A semi-automatic ball loading machine

Abstract

The application provides a kind of semi-automatic ball loading machine, which is suitable for the ball protecting rod and the ball loading structure of the ball screw pair structure in the application, and cooperates with the ball loading structure. In the process of installing the steel ball, the installed steel ball is protected, the manual participation rate in the process of installing the steel ball is reduced, and the efficiency of installing the steel ball is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of ball screw assembly technology, specifically a semi-automatic ball loading machine. 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 image shows a ball screw assembly N used in automotive steering systems. Figures 1-3 As shown, the ball screw assembly N includes: a nut N1, a screw N2, an outer ring N3, a cage N6, and a steering mechanism N7. Steel balls N5 are installed in the ball tracks N4 within the inner cavity of the nut N1. The ball screw assembly N in this application has five independent ball tracks N4, requiring the assembly of five sets of steel balls. Simultaneously, a first anti-reverse block N11 is provided at the bottom of the nut, and a second anti-reverse block N21 is provided at the bottom of the screw, as detailed below. Figure 3 As shown, the first anti-reverse block N11 is a protrusion extending towards the inner diameter of the nut, and the second anti-reverse block N21 is a protrusion perpendicular to the first anti-reverse block N11 along the direction of the screw body. After the screw N1 rotates from top to bottom into the inner cavity of the nut based on thread engagement, when it rotates to a preset position, the first anti-reverse block N11 and the second anti-reverse block N21 interfere with each other, blocking each other to prevent the screw from continuing to rotate excessively.

[0003] To improve assembly efficiency, in existing ball screw assembly lines, the steel balls in the ball tracks N4 are mostly installed using automated equipment. Because the various ball tracks inside the nut are typically at different heights, the steel balls are usually installed in stages from bottom to top according to their height. In this application, the ball screw N2 cannot be installed from the bottom of the nut N1; it can only be installed from the top because the ball loading component also needs to enter from the top, and the two cannot coexist. Therefore, a ball protection structure must be used when installing the steel balls. After installation, the ball balls need to be blocked from the nut cavity by the ball protection structure to prevent them from falling out of the tracks.

[0004] Existing ball protection structures are typically cylindrical, with a diameter matching the inner diameter of the nut to effectively protect the steel balls. However, in this application, the bottom of the lead screw and nut is equipped with a first anti-reverse block N11 and a second anti-reverse block N21 extending into the inner cavity of the nut. This prevents the existing ball protection structures in ball loading equipment, which are adapted to the inner diameter of the nut, from passing through the bottom outlet of the nut cavity, thus hindering the bottom-up installation of steel balls on tracks of different heights. Consequently, existing lead screw and nut ball loading equipment cannot be used in the ball loading process of the ball screw pair described in this application, while manual ball loading is inefficient. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the problem of low ball loading efficiency in lead screws and nuts with anti-reverse blocks, this invention provides a semi-automatic ball loading machine that can effectively improve the ball loading efficiency of lead screws and nuts with anti-reverse blocks.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention is as follows: a semi-automatic ball loading machine, comprising: a ball injection structure and a ball protection structure;

[0007] Its features are:

[0008] The ball injection structure is positioned above the ball protection structure. When installing the steel ball, the steel ball channel in the inner cavity of the nut to be installed is installed from top to bottom. During the installation process, the ball injection structure protects the installed steel ball. After installation, when the ball injection structure is removed, the ball protection structure protects the installed steel ball.

[0009] The ball protection structure includes: a ball protection rod and a ball protection rod mounting structure;

[0010] The ball protection bar includes: a ball protection part, a sliding part, a mounting part, and a connecting block;

[0011] The ball-protecting part is cylindrical, with a diameter adapted to the inner diameter of the nut to be installed, and a length adapted to the distance between the highest and lowest ball tracks in the inner cavity of the nut to be installed; the radius of the sliding part is adapted to the difference between the inner radius of the nut to be installed and the first anti-reverse block; the size and cross-section of the connecting block are adapted to the shape and size of the first anti-reverse block at the bottom of the nut to be installed.

[0012] The ball-protecting part, sliding part, and mounting part are concentrically arranged from top to bottom; the bottom of the sliding part and the top of the mounting part are fixedly connected, the bottom end of the connecting block is connected to the mounting part, the top extends upward and slides into the ball-protecting part from bottom to top; an insertion groove from bottom to top is opened on the side wall of the bottom end of the ball-protecting part, which is adapted to the shape and size of the top end of the connecting block;

[0013] The ball protection rod mounting structure includes: a ball protection rod mounting sleeve and a support spring;

[0014] The ball guard mounting sleeve has its opening facing upwards, and the support spring is located at the bottom of the inner cavity of the ball guard sleeve; the ball guard is movably inserted into the ball guard mounting sleeve from top to bottom; the bottom end of the ball guard is pressed against the top end of the support spring.

[0015] Its further features are:

[0016] It also includes: a lead screw connecting block;

[0017] The lead screw connecting block includes: a ring-shaped block; a second anti-reverse block insertion interface is provided on the block, the size of the second anti-reverse block insertion interface being larger than the size of the first anti-reverse block; the top and bottom surfaces of the block are respectively provided with: a ball-protecting insertion block and a lead screw insertion block; the shape and size of the lead screw insertion block are adapted to the positioning hole at the bottom of the lead screw to be installed; the top of the ball-protecting part is provided with an insertion hole adapted to the ball-protecting insertion block;

[0018] The ball-injecting structure includes: a lifting drive structure, a ball-injecting connecting plate, and a ball-injecting rod;

[0019] The ball injection connecting plate is mounted on the lifting drive structure; the ball injection rod is mounted on the ball injection connecting plate; a steel ball injection channel is opened in the inner cavity of the ball injection rod, and the steel ball inlet at the top of the steel ball injection channel is connected to the steel ball buffer structure; an arc-shaped steel ball guide channel from top to bottom is provided at the lower part of the steel ball injection channel;

[0020] The lifting drive structure includes: a ball-injecting motor, a ball-injecting slide rail, and a ball-injecting slider;

[0021] The ball-injecting slide rail is vertically mounted on the ball-injecting support frame, the ball-injecting slider is slidably mounted on the ball-injecting slide rail, and the ball-injecting motor drives the ball-injecting slider to move up and down along the ball-injecting slide rail based on the ball-injecting lead screw;

[0022] It also includes: a steel ball buffer structure; the steel ball buffer structure includes: a buffer slider, a buffer rod, a horizontal cylinder, and a buffer slide rail;

[0023] The buffer slide rail is horizontally installed on the upper end face of the ball-injecting connecting plate, and the buffer slider is slidably installed on the buffer slide rail;

[0024] The buffer slider has two vertical ball tracks inside, parallel to the buffer slide rail, which are denoted as the buffer ball track and the push ball track, respectively. The output end of the horizontal cylinder is horizontally connected to the end of the buffer slider away from the push ball track. The height of the buffer ball track is set to the height of a set of steel balls. The stroke of both the buffer ball track and the push ball track passes through the steel ball inlet of the ball injection structure.

[0025] The buffer rod is mounted above the buffer slider via a buffer rod mounting bracket. A vertical steel ball feeding channel is opened inside the buffer rod. The top inlet of the steel ball feeding channel is connected to the steel ball storage structure, and the bottom outlet is located on the horizontal sliding stroke of the buffer ball channel.

[0026] The ball buffer structure further includes: a putter guide structure, wherein the putter guide structure is fixedly installed above the putter lane entrance based on the guide bracket; the putter guide structure includes a putter with a truncated cone shape that is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom; the guide bracket is installed on the ball injection connection plate;

[0027] It also includes: a ball-pushing structure;

[0028] The ball-pushing structure includes: a ball-pushing cylinder, a ball-pushing rod, a ball-pushing slide plate, and a ball-pushing slide rail;

[0029] A ball-pushing bracket is mounted on the ball-injection connecting plate; a ball-pushing slide rail is vertically mounted on the ball-pushing bracket; a ball-pushing slide plate is slidably mounted on the ball-pushing slide rail; a ball-pushing cylinder is mounted on the ball-pushing bracket; the cylinder output end is vertically downward connected to the ball-pushing slide plate; and a ball-pushing rod is vertically downward positioned below the ball-pushing slide plate.

[0030] The putter comprises a straight shaft and a spring shaft connected together from top to bottom;

[0031] It also includes: a wire clamping structure;

[0032] The nut clamping structure includes: a nut seat and a rotary drive structure;

[0033] The nut seat is adapted to the shape and size of the nut to be installed. After the nut to be installed and the outer ring are assembled, they are placed on the nut seat. The nut seat is set on the rotary drive structure, and the rotary drive structure drives the nut seat to rotate.

[0034] It also includes: stable structures;

[0035] The stabilizing structure includes: a nut outer ring clamping cover and a nut end face clamping ring plate;

[0036] The outer ring clamping cap of the nut is installed on the nut seat based on thread engagement; the end face clamping ring plate of the nut is fitted onto the ball injection rod, and a protruding ring-shaped stepped structure is provided on the outer wall of the ball injection rod. A buffer spring is fitted onto the outer wall of the ball injection rod, and its two ends are respectively connected to the bottom end face of the stepped structure and the end face clamping ring plate of the nut; the outer diameter of the end face clamping ring plate of the nut is larger than the inner cavity diameter of the nut seat to be installed.

[0037] The stabilizing structure also includes: a ball guard lifting and limiting structure;

[0038] The ball guard lifting and limiting structure includes: a limiting groove and a limiting bolt; a through groove, denoted as the limiting groove, is opened from top to bottom on the ball guard above the ball guard mounting sleeve; the length of the limiting bolt is greater than the inner diameter of the ball guard mounting sleeve, and it passes through both the ball guard mounting sleeve and the limiting groove laterally.

[0039] This application provides a semi-automatic ball loading machine, which, by setting a ball guard rod suitable for the ball screw pair structure of this application and cooperating with the ball injection structure, protects the installed steel balls during the steel ball installation process, reduces the manual intervention rate in the steel ball installation process, and improves the efficiency of steel ball installation. In this application, the ball guard rod is provided with a ball guard part whose diameter is adapted to the inner cavity of the nut, and a sliding part with a smaller diameter. During the steel ball installation process, the ball guard part protects the steel balls in the inner cavity of the nut. The sliding part, whose diameter is adapted to the bottom outlet of the nut, connects to the mounting part below, ensuring that the ball guard part can smoothly slide up and down in the inner cavity of the nut. The ball guard part is movably inserted into the mounting part based on a connecting block. After the steel ball installation is completed, the nut and the ball guard part are separated from the sliding part together. Because the size and cross-section of the connecting block are adapted to the shape and size of the first anti-reverse block at the bottom of the nut to be installed, the connecting block insertion groove provided on the side wall of the ball guard part ensures that the ball guard part can avoid the first anti-reverse block at the bottom of the nut and be smoothly removed from the inner cavity of the nut. The ball guard also includes a lead screw connecting block, which is movably connected to the lead screw and the ball guard via a ball guard insert block and a lead screw insert block, respectively. When the lead screw connecting block is placed at the top of the ball guard, the lead screw can be inserted into it. During the threaded installation of the lead screw into the nut cavity, the cooperation between the lead screw and the ball guard protects the steel balls already installed in the nut cavity. Similarly, the lead screw connecting block has a second anti-reverse block insert interface larger than the first anti-reverse block. After all steel balls are protected by the lead screw, the lead screw connecting block can be easily removed via the second anti-reverse block insert interface after the ball guard is manually removed. This application achieves semi-automatic installation of the steel balls and lead screw through a customized ball guard structure, effectively improving the installation efficiency of the ball screw pair. Attached Figure Description

[0040] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the ball screw pair to be installed;

[0041] Figure 2 A cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of the ball screw pair to be installed;

[0042] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram showing the positional structure of the first and second anti-reverse blocks.

[0043] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure;

[0044] Figure 5 A three-dimensional structural diagram of the ball-injecting structure, the ball-pushing structure, and the ball-protecting structure;

[0045] Figure 6 A cross-sectional structural diagram of the ball-pushing structure;

[0046] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the ball injection system;

[0047] Figure 8 A three-dimensional structural diagram of the steel ball buffer structure;

[0048] Figure 9 A cross-sectional structural diagram of the steel ball buffer structure;

[0049] Figure 10 A three-dimensional structural diagram of the ball guard stick;

[0050] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the lead screw connecting block;

[0051] Figure 12 This is a cross-sectional structural diagram of the ball guard. Detailed Implementation

[0052] like Figures 4-12 As shown, the present invention includes a semi-automatic ball loading machine, which includes: a ball storage structure 2, a ball pushing structure 3, a steel ball buffer structure 4, a ball injection structure 5, a wire clamping structure 6, and a ball protection structure 7, all mounted on a main support 1.

[0053] In this application, the ball injection structure 5 is positioned above the ball protection structure 7. When installing steel balls, the steel ball channels within the cavity of the nut N1 to be installed are installed from top to bottom. During installation, the ball injection structure 5 protects the installed steel balls. After installation, when the ball injection structure 5 is removed, the ball protection structure 7 protects the installed steel balls. The nut N1 to be installed in this application has five ball channels within its cavity, located at different positions and angles. Therefore, one set of balls is installed each time, and each nut is installed five times. A sensor is installed on one side of the nut seat to detect and determine the current ball channel by monitoring the deflector N7 on the nut circumference.

[0054] like Figures 10-12 As shown, the ball protection structure 7 includes: a ball protection rod 71 and a ball protection rod mounting structure 72.

[0055] The ball guard 71 includes: a ball guard part 711, a sliding part 712, a mounting part 713, a lead screw connecting block 714, and a connecting block 715. The ball guard part 711 is cylindrical, with a diameter adapted to the inner diameter of the lead screw nut N1 to be installed. The length of the ball guard part 711 is adapted to the distance between the highest and lowest positions of the ball track within the inner cavity of the lead screw nut N1 to be installed, ensuring that the ball guard part 711 can protect the steel balls in all tracks after the ball guard 51 is removed from the inner cavity of the lead screw nut. The radius of the sliding part 712 is adapted to the difference between the inner radius of the lead screw nut N1 to be installed and the first anti-reverse block, ensuring that the ball guard part 711 can slide smoothly up and down within the inner cavity of the lead screw nut during steel ball installation. The cross-sectional dimensions of the connecting block 715 are adapted to the shape and size of the first anti-reverse block at the bottom of the lead screw nut N1 to be installed.

[0056] The ball-protecting part 711, the sliding part 712, and the mounting part 713 are concentrically arranged from top to bottom; the bottom of the sliding part 712 and the top of the mounting part 713 are fixedly connected, the bottom end of the connecting block 715 is connected to the mounting part 713, the top extends upward and slides into the ball-protecting part 711 from bottom to top; an insertion groove from bottom to top is opened on the bottom side wall of the ball-protecting part 711, which is adapted to the shape and size of the top end of the connecting block 715.

[0057] The ball protector 711 is movably inserted into the top of the sliding part 712. An insertion groove is provided on the side wall of the ball protector 711, and the connecting block 715 is inserted into the ball protector 711 to prevent rotation during ball loading and reduce the probability of it falling off. The size of the ball protector is adapted to the shape and size of the first anti-reverse block to ensure that after the connecting block 713 is removed, the ball protector 711 can avoid the first anti-reverse block based on the notch in the insertion groove and be removed from the bottom of the nut after the steel ball is installed.

[0058] The lead screw connecting block 714 includes: a ring-shaped block 7141; a second anti-reverse block insertion interface 7142 is provided on the block 7141, the size of the second anti-reverse block insertion interface 7142 being larger than the size of the first anti-reverse block; the top and bottom surfaces of the block 7141 are respectively provided with: a ball-protecting insertion block 7143 and a lead screw insertion block 7144; the shape and size of the lead screw insertion block 7144 are adapted to the positioning hole at the bottom of the lead screw N2 to be installed; the top of the ball-protecting part 711 is provided with an insertion hole adapted to the ball-protecting insertion block 7143.

[0059] After the ball-injecting rod 51 is withdrawn from the inner cavity of the lead screw nut, the lead screw connecting block 714 is inserted into the top of the ball-protecting part, and then the lead screw N2 to be installed is inserted into the top of the lead screw connecting block 714, as follows. Figure 10As shown. This application, by setting a lead screw connecting block 714, enables the installation of the lead screw N2 to be installed via a ball guard. After the ball-pouring rod is completely withdrawn, it ensures that the ball will not fall out during the process of installing the lead screw N2 into the nut cavity. The size of the second anti-reverse block insertion interface 7142 is larger than that of the first anti-reverse block, ensuring that when the lead screw N2 completely covers all the ball lanes, the ball guard 711 and the lead screw connecting block 714 are pushed to the bottom of the nut cavity by the lead screw N2. After the ball guard 711 is removed, the lead screw connecting block 714, based on the second anti-reverse block insertion interface 7142, can avoid the first anti-reverse block and be removed from the bottom of the nut after the ball is installed.

[0060] like Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, the ball guard mounting structure 72 includes: a ball guard mounting sleeve 721 and a support spring 722; one end of the ball guard mounting sleeve 721 is open and is positioned directly below the nut seat 61 with the opening facing upwards; the support spring 722 is located at the bottom of the inner cavity of the ball guard 71 sleeve; the lower part of the ball guard 71 is movably inserted into the ball guard mounting sleeve 721 from top to bottom; the bottom end of the ball guard 71 is pressed against the top end of the support spring 722.

[0061] In the default state, the support spring 722 lifts the ball guard 71, positioning it so that it just covers the highest and lowest fairways within the nut N1 cavity. During the ball installation process with the ball in the injector 51, the support spring 722 is gradually compressed as the injector 51 descends. Once the ball is installed, as the injector 51 slowly rises and exits the nut cavity, the ball guard 71 rises synchronously under the action of the support spring 722. This synchronizes the movement of the injector 51 and the ball guard 71, ensuring that both simultaneously protect the fairways and prevent the ball from falling, until the injector 51 is completely out of the nut cavity. The ball guard 71 then rises to its initial position, completely protecting all fairways.

[0062] The ball injection structure 5 includes: a lifting drive structure, a ball injection rod 51, and a ball injection connecting plate 52; the ball injection connecting plate 52 is mounted on the lifting drive structure; the ball injection rod 51 is mounted on the ball injection connecting plate 52; a steel ball injection channel 511 is opened in the inner cavity of the ball injection rod 51, the ball injection rod 51 passes through the ball injection connecting plate 52, and the steel ball inlet at the top of the steel ball injection channel 511 is connected to the ball pushing channel 412 or the ball buffer channel 411 in the steel ball buffer structure 4; a downward-curving steel ball guide channel is provided at the lower part of the steel ball injection channel 511, specifically as follows... Figure 7 As shown; because the ball track inside the nut N1 is curved, this application sets the bottom of the steel ball injection channel 511 as a top-down arc-shaped guide structure, with the arc matching the arc of the ball track in the nut, to ensure that the steel ball can be guided into the ball track inside the nut.

[0063] The bottom end of the ball-pouring stick 51 is provided with a plug-in connector that matches the insertion hole at the top of the ball-protecting part 711. When the ball-pouring stick 51 enters the inner cavity of the nut, the ball-protecting stick is pushed down until the ball outlet of the steel ball injection channel 511 reaches the highest fairway installation position. During the downward pressing of the ball-protecting stick, the bottom of the ball-pouring stick 51 has already been inserted into the top of the ball-protecting part 711. The plug-in structure ensures that the two can move synchronously.

[0064] The lifting drive structure includes: a ball-filling motor 53, a ball-filling slide rail 54, and a ball-filling slider 55. The ball-filling slide rail 54 is vertically mounted on the ball-filling support frame 56. The ball-filling slider 55 is slidably mounted on the ball-filling slide rail 54 and threadedly mounted on the ball-filling lead screw 57. The output end of the ball-filling motor 53 is connected to the ball-filling lead screw 57. The ball-filling motor 53 drives the ball-filling slider 55 to move up and down along the ball-filling slide rail 54 based on the ball-filling lead screw 57, thereby driving the ball-filling connecting plate 52 to move up and down, which in turn drives the ball-filling rod 51 into the inner cavity of the lead screw nut to complete the ball-filling process. After the ball-filling is completed, the slider rises out of the inner cavity of the lead screw nut and exits.

[0065] The wire nut clamping structure 6 includes a wire nut seat 61 and a rotary drive structure 62. The wire nut seat 61 is mounted on a wire nut seat mounting plate 63, which is connected to the main support 1. The wire nut seat 61 is adapted to the shape and size of the wire nut N1 to be installed. After the wire nut N1 and the outer ring are assembled, they are placed on the wire nut seat 61. The wire nut seat 61 is set on the rotary drive structure 62, which drives the wire nut seat 61 to rotate, thereby driving the wire nut N1 to be installed to rotate, realizing the ball loading process for the steel ball tracks at 5 different angles. The rotary drive structure 62 is implemented based on any existing structure for horizontal rotary drive. In this embodiment, it is implemented based on a high-precision hollow rotary platform module from the prior art.

[0066] In this application, a steel ball buffer structure 4 is provided to facilitate the steel ball feeding process of the ball-feeding rod 51. For example... Figure 8 and Figure 9 As shown, the steel ball buffer structure 4 includes: a buffer slider 41, a buffer rod 42, a horizontal cylinder 43, and a buffer slide rail 44.

[0067] The ball injection structure 5 is located below the main ball connecting plate 52, and the ball injection channel 511 of the ball injection structure 5 passes through the ball injection connecting plate 52. The buffer slide rail 44 is horizontally installed on the upper end face of the ball injection connecting plate 52, and the buffer slider 41 is slidably installed on the buffer slide rail 44. Inside the buffer slider 41, two vertical ball tracks are opened in a direction parallel to the buffer slide rail 44, respectively denoted as: buffer track 411 and push track 412. A pull plate 431 is set on the end of the buffer slider 41 away from the push track 412, and the output end of the horizontal cylinder 43 is horizontally connected to the pull plate 431. The height of the buffer track 411 is set to the height of a set of steel balls to ensure that only the number of steel balls of one track is injected into the ball injection rod each time. The stroke of the buffer track 411 and the push track 412 both pass through the steel ball inlet of the ball injection channel 511 in the ball injection structure 5.

[0068] The buffer rod 42 is mounted above the buffer slider 41 via the buffer rod mounting bracket 421. A vertical steel ball feeding channel 422 is opened inside the buffer rod 42. The top inlet of the steel ball feeding channel 422 is connected to the steel ball storage structure 2 via a hose, and the bottom outlet is located on the horizontal sliding stroke of the buffer ball track 411.

[0069] like Figure 9 As shown, the horizontal cylinder 43 drives the buffer slider 41 to slide horizontally along the buffer slide rail 44, causing the buffer ball track 411 to move between two positions: below the steel ball feeding channel 422 (steel ball feeding position) and above the steel ball injection channel 511 (steel ball unloading position). Each time, a set of steel balls injected by the steel ball storage structure 2 is fed into the steel ball injection channel 511. When the ball pushing track 412 is aligned with the steel ball injection channel 511 inside the ball injection rod 51, the bottom end of the steel ball feeding channel 422 is aligned with the entrance of the buffer ball track 411, ensuring that the buffer ball track 411 is ready for the next steel ball loading when the ball injection rod 51 pushes the ball, thus improving overall efficiency.

[0070] like Figure 2 As shown, because the ball track inside the nut N1 to be installed is curved, the bottom of the steel ball injection channel 511 is also set as a curved channel to adapt to the curvature of the nut's ball track. Therefore, a group of steel balls cannot enter the ball track inside the nut entirely based on their own gravity. In this application, a pusher 31 is set to extend into the steel ball injection channel 511 to push the steel balls into the ball track inside the nut.

[0071] like Figure 6 and Figure 7As shown, the ball-pushing structure 3 includes: a ball-pushing cylinder 31, a ball-pushing rod 32, a ball-pushing slide plate 33, and a ball-pushing rail 34. A ball-pushing bracket 35 is mounted on the ball-injection connecting plate 52. The ball-pushing rail 34 is vertically mounted on the ball-pushing bracket 35. The ball-pushing slide plate 33 is slidably mounted on the ball-pushing rail 34. The ball-pushing cylinder 31 is mounted on the ball-pushing bracket 35, with its output end vertically downwards connected to the ball-pushing slide plate 33. The ball-pushing rod 32 is vertically downwards below the ball-pushing slide plate 33, and is located directly above the ball-pushing rod guide structure 45. The ball-pushing cylinder 31 drives the ball-pushing slide plate 33, carrying the ball-pushing rod 32, to move up and down along the ball-pushing rail 34 to complete the ball-pushing process. After the ball-pushing is completed, the ball-pushing rod is raised.

[0072] The putter 32 includes a straight shaft 321 and a spring shaft 322 connected from top to bottom. The spring shaft 322 ensures that the ball is pushed into the curved ball inlet channel 511. To ensure that the putter 32 can accurately enter the ball inlet channel 511, this application also refers to a putter guide structure 45. Figure 8 and Figure 9 As shown, the putter guide structure 45 is fixedly installed above the entrance of the putter lane 412 based on the guide bracket 451; the guide bracket 451 is installed on the ball injection connection plate 52. The putter guide structure 45 includes a cone-shaped putter entrance that is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, ensuring that the putter lane 412 is aligned with the ball injection channel 511 inside the ball injection rod 51, and then the putter 32 is guided into the ball injection channel 511.

[0073] To ensure the stability of the nut to be installed during steel ball installation, a stabilizing structure is also provided in this application. The stabilizing structure includes: a nut outer ring clamping cover 65 and a nut end face clamping ring plate 64. See details below.

[0074] The outer ring clamping cover 65 of the nut is installed on the nut seat 61 based on the thread engagement. After the nut N1 and outer ring N3 are installed and fed, the outer ring clamping cover 65 of the nut is tightened on the nut seat to clamp the outer ring. The end face clamping ring plate 64 of the nut is fitted on the ball injection rod 51. The outer wall of the ball injection rod 51 is provided with a protruding ring-shaped step structure. The buffer spring 65 is movably fitted on the outer wall of the ball injection rod 51. The two ends of the buffer spring 65 are respectively connected to the bottom end face of the step structure and the end face clamping ring plate 64 of the nut. The outer diameter of the end face clamping ring plate 64 of the nut is larger than the inner cavity diameter of the nut seat N1 to be installed.

[0075] In the non-working state, the end face clamping ring 64 of the nut is fitted around the outer circumference of the ball-filling rod 51 by its own weight. When the ball-filling rod 51 is inserted into the inner cavity of the nut for the ball-filling process, because the outer diameter of the end face clamping ring 64 of the nut is larger than the inner cavity diameter of the nut N1 to be installed, the end face clamping ring 64 of the nut cannot enter the inner cavity of the nut N1. Instead, based on the pressure provided by the buffer carbon 65, it clamps the upper end face of the nut from above to prevent the nut from shaking during installation.

[0076] In this application, a ball guard lifting limit structure is also provided to ensure precise positioning of the ball guard 71. (See attached document.) Figure 6 and Figure 7 The ball guard rod lifting and limiting structure includes: a limiting groove 715 and a limiting bolt 716; a through groove, denoted as the limiting groove 715, is opened from top to bottom on the ball guard rod 71 above the ball guard rod mounting sleeve 721; the length of the limiting bolt 716 is greater than the inner diameter of the ball guard rod mounting sleeve 721, and the limiting bolt 716 transversely passes through both the ball guard rod mounting sleeve 721 and the limiting groove 715. When the ball guard rod 71 is raised by the support spring 722 and lowered by the ball injection rod 51, the limiting bolt 716 is fixed in the ball guard rod mounting sleeve 721, limiting the lifting position of the ball guard rod 71 within the height range of the limiting groove 715.

[0077] After using the technical solution of this invention, in the default state, the ball guard 71 is installed directly below the nut seat 61, and the top ball guard part 711 is inserted into the inner cavity of the nut seat from the bottom. Under the thrust of the support spring 722, the default height position of the ball guard part 711 is exactly located at the highest and lowest ball tracks in the inner cavity of the nut seat to be installed. When the nut seat is being loaded, it is placed from top to bottom and fitted around the outer periphery of the ball guard part 711.

[0078] After the nut is fed, the ball injection motor 53 starts, pushing the ball pushing structure 3, the steel ball buffer structure 4, and the ball injection structure 5, all mounted on the ball injection connecting plate 52, downwards to the working position. The horizontal cylinder 43 starts, driving the buffer slider 41 to slide horizontally along the buffer slide rail 44, moving the buffer ball track 411 to the top of the steel ball injection channel 511 in the ball injection rod 51. After the steel balls in the buffer ball track 411 fall into the steel ball injection channel 511, the horizontal cylinder 43 starts in reverse, aligning the ball pushing track 412 with the steel ball injection channel 511. The ball pushing cylinder 31 starts, causing the ball pushing rod 32 to descend and enter the steel ball injection channel 511, propelling all the steel balls into the ball track inside the nut. The ball pushing cylinder 31 starts in reverse, causing the ball pushing rod 32 to rise back to the default position.

[0079] The ball-injecting motor 53 starts, pushing the ball-pushing structure 3, the steel ball buffer structure 4, and the ball-injecting structure 5 downwards to the working position of the next set of steel balls; the rotary drive structure 62 drives the wire nut seat 61 to rotate the wire nut to be installed by an angle, turning the inlet of the next set of steel ball track in the inner cavity of the wire nut seat to the outlet position of the steel ball injection channel 511, and continuing to realize the installation of the next set of steel balls according to the program of the first set of steel balls.

[0080] As the ball-injecting rod 51 descends into the inner cavity of the nut to be installed under the drive of the lifting and lowering drive structure, it presses down the ball-guarding rod 71 to install the steel balls. After each set of steel balls is installed, the rotation drive structure 62 drives the nut seat 61 to rotate the nut to be installed by an angle to reach the installation angle of the next set of steel balls; this continues until all five sets of steel balls are installed. The ball-injecting motor 53 then reverses and starts, raising the ball-injecting rod 51 and exiting the inner cavity of the nut. The ball-guarding rod 71 rises synchronously with the ball-injecting rod 51 to ensure that the steel balls will not fall after the ball-injecting rod 51 is raised. After the ball-injecting rod 51 is completely withdrawn, the main ball motor brings the ball-pushing structure 3, the steel ball buffer structure 4, and the ball-injecting structure 5 back to their initial positions. Insert the lead screw connecting block 714 into the top of the ball guard section, and then insert the lead screw N2 to be installed into the top of the lead screw connecting block 714. Tighten the top of the lead screw N2 manually or with equipment. Start the rotation drive structure 62 to rotate the nut to be installed. The lead screw N2 is gradually installed into the inner cavity of the nut N1 based on the thread engagement until the lead screw N2 completely covers all the steel ball channels in the inner cavity of the nut. The cooperation between the lead screw N2 and the ball guard rod 71 ensures that the steel balls will not fall out during the installation of the lead screw N2. Then, manually remove the assembled ball screw assembly from the nut seat 61. Because the ball guard section 711 and the sliding section 712 on the ball guard rod are in a movable insertion relationship, the ball guard section 711 and the lead screw connecting block 714 are still inside the nut seat when the product is removed. After manually removing the two ball guard components, fully rotate the lead screw N2 into the inner cavity of the lead screw nut N1 to complete the steel ball assembly process of the ball screw pair N.

Claims

1. A semi-automatic ball loading machine, comprising: Ball-injection structure and ball-protection structure; Its features are: The ball injection structure is positioned above the ball protection structure. When installing the steel ball, the steel ball channel in the inner cavity of the nut to be installed is installed from top to bottom. During the installation process, the ball injection structure protects the installed steel ball. After installation, when the ball injection structure is removed, the ball protection structure protects the installed steel ball. The ball protection structure includes: a ball protection rod and a ball protection rod mounting structure; The ball protection bar includes: a ball protection part, a sliding part, a mounting part, and a connecting block; The ball-protecting part is cylindrical, with a diameter adapted to the inner diameter of the nut to be installed, and a length adapted to the distance between the highest and lowest ball tracks in the inner cavity of the nut to be installed; the radius of the sliding part is adapted to the difference between the inner radius of the nut to be installed and the first anti-reverse block; the size and cross-section of the connecting block are adapted to the shape and size of the first anti-reverse block at the bottom of the nut to be installed. The ball-protecting part, sliding part, and mounting part are concentrically arranged from top to bottom; the bottom of the sliding part and the top of the mounting part are fixedly connected, the bottom end of the connecting block is connected to the mounting part, the top extends upward and slides into the ball-protecting part from bottom to top; an insertion groove from bottom to top is opened on the side wall of the bottom end of the ball-protecting part, which is adapted to the shape and size of the top end of the connecting block; The ball protection rod mounting structure includes: a ball protection rod mounting sleeve and a support spring; The ball guard mounting sleeve has its opening facing upwards, and the support spring is located at the bottom of the inner cavity of the ball guard sleeve; the ball guard is movably inserted into the ball guard mounting sleeve from top to bottom; the bottom end of the ball guard is pressed against the top end of the support spring.

2. The semi-automatic ball loading machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes: a lead screw connecting block; The lead screw connecting block includes: a ring-shaped block; a second anti-reverse block insertion interface is provided on the block, the size of the second anti-reverse block insertion interface being larger than the size of the first anti-reverse block; the top and bottom surfaces of the block are respectively provided with: a ball-protecting insertion block and a lead screw insertion block; the shape and size of the lead screw insertion block are adapted to the positioning hole at the bottom of the lead screw to be installed; the top of the ball-protecting part is provided with an insertion hole adapted to the ball-protecting insertion block.

3. The semi-automatic ball loading machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ball-injecting structure includes: a lifting drive structure, a ball-injecting connecting plate, and a ball-injecting rod; The ball injection connecting plate is mounted on the lifting drive structure; the ball injection rod is mounted on the ball injection connecting plate; a steel ball injection channel is opened in the inner cavity of the ball injection rod, and the steel ball inlet at the top of the steel ball injection channel is connected to the steel ball buffer structure; an arc-shaped steel ball guide channel from top to bottom is provided at the lower part of the steel ball injection channel.

4. The semi-automatic ball loading machine according to claim 3, characterized in that: The lifting drive structure includes: a ball-injecting motor, a ball-injecting slide rail, and a ball-injecting slider; The ball-injecting slide rail is vertically mounted on the ball-injecting support frame, the ball-injecting slider is slidably mounted on the ball-injecting slide rail, and the ball-injecting motor drives the ball-injecting slider to move up and down along the ball-injecting slide rail based on the ball-injecting lead screw.

5. A semi-automatic ball loading machine according to claim 3, characterized in that: The steel ball buffer structure includes: a buffer slider, a buffer rod, a horizontal cylinder, and a buffer slide rail; The buffer slide rail is horizontally installed on the upper end face of the ball-injecting connecting plate, and the buffer slider is slidably installed on the buffer slide rail; The buffer slider has two vertical ball tracks inside, parallel to the buffer slide rail, which are denoted as the buffer ball track and the push ball track, respectively. The output end of the horizontal cylinder is horizontally connected to the end of the buffer slider away from the push ball track. The height of the buffer ball track is set to the height of a set of steel balls. The stroke of both the buffer ball track and the push ball track passes through the steel ball inlet of the ball injection structure. The buffer rod is mounted above the buffer slider via a buffer rod mounting bracket. A vertical steel ball feeding channel is opened inside the buffer rod. The top inlet of the steel ball feeding channel is connected to the steel ball storage structure, and the bottom outlet is located on the horizontal sliding stroke of the buffer ball channel.

6. A semi-automatic ball loading machine according to claim 5, characterized in that: The ball buffer structure further includes a putter guide structure, which is fixedly installed above the putter lane entrance based on a guide bracket; the putter guide structure includes a truncated cone-shaped putter guide to the entrance; the guide bracket is installed on the ball connection plate.

7. A semi-automatic ball loading machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes: a ball-pushing structure; The ball-pushing structure includes: a ball-pushing cylinder, a ball-pushing rod, a ball-pushing slide plate, and a ball-pushing slide rail; The ball-pushing slide rail is vertically mounted on the ball-pushing bracket, and the ball-pushing slide plate is slidably mounted on the ball-pushing slide rail; the ball-pushing cylinder is mounted on the ball-pushing bracket, and the cylinder output end is vertically downward connected to the ball-pushing slide plate; the ball-pushing rod is vertically downward positioned below the ball-pushing slide plate. The putter comprises a straight shaft and a spring shaft connected together from top to bottom.

8. A semi-automatic ball loading machine according to claim 3, characterized in that: It also includes: a wire clamping structure; The nut clamping structure includes: a nut seat and a rotary drive structure; The nut seat is adapted to the shape and size of the nut to be installed. After the nut to be installed and the outer ring are assembled, they are placed on the nut seat. The nut seat is set on the rotary drive structure, and the rotary drive structure drives the nut seat to rotate.

9. A semi-automatic ball loading machine according to claim 8, characterized in that: It also includes: stable structures; The stabilizing structure includes: a nut outer ring clamping cover and a nut end face clamping ring plate; The outer ring clamping cap of the nut is installed on the nut seat based on thread engagement; the end face clamping ring plate of the nut is fitted on the ball injection rod, and a protruding ring-shaped step structure is provided on the outer wall of the ball injection rod. A buffer spring is fitted on the outer wall of the ball injection rod, and its two ends are respectively connected to the bottom end face of the step structure and the end face clamping ring plate of the nut; the outer diameter of the end face clamping ring plate of the nut is larger than the inner cavity diameter of the nut seat to be installed.

10. A semi-automatic ball loading machine according to claim 9, characterized in that: The stabilizing structure also includes: a ball guard lifting and limiting structure; The ball guard lifting and limiting structure includes: a limiting groove and a limiting bolt; a through groove, denoted as the limiting groove, is opened from top to bottom on the ball guard above the ball guard mounting sleeve; the length of the limiting bolt is greater than the inner diameter of the ball guard mounting sleeve, and it passes through both the ball guard mounting sleeve and the limiting groove laterally.

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