JP7273210B2 - tapered roller bearing - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to tapered roller bearings.

Conventionally, a tapered roller bearing is known as one type of bearing. Tapered roller bearings are applied, for example, to mechanical devices such as automobiles and industrial machinery. Tapered roller bearings can receive a constant axial load when the large end surfaces of the tapered rollers come into contact with the large flange surface of the inner ring during use. However, the contact between the large end surface of the tapered roller and the large flange surface of the inner ring is sliding contact, not rolling contact. Therefore, if the lubricating environment at the contact portion between the large end surface of the tapered roller and the large flange surface of the inner ring is insufficient, there is a concern that heat is generated at the contact portion and the temperature rises rapidly.

In order to solve the above problems, it is necessary to reduce torque loss and heat generation due to friction at the contact portion between the large end surface of the tapered roller and the large flange surface of the inner ring, and to improve the oil film formation at the contact portion. .

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-170774 (hereinafter also referred to as Patent Document 1) discloses that the radius of curvature of the large end surface of the tapered roller is R, and the angle from the apex of the cone angle of the tapered roller to the large flange surface of the inner ring (the tapered roller It is proposed that the ratio R/R _BASE be in the range of 0.75 to 0.87, where R _BASE is the distance to the contact portion of the contact. This improves the ability to form an oil film at the contact portion between the large end surface of the tapered roller and the large flange surface of the inner ring.

JP-A-2000-170774

However, Patent Literature 1 does not define an allowable range for the actual radius of curvature of the large end surface of the tapered roller after machining. Therefore, even if the value of R/R _BASE is set within the range of 0.75 to 0.87, if the actual radius of curvature becomes small, there is a risk of inducing skew larger than expected.

It is also known that tapered roller bearings suffer from increased torque loss due to an increase in lubricating oil flowing between the inner diameter side of the retainer and the inner ring. For this reason, it is necessary to reduce the torque loss by adopting a structure in which the inflowing lubricating oil quickly escapes to the outer ring side.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a tapered roller bearing that reduces torque loss during use and has excellent seizure resistance. be.

A tapered roller bearing according to the present disclosure comprises an outer ring, an inner ring and a plurality of tapered rollers. The outer ring has an outer ring raceway surface on its inner peripheral surface. The inner ring has an inner ring raceway surface on its outer peripheral surface and a large flange surface arranged on the larger diameter side than the inner ring raceway surface, and is arranged inside the outer ring. The plurality of tapered rollers have rolling surfaces in contact with the outer ring raceway surface and the inner ring raceway surface, and large end surfaces in contact with the large flange surface. A plurality of tapered rollers are arranged between the outer ring raceway surface and the inner ring raceway surface.

The large end face includes a chamfered portion arranged on the outermost periphery of the large end face, a convex portion arranged annularly on the inner peripheral side of the chamfered portion, and a concave portion arranged on the inner peripheral side of the convex portion. The large end face is defined as points C1 and C4 connecting the outer peripheral end of the convex portion and the chamfered portion, and points connecting the inner peripheral end of the convex portion and the concave portion in a cross section along the rolling axis of the tapered roller. Further includes C2, C3, midpoint P5 between points C1 and C2 on the big end face, and midpoint P6 between points C3 and C4 on the big end face. In the above cross section, R is the set curvature radius of the large end surface of the tapered roller, which is the radius of curvature of a single arc passing through the point C1, the intermediate point P5, the intermediate point P6, and the point C4. When the actual radius of curvature is R _process , the actual radius of curvature R _process is shorter than the set radius of curvature R, and the ratio R _process /R between the actual radius of curvature R _process and the set radius of curvature R is 0.5 or more.

According to the above, it is possible to obtain a tapered roller bearing excellent in seizure resistance while reducing torque loss during use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows the tapered roller bearing which concerns on embodiment. FIG. 4 is a developed plan view of the retainer of the tapered roller bearing according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 4 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view for explaining a nitrogen-enriched layer in the tapered roller bearing according to the embodiment; It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows the design specification of the tapered roller bearing which concerns on embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining a reference radius of curvature of a roller in the tapered roller bearing according to the embodiment; FIG. 6 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view showing a region VI shown in FIG. 5; FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the actual radius of curvature of the rollers in the tapered roller bearing according to the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing prior austenite grain boundaries of the bearing component according to the embodiment; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing prior austenite grain boundaries of a conventional bearing component; FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a method of changing a contact position between an inner ring raceway surface and a rolling contact surface in a tapered roller bearing according to an embodiment; FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of a method of changing the contact position between the rolling surfaces in the tapered roller bearing according to the embodiment; FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the shape of a nitrogen-enriched layer at the crowning portion and central portion of the roller of the tapered roller bearing according to the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the shape of the logarithmic crowning of the rollers of the tapered roller bearing according to the embodiment; FIG. 3 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view showing the detailed shape of the inner ring of the tapered roller bearing according to the embodiment; FIG. 15 is an enlarged schematic diagram of a region XV in FIG. 14; 15 is a schematic diagram showing the shape of the inner ring raceway surface shown in FIG. 14 in the generatrix direction; FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the radius of curvature of the large end face of the roller and the oil film thickness of the tapered roller bearing according to the embodiment. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the radius of curvature of the large end face of the roller of the tapered roller bearing and the maximum hertz stress according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a view showing the contour of a roller provided with crowning whose contour is represented by a logarithmic function and the contact surface pressure on the rolling surface of the roller superimposed. FIG. 7 is a view showing the outline of a roller with an auxiliary arc between the crowning and the straight portion of the partial arc and the contact surface pressure on the rolling contact surface of the roller superimposed. 4 is a flow chart of a tapered roller bearing manufacturing method according to the embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the heat processing method in embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the modification of the heat processing method in embodiment. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a differential provided with tapered roller bearings according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a developed plan view of a modification of the retainer of the tapered roller bearing according to the embodiment; FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing another modified example of the retainer of the tapered roller bearing according to the embodiment;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings. In the drawings below, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

<Structure of Tapered Roller Bearing>
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a tapered roller bearing according to an embodiment of the invention. 2 is a developed plan view of the retainer of the tapered roller bearing shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of the tapered roller bearing shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing design specifications of the tapered roller bearing shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the reference radius of curvature of the rollers in the tapered roller bearing according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view showing region VI shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the actual radius of curvature of the rollers in the tapered roller bearing according to the embodiment of the present invention. A tapered roller bearing according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG.

A tapered roller bearing 10 shown in FIG. 1 mainly includes an outer ring 11 , an inner ring 13 , a plurality of tapered rollers 12 and a retainer 14 . The outer ring 11 has an annular shape and has an outer ring raceway surface 11A on its inner peripheral surface. The inner ring 13 has an annular shape and has an inner ring raceway surface 13A on its outer peripheral surface. The inner ring 13 is arranged on the inner peripheral side of the outer ring 11 so that the inner ring raceway surface 13A faces the outer ring raceway surface 11A. In the following description, the direction along the central axis of the tapered roller bearing 10 is the “axial direction,” the direction perpendicular to the central axis is the “radial direction,” and the direction along the arc centered on the central axis is the “circumferential direction.” called "direction".

The tapered roller 12 has a roller rolling surface 12A, and contacts the inner ring raceway surface 13A and the outer ring raceway surface 11A on the roller rolling surface 12A. A plurality of tapered rollers 12 are arranged at a predetermined pitch in the circumferential direction by a retainer 14 made of metal. Thereby, the tapered rollers 12 are held rollably on the annular raceways of the outer ring 11 and the inner ring 13 . Further, the tapered roller bearing 10 has a cone including the outer ring raceway surface 11A, a cone including the inner ring raceway surface 13A, and a cone including the trajectory of the rotation axis when the tapered roller 12 rolls. are configured to intersect at one point (point O in FIG. 4). With such a configuration, the outer ring 11 and the inner ring 13 of the tapered roller bearing 10 are rotatable relative to each other. The inner ring 13 has a large flange portion 41 on the large diameter side of the inner ring raceway surface 13A and a small flange portion 42 on the small diameter side.

Cage shape:
As shown in FIG. 2, the retainer 14 includes a small ring portion 106 connected on the small diameter end face side of the tapered roller 12, a large ring portion 107 connected on the large diameter end face side of the tapered roller 12, and these small ring portions 106. and a plurality of posts 108 connecting the macrocyclic portion 107 . The retainer 14 is formed with a plurality of pockets 109 arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. A plurality of pockets 109 hold a plurality of tapered rollers 12 . Each of the plurality of pockets 109 has a trapezoidal shape in which the narrow side accommodates the small diameter side of the tapered roller 12 and the wide side accommodates the large diameter side thereof. Two notches 110a and 110b are provided in the pillars 108 on both sides of the pocket 109, respectively. Each notch 110a, 110b has a depth of 1.0 mm and a width of 4.6 mm. The notch 110 a is provided with a width from the boundary between the small annular portion 106 and the column portion 108 toward the large annular portion 107 . As a result, lubricating oil flowing from the inner diameter side of the retainer 14 to the inner ring 13 side quickly escapes from the notch 110a to the outer ring 11 side on the outer diameter side. The edge of the small annular portion 106 on the side of the pocket 109 has a shape in which the bottom portion of the narrow width side of the pocket 109 extends to the column portion 108 . In other words, the narrow bottom side portion of the pocket 109 and the edge portion located on the narrow width side of the notch 110a and provided so as to be continuous with the bottom flat portion are formed in one direction perpendicular to the axial direction. forming a plane.

The material forming the outer ring 11, the inner ring 13, and the tapered rollers 12 is, for example, high-carbon chromium bearing steel specified in JIS standards, more specifically, JIS standard SUJ2.

As shown in FIG. 3, the raceway surface 11A of the outer ring 11 and the raceway surface 13A of the inner ring 13 are formed with nitrogen-enriched layers 11B and 13B. In inner ring 13 , nitrogen-enriched layer 13 B extends from raceway surface 13 A to small flange surface 19 and large flange surface 18 . The nitrogen-enriched layers 11B and 13B are regions having a higher nitrogen concentration than the non-nitrided portion 11C of the outer ring 11 or the non-nitrided portion 13C of the inner ring 13, respectively. A small flange surface 19 of the inner ring 13 is ground to a surface parallel to the small end surfaces 17 of the tapered rollers 12 arranged on the raceway surface 13A. A large flange surface 18 of the inner ring 13 is finished as a ground surface extending along the large end surface 16 of the tapered roller 12 . A relief portion 25A is formed at a corner where the inner ring raceway surface 13A and the large flange surface 18 intersect.

A nitrogen-enriched layer 12B is formed on the surface including the rolling surface 12A of the tapered roller 12, the large end surface 16 and the small end surface 17. As shown in FIG. The nitrogen-enriched layer 12B of the tapered roller 12 is a region having a higher nitrogen concentration than the non-nitrided portion 12C of the tapered roller 12 . Nitrogen-enriched layers 11B, 12B, and 13B can be formed by any conventionally known method such as carbonitriding or nitriding.

The nitrogen-enriched layer 12B may be formed only on the tapered rollers 12, the nitrogen-enriched layer 11B may be formed only on the outer ring 11, or the nitrogen-enriched layer 13B may be formed only on the inner ring 13. good too. Alternatively, nitrogen-enriched layers may be formed on two of the outer ring 11, inner ring 13, and tapered rollers 12.

Nitrogen-enriched layer thickness and nitrogen concentration:
The thickness of the nitrogen-enriched layers 11B, 12B, 13B is 0.2 mm or more. Specifically, the distance from the outer ring raceway surface 11A, which is the outermost surface of the surface layer of the outer ring 11, to the bottom of the nitrogen-enriched layer 11B is 0.2 mm or more. The distance from the rolling surface 12A, which is part of the outermost surface of the surface layer of the tapered roller 12, to the bottom of the nitrogen-enriched layer 12B is 0.2 mm or more. The distance from the large end face 16 or the small end face 17 as part of the outermost surface of the surface layer of the tapered roller 12 to the bottom of the nitrogen-enriched layer 12B is 0.2 mm or more. The distance from the inner ring raceway surface 13A, which is part of the outermost surface of the surface layer of the inner ring 13, to the bottom of the nitrogen-enriched layer 13B is 0.2 mm or more. The distance from the large flange surface 18 as a part of the outermost surface of the inner ring 13 to the bottom of the nitrogen-enriched layer 13B is 0.2 mm or more.

In the tapered roller bearing 10, the nitrogen concentration in the nitrogen-enriched layers 11B, 12B, 13B at a depth of 0.05 mm from the outermost surface may be 0.1% by mass or more.

Shape of large end face 16 of tapered roller 12:
When the actual curvature radius after grinding of the large end surface 16 of the tapered roller 12 is _Rprocess , the ratio _Rprocess /R between the actual curvature radius _Rprocess and the set curvature radius R is set to 0.5 or more. A specific description will be given below.

5 and 6 are schematic cross-sectional views along the rolling axis of tapered rollers 12 obtained when grinding is ideally performed. When the grinding process is ideally performed, the resulting large end face 16 of the tapered roller 12 is a part of a spherical surface centered on the point O (see FIG. 4) which is the apex of the cone angle of the tapered roller 12 . As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the grinding process is ideally performed to leave a part of the convex portion 16A, the large end face 16 of the tapered roller 12 having the end face of the convex portion 16A is It becomes part of one spherical surface centered on the apex of the cone angle of the tapered roller 12 . In this case, the inner peripheral end of the convex portion 16A in the radial direction about the rolling axis (rotational axis) of the tapered roller 12 is connected to the concave portion 16B via points C2 and C3. The outer peripheral end of the convex portion 16A is connected to the chamfered portion 16C via points C1 and C4. In the ideal large end face, the points C1 to C4 are arranged on one spherical surface as described above.

In general, tapered rollers are manufactured by sequentially subjecting a cylindrical roller material to grinding including forging and crowning. A concave portion due to the shape of the punch of the forging device is formed in the central portion of the surface to be the large end surface of the compact obtained by forging. The planar shape of the recess is, for example, circular.

Here, the curvature radius (set curvature radius) R of the large end surface 16 of the tapered roller 12 is the R dimension when the large end surface 16 of the tapered roller 12 shown in FIG. 5 is a set ideal spherical surface. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, consider points C1, C2, C3, and C4 at the ends of the large end face 16 of the tapered roller 12, and midpoints P5, C3, and C4 between the points C1 and C2, and a midpoint P6 between the points C1 and C2. . When the large end surface 16 is the above-described ideal spherical surface, in the cross section shown in FIG. It is an ideal single arc curve that satisfies the condition of R152=R364=R1564 for the radius of curvature R1564 passing through R364 and points C1, P5, P6, and C4. Points C1 and C4 are connection points between the convex portion 16A and the chamfered portion 16C, and points C2 and C3 are connection points between the convex portion 16A and the concave portion 16B. Here, the radius of curvature of an ideal single arc curve that satisfies R=R152=R364=R1564 is called a set radius of curvature. The set radius of curvature R is different from the actual radius of curvature Rprocess, which is measured as the radius of curvature of the large end face 16 of the tapered roller 12 obtained by actual grinding as will be described later. Note that the positions of the points C2 and C3 are not limited to the positions shown in FIG. For example, the point C2 may be slightly shifted to the point C1 side, and the point C3 may be slightly shifted to the point C4 side.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view along the rolling axis of tapered rollers obtained by actual grinding. In FIG. 7, the ideal big end face shown in FIG. 6 is indicated by dotted lines. As shown in FIG. 7, the large end face 16 of the tapered roller 12 actually obtained by grinding the compact having the recesses and protrusions as described above is the apex of the cone angle of the tapered roller 12. not be part of a single sphere centered at . The points C1 to C4 of the convex portion of the actually obtained tapered roller 12 have a sagging shape compared to the convex portion 16A shown in FIG. That is, the points C1 and C4 shown in FIG. 7 are arranged on the outer peripheral side in the radial direction with respect to the center of the rolling shaft compared to the points C1 and C4 shown in FIG. It is arranged inside in the direction (the R152 on one side is not the same as the R1564 of the entire big end face 16 and can be made smaller).

Points C2 and C3 shown in FIG. 7 are arranged on the inner peripheral side in the radial direction with respect to the center of the rolling shaft compared to points C2 and C3 shown in FIG. (The R364 on one side is not the same as the R1564 on the entire large end face 16 and can be made smaller). The intermediate points P5 and P6 shown in FIG. 7 are formed at positions substantially equal to the intermediate points P5 and P6 shown in FIG. 6, for example.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the large end surface actually formed by grinding, vertices C1 and C2 are arranged on one spherical surface, and vertices C3 and C4 are arranged on another spherical surface. are placed. In general grinding, the radius of curvature of one arc formed by a portion of the big end surface formed on one convex portion is the same as that of the arc formed by a portion of the big end surface formed on the other convex portion. It is about the same as the radius of curvature. That is, R152 on one side after processing the large end face 16 of the tapered roller 12 shown in FIG. 7 is substantially equal to R364 on the other side. Here, R152 and R364 on one side of the large end surface 16 of the tapered roller 12 after processing are called an actual radius of curvature R _process . The actual radius of curvature R _process is equal to or less than the set radius of curvature R.

As described above, the tapered roller 12 of the tapered roller bearing according to the present embodiment has a ratio R _process /R of the actual curvature radius R _process to the set curvature radius R of 0.5 or more.

As shown in FIG. 7, on the large end surface actually formed by grinding, the radius of curvature R _virtual (hereinafter referred to as the virtual curvature radius) is less than or equal to the set radius of curvature R. That is, in the tapered roller 12 of the tapered roller bearing according to the present embodiment, the ratio _Rprocess / _Rvirtual of the actual curvature radius _Rprocess to the virtual curvature radius _Rvirtual is 0.5 or more.

Surface roughness of large end face 16 of tapered roller 12:
The arithmetic surface roughness Ra of the large end face 16 may be 0.10 μmRa or less. As shown in FIG. 5, which will be described below with reference to FIG. 5, the large end face 16 includes a chamfered portion 16C, a convex portion 16A, and a concave portion 16B. A chamfered portion 16</b>C is arranged on the outermost periphery of the large end face 16 . An annular convex portion 16A is arranged on the inner peripheral side of the chamfered portion 16C. A concave portion 16B is arranged on the inner peripheral side of the convex portion 16A. The convex portion 16A is a surface protruding from the concave portion 16B. The chamfered portion 16</b>C is formed to connect the convex portion 16</b>A and the rolling surface, which is the side surface of the tapered roller 12 . The arithmetic surface roughness Ra of the large end face 16 described above substantially means the surface roughness of the convex portion 16A. Further, on the large end face 16 of the tapered roller 12, the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the arithmetic surface roughness Ra of the convex portion 16A, which is the circumferential surface region in contact with the large flange face 18, is 0.02 μm or less. There may be. As a result, the variation in the surface roughness Ra of the circumferential surface region of the large end face 16 can be sufficiently reduced, and the synergistic effect of the numerical range of the ratio R/R _BASE and the numerical range of the ratio R _process /R results in In principle, a sufficient oil film thickness can be secured at the contact portion.

The large brim surface 18 is ground to an arithmetic surface roughness of 0.12 μmRa or less, for example. Preferably, the arithmetic surface roughness Ra of the large flange surface is 0.063 μmRa or less.

Crystal structure of nitrogen-enriched layer:
The grain size of prior austenite grains in the nitrogen-enriched layers 11B, 12B, and 13B has a JIS standard grain size number of 10 or more. Here, FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating the microstructure of the bearing component constituting the tapered roller bearing according to the present embodiment, particularly the prior austenite crystal grain boundaries. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating prior austenite crystal grain boundaries in a conventional quenched bearing component. FIG. 8 shows the microstructure in nitrogen-enriched layer 12B. The prior austenite crystal grain size in nitrogen-enriched layer 12B in the present embodiment has a JIS standard grain size number of 10 or more, which is different from the prior austenite crystal grain size of the conventional general hardened product shown in FIG. It is sufficiently miniaturized by comparison.

Contact position between the rolling surface of the tapered roller 12 and the inner ring raceway surface: (Fig. 10)
As shown in FIG. 10, L is the width of the rolling surface 12A in the extending direction of the rolling shaft of the tapered roller 12, and the center C of the contact position between the inner ring raceway surface 13A and the rolling surface 12A is In the tapered roller bearing 10, the ratio α/L between the width L and the deviation amount α is not less than 0% and less than 20%, where α is the amount of deviation from the midpoint N of the rolling contact surface 12A to the large end surface 16 side. may

The present inventors found that when the ratio α/L is 0% or more and less than 20% and the ratio α/L is more than 0%, the center C of the contact position is in the extending direction of the rolling shaft. or on the large end surface 16 side of the middle point N, the center C of the contact position when the ratio α/L exceeds 0% is the extension of the rolling shaft It was confirmed that the skew angle can be reduced and an increase in rotational torque can be suppressed compared to the case where the center point N of the rolling contact surface in the direction is closer to the small end surface 17 .

Table 1 shows that when the amount of deviation α is 0, that is, the center C of the contact position between the inner ring raceway surface 13A and the outer ring raceway surface 11A and the rolling surface 12A of the tapered roller 12 rolls in the extending direction of the rolling shaft. Calculation results of the ratios of the skew angle φ and the rotational torque M when the shift amount α is varied with respect to the skew angle φ 0 and the rotational torque M 0 when positioned at the midpoint N of the moving surface 12A are shown. In Table 1, the deviation amount α is shown as a ratio (α/L) of the deviation amount α to the width L of the rolling contact surface 12A of the tapered roller 12 . Further, the deviation amount when the contact position deviates from the middle point N toward the small end surface 17 is indicated by a negative value. The skew angle φ0 and the torque M0 are values when the deviation amount α is zero.

As shown in Table 1, it can be seen that the skew angle φ is smaller on the large diameter side than when the ratio α/L with respect to the deviation amount α is 0%. Further, the rotational torque M increases as the amount of deviation α increases, but the effect is greater on the small diameter side contact than on the large diameter side contact. When the ratio α/L with respect to the amount of deviation α is -5%, the skew angle increases by 1.5 times, so the influence on heat generation cannot be ignored, and it was judged as unpractical (NG). Further, if the ratio α/L is 20% or more, the slippage on the rolling contact surface 12A of the tapered roller 12 increases, which increases the rotational torque M and causes other troubles such as peeling. ).

From the above results, in order to reduce the skew angle φ and the rotational torque M, it is desirable that the ratio α/L with respect to the deviation amount α is 0% or more and less than 20%. Also preferably, the ratio α/L exceeds 0%. Furthermore, the ratio α/L may be greater than 0% and less than 15%.

Configurations in which the ratio α/L exceeds 0% are shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, for example. 10 and 11 are schematic cross-sectional views showing an example of how to change the contact position between the inner ring raceway surface 13A and the rolling contact surface 12A in a tapered roller bearing.

As shown in FIG. 10, by relatively shifting the positions of the crowning formed on the rolling surface 12A of the tapered roller 12 and the crowning formed on the inner ring raceway surface 13A and the outer ring raceway surface 11A, can be realized.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, the configuration in which the ratio α/L exceeds 0% has the angle formed by the inner ring raceway surface 13A with respect to the axial direction of the inner ring and the angle formed by the outer ring raceway surface 11A with respect to the axial direction of the outer ring 11. It can be realized by relatively changing the angles formed with respect to each other. Specifically, the angle formed by the inner ring raceway surface 13A with respect to the axial direction of the inner ring 13 is increased and the outer ring By reducing the angle formed by the raceway surface 11A with respect to the axial direction of the outer ring 11, a configuration in which the ratio α/L exceeds 0% can be realized.

Shape of rolling surface of tapered roller 12:
As shown in FIG. 12, the rolling surfaces 12A (see FIG. 3) of the tapered rollers 12 are positioned at both end portions and connect the crowning portions 22 and 24 where crowning is formed and the crowning portions 22 and 24. and a central portion 23 . No crowning is formed in the central portion 23, and the shape of the central portion 23 in the cross section along the center line 26, which is the rotation axis of the tapered roller 12, is linear. A chamfered portion 21 is formed between the small end face 17 of the tapered roller 12 and the crowning portion 22 . A chamfered portion 16</b>C is also formed between the large end face 16 of the tapered roller 12 and the crowning portion 24 .

Here, in the method of manufacturing the tapered roller 12, when the treatment (carbonitriding treatment) for forming the nitrogen-enriched layer 12B is performed, no crowning is formed on the tapered roller 12, and the outer shape of the tapered roller 12 is as shown in the figure. A pre-processing surface 12E indicated by a dotted line 13 is formed. After the nitrogen-enriched layer is formed in this state, the side surface of the tapered roller 12 is processed as shown by the arrow in FIG. 13 as a finishing process, and as shown in FIGS. 22, 24 are obtained.

A specific example of the thickness of the nitrogen-enriched layer:
The depth of the nitrogen-enriched layer 12B in the tapered roller 12, that is, the distance from the outermost surface of the nitrogen-enriched layer 12B to the bottom of the nitrogen-enriched layer 12B is 0.2 mm or more as described above. Specifically, a first measurement point 31 which is a boundary point between the chamfered portion 21 and the crowning portion 22, a second measurement point 32 which is a position at a distance W of 1.5 mm from the small end face 17, and the rolling of the tapered roller 12 At the third measurement point 33, which is the center of the surface 12A, the depths T1, T2, and T3 of the nitrogen-enriched layer 12B at each position are 0.2 mm or more. Here, the depth of the nitrogen-enriched layer 12B means the thickness of the nitrogen-enriched layer 12B in the radial direction perpendicular to the center line 26 of the tapered roller 12 and toward the outer peripheral side. The values of the depths T1, T2, and T3 of the nitrogen-enriched layer 12B are determined according to the shape and size of the chamfered portions 21 and 16C, as well as process conditions such as the conditions for forming the nitrogen-enriched layer 12B and the finishing conditions. It can be changed as appropriate. For example, in the configuration example shown in FIG. 13, the crowning 22A is formed after the nitrogen-enriched layer 12B is formed as described above, so the depth T2 of the nitrogen-enriched layer 12B is different from the other depths T1 and T3. Although the depths are smaller, by changing the process conditions described above, it is possible to appropriately change the magnitude relation of the values of the depths T1, T2, and T3 of the nitrogen-enriched layer 12B.

Further, regarding the nitrogen-enriched layers 11B and 13B in the outer ring 11 and the inner ring 13, the thickness of the nitrogen-enriched layers 11B and 13B, which is the distance from the outermost surface to the bottom of the nitrogen-enriched layers 11B and 13B, is as described above. is 0.2 mm or more. Here, the thickness of the nitrogen-enriched layers 11B, 13B means the distance to the nitrogen-enriched layers 11B, 13B in the direction perpendicular to the outermost surfaces of the nitrogen-enriched layers 11B, 13B.

Crowning shape:
The shape of the crowning formed in the contact portion crowning portion 27 included in the crowning portions 22 and 24 of the tapered roller 12 (the portion connecting to the central portion 23 and in contact with the inner ring raceway surface 13A) is defined as follows. . That is, the sum of the crowning drop amounts is defined by K1, K2, and zm as design parameters, Q is the load, L is the length of the effective contact portion of the rolling surface 12A of the tapered roller 12 in the generatrix direction, E' is the equivalent elastic modulus, and a is the effective contact portion from the origin taken on the generatrix of the rolling surface of the tapered roller 12. is represented by the following formula (1) when A=2K1Q/πLE', the length to the end of .

Here, the shape of the crowning portions 22 and 24 of the tapered roller 12 is logarithmic curve crowning determined by the above formula. However, the logarithmic curve may be determined using other logarithmic crowning equations without being limited to the above formula.

Shapes of inner and outer ring raceways:
Next, the shape of the inner ring raceway surface 13A in the generatrix direction will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 16. FIG. FIG. 14 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view showing the detailed shape of the inner ring 13. As shown in FIG. FIG. 15 is an enlarged schematic diagram of region XV in FIG. FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing the shape of the inner ring raceway surface 13A shown in FIG. 14 in the generatrix direction. In FIGS. 14 and 15, a partial contour of the tapered roller 12 on the large end surface 16 side is indicated by a chain double-dashed line.

As shown in FIGS. 14 to 16, the inner ring raceway surface 13A is formed in a gentle arc full-crowning shape and is connected to relief portions 25A and 25B. The radius of curvature Rc of the gentle arc full crowning is so large that a drop amount of, for example, about 5 μm occurs at both ends of the inner ring raceway surface 13A. As shown in FIG. 14, since the inner ring raceway surface 13A is provided with relief portions 25A and 25B, the effective raceway surface width of the inner ring raceway surface 13A is LG.

As shown in FIG. 15, a flank 18A smoothly connected to the large brim surface 18 is formed on the radially outer side of the large brim surface 18. As shown in FIG. The wedge-shaped gap formed between the flank face 18A and the large end face 16 of the tapered roller 12 enhances the drawing action of lubricating oil and forms a sufficient oil film. Although the shape of the inner ring raceway surface 13A in the direction of the generatrix has been exemplified as a gentle arc full crowning shape, it is not limited to this and may be a straight shape.

Although the shape of the inner ring raceway surface 13A of the inner ring 13 in the direction of the generatrix has been described above, the shape of the outer ring raceway surface 11A in the direction of the generatrix is the same, so the description will not be repeated.

Here, the rolling surface 12A of the tapered roller 12 has a logarithmic crowning shape (the central portion 23 has a straight shape), and the inner ring raceway surface 13A and the outer ring raceway surface 11A have a straight shape or a gentle arc full crowning shape. Verification results leading to the embodiment will be described below.

Outer ring raceway of a tapered roller bearing for automobile transmission (inner diameter φ35 mm, outer diameter φ62 mm, width 18 mm) at low speed (1st speed) with misalignment and at high speed (4th speed) without misalignment The contact surface pressure of the surface 11A and the ratio of the contact ellipse to the effective rolling surface width L (see FIG. 12) of the rolling surface 12A of the tapered roller 12 were verified. Table 2 shows the samples used for verification.

Table 3 shows the verification results.

Under high-speed conditions without misalignment, the load conditions are relatively light, so as shown in Table 3, neither sample 1 nor sample 2 generates edge surface pressure (P _EDGE ). On the other hand, in Sample 2, the drop amount of the full crowning of the outer ring is large, and the contact ellipse (major axis radius) is short. skew is likely to be induced, and it was judged as unpractical (NG).

On the other hand, under low-speed conditions with misalignment, the load is high. Therefore, in sample 2, the ratio of the contact ellipse to the roller effective rolling surface width L is 100%, and edge surface pressure is generated on the outer ring. Furthermore, the edge contact causes contact driving on the small end face side of the tapered roller, which induces a large skew and is judged as unpractical (NG).

From the above, it was verified that full crowning with a large drop amount on the outer ring is not preferable in order to suppress the skew, and the significance of Sample 1 was confirmed.

<Methods for measuring various characteristics>
Nitrogen concentration measurement method:
Regarding the bearing parts such as the outer ring 11, the tapered rollers 12, and the inner ring 13, the sections perpendicular to the surface of the regions where the nitrogen-enriched layers 11B, 12B, and 13B are formed are analyzed in the depth direction by EPMA (Electron Probe Micro Analysis). Do line analysis. Measurement is performed by cutting each bearing component from the measurement position in a direction perpendicular to the surface to expose the cut surface, and performing measurement on the cut surface. For example, tapered roller 12 is exposed by cutting tapered roller 12 in a direction perpendicular to center line 26 from respective positions of first to third measurement points 31 to 33 shown in FIG. Let On the cut surface, the nitrogen concentration is analyzed by the above EPMA at a plurality of measurement positions 0.05 mm from the surface of the tapered roller 12 toward the inside. For example, five measurement positions are determined, and the average value of the measurement data at the five positions is taken as the nitrogen concentration of the tapered rollers 12 .

Further, for the outer ring 11 and the inner ring 13, for example, after exposing the central axis and the cross section along the radial direction perpendicular to the central axis with the central portion in the central axis direction of the bearing on the raceway surfaces 11A and 13A as the measurement position. , the nitrogen concentration of the cross section is measured by the same method as described above.

How to measure the distance from the top surface to the bottom of the nitrogen-enriched layer:
Regarding the outer ring 11 and the inner ring 13, the hardness distribution is measured in the depth direction from the surface of the cross section that is the measurement object in the above nitrogen concentration measuring method. A Vickers hardness tester can be used as the measuring device. Hardness measurement is performed at a plurality of measurement points aligned in the depth direction, for example, measurement points arranged at intervals of 0.5 mm in the tapered roller bearing 10 after tempering at a heating temperature of 500° C. and a heating time of 1 h. A region having a Vickers hardness of HV450 or more is defined as a nitrogen-enriched layer.

As for the tapered roller 12, the hardness distribution in the depth direction is measured as described above in the cross section at the first measurement point 31 shown in FIG. 12 to determine the area of the nitrogen-enriched layer.

How to measure the radius of curvature of the roller big end face:
The actual radius of curvature R _process and the virtual radius of curvature R _virtual of the large end face 16 of the tapered roller 12 shown in FIG. 7 can be measured by any method for the tapered roller actually formed by grinding. It can be measured using a roughness tester (eg Mitutoyo Surface Roughness Tester Surftest SV-3100). When a surface roughness measuring machine is used, first, the measurement axis is set along the radial direction around the rolling axis, and the surface shape (shape in the generatrix direction) of the large end face is measured. The vertices C1 to C4 and midpoints P5 and P6 are plotted on the obtained large end face profile. The actual radius of curvature R _process is calculated as the radius of curvature of an arc passing through the plotted vertex C1, midpoint P5 and vertex C2. The virtual radius of curvature R _virtual is calculated as the radius of curvature of an arc passing through the plotted vertex C1, intermediate points P5 and P6, and vertex C4. Alternatively, the virtual radius of curvature R _virtual of the entire big end face 16 may be determined by calculating an approximate arc curve radius with a value obtained by taking four points using a command "input multiple times". The shape of the big end face 16 in the generatrix direction was measured once in the diameter direction.

On the other hand, the set radius of curvature R is estimated based on industrial standards such as JIS standards, for example, from the respective dimensions of tapered rollers obtained by actual grinding.

Surface roughness measurement method:
The arithmetic surface roughness Ra of the large end face 16 of the tapered roller 12 can be measured by any method, for example, using a surface roughness measuring machine (for example, Mitutoyo Surface Roughness Measuring Machine Surftest SV-3100). The arithmetic surface roughness Ra of the big end face 16 can be measured, for example, by bringing the stylus of the measuring machine into contact with the big end face 16 of the tapered roller 12 . In addition, in the large end face 16, the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the arithmetic surface roughness Ra of the convex portion 16A, which is the circumferential surface region in contact with the large flange surface, is any 4 or less of the convex portion 16A. It can be obtained by measuring the arithmetic surface roughness Ra at each location using a surface roughness measuring machine and calculating the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the arithmetic surface roughness at the four locations.

<Action and effect of tapered roller bearing>
The present inventor paid attention to the following matters regarding tapered roller bearings and came up with the configuration of the tapered roller bearings described above.
(1) The ratio between the set radius of curvature of the large end face of the tapered roller and the actual radius of curvature after processing (2) The shape of the pocket of the retainer and the notch provided in the pocket (3) Suppression of the skew of the tapered roller Shape of raceway surface of inner and outer rings (4) Application of logarithmic crowning to rolling surface of tapered rollers (5) Application of nitrogen-enriched layer to tapered rollers, inner rings and outer rings The characteristic configurations of tapered roller bearings are listed below.

By setting the ratio R/R _BASE between the set curvature radius R and the distance R _BASE as described above, a sufficient oil film thickness can be obtained at the contact portion between the large end surface 16 of the tapered roller 12 and the large flange surface 18 of the inner ring 13. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of contact and wear between the tapered roller 12 and the large flange surface 18 by ensuring the rigidity, and suppress the heat generation at the contact portion.

The value of the ratio R/R _BASE was determined with reference to the following findings. FIG. 17 shows the result of calculating the oil film thickness t formed between the large flange surface 18 of the inner ring 13 and the large end surface 16 of the tapered roller 12 using Karna's formula. The vertical axis is the ratio t/t0 of the oil film thickness t to the oil film thickness t0 when R/R _BASE =0.76. The oil film thickness t reaches a maximum when R/R _BASE =0.76, and sharply decreases when R/R _BASE exceeds 0.87.

FIG. 18 shows the results of calculation of the maximum hertzian stress P between the large flange surface 18 of the inner ring 13 and the large end surface 16 of the tapered roller 12 . The vertical axis represents the ratio P/P0 to the maximum hertz stress P0 when R/R _BASE =0.76, as in FIG. The maximum Hertzian stress P decreases monotonically with increasing R/R _BASE . In order to reduce torque loss and heat generation due to sliding friction between the large flange surface 18 of the inner ring 13 and the large end surface 16 of the tapered roller 12, it is desirable to increase the oil film thickness t and reduce the maximum hertz stress P. The inventors of the present invention determined the condition of the ratio R/R _BASE by referring to the calculation results of FIGS. 17 and 18 and taking into account the result of the seizure resistance test and the intersection range at the time of manufacture.

Here, as shown in FIG. 17, the relationship between the set curvature radius R and the distance R _BASE is uniquely determined by the relationship between the oil film thickness t and the Karna equation. However, as will be described later, as R _BASE increases, the skew angle of the roller tends to increase. Therefore, the numerical range of the ratio R/R _BASE is set in consideration of the influence of the skew angle.

Here, as shown in FIG. 17, the relationship between the ratio R/R _BASE and the oil film thickness is specified using Karna's formula. , the operating conditions of the bearing, such as the viscosity of the lubricating oil. According to the inventor's study, if such other factors are taken into consideration comprehensively, the oil film thickness can be sufficiently maintained on average when the ratio R/R _BASE is about 0.8. Therefore, as described above, the range of the value of the ratio R/R _BASE is determined with 0.8 as the median value.

Further, by setting the value of the _ratio R _process /R between the actual radius of curvature R process and the set radius of curvature R as described above, the contact surface between the large end surface 16 of the tapered roller 12 and the large flange surface 18 of the inner ring 13 can be obtained. pressure can be reduced. Further, the skew of the tapered roller 12 can be suppressed, and the oil film thickness at the contact portion between the large end surface 16 and the large flange surface 18 can be stably ensured.

In the tapered roller bearing 10, nitrogen-enriched layers 11B, 12B, and 13B may be formed in at least one of the outer ring 11, the inner ring 13, and the tapered rollers 12 as tapered rollers. Such a tapered roller bearing 10 has an improved rolling contact fatigue life and has a long life and high durability. Furthermore, since the nitrogen-enriched layers 11B, 12B, and 13B are formed, the temper softening resistance is improved, so that when the contact portion between the large end surface 16 and the large collar surface 18 is heated by sliding contact, However, it can exhibit high seizure resistance. Nitrogen-enriched layers 12B and 13B may be formed on both the large end surface 16 and the large collar surface 18 . The nitrogen-enriched layer 12B may be formed in the circumferential surface region (projections 16A) of the large end face 16. FIG.

In the tapered roller bearing 10, the prior austenite crystal grain size in the nitrogen-enriched layers 11B, 12B, and 13B may have a JIS standard grain size number of 10 or more. In this case, since the nitrogen-enriched layers 11B, 12B, and 13B are formed in which the prior austenite crystal grain size is sufficiently refined, the rolling contact fatigue life is high, and the Charpy impact value, fracture toughness value, crushing A tapered roller bearing 10 having improved strength can be obtained.

In the tapered roller bearing 10, the width of the rolling surface of the tapered roller 12 in the extending direction of the rolling shaft is L, and the contact position between the inner ring raceway surface 13A and the rolling surface 12A is The ratio α/L between the width L and the amount of deviation α may be 0% or more and less than 20%, where α is the amount of deviation from the midpoint N of 12A toward the large end face 16 side. From a different point of view, it is preferable that the contact position is at the center position of the rolling surface 12A in the extending direction of the rolling shaft or on the large end surface 16 side of the center position. In this case, compared to the case where the contact position is on the small end face side of the center position of the rolling contact surface in the extending direction of the rolling shaft, the tangential force generation position (large end face 16 and inner ring Since the distance from the position of contact with the large flange surface 18 of 13 to the contact position can be reduced, the skew angle of the roller can be reduced, and an increase in rotational torque can be suppressed.

In the tapered roller bearing 10, the inner ring 13 may be provided with relief portions 25A at corners where the inner ring raceway surface 13A and the large flange surface 18 intersect. In this case, the end of the rolling surface 12A of the tapered roller 12 on the side of the large end surface 16 is located in the escape portion 25A, so that the end can be prevented from coming into contact with the inner ring 13 .

In the tapered roller bearing 10, in a cross section passing through the central axis of the inner ring 13, the inner ring raceway surface 13A and the outer ring raceway surface 11A may be linear or arcuate. A crowning may be formed on the rolling surface 12A of the tapered roller 12 . The sum of the crowning drop amounts is defined by K ₁ , K ₂ , and z _m as design parameters, Q is the load, L is the generatrix length of the effective contact portion of the rolling surface 12A of the tapered roller 12, E' is the equivalent elastic modulus, and a is the effective contact from the origin taken on the generatrix of the rolling surface 12A of the tapered roller 12. It may be represented by the formula (1) when the length to the end of the part is A=2K ₁ Q/πLE′.

In this case, the rolling contact surface 12A of the tapered roller 12 is provided with a crowning whose profile is represented by a logarithmic function (so-called logarithmic crowning) such that the sum of the drop amounts is represented by the above equation (1). A local increase in surface pressure can be suppressed compared to the case where a conventional crowning represented by a partial arc is formed, and the occurrence of wear on the rolling surface 12A of the tapered roller 12 can be suppressed.

In a cross section passing through the central axis of the inner ring 13, the inner ring raceway surface 13A and the outer ring raceway surface 11A are linear or arcuate, and the central portion of the rolling surface 12A of the tapered roller 12 is, for example, a straight surface. Since so-called logarithmic crowning is provided contiguously with the straight surface, the size of the contact area between the rolling surface 12A of the tapered roller 12 and the inner ring raceway surface 13A and the outer ring raceway surface 11A (for example, the major axis dimension of the contact ellipse) can be lengthened, and as a result the skew can be suppressed. Furthermore, variations in contact positions between the inner ring raceway surface 13A or the outer ring raceway surface 11A and the rolling surface 12A can be reduced.

In addition, if the dimension of the contact area between the rolling contact surface 12A and the inner ring raceway surface 13A and the outer ring raceway surface 11A (for example, the major axis dimension of the contact ellipse) is lengthened as described above, the rollers can be In the case where conventional full crowning is formed on the edge, there is a risk that edge surface pressure will be generated at the end in the direction of the generatrix. However, since logarithmic crowning is applied to the tapered rollers 12 in the tapered roller bearing 10, the occurrence of such edge surface pressure can be suppressed while ensuring the necessary dimension of the contact area.

Here, the effect of logarithmic crowning described above will be described in more detail. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the contour of a roller provided with a crowning whose contour is represented by a logarithmic function and the contact surface pressure on the rolling surface of the roller superimposed. FIG. 20 is a diagram superimposing the contour line of the roller and the contact surface pressure on the rolling surface of the roller with the auxiliary arc between the crowning and the straight portion of the partial arc. The vertical axis on the left side of FIGS. 19 and 20 indicates the amount of crowning drop (unit: mm). The horizontal axis in FIGS. 19 and 20 indicates the axial position (unit: mm) in the roller. The vertical axis on the right side of FIGS. 19 and 20 indicates the contact surface pressure (unit: GPa).

When the contour line of the rolling surface of the tapered roller is formed into a shape having a partial circular arc crowning and a straight portion, as shown in FIG. However, if the curvature is discontinuous, the contact surface pressure locally increases. Therefore, there is a possibility that the oil film may run out or the surface may be damaged. If a lubricating film with a sufficient thickness is not formed, wear due to metal contact is likely to occur. When the contact surface is partially worn, metal contact is more likely to occur in the vicinity of the contact surface, which accelerates the wear of the contact surface and causes the inconvenience of damaging the tapered rollers.

Therefore, when a crowning whose profile is represented by a logarithmic function is provided on the rolling surface of the tapered roller as the contact surface, for example, as shown in FIG. 19, a crowning represented by a partial arc in FIG. The local surface pressure is lower than in the case, and it is possible to make it difficult for the contact surface to wear. Therefore, even when the film thickness of the lubricating film becomes thin due to the decrease in the amount or viscosity of the lubricant present on the rolling surface of the tapered roller, it is possible to prevent wear of the contact surface and damage to the tapered roller. can be done. In FIGS. 19 and 20, an orthogonal coordinate system having the generatrix direction of the roller as the horizontal axis and the orthogonal direction of the generatrix as the vertical axis is shown. is set to show the outline of the roller, and the contact surface pressure is superimposed with the surface pressure on the vertical axis. Thus, by adopting the configuration as described above, it is possible to realize the tapered roller bearing 10 that exhibits a long life and high durability.

In the tapered roller bearing 10, the _{ratio Rprocess} /R between the actual curvature radius _Rprocess and the set curvature radius R may be 0.8 or more.

In this case, the tapered roller bearing 10 applied to the transmission of an automobile does not have a good lubricating environment as compared to the case of applying to other mechanical devices (for example, differential devices), so the ratio R _process /R is set to 0.8 or more. By doing so, the oil film thickness at the contact portion between the large end surface 16 of the tapered roller 12 and the large flange surface 18 of the inner ring 13 can be made sufficiently thick.

In the tapered roller bearing 10, the large end face 16 of the tapered roller 12 may have an arithmetic surface roughness Ra of 0.10 μmRa or less. In this case, a sufficient oil film thickness can be ensured at the contact portion between the large end surface 16 of the tapered roller 12 and the large flange surface 18 of the inner ring 13 .

Here, the relationship between the skew angle of the tapered rollers 12 and the ratio R/R _BASE will be examined. The ratio R/R _BASE is based on the condition that the large end faces 16 of the tapered tapered rollers 12 are in contact with a set ideal spherical surface (not including machining error). Table 4 shows the relationship between the ratio R/R _BASE and the skew angle of the tapered roller 12.

As shown in Table 4, the skew angle increases as the R/R _BASE ratio of the roller decreases. On the other hand, the radius of curvature R of the large end surface 16 of the tapered roller 12 shown in FIG. , the ideal single arc curve satisfies the condition of R152=R364=R1564. However, actually, as shown in FIG. 7, the large end face 16 of the tapered roller 12 does not form part of one spherical surface centered on the apex of the cone angle of the tapered roller 12 . As shown in FIG. 7, the R152 of one side is not the same as the R1564 of the entire large end face 16, and is smaller than the R1564.

As shown in FIG. 7, when both end surfaces of the large end surface 16 of the tapered roller 12 are sagging, the large end surface 16 and the large flange surface 18 of the inner ring 13 contact only one side of the large end surface 16 (the convex portion 16A). Therefore, the calculated R dimension of the large end face 16 is R152 (the actual curvature radius R _process in FIG. 7), which is smaller than the ideal R dimension (the set curvature radius R) (the ratio R _process /R is small). Become). As a result, the contact surface pressure between the large collar surface 18 and the large end surface 16 increases, and the skew angle also increases. When the skew angle increases, the contact ellipse formed at the contact portion between the tapered roller 12 and the large flange surface 18 protrudes beyond the large flange surface 18, cutting the oil film, which may result in galling and seizure.

Here, in an environment where lubrication is not sufficient, if the skew angle of the tapered roller 12 increases and the contact surface pressure at the contact portion between the large flange surface 18 and the large end surface 16 also increases, the tapered roller 12 and the large flange The oil film parameter Λ between surfaces 18 is reduced. When the oil film parameter Λ becomes less than 1, boundary lubrication occurs where metallic contact begins. As a result, the contact portion between the large end surface 16 of the tapered roller 12 and the large flange surface 18 of the inner ring begins to wear, and if this state continues, the wear will be further accelerated, increasing the risk of seizure.

Here, the oil film parameter Λ is defined as "the ratio of the root-mean-square roughness of the large end surface and inner ring large flange surface at the oil film thickness h determined by elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory to the combined roughness σ". That is, the oil film parameter Λ=h/σ. Arithmetic mean roughness Ra and root mean square roughness Rq generally have a relationship of Rq=1.25Ra, where _Rq1 is the mean square roughness of the large end face of the roller and Rq is the mean square roughness of the large flange face. ₂ , the combined roughness σ can be expressed as σ=√((Rq ₁ ² +Rq ₂ ² )/2) using this Rq.

The oil film parameter Λ depends on the combined roughness σ, and the smaller the value of σ, the thicker the oil film can be. Therefore, the surface roughness of the large end surface 16 of the tapered roller 12 and the large flange surface 18 of the inner ring 13 should be equivalent to superfinishing, and the value of σ should preferably be 0.09 μmRq or less.

As a result of examining the effect of the difference between the set curvature radius R and the curvature radius of the large end surface of the tapered roller (actual curvature radius R _process ) accompanying the grinding process described above, the ratio of the actual curvature radius R _process to the set curvature radius R Focusing on , we verified the relationship between the contact surface pressure between the large end face and the large flange face, the oil film thickness, the skew angle, and the oil film parameters. Furthermore, to verify the practical range of the ratio between the actual curvature radius R _process and the set curvature radius R, the peak of the lubricating oil usage temperature between the large flange surface of the inner ring and the large end surface of the tapered roller, which are in sliding contact, It has been found that the level of lubrication severity at the time has an effect.

For this reason, an index representing the severity level of the lubricating state between the large flange surface of the inner ring and the large end surface of the tapered roller at the peak of the operating temperature of the lubricating oil was examined as follows. (1) Focusing on the fact that the state of lubrication between the large flange surface of the inner ring and the large end surface of the tapered roller is determined by the radius of curvature (actual radius of curvature R _process ) of the large end surface of the large tapered roller and the operating temperature of the lubricating oil. bottom. (2) In addition, we paid attention to the viscosity of the lubricating oil that is assumed to be used for transmissions and differentials, and considered practical use. (3) Then, as the maximum condition at the peak of the lubricating oil working temperature, an extremely severe temperature condition of 120° C. and continuing for 3 minutes (180 seconds) was assumed. This temperature condition is the maximum condition at the time of peak, meaning that it will return to a steady state after about 3 minutes. This temperature condition is hereinafter referred to as "assumed peak temperature condition". We found that a threshold value for setting the ratio between the actual curvature radius R _process and the set curvature radius R that does not cause a rapid temperature rise in a lubricating state that takes into account the viscosity characteristics of the lubricating oil in addition to this "assumed peak temperature condition" is found. rice field.

Based on the above findings, the inventors devised that an index representing the severity level of the lubrication state can be obtained by the following equation, depending on the lubrication state in which the viscosity of the lubricating oil is added to the "assumed peak temperature conditions". This index is referred to in this specification as a "flange lubrication coefficient".
"Lubrication coefficient"=120° C. viscosity×(oil film thickness h) ² /180 seconds Here, the oil film thickness h can be obtained, for example, from the following Karna equation.

Here, it can be said that the "rib lubrication coefficient" set this time is an absolute evaluation index value that can determine the rib lubrication limit of the tapered roller bearing. When used in automobile applications under conditions different from the above, or when used in applications other than automobile applications, the maximum temperature, viscosity, or assumed peak temperature conditions of the lubricating oil may be appropriately changed to The severity of the lubricating state can be determined by calculating a lubrication coefficient and comparing it with a threshold to be described later. Furthermore, even if the large brim surface of the inner ring is a curved surface (middle concave side) instead of a substantially straight line as in the present invention, the combination of the geometric shape formed by the curved large brim surface and the large end surface of the roller If the "flange lubrication coefficient" is derived from the calculated oil film thickness, it can be determined by comparing with a threshold value described later. That is, in the present specification, the "rib lubrication coefficient" is an index value that evaluates the severity of the lubricating state of the tapered roller bearing expressed as an absolute evaluation based on the oil film thickness usage conditions. In order to improve the seizure resistance of a tapered roller bearing, the present inventor has come up with a new idea of defining the ratio between the optimum radius of curvature of the large end face of the tapered roller and the actual radius of curvature after machining. In optimizing , we introduced the "collar lubrication coefficient", which enabled absolute evaluation in actual use as described above, and evaluated it. Based on this evaluation, it was possible to generalize and derive the definition of the above ratio that contributes to improving the seizure resistance of tapered roller bearings, which are not limited to specific applications.

Next, a tapered roller bearing according to a modification of the embodiment of the invention will be described. In the tapered roller bearing according to the modified example of the present embodiment, the severity level of the lubricating state, which takes into account the "assumed peak temperature conditions" and the viscosity characteristics of the lubricating oil, is somewhat relaxed compared to general tapered roller bearings. The difference is that it is used at a specified level and that the practical range of the ratio between the actual radius of curvature R _process and the set radius of curvature R of the large end face of the tapered roller is expanded. Other configurations and technical contents are the same as those of the tapered roller bearing according to the above-described embodiment, so all the contents of the description of the tapered roller bearing according to the above-described embodiment are applied mutatis mutandis, and only different points are described. do.

In the tapered roller bearing according to the modified example of the present embodiment, SAE 75W-90, which is a gear oil often used for differentials, was used as a sample, and the "rib portion lubrication coefficient" was calculated. The 120° C. viscosity of 75W-90 is 10.3 cSt (=10.3 mm ² /s), and the oil film thickness h obtained from Equation (2) is the ratio of the actual curvature radius R _process to the set curvature radius R. Table 5 for values.

The 120° C. viscosity of 75W-90 is slightly higher than that of VG32, and the lubricating state, which takes into account the viscosity characteristics of the lubricating oil in addition to the “assumed peak temperature conditions”, is a slightly relaxed condition compared to the case of the above-described embodiment. becomes. This lubricating state is referred to herein as a "severe lubricating state".

A seizure resistance test using a rotation tester was performed on tapered roller bearings according to modifications of the embodiment of the present invention. The test conditions for the seizure resistance test are as follows.
<Test conditions>
・Applied load: radial load 4000N, axial load 7000N
・Rotation speed: 7000min ^-1
・ Lubricant: SAE 75W-90
・Test bearing: tapered roller bearing (inner diameter φ35 mm, outer diameter φ74 mm, width 18 mm)
For each value of the ratio between the actual curvature radius R _process and the set curvature radius R, the contact surface pressure between the large end face and the large collar face, the oil film thickness, the skew angle, the oil film parameter, and the results of the "flange lubrication coefficient" are shown in Table 6. Table 6 shows the contact surface pressure, oil film thickness, skew angle, and oil film _parameters as ratios. and 0 is added to each code.

Table 7 shows details of test results (1) to (6) and overall judgments (1) to (6) in Table 6.

From the results in Tables 6 and 7, in the "severe lubrication state" where 75W-90 gear oil such as differential is used, the ratio R _process /R between the actual radius of curvature R _process and the set radius of curvature R is 0.5. It was concluded that 5 or more is desirable. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the ratio _Rprocess /R between the actual curvature radius _Rprocess and the set curvature radius R is set to 0.5 or more. Thus, by introducing the "collar lubrication coefficient" as an index representing the severity level of the lubricating state, it is possible to expand the practical range of the ratio between the actual curvature radius R _process and the set curvature radius R. can. As a result, appropriate bearing specifications can be selected according to usage conditions.

When setting the ratio between the practicable actual curvature radius R _process and the set curvature radius R, only the vicinity of the threshold value may be tested and confirmed. This can reduce design man-hours. In addition, in the "severe lubrication state" in Table 6, even when the ratio R _process /R between the actual curvature radius R _process and the set curvature radius R was 0.4, a sufficient "collar lubrication coefficient" was obtained. In a "severe lubricating state" using lubricating oil with a slightly lower viscosity than Table 6, when the ratio R _process /R between the actual curvature radius R _process and the set curvature radius R is 0.4, the threshold 8 × Since there is a possibility that 10 ⁻⁹ or more is not satisfied, and the skew angle becomes large, the ratio R _process /R between the actual curvature radius R _process and the set curvature radius R should be 0.5 or more. be.

Further, for tapered roller bearings according to other modifications of the embodiment of the present invention, turbine oil ISO viscosity grade VG32, which is a lubricating oil often used in transmissions, was used as a sample to calculate the "rib lubrication coefficient". The viscosity of VG32 at 120° C. was 7.7 cSt (=7.7 mm ² /s), and the oil film thickness h was obtained from Equation (2). Table 8 shows the oil film thickness h for each value of the ratio between the actual radius of curvature R _process and the set radius of curvature R.

The 120° C. viscosity of VG32 is low, and the lubricating state in which the viscosity of the lubricating oil is added to the "assumed peak temperature conditions" becomes extremely severe conditions. This lubricating state is referred to in this specification as "extremely severe lubricating state".

At the same time, a seizure resistance test was conducted using a rotation tester. The test conditions for the seizure resistance test are as follows.
<Test conditions>
・Applied load: radial load 4000N, axial load 7000N
・Rotational speed: 7000 min ^-1
・Lubricating oil: Turbine oil ISO VG32
・Test bearing: tapered roller bearing (inner diameter φ35 mm, outer diameter φ74 mm, width 18 mm)
For each value of the ratio between the actual curvature radius R _process and the set curvature radius R, the contact surface pressure between the large end face and the large collar face, the oil film thickness, the skew angle, the oil film parameter, and the results of the "flange lubrication coefficient" are shown in Table 9. Table 9 shows the contact surface pressure, oil film thickness, skew angle, and oil film _parameters as ratios. and 0 is added to each code.

Table 10 shows the details of test results (1) to (6) and overall judgments (1) to (6) in Table 9.

From the results in Tables 9 and 10, in the "extremely severe lubricating state" in which low-viscosity VG32, which is transmission oil, is used, the ratio _Rprocess /R between the actual radius of curvature _Rprocess and the set radius of curvature R is 0.5. It was concluded that 8 or more is desirable. Therefore, in the tapered roller bearing according to another modification of the present embodiment, the ratio _Rprocess /R between the actual curvature radius _Rprocess and the set curvature radius R is set to 0.8 or more.

The results in Tables 9 and 10 revealed the following. When comparing the calculated "collar lubrication coefficient" with _the results of the anti-seizure test, ^the ratio R _process / It was confirmed that setting R is practical. As a result, the threshold value for setting the ratio R _process /R between the actual radius of curvature R _process and the set radius of curvature R that can be used can be used as the "collar portion lubrication coefficient"=8×10 ⁻⁹ .

<Manufacturing method of tapered roller bearing>
FIG. 21 is a flow chart for explaining a method of manufacturing the tapered roller bearing shown in FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram showing a heat treatment pattern in the heat treatment process of FIG. 21. FIG. FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram showing a modification of the heat treatment pattern shown in FIG. A method of manufacturing the tapered roller bearing 10 will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 21, first, a component preparation step (S100) is performed. In this step (S100), members to be bearing parts such as the outer ring 11, the inner ring 13, the tapered rollers 12 and the retainer 14 are prepared. The member to be the tapered roller 12 has not yet been crowned, and the surface of the member is a pre-machining surface 12E indicated by the dotted line in FIG.

Next, a heat treatment step (S200) is performed. In this step (S200), a predetermined heat treatment is performed in order to control the characteristics of the bearing component. For example, in order to form the nitrogen-enriched layers 11B, 12B, and 13B according to the present embodiment on at least one of the outer ring 11, the tapered rollers 12, and the inner ring 13, carbonitriding or nitriding, quenching, and quenching are performed. Carry out return processing, etc. FIG. 22 shows an example of a heat treatment pattern in this step (S200). FIG. 22 shows a heat treatment pattern showing how to perform primary hardening and secondary hardening. FIG. 23 shows a heat treatment pattern showing how the material is cooled below the _A1 transformation temperature during quenching and then reheated for final quenching. In these figures, in treatment _T1 , carbon and nitrogen are diffused into the base steel and the carbon is sufficiently dissolved, and then the steel is cooled below the _A1 transformation point. Next, in treatment _T2 in the figure, the steel is reheated to a temperature lower than that of treatment _T1 , and then subjected to oil quenching. After that, tempering treatment is performed at a heating temperature of 180° C., for example.

According to the above heat treatment, compared to ordinary quenching, i.e., carbonitriding followed by one quenching, the surface layer portion of the bearing part is carbonitrided, the crack strength is improved, and the aging dimensional change rate is reduced. can be done. According to the heat treatment step (S200), in the nitrogen-enriched layers 11B, 12B, and 13B, which have a quenched structure, the grain size of the prior austenite crystal grains is compared with the microstructure in the conventional quenched structure shown in FIG. It is possible to obtain a microstructure as shown in FIG. A bearing component that has undergone the above heat treatment has a long life against rolling contact fatigue, can have improved crack strength, and can have a reduced rate of dimensional change over time.

Next, a processing step (S300) is performed. In this step (S300), finishing is performed so as to obtain the final shape of each bearing component. As for the tapered roller 12, a crowning 22A and a chamfer 21 are formed by machining such as cutting as shown in FIG.

Next, an assembly process (S400) is performed. In this step (S400), the tapered roller bearing 10 shown in FIG. 1 is obtained by assembling the bearing components prepared as described above. Thus, the tapered roller bearing 10 shown in FIG. 1 can be manufactured.

<Application examples of tapered roller bearings>
Next, an example of application of the tapered roller bearing according to the present embodiment will be described. The tapered roller bearing according to the present embodiment is preferably incorporated in a vehicle power transmission device such as a differential or a transmission. That is, the tapered roller bearing according to this embodiment is suitable for use as a tapered roller bearing for automobiles. FIG. 24 shows an automobile differential using the tapered roller bearing 10 described above. This differential is connected to a propeller shaft (not shown), and a drive pinion 122 inserted through a differential case 121 meshes with a ring gear 124 attached to a differential gear case 123, and is attached inside the differential gear case 123. The pinion gear 125 is meshed with a side gear 126 connected to a drive shaft (not shown) inserted through the differential gear case 123 from the left and right, so that the driving force of the engine is transmitted from the propeller shaft to the left and right drive shafts. It's like In this differential, a drive pinion 122 as a power transmission shaft and a differential gear case 123 are respectively supported by a pair of tapered roller bearings 10a and 10b. It should be noted that the tapered roller bearing 10 may be used not only in a differential of an automobile but also in a transmission.

By the way, in the transmission or differential, which are the power transmission devices of automobiles, there is a tendency to lower the viscosity of the lubricating oil (oil) or to reduce the amount of oil in order to save fuel. It may be difficult to form a strong oil film. Therefore, by incorporating the tapered roller bearing 10 with improved life into a transmission or differential, the above requirements can be met.

<Modification>
As shown in FIG. 25, the small annular portion 106 on the narrow side of the pocket 109 may also be provided with a notch 110c. In this case, the total area of the three notches 110a and 110c on the narrow side is larger than the total area of the two notches 110b on the wide side. The notch 110c has a depth of 1.0 mm and a width of 5.7 mm, for example.

Thus, by providing the notch 110c also in the small annular portion 106 on the narrow side of the pocket 109, the lubricating oil flowing from the inner diameter side of the retainer 14 to the inner ring side can also flow through the notch 10c of the small annular portion 106. By reducing the amount of lubricating oil that escapes to the outer ring side and reaches the large flange along the raceway surface of the inner ring 13, the torque loss due to the flow resistance of the lubricating oil can be further reduced.

A radially inward flange 50 facing the outer diameter surface of the small flange portion 42 of the inner ring 13 is provided on the axially outer side of the small annular portion 106 of the retainer 14, as shown in FIG. . As shown in FIG. 26, the clearance δ between the inner diameter surface of the collar 50 of the small annular portion 106 and the outer diameter surface of the small flange portion 42 of the inner ring 13, which are opposed to each other, is 2 times the outer diameter of the small flange portion 42. It may be narrowly set to 0% or less.

A radially inward facing flange 50 facing the outer diameter surface of the small flange portion 42 of the inner ring 13 is provided outside the small annular portion 106 of the retainer 14 in the axial direction. and the outer diameter surface of the small rib portion 42 of the inner ring 13 is set to 2.0% or less of the outer diameter dimension of the small rib portion 42 of the inner ring 13. By reducing the amount of lubricating oil flowing into the inner ring 13 side, the torque loss due to the flow resistance of the lubricating oil can be further reduced.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described as above, it is also possible to modify the above-described embodiment in various ways. Also, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the scope of claims, and is intended to include all changes within the meaning and scope of equivalence to the scope of claims.

Reference Signs List 10, 10a, 120A, 120B Bearing 11 Outer ring 11A Outer ring raceway surface 11B, 12B, 13B Nitrogen-enriched layer 11C, 12C, 13C Unnitrided portion 12 Tapered roller 12A Rolling surface 12E Surface before machining 13 Inner ring 13A Inner ring raceway surface 14 Cage 16 Large end surface 16A Convex portion 16B Concave portion 16C, 21 Chamfered portion 17 Small end surface 18 Large flange surface 18A Flank surface 19 Small flange surface 22, 24 Crowning Part 22A Crowning 23 Straight part (central part) 25A, 25B Escape part 26 Center line 27 Contact part crowning part 31 First measurement point 32 Second measurement point 33 Third measurement point 41 Large brim 100 Manual Transmission 106 Small Annular Part 107 Large Annular Part 108 Post 109 Pocket.

Claims (4)

an outer ring having an outer ring raceway surface on its inner peripheral surface;
an inner ring having an inner ring raceway surface on its outer peripheral surface and a large flange surface arranged on a larger diameter side than the inner ring raceway surface, and arranged inside the outer ring;
A plurality of tapered rollers arranged between the outer ring raceway surface and the inner ring raceway surface, each having a rolling surface in contact with the outer ring raceway surface and the inner ring raceway surface, and a large end surface in contact with the large flange surface. and
The large end face includes a chamfered portion arranged on the outermost periphery of the large end face, a convex portion annularly arranged on the inner peripheral side of the chamfered portion, and a concave portion arranged on the inner peripheral side of the convex portion. including
The large end face is ground,
In a cross section along the rolling axis of the tapered roller, the large end face includes points C1 and C4 connecting the outer peripheral end of the convex portion and the chamfered portion, and the inner peripheral end of the convex portion and the concave portion. , an intermediate point P5 between the points C1 and C2 on the big end surface, and an intermediate point P6 between the points C3 and C4 on the big end surface,
In the cross section, R _virtual is the virtual radius of curvature of the big end surface of the tapered roller, which is the radius of curvature of a single arc passing through the point C1, the intermediate point P5, the intermediate point P6, and the point C4. When the actual radius of curvature of the large end face of the tapered roller passing through the point C1, the intermediate point C5, and the point C2 is defined as R _process , the actual radius of curvature R _process is shorter than the virtual radius of curvature R _virtual . A tapered roller bearing, wherein a ratio _Rprocess /Rvirtual between the actual radius of curvature _Rprocess and the _virtual radius of curvature _Rvirtual is 0.5 or more. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said large end face of said tapered roller, a difference between a maximum value and a minimum value of arithmetic surface roughness Ra of a circumferential surface region in contact with said large flange face is 0.02 μm or less. tapered roller bearings. In a cross section passing through the central axis of the inner ring, the inner ring raceway surface and the outer ring raceway surface are linear or arc-shaped,
A crowning is formed on the rolling surface of the tapered roller,
The sum of the crowning drop amounts is defined by K ₁ , K ₂ , and z _m as design parameters in a yz coordinate system having the generatrix of the rolling surface of the tapered roller as the y-axis and the direction orthogonal to the generatrix as the z-axis. , Q is the load, L is the length of the effective contact portion of the rolling surface of the tapered roller in the generatrix direction, E' is the equivalent elastic modulus, and a is the origin taken on the generatrix of the rolling surface of the tapered roller. 3. The tapered roller bearing according to claim 1, wherein the length to the end of said effective contact portion is represented by formula (1) when A=2K ₁ Q/πLE'.

The tapered roller bearing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the large end surface of the tapered roller has an arithmetic surface roughness Ra of 0.10 µmRa or less.

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