JP6645887B2 - Bearing lubrication device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a bearing lubrication device for lubricating a tapered roller bearing provided between a shaft and a case.

  BACKGROUND ART A bearing lubrication device for lubricating a tapered roller bearing that supports a pinion shaft such as a differential gear device, a transfer device, or a transaxle device in a vehicle is widely known.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the conventional bearing lubrication device 110 includes a tapered roller bearing 3 provided between the shaft 1 and the case 102, a case oil chamber 5 provided adjacent to the tapered roller bearing 3, An oil passage 121 formed in the case 102 is provided. By supplying lubricating oil to the case oil chamber 5 via the oil passage 121, the tapered roller bearing 3 can be lubricated.

  In addition, Patent Document 1 discloses that an outlet of an oil passage for supplying lubricating oil to a tapered roller bearing provided between a shaft and a case is provided in such a manner that an outlet of an oil passage is provided vertically above an inner ring side flange portion of the tapered roller. The structure of the bearing lubrication device provided at the position is disclosed.

JP 2008-115971 A

  Here, in the bearing lubricating device 110 shown in FIG. 5 described above, when the flow rate of the lubricating oil in the case oil chamber 5 is small, the lowermost part of the case oil chamber 5 (on the outer ring 32 side of the tapered roller bearing 3) due to gravity. Lubricating oil collects. Therefore, even if there is a portion that needs lubrication on the inner ring 31 side of the tapered roller bearing 3, it is the center of the outer ring 32 that is directly lubricated as shown by the arrow E in FIG. Further, in the tapered roller bearing 3, a large load is applied particularly to the flange portions 311 and 312 of the inner ring 31, and the heat generation and wear thereof are increased. Therefore, in the bearing lubrication device 110, when the flow rate of the lubricating oil in the case oil chamber 5 is small, there is a possibility that seizure or the like may be caused by insufficient cooling of the inner ring 31 side.

  On the other hand, in the bearing lubrication device described in Patent Literature 1, a discharge port of an oil passage is provided at a position vertically above the inner ring side flange portion of the tapered roller bearing. Therefore, even when the flow rate of the lubricating oil in the case oil chamber is small, it is possible to directly supply the lubricating oil to the inner ring side of the tapered roller bearing, a retainer holding the tapered rollers, and the like, and the bearing lubrication device Problems such as 110 (see FIG. 5) do not occur.

  However, in the invention described in Patent Literature 1, the amount of lubricating oil supplied to the inner ring side of the tapered roller bearing cannot be adjusted. Lubricating oil supply to the side may be excessive.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and provides a bearing lubrication device that can supply an appropriate amount of lubricating oil to a tapered roller bearing regardless of the flow rate of lubricating oil. With the goal.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, a bearing lubrication device according to the present invention is a bearing lubrication device for lubricating a tapered roller bearing provided between a shaft and a case, wherein the tapered roller is The bearing rotates integrally with the shaft, and includes an inner ring having flanges at both ends, an outer ring fixed to the case, and a plurality of tapered rollers provided between the inner ring and the outer ring. The case includes a case upper oil passage provided on a lubrication passage in the case, and a first oil passage and a second oil passage branched from the case upper oil passage, respectively. The second oil passage has an inflow port communicating with the case upper oil passage, and a discharge port communicating with a case oil chamber provided inside the case. The discharge port of the first oil passage is , The inner ring The inlet of the second oil passage is provided at a position vertically higher than the inlet of the first oil passage, and the outlet of the second oil passage is provided at a position vertically above the collar. The inner ring is provided at a position other than the vertical direction of the collar portion of the inner ring.

  Accordingly, in the bearing lubrication device, the discharge port of the first oil passage is provided at a position vertically above the flange of the inner ring, so that even when the flow rate of the lubricating oil is small, the lubricating oil is directly supplied to the inner ring or the retainer. Can be supplied, and seizure due to insufficient cooling can be prevented. Further, in the bearing lubrication device, the inlet of the second oil passage is provided at a position vertically higher than the inlet of the first oil passage, and the outlet of the second oil passage is disposed vertically above the collar of the inner ring. Since it is provided at a position other than the above, it is possible to prevent an excessive supply of the lubricating oil to the inner ring side even when the flow rate of the lubricating oil is large.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the bearing lubrication apparatus which concerns on this invention, an appropriate amount of lubricating oil can be supplied to a tapered roller bearing regardless of the magnitude | size of the flow of lubricating oil.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a configuration of a bearing lubrication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a load applied to the tapered roller bearing in the bearing lubrication device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the position of the discharge port of the first oil passage in the bearing lubrication device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a configuration of a modified example of the bearing lubrication device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a bearing lubrication device according to the related art.

  An embodiment of a bearing lubrication device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. The components in the following embodiments include those that can be easily replaced by those skilled in the art, or those that are substantially the same.

[Configuration of bearing lubrication device]
The bearing lubrication device according to the present embodiment is for lubricating a tapered roller bearing provided in a differential gear device, a transfer device, a transaxle device, or the like (hereinafter, referred to as a “differential gear device, etc.”) in a vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the bearing lubrication device 10 includes a shaft 1, a case 2, a tapered roller bearing 3, an oil seal 4, and a case oil chamber 5. In FIG. 1, only the upper half of the shaft 1 in the bearing lubrication device 10 is shown.

  The shaft 1 is, for example, a pinion shaft of a differential gear device or the like. The shaft 1 is rotatably arranged in a case 2 as shown in FIG.

  The case 2 is a bearing housing case for housing the tapered roller bearing 3 in, for example, a differential gear device or the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the case 2 is formed in a cylindrical shape so as to cover the periphery of the shaft 1 and the tapered roller bearing 3, and houses these. Here, in the case 2, an upper oil passage 21, a first oil passage 22, and a second oil passage 23 are formed as oil passages for circulating the lubricating oil. The details of these oil passages will be described later.

  The tapered roller bearing 3 is made of, for example, bearing steel, and supports the shaft 1 in the case 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the tapered roller bearing 3 is provided between the shaft 1 and the case 2, and includes an inner ring 31, an outer ring 32, a tapered roller 33, and a retainer. .

  The inner race 31 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and has an inner raceway surface 31a formed in a conical shape as shown in FIG. The inner race 31 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the shaft 1 and rotates integrally with the shaft 1. The inner race 31 has flanges 311 and 312 at both ends in the axial direction on the inner raceway surface 31a.

  The outer race 32 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and has an outer raceway surface 32a formed in a conical shape as shown in FIG. The outer ring 32 is fixed to the inner surface of the case 2.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of tapered rollers 33 are provided between an inner raceway surface 31 a of the inner race 31 and an outer raceway surface 32 a of the outer race 32. Rotate between. The retainer 34 retains the plurality of tapered rollers 33 at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction.

  Here, in the tapered roller bearing 3, since the tapered rollers 33 are formed in a conical shape, as shown in FIG. 2, the load F3 is applied to the flange portion 312 by, for example, the wedge-shaped effect of the radial loads F1 and F2. appear. At this time, the inner raceway surface 31a of the inner race 31 is close to pure rolling, but the flanges 311 and 312 are structurally increased in friction, so that heat is easily generated. In addition, the flange portions 311 and 312 are generally provided on the inner ring 31 side in assembling the tapered roller bearing 3. Therefore, it can be said that the inner ring 31 side is a portion that easily generates heat as compared with the outer ring 32 side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the oil seal 4 is provided between the shaft 1 and the case 2 to partition the case oil chamber 5 and prevent leakage of lubricating oil in the case oil chamber 5. The case oil chamber 5 is a place where the lubricating oil flowing through the lubrication path is temporarily stored, and is provided adjacent to the tapered roller bearing 3.

  Here, in the above-described conventional bearing lubrication device 110 (see FIG. 5), when the flow rate of the lubricating oil in the case oil chamber 5 is small (when lubricating a very small amount), the inner ring 31 side of the tapered roller bearing 3 is lubricated. There was a problem that it was not possible (hereinafter referred to as "first problem"). In the conventional bearing lubrication device described in Patent Document 1, when the flow rate of the lubricating oil in the case oil chamber 5 is large (when a large amount of lubrication is performed), the lubricating oil is supplied to the inner ring 31 of the tapered roller bearing 3. There was a problem of being excessive (hereinafter referred to as "second problem").

  On the other hand, in the bearing lubrication device 10 according to the present embodiment, in order to solve the above two problems, as shown in FIG. 1, the case 2 has an upper oil passage 21, a first oil passage 22, A road 23 is provided.

  The case upper oil passage 21 is provided on a lubrication path in the case 2, and lubricating oil after lubricating the tapered roller bearing 3 flows in. As shown in FIG. 1, the case upper oil passage 21 is provided on one end side (the flange portion 311 side) of the inner ring 31 with respect to the tapered roller bearing 3.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the bottom 21 a of the case upper oil passage 21 is inclined not in a plane but in a mortar shape. The first oil passage 22 branches from the lowermost portion of the bottom 21a, and the second oil passage 23 branches from an inclined surface higher than the lowermost portion of the bottom 21a.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the first oil passage 22 has an inflow port (hereinafter, referred to as “first inflow port”) 221 communicating with the case upper oil path 21 on one end side. A communicating outlet (hereinafter, referred to as a “first outlet”) 222 is formed on the other end side. The first inflow port 221 is provided at the bottom of the bottom 21 a of the case upper oil passage 21. Further, the first discharge port 222 is provided at a position vertically above the flange 311 of the inner race 31, and the lubricating oil flowing through the first oil passage 22 is moved from the first discharge port 222 to the position of the flange 311. It is configured to be discharged to

  When the tapered roller bearing 3 is viewed from the axial direction as shown in FIG. 3, the first discharge port 222 is located above the tapered roller bearing 3 (in a direction opposite to the ground side), and is indicated by an arrow in FIG. It is provided in such a range.

  The second oil passage 23 has a larger diameter (thicker) than the first oil passage 22. As shown in FIG. 1, the second oil passage 23 has an inlet (hereinafter, referred to as a “second inlet”) 231 communicating with the case upper oil passage 21 on one end side. A communicating outlet (hereinafter, referred to as “second outlet”) 232 is formed on the other end side. The second inlet 231 is provided on an inclined surface at the bottom 21 a of the case upper oil passage 21, and is provided at a position vertically higher than the first inlet 221.

  The height difference between the second inlet 231 and the first inlet 221 is set to h1 (> 0) as shown in FIG. In addition, the second discharge port 232 is provided at a position other than the direction vertically above the flange 311 of the inner ring 31, and the lubricating oil flowing through the second oil passage 23 flows from the second discharge port 232 to a position other than the flange 311. Is configured to be discharged to the position. In other words, the second discharge port 232 is provided so as not to be located vertically above the collar 311, and the lubricating oil flowing through the second oil passage 23 is discharged from the second discharge port 232 to the collar 311. It is configured not to be.

  When the flow rate of the lubricating oil is small, the bearing lubricating device 10 having the above-described configuration transmits the lubricating oil from the first inlet 221 to the first oil passage 22 along the inclined surface at the bottom 21 a of the upper oil passage 21 of the case. Flows in. Thereby, as shown by the arrow A in FIG. 1, the lubricating oil is discharged from the first discharge port 222 to the position of the flange portion 311 in the case oil chamber 5, and the inner ring raceway surface 31 a and the Lubricating oil is supplied to the retainer 34. Therefore, the bearing lubrication device 10 can solve the first problem of the related art described above.

  Further, when the flow rate of the lubricating oil is large, the bearing lubricating device 10 simultaneously flows the lubricating oil from the first inlet 221 to the first oil passage 22 along the inclined surface at the bottom 21 a of the case upper oil passage 21, Lubricating oil flows into the second oil passage 23 from the second inlet 231. Thereby, as shown by the arrow A in FIG. 1, the lubricating oil is supplied to the inner raceway surface 31a and the retainer 34 via the collar portion 311 and, as shown by the arrow B in FIG. The lubricating oil is discharged from 232 to a position other than the flange 311 in the case oil chamber 5, and the lubricating oil is stored in the case oil chamber 5. Therefore, the bearing lubricating device 10 can also solve the second conventional problem described above.

  As described above, in the bearing lubrication device 10 according to the present embodiment, since the first discharge port 222 is provided at a position vertically above the flange 311 of the inner ring 31, even if the flow rate of the lubricating oil is small, the inner ring Lubricating oil can be supplied directly to 31 or the retainer 34, and seizure due to insufficient cooling can be prevented. Further, in the bearing lubricating device 10, the second inlet 231 is provided at a position vertically higher than the first inlet 221, and the second outlet 232 is located at a position other than the vertical direction above the flange 311 of the inner ring 31. , It is possible to prevent an excessive supply of the lubricating oil to the inner ring 31 even when the flow rate of the lubricating oil is large.

[Modification]
Hereinafter, a bearing lubrication device 10A which is a modified example of the bearing lubrication device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This bearing lubrication device 10A differs from the above-described bearing lubrication device 10 in the configuration of the oil passage.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the case 2A of the bearing lubrication device 10A is provided with a case upper oil passage 21A, a first oil passage 22A, and second oil passages 23Aa and 23Ab. The upper oil passage 21 </ b> A of the case is provided on the other end of the inner ring 31 (on the side of the flange 312) with respect to the tapered roller bearing 3.

  The first oil passage 22A has a first inlet 221A communicating with the case upper oil passage 21A and a first outlet 222A communicating with the case oil chamber 5, as shown in FIG. The first inflow port 221A is provided on an inclined surface at the bottom 21a of the case upper oil passage 21A. Further, the first discharge port 222A is provided at a position vertically above the flange 312 of the inner ring 31, and the lubricating oil flowing through the first oil passage 22A flows from the first discharge port 222A to the position of the flange 312. It is configured to be discharged to

  As shown in FIG. 4, the second oil passages 23Aa and 23Ab have a larger diameter (thicker) than the first oil passage 22A. The second oil passage 23Aa has a second inlet 231A communicating with the case upper oil passage 21A at one end, and has the other end communicating with the second oil passage 23Ab. The second oil passage 23Ab communicates with the second oil passage 23Aa in the middle of the oil passage, and a second discharge port 232A communicating with the case oil chamber 5 is formed on the other end side.

  The height difference between the second inlet 231A and the first inlet 221A is set to h2 (> 0) as shown in FIG. Further, the second discharge port 232A is provided at a position other than the direction vertically above the flange 311 of the inner ring 31, and the lubricating oil flowing through the second oil passages 23Aa, 23Ab is supplied from the second discharge port 232A to the flange section. It is configured to be discharged to a position other than 311. In other words, the second discharge port 232A is provided so as to avoid the vertically upward position of the flange 311 and the lubricating oil flowing through the second oil passages 23Aa and 23Ab is supplied from the second discharge port 232A to the flange 311. It is configured not to be discharged to

  When the flow rate of the lubricating oil is small, the bearing lubricating device 10A having the above-described configuration travels along the inclined surface at the bottom 21a of the upper oil passage 21A from the first inlet 221A to the first oil passage 22A. Flows in. As a result, as shown by arrow C in FIG. Is supplied. Therefore, the bearing lubrication device 10A can solve the above-described first problem of the related art.

  When the flow rate of the lubricating oil is large, the bearing lubricating device 10A simultaneously flows the lubricating oil from the first inlet 221A into the first oil passage 22A along the inclined surface at the bottom 21a of the case upper oil passage 21A, Lubricating oil flows into the second oil passages 23Aa and 23Ab from the second inlet 231A. Thereby, as shown by the arrow C in FIG. 4, the lubricating oil is supplied to the inner raceway surface 31a and the retainer 34 via the collar 312, and the second discharge port is shown by the arrow D in FIG. Lubricating oil is discharged from 232 </ b> A to a position other than the flange portion 311 in the case oil chamber 5, and the lubricating oil is stored in the case oil chamber 5. Therefore, the bearing lubrication device 10A can also solve the second problem of the related art described above.

  As described above, in the bearing lubricating device 10A according to the modified example, since the first discharge port 222A is provided at a position vertically above the flange 312 of the inner ring 31, even if the flow rate of the lubricating oil is small, the inner ring 31 Alternatively, the lubricating oil can be directly supplied to the retainer 34, and seizure due to insufficient cooling can be prevented. In the bearing lubricating device 10A, the second inlet 231A is provided at a position higher in the vertical direction than the first inlet 221A, and the second outlet 232A is located at a position other than the vertical direction above the flange 311 of the inner ring 31. , It is possible to prevent an excessive supply of the lubricating oil to the inner ring 31 even when the flow rate of the lubricating oil is large.

  As described above, the bearing lubrication device according to the present invention has been specifically described by the embodiments for carrying out the invention. However, the gist of the present invention is not limited to these descriptions, and is based on the description in the claims. Must be widely interpreted. Needless to say, various changes and modifications based on these descriptions are also included in the gist of the present invention.

  For example, the inner ring 31 and the retainer 34 in the above-described bearing lubricating devices 10 and 10A receive the lubricating oil dripping from the first oil passages 22 and 22A and take in the inside of the tapered roller bearing 3 so that the inner ring 31 and the retainer 34 can take the lubricating oil. May be provided.

Reference Signs List 1 shaft 2, 2A, 102 case 21, 21A case upper oil passage 21a bottom 22, 22A first oil passage 221, 221A Inflow port (first inflow port)
222, 222A outlet (first outlet)
23, 23Aa, 23Ab Second oil passage 231, 231A Inlet (second inlet)
232, 232A outlet (second outlet)
Reference Signs List 3 tapered roller bearing 31 inner ring 31a inner ring raceway surface 311, 312 flange 32 outer ring 32a outer ring raceway surface 33 tapered roller 34 retainer 4 oil seal 5 case oil chamber 10, 10A, 110 bearing lubrication device 121 oil passage

Claims (5)

A bearing lubrication device for lubricating a tapered roller bearing provided between a shaft and a case,
The tapered roller bearing,
While rotating integrally with the shaft, an inner ring having flanges at both ends, an outer ring fixed to the case, and a plurality of tapered rollers provided between the inner ring and the outer ring,
The case includes a case upper oil passage provided on a lubrication passage in the case, and a first oil passage and a second oil passage branched from the case upper oil passage, respectively.
The first oil passage and the second oil passage each have an inlet that communicates with the case upper oil passage, and an outlet that communicates with a case oil chamber provided inside the case,
An outlet of the first oil passage is provided at a position vertically above the flange of the inner ring,
The inlet of the second oil passage is provided at a position vertically higher than the inlet of the first oil passage,
The outlet of the second oil passage is provided at a position other than the vertically upward direction of the collar portion of the inner ring ,
The bearing lubrication device , wherein the second oil passage is formed in a tubular shape . The bearing lubrication device according to claim 1, wherein the second oil passage is formed to extend in a direction in which the lubricating oil is dropped. 3. The bearing lubrication device according to claim 1, wherein the second oil passage has a larger diameter than the first oil passage. 4. 4. The bearing lubrication device according to claim 1, wherein an inflow port of the first oil passage is located at a lower end of the upper oil passage of the case. 5. The bearing lubrication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the second oil passage has a smaller diameter than the case upper oil passage.

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