JP2009002467A - Rolling element - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rolling element preventing the exhaustion of a lubricant by facilitating receiving and holding of the lubricant by a lubricant impregnating member, and improving reliability by enabling lubricating for a long period. <P>SOLUTION: The rolling element is equipped with an annular groove 7 in which a rail 6 is fitted, and an annular holding groove 8 continuing while opening to a groove bottom of the annular groove 7. The annular holding groove 8 holds the lubricant impregnating member 9. On an outer peripheral portion of the lubricant impregnating member 9, a projection group 10 composed of a large number of projections 10a is formed, and the projection group 10 is faced to the inside of the annular groove 7. By forming the projection group 10, a large number of recessed and projecting portions is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the lubricant impregnating member 9. The lubricant is easily received and held by the large number of recessed portions 10b interposed between the projecting portions (the large number of projections 10a). The received and held lubricant is applied to the rail 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rolling element, and more particularly to a rolling element including a radial bearing or a roller that rotates or rolls in contact with a rail.

  FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional rolling element 1, and this conventional technique is described in, for example, Patent Document 1. The rolling element 1 is formed of, for example, a deep groove ball bearing type radial bearing, and includes an outer ring 1a, an inner ring 1b, and a plurality of balls 1c arranged between the both 1a and 1b. The rolling element 1 is sandwiched between the bolt head 3a and the base plate 4 by inserting a bearing shaft 3 made of bolts into a collar 2 fitted into the inner ring 1b and screwing the threaded portion of the bearing shaft 3 to the base plate 4. The washer 5 and the flange 2a of the collar 2 are attached to the base plate 4 with the inner ring 1b sandwiched therebetween. Thereby, the plurality of balls 1c roll between the outer ring 1a and the inner ring 1b, and the outer ring 1a rotates around the inner ring 1b with the axis of the bearing shaft 3 as the rotation center.

  The outer ring 1a is provided with an annular groove 7 into which the rail 6 is fitted on the outer peripheral portion thereof. A lubricant such as grease (not shown) is provided in the annular holding groove 8 which opens and continues to the groove bottom of the annular groove 7. A lubricant-impregnated member 9 made of a sponge impregnated with is held.

  According to the conventional technology having the above-described configuration, when the outer ring 1 a rotates due to friction between the rail 6 and the annular groove 7, the lubricant impregnated in the lubricant-impregnated member 9 is supplied between the annular groove 7 and the rail 6. Thus, lubrication is achieved, and the frictional resistance between the annular groove 7 and the rail 6, that is, the frictional resistance between the rolling element 1 and the rail 6 can be reduced. Therefore, smooth rotation or rolling of the rolling element 1 enables not only high-speed movement of the rail 6 or high-speed movement of the rolling element 1, but also noise and rattling can be prevented by suppressing wear of the annular groove 7 and the rail 6. Occurrence can be avoided. The “rotation” refers to a state in which the rolling element 1 held at a fixed position rotates at the fixed position as the rail 6 advances and retreats. The “rolling” means that the rolling element 1 moves forward and backward while rolling while contacting the rail 6 held at a fixed position.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-43500

  The prior art lubricant impregnated member 9 described in Patent Document 1 has an application function of applying the impregnated lubricant to the rail 6. However, while rotating the rolling element 1, for example, grease (lubricant) is adhered to the tip of another rod-shaped member, and the adhered lubricant is brought into sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface of the lubricant-impregnated member 9. Even when trying to supply the impregnated member 9, the lubricant impregnated member 9 made of sponge has a relatively smooth outer peripheral surface, so that it is possible to receive and hold the lubricant adhering to the tip of the rod-shaped separate member. Have difficulty. Therefore, even when the lubricant impregnated member 9 sufficiently impregnated with the lubricant in a saturated state is held in the annular holding groove 8 at the shipping stage of the rolling elements 1, the lubricant is depleted after a relatively short period of use. . Therefore, there is a problem that long-term lubrication cannot be expected and reliability is poor.

  The present invention solves such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to facilitate the reception and holding of the lubricant by the lubricant-impregnated member, thereby preventing the depletion of the lubricant and extending it over a long period of time. An object of the present invention is to provide a rolling element that can be lubricated to improve reliability.

In order to achieve the above object, a rolling element according to the present invention is provided with an annular groove in which a rail fits and an annular holding groove that holds a lubricant-impregnated member continuously in the annular groove.
A protrusion group for receiving and holding the lubricant and applying the received and held lubricant to the rail is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the lubricant-impregnated member.

  As described above, the protrusions for receiving and holding the lubricant and applying the received and held lubricant to the rail are formed on the outer peripheral portion of the lubricant-impregnated member. By periodically performing a lubricant replenishment operation in which the lubricant is adhered and the adhered lubricant is brought into contact with the projection group, the projection group easily receives and holds the lubricant each time. Therefore, the lubricant can be prevented from being depleted and long-term lubrication can be realized. The lubricant received and held by the projection group is lubricated between the annular groove and the rail by being applied to the rail, thereby reducing the frictional resistance between the annular groove and the rail, that is, the frictional resistance between the rolling element and the rail.

  Moreover, as for the rolling element which concerns on this invention, it is desirable to comprise a lubricant impregnation member with the elastic body provided with the open cell. According to this, the lubricant impregnated in the lubricant-impregnated member can move over the entire area of the lubricant-impregnated member using the open bubbles as a movement path. Therefore, when the rolling element rotates in the forward / reverse direction at a small rotation angle, the application of the lubricant by the protrusions formed within the total rotation angle range of the small forward / reverse rotation angle is frequently repeated. Even if the amount of lubricant retained in the projection group is reduced, the lubricant corresponding to the reduced amount is removed from the region of the lubricant-impregnated member other than the projection group formed within the range of the total rotation angle. By replenishing the protrusion group, it is possible to prevent the lubricant of the protrusion group formed within the range of the total rotation angle from being depleted.

  Furthermore, the rolling element according to the present invention is characterized by including a storage tank storing a lubricant to be received by the lubricant-impregnated member. According to this, it becomes unnecessary to supply a troublesome lubricant by using the rod-like separate member, and the lubricant stored in the storage tank is automatically received and held by the lubricant-impregnated member continuously for a long period of time, The received and held lubricant can be applied to the rail continuously for a long period of time.

  According to the present invention, the protrusions for receiving and holding the lubricant and applying the received and held lubricant to the rail are formed on the outer peripheral portion of the lubricant-impregnated member. The lubricant is adhered to the portion, and the lubricant supply operation for bringing the adhered lubricant into contact with the projection group is periodically performed, so that each time the projection group easily receives and holds the lubricant. Therefore, depletion of the lubricant is prevented and long-term lubrication can be realized, so that the reliability of the rolling element is improved.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a longitudinal front view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of a lubricant-impregnated member, and FIG. 3 is a right side view of FIG. The same parts as those in the conventional example described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, a protrusion group 10 including a plurality of protrusions 10 a, 10 a... Having a predetermined density is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the lubricant-impregnated member 9. It protrudes into the groove 7. Due to the formation of the projection group 10, a large number of irregularities are formed on the outer peripheral portion of the lubricant-impregnated member 9, and grease is formed by a large number of concave portions 10b, 10b... Interposed between the convex portions (multiple projections 10a, 10a...). [Lubricant (not shown)] can be easily received and held.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the lubricant-impregnated member 9 is formed in an annular shape by an elastic body such as synthetic rubber or synthetic resin provided with open cells 11 in the body.

  According to the above configuration, when the outer ring 1 a rotates due to friction between the rail 6 and the annular groove 7, the lubricant impregnated in the protrusion group 10 of the lubricant-impregnated member 9 is supplied between the annular groove 7 and the rail 6. The That is, the protrusion group 10 exhibits a lubricant application function for applying the lubricant to the inner surface of the annular groove 7 and the surface of the rail 6. Thereby, the frictional resistance between the annular groove 7 and the rail 6, that is, the frictional resistance between the rolling element 1 and the rail 6 can be reduced. Therefore, smooth rotation or rolling of the rolling element 1 enables not only high-speed movement of the rail 6 or high-speed movement of the rolling element 1, but also noise and rattling can be prevented by suppressing wear of the annular groove 7 and the rail 6. Occurrence can be avoided.

  By forming the projection group 10 on the outer peripheral portion of the lubricant-impregnated member 9, for example, a lubricant is attached to the tip of another rod-like member (not shown), and the adhered lubricant contacts the projection group 10. By periodically performing the replenishment operation of the lubricant to be performed, the projection group 10 easily receives and holds the lubricant each time. Therefore, depletion of the lubricant is prevented and long-term lubrication can be realized, so that the reliability of the rolling element 1 is improved. The lubricant received and held by the projection group 10 is applied to the rail 6 to lubricate the space between the annular groove 7 and the rail 6, and the frictional resistance between the annular groove 7 and the rail 6, that is, the rolling element 1 and the rail 6. Reduce frictional resistance.

  Since the lubricant-impregnated member 9 is constituted by an elastic body provided with the open cells 11, the lubricant impregnated in the lubricant-impregnated member 9 is the entire region of the lubricant-impregnated member 9 with the open cells 11 as a movement path. Can move to. Therefore, the outer ring 1a of the rolling element 1 is formed in a range of a total rotation angle (for example, 90 °) of a small rotation angle of 45 ° by rotating in the forward / reverse direction at a small rotation angle (for example, 45 °). Even when the application of the lubricant by the projection group 10 is frequently repeated and the amount of the lubricant held by the projection group 10 is reduced, the lubricant corresponding to the reduced amount is supplied to the total rotation angle (for example, 90 )) From the region of the lubricant-impregnated member 9 other than the projection group 10 formed within the range of the projection group 10 is replenished to the projection group 10, and the lubricant of the projection group 10 formed within the range of the total rotation angle Lubrication can be prevented to prevent depletion.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the lubricant is stored in the storage tank 12 attached to the base plate 4, and the downward lubricant discharge port 12 a provided in the storage tank 12 is connected to the protrusion group 10 of the lubricant-impregnated member 9. , It becomes unnecessary to periodically replenish the lubricant by using the rod-shaped separate member described above, and the lubricant stored in the storage tank 12 is continuously projected for a long period of time. The group 10 can be automatically received and held, and the received and held lubricant can be applied to the rail 6 continuously for a long period of time.

  In the above embodiment, the rolling element 1 is a deep groove ball bearing type radial bearing. However, the rolling element 1 is a counter bore ball bearing, an angular ball bearing, a cylindrical roller bearing, a rod roller bearing, a tapered roller bearing, or the like. Radial bearings or rollers.

It is a vertical front view which shows one Embodiment of this invention. It is an enlarged front view of a lubricant impregnated member. FIG. 3 is a right side view of FIG. 2. It is the expanded sectional view seen from the IV-IV line of FIG. It is a vertical front view which shows other embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a VI-VI view of FIG. 5. It is a vertical front view of a conventional example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rolling element 6 Rail 7 Annular groove 8 Annular holding groove 9 Lubricant impregnation member 10 Protrusion group 11 Open cell 12 Storage tank

Claims (3)

In the rolling element provided on the outer peripheral portion with an annular groove into which the rail fits and an annular holding groove that holds the lubricant-impregnated member continuously with the annular groove,
A rolling element characterized in that a protrusion group for receiving and holding the lubricant and applying the received and held lubricant to the rail is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the lubricant-impregnated member. In the rolling element according to claim 1,
The rolling element according to claim 1, wherein the lubricant-impregnated member is made of an elastic body having open cells. In the rolling element according to claim 1 or 2,
A rolling element comprising a storage tank storing a lubricant to be received by the lubricant impregnated member.

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