JPS63114833A - Assembling method for equispeed joint - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the assembling of an inner race and a ball cage automatable, by rotating the inner race inserted into the ball cage from almost the orthogonal direction as far as approximately 90 deg.. CONSTITUTION:A ball cage 14 is positioned by a push pin 15b to be projected out of a bottom part of a fitting groove 20a so as to cause an optional window hole 14c to be situated just below and supported as fitted in this fitting groove 20a of a jig 20 in a state of being stood erect. And, an air cylinder 15 operates, the push pin 15b pushes a projecting part 13b upward, lifting up an inner race, and it makes a sphere center of a spherical outer circumferential surface 13c accord with that of a spherical inner circumferential surface 14c, pushing it upward. Next, a hand 12 is moved in the horizontal direction, and a tip of a holding jaw 12a of the hand 12 is engaged with the inner race 13, rotating this inner race 13 as far as 90 deg..

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of assembling a constant velocity joint, and more particularly to a method of assembling an inner race and a ball cage into a subassembly.

BACKGROUND ART As a constant velocity joint that transmits the rotational force inputted from one side to the other side while changing the intersection angle of the center line of rotation and outputting it to the other side, for example, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, There is a constant velocity joint 1 consisting of an outer race 2, a ball cage 3, an inner race 4, and a plurality of poles 5. The inner race 4 of this constant velocity joint 1 is
The inner race 4 and the ball cage 3 are assembled so that they are in spherical contact with the inner circumferential surface of the ball cage 3 with almost no gaps. Generally, it is assembled to the outer race 2 together with the outer race 2.

And what about assembling the inner race 4 into the pole cage 3? ! Since it is male and difficult to mechanize, it has traditionally been done by hand.

In this manual assembly work, the ball cage 3 and inner race 4 supplied from the chute are first inserted into one of the six window holes 3a made on the surface of the ball cage 3.
After aligning one protrusion 4a of the six radially formed protrusions 4a of the inner race 4 with the position of the window hole 3a, this protrusion 4a is fitted into the window hole 3a. and insert the inner race 4 into the ball cage 3. next,
The protruding portion 4a of the inner race 4 inserted into the ball cage 3 was pulled out from the window hole 3a to make it rotatable, and the inner race 4 was rotated a predetermined amount to be assembled.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the conventional method of assembling constant velocity joints described above, the work is complicated, so it is necessary to rely on manual work by skilled workers, resulting in a lot of labor and effort. This method requires a lot of time, and there is a limit to how much production efficiency can be improved.

Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-90429 describes a method for assembling an equal connector, but this is a relatively simple task in assembling an equal connector. This is an assembly method for automating the assembly of the inner race and ball cage and the work of assembling the balls, and there is no mention of the complicated method of assembling the inner race and ball cage. Furthermore, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 17923/1983 describes a constant velocity ball joint assembly device, which also relates to a device used to assemble an assembly of an inner race and a ball cage to an outer race. However, there is no mention of how to assemble the inner race and ball cage.

The present invention was made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for assembling a constant velocity joint that enables automation of the assembling work between an inner race and a ball cage.

Means for Solving the Problems As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an outer peripheral surface that is in spherical contact with the inner peripheral surface of the ball cage, inside an annular ball cage having a window hole in the peripheral wall. In a method of assembling a constant velocity joint in which an inner race having a plurality of radial protruding necks is assembled, the ball cage is fixed on a jig so that the annular opening end is substantially perpendicular, and the central axis is Insert the inner race held parallel to the annular opening end of the ball cage from a direction approximately perpendicular to the annular opening end while allowing rotation in the direction of movement of the inner race, and insert one protrusion of the inner race into the ball cage. The inner race is fitted into one window hole of the cage, then the spherical center of the inner periphery of the ball cage is aligned with the spherical center of the outer periphery of the inner race, and then the inner race is inserted from a direction substantially perpendicular to the ball cage. It is characterized by being rotated approximately 90 degrees.

Function: According to this method, by fixing the ball cage to a jig, the relative position with respect to the inner race and the transport route of the inner race are determined, and one protrusion of the inner race is inserted into one window hole of the ball cage. By fitting the inner race, it is possible to insert it inside the ball cage, and by aligning the spherical center of the inner circumferential surface of the ball cage with the spherical center of the outer circumferential surface of the inner race, and then rotating the inner race 90 degrees. The inner race and ball cage are assembled.

EXAMPLE An example of the method for assembling a constant velocity joint according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7.

In addition, 10 is a robot used to carry out this method, and 2
0 is a jig, and the robot 10 is X.

The robot has degrees of freedom about three axes, Y and Z, and a bracket 11 is attached to the tip of the third axis 10a of the robot 10.
A hand 12 is attached through the
A pair of gripping claws 12a at the tip are opened and closed by air supply from an air cylinder (not shown), and the gripping claws 12a are opened and closed.
The hand 1 grips the inner race 13 of the constant velocity joint and serves as a guide during insertion.
A guide jig 12b is provided below the robot 10 to guide smooth insertion of the inner race 13 into the pole cage 14 of the constant velocity joint.
The robot is instructed in advance to move along the trajectory shown by the thick solid line A in FIG.

Further, the inner race 13 of the constant velocity join 1 to
A ball (not shown) is placed at the position where the outer peripheral surface of the disk is divided into six equal parts.
Six protrusions 13b are formed in a radial manner by providing tapered grooves 13a that fit removably, and the outer circumferential surface 13G is formed into a spherical shape, with an output phase or an input shaft (not shown) in the center. It is provided with a shaft hole 13d for insertion. The ball cage 14 of the constant velocity joint has an annular shape, and its inner circumferential surface 14a is formed into a spherical surface that makes spherical contact with the spherical outer circumferential surface 13G of the inner race 13, and the outer circumferential surface 14b is an outer race (not shown). The ball is formed into a spherical surface that makes spherical contact with the inner peripheral surface of the ball, and six elongated window holes 14G into which balls are inserted are formed at positions dividing this peripheral wall into six equal parts.

On the other hand, the jig 20 is for fixing the ball cage 14, and is attached to the upper end of a stand 21 which is erected on the floor with legs 21a fixed thereto.

In order to fit and fix the ball cage 14 so that the annular opening end thereof is perpendicular, the jig A20 has a front surface with approximately the same width as the ball cage 14 and a front surface that can fit and support the ball cage 14. A fitting groove 20a formed in a semicircular shape with an open side (right side in FIG. 1), and the fitting groove 20
A cough fitting groove 20a is provided on the back side of a (left side in Fig. 2).
The guide surface 20b is formed in a spherical shape and is continuous with the spherical inner circumferential surface 14a of the ball cage 14 when the ball cage 14 is fitted and supported.

The position of the fitting groove 20a of this jig 20 is
The centerline of the ball cage 14 fitted and supported by the robot 10 is set to a height that substantially coincides with the centerline of the inner race 13 held by the gripping claw 12a of the hand 12 of the robot 10,
Roughly in the center of the bottom surface of the fitting groove 2Qa, there is a fitting groove 2
The protruding portion 13 of the inner race 13 fitted into the window hole 14C located directly below the ball cage 14 fitted and supported by the ball cage 0a.
An insertion hole 20G is formed to allow downward protrusion of b.

Further, an air cylinder 15 is fixed to the stand 21 below the jig 20, and a push pin '15b attached to the tip of the cylinder rod 15a of the air cylinder 15 is inserted through the jig 20. The ball cage 14 is inserted into the hole 20G so as to be movable, and is used to position the ball cage 14 in the cage rotation direction and the front-rear direction when fitting the ball cage 14 into the fitting groove 20a, and to fit into the window hole 14G of the ball cage 14. The protrusion 13b of the inner race 13 protruding into the insertion hole 20C can be pushed up by the push pin 15b.

Next, a case will be described in which the inner race 13 of the constant velocity joint and the ball cage 14 are automatically assembled using the robot 10 and jig 2Q described above.

The ball cage 14 of the constant velocity joint has an arbitrary one of the six window holes 14G formed at positions dividing the outer circumference into six equal parts.
The fitting groove 208 is positioned so that the window hole 14C is directly below
The jig 20 is positioned by a push pin 15b protruding from the bottom of the jig 20, and is fitted and supported in a substantially upright state in the cough fitting groove 20a of the jig 20.

Further, the inner race 13 is connected to the third axis 10 of the robot 10.
It is gripped by the gripping claw 12a of the hand 12 attached to the tip of the hand 12a.

The posture of the inner race 13 at this time is the rear side (the third
The gripping claws 12 grip the protrusion i3c on the right side in the figure from both sides.
The metal height of the inner race 13 is at its lowest when tilted backward by α° from the state gripped by a and set at an optimal angle that does not interfere with the pole cage 14 side at the initial stage of insertion (Fig. 3). reference).

Then, the robot 10, which has three degrees of freedom, is operated so that the hand 12 moves forward (to the left in FIG. 3),
The center of the inner lace 13 is indicated by the thick solid line A in FIG.
The inner lace 1 is conveyed so as to draw the trajectory shown in
The protruding portion 13b located at the lower front of the ball cage 14 (located diagonally at the lower right in FIG. 4) is positioned so as to fit into the window hole 14G located directly below the ball cage 14.

Next, the air supply pressure to the hand 12 is lowered and the gripping claw 12 is
a to allow the rotation of the inner race, and the grip claw 12a prevents the inner race from falling over.
It is supported by a guide jig 12b disposed below the inner race 13 and fed into the ball cage 14 (see FIG. 4).

Then, the hand 12 of the robot 10 rises.

When the hand 12 rises, the tip of the guide jig 12b provided on the hand 12 rises in contact with the protrusion 13b of the inner race 13, so the inner race 13 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. , insert the inner race 1 into the window hole 14G located directly below the ball cage 14.
One protrusion 13b of No. 3 is fitted from a substantially vertical direction, and the insertion/fitting process is completed. Further, the fitted protrusion 13b passes through the window hole 14c and protrudes toward the insertion hole 20C formed in the jig 2Q.

At this time, the inner race 13 that rotates in contact with the rising guide jig is rotated at a predetermined angle, that is, the fitted protrusion 13
When b is rotated to an angle that is perpendicular, another protrusion 13 is formed on the spherical guide surface 20b formed on the back side of the jig 20.
b comes into contact and prevents excessive rotation (see Figure 5).
.

Then, the air cylinder 15 operates and the cylinder rod 1
5a expands, the push pin 15b provided at the tip of the cylinder rod 15a slides upward in the insertion hole 20C, and the push pin 15b pushes the protrusion 13b upward to release the inner race 13. Lift up the inner lace 13
The pushing up process is completed to align the center of the ball cage 14, that is, the spherical center of the spherical outer circumferential surface 13G, with the center of the ball cage 14, that is, the spherical center of the spherical inner circumferential surface 14a (see FIG. 6).

Next, the hand 12 moves horizontally, the tip of the gripping claw 12a of the hand 12 engages with the inner race 13, and a rotation process is performed in which the inner race 13 is rotated 90 degrees. As a result, the inner race 13 and the ball cage 14 are automatically assembled in such a state that the entire outer circumferential surface '13c of the inner race 13 is in spherical contact with the inner circumferential surface 14a of the ball cage 14 (see FIG. 7).

Note that the jig 20 used in the above embodiment has a spherical guide surface 20b formed on the back side of the fitting groove 20a that supports the inner race 13, so when inserting the inner race 13 into the ball cage 14, In addition, the inner lace 13 can be easily moved to a more accurate position.

As described in detail, the method for assembling a constant velocity joint according to the present invention is to install a ball cage fixed on a jig so that the annular opening end is substantially perpendicular to the center axis of the ball cage. Insert the inner race gripped so that it is parallel to the annular opening end of the ball cage from a direction approximately perpendicular to the annular opening end of the ball cage while allowing rotation in the direction of movement of the inner race, and insert one protrusion of the inner race into the annular opening end of the ball cage. Then, align the spherical center of the inner circumferential surface of the ball cage with the spherical center of the outer circumferential surface of the inner race, and then insert the inner race inserted from a direction approximately perpendicular to the ball cage approximately 90° By rotating the inner race and ball cage by a single rotation, it is possible to automate the assembly work of the inner race and ball cage using simple equipment. It becomes possible to completely automate the entire assembling work of the constant velocity joint, including the work of assembling this assembly of the inner race and ball cage together with the balls to the outer race.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 7 are diagrams showing one embodiment of the method of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a state in which the ball cage is fixed to a jig and the inner race is gripped by a robot hand; Figure 2 is a side view of Figure 1, Figures 3 to 7 show the order of assembly operations, and Figure 3 is the process of fixing the ball cage to the jig and gripping the inner race with the gripping claw of the hand. Fig. 4 is an explanatory drawing showing the initial stage of the process of inserting the inner race into the ball cage, Fig. 5 is an explanatory drawing showing the completed state of the insertion process, and Fig. 6 is an explanatory drawing showing the inner periphery of the ball cage. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the process of aligning the spherical center of the outer peripheral surface of the inner race with the spherical center of the inner race. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the state in which the inner race has been rotated and assembled to the ball cage. A partially sectional front view showing a constant velocity joint,
FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the constant velocity joint. 10...Robot, 12...Hand, 12a
...Gripping claw, 12b...Guide jig, 13...
・Inner race, 13b...protrusion, 13G・
...Outer peripheral surface, 14...Ball cage, 14a...
Inner peripheral surface, 14C... Window hole, 15... Air cylinder, 15b... Push pin, 20... Jig, 2
0a... Fitting groove, 20b... Guide surface, 200.
...Insertion hole, 21...Stand. Applicant Toyota Motor Corporation Kyoho Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney Yutaka 1) Hisashi Take (and 1 other person) Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8

Claims (1)

[Claims] A method for assembling a constant velocity joint in which an inner race having a plurality of radial protrusions and an outer circumferential surface that makes spherical contact with the inner circumferential surface of the ball cage is attached to the inside of an annular ball cage having a window hole in the circumferential wall. Inside the ball cage, which is fixed on a jig so that the annular opening end is almost vertical, an inner race, which is gripped so that the center axis is parallel to the annular opening end, is attached to the annular opening end of the ball cage. insert the inner race while allowing rotation from a substantially right angle direction in the direction of movement, and fit one protrusion of the inner race into one window hole of the ball cage, and then fit the inner race into the center of the ball on the inner circumferential surface of the ball cage. Align the spherical center of the outer circumferential surface of the inner race,
A method for assembling a constant velocity joint, comprising: thereafter rotating an inner race inserted from a direction substantially perpendicular to a ball cage by approximately 90 degrees.