Double-row self-aligning roller bearing
10697492 ยท 2020-06-30
Assignee
Inventors
- Takashi Yamamoto (Kuwana, JP)
- Yasuyuki Inoue (Kuwana, JP)
- Kazumasa Seko (Kuwana, JP)
- Michio Hori (Kuwana, JP)
Cpc classification
F16C2240/34
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16C33/36
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16C33/585
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16C2206/04
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16C19/505
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16C2240/70
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16C19/38
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16C2240/50
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16C23/086
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16C2360/31
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
International classification
F16C23/08
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16C33/60
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16C33/36
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
Abstract
A double-row self-aligning roller bearing has rollers interposed, in two rows aligned in a bearing width direction, between an inner ring and an outer ring. The outer ring has a spherical raceway surface. Each of the rollers has an outer circumferential surface having a cross-sectional shape that matches the raceway surface of the outer ring. The rollers have lengths equal to each other and maximum diameters equal to each other, and have different distances from centers of the roller lengths to positions at which the maximum diameters are obtained.
Claims
1. A double-row self-aligning roller bearing comprising: an inner ring; an outer ring having a spherical raceway surface; and rollers in two rows juxtaposed to each other in a bearing width direction and interposed between the inner ring and the outer ring, each of the rollers in the two rows having an outer circumferential surface having a cross-sectional shape that matches the raceway surface of the outer ring, wherein the rollers in the two rows have lengths equal to each other and maximum diameters equal to each other, and have different distances from centers of the roller lengths to positions at which the maximum diameters are obtained.
2. The double-row self-aligning roller bearing as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in the rollers in either row of the rollers in the two rows, the position at which the maximum diameter is obtained is shifted to an inner side in the bearing width direction with respect to the center of the roller length.
3. The double-row self-aligning roller bearing as claimed in claim 1, wherein, of the rollers in the two rows, the rollers having the longer distance from the center of the roller length to the position at which the maximum diameter is obtained have a larger contact angle than the rollers having the shorter distance.
4. The double-row self-aligning roller bearing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the double-row self-aligning roller bearing is used for supporting a main shaft of a wind power generator.
5. The double-row self-aligning roller bearing as claimed in claim 1, further comprising retainers configured to retain the rollers in the respective rows, wherein each retainer includes an annular portion that has an annular shape and is configured to guide axially inner end faces of the rollers in the row, and a plurality of pillar portions that extend in an axial direction from the annular portion and that are provided at predetermined intervals along a circumferential direction, pockets configured to retain the rollers are provided between those pillar portions, and one of the retainers configured to retain the rollers having the longer distance from the center of the roller length to the position at which the maximum diameter is obtained has an inclination angle by which a radially outer surface of each pillar portion is inclined radially inward from a proximal end side toward a distal end side.
6. The double-row self-aligning roller bearing as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the rollers has a DLC coating on a roller rolling surface thereof.
7. The double-row self-aligning roller bearing as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the rollers has a crowning at an end portion of a roller rolling surface thereof.
8. The double-row self-aligning roller bearing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner ring includes an intermediate flange that is provided on an outer circumferential surface of the inner ring between the rollers in the two rows and configured to guide the rollers in the two rows, and small flanges that are provided at opposite ends of the outer circumferential surface, respectively, and that face axially outer end faces of the rollers in the respective rows, and one small flange of the respective small flanges of the inner ring, that faces the axially outer end faces of the rollers having the longer distance from the center of the roller length to the position at which the maximum diameter is obtained has an insertion slot for inserting the rollers into the bearing.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) In any event, the present invention will become more clearly understood from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments and the drawings are given only for the purpose of illustration and explanation, and are not to be taken as limiting the scope of the present invention in any way whatsoever, which scope is to be determined by the appended claims. In the accompanying drawings, like reference numerals are used to denote like parts throughout the several views, and:
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DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
(18) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
(19) In a double-row self-aligning roller bearing 1, rollers 4 and 5 in left and right two rows juxtaposed to each other in a bearing width direction are interposed between an inner ring 2 and an outer ring 3. The outer ring 3 has a spherical raceway surface 3a, and the rollers 4 and 5 in the left and right rows each have an outer circumferential surface having a cross-sectional shape that matches the raceway surface 3a of the outer ring 3. In other words, the outer circumferential surfaces of the rollers 4 and 5 are rotation curved surfaces obtained by rotating, about center lines C1 and C2, a circular arc extending along the raceway surface 3a of the outer ring 3. On the inner ring 2, raceway surfaces 2a and 2b in double rows having cross-sectional shapes along the outer circumferential surfaces of the rollers 4 and 5 in the respective left and right rows are formed. Flanges (small flanges) 6 and 7 are provided at opposite ends of the outer circumferential surface of the inner ring 2, respectively. An intermediate flange 8 is provided on a center portion of the outer circumferential surface of the inner ring 2, that is, between the rollers 4 in the left row and the rollers 5 in the right row. The rollers 4 and 5 in the respective left and right rows are retained by retainers 11 and 12, respectively.
(20) The retainer 11 for the left row includes: an annular portion 11a that has an annular shape and guides the axially inner end faces of the rollers 4 in the left row; and a plurality of pillar portions 11b that extend in the axial direction from the annular portion 11a and are provided at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction. Pockets Pt for retaining the rollers 4 are provided between those pillar portions. The retainer 12 for the right row includes: an annular portion 12a that has an annular shape and guides the axially inner end faces of the rollers 5 in the right row; and a plurality of pillar portions 12b that extend in the axial direction from the annular portion 12a and are provided at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction. Pockets Pt for retaining the rollers 5 are provided between those pillar portions.
(21) The rollers 4 in the left row and the rollers 5 in the right row have lengths L1 and L2, along the center lines C1 and C2, equal to each other, and also have maximum diameters D1max and D2max equal to each other. However, both the rollers 4 and 5 in the respective left and right rows are asymmetrical rollers. The asymmetrical rollers are rollers having asymmetrical shapes in which positions A1 and A2 at which the maximum diameters D1max and D2max are obtained are shifted from centers B1 and B2 of the roller lengths as exaggeratedly shown in
(22) Since the rollers 4 and 5 are the asymmetrical rollers as described above, the contact angles 1 and 2 can be changed without changing the positions or the lengths of the rollers 4 and 5, in contrast to symmetrical rollers (not shown) in each of which the position at which the maximum diameter is obtained is at the center of the roller length. By adjusting distances K1 and K2 from the centers B1 and B2 of the roller lengths to the positions A1 and A2 at which the maximum diameters D1max and D2max are obtained, optimum contact angles 1 and 2 can be set.
(23) When the positions A1 and A2 at which the maximum diameters D1max and D2max of the rollers 4 and 5 in the respective left and right rows are obtained are located at the inner side in the bearing width direction with respect to the centers B1 and B2 of the roller lengths as in this embodiment, the contact angles 1 and 2 are smaller than those in the case where each roller is a symmetrical roller. By shifting the positions A1 and A2, at which the maximum diameters of the rollers 4 and 5 in the respective rows are obtained, to the inner side in the bearing width direction with respect to the centers B1 and B2 of the roller lengths, a load toward the intermediate flange 8 is generated when a load is applied to the rollers 4 and 5. Thus, the end faces of the rollers 4 and 5 are assuredly guided by the intermediate flange 8, and the rollers 4 and 5 can stably rotate.
(24) Moreover, in this embodiment, the contact angle 2 of the rollers 5 having the distance K2 that is larger when the distances K1 and K2 from the centers B1 and 132 of the roller lengths to the positions A1 and A2 at which the maximum diameters are obtained are compared to each other, is set so as to be larger than the contact angle 1 of the rollers 4 having the smaller distance K1. Thus, when a load is applied to the respective rollers 4 and 5, a greater load toward the intermediate flange 8 is generated at the rollers 5 having the larger contact angle 2, than at the rollers 4 having the smaller contact angle 1. A roller having a larger contact angle tends to unstably rotate. However, by causing a greater load to be generated toward the intermediate flange 8 as described above, rotation of the rollers 5 having the larger contact angle 2 can be stabilized.
(25) In
(26) As shown in
(27) The double-row self-aligning roller bearing 1 having this configuration is used in a usage in which an axial load and a radial load are received and loads having magnitudes different from each other act on left and right roller rows, for example, as a bearing for supporting a main shaft of a wind power generator. In this case, the double-row self-aligning roller bearing 1 is mounted such that the rollers 4 in the left row are located at the side closer to revolving blades (the front side) and the rollers 5 in the right row are located at the side farther from the revolving blades (the rear side). Thus, the rollers 5 in the right row having the larger contact angle 2 bear substantially the entirety of an axial load and part of a radial load, and the rollers 4 in the left row having the smaller contact angle 1 bear the rest of the radial load.
(28) By appropriately setting the contact angles 1 and 2 of the rollers 4 and 5, the load can be shared at a ratio corresponding to the load capacities of the rollers 4 and 5 in the respective left and right rows. As a result, the surface pressures on the rollers 4 and 5 in the respective left and right rows become equal to each other. Accordingly, a high load capacity can be ensured in the entire bearing, and the substantial life of the entire bearing can also be improved. Since the rollers 4 and 5 are the asymmetrical rollers, optimum contact angles 1 and 2 can be easily set without changing the positions or the lengths of the rollers 4 and 5.
(29) Other embodiments will be described.
(30) In the following description, in each embodiment, portions corresponding to the matters described in the previously described embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and the redundant description thereof is omitted. When only a part of a configuration is described, the remaining part of the configuration is the same as that of the previously described embodiment unless otherwise specified. The same advantageous effects are achieved by the same configuration. In addition to the combinations of portions described specifically in each embodiment, it is also possible to partially combine the embodiments unless any problem is particularly posed due to the combination.
Retainer 12A with Inclination Angle
(31) A double-row self-aligning roller bearing according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to
(32) The double-row self-aligning roller bearing 1 includes a retainer 12A with an inclination angle. The retainer 12A for the right row shown in
(33) The radially inner surface of each pillar portion 12Ab in the retainer 12A for the right row in this example has an inclined surface portion 12da and a flat surface portion 12db connected to the inclined surface portion 12da. The inclined surface portion 12da extends from the proximal end side of the radially inner surface of the pillar portion 12Ab to a position near the middle in the axial direction of the radially inner surface, and has an inclination angle at Which the inclined surface portion 35Ab is inclined radially inward from the proximal end side to the position near the middle in the axial direction. The inclination angle is also an angle relative to the bearing central axis O, and is set so as to be not less than the inclination angle (). In this example, the inclination angle is set so as to be greater than the inclination angle by several degrees. However, the relationship between these inclination angles is not limited to this relationship (). The flat surface portion 12db is a flat surface that extends in the axial direction from the distal edge of the inclined surface portion 12da and is parallel to the bearing central axis O. In the retainer 11 for the left row, the radially outer surfaces and the radially inner surfaces of the pillar portions 11b do not have any inclination angle, that is, are parallel to the bearing central axis O.
(34) Since the retainer 12A for the right row has the above-described inclination angle , the pocket surfaces of the retainer 12A can hold the maximum diameter positions of the rollers 5. Thus, the attitude stability of the rollers 5 in the right row is not deteriorated, and it is also possible to easily fit the rollers 5.
Crowning Cw
(35) In a double-row self-aligning roller bearing according to a third embodiment, as shown in
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(37) In the case where the rollers 4 and 5 in the respective rows have such crownings Cw (
DLC Coating
(38) In a double-row self-aligning roller bearing according to a fourth embodiment, as shown in
(39) The intermediate layer 17 has a structure including a plurality of layers having different compositions, and a three-layer structure of 17a to 17c is shown in
(40) By the layer 17a adjacent to the stress relaxation layer 18 being mainly formed of carbon and a metal that is the metal of which the layer 17b adjacent to the layer 17a at the other side is mainly composed, the adhesion between the intermediate layer 17 and the stress relaxation layer 18 can be improved. For example, in the case where the layer 17a is mainly formed of W and C, further improvement of the adhesion can be achieved by decreasing the contained amount of W and increasing the contained amount of C from the side at which the intermediate layer 17b mainly formed of W is present, toward the side at which the stress relaxation layer 18 mainly formed of C is present (composition gradient).
(41) The stress relaxation layer 18 is a gradient layer that is mainly formed of C and in which the hardness thereof increases in a continuous or stepwise manner from the intermediate layer 17 side to the surface layer 16 side. Specifically, the stress relaxation layer 18 is a DLC gradient layer that is obtained by using a graphite target in a DBMS method and forming a film while increasing a bias voltage to the base in a continuous or stepwise manner. The reason why the hardness increases in a continuous or stepwise manner is that the distribution ratio of a graphite structure (SP2) and a diamond structure (SP3) in a DLC structure becomes biased due to the increase of the bias voltage such that the latter is increased.
(42) The surface layer 16 is a film that is formed by extension of the stress relaxation layer 18 and mainly formed of DLC, particularly, a DLC film in which a contained amount of hydrogen in the structure thereof is reduced. Since the contained amount of hydrogen is reduced, the wear resistance is improved. To form such a DLC film, a method, in which, for example, a UBMS method is used and a raw material to be used in sputtering, hydrogen, and a compound containing hydrogen are not mixed in sputtering gas, is used.
(43) Regarding the film forming method for the stress relaxation layer 18 and the surface layer 16, the case of using the DBMS method has been described, but any other publicly known film forming method can be adopted as long as it is a film forming method that allows the hardness to be changed in a continuous or stepwise manner. The sum of the film thicknesses of the multiple layers including the intermediate layer 17, the stress relaxation layer 18, and the surface layer 16 is preferably 0.5 m to 3.0 m. If the sum of the film thicknesses is less than 0.5 m, the wear resistance and the mechanical strength are poor, and if the sum of the film thicknesses exceeds 3.0 m, these layers are easily peeled off. Thus, such cases are not preferable.
(44) In this example, the DLC coating 14 is provided only on the outer circumferential surface of each of the rollers 4 and 5, but a DLC coating 14 may be further provided on each end face of each of the rollers 4 and 5. In particular, in the case where a DLC coating 14 is provided on one end face of each of the rollers 4 and 5 guided by the intermediate flange 8 (
Insertion Slot 15
(45) In a double-row self-aligning roller bearing according to a fifth embodiment, as shown in
(46) In the double-row self-aligning roller bearing according to the sixth embodiment, as shown in
(47) According to the configuration in
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(49) There are two main shaft supporting bearings 25 that are aligned in the illustrated example, but the number of main shaft supporting bearings 25 may be one. The double-row self-aligning roller bearing 1 of any of the embodiments described above is used as each main shaft supporting bearing 25. In this case, both a radial load and an axial load act on the row farther from the blades 27, and thus the rollers 5 having the larger contact angle 2 are used as the rollers in the row farther from the blades 27. Only the radial load mainly acts on the row closer to the blades 27, and thus the rollers 4 having the smaller contact angle 1 are used as the rollers in the row closer to the blades 27.
(50) The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various additions, changes, or deletions can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Therefore, these are construed as included within the scope of the present invention.
REFERENCE NUMERALS
(51) 1 . . . Double-row self-aligning roller bearing 2 . . . Inner ring 3 . . . Outer ring 3a . . . Raceway surface 4, 5 . . . Roller 6, 7 . . . Small flange 8 . . . Intermediate flange 11, 12, 12A . . . Retainer 11a, 12a . . . Annular portion 11b, 12b, 12Ab . . . Pillar portion 13 . . . Roller rolling surface 14 . . . DLC coating 15 . . . Insertion slot 26 . . . Main shaft A1, A2 . . . Position at which maximum diameter of roller is obtained B1, B2 . . . Center of roller length Cw . . . Crowning D1max, D2max . . . Maximum diameter of roller K1, K2 . . . Distance from center of roller length to position at which maximum diameter of roller is obtained L1, L2 . . . Roller length 1, 2 . . . Contact angle