Ntn Corporation

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Shinji Oishi

Akio Kato

Katsufumi Abe

Yugo Yoshimura

Noriaki Fujii

Keiko Yoshida

Kousuke Obayashi

Akihiko Katayama

Tetsuya Hayashi

Tomoya Fujimoto

Kiminori Komura

Hiroki Tsuchiyama

Tsutomu Nakagawa

Kazuto Abe

Tomoaki Kawamura

Yoshiyasu Nakano

Goro Nakao

Seiji Kanbara

Naoto Shibutani

Toshiaki Ensou

Masashi Nishimura

Takashi Tsujimoto

Rino Fukami

Yasuyuki Watanabe

Takahiro Yamashita

Makoto Nishikawa

Masatoshi Niina

Haruki Yamada

Makoto Okasaka

A positioning protrusionis provided in a center of an outer diameter surface of a halved outer ringin both circumferential and axial directions. The positioning protrusionis configured to engage with a housing, which is placed on an outer diameter side of the halved outer ring, to position the halved outer ringwith respect to the housing. A protruding portionand a recessed portionare provided in each abutting portionswhere a pair of the halved outer ringsabut on each other when fitted on a rotary shaft that is supported by a roller bearing. The protruding portionand the recessed portionare configured to mesh with each other to restrict axial movement of both halved outer rings. The protruding portionand the recessed portionare point-symmetric with respect to a centerof the positioning protrusion

Halved outer ring, roller bearing, and rotary support structure

A cam follower is constituted by an outer ring which has an outer track surface in its inner circumference; a stud which has an inner track surface opposed to the outer track surface, a flange portion abutting on one side of the inner track surface, a side plate fitting portion and a mounting shaft portion abutting on another side of the inner track surface in this order, and a fiber flow formed continuously from the flange portion to the inner track surface along their outer circumferences; rolling elements which are arranged between the outer track surface and inner track surface; and an inner side plate which is pressed into the side plate fitting portion to work with the flange portion for limiting axial movement of the outer ring and the rolling elements.

Cam follower and method for producing cam follower

A chain guide includes a plurality of roller shafts provided on one side of a timing chain for torque transmission and spaced from each other in the longitudinal direction of a guide base facing the timing chain. The respective roller shafts rotatably support chain guiding rollers in the form of needle roller bearings. The rollers are cylindrical members having the same diameter over the entire axial direction such that the rollers are movable in the axial direction relative to the timing chain. The rollers are supported so as to be movable in the axial direction. When the rollers and the timing chain move relative to each other in the axial direction and the rollers move relative to the roller shafts in the axial direction, contact portions between the rollers and the roller shafts are displaced in the axial direction, so that radial loads are not locally applied.

Chain guide and chain transmission device

A chain guide is provided which reduces moving resistance of a camshaft-driving, torque-transmitting timing chain. The chain guide includes a guide base provided on one side of the timing chain to face the timing chain and having an opposed pair of side plates. The side plates support respective ends of roller shafts each rotatably supporting a chain-guiding needle roller bearing. Each needle roller bearing includes a retainer guided by needle roller elements.

Chain tensioner and chain transmission device

An object of the present invention is to provide a chain guide superior in silence, which includes: a guide base extending in a traveling direction of a chain; a plurality of roller shafts attached to the guide base at an interval along the traveling direction of the chain; and rollers each rotatably supported by one of the roller shafts. The roller has a cylindrical outer circumferential surface for guiding the chain. The outer circumferential surface of the roller has a cylindricity not greater than 20 &#x3bc;m.

Chain guide and chain drive apparatus

A chain guide includes a guide base () disposed to face one side of a timing chain () that transmits torque, the chain guide having an opposed pair of side plates () each formed with a plurality of shaft engaging portions () arranged along a circular arc. Roller shafts () have their ends supported by the respective shaft engaging portions (). Rollers () for guiding the chain are rotatably supported by the respective roller shafts (). Noncylidrical surface engaging portions are formed on the ends of the roller shafts () and on closed ends of the shaft engaging portions () to rotationally fix the roller shafts (), thereby preventing the roller shafts () from rotating under drag torque applied from the rollers ().

A chain guide includes roller element bearings adapted to guide, while rolling, a timing chain through which torque is transmitted. The chain guide further includes a guide base arranged along one side of the timing chain and having an opposed pair of side plates. Each side plate is formed with plural shaft engaging portions arranged so as to lie on a circular arc. The chain guide further includes roller shafts having their ends supported by the respective shaft engaging portions, and rotatably supporting the roller element bearings. An oil guide hole is formed in a wall surface of each shaft engaging portion facing the end surface of the roller shaft so as to extend through the side plate to its outer side surface.

A rolling bearing comprises rollers and a retainer which holds the rollers. On an inner diameter surface of each of annular regions in the retainer, a cutout is formed from an axially outer side end surface of the retainer toward an inner side of the retainer. Each cutout has an outer diametrical position on a more radially outer position than an outer diametrical end of an inner-side projection of the retainer.

Rolling bearing

A timing chain is looped over a driving sprocket attached to a crankshaft and driven sprockets attached to camshafts. A pivotable chain guide having a plurality of rotatable rollers for guiding movements of a timing chain is provided on one side of a slack side of the timing chain. Adjustment force of a chain tensioner is applied to a remote end of the pivotable chain guide remote from a center of pivoting movement of the pivotable chain guide, thereby pressing the plurality of rotatable rollers against the timing chain. The ratio (D/D) between a pitch circle diameter Dof the driving sprocket and an outer diameter Dof the plurality of rotatable rollers is determined within a range of 5/3 to 5/1.

Chain transmission device for driving camshaft

A chain guide having excellent durability is provided. The chain guide includes a guide base arranged along a portion of an outer periphery of a chain for transmitting torque and elongated in the direction in which the chain travels; a plurality of roller shafts attached to the guide base so as to be spaced apart from each other along the direction in which the chain travels; and rollers rotatably supported by the respective roller shafts. The distance between the centers of each adjacent pair of the rollers is set to be shorter in the area where a larger load is applied to the rollers.

A rolling contact bearing assembly includes a cage including two or more arcuate members each having a plurality of pockets defined therein for accommodating a corresponding number of rollers arranged consecutively in a circumferential direction to form a ring shaped assembly. The arcuate members are connected together by a retention ring, having an elasticity, over a circumference of the cage. The arcuate members are displaced radially outwardly against an elastic compressive force of the retention ring such that circumferential gaps are formed at joints between the neighboring arcuate members. The arcuate members are held in a condition movable in the circumferential direction by a distance equal to the size of the circumferential gaps.

A chain guide is provided by which a chain can be guided silently. The chain guide includes: a guide base arranged along a portion of the outer periphery of a chain for transmitting torque and elongated in the direction in which the chain travels; a plurality of roller shafts spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the guide base; and a plurality of rollers for guiding the chain. The rollers are rotatably supported by the respective roller shafts. The rollers guide the chain by rolling. An arrangement interval between each adjacent pair of the rollers is set such that any two of the pins by which pieces of the chain are joined together do not pass any two of the rollers at the same time.

The present invention is to suppress wear of outer diameter surfaces of chain guiding rollers () in a chain guide and extend the life. Respective shaft ends of a plurality of roller shafts () are supported by pairs of facing side plate portions () of guide bases () arranged to face each other in a one-side part of a timing chain () for transmitting torque. Each of the rollers () formed by a plurality of chain guiding roller bearings is rotatably supported by each of the plurality of roller shafts (). Rollers whose surface hardness is greater than surface hardness of the timing chain () by 4 points or more of Rockwell hardness are used as the rollers (), so as to prevent earlier wear of the outer diameter surfaces of the rollers () due to contact with the timing chain ().

Surface indentation and oil film shortage on rollers is prevented and longer service life of a roller bearing is achieved, by preventing wear debris from being caught and accumulated in pockets of a holder of the roller bearing. Positions and dimensional relations of the diameters of inner and outer ring raceways, the inner and outer diameters of the holder, and inner and outer protrusions which are provided to pillar parts of the holder to prevent the rollers from coming off are defined such that the inner and outer protrusions of the pillar parts always do not come into contact with the outer circumferential surfaces of the rollers in the state where the rollers and the holder are incorporated between inner and outer members. As a result, lubricant oil is smoothly circulated in gaps formed between the outer circumferential surfaces of the rollers and the pillar parts of the holder.

Growing community of inventors

Iwata, Japan

Shinji Oishi