JP2013164118A - Side seal for linear guide device, and linear guide device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a side seal for a linear guide device that is superior in both sealing performance and dust prevention performance, and reduced in a seal friction force.SOLUTION: A side seal is constituted of seal members 1A, 1B different in material quality, a holding plate 2 and a cover 3. On first faces of bases 12 of both the seal members 1A, 1B, there are formed recesses (engaged parts) 12a fit to protrusions 21 of the holding plate 2. Inclinations of lips 11a, 11b of both the seal members 1A, 1B are reversed so as to be separated from each other. A tip of the lip 11a of the first seal member 1A has a shape which face-contacts with the surface of a guide rail. A tip of the lip 11b of the second seal member 1B has a shape which line-contacts with the surface of the guide rail.

Description

  The present invention relates to a side seal that is fixed to both ends in a moving direction of a slider constituting a linear guide device.

A conventional example of a linear guide device is shown in FIG. The linear guide device includes a guide rail 100, a slider (also referred to as “bearing”) 200, and a plurality of rollers (rolling elements) 300. The guide rail 100 and the slider 200 have rolling grooves 110 and 210 that face each other and form a rolling path of the roller 300.
The slider 200 is divided into a slider body 201, end caps 202 fixed to both ends thereof, and side seals 203 fixed to both ends thereof in the linear motion direction (the length direction of the guide rail 1). The rolling groove 210 is formed in the slider body 201. Side seals 203 disposed at both ends of the slider 102 in the linear motion direction seal between the slider 200 and the upper surface and both side surfaces of the guide rail 100.

The slider 200 also has a return path 221 of the roller 300 and a direction changing path 222 that connects the return path 221 and the rolling path. The return passage 221 is formed in the slider body 201, and the direction changing path 222 is formed in the end cap 202. A female screw 205 for attaching a table or the like with screws is formed on the upper surface of the slider 200.
Mounting holes for the grease nipple 400 are formed in the side seal 203 and the end cap 202. A lubricant is introduced from the grease nipple 400 into the oil passage of the end cap 202, and the linear guide device is lubricated. The side seal 203 and the end cap 202 are fixed to the slider body 201 with bolts 500. The guide rail 100 is formed with an attachment hole 120 for attaching the guide rail 100 to the attached portion such as a base with a bolt.

In this linear guide device, a rolling path of the rolling element is constituted by the rolling path, the return path, and the direction changing path, and the roller 300 circulates in the circulating path, whereby one of the guide rail 100 and the slider 200 is moved. Moves linearly relative to the other.
As a conventional example of the side seal of such a linear guide device, the base of a rubber seal member is fixed to a metal holding plate, and the lip portion of the seal member is used in contact with the upper surface and both side surfaces of the guide rail. To do.

  In Patent Document 1, a side seal holding plate (case portion) and a seal member (seal portion) having a lip portion (seal lip) are configured as separate members, and a guide rail is provided on the opposite side of the seal member holding plate. It is described that a scraper portion is provided to be opposed to the outer surface with a gap. The holding plate and the seal part are engaged with each other by a concave-convex fit. According to this side seal, a relatively large foreign matter is first removed at the scraper portion, so that the life of the seal lip is extended and the operability is improved.

Patent Document 2 accepts two seal members whose lip portions (seal lips) are inclined in opposite directions, a single support plate that supports these seal members, and a base portion and a support plate of these seal members. And a side seal (scraper) comprising a housing having a recessed portion.
This side seal is configured as described above so that the seal member can be replaced without removing the entire slider (guide carriage) from the guide rail (guide rail). In addition, the structure of the support plate can be supported without impairing the function as a side seal in both cases of supporting two seal members and supporting only one seal member made of a material that is easily bent. Yes.

In Patent Document 3, an integrated seal member having a lip portion (slider side lip) facing the slider body side and a lip portion (dust side lip) facing the opposite side is fixed to a metal holding plate. Side seals are described. This side seal is provided with both the slider-side lip and the dust-side lip, thereby improving both the sealing performance and the dustproof performance.
Further, it is described that a cover (protector) for protecting from high-temperature and high-hardness foreign matter is disposed outside the side seal. By providing a gap between the cover and the dust side lip, an increase in the sealing frictional force accompanying the movement of the slider is prevented.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-211900 Special table 2008-528895 JP 2008-133938 A

The side seals of Patent Documents 1 to 3 have room for improvement in terms of improving sealing performance and dustproof performance and reducing seal frictional force.
An object of the present invention is to provide a side guide for a linear guide device that is excellent in both sealing performance and dustproof performance and has reduced seal frictional force.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a side seal for a linear guide device according to the present invention includes a guide rail, a slider, and a plurality of rolling elements, and the guide rail and the slider are arranged to face each other so as to roll. A linear guide device in which one of the guide rail and the slider moves linearly relative to the other when a rolling element rolls in the rolling path. A side seal that is fixed to both ends of the slider in the moving direction and seals between the slider and the upper surface and both side surfaces of the guide rail, the upper member facing the upper surface and both side surfaces of the guide rail with a gap therebetween; Two covers made of both side members, two seal members for bringing the lip portion into contact with the upper surface and both side surfaces of the guide rail, and the base portions of the two seal members in the thickness direction And holding plates sandwiched between the two covers, and the two sealing members are in opposite directions in which the lip portions are inclined apart from each other (the direction of the cover side adjacent to each other) The material is also different.

According to the side seal for the linear guide device of the present invention, since the inclination of the lip portions of the two seal members is opposite to each other (direction of the cover side adjacent to each other), both the sealing performance and the dustproof performance Excellent. Moreover, since the materials of the two seal members are different, the seal friction force can be reduced by appropriately selecting the material of each seal member.
As the side seal for the linear guide device according to the present invention, one of the two seal members has a shape in which the tip of the lip portion is in surface contact with the surface of the guide rail, and the other is the tip of the lip portion. The thing which has the shape which carries out a line contact with the surface of a guide rail is mentioned. By comprising in this way, while being excellent in both sealing performance and dustproof performance, it can be made the thing with reduced seal frictional force.

The side seal for a linear guide device according to the present invention is excellent in both sealing performance and dustproof performance and reduced in sealing frictional force by making the lip portions of the two sealing members different in thickness. Can be.
The side seal for the linear guide device according to the present invention is excellent in both sealing performance and dustproof performance by making the tightening margin of the lip portion with respect to the surface of the guide rail of the two seal members different from each other. Can be reduced.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a side seal for a linear guide device that is excellent in both sealing performance and dustproof performance and has reduced seal frictional force.

It is a perspective view showing two seal members, a holding plate, and two covers which constitute a side seal of one embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the 1st sealing member and 2nd sealing member of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2 showing the first seal member, and a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 2 showing the second seal member. It is a front view which shows the holding plate of FIG. It is CC sectional drawing of FIG. It is the front view which looked at the side seal of FIG. 1 from the cover side. It is sectional drawing (equivalent to DD sectional drawing of FIG. 6) which shows the side seal of FIG. It is a schematic block diagram which shows an example of the linear guide apparatus which attached the side seal of FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view (corresponding to a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. 6) showing an example of a side seal having a different seal member shape from FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view (corresponding to a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. 6) showing an example of a side seal having a different seal member shape from FIG. It is a partially broken perspective view which shows the prior art example of a linear guide apparatus.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
The side seal of this embodiment is the side seal for the linear guide device shown in FIG. 11, and includes two seal members 1A and 1B, a holding plate 2 and two covers 3 as shown in FIG. It is configured.
As shown in FIG. 2, the two seal members 1 </ b> A and 1 </ b> B are arranged as viewed from the front, and are arranged on the upper side of the guide rail and on the left and right sides of the guide rail. It is divided into a seal portion 1b. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the seal members 1A and 1B are provided with lip portions 11a and 11b that are brought into contact with the upper surface and both side surfaces of the guide rail in a direction in which the seal portions 1a and 1b face the guide rail. And the base 12 held by the holding plate 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, the base 12 of the seal members 1 </ b> A and 1 </ b> B is formed with a concave portion (engagement portion that engages with the holding plate 2 with an uneven fit) 12 a on the first surface 13 in the thickness direction. ing. The base 12 is divided into a tip end 12b and a base end 12c by the recess 12a.
The lip portions 11a and 11b of the seal members 1A and 1B are formed at the distal end portion 12b of the base portion 12, and are inclined from the first surface 13 side in the thickness direction of the base portion 12 to the second surface 14 side. The third surface 15 which is the outermost surface (the side away from the guide rail) of the seal member 1 is orthogonal to the first and second surfaces 13 and 14 of the base end portion 12c.

The first sealing member 1A is made of an elastic body (for example, a thermoplastic elastomer) that has a Young's modulus of 50 to 300 N / mm ² (preferably 100 to 200 N / mm ² ) and is not easily bent, and is shown in FIG. Thus, the tip of the lip portion 11a has a shape that makes surface contact with the upper surface and both side surfaces of the guide rail. The second sealing member 1B is made of a flexible body (for example, nitrile rubber, fluororubber) having a Young's modulus of 3 to 50 N / mm ² (preferably 5 to 20 N / mm ² ), and is shown in FIG. As shown, the tip of the lip portion 11b has a shape in line contact with the upper surface and both side surfaces of the guide rail.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the holding plate 2 has substantially the same surface shape as the end cap 202 (FIG. 11) constituting the slider 200 (FIG. 11), and is disposed on the upper side of the guide rail 100. It consists of the part 2a and the side part 2b arrange | positioned at the left-right each side of the guide rail 100. As shown in FIG. A through hole 52 through which the bolt 500 (FIG. 11) is passed and a through hole 42 to which the grease nipple 400 (FIG. 11) is attached are formed in the upper portion 2a. A through hole 52 through which the bolt 500 passes is formed in the side portion 2b. A holding portion 20 that holds the base portion 12 of the seal member 1 is formed on the inner side (guide rail side) of the holding plate 2.

  The holding portion 20 is formed on the convex portion 21 that fits into the concave portion 12 a of the base portion 12 of the sealing members 1 </ b> A and 1 </ b> B, the first holding surface 22 formed on the inner side of the convex portion 21, and on the outer side of the convex portion 21. It consists of a second holding surface 23 and a third holding surface 24 formed outside the second holding surface 23. The first holding surface 22 and the second holding surface 23 are parallel to the plate surface of the holding plate 2, and the third holding surface 24 is orthogonal to the plate surface of the holding plate 2.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the cover 3 has substantially the same surface shape as the end cap 202 constituting the slider 200, an upper member 31 facing the upper surface of the guide rail 100 with a gap, and a guide rail The left and right side surfaces 100 and side members 32 facing each other with a gap therebetween. The upper member 31 is formed with a through hole 53 through which the bolt 500 passes and a through hole 43 to which the grease nipple 400 is attached. A through hole 53 through which the bolt 500 is passed is formed in the side member 32.

  The side seal of this embodiment is assembled by holding the sealing members 1 </ b> A and 1 </ b> B on the holding plate 2 and arranging the covers 3 on both sides of the holding plate 2. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the sealing members 1 </ b> A and 1 </ b> B are fitted to the holding plate by fitting the concave portions 12 a of the base portions 12 of the sealing members 1 </ b> A and 1 </ b> B into the convex portions 21 of the holding portions 20 of the holding plate 2. 2 is held. At that time, the base end portion 12c fits into a recess formed by the third holding surface 24, the second holding surface 23, and the surface of the convex portion 21 that faces the third holding surface 24. . For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the side seals 203 are attached to both ends of the slider 200 in the moving direction.

  As described above, in the side seal of this embodiment, the inclinations of the lip portions 11a and 11b of the two seal members 1A and 1B are opposite to each other (each facing the adjacent cover 3 side). Excellent sealing and dustproof performance. In addition, the seal friction force is reduced by appropriately selecting the material of the seal members 1A and 1B. Furthermore, since the tip shape of the lip portion 11a of the first seal member 1A is a surface contact shape and the tip shape of the lip portion 11b of the second seal member 1B is a line contact shape, both the sealing performance and the dustproof performance are excellent. The seal friction force is reduced.

A side seal according to another embodiment is shown in a sectional view (corresponding to a sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. 6) in FIGS.
The side seal 203 in FIG. 9 has both the lip portion 11a of the first seal member 1A and the lip portion 11b of the second seal member 1B in a surface contact shape, and the guide rail 100 at the distal end portion of the first seal member 1A. The thickness of the contact portion is made thicker than the thickness of the contact portion with the guide rail 100 at the tip of the second seal member 1B. Specifically, the thickness of the first seal member 1A is about 0.08 to 2 mm, and the thickness of the second seal member 1B is preferably about 0.05 to 1.5 mm.
In the example of FIG. 9 as well, the first seal member 1A is made of an elastic body (for example, a thermoplastic elastomer) that has a Young's modulus of 50 to 300 N / mm ² (preferably 100 to 200 N / mm ² ) and is not easily bent. The second sealing member 1B is made of an elastic body (for example, nitrile rubber or fluororubber) having a Young's modulus of 3 to 50 N / mm ² (preferably 5 to 20 N / mm ² ) and is easily bent. . This also provides a side seal that is excellent in both sealing performance and dustproof performance and has reduced seal frictional force.

The side seal 203 in FIG. 10 has both the lip portion 11a of the first seal member 1A and the lip portion 11b of the second seal member 1B in a surface contact shape and the same thickness. Further, the tightening margin by the lip portion 11a of the first seal member 1A is made larger by δ than the tightening margin by the lip portion 11b of the seal member 1B. The value of Δ is preferably 0.1 to 0.5 mm. Also in the example of FIG. 10, the first sealing member 1A is made of an elastic body (for example, a thermoplastic elastomer) that has a Young's modulus of 50 to 300 N / mm ² (preferably 100 to 200 N / mm ² ) and is difficult to bend. The second sealing member 1B is made of an elastic body (for example, nitrile rubber or fluororubber) having a Young's modulus of 3 to 50 N / mm ² (preferably 5 to 20 N / mm ² ) and is easily bent. . This also provides a side seal that is excellent in both sealing performance and dustproof performance and has reduced seal frictional force.

  In addition, as a material for the first seal member 1A and the second seal member 1B, a synthetic rubber or a thermoplastic elastomer containing a self-lubricating material may be used. Further, one of the first seal member 1A and the second seal member 1B can be made of a different material by including a material having self-lubricating property in the other material.

1A First seal member 1B Second seal member 1a Upper seal portion 1b Side seal portion 11a First seal member lip portion 11b Second seal member lip portion 12 Base portion 12a Base recess portion 12b Base end portion 12c Base end portion 13 Base first surface 14 Base second surface 15 Base third surface 2 Holding plate 2a Holding plate upper portion 2b Holding plate side portion 20 Holding portion 21 Protruding portion 22 First holding surface 23 Second holding surface 24 Third holding surface 3 Cover 31 Cover upper member 32 Cover side member 42 Through hole 43 for attaching a grease nipple Through hole 52 for attaching a grease nipple Through hole 53 for passing a bolt Through hole 100 through which the bolt passes Guide rail 110 Rolling surface 200 of the guide rail Slider 201 Slider body 202 End cap 203 Side seal 205 Female Flip 210 slider rolling surface 221 return passage 222 the direction changing passage 300 rollers (rolling elements)
400 Grease nipple 500 bolt

Claims (5)

A guide rail, a slider, and a plurality of rolling elements, wherein the guide rail and the slider have rolling surfaces that are arranged to face each other and form a rolling path of the rolling element, When the rolling element rolls, one of the guide rail and the slider is fixed to both ends of the slider constituting the linear guide device that linearly moves relative to the other, and the upper surface and both sides of the slider and the guide rail are fixed. A side seal that seals between the upper surface and both side surfaces of the guide rail with a gap between the upper member and the two members, and a lip portion on the upper surface and both sides of the guide rail. Two sealing members that are in contact with the surface, and holding plates that hold the base portions of the two sealing members on each surface in the thickness direction and are sandwiched between the two covers. The two seal members are opposite to the inclination of the lip away from each other, a linear guide device for side seal, wherein also different materials. One of the two seal members has a shape in which the tip of the lip portion makes surface contact with the surface of the guide rail, and the other has a shape in which the tip of the lip portion makes line contact with the surface of the guide rail. The side seal for a linear guide device according to claim 1. The side seal for a linear guide device according to claim 1, wherein the two sealing members have different lip thicknesses. The side seal for a linear guide device according to claim 1, wherein the two seal members have different lip-tightening margins with respect to the surface of the guide rail. A linear guide device in which the side seal according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is fixed to both ends of the slider in the moving direction.

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