CRANKSHAFT AND CONNECTING ROD CONNECTING STRUCTURE

摘要

A structure for connecting together a crankshaft (1) rotating in a crank case in an engine and a connecting rod (5) connected at its one end (6) to the crankshaft (1) via a bearing (7) and at the other end to a piston (13) moving reciprocatingly in a cylinder (12) in the engine. The bearing (7) is provided between the outer circumferential surface of a crank pin (4) forming apart of the crankshaft (1) and the inner circumferential surface of a bore formed in a larger end portion (6) of the connecting rod (5) so as to pass the crank pin (4) therethrough, and consists of a plurality of needle rollers (8) and a retainer (9) positioning and retaining the needle rollers (8) at circumferentially regular intervals, the bearing (7) being lubricated with a lubricating oil contained in the mixture gas in the engine. In order to improve the seizure life, the needle rollers (8) are formed out of a ceramic material containing silicon nitride as a main component.