Apparatus for cooling a spindle bearing of a machine

摘要

A rolling-contact type bearing (5) for rotatably supporting a spindle (1) of a machine is cooled by a temperature controlled liquid lubricant supplied to an internal cavity or passageways (10,11) provided in the spindle (1), and circulated toward the bearing so that the temperature controlled liquid lubricant comes into direct or indirect contact with the bearing (5) in the order of the inner race (6), the rolling elements (9), and the outer races (7), to thereby apply a cooling and lubricating effect to those elements. The lubricant after cooling is collected to a lubricant-temperature controller (16) to be subjected to a temperature control treatment for reuse as a coolant. An air seal is applied to a lubricant entrance of the spindle where the temperature controlled lubricant is supplied from a lubricant supply member into the spindle (1), to thereby prevent a leakage of the lubricant toward the exterior. <IMAGE>