Ball injection mechanism for steering gear ball screw pair

Abstract

The application provides a ball injection mechanism for a steering gear ball screw pair, which can inject a steel ball into a steel ball channel of a nut without manual assistance. Two arc-shaped channels from top to bottom are arranged in a ball injection cavity of the ball injection structure, so as to ensure that the steel ball can smoothly enter the steel ball channel in the nut to be installed. The lower half of the ball pushing rod is arranged as a spring structure, so as to ensure that the ball pushing rod can smoothly push the steel ball from the arc-shaped channel to the steel ball channel in the nut to be installed after the ball pushing rod is deeply arranged in the ball injection cavity.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of ball screw assembly manufacturing equipment, specifically a ball injection mechanism for a steering gear ball screw assembly. Background Technology

[0002] The lead screw and nut unit is a highly efficient actuator that converts rotary motion into linear motion. For example... Figure 1 The diagram shows a ball screw assembly N used in a steering gear. N1 is the nut, N2 is the bearing outer ring, N3 is the cage, N4 is the sealing cap, and N5 is the steering gear. Four arc-shaped ball grooves N6 are formed inside the nut N1, and each groove N6 holds a set of 18 balls N7. The four grooves N6 are parallel and isolated from each other, and the balls N7 in each groove circulate within the groove during movement. When assembling the ball screw assembly, the nut N1, bearing outer ring N2, cage N3, sealing cap N4, and steering gear N5 are assembled first. Then, the balls N7 are injected into the grooves N6. After injection, the matching long screw needs to be immediately installed into the nut N1.

[0003] like Figure 2 The diagram shows a ball-loading device for a steering gear ball screw assembly designed by our company. It includes a feeding structure 2, a clamping structure, and a ball-loading lifting drive structure 6 mounted on a main support 1. A ball storage structure 7 holds steel balls of various sizes. The ball storage structure 7 and the feeding structure 2 are connected by a steel ball pipeline made of flexible hoses, which supplies steel balls to the feeding structure 2 in real time. The ball storage structure 7 feeds the steel balls into the ball injection structure 5. The ball injection structure 5 then installs the steel balls into the inner cavity groove N6 of the nut placed in the clamping structure. However, because the groove is a gently sloping arc, the steel balls cannot be directly fed into the groove based on their own weight. In existing technologies, the process of injecting the steel balls N7 is semi-manual, relying on tools and manual labor to inject the steel balls N7 into the groove N6, resulting in low overall efficiency. Therefore, how to design the ball injection structure 5 to eliminate manual assistance in the process of injecting steel balls into the inner cavity of the nut is a problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the problem of low overall efficiency in existing technologies that rely on tools and manual labor to inject steel balls into the ball grooves of the nut in steering gear ball screw assemblies, this invention provides a ball injection mechanism for steering gear ball screw assemblies that can inject steel balls into the ball grooves of the nut without manual assistance.

[0005] The technical solution of the present invention is as follows: a ball injection mechanism for a steering gear ball screw pair, comprising: a ball injection structure, wherein the ball injection structure includes: a top ball rod and a steel ball guide structure;

[0006] The ball-top rod is positioned above the steel ball guide structure;

[0007] characterized in that:

[0008] The top ball rod comprises a straight rod part and a spring part, the top end of the straight rod part is connected with the ball rod lifting structure, and the bottom end is connected with the spring part; the fixed ball rod realizes the lifting movement in the up-down direction based on the fixed ball rod lifting driving structure;

[0009] The steel ball guide-in structure is arranged above the clamping structure of the thread nut; the steel ball guide-in structure comprises, from top to bottom, a buffer part, a ball injection part and a ball protection part;

[0010] The buffer part is connected with the ball injection part at the bottom, and the ball channels of the buffer part and the ball injection part are interconnected.

[0011] further characterized in that:

[0012] The buffer part and the ball injection part are respectively provided with two ball channels for the steel balls inside; the top ball rod is also provided with two top ball rods;

[0013] It also comprises a blanking structure;

[0014] The blanking structure comprises a steel ball blanking plate, an ejection block, a first ball sealing plate, a second ball sealing plate, a first ball releasing cylinder and a second ball releasing cylinder;

[0015] Two parallel ball storage channels are vertically arranged in the steel ball blanking plate, the diameter of the ball storage channel is adapted to the diameter of the steel ball; the first ball sealing plate and the second ball sealing plate are respectively inserted into the through grooves arranged at the middle position and the bottom outlet of the ball storage channel; the first ball sealing plate and the second ball sealing plate are horizontally arranged, and are respectively connected with the output ends of the first ball releasing cylinder and the second ball releasing cylinder;

[0016] The ejection block is arranged at the bottom end of the steel ball blanking plate, and the first ball sealing plate and the second ball sealing plate are arranged on the side of the steel ball blanking plate away from the ball injection structure;

[0017] The blanking structure is driven based on the horizontal driving structure to move horizontally above the clamping structure of the thread nut;

[0018] It also comprises a moving shielding structure;

[0019] The moving shielding structure comprises a shielding support, a steel ball guide-in block, a baffle and a return spring;

[0020] The shielding support is L-shaped, the horizontal plate of the shielding support is arranged horizontally on the buffer part, and the return sliding rail is arranged above the horizontal plate of the shielding support;

[0021] The reset spring is sleeved on the sliding rod, the spring cavity is horizontally arranged in the steel ball guide block, the through hole is arranged on the vertical plate of the shielding support, the sliding rod is arranged in parallel with the reset sliding rail, one end of the sliding rod is fixed in the spring cavity, and the other end of the sliding rod is movably arranged in the through hole; one end of the reset spring abuts against the vertical plate of the shielding support, and the other end of the reset spring abuts against the spring cavity;

[0022] The steel ball guide block is horizontally and slidably arranged on the reset sliding rail based on the connecting structure; one end of the steel ball guide block away from the reset spring extends out of the reset sliding rail and is located at the top end of the buffer part;

[0023] Two groups of through holes, a ball inlet hole and a ball outlet hole, are arranged on the block body of the steel ball guide block from top to bottom and extend through the guide block; the ball outlet hole is in the shape of an inverted circular truncated cone with a wide upper part and a narrow lower part; each group of through holes is provided with two holes, and the distance between the two holes in each group of through holes is adapted to the two ball rods;

[0024] The ball inlet hole is arranged on the side of the ball outlet hole away from the reset spring;

[0025] The baffle is fixedly arranged on the top end surface of the steel ball guide block; the baffle is located on the horizontal stroke of the ejection block;

[0026] The lower half of the steel ball channel in the inner cavity of the ball injection part is arranged as an arc-shaped channel from top to bottom, the outlet positions of the two arc-shaped channels are adapted to the inlet positions of the two steel ball channels in the inner cavity of the to-be-installed nut, and the radii of the two arc-shaped channels are adapted to the radii of the steel ball channels in the to-be-installed nut;

[0027] The ball protection part is connected to the bottom of the ball injection part, and the sizes of the ball injection part and the ball protection part are adapted to the size of the inner cavity of the nut;

[0028] The device further comprises a middle ball sealing structure.

[0029] The middle ball sealing structure comprises a ball sealing driving cylinder and a transverse ball sealing sliding block.

[0030] The sliding channel is horizontally arranged in the buffer part, the ball sealing driving cylinder is horizontally arranged on one side of the buffer part, one end of the transverse ball sealing sliding block is connected to the output end of the ball sealing driving cylinder, and the other end of the transverse ball sealing sliding block is inserted into the sliding channel; two parallel vertical steel ball channels are arranged in the transverse ball sealing sliding block, and the positions and sizes of the steel ball channels are adapted to the ball channel of the buffer part.

[0031] The device further comprises a ball loading lifting driving structure.

[0032] The ball loading lifting driving structure comprises a guide rail mounting plate, a guide rail, a lifting sliding plate, an upper cylinder, a lower cylinder and a lifting push plate.

[0033] The lifting guide rail is mounted on the guide rail mounting plate, and the lifting sliding plate is slidingly connected to the lifting guide rail;

[0034] The upper air cylinder and the lower air cylinder are fixedly mounted on the guide rail mounting plate, and the upper air cylinder is located above the lower air cylinder;

[0035] The lifting push plate is mounted on the lifting sliding plate and located between the upper air cylinder and the lower air cylinder, the output end of the upper air cylinder is connected downward to the lifting push plate, and the output end of the lower air cylinder is upward and located below the lifting push plate;

[0036] The lifting sliding plate is provided with a ball injection structure mounting plate, and the ball injection structure is mounted on the ball injection structure mounting plate.

[0037] The ball injection mechanism for the steering gear ball screw pair provided in the application has two arc-shaped channels from top to bottom in the inner cavity of the ball injection structure, which ensures that the steel balls can smoothly enter the steel ball channel in the nut to be installed. By setting the lower half of the ball pushing rod as a spring structure, it is ensured that after the ball pushing rod is deeply inserted into the inner cavity of the ball injection part, the steel balls can be smoothly pushed from the arc-shaped channel to the steel ball channel in the nut to be installed. Through the cooperation of the ball dropping structure and the ball injection structure, it is ensured that two groups of steel balls can be installed into the nut to be installed at a time, and four groups of steel balls can be installed into the ball channel of the nut to be installed in two times, which greatly improves the installation efficiency of the steel balls. Through the cooperation of the moving shielding structure and the feeding structure, the automatic feeding of the steel balls can be realized, and the installation efficiency is further improved. Through the ball loading lifting driving structure driving the steel ball guide structure, the injection of the steel balls into the ball channel of different heights is realized, and the practicability of the application is ensured. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0038] Figure 1 It is a sectional view of the structure of the nut of the steering gear ball screw pair in the prior art;

[0039] Figure 2 It is a schematic view of the overall structure of the ball loading device of the steering gear ball screw pair applied in the application;

[0040] Figure 3 It is a schematic view of the feeding structure;

[0041] Figure 4 It is a schematic view of the steel ball feeding plate;

[0042] Figure 5 It is a schematic view of the nut clamping structure;

[0043] Figure 6 It is a schematic view of the screw rod clamping structure;

[0044] Figure 7 Structure diagram of the ball injection structure;

[0045] Figure 8 Structure diagram of the ball injection structure;

[0046] Figure 9 Structure diagram of the ball injection structure;

[0047] Figure 10 Structure diagram of the ball injection structure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] The ball injection mechanism for the ball screw pair of the steering gear is designed, which comprises a blanking structure 2, a ball injection structure 5 and a ball loading and lifting driving structure 6, and is applied to a ball loading device of the ball screw pair of the steering gear as shown in the figure. Figure 2 The blanking structure 2, the clamping structure, the ball injection structure 5 and the ball loading and lifting driving structure 6 are all installed on the main support 1.

[0049] The blanking structure 2 and the ball injection structure 5 are arranged above the clamping structure; the ball storage structure 7 stores various specifications of steel balls, and is connected with the blanking structure 2 through a steel ball pipeline composed of a hose to supply the blanking structure 2 with the steel balls in real time.

[0050] The clamping structure comprises a nut clamping structure 3 and a screw clamping structure 4 arranged from top to bottom; a to-be-installed nut N1 is arranged in the nut clamping structure 3, and a to-be-installed screw N8 is arranged in the screw clamping structure 4.

[0051] As shown in the figure, Figure 5 The nut clamping structure 3 comprises a nut seat 31, a base 32 and a nut pressing structure; the inner cavity of the nut seat 31 is adapted to the shape of the bottom of the to-be-installed nut N1, and the nut seat 31 is installed above the base 32; the base 32 and the nut seat 31 are provided with a screw passage in the center, and the size of the screw passage is adapted to the to-be-installed screw; the bottom (outer ring part) of the to-be-installed nut N1 is installed in the nut seat 31, and the height of the nut N1 is higher than the nut seat, and the top is pressed in the nut seat from top to bottom by the nut pressing structure, so that the to-be-installed nut N1 will not move during installation.

[0052] The nut pressing structure comprises a half-ring pressing plate 33, a pressing cylinder 34 and a pressing installation horizontal plate 35; the pressing installation horizontal plate 35 is arranged on the base 32, the output end of the pressing cylinder 34 is installed on the pressing installation horizontal plate 35 upwardly, and the half-ring pressing plate 33 is horizontally arranged on the output end of the pressing cylinder 34; the shape of the half-ring pressing plate 33 is adapted to the upper end face of the to-be-installed nut, and the size of the annular cavity in the center of the half-ring pressing plate 33 is adapted to the center cavity of the to-be-installed nut, so that the to-be-installed screw N8 can be smoothly installed into the inner cavity of the to-be-installed nut N1 when the nut and the screw are assembled.

[0053] In the default state, the output end of the pressing cylinder 34 is in the extended state. After the to-be-installed nut N1 is placed in the nut seat 31, the output end of the pressing cylinder 34 is retracted, the half-ring pressing plate 33 is pulled down tightly, and the half-ring pressing plate 33 is pressed on the upper end surface of the to-be-installed nut N1.

[0054] The pressing cylinder 34 is installed on the base 32 through the pressing installation horizontal plate 35, so that when the base 32 is driven to rotate by the nut rotating driving structure 8, the nut pressing structure can also rotate together, without being separated from the nut N1 during the rotation of the nut seat, effectively reducing the operation steps and improving the overall work efficiency.

[0055] The ball installation structure 5 is based on the nut rotating driving structure 8 to achieve the installation of balls at different angles. Figure 5 As shown in the figure, the nut rotating driving structure 8 includes a rotating cylinder 82 and a rack 83.

[0056] The base installation groove 361 is arranged on the nut seat support plate 36, the base 32 is movably installed in the base installation groove 361, and an annular external gear (not marked in the figure) is arranged on the outer periphery of the base 32. The rack 83 and the rotating cylinder 82 are arranged on the nut seat support plate 36, the rack 83 is arranged transversely and is engaged with the annular external gear on the base 32. The output shaft of the rotating cylinder 82 is horizontally arranged, and the output shaft is connected with the rack 83. The rack 83 is arranged above the nut seat support plate 36 based on the slider sliding rail structure, so as to reduce the friction resistance when the rack moves transversely.

[0057] The default position of the output shaft of the rotating cylinder 82 is the installation position of the first group of steel balls in the to-be-installed nut N1. After the installation of the first group of steel balls in the to-be-installed nut N1 is completed, the angle needs to be converted for the installation of the second group of steel balls. The rotating cylinder 82 is started, the rack 83 is pulled horizontally and transversely, the rack 83 moves transversely, drives the base 32 which is engaged with the rack 83 to rotate, the output shaft of the rotating cylinder 82 moves to a preset position and stops, and then the to-be-installed nut N1 rotates to the installation angle of the second group of steel balls.

[0058] The angle confirming sensor 81 is also arranged in the nut rotating driving structure 8, the angle confirming sensor 81 is arranged on the side of the base 32 and detects the position above the nut seat 31. The current angle of the to-be-installed nut N1 is confirmed based on the position of the steering device N5 on the nut N1. Once the angle position is found to be incorrect, an alarm is sent to ensure the accuracy of the steel ball installation position.

[0059] Because the ball injection part 523 and the ball protection part 524 in the ball injection structure 5 are movably inserted into the inner cavity of the nut N1, the rotation of the nut N1 will not affect the ball injection part 523 and the ball protection part 524 inside. The specific rotation angle is adaptively set according to the specific situation of the steel ball channel in the inner cavity of the nut N1.

[0060] As shown in the drawings, the ball feeding structure 2 comprises a steel ball feeding plate 21, an ejection block 22, a first ball blocking plate, a second ball blocking plate, a first ball releasing cylinder 23 and a second ball releasing cylinder 24. Figure 3 As shown in the drawings, two parallel ball storage channels 211 are vertically arranged in the steel ball feeding plate 21, and the diameter of the ball storage channel 211 is adapted to the diameter of the steel ball; a first ball blocking plate (not marked in the figure) and a second ball blocking plate (not marked in the figure) are respectively arranged in the middle position and the bottom outlet of the ball storage channel, and an insertion through slot 212 is arranged in the middle position and the bottom outlet of the ball storage channel; the shape of the insertion through slot 212 is adapted to the shape of the two ball blocking plates. The first ball blocking plate and the second ball blocking plate are horizontally arranged, and the output ends of the first ball releasing cylinder 23 and the second ball releasing cylinder 24 are respectively connected to the first ball blocking plate and the second ball blocking plate; the ejection block 22 is arranged at the bottom end of the steel ball feeding plate 21, and the two are integrally formed during specific processing. The first ball blocking plate and the second ball blocking plate are arranged on the side of the steel ball feeding plate 21 away from the ball injection structure, and based on the insertion or pushing of the through slot 212 by the first ball releasing cylinder 23 and the second ball releasing cylinder 24, the ball storage channel 211 is closed or opened.

[0061] Figure 4 The number and length of the ball storage channels 211 arranged in the steel ball feeding plate 21 and the coordinated action of the two ball blocking plates ensure that the ball feeding structure 2 can carry four groups of steel balls required by a ball nut each time, and there is no need to feed again from the ball storage structure 7 in the middle; during installation, the two ball blocking plates group the steel balls in the ball storage channel 211 and buffer the remaining steel balls during the first steel ball installation, so as to ensure that 2 groups of steel balls can be provided for the ball injection structure 5 each time, and the overall ball installation efficiency is effectively improved.

[0062] The ball feeding structure 2 is driven based on the horizontal driving structure 25 and moves horizontally above the clamping structure 5; the distance between the ejection block 22 and the outlet of the ball storage channel 211 of the steel ball feeding plate 21 is adapted to the distance between the baffle 5213 of the ball guide block 5212 and the ball inlet hole 5215; the baffle is located in the horizontal stroke of the ejection block, when the ejection block 22 contacts the baffle 5213 and horizontally slides the ball guide block 5212, the outlet of the ball storage channel 211 of the steel ball feeding plate 21 and the ball inlet hole 5215 are connected to each other, so as to ensure that the steel ball in the ball storage channel 211 can slide to the ball guide block 5212 based on gravity after the ejection block 5213 is ejected by the ejection block. In specific implementation, the steel ball feeding plate 21 can be made of transparent material, and then whether there is a steel ball in the steel ball feeding plate 21 and the specific number of the steel ball are detected based on a sensor.

[0063] The ball feeding structure 2 is driven based on the horizontal driving structure 25 and moves horizontally above the clamping structure 5; the distance between the ejection block 22 and the outlet of the ball storage channel 211 of the steel ball feeding plate 21 is adapted to the distance between the baffle 5213 of the ball guide block 5212 and the ball inlet hole 5215; the baffle is located in the horizontal stroke of the ejection block, when the ejection block 22 contacts the baffle 5213 and horizontally slides the ball guide block 5212, the outlet of the ball storage channel 211 of the steel ball feeding plate 21 and the ball inlet hole 5215 are connected to each other, so as to ensure that the steel ball in the ball storage channel 211 can slide to the ball guide block 5212 based on gravity after the ejection block 5213 is ejected by the ejection block. In specific implementation, the steel ball feeding plate 21 can be made of transparent material, and then whether there is a steel ball in the steel ball feeding plate 21 and the specific number of the steel ball are detected based on a sensor.

[0064] ​The ball storage structure 7 injects steel balls into the ball storage channels 211 via steel ball pipe connections. The length of each ball storage channel 211 is exactly the diameter of two sets of steel balls. During ball feeding, the output end of the first ball-releasing cylinder 23 in the middle position is retracted, while the output end of the second ball-releasing cylinder 24 at the bottom is extended. This inserts the second ball-sealing plate into the insertion slot 212 at the bottom, simultaneously sealing the bottom outlets of both ball storage channels 211. This ensures that all four sets of steel balls can be completely fed into the two ball storage channels 211. After ball feeding is complete, the output end of the first ball-releasing cylinder 23 in the middle extends, inserting the first ball-sealing plate into the middle insertion slot 212, dividing the steel balls in each ball storage channel 211 into two groups.

[0065] During the first steel ball installation, the horizontal drive structure 25 drives the feeding structure 2 to move above the ball injection structure 5. The ejector block 22 pushes the baffle 5213 to laterally push the moving blocking structure 521, aligning the ball inlet 5215 with the bottom outlet of the ball storage channel 211 and the ball track inlet of the buffer section 522. The second ball release cylinder 24 at the bottom retracts, opening the ball outlets at the bottom of the two ball storage channels 211, and simultaneously feeding two sets of steel balls into the ball injection structure 5. After feeding, the second ball release cylinder 24 at the bottom extends again to close the bottom of the ball storage channel 211. The horizontal drive structure 25 then drives the feeding structure 2 back to its default position.

[0066] When the ball injection structure 5 injects steel balls into the nut N1, the output end of the first ball release cylinder 23 in the middle position retracts, placing the two sets of steel balls buffered at the top into the bottom position of the ball storage channel 211. After the first steel ball injection process of the ball injection structure 5 is completed, the horizontal drive structure 25 drives the feeding structure 2 to move laterally above the ball injection structure 5 to inject two more sets of steel balls into the ball injection structure 5. Then the feeding structure 2 returns to the default position to perform its own steel ball injection program, completing the preparation for the next installation. Through the cooperation of the ball storage channel 211 and the two sealing plates, the steel ball feeding is set twice for each nut without any additional waiting time in between, effectively improving the overall work efficiency.

[0067] like Figure 8~Figure 9 As shown, the ball-injecting structure 5 includes: a top ball rod 51, a steel ball guide structure 52, and a middle ball-sealing structure 53.

[0068] Two ball-lifting rods 51 are positioned above the steel ball guiding structure 52; the ball-lifting rods 51 achieve vertical lifting and lowering movement under the drive of a ball-lifting drive structure (not marked in the figure) based on cylinders and other components. The two fixed ball-lifting rods 51 are located directly above the two steel ball channels of the buffer section 522.

[0069] The top cue 51 includes a straight shaft and a spring shaft. The top end of the straight shaft is connected to the cue lifting mechanism, and the bottom end is connected to the spring shaft. In this application, the ball channels in the movable blocking structure 521 and the buffer section 522 are vertical channels, while the ball channel in the ball injection section 523 is... Figure 10 As shown, the upper part of the steel ball channel is a vertical channel, and the lower part is a gently curved steel ball groove that allows the steel balls to smoothly enter the inner cavity of the nut. Therefore, a downward curved channel is provided to provide a certain slope for entering the steel ball groove inside the nut. However, because the steel ball groove inside the nut is very gentle, the weight of the steel balls and the curved channel alone are not enough to allow all 18 steel balls in a group to enter the nut. Therefore, in this application, a spring component is provided below the fixed ball rod 51. The length of the spring component is greater than the length of the curved channel in the ball injection part 523 to ensure that all the steel balls in a group can be pushed into the nut.

[0070] The steel ball guide structure 52 is located directly above the wire nut seat 31 in the clamping structure. The steel ball guide structure 52 includes: a movable shielding structure 521, a buffer section 522, a ball injection section 523, and a ball protection section 524 arranged from top to bottom; the buffer section 522 and the ball injection section 523 are each provided with two ball tracks, the bottom of the buffer section 522 is connected to the ball injection section 523, and the ball tracks of the buffer section 522 and the ball injection section 523 are interconnected.

[0071] The movable shielding structure 521 includes: a shielding bracket 5211, a steel ball guide block 5212, a baffle 5213, and a return spring 5214.

[0072] The shielding bracket 5211 is L-shaped, with its horizontal plate horizontally mounted on the buffer section 522. A reset slide rail 5218 is positioned above the horizontal plate of the shielding bracket 5211. A reset spring 5214 is fitted onto a sliding rod 5217. A spring cavity is horizontally formed in the steel ball guide block 5212. A through hole is provided on the vertical plate of the shielding bracket 5211. The sliding rod 5217 and the reset slide rail 5218 are arranged parallel to each other. One end of the sliding rod 5217 is fixed in the spring cavity, and the other end is movably installed in the through hole. One end of the reset spring 5214 presses against the vertical plate of the shielding bracket 5211, and the other end presses against the spring cavity. The steel ball guide block 5212 is horizontally slidably mounted on the reset slide rail 5218 based on a slider slide rail structure.

[0073] When the steel ball guide block 5212 is pushed by the ejector block 22 in the feeding structure 2 towards the vertical plate of the shielding bracket 5211, the feeding structure 2 retracts to the default position when reset is required. The two ends of the reset spring 5214 are pressed against the vertical plate of the shielding bracket 5211 and the spring cavity inside the steel ball guide block 5212, providing a reset thrust for the steel ball guide block 5212.

[0074] The bottom features a stepped, U-shaped structure. The higher part, extending from the return spring 5214, extends out onto the return slide rail 5218 and is located at the top of the buffer section 522. The lower, vertical part slides along the return slide rail 5218 and also serves as a limiting structure, ensuring that after the ball guide block 5212 is pushed back by the return spring 5214, the position of the ball-ejecting hole 5216 on the ball guide block 5212 is exactly above the ball inlet at the top of the buffer section 522. This facilitates the ball-ejecting rod 51 entering the ball channel inside the buffer section 522 and the ball-injecting section 523 from top to bottom through the ball-ejecting hole 5216, pushing the steel ball in the channel into the nut N1.

[0075] On the steel ball guide block 5212, two sets of through holes are provided from top to bottom: ball inlet hole 5215 and ball top hole 5216. The ball top hole 5216 is an inverted frustum shape that is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom. The ball top rod 51 can be guided into the buffer section 522 through the ball top hole 5216, which prevents the ball top rod 51 from failing to enter the ball track due to equipment processing errors, and effectively improves the overall installation efficiency.

[0076] Two through holes are provided in each group, and the distance between the two holes in each group is adapted to the two top ball rods 51. The ball inlet 5215 is located on the side of the top ball hole 5216 away from the return spring 5214.

[0077] Baffle 5213 is fixedly installed on the top surface of steel ball guide block 5212, such as Figure 7 As shown, in this embodiment, the baffle 5213 is U-shaped with a clearance opening in the middle. The size of the clearance opening is adapted to the bottom shape and size of the ejector block 22 in the feeding structure 2, ensuring that after the ejector block 22 contacts the clearance opening of the baffle 5213, it stably pushes the baffle 5213, thereby pushing the movable shielding structure 521 to move laterally along the reset slide rail 5218. When the steel ball guide block 5212 is pushed by the ejector block 22 in the feeding structure 2 towards the vertical plate of the shielding bracket 5211, until the ball inlet 5215 is aligned with the ball inlet at the top of the buffer section 522, the two sets of steel balls in the two channels in the feeding structure 2 can fall into the steel ball channel of the buffer section 522 by gravity, and then enter the ball injection section 523.

[0078] like Figure 10 As shown, the lower half of the two steel ball channels 5231 in the inner cavity of the ball injection section 523 is set as an arc-shaped channel from top to bottom. The outlet positions of the two arc-shaped channels are respectively adapted to the inlet positions of the two steel ball grooves in the inner cavity of the nut N1 to be installed. The curvature of the two arc-shaped channels is adapted to the curvature of the steel ball grooves in the nut to be installed, ensuring that the steel ball can smoothly enter the steel ball grooves in the inner cavity of the nut N1 to be installed from the ball injection section 523.

[0079] like Figure 9As shown, the ball protecting part 524 is sleeved at the bottom of the ball injecting part 523, and the sizes of the ball injecting part 523 and the ball protecting part 524 are adapted to the size of the inner cavity of the nut. When installing the steel balls, the ball injecting part 523 and the ball protecting part 524 are inserted into the inner cavity of the nut N1. In this application, the four steel ball channels in the inner cavity of the nut N1 to be installed are divided into two groups according to the height, the lower two channels are set as the first group, and the upper two channels are set as the second group. When installing the steel balls, the lower two steel balls are installed first, and when the first two groups of steel balls are installed into the two steel ball channels in the inner cavity of the nut N1 to be installed, the steel ball guiding structure 52 and the middle ball blocking structure 53 are lifted, the ball injecting part 523 and the ball protecting part 524 are lifted at the same time, and the ball protecting part 524 just blocks the steel balls in the lower two channels to prevent the steel balls from falling off.

[0080] As shown, the middle ball blocking structure 53 comprises a ball blocking driving cylinder 531 and a transverse ball blocking slider 532. Figure 8~Figure 9

[0081] The sliding channel is horizontally opened in the buffer part 522, the ball blocking driving cylinder 531 is horizontally arranged at one side of the buffer part 522, one end of the transverse ball blocking slider 532 is connected to the output end of the ball blocking driving cylinder 531, and the other end is inserted into the sliding channel, two parallel vertical second steel ball channels 533 are opened in the transverse ball blocking slider 532, the positions and sizes of the second steel ball channels 533 are adapted to the ball channels of the buffer part 522, under the driving of the ball blocking driving cylinder 531, the transverse ball blocking slider 532 slides horizontally in the sliding channel, and the ball channels 5221 in the buffer part 522 and the steel ball channels 5231 in the ball injecting part 523 are connected or the ball channels 5221 in the buffer part 522 are cut off.

[0082] ​In the default position, the output shaft of the ball sealing driving cylinder 531 is in the extended state, the second ball channel 533 is connected to the channel between the buffer part 522 and the ball injection part 523, and the steel balls falling from the feeding structure 2 will directly enter the steel ball channel 5231 in the ball injection part 523. After the first two groups of steel balls are loaded, the output shaft of the ball sealing driving cylinder 531 is retracted, the transverse ball sealing slider 532 is moved towards the ball sealing driving cylinder 531, the second ball channel 533 in the transverse ball sealing slider 532 is misaligned with the ball channel 5221 in the buffer part 522, and the bottom of the ball channel 5221 is closed. In this state, the second time the steel balls fall from the feeding structure 2 are only temporarily stored in the internal cavity of the buffer part 522. When the feeding structure 2 is laterally returned to the default position and the ball loading lifting driving structure 6 lifts the ball injection structure 5 to the second ball loading height, the two steel ball channels 5231 of the ball injection part 523 are respectively connected to the two steel ball channels in the upper internal cavity of the two nuts N1; the ball sealing driving cylinder 531 is started to push the transverse ball sealing slider 532 to the ball channel connection position, and the two groups of steel balls in the buffer part 522 will fall into the steel ball channel 5231 in the ball injection part 523. The second ball loading process is performed.

[0083] The application sets a middle ball sealing structure in the ball injection structure, ensures that the second group of steel balls will not immediately fall down after being fed, but will be left in the buffer part of the ball injection structure, and through the cooperation of the middle ball sealing structure and the ball loading lifting driving structure, the steel balls can be installed in the steel ball channels of nuts with different heights without adjusting the height of the feeding structure, the system complexity is reduced, and the steel ball installation efficiency is improved.

[0084] As shown in Figure 7 and Figure 8 , the ball loading lifting driving structure 6 comprises a guide rail mounting plate 61, a lifting guide rail 62, a lifting sliding plate 63, an upper air cylinder 64, a lower air cylinder 65, and a lifting push plate 66.

[0085] The lifting guide rail 62 is mounted on the guide rail mounting plate 61, and the lifting sliding plate 63 is slidingly connected to the lifting guide rail 62; the upper air cylinder 64 and the lower air cylinder 65 are both fixedly mounted on one side of the guide rail mounting plate 61; the upper air cylinder 64 is located above the lower air cylinder 65. The lifting push plate 66 is mounted on the lifting sliding plate 63 and located between the upper air cylinder 64 and the lower air cylinder 65; the output end of the upper air cylinder 64 is connected downward to the lifting push plate 66; the output end of the lower air cylinder 65 is upward and located below the lifting push plate 66. The lifting sliding plate 63 is provided with a ball injection structure mounting plate 69; the ball injection structure 5 is mounted on the ball injection structure mounting plate 69. It further comprises a limiting screw 67 provided on the lower end surface of the lifting push plate 66; a limiting horizontal plate 68 is provided on the mounting plate of the lower air cylinder 65; and the limiting screw 67 is provided directly above the limiting horizontal plate 68.

[0086] The output shaft of the upper cylinder 64 is provided with two positions, one is the default position above when the output shaft is retracted, and the other is the first ball loading position below when the output shaft is extended. When the output shaft of the upper cylinder 64 is located at the first ball loading position, the bottom outlets of the two ball channels 5231 inside the ball injection part 523 are aligned with the two ball channel entrances below in the nut N1.

[0087] The output shaft of the lower cylinder 65 is provided with two positions, one is the default position below when the output shaft is retracted, and the other is the second ball loading position above when the output shaft is extended. The lifting push plate 66 of the lower cylinder 65 is not connected, and is controlled by the output shaft of the upper cylinder 64 when the output shaft of the lower cylinder 65 is located at the retracted position. When the output shaft of the upper cylinder 64 is located at the default position, the output shaft of the lower cylinder 65 and the lifting push plate 66 are completely separated. When the output shaft of the upper cylinder 64 is extended to push the lifting push plate 66, the ball injection structure 5 is lowered to the first ball loading position, and the limiting screw 67 and the limiting plate 68 ensure that the lifting push plate 66 does not drop too low or too high, and ensure that the ball injection part 523 reaches the first ball loading position in the nut cavity, and ensure that the output end of the lower cylinder 65 can push the lifting push plate 66 upward after starting.

[0088] After the first ball installation is completed, the ball injection structure 2 injects the second group of balls into the inner cavity of the buffer part 522, and the nut seat direction is also rotated to the second ball loading angle, the lower cylinder 65 is started, the output shaft pushes the lifting push plate 66 upward, because the torque of the lower cylinder 65 is greater than that of the upper cylinder 64, the lifting push plate 66 and the lifting slide plate 63 can be pushed upward along the lifting guide rail 62, and the output shaft of the upper cylinder 64 is directly pushed back into the cylinder. When the output shaft of the lower cylinder 65 reaches the second ball loading position, the bottom outlets of the two ball channels 5231 inside the ball injection part 523 are aligned with the two ball channel entrances above in the nut N1, and the second ball loading process can be performed.

[0089] Because each cylinder has only two default working positions, the application sets the upper cylinder 64 and the lower cylinder 65 to generate a pushing force on the lifting push plate 66, so that the ball injection structure 5 can have three working positions: the default position, the first ball loading position and the second ball loading position. Compared with the method of controlling the working position based on software by PLC in the prior art, the method is simpler and the system complexity is lower.

[0090] The lead screw clamping structure 4 includes a bottom clamping structure 41 and a middle clamping structure 42.

[0091] The screw clamping structure 4 can be realized based on the screw clamping structure in the prior art. The bottom clamping structure 41 comprises a rotary driving structure and a lifting driving structure, and the screw can be lifted and rotated at the same time. The middle clamping structure 42 can realize clamping and supporting the screw to rotate stably.

[0092] As shown in the middle clamping structure in the embodiment, Figure 5 The middle clamping structure 42 comprises a tightening driving cylinder 421, two clamping rollers 422 and a tightening roller 423.

[0093] The clamping rollers 422 and the tightening roller 423 are rotatably arranged on the same horizontal plane and located at the three vertices of the triangle. The rotation axes of the three rollers are parallel to the to-be-installed screw N8. The two clamping rollers 422 and the tightening driving cylinder 421 are fixedly installed below the nut clamping structure 3. The output shaft of the tightening driving cylinder 421 is horizontally arranged. The tightening roller 423 is rotatably connected to the output shaft of the tightening driving cylinder 421 through a connecting structure.

[0094] By default, the output shaft of the tightening driving cylinder 421 is located at the retracted position. When the to-be-installed screw N8 is inserted into the space between the two clamping rollers 422 and the tightening roller 423, the output shaft of the tightening driving cylinder 421 drives the tightening roller 423 to move out until the to-be-installed screw N8 is tightened. At this time, the three rollers are located at the three vertices of the equilateral triangle, providing uniform clamping force for the to-be-installed screw N8 and ensuring the accuracy of installation. The three rollers have clamping effect on the to-be-installed screw N8. When the to-be-installed screw N8 rotates, the three rollers can also rotate with the to-be-installed screw N8, realizing clamping the to-be-installed screw N8 while rotating.

[0095] As shown in the middle clamping structure in the embodiment, Figure 6 The bottom clamping structure 41 comprises a clamping air claw 411, a bottom rotary seat 412, a rotary seat mounting plate 413, a rotary driving motor 414, a screw lifting slide rail 415, a screw lifting slide plate 416 and a screw lifting driving cylinder 417.

[0096] The screw lifting sliding rail 415 is installed on the main support 1 through the lifting sliding rail connecting plate 418, and the screw lifting sliding plate 416 is slidingly installed on the screw lifting sliding rail 415; the screw lifting driving cylinder 417 is fixed on the lifting sliding rail connecting plate 418, and the output end is connected to the screw lifting sliding plate 416 upward, and the screw lifting driving cylinder 417 drives the screw lifting sliding plate 416 to realize lifting movement along the screw lifting sliding rail 415; the rotary seat mounting plate 413 is connected to the lifting sliding rail connecting plate 418; the bottom rotary driving motor 414 is arranged on the screw lifting sliding plate 416 through the rotary seat mounting plate 413; the bottom rotary seat 412 is rotatably installed on the rotary seat mounting plate 413 based on the bottom rotating shaft 419, and the clamping air claw 411 realized based on the cylinder claw is arranged on the top of the bottom rotary seat 412 and located directly below the middle clamping structure 42; the bottom rotary driving motor 414 drives the bottom rotary seat 412 to realize rotation based on the bottom rotating shaft 419.

[0097] In the bottom clamping structure 41, the three clamping air claws 411 are installed on the bottom rotary seat 412, the bottom rotary seat 412 is installed on the screw lifting sliding plate 416, after the bottom of the to-be-installed screw N8 is fed, the bottom is put into the three clamping air claws 411, and the three clamping air claws 411 clamp the bottom of the screw. After the steel ball in the nut is injected, the screw lifting driving cylinder 417 drives the screw lifting sliding plate 416 to rise along the screw lifting sliding rail 415, and after the top of the to-be-installed screw N8 is inserted into the to-be-installed nut, the bottom rotary driving motor 414 is started, the bottom rotating shaft 419 and the bottom rotary seat 412 are driven to rotate through the belt, chain or the like, and then the to-be-installed screw N8 is rotated and installed into the inner cavity of the nut. The final assembly process of the long screw and the nut is completed.

[0098] When the steel ball is installed using the technical solution, in the feeding station, the bottom end face of the to-be-installed screw N8 is inserted into the three clamping air claws 411 and clamped by the three clamping air claws 411, the upper part of the screw N8 is put into the two clamping rollers 422 and the one pressing roller 423, the pressing driving cylinder 421 is started, and the middle part of the screw N8 is pressed by the pressing roller 423; the to-be-installed nut N1 is installed into the nut seat 31, and the nut pressing structure presses the upper end face of the nut N1; after the feeding is completed, the screw and the nut are moved together with the nut clamping structure 3 and the screw clamping structure 4 to the ball loading station below the ball injection structure 5. In the unassembled state, the to-be-installed nut N1 and the to-be-installed screw N8 are clamped apart upward and downward.

[0099] Four groups of steel balls have been stored in the blanking structure 2. When the to-be-installed nut N1 and the to-be-installed screw N8 are moved to the ball loading station, the upper air cylinder 64 is started to push the ball loading structure 5 from the default position downward to the first steel ball loading position; the horizontal driving structure 25 is started to drive the blanking structure 2 along the horizontal direction to the ball loading structure 5, the ejection block 22 pushes the baffle 5213 to guide the steel balls into the block 5212, and when the ball inlet hole 5215 is aligned with the ball inlet of the top end of the buffer part 522, the blanking structure 2 realizes the first blanking of two groups of steel balls; after the blanking is completed, the horizontal driving structure 25 is reversed to drive the blanking structure 2 to return to the default position; the steel ball guide block 5212 is returned to the default position under the action of the return spring 5214, and the ball ejection hole 5216 is aligned with the ball inlet of the top end of the buffer part 522; the two ball ejection rods 51 are moved downward from the ball ejection hole 5216 into the internal steel ball channel of the buffer part 522 and the ball loading part 523, until the steel balls in the ball loading part 523 are pushed into the two steel ball channels below the to-be-installed nut N1.

[0100] After the first ball pushing is completed, the two ball ejection rods 51 are moved upward to return to the default position; the ball sealing driving cylinder 531 is started to close the bottom of the ball channel 5221; the rotating air cylinder 82 in the nut rotating driving structure 8 is started to rotate the nut seat 31 and the nut N1 installed in the nut seat 31 to the second ball loading position; the horizontal driving structure 25 of the blanking structure is started to drive the blanking structure 2 to move along the horizontal direction to the ball loading structure 5, and the second group of steel balls is injected into the buffer part 522; at this time, because the bottom outlet of the buffer part 522 is closed by chalk, the steel balls are temporarily stored in the buffer part; the lower air cylinder 65 is started to lift the ball loading structure 5 to the second steel ball loading position, and the bottom outlets of the two steel ball channels 5231 in the ball loading part 523 are aligned with the two steel ball channel inlets above the nut N1; the ball sealing driving cylinder 531 is reversed to drive the transverse ball sealing sliding block 532 to guide the ball channel 5221 in the buffer part 522 and the steel ball channel 5231 in the ball loading part 523, and the two groups of steel balls in the buffer part fall into the ball loading part 523; the two ball ejection rods 51 are moved downward for the second time until the steel balls are pushed into the nut N1.

[0101] After the second push of the top ball rod 51 ends, the rotating cylinder 82 in the screw nut rotating driving structure 8 is activated in reverse to return to the default position; the screw rod lifting driving cylinder 417 and the bottom rotating driving motor 414 are activated at the same time, the screw rod lifting driving cylinder 417 drives the bottom rotating seat 412 to rise with the screw rod N8, and enters the inner cavity of the screw nut N1 from bottom to top, the bottom rotating driving motor 414 drives the screw rod N8 to rotate, realizing the assembly of the to-be-installed screw nut N1 and the to-be-installed screw rod N8; in the process of the screw rod N8 entering the screw nut N1, the ball injecting part 523 and the ball protecting part 524 still located in the second steel ball installation position are gradually pushed out of the inner cavity of the screw nut from bottom to top by the screw rod N8, ensuring that the installed steel balls will not fall from the steel ball channel due to the sudden withdrawal of the ball injecting part 523 and the ball protecting part 524; after the ball injecting part 523 and the ball protecting part 524 are completely pushed out of the inner cavity of the screw nut N1, the upper cylinder 64 is activated to drive the ball injecting structure 5 to return to the default position at the topmost position; this time the assembly process of the steering gear ball screw pair is completed.

[0102] The above-mentioned assembly process of the steering gear ball screw pair can realize full-process automatic control based on the PLC technology in the prior art in cooperation with the sensor technology in the prior art, greatly improving the efficiency of the steel ball installation process of the steering gear ball screw pair.

Claims

1. A ball injector mechanism for a ball screw pair of a turner, comprising: The injection structure comprises a top ball rod and a steel ball guide-in structure; The top ball rod is arranged above the steel ball guide-in structure; It is characterized in that: The top ball rod comprises a straight rod part and a spring part, the top end of the straight rod part is connected with a ball rod lifting structure, and the bottom end is connected with the spring part; the top ball rod is lifted up and down based on a ball rod lifting driving structure; The steel ball guide-in structure is arranged above the clamping structure of the nut; the steel ball guide-in structure comprises, from top to bottom, a moving shielding structure, a buffer part, an injection part and a ball protection part; The buffer part is connected with the injection part at the bottom, and the ball channels of the buffer part and the injection part are interconnected; The moving shielding structure comprises a shielding bracket, a steel ball guide-in block, a baffle and a return spring; The shielding bracket is L-shaped, the horizontal plate of the shielding bracket is horizontally arranged on the buffer part, and the return sliding rail is arranged above the horizontal plate of the shielding bracket; The return spring is sleeved on the sliding rod, the spring cavity is horizontally arranged in the steel ball guide-in block, the through hole is arranged on the vertical plate of the shielding bracket, the sliding rod is arranged in parallel with the return sliding rail, one end of the sliding rod is fixed in the spring cavity, and the other end of the sliding rod is movably arranged in the through hole; one end of the return spring abuts against the vertical plate of the shielding bracket, and the other end of the return spring abuts against the spring cavity; The steel ball guide-in block is horizontally slidably arranged on the return sliding rail based on a connecting structure; one end of the steel ball guide-in block away from the return spring protrudes out of the return sliding rail and is located at the top end of the buffer part; Two groups of through holes, a ball inlet hole and a top ball hole, are arranged on the block body of the steel ball guide-in block from top to bottom and penetrate through the guide-in block; the top ball hole is in the shape of an inverted circular truncated cone with a wide top and a narrow bottom; each group of through holes comprises two through holes, and the distance between the two through holes in each group of through holes is adapted to the two top ball rods; The ball inlet hole is arranged on the side of the top ball hole away from the return spring.

2. A ball injector mechanism for a ball screw pair of a steering gear according to claim 1, characterized in that: Two ball channels for steel balls are respectively arranged in the buffer part and the injection part; and the top ball rod also comprises two top ball rods.

3. A ball injector mechanism for a ball screw pair of a steering gear according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also comprises a blanking structure; The blanking structure comprises a steel ball blanking plate, an ejection block, a first ball sealing plate, a second ball sealing plate, a first ball releasing cylinder and a second ball releasing cylinder; Two parallel ball storage channels are vertically arranged in the steel ball blanking plate, and the diameter of the ball storage channels is adapted to the diameter of the steel ball; a through slot for inserting the first ball sealing plate and the second ball sealing plate is arranged at the middle position and the bottom outlet of the ball storage channel respectively; the first ball sealing plate and the second ball sealing plate are horizontally arranged and connected with the output ends of the first ball releasing cylinder and the second ball releasing cylinder respectively; The ejection block is arranged at the bottom end of the steel ball blanking plate, and the first ball sealing plate and the second ball sealing plate are arranged on the side of the steel ball blanking plate away from the injection structure; The blanking structure is driven to move horizontally above the clamping structure of the nut based on a horizontal driving structure.

4. A ball injector mechanism for a ball screw pair of a steering gear according to claim 3, characterized in that: The baffle is fixedly arranged on the top end surface of the steel ball guide-in block; and the baffle is located in the horizontal stroke of the ejection block.

5. The ball injector mechanism for a ball screw pair of a steering gear according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lower half of the steel ball channel of the ball injecting cavity is an arc channel from top to bottom, and the outlet positions of the two arc channels are respectively adapted to the inlet positions of the two steel ball channels in the inner cavity of the nut to be installed; the arc of the two arc channels is adapted to the arc of the steel ball channel in the nut to be installed; The ball protecting part is connected to the bottom of the ball injecting part, and the sizes of the ball injecting part and the ball protecting part are adapted to the size of the inner cavity of the nut.

6. A ball injector mechanism for a ball screw pair of a steering gear according to claim 1, characterized in that: It further comprises a middle ball sealing structure. The middle ball sealing structure comprises a ball sealing driving cylinder and a transverse ball sealing sliding block. A sliding channel is horizontally arranged in the buffer part; the ball sealing driving cylinder is horizontally arranged on one side of the buffer part; one end of the transverse ball sealing sliding block is connected to the output end of the ball sealing driving cylinder, and the other end is inserted into the sliding channel; two parallel vertical steel ball channels are arranged in the transverse ball sealing sliding block, and the positions and sizes of the steel ball channels are adapted to the ball channel of the buffer part.

7. The ball injector mechanism for a ball screw pair of a steering gear according to claim 1, wherein It further comprises a ball loading lifting driving structure. The ball loading lifting driving structure comprises a guide rail mounting plate, a guide rail, a lifting sliding plate, an upper cylinder, a lower cylinder and a lifting push plate. The guide rail is mounted on the guide rail mounting plate, and the lifting sliding plate is slidingly connected to the guide rail. The upper cylinder and the lower cylinder are both fixedly mounted on the guide rail mounting plate, and the upper cylinder is located above the lower cylinder. The lifting push plate is mounted on the lifting sliding plate and located between the upper cylinder and the lower cylinder; the output end of the upper cylinder is downwardly connected to the lifting push plate; the output end of the lower cylinder is upwardly located below the lifting push plate. The lifting sliding plate is provided with a ball injecting structure mounting plate, and the ball injecting structure is mounted on the ball injecting structure mounting plate.

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