the ] -shaped fixed plate comprises a vertical part and horizontal parts at the upper end and the lower end, the vertical part is connected with the upright post, and the lower opening 311 is formed in the horizontal part below the vertical part. The guide plate is fixed on one side of the horizontal part far away from the vertical part and is arranged in parallel with the vertical part. The guide plate and the horizontal and vertical parts define a sliding slot for the sliding of the ball storage plate 32, so as to improve the sliding stability of the ball storage plate 32.

In one embodiment, the two columns are further provided with a guide rail for the lifting plate 353 to slide.

Referring to fig. 10, the discharging device 34 includes a cut-off plate 341 for opening and closing the discharging opening 311, and the cut-off plate 341 is located between the discharging opening and the ball storage plate 32. A blanking driving member 342 for pushing the opening plate 341 to move is fixed on the fixing frame 31. When the opening plate 341 closes the feed opening 311, the ball 300 cannot fall, and when the closing plate opens the feed opening 311, the ball 300 can fall from the feed opening 311. The through hole is arranged on the opening plate 341, the diameter of the through hole is larger than that of the ball 300, and when the through hole on the opening plate 341 is overlapped with the feed opening 311, the feed opening is opened. When the other portion of the opening plate 341 is positioned above the feed opening 311, the feed opening 311 is closed.

In operation of the ball introducing mechanism 600, a predetermined number of balls 300 are first stored in each of the storage passages 321. Then, one of the storage passages 321 is aligned with the feed opening 311 by the traverse device 33. When the piston assembly 200 reaches the position right below the feed opening 311 under the driving of the material moving mechanism, the lifting rod 131 is inserted into the piston assembly 200 at the moment. The travel tube 352 travels downward to abut into the piston assembly 200. At this time, the blanking driving member 342 drives the opening plate 341 to move to open the blanking opening 311, and the ball 300 falls down into the piston assembly 200 above the lifting rod 131 along the retractable guide tube under the action of gravity. During the falling of the ball 300, the air blowing port 322 also blows air to help the ball 300 fall and push the ball 300 to move toward the inner spiral groove 202a. If the balls 300 are found not to fall, the balls 300 are pushed out by the pusher 36, so that each ball 300 is ensured to fall into the piston assembly 200 above the lifting rod 131. After the balls 300 are aligned during the rotation of the piston assembly 200, the moving guide 352 moves upward and the carrier 400 moves to the next station.

The screw assembly mechanism 700 is disposed at one side of the ball introduction mechanism 600, and the material transfer mechanism 500 sequentially transfers the carrier 400 to the stations of the ball introduction mechanism 600 and the screw assembly mechanism 700.

Referring to fig. 13, the screw assembly mechanism 700 includes a gripping device 41 and a pressing device 42, the gripping device 41 is fixed on the pressing device 42, the pressing device 42 can drive the gripping device 41 to move up and down, and the gripping device 41 is used for gripping and fixing the screw assembly 100. The gripping device 41 grips one screw component 100, when the piston assembly 200 moves to a position right below the pressing device 42, the lifting rod 131 is still located in the piston assembly 200, the pressing device 42 drives the gripping device 41 to move downwards, and the screw component 100 gripped thereon moves downwards synchronously. When the screw assembly 100 abuts against the lifting rod 131, the screw assembly and the lifting rod are synchronously moved downwards, and the piston assembly 200 rotates to complete the assembly.

In one embodiment, the gripping device 41 includes a clamping cylinder capable of clamping the stud on the upper surface of the screw assembly 100. The pressing device 42 comprises an air cylinder which directly drives the clamping jaw air cylinder to lift.

Referring to fig. 4 and 5, a placing frame 14 for placing the screw assembly 100 is further fixed on the connecting plate 11, the placing frame 14 is disposed along the moving direction of the connecting plate 11 and is located at one side of the placing seat 121, and the screw assembly 100 and the piston assembly 200 are paired and placed on the carrier 400 for conveying. During the movement of the carrier 400, the screw assembly 100 reaches the working range of the screw assembly mechanism 700, the gripping device 41 first grips the screw assembly 100, then the carrier 400 continues to move, the piston assembly 200 reaches the working range of the screw assembly mechanism 700, and the pressing device 42 drives the screw assembly 100 to move down, so that the assembly of the screw assembly 100 and the piston assembly 200 is completed during the rotation process of the piston assembly.

During assembly of the assembling machine, a piston assembly 200 and a screw assembly 100 are placed on each carrier 400, and after the piston assembly 200 and the screw assembly 100 are placed, the lifting driving member drives the lifting rod 131 to move upwards until the upper end surface of the lifting rod 131 reaches the position of the upper opening 201 a. The material moving mechanism 500 drives the whole carrier 400 to move toward the ball introducing mechanism 600 until the piston assembly 200 reaches the position right below the feed opening 311.

The traverse device 33 then aligns a storage channel 321, in which a set of balls 300 is stored, with the feed opening 311, and the travel guide 352 moves down to extend into the piston assembly 200. At this time, the blanking driving member 342 drives the opening plate 341 to move to open the blanking opening 311, and the ball 300 falls down into the piston assembly 200 above the lifting rod 131 along the retractable guide tube under the action of gravity. In the falling process of the balls 300, the rotation driving device drives the piston assembly 200 to rotate, due to the arc structure of the upper end surface of the lifting rod 131, the balls 300 roll towards the corresponding inner spiral grooves 202a around, the balls 300 enter the ball guide tube 200b from the upper opening 201a along with the rotation of the piston assembly 200, and return to the inner spiral grooves 202a from the lower opening, so that the arrangement of the balls 300 is completed.

Then, the material moving mechanism 500 drives the carrier 400 to move continuously, the screw assembly 100 reaches the working range of the screw assembling mechanism 700, the gripping device 41 moves downwards to grip the screw assembly 100, and then moves upwards to reset.

Finally, the material moving mechanism 500 drives the carrier 400 to move continuously, the piston assembly 200 reaches the working range of the screw assembling mechanism 700, the pressing device 42 drives the screw assembly 100 to move downwards, and when the screw assembly 100 abuts against the lifting rod 131, the lifting rod 131 can be pushed to move downwards synchronously. The piston assembly 200 rotates in the process, completing the assembly of the screw assembly 100 and the piston assembly 200.

The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the technical concept and features of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and any equivalent changes or modifications made according to the spirit of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. The utility model provides a ball kludge of circulation ball formula steering gear, includes carrier, moves material mechanism, ball introducing mechanism and screw rod equipment mechanism, its characterized in that: wherein

The carrier is used for placing a piston assembly, the carrier comprises a connecting plate, the piston assembly can rotate along the axis of the piston assembly under the driving of a rotary driving device arranged on the connecting plate, the connecting plate is also connected with a lifting rod which can synchronously move with the connecting plate and can move up and down under the driving of a lifting driving device, and the lifting rod can extend upwards into the piston assembly;

the material moving mechanism is connected with the connecting plate and is used for sequentially conveying the carrier to the working range of the ball introducing mechanism and the screw assembling mechanism;

the ball introducing mechanism feeds a group of balls into the piston assembly above the lifting rod, and the balls fall into the inner spiral groove of the piston assembly at the corresponding position from the side wall of the upper end of the lifting rod under the limit of the lifting rod and are introduced into the ball guide pipe of the piston assembly along with the rotation of the piston assembly;

2. The ball assembling machine of a recirculating ball steering gear according to claim 1, wherein: the vertical distance between the lifting rod and the inner wall of the nut seat of the piston assembly is smaller than the diameter of the ball, and the distance between the lifting rod and the bottom of the inner spiral groove of the nut seat of the piston assembly is larger than the diameter of the ball.

3. The ball assembling machine of the recirculating ball steering gear according to claim 2, wherein: when the lifting rod extends upwards into the piston assembly, the upper end face of the lifting rod is located at the height position of the upper opening of the piston assembly, and the upper end face of the lifting rod is an upwards convex arc face.

4. The ball assembling machine of a recirculating ball steering gear according to claim 3, wherein: the upper end face of lifter is provided with a plurality of grooves of stepping down along circumference, the ball can partially imbed in the groove of stepping down.

5. The ball assembling machine of a recirculating ball steering gear according to claim 1, wherein: the rotary driving device comprises a placing seat, a transmission assembly and a rotary driving piece,

the placing seat is used for placing the piston assembly, is connected with the rotary driving piece through the transmission assembly and rotates under the driving of the rotary driving piece, and the rotary driving piece is fixed on the connecting plate.

6. The ball assembling machine of a recirculating ball steering gear according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: the ball leading-in mechanism comprises a fixed frame, a ball storage plate, a transverse moving device and a discharging device,

the fixing frame is fixed on the workbench, a feed opening which can be positioned right above the lifting rod is arranged on the fixing frame, and the feed opening can be opened and closed by the feeding device;

the ball storage plate is internally stored with a plurality of groups of balls, the ball storage plate can move along the fixed frame and is driven by the transverse moving device, the balls in the ball storage plate arrive at the feed opening one by one, and when the feed opening is opened, the balls fall into the piston assembly under the action of gravity.

7. The ball assembling machine of a recirculating ball steering gear according to claim 6, wherein: the ball storage plate comprises a plurality of storage channels which are communicated up and down, each storage channel is further provided with an air blowing opening communicated with the storage channel, and the air blowing opening is located at the upper end of the storage channel and is connected with an external air blowing device.

8. The ball assembling machine of a recirculating ball steering gear according to claim 6, wherein: the blanking device is characterized in that a blanking guide pipe is arranged at the position of the blanking opening, the blanking guide pipe is a telescopic guide pipe, and the lower end of the blanking guide pipe can be abutted to the lifting rod.

9. The ball assembling machine of a recirculating ball steering gear according to claim 8, wherein: the blanking guide pipe comprises a fixed guide pipe and a movable guide pipe, the fixed guide pipe is fixed at the blanking port of the fixed frame, and the movable guide pipe is sleeved outside the fixed guide pipe and can move up and down along the fixed guide pipe;

the lower end face of the moving guide pipe also extends downwards to form a plurality of projections arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction, and a groove is formed between every two adjacent projections.

10. The ball assembling machine of a recirculating ball steering gear according to claim 8, wherein: the screw rod assembly mechanism comprises a grabbing device and a pressing device, the grabbing device is fixed on the pressing device, the pressing device can drive the grabbing device to move up and down, and the grabbing device comprises a clamping jaw air cylinder and is used for grabbing and fixing the screw rod assembly.

11. The ball assembling machine of the recirculating ball steering gear according to claim 1, wherein: the carrier further comprises a placing frame arranged along the moving direction of the carrier, and the placing frame is fixed on the connecting plate and used for placing the screw rod assembly.