JP2006258192A - Rolling bearing device and rotary device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a low-cost rolling bearing device in which peripheries of bearings are compact and simple and preferable lubrication can be maintained even with a small quantity of lubricant, and a rotary device which can eliminate external piping, auxiliary fittings or the like for lubrication as much as possible. <P>SOLUTION: The rolling bearing device includes a plurality of rolling bearings 3 and oil supply units 9 each comprising a pump 9b arranged in the vicinity of an annular space of each bearing, a nozzle 9c one end of which is located in the annular space of the bearing, a tank 9a for retaining lubricating oil therein, and a driver 9d for controlling a discharge rate of the pump 9b. The rolling bearing device supports a main shaft 2 of the rotary device for rotation. The oil supply units 9 are operated by electric current supplied from an electric power source 10 mounted outside of a housing 1 and controlled singly by a controller 11 so that the discharge timing or the discharge rate of the lubricating oil is synchronized with the rotation of the main shaft 2 of the rotary device. By employing the above constitution, it is possible to simplify the device, to reduce the cost and to realize integrated control of the rotary device including lubrication. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a rolling bearing device suitable for a machine tool rotating at a relatively high speed, and a rotating device including the rolling bearing device.

  Conventionally, jet lubrication, oil mist lubrication, oil / air lubrication, and the like have been used as a method of supplying lubricating oil into the annular space of a rolling bearing device rotating at high speed.

  However, these methods need to pressurize the lubricating oil or accelerate the lubricating oil with compressed air or the like in order to allow the lubricating oil to reach the inside from the outside of the annular space. Equipment becomes large-scale. In addition, since an excessive amount of oil is supplied, a lot of lubricating oil is wasted, and a mechanism for collecting and circulating excess lubricating oil is required to prevent environmental pollution and the like.

  Therefore, as a method of supplying a small amount of lubricating oil to a plurality of bearings evenly and reliably from a single lubricating device without using a compressor or the like, a nozzle that discharges lubricating oil to the bearings, and a nozzle A lubrication apparatus has been proposed that includes an oil lubrication pump that supplies lubricating oil and a multi-distribution mechanism that distributes and supplies a small amount of lubricating oil to these pumps (see Patent Document 1 and the like).

Further, the present applicants have already proposed a compact rolling bearing device in which a pump, a tank, and an oil supply unit including a battery and a generator as a power source are arranged in an annular space of the rolling bearing (Patent Document). See 2-3).
JP 2002-130589 A JP 2004-108388 A JP 2004-316707 A

  By the way, the conventional oil / air lubrication / oil mist lubrication and the rolling bearing device adopting the lubrication mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above include a divided housing having a number of lubricating oil supply holes equal to the number of distributions, A distributor that distributes the lubricating oil equally to each pipe or a multi-distribution mechanism including a rotor valve and a motor is required, and the configuration around the bearing is still complicated, making it difficult to reduce the size and cost of the apparatus. In particular, when the piping from the pump supplying the lubricating oil to the nozzle is long, the pulsation (pressure) of the lubricating oil generated by this pump is attenuated, and the required lubricating oil discharge speed and discharge amount at the nozzle tip may not be obtained. There is also.

  If an oil supply unit including a pump, a tank, a battery, and a power supply is arranged in the annular space of the rolling bearing, the structure around the bearing becomes simple, but the capacity of the tank is limited due to the power supply, and the lubricating oil The amount of time that can be supplied is relatively short and the cost is increased. In particular, if the lubrication unit is not equipped with a sensor that senses the surrounding conditions, the rotation state of the bearing cannot be detected.Therefore, when the rolling bearing is not rotating, the lubrication oil must not be spilled manually. The refueling unit must be stopped.

  Furthermore, when a rolling bearing device having a lubrication unit is incorporated in the housing, it is difficult to manually stop the lubrication unit. Even if the lubrication unit can be stopped, heat is generated around the bearing immediately after the rotation is stopped. Therefore, there is a risk of leakage of lubricating oil.

  In addition, when there are a plurality of rolling bearing devices, it is difficult to stop these rolling bearing devices at a time, and the discharge of the lubricating oil cannot be stopped at an appropriate timing with respect to the rotation stop of the bearing. For this reason, excess lubricating oil may be discharged into the annular space of the bearing.

  The present invention has been made in order to cope with the above-mentioned problems, and a rolling bearing device having a low cost capable of maintaining good lubrication even with a small amount of lubricant, which is compact and simple around the bearing, and the rolling. An object of the present invention is to provide a rotating device that eliminates as much as possible external piping and auxiliary equipment for lubrication by using a bearing device.

  In the present invention, an oil supply unit having a nozzle for directly dropping the lubricating oil in the vicinity of the rolling elements is provided for each bearing, and ON / OFF of the discharge of the lubricating oil and the amount thereof are controlled from the outside of the bearing, It is intended to achieve the intended purpose.

  That is, in order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is arranged in a housing, and supports a rotating shaft so as to be relatively rotatable with respect to the housing. A rolling bearing provided with a plurality of rolling elements interposed between the race members, a pump disposed in or near the annular space formed between the race members of the rolling bearing, and at least One end is disposed in the annular space, the nozzle is open in the annular space and the other end communicates with the discharge port of the pump, a tank that stores lubricating oil, communicates with the pump, and is connected to the pump And a pump drive driver for controlling the amount of lubricating oil discharged from the pump, wherein the pump drive driver is an external electric device installed outside the housing. The pump is operated by a current supplied from the external power source, and the lubricating oil stored in the tank is supplied into the annular space from an opening provided at one end of the nozzle. It is characterized by.

  With the above structure, the entire bearing device can be made compact without arranging large-scale auxiliary equipment such as a compressor around the bearing, and the required amount of lubricating oil can be directly supplied to the vicinity of the rolling element (dropping). It becomes possible to do. Further, this rolling bearing device can easily start and stop the supply of lubricating oil and / or control the amount thereof from the outside of the bearing.

  Here, in this invention, the structure by which the said tank is arrange | positioned in the vicinity of the said pump can be employ | adopted suitably (Claim 2).

  With this configuration, it is only necessary to arrange a cord for supplying current to the driver and a short pipe connecting between the tank and the pump around the bearing. Devices other than the power supply can be placed in or near the bearing annular space. Can be incorporated into. In addition, it is possible to provide an oil supply unit that operates autonomously only by supplying current, and it is possible to accurately supply the minimum amount of lubricating oil near the rolling elements without being affected by long piping. There is also an advantage of being able to do it.

  Furthermore, compared with the conventional rolling bearing oil supply unit, the capacity of the lubricating oil storage tank can be increased, and the lubrication time (that is, the maintenance interval) can be extended. Further, if the tank capacity is the same as the conventional one, the rolling bearing device or the member for disposing the tank can be made small.

  In order to achieve the same object, the invention according to claim 3 is arranged coaxially in the housing, and supports the rotating shaft so as to be relatively rotatable with respect to the housing. A plurality of rolling bearings provided with a plurality of rolling elements interposed between the respective race members, and in or near an annular space formed between the race members of the plurality of rolling bearings, respectively. The pump is disposed, at least one end is disposed in the annular space of each of the plurality of rolling bearings, the nozzle that opens in the annular space and the other end communicates with the discharge port of each pump, and stores lubricating oil A rolling bearing device comprising: a tank communicating with the pump; and a driver for driving a pump connected to each pump and controlling a lubricant discharge amount of each pump. dry Are connected to a controller disposed outside the housing for transmitting a signal for controlling the operation of the driver, and each pump driving driver is connected to an external power source installed outside the housing. The pumps are operated by current supplied from the external power source, and the lubricating oil stored in the tank is supplied into the annular spaces of the respective bearings from openings provided at one ends of the nozzles. It is characterized by that.

  With the above structure, even in the case of a rolling bearing device composed of a plurality of bearings, the entire bearing device can be configured compactly without disposing a large incidental facility such as a compressor around the bearing, as in the first aspect of the invention. It becomes possible to do. In addition, by centrally controlling each oil supply unit that operates individually from a controller disposed outside the housing, it becomes possible to collectively control the start and stop of the supply of lubricant and / or the amount thereof.

  In the present invention, the arrangement position of the pump and its nozzle is within the housing and is not particularly limited as long as it is within or near the annular space of the rolling bearing, but one end (tip) of the nozzle is not limited to the bearing. It is necessary to face the rolling element in the vicinity of the air curtain (air barrier) formed during rotation. In addition, since it is difficult to supply a small amount of lubricating oil unless the pump is placed at a position close to the nozzle, when the pump is disposed outside the bearing annular space, it is disposed close to the rolling bearing in the housing. It is desirable to adopt a structure that is disposed on a member, that is, a spacer fixed adjacent to the fixed ring, a lid for closing the end of the housing, or the housing itself.

  Further, in the vicinity of each of the pumps, a tank for individually supplying lubricating oil to these pumps may be arranged.

  With this configuration, there is a wire between each tank and pump around each bearing, such as a cord for supplying current to the driver, a cord for transmitting a signal for controlling the driver, or a cord connecting the driver and the pump. It is only necessary to provide a short pipe to be connected, and a device other than the power source can be incorporated in or near the bearing annular space as much as possible.

  Here, in order to consume the lubricating oil in each tank without waste, it is desirable that the controller transmits a signal for controlling the discharge of the lubricating oil to each of the pumps only when the rotary shaft is rotated. 5).

Further, the controller controls the operation of each pump and the amount of lubricating oil discharged by passing / cutting off the current supplied from the external power supply instead of sending a control signal to each driver for driving the pump. (Claim 6). With this configuration, the connection between the controller and the driver is only a cord for supplying current, and the wiring is simplified.

  Next, a rotating device according to a seventh aspect is characterized in that the rotating shaft disposed in the housing is supported by the rolling bearing device according to any one of the third to sixth aspects.

  Thus, according to the rotating device that supports the rotating shaft arranged in the housing by the rolling bearing device of the inventions according to claims 3 to 6 described above, the rotating device itself has the function of lubricating the rolling bearing, and the lubricating oil Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the need for all or part of the external device for the purpose. In addition, this rotating device can accurately control the discharge amount of the lubricating oil.

  In the case of a rotating device in which the rotating shaft is driven by a motor, it is desirable that an external power source of the rolling bearing device also serves as a driving power source for the motor. In the case of a rotating device in which the rotating shaft is driven by a motor and the motor is controlled by the controller, the driving control of the motor and the control of each pump driving driver are linked by the controller. Therefore, it is possible to suitably employ a configuration that is controlled (claim 9).

  With these configurations, the rotation of the rotating shaft and the discharge and discharge amount of lubricating oil can be linked to prevent unnecessary discharge of lubricating oil, while avoiding duplication of equipment between the rolling bearing device and the rotating device, and rotation. The cost of the entire apparatus can be reduced. Also, in machine tools equipped with a programmable controller, etc., by using a control signal from this programmable controller, fine start / stop control of lubricating oil according to the number of rotations of the spindle as a rotating device or the amount of lubricating oil Therefore, there is no waste in the supplied lubricating oil, and good lubrication of the rotating device can be maintained with a minimum amount of lubricating oil.

  As described above, according to the rolling bearing device of the present invention, it is possible to configure the rolling bearing device in a compact and simple manner without providing auxiliary equipment such as a compressor, and it is possible to configure the entire device at low cost. It becomes. Further, since the lubricating oil is accurately supplied (dropped) to a required portion, the lubricating oil is not wasted and good lubrication of the rolling bearing device can be maintained for a long time with a small amount of lubricating oil.

  Furthermore, as compared with a rolling bearing device provided with a conventional oil supply unit, it is possible to discharge the lubricating oil for a long time or to make it compact while maintaining the same amount of lubricating oil.

  Further, according to the rotating device of the present invention, it is possible to perform self-lubricating with the rotating device alone without requiring all or part of the external device or external piping for lubrication, and to reduce the cost. Simplification of the device and integrated control of the rotating device including lubrication are possible.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a view showing both an axial parallel sectional view showing a configuration of a spindle as a rotating device in an embodiment of the present invention and a block diagram showing a configuration of an external device for lubrication. 2 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a front view of the outer ring spacer and the oil supply unit as seen from the direction of arrow A in FIG.

  The rotating device of this embodiment has a configuration in which a main shaft 2 housed in a housing 1 is rotatably supported by four angular ball bearings 3. Each angular ball bearing 3 includes an inner ring 3a fitted and fixed to the main shaft 2, an outer ring 3b fitted to the housing 1, and a plurality of rolling elements (balls 3c) arranged so as to be able to roll between them. And a retainer 3d that holds the balls 3c at regular intervals in the circumferential direction.

  An inner flange 1a is integrally formed on one end side of the housing 1, and a lid 1b is screwed to the other end side. The outer ring 3b of each angular ball bearing 3 has cylindrical outer ring spacers 4 and 4 arranged along the inner peripheral surface of the housing 1 between the inner flange 1a, the lid 1b, and the outer rings 3b. In addition, the central spacer 5 is positioned with its axial movement prevented.

  A step 2a is formed at the end of the main shaft 2 on the side where the lid 1b is fixed, and a female screw 2b is formed at the end of the inner flange 1a. A bearing retainer 6 is screwed into the shaft. The inner ring 3a of each angular ball bearing 3 includes a stepped portion 2a, a bearing retainer 6, and inner ring spacers 7 and 7 and a center spacer 8 disposed along the outer peripheral surface of the shaft 2 between the inner rings 3a. Is prevented from moving in the axial direction.

  A feature of the rotating device in the present embodiment is that each angular ring is supplied with current from a driving power source 10 of a motor (not shown) connected to the spindle to the outer ring spacer 4 arranged adjacent to each outer ring 3b. An oil supply unit 9 for supplying lubricating oil to the ball bearing 3 is incorporated. Moreover, the operation | movement of these oil supply units 9 is integratedly managed by the signal from the control means (programmable controller 11) which controls rotation of the main shaft 2.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the oil supply unit 9 is attached to a tank 9a for storing lubricating oil, a pump 9b for sucking and discharging the lubricating oil in the tank 9a, and a discharge port of the pump 9b. The nozzle 9c and the driver 9d for driving the pump 9b are mainly configured, and these are fixed along the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring spacer 4.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the tip of the nozzle 9c enters the annular space between the inner ring 3a and the outer ring 3b of the rolling bearing 3 and is opened immediately above the ball 3c. The tank 9a and the pump 9b communicate with each other through a pipe 9e.

  With this configuration, the rotating device itself has a rolling bearing lubrication function, and there is no need to arrange a large incidental facility such as a compressor as in the conventional rotating device. Moreover, it becomes possible to share the equipment provided with the same function in the equipment of the rolling bearing device and the rotating device. Therefore, the rotating device according to the present embodiment can realize a simplified device configuration and cost reduction.

  In addition, this rotating device uses a signal from the programmable controller 11 to control the oil supply unit 9, thereby enabling fine integrated control of lubrication in accordance with the number of rotations of the rotating device, and waste of the supplied lubricating oil. In addition, good lubrication can be maintained over a long period of time with a minimum amount of lubricating oil.

  In the above embodiment, the example in which the oil supply unit 9 is incorporated in the outer ring spacer 4 has been shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the arrangement position of the oil supply unit is that of a rolling bearing. Other positions can be used as long as they are on the fixed side in or near the annular space. For example, you may arrange | position on the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring | wheel 3b of each angular ball bearing 3, the inner peripheral surface of the cover body 1b for closing the edge part of the housing 1, or the housing 1 itself.

  In the present invention, it is not necessary to incorporate all the members constituting the oil supply unit 9 in the rolling bearing or the housing 1. A large tank 9a for supplying the lubricating oil may be provided in the housing 1 or outside the housing 1, and the lubricating oil may be supplied to the plurality of pumps 9b.

  The driver 9d for driving the pump is not necessarily arranged in the spacer 4, but may be arranged in or near the annular space of the rolling bearing, or in the vicinity of the controller 11 outside the housing 1. Furthermore, it may be integrated in the housing 1 or outside the housing 1 and provided in one place, or its function may be replaced by the programmable controller 11. Adopting such a configuration has the advantage that the capacity of the lubricating oil tank can be increased.

  Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the structure which manages control of these fuel supply units 9 with the programmable controller 11 was illustrated, the rotation apparatus of this invention can also make this controller 11 share the rotation control of a spindle. . Such a configuration is preferable because the entire rotating device including the lubrication of the spindle can be controlled in an integrated manner. In addition, although the power supply of these oil supply units 9 and the power supply of the motor connected to a spindle were made common, these power supplies may be provided separately.

  Furthermore, the power supply that supplies power to the fuel supply unit 9 and the programmable controller 11 may be integrated. In this case, the operation and the discharge amount of the fuel supply unit 9 can be controlled only by ON / OFF of the current supplied to the fuel supply unit 9. Further, with this configuration, the connection between the controller 11 and the oil supply unit 9 may be only a cord for supplying a current, and the wiring can be simplified.

  The rolling bearing device of the present invention can be applied to various rotating devices having a rotating shaft other than the spindle, and the present invention is also applied to a rotating device using a rolling bearing other than the angular ball bearing. be able to. Furthermore, the number of rolling bearings is not particularly limited, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be equally applied to a rolling bearing device using an inner ring as a fixed ring, in addition to a rolling bearing device using an outer ring as a fixed ring.

It is a figure which writes and shows together the axis-parallel sectional drawing showing the structure of the rotating apparatus in embodiment of this invention, and the block diagram showing the structure of the external apparatus for lubrication. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view of an outer ring spacer as viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing 1a Inner flange 1b Cover body 2 Main shaft 2a Step part 2b Female thread 3 Angular contact ball bearing 3a Inner ring 3b Outer ring 3c Ball 3d Cage 4 Outer ring spacer 5 Center spacer 6 Bearing retainer 7 Inner ring spacer 8 Center spacer 9 Lubrication unit 9a Tank 9b Pump 9c Nozzle 9d Driver 10 Drive power supply 11 Programmable controller

Claims (9)

A rolling bearing disposed in the housing, rotatably supporting the rotation shaft relative to the housing, and provided with each raceway member of the outer ring and the inner ring and a plurality of rolling elements interposed between the raceway members; ,
A pump disposed in or near an annular space formed between raceway members of the rolling bearing;
A nozzle having at least one end disposed in the annular space, opening in the annular space and the other end communicating with the discharge port of the pump;
A tank for storing lubricating oil and communicating with the pump;
A roller bearing device connected to the pump and having a driver for driving a pump for controlling a lubricant discharge amount of the pump,
The driver for driving the pump is connected to an external power supply installed outside the housing, operates the pump by a current supplied from the external power supply, and supplies the lubricating oil stored in the tank to the nozzle A rolling bearing device, characterized in that it is supplied into the annular space from an opening provided at one end of the bearing.   The rolling bearing device according to claim 1, wherein the tank is disposed in the vicinity of the pump. It is coaxially arranged in the housing, and rotatably supports the rotation shaft relative to the housing, and includes outer race and inner race track members and a plurality of rolling elements interposed between the race members. A plurality of rolling bearings;
Pumps respectively disposed in or in the vicinity of the annular space formed between the raceway members of each of the plurality of rolling bearings;
A nozzle having at least one end disposed in the annular space of each of the plurality of rolling bearings, opening in the annular space and communicating with the discharge port of each pump;
A tank for storing lubricating oil and communicating with the pump;
A rolling bearing device comprising: a driver for driving a pump connected to each pump and controlling a lubricant discharge amount of each pump;
Each driver for driving the pump is connected to a controller disposed outside the housing for transmitting a signal for controlling the operation of the driver, and each driver for driving the pump is installed outside the housing. It is connected to an external power source, and each pump is operated by a current supplied from the external power source, and the lubricating oil stored in the tank is passed through an opening provided at one end of each nozzle. A rolling bearing device, characterized in that it is supplied into an annular space.   The rolling bearing device according to claim 3, wherein tanks for individually supplying lubricating oil to the pumps are arranged in the vicinity of the pumps.   5. The rolling bearing device according to claim 3, wherein the controller transmits a signal for controlling discharge of lubricating oil to the pumps when the rotating shaft rotates.   The controller controls the operation of each pump and the amount of lubricating oil discharged by passing / cutting off the current supplied from the external power supply instead of transmitting a control signal to each pump driving driver. The rolling bearing device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the rolling bearing device is provided.   A rotating device, wherein the rotating shaft arranged in the housing is supported by the rolling bearing device according to any one of claims 3 to 6.   The rotating device according to claim 7, wherein the rotating shaft is driven by a motor, and an external power source of the rolling bearing device also serves as a driving power source of the motor. The rotating shaft is driven by a motor, and the drive control of the motor is performed by the controller, and the drive control of the motor and the control of each pump drive driver are controlled in conjunction with the controller. The rotating device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that:

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