JP6597173B2 - Roller alignment jig, roller inspection device, and manufacturing method of shell-type full roller bearing - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a roller alignment jig, a roller inspection device, and a method for manufacturing a shell-type full roller bearing.

  In a vehicle steering device, a universal joint is connected to both ends of an intermediate shaft arranged between these two shafts in order to enable torque transmission between a steering main shaft and a steering gear shaft that are not on the same axis. Has been. This universal joint includes a cross shaft member in which four shaft portions are arranged in a cross shape on the outer periphery of the body portion, and a shell-type full roller bearing attached to each shaft portion of the cross shaft member. The shell-type full roller bearing is composed of a plurality of rollers as rolling elements disposed around the shaft portion and a shell-shaped outer ring in which the rollers are incorporated inside (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2012-167753 A

  The shell-type full roller bearing is a full-roller type bearing that does not include a cage for holding the roller, and therefore, the roller is inclined with respect to the original rotation shaft, and so-called skew is generated. This skew is particularly problematic when the intermediate shaft universal joint is used with a negative gap between the shaft and the shaft.

  Specifically, when the universal joint is used in the above-described negative clearance state, when the roller is assembled in the bearing cup in a state of being inclined with respect to the original rotation shaft when the shell-type full roller bearing is assembled, the inclination is inclined. The state is kept as it is (the state where the skew has occurred). When the universal joint is used in such a state, there is a problem in that torque fluctuation occurs and torque transmission failure occurs due to generation of a larger bending torque in the frictional resistance between the roller and the outer ring wall.

The reason for the occurrence of skew as described above is considered to be one of the reasons that the rollers are randomly arranged on the outer ring in the manufacturing process of the shell-type full roller bearing. No measures have been taken to suppress this.
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a roller alignment jig, a roller inspection device, and a shell-shaped full roller that can suppress the occurrence of skew during the manufacture of a shell-shaped full roller bearing. It aims at providing the manufacturing method of a bearing.

  A roller alignment jig according to the present invention includes a shell having a cylindrical outer ring having a raceway surface on the inner periphery, and a plurality of rollers incorporated inside the outer ring so that an outer peripheral surface rolls on the raceway surface. A roller alignment jig used in manufacturing a full complement roller bearing, wherein the plurality of rollers are incorporated inside the outer ring, and between any adjacent rollers from the radially inner side of the outer ring. By being inserted, it is provided with an insertion part for making the other adjacent rollers contact each other without a gap between the other adjacent rollers except between the rollers, and the insertion parts are opposite to each other. The first side surface and the second side surface are inclined to each other, and the cross-sectional shape is tapered toward the insertion direction of the insertion portion by both side surfaces, and the insertion portion is adjacent to the arbitrary side. Difference between the rollers In the inserted state, the first side surface is a first contact surface that can be in line contact with the outer peripheral surface of one of the adjacent rollers, and the second side surface is the other of the adjacent rollers. It is a 2nd contact surface which can be in line contact with the outer peripheral surface of a roller, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to the roller aligning jig configured as described above, when the shell-type full roller bearing is manufactured, the first roller is interposed between any adjacent rollers in a state where a plurality of rollers are incorporated inside the outer ring. And the insertion part formed in the cross-sectional taper shape in the 2nd side is inserted. Thereby, since each outer peripheral surface of the arbitrary adjacent roller is in line contact with the first side surface and the second side surface of the insertion portion, the arbitrary adjacent roller is aligned without being inclined.

  Further, by inserting the insertion portion, there is no gap between the other adjacent rollers except between the arbitrary adjacent rollers, and the outer peripheral surfaces of the other adjacent rollers are in contact with each other. At that time, since the outer peripheral surfaces make line contact following the above-mentioned arbitrary adjacent rollers, the other rollers other than the above-mentioned arbitrary adjacent rollers are also aligned without being inclined. Therefore, even if any one of the plurality of rollers is incorporated in the outer ring with a tilt (skew), all the rollers are forcibly aligned while correcting the tilt of the rollers by the roller alignment jig. be able to. Thereby, it can suppress that a skew generate | occur | produces at the time of manufacture of a shell type full complement roller bearing.

In the roller alignment jig, it is preferable that the leading edge in the insertion direction of the insertion portion is formed so as to protrude in the insertion direction from the both end portions in the line contact direction toward the center portion.
In this case, the tip edge of the insertion part is formed in a mountain shape so that the center part in the line contact direction protrudes in the insertion direction. Thereby, when inserting the insertion part, it can suppress effectively that the roller which the skew has generate | occur | produced runs on the said front-end edge of an insertion part.

The roller inspection apparatus according to the present invention includes the roller alignment jig described above, a drive unit for moving the insertion part of the roller alignment jig in the insertion direction, and the insertion for inspecting the presence or absence of the missing part of the roller. And a detection unit that detects the amount of movement of the unit in the insertion direction.
According to the roller inspection apparatus configured as described above, the plurality of rollers are aligned so as not to be inclined as described above by moving the insertion portion of the roller alignment jig in the insertion direction by the driving portion. Can do. Further, since the insertion portion moves in the insertion direction, the detection portion can detect the amount of movement of the insertion portion, and therefore it is possible to determine whether or not a roller is missing based on the detection result. Therefore, when the plurality of rollers are forcibly aligned, it is possible to simultaneously perform a missing item inspection of the rollers.

A method for manufacturing a shell-type full roller bearing of the present invention includes a cylindrical outer ring having a raceway surface on the inner periphery, and a plurality of rollers incorporated inside the outer ring so that the outer peripheral surface rolls on the raceway surface, A step of preparing the above-mentioned roller alignment jig, an assembling step of incorporating the plurality of rollers inside the outer ring, and after the assembling step, Insert the insertion part of the roller alignment jig between any adjacent rollers from the inside in the radial direction of the outer ring, and eliminate the gap between the other adjacent rollers except between the rollers. A roller alignment step of aligning the plurality of rollers by bringing the rollers into contact with each other.
According to the manufacturing method of the shell-type full roller bearing configured as described above, the same effects as the above-described roller alignment jig can be obtained.

  In the method for manufacturing a shell-type full roller bearing, the roller alignment step preferably includes an inspection step of inspecting whether or not the roller is missing based on a movement amount of the insertion portion in the insertion direction. In this case, in the roller alignment process, an inspection process for inspecting the presence or absence of missing parts of the rollers can be performed at the same time.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can suppress that a skew generate | occur | produces at the time of manufacture of a shell type full complement roller bearing.

It is an axial sectional view showing a shell-type full roller bearing. The roller alignment jig | tool which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view. It is explanatory drawing which shows the use condition of the roller alignment jig | tool at the time of manufacture of the said shell-type full roller bearing. It is a schematic block diagram of the roller inspection apparatus used in an alignment process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the use condition of the said roller inspection apparatus.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is an axial sectional view showing a shell-type full roller bearing. In FIG. 1, a shell-type full roller bearing 1 is attached to a cross shaft member of a universal joint that is connected to an end of an intermediate shaft in a vehicle steering device, for example.

  The shell-type full roller bearing 1 includes an outer ring 2 formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape and a plurality of rollers 3 incorporated inside the outer ring 2. The outer ring 2 extends radially inward from the cylindrical portion 4 having a raceway surface 4 a on the inner periphery, an annular portion 5 that closes one axial end of the cylindrical portion 4, and the other axial end of the cylindrical portion 4. A collar 6 is provided. The cylindrical portion 4 is fitted to the outer peripheral surface 10 a of the shaft portion 10 of the cross shaft member via the rollers 3.

  Accordingly, the outer peripheral surface 3a of the roller 3 transfers the raceway surface 4a of the cylindrical portion 4 as the outer ring raceway surface and the outer peripheral surface 10a of the shaft portion 10 as the inner ring raceway surface, whereby the outer ring 2 rotates around the axis X1 of the shaft portion 10. Can be rotated. In addition, the radial gap between the outer peripheral surface 10a of the shaft portion 10 and the raceway surface 4a of the cylindrical portion 4 in the outer ring 2 may be a negative gap.

  FIG. 2 shows a roller alignment jig 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a front view and (b) is a side view. 2 (a) and 2 (b), the roller alignment jig 20 is used at the time of manufacturing the shell-type full roller bearing 1, and includes a rod-shaped support portion 21 and one longitudinal end portion of the support portion 21. And an insertion portion 22 fixed to the head.

The insertion portion 22 has a first side surface 23 and a second side surface 24 that are inclined in opposite directions, and the both side surfaces 23 and 24 cause the upward direction in FIG. The cross-sectional shape is formed in a tapered shape. Further, the first side surface 23 and the second side surface 24 have a predetermined length B in the longitudinal direction of the support portion 21. The length B is set so as to satisfy the following formula with respect to the axial length L (see FIG. 1) of the outer peripheral surface 3a of the roller 3, but is preferably as long as possible.
L / 4 ≦ B ≦ L

  As shown in FIG. 3B, which will be described later, the insertion portion 22 is formed between a plurality of adjacent rollers 3 from the radially inner side of the outer ring 2 in a state where a plurality of rollers 3 are incorporated inside the outer ring 2. Plugged in. Thereby, the clearance gap between the other adjacent rollers 3 except between the arbitrary adjacent rollers 3 is eliminated, and the other adjacent rollers 3 are in contact with each other.

  In addition, the first and second side surfaces 23 and 24 come into line contact with the outer peripheral surfaces 3 a of the adjacent rollers 3 in a state where the insertion portion 22 is inserted between the adjacent rollers 3. Yes. Therefore, the first side surface 23 is a first contact surface that can be in line contact with the outer peripheral surface of one of the adjacent rollers 3, and the second side surface 24 is the outer peripheral surface of the other roller of the adjacent rollers 3. It is set as the 2nd contact surface which can be in line contact. Hereinafter, the direction in which the first and second side surfaces 23 and 24 can come into line contact (the direction perpendicular to the paper in FIG. 3B) is referred to as the line contact direction.

  2B, the upper end edge of the insertion portion 22 in the drawing is tapered so as to protrude upward in the drawing as it goes from the both end portions to the center portion in the longitudinal direction (line contact direction) of the support portion 21. Is formed. Thereby, the front-end edge of the insertion part 22 is formed in the mountain shape whose height H1 of the said center part is higher than the height H2 of the said both ends. In addition, the front-end | tip edge of the insertion part 22 of this embodiment may be formed in circular arc shape so that it may protrude in the figure upper side.

  FIGS. 3A and 3B are explanatory views showing a usage state of the roller alignment jig 20 at the time of manufacturing the shell-type full roller bearing 1. At the time of manufacturing the shell-shaped full roller bearing 1, after performing a preparation process for preparing the above-described roller alignment jig 20 and an assembling process for incorporating the plurality of rollers 3 inside the cylindrical portion 4 of the outer ring 2, the roller alignment process is performed. A roller alignment process is performed in which the tool 20 is used to correct the alignment of the plurality of rollers 3 and align them. In addition, when manufacturing the shell-type full complement roller bearing 1, in addition to the above steps, a step of filling the outer ring 2 with a lubricant (grease) is also performed.

  In the roller alignment step, first, as shown in FIG. 3A, the insertion portion 22 of the roller alignment jig 20 is disposed on the radially inner side of the outer ring 2 in which the plurality of rollers 3 are incorporated. At that time, the axial center X2 of the outer ring 2 is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the support portion 21 of the roller alignment jig 20.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the tip of the insertion portion 22 of the roller alignment jig 20 is placed between any adjacent rollers 3 from the radially inner side to the radially outer side of the outer ring 2. Plug in. At that time, since the leading edge of the insertion portion 22 is formed in a mountain shape as described above, the skewed roller 3 of the arbitrary adjacent rollers 3 is formed at the leading edge of the insertion portion 22. It is possible to effectively suppress climbing. And when the front-end | tip part of the insertion part 22 is inserted appropriately, since each outer peripheral surface 3a of both the rollers 3 carries out a line contact with the 1st side surface 23 and the 2nd side surface 24 of the insertion part 22, respectively, the said arbitrary adjacent. The rollers 3 are aligned without tilting.

  Moreover, when the front-end | tip part of the insertion part 22 is inserted, the said arbitrary adjacent rollers 3 each move to the circumferential direction both sides, as shown by the arrow in a figure. Thereby, the clearance gap between the other adjacent rollers 3 except between the said arbitrary adjacent rollers 3 is lose | eliminated, and the outer peripheral surface 3a of the said other adjacent rollers 3 will be in the state which mutually contacted. At that time, since the outer peripheral surfaces 3a are in line contact with the arbitrary adjacent rollers 3, the other rollers 3 other than the arbitrary adjacent rollers 3 are also aligned without being inclined.

  Therefore, even if any of the plurality of rollers 3 incorporated inside the outer ring 2 is incorporated in the outer ring 2 in a state where an inclination (skew) is generated, the rollers 3 are aligned by the roller alignment jig 20. All the rollers 3 can be forcibly aligned while correcting the inclination. Thereby, it can suppress that a skew generate | occur | produces at the time of manufacture of the shell type full complement roller bearing 1. FIG.

In the roller alignment step described above, when the insertion portion 22 is moved in the insertion direction (upward direction in FIG. 3B), an inspection step for inspecting whether or not the roller 3 is missing is performed based on the amount of movement. It is like that.
FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the roller inspection device 30 used in the alignment process including the inspection process. The roller inspection device 30 includes the roller alignment jig 20, a rotation unit 31, a drive unit 32, and a detection unit 33.

The rotating portion 31 moves the support portion 21 of the roller alignment jig 20 around the horizontal axis Y so that the insertion portion 22 of the roller alignment jig 20 moves in the insertion direction (upward in FIG. 4). It is pivotally supported.
The drive part 32 drives the support part 21 around the axis Y in order to rotate the insertion part 22 in the insertion direction. The drive unit 32 of this embodiment includes a cylinder 34 and an urging member 35.

In the present embodiment, the insertion portion 22 is disposed on the left side in the drawing with respect to the pivot point (axis Y) of the support portion 21, whereas the cylinder 34 and the biasing member 35 are rotated by the support portion 21. It is arranged on the right side in the figure from the moving fulcrum.
The cylinder 34 is composed of, for example, an air cylinder, and the tip end of the rod 34a is connected to the lower end of an extension portion 21a that extends to the right side of the support portion 21 in the figure. The base end of the cylinder 34 is connected to a fixed part on the apparatus side. As a result, the cylinder 34 is configured to rotationally drive the support portion 21 downward by a contraction operation and to rotationally drive the support portion 21 upward by an extension operation.

  The urging member 35 is made of, for example, a tension coil spring, one end of which is connected to the lower end of the extension portion 21a, and the other end is connected to a fixing portion on the apparatus side. Thereby, the urging member 35 urges the support portion 21 in the direction in which the support portion 21 is rotated downward around the axis Y, that is, in the direction in which the insertion portion 22 is rotated around the axis Y (insertion direction). Yes.

  The detection unit 33 includes, for example, a distance sensor, and detects the amount of movement of the insertion unit 22 in the insertion direction in order to inspect whether or not the roller 3 is missing. Specifically, the detection portion 33 is disposed so that the detection surface 33a is close to and opposed to the upper surface of the extension portion 21a of the support portion 21, and when the extension portion 21a rotates downward, the detection portion 33 is moved downward. The amount of movement, that is, the amount of upward movement of the insertion portion 22 is detected.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a usage state of the roller inspection device 30. Hereinafter, a method of using the roller inspection device 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.
When the roller inspection device 30 does not perform alignment of the rollers 3 and missing item inspection, as shown in FIG. 4, the cylinder 34 is in an extended state against the urging force of the urging member 35 by the internal air pressure. Is retained. Thereby, the insertion part 22 is hold | maintained in the state before the insertion shown to Fig.3 (a).

  In the state shown in FIG. 4, when the rollers 3 are aligned and missing parts are inspected, the air inside the cylinder 34 is discharged to make the cylinder 34 contractible. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the support portion 21 of the roller alignment jig 20 is rotated downward around the axis Y of the rotation portion 31 by the urging force of the urging member 35, and the insertion portion 22 is inserted. Move in the direction. Thereby, the insertion part 22 will be in the state shown in FIG.3 (b), and can align the some roller 3 so that an inclination may not arise as mentioned above.

  In FIG. 5, when the insertion portion 22 moves in the insertion direction, the detection unit 33 detects the downward movement amount of the support portion 21 (the upward movement amount of the insertion portion 22). Then, based on the detection result, the roller 3 is inspected for the presence of a missing item. For example, if the amount of movement of the insertion portion 22 is less than the threshold value, the inspection result indicates that there is no missing item for the roller 3, and if the amount of movement of the insertion portion 22 is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the inspection result indicates that there is a missing item for the roller 3. It becomes.

  As described above, according to the roller inspection device 30 of the present embodiment, the drive unit 32 moves the insertion part 22 of the roller alignment jig 20 in the insertion direction so that the plurality of rollers 3 are not inclined. Can be aligned. Further, since the insertion portion 22 moves in the insertion direction, the detection portion 33 can detect the amount of movement of the insertion portion 22, and therefore the presence / absence of a missing part of the roller 3 is also determined based on the detection result. Can do. Accordingly, when the plurality of rollers 3 are aligned, the missing item inspection of the rollers 3 can be performed at the same time.

  The embodiment disclosed this time is illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, and includes all modifications that are within the scope of the claims and equivalents.

  1: shell-shaped full roller bearing, 2: outer ring, 3: roller, 3a: outer peripheral surface, 4a: raceway surface, 20: roller alignment jig, 22: insertion portion, 23: first side surface, 24: second side surface, 30: Roller inspection device, 32: Drive unit, 33: Detection unit

Claims (5)

Used when manufacturing a shell-type full roller bearing having a cylindrical outer ring having a raceway surface on the inner periphery, and a plurality of rollers incorporated inside the outer ring so that the outer peripheral surface rolls on the raceway surface. A rolling alignment tool,
In a state where the plurality of rollers are incorporated inside the outer ring, other adjacent rollers except for the gap between the rollers are inserted between any adjacent rollers from the radially inner side of the outer ring. Including an insertion part for contacting the other adjacent rollers with no gap between them,
The insertion portion has a first side surface and a second side surface inclined in opposite directions, and a cross-sectional shape is formed in a tapered shape toward the insertion direction of the insertion portion by these both side surfaces,
In a state where the insertion portion is inserted between any adjacent rollers, the first side surface is a first contact surface that can be in line contact with the outer peripheral surface of one of the adjacent rollers, The roller alignment jig, wherein the second side surface is a second contact surface that can be in line contact with the outer peripheral surface of the other roller among the adjacent rollers.   2. The roller alignment jig according to claim 1, wherein tip end edges in the insertion direction of the insertion portion are formed so as to protrude in the insertion direction from both ends in the line contact direction toward the center portion. The roller alignment jig according to claim 1 or 2,
A drive unit for moving the insertion part of the roller alignment jig in the insertion direction;
A detection unit for detecting the amount of movement of the insertion part in the insertion direction in order to inspect the presence or absence of the missing part of the roller;
A roller inspection device characterized by comprising: A manufacturing method of a shell-type full roller bearing comprising: a cylindrical outer ring having a raceway surface on an inner periphery; and a plurality of rollers incorporated inside the outer ring so that an outer peripheral surface rolls on the raceway surface. And
A preparation step of preparing the roller alignment jig according to claim 1 or 2,
An assembling step of incorporating the plurality of rollers inside the outer ring;
After the assembling step, the insertion portion of the roller aligning jig is inserted between any adjacent rollers from the radially inner side of the outer ring, and a gap between other adjacent rollers except between the rollers. A roller alignment step of aligning the plurality of rollers by bringing the other adjacent rollers into contact with each other, and
A method for manufacturing a shell-type full complement roller bearing, comprising:   5. The method for manufacturing a shell-type full roller bearing according to claim 4, wherein the roller alignment step includes an inspection step of inspecting whether or not the roller is missing based on a moving amount of the insertion portion in the insertion direction.

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