JP2002339993A - Manufacturing method for bearing sealed with polymer lubricant - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for easily and consistently manufacturing a polymer lubricant sealed bearing having a structure that polymer lubricant sealed between inner and outer rings of a double row self-aligning roller bearing is divided between two rows of rolling elements, and the divided lubricant can be rotated independently from each other. SOLUTION: After assembling the double row self-aligning roller bearing, ring-shaped spacers 21a and 21b for division are inserted between two rows of the rolling elements 3a and 3b utilizing the fact that the outer ring 2 of this self-aligning roller bearing can be turned in the direction orthogonal to the axis of the bearing with respect to an assembly 10 comprising an inner ring 1, the rolling element 3 and holders 4a and 4b. Raw polymer lubricant is poured and solidified in each area of an annular space between the inner ring 1 and the outer ring 2 divided into two areas in the axial direction by the spacers 21a and 21b for division, and then, the spacers 21a and 21b for division are removed. The polymer lubricant sealed bearing with a pair of reliably separated polymer lubricant 5a and 5b sealed therein can be easily obtained thereby.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a polymer lubricant-filled bearing, and more particularly, to a polymer lubricant having a polymer lubricant filled between an inner ring and an outer ring of a double-row self-aligning roller bearing. Related to sealed bearings.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a rolling bearing, generally, in order to improve lubricity between an inner raceway surface and a rolling element or between an outer raceway surface and a rolling element, an annular space formed between an inner race and an outer race is formed. Lubricating oil is supplied or grease is filled. In order to supply or enclose such lubricating oil or grease in the space between the inner and outer rings,
Or, in order to prevent water or foreign matter from entering the space from the outside, a contact-type seal or a labyrinth seal is usually provided in an annular shape to seal or partition the space between the inner ring and the outer ring from the outside. Attached to both ends of the space in the axial direction.

[0003] However, in a double-row self-aligning roller bearing in which two rows of raceways are formed on the outer periphery of the inner ring and an arc-shaped raceway is formed on the inner periphery of the outer race on an axially parallel cross section, a certain kind of bearing is used. When used under conditions, the rolling elements may protrude from the outer ring raceway surface and rotate, and in such a self-aligning roller bearing, lubricating oil or grease will not There is a risk of spilling out.

As one measure against such a case, conventionally, a mixture of a polymer, a lubricating oil or grease is heated and melted in a space formed between an inner ring and an outer ring, and then cooled and solidified. A method of enclosing a so-called polymer lubricant is known (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-50330).
issue). According to this polymer lubricant-enclosed bearing, the rotation of the bearing gradually releases the lubricating oil or grease contained in the polymer and spreads between the raceway surfaces of the inner and outer rings and the rolling elements, thereby providing a good over a long period of time. A lubricated state can be maintained.

[0005] The polymer lubricant used here is usually
A mixture of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene resin and lubricating oil or grease is solidified.When sealed between the inner and outer rings of the bearing, the above mixture is heated and melted, After the space between the inner and outer races and the rolling elements of the bearing is filled, it is generally cooled and solidified.

Incidentally, in a double-row self-aligning roller bearing, generally, when rotating in a state of alignment, advance and delay of the left and right rolling element rows occur. In such a double row self-aligning roller bearing, when a polymer lubricant is entirely enclosed in a gap formed between the inner ring and the outer ring, the left and right rolling element rows are restrained by the polymer lubricant. As a result, especially at a high speed, a large force acts on the polymer lubricant due to the advance and delay between the rolling element rows, and the polymer lubricant may be damaged.

In order to solve such a problem, a structure may be adopted in which the polymer lubricant is divided in the axial direction between the inner and outer rings, and each rolling element row is made independent. That is,
As illustrated in an axially parallel sectional view in FIG. 6, an inner ring 1 having two rows of raceway surfaces 1a and 1b formed on the outer periphery and an outer race having one raceway surface 2a forming an arc shape on the axially parallel cross section. 2, two rolling element rows 3a, 3b each including a plurality of rolling elements 3 corresponding to the respective raceway surfaces 1a, 1b of the inner race 1,
In a double-row self-aligning roller bearing having a structure held by corresponding cages 4a and 4b, each rolling element row 3
Polymer lubricant 5 divided into two corresponding to a and 3b
a, 5b may be provided so that each rolling element row 3a, 3b can independently rotate (revolve) together with the corresponding polymer lubricant 5a, 5b. Such a structure of a polymer lubricant-enclosed bearing in which an independent polymer lubricant is arranged for each rolling element row is already known (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-1 / 1991).
4273, JP-A-11-280768).

[0008]

However, a stable production method has not been established for a polymer lubricant-enclosed bearing having an independent polymer lubricant for each rolling element row as described above. The fact is that polymer lubricant-filled bearings having a complicated structure have not been put to practical use.

That is, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-14273, while the rolling elements of each row are held in respective cages, the rolling elements are inserted into a separately prepared mold, and a polymer lubricant material is injected into the mold. A method is disclosed in which two sets of donut-shaped molded bodies in which a cage, rolling elements, and a polymer lubricant are integrated by solidifying by means of a cage are manufactured, and each molded body is fitted between an inner ring and an outer ring of a bearing. Have been. However,
It is extremely difficult to fit the polymer lubricant formed in advance with the rolling element row and the retainer in a donut shape between the inner and outer rings, and in particular, as shown in FIG. In the double-row spherical roller bearing of the type in which 11 is formed, the fall-off prevention flange 11 interferes, and it is substantially impossible to fit the above-mentioned donut-shaped molded body.

In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-280768, two cages for holding each row of rolling elements are provided with a spacing between the pockets for maintaining the spacing between the rolling elements adjacent in the circumferential direction. A method is disclosed in which a polymer lubricant is integrally formed in a portion in advance and incorporated into a bearing. However, in this method, not only a mold having a large number of minute cavities for individually accommodating the space holding portions of the cage is separately required, but also when a rolling element is inserted into each pocket by being incorporated in a bearing. There is a problem that the polymer lubricant may peel off or be damaged from the retainer due to the force of (1).

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a polymer lubricant sealed between inner and outer rings of a double-row self-aligning roller bearing is divided into two rows of rolling element rows. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method capable of easily and stably manufacturing a polymer lubricant-enclosed bearing having a structure capable of independently rotating.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a polymer lubricant-filled bearing of the present invention has two rows of raceways formed on the outer periphery of an inner ring, and has an axially parallel section on the inner periphery of an outer ring. And an inner raceway surface and an outer ring raceway surface in a state where a plurality of rolling elements are held by cages for each row in each of the two rows of raceways of the inner ring. A method of manufacturing a polymer lubricant-enclosed bearing in which a polymer lubricant is accommodated in a space between the inner ring and the outer ring of the self-aligning roller bearing which is arranged to be rotatable with respect to both. After assembling a bearing consisting of an inner ring, an outer ring, two cages and two rows of rolling elements held by the respective cages, the center axes of the inner and outer rings do not coincide with each other between the two rows of rolling elements. Insert a ring-shaped splitting spacer that can be removed Partition between the respective rolling element row, then after solidifying by injecting polymer lubricant material between the inner and outer rings, characterized by removing the respective divided spacer.

The present invention utilizes a structural characteristic of a double-row spherical roller bearing in which the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring of the spherical roller bearing has an arcuate shape in an axially parallel cross-section, and utilizes the structural characteristics between the inner ring and the outer ring. Before injecting the polymer lubricant raw material into the rolling element rows, the spacers are interposed between the rolling element rows, and the spacers are removed after molding the polymer lubricant. A bearing having a structure in which an independent polymer lubricant is sealed is obtained.

That is, in a double-row self-aligning roller bearing, an assembly consisting of an inner ring, two rows of rolling element rows, and two cages for holding the respective rolling element rows is circular in an axially parallel cross section. The outer race having the arc-shaped raceway can be freely rotated around an axis perpendicular to the bearing central axis as shown in FIG. Therefore, by using a ring-shaped spacer that can be removed with the center axes of the inner and outer rings being inconsistent with each other, for example, a split ring-shaped member obtained by cutting the ring into a plurality of pieces, as shown in FIG. Outer ring,
In a state where the rotation center axis of the outer ring and the rotation center axis of the inner ring are displaced so that they do not coincide with each other, a dividing spacer is easily inserted between the inner and outer rings in the axial direction, that is, between the rolling element rows. can do. With the split spacer inserted, the outer ring is returned to its original normal position, that is, the center axis of the outer ring is aligned with the center axis of the inner ring, and a polymer lubricant raw material is injected between the inner ring and the outer ring to be solidified. By shifting the outer ring again as shown in FIG. 1, the dividing spacer can be removed. After the separation spacer is removed, the polymer lubricant between the inner and outer rings is divided into two parts in the axial direction with the center part in the axial direction as a boundary, and an independent polymer lubricant is provided for each rolling element row. Thus, a bearing filled with polymer lubricant is obtained.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 5 are explanatory views of a procedure for manufacturing a polymer lubricant-enclosed bearing by employing the method of the present invention, and show an example in the case of manufacturing the polymer lubricant-enclosed bearing having the structure of FIG. 6 described above. I have.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, a pair of dividing spacers 21a and 21b formed by forming a thin flat plate into a semi-ring shape.
And after assembling the double row self-aligning roller bearing, the outer ring is mounted on the assembly 10 including the inner ring 1, the rolling element rows 3a and 3b, and the retainers 4a and 4b for respectively holding these. By rotating the outer ring 2 about an axis orthogonal to the center axis of the bearing, the outer ring 2 is displaced until the center axes of the assembly 10 and the outer ring 2 are substantially orthogonal to each other. Then, after inserting the dividing spacers 21a, 21b between the retainers 4a, 4b at positions facing each other, as shown in FIG. 2, the outer ring 2 is moved to its original regular position, that is, the assembly 10 and the outer ring 2 Is returned to the state where the center axes of are matched.
FIG. 3 shows an axially parallel enlarged sectional view in this state. In this state, the annular space between the inner ring 1 and the outer ring 2 is axially divided into two by the respective dividing spacers 21a and 21b.

Thereafter, as shown in the sectional view of FIG. 4, the bearing is inserted into an appropriate injection mold 22 and the inner ring 1 and the outer ring 2 are inserted.
Between the spacers 6a. The polymer lubricant raw material is injected into both regions partitioned by 6b and solidified.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the outer ring 2 is displaced again, the dividing spacers 21a and 21b are removed, and the outer ring 2 is removed.
Is returned to the normal position, so that each rolling element row 3a, 3b
And independent polymer lubricants 5
The bearing having the structure shown in FIG. Here, each dividing spacer 21a, 2
In order to facilitate removal of 1b, it is preferable to apply a release agent or the like to each of the dividing spacers 21a and 21b in advance.

In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the method of the present invention is applied to the manufacture of a double-row spherical roller bearing provided with fall prevention flanges 11 at both ends of the inner ring 1. In the present invention, in addition to the bearing having such a structure, as shown in an axially parallel sectional view in FIG. Of course, it is equally applicable to a self-aligning roller bearing having a structure.

Further, in the above embodiment, the dividing spacer is a half-ring-shape divided into two parts.
It may be divided as described above. Alternatively, a ring may be formed by arranging the divided spacers, and these may be slid together to form an intermittent portion in the ring and be removed. Further, the above-mentioned intermittent portion may be made by connecting the divided spacers with a link mechanism to form a ring, and releasing some of the links at the time of removal. That is, any structure can be used as long as the divided spacers can be inserted and removed between the retainers of the assembly 10 in a state where the respective center axes of the assembly 10 and the outer ring 2 are not coincident with each other. Can be.

As described above, according to the present invention, after assembling the double row self-aligning roller bearings, the inner ring, the two rows of rolling elements and the two cages corresponding to each row are provided. By displacing the outer ring, a ring-shaped dividing spacer which can be inserted into and removed from the bearing in the displaced state is inserted between the two retainers, and the dividing spacer is used to form a ring between the inner ring and the outer ring. In a state where the space is divided into two regions in the axial direction, the polymer lubricant raw material is injected into each region and solidified, so that the two are separated corresponding to the two rolling element rows and can rotate independently of each other. By providing one polymer lubricant, it is possible to easily and stably manufacture a polymer lubricant-enclosed bearing in which the polymer lubricant is not likely to be damaged even when the rolling element rows are advanced or delayed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an example of a procedure for manufacturing a polymer lubricant-enclosed bearing by employing the method of the present invention. The outer ring 1 of a double-row self-aligning roller bearing assembled in advance is displaced and divided spacers 21a and 21b are provided. It is explanatory drawing of the state which inserts.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of an example of a procedure of a manufacturing method according to the present invention, in which the outer ring 2 is returned to an original position after inserting spacers 21a and 21b.

FIG. 3 is an axially parallel sectional view in the state of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a procedure of a manufacturing method according to the present invention,
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram when the bearing in the state of FIGS. 2 and 3 is inserted into a mold 22 and a polymer lubricant raw material is injected.

5 is an explanatory view of an example of a procedure of the manufacturing method according to the present invention, which is an explanatory view when solidifying the polymer lubricant material injected in the state of FIG. 4 and then removing the dividing spacers 21a and 21b. It is.

FIG. 6 is an axially parallel sectional view showing a configuration example of a polymer lubricant-enclosed bearing obtained by the manufacturing method of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an axially parallel sectional view showing another configuration example of the polymer lubricant-enclosed bearing obtained by the manufacturing method of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inner ring 2 Outer ring 3 Rolling element 3a, 3b Rolling element row 4a, 4b Cage 5a, 5b Polymer lubricant 10 Assembly including inner ring 1, rolling element 3 and retainers 4a, 4b 21a, 21b Separating spacer 22 Mold

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3J101 AA15 AA25 AA32 AA43 AA52 AA62 BA80 CA11 DA20 EA53 FA44

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A two-row raceway surface is formed on an outer periphery of an inner ring, and an arc-shaped raceway surface is formed on an inner periphery of an outer ring on an axially parallel cross section. In each of the plurality of rolling elements, the self-aligning roller bearings arranged so as to be able to roll on both the inner raceway surface and the outer raceway surface in a state of being held by the cages of each row, A method for producing a polymer lubricant-enclosed bearing in which a polymer lubricant is contained in a space between outer rings, wherein the inner ring, the outer ring, two cages, and two rows of rolling elements held by the cages. After assembling a row of bearings,
Between the two rolling element rows, a ring-shaped dividing spacer that can be removed with the center axes of the inner and outer rings being disagreeed with each other is inserted to partition between the rolling element rows, and then the inner and outer rings are separated. A method for producing a polymer-lubricated-enclosed bearing, comprising: injecting and solidifying a polymer-lubricant material in between, and then removing the respective dividing spacers.