US3789478A

US3789478A - Needle bearing assembling machine

Info

Publication number: US3789478A
Application number: US00314513A
Authority: US
Inventors: D Stenger
Original assignee: Hill Rockford Co
Current assignee: Hill Rockford Co
Priority date: 1972-12-13
Filing date: 1972-12-13
Publication date: 1974-02-05
Anticipated expiration: 1991-02-05

Abstract

The needles or rollers are dropped by gravity through a socalled cascade into an annular space around a cylindrical centering pin and in front of a sleeve which is reciprocable with the centering pin to shift a collected set of needles into the ultimate bearing disposed in coaxial relationship to the pin and sleeve. The cascade has a narrow, zig-zag passageway extending vertically therethrough that is only slightly wider than the needles, and ledges are defined on opposite sides of this passageway in zig-zag relationship to one another the full length thereof, which by abutment with the needles insure their arrival at the discharge end always parallel to the centering pin. The ledges are all rounded, being defined by needles set in threequarter round recesses defined in zig-zag relationship to one another the full length of the cascade, thus reducing wear on the ledges while also enabling replacement of these few needles from time to time as the exposed portions thereof defining the abutments commence to show wear, so as to restore the cascade to new condition at a very low cost utilizing the same needles as are used in the needle bearings as replacements and insure continued good operation. Removable cover plates on the front and back of the cascade expose the ends of these needles so that removal and replacement of the worn needles presents no problem.

Description

United States Patent [191 Stenger [451 Feb. 5, 1974 NEEDLE BEARING ASSEMBLING MACHINE [75] Inventor: Donald R. Stenger, Rockford, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Hill-Rockford C0,, Rockford, Ill.

[22] Filed: Dec. 13, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 314,513

[52] US. Cl. 29/201 [51] Int. Cl 823p 19/04 [58] Field of Search 29/201, 201 D, 148.4 A, 200 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,844,865 7/1958 Cook et a]. 29/201 2,946.117 7/1960 Horrath 29/201 Primary Examiner-Thomas H. Eager [57] ABSTRACT The needles or rollers are dropped by gravity through a so-called cascade into an annular space around a cylindrical centering pin and in front of a sleeve which is reciprocable with the centering pin to shift a collected set of needles into the ultimate bearing disposed in coaxial relationship to the pin and sleeve. The cascade has a narrow, zig-zag passageway extending vertically therethrough that is only slightly wider than the needles, and ledges are defined on opposite sides of this passageway in zig-zag relationship to one another the full length thereof, which by abutment with the needles insure their arrival at the discharge end always parallel to the centering pin. The ledges are all rounded, being defined by needles set in three-quarter round recesses defined in zig-zag relationship to one another the full length of the cascade, thus reducing wear on the ledges while also enabling replacement of these few needles from time to time as the exposed portions thereof defining the abutments commence to show wear, so as to restore the cascade to new condition at a very low cost utilizing the same needles as are used in the needle bearings as replacements and insure continued good operation. Removable cover plates on the front and back of the cascade expose the ends of these needles so that removal and replacement of the worn needles presents no problem.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Patented Feb. 5, 1974 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Feb. 5, 1974 3,789,478

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 NEEDLE BEARING ASSEMBLING MACHINE This invention relates to needle bearing assembling machines and is more particularly concerned with an improved so-called cascade, wherein the needles move downwardly by gravity in a zig-zag path as they strike one after another of a series of needles that are set in recesses provided on opposite sides of the passageway, the gravity flow of the needles being aided by vibration of the cascade as by means of a solenoid attached to the cascade.

A salient feature of this cascade is the use of hardened needles to define the zig-zag abutments in the first instance and replace these with others of the same needles in the cascade to reduce wear to a minimum, these needles being so mounted that they may be easily removed from the recesses in which they are inserted, enabling replacement of these needles from time to time as they give evidence of wear, whereby to keep the cascade operating at peak efficiency at all times and insure maximum efficiency in the assembling of needle bearings.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a general view, partly in from elevation and partly in section, of a needle bearing assembling machine incorporating the novel cascade of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a view at right angles of the upper portion of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional detail on the line 3--3 of FIG, 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective exploded view of the upper end portion of the cascade serving to give a better idea of its construction, especially when viewed in connection with FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

The needles or rollers to be assembled in bearings are designated by the numeral 6, whereas, the needles or rollers used to define zig-zag abutments in the cascade indicated generally by the reference numeral 7, are designated by the reference numeral 8, so as to avoid confusion, although some of the same needles 6 are used when set in the three-quarter round recesses 9 defined on opposite sides of the vertical passageway 10 in the cascade to define the zig-zag arrangement of abutments shown in FIG. 3, 4, and 5. When cascades or staircases, as they are sometimes called, were made the old way, namely, by machining regularly spaced ledges in opposite sides of the vertical passageway to provide for zig-zag downward travel of the needles to the assembling chamber 11 (FIG. 1), the cascade soon wore out at the ledges and failed to function as intended and therefore the cascade had to be replaced at fairly frequent intervals where needle bearing assembling was carried on steadily from day to day, whereas with my improved construction, using some of the same heat-treated hardened needles 6 for the abutments at 8 on opposite sides of the vertical passageway 10, set in the recesses 9 provided in zig-zag relationship the full length of the passageway 10 in cascade, wear on the abutments defined by the needles 8 is reduced to a minimum. When there is, nevertheless, sufficient evidence of wear on the abutments to require it, it is an easy matter to remove the worn needles 8 by endwise movement in the recesses 9 and replace them with new ones, thus restoring the cascade to as good as new condition at very little cost in relation to what a new cascade would cost.

Plates

12 and 13 closing the front and back of the passageway 10 are secured in place by screws 14 and bolts 15, respectively. When these plates are removed, the ends of needles 8 are exposed so it is an easy matter to remove these worn needles by endwise movement and insert new ones.

In operation, needles 6 for the bearings 16 are fed from a vibratory feeder bowl, rotary hopper or similar needle feeding device (not shown) endwise through a tube (not shown) into the cascade 7 through a horizontal passage 17 onto a horizontal ledge 18 adjoining the upper end of passageway 10, from which they are pushed by a solenoid reciprocated plunger or similar reciprocation inducing device 19 to start their downward travel to the bearing assembling chamber 11 through the vertical passageway 10 in the cascade 7. The reciprocation inducing device for reciprocation of the plunger 19 is indicated at 20. The zig-zag move ment of the rollers 6 downwardly through the passageway 10 is indicated by the zig-zag arrow 21 in FIG. 5 and as was stated previously, the cascade 7 is subjected to vibration by suitable means (not shown) throughout the operation of the assembling machine. A horizontal slot 22 in the cascade 7 registering with the lower end of the passageway 10 opens into the bearing assembling chamber 11. A centering pin or mandrel 23 is disposed horizontally in the chamber 11 in centered relationship to and is reciprocable, as indicated by the arrow 24, with the sleeve 25 closing the rear end of the chamber 11. The pin or mandrel 23 is also oscillated, as indicated by arrow 26 to facilitate the assembling of a complete set of needles 6 around the mandrel 23 before the mandrel and sleeve 25 are moved forwardly with the housing 27 relative to the cascade 7 to transfer the circular group of needles into the bearing 16 where they come in contact immediately with some lubricant spread around the inside of the bearing to keep them in their proper relationship until the next assembling operation is performed on that bearing. Sometimes, by twisting the group of needles from one end, the needles can be locked against radial displacement after they are transferred to the bearing, but usually the adhesion on the lubricant is enough to isure their maintaining their position. A stop-screw 28 limits the forward travel of the housing 27. A resilient O-ring 29 seated in an annular groove 30 in the forward end portion of the mandrel 23 serves as a stop against which the forward end of the needles 6 engage to limit endwise displacement prior to the transfer of the set into the bore of the bearing 16, the needles 6 being thereafter spread radially by contact with the O-ring 29 in the return movement of the mandrel 23 to insure a better hold on the lubricant in the bearing and also insure disposition of the needles 6 all at the same radius in the bearing.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, this is only for the purpose of illustration, and it is to be understood that various modifications in structure will occur to a person skilled in. this art.

I claim:

1. in a needle bearing cascade comprising an upright generally rectangular frame enclosing a substantially vertical passageway down which cylindrical bearing needles to be assembled in a bearing are fed'by gravity while disposed substantially horizontallyfineans defining a zig-zag array of vertically spaced parallel horizontal rounded projections on opposite sides of said passageway, each of said rounded projections being arcuate in form vertically, of approximately thesame radius as the bearing needles and projecting an amount equal to a fraction of the diameter of the bearing needles.

2. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 1 in which each of said rounded projections is defined by a bearing needle adapted to be replaced by any of the needles which the cascade is designed to feed, the same having substantially the same hardness as the bearing needles used in the bearings.

3. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 1 in which each of siad rounded projections is defined by a bearing needle having substantially the same hardness as the bearing needles used in the bearings, each bearing needle used to define a rounded projection being entered endwise in and substantially filling an approximately three-quarter round recess provided therefore in the frame opening into the side of the vertical passageway.

4. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 3 in which the bearing needles used to define the rounded projections are removable endwise from said threequarter round recesses, and the cascade includes means normally holding said bearing needles in place.

5. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 3 in which the bearing needles used to'define the rounded projections are removable endwise from said threequarter recesses, and the cascade includes an elongated plate covering one end of the last named bearing needles and detachably secured to the frame.

6. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 3 in which the bearing needles used to define the rounded projections are removable endwise from said threequarter round recesses, and the cascade includes elongated plates covering the ends of the last named hearing needles and detachably secured to the frame.

7. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 1 in which each of the rounded projections is defined by a cylindrical pin removably and replaceably set endwise in a recess provided therefore in the frame opening into the side of the vertical passageway.

8. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 1 in which each of the rounded projections is defined by a cylindrical pin removably and replaceably set endwise v in a recess provided therefore in the frame opening into the side of the vertical passageway, all of said pins being suitably hardened to reduce wear and accordingly avoid necessity for too frequent replacement.

9. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 7 including means defining stops at the ends of the recesses to retain the pins against endwise displacement.

10. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 7 including plates closing the ends of the recesses to retain the pins against endwise displacement.

Claims

1. In a needle bearing cascade comprising an upright generally rectangular frame enclosing a substantially vertical passageway down which cylindrical bearing needles to be assembled in a bearing are fed by gravity while disposed substantially horizontally, means defining a zig-zag array of vertically spaced parallel horizontal rounded projections on opposite sides of said passageway, each of said rounded projections being arcuate in form vertically, of approximately the same radius as the bearing needles and projecting an amount equal to a fraction of the diameter of the bearing needles.

4. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 3 in which the bearing needles used to define the rounded projections are removable endwise from said three-quarter round recesses, and the cascade includes means normally holding said bearing needles in place.

5. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 3 in which the bearing needles used to define the rounded projections are removable endwise from said three-quarter recesses, and the cascade includes an elongated plate covering one end of the last named bearing needles and detachably secured to the frame.

6. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 3 in which the bearing needles used to define the rounded projections are removable endwise from said three-quarter round recesses, and the cascade includes elongated plates covering the ends of the last named bearing needles and detachably secured to the frame.

8. A needle bearing cascade as set forth in claim 1 in which each of the rounded projections is defined by a cylindrical pin removably and replaceably set endwise in a recess provided therefore in the frame opening into the side of the vertical passageway, all of said pins being suitably hardened to reduce wear and accordingly avoid necessity for too frequent replacement.