Title

LUBRICATING DEVICE FOR SPEED REDUCER, AND SPEED REDUCER

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to lubrication of a speed reducer, and in particular relates to a lubricating device for automatically adjusting the amount of a lubricant of a speed reducer.

BACKGROUND

A speed reducer is a very important part in industrial application, particularly in vehicles. In a conventional gear reducer, due to numerous movement parts and high rotating speed of a rotating shaft, it is necessary to lubricate the movement parts, in particular at the mutually engaged gears. If the lubrication is insufficient, the gears will be worn too fast, thereby affecting the life of the entire speed reducer, even causing damage to the entire vehicle.

In a lubricating system of an existing gear reducer, a lubricant in a lubricant oil tank is often directly introduced into an oil box and then is directly introduced to a gear through the oil box. No matter how much the lubricant is in the lubricant oil tank or whether the gear reducer operates at a high speed or a low speed, the amount of the lubricant conveyed to the mutually engaged gears directly depends on the amount of the lubricant returning to the oil tank, and it is not possible to specifically adapt the lubricating conditions to different operating conditions. In particular, the amount of the lubricant is too small in the operating condition at low speed, and even sometimes, there is no lubricant for lubrication, which is very unfavorable for the speed reducer.

Therefore, it is necessary to improve the structure of the lubricating device in the exist- ing gear reducer, thereby providing multi-stage lubrication with different amounts of the lubricant for different operation conditions of the speed reducer.

SUMMARY

An objective of the present application is to overcome the defects of a lubricating device in an existing gear reducer, thereby providing a lubricating device for performing multi-stage lubrication on mutually engaged gears.

To achieve the above objective, the present application provides a lubricating device for a speed reducer. The lubricating device is mounted in a gearbox of the speed reducer to provide a lubricant to a reduction gear. The lubricating device comprises: a storage tank for storing a lubricant, the bottom of the storage tank being provided with a through hole; a lubricant box associated with the storage tank at the bottom of the storage tank and in fluid communication with the storage tank by means of the through hole, the lubricant box having a distribution port for conveying the lubricant to the reduction gear; and an adjusting device arranged between the storage tank and the lubricant box, the adjusting device being configured to automatically adjust the amount of the lubricant supplied to the distribution port according to the amount of the lubricant present in the storage tank for adapting to different states of the speed reducer.

Optionally, the adjusting device comprises a valve block movable in the through hole at the bottom of the storage tank, and a spring for associating the valve block with the lubricant box, a gap between the valve block and the through hole being adjusted by the action of the spring and the amount of the lubricant in the storage tank, so that the flow rate of the lubricant from the storage tank to the lubricant box is adjusted.

Optionally, the lubricant box is fixed to the bottom of the storage tank around the through hole.

Alternatively, the lubricant box is a separate part that is separated from the storage tank.

Optionally, the valve block comprises a large-diameter section, a small-diameter section, and a transition section located between the large-diameter section and the small- diameter section.

Optionally, the valve block comprises a fixing column that extends from the large- diameter section in a direction opposite to the small-diameter section and is configured to fix one end of the spring.

Optionally, the lubricant box comprises a protruding column that extends from a bottom wall of the lubricant box towards the interior of the lubricant box and is configured to fix the other end of the spring.

Optionally, the lubricant box comprises one or more orifices configured to directly introduce the lubricant into a part to be lubricated in the speed reducer.

Optionally, the orifice is arranged at a bottom corner of the lubricant box.

The present application further relates to a speed reducer comprising the lubricating device as described above.

The present application adopts the lubricating device with the above structure, so that the amount of the lubricant supplied to the gear parts can be automatically adjusted with the change of the amount of the lubricant in the lubricant storage tank and the change of the operating condition of the speed reducer, thus achieving optimal lubricant supply.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other aspects of the present application will be more fully understood from the following detailed description and with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the proportions of the drawings may be different for clear illustration, but this does not affect understanding of the present application. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a lubricating device for a speed reducer according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 2 is a variation of a lubricant box of a lubricating device according to the present application; and

FIG. 3 is another variation of a lubricant box of a lubricating device according to the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the drawings of the present application, features with the same structure or the similar functions are denoted by the same reference numerals. The drawings are not strictly drawn to scale, but are exaggerated for the sake of clarity.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a lubricating device for a speed reducer according to an embodiment of the present application. The lubricating device includes a storage tank 1 for accommodating a lubricant. The storage tank 1 may be a cuboid with a closed bottom, which has a bottom wall 11 , and four side walls extending from the bottom wall 11 , with only two side walls 12 and 14 shown in FIG. 1 . A lubricant 15 stored in the storage tank 1 may be a newly filled lubricant, or a lubricant recovered from various lubricating points of the speed reducer, or a mixture thereof. The storage tank 1 is provided with a through hole 13 in the bottom wall 11 , and as shown in FIG. 1 , the through hole 13 is centrally arranged in the bottom wall 11 , or the through hole 13 may be arranged at other positions of the bottom wall 11 according to specific requirements.

Optionally, the storage tank 1 may be cylindrical, which has a round bottom wall 11 , and a cylindrical side wall extending vertically from the bottom wall 11 , the through hole being centrally located in the bottom wall 11 .

In the embodiment according to the present application, the lubricating device further has a lubricant box 2 attached to the bottom wall 11 of the storage tank 1 . The attachment may be implemented by means such as welding, screw fastening connection and the like. The lubricant box 2 may be set as a cylinder with a closed bottom or a cuboid with a closed bottom according to the shape and size of the storage tank 1 and the installation space of the lubricating device. As an example, FIG. 1 shows the lubricant box 2 that is shaped like a cuboid. The lubricant box 2 has a bottom wall 23, and four side walls extending from the bottom wall 23. Only two side walls 21 and 22 are shown in the figure.

The lubricant box 2 is attached to the bottom wall 11 around the through hole 13, so that the space of the lubricant box 2 can communicate with the storage tank 1 by means of the through hole 13, and thus the lubricant stored in the storage tank 1 can flow into the lubricant box 2 through the through hole 13.

The lubricating device according to this embodiment further includes an adjusting device 3 for controlling and adjusting the flow rate of the lubricant. As shown in FIG. 1 , the adjusting device 3 includes a valve block 35 capable of moving up and down in the through hole 13 in a vertical direction, and a spring 4 for controlling the valve block 35 to move up and down. The valve block 35 includes a cylindrical large-diameter section 32, a cylindrical small-diameter section 34, and a transition section 33 located between the large-diameter section 32 and the small-diameter section 34, such that an outer surface of the transition section 33 is an oblique surface of which a diameter is gradually increased in a direction from the storage tank 1 to the lubricant box 2. A cylindrical fixing column 31 extends from an end face of the large-diameter section 32 of the valve block 35 in a direction opposite to the small-diameter section 34, and the fixing column 31 is configured to retain one end of the spring 4.

A cylindrical protruding column 24 extending from the bottom wall 23 towards the interior of the lubricant box 2 is arranged at a position on the bottom wall 23 of the lubricant box 2 that is aligned with the through hole 13. The protruding column 24 is configured to retain the other end of the spring 4. The fixing column 31 and the protruding column 24 may have the same diameter, and the diameter is set according to the type and size of the spring to be used.

Correspondingly, the fixing column 31 and the protruding column 24 are respectively provided with fixing pieces for retaining respective ends of the spring 4, for example, a clamping groove or a clamping hole and other fixing devices known in the art.

The diameter of the large-diameter section 32 of the valve block 35 is less than the diameter of the through hole 13, so that when the large-diameter section 32 is located in the through hole 13, a gap 5 is formed between an inner wall of the through hole 13 and the large-diameter section 32 and is used for the lubricant to pass through and flow into the lubricant box 2 from the storage tank 1.

Orifices 27 and 28 for introducing a lubricant into a part to be lubricated in the speed reducer are formed in the side walls 21 , 22 of the lubricant box 2 close to the height of the bottom wall 23.

Although FIG. 1 shows two orifices 27 and 28 that are formed in the lubricant box 2, one orifice or more than two orifices may be provided as desired.

The position and shape of the orifices 27 and 28 may also be modified according to the specific requirements of the part to be lubricated in the speed reducer, and for example, the orifices are arranged at four bottom corners of the lubricant box 2.

The lubricant may be a lubricating oil or other liquid mediums that can be used for lubrication.

The operating process of the lubricating device according to the present application is described below.

The amount of the lubricant that returns to the storage tank 1 may be automatically set according to different operating conditions of the speed reducer, namely, at different operating speeds of the speed reducer. Generally, the amount of the lubricant that returns to the storage tank 1 at a low rotating speed is small, and the amount of the lubricant that returns to the storage tank 1 at a high rotating speed is large. The returned amount of the lubricant may also be set by means of a lubricant pump arranged in the speed reducer. However, in any case, a certain amount of the lubricant will be present in the storage tank 1 . For example, the amount of the lubricant in the storage tank 1 is relatively small during operation at a low speed. By selection of the spring 4, the large- diameter section 32 is completely in the through hole 13 under the thrust of the spring 4. At this time, the gap 5 present between the large-diameter section 32 and the through hole 13 will allow a small amount of the lubricant to flow into the lubricant box 2 and flow into the part to be lubricated through the orifices 27 and 28. In a case that the amount of the lubricant in the storage box 2 is increased with the increase of the speed of the speed reducer, the weight of the increased lubricant will cause the valve block 35 to move downwards against the elastic force of the spring 4. When the valve block moves to make the transition section 33 start to enter the through hole 13, the gap 5 will begin to increase and further increase with the further downward movement of the transition section 33, until the small-diameter section 34 moves to the through hole 13. At this time, the gap 5 between the valve block 35 and the through hole 13 is increased to another larger constant value, so that a larger amount of the lubricant can flow into the lubricant box 2, and thus a larger amount of the lubricant will arrive at the gear to be lubricated, thereby meeting he requirement of high-speed operation.

The elastic force of the spring 4 may be preset and selected according to the amount of the lubricant to be adjusted.

In the above embodiment, the case where the lubricant box 2 and the storage tank 1 are fixed together, for example, through known means such as welding, threaded connection and the like is described; however, according to the mounting requirements of different speed reducers, the lubricant box 2 does not have to be fixedly connected to the storage tank 1 , which can vary. According to a variation embodiment of the present application, the lubricant box 2 may also be provided as a part separated from the storage tank 1. Only when the storage tank 1 and the lubricant box 2 are mounted, the protruding column 24 of the lubricant box 2, the valve block 35 and the spring 4 are associated with the through hole 13 in the storage tank 1 , so that the lubricant in the storage tank 1 can fall into the lubricant box 2.

FIG. 2 shows a variation of a lubricant box 2 of a lubricating device according to the present application. The lubricant box is provided with a protruding column 24 protruding from the bottom wall 23, and also an orifice 27 located among the bottom wall 23, the side wall 22 and the rear wall. No orifice is formed in the side wall 21. In this variation, mounting holes 25 and 26 for singly mounting the lubricant box 2 are formed in the side wall 22. During mounting, after the spring 4 is sleeved on the protruding column 24 and is sleeved on the valve block 35, the mounting holes 25 and 26 of the lubricant box 2 are fit to respective mounting positions in a state that the valve block 35 is aligned with the position of the through hole 13, so that the valve block 35, the spring 4, the protruding column 24 and the through hole 13 are aligned with one another. Under the action of the valve block 35 and the spring 4, different amounts of the lubricant can enter the lubricant box 2 from the storage tank 1. The position and number of the mounting holes 25 and 26 may be adjusted according to actual requirements.

FIG. 3 shows another variation of a lubricant box 2 similar to that in FIG. 2, except that two orifices 27 and 28 are provided, that are respectively located at corner positions where the side walls 21 , 22 intersect with the bottom wall 23 and the rear wall.

Although specific embodiments of the present application are described in detail herein, these specific embodiments are given only for explanation and should not be considered as limiting the scope of the present application. Various substitutions, alterations, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application.