JP2008175316A - Linear guide device and seal unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new linear guide device and a seal unit, wherein foreign matter sticking on a guide rail is effectively removed. <P>SOLUTION: The linear guide device has the seal unit 30 removing the foreign matter sticking to a surface of the guide rail 10, on an end surface of a slider 20 slidingly engaging so as to straddle the guide rail 10. The seal unit 30 has: a case 33 attached-detached to the end surface of the slider 20; a roller member 31 journaled in the case 33 and rollingly contacting with the guide rail 10; and a removing member 32 sweeping out and removing the foreign matter sticking to the surface of the guide rail 10 while rolling by being driven by the roller member 31. Thus, even when foreign matter is much in quantity, or is fixed on the guide rail 10, it is effectively removed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a linear guide device which is one of linear motion guide devices suitably applied to machine tools, industrial machines, and the like, and a seal unit applied thereto.

In general, a linear guide device has a structure in which a downward U-shaped slider is slidably engaged via a plurality of rolling elements (balls) on a linear guide rail.
Each of these rolling elements circulates while rolling at high speed in the circulation path formed by the slider and the guide rail. Therefore, a good contact between the rolling elements and the raceway surface of the circulation path is obtained. In order to maintain lubricity, it is necessary to devise measures to prevent foreign matters such as dust from entering between the rolling elements and the raceway surface.

Conventionally, as a method for preventing the intrusion of foreign matter into the slider, a typical method is to cover the entire guide rail or the slider with a bellows-like cover or attach a seal plate to the end surface of the slider. However, various other methods as shown in, for example, the following Patent Documents 1 to 3 have been proposed.
First, in Patent Document 1, a lip portion of a seal attached to an end surface of a slider is provided in two steps, a sliding contact portion and a non-sliding contact portion, and scrapes various large and small foreign matters attached to the guide rail by these two lip portions. This prevents foreign matter from entering the slider.

On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, a brush-like seal is provided on the end surface of the slider, and foreign matters such as dust accumulated on the upper surface side of the guide rail are swept away by the brush-like seal, thereby preventing foreign matter from entering the slider. I try to prevent it.
In Patent Document 3, an air outlet is provided on the end surface of the slider, and high-pressure air is blown out from the air outlet to blow off foreign matter on the guide rail (air blow), thereby preventing foreign matter from entering the slider. I am doing so.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-145019 German Patent Application Publication No. 19961225 (DE-A1-019961225) specification Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-38177

By the way, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, when the amount of foreign matter is particularly large, scraped foreign matter accumulates around the lip portion of the seal and the foreign matter removing effect gradually decreases. There is a problem that the periphery of the lip portion has to be cleaned, and much labor is required for maintenance.
On the other hand, in the configuration of Patent Document 2, foreign matter on the guide rail is swept away by a brush-like seal, so the degree of foreign matter accumulation on the seal may be reduced compared to the configuration of Patent Document 1. However, since this brush-like seal has a structure that is simply fixed to the end face of the slider, the effect of removing foreign substances is not great. Accordingly, when the amount of foreign matter is large or the foreign matter is fixed on the guide rail, it is difficult to effectively remove these foreign matters.

In the configuration of Patent Document 3, foreign matter on the guide rail is removed only by high-pressure air. Therefore, in order to remove a fixed foreign matter or a large amount of foreign matter, the air that is fed into the air outlet is removed. The pressure needs to be very high. For this reason, large-scale incidental equipment such as a large compressor is required, and the equipment cost and the operating cost tend to increase.
Therefore, the present invention has been devised to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the object thereof is a novel that can effectively remove foreign matters adhering to the guide rail while avoiding these disadvantages. A linear guide device and a seal unit are provided.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention of claim 1
A linear guide device having a guide rail and a slider that is slidably engaged so as to straddle the guide rail, the foreign material adhering to or accumulating on the surface of the guide rail on one end surface or both end surfaces of the slider The seal unit includes a seal unit that prevents intrusion, and the seal unit includes a case that is attached to and detached from an end surface of the slider, a roller member that is pivotally supported in the case and is in rolling contact with the guide rail, and the roller member A linear guide device comprising: a removing member that sweeps and removes foreign matter adhering to the surface of the guide rail while rotating following the rotation.

The invention of claim 2
A linear guide device having a guide rail and a slider that is slidably engaged so as to straddle the guide rail, the foreign material adhering to or accumulating on the surface of the guide rail on one end surface or both end surfaces of the slider The seal unit is provided with a seal unit for preventing intrusion, and the seal unit removes the case which is attached to and detached from the end face of the slider and the foreign matter attached to the surface of the guide rail supported by the case while rotating. It is a linear guide device characterized by having a removal member to be rotated and an actuator for rotationally driving the removal member.

The invention of claim 3
3. The linear guide device according to claim 2, wherein the actuator is a turbine mechanism or a drive motor that drives a rotating shaft of the removal member.
The invention of claim 4
The linear guide device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the removal member is a bristle having at least a tip portion in sliding contact with a surface of the guide rail around a rotation shaft pivotally supported in the case. It is a linear guide device characterized by having a brush shape formed by planting a large number of bodies.

The invention of claim 5
4. The linear guide device according to claim 1, wherein the removing member has a lip that is slidably contacted with a surface of the guide rail around a rotating shaft that is pivotally supported in the case. 5. A linear guide device having a cylindrical shape or a columnar shape including a portion.
The invention of claim 6
The linear guide device according to claim 1, wherein a plate-like side seal is provided between the slider end surface and the seal unit.

The invention of claim 7
A seal unit that prevents intrusion of foreign matter adhered or deposited on the surface of the guide rail that engages the slider, and a case that is attached to and detached from an end surface of the slider, and that is pivotally supported in the case to the guide rail. A seal unit comprising: a roller member that is in rolling contact; and a removal member that sweeps and removes foreign matter adhering to the surface of the guide rail while rotating following the roller member.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the roller member provided in the case of the seal unit attached to the end face of the slider rotates in contact with the surface of the guide rail and rotates, the removal member follows this. Since foreign matter adhering to the surface of the guide rail is swept away while rotating, even if the amount of adhering or accumulated foreign matter is large or stuck on the guide rail, these Foreign matter can be effectively removed.

In addition, since the foreign matter removed by the removing member is swept out as it is, the effect is not impaired even when a large amount of foreign matter is adhered.
Further, since this removal member is pivotally supported in the case and attached to the end face of the slider as a seal unit, it is possible to use an existing slider or the like as it is, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost. In addition, the seal unit and its components can be easily replaced.

  According to a second aspect of the invention, the removal member pivotally supported in the case of the seal unit attached to the end surface of the slider is rotated by an actuator such as a turbine mechanism or a drive motor as shown in the third aspect. However, since the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the guide rail is swept out and removed, the same actions and effects as those of the invention of claim 1 can be exhibited.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4, since the removal member is a brush-like member in which a large number of hairs are implanted around the rotation shaft, the tips of the hairs are continuously continuous. Thus, the surface of the guide rail is slidably contacted, so that foreign matter adhering to the surface of the guide rail can be swept out and removed more reliably.
In addition, since such a brush-like removal member is flexible and easily deformable, even if the tip is worn or the distance between the removal member and the guide rail is changed due to a manufacturing error, the tip of the hair is removed. Always comes into contact with the surface of the guide rail, so that foreign matter adhering to the surface can be surely swept out and removed.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5, since the removal member is a cylindrical or columnar member having a large number of lip portions around the rotation shaft, the lip portions are continuously continuous. Thus, the surface of the guide rail is slidably contacted, so that the same operation and effect as the invention of claim 4 can be exhibited.
On the other hand, according to the invention of claim 6, since a plate-like side seal is provided between the slider end surface and the seal unit, even if foreign matter that cannot be removed by the seal unit remains, The remaining foreign matter can be reliably removed.

Further, according to the invention of claim 7, even if the amount of adhered or deposited foreign matter is large as in the case of claim 1 or is fixed on the guide rail, the foreign matter is effectively removed. Can be removed.
In addition, since this seal unit is attached to the end face of the slider, it is possible to use an existing slider or the like as it is. In addition, the seal unit itself and its constituent parts can be easily replaced with respect to the slider of the linear guide device.

Next, an embodiment of a linear guide device 100 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an embodiment of a linear guide device 100 according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a partially broken sectional view in the longitudinal direction of the linear guide device 100.
As shown in the figure, the linear guide device 100 mainly includes a guide rail 10 extending linearly and a slider 20 having a U-shaped cross section that is slidably engaged on the guide rail 10 so as to straddle the guide rail 10. It is configured.

  The guide rail 10 is made of a metal having a rectangular cross section as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, and lower raceways 11 and 11 each having a semicircular cross section are provided on both sides thereof. It is formed continuously along the direction. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, slider-side lower raceway surfaces 21 and 21 formed on both sides of the inner surface of the slider 20 so as to face the lower raceway surfaces 11 and 11 on the guide rail 10 side (in FIG. And a pair of left and right lower circulation passages 23 and 23 (one in FIG. 3) by lower passage holes 22 and 22 (only one shown in FIG. 3) formed so as to penetrate the slider 20 in the longitudinal direction. Are formed), and a plurality of rolling elements (balls) B accommodated in the lower circulation paths 23, 23 roll along the lower raceway surfaces 11, 11, respectively. The inside is circulated in the longitudinal direction.

  Furthermore, upper raceway surfaces 12 and 12 having a fan-shaped cross section so as to be parallel to the lower raceway surfaces 11 and 11 are formed continuously at the upper corners of the guide rail 10 along the longitudinal direction thereof. ing. Similarly, slider-side upper raceway surfaces 24 and 24 (only one is shown in FIG. 3) formed on both sides of the inner surface of the slider 20 so as to face the upper raceway surfaces 12 and 12, respectively, and inside the slider 20 Upper circulation passages 26 and 26 (only one is shown in FIG. 3) are formed by upper passage holes 25 and 25 (only one is shown in FIG. 3) formed so as to penetrate in the longitudinal direction. A plurality of rolling elements (balls) B respectively accommodated in the upper circulation paths 26 and 26 circulate in the longitudinal direction while rolling along the upper raceway surfaces 12 and 12. Yes.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of seal units 30, 30 are respectively attached to both end faces of the slider 20 via side seals 20a, 20a that are substantially similar to the end face shape of the slider 20. , 40 are detachably attached.
The side seals 20a and 20a are made by bonding nitrile rubber or the like to a metal plate made of, for example, SUS, and fine foreign matters enter the slider 20 by contacting the outer periphery of the guide rail 10 with some interference. To prevent it.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the seal unit 30 includes a pair of roller members 31 and 31 (only one is shown in FIG. 4) located on both sides of the guide rail 10 and the roller members 31. , 31 and a pair of removal members 32, 32 positioned in the front and back of the moving direction of the slider 20, and a case 33 for accommodating the roller members 31, 31 and the removal members 32, 32, respectively. Has been.

  The roller member 31 includes a cylindrical body 31a made of a material having a large contact frictional force with the surface of the guide rail 10 such as rubber or elastomer, and a shaft 31b protruding from the center of the cylindrical body 31a. The upper and lower ends of the shaft 31b are pivotally supported on the inner side of the case 33 so that the surface of the cylindrical body 31a is in close contact with the surface (side surface) of the guide rail 10. Rolling contact (rotation) is made with respect to the guide rail 10.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the removing member 32 is a bristle body that is excellent in moderate flexibility and wear resistance, such as nylon, around a shaft 32 a that is pivotally supported in the case 33. It is formed in a brush shape in which a large number of 32b are bundled and radially planted. The bristle body 32b has a different length depending on its planting, and its outer diameter shape follows the side surface of the guide rail 10. That is, while the hair bodies 32b located on the upper and lower raceways 11, 11, 12, 12 of the guide rail 10 are longer, the hair bodies 32b located between them are formed shorter. The removal member 32 comes into contact with the guide rail 10 from the lower raceway surface 11 to the upper raceway surface 12 with substantially uniform pressure.

  The removal member 32 has a pulley 32c provided at the upper end of a shaft 32a and a shaft 31a of the roller member 31 cross-connected by a drive belt 34. As shown in FIG. When the side surface of the guide rail 10 is brought into rolling contact and rotated in the clockwise direction (clockwise direction) in the figure, the rotational force is transmitted to the removal member 32 side via the drive belt 39 and this is counterclockwise (counterclockwise in the figure). It is designed to rotate in the rotation direction.

  Therefore, in the linear guide device 100 of the present invention having the seal units 30 and 30 configured as described above, when the slider 20 moves on the guide rail 10 as shown in FIG. The roller members 31 and 31 of the seal unit 30 are brought into rolling contact (rotation) with respect to both side surfaces of the guide rail 10, and the brush-like removal member 32 is rotated with the rotation of the roller members 31 and 31. The upper and lower raceway surfaces 11, 11, 12, 12 of the guide rail 10 on which the rolling element B rolls, and the foreign matter adhering therebetween are scraped and removed among the side surfaces of the guide rail 10 in particular. It has become.

That is, by the rotation of the removing member 32, the tip of the hair body 32a is continuously slidably in contact with the surface of the guide rail 10, thereby ensuring that the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the guide rail 10 is removed. It will be swept out and removed. Further, even if a large amount of foreign matter is attached to remove the foreign matter by sweeping it outward, it is possible to cope with it sufficiently.
Further, since the hair body 32b of the brush-like removal member 32 is flexible and easily deformable, the distance between the removal member 32b and the guide rail 10 changes due to wear of the tip or manufacturing error. In addition, since the tip of the hair 32b always comes into contact with the surface of the guide rail 10 with an appropriate pressure, the foreign matter adhering to the surface can be reliably swept out and removed.

As a result, the foreign matter scraped off as in the technique of the above-mentioned known document accumulates on the seal end face, or the foreign matter attached to the guide rail 10 without using a large incidental facility such as a large compressor for removing the foreign matter. Can be removed economically and effectively.
Further, since the removal member 31 is pivotally supported in the case 33 and is detachably attached to the end face of the slider 20 as the seal unit 30, it is possible to use an existing slider as it is, and its manufacturing cost is also compared. Inexpensive.

Further, when the foreign matter removing function is deteriorated or lost, the entire seal unit 30 or its component parts can be easily replaced.
Further, in the linear guide device 100 of the present invention, since the plate-like side seal 20a is provided between the end face of the slider 20 and the seal unit 30, even if foreign matter that cannot be removed by the seal unit 30 remains, the side seal Since the remaining foreign matter can be surely removed by 20a, it is possible to more reliably prevent the foreign matter from entering the slider 20.

In the present embodiment, the example in which the seal units 30 and 30 are provided on both end faces of the slider 20 has been described. However, the seal unit 30 may be provided only on one end face of the slider 20. Of course.
Further, the roller member 31 and the removal member 32 constituting the seal unit 30 of the linear guide device 100 of the present invention are pivotally supported so as to be close to and away from the guide rail 10 side. For example, a coil spring, a leaf spring, rubber, etc. If the roller member 31 and the removal member 32 are always pressed against the surface of the guide rail 10 with an appropriate pressing force by the urging member, the members 31 and 32 do not rotate freely and always function well. Can be made.

  Further, it is desirable that the tip (surface) of the removal member 32 is always in contact with the surface of the guide rail 10 with an appropriate pressure. However, the removal member 32 is not attached to the foreign matter attached to the surface of the guide rail 10. If it is installed with a very small interval so that only contact is made, it is possible to suppress the wear of the removal member 32 and to extend its life.

6 to 10 show another embodiment of the linear guide device 100 according to the present invention.
First, FIG. 6 shows another example of the structure of the removing member 32 constituting the seal unit 30 of the linear guide device 100 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. Instead of the brush-like one described above, a cylindrical or columnar one having a large number of lip portions 32d, 32d... Around the rotation shaft 32a is used.
And even if it is the removal member 32 of such a form, the lip | rip parts 32d, 32d ... will continually slidably contact the surface of the guide rail 10 with the rotation, and, thereby, the said implementation. The same action and effect as the form can be exhibited. The material of the lip portions 32d and 32d is not particularly limited, but it is desirable to use a material having moderate elasticity such as an elastomer or rubber.

Next, FIG. 7 is provided with a roller member 31 and a removing member 32 constituting the seal unit 30 of the linear guide device 100 of the present invention so as to be positioned on the upper surface side of the guide rail 10.
That is, in a case where the guide rail 10 of the linear guide device 100 is used in a flat state (substantially horizontal state), foreign matter is concentrated and deposited on the upper surface side rather than the side surface. Therefore, when used in such a case, if a seal unit 30 as shown in the present embodiment is used, a large amount of foreign matter adhering and depositing mainly on the upper surface side of the guide rail 10 is effectively removed. can do.

Furthermore, if the configuration as in the above-described embodiment is added to such a configuration as shown in FIG. 8, not only the top surface of the guide rail 10 but also the foreign matter attached to the side surface can be removed at the same time. In addition, in each figure, since the roller member 31 is located before and behind the paper surface direction of the removal member 32, illustration is abbreviate | omitted.
9 and 10 show a turbine mechanism (actuator) instead of the roller member 31 as a drive source (actuator) for rotationally driving the removal member 32 constituting the seal unit 30 of the linear guide device 100 of the present invention. Other actuators 50 such as FIG. 9) and a drive motor (FIG. 10) are used.

In the seal unit 30 shown in FIG. 9, the turbine blade 51 is connected to the upper end of the shaft 32 a of the removal member 32 and an air flow path 52 for circulating compressed air is provided around the turbine blade 51. The removal member 32 is forcibly rotated by flowing high-pressure air from the inlet 52a to the outlet 52b.
Further, in the seal unit 30 shown in FIG. 10, a drive motor 53 such as an electric motor is connected to the upper end of the shaft 32 a of the removal member 32 directly or via a gear mechanism (not shown). Similarly, the removal member 32 is forcibly rotated by the driving force.
Therefore, the functions and effects similar to those of the above-described embodiment can be exhibited by these configurations.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the rotational driving speed of the removal member 32 can be freely controlled regardless of whether or not the slider 20 is moving, so that the slider 20 is stopped or the foreign matter is attached. The removal member 32 can be rotationally driven optimally. For example, when the amount of foreign matter is large by electronic control or the like, it is possible to easily set the number of revolutions of the electric motor to be large, and to reduce the number of revolutions when the amount of foreign matter is small. The electric power for driving the electric motor may be supplied from the outside through a cable or the like, but if a battery such as a dry battery is incorporated in the seal unit 30 or the slider 20, there is no need for wiring. A simpler use is possible.

  On the other hand, in the case of using the turbine mechanism, the same action and effect can be obtained by controlling the air flow rate, and the removal member 32 can be reliably driven even when the pressure of the compressed air is relatively small. Therefore, it is possible to remove the foreign matter more reliably than the method of blowing the foreign matter directly with compressed air as in the prior art.

1 is an overall perspective view showing an embodiment of a linear guide device according to the present invention. It is an exploded perspective view showing one embodiment of a linear guide device concerning the present invention. 1 is a partially broken sectional view in a longitudinal direction showing an embodiment of a linear guide device according to the present invention. It is a partially broken perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the seal unit which concerns on this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the effect | action of the seal unit which concerns on this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows other embodiment of the seal unit which concerns on this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows other embodiment of the seal unit which concerns on this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows other embodiment of the seal unit which concerns on this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows other embodiment of the seal unit which concerns on this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows other embodiment of the seal unit which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Linear guide apparatus 10 ... Guide rail 11 ... Lower stage side raceway surface 12 ... Upper stage side raceway surface 20 ... Slider 20a ... Side seal 30 ... Seal unit 31 ... Roller member 31a ... Cylindrical body 31b ... Shaft 32 ... Removal member 32a ... Shaft 32b ... Hair body 32c ... Pulley 32d ... Lip part 33 ... Case 34 ... Drive belt 50 ... Actuator 51 ... Turbine blade 53 ... Drive motor

Claims (7)

A linear guide device having a guide rail and a slider slidably engaged so as to straddle the guide rail,
A seal unit is provided on one or both end faces of the slider to prevent intrusion of foreign matter adhered or deposited on the surface of the guide rail,
The seal unit includes a case that is attached to and detached from an end surface of the slider, a roller member that is pivotally supported in the case and is in rolling contact with the guide rail, and the guide rail while being rotated by the roller member. And a removing member that sweeps away and removes foreign matter adhering to the surface of the linear guide device. A linear guide device having a guide rail and a slider slidably engaged so as to straddle the guide rail,
A seal unit is provided on one or both end faces of the slider to prevent intrusion of foreign matter adhered or deposited on the surface of the guide rail,
The seal unit includes a case that is attached to and detached from the end face of the slider, a removal member that is pivotally supported in the case and sweeps and removes foreign matter attached to the surface of the guide rail, and rotates the removal member. A linear guide device having an actuator for driving. The linear guide device according to claim 2,
The linear guide device characterized in that the actuator is a turbine mechanism or a drive motor that drives a rotating shaft of the removal member. In the linear guide device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The removing member has a brush shape in which a large number of hairs having at least a tip portion slidably contacting the surface of the guide rail are planted around a rotating shaft pivotally supported in the case. Linear guide device. In the linear guide device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The removing member has a cylindrical shape or a columnar shape including a lip portion having at least a tip portion slidably contacting the surface of the guide rail around a rotating shaft pivotally supported in the case. Linear guide device. In the linear guide device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A linear guide device comprising a plate-like side seal between the slider end face and a seal unit. A seal unit that prevents intrusion of foreign matter adhering to or accumulating on the surface of the guide rail engaging the slider,
A case attached to and detached from the end face of the slider, a roller member that is pivotally supported in the case and is in rolling contact with the guide rail, and adheres to the surface of the guide rail while rotating following the roller member. And a removing member that sweeps out and removes foreign matter.

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