Metallic cage

Abstract

To provide a metallic cage capable of securing good lubricating performance on the outer periphery side and the inner periphery side of a bearing while preventing the occurrence of seizure on the inner ring side during high-speed rotation.SOLUTION: A metallic cage 100 according to this invention is provided. The metallic cage 100 for holding balls 230 of a bearing 200 includes a pair of annular members 110a, 110b opposed to each other in the axial direction, and a fastening member 120 for fastening the pair of annular members 110a, 110b to each other, the annular members having a plurality of half pocket parts 112a, 112b for holding the balls 230, and connection parts 114a, 114b for connecting the adjacent half pocket parts to each other. On the outer periphery side of one half pocket part out of two half pocket parts forming the pocket 118 for holding the ball, an outer periphery side cutout 116a is formed, and on the inner periphery side of the other half pocket part, an inner periphery side cutout 116b is formed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a metallic cage that holds balls in a bearing. [Background technology]

[0002] In bearings (ball bearings) that have balls as rolling elements, a cage is used to hold the balls, and one such cage is a metal cage (also called a corrugated cage). For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a corrugated cage that includes "a pair of annular members that face each other in the axial direction, and a plurality of fastening members that connect the pair of annular members."

[0003] The wavy cage of Patent Document 1 is characterized in that "the annular member is made of a metal plate having connecting portions that mate with the mating annular member in the axial direction and half-pocket portions that bulge from the connecting portions, alternating in the circumferential direction, and each pair of half-pocket portions facing each other in the axial direction holds balls, the half-pocket portions having grooves that connect from the inner circumference of the annular member through the axially outer surface to the outer circumference, and the grooves extend radially in a direction inclined to one side in the circumferential direction toward the outer periphery of the annular member." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-158109 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In recent years, bearings are required to be able to handle high-speed rotation. For example, when centrifugal force is generated by a bearing rotating at high speed, the lubricating oil supplied to the bearing is biased to the outer periphery (outer ring side) by the centrifugal force. This causes a problem that sufficient lubrication performance cannot be ensured on the inner periphery (inner ring side) of the bearing, and seizure between the inner ring and the balls becomes more likely to occur.

[0006] In view of these problems, the present invention aims to provide a metal retainer that can ensure good lubrication performance on the outer and inner sides of the bearing and prevent the occurrence of seizure on the inner ring side during high-speed rotation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A typical configuration of the metal retainer of the present invention is a metal retainer that holds balls of a bearing, and comprises a pair of circular ring members facing each other in the axial direction, and a fastening member that fastens the pair of circular ring members, and the circular ring members have a plurality of half-pocket portions that hold balls and connecting portions that connect adjacent half-pocket portions, and is characterized in that of the two half-pocket portions that form the pocket that holds the balls, an outer periphery notch is formed on the outer periphery of one of the half-pocket portions, and an inner periphery notch is formed on the inner periphery of the other half-pocket portion.

[0008] The mating surface of the connecting portion may be formed with a groove that gradually widens from the pocket toward the inner peripheral edge of the connecting portion. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a metal retainer that can ensure good lubrication performance on the outer and inner sides of the bearing and prevent the occurrence of seizure during high-speed rotation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a bearing including a metal cage according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of the metal cage according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the pocket in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of the metal cage according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific values ​​shown in the embodiment are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In this specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same functions and configurations are given the same reference numerals to avoid repeated explanations, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown or described.

[0012] (Bearing 200) Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a bearing 200 equipped with a metal cage 100 according to this embodiment. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the bearing 200 includes an outer ring 210, an inner ring 220, balls 230, and the metal cage 100 according to this embodiment.

[0013] Balls 230 are disposed between outer ring 210 and inner ring 220 and roll therebetween. Metallic cage 100 is disposed between outer ring 210 and inner ring 220 and holds balls 230. Lubricating oil (not shown) is supplied to bearing 200 to enhance lubrication between outer ring 210, inner ring 220 and balls 230.

[0014] (Metal cage 100) Fig. 2 is an overall perspective view of the metal cage 100 according to this embodiment. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the pocket 118 in Fig. 2.

[0015] The metal cage 100 shown in Fig. 2 is a so-called corrugated cage that holds balls (not shown) of a bearing. The metal cage 100 includes a pair of circular members 110a, 110b that face each other in the axial direction of the bearing, and a plurality of fastening members 120 (rivets) that fasten the pair of circular members 110a, 110b. The circular members 110a, 110b and the fastening members 120 are all metal parts.

[0016] The ring members 110a and 110b are corrugated ring-shaped members formed by pressing a steel plate. The ring members 110a and 110b each have a plurality of half pockets 112a and 112b and a plurality of connecting portions 114a and 114b. The ring members 110a and 110b may be machined (cut).

[0017] The half pocket portions 112a, 112b are semicircular portions that have a curvature that conforms to the outer peripheral surface of the ball 230 (see FIG. 1) and hold the ball 230. The connecting portions 114a, 114b are flat portions that are disposed between the multiple half pocket portions 112a, 112b and connect the adjacent half pocket portions 112a, 112b to each other.

[0018] When the circular members 110a, 110b are fastened by the fastening members 120 at the connecting portions 114a, 114b, the half pocket portions 112a, 112b of the circular members 110a, 110b face each other to form a pocket 118 for holding a ball 230.

[0019] As a feature of this embodiment, of the two half pockets 112a and 112b forming the pocket 118 for holding the balls 230, an outer peripheral notch 116a is formed on the outer peripheral side (outer ring side) of one half pocket 112a, and an inner peripheral notch 116b is formed on the inner peripheral side (inner ring side) of the other half pocket 112b. That is, one half pocket 112a has a concave shape with an opening on the outer peripheral side, and the other half pocket 112b has a concave shape with an opening on the inner peripheral side. The remaining cut-out parts of the half pockets 112a and 112b are called bridges 113a and 113b.

[0020] 3, one half pocket 112a has an outer peripheral notch 116a formed in the circumferential direction, and the width W2 of the bridge 113a is narrower than the width W1 at the uncut position. The other half pocket 112b also has an inner peripheral notch 116b formed in the circumferential direction, and the width W4 of the bridge 113b is narrower than the width W3 at the uncut position.

[0021] 2, the radius from the center (rotation center) of the bearing 200 to the outer circumferential notch 116a (the radius of the bridge 113a) is R1, and the radius from the center of the bearing 200 to the inner circumferential notch 116b (the radius of the bridge 113b) is R2. In this case, the radius R1 to the bridge 113a is smaller than the radius R2 to the bridge 113b (R1 <R2)。

[0022] The circumferential speed of the circular member is faster as the radius from the center of the bearing 200 increases. Therefore, the circular member 110b (in which the inner peripheral notch 116b is formed in the half pocket portion 112b) has a faster circumferential speed than the circular member 110a (in which the outer peripheral notch 116a is formed in the half pocket portion 112a). When the circumferential speed is faster, the flow speed of the lubricating oil that accompanies the bridges 113a and 113b also becomes faster.

[0023] When the flow velocity of the lubricating oil increases, the pressure of the lubricating oil decreases due to the law of conservation of energy. Therefore, the pressure of the lubricating oil is lower near the half pocket portion 112b of the circular member 110b than near the half pocket portion 112a of the circular member 110a. This causes a pressure difference between the half pocket portion 112a of the circular member 110a and the half pocket portion 112b of the circular member 110b. As a result, the lubricating oil flows across the pocket 118 from the outer peripheral notch 116a to the inner peripheral notch 116b, as shown by the arrow D1 in FIG. 3.

[0024] 1, when bearing 200 rotates at high speed, lubricating oil flows from outer peripheral notch 116a to inner peripheral notch 116b in the direction of arrow D1. As a result, lubricating oil is abundantly supplied to balls 230. At this time, balls 230 rotate in the direction D2 as bearing 200 rotates, and lubricating oil that has moistened the surfaces of balls 230 is supplied to inner ring 220. Therefore, even if bearing 200 rotates at high speed and becomes biased toward outer ring 210, lubricating oil can be abundantly supplied to the inner ring 220 as well, making it possible to effectively prevent seizure on the inner ring 220 side during high speed rotation.

[0025] Furthermore, balls 230 held in pocket 118 formed by half pocket portions 112a, 112b have their outer peripheral surfaces partially exposed at outer peripheral notch 116a and inner peripheral notch 116b, which makes it easier for lubricating oil to adhere to balls 230. As a result, lubricating oil can be supplied abundantly between balls 230 and metal cage 100, increasing the effect of supplying lubricating oil to the inner ring 220 side.

[0026] Furthermore, by providing the outer peripheral notch 116a and the inner peripheral notch 116b in the half pockets 112a, 112b as in the embodiment 100, it is possible to reduce the weight without reducing the overall thickness of the half pockets 112a, 112b. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the impact of the cage against the balls 230 caused by the cage whirling due to high speed rotation of the bearing while ensuring sufficient rigidity.

[0027] Fig. 4 shows another example of a metal cage according to the present invention, where Fig. 4(a) is an outer peripheral side perspective view and Fig. 4(b) is an inner peripheral side perspective view. The same reference numerals are used for the same parts as those in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0028] In the metal cage 100A shown in Fig. 4, a groove 130 is formed in the mating surface 114c of the connecting parts 114a, 114b. The groove 130 is shaped to gradually widen from approximately the center C in the radial direction of the pocket 118 toward the inner peripheral edge 114d of each of the connecting parts 114a, 114b. With this configuration, when the balls 230 rotate, the lubricating oil adhering to the surfaces of the balls 230 can be guided to the inner peripheral side (inner ring side) through the groove 130. Therefore, the lubricating oil can be more efficiently guided to the inner peripheral side of the metal cage 100, and the above-mentioned effect can be enhanced.

[0029] 2, the metal cage 100 has an outer circumferential notch 116a or an inner circumferential notch 116b formed in all the half pockets 112a, 112b of the annular members 110a, 110b, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the outer circumferential notch 116a or the inner circumferential notch 116b may be formed at predetermined intervals (preferably equal intervals) such as every other or every third half pocket in the plurality of half pockets 112a, 112b.

[0030] Furthermore, the width W2 of the outer circumferential notch 116a, the width W4 of the inner circumferential notch 116b, and their lengths L can be set appropriately as long as sufficient rigidity can be ensured at positions other than the outer circumferential notch 116a and the inner circumferential notch 116b.

[0031] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can think of various modifications or alterations within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0032] The present invention can be used as a metallic cage for holding balls in a bearing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 100...metallic retainer, 110a...annular member, 110b...annular member, 112a...half pocket portion, 112b...half pocket portion, 114a...connecting portion, 114b...connecting portion, 114c...matching surface, 114d...edge, 116a...outer peripheral notch, 116b...inner peripheral notch, 118...pocket, 120...fastening member, 130...groove, 200...bearing, 210...outer ring, 220...inner ring, 230...ball

Claims

1. A metal cage that holds the balls of a bearing, A pair of annular members opposed to each other in an axial direction; a fastening member for fastening the pair of annular members; Equipped with The annular member is A plurality of half pockets for holding the balls; and a connecting portion connecting adjacent half pocket portions to each other, A metallic cage characterized in that, of the two half-pocket portions that form a pocket for holding the balls, an outer circumferential notch is formed on the outer circumferential side of one of the half-pocket portions, and an inner circumferential notch is formed on the inner circumferential side of the other half-pocket portion.

2. 2. The metal cage according to claim 1, wherein a groove is formed in the mating surface of the connecting portion, the groove gradually widening from the pocket toward an inner peripheral edge of the connecting portion.

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