JP2016011691A - Lubricant supply unit and bearing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lubricant supply unit and a bearing device capable of being operated stably for a long period of time.SOLUTION: A lubricant supply unit according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a holding unit (lubricant tank 30) holding lubricant supplied into a bearing; a supply unit (a drive circuit 28 and a pump 29) supplying the lubricant into the bearing from the holding unit; and a control unit (control circuit 27) for controlling the supply unit to operate. The control unit can acquire data on a lubricant supply state and output the data to an outside (output substrate 56) of the control unit. With this configuration, it is possible to easily grasp an operating state of the lubricant supply unit (lubricant supply state) by the data by disposing a receiving unit receiving the data output from the control unit at a position easy to check such as an outer circumferential portion of the lubricant supply unit.

Description

  The present invention relates to a lubricating oil supply unit and a bearing device, and more particularly to a lubricating oil supply unit and a bearing device that are arranged adjacent to a bearing and supply lubricating oil into the bearing.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a rolling bearing device in which an oil supply unit is incorporated in a rolling bearing is known. (See Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). In the bearing device disclosed in Patent Document 1, grease is sealed inside the rolling bearing, and the same type of lubricating oil as the base oil of this grease is accommodated in a spacer adjacent to the rolling bearing. The inside lubricating oil is replenished and supplied to the inside of the rolling bearing by capillary action.

  Further, the bearing device disclosed in Patent Document 2 can stably supply the lubricating oil to the bearing for a long period of time by operating the pump intermittently from the lubricating oil tank disposed in the spacer adjacent to the bearing. It is said.

JP 2005-180629 A JP 2014-37879 A

  In the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, grease is preliminarily sealed inside the bearing and lubrication is performed, but at the same time, the base oil of grease contained in the spacer is always supplied to the inside of the bearing. Therefore, it is difficult to supply the lubricating oil to the bearing stably for a long period of time because the supply of the oil tends to be excessive and the consumption of the base oil (lubricating oil) in the spacer is fast.

  In addition, although the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 seems to be able to supply the lubricating oil for a longer period of time than the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the supply state of the lubricating oil is confirmed from the outside of the bearing device. Can not do it. For this reason, even if a lubricant supply failure or the like occurs due to a malfunction such as a pump or the like, it is difficult to grasp a problem such as a lubricant supply failure until an abnormality occurs in the operation of the bearing. For this reason, in order to operate the bearing device stably for a long period of time, it has been difficult to take measures such as detecting an abnormality of the bearing device at an early stage and performing maintenance.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lubricating oil supply unit and a bearing device that can be stably operated for a long period of time. .

  The lubricating oil supply unit according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a holding unit that holds the lubricating oil supplied to the inside of the bearing, a supply unit that supplies the lubricating oil from the holding unit to the inside of the bearing, and an operation of the supplying unit. A control unit for controlling. The control unit can acquire data regarding the supply status of the lubricating oil and can output the data to the outside of the control unit.

  A bearing device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the lubricating oil supply unit and a bearing to which the lubricating oil supply unit is connected.

  According to the above, a lubricating oil supply unit and a bearing device that can be stably operated for a long period of time can be obtained.

It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows an example of the mechanical apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the mechanical apparatus shown in FIG. It is a plane schematic diagram of the monitoring unit attached to the machine apparatus shown in FIG. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the structure of the machine apparatus shown in FIG. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the structure of the control circuit and monitoring unit in the lubricating oil supply unit of the mechanical apparatus shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the whole bearing apparatus. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram in line segment VII-VII of FIG. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram in line segment VIII-VIII of FIG. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram in line segment IX-IX of FIG. It is an expansion schematic diagram of the area | region X of FIG. It is a graph which shows the 1st example of the relationship between the electrical storage voltage of the electrical storage part contained in the power supply part of a lubricating oil supply unit, and time. It is a graph which shows the 2nd example of the relationship between the electrical storage voltage of the electrical storage part contained in the power supply part of a lubricating oil supply unit, and time. It is a graph which shows the 3rd example of the relationship between the electrical storage voltage of the electrical storage part contained in the power supply part of a lubricating oil supply unit, and time. It is a graph which shows the 4th example of the relationship between the electrical storage voltage of the electrical storage part contained in the power supply part of a lubricating oil supply unit, and time. It is a graph which shows the 5th example of the relationship between the electrical storage voltage of the electrical storage part contained in the power supply part of a lubricating oil supply unit, and time. It is a graph which shows the 6th example of the relationship between the electrical storage voltage of the electrical storage part contained in the power supply part of a lubricating oil supply unit, and time. It is a plane schematic diagram which shows the modification of the monitoring unit attached to the machine apparatus shown in FIG. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the 1st modification of the structure of the control circuit and monitoring unit in the lubricating oil supply unit of the mechanical apparatus shown in FIG. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the 2nd modification of the structure of the control circuit and monitoring unit in the lubricating oil supply unit of the mechanical apparatus shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.

<Configuration of mechanical device>
With reference to FIGS. 1-5, the structure of the spindle for machine tools which is an example of the mechanical apparatus to which the bearing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment is applied is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, a machine tool spindle 50 according to this embodiment includes a rotary shaft 51, a spindle housing 52 arranged so as to surround the rotary shaft 51, and an outer periphery of the spindle housing 52. The outer peripheral housing 53 and the bearing device that rotatably holds the rotating shaft 51 with respect to the spindle housing 52 are mainly provided. Two bearing devices are arranged on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 51. The inner ring 14 and the inner ring spacer 34 of the bearing in the bearing device are fitted and fixed to the side surface of the rotating shaft 51. Further, the outer ring 13 of the bearing and the outer ring spacer 33 are fitted and fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the spindle housing 52. The bearing including the inner ring 14, the outer ring 13 and the rolling elements 15 that are balls arranged between the inner ring 14 and the outer ring 13 is an angular ball bearing. Between the inner ring spacer 34 and the outer ring spacer 33 arranged so as to be adjacent to the bearing, the lubricating oil supply unit 20 (see FIG. 7) is arranged. In addition, between the two bearings (on the side opposite to the side where the lubricating oil supply unit is disposed), other spacers are fitted and fixed to the rotating shaft 51 and the spindle housing 52, and are connected to the inner ring 14 and the outer ring 13. It has been hit.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lubricating oil supply unit 20 includes a power generation unit 25, a power supply circuit 26 including a power storage unit, a control circuit 27, a drive circuit 28, a pump, which are arranged in an annular housing along the circumferential direction. 29, mainly includes a lubricating oil tank 30 that holds lubricating oil 38 (see FIG. 8). The detailed configuration of the bearing device including the lubricating oil supply unit 20 will be described later.

  A through hole that penetrates the housing main body 21 (see FIG. 7), the outer ring spacer 33, the spindle housing 52, and the outer peripheral housing 53 is formed in a region facing the control circuit 27 of the lubricating oil supply unit. A flat portion is provided on the surface of the outer peripheral housing 53 at the outer peripheral end portion of the through hole, and a pedestal 57 is disposed on the flat portion. An output board 56 is disposed on the pedestal 57. The output board 56 and the control circuit 27 of the lubricating oil supply unit 20 are electrically connected by a contact probe 54. The contact probe 54 is disposed inside the through hole. One end of the contact probe 54 contacts an electrode pad (not shown) of the control circuit 27, and the other end of the contact probe 54 is connected to the output substrate 56 by a conductive line 55. The contact probe 54 may be connected and fixed to the output substrate 56 side.

  A cover member 58 is fixed to the pedestal 57 so as to cover the output board 56 disposed on the pedestal 57. On the output board 56, a battery 60 as a power source for driving the circuit of the output board 56 and a storage unit 59 are arranged. As the battery 60, for example, a coin battery or a button battery can be used. It is desirable to use a lithium battery as the battery 60. A holder for fixing the battery 60 is disposed on the surface of the output substrate 56. Further, as the storage unit 59, for example, a holding unit (slot) for connecting and fixing a card-type external storage medium and an external storage medium fixed to the holding unit in a detachable manner can be used. As the external storage medium, any conventionally known storage medium such as a memory card can be used.

  The cover member 58 is formed with a U-shaped elongated hole (a hole in which the fixing bolt is disposed) so that the cover member 58 can be removed from the pedestal 57 simply by loosening the fixing bolt as a connecting member with the pedestal 57. The battery 60 and the external storage medium can be replaced with the cover member 58 removed from the pedestal 57.

  The output board 56 sealed by the pedestal 57 and the cover member 58 constitutes a main part of the voltage monitoring unit. The pedestal 57 and the cover member 58 can be added with an arbitrary waterproof structure in order to prevent intrusion of coolant or the like used during processing using the processing machine spindle. As the waterproof structure, for example, packing, O-ring, caulking, resin mold or the like can be used.

  The configuration of the lubricating oil supply unit including the voltage monitoring unit installed on the machine tool spindle 50 will be described mainly with reference to FIG.

  The machine tool spindle 50 described above is connected to the bearing 11 (see FIG. 7) including the inner ring 14, the outer ring 13, and the rolling elements 15, and includes a unit main body 76 including a control unit 71 having a control circuit 27 (see FIG. 2). And a lubricating oil supply unit including the control unit 71 and an external output unit 70 which is a voltage monitoring unit connected by a connection line 74 (contact probe 54). The unit body 76 includes a control unit 71 including the control circuit 27, a power supply unit 77 including the power generation unit 25 (see FIG. 2) and the power supply circuit 26 (see FIG. 2), the power supply circuit 26, the drive circuit 28, and the pump 29. Including a lubricating oil supply unit 72 and a lubricating oil holding unit 73 (lubricating oil tank 30). The control unit 71 is connected to the power source unit 77 and the lubricating oil supply unit 72, controls the supply state of the lubricating oil in the lubricating oil supply unit 72, and acquires data relating to the supply state of the lubricating oil. As the data, as will be described later, the supply timing of the lubricating oil, the supply interval of the lubricating oil, the data of the voltage (storage voltage) in the power supply circuit (specifically, the storage unit) when the pump 29 and the like are operated, etc. Is mentioned.

  As a configuration of the connection portion between the control circuit 27 of the control unit 71 and the output board 56 of the external output unit 70, any configuration can be adopted. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a calculation unit installed in the control circuit 27 27 a (microcomputer) and the calculation unit 56 a of the output board 56 may be connected by a connection line 74. The arithmetic unit 27a of the control circuit 27 is connected to a power source and a ground unit by wirings 27b and 27c. In the output board 56, the calculation unit 56 a is connected to the battery 60 and the storage unit 59. A signal indicating data such as voltage (a signal transmitted from the control circuit 27) can be transmitted from the calculation unit 56a to the storage unit 59.

  With the above-described configuration, the storage unit 59 of the output board 56 stores data relating to the lubricant supply state transmitted from the control circuit 27. Any timing can be adopted as the timing at which the data is transmitted from the control circuit 27 to the output board 56. For example, the storage unit of the control circuit 27 (independent of the storage element included in the calculation unit 27a or the calculation unit 27a) is used. The data may be transferred from the control circuit 27 to the output board 56 when the memory element provided in the control circuit 27 is filled with the data. When the data includes time change data of the storage voltage of the power supply unit 77, the data is stored in an external storage medium via the storage unit 59 of the output board 56, and the data is stored in an external computer using the external storage medium. Can be imported. In this way, it is possible to check the state of the lubricating oil supply unit (power generation state, operation state of the pump 29, etc.) on an external computer.

<Configuration of bearing device>
With reference to FIGS. 6-10, the bearing apparatus used for the mechanical apparatus shown in the said FIG. 1 is demonstrated. The bearing device 10 according to the present embodiment is a rolling bearing device and includes a bearing 11 (see FIG. 7) that is a rolling bearing and a lubricating oil supply unit 20 (see FIG. 7). The lubricating oil supply unit 20 is incorporated between an outer ring spacer 33 and an inner ring spacer 34 that are abutted against one end of the bearing 11 in the axial direction. A bearing device 10 including a bearing 11 and a lubricating oil supply unit 20 is used by being incorporated, for example, between a rotating shaft and a housing of a mechanical device. When the bearing device 10 is incorporated into a mechanical device, for example, another spacer is abutted against the other end portion of the bearing 11, and the shaft of the bearing 11 is supported by the outer ring spacer 33, the inner ring spacer 34, and the other spacer. Directional positioning can be performed.

  The bearing 11 includes, for example, an inner ring 14 which is a rotating raceway ring, a fixed outer ring 13, a plurality of rolling elements 15 interposed between the inner ring 14 and the outer ring 13, and a plurality of rolling elements 15. Is mainly provided with a retainer 16 that holds a fixed distance at a predetermined interval and a seal member that is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the retainer 16. As the bearing 11, for example, an angular ball bearing, a deep groove ball bearing, or a cylindrical roller bearing can be used. The bearing 11 is filled with desired grease in advance. The seal member is disposed at the end opposite to the side where the outer ring spacer 33 or the like is disposed.

  The inner ring spacer 34 and the outer ring spacer 33 constitute a spacer, and the inner ring spacer 34 abuts against one end face of the inner ring 14. The outer ring spacer 33 is abutted against one end face of the outer ring 13.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the lubricating oil supply unit 20 is arranged in an annular housing, and includes a power generation unit 25, a power supply circuit 26 including a charging unit in the circumferential direction, a control circuit 27, and a drive circuit 28. The pump 29 and the lubricating oil tank 30 are mainly provided. The lubricating oil tank 30 stores the same type of lubricating oil as the base oil of the grease sealed in the bearing 11. The power generation unit 25, the power supply circuit 26, the control circuit 27, the drive circuit 28, the pump 29, and the lubricating oil tank 30 are arranged in the circumferential direction in the housing body 21. The power generation unit 25 is connected to the power supply circuit 26. The power supply circuit 26 is connected to the control circuit 27. The control circuit 27 is connected to the drive circuit 28. The drive circuit 28 is a circuit for operating a pump 29 such as a micropump. Connected to the pump 29 connected to the drive circuit 28 are a suction tube 31 connected to the bag body of the lubricating oil tank 30 and a discharge tube 32 for supplying lubricating oil from the pump 29 to the inside of the bearing 11. Has been. A nozzle 37 is connected to the distal end of the discharge tube 32 (the end opposite to the base connected to the pump 29), as shown in FIG. The tip of the nozzle 37 extends to the inside of the bearing 11 (position adjacent to the rolling element 15, for example, between the bearing ring on the fixed side and the bearing ring on the rotating side of the bearing 11). Note that the inner diameter of the nozzle hole of the nozzle 37 is appropriately set according to the relationship between the surface tension resulting from the viscosity of the base oil and the discharge amount.

  As will be described later, the control circuit 27 acquires data relating to the lubricating oil supply status in the lubricating oil supply unit 20, and sends the data to the outside of the control circuit 27 (for example, an output board 56 as a receiving unit (see FIG. 2)). F) Output is enabled.

  As the power generation unit 25 of the lubricating oil supply unit 20, for example, a unit that generates power by the Seebeck effect as shown in FIG. 6 can be used. Specifically, the power generation unit 25 includes a heat conductor 23a connected to the outer ring spacer 33, a heat conductor 23b disposed in the inner ring spacer 34, and a space between the heat conductor 23a and the heat conductor 23b. The thermoelectric elements 24 (elements using the Seebeck effect of Peltier elements) are disposed so as to be connected to each other, and are closely fixed to the heat conductors 23a and 23b.

  Here, when a rolling bearing device is used as the bearing device 10 as shown in FIG. 6, the temperature of the inner ring 14 and the outer ring 13 rises due to frictional heat with the rolling elements 15 (see FIG. 7). Normally, the outer ring 13 is dissipated by heat conduction because it is incorporated in the housing of the device. Therefore, a temperature difference occurs between the inner ring 14 and the outer ring 13 (the temperature of the inner ring 14 is higher than the temperature of the outer ring 13). The temperature is conducted to each heat conductor 23a, 23b. The heat conductors 23a and 23b are disposed so as to penetrate the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface of the housing body 21, respectively. Therefore, a thermoelectric element disposed between the heat conductor 23a (heat sink) connected to the outer ring 13 via the outer ring spacer 33 and the heat conductor 23b located on the inner ring spacer 34 side (inner ring 14 side). A temperature difference occurs between both end faces of 24. For this reason, the thermoelectric element 24 can generate power by the Seebeck effect. By using such a power generation unit 25, it is not necessary to supply power to the lubricating oil supply unit from the outside, and therefore it is not necessary to attach an electric wire for supplying power to the machine tool spindle 50 from the outside. Therefore, it is more effective to use the lubricating oil supply unit 20 having means for confirming that the lubricating oil has been supplied to the bearing 11 as described above.

  It is preferable to use an adhesive in consideration of thermal conductivity on the surface in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring spacer 33 in the heat conductor 23a penetrating the outer peripheral surface of the housing body 21. The radius of curvature of the outer peripheral surface of the heat conductor 23 a on the outer ring 13 side is preferably the same as the radius of curvature of the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring spacer 33. In this way, since the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring spacer 33 and the outer peripheral surface of the heat conductor 23a can be brought into close contact with each other, heat is efficiently transmitted between the heat conductor 23a and the outer ring spacer 33 and the outer ring 13. Can communicate. On the other hand, the inner peripheral surface (surface facing the inner ring spacer 34) of the heat conductor 23b on the inner ring side is not in contact with the inner ring spacer 34. If possible, it is desirable to make the volume of the heat conductors 23a, 23b on the outer ring side and the inner ring side equal. Further, it is desirable to increase the surface area of the heat conductor 23b on the inner ring side.

  Note that heat conduction between the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring spacer 33 and the heat conductor 23a, between the heat conductor 23a and the thermoelectric element 24, and between the thermoelectric element 24 and the heat conductor 23b on the inner ring side. In order to increase the rate and adhesion, it is preferable to apply a heat dissipating grease or the like. Generally, the heat dissipating grease is mainly composed of silicone. Moreover, it is preferable to use a metal with high heat conductivity as a material of the heat conductors 23a and 23b. For example, silver (Ag), copper (Cu), gold (Au) or the like can be used, but it is preferable to use copper from the viewpoint of cost. In addition, as a material of the heat conductors 23a and 23b, a copper alloy containing copper as a main component may be used, or a sintered alloy containing copper as a main component may be used. In addition, the heat conductor connected to the thermoelectric element 24 may be disposed only on the high temperature side, and the thermoelectric element 24 may be tightly fixed to the spacer (outer ring spacer 33) on the low temperature side.

  The electric charge generated (generated) by the power generation unit 25 is stored in the power supply circuit 26. Specifically, the electric charge is stored in a power storage unit such as a storage battery or a capacitor included in the power supply circuit 26 (also referred to as a power storage circuit). As a capacitor, it is preferable to use an electric double layer capacitor (capacitor).

  The control circuit 27 is a control unit for controlling the operation of the pump 29 via the drive circuit 28, and is a program storage unit that holds a control program and an arithmetic operation that is connected to the program storage unit and executes the control program Part (microcomputer). By the control circuit 27, the supply start timing of lubricant oil to the bearing 11, the supply timing (interval), the driving time of the pump 29 for supplying lubricant, the supply amount of lubricant, and the like can be set in advance. And the lubrication life of a bearing apparatus can be extended by maintaining the supply state of lubricating oil appropriately in this way.

  The drive circuit 28 as the drive unit may include, for example, an arbitrary sensor (a bearing temperature sensor, a bearing rotation sensor, a lubricant remaining amount sensor, a lubricant temperature sensor, etc.). Signals from these sensors may be input to a calculation unit (microcomputer) of the drive circuit 28, and the pump 29 may be automatically controlled in accordance with the temperature of the bearing 11 and its rotation state to adjust the supply amount of the lubricating oil.

  The pump 29 is controlled by the control circuit 27 via the drive circuit 28. The pump 29 sucks the lubricating oil in the lubricating oil tank 30 from the suction tube 31 and supplies the sucked lubricating oil to the inside of the bearing 11 through the discharge tube 32 and the nozzle 37.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the annular housing of the lubricating oil supply unit 20 has a U-shaped housing body 21 whose surface opposite to the bearing 11 is open, and the opening of the housing body 21 is closed. The lid body 22 is detachably attached to the housing body 21. The housing body 21 and the lid body 22 may be made of any material, but may be made of, for example, a resin material, more preferably a thermoplastic resin. As a material constituting the housing, for example, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) can be used. The housing body 21 and the lid body 22 may be made of the same kind of material, but may be made of different materials.

  The housing lid 22 may be fixed to the housing body 21 with screws 39 (see FIG. 9). By fixing the lid body 22 to the housing body 21, the inside of the housing surrounded by the housing body 21 and the lid body 22 can be sealed. The lid 22 can be removed by removing the screw 39 from the tap hole 35 to which the screw 39 is fixed. In this way, the lubricating oil can be replenished to the lubricating oil tank 30 housed in the housing body 21 without removing the entire lubricating oil supply unit 20 from the bearing device 10.

  The outer peripheral surface of the housing body 21 may be fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring spacer 33. The outer peripheral surface of the housing main body 21 and the outer ring spacer 33 may be bonded and fixed by, for example, an adhesive. For example, an epoxy resin or the like may be used as an adhesive for bonding and fixing the housing body 21. The housing body 21 (that is, the lubricating oil supply unit 20) may be fixed to the stationary ring of the bearing 11. A gap 36 may be formed between the housing main body 21 and the inner ring spacer 34.

  Next, the lubricating oil tank 30 housed in the housing main body 21 may be constituted by a plastic bag body having flexibility. The lubricating oil tank 30 may be arranged in an arc shape along the annular housing body 21.

  For example, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 10, the resin bag constituting the lubricating oil tank 30 may be formed by stacking resin sheets and thermally welding the outer peripheral portion. For example, the outer peripheral portion of the lubricating oil tank 30 shown in FIG. 10 may be a thermally welded portion.

  The bag body of the lubricating oil tank 30 is provided with a suction tube 31 connected to the pump 29. When the bag body of the lubricating oil tank 30 is formed by heat welding, the suction tube 31 is sandwiched between the stacked resin sheets to form the bag body and heat-welded. In this way, the suction tube 31 can be integrated with the bag.

  In addition, as a structure of the bag body which comprises the lubricating oil tank 30, other arbitrary structures are employable. For example, the bag body may be formed by blow molding. In this case, the suction tube 31 may be blow-molded integrally with the bag. Further, when the bag body of the lubricating oil tank 30 is blow-molded as described above, the bag body is in an expanded shape (bag shape). Therefore, it is desirable to form the bag-like portion flat after the bag body is molded. . By forming the bag-like portion flat, the lubricating oil can be discharged from the lubricating oil tank 30 to the end even if the amount of the lubricating oil is reduced. That is, the lubricating oil in the lubricating oil tank 30 can be used up to the end.

  Any material can be used as the material of the bag forming the lubricating oil tank 30. For example, a resin material is preferably used. As a material of the lubricating oil tank 30, for example, nylon, polyethylene, polyester, polypropylene or the like can be used, but there is no particular limitation as long as it is a material having durability against the lubricating oil stored in the bag.

  The suction tube 31 provided in the bag body of the lubricating oil tank 30 may be detachably connected to the pump 29. By making the suction tube 31 detachable from the pump 29, when the remaining amount of lubricating oil in the lubricating oil tank 30 runs out, the suction tube 31 is removed from the pump 29 and lubricated from the suction tube 31 into the bag body. Oil can be replenished.

  Moreover, by making the bag body of the lubricating oil tank 30 removable with respect to the pump 29, a spare bag body filled with lubricating oil can be prepared and the bag body can be replaced. For example, when the lubricating oil in the used lubricating oil tank 30 runs out, remove the used lubricating oil tank 30 bag and replace it with a spare bag (a bag filled with lubricating oil). By doing so, the lubricating oil supply unit 20 can be replenished in a short time.

  In addition, the above-described spare bag can be filled with the lubricating oil in a state managed by the lubricating oil manufacturer. In this way, it is possible to reduce the probability of occurrence of problems during filling, such as the entry of foreign matter into the bag. In addition, when the spare bag body is stored, it is preferable to attach a lid to the suction tube 31 of the spare bag body. If it does in this way, it can prevent that a foreign material mixes in the inside of the bag body in storage.

  The bearing device described above is an inner ring rotation. Further, although the rotation center is the horizontal axis, it may be the vertical axis.

<Machine operation>
A machine tool spindle 50, which is an example of the machine apparatus shown in FIG. In the bearing device that supports the rotating shaft 51, the lubricating oil is regularly supplied to the bearing 11 (see FIG. 7) by the lubricating oil supply unit. Increases durability.

<Operation of bearing device>
In the bearing device including the bearing 11 and the lubricating oil supply unit 20 (see FIG. 7), the lubricating oil can be supplied from the lubricating oil tank 30 to the bearing 11 by controlling the operation of the pump 29 by the control circuit 27.

  The driving timing of the pump 29 can be performed when the electric power generated in the power generation unit 25 is stored in a power storage unit (for example, a capacitor) in the power supply circuit 26 and the voltage of the power storage unit reaches a certain voltage. . Furthermore, in order to extend the lubrication life of the bearing 11 filled with grease and to increase the time to maintenance, it is desirable to set the following intervals. Hereinafter, a specific description will be given with reference to FIGS. 11 to 16, the vertical axis indicates the voltage of the power storage unit, and the horizontal axis indicates time. FIGS. 11-16 has shown the time change (charge and discharge condition) of the voltage of an electrical storage part.

  For example, referring to FIG. 11, a charging time 41 is required until the voltage of the power storage unit reaches the voltage necessary for driving pump 29 (voltage V2 in FIG. 11) (or reaches full charge). If it is earlier than the supply timing of the lubricating oil, after a time t1 when the voltage of the power storage unit reaches the voltage V2 (full charge is reached), a predetermined power storage time (delay time 42) is added (that is, delay time 42). The pump 29 is driven by the electric power stored in the power storage unit at time t2 (added with a delay time from time t1 to time t2). In this way, it is possible to manage the supply interval of the lubricating oil to be longer than the time when the voltage of the power storage unit reaches a predetermined voltage (for example, full charge).

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, once the pump 29 is driven, the voltage of the power storage unit decreases to the voltage V1, and then the charging operation is performed again. As a result, the voltage of the power storage unit becomes a predetermined voltage (time point t3). Thereafter, after the delay time described above has elapsed (time t4), the pump 29 is driven again. Such a cycle can continue thereafter (for example, from time t4 to time t6).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the delay time 42 (the time from the time point t1 to the time point t2) can be set long in consideration of the lifetime of the grease sealed in the bearing 11 from the beginning. For example, when a grease-filled type bearing is used as the bearing 11, sufficient lubrication can be secured by the grease enclosed in the bearing 11 at the beginning of operation, so that the lubrication life of the grease enclosed in the bearing 11 as shown in FIG. After the elapse of (for example, 20,000 hours), the first supply of lubricating oil may be started. Further, at this time, as the operation start time of the bearing 11, any timing such as the time when the charging voltage of the power storage unit reaches a certain value or the time when the output voltage from the thermoelectric element 24 reaches a certain value is adopted. May be.

  In this case, for example, the delay time 42 can be set so that the time from the start of operation to the time point t2 is equivalent to the lubrication life time 43 of the grease. In determining the time point t2, the time from the operation start time is measured by the timer function in the control circuit 27, and the elapsed time of the lubrication life time 43 may be set as the time point t2. Further, regarding the delay time in the second and subsequent cycles (time between time t3 and time t4, or time between time t5 and time t6), it is considered that the base oil of the grease in the bearing 11 is considerably reduced. Therefore, it can be set shorter than the first delay time 42 in consideration of the usage status of the bearing device. In this way, by delaying the initial supply of the lubricating oil, the life of the bearing 11 is extended, and the time until maintenance can be extended.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the lubricant discharge interval (the operation interval of the pump 29) may be controlled according to the time until the power storage unit is fully charged. For example, charging and discharging in the power storage unit may be repeated, and the pump 29 may be driven for each predetermined number of cycles for the number of cycles of charging and discharging. Specifically, at time t1, time t2, time t3, and t4 in FIG. 13, only discharging from the power storage unit to the resistor or the like is performed and the pump 29 is not driven. Then, the pump 29 is driven at a time point t4 when the battery is fully charged in the fourth charge / discharge cycle (when the voltage of the power storage unit becomes the voltage V2). In this way, the pump 29 can be driven at every predetermined number of charge / discharge cycles, so that the supply interval of the lubricating oil can be managed to be long.

  Here, the power generation unit 25 of the lubricating oil supply unit 20 generates power using the temperature difference between the inner ring 14 and the outer ring 13 of the bearing 11. Therefore, in an operating situation in which the temperature of the inner ring 14 of the bearing 11 is relatively high, the temperature difference between the inner ring 14 and the outer ring 13 becomes large, and as a result, the amount of power generation per unit time in the power generation unit 25 is large. Become. Therefore, the charging time for the power storage unit of the power supply circuit 26 is shortened. On the other hand, when the difference between the temperature of the inner ring 14 of the bearing 11 and the temperature of the outer ring 13 is not so large, the power generation amount per unit time in the power generation unit 25 is reduced. Therefore, the charging time for the power storage unit of the power supply circuit 26 becomes longer.

  13 is considered to correspond to the case where the temperature difference between the inner ring 14 and the outer ring 13 is large, FIG. 14 shows that the temperature difference between the inner ring 14 and the outer ring 13 of the bearing 11 is larger than that shown in FIG. It shows a case where the charging time is relatively small and as a result, the charging time becomes long. Comparing FIG. 13 with FIG. 14, it can be seen that the graph shown in FIG. 14 is longer with respect to the length of the charging time 41 (for example, the time from the start of charging to the time point t1). That is, as shown in FIG. 13, when the charge / discharge cycle is used to determine the drive interval of the pump 29, the lubricant supply interval changes due to the temperature difference between the inner ring 14 and the outer ring 13 of the bearing 11.

  In general, when the lubrication conditions inside the bearing 11 are good, the temperature rise inside the bearing 11 becomes relatively small, and there is no problem even if the supply interval of the lubricating oil is long. On the other hand, when the lubrication conditions inside the bearing 11 are not so good, the temperature rise inside the bearing 11 becomes relatively large, so it is desirable to shorten the supply interval of the lubricating oil.

  Therefore, when power generation due to the temperature difference between the inner ring 14 and the outer ring 13 of the bearing 11 is used, the lubrication oil supply interval automatically changes according to the load of the bearing 11, so that the lubrication condition inside the bearing 11 is always changed. Can keep good. Further, in the control shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, charging and discharging are repeated until the pump 29 is driven. Therefore, the driving interval of the pump 29 may be managed by the number of times of charging / discharging.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 15, after the pump 29 is driven once (time t1), the charge / discharge is repeated 8 times, and the pump 29 is reached when the ninth full charge is reached (time t2 when the voltage V2 is reached). The drive interval of the pump 29 may be managed so as to repeat the cycle of driving. The time variation of the voltage as shown in FIG. 15 may be stored in the control circuit 27 and then output to the output board 56.

  Further, when the time to full charge is short in charging the power storage unit, it is estimated that the temperature difference between the outer ring 13 and the inner ring 14 in the bearing 11 is large (the inner ring temperature is high). On the contrary, when the time until full charge is long, it is estimated that the inner ring temperature is relatively low as compared with the case described above. Therefore, when the charging time is relatively short, the lubrication state inside the bearing 11 generally tends not to be very good, and when the charging time is long, the lubrication state inside the bearing 11 is generally good. You may judge. Thus, by measuring the time until full charge, a change in the lubrication state inside the bearing 11 can be indirectly estimated without separately providing a device such as a temperature sensor in the bearing 11. In order to make such an estimation, a relationship between the time until full charge and the lubrication state inside the bearing 11 may be obtained by, for example, an operation test. In this case, the relationship between the time and the lubrication state inside the bearing 11 changes depending on the rotational speed of the bearing 11, the magnitude of the load, the amount of preload, and the like. In the case of the machine tool spindle 50, the outer peripheral side of the spindle housing 52 is always cooled by cooling water or cooling oil.

  Further, when the pump 29 is driven and when the discharge is performed from the power storage unit to the end using a resistor or the like, the voltage drop in the power storage unit may be larger when the pump 29 is driven. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, when the pump 29 is driven at the time point t1 or the time point t2, the voltage of the power storage unit decreases to the voltage V1, while when the terminal is discharged to a resistor or the like, the voltage of the power storage unit is Consider a case where the voltage drops to V3. Here, the voltage V1 is lower than the voltage V3. In this case, a voltage V4 between the voltage V1 and the voltage V3 is set as a threshold value, and when the voltage of the power storage unit drops to a voltage equal to or lower than the threshold value, the control circuit 27 reduces the voltage (for example, the time point t1). Alternatively, the time point t2) and the voltage value (voltage V1) may be stored. As the timing information, specific date information may be used.

  As described above, the control circuit 27 stores data such as the drive timing of the pump 29 and the time variation of the voltage of the power storage unit, and further outputs the data from the control circuit 27 to the output substrate 56 (external output unit 70). The operation status of the supply unit (and the status of the bearing 11) can be easily confirmed.

<Modification of mechanical device configuration>
A modification of the mechanical device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Referring to FIG. 17, the first modification of machine tool spindle 50, which is an example of a mechanical device, basically has the same configuration as that of machine tool spindle 50 shown in FIG. A display device 61 is installed. As the display device 61, any display device such as a liquid crystal display device can be used. Note that an opening or a window portion made of a transparent member is formed in the portion of the cover member 58 facing the display device 61. If it does in this way, the display of the display apparatus 61 can be easily confirmed from the outside through a window part. The output board 56 may further include a calculation unit 56a and a storage unit 59.

  The display device 61 can display data transmitted from the control circuit 27 (for example, the number of times the pump 29 is driven in the lubricating oil supply unit 20 and the time during which the pump 29 is driven). For example, when the control as shown in FIG. 16 described above is performed in the lubricating oil supply unit 20, the number of times that the voltage of the power storage unit has dropped to a voltage equal to or lower than the threshold (the number of times the lubricating oil is discharged) is set to the control circuit 27 or the output board 56. The number of times may be counted on the side and displayed on the display device 61.

  Further, if the capacity of the lubricating oil tank 30 and the amount of lubricating oil discharged when the pump 29 is driven once are obtained in advance, the number of times that the lubricating oil can be supplied from the lubricating oil tank 30 (the lubrication by the pump 29 being driven) The maximum number of times oil can be supplied). Therefore, the remaining number of discharges can be easily grasped from the number of times the pump 29 is driven. Further, as data to be displayed on the display device 61, the number of dischargeable times obtained by subtracting the actual number of times (actual driving number of the pump 29) from the maximum number or the amount of lubricating oil remaining in the lubricating oil tank 30 is displayed. May be.

  Referring to FIG. 18, the second modification of machine tool spindle 50 basically has the same configuration as that of machine tool spindle 50 shown in FIG. 1, but from control unit 71 of unit main body 76. Data is transmitted to the external output unit 70 by wireless communication as indicated by an arrow 75. In this case, the control unit 71 and the external output unit 70 are provided with a transmission / reception unit for wireless data communication. In this way, it is not necessary to form a through hole for passing the contact probe 54 through the spindle housing 52 or the like as shown in FIG. 1, and the configuration of the machine tool spindle 50 can be simplified.

  Referring to FIG. 19, the third modification of machine tool spindle 50 basically has the same configuration as machine tool spindle 50 shown in FIG. 18, but external output unit 70 is used for a machine tool. It is disposed outside the spindle 50 and transmits data between the external output unit 70 and the control unit 71 by wireless communication. In this case, as the external output unit 70, any analysis device such as a personal computer can be used. In this case, it is possible to easily check the supply state of the lubricating oil to the bearing 11 of the machine tool spindle 50 by the analysis device.

  Note that the wireless communication method described above may use any conventionally known communication standard such as a wireless LAN (for example, WiFi (registered trademark)), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or ZigBee.

  Although there is a part which overlaps with the description mentioned above, the characteristic structure of embodiment of this invention is enumerated.

  The lubricating oil supply unit 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a holding portion (the lubricating oil tank 30 or the lubricating oil holding portion 73) that holds the lubricating oil supplied to the inside of the bearing 11, and the inside of the bearing 11 from the holding portion. Are provided with a supply unit (drive circuit 28 and pump 29 or lubricant supply unit 72) for supplying lubricating oil, and a control unit (control circuit 27 or control unit 71) for controlling the operation of the supply unit. The control unit can acquire data regarding the supply status of the lubricating oil and can output the data to the outside of the control unit.

  In this way, the receiving unit that receives the data output from the control unit is arranged at a position where it can be easily confirmed, such as the outer periphery of the lubricating oil supply unit 20, and the operation status of the lubricating oil supply unit 20 is determined based on the data. (Lubricating oil supply status) can be easily grasped. Therefore, occurrence of an abnormality can be detected quickly, and as a result, the reliability of the lubricating oil supply unit 20 can be improved. Therefore, the lubricating oil supply unit 20 that can be stably operated for a long time can be realized.

  The lubricating oil supply unit 20 may include a receiving unit (the output board 56 or the external output unit 70) that receives data output from the control unit. The control unit may include a storage unit (such as a memory element installed in the control circuit 27) for storing data. The control unit may transmit the data to the receiving unit at a timing when the data amount of the data stored in the storage unit satisfies the capacity of the storage unit and at a predetermined time interval. The reception unit may include a storage medium (storage unit 59) that stores the received data.

  In this case, by arranging the receiving unit at a position away from the control unit (for example, a position away from the bearing 11 to which the lubricating oil supply unit 20 is connected), the operation state of the lubricating oil supply unit 20 is controlled by the control unit. It can memorize | store in the storage medium of the receiving part arrange | positioned in the position away from. Therefore, the data can be easily confirmed by using a removable medium as the storage medium of the reception unit or providing a display unit for displaying data stored in the storage medium in the reception unit. Further, if the data transmission frequency is increased to some extent, it is not necessary to arrange an element having a large storage capacity inside the control unit of the lubricating oil supply unit 20. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the control part of the lubricating oil supply unit can be reduced.

  In the lubricating oil supply unit 20, the data may include time information indicating when the lubricating oil is supplied into the bearing 11. The storage medium may be removable from the receiving unit.

  In this case, the storage medium storing the data can be removed from the receiving unit, and the data can be input to the external analysis device (for example, a personal computer) using the storage medium. For this reason, it is possible to easily analyze the operation state of the lubricating oil supply unit 20.

  The lubricating oil supply unit 20 may include a receiving unit that receives data output from the control unit. The control unit may include a storage unit for storing data. The control unit may transmit the data to the receiving unit at a timing when the data amount of the data stored in the storage unit satisfies the capacity of the storage unit and at a predetermined time interval. The receiving unit may include a display unit (display device 61) that displays the received data.

  In this case, since the operator can easily confirm the data displayed on the display unit, the operation status (the supply status of the lubricant) of the lubricant supply unit 20 can be easily grasped.

  In the lubricating oil supply unit 20, the receiving unit and the control unit may be connected via a conductor (contact probe 54). Data may be transmitted from the control unit to the receiving unit via a conductor.

  In this case, if the controller and the receiver are securely connected using a conductor, data can be reliably transmitted from the controller to the receiver via the conductor.

  In the lubricating oil supply unit 20, the receiving unit may include a battery 60 as a power source. As the battery 60, for example, a coin-type battery or a button battery can be used. In this case, since power for performing control such as reception of data in the receiving unit can be supplied from the battery 60, there is no need to lay wiring for supplying power from the outside to the receiving unit. For this reason, the restrictions regarding the power supply when installing the lubricating oil supply unit can be reduced. Further, when the power obtained by the power generation unit 25 included in the lubricating oil supply unit 20 is also used by the reception unit (output board 56), the battery is used when it is difficult to operate the output board 56 with the power alone. The output board 56 can be operated.

  In the lubricating oil supply unit 20, the control unit may be capable of transmitting data as a radio signal to the receiving unit as shown in FIGS. In this case, since it is not necessary to physically connect the control unit and the receiving unit with a conductive wire or the like, the lubricating oil supply unit 20 and the bearing for connecting the lubricating oil supply unit 20 are provided rather than the case where the conductive wire is installed. The structure of the apparatus or the machine apparatus (machine tool spindle 50) using the bearing apparatus can be simplified.

  In the lubricating oil supply unit 20, the control unit may be able to arbitrarily set an operation interval when the supplying unit is repeatedly operated to supply the lubricating oil into the bearing 11. In this case, by changing the operation interval, the supply interval of the lubricant can be adjusted according to the operation state of the bearing 11. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of problems such as excessive supply of lubricating oil in the bearing 11 or a shortage of lubricating oil.

  The lubricating oil supply unit includes a power generation unit 25 that generates power for operating the supply unit, and a power storage unit (power storage unit included in the power supply circuit 26) that is charged by the power generated by the power generation unit 25. It may be. The supply unit may be operated by electric power discharged from the power storage unit. The power storage unit may be capable of discharging without operating the supply unit. In the power storage unit, the first voltage value (voltage V1 in FIG. 16) is obtained after the supply unit is operated, and the second voltage value (which is different from the first voltage value) after discharging without operating the supply unit ( It may be the voltage V3) in FIG. The control unit may specify the timing for acquiring data based on the difference between the first voltage value and the second voltage value. The data may include a first voltage value when the supply unit is activated.

  In this case, since the data is acquired by the control unit based on the difference between the first voltage value and the second voltage value corresponding to the presence or absence of actual operation of the supply unit, when the supply unit is activated ( That is, it is possible to reliably acquire data when the lubricating oil is supplied to the bearing 11.

  Further, since the lubricating oil supply unit 20 includes the power generation unit 25, the control unit, the supply unit, and the like of the lubricating oil supply unit 20 can be moved without receiving external power supply. For this reason, the freedom degree of the structure of the mechanical apparatus in which the lubricating oil supply unit 20 is installed can be raised.

  The lubricating oil supply unit 20 includes a power generation unit 25 that generates power for operating the supply unit, and a power storage unit (power storage unit included in the power circuit 26) that is charged by the power generated by the power generation unit. It may be. The supply unit may be operated by electric power discharged from the power storage unit. The power storage unit may have the first voltage value (voltage V1) after operating the supply unit. The control unit may include a timer for setting the operation interval. A control part may specify the timing which operates a supply part based on a timer, and acquires data. The data may include a first voltage value when the supply unit is activated.

  In this case, the supply interval of the lubricating oil can be easily changed by adjusting the timer. Further, by using the timer, the supply interval of the lubricant can be set independently of the operating condition of the bearing device in which the lubricant supply unit 20 is installed.

  A bearing device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the lubricating oil supply unit 20 and a bearing 11 to which the lubricating oil supply unit is connected.

  In this case, since the lubricating oil can be stably supplied from the lubricating oil supply unit 20 to the bearing 11 for a long period of time, a highly reliable bearing device 10 can be realized.

  A mechanical device (machine tool spindle 50) according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the bearing device 10. In this case, a highly reliable mechanical device can be obtained.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the above-described embodiment can be variously modified. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  The present invention is particularly advantageously applied to a lubricating oil supply unit including a power generation unit and a bearing device including the lubricating oil supply unit.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Bearing apparatus, 11 Bearing, 13 Outer ring, 14 Inner ring, 15 Rolling body, 16 Cage, 20 Lubricating oil supply unit, 21 Housing body, 22 Lid body, 23a, 23b Thermal conductor, 24 Thermoelectric element, 25 Power generation part, 26 Power supply circuit, 27 Control circuit, 27a Arithmetic unit, 27b, 27c Wiring, 28 Drive circuit, 29 Pump, 30 Lubricating oil tank, 31 Suction tube, 32 Discharge tube, 33 Outer ring spacer, 34 Inner ring spacer, 35 Tap hole , 36 Clearance, 37 Nozzle, 38 Lubricating oil, 39 Screw, 41 Charging time, 42 Delay time, 43 Lubricating life time, 50 Machine tool spindle, 51 Rotating shaft, 52 Spindle housing, 53 Outer peripheral housing, 54 Contact probe, 55 Conductive wire, 56 output board, 56a arithmetic unit, 57 pedestal, 58 modules -Member, 59 storage unit, 60 battery, 61 display device, 70 external output unit, 71 control unit, 72 lubricating oil supply unit, 73 lubricating oil holding unit, 74 connection line, 75 arrow, 76 unit body unit, 77 power supply unit .

Claims (11)

A holding portion for holding lubricating oil supplied to the inside of the bearing;
A supply unit for supplying the lubricating oil from the holding unit to the inside of the bearing;
A control unit for controlling the operation of the supply unit,
The said control part is a lubricating oil supply unit which can acquire the data regarding the supply condition of the said lubricating oil, and can output the said data to the exterior of the said control part. A receiving unit for receiving the data output from the control unit;
The control unit includes a storage unit for storing the data,
The control unit sends the data to the receiving unit at a timing when the data amount of the data stored in the storage unit satisfies the capacity of the storage unit and at a predetermined time interval. Transmit
The lubricating oil supply unit according to claim 1, wherein the receiving unit includes a storage medium that stores the received data. The data includes time information indicating a point in time when the lubricating oil is supplied into the bearing,
The lubricating oil supply unit according to claim 2, wherein the storage medium is detachable from the receiving unit. A receiving unit for receiving the data output from the control unit;
The control unit includes a storage unit for storing the data,
The control unit sends the data to the receiving unit at a timing when the data amount of the data stored in the storage unit satisfies the capacity of the storage unit and at a predetermined time interval. Transmit
The lubricating oil supply unit according to claim 1, wherein the receiving unit includes a display unit that displays the received data. The receiving unit and the control unit are connected via a conductor,
5. The lubricating oil supply unit according to claim 2, wherein the data is transmitted from the control unit to the receiving unit via the conductor. 6.   The lubricating oil supply unit according to claim 5, wherein the receiving unit includes a battery as a power source.   The said control part is a lubricating oil supply unit of any one of Claims 2-4 which can transmit the said data to the said receiving part as a radio signal.   The said control part can set arbitrarily the operation | movement space | interval in the case of operating the said supply part repeatedly in order to supply the said lubricating oil to the inside of the said bearing. Lubricating oil supply unit. A power generation unit for generating electric power for operating the supply unit;
A power storage unit charged with electric power generated in the power generation unit,
The supply unit is operated by electric power discharged from the power storage unit,
The power storage unit can be discharged without operating the supply unit,
In the power storage unit, the first voltage value is obtained after the supply unit is operated, and the second voltage value is different from the first voltage value after discharging without operating the supply unit,
The control unit specifies a timing for acquiring the data based on a difference between the first voltage value and the second voltage value,
9. The lubricating oil supply unit according to claim 8, wherein the data includes the first voltage value when the supply unit is operated. A power generation unit for generating electric power for operating the supply unit;
A power storage unit charged with electric power generated in the power generation unit,
The supply unit is operated by electric power discharged from the power storage unit,
The power storage unit becomes a first voltage value after operating the supply unit,
The control unit includes a timer for setting the operation interval,
The control unit specifies the timing of operating the supply unit based on the timer and acquiring the data,
9. The lubricating oil supply unit according to claim 8, wherein the data includes the first voltage value when the supply unit is operated. The lubricating oil supply unit according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
A bearing device comprising a bearing to which the lubricating oil supply unit is connected.

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