JP2001121365A - Ball building-in device for bearing assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ball building-in device for a bearing assembly capable of reinforcing a pilot part of the outer ring of a bearing and building a ball in the outer ring with simple constitution in building the ball in a cage inside the outer ring. SOLUTION: This ball building-in device for a bearing assembly is provided with a lower jig 2 having a stepped part 2a for holding the outer ring 6, a cage phase adjusting means 8 for placing a cage 7 while adjusting its phase to the height of a ball groove 6a from the surface of a moving table 1, and a guide tapered face 2c for pushing out a ball 20 toward the ball groove 6a of the outer ring 6 when abutting on the ball 20; a ball supply means for supplying the ball 20 from one end side of the outer ring 6 toward a pocket 9 of the cage 7; and a ball pressing means 15 for inserting the ball 20 placed on the pocket 9 of the cage 7, into the pocket 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ball assembling device for a bearing assembly, and more particularly to a ball assembling device suitable for a bearing assembly having a double row of grooves used for a hub bearing for a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a wheel bearing device for receiving wheels of an automobile, as shown in FIG. 13, two rows of ball grooves 32, 33 formed on the inner surface of an outer ring 31 and two ball grooves inserted inside the outer ring 31. In some cases, a plurality of balls 35 are incorporated between the inner ring 34 and the balls 35 in each row by a retainer 36.

Conventionally, when assembling the ball and the cage of the above-described wheel bearing device, as shown in FIG. 14, a pair of ball-mounted cages 37 in which the balls 35 are inserted into pockets of the cage 36 are used. , Are incorporated in the outer race 31. In this case, a land portion 38 formed between the pair of ball grooves 32, 33 of the outer race 31 is provided.
Inside diameter d ₁ of the are the smaller dimension than the ball outermost diameter of the retainer 37 with a ball retainer 37 with a pair of balls, so that insert inside from both sides of the outer ring 31.

[0004]

In the above-described wheel bearing device, the inner diameter d of the pilot portion 39 outside the one ball groove 32 is increased in order to increase the rigidity of the outer ring 31.
_In some cases, the thickness is increased by reducing the size of 2 to such a size that the retainer 37 with a ball cannot be incorporated. However, in this configuration, in the state of the ball-mounted retainer 37, the outermost diameter becomes excessively large, so that it cannot be incorporated into the pilot portion 39. Therefore, the retainer 36 and the ball had to be disassembled and assembled. For these reasons, conventionally, the work of assembling the ball has been performed manually, and the incorporation of the ball has been extremely troublesome.

On the other hand, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
There is a ball incorporation method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H11-163,873. According to this method, a ball guide groove is first formed on the outer peripheral surface of the outer ring set with the pilot portion facing upward, and a rod-shaped support member having a retainer fixed to a stepped portion on the outer periphery. Into the outer race from below. On the other hand, by supplying the balls from above the outer ring to the respective ball guide grooves of the support member, the balls are respectively placed on the retainer inside the outer ring. In this state, the ball is pushed downward by lowering the ball ring having the tip end from above the outer ring, and the ball is pushed into the pocket of the retainer inside the outer ring while the supporting member is raised. Thereby, a cage with a ball can be assembled inside the outer race.

[0006] However, in this ball mounting method,
In this configuration, the ball is supplied from above the outer race and the retainer is supplied from below, and when the ball is incorporated, the support member is raised from below and the ball retainer is lowered from above. For this reason, there has been a problem that the overall configuration of the ball incorporating device becomes complicated and control becomes troublesome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and reinforces a pilot portion of a bearing outer ring,
An object of the present invention is to provide a ball assembling device of a bearing assembly that can realize the assembling of a ball to an outer ring with a simple configuration when the ball is incorporated into a retainer inside the outer ring.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a ball assembly device for a bearing assembly according to the first aspect of the present invention is provided in a cylindrical through hole with an axial separation. An outer ring having a plurality of rows of ball grooves provided, and a retainer for distributing and holding the balls disposed in the ball grooves substantially uniformly in a circumferential direction, wherein the outer ring has an opening end of the through hole. Of which, the inner diameter of one end of the smaller inlet diameter or the inner diameter of the smallest diameter cylindrical portion between the double row of ball grooves is formed to be larger than the outermost ball diameter of the cage with balls. A step assembly for positioning an inner peripheral surface of the other end of the open end of the outer ring to hold the outer ring, and being sandwiched between the one end and the minimum-diameter cylindrical portion. Before the height of the ball groove on the moving table surface While holding the retainer, the retainer phase matching means for positioning the retainer with respect to the pocket, and at one axial end of the retainer phase matching means, when the ball is in contact with the ball, A lower jig fixed to a moving table, and a lower jig fixed to the moving table, and a ball guide taper surface for pushing out the cage from one end side of the outer race toward each pocket of the cage. Ball supply means for supplying a predetermined number of balls in the same phase in the circumferential direction; and ball pressing means for pressing and inserting a ball placed on the pocket of the retainer into the pocket. I do.

[0009] In the ball assembly device of this bearing assembly, the lower jig fixed to the moving table has a stepped portion.
After positioning and holding the outer ring, the holder is positioned at a height from the moving table surface of the ball groove of the outer ring and positioned with respect to the pocket by the holder phase matching means, and then placed on the outer ring by the ball supply means. When a predetermined number of balls are supplied from one end side to the cage pocket, and the ball placed on the cage pocket is pressed by the ball pressing means, the ball guide taper surface of the lower jig is pressed. Thus, the ball is inserted into the pocket while being pushed in the ball groove direction of the outer race. With such an operation,
The ball can be incorporated into the bearing assembly in a short time with a simple device configuration, and labor saving and cost reduction can be achieved.

Further, in the ball assembly device for a bearing assembly according to the present invention, the retainer phase adjusting means may be configured so that the retainer has a cylindrical upper end surface having a convex portion corresponding to the concave portion formed on the lower surface of the retainer. It is realized by a device locator. Thus, the cage can be adjusted to a predetermined phase with a simple configuration, and the ball can be placed on the pocket of the cage.

Further, in the ball assembling device of the bearing assembly according to the present invention, the outer ring to be inserted with the ball is placed from above the moving table, and the retainer for actually inserting the ball is also positioned before and after the outer ring. It is also characterized by being mounted on the outer wheel from above the moving table. Thereby, even when the cage with the ball cannot pass through the pilot portion of the outer ring, the ball can be incorporated into the outer ring from one direction with a simple configuration.

An outer race having a plurality of rows of ball grooves provided in the cylindrical through-hole and spaced apart in the axial direction, and a ball disposed in the ball groove being substantially equally distributed in the circumferential direction. The outer ring has an inner diameter of one end of the opening end of the through hole having a smaller inlet diameter, or an inner diameter of a minimum diameter cylindrical portion between the double-row ball grooves. Is a method for mounting a ball in a bearing assembly, wherein the ball is formed to be larger than the outermost ball diameter of the cage with a ball, wherein the inner peripheral surface of the other end of the open end of the outer ring is positioned. And holding the outer ring, and placing the cage at a height from the moving table surface of the ball groove on the side sandwiched between the one end and the minimum diameter cylindrical portion,
Positioning the retainer with respect to the pocket; pushing the ball in the ball groove direction of the outer ring when the ball comes into contact with the ball at one axial end of the retainer phase matching means; Feeding a predetermined number of balls in the same phase in the circumferential direction of the cage from one end side of the cage toward the respective pockets of the cage, and placing the balls placed on the pockets of the cage in the pockets. The above object can be achieved by a method of incorporating a ball into a bearing assembly, comprising the steps of:

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a ball assembly device for a bearing assembly according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a ball assembly apparatus for a bearing assembly to which the ball assembly method for a bearing assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention is applied (hereinafter, simply referred to as a ball assembly apparatus).
FIG. 1 (a) is a top view, and FIG. 1 (b) is a side sectional view thereof. As shown in FIG. 1, in the ball incorporating apparatus 100, a plurality of lower jigs 2 on which an outer ring of a bearing is mounted are provided on a moving table 1 capable of performing an index turn, and the lower jigs 2 are illustrated. Although not provided, a plurality of them are provided at equal intervals in a linear or circular shape on the moving table, and are placed on the fixed shaft 3 protruding from the moving table 1 from above and fixed with screws 4, thereby positioning on the moving table 1. Have been.

The lower jig 2 is provided with a stepped portion 2a for positioning the outer ring 6 by engaging one end of the outer ring 6 of the bearing into which the ball is to be incorporated, and a step further above the stepped portion 2a. Attached portion 2b includes a cage 7 as shown in FIG. 2 and a cylindrical cage locator 8 as shown in FIG.
Is attached. As shown in FIG. 2, the retainer 12 is formed of a crown-shaped resin member, and has pockets 9 for accommodating balls arranged in a ring shape, and a recess 7 a is formed below each pocket 9. I have. Cage locator 8
As shown in FIG. 3, a convex portion 8a which engages with the concave portion 7a of the retainer 7 is formed on a cylindrical end surface. The retainer 7 placed on the retainer locator 3 is fixed to a predetermined position. Has a phase adjustment function for adjusting the position to the position in the circumferential direction and a height adjustment function for setting the height to a predetermined height from the surface of the moving table 1.

The retainer 7 and the retainer locator 8 are different from each other in that the convex portion 8a on the end face of the retainer locator 8 has a concave portion 7a at the bottom of the retainer 7.
The phase adjustment of the retainer 7 in the circumferential direction is performed. And the lower jig 2 is a moving table 1
Are sequentially and intermittently transferred along a linear or circular flow line.

Here, the outer ring 6 of the bearing is mounted on the stepped portion 2a of the lower jig 2 with the ball insertion side of the ball assembling apparatus 100 of this embodiment facing up. Two rows of ball grooves 6a and 6b are formed inside the outer ring 6, and a grease reservoir 6c for containing grease is formed at an end of the ball groove 6a. As will be described later, a ball guide 12 that can move in the up-down direction is inserted into the outer race 6 from below. An upper jig 13 is mounted on the upper side of the ball guide 12.
4 and a ball pusher (ball pressing means) 15. The retainer locator 8 is fixed to the fixed shaft 3 so that the circumferential position of the projection 8 a of the retainer locator 8 matches the circumferential position of the ball pusher 15.

The upper jig 13 includes a ball guide 12.
Ball fin 1 for setting the course of a ball inserted from ball insertion port 14 along the longitudinal direction of
7 are provided, and a guide hole 18 through which the ball pusher 15 is inserted is formed. Further, the ball guide 12
The ball guide taper surface 19 which works in cooperation with the ball pusher 15 to push the ball supplied from the ball insertion port 14 into the pocket 9 of the retainer 7 is provided at the lower part of the ball guide taper surface 19.
Are formed. The lower jig 2 also has a ball guide tapered surface 2c. Here, the ball insertion port 1
4, a ball supply device (not shown) for supplying a predetermined number of balls, a ball separating fin 17, and a guide hole 18 correspond to a ball supply means.

Next, the ball assembling apparatus 10 having the above-described structure is used.
The general operation of 0 will be described. First, on the moving table 1
The holder 7 is placed on the holder locator 8 of the lower jig 2 positioned at a predetermined position. Next, the outer ring 6 is placed on the stepped portion 2a of the lower jig 2 while being positioned. In this state, the ball guide 12 and the upper jig 13 are lowered from the outer ring 6. As will be described later, in some cases, the outer ring 6 may be set first, and then the retainer 7 may be set.

After the setting of the retainer 7, the outer ring 6, the ball guide 12, and the upper jig 13 is completed, the balls are supplied from the ball insertion port 14. Here, all the balls may be supplied at one time. However, in the case of a small-diameter bearing in which the distance between adjacent balls is short, for example, every other ball is an even number, and every other ball is an odd number. It is sufficient to supply the ball only in two places and the other parts first, insert the ball into the pocket 9 of the retainer 7, and then supply the remaining number of balls. Thus, when the ball is pressed into the retainer 7, the retainer 7
And the ball can be easily pressed.

When the ball is once placed on the pocket 9 of the retainer 7 while being in contact with the ball guide taper 19 of the ball guide 12 and the ball guide taper surface 2c of the lower jig 2, the ball pusher 12 descends. . The ball is pushed downward by the lowering of the ball pusher 12, and the ball is pushed downward by the ball pusher 12 while being moved diametrically outward of the outer race 6 along the ball guide tapered surfaces 19 and 2 c, and is held down by the ball pusher 12. 7 is inserted into the pocket 9. In the case of small diameter bearings,
The remaining balls are supplied from the ball insertion port 14 and inserted into the pocket 9 of the retainer 7 in the same manner.

Next, the above operation will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 shows a state of the first step in which the lower jig 2 is fixed to the fixed shaft 3 of the moving table 1 and the retainer locator 8 is fixed on the stepped portion 2b of the lower jig 2 at a predetermined circumferential position. Is shown. In this state, the ball guide 12 and the upper jig 13 are located above the lower jig 2
A working space for setting the cage 7 is secured. The outer ring 6 and the retainer 7 may be set in advance at a position where the ball guide 12 and the upper jig are not provided.

FIG. 5 shows a second step in which the outer ring 6 is placed on the stepped portion 2a of the lower jig 2 from the state of the first step shown in FIG.
The state of the step is shown. The outer ring 6 is formed such that the inner diameter of the land 6 d of the outer ring 6 is smaller than the outermost diameter of the ball in a state where the ball is held by the retainer 7. Of a shape that cannot be inserted into

FIG. 6 shows a third step in which the outer ring 6 is placed on the lower jig 2 and then the retainer 7 is placed on the retainer locator 8 as shown in the second step of FIG. The state is shown. As described above, when the retainer 7 is set on the retainer locator 8, the concave portion 7a of the retainer 7 is accurately positioned on the convex portion 8a of the retainer locator 8.

Next, FIG. 7 shows a state in which the cage 7 is set on the lower jig 2 side in the third step, and the ball guide 12 and the upper jig 13 above the outer ring 6 are lowered from the initial standby position. Thus, the state of the fourth step in which the ball guide 12 is inserted into the outer race 6 is shown. In this step, the vertically movable ball guide 1 which has been waiting above the lower jig 2
2 is lowered together with the upper jig 13, and is controlled to stop when the tip of the ball guide 12 comes into contact with the fixed shaft 3. By the first to fourth steps, the preparation for incorporating the ball into the outer race 6 is completed.

Next, the operation of assembling the ball will be described step by step with reference to FIG. First,
FIG. 8A shows a state where the holder 7 is inserted from the ball insertion port 14 of the upper jig 13.
5 shows a state of a fifth step of inserting the ball 20 to be inserted into the sphere. In this step, as described above, the balls 20 are supplied from the ball insertion port 14 while controlling the supply by the shutter (not shown) for the number of balls used at one time, and the guide holes 18 are separated by the ball separating fins 17. And stops just above the retainer 7. Here, as described above, if the total number of balls is even, the balls are first supplied from every other ball insertion port 14, and if the number is odd, only every other portion is adjacent and the other balls are supplied every other. . For the distribution of this ball,
For example, it may be set in a ball supply device that controls the shutter of the ball insertion port 14 in advance. In this case, as long as the ball has a dimension equal to or greater than the circumferential contact length of the balls, all the balls may be supplied at one time and simultaneously pushed by the rear ball pusher 15 to be inserted into the pocket 9 of the retainer 7.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), the ball pusher 15 is lowered, and the ball 20 placed immediately above the holder 7 is pressed downward. In the state of the sixth step, the ball 20 is
The lower jig 2 is pressed down while being in contact with the ball guide tapered surface 2 c of the lower jig 2. Then, as shown in FIG. 8C, the ball 20 is pushed down by the ball pusher 15, and is moved and pressed diametrically outward of the outer ring 6 by the ball guide tapered surfaces 19 and 2c. In the state of the seventh step, the ball 20 is pressed diagonally outward and obliquely downward, so that the ball 20 is inserted into the pocket 9 of the retainer 7. Since the lower end of the ball pusher 15 is restricted by a stopper (not shown), excessive deformation of the retainer 7 is prevented. However, before the ball pusher 15 reaches the lower end, the ball 20 is moved to the retainer 7. It is inserted into the pocket 9 and contacts the ball groove 6 a of the outer race 6. When the ball 20 is inserted into the pocket 9 of the retainer 7 in this manner, the ball pusher 15 moves up to the initial standby position.

Next, if necessary, the ball 2
0 is not inserted, and the ball 20 is inserted into the pocket where the insertion of the ball has been postponed in an empty state. Since the operation is the same as the above-mentioned operation, the description is omitted here. Then, as in the state of the eighth step shown in FIG. 9, the ball guide 12 and the upper jig 13 are raised, and the ball guide 12 is extracted from the outer race 6. Further, as shown in the ninth step of FIG. 10, by moving the moving table 1 by index, the ball can be assembled using the lower jig 23 fixed to the next fixed shaft 22. Also, by simply lifting the outer ring 2 upward,
It can be separated from the lower jig 2.

The mounting of the cage with the ball in the ball groove 6a of the outer race 6 is completed by the above-described fifth to ninth steps of assembling the ball. Next, the process proceeds to the tenth step of mounting the cage with the ball in the ball groove 6b of the outer race 6. This step is performed as follows without using the ball incorporating device 100.

That is, the outer ring 6 removed from the ball guide 12 and the upper jig 13 is taken out from the lower jig 2 and
As shown in FIG. 1, the cage 24 with the ball prepared in advance is inserted into the ball groove 10b of the outer race 10 from the direction opposite to the ball insertion direction by the ball assembling device. By the tenth step, the operation of incorporating the ball into the outer race 2 which is a double-row bearing assembly is completed.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the outer ring 6 into which the ball is to be inserted is set from above the moving table 1, and the retainer 7 is also moved back and forth with respect to the outer ring 6.
Similarly, since the outermost diameter of the ball of the cage with balls is larger than the inner diameter of the pilot portion of the outer ring 6 even when the cage with balls cannot pass through the pilot portion, the outer ring 6 can be automatically assembled in a short time with a simple configuration. Thus, labor saving and cost reduction can be achieved.

Further, the grease reservoir 10c provided adjacent to the ball groove 6a of the outer race 6 moves the ball 20 on the retainer 7 into the grease reservoir 1c in the fifth step.
By 0c, the movement allowance of the outer ring 6 in the diametrically outward direction with respect to the ball 20 can be increased. For this reason, the PCD (pitch circle diameter) of the ball 20 can be increased, and as shown in FIG. 12, the ball 20 forms a bridge inside the outer ring 2 and can prevent the ball from clogging inside the outer ring 2. . Thus, the operation of assembling the ball can be performed stably and reliably.

[0033]

According to the present invention, it is possible to reinforce the pilot portion of the outer race of the bearing, and to assemble the ball into the outer race with a simple structure when the ball is assembled into the ball groove and the retainer inside the outer race. it can. Also, regardless of the magnitude relationship between the dimensions of the lands between the double-row ball grooves of the outer ring and the dimensions of the retainer, the retainer can be inserted from one direction of the outer ring and the ball can be inserted. The ball can be incorporated into the bearing assembly by operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a ball assembly device of a bearing assembly according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a retainer.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a cage locator.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a retainer locator is placed on a lower jig positioned on a moving table.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a state where the outer ring is positioned and placed on the stepped portion of the lower jig.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which a retainer is placed inside an outer ring.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a state in which a ball guide and an upper jig above the outer ring are lowered.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a step-by-step operation of supplying a ball into the outer race and inserting the ball into a pocket of a retainer by a ball pusher.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a state in which a ball guide and an upper jig are lifted above an outer ring after insertion of a ball into a retainer is completed.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which a moving table is index-moved in preparation for the next ball insertion into a ball insertion target.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a state in which a retainer with a ball is inserted into a ball groove of an outer race from a direction opposite to a ball insertion direction by the ball incorporating device.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a state in which a ball forms a bridge inside the outer race.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a conventional wheel bearing device having double rows of ball grooves.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional ball mounting method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 moving table 2 lower jig 2a stepped portion 2c ball guide tapered surface 6 outer ring 7 retainer 8 retainer locator 8a convex portion of retainer locator 9 pocket 12 ball guide 13 upper jig 14 ball insertion port 15 ball pusher 19 ball Guide taper surface 20 Ball 24 Cage with ball 100 Ball assembly device

Claims (1)

[Claims] An outer ring having a plurality of rows of ball grooves provided in a cylindrical through hole and spaced apart in an axial direction;
A retainer that distributes and distributes the balls disposed in the ball groove in the circumferential direction substantially uniformly, and the outer ring has an inner diameter of one end of an opening end of the through hole, the entrance diameter of which is smaller,
Alternatively, any one of the inner diameters of the smallest-diameter cylindrical portion between the double-row ball grooves is a ball assembly device of a bearing assembly formed so as to be larger than a ball outermost diameter of the cage with a ball, A stepped portion for positioning the inner peripheral surface of the other end of the open end to hold the outer ring, and a height of the ball groove on the side sandwiched between the one end and the minimum diameter cylindrical portion from the moving table surface. While holding the retainer, the retainer phase matching means for positioning the retainer with respect to the pocket, and at one axial end of the retainer phase matching means, when the ball is in contact with the ball, A lower jig fixed to a moving table, the lower jig having a ball guide tapered surface for pushing out the ball in the ball groove direction of the outer ring; and A predetermined number of A ball supplying means for supplying a ball, and a ball pressing means for pressing and inserting a ball placed on the pocket of the retainer into the pocket. .