JPH0613785Y2 - Ball missing device for constant velocity joints - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to a ball lacking detection device for a constant velocity joint, which detects a lack of a steel ball incorporated in a constant velocity joint.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, an outer member, an inner member, a retainer incorporated between these members, and a plurality of steel balls mounted on the retainer, for example, when a wheel or the like used in an automobile swings. The one for detecting the lack of the ball of the constant velocity ball joint of the drive shaft which transmits the rotation from the driving side at a constant velocity is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-201.
The one described in Japanese Patent No. 631 is known.

This is provided with a tilting arm that engages with the inner member and tilts the inner member above the outer member that is rotatably held by a rotation drive unit that includes a turning means, and the tilting arm of the ball moves. A photoelectric switch is provided at a position substantially opposite to the mounting center line. Then, the inner member is rotated in a tilted state, and the lack of each ball that is rotated in association with the rotation is detected.

However, in this type of device, since the photoelectric switch is fixed, a rotating means for rotating the outer member is required. Further, when detecting a ball shortage during transportation, the rotating means of the outer member has to be provided below the transportation means for transporting the outer member, resulting in a complicated apparatus.

For this reason, as seen in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-31224, the same number of detection pins as the number of balls moving in contact with each ball are provided, and each detection pin is provided with an electrical detection mechanism for detecting the movement. A device has been proposed that electrically determines that the ball is out of stock when the detection pin for the product position does not move.

However, when electrically detecting the presence or absence of movement of the detection pin in this way, foreign matter adheres to the electric contact portion of the movement position of one detection pin, or contact failure due to change over time. However, there is an inconvenience in that a defective item of the ball cannot be detected with certainty because of a malfunction due to the occurrence of the error.

(Problems to be Solved by the Present Invention) The present invention provides a ball missing item detection device for a constant velocity joint, which can eliminate such a conventional inconvenience and easily detect a ball outage of a constant velocity joint. The purpose is to do.

(Means for Solving the Problem) In order to achieve such an object, the present invention comprises an outer member, an inner member, a retainer incorporated between these members, and a plurality of steel balls attached to the retainer. In a constant velocity joint that detects the lack of the ball, an elevating means is provided above an outer holding portion that holds the opening side of the constant velocity joint upward, and the elevating means raises and lowers and lowers. Sometimes a base with a pusher plate that contacts the retainer mounted on the outer member and horizontally fixes the ball is provided, and the same number of detection pins as the balls that make contact with each of the balls can be moved up and down when the base descends. A first spring which is provided on the base and biases the detection pins individually downward through the engaging stepped portions provided on the detection pins. A detection member, which has a guide hole for freely guiding and is urged downward by the entire first spring through the engagement step, is provided on the base so as to be vertically movable, and the entire urging force of the first spring is provided. A second spring that has a smaller urging force than that of the first spring and moves the detection member upward only by following the compression of the first spring is provided, and a detection unit that detects the upward movement of the detection member by following the compression of the first spring is provided. It is characterized by being provided.

(Operation) According to this structure, the present invention holds the constant velocity joint in the outer holding portion, and lowers the base by the elevating means. When the base is lowered, the pusher plate is brought into contact with the upper end surface of the retainer of the constant velocity joint, and the ball is fixed at the horizontal position via the retainer. Then, the detection pins come into contact with the balls. Further, by continuously lowering the base, each detection pin moves upward when there is no shortage of the ball, and the first spring urged downward through the engagement step portion is compressed. It The compression of the entire first spring causes the detection member to move upward due to the urging force of the second spring. At this time, the upward movement of the detecting member is detected by the detecting means, and it is detected that there is no shortage of balls.

Further, when even one ball is out of stock, the detection pin at the out-of-stock position has nothing to abut, and therefore the detection pin is lowered as it is when the base is lowered. Therefore, the detection pin corresponding to that position does not move upward, so that the force for urging the detection member of the first spring downward overcomes the urging force of the second spring, so that the detection member is urged downward. It becomes a state and does not move up. As a result, it is detected that the detecting means does not operate and the ball is out of stock.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

1 is a front view, FIG. 2 is an explanatory sectional view when detecting all balls, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory sectional view before detection. , FIG. 5 is an explanatory cross-sectional view when detecting a ball shortage.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the present embodiment is constituted by an outer member A, an inner member, a retainer B incorporated between these members, and six steel balls C attached to the retainer B. This is for detecting the shortage of the ball C of the quick joint D, and as shown in the first illustration, the machine frame 1
And a first base 2 which can be raised and lowered along the machine frame 1, and a second base 3 which can be raised and lowered inside the first base 2 along the same.

The machine frame 1 is continuously provided with a conveyance guide 4 which is an outer holding portion for conveying and holding the opening side of the constant velocity joint D upward, and one of the conveyance stop positions of the constant velocity joint D of the conveyance guide 4. A first base guide rail 5 that guides the first base 2 from above to the upper side, and is hydraulic pressure that is a first elevating means for elevating and lowering the first base 2 above the transport stop position of the constant velocity joint D. A cylinder 6 is provided.

The first base 2 is provided with a connection holding portion 7 connected to the hydraulic cylinder 6 at its upper end, and an outer portion is provided with a first base guide 8 slidably guided by the first base guide rail 5. ing. At the lower end, a pusher plate 9 that abuts the retainer B mounted on the outer member A and horizontally fixes the ball C when descending is provided, and the pusher plate 9 is provided at each of six positions of the ball C. Correspondingly, a through hole 9a for inserting a small diameter portion of the tip of a lower detection pin, which will be described later, is provided, and is provided from the outside of the pusher plate 9 and opens from the upper center of the pusher plate 9 to the opening of the constant velocity joint D. An oil supply nozzle 10 for supplying oil for lubrication is provided. Further, the first base 2 is provided with an air cylinder 11 which is a second elevating means for elevating and lowering the second base 3 in the vicinity of the connection holding portion 7 at the upper end, and as shown in FIG. A second base guide 12 that guides the ascending / descending of the accommodated second base 3 is provided at the front and rear portions in the inner transport direction.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the second base 3 is installed in the first base 2 in a state in which an operation mechanism portion 3a, which will be described later, for detecting the lack of the ball C of the constant velocity joint D is incorporated. It is held and held by the air cylinder 11 so as to be able to move up and down.
A pair of side plates 13 having guide grooves 13a for guiding along the second base guide 12 are provided at the front and rear in the transport direction, and the side plates 13 are connected to each other by an upper end member 14a at the upper end, and will be described later at an intermediate portion. Are connected by an intermediate member 14b.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the actuating mechanism portion 3a contacts the balls C above the through hole 9a of the pusher plate 9 when the first base 2 descends, and is moved upward to function as an upper detection pin described later. Six lower detection pins 15 that are interlocked to form detection pins are provided on the circumference, and a guide member 16 that inserts these lower detection pins 15 and guides them up and down is provided between the side plates 13 on both sides. Has been. In addition, each lower detection pin
15 has a tip small diameter portion 15a penetrating the through hole 9a at the tip, and a stopper portion 15b for preventing the guide member 16 from falling at the upper rear end.

Further, a space is provided above the guide member 16 at a predetermined interval so that the stopper portion 15b can be moved up and down.
16 is provided with an intermediate member 14b, and the intermediate member 14b and the upper end member are provided at the center of the arrangement of the respective lower detection pins 15.
A rod 17 is provided upright to connect with 14a. Between the intermediate member 14b and the upper end member 14a, as shown in the second illustration, a stopper portion 15 is provided at a position outside the mounting radius of each of the lower detection pins 15.
Six upper detection pins that come into contact with b and cooperate with the upward movement of the lower detection pin 15 to form a detection pin together with the lower detection pin 15.
18 is provided to be movable up and down, and each upper detection pin 18 is provided with an engagement step portion 19.

A guide hole 20 is provided below the engagement step portion 19 so that the upper detection pin 18 can be inserted therethrough. The guide hole 20 is slidable with respect to the rod 17 and is on the opposite side of the first base guide 8 from the proximity switch described later. A detection member 21 protruding downward is provided, and each upper detection pin 18 is urged downward to protrude from the intermediate member 14b and the detection member 21 is urged downward via the engaging step portion 19. A first spring 22 is provided around each of the engagement step portion 19 and the upper end member 14a. Further, the detection member 21 includes a tubular portion 21a slidable along the rod 17,
A second spring 23 that urges the detection member 21 in the upward movement direction is provided around the engaging step portion 17a provided in the lower portion of the rod 17 within the reference numeral 21a. The second springs 23 are each first
The upward biasing force is smaller than that of the spring 22, and the detection member 21 is moved upward following the compression of all the first springs 22 due to the upward movement of the all-up detection pin 18.

A proximity switch 24, which is a detecting means for detecting the lack of the ball C by the upward movement of the detecting member 21, is provided above the protruding portion of the detecting member 21.

A position detection proximity switch 25 for detecting the elevation position of the first base 2 is provided on the machine frame 1, and a position detection proximity switch 26 for detecting the elevation position of the second base 3 is provided on the first base 2. A control means (not shown) is provided which is connected to each of the position detection proximity switches 25 and 26 and controls the elevation thereof.

Next, the operation of the embodying apparatus will be described as follows.

Until the constant velocity joint D is transported to the transport stop position of the transport guide 4, the first base 2 and the second base 3 are lifted and held at predetermined positions as shown in FIG. The lower detection pin 15 is held by the guide member 16 while being prevented from being lowered by its own weight by the stopper portion 15b. As a result, the upper detection pin 18 does not contact the lower detection pin 15,
The downward biasing force of the first spring 22 causes the second spring 23 to
The detection member 21 is pressed downward via the engagement step portion 19 of the upper detection pin 18 by overcoming the upward biasing force of.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the constant velocity joint D is transported to a predetermined position and held by the transport guide 4, the hydraulic cylinder 6
The relative position of the second base 3 is maintained to lower the first base. Then, the pusher plate 9 is brought into contact with the upper end surface of the retainer B of the constant velocity joint D, and the six balls C are fixed to the horizontal position via the retainer B.

Next, the second base 3 is moved by the air cylinder 11.
Is lowered to bring the lower detection pin 15 into contact with each ball C, and further the lowering of the second base 3 is continued to move the lower detection pin 15 upward.

By the upward movement of the lower detection pin 15, the upper detection pin 18
Is moved upward, and the first spring 22 provided around the engagement step portion 19 of the upper detection pin 18 and the upper end member 14a is compressed. As a result, the detection member 21 biased upward by the second spring 23 is moved upward following the compression of the first spring 22.

As described above, in the case where even one ball C of the constant velocity joint D has no shortage, the first and second detection pins 15 and 18 which are brought into contact with the ball C and moved upward are used. The detection member 21 is moved upward via the springs 22 and 23, and the proximity switch 24 is actuated by the upward movement of the detection member 21 to detect that the six balls C are aligned. Then, oil is supplied from the oil supply nozzle 10 into the constant velocity joint D.

As shown in FIG. 5, when even one of the six balls of the constant velocity joint D is missing, the lower detection pin 15 provided corresponding to the missing part of the ball C contacts. Since there is nothing, it does not move up and is further lowered. Therefore, the upper detection pin
18 is not moved up, and the first spring 22 is provided around that position 22
Is not compressed. The downward biasing force of the one first spring 22 overcomes the upward biasing force of the second spring 23, and the detection member 21 is maintained in the downward biased state.
Since the detection member 21 does not approach the proximity switch 24, the proximity switch 24 does not operate and it is detected that the ball C is missing in the constant velocity joint D.

In the present embodiment, the first and second bases 2 and 3 provided above without contacting the constant velocity joint D are brought into contact with the balls C to detect the lack thereof, so that the device is in the middle of conveyance. Can be easily arranged. Further, the proximity switch 24 can be used to detect the lack of the ball C in a stopped state without rotating the constant velocity joint D, and it can be detected by other means using a pulse signal or the like as in the conventional case. It can be done reliably.

In addition, after confirming that there is no shortage of the ball C,
Since oil is supplied only to the constant velocity joint D having no missing parts of the ball C, the work of taking out another ball C accommodated from the constant velocity joint D having the missing parts of the ball C performed in a later step is lubricated. Since it can be performed without oil, the complexity of work can be eliminated.

(Effects) As is apparent from the above description, the present invention allows the detection member to move upward only when there is no shortage of balls, and the detection member moves upward when there is even one ball missing. By detecting the presence or absence of the upward movement of the detecting member by the detecting means without moving, it is possible to reliably detect the absence or presence of the ball.

According to the present invention, since it is only necessary to detect the operation of the detection member, it is possible to reduce the rate of occurrence of malfunction as compared with the conventional method in which the operation of each detection pin is detected. It is possible to detect the presence or absence of a missing ball.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory sectional view when detecting all balls, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2, and FIG. Is an explanatory diagram before detection,
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for detecting a ball shortage. 2 ... 1st base, 3 ... 2nd base 4 ... Transport guide, 6 ... Hydraulic cylinder 9 ... Pusher plate 11 ... Air cylinder, 15 ... Lower detection pin 18 ... Upper detection pin, 19 ... ... Engagement step 21 ... Detection member, 22 ... First spring 23 ... Second spring 24 ... Proximity switch A ... Outer member B ... Retainer C ... Steel ball D ... Constant velocity joint

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] Claim: What is claimed is: 1. An outer member, an inner member, a retainer incorporated between these members, and a plurality of steel balls mounted on the retainer, which detects lack of a ball of the constant velocity joint. An elevating means is provided above an outer holding portion that holds the opening side of the constant velocity joint upward, and the elevating means elevates and lowers the abutting member to a retainer attached to the outer member to lower the ball horizontally. A base having a pusher plate fixed to the base is provided, and the same number of detection pins as the balls that come into contact with each of the balls when the base descends are provided on the base so as to be vertically movable, and the engagement step provided on each of the detection pins. A first spring for urging each of them downward through a guide hole for guiding each detection pin to be inserted therethrough; A detection member that is urged downward by all of the first springs is provided on the base so as to be movable up and down, and the urging force is smaller than the urging forces of all the first springs, and only follows the compression of the first springs. A second spring for moving the detecting member upward, and a detecting means for detecting the upward movement of the detecting member following the compression of the first spring are provided.