JP2000192963A - Rolling body connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily replace a rolling body loaded on a connecting body belt by forming cutout parts for easily delivering/receiving the rolling body to/from through holes in one of holding parts arranged on the obverse/reverse of the connecting body belt. SOLUTION: Through holes 3 have an inside diameter slightly larger than a diameter of balls 1, and slight clearance is formed. Holding parts 4a for sealing the balls 1 in the through holes 3 are bored on the obverse/reverse of a connecting body belt to be arranged between the balls 1 and on the tail end of the connecting body belt so as to project in a semicircular shape from both the obverse/reverse, and in a rolling body connector, the holding parts of both surfaces are put together to form a spacer to seal the balls 1 in the through holes 3 of the connecting body belt by sandwiching the balls 1 from both sides. Cutout parts 7 released to spherical surface seats 6 are formed in the holding parts 4a formed on the surface side of the connecting body belt, and the upper edges 8 of the holding parts 4 are cut out in a circular arc shape to easily separate and load the balls 1 housed in the through holes 3 from the connecting body belt.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rolling element of a linear guide device for infinite sliding or a ball screw device, for example, in which a number of rolling elements such as balls and rollers are arranged in a line and held so as to be able to roll. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rolling element linked body used in a track and, more particularly, to an improvement for easily replacing rolling elements arranged on a linked belt.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a linear guide device that guides a movable body such as a table along a fixed portion such as a bed includes a track rail having a rolling groove of a rolling body such as a ball and a roller; A slider that has a load rolling groove facing the groove, has a no-load rolling path that circulates a rolling element from one end of the load rolling groove to the other end, and moves along the track rail; and There is known a rolling element which rolls while applying a load to a track rail, and which comprises a number of rolling elements circulating in an endless track formed by a loaded rolling groove of the slider and an unloaded rolling path. ing.

In the conventional linear guide device configured as described above, since the endless track of the slider is filled with the rolling elements, when the slider moves along the track rail,
The rolling elements adjacent to each other circulate in the endless track while colliding or rubbing each other, and there is a problem that the rolling elements are worn out early and the life of the device is shortened. When assembling the slider, it is necessary to fill the endless track with a large number of rolling elements. The slider assembly work had to be complicated.

In order to solve these problems, there has been proposed a linear guide device in which a rolling element connected body in which a number of balls are aligned and held is incorporated in the endless track (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-52217). Commercialized (LM
Guide SSR type, SHS type, etc./manufactured by TEK Corporation). As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the rolling element connected body 100 includes a large number of balls 101 and these balls 101.
Are arranged in a line at a predetermined interval, and the connecting belt 102 made of synthetic resin holding the balls rotatably.
Since the connecting member belt 102 has flexibility, the connecting member belt 102 circulates along the ball 101 in the endless track of the linear guide device while flexing and extending freely. In addition, the ball 1 is
01 is formed,
A holding portion 10 for surrounding a part of the spherical surface of the ball 101 housed in the through hole 103 is provided around the through hole 103.
4 are provided so as to protrude from the front and back of the connecting member belt 102, and the through holes 1 are provided by the holding portions 104.
The ball 101 is sealed in the inside of the ball.

Conventionally, this rolling element connected body has been manufactured by injection molding of a synthetic resin in which a ball is placed in a mold using an insert material, and when the injection-molded connected body belt is taken out of the mold, the ball is already inserted. Is incorporated in the connecting body belt, and the trouble of later loading a ball on the connecting body belt is omitted. However, in the as-injected state, there is almost no gap between the ball and the through hole of the connecting member belt and the holding portion, and the ball is difficult to rotate.
Oil-absorbing treatment or water-absorbing treatment is applied to the synthetic resin belt taken out of the mold, and the connecting belt is expanded so that a gap between the through-hole and the holding portion of the connecting belt and the ball is formed. (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-1
No. 4264).

As another method of manufacturing the linked rolling element body, barrel-shaped pins having a diameter slightly larger than the ball diameter are arranged at predetermined intervals in a mold, and are combined in the mold. A method is also proposed in which, by injecting a resin, a connected body belt in which the ball molds are arranged is formed, and the pins are forcibly extracted from the connected body belt, and then the balls are pushed into the connected body belt instead of the pins. (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-14542). According to this method,
Since the pin has a diameter larger than the diameter of the ball, when the ball is pushed into the shaped connecting belt instead of the pin, a gap is generated between the connecting belt and the ball, and the oil absorbing process is performed. It was possible to obtain a smooth rotation of the ball without performing any other operations.

[0007]

However, in the above-described linear guide device and the like, a preload is applied to the ball in order to prevent the displacement of the slider with respect to the track rail when a load is applied and to improve the movement accuracy of the slider. Generally, the adjustment of the amount of preload is performed by changing the diameter of the ball incorporated in the ball track.

For this reason, when the above-mentioned rolling element connecting body is actually incorporated into the endless track of the linear guide device, the ball already loaded on the connecting body belt is often replaced with a ball having a different diameter. In such a case, if the holding portion formed on the connecting member belt holds the ball too strongly, it becomes difficult to perform the ball replacement operation. Also,
When the ball is exchanged by forcibly pushing and expanding the holding portion, if the process is repeated a plurality of times, the holding portion extends, and the ball cannot be held in the through hole of the connecting member belt. Is also a concern.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily replace a rolling element loaded on a connected belt and to perform such an exchange work. Even if repeated,
An object of the present invention is to provide a linked rolling element that can reliably hold a rolling element on a linked belt.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a linked rolling element of the present invention comprises a number of rolling elements, and these rolling elements are arranged in a line at a predetermined interval, and the rolling elements are arranged in a line. It is premised on a rolling element connecting body composed of a synthetic resin connecting belt that rotatably holds the moving body, and the connecting body belt has a through hole for accommodating the rolling element, and such a transmitting hole is formed. Around the hole, holding portions for sealing the rolling elements in the through holes are provided on both the front and back surfaces of the connecting member belt,
Of the holding parts provided on the front and back of the connecting body belt for each rolling element, one of the holding parts is formed with a cutout part for facilitating the taking in and out of the rolling element with respect to the through hole. It is a feature.

According to such technical means, the balls are accommodated in the through holes formed in the synthetic resin connecting body belt, and are formed around the through holes and on both the front and back surfaces of the connecting body belt. Is held in the through-hole by the holding portion, but one of the holding portions provided on the front and back of the connecting body belt has a cutout portion, and the holding portion is acceptable. Since the holding portion is formed of a flexible synthetic resin, the holding portion can be expanded relatively easily. For this reason, when the rolling element accommodated in the through hole is pressed from the side of the holding section where the notch is not formed, the rolling element can be easily taken out from the inside of the through hole, and furthermore, it is impossible to force the holding section. Since no force acts, there is no concern that the holding portion may be extended by taking out the rolling element. Similarly, the rolling elements can be easily loaded into the through-holes of the connecting body belt.

Further, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 6-14542, a connecting member belt is injection-molded using a pin as a core, and a rolling element is loaded later in place of the pin. Also, by forming the notch in the holding portion at the time of injection molding, the pin as the core can be easily removed from the connecting member belt.

Therefore, the rolling element linked body of the present invention is effective when it is necessary to replace the rolling element loaded on the linked body belt. For example, the rolling element linked body is held by the connected body belt by insert molding. The present invention can be applied to a rolling element connected body in which the rolling elements are loaded on the connected body belt after forming the connected body belt.

[0014]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rolling element connecting body according to the present invention. FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 show a first embodiment of a rolling element connected body to which the present invention is applied. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a ball as a rolling element, reference numeral 2 denotes a synthetic resin connecting belt holding a plurality of balls 1 rotatably, and the balls are arranged on the connecting belt 2 at predetermined intervals. ing.

The connecting member belt 2 is formed in a belt shape, and has through holes 3 for accommodating the balls 1 at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction. The through hole 3 has an inner diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the ball 1, and although not shown, a slight gap is formed between the through hole 3 and the accommodated ball 1 to hinder the rotation of the ball 1. Not to be.

A holding portion 4 for sealing the ball 1 in the through hole 3 is provided on both front and back surfaces of the connecting member belt 2.
a, 4b are protrudingly provided. These holding parts 4a, 4b
Are arranged between the balls 1 adjacent to each other and at the end of the connecting body belt 2, and each holding portion 4 a, 4 b projects in a semicircular shape from both the front and back surfaces of the connecting body belt 2, as shown in FIG. When the rolling element connected body is observed from the longitudinal direction, the holding portions 4a and 4b on both the front and back surfaces of the connected body belt 2 are combined to form a circular spacer 5. The spacer 5 is provided with a spherical seat 6 that covers a part of the spherical surface of the ball 1, and the ball 1 is sandwiched from both sides by a pair of spacers 5 adjacent to each other via the ball 1, whereby the connecting body belt is formed. The ball 1 is confined in the through hole 3 of FIG.

A notch 7 opened in the spherical seat 6 is provided in a holding portion 4a formed on the surface side of the connecting member belt 2.
Is formed, and the upper end edge 8 of the holding portion 4a is cut out in an arc shape, so that the ball 1 housed in the through hole 3 is easily detached from the connecting member belt 2 and the connecting member belt 2 To make it easier to load. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the ball 1 housed in the through hole 3 is pressed from the back side of the connecting body belt 2 on which the holding portion 4b is formed, the notch 7 is formed in the holding portion 4a on the front side. It has been
The holding portion 4a is pushed and expanded by the pressing of the ball 1,
Further, since the upper edge 8 of the holding portion 4a is notched, the ball 1 can be easily separated from the inside of the through hole 3. In addition, when the ball 1 is accommodated in the through hole 3, the same can be easily performed.

In the linked rolling element body of this embodiment, first, the above-mentioned linked belt 2 is manufactured by injection molding of a synthetic resin, and then the balls 1 are sequentially loaded into the through holes 3 of the manufactured linked belt 2. It is completed by doing. When molding the connected body belt 2, ball molds having an outer diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the ball 1 are arranged at predetermined intervals in a molding die, and injection molding is performed using the ball mold as a core. . Further, the holding portions 4a and 4b are formed by injection molding integrally with the connecting member belt. As a result, ball dies are arranged at predetermined intervals on the connected belt 2 taken out from the die after molding, and the ball dies are held in the through holes 3 by the holding portions 4a and 4b. I have.

Thereafter, the ball mold is removed from the inside of the through hole 3 of the connecting body belt 2, and the ball 1 is replaced with the ball mold.
Is inserted into the through hole 3. As described above, the notch 7 is formed in the holding portion 4a, and the upper edge 8 of the holding portion 4a is cut out in an arc shape. Can be easily detached from the inside of the through hole 3, and the ball 1 can be easily loaded into the through hole 3.

Further, in a linear guide device, a slewing bearing, and the like in which the rolling element connected body is incorporated in an endless track,
Even when it is necessary to adjust the amount of preload of the ball 1 circulating in the endless track, the ball 1 housed in the through hole 3 of the connecting member belt 2 and the ball 1 with respect to the inside of the through hole 3 are removed. Since the loading of the ball 1 can be easily performed, the replacement of the ball 1 can be easily performed, and the adjustment of the preload amount can be smoothly performed.

Next, FIGS. 5 to 7 show a second embodiment of the linked rolling element of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a ball as a rolling element, and reference numeral 10 denotes a plurality of balls 1.
Are connected to each other in a rotatable manner, and the balls 1 are arranged in the through-holes 11 of the connecting member belt 10 at predetermined intervals as in the first embodiment. The inner diameter of the through hole 11 is formed slightly larger than the diameter of the ball 1.

On both front and back surfaces of the connecting body belt 10, holding portions 12a, 1 for holding the ball 1 in the through holes 11 are provided.
2b is protruded. These holding parts 12a, 12b
Is formed so as to surround the periphery of the through hole 11 and to cover the through hole 3, whereby the ball 1 is sealed in the through hole 3.

A notch 13 is radially formed in a holding portion 12a formed on the front surface side of the connecting member belt 10, and the ball 1 housed in the through hole 11 is separated from the connecting member belt 10. It is easy to load the belt on the connecting body belt 10. That is, the holding portion 12a erected on the periphery of the through hole is separated into a plurality of independent segments by the cutout portion 13, and the holding portion 12a is configured to be easily bent by an external force. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, when the ball 1 is pressed from the back side of the connecting body belt 10 on which the holding portion 12 b is formed, the holding portion 12 a on the front surface is pushed and expanded by the pressing of the ball 1. 1 can be easily separated from the inside of the through hole 11. Also, when the ball 1 is accommodated in the through hole 11, the same can be easily performed.

In the same manner as in the first embodiment, the linked body of the rolling element of this embodiment is manufactured by injection-molding the connected body belt 10 by injection molding of a synthetic resin, and then the through-hole 11 of the manufactured connected body belt 10 is formed. It is completed by loading the balls 1 sequentially. The specific manufacturing method is exactly the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and the description thereof is omitted here.

Also, in the rolling element coupling body of the second embodiment manufactured as described above, since the radial notch is formed in the holding portion 12a which seals the ball in the through hole, the injection molding is performed. After the connecting body belt 10 is formed, the ball mold can be easily extracted from the through hole of the connecting body belt, and a real ball can be easily loaded into the through hole instead of the ball mold. Can be done. Further, even when the adjustment of the preload amount of the ball is required in the linear guide device or the like, the ball already loaded on the connecting member belt can be easily replaced, and the adjustment of the preload amount is fraudulent. It is something that can be done smoothly.

[0026]

As described above, according to the rolling element linked body of the present invention, the notch is formed in one of the holding sections provided on the front and back of the linked belt. By pressing the rolling elements, it is possible to relatively easily push and expand the holding portion, and to easily take out and load the rolling elements from the through holes of the connecting body belt. In addition to being able to easily perform the replacement work of the rolling element that has been performed, even when such replacement work is repeatedly performed, the holding unit does not extend due to excessive pushing and expanding, and the rolling element is connected to the connected body. It is possible to securely hold the belt.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a first embodiment of a rolling element linked body of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a linked rolling element according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a second embodiment of the rolling element linked body of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a linked rolling element according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a conventional rolling element linked body.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing a conventional rolling element linked body.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ball (rolling body), 2 ... Connecting body belt, 3 ... Through-hole,
4a, 4b: holding portion, 7: notch portion

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rolling element comprising a number of rolling elements and a connecting belt made of synthetic resin in which the rolling elements are arranged in a line at predetermined intervals and rotatably hold the rolling elements. In the connecting member, a hole for accommodating the rolling element is formed in the connecting member belt, and a holding portion for sealing the rolling element in the through hole is provided around the through hole. Of the holding parts provided on both the front and back surfaces and provided on the front and back of the connecting member belt with respect to each rolling element, one of the holding parts has a notch for facilitating the insertion and removal of the rolling element with respect to the through hole. A rolling element linked body characterized by being formed.