JP4846380B2 - Device for detecting the presence or absence of missing balls in constant velocity universal joints and detection method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for detecting the presence or absence of a missing ball by the flow rate when air supplied into a joint blows out from an outer opening of a cage.

  There is a step of inspecting the outer member of the constant velocity universal joint for a defective assembly of the ball (ball missing item) in a sub-assembly state in which the inner member, the ball and cage assembly are assembled. The conventional ball missing part inspection method covers the outer member with a fluorescent lamp, and inserts a light quantity sensor into the outer member to leak light from the gap between the outer member and the inner member. The quantity was measured with a light quantity sensor, and the presence or absence of a missing ball was determined based on the magnitude of the quantity of light.

  The conventional missing ball detection method is a method of detecting light leaking from any of the 6 to 8 balls incorporated between the outer member and the inner member when there is a defective assembly. is there. For this reason, when the amount of light naturally decreases with the use time of the fluorescent lamp, there is a problem that it is determined that there is no missing ball even if there is a defective ball assembly. In addition, the life of the fluorescent lamp is relatively short, and it is necessary to replace it frequently, so that the replacement cost of the fluorescent lamp and the man-hours for the replacement are required.

  An object of the present invention is to accurately and inexpensively detect the presence or absence of a missing ball of a constant velocity universal joint.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention according to claim 1 makes an outer member having a cup-like portion in which a plurality of track grooves are formed on an inner spherical surface and a track groove of the outer member on an outer spherical surface. An inner member formed with a plurality of track grooves, a plurality of balls that are interposed between the track grooves of the outer member and the track grooves of the inner member, and an inner spherical surface of the outer member; In a detection device for detecting the presence or absence of a ball of a constant velocity universal joint that is interposed between an outer spherical surface of an inner member and a cage for holding the ball, the bottom of the cup-shaped portion of the outer member An air supply pipe that supplies air toward the outside, and an air flow meter that detects the flow rate of air blown from the outer opening of the cage located on the opposite side of the bottom of the cup-shaped portion of the outer member. And

  The present invention pays attention to the flow rate when the air supplied to the inside of the outer member by the air supply pipe blows out from the outer opening of the cage. When there is a ball shortage, air leaks from there, and the air flow rate that blows out from the outside opening of the cage decreases accordingly. This drop in flow rate is detected by an air flow meter to detect a missing ball.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the outer opening of the cage is covered with a cover plate, and the air inside the cover plate is introduced into the air flow meter.

  Even if the outer opening of the cage is left open, the presence or absence of a missing ball can be detected by arranging the inlet of the exhaust pipe leading to the air flow meter, for example, in the vicinity of the outlet of the air supply pipe. However, if the outer opening of the cage is closed with a cover plate, an air pool can be formed inside the joint, so the inlet of the exhaust pipe leading to the air flow meter can be placed at any part of the air pool. In addition, it is possible to improve the detection accuracy by eliminating air leakage from other than the missing ball position. Moreover, since there is no exhaust loss of air, the energy of the air supply source can be saved.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein a double pipe having an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder is connected to the lid plate, the air supply pipe is constituted by the inner cylinder, and the inner cylinder The air inside the cover plate is introduced into the air flow meter through between the outer cylinder and the outer cylinder.

  In this way, the apparatus can be simplified by supplying and exhausting air with a double pipe.

The invention according to claim 4 includes an outer member having a cup-shaped portion in which a plurality of track grooves are formed on an inner spherical surface, and an inner member in which a plurality of track grooves that are paired with the track grooves of the outer member are formed on the outer spherical surface. An outer member, a plurality of balls that are interposed between the outer member track groove and the inner member track groove to transmit torque, and an inner spherical surface of the outer member and an outer spherical surface of the inner member An air supply that supplies air toward the bottom of the cup-shaped portion of the outer member in a detection device that detects the presence or absence of a ball of a constant velocity universal joint that includes a cage that holds the ball interposed therebetween The flow rate of the air blown out from the outer opening of the cage located on the opposite side of the tube and the bottom of the cup-shaped portion of the outer member is detected.

  The flow rate of air blown from the outer opening of the cage in the state where there is no missing ball is almost constant for each joint type. In addition, when the number of missing balls is one, the air flow rate is smaller than that, but the flow rate is also substantially constant. By setting a threshold value between these two flow rates, it is possible to detect the presence or absence of a missing ball with high accuracy.

  In the present invention, as described above, the presence or absence of a ball is detected based on the air flow rate when the air supplied to the inside of the outer member blows out from the outside opening of the cage. Compared to presence / absence detection, there is no risk of missed operations such as missing balls due to a decrease in the amount of light. . Moreover, since the existing air supply system can be used, the investment for new equipment is small, and there is no concern about deterioration of the apparatus parts, so that the maintenance cost is extremely low.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 (A) and 1 (B) show a ball shortage detection device 1 according to the present invention. The apparatus 1 has a vertical double tube 2 composed of an inner tube 2a and an outer tube 2b. The inner tube 2a of the double tube 2 is supported by an upper arm portion 3a of a column 3 so as to be movable up and down, and the outer tube 2b. Is supported by the lower arm 3b so as to be movable up and down. A bracket 4 protruding laterally is fixed to an upper end portion of the inner cylinder 2 a protruding from the outer cylinder 2 b, and a proximity sensor 5 is attached to the lower surface of the bracket 4. A rod is fixed upward on the upper arm 3 a of the column 3, and the proximity sensor 5 abuts on the upper end of the rod 6. Thereby, the weight of the double pipe 2 is supported by the support | pillar 3 via the upper arm part 3a. The column 3 is moved up and down by a lifting cylinder 8.

  The inner tube 2a of the double tube 2 serves as an air supply tube, and an air tube 7 is connected to the upper end thereof. Further, on the outer periphery of the lower end of the double tube 2, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 2, the disc-shaped cover plate 10 extending in the radial direction of the double tube 2 and the boss of the cover plate 10 are also used. A sleeve 11 connected to the outer cylinder 2b is fixed. The cover plate 10 has a diameter capable of closing the outer opening of the cage 13 of the constant velocity universal joint 12 for inspecting missing balls. Instead of the lid plate 10, a cup-like lid body 14 having a predetermined volume of air reservoir inside may be placed on the outer opening of the cage 13 as shown in FIG. 3. For air supply, the flow rate detection side and the air supply side may be interchanged.

  Instead of the cover plate 10, a taper nozzle fitted to the inner diameter inlet of the inner member 26 may be used, and the tip of the inner tube 2 a of the double pipe 2 may be projected into the joint from the tip opening of the taper nozzle. In this case, the air that has exited from the inner cylinder 2a is exhausted through the air flow meter described below from the gap at the tip opening of the taper nozzle. Depending on the type of the constant velocity universal joint, either the lid plate method or the taper nozzle method may be selected.

  A compression spring 15 is disposed between the sleeve 11 and the lower arm portion 3 b of the column 3. Normally, the urging force of the compression spring 15 acts on the rod 6 via the proximity sensor 5. The circumference of the compression spring 15 is covered with a cylindrical cover 16 extending downward from the lower arm portion 3b. The upper outer periphery of the sleeve 11 is slidably fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical cover 16.

  The outer cylinder 2b is connected to the upper end of the sleeve 11, and a connecting ring 17 is disposed adjacent to the connecting portion. The connecting ring 17 abuts on the lower end of the outer cylinder 2b and closes the gap between the inner cylinder 2a and the sleeve 11.

  An exhaust port 18 is formed on the side surface of the sleeve 11, and an air flow meter 19 is connected to the exhaust port 18. The exhaust port 18 communicates with the space between the sleeve 11 of the double pipe 2 and the inner cylinder 2a.

  The missing ball presence / absence detecting device 1 is configured as described above, and using this device 1, the presence / absence of missing ball of the constant velocity universal joint 12 is detected as follows. The constant velocity universal joint 12 in the sub-assembled state of FIG. 1 shows an outer member 25 comprising a shaft portion 25a and a cup-like portion 25b with the opening of the cup-like portion 25b facing upward. The constant velocity universal joint 12 is a normal fixed type constant velocity universal joint, and includes an outer member 25 having a plurality of track grooves 25d formed on the inner spherical surface 25c, and a track groove 25d of the outer member 25 formed on the outer spherical surface 26c. An inner member 26 having a plurality of paired track grooves 26d, and a plurality of balls 27 interposed between the outer member track grooves 25d and the inner member 26 track grooves 26d to transmit torque; The cage 13 is provided between the inner spherical surface 25 c of the outer member 25 and the outer spherical surface 26 c of the inner member 26 and holds the ball 27.

  The constant velocity universal joint 12 is continuously conveyed to a ball shortage detecting device in a vertically placed state. The constant velocity universal joint 12 conveyed to the lower side of the cover plate 10 is temporarily stopped there, and then the entire apparatus 1 is lowered to the height of FIG. Thereby, the lower surface of the cover plate 10 contacts the cage 13. In response to the detection signal of the descending end of the apparatus 1, air of a constant pressure is automatically supplied to the upper end of the inner cylinder 2a. The air supplied to the inner cylinder 2a blows out from the lower end of the inner cylinder 2a into the outer member 25, passes through an area surrounded by the cage 13 and the cover plate 10, and passes through the air flow meter 19 from the exhaust port 18. Exhausted outside.

  At this time, if any one of the six or eight balls 27 disposed between the track grooves 25d and 26d of the outer member 25 and the inner member 26 is missing, Since the air inside the outer member 25 leaks to the outside, the flow rate of the air flow meter 19 decreases accordingly. FIG. 4 shows the flow rate of the air flow meter 19 when the joint with no missing ball and the joint with one missing ball are inspected. The horizontal axis indicates the individual numbers (100 total) of the joints inspected, and the vertical axis indicates the air flow rate (liter / min). The joint used is a fixed type constant velocity universal joint of model number “EUJ109”. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the flow rate was about 3.1 to 3.4 liters / min for the joint without the ball shortage, whereas about 2.4 to 2.8 for the joint with one ball shortage. The flow rate was liter / min. It is certain that the flow rate is 2.0 liters / minute or less with two missing balls. Therefore, if the middle of these two flow rates, for example, 2.95 liters / minute is set as the threshold value, it is possible to reliably determine the presence or absence of a ball shortage.

  When the distance from the bottom of the cup-shaped portion 25a to the lower tip of the inner cylinder 2a is set to the outer diameter of the ball of −2 mm, and the ball has dropped into the cup-shaped portion 25b, the ball resists the compression spring 15. The inner cylinder 2a is pushed up. When the inner cylinder 2a is pushed up, the proximity sensor 5 is separated from the rod 6, and it is detected by the signal from the proximity sensor 5 that the separation is detected by the sensor that the ball is falling inside the cup-shaped portion 25a, and the air Without detecting the flow rate, stop measuring as abnormal.

  When the detection of the presence or absence of a missing ball in the joint is completed, the cage 13 of the joint 12 is separated from the cover plate 10 by pulling the device 1 upward by the cylinder. Thereafter, the joint 12 is transported in the horizontal direction, the joint 12 with missing balls is discharged to the downstream NG discharge lane, and the joint 12 without missing balls is directly transported to the downstream OK work alignment table.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea described in the claims. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the detection of the presence or absence of a missing ball of the fixed type constant velocity universal joint has been described. Applicable to detection.

(A) is a front view of the ball shortage detection device according to the present invention, (B) is a side view of the device with the constant velocity universal joint omitted. The principal part expanded sectional view of a ball shortage article existence detection device. The principal part expanded sectional view of the modification of a ball shortage presence-absence detection apparatus. The graph which shows the test result of air flow rate.

Explanation of symbols

1 Ball shortage detection device 2 Double pipe 2a Inner cylinder 2b Outer cylinder 3 Post 3a Upper arm 3b Lower arm 4 Bracket 5 Proximity sensor 6 Rod 7 Air tube 8 Lifting cylinder 10 Cover plate 11 Sleeve 12 Constant velocity universal joint 13 Cage 14 Lid 16 Cylindrical cover 17 Connecting ring 18 Exhaust port 19 Air flow meter 25 Outer member 25a Shaft portion 25b Cup-shaped portion 25c Inner spherical surface 25d Track groove 26 Inner member 26c Outer spherical surface 26d Track groove 27 Ball

Claims (4)

An outer member having a cup-shaped portion in which a plurality of track grooves are formed on the inner spherical surface, an inner member in which a plurality of track grooves paired with the track grooves of the outer member are formed on the outer spherical surface, and the outer member A plurality of balls that transmit torque by being interposed between the track grooves of the inner member and the track grooves of the inner member, and the balls are interposed between the inner spherical surface of the outer member and the outer spherical surface of the inner member. In the detection device for detecting the presence or absence of a ball of a constant velocity universal joint provided with a cage that performs the above operation, an air supply pipe that supplies air toward the bottom of the cup-shaped portion of the outer member, and the outer member A device for detecting the presence or absence of a missing ball of a constant velocity universal joint, comprising: an air flow meter for detecting a flow rate of air blown from an outer opening of the cage located on the opposite side of the bottom of the cup-shaped portion .   The device for detecting the presence or absence of a missing ball in a constant velocity universal joint according to claim 1, wherein the outer opening of the cage is covered with a cover plate, and the air inside the cover plate is introduced into the air flow meter.   A double pipe having an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder is connected to the lid plate, and the air supply pipe is constituted by the inner cylinder, and the air inside the lid plate is passed between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder. The apparatus for detecting the presence or absence of a missing ball in a constant velocity universal joint according to claim 2, wherein the device is introduced into an air flow meter. An outer member having a cup-shaped portion in which a plurality of track grooves are formed on the inner spherical surface, an inner member in which a plurality of track grooves paired with the track grooves of the outer member are formed on the outer spherical surface, and the outer member A plurality of balls that transmit torque by being interposed between the track grooves of the inner member and the track grooves of the inner member, and the balls are interposed between the inner spherical surface of the outer member and the outer spherical surface of the inner member. In the detection method for detecting the presence or absence of a missing ball of a constant velocity universal joint provided with a cage for supplying air, while supplying air toward the bottom of the cup-shaped portion of the outer member, the cup-shaped portion of the outer member The flow rate of air blown from the outside opening of the cage located on the opposite side of the bottom of the cage is detected by an air flow meter, and the presence or absence of the ball is detected depending on whether the flow rate of the air is greater than a predetermined value. Constant velocity universal joint bow Shortage presence or absence detection method.

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