JPH0453876Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an assembly device for automatically assembling a needle roller into an outer race.

(Prior Art) When assembling a bearing 5 or a gear, etc. consisting of an outer race 1 and a needle roller 4 held within the outer race 1 by washers 2 and 3, as shown in FIG. Since a large number of needle rollers 4 must be installed along the inner periphery within the roller 1, a great deal of labor is required in manual work. Therefore, various devices for automatically assembling the needle roller 4 have been devised.

Conventionally, this type of automatic assembly apparatus has been shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

This consists of a retainer 7 in which a through hole 6 is formed with the same inner diameter as the inner diameter of the outer race 1 into which the needle roller 4 is inserted, and a swing shaft 8 provided in the through hole 6 that can freely rotate in forward and reverse directions. , a push-out sleeve 10 provided to be movable in the axial direction of the swing shaft 8 within a gap 9 formed by the outer periphery of the swing shaft 8 and the inner periphery of the through hole 6 of the retainer 7; and the retainer. 7, and a supply passage 12 for supplying the needle roller 4 to the gap 9.

According to this configuration, the extrusion sleeve 10 is moved backward, and the needle roller 4 is caused to fall by its own weight in the supply passage 12 in the stair case 11 and is supplied into the gap 9. At this time, by alternately rotating the swing shaft 8 forward and backward, the supplied needle rollers 4 are distributed in the circumferential direction of the swing shaft 8 and incorporated into the gap 9 .

Next, the inserted needle rollers 4 are pushed out from the through holes 6 of the retainer 7 in an aligned state as the push-out sleeve 10 moves forward, and are assembled into an outer race (not shown) provided at the front.

Then, the needle roller 4 assembled into the outer race is inspected for any missing items by a missing item detection device.

An example of this missing item detection device is one disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 123833/1983 by the present applicant.

The missing item detection device disclosed therein is shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, and will be briefly described.

The outer race 1 to which the needle roller 4 is assembled is vertically supported by an inner assembly jig 15 and an outer assembly jig 16 provided on a pallet 14 movable along a guide rail 13.

Further, a detection unit 18 is provided above, which can be moved up and down by the cylinder device 17, and the detection unit 18 has a bracket 19 attached to the cylinder device 17,
a guide shaft 20 fixed to the needle roller 4 and insertable inside the needle roller 4;
A detection lever 21 is swingably mounted inside the
, a detector 22 provided at the lower end of the detection lever 21 and insertable between the needle rollers 4 , a swing cylinder device 24 pivotally attached to the intermediate portion of the detection lever 21 via a bracket 23 , Detection dog 25 provided at the upper end of the detection lever 21
and the bracket 1 facing the detection dog 25.
9 and a position sensor 26 attached to the position sensor 9.

According to this configuration, as shown in FIG.
5 is inserted into the inside of the needle roller 4 while pushing down. Next, the swing cylinder device 24 is operated to tilt the detection lever 21 so that the lower end detector 2
2 is inserted between the needle rollers 4. At this time, if an appropriate number of needle rollers 4 are installed, as shown in FIG.
2 cannot be inserted between the needle rollers 4. Further, if the needle roller 4 is out of stock, the detector 22 is inserted between the needle rollers 4 as shown in FIG. And detector 2
2 is inserted between the needle rollers 4, the detection lever 21 is tilted significantly and the dog 25 approaches the position sensor 26.

Therefore, when the position sensor 26 detects the dog 25, it is determined that the needle roller 4 is out of stock, and the needle roller 4 is discharged from the production line as a defective product.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the conventional needle roller assembly device described above has the following problems.

The means for supplying the needle roller 4 to the gap 9 formed between the inner periphery of the retainer 7 and the outer periphery of the swinging shaft 8 consists of the fall of the needle roller 4 due to its own weight and the repeated forward and reverse rotation of the swinging shaft 8. Because of this, there was a problem that the proportion of out-of-stock items was high.

When a missing item is detected by the missing item detection device, the needle roller 4 is taken out from the outer race 1 and returned to the supply passage 12 of the stair case 11 for use.
There has been a problem in that dust and the like adhering to the needle roller 4 impairs the flow of the needle roller 4 and causes a secondary problem in that the supply passage 12 and the gap 9 become clogged.

Furthermore, since the process of assembling the needle roller 4 and the process of detecting missing items are separate, the conveying device that connects each process and the outer race 1 to which the needle roller 4 is assembled can be changed from a horizontal position to a vertical position when detecting a missing item. There was also the problem that a rotating device was required, making the device complex and expensive.

The present invention was devised in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to reduce the proportion of out-of-stock items and to simplify the process.

(Means for solving the problems) The means for solving the above problems are explained in the first example.
This will be explained using the diagram and FIG.

A through hole 6 having the same inner diameter as the inner diameter of the outer race 1 into which the needle roller 4 is inserted is formed in the retainer 7, and a swing shaft 8 that can freely rotate forward and reverse is provided within the through hole 6. A gap 9 is formed between the outer periphery of the swing shaft 8 and the inner periphery of the through hole 6 of the retainer 7 to align the needle rollers 4.

A push-out sleeve 10 that can move forward and backward in the axial direction of the swing shaft 8 is provided in the gap 9, and a supply passage 12 for the needle roller 4 in a stair case 11 provided above the retainer 7 is connected to the gap 9. communicate.

Further, a push-in pin 28 that can protrude into the supply passage 12 near the gap 9 is provided, and the amount of displacement of a missing item detection pin 33 that can protrude into the gap 9 from the outer periphery of the retainer 7 is detected. A missing item detection section 31 is provided to detect missing items of the needle roller 4 within the gap 9.

(Function) To explain the function of this configuration, when the needle roller 4 is supplied into the gap 9, the supply passage 12
The push pin 28 is inserted into the gap 9, and the missing item detection pin 33 is further inserted into the gap 9. and,
Based on the amount of displacement of the missing item detection pin 33, the missing item detection section 31 determines whether the needle roller 4 in the gap 9 is missing.

Note that at this time, since the supply passage 12 is blocked by the push pin 28, the needle roller 4
will not be pushed back, and missing items will be detected accurately.

If it is detected that the missing item is missing, the pins 28 and 33 are moved back and the swing shaft 8 is rotated forward and backward again to replenish the missing item from the supply passage 12.

As described above, when the number of needle rollers 4 in the gap 9 becomes normal, the push-out sleeve 10 is advanced to insert the needle rollers 4 into the outer race 1.

(Example) Next, an example of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 3. Note that the same reference numerals are given to members that are the same as or correspond to the members described in the related art.

The structure will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The retainer 7 is formed with a through hole 6 having the same diameter as the inner diameter of the outer race 1 to which the needle roller 4 is assembled. A swing shaft 8 is provided in the through hole 6 so that the axes are aligned with each other, and the swing shaft 8 is configured to repeatedly rotate forward and reverse at a constant period.

In addition, the inner circumference of the through hole 6 of the retainer 7 and the swing shaft 8
A gap 9 in which the needle roller 4 is aligned with the outer circumference of the
is formed, and an extruded sleeve 10 is formed in the gap 9.
is slidably provided. Moreover, the gap 9 is
It communicates with a supply passage 12 in a stair case 11 provided above the retainer 7. The supply passage 12 is formed in a zigzag shape to prevent the needle roller 4 from rising in the longitudinal direction when it falls, thereby preventing troubles such as clogging in the supply passage 12.

Next, the main parts of the present invention will be explained.

A hole 27 is formed in the retainer 7 and the stair case 11 to communicate the supply passage 12 with the outside, and a push pin 28 is slidably inserted into the hole 27. The push pin 28 has a sharp tip and a cylinder device 29 attached to the rear end.
It is designed to move forward and backward. Note that the cylinder device 29 is fixed to the retainer 7 via a bracket 30.

The pushing pin 28 has its tip inserted into a passage (position A) that is spaced upward by the outer diameter of the needle roller 4 from the gap 9, and acts to push the needle roller 4 into the gap 9 with its tip. do.

To explain the missing item detection section 31, a hole 32 is formed in the lower part of the retainer 7 to communicate between the inside of the gap 9 and the outside, and a missing item detection pin 33 is slid into the hole 32. It can be inserted freely. A position detection mechanism (not shown) is attached to the missing item detection pin 33. The position detection mechanism may be composed of a dog and a position sensor as described in the related art, and when the needle roller 4 in the gap 9 is missing, the missing item detection pin 33 moves forward greatly. (moving upward in the diagram).
Determine shortages.

The operation related to the above configuration will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 1, the push-in pin 28 and the missing item detection pin 33 are moved backward, and the needle roller 4 is moved from the supply passage of the stair case 11 into the gap 9.
Supply inside. At this time, the swing shaft 8 is rotated forward and reverse at regular intervals, and the needle rollers 4 are distributed to the left and right and incorporated into the gap 9.

Subsequently, after a certain period of time has elapsed, the swing shaft 8 is stopped, and as shown in FIG. . Then, the missing item detection pin 33 is inserted into the gap 9, the displacement amount is detected by the position detection mechanism, and it is determined whether the needle roller is missing. When inserting the missing item detection pin 33, the push pin 28 closes the supply passage 12.
Since the needle roller 4 is not pushed back along the supply path 12 due to the blockage, the missing item can be accurately detected.

Here, if the number of needle rollers 4 in the gap is normal, the pushing sleeve 10 moves forward and inserts the needle rollers 4 into the outer race 1.
Assembly work is completed.

Additionally, if a missing item is detected, the push pin 28
Then, the missing item detection pin 33 is moved backward, the swing shaft 8 is rotated forward and reverse again, and the needle roller 4 is moved between the gaps 9 and 9.
Replenish inside. Once the correct number of needle rollers 4 have been assembled, the push-out sleeve 10 advances as described above to insert the needle rollers 4 into the outer race 1, completing the assembly.

(Effects of the invention) As explained in detail above, the present invention accurately detects the missing part of the needle roller in the gap using the push-in pin and the missing part detection pin, and when the missing part is detected, the invention operates again. Since the needle rollers are replenished by the machine, the number of defective products due to missing needle rollers is greatly reduced, and the operating rate is improved.

Furthermore, since the assembly of the needle roller and the detection of missing parts, which conventionally required two steps, are now performed in one step, the device is simplified, maintenance becomes easier, and equipment costs can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view taken at a position including the gap of a needle roller assembly device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along a vertical plane passing through the axis of the swing shaft of the needle roller assembly device shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 shows the operating state of the needle roller assembly work shown in Fig. 1. FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the conventional needle roller assembly device taken at a position including the gap, and FIG. 5 is the swing axis of the conventional needle roller assembly device shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a front view with a partial cross section of a conventional missing item detection device, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the device in FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X-X when detecting a missing item state in the apparatus shown in FIG. 6, and FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an example of a bearing assembled according to the present invention. It is a diagram. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Outer race, 4... Needle roller, 6... Through hole, 7... Retainer, 8... Rocking shaft, 9... Gap, 10... Extrusion sleeve, 1
1... Staircase, 12... Supply passage, 28...
... Push-in pin, 33... Missing item detection pin.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A through hole is formed in the retainer with the same inner diameter as the inner diameter of the outer race into which the needle roller is inserted,
A swinging shaft capable of forward and reverse rotation is provided in the through-hole, and a gap is formed between the outer periphery of the swinging shaft and the inner periphery of the through-hole of the retainer for aligning the needle rollers. A push-out sleeve is provided inside the retainer that can move forward and backward in the axial direction of the swing shaft, and the gap is connected to a supply passage for a needle roller in the stair case provided at the upper part of the retainer. A push-in pin that can protrude into the supply passage is provided, and the displacement of a missing item detection pin that can protrude from the outer periphery of the retainer into the gap is detected to detect the missing item of the needle roller in the gap. An automatic needle roller assembly machine characterized by being equipped with a detection section.