Lubrication method for gear device

A lubrication method for a gear device, the method comprising:

• accommodating a solid lubricant powder in a powder-accommodating bag provided with powder discharge holes;
• disposing the powder-accommodating bag in a device-interior space where sites to be lubricated are positioned;
• discharging the solid lubricant powder that is accommodated in the powder-accommodating bag, into the device-interior space, via the powder discharge holes, by using vibration or force that acts on the powder-accommodating bag or on the solid lubricant powder in association with driving of the gear device;
• and
• lubricating the sites to be lubricated by the solid lubricant powder that has been discharged into the device-interior space and reached the sites to be lubricated,
• wherein
• the interior of the powder-accommodating bag is partitioned into a plurality of accommodation sections so that the solid lubricant powder will not be unevenly distributed therein, and
• the powder discharge holes are formed at sites corresponding to each of the accommodation sections so that the solid lubricant powder will be discharged into the device-interior space from each of the accommodation sections.

A lubrication method for a gear device, the method comprising:

• accommodating a solid lubricant powder in a powder-accommodating bag provided with powder discharge holes;
• disposing the powder-accommodating bag in a device-interior space where sites to be lubricated are positioned;
• discharging the solid lubricant powder that is accommodated in the powder-accommodating bag, into the device-interior space, via the powder discharge holes, by using vibration or force that acts on the powder-accommodating bag or on the solid lubricant powder in association with driving of the gear device;
• and
• lubricating the sites to be lubricated by the solid lubricant powder that has been discharged into the device-interior space and reached the sites to be lubricated,
• wherein:
• the gear device is a strain wave gearing provided with a rigid internally toothed gear, a flexible externally toothed gear, and a wave generator;
• the wave generator is disposed inside the externally toothed gear, the wave generator causing the externally toothed gear to flex in a radial direction to mesh with the internally toothed gear, and causing the positions at which the externally toothed gear meshes with the internally toothed gear to move in a circumferential direction;
• the device-interior space is an inner-side space in the externally toothed gear where the wave generator is disposed, or is a space portion that communicates with the inner-side space;
• and
• the powder-accommodating bag is disposed along a site on the externally toothed gear that is repeatedly flexed by the wave generator, the aforementioned site imparting vibration or deformation to the powder-accommodating bag.

A gear drive comprising:

• a powder-accommodating bag that is disposed in a device-interior space where sites to be lubricated are positioned;
• powder discharge holes that are formed in the powder-accommodating bag;
• a solid lubricant powder that is accommodated in the powder-accommodating bag;
• and
• a bag-securing member that is attached to a constituent component of the gear device, the constituent component being provided with an inner-side surface facing the device-interior space,
• the powder-accommodating bag being held between the inner-side surface and the bag-securing member, and
• the solid lubricant powder being sized so as to be capable of being discharged into the device-interior space through the powder discharge holes.

A gear drive comprising:

• a powder-accommodating bag that is disposed in a device-interior space where sites to be lubricated are positioned;
• powder discharge holes that are formed in the powder-accommodating bag;
• a solid lubricant powder that is accommodated in the powder-accommodating bag;
• and
• a powder-agitating/guiding member that is disposed in the device-interior space,
• wherein
• the solid lubricant powder being sized so as to be capable of being discharged into the device-interior space through the powder discharge holes, and
• the solid lubricant powder discharged into the device-interior space is agitated by the powder-agitating/guiding member and guided by the powder-agitating/guiding member to the sites to be lubricated.

A gear drive comprising:

• a powder-accommodating bag that is disposed in a device-interior space where sites to be lubricated are positioned;
• powder discharge holes that are formed in the powder-accommodating bag;
• a solid lubricant powder that is accommodated in the powder-accommodating bag,
• the solid lubricant powder being sized so as to be capable of being discharged into the device-interior space through the powder discharge holes,
• wherein
• the interior of the powder-accommodating bag is partitioned into a plurality of accommodation sections, and
• the powder discharge holes are formed in each of the accommodation sections so that the solid lubricant powder will be discharged into the device-interior space from each of the accommodation sections.

A gear drive comprising:

• a powder-accommodating bag that is disposed in a device-interior space where sites to be lubricated are positioned;
• powder discharge holes that are formed in the powder-accommodating bag;
• and
• a solid lubricant powder that is accommodated in the powder-accommodating bag,
• the solid lubricant powder being sized so as to be capable of being discharged into the device-interior space through the powder discharge holes,
• wherein the gear drive further comprises:
• a rigid internally toothed gear;
• a flexible externally toothed gear;
• and
• a wave generator that is disposed inside the externally toothed gear, the wave generator causing the externally toothed gear to flex in a radial direction to mesh with the internally toothed gear, and causing the positions at which the externally toothed gear meshes with the internally toothed gear to move in a circumferential direction, and
• wherein
• the device-interior space is an inner-side space in the externally toothed gear where the wave generator is disposed, or is a space portion that communicates with the inner-side space, and
• the powder-accommodating bag is disposed along a site on the externally toothed gear that is repeatedly flexed by the wave generator, the aforementioned site imparting vibration or deformation to the powder-accommodating bag.