JP2698663B2 - Bearing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention mainly relates to a bearing device for a rotating electric machine such as a main motor for a vehicle.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as a bearing device for supporting a rotating shaft of a main motor or the like (hereinafter referred to as a rotating electric machine) of a railway vehicle, a structure as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 is known. ing. In this bearing device, a rotating shaft 3 is provided by a rolling bearing 2 housed in a bearing bracket 1 which is a fixing member of a rotating electric machine.
Is supported. The outer ring 4 of the rolling bearing 2 is pressed in the axial direction by an end cover 5 which is also a fixing member, and the inner ring 6 of the rolling bearing 2 is pressed from both sides by collars 7 and 8 fitted to the rotating shaft 3.

Here, in the bearing bracket 1 and the end cover 5 located on both sides of the rolling bearing 2, annular lubricant filling chambers 9 and 10 are formed at portions facing the side surface of the rolling bearing 2, respectively. Grease is filled as a lubricant. The lubricating grease filled in the annular lubricant filling chambers 9 and 10 is supplied to the rotating portion inside the rolling bearing 2 with its base oil separated little by little, and lubricates the rolling bearing 2.

By the way, when the rotating electric machine is continuously operated, the base oil component of the lubricating grease is gradually consumed, and deterioration such as oxidation is added to the lubricating grease, so that the lubricating ability is reduced. Therefore, the lubricating grease must be replaced with a new one. In addition, recent rotary electric machines are being used at high speeds in order to reduce the size and weight, and there is a tendency that the base oil of the lubricating grease in the bearings tends to be consumed and deteriorated further, and it is necessary to shorten the renewal period of the lubricating grease. Is coming.

On the other hand, in recent years, there has been a demand for extending the renewal period of lubricating grease longer than before in order to save labor for maintenance.

In response to such conflicting demands, various studies have been made to extend the renewal period of lubricating grease for bearings.

As a result, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the outer diameter D and the width W of the annular lubricant filling chamber 10 formed inside the end cover 5 which is a fixing member are increased to increase the inner volume. However, there has been proposed one in which the amount of lubricating grease to be filled is increased. The lower inner bottom surface portion 10a of the annular lubricant filling chamber 10 has an inner diameter d of the outer ring 4 of the bearing 2.
_The base oil is located at substantially the same height as the lower part of the base _{1 so that} the base oil separated from the filled grease and collected on the lower side easily flows into the bearing 2.

By increasing the amount of lubricating grease in this way,
By extending the supply time of the base oil supplied separately from the grease, the renewal period of the grease can be extended.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the conventional bearing device having the above-described structure has the following problems, and it has been difficult to greatly extend the grease renewal time.

First, when the outer diameter D and the width W of the annular lubricant filling chamber 10 of the end cover 5 are increased to increase the amount of lubricating grease to be filled, the area in contact with the inner surface of the annular lubricant filling chamber 10 is reduced. Since the weight ratio of the grease itself increases, the lubricating grease filled by the vibration during operation is easily broken. This tendency is remarkable especially in a case where the vibration during operation is large and the temperature of the bearing portion is high, such as a main motor for a vehicle. If the filled grease breaks down, the grease flows into the rotating part in the bearing 2 and is stirred, causing an abnormal rise in temperature and softening, leading to an early deterioration and outflow of the grease due to softening.
Wear will result.

Second, since the end cover 5, it is necessary to press the bearing outer ring 4 in the axial direction, the outer diameter D of the lubricant filling chamber 10 can not be configured larger than the bearing outer diameter d _2. Further, the width W is also limited in the vehicle main motor, and it is difficult to greatly increase the width W.

Because of these factors, the volume of the annular lubricant filling chamber 10 cannot be significantly increased, and the increase in the amount of lubricating grease charged is restricted, so that the grease renewal time cannot be significantly increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a bearing device capable of increasing a filling amount of a lubricant and extending a grease renewal time significantly.

[Configuration of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a rolling bearing that supports a rotating shaft is provided in a form accommodated in a fixed member, and the fixed portion faces a side surface of the rolling bearing. In a bearing device provided with an annular lubricant filling chamber at the site,
One or more lubricant reservoirs are provided in communication with the lubricant filling chamber above the lower inner bottom surface of the annular lubricant filling chamber and at an outer peripheral portion of the annular lubricant filling chamber. A projection is provided near the boundary between the lubricant reservoir and the annular lubricant charging chamber so as to extend from the side surface of the anti-rolling bearing so as to make the communicating portion between the rolling bearing side surface narrower than the other communicating portions. It is characterized by comprising.

(Operation) In the bearing device having the above-described configuration, one or a plurality of lubricant reservoirs are provided above the lower inner bottom surface of the annular lubricant filling chamber and at an outer peripheral portion of the annular lubricant filling chamber. Since it is provided in communication with the lubricant filling chamber, the amount of lubricant filling can be greatly increased. In addition, a projection is provided near the boundary between the lubricant reservoir and the annular lubricant charging chamber so as to extend from the side surface of the anti-rolling bearing so as to make the communicating portion between the rolling bearing side surface narrower than the other communicating portions. Therefore, the protrusions can hold the lubricant in the lubricant reservoir chamber as well as the annular lubricant filling chamber without collapsing against vibrations and the like, and can maintain a stable lubricating action for a long period of time. .

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. Here, a bearing device of a rotating electric machine such as a main motor for a railway vehicle is exemplified.

First, as shown in FIG. 11, a rotating shaft 11 of a rotating electric machine is supported by a rolling bearing 13 housed in a bearing bracket 12 which is a fixed member. Rolling bearing 13
An end cover 14, which is a fixing member, is attached to the side surface of the shaft, and the outer ring 15 of the bearing 13 is supported by the end cover 14. The inner rings 18 of the rolling bearing 13 are pressed from both sides by collars 16 and 17 fitted to the rotating shaft 11.

The bearing brackets 12 and the end covers 14 located on both sides of the rolling bearing 13 have annular lubricant filling chambers 20, 2 at portions opposed to the side surfaces of the rolling bearing 13, respectively.
1 is formed, and grease is filled therein as a lubricant, and the base oil component is separated little by little and supplied to the rotating portion inside the rolling bearing 13 to lubricate the rolling bearing 13. Up to this point, it is the same as the conventional one.

Here, the lubricant filling chamber formed in the end cover 14
A plurality (three in the figure) of lubricant storage chambers 22 are provided above the lower inner bottom surface portion 21a of the lower portion 21 and at an outer peripheral portion of the annular lubricant filling chamber 21 at intervals in the circumferential direction. It is provided in communication with the lubricant filling chamber 21. Plate-like projections 23 are provided near the boundaries between the respective lubricant reservoirs 22 and the annular lubricant filling chambers 21 so as to extend from the side surfaces of the anti-rolling bearings.
The communication part between the side surfaces is narrower than other communication parts.

The lower the bottom part (the lowest surface portion) 21a of the annular lubricant-filled chamber 21 is formed to be substantially flush with the lower position of the inner diameter d ₁ of the outer race 15 of the rolling bearing 13, the lubricant The base oil separated from the lubricating grease filled in the filling chamber 21 is designed to be smoothly supplied to the inside of the rolling bearing 13.

Therefore, in the bearing device configured as described above, the rotation of the rolling bearing 13 causes the bearing brackets on both sides to rotate.
The base oil component is separated little by little from the lubricating grease filled as a lubricant in the annular lubricant filling chambers 20, 21 of the end cover 14 and the annular lubricant filling chamber 20, and is supplied to the rotating portion inside the rolling bearing 13 to be smooth. You will gain rotation.

Also, the base oil separated from the lubricating grease in each of the lubricant reservoirs 22 flows down as indicated by a chain line arrow in FIG. 3 and rolls from the lower inner bottom surface 21a of the annular lubricant filling chamber 21. It is sequentially supplied to the inside of 13 and used for lubrication.

Further, the base oil separated from the lubricating grease in each of the lubricant reservoirs 22 not only flows down, but also disperses in the surrounding lubricating grease in a radially close form. The lubricating grease in the interior of the lubricant reservoir 22 can also supply the base oil to the rolling bearing 13 easily.

On the other hand, the protrusions 23 at the boundary between the annular lubricant filling chamber 21 and the lubricant reservoir 22 stably hold the lubricant grease in the lubricant reservoir 22 as well as the lubricant chamber 21 in an annular shape, so that the volume increases. It becomes easy to collapse and can be prevented from falling into the rolling bearing 13.

As described above, in the case of the bearing device of the above-described embodiment, the fall prevention protrusions 23 are provided on the outer periphery of the annular lubricant filling chamber 21 of the end cover 14.
Since a plurality of lubricant reservoirs 22 having a plurality of lubricant greases are formed, a large amount of lubricating grease can be filled and placed, and a large amount of base oil separated from a large amount of lubricating grease in each of the lubricant reservoirs 22 can be provided. Can be effectively supplied into the rolling bearing 13 for lubrication. In addition, the lubricating grease in the lubricant reservoir 22 is held near the boundary between the annular lubricant filling chamber 21 and the projection extending from the side of the bearing so that the lubricating grease is maintained without collapse against vibrations, etc. It is possible to maintain the lubricating action that has been performed.

In the above-described embodiment, the protrusion 23 is not limited to the above-mentioned shape. For example, as shown in FIG.
May be provided, whereby the holding of the lubricating grease in the lubricant reservoir 22 becomes more stable.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a projection 23b may be provided to be connected to the upper wall surface of the lubricant reservoir 22. In this case, the stability of the lubricating grease in the upper portion of the lubricant reservoir 22 is further enhanced. become.

The protrusions 23, 23a, 23b are all provided on the end cover 14.
However, they may be formed separately from the end cover 14 and assembled.

Figure 6 is intended to show another embodiment of the present invention, in the configuration of forming the lubricant reservoir chamber 22a of the large width dimension W ₁ to the end cover 14 in the axial direction, further the lubricating grease than that of the Example The filling amount can be increased.

Next, when the above-described bearing device is configured as a lubrication system, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG.
12 is provided with a lubrication nipple 24, which is
Oil supply holes 25a and 25b communicating with 20 are provided.

In filling the lubricating grease in this way, at the beginning of the operation of the rotating electric machine, the lubricating grease is filled only in the lubricant filling chamber 21 on the end cover 14 side as shown by G in FIG. Do not fill in 22. Then, when the operation proceeds and the consumption or deterioration of the base oil of the filled lubricating grease progresses, new grease is replenished from the oil supply nipple 24 to the annular lubricant filling chamber 20. By this replenishment, old lubricating grease in the filling chamber 20 is pushed out from inside the rolling bearing 13 to the end cover 14 side during rotation, whereby the annular lubricant filling chamber 21 on the end cover 14 side is charged from the beginning. As shown in FIG. 8, the lubricating grease is discharged and stored in the lubricant reservoir 22 on the outer periphery. Therefore, lubrication several times is possible until the inside of the lubricant reservoir 22 is filled with old lubricating grease.

Further, when the lubricating grease is discharged into the lubricant reservoir 22, the projection 23 of the present invention functions as follows. In other words, FIGS. 9 and 10 show that a projection 26 is provided near the boundary between the lubricant reservoir 22 and the annular lubricant filling chamber 21 so as to extend from the side face of the anti-rolling bearing until it comes into contact with the outer ring 15 of the rolling bearing 13. In the bad case, the annular lubricant filling chamber 21
The discharge passage of the lubricating grease to 22 is narrow only in the portion indicated by the width B in FIG. 9, and it is very difficult to discharge the lubricating grease having a high viscosity. In contrast, in the case of the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the projections 23 extend to a position just before the outer ring 15 of the rolling bearing 13 and a gap g exists between the outer ring 15 and the annular lubrication chamber. The discharge passage of the lubricating grease from 21 to the lubricant reservoir 22 has a large width of B + C + B in FIG. 8, so that even highly viscous lubricating grease can be discharged relatively easily.
For this reason, even when the amount of lubrication is increased or the number of times of lubrication is increased, generation of agitation heat and softening of the grease due to malfunction of the grease discharge can be prevented. This effectively removes the old lubricating grease in the annular lubricant filling chamber 21 effectively.
And the bearing device can be made maintenance-free without long-term disassembly.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, one or more lubricant storage chambers are provided above the lower inner bottom surface of the annular lubricant filling chamber and at an outer peripheral portion of the annular lubricant charging chamber. And the lubricant filling amount can be greatly increased, and furthermore, the rolling extends from the side surface of the rolling bearing near the boundary between the lubricant reservoir and the annular lubricant charging chamber. Protrusions are provided to make the communicating part between the bearing side and the other communicating parts narrower than the other parts, so that the protrusions not only break the annular lubricant filling chamber but also the lubricant in the lubricant reservoir chamber against vibration and the like. Therefore, the lubricating action can be maintained without causing the lubricating action to be maintained for a long time. Further, in order to provide a projection extending from the side face of the anti-rolling bearing near the boundary between the lubricant reservoir chamber and the annular lubricant filling chamber to make the communicating portion between the rolling bearing side face narrower than other communicating portions, A lubricant discharge passage from the annular lubricant filling chamber to the lubricant reservoir is also formed at the tip of the projection. As a result, the discharge passage can be made large in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft, so that the lubricant filled only in the portion inside the filler filling chamber is discharged using the driving force of the rotating shaft. The discharge of the lubricant from the filling chamber to the lubricant reservoir is further facilitated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an essential part showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the same operation state, FIG. Is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing still another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a sectional view of an essential part, FIG. 7 is a sectional view of an essential part of a lubricating type bearing device showing still another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing an operation state along the line VIII-VIII, FIG. 9 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 8 showing a bad example for comparison with the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG. 9, FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a main part showing a conventional example, and FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the line YY of FIG. 11 ... Rotating shaft, 12,14 ... Fixing member (12 ... Bearing bracket, 14 ... End cover), 13 ... Rolling bearing, 20,21 ... Lubricant filling chamber, 21a ... Bottom of filling chamber Inner bottom surface, 22 ... Lubricant reservoir, 23 ... Protrusion.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bearing device comprising: a rolling bearing for supporting a rotating shaft, housed in a fixed member, and an annular lubricant charging chamber provided at a portion of the fixed portion facing the side surface of the rolling bearing. One or more lubricant reservoirs are provided in communication with the lubricant filling chamber above the lower inner bottom surface of the annular lubricant filling chamber and at an outer peripheral portion of the annular lubricant filling chamber. A projection is provided near the boundary between the lubricant reservoir and the annular lubricant charging chamber so as to extend from the side surface of the anti-rolling bearing so as to make the communicating portion between the rolling bearing side surface narrower than the other communicating portions. A bearing device comprising: