JP2005127488A - Linear guide device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a linear guide device that facilitates manufacturing of a rail cover and can keep rigidity of a slider high. <P>SOLUTION: This linear guide device comprises a rail equipped with a track recessed part having track surfaces on its both side surfaces, the rail cover for covering the upper surface of the rail, a saddle-like slider moving on the rail linearly, and rolling elements that circulate through a connecting passage disposed in the slider and roll on the track surfaces of the rail. The lower parts of the upper side surfaces of the rail are provided with an engaging surface as an inclined plane contracting downwardly from the upper side surface in the width direction of the rail, and an engaging end is disposed at end of a circular arc side edge of the rail cover, and the engaging end is engaged with an engaging surface. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a linear guide device that is provided in a guide unit of a machine tool such as a cutting machine or a grinding machine, a woodworking machine, a cutting machine, or an industrial machine and moves a moving table such as a table linearly.

In the conventional linear guide device, a connecting path is provided in a bowl-shaped slider, and a ball that circulates in the connecting path rolls on a raceway surface of a raceway recess provided on a side surface of the rail so that the slider linearly moves on the rail. The rail cover bent along the undercut is engaged with the undercut provided at the upper part of the upper side surface on both sides of the rail at an angle smaller than 90 degrees in the longitudinal direction to cover the upper surface of the rail. The seals provided at the front and rear ends in the moving direction of the slider prevent entry of dust, product waste, and the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 2719985 (page 3, right column, line 25-page 4, right column, line 4, line 3)

  However, in the above-described conventional technology, since the side edge portion of the rail cover is bent and engaged along the undercut provided on the upper side of the upper side surface of the rail, the upper surface and the side edge portion of the rail cover are engaged. The starting point of the bending R is substantially the same position as the upper side surface of the rail, and in order to suppress the protrusion of the rail cover in the width direction, it is necessary to bend the side edge portion with a small bending R. There is.

Further, when the protrusion in the width direction of the rail becomes large, it is necessary to go over the side wall of the slider in order to avoid interference with the slider moving on the rail, and the rigidity of the slider is lowered to obtain the original rigidity of the linear guide device. There is a problem that can not be.
Further, if the bend R of the side edge of the rail cover is set to a small R, there is a problem that it becomes difficult to manufacture the side edge and increases the manufacturing cost.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a linear guide device capable of easily manufacturing a rail cover and maintaining high rigidity of the slider.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a rail having a track recess formed with track surfaces on both side surfaces, a rail cover that covers the top surface of the rail, and a bowl-shaped slider that linearly moves the rail. And a rolling element that circulates in a connecting path provided in the slider and rolls on the rail raceway surface, the linear guide device includes a lower part of the upper side surface of the rail, and a downward direction from the upper side surface. An engagement surface that is a slope that decreases in the width direction of the rail is provided, an engagement end is provided at an end of a side edge of the rail cover, and the engagement end is engaged with the engagement surface. It is characterized by.

  Further, the side edge portion of the rail cover is formed in an arc shape covering the upper side surface of the rail.

  Thereby, the present invention can easily process the side edge portion of the rail cover, the protrusion of the rail cover toward the side wall of the slider is reduced, and the thickness of the side wall of the slider can be increased. The effect that the rigidity of the linear guide device can be increased while maintaining the rigidity of the slider high is obtained.

  Embodiments of a linear guide device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a rail and a rail cover according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a linear guide device according to the first embodiment, FIG. 3 is a right half cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 1.
In the figure, 1 is a linear guide device.
Reference numeral 2 denotes a rail of the linear guide device 1, which is a long rod-like member having a substantially I-shaped cross-section made of a steel material such as an alloy steel, and a rail tool top or the like on the rail upper surface 2 a. A plurality of stepped bolt holes 3 for fixing the rail 2 are provided at a predetermined pitch.

  On the side surface 4 of the rail 2, there is an upper raceway surface 5a that is a slope that decreases in the width direction of the rail 2 from the upper side surface 4a to the lower side of the upper side surface 4a, and from the lower side surface 4b to the upper side of the lower side surface 4b. A lower raceway surface 5b, which is a slope that shrinks in the width direction of the rail 2 toward the upper side, is provided. A track recess 5 that is a substantially V-shaped groove is formed.

Rollers 6 as rolling elements roll on the upper raceway surface 5a and the lower raceway surface 5b of the raceway recess 5, respectively.
Moreover, the vicinity of the corner | angular part with the upper side surface 4a of the upper track surface 5a functions as an engaging surface with which the engaging end 14a of the rail cover 13 mentioned later engages.
Furthermore, the upper side surface 4a and the lower side surface 4b of the rail 2 are formed to be the same plane, that is, the width between the upper side surface 4a and the width between the lower side surface 4b are the same.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a slider, which is a bowl-shaped member made of a steel material such as an alloy steel and having a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional shape. A screw hole 7a is provided on the upper surface of the rod-shaped member. The moving table of the machine tool is fastened with bolts or the like.
Further, both side walls 7b of the slider 7 are provided with connecting paths 8a and 8b having a rectangular cross section inclined at a predetermined P angle for circulating the rollers 6 shown in FIG. Rolling portions 9 including rolling surfaces 9 a and 9 b facing the upper raceway surface 5 a and the lower raceway surface 5 b of the raceway recess 5 via the rollers 6 are formed.

  The connecting path 8 a is a rolling path formed by the upper raceway surface 5 a of the track recess 5 of the rail 2 and the rolling surface 9 a of the rolling part 9 of the slider 7, and the connecting path 8 b is a lower part of the track recess 5 of the rail 2. A rolling path formed by the raceway surface 5b and the rolling surface 9b of the rolling part 9 of the slider 7 is connected to each other, and each of the circulating rolling paths formed thereby has a plurality of rollers 6 and a predetermined roller. An amount of lubricant, such as grease, is enclosed, and the roller 6 rolls while circulating. The same applies to the opposite side wall 7b. Thus, the slider 7 is supported on the rail 2 so as to be capable of linear reciprocation.

In the case where the connecting paths 8a and 8b and the rolling part 9 are provided on the slider 7, the slider 7 is appropriately divided for manufacturing convenience and assembled by fastening means such as bolts to form the slider 7. You may do it. In this case, the main body of the slider 7 may be made of steel, or may be made of a relatively soft metal material or resin material.
Reference numeral 10 denotes a holder, which is made of a metal material or a resin material, and is fitted into the V-shaped groove 9c of the rolling portion 9 of the slider 7, and holds the roller 6 to prevent its falling off.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a side seal, which is formed with a core 11 made of a plate material such as alloy steel and formed with a seal portion 11a made of an elastic material such as natural rubber or synthetic rubber, and the seal portion 11a serves as a rail 2 or a rail cover 13 described later. The slider 7 comes into contact with the outer surface and slides as the slider 7 reciprocates.
Reference numeral 12 denotes an end cap, which is made of a metal material, a resin material, or the like, and is fastened to the front and rear ends of the slider 7 in the moving direction together with bolts or the like together with the side seals 11 arranged on the outer side.

  Reference numeral 13 denotes a rail cover, which is manufactured by a thin plate of elastic alloy steel or the like to a length substantially equal to the length in the longitudinal direction of the rail 2, and as shown in FIG. Is formed in a substantially arc shape with a large bend R so as to cover the upper side surface 4a of the rail 2 and the chamfer 15 at the corners of the rail upper surface 2a and the upper side surface 4a by pressing or the like. The cover upper surface 13a of the rail cover 13 in between is formed as a plane along the rail upper surface 2a, and an engagement end 14a provided at the end of the side edge portion 14 using the elasticity of the rail cover 13 as shown in FIG. The rail 2 is mounted so as to engage with the upper raceway surface 5a as an engaging surface.

  The chamfer 15 provided at the corners of the rail upper surface 2a and the upper side surface 4a is generally formed with an angle α with respect to the rail upper surface 2a shown in FIG. 4 being 45 degrees. When the chamfering amount is increased, the width of the upper side surface 4a is reduced, and if the deeper part of the upper raceway surface 5a or the lower raceway surface 5b of the raceway recess 15 is surely quenched by induction hardening or the like, the upper side surface 4a is reduced. There is a possibility of overheating the part of the width. Further, since the upper side surface 4a and the lower side surface 4b are used as contact surfaces when the rail 2 is bent again, it is desirable that the plane portion be as wide as possible.

The chamfering 15 is generally processed by grinding or the like together with the raceway recesses 5 and the like on the side surface 4 because the processing efficiency decreases when the chamfering is performed separately.
In this case, when the angle α of the chamfer 15 is set to 20 degrees or less, the cutting amount of the rail upper surface 2a is about 3 with respect to the cutting amount 1 of the upper side surface 4a of the grinding wheel used for grinding, so that the grinding stone is easily lost. In order to avoid this, it is necessary to slow down the processing speed, and the processing efficiency of the rail 2 is lowered.

Therefore, the angle α of the chamfer 15 is preferably in the range of 20 degrees <α <45 degrees, and preferably about 30 degrees. Thereby, the efficiency of the hardening process of the rail 2, a bending process, and a grinding process can be achieved.
The rail cover 13 according to the present embodiment uses a stainless steel plate having a thickness of about 0.3 mm, for example, SUS301CPS, SUS304CSP, or an equivalent material in consideration of rust prevention and spring properties, and the side edge portion 14 is formed by roll forming. In this case, the length of the side edge portion 14 is generally required to be at least three times the plate thickness.

In the rail cover 13 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the side edge 14 has a circular arc shape and the outermost part is positioned outside the upper side surface, and the inner surface of the side edge 14 is the upper side surface 4a. Mold so as not to touch.
In this case, the starting point D of the bending R between the cover upper surface 13a and the side edge 14 of the rail cover 13 shown in FIG. 4 is outside the corner E between the rail upper surface 2a and the chamfer 15 in the width direction, and the chamfer 15 It is provided within the range.

In the present embodiment, the starting point D of the bending R of the rail cover 12 is provided in the vicinity of the corner E of the rail 2 which is a suitable position (not including coincidence).
The distance between the engagement end 14a of the side edge 14 after the side edge 14 is bent in an arc shape and the inside of the cover upper surface 13a is related to the upper raceway surface 5a as the engagement surface. The rail upper surface 2a and the upper raceway surface 5a are formed at such a distance that they can be sandwiched between the cover upper surface 13a and the engagement end 14a by utilizing the elasticity of the rail cover 13 when they are joined.

Further, in order to improve the mounting property of the rail cover 13, the engagement end 14a is set so that it does not enter the inner side of the upper raceway surface 5a as much as possible within the range that does not impair the adhesion, and the engagement end Consider that 14a does not interfere with the rolling surface of the roller 6 on the upper raceway surface 5a.
Further, the shape of the engagement end 14a of the side edge 14 of the rail cover 13 is shown in FIG. 4 as a shape cut in the direction perpendicular to the plate thickness. However, if the engagement end 14a is formed so as to be rounded, the engagement end 14a is not affected. It is possible to prevent the upper raceway surface 5a as a mating surface from being damaged.

When mounting the rail cover 13 so as to cover the rail upper surface 2a, the rail cover 13 is inclined to one of the upper track surfaces 5a as the engagement surface of the track recess 5, and the engagement end 14a is engaged. In this state, the other side edge portion 14 is expanded by its elasticity, the engagement end 14a is engaged with the other upper raceway surface 5a, and the rail cover 13 is attached to the rail 2.
As a result, the rail cover 13 covers the entire surface of the rail upper surface 2 a flatly, and the lower side surface 4 b, the track recess 5, and the seal portion 11 a of the side seal 11 that slides on the rail cover 13, into the stepped bolt hole 3 and track recess 5. Intrusion of dust, iron, aluminum, production waste such as wood waste can be prevented.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the upper side surface of the rail is covered with the upper raceway surface as the engaging surface that is a slope that decreases downward and is provided in the lower portion of the upper side surface of the rail of the linear guide device. By engaging the engagement end of the side edge of the rail cover formed in an arc shape by its elasticity, the side edge of the rail cover can be easily processed, and the side wall of the slider of the rail cover The protrusion in the direction is reduced, the thickness of the side wall of the slider can be increased, and the rigidity of the linear guide device can be increased while maintaining the rigidity of the slider high.

Further, the chamfering angle α provided at the corners of the rail upper surface and the upper side surface is set to 20 degrees <α <45 degrees, so that the efficiency of the rail manufacturing process can be improved and the cover upper surface and the side edge portion The position of the starting point D of the bending R can be moved toward the center of the rail in the width direction, and the bending R can be increased to further enhance the above effect.
Furthermore, by preventing the inner surface of the side edge of the rail cover from touching the upper side surface of the rail, the upper surface of the cover is pressed against the upper surface of the rail only by pressing the engagement end of the side edge using the elasticity of the rail cover. The upper surface of the cover can be made completely flat.

Furthermore, since the upper side surface and the lower side surface of the rail are formed on the same surface, one upper side surface and the lower side surface can be placed on the inspection table and the other side can be horizontal in the inspection process in manufacturing the rail. Inspection work can be easily performed.
In addition, said effect can be acquired also using the other aspect of the rail cover shown in FIG.
The shape of the side edge portion 14 of the rail cover 13 shown in FIG. 5 is formed in an arc shape, and the positions of the bending top R of the cover upper surface 13a and the side edge portion 14 are the positions of the rail upper surface 2a and the chamfer 15. Outside the corner E, it is set within the range of the chamfer 15.

  This also allows the arc-shaped side edge 14 to cover the upper side surface 4a without touching the upper side surface 4a of the rail 2, and to engage the engagement end 14a of the side edge portion 14 with the upper rolling surface 5a. The same effects as described above can be obtained.

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view showing a rail and a rail cover according to the second embodiment.
In addition, the same part as the said Example 1 attaches | subjects the same code | symbol, and abbreviate | omits the description.
Reference numeral 21 denotes an inclined surface as an engaging surface, which is an inclined surface that decreases downward in the width direction of the rail 2 from the upper side surface 4a provided at the lower portion of the upper side surface 4a on both sides of the rail 2, and The engaging end 14a of the side edge 14 is engaged by its elasticity.

The inclined surface 21 of the present embodiment is provided at the corner between the upper side surface 4 a and the upper raceway surface 5 a of the raceway recess 5, and the inclined surface 21 and the corner of the upper raceway surface 5 a do not interfere with the rolling surface of the roller 6. It is shaped as follows.
The rail cover 13 of the present embodiment is manufactured in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and the side edge portion 14 is bent by a relatively large bend R so as to cover the chamfer 15 of the rail 2 by pressing or the like, and is straight. And a locking end 14a is provided by bending the end into a substantially arcuate shape. As shown in FIG. 4, the engaging end 14a is engaged with the engaging surface of the rail 2 by utilizing the elasticity of the rail cover 13. It is engaged with and attached to the inclined surface 21.

  When the rail cover 13 is mounted so as to cover the rail upper surface 2a, the rail cover 13 is inclined to engage one of the inclined ends 21 as the engagement surface provided on the rail 2, and the one engagement end 14a is engaged. In this state, the other side edge portion 14 is expanded by its elasticity, the engagement end 14 a is engaged with the other inclined surface 21, and the rail cover 13 is attached to the rail 2. As a result, the rail cover 13 covers the entire surface of the rail upper surface 2 a, and it is possible to prevent entry of dust, manufactured waste, or the like into each track surface of the stepped bolt hole 3 or the track recess 5.

Thus, even if the side edge 14 is formed by a combination of a substantially arc shape and a straight line, the upper side 4a is covered without touching the upper side 4a of the rail 2, and the engagement end 14a of the side edge 14 is covered. Can be engaged with the inclined surface 21 as the engaging surface, and the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.
In each of the above embodiments, a linear guide device using rollers as rolling elements has been described as an example, but the same applies to a linear guide device using balls as rolling elements.

  Further, the case where the upper surface of the rail is installed in the horizontal direction has been described as an example, but the same applies to the case where the upper surface is installed in the vertical direction, upside down, or inclined.

Sectional drawing which shows the rail and rail cover of Example 1. The perspective view which shows the linear guide apparatus of Example 1. FIG. The right half sectional view of the BB section line of FIG. Part A enlarged view of FIG. The elements on larger scale which show the other aspect of the rail cover of Example 1. FIG. Partial enlarged view showing the rail and rail cover of the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Linear guide apparatus 2 Rail 2a Rail upper surface 3 Stepped bolt hole 4 Side surface 4a Upper side surface 4b Lower side surface 5 Track recessed part 5a Upper track surface 5b Lower track surface 6 Roller 7 Slider 7a Screw hole 7b Side wall 8a, 8b Connection path 9 Rolling Part 9a, 9b Rolling surface 9c V-shaped groove 10 Holding body 11 Side seal 11a Seal part 12 End cap 13 Rail cover 13a Cover upper surface 14 Side edge 14a Engagement end 21 Inclined surface

Claims (8)

It circulates through a rail having a track recess formed with track surfaces on both side surfaces, a rail cover that covers the top surface of the rail, a hook-shaped slider that linearly moves on the rail, and a connecting path provided on the slider. And a linear guide device including a rolling element that rolls on the raceway surface of the rail,
An engaging surface that is a slope that decreases in the width direction of the rail from the upper side surface downward is provided at a lower portion of the upper side surface of the rail, and an engaging end is provided at an end portion of the side edge of the rail cover. A linear guide device comprising: an engagement end engaged with the engagement surface. In claim 1,
The linear guide device according to claim 1, wherein the engagement surface is an upper track surface of a track recess of the rail. In claim 1 or claim 2,
A linear guide device characterized in that the side edge of the rail cover is formed in an arc shape covering the upper side surface of the rail. In claim 1 or claim 2,
A linear guide device, wherein a side edge portion of the rail cover is formed by a combination of an arc shape and a straight line covering an upper side surface of the rail. In claim 1 to claim 3 or claim 4,
The angle α of the chamfer at the corner between the rail upper surface and the upper side surface of the rail with respect to the rail upper surface,
A linear guide device characterized in that 20 degrees <α <45 degrees. In claim 5,
The linear guide device according to claim 1, wherein a starting point of bending R between the upper surface and the side edge of the rail cover is within the chamfering range. In claim 1 to claim 5 or claim 6,
The linear guide device, wherein the upper side surface is not in contact with an inner surface of a side edge portion of the rail cover. In claim 1 to claim 6 or claim 7,
The linear guide device, wherein an upper side surface and a lower side surface of the rail are formed on the same surface.