JPH1019192A - Fog lubricator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To supply a constant quantity of oil fog at all times by disposing an oil fog sensor at the discharge side of a mist generating mechanism atomizing supplied lubricant, and controlling the generated quantity of oil fog of the mist generating mechanism based on the result of comparison between the detected signal of the oil fog sensor and a value set in advance. SOLUTION: In the fog lubricator 10 concerning the bearing part and the like of a machine tool, lubricant 16 fed by a plunger pump 15 to a venturi nozzle 14 is atomized by compressed air fed from a pipe conduit 17, and only mist in a dry condition is accumulated in a manifold 13a. The aforesaid mist is injected to bearings 35 by way of manifold pipeline 32 and branch pipes 33. In this plate, the discharge quantity of mist is detected by a mist sensor 12 located in the transparent manifold pipeline 32, the detected signal of the discharge quantity of mist is compared with a set signal, when the quantity of mist is found to have been little, the number of operations of the plunger pump 15 is thereby increased by way of a pump driving solenoid valve 22, so that the quantity of lubricant to be fed to the venturi nozzle 14 is thereby increased.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a spray lubricating apparatus for atomizing lubricating oil and supplying the atomized oil to a lubricated portion.

2. Description of the Related Art In general, various devices have been proposed for atomizing lubricating oil and supplying it to a lubricated portion. In such a spray lubrication device that atomizes lubricating oil using pressure air, in order to make the particle size of the oil mist uniform, the large one of the generated oil mist is returned to the oil tank, Only those having a small particle size are conveyed to each lubrication point by manifold piping.

In general, a spray lubrication device supplies an oil mist in which oil and air are mixed to a bearing portion of a machine tool or the like so that oil droplets lubricate a friction surface and remove heat generated by air. . Further, in order to make the particle size of the oil mist uniform, an atomizer called a selective lubricator is used. For this reason, the particle size and amount of the oil mist vary depending on the following parameters. Lubricating oil type Ambient temperature change Lubricating oil viscosity Pressure change Fluid amount to be supplied to the atomizer Type of device Variation between individual devices Due to change in atomization rate due to clogging of venturi in atomizer . "Here, the atomization rate refers to the ratio of the amount of oil supplied to the atomizer to the amount of oil discharged as an oil mist." The spray lubrication device was operated under fixed conditions by converting the amount of oil to be supplied, determining the amount of oil to be dropped to satisfy the amount.

However, in the conventional spray lubricating apparatus as described above, the amount of oil mist generated fluctuates due to the above-mentioned parameter fluctuation. Refueling had a certain safety factor. For this reason, excess oil fog has contaminated the surroundings, and excess oil has caused heat generation in the sliding portion. Further, in other lubrication methods, a control method for determining a lubrication amount by detecting a rise in the temperature of a lubrication point has been proposed. Since the temperature rises, a method of detecting a temperature rise at a refueling point cannot be adopted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a spray lubrication device capable of detecting a change in the amount of oil mist and supplying a constant amount of oil mist, in consideration of the problems of these conventional spray lubrication devices. Is to do.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a spray lubricating apparatus according to the present invention is a spray lubricating apparatus for supplying lubricating oil to a lubricating point in the form of a mist. An oil mist generating mechanism for atomizing, an oil mist sensor disposed on a discharge side of the oil mist generating mechanism, and a control operation unit for processing an output signal from the oil mist sensor; Is compared with a preset value, and the amount of oil mist generated from the oil mist generating mechanism is controlled according to the comparison result.

The oil fog sensor detects the amount of oil fog based on a change in the amount of transmitted light. Further, the oil fog sensor may be one that detects the mass of the oil fog, or one that detects the amount of the oil fog by converting it into a change in the amount of heat. The oil mist generating mechanism controls the amount of generated oil mist by controlling the amount of supplied oil. The oil mist generating mechanism controls the amount of oil mist generated by adjusting pressure conditions. A switching valve is provided in a pipeline from the oil mist generating mechanism to the lubricated portion to adjust the amount of oil mist reaching the lubricated portion.

As described above, according to the spray lubrication apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to always secure a preset oil mist discharge amount irrespective of changes in various oil mist generation conditions.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
This will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of a spray lubrication device according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control arithmetic circuit used in the spray lubrication device, and FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an oil fog sensor.

Here, the spray lubrication device 10 comprises an oil mist generating device 11 for atomizing the supplied lubricating oil into fine particles,
An oil fog sensor 12 is provided on the discharge side of the oil fog generator 11. The oil mist generating device 11 includes an oil tank 13 in which lubricating oil 16 is stored, a venturi nozzle 14 to which pressurized air is supplied, a plunger pump 15 to supply lubricating oil to the venturi nozzle unit, and a pressure in communication with the venturi nozzle 14. A pipe 17 to which air is supplied, and a bypass adjusting screw 18 for guiding the pressure air from the pipe 17 to the oil mist discharge side
A manifold pressure gauge 19 for detecting the pressure of a manifold 13a where oil mist free of lubricating oil 16 is stored at the upper end of the oil tank 13, an oil mist discharge pipe 20 for discharging oil mist stored in the manifold, and the like. It is composed of

The oil tank 13 contains a lubricating oil 16 at the bottom of the lower end, and lubricating oil is supplied from a sub-tank (not shown) according to the consumption amount. A plunger pump 15 is provided at the inner bottom of the oil tank 13, and adjusts the amount of oil supplied to the Venturi nozzle unit according to a control signal from the control calculation unit 21. In the present embodiment, the solenoid valve 22 for driving the pump is opened and closed by a signal from the control operation
5 is driven.

The venturi nozzle 14 is in communication with the pipeline 17, the manifold 13a, and the bypass pipe 23. The upper surface of the venturi nozzle 14 is covered with a transparent sight dome 25, and a lubricating oil supply pipe 24 from the plunger pump 15 is guided. Venturi nozzle 1
4 includes a filter / regulator 26 and an operating pressure valve 2.
7. Pressurized air is supplied from the pipe 17 via the electromagnetic valve 28.

The pressure of the supplied air is controlled by a regulator 2
6 can be adjusted to an arbitrary pressure. In addition, the bypass pipe 23 communicates with the oil mist discharge pipe 20 of the oil mist,
The pressure can be adjusted by the bypass adjusting screw 18.

In the above embodiment, the case where the plunger pump 15 is used has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other types of pumps such as a gear pump and a vane pump may be used.

The oil mist sensor 12 is provided at a part of the oil mist discharge pipe 20 and detects the amount of lubricating oil in the oil mist. FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the oil fog sensor 12, in which light from the light emitting side 12a is received by the light receiving side 12b, and the lubricating oil particles 1 are received.
6a is converted into a light shielding amount and detected. That is, if the light shielding amount is large, the amount of the lubricating oil particles 16a is large.

In the above embodiment, the case where the oil mist sensor 12 detects the amount of the oil mist based on the change in the amount of transmitted light has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be detected. Further, a method may be employed in which the amount of oil fog is converted into heat and detected by a thermocouple thermometer to which a hot wire anemometer is applied.

The control calculation section 21 compares the detection signal from the oil fog sensor 12 with a preset numerical value. The numerical value set in advance may be a numerical value based on an external signal, for example, a ratio determined by the rotation speed of the shaft head or the like. When the detection signal from the oil mist sensor 12 is set and is larger than the numerical value, the sequencer 30 controls the pump driving solenoid valve 22 to change the driving frequency of the plunger pump 15 per unit time.

Next, the operation of the spray lubrication device 10 configured as described above will be described. First, the lubricating oil 1 supplied to the venturi nozzle portion by the plunger pump 15
6 is a filter / regulator 26, an operating pressure valve 27
Is atomized by the pressurized air supplied from the pipe line 17 through the pipe. The larger of the atomized oil fog particles is selected by the diffusion plug 31 and falls into the oil tank 13.

Only the dry oil mist having a small particle size is accumulated in the manifold 13 a and guided from the oil mist discharge pipe 20 to the manifold pipe 32 and the branch pipe 33. The oil mist guided to the branch pipe 33 is increased in particle diameter by the fog nozzle 34, turned into a wet oil mist, and then injected to a lubricating portion such as a bearing 35. The injected oil mist forms a uniform and thin oil film on the lubricating surface.

On the other hand, in the transparent manifold pipe 32, the discharge amount of the oil mist is detected by the oil mist sensor 12. The detection signal from the oil mist sensor 12 is output to the control calculation unit 21. The detection signal from the oil fog sensor 12 is compared and calculated with a preset a signal in the control calculation unit 21. As a result, when the amount of the oil fog is small, the ON / OFF of the pump driving electromagnetic valve 22 via the sequencer 30 is performed. By increasing the number of times of OFF and increasing the number of operations of the plunger pump 15, the amount of lubricating oil supplied to the Venturi nozzle 14 is increased. Conversely, when the amount of oil fog is large, the number of times the pump driving solenoid valve 22 is turned on and off via the sequencer 30 is reduced, and the amount of lubricating oil supplied to the venturi nozzle 14 is reduced.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the overall configuration of a spray lubrication apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the oil fog sensors 12a, 12b, and 12c are provided in the respective branch pipes 33. In such a configuration, since the amount of oil mist is detected at a location close to the oil supply point, a portion where the amount of oil is small occurs due to the variation caused by each branch pipe. By increasing the amount of oil, the oil can be reliably supplied.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control arithmetic circuit used in the spray lubrication apparatus of the second embodiment. Here, the detection signal from each of the oil fog sensors 12a, 12b, and 12c is compared with a preset a signal, and if any of the detection signals is smaller than the a signal, the pump drive solenoid valve 22 is turned on. , The number of OFF times is increased, and the amount of refueling is increased.

In the above description, the means for detecting the amount of oil mist from the oil mist sensor 12 and controlling the amount of generated oil mist is as follows.
Although the case where the supply oil amount is increased or decreased has been described, another oil fog generation parameter may be changed and controlled.
Specifically, actual fairness 2-1597, actual fairness 2-159
8, 2-1599, 2-1600, etc. Further, the pressure difference between the pressure of the air supplied to the pipeline 17 and the pressure on the discharge side may be changed. Further, a switching valve may be provided in the manifold pipe 32 to control the amount of oil mist guided to the lubrication unit. Further, control may be performed by arbitrarily combining the amount of supplied oil, the control of the difference between the supply pressure and the discharge pressure, and the control of the switching valve in the manifold pipe.

[0022]

As described above, the spray lubricating apparatus according to the present invention is a spray lubricating apparatus for supplying lubricating oil in the form of mist to a lubricating point. A mechanism, an oil mist sensor disposed on the discharge side of the oil mist generating mechanism, and a control operation unit that processes an output signal from the oil mist sensor. The set value is compared, and the amount of oil fog generated from the oil fog generating mechanism is controlled according to the comparison result, so that the fluctuation of the oil fog generation conditions, for example, the type of oil, the ambient temperature, the viscosity of the oil, The discharge amount of the oil mist can be kept constant irrespective of pressure fluctuations and individual variations between devices. In addition, a single spray lubrication device can supply oil to multiple machine elements,
An appropriate amount of oil can be supplied to each lubrication point, and lubrication oil can be saved. Furthermore, since an accurate oil amount can be secured,
Conventionally, an excessive oil supply of about 10 to 100 times is performed, an appropriate amount of oil mist can be obtained, heat generation due to high-speed rotation of the driving unit can be prevented, and surrounding pollution can be prevented.

When the oil mist sensor is of a type that detects the amount of oil mist by a change in the amount of transmitted light, the manifold piping 32
The amount of oil mist can be detected without affecting the flow rate of the oil. Further, when the oil mist sensor is of a type that detects the mass of the oil mist, accurate lubrication can be detected irrespective of the particle size of the oil mist, and lubrication without excess or deficiency becomes possible. Further, when the oil mist sensor is configured to convert the amount of oil mist into a change in the amount of heat and detect the amount, the amount of oil mist can be accurately detected.

In the case of a system in which a switching valve is provided in a pipe from the oil mist generating mechanism to the lubricated portion to adjust the amount of the oil mist reaching the lubricated portion, the supply of the oil mist to the lubricating portion at rest is provided. And effective lubrication becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration of a spray lubrication device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control arithmetic circuit used in the spray lubrication apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an oil mist sensor used in the spray lubrication device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration of a spray lubrication apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control arithmetic circuit used in the spray lubrication apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 spray lubrication device 11 oil fog generator 12 oil fog sensor 12a light emitting side 12b light receiving side 13 oil tank 13a manifold 14 venturi nozzle 15 plunger pump 16 lubricating oil 16a lubricating oil particles 17 pipeline 18 bypass adjusting screw 19 manifold pressure gauge 20 oil fog Discharge pipe 21 Control calculation unit 22 Pump drive solenoid valve 23 Bypass pipe 24 Lubricating oil supply pipe 25 Site dome 26 Filter / regulator 27 Operating pressure valve 28 Solenoid valve 30 Sequencer 31 Diffusion plug 32 Manifold pipe 33 Branch pipe 34 Fog nozzle 35 bearing

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A spray lubrication device for supplying lubricating oil to a lubrication point in the form of a mist, comprising: an oil mist generating mechanism for atomizing the supplied lubricating oil; and an oil mist generating mechanism disposed on a discharge side of the oil mist generating mechanism. Oil fog sensor, and a control operation unit that processes an output signal from the oil fog sensor, and compares a detection signal from the oil fog sensor with a preset value, and according to the comparison result. A spray lubrication device characterized by controlling the amount of oil mist generated from an oil mist generating mechanism. 2. The spray lubrication device according to claim 1, wherein the oil mist sensor detects an amount of the oil mist by a change in the amount of transmitted light. 3. The spray lubrication device according to claim 1, wherein the oil mist sensor detects a mass of the oil mist. 4. The spray lubrication device according to claim 1, wherein the oil fog sensor detects the amount of the oil fog by converting the amount of the oil fog into a change in the amount of heat. 5. The spray lubrication device according to claim 1, wherein the oil fog generating mechanism controls an amount of generated oil fog by controlling an amount of supplied oil. 6. The spray lubrication device according to claim 1, wherein the oil mist generating mechanism controls an amount of generated oil mist by adjusting a pressure condition. 7. The spray-lubricating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a switching valve is provided in a pipeline from the oil mist generating mechanism to the lubricated portion to adjust an amount of the oil mist reaching the lubricated portion. 8. The spray lubricating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit for comparing a detection signal from the oil fog sensor with a preset value, and displaying a mismatch when the detection signal does not match. .