JP4808569B2 - Planetary gear unit and speed increaser for wind power generator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a planetary gear device used for a wind speed booster and the like and a wind power speed increaser.

  Since wind turbine generators have a large initial investment in equipment, their depreciation period often exceeds 10 years, and they are installed in high places and are difficult to maintain. A long life of 20 years is required.

  The planetary gear device (see Patent Document 1) incorporated in order to increase the rotation of the rotor is no exception. Particularly, a bearing used in the device, that is, a planetary gear support bearing has high reliability and long length. Life expectancy is required. In recent years, wind turbines have been increasing in size for the purpose of improving power generation efficiency, while the need for lighter and smaller nacelles has been increasing in order to reduce the load on the tower. It has been.

For this reason, a compact bearing having a high load rating is required as a bearing for a planetary gear, and the rolling speed of the device is relatively low. Rolling element bearings incorporating rollers are often used. In addition, the planetary gear has a structure that is likely to be deformed during operation. Therefore, it is desirable to use a highly rigid bearing such as a total rolling element bearing having a large number of rollers.
JP 2005-36880 A Japanese Patent No. 3549530

  However, since the adjacent roller contacts with each other in reverse rotation, the total rolling element bearing is liable to hinder the rotation of the rollers, and tends to cause surface damage such as galling and smearing. In particular, under conditions where the rotational speed is low as in a planetary gear device, the damage is more prominent because an oil film is not formed by a lubricant at each contact portion in the bearing.

  The main object of the present invention is to provide a planetary gear device that can be operated maintenance-free for many years by using a roller bearing that is compact, has a high rated load, high rigidity, and reduced surface damage as a support bearing for a planetary gear. There is.

The bearing used in the planetary gear device of the present invention is a roller bearing having a spacer between adjacent rollers, and integrally formed with extended portions facing the roller end surfaces of both adjacent rollers at both ends in the axial direction of the spacer. I Oh, wherein by forming recesses in the roller end face to form a convex portion projecting on the end face side roller in the extended portion caused to enter the protrusion into the recess, and wherein the convex portion of the concave portion during operation The setting is such that it does not interfere with the inner peripheral wall surface .

  The spacers are separated and independent from each other, and since the tensile stress found in conventional cages does not act on the spacers, more rollers can be incorporated into the bearing, and the rollers are compact and have high rated loads and high rigidity. A bearing can be provided.

  In addition, unlike total rolling element bearings, it is possible to avoid contact between adjacent rollers, and the rollers do not slide in reverse rotation, so that the rotation of the rollers is less likely to be hindered, such as galling and smearing. Damage can be greatly reduced.

In addition, since the extension portions facing the roller end surfaces of both adjacent rollers are integrally formed at both ends in the axial direction of the spacer, the movement of the spacer in the axial direction can be restricted by the end portion of the extension portion. The radial movement can be regulated by the roller rolling surface, the inner ring collar outer diameter or the outer ring collar inner diameter.

  That is, since the inner ring and outer ring raceway surfaces and flange side surfaces are not used as spacer movement restricting means, there is no need to interpose the spacer over a wide area between adjacent rollers, and the stirring resistance of the lubricating oil can be suppressed. Moreover, the smooth flow of the lubricating oil is not prevented in the vicinity of the rolling surface.

  Further, when the spacer is guided to the inner ring collar outer diameter or the outer ring collar inner diameter, the expansion portion also exerts an effect of expanding the guide area, so that an oil film is easily formed on the guide surface.

  In the roller bearing described in Patent Document 2, since the movement of the spacer is restricted by the raceway surface and the collar side surface of the inner ring and the outer ring, a spacer having the same size as the radial cross section of the roller is necessarily interposed. Therefore, there is a tendency that the stirring resistance of the lubricating oil is large. Further, since the spacer is brought into sliding contact with the raceway surface of the inner ring or the outer ring, the formation of a smooth oil film on the rolling surface may be impaired.

A convex portion protruding toward the roller end surface is formed on the extended portion of the spacer and a concave portion is formed on the roller end surface so that the convex portion enters the concave portion, and the convex portion is inside the concave portion during operation. By setting so as not to interfere with the peripheral wall surface, the roller end surface is connected by the extended portion of the spacer, thereby suppressing the spread of the roller to the outer diameter side. That is, even if the outer ring is omitted, the rollers and spacers are not dropped from the inner ring, and the handling of the bearing can be improved.
The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the roller bearing used in the planetary gear device according to claim 1 substitutes the inner diameter surface of the gear as an outer ring raceway surface. By omitting the outer ring, in addition to the effects described above, the planetary gear device can be made compact, and the rigidity of the shaft and the housing can be improved. Further, it is possible to use a roller bearing with a higher rated load, in which the roller diameter is increased by the space of the omitted outer ring, which can contribute to the extension of the life of the planetary gear device.

  In addition, during the operation, tensile stress does not act on the spacer by setting so that the convex portion and the concave portion at the end face do not interfere with each other. The spacer has a slight degree of freedom in the circumferential direction and radial direction of the bearing, and its size is mainly determined by the size of the circumferential clearance. That is, by adjusting the positional relationship between the convex portion and the end surface concave portion in anticipation of the degree of freedom, it is possible to avoid a phenomenon in which the spacer is pulled by both adjacent rollers.

The invention of claim 3, wherein the roller bearing for use in a planetary gear device according to claim 1, a bearing of the separators and roller type and use cash to the outer diameter surface of the planetary shaft and the inner ring raceway surface It is characterized by this. The roller bearing having such a configuration can be handled in a chain shape by connecting the roller end surfaces with the extended portion of the spacer, so that it can be easily attached to the apparatus without an inner ring and an outer ring. That is, the roller bearing can be a separator and roller type in which the raceway is omitted, and the planetary gear device can be downsized and the rigidity of the shaft and the housing can be improved. Alternatively, it is possible to use a roller bearing having a higher rated load, in which the roller diameter is increased by the space of the omitted bearing ring, which can contribute to the extension of the life of the planetary gear device.

  In addition, since the connection part of the said separator & roller is formed by elastically deforming a spacer and making the convex part of a spacer approach into the recessed part of a roller end surface, for example, the said connection part is removed one place and attached After winding around the target planetary shaft, it may be connected again. Moreover, the assembling property of the bearing is improved by providing a slit at the base of the extended portion of the spacer.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the roller bearing used in the planetary gear device according to the first aspect is a roller bearing in which the inner ring is omitted by exhibiting a keystone effect between the roller and the spacer, and the outer diameter of the planetary shaft The surface is substituted for the inner ring raceway surface. The roller bearing having such a configuration can create a specification in which the roller and the spacer do not fall off even when the inner ring is removed by exerting the keystone effect between the roller and the spacer. That is, the roller bearing can omit the inner ring, downsizing of the planetary gear device is possible, and the rigidity of the shaft and the housing can be improved. Alternatively, it is possible to use a roller bearing with a higher rated load, in which the roller diameter is increased by the space of the omitted inner ring, which can contribute to the extension of the life of the planetary gear device.

  In addition, since the roller bearing has two or more types of spacers with different wall thicknesses manufactured in advance and the circumferential clearance can be easily adjusted by a combination of the numbers, the roller pitch circle diameter and the roller Keystone can be established without severely managing the diameter. That is, the keystone effect can be obtained at a lower cost than the total rolling element bearing.

The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the spacer of the roller bearing used in the planetary gear device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 has a concave portion for the purpose of retaining lubricating oil. is there. Here, the concave portion includes both a bottomed one and a through hole. By adopting such a configuration, the lubricating oil can be held in the recess, which can contribute to the extension of the life of the planetary gear device.

  Most of the lubrication methods of the planetary gear device are oil bath lubrication. When the planetary gear revolves and is located at the bottom, the planetary gear device is immersed in the oil bath and supplied with the lubricating oil. Therefore, there is a bearing that is not immersed in the lubricating oil at a certain time. The wind power generator may stop operating for a long period of time depending on the wind condition, and the lubricating oil flows down and loses most of the bearing in the planetary gear that is not immersed in the oil bath. When the operation is resumed from the state due to a change in the wind condition, the bearing may be poorly lubricated, and smooth rotation may be impaired. This leads to a decrease in the efficiency of wind power generation and also hinders the extension of the bearing life.

  In addition, as a material of the said spacer, generally the synthetic resin which has self-lubricating property, the sintered alloy which can make a pore impregnate lubricating oil, etc. are desirable.

  The present invention can provide a planetary gear device that can be operated maintenance-free for many years by applying a compact roller bearing having high rated load and rigidity and reduced surface damage to the support bearing of the planetary gear. It can also contribute to downsizing of equipment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show a step-up gear for wind power generator equipped with a planetary gear device. This speed increaser includes a planetary gear device 12 and a secondary speed increase device 14 disposed in a common casing 10. The planetary gear unit 12 plays a role of increasing the rotation of the input shaft 16 and transmitting it to the low-speed shaft 18. The secondary speed increasing device 14 plays a role of further increasing the rotation of the low speed shaft 18 and transmitting it to the output shaft 20. The input shaft 16 is connected to a main shaft (not shown) of a windmill (not shown) and the output shaft 20 is connected to a generator (not shown).

  The planetary gear device 12 includes a gear train including a sun gear 22, a planetary gear 24, and an internal gear 26. The planetary gear 24 meshes with both the sun gear 22 and the internal gear 26. The internal gear 26 may be formed directly on the casing 10 or may be fixed separately to the casing 10. The sun gear 22 is a member serving as an output shaft in the planetary gear device 12, and is attached to the low speed shaft 18. The low speed shaft 18 is supported by bearings 28 and 30 and is rotatable with respect to the casing 10.

  The planetary gear 24 is carried by a carrier 32. The carrier 32 is a member that serves as an input portion in the planetary gear device 12, and is formed integrally with the input shaft 16 or integrally coupled. The carrier 32 is supported by bearings 34 and 36 at the portion of the input shaft 16 and is rotatable with respect to the casing 10. A plurality of (3 in FIG. 2) planetary shafts 38 are arranged in the circumferential direction of the carrier 32, and the planetary gear 24 is rotatably supported on each planetary shaft 38 via a bearing 40. Although two bearings 40 of each planetary gear 24 are arranged in the illustrated example, one bearing may be used.

  The secondary speed increasing device 14 is constituted by a gear train. In the illustrated example, the gear 42 fixed to the low speed shaft 18 meshes with the small diameter side gear 46 of the intermediate shaft 44, and the large diameter side gear 48 provided on the intermediate shaft 44 meshes with the gear 50 of the output shaft 20. The intermediate shaft 44 and the output shaft 20 are supported by bearings 52 and 54, respectively, and are rotatable with respect to the casing 10.

  The lower part of the casing 10 is a part forming an oil bath 56 of lubricating oil, and the oil level L of the oil bath 56 is a height at which the bearing 40 supporting the planetary gear 24 enters and exits by turning of the carrier 32.

  The operation of the above configuration will be described. When the input shaft 16 rotates, the carrier 32 integral with the input shaft 16 turns, and the planetary gear 24 carried on the carrier 32 revolves. At this time, each planetary gear 24 revolves while revolving while meshing with the fixed internal gear 26 to cause rotation. The planetary gear 24 that rotates while revolving is meshed with the sun gear 22, so that the sun gear 22 is rotated at an increased speed with respect to the input shaft 16. The sun gear 22 serving as the output unit of the planetary gear device 12 is provided on the low speed shaft 18 of the secondary speed increasing device 14. Reportedly. As described above, the rotation of the windmill main shaft (not shown) input to the input shaft 16 is significantly increased by the planetary gear device 12 and the secondary speed increasing device 20 and is transmitted to the output shaft 20. From 20, high-speed rotation capable of generating power is obtained.

  Next, the bearing 40 that supports each planetary gear 24 will be described. The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is a cylindrical roller bearing that omits the outer ring and substitutes the inner diameter surface of the planetary gear as the outer ring raceway surface. In this cylindrical roller bearing, a plurality of cylindrical rollers 6 are arranged on the raceway surface of the inner ring 2, and a spacer 8 is interposed between adjacent cylindrical rollers 6. The inner ring 2 has flange portions at both ends in the axial direction, and the spacer 8 has a roller contact surface 8a in contact with the rolling surface 6a of the cylindrical roller 6 extending in the axial direction of the bearing, as shown in FIG. And the extended part 8b which faces the roller end surface 6b is provided in the both ends. The movement of the spacer 8 in the axial direction of the bearing is regulated by the extended portion 8b being in sliding contact with the roller end face 6b, and the movement in the radial direction is performed on the rolling surface 6a of the roller or the collar outer diameter surface of the inner ring. Be regulated.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, in the cylindrical roller bearing of FIG. 3, the extended portion 8 b of the spacer 8 is formed with a convex portion 8 c that protrudes toward the roller end face (see FIG. 8A). A recess 6c is formed on the roller end face. By causing the convex portion 8c of the spacer 8 to enter the concave portion 6c of the cylindrical roller 6, adjacent cylindrical rollers 6 are connected by the respective spacers, so that the cylindrical roller 6 is prevented from spreading to the outer diameter side. Even if there is no outer ring, the rollers and spacers will not fall out of the inner ring.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the tensile stress generated in the spacer 8 can be avoided by setting the convex portion 8 c so as not to interfere with the inner peripheral wall surface of the concave portion 6 c during the operation of the bearing. The spacer 8 has some degree of freedom in the circumferential direction and radial direction of the bearing, and its size is mainly determined by the size of the circumferential clearance. That is, the phenomenon in which the spacer 8 is pulled by the adjacent cylindrical rollers 6 can be avoided by adjusting the positional relationship between the convex portion 8c and the concave portion 6c in anticipation of the degree of freedom.

  The embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is a so-called separator-and-roller type cylindrical roller bearing in which neither the inner ring nor the outer ring is omitted. The outer diameter surface of the planetary shaft is used as the inner ring raceway surface, and the inner diameter surface of the planetary gear is used as the outer ring raceway surface. It is what I did. The point which makes the convex part 8c formed in the expansion part 8b of the spacer 8 enter the recessed part 6c formed in the roller end surface 6b is the same as the above-mentioned embodiment. By connecting the adjacent cylindrical rollers 6 by the extended portion 8b of the spacer 8 in this way, the entire roller row is formed as a series of chains, so that it is easy to handle and can be easily attached to the apparatus without an inner ring and an outer ring. be able to.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 9 is a cylindrical roller bearing in which the inner ring is omitted by exhibiting the keystone effect by the cylindrical roller 6 and the spacer 8, and the outer diameter surface of the planetary shaft is substituted for the inner ring raceway surface. Is. In the figure, symbol Sr represents the clearance of the roller row before the last one cylindrical roller 6 and the pair of spacers 8 are pushed in, and symbol A represents the sum of the thickness of the cylindrical roller 6 and the pair of spacers 8. It appears. By setting the dimensions so that the relationship between the two becomes Sr <A, if the last one cylindrical roller 6 and the pair of spacers 8 are pushed in, the entire roller row will fall off radially outward from the outer ring. No (Keystone effect). In this cylindrical roller bearing, two or more types of spacers with different wall thicknesses are manufactured in advance, and the circumferential clearance (see FIG. 6) can be easily adjusted by the combination (matching). Keystone can be established without severely managing the roller diameter.

  The embodiment shown in FIG. 9 is a cylindrical roller bearing in which the inner ring is omitted by exhibiting the keystone effect by the cylindrical roller 6 and the spacer 8, and the outer diameter surface of the planetary shaft is substituted for the inner ring raceway surface. Is. In the figure, symbol Sr represents the clearance of the roller row before the last one cylindrical roller 6 and the pair of spacers 8 are pushed in, and symbol A represents the sum A of the wall thicknesses of the cylindrical roller 6 and the pair of spacers 8. Represents. By setting the dimensions so that the relationship between the two becomes Sr <A, if the last one cylindrical roller 6 and the pair of spacers 8 are pushed in, the entire roller row will fall off radially outward from the outer ring. No (Keystone effect). In this cylindrical roller bearing, two or more types of spacers with different wall thicknesses are manufactured in advance, and the circumferential clearance (see FIG. 6) can be easily adjusted by the combination (matching). Keystone can be established without severely managing the roller diameter.

  The material of the spacer 8 is generally preferably a synthetic resin having self-lubricating properties, a sintered alloy in which pores can be impregnated with lubricating oil, or the like. Further, the spacer 8 may be provided with a lubricating oil holding portion having various shapes such as a recess, a through hole for holding the lubricating oil. Some examples of such recesses are shown in FIG. FIG. 10A shows a lubricating oil retaining portion 8e formed on the roller contact surface 8a of the spacer 8 and having a recess shape independent of each other. FIG. 10B shows a lubricating oil holding portion 8e formed on the roller contact surface 8a of the spacer 8 and in the form of a groove extending in the axial direction of the bearing. FIG. 10C shows a groove-like lubricating oil retaining portion 8e formed on the roller contact surface 8a of the spacer 8 and cut from the inner diameter side to the outer diameter side of the bearing. FIG. 10D shows a groove-like lubricating oil retaining portion 8e formed on the inner side of the extended portion 8b of the spacer 8, that is, on the surface facing the roller end surface 6b, cut from the inner diameter side to the outer diameter side of the bearing. ing. FIG. 10E shows a lubricating oil retaining portion in the form of a through hole provided in the roller contact surface 8 a of the spacer 8. FIG. 10F shows a lubricating oil holding portion 8e formed by cutting out a part of the spacer 8 in the circumferential direction and the radial direction of the bearing.

Vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of the planetary gear device 1 is a cross-sectional view of the planetary gear device of FIG. Broken perspective view showing an embodiment of a bearing The perspective view of the spacer in the bearing of FIG. Broken perspective view showing another embodiment of the bearing Partial side view of the bearing of FIG. The perspective view which shows another Example of a bearing The perspective view of the spacer in the bearing of FIG. 5 and FIG. Sectional view showing another embodiment of the bearing Perspective view showing various modifications of the spacer

Explanation of symbols

2 Inner ring 4 Outer ring 6 Cylindrical roller 6a Rolling surface 6b Roller end surface 6c Recessed portion 8 Spacer 8a Roller contact surface 8b Expanding portion 8c Convex portion 8d Thin portion 8e Lubricating oil holding portion 10 Casing 12 Planetary gear device 14 Secondary speed increasing device 16 Input shaft 18 Low speed shaft 20 Output shaft 22 Sun gear 24 Planetary gear 26 Internal gear 28 Bearing 30 Bearing 32 Carrier 34 Bearing 36 Bearing 38 Planetary shaft 40 Bearing 42 Gear 44 Intermediate shaft 46 Small diameter side gear 48 Large diameter side gear 50 Gear 52 Bearing 54 Bearing 56 Oil bath 14 Secondary speed increasing device

Claims (6)

In a planetary gear device having a sun gear, an internal gear that surrounds the outer periphery of the sun gear, and a planetary gear that meshes with both the sun gear and the internal gear, a bearing that supports the planetary gear is between adjacent rollers. comprising a spacer, it bearing der rollers is integrally formed extension portions facing the roller end faces of the rollers of each neighboring axial ends of the spacer, the convex portion protruding end face roller to said extended portion A planetary gear device that is formed and has a recess formed on a roller end face so that the protrusion enters the recess and the protrusion does not interfere with the inner peripheral wall surface of the recess during operation .   The planetary gear device according to claim 1, wherein the roller bearing is a roller bearing in which an outer ring is omitted, and the inner diameter surface of the gear is used as an outer ring raceway surface. The planetary gear unit according to claim 1, wherein the roller bearing is a separator & roller type bearing, and substitutes the outer diameter surface of the planetary shaft as an inner ring raceway surface. 2. The planetary gear device according to claim 1 , wherein the roller bearing is a roller bearing in which an inner ring is omitted by exhibiting a keystone effect between a roller and a spacer, and the outer diameter surface of the planetary shaft is used as an inner ring raceway surface. The spacer is any one of the planetary gear device according to claim 1 to 4 have a recess for the purpose of holding the lubricating oil. A step- up gear for wind power generator comprising the planetary gear device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 .

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