JPH042753Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an automatic assembly device for constant velocity ball joints.

(Prior Art) In recent years, with the development of automobiles, the demand for constant velocity ball joints has increased, and therefore accurate and quick assembly devices are required. One of the things that can meet this demand is, for example,
There is a device disclosed in Publication No. 17923.

This assembly device is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 a and b.
This is a method for assembling a constant velocity ball joint A shown in FIG. 11, and will be explained using FIGS. 11 to 13.

First, the constant velocity ball joint A includes an outer race A1, a ball cage A2 and an inner race A3 that are incorporated into the outer race A1.
Guide groove of outer race A1 and inner race A
3 guide groove and the cage window A4 of the ball cage A2.
A plurality of steel balls A5 that come into contact through the
It consists of:

The conventional assembling device has a shaft portion A of an outer race A1 of a constant velocity ball joint A.
6 and outer race A1
A slide block having an inner race tilting arm 4 in which a fitting head 2 which can be fitted to an inner race A3 inside is attached to a tiltable handle 3, and a work receiver 5 which can be engaged with a ball cage A2 in an outer race A1. 6 is attached to a tiltable handle 7, and a steel ball press-fitting device 10 for pushing a steel ball A5 into a cage window A4 of a ball cage A2 by means of a screw 9.

The effect of this configuration is that first, the fitting head 2 of the inner race tilting arm 4 and the work receiver 5 of the cage tilting arm 8 are retracted upward, and then the ball cage A2 and the inner race A3 are retracted upward.
Insert the assembled outer race A1 into the pusher 1 and fix it with appropriate means such as screws. Subsequently, the fitting head 2 is lowered to fit into the inner race A3. Next, by lowering the slide block 6, the ball cage A is moved to the workpiece receiver 5.
Press the top edge of 2. Next, the handle 3 is tilted from the vertical position and the inner race tilting arm 4 is tilted and fixed by a predetermined inner race inclination angle α, thereby fixing the inner race A3 at an angle α as shown in FIG. Furthermore, handle 7
By tilting the ball cage A2 from the vertical position and tilting and fixing the cage tilting arm 8 by a predetermined cage inclination angle β, the ball cage A2 is tilted and fixed at the angle β as shown in FIG. Due to this inclination of the ball cage A2, one of the cage windows A4 is exposed to the outside of the outer race A1. The press-fitting cylinder 11 of the steel ball press-fitting device 10 is fixed at an inclination angle β so as to face the exposed cage window, and the steel ball A5, which has been locked in advance with the ball plunger 12, is pushed in from the inlet 11a to advance the screw 9. and press fit. In this way, the steel ball A5 is reliably transferred to the cage window A4 of the ball cage A2 and the inner race A.
It can be pushed into the guide groove of No. 3.

After one ball is press-fitted, the inner race tilting arm 4 and the cage tilting arm 8 are returned to their original vertical positions. Next, the fixation of the outer race A1 by the pusher 1 is released, and the outer race A1 is rotated by a predetermined angle to the next steel ball press-fitting position. Thereafter, the above-described press-fitting operation of the steel balls A5 is repeated to complete the assembly of the second and subsequent steel balls A5.

In the above device, the operation of the inner race tilting arm 4 and the cage tilting arm 8 is automated using an actuator, while the steel balls are automatically supplied to the steel ball press-fitting device 10 by a ball parts feeder. By automating the ball press-fitting operation using an actuator and also automatically determining the rotational position of the outer race A1, it is easily possible to create a fully automatic assembly device.

Next, the assembled constant velocity ball joint is
The worker judges whether each piece is good or bad by feeling the bending torque and rotation torque in his hands, and then confirms that there are no missing steel balls, and then inspects whether the product is good or defective.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) However, the above-mentioned device had the following problems.

This assembly apparatus has a problem in that it is necessary to return the inner race tilting arm 4 and the gauge tilting arm 8 to the vertical position each time one steel ball A5 is press-fitted, which takes a lot of time.

In addition, after assembly, the constant velocity ball joint is removed from the assembly equipment and the worker inspects it by feeling, which reduces productivity and causes errors in the inspection process due to misjudgment or separation of processes. There was a problem in that defective products were assembled into automobiles etc. without passing through.

The present invention was devised in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to enable steel ball assembly and post-assembly inspection to be performed using a single assembly device without removing the outer race. do.

(Means for Solving the Problems) As a means to solve the above problems and achieve the purpose, the outer race of a constant velocity ball joint is supported on the main body base, and the outer race is rotated around its axis. An inner race includes a work rotation unit having a main shaft that moves in the axial direction, and tilts an inner race and a ball cage in an outer race located in the movement direction of the work rotation unit and supported by the work rotation unit at a certain angle, respectively. A tilting unit for driving the tilting unit and the cage tilting unit by the same drive source is provided, a ball supply unit is provided for inserting steel balls by their own weight into the cage window of the tilted ball cage, and the work rotation unit further includes: A torque meter is provided to measure rotational torque when the main shaft of the work rotation unit is rotated with the inner race in the outer race tilted by the inner race tilting arm.

(effect) The above configuration works as follows.

After incorporating the inner race and the ball gauge and supporting the outer race on the work rotation unit, the outer race is moved in its axial direction to engage the inner race and the ball gauge with the inner race receiver and the gauge tilting arm. Subsequently, the inner race receiver and the gauge tilting arm are simultaneously tilted by one drive source of the tilting unit to tilt the inner race and the ball gauge at predetermined angles, respectively.

By tilting the inner race and the ball gauge, the cage window of the ball gauge is exposed to the outside, and steel balls are dropped by their own weight from the ball supply unit into the exposed gauge window.

When the work rotation unit is rotated with the inner race and ball gauge tilted, the gauge windows of the ball gauge will be exposed one after another. are inserted and assembled into the gauge window one after another by their own weight.

In this way, after rotating the main shaft once and inserting the steel ball, the main shaft is rotated with the inner race held tilted, and the upper limit, lower limit, and fluctuation range of the rotational torque are measured using a torque meter.

Judgment as to whether a product is good or defective with respect to rotational torque is made by measuring the rotational torque of a large number of non-defective products in advance, setting a standard value, and comparing the standard value with each measured value.

Furthermore, from the experimental results shown in Fig. 8, there is a certain relationship between rotational torque and bending torque, and by measuring the upper limit, lower limit, and fluctuation range of rotational torque, it can be determined whether the bending torque is good or defective. Can make decisions. That is, products within the shaded range in FIG. 8 are good products in terms of bending torque, and products outside the range are defective products.

After the steel balls are automatically assembled into the outer race as described above, the rotational torque is measured while the inner race is kept tilted, and inspection is performed to determine whether the product is good or defective.

(Example) Next, an example of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 7.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the entire constant velocity ball joint assembly device of this embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 1 is an enlarged view of the main parts, and FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 1. The configuration of this embodiment will be explained using these.

First, the work rotation unit 13 that supports the outer race A1 of the constant velocity ball joint A and rotates the outer race A1 around its axis and moves it in the vertical direction will be described.

A motor 15 is attached to the lower main body base 14, and a pulley 16 is attached to the shaft 15a of the motor 15.
is fixed. The lower main body base 14 is also provided with a main shaft 17, and the main shaft 17 is configured by connecting a first rotating shaft 18 on the upper side and a second rotating shaft 19 on the lower side. The second rotating shaft 19 is a slide bearing 2 that allows sliding only in the vertical direction.
A pulley 21 is connected to the housing 14a via a radial bearing 22, and is rotatably attached to a driven housing 14a fixed to the lower main body base 14 via a radial bearing 22. And motor 1
Pulley 16 on the 5 side and pulley 2 on the second rotating shaft 19 side
A chain 23 is looped around 1 and 1.

The first rotating shaft 18 is attached to the upper part of the second rotating shaft via a torque meter 24. This torque meter 24 measures the upper limit value, lower limit value, and fluctuation range of the rotational torque of the main shaft 17, and displays the values on a display board 24a.

The first rotating shaft 18 is provided with a chuck 25 at its upper end that holds the shaft portion A6 of the outer race A1 of the constant velocity ball joint A. In addition,
As a means for supporting the shaft portion A6, instead of using the chuck 25, a female spline that can be engaged with the spline d carved in the shaft portion A6 may be used.

Further, the middle part of the first rotating shaft 18 is connected to the bracket 2.
The brackets 6 and 27 are rotatably supported via thrust bearings 28 .

With this configuration, the main shaft 17 is connected to the motor 15.
It can be rotated by the cylinder device 29 and can be moved up and down by the cylinder device 29.

Next, a description will be given of the tilting unit 30 that tilts the ball cage A2 and inner race A3, which are incorporated in the outer race A1 supported by the work rotation unit 13.

One end of the arm 35 is fixed to the shaft 34 of the cage tilting drive pulley 32 and the inner race tilting drive pulley 33 provided on the frame 31 a of the upper main body base 31 , and the other end is fixed to the shaft 34 of the cage tilting drive pulley 32 and the inner race tilting drive pulley 33 provided on the frame 31 a of the upper main body base 31 .
It is attached to a tilting cylinder device 36 provided at 4. The tilting cylinder device 36 is of a two-stage type, and a second-stage cylinder device 36 is extendably provided in the first-stage cylinder device 36a.
The arm 35 is attached to the rod 36c of b, and the gauge is rotated through the arm 35 by the operation of the respective cylinder devices 36a and 36b.
And the inner race tilting side pulley 33 can be rotated at two different angles.

A belt 38 is wound around the cage tilting drive pulley 32 and the cage tilting driven pulley 37 provided on the frame 31b of the upper main body base 31, and similarly the inner race tilting drive pulley 33 is wound around the cage tilting drive pulley 32.
A belt 40 is wound around the inner race tilting driven pulley 39 provided on the frame portion 31b. The pulley ratio between the cage tilting drive pulley 32 and the inner race tilting drive pulley 33 is 1:2, so the rotation angle of the inner race tilting driven pulley 39 is the same as the rotation angle of the cage tilting driven pulley 37. It will be twice as much.

A cage tilting arm 41 is attached to the cage tilting driven pulley 37 via a bracket 41a, and the tip of the cage tilting arm 41 is configured so that it can come into contact with the upper edge of the ball cage A2 in the outer race A1. There is. The inner race tilting driven pulley 39 has an inner race tilting unit 4.
2 is installed. The inner race tilting unit 42 has one end attached to an inner race tilting driven pulley via a bracket 42a, and an inner race receiver 45 rotatably attached to the other end of an arm 43 via a needle bearing 44. By fitting the inner race receiver 45 into the center hole of the inner race A3, the inner race A3 inside the outer race A1
It is designed so that it can be rotated while being tilted at a constant angle.

The cage tilting arm 41 is provided with a cage tilting arm upper and lower cylinder 41b.
By this operation, the tip of the cage tilting arm 41 can be separated from the upper edge of the ball cage A2.

Next, a description will be given of the ball supply unit 46 that inserts the steel balls A5 toward the cage window A4 of the ball cage A2.

When the ball cage A2 and the inner race A3 are tilted by the cage tilting arm 41 and the inner race tilting unit 42, the ball cage A
The second cage window A4 is exposed. Upper main body base 3
1 includes a cylinder device 47 having a rod 47a that can move forward and backward toward the exposed cage window A4.
Further, a supply chute 49 is attached to the rod 47a for supplying the steel balls A5 sent from the parts feeder 48 to the exposed cage window A4. The cylinder device 47 is provided on the upper side of the supply chute 49.
When the rod 47a is extended, the ball guide hole 48a of the parts feeder 48 and the supply chute 49
A through hole 49a is formed which communicates with the inside of the housing. A shutter 50 is provided in the middle of the ball guide hole 48a, and the shutter 50 is moved into the ball guide hole 4 by a shutter front and rear cylinder device 51.
8a can be opened and closed. The mounting position of the shutter 50 is set so that the required number of steel balls A5 to be assembled into one constant velocity ball joint A can be accumulated between the supply chute 49 and the shutter 50. (Five steel balls in this embodiment) Also, 52 is a steel ball A5 between the supply chute 49 and the shutter 50.
53 is a confirmation switch that detects the presence or absence of
This is a confirmation switch that detects the presence or absence of the steel ball A5 in the supply chute 49.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained using FIGS. 4 and 5.

The shaft portion A6 of the outer race A1 is held between the chuck 25 of the main shaft 17. Next, the rod 29a of the cylinder device 29 is extended to raise the main shaft 17, and the inner race receiver 45 of the inner race tilting unit 42 is fitted into the center hole of the inner race A3 incorporated in the outer race A1. At the same time, the tip of the cage tilting arm 41 is brought into contact with the ball cage A2.

Next, the rod 36a of the tilting cylinder device 36
is extended, and the cage tilting drive pulley 32 and the inner race tilting drive pulley 33 are rotated via the arm 35. This rotation is transmitted to the cage tilting driven pulley 37 and the inner race tilting driven pulley 39 via the belts 38 and 39. In this embodiment, the rotation angle of the cage tilting driven pulley 37 is set to 35°, and the inner race tilting driven pulley 39 is set to 35 degrees.
It will rotate 70 degrees. As a result of this rotation, the cage tilting arm 41 holds the ball cage A2 tilted at an angle of γ=35°, and the inner race tilting unit 42 holds the inner race A3 tilted at an angle of θ=2×35°=70°. In addition, since the inner race tilting unit 42 is provided with a needle bearing 44, relative movement with the inner race A3 is smoothed and wear resistance is improved.

By holding the ball cage A2 and the inner race A3 at predetermined angles, the cage window A4 of the ball cage A2 is exposed to the outside. Cylinder device 47 of ball supply unit 46
rod 47a extends and advances supply chute 49 to exposed gauge window A4. When it reaches the forward end, the steel balls A5 accumulated between the shutter 50 and the supply chute 49 pass through the through hole 49.
a through the supply chute 49 and fall into the cage window A4 under its own weight. In this state, motor 15
When the main shaft 17 is rotated by the chain 23, the cage windows A4 of the ball cage A2 are sequentially exposed during one rotation of the outer race A1, and the steel balls A5 are successively dropped by their own weight and assembled.

When the steel ball A5 is assembled, the tilting cylinder device 36 of the tilting unit 30 is operated to rotate the inner race tilting unit 42 so that the inner race A3 is rotated at 45° (a practical angle). At the same time, the rod 47a of the cylinder device 47 of the steel ball supply unit 46 is shortened to move the supply chute 49 backward. Further, the cage tilting arm 41 is a cage tilting arm upper and lower cylinder 41.
a to separate the tip from the upper edge of the ball cage A2 so as not to affect the torque when measuring rotational torque.

Subsequently, the motor 15 is operated and the chain 23
The main shaft 17 is rotated by. The rotation is required to be 1.5 rotations or more in order to remove the starting torque, and the number of rotations is counted and confirmed by the original position confirmation switch 55.

While the main shaft 17 rotates, the rotational torque is measured by the torque meter 24, and its upper limit value, lower limit value,
The fluctuation range is displayed on the display board 24a and compared with each reference value to determine whether the product is good or defective.

Simultaneously with the above inspection regarding rotational torque, a photoelectric switch 56 may be provided on the arm 43 of the inner race tilting unit 42 to inspect for missing steel balls A5. The photoelectric switch 56 used for this inspection is based on the principle of trinocular distance measurement, and can always detect a stable distance without being affected by the color, material, or surface condition of the object to be detected.
By installing it in the position shown in Fig. 6, the grooves B1 and B2 can be moved while the constant velocity ball joint A is rotating.
Detects the presence or absence of the steel ball A5 within... Note that since the chamfered portion E of the outer race A1 is detected between the grooves, the chamfered portion E of the outer race A1 is detected only when the steel ball A5 is not in the groove. (Refer to Figure 7) As described above, the steel ball A5 is automatically assembled into the outer race A1, and as soon as it is assembled, the rotational torque is measured to determine whether the constant velocity ball joint is good or defective. Good products will be inspected.

(Effects of the invention) As explained in detail above, the present invention automates the assembly of the steel balls of a constant velocity ball joint, and also measures the rotational torque without removing the outer race immediately after assembly. inspection can be carried out.

Therefore, the time required to assemble the steel balls is shortened, productivity is improved, and defective products are reliably detected to ensure quality.

Furthermore, since the assembly device and the inspection device are incorporated into the same device, the equipment space can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the entire constant velocity ball joint automatic assembly device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a side view of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a view showing the operating state of the device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. Enlarged view of the main parts of Figure 4,
Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the inner race tilting unit shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the chamfered part of the outer race, and Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of the inner race tilting unit shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of the chamfered portion of the outer race. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the constant velocity ball joint, FIG. 10a is a plan view of the constant velocity ball joint shown in FIG. 9, and FIG. 10b is a correlation diagram obtained from experiments. 10
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line -- in FIG. FIG. 12 is a cutaway side view of the main part of the device shown in FIG. 11, and FIG. 13 is an enlarged view showing a steel ball press-fitted state in the device shown in FIG. 11. 14, 31...Main body base, 13...Work rotation unit, 17...Main shaft, 24...Torque meter, 30...Tilt unit, 41...Cage tilting arm, 42...Inner race tilting unit,
46... Ball supply unit, A... Constant velocity ball joint, A1... Outer race, A2...
Ball cage, A3 inner race, A4... cage window, A5... steel ball, A6... shaft section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A work rotation unit having a main shaft supporting an outer race of a constant velocity ball joint and rotating the outer race around its axis and moving it in the axial direction is provided on the main body base, and the work rotation unit is located in the moving direction of the work rotation unit. A tilting unit is provided for driving an inner race tilting unit and a cage tilting unit that tilt the inner race and the ball cage in the outer race supported by the work rotation unit at a certain angle, respectively, by the same drive source, and the ball cage is tilted. A ball supply unit is provided that inserts the steel ball into the cage window of the cage by its own weight, and the work rotation unit is further provided with a main shaft of the work rotation unit while the inner race in the outer race is tilted by the inner race tilting arm. An automatic assembly device for constant velocity ball joints, which is equipped with a torque meter that measures the rotational torque when rotating the ball joint.