JP6064795B2 - Ball distributor - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball dispensing apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a ball distribution device that distributes a plurality of balls incorporated between an outer ring and an inner ring of a ball bearing at equal intervals, for example, a ball distribution device for a ball bearing described in Patent Document 1 is known.

  The ball distribution device of Patent Document 1 is arranged in an annular manner with the same number as a plurality of balls, and an apparatus main body in which a bearing set portion in which a ball bearing is fitted and installed so as to be removable from above is formed at the top. And a plurality of skewer members having a ball splitting portion that is inserted between adjacent balls of the ball bearing at the upper end portion and distributes these balls, and the plurality of skewer members are sequentially raised and lowered. And a cam mechanism for moving and distributing a plurality of balls at equal intervals.

  When ball distribution is performed, first, ball bearings are fitted into the bearing set portion of the apparatus body from above. Next, the same number of skewer members as the ball bearings are moved up and down sequentially by the cam mechanism, so that the ball splitting portion at the upper end of each skewer member sequentially enters between adjacent balls of the ball bearings. Is done. Thereby, a plurality of balls are distributed at equal intervals between the skewer members.

JP 2009-233777 A

  By the way, in the ball distribution device of patent document 1, since the skewer member pushed up by the cam surface of the cam mechanism is lowered after passing the cam surface, the position of the ball after distribution is not fixed. Therefore, when balls that are in contact with each other before distribution are distributed by the ball splitting portion of the skewer member, either the inner ring or the outer ring may be rotated by the movement of the ball, and in such cases The rotation of the distributed balls may be shifted by the rotation.

  Even in such a ball distribution device, if the inner ring and the outer ring are securely fixed so as not to rotate, the distributed balls will not move due to the movement of the balls during distribution, but in this case The inner and outer rings must be arranged coaxially very accurately. On the other hand, when the accuracy of the coaxial arrangement of the inner ring and the outer ring is low, that is, when the inner ring and the outer ring are eccentrically fixed, the interval between the raceways of the inner ring and the outer ring becomes uneven in the circumferential direction. Then, when distributing the balls, the balls may come into contact with the inner ring and the outer ring, and the inner ring or the outer ring may rotate as the balls move, and the position of the distributed balls may shift.

  Further, when the skewer member descends, oil or the like adhering to the inclined surface of the ball dividing portion of the skewer member may act as an adhesive, and a phenomenon may occur in which balls are sucked to the inclined surface. Even when this phenomenon occurs, the distributed balls may move to an illegal position.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the subject mentioned above, and it is providing the ball distribution apparatus which can distribute a some ball | bowl reliably at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.

The above object of the present invention can be achieved by the following constitution.
(1) In a ball bearing having an inner ring, an outer ring, and a plurality of balls inserted between the inner ring and the outer ring, a ball distribution device that distributes the plurality of balls at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. There,
A bearing positioning portion into which the ball bearing is removably fitted from above;
A plurality of ball-separating portions that are arranged in an annular shape at equal intervals with the same number as the plurality of balls and that can move up and down and that are inserted from below between a pair of balls adjacent in the circumferential direction to distribute the balls. Skewers and
The plurality of skewer members are arranged in the same number of equally spaced rings and can be moved up and down, and are arranged so as to face the plurality of skewer members in the vertical direction, respectively, and push the plurality of skewer members upward. A plurality of lifting members that can be raised;
An up-and-down drive unit that holds the plurality of push-up members and generates a drive force in the up-and-down direction;
A movement restricting portion for restricting upward movement of the skewer member and the push-up member when the ball dividing portion of the skewer member is inserted between a pair of adjacent balls;
With
The push-up member has a buffer part that restricts the upward movement of the push-up member by the vertical drive part after the upward movement is restricted by the movement restriction part,
The ball distribution device, wherein the opposing distance between the plurality of sets of skewer members and the push-up member is set to be different between the adjacent skewer members and the push-up member.
(2) The facing distance between the plurality of sets of skewer members and the push-up member is increased toward the both sides in the circumferential direction with reference to the facing distance between the two pairs of skewer members and the push-up member adjacent to each other. The ball dispensing apparatus according to (1), which is characterized.
(3) The facing distance between the plurality of sets of the skewer members and the push-up member is increased toward the one side in the circumferential direction on the basis of the facing distance between the pair of skewer members and the push-up member. The ball dispensing apparatus according to (1).
(4) The facing distance between the plurality of sets of the skewer members and the push-up member is directed toward one side in the circumferential direction based on the facing distance between the two sets of the skewer members and the push-up members that are arranged to face each other in the radial direction. The ball distribution device according to (1), wherein the ball distribution device increases in size.
(5) The opposing distance between the plurality of sets of skewer members and the push-up member is the opposing distance between the two sets of skewer members and the push-up member that are adjacent to each other, and the two pairs of skewer members that are adjacent to each other The distance between the other two sets of the skewer member and the push-up member facing each other in the radial direction with respect to the push-up member becomes larger toward the both sides in the circumferential direction. The ball dispensing device according to (1).

  According to the ball distribution device of the present invention, the vertical distance between the plurality of sets of skewer members and the push-up member is set to be different between the adjacent skewer members and the push-up member. Accordingly, the plurality of push-up members are driven upward by the vertical drive unit to sequentially push up the plurality of skewer members upward, and the ball divisions of the plurality of skewer members are between a pair of balls adjacent in the circumferential direction. Are sequentially inserted, and the balls are equally distributed in the circumferential direction. Here, the ball distributing device includes a movement restricting portion that restricts upward movement of the skewer member and the push-up member when the ball dividing portion of the skewer member is inserted between the pair of balls, and the push-up member Has a buffer part for restricting upward movement of the push-up member by the vertical drive part after the upward movement is restricted by the movement restricting part. Therefore, until all of the skewer parts are inserted between the pair of balls, that is, until the distribution of all the balls is completed, all of the ball splitting parts are located between the pair of balls and have been distributed. Can be fixed between adjacent ball divisions. In this way, since the position of the distributed balls can be maintained, the distributed balls do not move to an illegal position as in the conventional patent document 1, and a plurality of balls are equally spaced in the circumferential direction. Can be reliably distributed.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the ball distribution apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view of a skewer member. It is a perspective view of a skewer member and a push-up member. It is a figure which shows the position of the some ball | bowl of a ball bearing, (a) is a figure before skewer insertion, (b) is a figure which shows at the time of skewer insertion. (A)-(d) is a figure which shows the process in which the several ball | bowl of a ball bearing is distributed. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a skewer is inserted into a ball bearing in the ball distributor of FIG. 1. It is a top view which shows a mode that the skewer was inserted in the ball bearing. It is a perspective view which shows the skewer of the skewer member which concerns on a comparative example. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the ball distribution apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which the skew teeth are inserted into the ball bearing in the ball distribution device of FIG. 9. In a 1st modification, it is a figure which shows the position of the several ball | bowl of a ball bearing, (a) is a figure before skewer insertion, (b) is a figure which shows at the time of skewer insertion. In a 2nd modification, it is a figure which shows the position of the some ball | bowl of a ball bearing, (a) is a figure before skewer insertion, (b) is a figure which shows at the time of skewer insertion. In a 3rd modification, it is a figure which shows the position of the several ball | bowl of a ball bearing, (a) is a figure before skewer insertion, (b) is a figure which shows at the time of skewer insertion.

  Hereinafter, ball distribution devices according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 1, the ball dispensing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment includes an apparatus upper portion 10, a plurality of skewer members 20, a plurality of push-up members 30, and a vertical drive unit 40.

  The apparatus upper part 10 is a bottomed cylinder in which a substantially annular bearing positioning part 11 on which the ball bearing 3 is positioned and fixed, and a convex part 11a formed on the lower part of the bearing positioning part 11 are fitted into an opening provided above. The inner peripheral cylindrical member 13 and a substantially cylindrical outer peripheral cylindrical member 15 arranged concentrically outside the inner peripheral cylindrical member 13 in the radial direction.

  The ball bearing 3 includes an inner ring 4, an outer ring 5, and a plurality of balls 6 inserted between the inner ring 4 and the outer ring 5.

  The bearing positioning portion 11 has a flange portion 11c that protrudes radially outward from the lower portion of the radially outer surface 11b. The ball bearing 3 is detachably fitted to the radially outer side surface 11b of the bearing positioning portion 11 from above, and the ball bearing 3 contacts the flange portion 11c and is positioned in the vertical direction.

  Here, the outer diameter of the flange portion 11c is set to be substantially the same as the outer diameter of the inner ring 4, and the positioning of the ball bearing 3 by the flange portion 11c is ensured. Furthermore, the inner diameter of the outer peripheral cylindrical member 15 is set to be at least larger than the inner diameter of the outer ring 5, and a space S in which a skewer tooth 21 of the skewer member 20 described later can be inserted is secured. Further, a flange portion 15 a that protrudes inward in the radial direction is formed at the lower end portion of the outer peripheral cylindrical member 15.

  The skewer members 20 are the same number (15) as the plurality of balls 6 of the ball bearing 3, and are arranged in an annular shape at equal intervals. In FIG. 1, for simplicity, only eight skewer members 20 that can be observed from the front side of the paper are shown, but seven skewer members 20 are also provided on the back side of the paper (FIG. 5). reference). Further, the skewer member 20 is movable up and down, and rises by being pushed up by a push-up member 30 described later, and falls by its own weight.

  Referring also to FIG. 2, the skewer member 20 includes a skewer tooth 21 as a ball dividing portion that is inserted from below between a pair of balls 6 adjacent in the circumferential direction and distributes the balls 6, and a lower surface of the skewer tooth 21. It comprises a skewer guide part 23 having a substantially rectangular cross section for supporting vertical movement and a substantially cylindrical columnar part 25 for supporting the lower surface of the skewer guide part 23.

  The skewer teeth 21 have a flat plate shape extending in the circumferential direction, and a tip surface 21a (upper surface) thereof is an inclined surface that is inclined to one side in the circumferential direction (left side in FIG. 2) and upward. Further, the skewer teeth 21 are fixed radially outward on the upper surface of the skewer guide portion 23 so as to face the space S between the flange portion 11c of the bearing positioning portion 11 and the outer cylindrical member 15 in the vertical direction. ing.

  The radial width of the skewer guide portion 23 is set so as to be in sliding contact with the inner and outer cylindrical members 13 and 15, and the vertical width is about half that of the inner and outer cylindrical members 13 and 15. Set to With this setting, the skewer guide portion 23 can be accurately moved in the vertical direction while being positioned in the radial direction by the inner and outer cylindrical members 13 and 15.

  The cylindrical portion 25 supports the radially inner end portion on the lower surface of the skewer guide portion 23. Further, the radial width of the cylindrical portion 25 is set to be smaller than the radial width of the skewer guide portion 23, and the radial width between the inner peripheral cylindrical member 13 and the flange portion 15 a of the outer peripheral cylindrical member 15 is It is set to be substantially the same or slightly smaller than the radial width.

  Here, when the skewer member 20 is pushed up by the push-up member 30 and inserted between a pair of adjacent balls 6, the upward movement of the skewer member 20 and the push-up member 30 thereafter is the bearing positioning. It is regulated by the flange part 11c (movement regulation part) of the part 11. Further, when the push-up force by the push-up member 30 is released, the skewer member 20 is lowered by its own weight, but the skewer guide portion 23 is supported by the flange portion 15a of the outer cylindrical member 15, The skewer member 20 stops.

  Referring also to FIG. 3, the push-up members 30 are the same number as the skewer members 20, that is, the same number (15) as the plurality of balls 6 of the ball bearing 3, and are annularly spaced at equal intervals so as to face the skewer member 20 in the vertical direction Is arranged. The push-up member 30 is fixed to the rod 31 extending in the vertical direction, a substantially disk-like push-up plate 33 that is provided at the upper end of the rod 31 and can push up the cylindrical portion 25 of the skewer member 20, and the lower end of the rod 31. And a nut 35.

  The plurality of push-up members 30 are held by the holding portion 41 of the vertical drive unit 40 so as to be relatively movable in the vertical direction. Here, the nut 35 of the push-up member 30 is provided below the holding portion 41, and restricts the upward relative movement of the push-up member 30 with respect to the holding portion 41. Further, the rod 31 of the push-up member 30 has an elastic body 37 such as a spring as a buffer portion around it. The elastic body 37 fills the space between the push-up plate 33 and the holding portion 41 around the rod 31 without any gap, and urges the push-up member 30 upward with respect to the holding portion 41. Therefore, as described later, when the vertical drive unit 40 is driven upward or downward, the elastic body 37 transmits the vertical driving force of the vertical drive unit 40 to the plurality of push-up members 30. The vertical drive unit 40 and the plurality of push-up members 30 are movable in the vertical direction as a unit.

  As described above, the vertical driving unit 40 supports the holding unit 41 and the substantially annular holding unit 41 that can hold the plurality of push-up members 30, and is relative to the support pole 50 extending in the vertical direction in the vertical direction. The support unit 43 is movably fixed, and includes a motor (not shown) that generates a driving force in the vertical direction via a ball screw, a timing belt, or the like. The holding portion 41 is formed with a plurality of through holes 41a penetrating in the vertical direction at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction, and the rod 31 of the push-up member 30 is inserted into the through holes 41a. In addition, generation | occurrence | production of the driving force of the up-down direction of the up-down drive part 40 is not restricted to what is based on a motor, You may be based on the thing by an air cylinder.

  Here, in FIG. 1, among the cylindrical portions 25 of the plurality of skewer members 20, the cylindrical portions 25 of the two skewer members 20 that are located on the rightmost side and are adjacent to each other (in FIG. 1, they are positioned on the front side of the page). Only one cylindrical part 25 is shown in the figure.) The length in the vertical direction is the largest, and with these two cylindrical parts 25 as a reference, toward the both sides in the circumferential direction (left side in FIG. 1), The cylindrical portion 25 is formed so that the vertical length is small. Further, the lengths in the vertical direction of the plurality of push-up members 30 are formed to be substantially the same. Therefore, the facing distance Ln (n: 1, 2,..., 8) between the plurality of sets of skewer members 20 and the push-up member 30 is set to be different in the adjacent skewer member 20 and the push-up member 30, and more specifically. 1 is set so as to increase toward the both sides in the circumferential direction with reference to the facing distance L1 between the two pairs of skewer members 20 adjacent to each other and the push-up member 30 in FIG. 1 (L1). <L2 <... <L8). Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the two pairs of skewer members 20 and the push-up member 30 constituting the reference facing distance L1 may be referred to as a reference skewer member 20A and a reference push-up member 30A.

  A method of distributing the plurality of balls 6 of the ball bearing 3 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction in the ball distribution device 1 of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described below.

  First, the ball bearing 3 is set on the bearing positioning portion 11 from above. Next, as shown to Fig.4 (a) and FIG.5 (a), the several ball | bowl 6 of the ball bearing 3 is collected in one place so that it may mutually contact | abut. Here, among the plurality of balls 6, the circumferential position of the ball 6 (indicated by “●” in FIG. 4) located in the middle in the circumferential direction is the two sets of the reference skewer member 20 </ b> A and the reference lifting member. The position where the plurality of balls 6 are collected is set so as to be positioned between 30A in the circumferential direction.

  Thereafter, by driving the plurality of push-up members 30 upward by the vertical drive unit 40, first, the two sets of the reference skewer member 20A and the reference push-up member 30A that constitute the smallest facing distance L1 come into contact. Here, since the upward urging force of the elastic body 37 is set to be larger than the downward force from the reference skewer member 20A to the reference push-up member 30A, the reference skewer member 20A is the reference push-up member. It is pushed upward by 30A. The skewer teeth 21 of the two pushed up reference skewer members 20A include a ball 6 (circumferential intermediate ball) represented by “●” in FIG. 4 and a pair of balls adjacent to both sides of the ball 6 in the circumferential direction. 6 (second pair of balls from the middle in the circumferential direction) (see FIGS. 4B, 5B, and 6). Accordingly, the balls 6 in the middle in the circumferential direction are distributed to regular positions and are fixed between a pair of adjacent skewers 21.

  Subsequently, when the plurality of push-up members 30 are driven upward by the vertical drive unit 40, the two pairs of skewer members 20 and the push-up members 30 constituting the facing distance L2 come into contact with each other, and the two push-up skewer members 20 pushed up. Are inserted between the second pair of balls 6 and the third pair of balls 6 from the middle in the circumferential direction (see FIGS. 4B and 5B). As a result, the second pair of balls 6 from the middle in the circumferential direction are respectively distributed to the normal positions and fixed between the pair of adjacent skewers 21.

  Thereafter, the plurality of push-up members 30 are further driven upward by the up-and-down drive unit 40, whereby the plurality of sets of skewer members 20 and the push-up members 30 constituting the facing distance Ln (n = 3 to 8) are sequentially brought into contact with each other and pushed up. The skewer teeth 21 of the skewer member 20 are sequentially inserted between the pair of balls 6 in the order shown by the arrows in FIG. 4B, and the plurality of balls 6 are equally distributed in the circumferential direction ( (Refer FIG.5 (c) and FIG. 7).

  Here, as shown in FIG. 6, when the skewer teeth 21 are inserted between the pair of balls 6, the skewer guide portion 23 comes into contact with the flange portion 11 c (movement restricting portion) of the bearing positioning portion 11. The upward movement of the skewer member 20 is restricted. Then, the elastic body 37 of the push-up member 30 functions as a buffer part, so that the upward movement of the skewer member 20 and the push-up member 30 by the vertical drive part 40 thereafter is restricted, and the push-up member 30 is controlled by the vertical drive part 40. It moves relative to the holding part 41 downward. Therefore, until all the skewer teeth 21 of the skewer members 20 are inserted between the pair of balls 6, that is, until the distribution of all the balls 6 is completed, all the skewer teeth 21 are positioned between the pair of balls 6. Therefore, it is possible to fix the distributed balls 6 between a pair of adjacent skewers 21.

  Next, after all the balls 6 are equally distributed in the normal position, that is, in the circumferential direction, the plurality of skewer members 20 and the plurality of push-up members 30 are lowered by driving the vertical drive unit 40 downward, The plurality of skewers 21 are pulled out from between the plurality of balls 6. Then, the ball bearing 3 (see FIG. 5 (d)) in which the plurality of balls 6 are equally distributed in the circumferential direction is removed from the bearing positioning portion 11, thereby completing the process of distributing the plurality of balls 6.

  As described above, according to the ball distribution device 1 of the present embodiment, the vertical facing distance Ln between the plurality of pairs of skewer members 20 and the push-up member 30 is different between the adjacent skewer members 20 and the push-up member 30. More specifically, with reference to the facing distance L1 between two sets of adjacent reference skewer members 20A and the reference push-up member 30A, the distance is set so as to increase toward both sides in the circumferential direction (L1 <L2 < ... <L8). Therefore, the plurality of push-up members 30 are driven upward by the vertical drive unit 40 to sequentially push up the plurality of skewer members 20, and the skewer teeth 21 of the plurality of skewer members 20 are adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction. Are sequentially inserted between the balls 6 and the balls 6 are equally distributed in the circumferential direction. Here, the ball distribution device 1 includes a bearing positioning unit 11 that regulates the upward movement of the skewer member 20 and the push-up member 30 when the skewer teeth 21 of the skewer member 20 are inserted between the pair of balls 6. The push-up member 30 includes a flange portion 11c. The push-up member 30 includes an elastic body 37 that restricts upward movement of the push-up member 30 by the vertical drive unit 40 after the upward movement is restricted by the flange portion 11c. Therefore, until all the skewer teeth 21 of the skewer members 20 are inserted between the pair of balls 6, that is, until the distribution of all the balls 6 is completed, all the skewer teeth 21 are positioned between the pair of balls 6. Then, the distributed balls 6 can be fixed between the adjacent skewers 21. Thus, since the position of the distributed balls 6 can be maintained, the distributed balls 6 do not move to an incorrect position as in the conventional patent document 1, and the plurality of balls 6 are moved in the circumferential direction. Can be reliably distributed at regular intervals.

  In addition, the plurality of push-up members 30 as in the above-described embodiment are not provided, and as shown in FIG. 8, the skew teeth 21 of the plurality of skewer members 20 having different vertical lengths are connected to the holding portions 41 of the vertical drive unit 40. When it is directly fixed, the skewer teeth 21 are thin and long, which makes machining difficult and may cause deformation during heat treatment. Further, such skew teeth 21 tend to be insufficient in strength and rigidity, so that they must be handled with care at the production site. Therefore, as in the present embodiment, the push-up member 30 is provided, and the skewer member 20 includes the skewer teeth 21, the skewer guide portions 23, and the cylindrical portion 25, so that the vertical length of the skewer teeth 21 is increased. It is possible to improve the strength and rigidity of the skewer teeth 21.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a ball distribution device 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, since the ball distribution device 1 of the present embodiment has the same basic configuration as that of the first embodiment, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted or simplified.

  As shown in FIG. 9, in the ball distribution device 1 of the present embodiment, the vertical lengths of the columnar portions 25 of the plurality of skewer members 20 are all formed to be substantially the same. In addition, among the plurality of push-up members 30, two push-up members 30 located on the rightmost side and adjacent to each other (in FIG. 9, only one push-up member 30 located on the front side of the drawing is shown). The vertical length of the push-up member 30 is formed such that the vertical length of the push-up member 30 decreases toward the both sides in the circumferential direction on the basis of these two push-up members 30. Therefore, the opposing distance Ln (n: 1, 2,..., 8) between the plurality of pairs of skewer members 20 and the push-up member 30 is located on the rightmost side in FIG. With reference to the facing distance L1 between the two adjacent reference skewer members 20A and the reference push-up member 30A, the distance increases toward the both sides in the circumferential direction (L1 <L2 <... <L8).

  Further, the plurality of push-up members 30 do not have the elastic body 37 as in the first embodiment as a buffer portion, but instead have an air spring circuit 38 having pressure regulation and a relief function. The air spring circuit 38 urges the push-up member 30 upward with respect to the holding portion 41. Therefore, when the vertical drive unit 40 is driven upward or downward, the air spring circuit 38 transmits the vertical driving force of the vertical drive unit 40 to the plurality of push-up members 30. The 40 and the plurality of push-up members 30 can move in the vertical direction as a unit. Further, when the plurality of push-up members 30 are driven upward by the vertical drive unit 40, when the skewer member 20 and the push-up member 30 come into contact with each other, the upward biasing force on the push-up member 30 by the air spring circuit 38 is The skewer member 20 is pushed upward by the push-up member 30 because it is set to be larger than the downward force from 20 to the push-up member 30.

  Also in the ball distribution device 1 of the present embodiment configured as described above, the plurality of balls 6 of the ball bearing 3 are distributed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction by the same method as in the first embodiment.

  That is, first, the ball bearing 3 is set on the bearing positioning portion 11 from above. Next, as shown to Fig.4 (a) and FIG.5 (a), the several ball | bowl 6 of the ball bearing 3 is collected in one place so that it may mutually contact | abut.

  Thereafter, by driving the plurality of push-up members 30 upward by the vertical drive unit 40, the plurality of pairs of skewer members 20 and the push-up members 30 constituting the facing distance Ln (n = 1 to 8) are sequentially brought into contact and pushed up. The skewer teeth 21 of the skewer member 20 are sequentially inserted between the pair of balls 6, and the plurality of balls 6 are equally distributed in the circumferential direction (FIGS. 4B and 5B to 5C). (See FIG. 7).

  Here, as shown in FIG. 10, when the skewer teeth 21 are inserted between the pair of balls 6, the push-up plate 33 of the push-up member 30 moves between the lower surface 13 a of the inner peripheral tubular member 13 and the outer peripheral tubular member 15. By coming into contact with the movement restricting portion composed of the lower surface 15b, the subsequent upward movement of the skewer member 20 and the push-up member 30 is restricted. Then, the air spring circuit 38 of the push-up member 30 functions as a buffer part, so that subsequent upward movement of the skewer member 20 and the push-up member 30 by the vertical drive part 40 is restricted, and the push-up member 30 is controlled by the vertical drive part. It moves relative to 40 holding parts 41 downward. Therefore, until all the skewer teeth 21 of the skewer members 20 are inserted between the pair of balls 6, that is, until the distribution of all the balls 6 is completed, all the skewer teeth 21 are positioned between the pair of balls 6. Therefore, it is possible to fix the distributed balls 6 between a pair of adjacent skewers 21.

  Next, after all the balls 6 are equally distributed in the normal position, that is, in the circumferential direction, the plurality of skewer members 20 and the plurality of push-up members 30 are lowered by driving the vertical drive unit 40 downward, The plurality of skewers 21 are pulled out from between the plurality of balls 6. Then, the ball bearing 3 (see FIG. 5 (d)) in which the plurality of balls 6 are equally distributed in the circumferential direction is removed from the bearing positioning portion 11, thereby completing the process of distributing the plurality of balls 6.

  Thus, the ball dispensing device 1 according to the second embodiment can achieve the same effects as those of the first embodiment.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the opposing distance Ln between the plurality of sets of skewer members 20 and the push-up member 30 is the opposing distance L1 between the two sets of reference skewer members 20A and the reference push-up member 30A that are adjacent to each other. Is set so as to increase toward both sides in the circumferential direction (L1 <L2 <...), But is not limited to this configuration, and the following first to third modifications It does not matter if the configuration is as follows.

(First modification)
In the first modified example, the opposing distance Ln in the vertical direction between the plurality of sets of skewer members 20 and the push-up member 30 is one circumferential direction with reference to the opposing distance L1 between the set of reference skewer members 20A and the reference push-up member 30A. It is set so as to increase toward the side (counterclockwise in FIG. 11) (L1 <L2 <...).

  In such a configuration, when the plurality of balls 6 are distributed, as shown in FIG. 11A, first, the plurality of balls 6 are collected in one place so as to contact each other. Here, among the plurality of balls 6, the circumferential position of the ball 6 (indicated by “●” in FIG. 11) located at the other circumferential end is a set of the reference skewer member 20A and the reference push-up. The position where the plurality of balls 6 are collected is set so as to be close to the other side in the circumferential direction of the member 30A.

  Thereafter, by driving the plurality of push-up members 30 upward by the vertical drive unit 40, the plurality of sets of skewer members 20 and the push-up members 30 constituting the facing distance Ln are sequentially brought into contact, and the skewer teeth of the pushed-up skewer member 20 are pushed up 21 are sequentially inserted between the pair of balls 6 in the order shown by the arrows in FIG. 11B, and the plurality of balls 6 are equally distributed in the circumferential direction.

(Second modification)
In the second modified example, the vertical distance Ln between the plurality of sets of skewer members 20 and the push-up member 30 is set so as to be opposed to each other in the radial direction, that is, two sets of reference skewer members 20A arranged symmetrically with respect to the reference. With reference to the facing distance L1 with the push-up member 30A, the distance is set so as to increase toward the one side in the circumferential direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 12) (L1 <L2 <...).

  In such a configuration, when distributing the plurality of balls 6, first, as shown in FIG. 12A, first, half of the plurality of balls 6 are placed in two locations so as to contact each other. Collected. Here, among the plurality of balls 6 collected at two locations, the circumferential position of the ball 6 (indicated by “●” in FIG. 12) located at the other circumferential end is two sets of references. The position where the plurality of balls 6 are collected is set so as to be close to the other circumferential side of the skewer member 20A and the reference push-up member 30A.

  Thereafter, by driving the plurality of push-up members 30 upward by the vertical drive unit 40, the plurality of sets of skewer members 20 and the push-up members 30 constituting the facing distance Ln are sequentially brought into contact, and the skewer teeth of the pushed-up skewer member 20 are pushed up 21 are sequentially inserted between the pair of balls 6 in the order shown by the arrows in FIG. 12B, and the plurality of balls 6 are equally distributed in the circumferential direction.

(Third Modification)
In the third modification, the vertical distance Ln between the plurality of pairs of skewer members 20 and the push-up member 30 is equal to the distance L1 between the two pairs of reference skewer members 20A and the reference push-up member 30A adjacent to each other. With reference to the opposing distance L1 between the other two sets of the reference skewer member 20A and the reference push-up member 30A, which are opposed to each other in the radial direction with respect to the two sets of adjacent reference skewer members 20A and the reference push-up member 30A, It is set to increase as it goes to both sides in the circumferential direction (L1 <L2 <...).

  In such a configuration, when distributing the plurality of balls 6, first, as shown in FIG. 13A, first, half of the plurality of balls 6 are placed in two locations so as to contact each other. Collected. Here, among the plurality of balls 6 collected in two places, the circumferential position of the ball 6 (indicated by “●” in FIG. 13) located in the middle in the circumferential direction is the two sets of reference skewers. The position where the plurality of balls 6 are collected is set so as to be positioned between the member 20A and the reference push-up member 30A.

  Thereafter, by driving the plurality of push-up members 30 upward by the vertical drive unit 40, the plurality of sets of skewer members 20 and the push-up members 30 constituting the facing distance Ln are sequentially brought into contact, and the skewer teeth of the pushed-up skewer member 20 are pushed up 21 are sequentially inserted between the pair of balls 6 in the order shown by the arrows in FIG. 13B, and the plurality of balls 6 are equally distributed in the circumferential direction.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible suitably.

  For example, in the first embodiment, the elastic body 37 is applied as the buffer portion, and the flange portion 11c of the bearing positioning portion 11 is applied as the movement restricting portion. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the air spring circuit 38 is used as the buffer portion. Although the lower surface 13a of the inner peripheral cylindrical member 13 and the lower surface 15b of the outer peripheral cylindrical member 15 are applied as the movement restricting portion, the buffer portion or the movement restricting portion of the second embodiment may be applied in the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the buffer unit or the movement restriction unit of the first embodiment may be applied.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ball distribution apparatus 3 Ball bearing 4 Inner ring 5 Outer ring 6 Ball 10 Upper part 11 Bearing positioning part 11a Convex part 11b Radial direction outer surface 11c Flange part (movement control part)
13 Inner peripheral cylindrical member 13a Lower surface (movement restricting portion)
15 outer peripheral cylindrical member 15a flange 15b lower surface (movement restricting portion)
20 Skewer member 21 Skewer (ball division)
21a Front end surface 23 Sawtooth guide part 25 Cylindrical part 30 Push-up member 31 Rod 33 Push-up plate 35 Nut 37 Elastic body (buffer part)
38 Air spring circuit (buffer part)
40 Vertical drive part 41 Holding part 43 Support part 50 Support pole S Space

Claims (5)

In a ball bearing having an inner ring, an outer ring, and a plurality of balls inserted between the inner ring and the outer ring, a ball distribution device that distributes the plurality of balls at equal intervals in the circumferential direction,
A bearing positioning portion into which the ball bearing is removably fitted from above;
A plurality of ball-separating portions that are arranged in an annular shape at equal intervals with the same number as the plurality of balls and that can move up and down and that are inserted from below between a pair of balls adjacent in the circumferential direction to distribute the balls. Skewers and
The plurality of skewer members are arranged in the same number of equally spaced rings and can be moved up and down, and are arranged so as to face the plurality of skewer members in the vertical direction, respectively, and push the plurality of skewer members upward. A plurality of lifting members that can be raised;
An up-and-down drive unit that holds the plurality of push-up members and generates a drive force in the up-and-down direction;
A movement restricting portion for restricting upward movement of the skewer member and the push-up member when the ball dividing portion of the skewer member is inserted between a pair of adjacent balls;
With
The push-up member has a buffer part that restricts the upward movement of the push-up member by the vertical drive part after the upward movement is restricted by the movement restriction part,
The ball distribution device, wherein the opposing distance between the plurality of sets of skewer members and the push-up member is set to be different between the adjacent skewer members and the push-up member. The facing distance between the plurality of sets of the skewer members and the push-up member is increased toward the both sides in the circumferential direction with reference to the facing distance between the two sets of the skewer members adjacent to each other and the push-up member. The ball dispensing apparatus according to claim 1. The facing distance between a plurality of sets of the skewer members and the push-up member becomes larger toward the one side in the circumferential direction with reference to the facing distance between the pair of skewer members and the push-up member. The ball dispensing apparatus according to 1. The opposing distance between the plurality of sets of skewer members and the push-up member becomes larger toward the one side in the circumferential direction with reference to the opposing distance between the two sets of skewer members and the push-up members that are arranged to face each other in the radial direction. The ball dispensing apparatus according to claim 1. The opposing distances between the plurality of sets of the skewer members and the push-up members are the opposing distances between the two sets of the skewer members and the push-up members adjacent to each other, and the two sets of the skewer members and the push-up members adjacent to each other. 2. The distance between the other two sets of the skewer member and the push-up member facing each other in the radial direction increases with increasing distance from each other in the circumferential direction on the basis of the opposite distance in the vertical direction. The ball dispensing device described in 1.

Images