Main-shaft lubrication device

• US 8,302,737 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2007
• Issued: 11/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Okuma Corporation
• Original Assignee: Okuma Corporation
• Inventors: Yanohara, Naomitsu, Norihisa, Takashi, Ando, Tomoharu
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Sang
• Assistant Examiner(s): Reese, Robert T
• Application Number:
  US11/979,782
• Publication Number:
  US 20080110700A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,825 Days
• Field of Search: 184/6, 184/7.4, 184/6.11
• US Class Current: 184/7.4
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 33/6674 related to the amount supplied, e.g. gaps to restrict flow of the liquid

Abstract

The amount of lubricant oil supplied to a bearing is optimized. A main-shaft lubrication device includes a supply device for variably supplying lubricant oil to bearings which support a main shaft, a collection device for collecting, from the bearings, the lubricant oil supplied from the supply device, a measurement device for measuring the amount of lubricant oil collected by the collection device, and a control device for controlling the amount of lubricant oil to be supplied from the supply device.

Claims

1. A main-shaft lubrication device comprising:

a plurality of bearings supporting a main shaft;

a plurality of lubricant oil supply pipes corresponding in number to the plurality of bearings, each lubricant oil supply pipe supplying lubricant oil to a corresponding one of the plurality of bearings;

a plurality of supply means corresponding in number to the plurality of bearings, each of the plurality of supply means being operatively associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of lubricant oil supply pipes for variably supplying lubricant oil to one of the plurality of bearings;

a plurality of lubricant oil collection pipes corresponding in number to the plurality of bearings, each lubricant oil collection pipe being in fluid communication with and collecting lubricant oil from a corresponding one of the plurality of bearings;

a plurality of collection means corresponding in number to the plurality of bearings, each of the collection means being in fluid communication with a corresponding one of the plurality of lubricant oil collection pipes for drawing the lubricant oil from each of the plurality of bearings into the corresponding one of the lubricant oil collection pipes at constant suction force;

a plurality of measurement means corresponding in number to the plurality of bearings, each of the measurement means being operatively associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of lubricant oil collection pipes for measuring the amount per unit time of lubricant oil collected by the collection means from the corresponding one of the plurality of bearings and providing a measurement value thereof; and

control means for calculating amounts of lubricant oil to be supplied for each bearing based on the amount per unit time of lubricant oil provided by each of the plurality of measurement means and a predetermined amount of lubricant oil supply per collected amount, and controlling each of the plurality of supply means to supply the calculated amount of lubricant oil to each of the plurality of bearings.

2. The main-shaft lubrication device according to claim 1, wherein each of the bearings includes an inner ring, an outer ring, and rolling members sandwiched between the inner ring and the outer ring, the outer ring is provided with a lubricant oil ejection hole extending in a radial direction from its inner peripheral surface to its outer peripheral surface, and the collection means collects the lubricant oil through the lubricant oil ejection hole.

3. The main-shaft lubrication device according to claim 1, further comprising a part for stopping rotation of the main shaft when the measurement value provided by the measurement means is off by more than a predetermined range.

4. The main-shaft lubrication device according to claim 1, each of the plurality of measurement means comprising at least one sensor, wherein the control means further functions to reflect information obtained from the at least one sensor in the amount of lubricant oil to be supplied from the supply means.

5. The main-shaft lubrication device according to claim 4, wherein the at least one sensor is at least one of a temperature sensor and a main-shaft rotation speed sensor.