Metal working – Method of mechanical manufacture – Gear making
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-28
2001-06-26
Echols, P. W. (Department: 3726)
Metal working
Method of mechanical manufacture
Gear making
C029S791000, C029S821000, C029SDIG004
Reexamination Certificate
active
06249969
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic assembling method and apparatus for a differential gear which comprises a differential arrangement or mechanism of an automobile, for instance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, a differential gear that makes up the differential gear arrangement or mechanism of an automobile has been assembled manually by worker(s), or by a known assembling method, for instance, as shown in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. Hei 6-156338 (1994).
In the manual assembly method performed manually by worker(s), a pair of side gears are positioned along a predetermined one of three orthogonal axial directions within a differential case, and a pair of spherical washers and a pair of pinion gears are inserted from a pair of openings formed in the differential case in another axial direction so as to mesh with the gear teeth of the side gears and the pinion gears. Thereafter, while rotating the side gears and moving the pinion gear and the spherical washer to a position shifted by 90 degrees in phase, central axes of the pinion gear and the spherical washer are fitted in the remaining one axial direction. Then, at this position, by inserting a shaft from a shaft hole directly to a shaft insertion bore at central shaft portions of each of the pinion gears and the spherical washers like a spear, the differential gear is thereby assembled.
On the other hand, in the case of Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. Hei 6-156338 (1994) mentioned above, the pair of side gears are positioned rotatably in the differential case, and edge portions of a pair of pinion support devices are inserted into the shaft insertion bores of the spherical washers and the pinion gears from the spherical washer side so as to hold them at each internal round surface thereof. At the same time, the gear teeth of the side gears and the pinion gears are meshed with each other, and then the edge portions of the pinion support devices are pulled out from the pinion gears. Thereafter, by means of a pinion pushing device, the pinion gear and the spherical washer are urged to a position shifted by 90 degrees in phase, and then the shaft is inserted therein to by aligning the shaft insertion bores formed in the central axial portions of the pinion gear and the spherical washer to the shaft hole of the differential case.
However, with the prior art, in particular the manual assembling method, there are drawbacks in that workers who are skilled in such tasks are necessitated and that it needs a large number of assembling processes.
In addition, in the case of Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. Hei 6-156338 (1994) mentioned above, the pinion gear and the spherical washer are supported by each of the pinion gear support devices from the spherical washer side (or differential case side). Therefore, it is necessary to open or relieve the holding by the pinion support devices so as to avoid interference between the pinion support devices and the differential case when moving the pinion gears and so on to the position shifted by 90 degrees in phase after meshing with the gear teeth of the pinion gears and the side gears. Therefore, it is impossible to move the pinion gears and so on to the predetermined positions without the provision of separate pinion pushing devices. Therefore, there is a drawback that the manufacturing equipment becomes complex and oversize.
Further, since pressure is applied at the gear teeth of the pinion gear, and further since the pinion gear meshes with the side gear thereby accompanying the rotation thereof when it is moved, there is therefore also a drawback in that the gear teeth of the pinion gear are easily damaged or broken.
Moreover, there may also be a drawback in that it is impossible to insert the shaft without holding the spherical washer at the proper position simultaneously while pushing the pinion gear, since the shaft insertion bores of the pinion gear and the spherical washer become misaligned when it is moved to the predetermined position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
For resolving the drawbacks in the above-mentioned conventional art, an object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide an automatic assembling method and an automatic assembling apparatus for assembling the differential gear automatically and certainly without causing any damage to the pinion gears and so on thereof, while reducing the necessary numbers of workers and manufacturing steps.
For achieving the above-mentioned object, in accordance with the present invention there is provided an automatic assembling method for a differential gear, comprising the steps of: positioning a pair of side gears opposing to each other, within a differential case along a predetermined one of three orthogonal axial directions with respect to a central portion of the differential case; inserting a pair of pinion gears and a pair of spherical washers into the differential case from a pair of openings formed in the differential case in another axial direction which is orthogonal to the predetermined one of the axial directions; aligning the pair of pinion gears and the pair of spherical washers at respective central axes thereof in the remaining one of said three orthogonal axial directions; and thereafter, inserting a shaft directly into shaft insertion bores formed at central axial portions of the pinion gears and the spherical washers from a shaft hole of said differential case; inserting an internal chuck directly into each shaft insertion bore from an inner side of the pinion gear (i.e., from the center side of the differential case) after aligning the spherical washer outside of said pinion gear (i.e., at the side of the differential case), so as to hold the pinion gear and the spherical washer as a unit; meshing gear teeth of the pinion gear and the side gear with each other in a vicinity of the opening of said differential case; and, allowing the side gear to rotate and moving the internal chuck into a predetermined direction, thereby positioning the central axes of the pinion gear and the spherical washer into a predetermined axial direction.
In this manner, by inserting the internal chuck directly into each shaft insertion bore from the inner side of the pinion gear (i.e., center side of the differential case) after aligning the spherical washer at the outside of said pinion gear (i.e., at the side of the differential case) thereby causing the shaft insertion bores to coincide with each other so as to hold the pinion gear and the spherical washer as a unit, when moving the pinion gear and so on to the assembling position which is different by 90 degrees in phase after meshing the pinion gear with the side gear, the internal chuck will not interfere with the case, thereby enabling the pinion gear and so on to be maintained in proper position.
Therefore, it is possible to set the pinion gear and the spherical washer at the assembling positions thereof while precisely maintaining the relative positions between them, and further it is possible to avoid causing any damage to the pinion gears since no pressure is applied when moving the pinion gears.
Further as set forth in the present invention, there is provided an automatic assembling method, wherein after aligning the central axes of said pinion gear and said spherical washer into the predetermined axial direction, which further comprises the steps of: pulling the internal chuck out at one side and inserting said shaft or a provisional shaft into the shaft insertion bores of the pinion gear and the spherical washer at said one side, thereby fixing them to the differential case; and following the above, pulling the internal chuck out at another side and inserting the provisional shaft or said shaft into the shaft insertion bores of the pinion gear and the spherical washer at said other side, thereby fixing them to the differential case; and advancing said shafts towards the shaft insertion bores into which the provisional shafts are inserted at a time when both of the internal chucks are removed
Abe Hidetoshi
Komatsu Katsunari
Shibata Masaru
Tsuchida Toshihito
Echols P. W.
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
LandOfFree
Automatic assembling method and apparatus for differential gear does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Automatic assembling method and apparatus for differential gear, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Automatic assembling method and apparatus for differential gear will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2476298