JP3684642B2 - Roller bearing cage - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The rolling bearing retainer according to the present invention is used in a state where it is incorporated in a rotation support portion of various rotating machines that require low noise and low vibration such as machine tools and general machines.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, a ball bearing as shown in FIG. 10 is widely used as a rolling bearing for supporting various rotating parts such as bearing parts of various rotating machines. In this ball bearing, an inner ring 2 having an inner ring raceway 1 on an outer peripheral surface and an outer ring 4 having an outer ring raceway 3 on an inner peripheral surface are arranged concentrically, and between the inner ring raceway 1 and the outer ring raceway 3, a rolling element is provided. A plurality of balls 5 and 5 are provided to be freely rollable. In the case of the illustrated example, the inner ring raceway 1 and the outer ring raceway 3 are both deep groove type. The plurality of balls 5 and 5 are held in pockets 7 and 7 provided in the cage 6 so as to be freely rollable.
[0003]
The cage 6 constituting the ball bearing shown in FIG. 10 is called a corrugated press cage, each of which is formed by press-molding a metal plate material, and a pair of elements formed in a corrugated annular shape. 8 and 8 are combined. Both of these elements 8 and 8 are formed with substantially semi-cylindrical recesses 9 and 9 for forming the pockets 7 and 7 at a plurality of locations in the circumferential direction. Then, the pair of elements 8 and 8 are abutted with each other at the portions removed from the respective recesses 9 and 9, and these portions are coupled and fixed by a plurality of rivets 10 to form pockets 7 at a plurality of annular and circumferential locations. , 7. The inner surface intermediate portion of each of the recesses 9 and 9 is a spherical concave surface having an arc cross section having a slightly larger curvature radius than the curvature radius of the outer surface of each of the balls 5 and 5. Therefore, when the pair of elements 8 and 8 are brought into contact with each other, the concave portions 9 and 9 are combined to form the pockets 7 and 7.
[0004]
Further, the cage 11 shown in FIG. 11 called a crown type cage is configured to roll balls 5 and 5 (FIG. 10) on a plurality of circumferential directions of an annular main portion 12 made of synthetic resin or the like. Pockets 7 are provided for holding them in a movable manner. In the case of such a crown-shaped cage 11, each of the pockets 7, 7 includes one side surface of a pair of elastic pieces 13, 13 arranged at a distance from each other on the main portion 12, and the main portion 12. 11 (right and left direction in FIG. 11) and one concave surface (right surface in FIG. 11) and spherical concave surfaces 14 and 14 provided between the pair of elastic pieces 13 and 13. The radius of curvature of one side surface of these elastic pieces 13, 13 and the concave surface portions 14, 14 is slightly larger than the radius of curvature of the outer surface of the ball 5.
[0005]
When assembling the ball bearing, each of the balls 5, 5 is formed by elastically expanding the distance between the tip edges of the pair of elastic pieces 13, 13 constituting each pocket 7, 7. Push between the elastic pieces 13,13. The cage 11 thus holds the balls 5 and 5 in the pockets 7 and 7 so that the balls 5 and 5 are connected to the inner ring raceway 1 and the outer ring raceway 3 (FIG. 10). In between, it is held freely rolling.
[0006]
When the ball bearing provided with the cage 6 or the cage 11 described above is used, the inner ring 2 and the outer ring 4 can freely rotate relative to each other as the plurality of balls 5 and 5 roll. . At this time, the plurality of balls 5 and 5 revolve around the inner ring 2 while rotating. The cages 6 and 11 rotate around the inner ring 2 at the same speed as the revolution speed of the balls 5 and 5.
[0007]
The portion between the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring 2 and the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring 4 is filled with or continuously supplied with a lubricant such as grease or other lubricating oil so that the relative rotation is performed smoothly. . In addition, vibration and noise are prevented from occurring in the ball bearing, and failure such as seizure is prevented. In some ball bearings, both ends of the space between the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring 2 and the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring 4 are closed by a sealing member such as a seal plate or a shield plate, and the lubricant leaks from this space. Or, there are cases where foreign matter such as dust is prevented from entering the space. However, FIG. 10 shows a ball bearing which does not have such a sealing member.
[0008]
In the case of a ball bearing incorporating the cages 6 and 11 as described above, even if a necessary amount of lubricant is filled or supplied, vibration is induced in the cages 6 and 11 and the cages 6 and 11 are incorporated. The ball bearing may generate noise and vibration called cage noise. Such vibrations of the cages 6 and 11 are caused by sliding friction between the balls 5 and 5 and the cages 6 and 11 due to a large amount of movement of the cages 6 and 11 with respect to the balls 5 and 5. Occurs based on. In order to suppress the generation of such cage noise, conventionally, the gap between the inner surfaces of the pockets 7 and 7 and the rolling surfaces of the balls 5 and 5 is reduced to reduce the cages 6 and 11 with respect to the balls 5 and 5. The amount of movement is reduced to suppress the generation of cage noise.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, if the amount of movement of the cages 6 and 11 with respect to the balls 5 and 5 is simply reduced, the operation of the cages 6 and 11 may be reduced when the operating conditions are severe, such as when the supply of lubricant is insufficient. A cage sound may be generated due to the inner peripheral shape of the pockets 7 and 7. That is, in the case of the conventional cages 6 and 11 shown in FIGS. 10 to 11, the inner peripheral surfaces of the pockets 7 and 7 can be in sliding contact with the rolling surfaces of the balls 5 and 5 over almost the entire width. For this reason, the frictional force acting between the inner peripheral surface and the rolling surface is increased. This point will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
[0010]
First, in the case of the first example of the conventional structure shown in FIG. 10, the inner peripheral surfaces of the pockets 7 and 7 are formed so that most of the recesses 9 and 9 have a full width as shown by the diagonal lattices in FIGS. Thus, the holding guide surface has a radius of curvature slightly larger than the radius of curvature of the rolling surfaces of the balls 5 and 5 (FIG. 10). In the case of the second example of the conventional structure shown in FIG. 11, the inner peripheral surfaces of the pockets 7 and 7 are also balls 5, 5 over the entire width as shown by the diagonal lattices in FIGS. The holding guide surface has a radius of curvature slightly larger than the radius of curvature of the rolling surface.
[0011]
Thus, when the inner peripheral surfaces of the pockets 7 and 7 are the holding guide surfaces over the entire width, the inner peripheral surfaces of these pockets 7 and 7 and the rolling surfaces of the balls 5 and 5 are And the frictional vibration generated at the sliding contact portion between the cages 6 and 11 and the balls 5 and 5 is increased to induce vibration and noise. The rolling bearing cage of the present invention has been conceived to eliminate such inconveniences.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The rolling bearing retainer of the present invention is generally annular or cylindrical, and has a plurality of pockets intermittently formed in the circumferential direction, like the conventional rolling bearing retainer described above. The inner surface of each pocket is a holding guide surface having a radius of curvature that is slightly larger than the radius of curvature of the rolling surface of the rolling element that is movably held in the pocket.
[0013]
In particular, in the rolling bearing cage of the present invention, when the radial direction of the rolling bearing cage is the width direction of the inner surface of each pocket, only a part with respect to the circumferential direction of each pocket, the holding guide surface formed over the entire width direction of each of these pockets, in the balance with respect to the circumferential direction of each pocket, Rutotomoni the presence of the holding guide surface only in the width direction central portion of the inner surface of the pockets The width-direction both ends of the remaining portions in the circumferential direction of the pockets are non-holding guide surfaces, so that the width dimensions of the holding guide surfaces are not the same with respect to the circumferential direction of the inner surfaces of the pockets. In addition, the distance between the non-holding guide surface and the rolling surface existing in the inner surface of each of the pockets in the width direction away from the holding guide surface is greater than the distance between the holding guide surface and the rolling surface. It is getting bigger.
[0014]
[Action]
In the case of the rolling bearing cage of the present invention configured as described above, the inner peripheral surface of each pocket and the rolling surface of the rolling element rub against each other only at the holding guide surface portion, and rub at the non-holding guide surface portion. Do not fit. Therefore, the friction area between the inner peripheral surface of each pocket and the rolling surface of the rolling element is reduced, and the frictional vibration generated at the sliding contact portion between the cage and the rolling element is reduced, thereby reducing vibration and noise. .
Further, only a portion in the circumferential direction of the pockets, while sufficiently securing the width of the holding guide surface, with the balance with respect to the circumferential direction of the inner surface of each pocket since narrowing the width of the holding guide surface The radial displacement of the cage with respect to the rolling elements will not be excessive. That is, although the friction area is reduced, the amount of movement of the cage with respect to the rolling element can be reduced to suppress the occurrence of cage noise.
[0015]
【Example】
1 and 2 show an example in which the present invention is applied to a synthetic resin crown-shaped cage as shown in FIG. 11 as a first embodiment of the present invention. The feature of the present invention is that the shape of the holding guide surface 15 constituting the inner peripheral surface of the pocket 7 is devised in order to reduce the friction area between the inner peripheral surface of the pocket 7 and the rolling surface of the ball 5. It is in. Since the structure and operation of the other parts are the same as those of the conventional structure described above, the illustration and description of the equivalent parts are omitted or simplified, and the following description will focus on the characteristic parts of the present invention.
[0016]
A holding guide surface 15 is provided on a part of the inner surface of the pocket 7, that is, a portion indicated by a diagonal lattice in FIGS. The radius of curvature of the holding guide surface 15 is slightly larger than the radius of curvature of the rolling surface of the ball 5, which is a rolling element, held in the pocket 7 so as to roll freely. In the present embodiment, the holding guide surface 15 has a width dimension (dimension in the left-right direction in FIG. 2) wide at the center (groove bottom) of the pocket 7 and both ends (the tip sides of the elastic pieces 13, 13). ) Is gradually becoming narrower as it goes to. Further, the portion of the pocket 7 near the both side edges on the inner surface is the non-holding guide surface 16 that is separated from the holding guide surface 15 in the width direction. The distance between the non-holding guide surface 16 and the rolling surface of the ball 5 is set larger than the distance between the holding guide surface 15 and the rolling surface. Therefore, in a state where the cage 11a of the present invention is incorporated in a rolling bearing, the rolling surface and the holding guide surface 15 may rub against each other, but the rolling surface and the non-holding guide surface 16 do not rub against each other. .
[0017]
In the case of the rolling bearing retainer of the present invention configured as described above, the inner peripheral surface of each pocket 7 and the rolling surface of the ball 5 rub against each other only at the holding guide surface 15 portion, and the non-holding guide surface. The 16 parts do not rub together. Accordingly, the friction area between the inner peripheral surface of each pocket 7 and the rolling surface of the ball 5 is reduced, the frictional vibration generated at the sliding contact portion between the cage 11a and the ball 5 is reduced, and vibration and noise are generated. Decrease. In addition, the width of the holding guide surface 15 is not simply reduced, but the width of the widest portion of the holding guide surface 15 is sufficiently secured. Will not be too large. In other words, although the friction area is reduced, the amount of movement of the cage 11a relative to the ball 5 can be reduced, and the occurrence of cage noise can be suppressed.
[0018]
FIG. 3 shows the result of an experiment conducted by the present inventor in order to confirm the effect of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a frequency spectrum of sound generated from a rolling bearing incorporating a cage. The horizontal axis represents frequency and the vertical axis represents noise level. Of the two curves a and b representing the measurement results, the curve a drawn with a solid line is the full width of the inner peripheral surface of the pocket 7 as in the second example of the conventional structure shown in FIGS. The frequency spectrum of the noise which the ball bearing comprised using the holder | retainer used as the holding | maintenance guide surface 15 by using is expressed. On the other hand, the curve b drawn with a broken line is configured by using a cage in which the width dimension of the holding guide surface 15 is large at the center and small at both ends as in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. The frequency spectrum of the noise which the ball bearing made is expressed. Of the constituent parts constituting each of the ball bearings, the same (equivalent) parts were used for the constituent parts other than the cage. As is clear from the comparison of the curves a and b in FIG. 3, in the case of the ball bearing using the rolling bearing cage of the present invention, the annoying high frequency component is drastically reduced. That is, the acoustic characteristics are improved.
[0019]
4 to 5 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In the case of the present embodiment, the width dimension (lateral dimension in FIG. 5) of the holding guide surface 15 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the pocket 7 is wide at the central portion and both end portions of the pocket 7 and is narrow at the portion between them. ing. In the case of this embodiment, the amount of movement of the cage 11a relative to the ball 5 is larger than that in the case of the first embodiment described above, because the width dimension of the holding guide surface 15 is increased at both ends of the pocket 7. Can be made smaller. This contributes to further reduction of the cage sound. Other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment described above.
[0020]
Next, FIGS. 6 to 7 show a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the present embodiment is applied to a corrugated press retainer as shown in FIG. In order to form the pocket 7, the inner peripheral surface of the recesses 9, 9 formed in the pair of elements 8, 8 is most at the center of the recesses 9, 9, as shown by a diagonal lattice in FIGS. The holding guide surfaces 15 and 15 are formed which have a wide width dimension (dimension in the left-right direction in FIG. 7) and become narrower toward both ends. The remaining portions of the inner peripheral surfaces of the recesses 9 and 9 are separated from the holding guide surfaces 15 and 15 as non-holding guide surfaces 16 and 16. In the case of the present embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment described above, the cage noise can be reduced by reducing the friction area while suppressing the amount of movement of the cage 6a relative to the ball 5 to a small amount.
[0021]
Next, FIGS. 8 to 9 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the case of this embodiment, as in the second embodiment described above, the width dimension of the holding guide surface 15 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the pocket 7 (the dimension in the left-right direction in FIG. 9) is set to the center portion of the pocket 7 and It is wide at both ends, and narrowed between the two. The configuration and operation other than the basic configuration of the cage 6a being changed to the corrugated press cage are the same as those of the second embodiment.
[0022]
In addition, even in the second to fourth embodiments described above, the same experiment as in the first embodiment described above was performed to confirm the effect of the present invention. These second to fourth, It was confirmed that the cage noise can be reduced by the rolling bearing cage of each example. In the above description, the rolling bearing is a ball bearing. However, the present invention uses a roller or a tapered roller as a rolling element, and is held in a roller bearing or a tapered roller bearing. It can be applied to the vessel.
[0023]
【The invention's effect】
Since the rolling bearing cage of the present invention is configured and operates as described above, sliding friction between the inner surface of the pocket and the rolling surface of the rolling element can be reduced while suppressing the amount of movement of the cage with respect to the rolling element. This can reduce the cage noise. As a result, it is possible to obtain a rolling bearing with low noise and vibration and to improve the performance of various rotating machines incorporating the rolling bearing. In addition, the wear resistance of the cage can be improved, and the durability of the cage and the rolling bearing can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a cage showing a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing noise frequency spectra of a rolling bearing incorporating a cage according to the first embodiment and a rolling bearing incorporating a conventional cage;
FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a cage showing a second embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG.
FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged exploded perspective view of a cage showing a third embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 6 shown in an assembled state.
FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged exploded perspective view of a cage showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG. 8 in an assembled state.
FIG. 10 is a partially cut perspective view showing an example of a rolling bearing incorporating a cage that is a subject of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another example of a cage that is an object of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a partially enlarged exploded perspective view showing a first example of a conventional cage.
13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE of FIG. 12, shown in an assembled state.
FIG. 14 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a second example of a conventional cage.
15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line FF in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inner ring track 2 Inner ring 3 Outer ring track 4 Outer ring 5 Ball 6, 6a Cage 7, Pocket 8 Element 9 Recess 10 Rivet 11, 11a Cage 12 Main part 13 Elastic piece 14 Concave part 15 Holding guide surface 16 Non-holding guide surface

Claims (2)

From the radius of curvature of the rolling surface of the rolling element that is annular or cylindrical as a whole, intermittently forms a plurality of pockets in the circumferential direction, and holds the inner surface of each pocket in the pocket so as to roll freely. However, in a rolling bearing cage having a holding guide surface having a slightly larger radius of curvature, when the radial direction of the rolling bearing cage is the width direction of the inner surface of each pocket, the circumference of each pocket is The holding guide surface is formed over the entire width direction of each pocket in only a part with respect to the direction, and the holding guide surface is the center in the width direction of the inner surface of each pocket with the rest in the circumferential direction of each pocket. only the part is present Rutotomoni, by these non-holding guide surface in the width direction both end portions in the circumferential direction of the remainder of each pocket, the width of the holding guide surface, unequal in the circumferential direction of the inner surface of the pockets When In addition, the distance between the non-holding guide surface and the rolling surface that exists in the width direction of the inner surface of each pocket from the holding guide surface is determined by the distance between the holding guide surface and the rolling surface. Roller bearing cage characterized by a larger size. The rolling element is a ball, and the holding guide surface is a spherical concave surface with an arc cross section having a radius of curvature slightly larger than the radius of curvature of the rolling surface of the ball, and the rotation of the ball held in each pocket The width of the inner surface matches the width of the holding guide surface at the part where the extension line of the shaft intersects with the inner surface of each pocket. The rolling bearing retainer according to claim 1, wherein the width of the guide surface is smaller than the width of the inner surface.

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