JP2006348977A - Linear guide device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a means for preventing a lip part from being damaged when a slider is inserted and increasing the applicable range of a rail cover to the length of a rail. <P>SOLUTION: This linear guide device comprises the rail having a rail track face on the side of the rail, the rail cover covering the upper surface of the rail, the slider having a slider track face facing the rail track face and linearly moving the rail, and rolling elements rolling between the rail track face and the slider track face. Triangular tongue parts retracting to the upstream and downstream sides and having a top part projecting from the rail end face are formed at the upstream side and downstream side end parts of the rail cover in the slidably moving direction. The projected parts of the triangular tongue parts are bent to fit the rail cover to the rail. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a linear guide device that is provided in a guide portion of a machine device such as a machine tool, a manufacturing apparatus, an injection molding machine, or a measuring instrument and moves a moving table such as a table linearly.

A conventional linear guide device includes a return path provided on the sleeve wall of the bowl-shaped slider, a direction changing path provided on an end cap disposed at the front and rear ends of the slider moving direction (referred to as slider moving direction), Rollers can be reciprocated linearly by rollers that circulate in the circulation path by connecting the rail raceway provided on the side of the rail and the load path formed by facing the slider raceway provided on the slider. The side edge of the rail cover, which has a length substantially equal to the length of the rail in the longitudinal direction, is engaged with the engaging surface provided on the rail side surface to cover the rail upper surface, and the rail installation hole and the inside of the slider Intrusion of foreign matter such as cutting scraps into the surface is prevented (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2005-114031 (3rd page, paragraph 0009-5th page, paragraph 0020, FIG. 2)

  However, in the above-described conventional technique, the rail upper surface is covered with a rail cover having a length substantially equal to the length of the rail in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, when the rail cover is attached to the rail, the slider moving direction of the rail The rail end surface of the rail and the end surface of the rail cover are likely to be misaligned, and a step is created by the rail cover on the top surface of the rail, so that the rail cover may be detached and the lip of the slider side seal may be damaged when the slider is inserted into the rail There is a problem of becoming.

Also, since the length of the rail cover is equivalent to the length of the rail, the rail cover must be manufactured according to the length of the rail that requires various lengths, and it takes time to manufacture the rail cover. However, there is a problem that the number of manufacturing steps increases.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides means for preventing damage to the lip portion when the slider is inserted and expanding the applicable range of the rail length by one rail cover. For the purpose.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a rail having a rail rolling element guide surface on a rail side surface, a rail cover that covers the rail upper surface of the rail, and a slider rolling element guide surface that faces the rail rolling element guide surface. A linear guide device comprising: a slider that linearly moves the rail; and a rolling element that rolls between the rail rolling element guide surface and the slider rolling element guide surface. At the upstream and downstream ends in the moving direction, there is provided a triangular tongue that shrinks toward the upstream and downstream and the top protrudes from the rail end surface of the rail, and the protruding portion of the triangular tongue is formed on the rail end surface. It is characterized by bending along.

  Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the rail cover from being detached and the lip portion of the slider side seal from being damaged when the slider is inserted into the rail, and one rail cover has a certain length of rail. The effect that it can be applied to 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 perspective view showing a linear guide device according to a first embodiment, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an end portion of a rail cover according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a cover presser according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 1 is drawn with the cover presser removed.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a linear guide device.
Reference numeral 2 denotes a rail of the linear guide device 1, which is a long rod-shaped member made of a steel material such as alloy steel. A rail upper surface 2 a has a step for fixing the rail 2 to a base of the machine device or the like. A plurality of rail installation holes 3 which are attached bolt holes are provided at a predetermined pitch.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a rail track surface as a rail rolling element guide surface, which is a pair of inclined surfaces formed in a substantially V shape along the longitudinal direction of both rail side surfaces of the rail 2.
Reference numeral 5 denotes a slider, which is a bowl-shaped member having a substantially U-shaped cross section made of a steel material such as an alloy steel. A mounting screw hole 5a is provided on the upper surface of the slider. A moving table or the like of the mechanical device is fastened with a bolt or the like using the hole 5a.

  Both the sleeve walls 5b of the slider 5 are provided with a slider raceway surface 6 as a slider rolling element guide surface, which is a pair of inclined surfaces facing the rail raceway surface 4, and the slider 5 Return paths 8, which are through-holes having a substantially rectangular cross-section for circulating rollers 7 as rolling elements penetrating the slider 5 in the moving direction, are provided corresponding to the respective slider track surfaces 6.

The roller 7 is a cylindrical body made of a steel material such as alloy steel.
Reference numeral 10 denotes an end cap, which is made of a metal material, a resin material, or the like, and is disposed at the front and rear ends of the slider 5 in the moving direction.
Reference numeral 11 denotes a direction change path provided in the end cap 10, which is a curved path having a substantially rectangular cross section for connecting a load path and a return path 8, which will be described later, in order to avoid crossing each other. It is formed so as to be a three-dimensional intersection, and has a function of guiding the roller 7 and turning its circulation direction.

  Reference numeral 12 denotes a side seal, which is composed of a core bar made of a plate material such as alloy steel and a seal portion 13 made of an elastic material such as natural rubber or synthetic rubber provided on the rail 2 side of the core bar. The end cap 10 is disposed on the outer end surface of the end cap 10 and is attached to the slider 5 together with the end cap 10 by fastening means such as bolts. It is in sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface and functions as a contact seal.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a grease nipple that is connected to a lubricant supply groove (not shown) formed on the end face of the end cap 10 on the slider 5 side and replenishes the direction change path 11 inside the seal portion 13 with grease as a lubricant. Used for.
The rail cover 16 is a cover member of the rail 2 made of a thin plate made of alloy steel or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the upstream and downstream ends of the slider moving direction are respectively upstream and downstream. A triangular tongue 17 that is reduced is provided, and the top of the triangular tongue 17 has a rectangular width that is smaller than the minimum width Wmin of the rail 2, that is, the distance between the planes between the pair of rail track surfaces 4 on the side of the rail. An extension 18 is provided.

Further, the space between the triangular tongue portions 17 is formed as a substantially rectangular flat surface portion 19 having a length equal to or less than the length of the rail 2 in the longitudinal direction, that is, a long side covering at least all the rail installation holes 3. It has a function of covering the rail installation hole 3 on the rail upper surface 2a and preventing foreign matter from entering there.
Further, the top of the triangular tongue portion 17 is formed so as to protrude from the rail end surface 2b of the rail 2, and the sandwiching angle θ is more than twice the inclination angle α of the rail raceway surface 4 on the upper side of both rails, that is, 2α. It is formed at the above angle. In this case, the sandwiching angle θ is preferably set to an angle of 150 degrees or less. This is because if it exceeds 150 degrees, the applicable range for the length of the rail 2 becomes too narrow.

The rail cover 16 of this embodiment is formed by press molding or the like using a stainless steel thin plate, and the pinching angle θ of the apex angle of the triangular tongue portion 17 is 90 degrees because the inclination angle α of the rail raceway surface 4 is 45 degrees. It is formed as described above.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 21 denotes a cover presser 21, which is made of a steel material such as alloy steel, a resin material, or the like, and has a main body portion 22, a pair of leg portions 23 and a main body that extend from both side end portions in the slider moving direction. 1 is composed of a hook-like cover protection portion 24 formed by bending the rail cover 16 side of the portion 22 in the slider moving direction, and is a triangle bent on both rail end faces 2b of the rail 2 as shown in FIG. The abdomen of the main body 22 is brought into contact with the outer side of the bent portion of the tongue 17 and the inner side of the cover protection unit 24 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the rail cover 16 so as to be screwed into the screw holes 25 provided in the leg 23. The bolt is fastened and locked to a plane between the pair of rail track surfaces 4 on the side of the rail by the frictional force caused by the contact between the bent portion of the triangular tongue portion 17 and the main body portion 22 and the cover protection portion 24. Cover 16 And it has a function of preventing the floating of Le top 2a.

  The rail raceway surface 4 and the slider raceway surface 6 arranged opposite to each other form a load path on which the rollers 7 roll, and both ends thereof are formed by the direction change path 11 of the end cap 10 and the return path 8 of the slider 5. A circulation path is formed in which the rollers 7 circulate as the sliders 5 circulate as the sliders 5 move. The rollers 7 that roll on the load paths support the load applied to the sliders 5 so as to freely reciprocate. 2 is supported so as to be able to reciprocate linearly along the longitudinal direction.

  In addition, the rail cover 16 is formed as a single flat plate in which the triangular tongue portion 17 and the extension portion 18 are formed at both ends of the flat surface portion 19 at the time of manufacture. When the rail cover 16 is mounted so as to cover the rail upper surface 2a, the rail upper surface 2a. After the flat surface portion 19 is placed on a portion of the triangular tongue portion 17 protruding from the rail end surface 2b (referred to as a protruding portion, see FIG. 2), the portion is bent along the rail end surface 2b, and the slider 5 is inserted into FIG. In the state shown in FIG.

Further, the lip portion of the seal portion 13 is slidably contacted with the outer peripheral surface formed by the rail 2 and the rail cover 16 to prevent foreign matter from entering the rail installation hole 3 and the slider 5.
When the slider 5 is inserted, the protruding portion from the rail end surface 2b of the triangular tongue portion 17 is bent, so that a step due to the rail cover 16 does not occur on the rail upper surface 2a, and the lip portion of the seal portion 13 There will be no damage.

Further, even if an excessive force is applied to the rail cover 16 when the slider 5 is inserted, the bent protrusion (referred to as a bent portion) of the triangular tongue portion 17 prevents the rail cover 16 from moving in the slider moving direction. Therefore, the rail cover 16 does not come off the rail 2.
Furthermore, the extending portions 18 are provided at the tops at both ends of the rail cover 16, and the triangular tongue portion 17 is formed in which the sandwiching angle θ is 2α or more of the inclination angle α of the upper rail raceway surface 4. Since the rail 2 is bent and attached to the rail 2, the extension portion indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2 from a certain range of the rail 2, that is, the length at which the bent portion of the triangular tongue 17 protrudes from the upper rail track surface 4 Only 18 can be applied to the rail 2 in a range up to a length that becomes a bent portion.

  In the above description, the pinching angle θ of the top of the triangular tongue portion 17 is described as being formed at an angle 2α or more (90 degrees in the present embodiment) of the inclination angle α of the upper rail raceway surface 4. In the case of the following sandwiching angle θ, only the triangular tongue 17 may be provided at both ends of the rail cover 16 as shown in FIG. In this way, the length of the rail 2 in a certain range that can be applied is determined from the length that the bent portion of the triangular tongue 17 protrudes from the upper rail raceway surface 4. Can be applied to the rail 2 in a range up to a length substantially equal to the diameter of the large-diameter portion of the rail installation hole 3, and the applicable range for the length of the rail 2 can be further widened. .

In this case, if the extending portion 18 is provided at the top of the triangular tongue portion 17, the applicable range with respect to the length of the rail 2 can be further widened.
In this case, it is desirable that the sandwiching angle θ is 30 degrees or more. This is because if the angle is smaller than 30 degrees, the length of the flat portion 19 covering the rail upper surface 2a becomes too short, and the moving range of the slider 5 may be narrowed.

  As described above, in this embodiment, triangular tongues are provided at the upstream and downstream ends of the rail cover in the slider moving direction, the tops of the triangular tongues protrude from the rail end surfaces, and the protrusions are bent. By attaching the rail cover to the rail, it is possible to prevent the rail cover from coming off and damage to the lip part of the slider side seal when inserting the slider into the rail, and one rail cover can be fixed. It can be applied to a rail having a length in the range of, and the number of manufacturing steps of the rail cover can be reduced.

Further, by providing a rectangular extension portion having a width narrower than the minimum rail width Wmin at the top of the triangular tongue portion, the range of rail lengths to which one rail cover can be applied can be further expanded.
In this embodiment, the rail cover 16 is described as being formed in a flat plate shape. However, as shown in FIG. 5, the side edge portion 19a of the flat portion 19 is bent along the upper plane of the rail side surface. Also good. In this way, the rail cover 16 can be prevented from moving in the short direction.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a linear guide device according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a cover presser according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 6 is drawn with the cover presser removed. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
The linear guide device 1 of the present embodiment is a linear guide device using a ball as a rolling element.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 31 denotes a rail track groove as a rail rolling element guide surface, which is a groove having a substantially arc-shaped cross section formed along the longitudinal direction of both rail side surfaces of the rail 2.
Reference numeral 32 denotes a slider raceway groove as a slider rolling element guide surface, which is a groove having a substantially arc-shaped cross section facing the rail raceway groove 31 formed inside both sleeve walls 5 b of the slider 5.
Reference numeral 33 denotes a return path, which is formed in the thick part of both sleeve walls 5b of the slider 5 as a through hole larger than the diameter of the ball 34 as a rolling element that penetrates the slider 5 in the slider moving direction. It is provided corresponding to the groove 32.

The ball 34 is a sphere made of a steel material such as alloy steel.
Reference numeral 35 denotes a direction change path provided in the end cap 10, which is a curved path having a circular cross-sectional shape for connecting a load path and a return path 33, which will be described later. It has a function of turning the direction.
The rail raceway groove 31 and the slider raceway groove 32 arranged opposite to each other form a load path on which the ball 34 rolls, and both ends thereof are formed by the direction change path 34 of the end cap 10 and the return path 33 of the slider 5. A circulation path is formed in which the balls 34 circulate as the slider 5 moves, and the balls 34 rolling on the load path support the load applied to the slider 5 in a reciprocating manner. 2 is supported so as to be able to reciprocate linearly along the longitudinal direction.

  As in the first embodiment, the rail cover 16 of this embodiment is formed as a single flat plate in which the triangular tongue portion 17 and the extension portion 18 are formed at both ends of the flat portion 19 at the time of manufacture, and covers the rail upper surface 2a. When the flat surface portion 19 is placed on the rail upper surface 2a, the portions protruding from the rail end surface 2b of both triangular tongues 17 are bent along the rail end surface 2b, and the slider 5 is inserted. 6 and is fixed to the rail 2 by the cover presser 36 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, the extending portion 18 of the present embodiment is formed to have a minimum width Wmin of the rail 2, that is, a width narrower than the distance between the groove bottoms of the rail track grooves 31 formed on the side surface of the rail.
In FIG. 7, a cover presser 36 includes a body portion 37 having a width substantially equal to the width of the rail 2 in the short direction, a pair of leg portions 23 formed in the same manner as the cover presser 21 of the first embodiment, and cover protection. 6, the abdomen of the main body 37 is placed outside the bent portion of the triangular tongue 17 that is bent at both rail end faces 2 b of the rail 2 as shown in FIG. 6. The bolt is screwed into a screw hole 25 provided in the leg portion 23 with the inner surface of the cover protection portion 24 in contact with the upper surface, and is fastened and locked to a plane between the rail track grooves 32 on the side surface of the rail. It has a function of preventing the rail cover 16 from being lifted from the rail upper surface 2a by the frictional force caused by the contact between the bent portion of the tongue portion 17 and the main body portion 37 and the cover protection portion 24.

  The pinching angle θ at the top of the triangular tongue portion 17 of this embodiment is formed at an angle of 90 ° or more and 150 ° or less as in the first embodiment, and the extension portion 18 provided at the top as in the first embodiment. At the same time, the protruding portion of the triangular tongue portion 17 is bent and attached to the rail 2. As a result, the rail 2 has a certain length, that is, a range from the length at which the bent portion of the triangular tongue 17 protrudes into the upper rail track groove 31 to the length at which only the extended portion 18 becomes the bent portion. 2 can be applied.

The same applies when the top sandwiching angle θ is set to the following angle or less.
Thus, even with a linear guide device using balls as rolling elements, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

The perspective view which shows the linear guide apparatus of Example 1. FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the edge part of the rail cover of Example 1. The perspective view which shows the cover presser of Example 1. Explanatory drawing which shows the other form of the edge part of the rail cover of Example 1. FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the other form of the rail cover of Example 1. The perspective view which shows the linear guide apparatus of Example 2. FIG. The perspective view which shows the cover presser of Example 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Linear guide device 2 Rail 2a Rail upper surface 3 Rail installation hole 4 Rail track surface 5 Slider 5a Mounting screw hole 5b Sleeve wall 6 Slider track surface 7 Roller 8, 33 Return path 10 End cap 11, 35 Direction change path 12 Side seal 13 Sealing part 14 Grease nipple 16 Rail cover 17 Triangular tongue part 18 Extension part 19 Flat part 19a Side edge part 21, 36 Cover presser 22, 37 Body part 23 Leg part 24 Cover protection part 25 Screw hole 31 Rail track groove 32 Slider track groove 34 balls

Claims (4)

A rail having a rail rolling element guide surface on a side surface of the rail, a rail cover covering the rail upper surface of the rail, and a slider rolling element guide surface facing the rail rolling element guide surface, and linearly moves the rail. In a linear guide device comprising a slider and a rolling element that rolls between the rail rolling element guide surface and the slider rolling element guide surface,
At the upstream and downstream ends of the slider movement direction of the rail cover, there is provided a triangular tongue that shrinks toward the upstream and downstream and the top protrudes from the rail end surface of the rail, and the protruding portion of the triangular tongue Is bent along the rail end surface. In claim 1,
A linear guide device characterized in that an angle between the tops of the triangular tongues is 90 degrees or less. In claim 1,
A linear guide device characterized in that a rectangular extension portion having a width narrower than the minimum width of the rail is provided at the top of the triangular tongue portion. In claim 3,
A linear guide device characterized in that an angle between the tops of the triangular tongues is 90 degrees or more.