JPH09278157A - Steel ball feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steel ball feeding device which can increase the number of steel balls to be fed per unit time to the polishing machine main body of a steel ball polishing machine, and can prevent the steel balls from being damaged because of an increase in the number of the steel balls. SOLUTION: A bite-in prevention over-flow mechanism for fetching each steel ball pushed out of guiding grooves 4a out of a inclined chute 4, is formed out of a plurality of spring up blocks 10, and of a spring up part 11. Each spring up block 10 is interposed between the corresponding guiding grooves 4a, and its end part at the circular conveyor side is formed into a tapered shape inclined to the direction along each guiding groove 4a. The spring up part 11 is formed out of a frame body which is so opened that its side part facing to its circular conveyor part, receives and delivers each steel ball pushed out of the guiding groove 4a of an inclined chute 4. The spring up part 11 is provided with a spring up plate 11a, and the circular conveyor side end part of the spring up plate 11a is formed into a tapered shape.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steel ball supplying apparatus using a circular conveyor for supplying a steel ball to a steel ball polishing machine, and more particularly to a steel ball polishing apparatus used in a steel ball manufacturing process such as a rolling bearing. The present invention relates to a steel ball supply device suitable for a board.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a steel ball is ground by a steel ball grinder in a steel ball manufacturing process such as a rolling bearing, and a steel ball feeder is used to supply the steel ball to the steel ball grinder.

A steel ball polishing machine using this steel ball supply device will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG.
Is an overall view showing the structure of a conventional steel ball polishing machine, FIG. 5 is a view showing a plane of an inclined chute for guiding the steel balls from the steel ball supplying device of FIG. It is a side view which shows the flow of the steel ball in the inclination chute of FIG.

The steel ball polishing machine is equipped with a steel ball supply device 50, as shown in FIG. The steel ball supply device 50 has a carousel 3. The carousel 3 includes a disk-shaped moving part 3a rotated by a drive mechanism (not shown) and a fixed outer wall 3b surrounding the disk-shaped moving part 3a. The moving part 3a and the fixed outer wall 3b cooperate with each other. A steel ball storage space is formed.

The fixed outer wall 3b holds the steel ball conveyed by the rotational driving of the moving part 3a, and the steel ball is taken out from the outlet 3
A damming plate 3c for guiding to d is provided.

The outlet 3d is connected to an inclined chute 4 for guiding the steel ball discharged therefrom by its own weight and the polishing liquid to the main body of the polishing plate. The inclined chute 4 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), it has a concave cross-sectional shape that opens upward, and at the bottom thereof, a plurality of guide grooves 4a for guiding the steel balls while aligning them with the entrance of the polishing plate body are provided. Has been formed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the polishing platen body is composed of a fixed platen 2 and a rotary platen 1 which rotates while being pressed against it by a predetermined processing force. Fixed plate 2 of rotating plate 1
A plurality of grooves (not shown) for receiving the steel balls are concentrically formed on the facing surfaces. Similarly, a plurality of grooves (not shown) for receiving steel balls are formed on the surface of the fixed plate 2 facing the rotary plate 1.
Are formed on concentric circles, and each groove is arranged so as to face the corresponding groove of the rotary disk 1.

The steel balls supplied from the inclined chute 4 are held between the rotary disk 1 and the fixed disk 2 by the groove of the rotary disk 1 and the groove of the fixed disk 2 facing the same at a substantially constant interval in the order of supply. , The steel balls held by the rotation of the turntable 1 are the turntable 1
It is moved along the groove of the fixed platen 2 while receiving a predetermined pressure from. By this movement, the steel ball is polished,
The polishing process (1 cycle) is performed once every two rotations of the turntable 1. The steel ball subjected to the polishing process is carried out to the outside via the outlet chute 5.

In this steel ball polishing machine, for example, the diameter is 10 m.
When 100 kg of a lot of steel balls is polished, it takes 20 minutes to polish all the steel balls of one lot for one cycle. The desired finishing accuracy is obtained by repeating the circulation between the carousel 3 and the polishing platen body a number of times. In order to shorten the processing time, however, the speed at which the steel balls flow into the polishing plate body, that is, A method of increasing the number of supplies per unit time has been considered.

That is, under general processing conditions,
The steel balls are supplied so as to ensure a substantially constant interval between the steel balls arranged on the same circumference between the rotating disk 1 and the stationary disk 2. The polishing amount per cycle is determined according to the processing pressure per ball without depending on the interval between the steel balls.
If the number of supplied steel balls is increased so that the intervals between the steel balls arranged on the same circumference between and are further increased, the number of steel balls processed per cycle will increase. The processing time can be shortened. For example, if the supplied number is doubled, the processing time can be halved.

[0011]

In order to increase the flow rate of steel balls into the polishing plate body, that is, the number of steel balls supplied per unit time, the supply speed of the circular conveyor 3 is increased by increasing the rotation speed of the circular conveyor 3. However, when the rotation speed of the carousel 3 is increased, some steel balls that are not received in the guide groove 4a in the inclined chute 4 hinder the flow of other steel balls, and It is not possible to cope with the increase in the number of supplies. Further, when the steel balls in the guide grooves 4a and the steel balls extruded from the grooves 4a are supplied to the polishing plate body while overlapping, the bites between the steel balls occur and the steel balls are damaged harmfully. Such problems may occur.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5A, in the inclined chute 4, a part of the steel balls 6 discharged from the circular conveyor 3 that is not received in the guide groove 4a is part of the steel balls 6.
In some cases, b obstructs the flow of the other steel balls 6 flowing along the guide groove 4a, and it is not possible to supply the number of steel balls corresponding to the increase in the rotation speed of the circular conveyor 3. Further, the steel ball 6a pushed out from the guide groove 4a moves to the polishing plate body inlet while overlapping with the steel ball 6 in the guide groove 4a, as shown in FIG. 5 (a). When the steel balls 6a move to the polishing plate body inlet while overlapping with the steel balls 6 in the guide groove 4a, the steel balls 6a receive the rotational force of the turntable 1 at the portion a, as shown in FIG. It may bite into and damage both steel balls.

Therefore, the inclined chute 4 cannot cope with an increase in the number of steel balls supplied per unit time as the rotation speed of the circular conveyor 3 increases. That is,
In the conventional steel ball supply device 50, the number of steel balls supplied per unit time to the polishing plate body cannot be increased due to the increase in the rotation speed of the circular conveyor 3.

An object of the present invention is to increase the number of steel balls supplied per unit time to the main body of a steel ball polishing machine and to prevent damage to the steel balls due to the increase in the number of steel balls supplied. An object of the present invention is to provide a steel ball supply device that can be prevented in advance.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In a steel ball supply device using a circular conveyor to supply the steel balls to the steel ball polishing machine, a guide groove for guiding the steel balls carried out from the outlet of the circular conveyor while aligning the steel balls to the inlet of the steel ball polishing machine. And an inclined chute in which the upper part of the guide groove in the vicinity of the steel ball grinder entrance is closed by an upper plate, and a steel ball extruded to the outside of the guide groove is provided upstream of the upper plate of the inclined chute. And a return mechanism for returning the steel balls taken out of the inclined chute by the bite prevention overflow mechanism to the carousel side. .

In the steel ball supply device according to the first aspect of the present invention, a guide groove is formed for guiding the steel balls carried out from the outlet of the circular conveyor to the inlet of the steel ball polishing disc while aligning them, and the steel balls in the guide grooves are formed. An inclined chute that is closed by an upper plate above the vicinity of the grinder entrance is provided, and the steel balls extruded outside the guide groove are prevented from biting by the overflow mechanism to prevent bite from the inclined chute at a position upstream of the upper plate of the inclined chute. The steel balls taken out and taken out from the inclined chute are returned to the side of the circular conveyor by the returning mechanism.Therefore, when increasing the number of steel balls supplied per unit time by increasing the rotation speed of the circular conveyor, The flow of steel balls in the chute can be made smooth, and it is possible to cope with an increase in the number of steel balls supplied per unit time. Although such align the balls can lead to polishing plate body inlet, it can be eliminated, such as bite of the steel ball.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a view showing an upper surface and a cross section of a main part of a first embodiment of a steel ball feeder according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of an inclined chute shown in FIG. Is. In the present embodiment, only the main part of the present invention will be described, and the description of the same part as the conventional one will be simplified or omitted.

In the process of manufacturing a steel ball such as a rolling bearing, the steel ball is ground by a steel ball grinder, and the steel ball grinder has a fixed platen 2 and a predetermined plate as shown in FIG. 1 (a). The polishing table main body includes a rotating table 1 that rotates while being pressed by a processing force, and a steel ball supply device 20 that supplies steel balls to the polishing table body.

This steel ball feeder 20 has a circular conveyor (not shown), and the structure of the circular conveyor is the same as the structure described in the prior art.

The outlet 3d of the carousel is connected to an inclined chute 4 for guiding the steel balls 6 discharged therefrom by its own weight and the polishing liquid to the polishing plate body. The inclined chute 4 has a concave cross-sectional shape that opens upward, and at the bottom thereof, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), a plurality of steel balls 6 for guiding the steel balls 6 to the entrance of the polishing plate body while being aligned are provided. Guide groove 4
a is formed. A portion of the inclined chute 4 near the entrance of the polishing main body plate is bent in an arc shape smoothly connecting the groove of the fixed plate and the guide groove 4a along the flowing direction of the steel ball, and the radius of curvature thereof is set to r.

An upper plate 13 is provided in a portion of the inclined chute 4 near the entrance of the polishing main body board so as to cover an upper portion of the guide groove 4a at that position, and a portion of the upper plate 13 facing the bent portion of the inclined chute 4 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, it is bent with a predetermined radius of curvature R, and its center of curvature is the same as the center of curvature r of the inclined chute 4. The radius of curvature R is preferably set to satisfy the following relational expression (1).

R + 1.1D ≦ R ≦ r + 1.2D (1) However, the upper limit may be slightly increased depending on conditions such as the size of the tilt of the tilt chute 4. In addition,
D in the formula indicates the diameter dimension of the steel ball 6.

The distance between the lower surface of the upper plate 13 and the bottom of the guide groove 4a is defined to be the distance h described later by the flip-up piece 10 described later.

At a position on the inclined chute 4 between the upper plate 13 and the carousel, a bite prevention overflow for taking out the steel balls extruded out of the guide groove 4a, for example, the steel balls 6a and 6b, from the inclined chute 4. The mechanism is in place.

This bite prevention overflow mechanism is
It comprises a plurality of flip-up pieces 10 and a flip-up portion 11. Each flip-up piece 10 is composed of an elongated plate member extending along the guide groove 4a, and the member is arranged between the corresponding guide grooves 4a. An end of the flip-up piece 10 on the side of the circular conveyor is formed in a tapered shape so as to be inclined in a direction along the guide groove 4a.

The flip-up portion 11 is composed of a frame body arranged above the inclined chute 4, and a side portion of the frame body facing the circular conveyor is a steel ball extruded to the outside of the guide groove 4a of the inclined chute 4. Open to receive and discharge. The flip-up part 11 has a flip-up plate 11a,
An end of the flip-up plate 11a on the circular conveyor side is formed in a tapered shape. The upper surface of the flip-up plate 11a has a first slope portion inclined toward one side of the inclined chute 4 so as to guide the received steel ball to the outside of the inclined chute 4, and
And a second slope inclined toward the circular conveyor so that the steel balls guided along the first slope are guided toward the circular conveyor. As shown in FIG. 1 (b), the lower surface of the flip-up plate 11a is a surface parallel to the guide groove 4a, and the distance h between the lower surface and the bottom of the guide groove 4a is not less than the diameter D of the steel ball 6. Is defined by the flip-up piece 10. In addition, it is preferable to set the interval h so as to satisfy the following relational expression (2).

1.1D ≦ h ≦ 1.2D (2) The steel ball 6 guided along the second slope of the flip-up plate 11a is returned to the position near the entrance of the inclined chute 4 by the returning mechanism. The returning mechanism guides the returning conveyor 12 that conveys the steel balls 6 guided along the second slope of the flip-up plate 11 a and the steel balls 6 conveyed by the returning conveyor 12 to a position near the entrance of the inclined chute 4. The return chute 14 of FIG. The return conveyor 12 is a conveyor with a shaft, for example, a chain conveyor, and is driven by a drive motor 15
Is used.

Next, the supply operation by the steel ball supply device 20 will be described.

The steel balls 6 sent out from the circular conveyor to the inclined chute 4 move in the inclined chute 4 toward the entrance of the main body of the polishing plate while overlapping each other by their own weight and the polishing liquid. A part of the moving steel ball 6 is a guide groove 4
another steel ball, for example 6 which is received by a and moves along its guide groove 4a, but overlaps a part of its steel ball 6.
a and 6b are not received by the guide groove 4a,
It moves while being pushed out of a.

The steel balls 6a, 6b, etc. ride on the flip-up piece 10 and then on the flip-up plate 11a during the movement thereof, or directly on the flip-up plate 11a.
Ride on. Specifically, a steel ball, for example 6b, located between the guide grooves 4a rides on the flip-up plate 11a via the flip-up piece 10 as shown in FIG. Since the end of the flip-up piece 10 on the circular conveyor side and the end of the flip-up plate 11 on the circular conveyor side are formed in a tapered shape, smooth and reliable operation is achieved, and the steel balls 6b cause the flow of the steel balls. It can be prevented from being hindered.

On the other hand, the moving steel ball, for example, 6a, which moves while overlapping the steel ball 6 in the guide groove 4a, rides directly on the flip-up plate 11a, as shown in FIG. The end of the lifting plate 11 on the side of the circular conveyor is formed in a taper shape, and the distance between the bottom of the guide groove 4a and the lower surface of the flipping plate 11a is set to h, so that the steel ball 6b can be mounted on it. Similar to the raising, the operation is performed smoothly and surely, and the steel balls 6a can prevent the flow of the steel balls from being obstructed.

The steel ball mounted on the flip-up plate 11a is
The return conveyor 12 along the slope of the upper surface of the flip-up plate 11a
The return conveyor 12 conveys the steel balls into the return chute 14 after being guided to the conveyance entrance of the. This return chute 14
The steel ball having an inclined surface on the side of the inclined chute 4 so as to guide the steel ball 6 to the inclined chute 4 and conveyed into the return chute 14 is returned to the inside of the inclined chute 4 by the return chute 14.

The steel ball 6 received in the guide groove 4a moves inside the guide groove 4a, but when it flows into each introduction path formed by each guide groove 4a, the flip-up plate 11a and the flip-up piece 10. The steel balls 6 move while being aligned in one line for each introduction path, and the movement of the steel balls between the guide grooves 4a is prevented. The steel balls that have passed through the introduction paths formed by the guide grooves 4a, the flip-up plate 11a, and the flip-up piece 10 are connected to the introduction paths formed by the guide grooves 4a, the upper plate 13, and the flip-up piece 10. It flows in and is guided to the entrance of the polishing plate body while aligning in one line for each introduction path.

The distance h between the bottom of the guide groove 4a and the lower surface of the flip-up plate 11a in each introduction path, and the guide groove 4a.
The distance h between the bottom of the upper plate and the lower surface of the upper plate 13 is set in the above (2).
By setting the value satisfying the formula, particularly 1.1D or more, there is no problem such that the flow of the steel balls 6 becomes unsmooth due to the effect of the viscosity of the polishing liquid in each introduction passage. Especially when the diameter of the steel balls 6 is small, the viscosity of the polishing liquid is easily influenced, but by setting the interval h to a value of 1.1 D or more, the influence of the viscosity of the polishing liquid can be avoided. be able to.

On the contrary, the upper limit may be a little larger than the expression (2), depending on the viscosity of the polishing liquid and the inclination of the inclination chute 4.

When the steel balls flow into the entrance of the main body of the polishing plate, the portion of the upper plate 13 facing the bent part of the inclined chute 4 is bent with a predetermined curvature R, so that the steel balls 6 are rotated by the rotation of the main body of the polishing plate. It smoothly flows between the platen 1 and the fixed platen 2, and the steel balls 6 do not collide with the rotating platen 1 with a large force when the flow is made. In particular, when the flow velocity of the steel balls 6 is high, the collision of the steel balls 6 with the turntable 1 is mitigated, so that the steel balls 6 can be prevented from being damaged by the collision force.

Further, by setting the curvature R of the portion of the upper plate 13 facing the bent portion of the inclined chute 4 so as to satisfy the above (1), the steel ball 6 at a high inflow velocity The collision between 6 and the turntable 1 can be further alleviated.

Further, the steel ball 6 has the guide grooves 4a and the upper plate 1
Since each introduction path formed by 3 and the flip-up piece 10 is guided to the inlet of the main body of the polishing plate while being aligned in one row, biting of the steel balls can be eliminated.

As described above, according to the steel ball supply device 20 of the present embodiment, the steel balls are supplied per unit time by increasing the rotation speed of the circular conveyor so as to shorten the processing time by the polishing plate body. Steel balls 6 that obstruct the flow of steel balls in the inclined chute 4 when increasing the number of steel balls
Since a and 6b can be once taken out of the inclined chute 4, the steel balls 6 in the inclined chute 4 can smoothly flow, and it is possible to cope with an increase in the number of steel balls supplied per unit time. For example, in the case where the diameter is 1 mm and one lot is 100 kg as shown in the above, it takes two times to pass one lot once.
What was required in 0 minutes can now be done in half, which is 10 minutes, and accordingly, the time required for polishing can be reduced to almost half.

Further, even when the number of steel balls supplied per unit time is increased, the steel balls 6 are guided to the entrance of the main body of the polishing plate without being aligned in one row, so that the steel balls are caught by biting or the like. Damage can be prevented in advance.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view around an inclined chute in the second embodiment of the steel ball supply device of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, an opening is provided in the upper plate 13, and a constant distribution control mechanism for applying a feed force to the moving steel ball in the moving direction through the opening. 16 are provided.

The fixed distribution control mechanism 16 is attached to a shaft 16a which is rotated in the direction of the arrow in the figure by a drive motor or the like, and has a plurality of brush-like projections arranged at equal intervals around the shaft 16a. The rotating body is provided with 16b, and the rotating body is positioned so that the brush-like projections 16b can come into contact with the steel balls 6 through the openings of the upper plate 13.

The fixed distribution control mechanism 16 rotates a plurality of brush-shaped protrusions 16b by a drive motor or the like, and brings each rotating brush-shaped protrusion 16b into contact with the moving steel ball 6, thereby causing the steel ball 6 to move. The feed force is applied to the moving direction. As a result, the steel balls 6 are sent out with a predetermined sending force, and the sending intervals of the steel balls 6 are controlled. That is, by controlling the rotation speed of each brush-shaped protrusion 16b, the supply speed of the steel balls 6 and the supply interval can be controlled, and more stable steel ball supply can be performed.

[0046]

As described above, according to the steel ball feeding device of the first aspect, the guide for guiding the steel balls carried out from the outlet of the circular conveyor while aligning them to the inlet of the steel ball polishing machine. An inclined chute is formed in which a groove is formed, and the upper part of the guide groove near the entrance of the steel ball grinder is closed by an upper plate.The steel ball extruded outside the guide groove is an angled chute with a bite prevention overflow mechanism. The steel balls taken out from the inclined chute at the upstream side position of the upper plate are returned to the circular conveyor side by the returning mechanism, so the unit time of the steel balls is increased by increasing the rotation speed of the circular conveyor. When increasing the number of supplied steel balls per unit time, it is possible to smooth the flow of steel balls in the inclined chute and to cope with the increase in the number of supplied steel balls per unit time. Moni, although such align the steel ball can be guided to the polishing plate body inlet by the inclined chute, can be eliminated, such as bite of the steel ball. Therefore, it is possible to increase the number of steel balls supplied per unit time to the polishing plate body of the steel ball polishing plate to shorten the processing time, and
It is possible to prevent damage to the steel balls due to the increase in the number of supplied steel balls.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an upper surface and a cross section of a main part of a first embodiment of a steel ball supply device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the inclined chute of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view around an inclined chute in the second embodiment of the steel ball supply device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an overall view showing a configuration of a conventional steel ball polishing board.

5 is a view showing a plane and a cross section of an inclined chute that guides a steel ball from the steel ball supply device of FIG. 4 into a steel ball grinder.

6 is a side view showing the flow of steel balls in the inclined chute of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Rotating plate 2 Fixed plate 4 Inclined chute 4a Guide groove 6, 6a, 6b Steel ball 10 Bounce piece (bite prevention overflow mechanism) 11 Bounce part (bite prevention overflow mechanism) 11a Bounce plate (bite prevention overflow Mechanism 12 Return conveyor (return mechanism) 13 Upper plate 14 Return chute (return mechanism) 15 Drive motor (return mechanism) 20 Steel ball supply device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A steel ball supply device using a circular conveyor for supplying steel balls to a steel ball polishing plate, while aligning the steel balls carried out from the outlet of the circular conveyor with the inlet of the steel ball polishing plate. A guide groove for guiding is formed, and an inclined chute in which the upper part of the guide groove in the vicinity of the steel ball polishing plate inlet is closed by an upper plate, and the steel ball extruded to the outside of the guide groove is the inclined chute. And a return mechanism for returning the steel balls taken out from the inclined chute by the bite prevention overflow mechanism to the carousel side at the upstream side position of the upper plate. A steel ball supply device characterized in that