APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING LUBRICANT

Abstract: A lubricant supply source is disposed in the vicinity of a sliding or rotary portion of a machine element, and an electrical power source is inter­ mittently driven by a controller, so as to intermit­ tently supply lubricant from the lubricant supply source to the machine element. When required, a sensor for monitoring the operating state of the machine element, and/or a remote controller is used, so that the supply of lubricant is controlled on the basis of the signal of the sensor and/or by means of the remote controller. In consequence, lubricant can be supplied or supplemented to the machine element in accordance with necessity. Therefore, the machine element will be able to operate stably for a long time even when it is used in places to which people cannot inadvertently access.

Description: The invention relates to apparatus for supplying lubricant to machine elements or members used in certain places to which people cannot easily access in order to achieve a longer life for the machine. Hitherto, there have been two ways of lubricating elements of a machine such as bearings or gears. In one of the ways, they are continuously supplied with lubricating oil, as disclosed in, for instance, Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 45-7603. In another way, grease, a solid lubricant or the like is injected or coated (i.e., applied in a coating) when the machine is started up. If an element of a machine is lubricated with a solid lubricant, then when the lubricant dries up, that means the end of the life of the element. A problem arises if the machine element is used in space or in a nuclear reactor. Since replacing it and other maintenance operations can be performed only with difficulty in such environments, in the above-described case, it is sometimes necessary to abandon the entire system along with the machine element. On the other hand, a continuous supply of grease, oil, etc. entails a problem in that an unnecessarily great amount of lubricant tends to be supplied. The above-described problem in the case of machine elements used in certain environments which render maintenance operations difficult has been serious because the drying up of lubricant has led to damage to machine members, sometimes rendering the entire system unusable. Similar problems arise with apparatuses disclosed in US-A-4011 927 and EP-A-288941, which discloses the features of the preamble of independent claim 1 and in which lubricant is supplied to machine elements by switching a specific valve therefore. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an apparatus for supplying lubricant to a machine element used in a certain environment rendering maintenance operation difficult to perform, the apparatus being capable of avoiding drying up or vaporizing of the lubricant, and assuring a good lubricated condition of the machine element for a long time. According to the invention this object is solved by the apparatus described in claim 1. Further developments and preferred embodiments are described in claims 2 to 7. The invention is further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figs. 1 to 4 are views schematically showing various types of the basic structure of a lubricant supply apparatus according to the present invention; Figs. 5 through 23 illustrate various embodiments of lubricant supply apparatuses according to the present invention, the embodiments employing a lubricant supply means which in principle comprises a solid lubricant and a means for heating and evaporating the solid lubricant, wherein Figs. 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views of embodiments in which a ball bearing is the machine element to be lubricated; Figs. 7 and 8 are views of embodiments in which a sliding bearing is the machine element, Fig. 8 being a cross-sectional view; Figs. 9 and 10 are views of other embodiments in which a gear mechanism is the machine element; Fig. 11 is a fragmentary view of another embodiment in which a ball screw is the machine element; Fig. 12 is a view of still another embodiment in which a guide mechanism is the machine element; and Fig. 13 is a view of another embodiment in which a traction drive is the machine element; Fig. 14 is a graph showing a characteristic of the operation of a machine element which is achieved by the present invention; Fig. 15 is a view schematically showing the arrangement of a lubricant supply apparatus that is directed to the achievement of the operational characteristic shown in Fig. 14; Figs. 16 to 18 are views of embodiments in which a ball bearing is the machine element, Fig. 17 being an enlarged perspective view of a portion including a ball bearing; Figs. 19 and 20 are enlarged perspective views of ball bearings serving as the machine elements in different embodiments; Figs. 21 and 22 are enlarged cross-sectional views of ball bearings serving as the machine elements in other different embodiments; and Fig. 23 is a view of an embodiment in which a sliding bearing is the machine element; Fig. 24 illustrates an embodiment of a lubricant supply apparatus according to the present invention employing a lubricant supply means which comprises an ion gun The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Figs. 1 to 4 are schematic illustrations of various types of the basic structure of a lubricant supply apparatus according to the present invention. In the structure shown in Fig. 1, a lubricant supply apparatus comprises a lubricant supply means 2 (hereinafter referred to as a "tribo-coating unit" or "tribo-coating means") for supplying lubricant to all or part of a machine element 1, an electrical power source 3 for supplying electrical power to the tribo-coating unit 2, and a controller 4 for controlling the electrical power source 3. As will be described later in detail, the tribo-coating unit 2 is, for instance, a means for suitably evaporating a solid lubricant, a vacuum deposition means, an ion gun. Such a tribo-coating unit 2 intermittently supplies lubricant when the electrical power source 3 is suitably controlled by the controller 4. For this purpose, the manner in which the controller 4 performs control is previously set so that lubricant is supplied from the tribo-coating unit 2 to the machine element 1 intermittently, for instance, at predetermined intervals. Specifically, the controller 4 controls the electrical power source 3 by performing on-off control on the basis of time, or by increasing or decreasing the electrical power supplied from the power source 3. This control enables the machine element 1 to be lubricated for a long period. Since lubrication is performed whenever the machine element 1 is in need of lubricant, it is possible to achieve a longer life for the machine. A sensor means 5 is mounted on the machine element 1 in order to check the operating state of the machine element 1. The sensor means 5 allows the monitoring of the condition of the machine element 1, and it outputs a signal indicative of the detected operation state. On the basis of the level of the detection signal, the controller 4 causes the operation of the electrical power source 3 so as to supply lubricant. For example, the sensors are a temperature sensor, a vibration detector and a torque detector. If a temperature sensor is used as the sensor means 5, in the event that the machine element 1 is not well lubricated, a rise in temperature due to generation of heat is detected. Thus, lubricant is supplied to the machine element 1 through the operation of the controller 4 before any damage is caused to the machine element 1. In this way, the structure shown in Fig. 1 enables the supply of a minimum necessary amount of lubricant whenever lubrication is necessary, thereby assuring high reliability of the machine element 1, and achieving a long service life thereof. The embodiment shown in Fig. 2 is distinguished by the addition of a switch 6 to the apparatus for supplying lubricant as shown in Fig. 1 in order to open and close a circuit connecting the sensor means 5 and the controller 4. This structure enables the apparatus for supplying lubricant to be performed with a higher level of freedom than what is possible with the structure shown in Fig. 1. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, a remote controller 8 is adopted so that lubricant is supplied in response to a command issued from a distant location. For instance, the sensor means 5 allows the operating state of an equipment element which is, e.g., within a nuclear reactor, to be monitored at a distance on the ground, and, when necessary, lubricant is supplied to the element 1. This structure enables information on the state of the machine element 1 to be always obtained, thereby enhancing the level of reliability. As shown in Fig. 4, a signal output from the sensor means 5 is continuously monitored at a distant place, and, whenever necessary, the supply of lubricant is effected by interrupting the feedback control of the sensor means 5, the controller 4, and the electrical power source 3. With this structure, therefore, the lubricant supplying operation can be effected with ease from a distant place. Descriptions will now be given of various embodiments of a lubricant supplying apparatus of the present invention. The apparatuses shown in Figs. 5 to 13 employ a tribo-coating unit which in principle includes a solid lubricant and a heating and evaporating means. Fig. 5 shows an embodiment in which the machine element is a ball bearing 10 and the tribo-coating unit includes a vacuum deposition source 11. Although the vacuum deposition source 11 is combined with a heater 12 for causing the evaporation of the source 11, an electron beam may be alternatively used to get the same effects. A plurality of vacuum deposition sources 11 may be provided. An arrangement where Ag and Au, which are often used to form solid lubricants, are simultaneously or alternatively deposited is preferred to an arrangement where Ag or Au, forming a solid lubricant, is used singly. This is because the first arrangement enables enhanced effect of lubrication. As stated before, the sensor means 13 may be any of a temperature sensor, a vibration detector and a torque detector which can be handled with ease. The embodiment shown in Fig. 6 is similar to that shown in Fig. 5 in that the machine element is a ball bearing 10, but it is distinguished in that a small unit including a vacuum deposition source 11 is partially embedded in the stationary ring, i.e., the outer ring of the bearing 10. If the outer ring is on the driving side, the small unit including the source 11 may be disposed on the inner ring so as to facilitate to lead wires through which current flows. There is another difference in Fig. 6 that a sealing means 51 is provided and disposed on either side of the ball bearing 10. This allows lubricant from the small vacuum deposition source 11 to be efficiently deposited on the pertinent portion. Thus, this embodiment makes the ball bearing 10 a compact bearing incorporating a deposition unit and obtaining a high efficiency of deposition. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 7, the tribo-coating unit includes a rectangular vacuum deposition source 37, and a bearing sleeve 36 of a sliding bearing is formed therein with an axial slit 36a. The rectangular vacuum deposition source 37 is disposed along and in opposition to the axial slit 36a so that the evaporated lubricant can be deposited on the surface of the rotary shaft 9. The sensor means used in this embodiment is a vibration detector 13. However, the sensor 13 may alternatively be a temperature sensor or a torque detector. In the illustrated example, the rectangular vacuum deposition source 37 is combined with a heater 38 for evaporating lubricant. However, the source 37 may alternatively be heated by an electron beam or a laser beam. With the arrangement of this embodiment, even if the sliding bearing 36 is used in a place to which people cannot easily access, the bearing 36 can be lubricated, whenever necessary, by depositing lubricant, e.g., lubricant from a solid lubricant, on the surface of the rotary shaft 9 along the full axial length of the sliding bearing 36, while the condition of the sliding bearing 36 is monitored by means of the sensor 13 at all times or at suitable timing. The embodiment shown in Fig. 8 is a modification of the embodiment shown in Fig. 7 by integrating the unit including the rectangular vacuum deposition source 37 and the bearing sleeve 36 of the sliding bearing. This arrangement enables the achievement of a compact structure, while reducing the risk of lubricant leaking to the outside of the bearing 36. Further, if those edge portions 36b on the slit 36a of the bearing sleeve 36 facing the surface of the rotary shaft 9 are cut, as shown in Fig. 8, this helps vacuum-deposited lubricant to firmly stay on the surface of the rotary shaft 9 without becoming separated. If a plurality of vacuum deposition sources 37 of different metals are circumferentially arranged, this makes it possible to deposit a plurality of different metals, hence, to deposit an alloy lubricant. The embodiments shown in Figs. 9 and 10 are distinguished from those shown in Figs. 5 through 8 in that a gear serves as the machine element. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 9, the tribo-coating unit includes a vacuum deposition source 11, and a heater 12 for heating the source 11. The use of the heater 12 is a mere example, and it may be substituted with either heating by an electron beam or radiation heating by a laser beam. The vacuum deposition unit 11 is disposed in opposition to the portion at which gears 41a and 41b are in mutual meshing engagement, so as to deposit lubricant on the portion of the gears where they are in mutual contact. In this embodiment, the vacuum deposition unit including the vacuum deposition source 11 may be substituted by an ion gun which will be described later, and similar results will be provided. In either case, it is possible to ensure a long life of the gear mechanism. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 10, a circular-arc vacuum deposition source 37a is a part of the tribo-coating unit, and is disposed along an outer periphery of a gear 41b. The heating means combined may be any of a heater, an electron beam and a laser beam. Lubricant which has evaporated from the source 37a deposits on the portion where the gear 41b is in meshing engagement with another gear 41a, thereby allowing these gears 41a and 41b to maintain smooth meshing engagement. If another circular-arc vacuum deposition source 37a is provided on the side of the other gear 41a, the lubricated condition of the gears 41a and 41b can be enhanced. The arrangement shown in Fig. 10 also ensures that the necessary amount of lubricant is supplied, whenever necessary, to the gears, thereby enabling the achievement of a considerably long life of the gears. Although not shown, in each of the embodiments shown in Figs. 9 and 10, if a plurality of vacuum deposition units 37, 37a are provided to deposit a plurality of different lubricants, it is possible to supply a mixture of lubricants, thereby achieving a high level of lubrication. Fig. 11 shows an embodiment in which the machine element is a ball screw 46, and the tribo-coating unit includes a vacuum deposition source 37 and a heater 38 for causing the evaporation of the source 37. The heater 38 may be substituted with an electron or laser beam. Great effect of lubrication can also be achieved if an ion gun is used in place of the vacuum deposition unit so as to inject nitrogen ions, or if the vacuum deposition unit is used together with an ion gun so as to inject lubricant mixed with ions. Fig. 12 shows an embodiment in which the machine element is a mechanism of guide having a guide rail 49 and a drive pin 50. A plurality of tribo-coating units are used, each unit including a vacuum deposition source 11 and a heater 12 for causing the evaporation of the source 11. The heater 12 may be substituted by an electron or laser beam. Good effect of lubrication can also be achieved if the vacuum deposition units are substituted with ion guns. In any of these cases, the plurality of tribo-coating units moves in unison with the drive pin 50. If the units are disposed in either of the advancing and retracting direction of the drive pin 50, tribo-coating can be effected during movement in either of these directions, thereby achieving improved effect of lubrication. The tribo-coating unit may alternatively be a means for pressing a solid lubricant on the surface of the guide rail 49 and thereby coating lubricant, with similar effect of lubrication being provided. This embodiment is thus directed to the achievement of a long service life of the guide mechanism. Fig. 13 shows an embodiment in which the machine element is a traction drive, and the tribo-coating unit includes a vacuum deposition source 11 and a heater 12 for heating the source 11. The heater 12 may be substituted with heating by an electron or laser beam. The vacuum deposition unit may alternatively be any of an ion gun, an oil supply device and a solid lubricant pressing and coating device. If the unit is of the type which effects pressing and coating of or vacuum deposition of a solid lubricant, a plurality of such units may be provided so as to simultaneously apply a plurality of materials. This makes it possible to achieve the effect of a mixed lubricant, thereby achieving an improved level of lubrication. This embodiment is thus capable of achieving a long service life of the traction drive. In each of the embodiments shown in Figs. 1 to 13, lubrication may be performed in the following manner. As shown in Fig. 14, for a certain period after supplying of lubricant, the pressure P acting on the surfaces in the portion of mutual contact, the surfaces relatively sliding, or the surfaces in relative rotation is kept small, and, thereafter, the pressure P is returned to a level P0 which is assumed during normal operation. If lubrication is performed in this manner, it is possible to make a solid lubricant to firmly adhere to the sliding surfaces, thereby enabling the achievement of a long service life. Fig. 15 shows an example of the arrangement for controlling the pressure applied on the pertinent surfaces in the manner shown in Fig. 14. In this embodiment, a ball bearing 10 serves as the machine element. This arrangement includes a mechanism in which the tip of a pressing arm 33 is pressed against the outer ring of the ball bearing 10 by the action of a pressure piston 39. The force with which the piston 39 operates is increased or decreased so as to increase or decrease the thrusting load. Thus, the mechanism is capable of adjusting the load acting between the rolling members and the outer or inner ring of the ball bearing 10. The pressure piston 39 which is used to actuate the pressing arm 33 may be substituted by a motor, a means to generate electromagnetic force or the like. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 15, a vacuum deposition source 11 is heated by a controller 15 which operates with a signal from a sensor means 13. Thereafter, during deposition, the load added by the piston 39 is maintained at a small value. After the completion of the deposition or in a late stage of the deposition, the load added by the pressure piston 39 is increased, and the mechanism works in normal operation. If the piston 39 is controlled in the above-described manner, it is possible to effect the surface pressure control illustrated in Fig. 14. This manner of control may be applied to any of the tribo-coating units already described with reference to Figs. 5 to 13. In this case, it is possible to obtain improved effect of the lubricant used, and to further increase the life of the machine element. The apparatuses shown in Figs. 16 to 23 employ a tribo-coating unit which includes in principle a laser gun 22 for evaporating a solid lubricant. Fig. 16 shows an embodiment in which the machine element is a ball bearing 10, and the tribo-coating unit includes vacuum deposition sources 21 formed of a solid lubricant. Laser beams 24 generated by said laser gun 22 and focused by laser optics 23 are used as a means for evaporating the solid lubricant forming the source 21. If the solid lubricant 21 is circumferentially embedded in the outer or inner ring of the bearing 10 which rotates, the solid lubricant 21 can be evaporated evenly in the circumferential direction without requiring the laser beams 24 to be driven. A vibration detector 25, a temperature sensor 26 and a torque detector 27 are mounted at suitable positions to serve as sensors for monitoring the operating state of the machine element. If the sensor means thus comprises sensors of three different types, it is possible to positively obtain information on the operating state of the machine element, thereby enabling appropriate supply of lubricant. The embodiment shown in Fig. 17 is a modification of the apparatus for supplying lubricant to the ball bearing 10 shown in Fig. 16 by providing sealing plates 51 (only one of which is shown) on either side of the bearing 10 so as to prevent leakage of lubricant from the solid lubricant 21 evaporated by laser beams 24. Each sealing plate 51 is formed of a bore 52 through which the laser beam 24 passes to be projected onto the solid lubricant 21. With the above-described arrangement, lubricant from the solid lubricant 21 can be efficiently deposited while being prevented from leaking to the outside of the ball bearing 10. In addition, the provision of the sealing plates 51 prevents lubricant from contaminating those machine portions neighboring the bearing 10. Fig. 18 shows another modification of the embodiment shown in Fig. 16 in which a controller 14 is combined with a remote controller 8. This embodiment enables the laser beams to be controlled from a distant place in order to effect the supply of lubricant from the solid lubricant 21 in accordance with necessity. Figs. 19 and 20 show embodiments which are similar to those shown in Figs. 16 to 18 in that the machine element is a ball bearing and that laser beams serve as a solid lubricant evaporating means. However, those embodiments are distinguished in that solid lubricants 21a and 21b of a plurality of different types are embedded in circumferential edge portions of the outer or inner ring of a ball bearing. If, for instance, Ag is used to form the solid lubricant 21a while Au is used to form the other solid lubricant 21b, as the ball bearing rotates, Ag and Au are evenly evaporated by laser beams 24, thereby enabling an alloy lubricant to be deposited. In this embodiment, if a sealing plate is provided on either side of the bearing, lubricant can be efficiently deposited without the risk of contaminating the neighboring portions of the machine. Figs. 21 and 22 show embodiments which are similar to those shown in Figs. 16 to 18, but which are distinguished in that a solid lubricant 21 is not embedded in the outer or the inner ring 18 or 19 of the ball bearing serving as the machine component. Instead, the solid lubricant 21 is embedded in portions in the vicinity of the bearing. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 21, a solid lubricant 21a is embedded in a portion of the associated rotary shaft 9. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 22, a solid lubricant 21a is embedded in an inner peripheral surface of a sleeve 20 of the rotary outer ring. In these embodiments, the solid lubricant 21 is evaporated by a laser beam 24 in accordance with necessity. If sealing plates are provided on either side of the bearing, lubricant can be efficiently supplied from the solid lubricant 21 to the driving portion without the risk of lubricant leaking to the outside of the sealing plates. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 23 a solid lubricant 21 is fixed to the edge portions of an axial slit formed in the sleeve 36 of a sliding bearing. The solid lubricant 21 is heated and evaporated by a laser beam 24. The provision of a shielding plate 53 makes it possible for lubricant to be effectively deposited on the surface of the rotary shaft 9 while being prevented from leaking to the outside of the sliding bearing. The embodiment shown in Fig. 24 is distinguished from those shown in Figs. 5 to 23 in that an ion gun 17 is used as a tribo-coating means. In the example illustrated, the machine element to be lubricated is a ball-and-roller bearing 10. If injected ions such as nitrogen ions are combined with one or more lubricants such as Ag, Au, Ti and/or Pb, it is possible to effect the coating of a firm lubricant film.

Claims: An apparatus for supplying lubricant, comprising a supply means for supplying a lubricant to an element (10, 36, 36a, 41a, 41b, 46, 47, 49, 50, 54) of a machine and a sensor means (13, 25) for monitoring the state of said element of the machine, characterized in that said supply means (2) comprises a vacuum deposition source (11, 37, 21) formed of a solid lubricant, a heating means (12, 38, 22) is provided for heating said vacuum deposition source, and a controller (15) is provided for controlling an electrical power source (14) supplying said heating means (12, 38, 22) on the basis of an output of said sensor (13, 25). Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said heating means (12, 38, 22) of the vacuum deposition source is any of a laser beam, an electron beam and an electric heater. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said controller (4) controls said heating means (12, 38, 22) by remote control. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said controller (4) inputs an output of said sensor means (5) by remote control. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said element of the machine is a ball bearing (10), said ball bearing (10) having at least part of any of an inner and outer race which is formed by a solid lubricant (21). Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that an ion or laser gun (22) is provided for supplying heating gas generated from said vacuum deposition source to said element (1) of the machine. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said sensor means (5) is a temperature sensor (26) and/or a vibration sensor (25) and/or a torque sensor (27).

Inventors: INOUE, HIROSHI, KATO, KOJI, MIZUMOTO, MUNEO, TSUMAKI, NOBUO
Applicants: HITACHI, LTD., KATO, KOJI
Application year: 1989
Main classification: F16N29
IPC codes: F16N17, F16C33, F16N29, F16N25