JP2008185052A - Retainer for trust roller bearing, and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a retainer for thrust roller bearing which can reduce the number of days of manufacturing metal die, improve metal die life, and furthermore, reduce the number of metal die sheets, and simplify manufacturing process. <P>SOLUTION: The retainer is characterized in that a plurality of through holes 4 is formed in a body portion 2 formed in annular and platelike profile, in that circumferentially counter edges 9 mutually face in the circumference of the body portion 2 among inner peripheral edges of the through holes 4 have a narrow width portion 7 narrower than the diameter D of a cylindrical roller 3 and a wide portion 8 wider than the narrow width portion 7, in that the wide portion 8 has a pillar portion 5, the tip of which has a hook portion 6 projected in opposite direction so that a clearance of tip surface might be narrower than the diameter D of the cylinder roller 3, and in that the cylinder roller 3 is prevented from coming off by the narrow width portion 7 and the hook portion 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a thrust roller bearing retainer and a method for manufacturing the same.

JP 2004-84797 A

  In general, a thrust roller bearing includes a pair of bearing rings facing in the axial direction, a plurality of cylindrical rollers arranged radially between the bearing rings, and a cage that holds the cylindrical rollers.

  A conventional example of a cage is shown in FIG. The cage 201 is formed by bending a single annular metal plate so as to have a substantially M-shaped cross section, and a plurality of pocket portions P for holding the cylindrical rollers 203 are formed by punching. ing. On the inner surface of the pocket portion P, retaining portions 204 to 206 are formed so as to slightly extend in the circumferential direction. The circumferential width of the pocket portion P in the retaining portions 204 to 206 is set smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical roller 203. Thereby, the cylindrical roller 203 is prevented from coming off in the axial direction.

  There is also a cage 210 as shown in FIG. The retainer 210 is formed by stacking two main body portions 211 and 212 as shown in the figure and caulking and integrating them. On the inner surface of the pocket portion P, retaining portions 213 and 214 are formed so as to slightly extend in the circumferential direction. The circumferential width of the pocket portion P in the retaining portions 213 and 214 is smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical roller 203. Thereby, the cylindrical roller 203 is prevented from coming off in the axial direction.

  On the other hand, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, a pocket portion is formed through one annular and plate-like cage body in the thickness direction, and the retaining pieces of the cylindrical rollers are allocated in both the upper and lower directions (both sides in the axial direction). A cage formed as described above is disclosed.

  However, the cage shown in FIG. 11 (A) has a problem in that the mold is complicated, so that the cost for manufacturing the mold and the number of manufacturing days are required. In addition, the life of the mold is short. On the other hand, the cage shown in FIG. 11B requires two main body parts, which increases the material cost and requires caulking after superposition.

  Furthermore, although the cage of Patent Document 1 requires only one main body, it is necessary to turn the product upside down when forming the retaining piece of the cylindrical roller. For this reason, the manufacturing process of the cage becomes complicated or the number of dies increases, which may increase the manufacturing cost of the thrust roller bearing.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a thrust roller bearing retainer that can reduce the number of mold production days and improve the mold life, reduce the number of molds, and simplify the production process, and a method for producing the same. is there.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

In order to solve the above problems, the thrust roller bearing retainer of the present invention is
For thrust roller bearings comprising a pair of bearing rings arranged opposite to each other in the axial direction and a plurality of cylindrical rollers each arranged so that its axis of rotation faces the radial direction of the bearing rings. A cage,
An annular and plate-shaped main body,
A plurality of through-holes are formed in the body portion in the thickness direction, and a plurality of inner circumferential edges are formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction of the body portion, and the circumferential edges facing each other in the circumferential direction of the body portion are the same. Consists of radially opposing edges facing each other in the radial direction of the main body, and part of the circumferentially facing edges protrude in the in-plane direction so that the circumferential distance of the main body is smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical roller A through-hole that is a narrow part, and the remaining part is a wide part with a wider interval than the narrow part,
Columns formed in pairs in a shape protruding from the wide portion at the circumferentially facing edge to the first side in the axial direction of the main body,
At the tip of the pair of pillars, provided with claw parts that are formed to protrude toward each other in the opposing direction of the pillars, so that the distance between the tip surfaces is smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical rollers,
The cylindrical roller is characterized in that the rotation axis is positioned between the narrow portion and the claw portion in the axial direction of the main body portion, and the main body portion is prevented from coming off in the axial direction by the narrow portion and the claw portion. To do.

  According to the thrust roller bearing retainer of the present invention, since the plate-shaped and annular main body is used, it is not necessary to bend it into an M-shape unlike a conventional retainer (for example, FIG. 11A). . In addition, as will be described later, since the narrow portion, the column portion, and the claw portion can be formed using a simple mold, it is possible to reduce the production days of the mold and extend the mold life. Can do. Furthermore, it is possible to simplify the manufacturing method of the thrust roller bearing retainer, and to suppress an increase in the manufacturing cost of the retainer and hence the thrust roller bearing.

  In this case, it is preferable that the narrow portion is formed to extend in the in-plane direction of the main body portion so as to fill the four corners at each intersection position between the radial direction facing edge and the circumferential direction facing edge. With such a shape, narrow portions can be formed at the four corners of the through hole, so that the cylindrical roller can be firmly held.

  In addition, it is desirable that the narrow portion has a rounded shape in which the interval in the circumferential direction of the main body portion gradually increases toward the wide portion. If it does in this way, it will become difficult to wear a cylindrical roller compared with the case where it is not made round.

  The thrust roller bearing cage of the present invention can be formed by bending the column portion and the claw portion. As described above, it is not necessary to bend the main body portion into an M shape (for example, FIG. 11A), and it is only necessary to bend the column portion and the claw portion. Therefore, the shape of the mold can be simplified and the number of molds can be reduced. Further, unlike the cage of Patent Document 1, it is not necessary to turn the cage upside down during the manufacturing process, so that the cage can be easily manufactured. Thus, as a result of being manufactured by bending, the connecting portion between the column portion and the main body portion is a first bent portion obtained by bending the column portion to the first side in the axial direction with respect to the main body portion. The connecting portion between the claw portion and the claw portion is a second bent portion obtained by bending the claw portion in a direction opposite to the column portion.

More specifically, the manufacturing method of the thrust roller bearing retainer of the present invention,
For the annular and plate-like main body, a punching process for punching and forming a through hole in a form that leaves the portion to be a pillar and a claw as a tongue-like portion in the in-plane direction with a narrow portion;
A bending step of bending the tongue-shaped portion from the in-plane direction of the main body portion to the axial direction first side to form a column portion, and bending the tip portion of the column portion in the opposite direction to form a claw portion; ,
It is characterized by including. In this way, since the shape of the mold can be simplified, the number of manufacturing days of the mold can be reduced and the manufacturing cost of the mold can be reduced. In addition, since the method for manufacturing the cage is simple, the manufacturing cost of the cage and thus the entire thrust roller bearing can be reduced.

  More specifically, in the bending step, a concave mold is placed at a position corresponding to the tongue-shaped portion on the first axial side of the main body, and the opening peripheral edge is in close contact with the first main surface of the main body. The narrow portion is preferably not drawn, but only the tongue-like portion is drawn along the inner and bottom surfaces of the concave mold. In this way, the peripheral part of the through hole formed by the punching process can be used as it is as the narrow part, and the tongue part can be processed into the pillar part and the claw part at once by the drawing process. Can be simplified.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a thrust roller bearing 100, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part thereof. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line aa in FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a thrust roller bearing cage (hereinafter also simply referred to as a cage) 1, and FIG. 5 is a front view of the cage 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the thrust roller bearing 100 includes a pair of bearing rings 11 and 12 that are disposed to face each other in the axial direction, and a rotation axis O between the bearing rings 11 and 12 and the bearing rings 11 and 12. And a plurality of cylindrical rollers 3 arranged so as to face 12 radial directions. The cage 1 is used to hold the plurality of cylindrical rollers 3.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cage 1 includes a main body 2 formed in an annular and plate shape. A through hole 4 is formed in the main body 2. More specifically, the through holes 4 are formed in the body portion 2 so as to penetrate in the thickness direction, and a plurality of through holes 4 are formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction of the body portion 2. It is comprised by the circumferential direction opposing edge 9 which mutually opposes in the circumferential direction, and the radial direction opposing edge 10 which mutually faces the radial direction of the main-body part 2, and a part of circumferential direction opposing edge 9 protrudes in an in-plane direction. Thus, the interval d1 in the circumferential direction of the main body 2 is a narrow portion 7 smaller than the diameter D (see FIG. 3) of the cylindrical roller 3, and the remaining portion is a wide portion 8 having a wider interval than the narrow portion 7. Has been.

  Moreover, the column part 5 formed in a pair so that it may each protrude in the axial direction 1st side of the main-body part 2 from the wide part 8 in the circumferential direction opposing edge 9 is provided. Further, the claw portions 6 are formed at the front end portions of the pair of column portions 5 so as to protrude in directions facing each other in the opposing direction of the column portions 5 so that the distance d2 between the front end surfaces is smaller than the diameter D of the cylindrical rollers 3. Is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cylindrical roller 3 has the rotation axis O positioned between the narrow portion 7 and the claw portion 6 in the axial direction of the main body portion 2, and the narrow portion 7 and the claw portion 6 The part 2 is prevented from coming off in the axial direction.

  Thus, since the thrust roller bearing retainer 1 of the present invention uses the plate-shaped and annular main body 2, it is necessary to bend it into an M-shape as in the conventional retainer (for example, FIG. 11A). There is no. Further, as will be described later, the narrow portion 7, the column portion 5, and the claw portion 6 can be formed using a simple mold 16. The life of the mold 16 can be extended. Furthermore, the manufacturing method of the cage 1 can be simplified.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the narrow portion 7 is formed in the in-plane direction of the main body 2 so as to fill the four corners at each crossing position between the radial facing edge 10 and the circumferential facing edge 9. It is formed in an extending shape. With such a shape, the narrow portions 7 are formed at the four corners of the through hole 4, so that the cylindrical roller 3 can be firmly held.

  Moreover, as shown in the drawing, the narrow portion 7 has a rounded shape in which the interval in the circumferential direction of the main body portion 2 gradually increases toward the wide portion 8. If it does in this way, abrasion of the cylindrical roller 3 which contacts the narrow part 7 can be prevented.

  The claw portion 6 is also formed in a round shape. More specifically, the pair of claw portions 6 are rounded so that the circumferential distance d2 takes a minimum value at an intermediate position of the claw portion 6 in the radial direction of the main body portion 2. . Thereby, abrasion of the cylindrical roller 3 which contacts the nail | claw part 6 can be prevented.

  The thrust roller bearing retainer 1 of the present invention can form the column part 5 and the claw part 6 by bending. As described above, it is not necessary to bend the main body 2 into an M shape (for example, FIG. 11A), and it is only necessary to bend the column portion 5 and the claw portion 6. Therefore, the shape of the mold can be simplified and the number of molds can be reduced. As a result of the bending process, the connecting part 18 (see FIG. 3) between the column part 5 and the main body part 2 is obtained by bending the column part 5 to the first side in the axial direction with respect to the main body part 2. The connecting portion 19 between the column portion 5 and the claw portion 6 is a second bent portion obtained by bending the claw portion 6 in the facing direction with respect to the column portion 5.

  Next, a method for manufacturing the cage 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the main body 2 is processed as shown in FIG. The main body 2 is manufactured by, for example, punching a sheet metal (not shown) to produce an annular and plate-shaped main body 2, and then, for example, drawing the outer peripheral edge 13 and the inner peripheral edge 14 in the axial direction. It is formed by bending to the first side.

  Thereafter, the through-hole 4 having the shape shown in FIG. That is, the through-hole 4 is punched and formed in the main body 2 in such a manner that the portion to be the column portion 5 and the claw portion 6 is left as the tongue portion 15 and the narrow portion 7 in the in-plane direction. More specifically, the through hole 4 includes a circumferential facing edge 9 whose inner peripheral edge faces in the circumferential direction and a radial facing edge 10 that also faces in the radial direction, and faces the circumferential facing edge 9 in the radial direction. A narrow portion 7 is formed at the intersection with the edge 10 so as to extend in the in-plane direction of the main body 2 so as to fill the four corners, and between the narrow portion 7 and the narrow portion 7 in the radial direction. A wide portion 8 is formed therebetween, and a tongue-like portion 15 is formed in a pair so as to protrude in a direction in which the distance from each other approaches at a radial intermediate position of the wide portion 8.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8, the tongue portion 15 is bent from the in-plane direction of the main body portion 2 to the axial direction first side to form the column portion 5, and the tip end portion of the column portion 5 is opposed to the opposite direction. A bending process for forming the claw portion 6 by bending is performed. More specifically, as shown in the left side of the aa cross-sectional view of FIG. 8, the concave mold 16 is placed at a position corresponding to the tongue 15 on the first axial side of the main body 2, and the peripheral edge B of the opening. Are arranged in close contact with the first main surface S1 of the main body 2. And as shown in the right figure of aa sectional drawing, the narrow part 7 is not drawn using the punch 17, but only the tongue-like part 15 is drawn. As a result, the tongue-like portion is bent and deformed along the inner surface S2 and the bottom surface S3 of the concave mold 16, and is processed into the column portion 5 and the claw portion 6. If it does in this way, while the peripheral part of the through-hole 4 formed by the punching process can be utilized as the narrow part 7 as it is, the tongue part 15 can be processed into the pillar part 5 and the nail | claw part 6 at a stretch by drawing. Therefore, the manufacturing process can be simplified. Moreover, since the shape of the metal mold | die 16 can be simplified, while being able to reduce the manufacturing days of the metal mold | die 16, the manufacturing cost of the metal mold | die 16 can be held down cheaply.

  Next, a second embodiment of the method for manufacturing the cage 1 is shown in FIGS. First, the through-hole 4 having the shape shown in FIG. More specifically, the narrow portion 7 is formed at the intersection of the circumferential facing edge 9 and the radial facing edge 10 so as to extend in the in-plane direction of the main body 2 so as to fill the four corners. A bridge-like portion 15 a having a shape that connects the circumferentially opposed edges 9 in the circumferential direction is formed at a radial intermediate position of the portion 8.

  Then, as shown in the left figure of the aa sectional view of FIG. 10, the concave mold 16 is closely attached to the first main surface S <b> 1 of the main body 2 at the position corresponding to the bridge-shaped portion 15 a. Place it in the shape you want. And as shown in the right figure of aa sectional drawing, the narrow part 7 is not drawn using the punch 17, but only the tongue-like part 15 is drawn. Thereby, the part corresponding to the pillar part 5 and the nail | claw part 6 is formed in the state connected in the circumferential direction. Thereafter, the retainer 1 shown in FIG. 8 is formed by punching the connecting portion A using a punching metal fitting (not shown). In this way, the nail | claw part 6 can be formed reliably.

Sectional drawing of a thrust roller bearing. The principal part enlarged view of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line aa in FIG. 2. The perspective view of a holder | retainer. The front view of a holder | retainer. Process drawing which shows the manufacturing method of a holder | retainer. Process drawing following FIG. Process drawing following FIG. Process drawing which shows the 2nd Example of the manufacturing method of a holder | retainer. Process drawing following FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the prior art example of a holder | retainer.

Explanation of symbols

1 Cage (Thrust roller bearing cage)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Body part 3 Cylindrical roller 4 Through-hole 5 Column part 6 Claw part 7 Narrow part 8 Wide part 9 Circumferential facing edge 10 Radial direction opposing edge 11, 12 Race ring 15 Tongue part 16 Mold 17 Punch 100 Thrust roller bearing

Claims (4)

A thrust roller bearing comprising a pair of bearing rings arranged opposite to each other in the axial direction, and a plurality of cylindrical rollers arranged between the bearing rings so that their rotation axis faces the radial direction of the bearing ring. A cage for
An annular and plate-shaped main body,
A plurality of circumferentially opposing edges that are formed in the body portion so as to penetrate in the plate thickness direction and are formed at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction of the body portion, and whose inner peripheral edges are opposed to each other in the circumferential direction of the body portion And a radial-direction opposing edge that is also opposed to each other in the radial direction of the main body, and a part of the circumferentially-facing edge protrudes in an in-plane direction, whereby an interval in the circumferential direction of the main body is A through-hole having a narrower portion smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical roller, and the remaining portion being a wide portion having a wider interval than the narrow portion;
Columns formed in a pair so as to protrude from the wide portion of the circumferentially opposed edge to the first axial direction side of the main body,
A pair of claw portions that are formed to protrude toward each other in the opposing direction of the column portions so that the distance between the end surfaces is smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical roller at the tip portions of the pair of column portions,
In the cylindrical roller, the rotation axis is positioned between the narrow portion and the claw portion in the axial direction of the main body portion, and the main body portion is pulled out in the axial direction by the narrow portion and the claw portion. Thrust roller bearing retainer characterized in that it is stopped.   2. The narrow portion is formed to extend in an in-plane direction of the main body so as to fill four corners at each intersection position between the radial direction facing edge and the circumferential direction facing edge. Thrust roller bearing cage.   The connecting portion between the column portion and the main body portion is a first bent portion obtained by bending the column portion toward the first side in the axial direction with respect to the main body portion, and the connection between the column portion and the claw portion. The thrust roller bearing retainer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connecting portion is a second bent portion obtained by bending the claw portion in the facing direction with respect to the column portion. It is a manufacturing method of the cage for thrust roller bearings according to claim 3,
A punching process for punching and forming the through-holes in the shape of the annular and plate-like main body portions leaving the column portions and the claw portions as tongue portions in the in-plane direction together with the narrow portions. When,
The tongue portion is bent from the in-plane direction of the main body portion to the first side in the axial direction to form the column portion, and the tip portion of the column portion is bent in the opposite direction to form the claw portion. Forming a bending process;
The manufacturing method of the cage for thrust roller bearings characterized by including.

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