Cleaning and liquid contact with solids – Apparatus – With means to movably mount or movably support the work or...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-09
2004-02-24
Gulakowski, Randy (Department: 1746)
Cleaning and liquid contact with solids
Apparatus
With means to movably mount or movably support the work or...
C134S153000, C134S157000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06694991
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method which, in a process of manufacturing where high cleanliness is required to a ball/roller bearing, cleans an assembled ball/roller bearing before supplying oil or grease.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as a method for cleaning a mechanical part, an ultrasonic cleaning method has been mainly used. In this ultrasonic cleaning method, for example, as shown in
FIG. 14
, a bearing
1
to be cleaned stored in a washing basket
50
is cleaned within a cleaning vessel
22
which includes an ultrasonic vibration plate
20
mounted on the bottom portion thereof and is filled with cleaning liquid
24
.
Also, as a method for cleaning a ball/roller bearing, a patent is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 11-138111 (JP-A-11-138111). In this cleaning method, a bearing to be cleaned is disposed on a rotary table where cleaning liquid is jetted onto the bearing from inside and outside as well as from above and below, thereby cleaning the bearing.
However, in the above-mentioned conventional ultrasonic cleaning method, due to the characteristics of ultrasonic waves, the ultrasonic waves are not able to effect the interior parts of the bearing to be cleaned, which results in insufficient cleaning. Especially, since the bearing to be cleaned is simply immersed in the cleaning liquid, it is difficult to completely remove dirt particles existing between the rolling bodies and retainer of the bearing to be cleaned.
Also, in the latter ultrasonic cleaning method, although the area of the bearing where the jetted cleaning liquid is applied can be cleaned, the cleaning liquid is splashed back from the portions of the bearing where it is applied, so that the portions of the bearing, where the jetted cleaning liquid cannot be applied directly, cannot be cleaned to a satisfactory degree. Therefore, it is difficult to completely remove dirt particles between the parts of the bearing to be cleaned, for example, between the rolling bodies and retainer of the bearing to be cleaned. Also, referring to an ultrasonic cleaning apparatus employed in enforcing the ultrasonic cleaning method, the structure thereof is complicated: that is, the ultrasonic cleaning apparatus is capable of cleaning a ball/roller bearing of a relatively large size but is not suitable to clean a ball/roller bearing of a small size.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention aims at solving the drawbacks found in the above-mentioned conventional ball/roller bearing cleaning methods. Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a ball/roller bearing cleaning method and apparatus which enables highly effective cleaning even the portions of the bearing that are shaded from being cleaned with respect to the cleaning liquid, as well as cleaning the dirt particles caught between the parts of the bearing to be cleaned, that have been difficult to clean in the conventional ball/roller bearing cleaning methods.
In attaining the above object, according to a first aspect of the invention, a cleaning method is provided—for a bearing composed of an inner ring, an outer ring, rolling bodies and a retainer—using cleaning liquid, wherein the cleaning liquid is made to flow through the bearing to be cleaned from the axial direction of the bearing into spaces existing between the raceway surface of the inner ring and the raceway surface of the outer ring of the bearing to be cleaned and surrounding the rolling bodies and retainer.
According to the present ball/roller bearing cleaning method, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the axial direction of the bearing to be cleaned and into spaces which exist between the raceway surface of the inner ring and the raceway surface of the outer ring of the bearing to be cleaned and also surround the rolling bodies and retainer, whereby dirt particles caught in the part where the cleaning liquid cannot be applied directly, that is, dirt particles existing between the surfaces of the rolling bodies and retainer can be removed positively.
Also, according to a second aspect of the invention, in the ball/roller bearing cleaning method according to the first aspect of the invention, the cleaning liquid is supplied in a state where the inner or outer ring of the bearing to be cleaned is fixed and the other is rotatable, whereby, while driving or rotating the rotatable ring of the bearing to be cleaned, the cleaning liquid can be flowed through the bearing to be cleaned.
In this method, while the inner or outer ring of the bearing to be cleaned is fixed, the other ring is rotated, so that the rolling bodies and retainer are rotated. Especially, since the rolling bodies are capable of rotating about their own axes as well as around the axis of the bearing, dirt particles existing between the rolling bodies and retainer can be scraped out efficiently and, by supplying the cleaning liquid forcibly into between the inner ring raceway surface and outer ring raceway surface of the bearing to be cleaned, the thus scraped dirt particles can be discharged out of the bearing to be cleaned.
According to a third aspect of the invention, in the ball/roller bearing cleaning method according to the first aspect of the invention, preferably, the bearing to be cleaned may be immersed in a cleaning vessel filled with cleaning liquid and the cleaning liquid in the cleaning vessel may be vibrated by ultrasonic waves.
According to this cleaning method, by applying the ultrasonic vibrations to the cleaning liquid in the cleaning vessel, the ultrasonic waves can be radiated onto the rolling bodies and retainer included in the interior portion of the bearing to be cleaned, which can enhance the cleaning effect further.
And, according to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the ball/roller bearing cleaning method according to the first aspect of the invention, while one of the outer ring and inner ring of the bearing to be cleaned is fixed in the surface layer portion of the cleaning vessel filled with the cleaning liquid and the other ring is free to rotate, the cleaning liquid may be jetted onto the rolling bodies of the bearing to be cleaned from obliquely above the bearing to be cleaned in the circumferential direction thereof.
According to this method, in case where it is impossible to supply the cleaning liquid into the interior portion of the bearing to be cleaned, by jetting the cleaning liquid with high pressure while aiming at the rolling bodies of the bearing to be cleaned, the bearing to be cleaned can be cleaned while it is being rotated by the cleaning liquid.
And, according to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the ball/roller bearing cleaning method according to the first aspect of the invention, while one of the outer ring and inner ring of the bearing to be cleaned is fixed in the surface layer portion of the cleaning vessel filled with the cleaning liquid, the other ring may be driven or rotated.
According to this method, by rotating one of the outer ring and inner ring of the bearing to be cleaned using a motor or an air turbine, the bearing to be cleaned can be cleaned while rotating the same, which can enhance the cleaning effect.
And, according to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the ball/roller bearing cleaning method according to the first aspect of the invention, there may be employed a two-stage cleaning method: that is, after execution of a non-rotation cleaning step in which the bearing to be cleaned is cleaned by making the cleaning solution flow through the interior portion of the bearing to be cleaned without rotating the same (or in combination with ultrasonic cleaning), there may be executed a rotation cleaning step in which the bearing to be cleaned is cleaned while rotating the same.
This two-stage cleaning method is effective in the following case: that is, a large number of hard foreign substances are present in the interior portion of the bearing to be cleaned and thus, in case where the bearing to be cleaned is rotated in this state, there i
Mizuno Hiroki
Shibazaki Hiroshi
Tokura Shigeo
Tonooka Katsuhisa
Gulakowski Randy
NSK Ltd.
Perrin Joseph
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
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