An auxiliary tool for assembling a ball cage assembly

Abstract

The utility model discloses an auxiliary tool of assembling ball cage assembly, the auxiliary tool includes the core shaft positioning seat and the protective sheath, the protective sheath includes the protective sheath body and the protective sheath cover plate, the protective sheath body detachable is established on the core shaft positioning seat, the protective sheath body is used to accommodate the ball cage assembly of assembling, the protective sheath cover plate detachable installation is in the protective sheath body top, is used for limiting the ball cage assembly, the core shaft positioning seat and the protective sheath all are set up and are passed through the core shaft positioning groove of the core shaft, the utility model provides an auxiliary tool, through the effective preposition and the constraint of forming to steel ball in the assembly process, ensure that steel ball does not fall off in the assembly and the transfer process, thereby promotes the assembly efficiency, reduces the labor intensity and guarantees the product quality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of universal joint technology, and more specifically to an auxiliary tooling for assembling ball cage components. Background Technology

[0002] The constant velocity joint (CV joint) is a key component in the automotive chassis drive system, and its performance and reliability directly affect the vehicle's transmission efficiency and driving safety. A typical CV joint (especially the moving end) mainly consists of a bell-shaped housing, a star-shaped sleeve housed within the bell-shaped housing, and steel balls between the bell-shaped housing and the star-shaped sleeve for transmitting power and achieving constant velocity motion. The center of the star-shaped sleeve is connected to the drive spindle. To ensure that the star-shaped sleeve, steel balls, and ball cage (or retainer) on the moving end can generate the necessary high-frequency sliding resistance within the bell-shaped housing during operation, the design requires that, after assembly, the steel balls maintain a rollable, relatively loose fit within the raceways of the star-shaped sleeve and the ball cage. However, this design characteristic presents significant challenges to the assembly process.

[0003] The traditional assembly process typically involves first assembling the star-shaped sleeve and ball cage onto the mandrel to form a sub-assembly. Then, multiple steel balls are installed one by one into the raceway formed by the star-shaped sleeve and ball cage. Finally, this sub-assembly with the steel balls is installed into the bell-shaped housing. Because the steel balls are loose, they are highly susceptible to falling off the raceway due to gravity, vibration, or even minor impacts during placement on the raceway and during the subsequent transfer and installation of the entire sub-assembly into the bell-shaped housing. This can not only damage parts but, more seriously, result in missing steel balls. If these missing steel balls are not detected, the universal joint assembly will fail, posing a serious safety hazard.

[0004] The existing installation method requires manual intervention to prevent each steel ball from falling out of the star-shaped sleeve and cage when assembling them into the bell-shaped shell. Furthermore, it's crucial to ensure that no steel balls fall out or are missing during assembly. This current process is problematic because steel balls are prone to falling during installation, and it suffers from low efficiency, high labor intensity, and excessively long cycle times. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a dedicated auxiliary tooling to solve the problem of securing steel balls during the assembly of the ball cage assembly (including the star-shaped sleeve, cage, and steel balls) and their insertion into the bell-shaped shell, thereby achieving efficient, reliable, and labor-saving automated or semi-automated assembly. Utility Model Content

[0005] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, the purpose of this utility model is to provide an auxiliary tooling for assembling ball cage components. This tooling effectively positions and constrains the steel balls during the assembly process, ensuring that the steel balls do not fall off during assembly and transfer, thereby improving assembly efficiency, reducing labor intensity, and guaranteeing product quality.

[0006] The technical solution adopted by this utility model to solve the technical problem is: an auxiliary tooling for assembling a ball cage assembly, the auxiliary tooling including a mandrel positioning seat and a protective sleeve; the protective sleeve including a protective sleeve body and a protective sleeve cover plate, the protective sleeve body being detachably mounted on the mandrel positioning seat, the protective sleeve body being used to accommodate the assembled ball cage assembly; the protective sleeve cover plate being detachably mounted on the top of the protective sleeve body, used to restrict the ball cage assembly; both the mandrel positioning seat and the protective sleeve are provided with mandrel positioning grooves for the mandrel to pass through.

[0007] Furthermore, the inner wall of the protective sleeve is provided with a plurality of steel ball limiting grooves in the longitudinal direction, the number of steel ball limiting grooves matching the number of steel balls; the steel ball limiting grooves are arc-shaped structures, and the arc-shaped structures match the contours of the steel balls. Furthermore, the protective sleeve body and the protective sleeve cover plate are detachable and installable via a quick-release mechanism.

[0008] Furthermore, the quick-release structure includes slots on both sides of the top of the protective cover body and tenons on both sides below the protective cover plate; the slots and tenons cooperate with each other to achieve the installation and fixation between the protective cover body and the protective cover plate.

[0009] Furthermore, a magnetic suction element is embedded at the top of the protective cover body, which is used to achieve magnetic fixation between the protective cover body and the protective cover cover plate.

[0010] Furthermore, the protective cover plate is provided with a limiting baffle, which is located on the opening side of the mandrel positioning groove after installation.

[0011] Furthermore, the mandrel positioning seat is provided with limiting plates on both sides; the protective sleeve is embedded between the two limiting plates.

[0012] Furthermore, a first spindle positioning groove is provided at the bottom of the protective sleeve body, and a second spindle positioning groove is provided at the bottom of the spindle positioning seat; the first spindle positioning groove and the second spindle positioning groove are coaxially designed.

[0013] Furthermore, the diameter of the first mandrel positioning groove is larger than the diameter of the second mandrel positioning groove.

[0014] The beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows: Compared with the prior art, the auxiliary tooling for assembling ball cage components provided by this utility model can effectively prevent steel balls from falling off during the assembly process through the design of the protective sleeve, thus eliminating potential quality hazards; the quick-draw design between the protective sleeve cover plate and the protective sleeve body enables fast and simple assembly; it eliminates the tedious step of manually preventing the balls from falling off at all times, simplifies the operation process, significantly shortens the assembly cycle of a single product, and is suitable for mass production; this tooling is easy to integrate with automated equipment, providing a foundation for the automated assembly of ball cage components. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the auxiliary tooling provided by this utility model.

[0016] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the auxiliary tooling provided by this utility model.

[0017] Figure 3 An exploded view of the auxiliary tooling provided by this utility model.

[0018] Figure 4 This is a top view of the protective sleeve body in the auxiliary tooling provided by this utility model.

[0019] Figure 5 This is a side view of the protective sleeve body in the auxiliary tooling provided by this utility model.

[0020] Figure 6 This is a bottom view of the protective sleeve body in the auxiliary tooling provided by this utility model.

[0021] Figure 7 The bottom view of the mandrel positioning seat in the auxiliary tooling provided by this utility model.

[0022] Figure 8 This is a top view of the mandrel positioning seat in the auxiliary tooling provided by this utility model.

[0023] Figure 9 This is a top view of the protective cover plate in the auxiliary tooling provided by this utility model.

[0024] Figure 10 This is a side view of the protective cover plate in the auxiliary tooling provided by this utility model.

[0025] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the auxiliary tooling provided by this utility model after being converted into a ball cage assembly.

[0026] Figure 12 for Figure 11 A schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure along the middle AA.

[0027] Figure 13This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the auxiliary tooling provided by this utility model after being converted into a ball cage assembly.

[0028] Figure 14 for Figure 11 A schematic diagram of the structure after removing the protective cover.

[0029] Among them, 1-protective cover plate; 11-drawing tenon; 12-limiting baffle; 2-protective cover body; 21-steel ball limiting groove; 22-magnetic suction part; 23-drawing groove; 24-first mandrel positioning groove; 3-mandrel positioning seat; 31-limiting plate; 32-second mandrel positioning groove; 4-steel ball; 5-star sleeve; 6-mandrel; 7-ball cage. Detailed Implementation

[0030] To facilitate understanding of this utility model, a more comprehensive description will be given below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of this utility model. However, this utility model can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to provide a more thorough and complete understanding of the disclosure of this utility model.

[0031] It should be noted that in the description of this utility model, terms such as "upper", "lower", "top", "bottom", "longitudinal", "axial", "radial" and other terms indicating the orientation or positional relationship are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this utility model.

[0032] Example refer to Figures 11 to 14 This embodiment describes in detail an auxiliary tooling for assembling a ball cage assembly. This tooling aims to solve the problem in the prior art where, during the assembly of the steel ball 4, star-shaped sleeve 5, and ball cage 7 and their insertion into a bell-shaped shell (not shown), the steel ball 4 is prone to detachment and assembly is inconvenient.

[0033] like Figures 1-3 As shown, the auxiliary tooling consists of three core components, from top to bottom: protective cover plate 1, protective cover body 2, and spindle positioning seat 3.

[0034] like Figure 7 and 8As shown, a second mandrel positioning groove 32 is machined in the middle of the mandrel positioning seat 3. This groove is used to accurately accommodate and position the drive mandrel 6 during assembly, providing a reference for the entire assembly process. To further improve the alignment accuracy and stability during the installation of the upper components, a pair of limiting plates 31 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the top surface of the mandrel positioning seat 3. These limiting plates 31 are parallel to each other, and the distance between their inner sidewalls is precisely matched with the outer dimensions of the protective sleeve body 2, so that the protective sleeve body 2 can be stably embedded between the two limiting plates 31, which guides the installation of the protective sleeve body 2 and also improves the stability of the installation.

[0035] like Figures 4-6 As shown, the protective sleeve body 2 is a key component that directly supports and constrains the ball cage assembly. In this embodiment, its main body is a cylindrical structure with an internal cavity for accommodating the ball cage assembly (including the mandrel 6, star sleeve 5, steel ball 4, and ball cage 7).

[0036] On the inner wall surface of the protective sleeve body 2, multiple steel ball limiting grooves 21 are uniformly formed along the circumferential direction and longitudinally (i.e., axially). The number of steel ball limiting grooves 21 matches the number of steel balls 4 to be assembled in the constant velocity universal joint. The cross-section of the steel ball limiting groove 21 is an arc-shaped groove, and the radius of curvature of the arc surface is precisely calculated to match or be slightly larger than the spherical radius of the steel ball 4. This design allows the steel ball 4 to sit stably in the steel ball limiting groove 21, which can guide it into the correct position during assembly and allow it to roll slightly as needed in subsequent operations, while fundamentally preventing the steel ball 4 from radially dislodging from the raceway between the star sleeve 5 and the ball cage 7.

[0037] A first mandrel positioning groove 24 is formed at the center of the bottom of the protective sleeve body 2. When the protective sleeve body 2 is placed on the mandrel positioning seat 3, the first mandrel positioning groove 24 and the second mandrel positioning groove 32 are aligned vertically, forming a complete channel for the mandrel 6 to pass through. Preferably, the width or diameter of the first mandrel positioning groove 24 is larger than the corresponding size of the second mandrel positioning groove 32. This design has two advantages: first, it allows for quick and easy alignment of the mandrel 6 when initially placing the protective sleeve body 2, improving operational efficiency; second, it provides necessary space to accommodate any slight misalignment or manufacturing tolerances that may occur during the press-fitting process of the mandrel 6, avoiding the risk of rigid interference.

[0038] like Figure 9 and 10 As shown, the protective cover plate 1 is used to close the top opening of the protective cover body 2, thus "wrapping" the ball cage assembly. The protective cover plate 1 and the protective cover body 2 are connected and separated quickly and reliably through a quick-release structure.

[0039] Specifically, the quick-release structure in this embodiment includes: slots 23 on both sides of the opening edge at the top of the protective cover body 2, and tenons 11 on both sides of the lower surface of the protective cover cover 1. During installation, the operator simply aligns the tenons 11 of the protective cover cover 1 with the slots 23 of the protective cover body 2, and then smoothly pushes it in horizontally. Disassembly is the reverse process; simply pull it outwards horizontally. This convenient operation greatly saves time.

[0040] To enhance connection stability and prevent accidental detachment of the protective cover plate 1 during handling or vibration, a magnetic chuck 22 (e.g., a powerful permanent magnet) is also embedded in the top of the protective cover body 2. Correspondingly, magnetically conductive metal materials are used to manufacture or similarly embed magnetic chucks at positions on the protective cover plate 1 corresponding to the magnetic chuck 22. When the tenon 11 is fully pushed into the slot 23, the magnetic force generated by the magnetic chuck 22 further secures the protective cover plate 1 to the protective cover body 2, forming a double safety feature.

[0041] In addition, a limiting baffle 12 is provided extending vertically downward from the end of the protective cover plate 1. When the protective cover plate 1 is installed in place, this limiting baffle 12 is located exactly on the opening side of the channel formed by the first mandrel positioning groove 24 and the second mandrel positioning groove 32.

[0042] In the auxiliary tooling provided in this embodiment, the protective sleeve serves to pre-position the assembled ball cage assembly (including the star-shaped sleeve, steel balls 4, and ball cage 7). After the star-shaped sleeve 5, steel balls 4, and ball cage 7 are manually assembled, they are placed into the protective sleeve body 2 to form a whole. After covering with the protective sleeve cover plate 1, it facilitates the assembly of the remaining components of the constant velocity universal joint and ensures the integrity of steel balls 4, preventing them from being lost. The protective sleeve guides the ball cage assembly when it is installed into the moving end bell-shaped shell (not shown), preventing steel balls 4 from falling out of the star-shaped sleeve 5 and ball cage 7. During this process, the raceway on the inner wall of the bell-shaped shell gradually supports the steel balls 4; when the assembly is fully in place, all steel balls 4 have safely entered the raceway of the bell-shaped shell. After confirming that the assembly is in place, the protective sleeve cover plate 1 is quickly pulled outward horizontally to separate it from the protective sleeve body 2. Subsequently, the protective sleeve body 2 is removed, detaching it from the mandrel 6 and the bell-shaped shell, thus achieving the effect of assisted installation.

[0043] The function of the mandrel positioning seat 3 is to assist the protective sleeve in press-fitting the fixed-end bell-shaped housing assembly and the mandrel. The mandrel positioning seat 3 can serve as a link between the existing equipment and the protective sleeve, enabling the product to meet the processing capabilities required by the existing equipment, as well as a series of process capabilities such as functionality, performance, and error prevention, so that the product meets the design requirements.

[0044] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present utility model and are not intended to limit the present utility model. Those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present utility model. Therefore, all equivalent technical solutions also fall within the scope of the present utility model. The patent protection scope of the present utility model should be defined by the claims.

Claims

1. An auxiliary tooling for assembling a ball cage assembly, characterized in that: The auxiliary tooling includes a mandrel positioning seat and a protective sleeve; the protective sleeve includes a protective sleeve body and a protective sleeve cover plate, the protective sleeve body is detachably mounted on the mandrel positioning seat, and the protective sleeve body is used to accommodate the assembled ball cage assembly; the protective sleeve cover plate is detachably mounted on the top of the protective sleeve body and is used to restrict the ball cage assembly; both the mandrel positioning seat and the protective sleeve are provided with mandrel positioning grooves for the mandrel to pass through.

2. The auxiliary tooling for assembling a ball cage assembly as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The inner wall of the protective sleeve is provided with a number of steel ball limiting grooves in the longitudinal direction, and the number of steel ball limiting grooves matches the number of steel balls; the steel ball limiting grooves are arc-shaped structures, and the arc-shaped structures match the contours of the steel balls.

3. The auxiliary tooling for assembling a ball cage assembly as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The protective cover body and the protective cover plate can be detached and installed via a quick-release mechanism.

4. The auxiliary tooling for assembling a ball cage assembly as described in claim 3, characterized in that: The quick-release structure includes slots on both sides of the top of the protective cover body and tenons on both sides below the protective cover plate; the slots and tenons cooperate with each other to achieve the installation and fixation between the protective cover body and the protective cover plate.

5. An auxiliary tooling for assembling a ball cage assembly as described in claim 1 or 3, characterized in that: The top of the protective cover body is equipped with a magnetic suction component, which is used to achieve magnetic fixation between the protective cover body and the protective cover cover plate.

6. The auxiliary tooling for assembling a ball cage assembly as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The protective cover plate is provided with a limiting baffle, which is located on the opening side of the mandrel positioning groove after installation.

7. The auxiliary tooling for assembling a ball cage assembly as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The mandrel positioning seat has limiting plates on both sides; the protective sleeve is embedded between the two limiting plates.

8. The auxiliary tooling for assembling a ball cage assembly as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom of the protective sleeve body is provided with a first spindle positioning groove, and the bottom of the spindle positioning seat is provided with a second spindle positioning groove; the first spindle positioning groove and the second spindle positioning groove are coaxially designed.

9. The auxiliary tooling for assembling a ball cage assembly as described in claim 8, characterized in that: The diameter of the first mandrel positioning groove is larger than the diameter of the second mandrel positioning groove.

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