Angular contact ball bearing

Abstract

To provide an angular ball bearing capable of surely injecting grease into the inside of a truncated cone-shaped cage.SOLUTION: The angular contact ball bearing 100 comprises an outer ring 106, an inner ring 110, balls 112 rolling between the inner and outer rings, and a truncated cone-shaped retainer 102 holding the balls, wherein the retainer has pockets 122 rotatably holding the balls and a grease feed hole 124 penetrating from an outer peripheral surface 114 facing the outer ring to an inner peripheral surface 116 facing the inner ring, and grease 128 can be injected from the outside of the retainer to the inside of the retainer through the grease feed hole.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an angular contact ball bearing having a cage in the shape of a truncated cone. [Background technology]

[0002] Angular contact ball bearings are bearings in which balls, which are rolling elements, contact the inner and outer rings at a certain angle (contact angle) in the radial direction, and can support radial and axial loads simultaneously.

[0003] Angular contact ball bearings often use a plastic cage to hold the balls that roll between the inner and outer rings. The cage holds the balls rotatably in multiple pockets, maintaining the spacing between the balls and preventing them from rubbing against each other.

[0004] Patent Document 1 describes an angular contact ball bearing equipped with a truncated conical cage. The cage includes an annular small-diameter rim portion, a large-diameter rim portion, multiple pillars, multiple pockets, and a grease reservoir groove. The pillars have first and second bifurcated branches extending from their tips on the large-diameter rim side. The grease reservoir groove is formed between the pockets, between the first and second branches.

[0005] The angular contact ball bearing of Patent Document 1 utilizes grease held in a grease reservoir groove in a truncated cone-shaped cage to reduce friction occurring between the cage and solidified grease. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-101289 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, when angular contact ball bearings are assembled into a unit by assembling a conical frustum-shaped cage to the inner ring, it is difficult to inject grease into the inside of the cage that faces the inner ring. While it is possible to apply grease when assembling the unit, it is difficult to seal in a sufficient amount of grease because the grease is pushed out during assembly. As a result, with angular contact ball bearings, the grease does not reach the inner ring raceway, which can make the inner ring susceptible to damage due to fretting wear or excessive loads.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide an angular contact ball bearing in which grease can be reliably injected into the inside of a truncated cone-shaped cage. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, a typical configuration of an angular ball bearing according to the present invention is an angular ball bearing comprising an outer ring, an inner ring, balls that roll between the inner and outer rings, and a truncated conical cage that holds the balls, wherein the cage has pockets that rotatably hold the balls and a grease supply hole that penetrates from the outer surface facing the outer ring to the inner surface facing the inner ring, and is characterized in that grease can be injected into the inside of the cage from the outside through the grease supply hole.

[0010] The grease supply holes are preferably provided for each pocket at positions between the pockets and shifted from the row of the pockets.

[0011] The grease supply hole is preferably a circular hole.

[0012] The grease supply hole is preferably fitted with a check valve for preventing grease from flowing from the inside to the outside of the cage. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an angular contact ball bearing in which grease can be reliably injected inside a truncated cone-shaped cage. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an angular contact ball bearing according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a diagram showing a cage of the angular contact ball bearing of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] 3 is a diagram showing a modified example of the cage in FIG. 2. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dimensions, materials, and other specific values ​​shown in the embodiments are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention and, unless otherwise specified, do not limit the present invention. In this specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same functions and configurations are designated by the same reference numerals to avoid redundant explanation, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown.

[0016] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an angular contact ball bearing 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure shows a partially cutaway exploded view of the configuration of the angular contact ball bearing 100. Fig. 2 is a view showing a cage 102 of the angular contact ball bearing 100 of Fig. 1.

[0017] The angular contact ball bearing 100 comprises a truncated cone-shaped retainer 102 (see Figure 2), an outer ring 106 having a raceway surface 104 on its inner circumference, an inner ring 110 having a raceway surface 108 on its outer circumference, and balls 112, which are multiple rolling elements, that roll between the raceway surfaces 104, 108 of the inner and outer rings.

[0018] The cage 102 is an integrally molded resin component that holds the balls 112. As a result, the cage 102 has the role of maintaining the spacing between the balls 112 and preventing the balls 112 from rubbing against each other.

[0019] 1, angular contact ball bearing 100 is formed by assembling a truncated conical cage 102 to an inner ring 110 to form a unit, and then assembling an outer ring 106 to form a bearing. At this point, angular contact ball bearing 100 is in a state where outer peripheral surface 114 of cage 102 faces raceway surface 104 of outer ring 106, and inner peripheral surface 116 of cage 102 faces raceway surface 108 of inner ring 110.

[0020] The cage 102 has a large-diameter annular portion 118 centered on the axis of the angular contact ball bearing 100, a plurality of base portions 120 protruding in the axial direction from the annular portion 118, and a small-diameter annular portion 126 having a smaller diameter than the annular portion 118. Pockets 122 that rotatably hold the balls 112 are formed between the base portions 120.

[0021] Furthermore, the cage 102 is formed with a grease supply hole 124. In this embodiment, the grease supply hole 124 is illustrated as a circular hole, and penetrates from the outer peripheral surface 114 of the cage 102 facing the outer ring 106 to the inner peripheral surface 116 of the cage 102 facing the inner ring 110. This allows grease 128 (see FIG. 1 ) to be injected into the inside of the cage 102 from the outside of the cage 102 through the grease supply hole 124 in the angular contact ball bearing 100. The grease 128 is injected from a nozzle 132 of a grease gun 130.

[0022] Therefore, according to the angular contact ball bearing 100, even when the truncated cone-shaped retainer 102 is assembled to the inner ring 110 to form a unit, the grease 128 can be reliably injected inside the retainer 102.

[0023] Furthermore, in the angular contact ball bearing 100, the grease supply hole 124 is a round hole, which makes it easier to insert the nozzle 132 of the grease gun 130, ensuring that the grease 128 can be injected reliably, and also improving workability.

[0024] Note that the grease supply hole 124 need not be a simple cylindrical hole, but may be a cone-shaped hole that tapers toward the inner ring 110. Alternatively, the grease supply hole 124 may be a stepped hole with a larger diameter on the outer ring 106 side and a smaller diameter on the inner ring 110 side. This reduces the area through which the grease 128 leaks from the inner ring 110 side without compromising ease of insertion of the nozzle 132.

[0025] Furthermore, the grease supply hole 124 does not have to be circular, and can have any shape that also serves as a lightening hole in the cage 102 and is allowable in terms of strength.

[0026] In addition, the grease supply holes 124 are provided for each pocket 122 (i.e., the same number as the pockets 122) between the pockets 122 of the retainer 102 and at positions shifted from the row of the pockets 122 (i.e., positions near the pockets 122 but not connected to the pockets 122).

[0027] As a result, if grease 128 is injected through all of the greasing holes 124, the grease 128 will fill the spaces between all of the balls 112. Therefore, in the angular contact ball bearing 100, the grease 128 that passes through the greasing holes 124 will be abundantly filled onto the entire inside of the cage 102, preventing damage to the inner ring 110 side of the angular contact ball bearing 100 due to fretting wear, excessive loads, and the like.

[0028] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a modified example of the cage 102 shown in Fig. 2. The diagram shows the configuration of a modified cage 102A in a partially cutaway view. The cage 102A differs from the cage 102 described above in that a separate check valve 134 is attached to the grease supply hole 124.

[0029] The check valve 134 is a cylindrical part and has a plurality of (four in this example) branches 136. The branches 136 are provided along the circumferential direction on a wall surface 140 of a central hole 138 of the cylinder. The branches 136 are spaced apart from one another by slits 142, and as shown in the figure, taper toward the inside of the retainer 102A and are inclined toward the center of the central hole 138.

[0030] As a result, in retainer 102A, grease 128 is injected into the inside of retainer 102A through central hole 138 and drippings 136 of check valve 134 attached to grease supply hole 124. Then, drippings 136 of check valve 134 make it difficult for grease 128 injected into the inside of retainer 102A to flow to the outside of retainer 102A.

[0031] Therefore, by using retainer 102A, angular ball bearing 100 can retain grease 128 inside retainer 102A for a long period of time, thereby extending the life of angular ball bearing 100 and reducing the frequency of maintenance.

[0032] While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is clear that those skilled in the art can conceive of various modifications and alterations within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that such modifications and alterations also fall within the technical scope of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0033] The present invention can be used as an angular contact ball bearing having a truncated cone-shaped cage. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 100...angular contact ball bearing, 102, 102A...retainer, 104...raceway surface of outer ring, 106...outer ring, 108...raceway surface of inner ring, 110...inner ring, 112...ball, 114...outer peripheral surface of retainer, 116...inner peripheral surface of retainer, 118...annular portion, 120...base, 122...pocket, 124...greasing hole, 126...small diameter annular portion, 128...grease, 130...grease gun, 132...nozzle, 134...check valve, 136...branch, 138...center hole, 140...wall surface of center hole, 142...slit

Claims

1. An angular contact ball bearing comprising an outer ring, an inner ring, balls that roll between the inner and outer rings, and a truncated cone-shaped cage that holds the balls, The retainer is a pocket for rotatably holding the ball; a grease supply hole extending from an outer peripheral surface facing the outer ring to an inner peripheral surface facing the inner ring, 1. An angular contact ball bearing, wherein grease can be injected into the inside of the cage from the outside through the oil supply hole.

2. 2. The angular contact ball bearing according to claim 1, wherein the grease supply hole is provided for each of the pockets at a position between the pockets and shifted from the row of the pockets.

3. 2. The angular contact ball bearing according to claim 1, wherein the grease supply hole is a round hole.

4. 2. The angular contact ball bearing according to claim 1, wherein the oil supply hole is fitted with a check valve for preventing grease from flowing from the inside to the outside of the cage.

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