JPH0660718B2 - Lubricant supply pump - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a lubricant supply pump, and more particularly to a lubricant supply pump for supplying a lubricant such as grease to a lubricated portion of a work machine or the like.

(Prior Art) As a specific example of a conventional lubricant supply pump, for example, the device described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-44556 can be mentioned. The above device is schematically shown in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 6, this device includes a pump main body 51 and a pump main body 51.
The lubricant discharge mechanism 52 is attached to the right side in the figure, and the tank 53 is attached to the upper portion of the pump body 51. The pump body 51
A first communication hole 54 serving as a pump chamber is bored from the discharge mechanism 52 side, while a suction passage 55 is bored from the upper end surface of the pump body 51 to the first communication hole 54. ing. The tank 53 is provided above the suction passage 55.
Is screwed on. A check valve 56 is provided at an end portion on the left side in the drawing of the first communication hole 54, and the check valve 56 is provided with a spring 58 arranged between the check valve 56 and an end plate 57 to discharge the discharge. It is biased to the mechanical section 52 side. A second communication hole 60 is provided at a lower position of the first communication hole 54 and has an opening 59 for opening and closing the communication state with the first communication hole 54 according to the reciprocating movement of the check valve 56. And a discharge passage 61 communicating with the second communication hole 60 is formed at the lower end of the pump body 51.
On the other hand, a plunger 62, which is reciprocally movable from the discharge mechanism 52 side, is inserted into the first communication hole 54. In the discharge mechanism 52, a pressure receiving plate 63 to which the plunger 62 is connected is sandwiched, and a spring 64 is provided between the pressure receiving plate 63 and the pump body 51, while the spring 64 of the pressure receiving plate 63 is provided. A pressure chamber 65 having an inflow port (not shown) for a working fluid such as compressed air on the surface opposite to the pressure chamber 65.
Are provided respectively. By introducing compressed air or the like into the pressure chamber 65, the plunger 62 reciprocates in the first communication hole 54 beyond the opening position of the suction passage 55 to a position close to the check valve 56. When the action of the compressed air is released, the spring force of the spring 64 causes the plunger 62 to return to the rear of the opening position of the suction passage 55.

In response to the reciprocating movement of the plunger 62 as described above, the first communication hole 5 between the tip of the plunger 62 and the check valve 56.
The space volume of 4 changes, so-called pump action occurs,
Suction of the lubricant in the tank 53 and extrusion into the second communication hole 60 through the check valve 56 are sequentially performed, and the lubricant is discharged from the discharge passage 61 in an amount according to the number of times the plunger 62 reciprocates. Of.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, in the lubricant supply pump that supplies the lubricant by the reciprocating motion of the plunger, the drive source and the drive control circuit for driving the plunger are naturally provided. I need. The above device is configured to operate with fluid pressure such as compressed air or hydraulic pressure, and the above lubrication is applied when a factory having such equipment or a machine itself to which the above device is attached applies the above fluid pressure. The range of use of the agent supply pump is limited. On the other hand, as a device having general versatility, a lubricant supply pump having an electric motor and a transmission mechanism for converting the rotational movement of the electric motor into the reciprocating movement of the plunger has been put into practical use. By the way, in the general-purpose lubricant supply pump as described above, the supply of the lubricant is continued for several months per one tank, and the actual supply time is operated every few hours in seconds. Therefore, the supply amount per time is about 0.1 cc or less. As described above, although the actual supply time is extremely short, it is necessary to always energize in order to automatically control the supply time and the supply time interval. And, in the past, the configuration was such that the commercial power source was connected by wiring. In this way, when connected to a common drive power source with other work machines, malfunctions may occur under the influence of power supply voltage fluctuations at the time of starting and stopping the work machine, and lubricant may be applied when the fluctuations occur. If the supply time overlaps, the rotation speed of the electric motor may change, and a predetermined supply amount may not be obtained. Furthermore, although the power required to supply a small amount of lubricant is small, using a normal commercial power supply may cause an overcurrent, resulting in a risk of failure.Therefore, a separate electrical protection circuit is required. The cost was high.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a lubricant supply pump for supplying a lubricant by reciprocating movement of a plunger, which requires a separate wiring to a commercial power source. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lubricant supply pump which is not easily affected by voltage fluctuations due to other machines and which can improve stabilization of the lubricant supply operation.

(Means for Solving Problems) Therefore, in the lubricant supply pump of the present invention, the suction passage 5 and the discharge passage 10 are bored in the pump body 1, and the suction passage 5 and the discharge passage 10 are communicated with each other. A communication hole 4 is formed from one end side of the pump body 1, a check valve 9 is further provided in the discharge passage 10, and the plunger 13 is reciprocated from the one end side opening of the communication hole 4. A lubricant supply pump configured to be freely inserted and discharge the lubricant in the tank 3 attached to the suction passage 5 from the discharge passage 10 by reciprocating the plunger 13. In order to reciprocate the pump 13, the electric motor 16 and the rotational movement of the electric motor 16 are converted into the reciprocating motion of the plunger 13 in the lubricant discharge mechanism portion 2 attached to the one end side of the pump body 1. Transmission A mechanism 17, a power supply unit 15 including a battery for supplying electric power to the electric motor 16, and a control circuit unit 24 that receives supply of circuit operating power from the power supply unit 15 and controls the electric motor 16.
And a lighting display means D2 for displaying that the voltage supplied from the power supply unit 15 to the electric motor 16 exceeds the minimum operating voltage of the electric motor 16. The feature is that it is installed in a position visible from the outside.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the minimum operating voltage of the electric motor 16 is set to be substantially equal to the minimum operating voltage of the control circuit 24.

(Operation) In the lubricant supply pump having the above configuration, the plunger 1
The electric motor 16, the transmission mechanism 17, the power source unit 15 including a battery, and the control circuit unit 24 are provided in the lubricant discharge mechanism unit 2 attached to one end side of the pump body 1 in order to reciprocate the pump 3. And are built in. Since the control circuit section 24 is operated by the power source section 15 and the electric motor 16 is driven, and the electric system has an independent structure, it is unlikely to be affected by fluctuations in the power source voltage by other machines, and the lubricant is supplied. The stabilization of the operation can be improved. In addition, lighting display means
By using D2, it is possible to visually confirm that the voltage supplied to the electric motor 16 exceeds the minimum operating voltage of the electric motor 16, that is, the remaining battery life is left. It is possible to secure a stable operating state for a long period of time.

Further, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the operation of both the electric motor 16 and the control circuit 24 can be confirmed by the lighting display means D2, and the configuration for confirming the operation can be simplified.

(Examples) Next, specific examples of the lubricant supply pump of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the entire structure of the lubricant supply pump in one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. In FIG. 2, a pump main body 1 is attached with a lubricant discharge mechanism portion 2 on the right side in FIG. 2 and a bottomed cylindrical tank 3 made of soft resin on the upper portion. In the pump body 1, a communication hole 4 serving as a pump chamber is formed horizontally in the drawing. A suction passage 5 is formed vertically from the upper surface of the pump body 1 and communicates with the communication hole 4, and a lubricant outlet 6 of the tank 3 is screwed to an upper threaded portion of the suction passage 5. . Further, a check valve chamber 7 is provided at an end of the communication hole 4 opposite to the lubricant discharge mechanism 2 attachment part.
In the check valve chamber 7, a check valve 9 is arranged which is biased by a spring 8 so as to come into contact with the end surface of the communication hole 4. The check valve chamber 7 is provided on the lower end side of the pump body 1.
A discharge passage 10 communicating with the discharge passage 1 is formed.
The lower surface where 0 is opened is such that this device can be connected by a nut 12 to a nipple 11 screwed to a device to which this lubricant supply pump is attached. From the side of the lubricant discharge mechanism 2 of the communication hole 4, the communication hole 4
A plunger 13 is inserted so as to be slidable in the axial direction. An O-ring 14 is provided around the plunger 13 at the opening end position of the communication hole 4 of the pump body 1 to form a shaft seal.

The internal structure of the lubricant discharge mechanism 2 for reciprocating the plunger 13 is shown in FIG. 1, which is a side view of FIG. 2, but as shown in FIG. In the lubricant discharge mechanism section 2, two dry batteries 15a, 1
A power supply unit 15 composed of 5b and an electric motor 16 which is rotated by the power supplied from the power supply unit 15 are arranged as shown in FIG. The rotation of the electric motor 16 is transmitted as a rotation around the output shaft 18 of the crank 20 attached to the output shaft 18 by the transmission mechanism 17 including a gear train. The transmission mechanism 17 is composed of a gear train attached to the output shaft 18 and an intermediate shaft 19 parallel to the output shaft 18, and the intermediate shaft 19 has face gears 19a at both ends thereof. The small gear 19b is fixedly attached to each other, and the large gear 19c and the small gear 19d are loosely attached between the two. The large gear 19c and the small gear 19d are adapted to rotate integrally. On the other hand, a large gear 18a is loosely attached to the output shaft 18 at a position that meshes with a small gear 19b fixed to the intermediate shaft 19, and a small gear 18b is loosely meshed with the large gear 19c. . The large gear 18a and the small gear 18b
And are designed to rotate together. Further, the output shaft 18 is provided with a small gear 19 of the intermediate shaft 19.
A large gear 18c that meshes with d is fixed. Therefore, when the electric motor 16 rotates, the intermediate shaft 19 is first rotated by the drive gear 16a fixed to the rotary shaft and the face gear 19a meshing with the drive gear 16a. To gear 18a
→ The small gear 18b → the large gear 19c → the small gear 19d → the large gear 18c are transmitted to give the rotation of the output shaft 18. With such a gear train configuration, a large reduction ratio is provided in a small space.

Further, in the lubricant discharge mechanism section 2, a circuit board 23 is further arranged between the power supply section 15 and the electric motor 16, and an IC and other electric parts are attached to the circuit board 23, and A control circuit section 24 for controlling the drive of the motor 16 is built in. The function of the control circuit section 24 will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 3, one end side of a connecting member 21 is connected to the crank 20 by a pin 22, and the other end side of the connecting member 21 is pin-connected to the other end of the plunger 13. There is. Therefore, the output shaft 18
This rotation operation is caused by the rotation of the connecting member 21.
The reciprocating motion of the plunger 13 is converted via the. Plunger 1 in Fig. 2
Reference numeral 3 denotes a forward movement start position, and as shown in the figure, the tip of the plunger 13 is located slightly closer to the lubricant discharge mechanism 2 than the center of the suction passage 5. At the forward movement end position, the tip of the plunger 13 passes over the opening of the suction passage 5 to the communication hole 4 and approaches the check valve 9. Due to the reciprocating movement of the plunger 13 and the check valve 9 at the end of the communication hole 4, a so-called pumping action is generated in the space of the communication hole 4, and when the plunger 13 is returned, the lubricant is supplied from the suction passage 5 to the lubricant. Is sucked, and at the time of forward movement, the sucked lubricant is discharged to the discharge passage 10 side through the check valve 9.

On the other hand, the tank 3 screwed into the suction passage 5 has a second
As shown, the side wall 25 is formed as a bellows structure. The bottom portion (upper portion in the figure) 26 has a recess 27.
Is formed, and a spring 29 is arranged between the recess 27 and the cover 28 that covers the tank. The lower end of the cover 28 is fitted in a groove provided in the upper end of the pump body 1. Therefore, the bottom portion 26 of the tank is biased toward the suction passage 5 by the spring 29. The biasing force of the spring 29 is
Even when the maximum deflection is given (when the tank volume is maximum), the lubricant pushing force by the spring force is smaller than the outflow shutoff force of the spring 8 in the check valve chamber 7. In addition, the spring force of each spring 8, 29 is adjusted. Further, FIG. 1 shows a state in which a lid is removed to show the internal structure of the lubricant discharge mechanism portion 2. The lid 31 is easily attached and detached by a snap spring 32 as shown in FIG. Made with structure. Further, in FIG. 3, reference numeral 33 denotes an injection port for replenishing the inside of the tank 3 with a lubricant, which communicates with the opening of the suction passage 5 to the communication hole 4. A blind plug 34 is usually attached to the injection port 33.

The operation of the lubricant supply pump having the above structure will be described below. When the electric motor 16 is rotated, this rotational movement is
The reciprocating motion of the plunger 13 is transmitted as described above. When the plunger 13 is returned, one end of the check valve 9
The space volume of the communication hole 4 sealed by is increased, and a negative pressure is generated there. The tip of the plunger 13 is the suction passage 5
The negative pressure acts as a suction force for the lubricant in the tank 3 when it is retracted rearward from the opening to the communication hole 4, and the lubricant is sucked out to the suction passage 5 and the communication hole 4. Of. Thereafter, when the plunger 13 moves forward, when the tip of the plunger 13 advances beyond the opening of the suction passage 5 to the communication hole 4, the lubricant enclosed between the check valve 9 and the opening is Along with the forward movement of the plunger 13, the check valve 9
Is opened, and the check valve chamber 7 is pushed out to the discharge passage 10. The reciprocating motion of the plunger 13 causes the lubricant in the tank 3 to be successively discharged from the discharge passage 10. With such a supply operation, the tank 3
The inner lubricant decreases, and at this time, the side wall 25 of the bellows structure contracts and deforms so that the inner volume is adjusted to the remaining capacity, so that a space in a negative pressure state is not generated in the tank 3. Therefore, the suction force due to the negative pressure pressure at the time of the backward movement of the plunger 13 continues to effectively act even when the lubricant decreases.

The lubricant replenishing operation as described above is controlled so as to supply a constant amount at predetermined time intervals of several hours. Then, the above-mentioned supply amount per one time is given corresponding to the number of reciprocations of the plunger 13, which is the electric motor 16
It is controlled by the power supply time. The control circuit section 24 is provided with the function of controlling the supply time and the supply time interval. The specific circuit configuration is shown in FIG. 4 and the control flowchart is shown in FIG. .
First, in FIG. 4, an IC 40 with a built-in microcomputer incorporating the above-mentioned control function is connected to a power supply unit 15 having an initial electromotive force of 3 V in which two dry batteries 15a and 15b are connected in series. Further, an electric motor 16 is connected to the power supply unit 15 via a transistor T1, and the output of the IC 40 is input to the base of the transistor T1 via the transistor T2, and the electric motor 16 is energized at this time. ,
Lubricant is supplied. In the figure, a diode D1 for a surge killer is connected in parallel to the electric motor 16, and a light emitting diode D2 is connected via a resistor R1. This light emitting diode D2 is a dry battery 15
It has a function of displaying the effective electromotive force states of a and 15b, and is adjusted so that it does not turn on below the minimum operating voltage (= 2V) of the IC 40. Further, the minimum operating voltage of the electric motor 16 is also adjusted by the gear ratio, the plunger diameter, the discharge pressure, etc. so that it will not be driven below 2V. Therefore, when the electric motor 16 is operating, it can be confirmed by lighting the light emitting diode D2. In addition, a switch SW1 is provided between the collector and emitter of the transistor T1 via a resistor R2.
Is connected, and by closing this switch SW1, the circuit passing through the light emitting diode D2 is closed, and the electromotive force state of the power supply unit 15 can be confirmed by blinking of the light emitting diode D2. Therefore, if the light emitting diode D2 does not light up, the battery needs to be replaced. At this time, since the current value is limited by the resistor R2, the electric motor 16 is not driven. The IC 40 includes changeover switches SW2 and SW3 for selecting a supply time and a supply time interval,
The forced operation push button switch SW4 is connected respectively.

Next, the control method will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. After mounting this lubricant supply pump on the lubrication point of the work machine, etc., set the lubricant supply time (lubrication time) to correspond to this machine's required supply amount by the switch SW2. Yes (step S1). In the above embodiment, the plunger 13 is set in 2 seconds.
Is adjusted by the transmission mechanism 17 so as to make one round trip. Normally, it is set as to = 2 seconds. Furthermore, supply time per tank (1 month, 2 months, 4 months, 8 months)
Supply time interval (pause time) H0 for 1 hour, 2
The changeover switch SW3 corresponding to each time of 4 hours and 8 hours is selected and operated (step S2). By inserting the dry cell in this state (step S3),
The control operation in the IC 40 is started, the to and H0 are read, and first, in step S4, the refueling counter n is initialized to zero. Then, the counting of the pause time counting timer H is started, and thereafter, the counting of the pause time H is continued while judging the presence or absence of a signal due to the operation of the forced operation push button switch SW4 (step S5) (step S6, S5). During this time, the electric motor 16 is not energized, and the light emitting diode D2 is also off. When the rest time H reaches H0 (step S6) or when the forced operation push button switch SW4 is turned on (step S5)
In step S7, the supply of electric power to the electric motor 16 and the supply of lubricant by lighting the light emitting diode D2 (lubrication) are started, and this lubrication time is continued until a time tp described later is reached (step S8). . When the refueling time reaches tp (the set value to for the first time), the process proceeds from step S8 to S9, the refueling operation is stopped, and 1 is added to the refueling number counter n in step S10. Further, in the next steps S11 and S12, the next refueling time tp is corrected. This is a function of compensating that the electromotive force gradually decreases as the dry battery is consumed. When the electromotive force decreases, the rotation speed of the electric motor 16 also decreases. The lubricant supply amount will gradually decrease. Therefore, in consideration of a decrease in electromotive force, the energization time is extended by that amount, and the rotation speed of the electric motor 16 is made substantially constant to maintain a constant lubricant supply amount. That is, step S1
In 1, the refueling time correction amount Δt (= 1/700 seconds) per time is read, and in step S12, the next refueling time tp is tp = to + n
-Calculated by Δt. After that, in step S13, the number of times nf of refueling up to that point is set in advance to be nf.
(= 700 times), if n is smaller than nf, the process returns to steps S5 and S6 to restart the measurement of the pause time until the next refueling.

As described above, in the above embodiment, the power supply unit 15 including the dry batteries 15a and 15b is arranged inside the lubricant discharge mechanism unit 2, and the electric motor supplied with the driving power by the power supply unit 15 is arranged. 16 and further the power supply unit 15
And a control circuit section 24 for controlling the drive of the electric motor 16 by receiving the circuit operating power. Therefore, since it is an independent electric system that is completely separated from other machines, the lubricant supply operation can be continued stably without being affected by power supply noise from other machines. . Further, in the above embodiment, since the power consumption for performing only the timekeeping operation during the rest is minute, the battery can be used for a sufficiently long time with the power capacity of the dry battery, and the work of arranging the power supply wiring is not required. Therefore, the installation work is easy. Further, since the supply voltage of the dry battery itself is low, even if the electric motor is overloaded, trouble such as burnout does not occur, and a safety circuit or the like is not necessary and the configuration is simplified.

Further, in the above embodiment, the bottom portion 26 of the tank 3 is biased toward the suction passage 5 side by the spring 29. Due to the action of the spring 29, the spring force as well as the suction force due to the negative pressure generated when the plunger 13 retreats is applied to the lubricant tank 3.
Therefore, even if the remaining capacity of the lubricant is reduced, the space volume of the communication hole 4 generated when the plunger 13 is moved back can be always filled, and the plunger 13 The discharge amount of can be kept substantially constant. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the recess 27 is provided in the bottom portion 26 of the tank 3. As a result, the bottom portion 26 of the tank 3 is lubricated until it reaches the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 2, that is, until the recess 27 almost extrudes the lubricant in the tank 3. The agent can be effectively used. Further, the upper end side of the spring 29 for urging the bottom portion 26 is in a recess 35 provided in the cover 28 as shown in FIG. 2, and the lower end side of the spring 29 is substantially coaxial with the recess 35. The concave portions 27 provided in the bottom portion 26 arranged in the above are respectively fitted in the concave portions 27. As a result, the spring 29
By this, a guiding action in the direction of contraction and deformation of the tank 3 is provided, and for example, even if the material of the side wall of the tank 3 is soft and the tank 3 has a large depth in order to increase the initial volume, it is possible to prevent the collapse. As a result, distorted shrinkage deformation can be suppressed, and a stable continuation of the lubricant supply state can be ensured.

It should be noted that the above embodiment is not intended to limit the contents of the present invention, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. For example, although a dry battery was used in the above embodiment, other rechargeable batteries and other It is possible to configure the power supply unit with the following types of batteries.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, in the lubricant supply pump of the present invention, an electric motor for reciprocating the plunger, a transmission mechanism, and the electric motor are provided inside the lubricant discharge mechanism. It has a configuration in which a power supply unit including a battery that supplies drive power and a control circuit unit that receives circuit operating power from the power supply unit to drive and control the electric motor are incorporated.
Therefore, since it is an independent electric system that is completely separated from other machines and the like, it is unlikely to be affected by power source noise and the like from other machines, and the stabilization of the lubricant supply operation can be improved.

Further, the lighting display means indicates that the voltage supplied to the electric motor exceeds the minimum operating voltage of the electric motor.
That is, since it is possible to visually confirm that the battery has reached the end of its life, it is possible to appropriately replace the battery and ensure a stable operating state for a long period of time.

Further, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the operation of both the electric motor and the control circuit can be confirmed by the lighting display means, and the configuration for confirming the operation can be simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 5 show one embodiment of the lubricant supply pump of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a side view of the apparatus showing the internal structure of the lubricant discharge mechanism, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the overall structure. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a control circuit diagram, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a control flowchart, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a conventional device. 1 ... Pump body, 2 ... Lubricant discharge mechanism part, 3 ... Tank, 4 ... Communication hole, 5 ... Suction passage, 9 ... Check valve, 1
0 ... Discharge path, 13 ... Plunger, 15 ... Power supply section,
16 ... Electric motor, 17 ... Transmission mechanism, 24 ... Control circuit section.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pump body (1) is provided with a suction passage (5) and a discharge passage (10) and a communication hole (for communicating the suction passage (5) and the discharge passage (10). 4) is bored from one end side of the pump body (1), and further the discharge passage (10)
A check valve (9) is provided inside, and the communication hole (4) is provided.
The plunger (13) is reciprocally inserted through the opening on the one end side, and the lubricant in the tank (3) attached to the suction passage (5) is reciprocally moved by the reciprocating motion of the plunger (13). A lubricant supply pump configured to discharge from a discharge passage (10), wherein a lubricant discharge mechanism portion ((1) is attached to the one end side of the pump body (1) for reciprocating the plunger (13). 2) an electric motor (16), a transmission mechanism (17) for converting rotational movement of the electric motor (16) into reciprocating motion of the plunger (13) and transmitting the reciprocating motion, and to the electric motor (16). A power source unit (15) including a battery for supplying electric power, and a control circuit unit (2) for controlling the electric motor (16) by receiving circuit operating power from the power source unit (15).
4) and are housed, and further, a lighting display indicates that the voltage supplied from the power source section (15) to the electric motor (16) exceeds the minimum operating voltage of the electric motor (16). A lubricant supply pump characterized in that a lighting display means (D2) for the above is mounted at a position visible from the outside. 2. The minimum operating voltage of the electric motor (16) is
The lubricant supply pump according to claim 1, wherein the lubricant supply pump is set to be substantially equal to the minimum operating voltage of the control circuit (24).