JP2005351427A - Contact structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contact structure being strong in strength, having features such as low resistance, low noise, and non-lubrication and having by far excellent reliability. <P>SOLUTION: A thermosetting resin compound 30 prepared by adding at least graphite by 5 to 70 wt.% in total amount to resin having non-lubrication and low friction rate, for example, aromatic hydrocarbon resin having a basic structure for connecting at least either of naphthalene and alkylnaphthalene through aromatic group having one ring or more by methylene connection is filled into a channel 20 formed on a tooth face of a helical gear 4 to mold integrally. Consequently, progress of wear of the tooth face is suppressed, vibration and noise are reduced, and destruction of environment is reduced. A gear having non-lubrication is realized, and environmental pollution by lubricating oil is eliminated. When compared with a thermosetting resin compound on which a resin layer is only applied, this thermosetting resin compound 30 does not drop easily, has high reliability as a product, and is strong in strength. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a contact structure between metal members having contact surfaces that contact each other such as tooth surfaces of gears that mesh with each other and sliding surfaces of sliding members that slide relatively, and particularly, strong in strength and low noise. , Low resistance and non-lubricated contact structure.

  Currently used metal gears, such as steel, have the disadvantages of increased resistance due to direct contact between the tooth surfaces, wear on the tooth surfaces, and vibration and noise. Therefore, it is necessary to lubricate. However, environmental pollution caused by lubricating oil is extremely disliked in machines and computer equipment that exist in human spaces or where people live. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a low-noise, non-lubricated gear. Recently, plastic gears are used as non-lubricated gears, but when the drive speed is increased, plastics have a low thermal conductivity, so the temperature is likely to rise, and the deformation of the contact portion increases due to deformation. Vibration increases.

By the way, in JP-A-7-198110 (Patent Document 1), in order to improve lubricity without using a lubricating oil, a resin layer is formed on the surface of a metal tooth portion of a gear by thermal spraying or insert molding. The points formed are shown. Moreover, in JP-A-2003-28275 (Patent Document 2), in order to improve lubricity without using a lubricating oil, a fiber reinforced resin covering at least part of the surface of the metal teeth is pasted. It is shown. Furthermore, JP-A-2003-207027 (Patent Document 3) discloses an aromatic hydrocarbon resin having a basic structure in which at least one of naphthalene and alkylnaphthalene is bonded by a methylene bond via one or more aromatic rings. It is shown that a thermosetting resin composition containing at least 5 to 70 percent by weight of graphite is used as a gear tooth material.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-1198810 JP 2003-28275 A JP 2003-2007027 A

  However, in the configurations of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, since the resin layer is only pasted (covered) on the surface of the metal gear, the resin layer may be peeled off, so that it is reliable as a heavy product. Inferior. Moreover, in the structure of patent document 3, since the resin composition is used as the material of the whole gear, it cannot be denied that it becomes a gear with weak strength.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described points, and provides a contact structure that is remarkably excellent in reliability, as well as having high strength, low resistance, low noise and no lubrication. This is the issue.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors have intensively studied, and as a result, the contact structure with extremely excellent reliability is achieved by improving the configuration for using a non-lubricating and low-friction resin for the contact structure. As a result, the present invention has been completed.

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a contact structure between metal members having contact surfaces that are in contact with each other, and a groove formed on at least one contact surface is filled with a non-lubricated resin having a low friction coefficient. And a contact structure that is integrally formed.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the metal member is a gear, the groove is formed on a tooth surface of at least one of the gears that mesh with each other, and the groove is filled with the resin. The contact structure according to Item 1, is provided.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the gear is a worm and a helical gear meshing with the worm, and a groove formed in a tooth surface of at least one gear is filled with the resin. The contact structure according to claim 2 is provided.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the metal member is a slide member that slides relatively, and a groove formed in any one of the sliding surfaces is filled with the resin. A contact structure according to claim 1 is provided.
In the present invention according to claim 5, the resin is an aromatic hydrocarbon resin having a basic structure in which at least one of naphthalene and alkylnaphthalene is bonded by a methylene bond via one or more aromatic rings, and at least the total amount of graphite. The contact structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the thermosetting resin composition is added in an amount of 5 to 70 percent by weight.
In the present invention according to claim 6, the resin is a heat obtained by mixing the aromatic hydrocarbon resin, graphite, 3 mm carbon fiber, 1 mm carbon fiber in a ratio of 7: 1: 0.5: 1.5. The contact structure according to claim 5, wherein the contact structure is a curable resin composition.
In this invention of Claim 7, the uneven | corrugated | grooved part for preventing that this resin falls out in the boundary surface of the said groove | channel and resin was provided in any one of Claims 1-6 characterized by the above-mentioned. The described contact structure is provided.

  According to the contact structure of the present invention, at least one of non-lubricated and low friction coefficient resin such as naphthalene and alkylnaphthalene is formed in one groove in the groove formed on at least one contact surface in the contact structure between metal members. An aromatic hydrocarbon resin having a basic structure bonded through a methylene bond via the above aromatics is filled with a thermosetting resin composition or the like in which at least 5 to 70 weight percent of graphite is added in a total amount and molded integrally. I did it. Accordingly, the area where the metals directly contact each other is reduced. As a result, the resistance can be reduced, the progress of wear of the metal member can be suppressed, vibration and noise can be reduced, and environmental destruction is small. In addition, a non-lubricated contact structure is obtained, and environmental pollution due to lubricating oil is eliminated. Further, as a result of filling the groove with the resin and integrally forming the resin, the resin is less likely to drop out compared to the case where the resin layer is simply applied to the surface, and the product is highly reliable. Furthermore, there is an advantage that it is strong in strength as compared with the case where the entire metal member is formed of resin.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings.
(First embodiment)
A contact structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. First, the contact structure is a contact structure of metal members having contact surfaces that contact each other. In the present embodiment, a gear is used as an example of the metal member. FIG. 1 shows a reclining adjuster that is attached to a seat of a vehicle or the like and appropriately adjusts an inclination angle of a seat back with respect to a seat cushion, and is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-319849. The structure will be briefly described. When the rotation of the steel worm 2 rotatably attached to the first bracket 1 is locked, the steel screw supported by the second bracket 3 that meshes with the steel worm 2 is locked. If the gear 4 becomes non-rotatable, the inclination angle of the seat back with respect to the seat cushion is fixed, and when the worm 2 is unlocked by an operation member (not shown), the worm 2 becomes freely rotatable, In this configuration, the inclination angle of the seat back can be changed.

  And in this embodiment, as shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, the groove | channel 20 of the predetermined width is formed in the intermediate part of the tooth surface of many teeth 11 of the helical gear 4, respectively, The groove 20 is filled with a non-lubricating and low-friction resin and is integrally molded. Examples of non-lubricating and low-friction resins include aromatic hydrocarbon resins (COPNA resins) having a basic structure in which at least one of naphthalene and alkylnaphthalene is bonded by a methylene bond via one or more aromatic rings. A thermosetting resin composition (see Japanese Patent No. 2879150) 30 to which at least 5 to 70 percent by weight of graphite is added can be used. It is preferable to mix a fiber material with the thermosetting resin composition because the strength is increased. Examples of the fiber material include carbon fiber and glass fiber, and carbon fiber is preferable. More preferably, a thermosetting resin composition in which the above aromatic hydrocarbon resin, graphite, 3 mm carbon fiber, and 1 mm carbon fiber are mixed at a ratio of 7: 1: 0.5: 1.5 is used. Is good.

  The thermosetting resin composition 30 is compressed and filled in the groove 20 of the gear material, and is thermoset and integrated. Thereby, when the worm 2 is meshed with the helical gear 4, the area where the metals come into contact with each other is reduced, and the contact between the thermosetting resin composition 30 and the metal is mainly performed. Actually, since the effective contact range between the helical gear 4 and the worm 2 is a portion filled with the thermosetting resin composition 30, there is substantially no contact between metals, and the thermosetting resin composition. Only the contact between the object 30 and the metal is achieved. As a result, the resistance can be reduced, the progress of tooth surface wear can be suppressed, vibration and noise can be reduced, and environmental destruction is small. In addition, as a result of mixing graphite, wear on the tooth surface is reduced. That is, the graphite is also transferred to the worm 2 that meshes with the helical gear 4 to become a lubricant, and is automatically corrected to the meshing shape. In short, since the resin portion of the tooth 11 is adapted to the other tooth and lubricates, the sliding torque is lowered by the operation. Therefore, the reclining adjuster installed inside the vehicle can be used as a non-lubricated gear, and environmental pollution due to lubricating oil is eliminated.

  In addition, as a result of filling the groove 20 formed on the tooth surface of the helical gear 4 with the thermosetting resin composition 30 and integrally forming the groove 20, compared with the case where only the resin layer is applied on the surface, The curable resin composition does not easily fall off and is highly reliable as a product. Furthermore, there is an advantage that it is strong in strength as compared with the case where the entire gear is formed with the thermosetting resin composition. In particular, as described above, a fiber material is added to the thermosetting resin composition 30. In this case, preferably, when carbon fiber having high toughness and high elastic modulus is added, the strength can be further improved.

  Further, in integrating the thermosetting resin composition 30 and the gear material, the gear material provided with the groove 20 is first geared by giving negative dislocations, and then the above thermosetting resin composition. It is preferable to compress and fill 30 in the groove 20 and heat cure. After thermosetting the thermosetting resin composition 30, the gear is cut again with a transition amount of zero, or a positive dislocation is given to complete the gear cutting. Since the gear is cut by giving a negative transition first, the thermosetting resin composition 30 is filled in the groove 20 portion of the tooth surface of the helical gear 4 and the tooth surface except the groove 20 is filled. A film of the thermosetting resin composition 30 is also formed. Therefore, in this case, when the helical gear 4 is meshed with the worm 2, there is no portion where the metals contact each other, and all the contact surfaces are in contact with the thermosetting resin composition 30 and the metal.

  The portion where the film of the thermosetting resin composition 30 is formed may be dropped because it is thin, but the effective contact range is the portion where the thermosetting resin composition 30 is formed as described above. Even if it falls off, it can avoid that metals contact. In general, the accuracy of assembly of helical gears with worms is difficult, and conventional steel gears may be difficult to assemble. However, as described above, negative displacement is imparted to the teeth 11 of the helical gears 4. By cutting the teeth, there is also an advantage that assembly is easy.

  In the above description, the groove 20 is formed in the helical gear 4 and filled with the thermosetting resin composition 30, but conversely, a groove is provided on the tooth surface of the worm 2 and the groove is non-lubricated. The resin having a low friction coefficient may be filled and molded integrally. Further, both the worm 2 and the helical gear 4 may be provided with grooves on the tooth surfaces and filled with such resin.

(Test Example 1)
With respect to the reclining adjuster of the first embodiment, the meshing worm 2 and helical gear 4 are rotated and moved, and the sliding torque is measured and shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, it can be seen that the sliding torque is lowered by the movement, and the resin portion of the tooth 11 is adapted to the other tooth and is lubricated.

(Test Example 2)
Two types of composite gears in which the metal member and the resin according to the present invention are integrally formed were manufactured (composite gear A and composite gear B), and plastic gears and steel gears made of conventionally known polyacetal were prepared. All are spur gears, and the tooth profile, the number of teeth, the diameter, etc. are all the same standard. Each spur gear was meshed with a separately prepared steel spur gear and rotated to conduct a noise test.

As shown in FIG. 4, the compound gear A is formed with grooves 220 in the teeth 210 of the steel spur gear 200, and in the grooves 220, the above aromatic hydrocarbon resin, graphite, 3 mm carbon fiber, 1 mm Is filled with a thermosetting resin composition 230 in which carbon fiber is mixed at a ratio of 7: 1: 0.5: 1.5, and the metal member and the resin are integrally formed. A resin film is also formed on the tooth surfaces of the teeth 210 located around the groove 220.
The compound gear B is formed in exactly the same way as the compound gear A except that glass fibers are used instead of the carbon fibers.

  FIG. 5A shows the relationship between the rotation frequency and noise, FIG. 5B shows the change in noise when rotated for 100 hours at a rotation frequency of 10 Hz, and FIG. 5C shows 100 hours. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the rotation frequency after rotation, and noise. In the figure, “CFS” indicates a composite gear A using carbon fibers, “CGS” indicates a composite gear B using glass fibers, “PS” indicates a plastic gear, and “Fe” indicates a steel gear.

  From FIG. 5 (a), all are common in that the noise increases with the increase of the rotation frequency, but the noise level is significantly higher in "Fe-Fe" which is meshing of steel gears. From FIG. 5 (b), in the meshing of the plastic gear and the steel gear ("Fe-PS"), although the noise decreases soon after the start of rotation, the noise increases after that. In the case of meshing with a steel gear (“Fe-CFS”) and meshing of a compound gear B and a steel gear (“Fe-CGS”), the noise once decreases after the start of rotation and then increases slightly. However, after that, it can be seen that the noise gradually decreases and approaches a certain level of noise. From FIG. 5 (c), there was no significant difference in noise level immediately after the start of rotation in FIG. 5 (a) among those using plastic gears, those using compound gears A and B. On the other hand, after 100 hours of rotation, the one using the plastic gear is about 10 dB higher than the one using the compound gear A or compound gear B.

  FIG. 6 shows the results of FFT analysis at a rotational frequency of 10 Hz and a meshing frequency of 240 Hz. (A) is Fe-CFS, (b) is Fe-PS, and (c) is the Fe-Fe analysis result. In both cases, a peak is observed around 700 Hz. This peak is considered to be a higher-order component that is three times the meshing frequency. Further, in FIG. 6C, large peaks are observed in the vicinity of 10 kHz and 11 kHz, but they are not seen in FIGS. 6A and 6B, and are considered to be natural frequencies generated by metal contact. Therefore, it is considered that metal contact does not occur if such a frequency component does not occur after rotating for 100 hours.

  FIG. 7A shows the result of FFT analysis after 100 hours rotation of Fe-CFS, and FIG. 7B shows the result of FFT analysis after 100 hours rotation of Fe-PS. When this was compared with FIG. 6, in the case of Fe-CFS, it was found that there was almost no change and no metal contact occurred. Rather, it seems that noisy parts are removed. On the other hand, in the case of Fe-PS, after 100 hours of rotation, a peak that is not observed before rotation is observed in the vicinity of 10 kHz. This is considered to be the generation of noise due to tooth surface wear caused by non-lubricating rotation.

(Test Example 3)
The steel gear is engaged with the composite gear A using carbon fiber, the composite gear B using glass fiber, and the plastic gear, respectively, and torque is applied to each tooth of the composite gear A, composite gear B, and plastic gear. The torque at break was measured.

  As a result, the composite gear A was 167.3 Nm, the composite gear B was 135.0 Nm, and the plastic gear was 121.0 Nm. It was found that the composite gears A and B were stronger than the plastic gear. Further, the composite gear A to which the carbon fiber was added had higher strength than the composite gear B to which the glass fiber was added. This is considered to be due to the fact that carbon fiber has higher toughness and higher elastic modulus than glass fiber.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a contact structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 show a perspective view and an end view of a slide mechanism comprising a first slide member 40 made of metal and a second slide member 50 made of metal that slide relative to each other. The first slide member 40 is composed of a long member having a substantially U-shaped cross section in which both end portions are bent inward in a substantially U shape and a groove portion 42 is formed by a bent piece 41. The second slide member 50 is composed of a long member having a substantially U-shaped cross section in which both end portions are bent outwardly in a substantially U shape and a groove portion 52 is formed by a bent piece 51. And the 2nd slide member 50 is inserted inside the 1st slide member 40, the bending piece 51 of the 2nd slide member 50 is inserted inside the groove part 42 of the 1st slide member 40, and 2nd The bent piece 41 of the first slide member 40 is inserted inside the groove portion 52 of the slide member 50, and is relatively slidable as shown in FIGS.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, grooves 60 are formed on the front end surfaces of the two bent pieces 51 of the second slide member 50 and the outer bottom surfaces of the two groove portions 52, respectively. The thermosetting resin composition 70 as described above is filled as a resin having a low friction coefficient with lubrication. Specifically, the groove 60 formed on the tip surface of the bent piece 51 is filled with the thermosetting resin composition 70 protruding slightly, and the tip surface of the thermosetting resin composition 70 is convex. Are formed on a substantially arc surface. Further, a concave substantially circular arc surface portion 42a is formed on the inner bottom surface of the groove portion 42 of the first slide member 40 on which the thermosetting resin composition 70 slides. On the other hand, a protrusion 52a is formed on the outer bottom surface of the groove 52, and a groove 60 is formed in the protrusion 52a. The groove 60 is filled with the thermosetting resin composition 70 in a slightly overhanging state, and the front end surface of the thermosetting resin composition 70 is formed into a convex substantially circular arc surface. Further, a concave substantially arcuate surface portion 40a is formed on the inner bottom surface of the first slide member 40 on which the thermosetting resin composition 70 slides. In addition, it is good to provide the uneven | corrugated | grooved part 80 for preventing that this thermosetting resin composition 70 falls off in the boundary surface of the groove | channel 60 and the thermosetting resin composition 70, respectively.

  When the second slide member 50 and the first slide member 40 are combined, the sliding portion between the first slide member 40 and the second slide member 50 is in contact with the thermosetting resin composition 70 and the metal. Therefore, there is no sliding portion between the metals, and the resistance is reduced, so that a smooth operation with less vibration and noise can be obtained. Incidentally, in the related art, a ball or a roller is provided on the sliding portion between the first slide member 40 and the second slide member 50 so as to slide relative to each other, but there is a sense of a groovy feeling with large vibration and noise. It becomes operation. In addition, since the slide mechanism is a non-lubricated slide mechanism, environmental pollution caused by lubricating oil is reduced in a slide mechanism installed indoors. In addition, as a result of filling the thermosetting resin composition 70 into the groove 60 formed in the second slide member 50 and integrally molding it, it was assumed that there was only a resin layer temporarily applied. Therefore, the thermosetting resin composition is difficult to drop off and has high reliability as a product. Furthermore, even if there is one in which the entire slide member is formed of a thermosetting resin composition, this embodiment is stronger in strength, and in particular, carbon fiber is added to the thermosetting resin composition 70. Therefore, the strength can be further improved.

  The present invention is not limited to the gears and slide members described above, and can be applied to various structures in which metal members are in contact with each other.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a structure of a reclining adjuster for explaining a contact structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig.2 (a) is a front view of the helical gear in the reclining adjuster same as the above, and FIG.2 (b) is sectional drawing of a tooth tip. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the results of Test Example 1. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating a schematic structure of the compound gear of Test Example 2. FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the results of the noise test. FIG. 5 (a) shows the relationship between the rotation frequency and noise, and FIG. 5 (b) shows the noise when rotating for 100 hours at a rotation frequency of 10 Hz. FIG. 5C is a graph showing the relationship between the rotation frequency after 100 hours of rotation and noise. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the results of FFT analysis when the rotation frequency is 10 Hz and the meshing frequency is 240 Hz. (A) is Fe-CFS, (b) is Fe-PS, and (c) is the Fe-Fe analysis result. Indicates. FIG. 7A is a diagram showing the FFT analysis result after rotation of Fe—CFS for 100 hours, and FIG. 7B is a diagram showing the FFT analysis result after rotation of Fe—PS for 100 hours. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a structure of a slide mechanism for explaining a contact structure according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is an end view of the slide mechanism. FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a portion A in FIG. FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of a portion B in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

2 Worm 4 Helical gear 11 Teeth 20 Groove 30 Thermosetting resin composition 40 First slide member 50 Second slide member 60 Groove 70 Thermosetting resin composition

Claims (7)

A contact structure between metal members having contact surfaces that contact each other,
A contact structure characterized in that a groove formed on at least one contact surface is filled with a non-lubricating and low-friction resin and is integrally molded.   The contact structure according to claim 1, wherein the metal member is a gear, and the groove is formed on a tooth surface of at least one gear meshing with each other, and the resin is filled in the groove.   3. The contact structure according to claim 2, wherein the gear is a worm and a helical gear meshing with the worm, and the resin is filled in a groove formed on a tooth surface of at least one gear.   The contact structure according to claim 1, wherein the metal member is a slide member that slides relatively, and a groove formed in one of the sliding surfaces is filled with the resin.   The resin is an aromatic hydrocarbon resin having a basic structure in which at least one of naphthalene and alkylnaphthalene is bonded by a methylene bond via one or more aromatic groups, and at least 5 to 70 weight percent of graphite is added in total. It is a thermosetting resin composition, The contact structure of any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The resin is a thermosetting resin composition in which the aromatic hydrocarbon resin, graphite, 3 mm carbon fiber, and 1 mm carbon fiber are mixed at a ratio of 7: 1: 0.5: 1.5. The contact structure according to claim 5, characterized in that:   The contact structure according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein an uneven portion for preventing the resin from dropping off is provided at a boundary surface between the groove and the resin.

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