JP2016169855A - Linear motion guide device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a linear motion guide device which can easily position an attachment posture of an oil supply part while making the oil support part easily attachable to a lubricant supply port of an end cap.SOLUTION: When attaching a grease nipple 20 to a lubricant supply port 7h of an end cap 7, an insertion part 21 of the grease nipple 20 is attached to the lubricant supply port 7h via an elastic sleeve 30. The elastic sleeve 30 has a plurality of protrusions 31 which are arranged at an internal peripheral face 33 in a peripheral direction while being apart from one another. A plurality of the protrusions 31 are formed so that an engagement state for constraining movement to an axial direction and the peripheral direction arises between the elastic sleeve 30 and the insertion part 21 by elastic deformation due to the insertion of the insertion part 21. An external peripheral face 32 of the elastic sleeve 30 is fixed so as to be constrained in movement to the axial direction and the peripheral direction between an internal peripheral face of the lubricant supply port 7h and itself by a force for restoring the external peripheral face to a shape before a force generated by the insertion of the insertion part 21 acts thereon.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a linear motion guide device including a guide rail and a slider that moves relative to the guide rail via a plurality of rolling elements, and particularly lubricates a lubricant supply port of this type of linear motion guide device. The present invention relates to a structure for fixing an oil supply part for supplying an agent.

  As this type of linear motion guide device, for example, a technique described in Patent Document 1 is known. In the technique described in this document, an annular projecting portion that can expand and contract in the radial direction is provided at a lower portion of the oil supply component as a structure for fixing the oil supply component. Moreover, the circular recessed part which can insert a protrusion part is provided in the lubricant supply port side of the end cap. In this oil supply component fixing structure, the oil supply component is fixed by extending and contracting the protruding portion of the oil supply component radially in the recess.

JP 2008-267591 A

However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the annular protrusion is expanded and contracted in the radial direction in the recess and the oil supply component is fixed by the expansion and contraction force, the oil supply by the expansion and contraction force of the annular protrusion is performed. If the restraining force in the circumferential direction of the component is insufficient, there is a possibility that the lubricated component rotates when the lubricant is supplied. Therefore, when the mounting posture of the oil supply component is different from the intended mounting posture, it may be difficult to lubricate the lubricant from the oil supply component.
Therefore, the present invention has been made paying attention to such problems, and can easily position the mounting posture of the oil supply component while allowing the oil supply component to be easily mounted to the lubricant supply port of the end cap. It is an object to provide a linear motion guide device.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a linear motion guide device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a guide rail and a slider that moves relative to each other via a plurality of rolling elements along the guide rail, and the slider includes: A linear motion guide device having end caps at both ends in the direction of relative movement and having a lubricant supply port in at least one of the end caps, the outer peripheral surface of the lubricant supply port being formed such that the outer peripheral surface thereof can be inserted. And a hollow cylindrical elastic sleeve having a plurality of protrusions provided on the inner peripheral surface thereof in a circumferential direction, and a cylindrical shape formed such that the outer peripheral surface can be inserted into the inner periphery of the elastic sleeve. And a plurality of protrusions of the elastic sleeve are formed between the elastic sleeve and the insertion portion by axial deformation due to insertion of the insertion portion of the oil supply component. The elastic sleeve is formed so that an engagement state that restricts movement in the direction is generated, and the elastic sleeve attempts to restore the shape of the plurality of protrusions to a shape before the force due to the insertion of the insertion part is applied. The outer peripheral surface of the elastic sleeve is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the lubricant supply port so as to restrain the movement in the axial direction and the circumferential direction by the force applied.

  According to the linear guide device according to one aspect of the present invention, the elastic sleeve is a hollow cylindrical shape whose outer peripheral surface is inserted into the lubricant supply port so that the lubricant can be inserted. It can be easily attached to the supply port. In addition, since the cylindrical insertion portion is formed so that the outer peripheral surface thereof can be inserted into the inner periphery of the elastic sleeve, the oil supply component can be easily mounted simply by pushing the oil supply component into the elastic sleeve from the axial direction. it can. Therefore, according to the linear motion guide device according to the aspect of the present invention, when attaching the oil supply component to the lubricant supply port of the end cap, the insertion portion of the oil supply component is inserted into the lubricant supply port of the end cap via the elastic sleeve. And can be easily installed.

  The elastic sleeve has a plurality of protrusions provided on the inner peripheral surface of the elastic sleeve so as to be spaced apart in the circumferential direction, and the plurality of protrusions are inserted into the elastic sleeve by elastic deformation due to insertion of the insertion part of the fueling part. The elastic sleeve is formed so that an engagement state that restricts movement in the axial direction and the circumferential direction with respect to each other is generated, and the elastic sleeve has a plurality of protrusions before the force due to insertion of the insertion part acts. The outer peripheral surface of the elastic sleeve is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the lubricant supply port so as to restrain the movement in the axial direction and the circumferential direction by the force to restore the shape of Can be easily positioned.

Here, in the linear motion guide device according to one aspect of the present invention, the elastic sleeve has a flange portion projecting radially outward at an end portion on a side opposite to the side inserted into the lubricant supply port. And it is preferable that the said lubricant supply port has a chamfer part which contact | abuts the said flange part in the peripheral part of the side by which the said elastic sleeve is inserted. With such a configuration, the flange portion of the elastic sleeve is in contact with the chamfered portion of the lubricant supply port, which is suitable for restricting the insertion position of the elastic sleeve.
Further, in the linear motion guide device according to one aspect of the present invention, if the elastic sleeve is manufactured by rolling a thin metal plate, the elastic sleeve for the linear motion guide device according to one aspect of the present invention is manufactured. This is preferable.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily position the mounting posture of the oil supply component while allowing the oil supply component to be easily mounted to the lubricant supply port of the end cap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is explanatory drawing of the linear guide which is one Embodiment of the linear guide apparatus based on this invention, The figure (a) is the top view, (b) is the left view of (a) (viewed from the oil supply component side) FIG. 4A shows a partially broken state. It is ZZ sectional drawing of the end cap part by the side of oil supply components in FIG.1 (b). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is explanatory drawing of one Embodiment of the elastic sleeve which concerns on this invention, The same figure (a) is a development view of a raw material, (b) is an elastic sleeve of the state which rounded and shaped the raw material shown to (a) from an axial direction. FIG. 3C is an enlarged view of a main part in the YY section of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the sleeve mounting process which mounts | wears the lubricant supply port with the elastic sleeve of FIG. It is a figure explaining the image by which an elastic sleeve is fixed in a lubricant supply port. It is explanatory drawing of the oiling component mounting process which inserts the oiling component of FIG. 2 in an elastic sleeve after mounting | wearing a lubricant supply port with an elastic sleeve. It is a figure explaining the state which mounts the insertion part of a lubrication part to a lubricant supply port via an elastic sleeve, The figure (a) shows the figure corresponding to Drawing 2, and (b) shows the figure (a). (C) is an enlarged view of the X portion in the middle of insertion, and (c) is an enlarged view of the X portion after insertion in FIG. It is a figure explaining the modification of the elastic sleeve which concerns on this invention, The same figure (a) is explanatory drawing of the sleeve mounting process which mounts the elastic sleeve of a modification to a lubricant supply port, (b) is after mounting. It is a principal part enlarged view.

  Hereinafter, a linear guide which is an embodiment of a linear motion guide device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. The drawings are schematic. For this reason, it should be noted that the relationship between the thickness and the planar dimension, the ratio, and the like are different from the actual ones, and the dimensional relationship and the ratio are different between the drawings. Further, the following embodiments exemplify apparatuses and methods for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the technical idea of the present invention is the material, shape, structure, and arrangement of components. Etc. are not specified in the following embodiments.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the linear guide 10 includes a guide rail 1 formed in a linear shape and a slider 2 having a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional shape straddling the guide rail 1. A total of four rolling element rolling grooves 4 are formed on the left and right side portions of the guide rail 1 as tracks. On the other hand, the slider 2 has rolling element rolling grooves 6 on the inner surface thereof as four tracks facing the rolling element rolling grooves 4 of the guide rail 1. A plurality of rolling elements 3 are interposed in the rolling element rolling path 8 formed by the rolling rail rolling grooves 4 and 6 between the guide rail 1 and the slider 2.

The slider 2 includes a slider main body 5 and a pair of end caps 7 attached to both end surface portions 5 a of the slider main body 5. The slider body 5 is made of metal, and a rolling element return passage 11 that penetrates in the axial direction of the slider body 5 is formed in parallel with the rolling element rolling groove 6.
The pair of end caps 7 are made of synthetic resin, and are formed in a substantially U-shape that is substantially similar to the outer shape of the slider body 5 and has substantially the same dimensions (see FIG. 1B). Each end cap 7 is attached to both end faces of the slider 2 with two fixing screws 28.

Inside each end cap 7, two substantially U-shaped direction change paths 12 are formed in the left and right sleeve portions 7 s (see FIG. 1B). Each direction change path 12 connects ends of the rolling element return path 11 and the rolling element rolling path 8 to each other. The rolling element rolling path 8, the rolling element return path 11, and the direction change paths 12 on both sides are annular. There are four infinite circulation paths.
The rolling elements 3 are inserted into the rolling element rolling paths 8 and loosely fitted in the direction changing paths 12 and the rolling element return paths 11 with respect to the infinite circulation paths. As a result, the rolling element 3 that has rolled on the rolling element rolling path 8 in accordance with the relative movement of the slider 2 is changed in direction by the direction changing path 12 in one end cap 7 and then introduced into the rolling element return path 11. Thus, the slider 2 can be relatively moved along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 1 through the plurality of rolling elements 3 while circulating from the opposite direction change path 12 to the rolling element rolling path 8 again. It has become.

A grease nipple 20 is provided on one end cap 7 (in this example, the left side in FIG. 1A) of the pair of end caps 7. An oil passage (not shown) that communicates with the grease nipple 20 and supplies a lubricant to the endless circulation path is formed inside the end cap 7 provided with the grease nipple 20. The oil supply port and the oil passage may be provided in at least one of the end caps 7.
Here, in the grease nipple 20 of the present embodiment, as shown in a cross-sectional view of the main part in FIG. 2, the insertion portion 21 of the grease nipple 20 is connected to the lubricant supply port 7 h of the end cap 7 via the cylindrical elastic sleeve 30. It is attached to.

  Specifically, the grease nipple 20 is a metal oil supply part having an oil supply opening, and has a cylindrical insertion portion 21 at one end of an elbow type. The insertion portion 21 is not formed with a male screw or the like on the outer peripheral surface, and is a smooth cylindrical surface. Further, the thickness of the insertion portion 21 is made thin in consideration of the elastic deformation amount described later. The insertion portion 21 is formed so that its outer peripheral surface can be inserted into the inner periphery of the elastic sleeve 30. The axial length of the insertion portion 21 is slightly shorter than the axial length of the lubricant supply port 7h.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the elastic sleeve 30 has a hollow cylindrical shape manufactured by rolling a metal thin plate formed in a strip shape along the longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. It is a part. In the rolled state, both end portions of the belt are opposed to each other with a slight gap.
Here, the outer diameter of the rolled elastic sleeve 30 is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the lubricant supply port 7h of the end cap 7, but the elastic sleeve 30 is contracted by elastic deformation corresponding to the gap between the two end portions. By making the diameter, as shown in FIG. 2, the outer peripheral surface 32 can be inserted into the lubricant supply port 7 h of the end cap 7. The length of the elastic sleeve 30 in the axial direction is the same as the length of the insertion portion 21 in the axial direction, and is slightly shorter than the length of the lubricant supply port 7h in the axial direction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the elastic sleeve 30 has a plurality of protrusions 31 provided on the inner peripheral surface 33 thereof so as to be spaced apart in the circumferential direction. In this example, the plurality of protrusions 31 are formed at four locations that are separated by about 90 degrees in the circumferential direction. The plurality of protrusions 31 are formed in advance by press molding on a strip-shaped thin plate material.
Here, the plurality of protrusions 31 of the elastic sleeve 30 are formed so as to be elastically deformed by insertion of the insertion portion 21 of the grease nipple 20. Further, the insertion portion 21 of the grease nipple 20 is also formed of a material that is elastically deformed in the radial direction by contact with the plurality of protrusions 31 of the elastic sleeve 30 (see FIG. 2).

As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 3C, the plurality of protrusions 31 have a low protruding height on the insertion side (left side in the drawing) of the insertion portion 21 and are deep in the insertion direction (same as the same). The protrusion height increases as going to the right side of the figure, and further has an inclined surface that continues from the entry side to the back side.
Therefore, in the linear guide 10, when the insertion portion 21 is inserted into the elastic sleeve 30, when the insertion portion 21 is inserted from the entry side, the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion 21 extends along the inclined surfaces of the plurality of protrusions 31. Is guided (see FIGS. 7B and 7C). Therefore, the insertion part 21 can be smoothly inserted into the elastic sleeve 30. Further, in the direction in which the insertion portion 21 is to be pulled out, the plurality of protrusions 31 function as “reverse wrinkles”, which makes it easy to hold the insertion position of the grease nipple 20.

  As a result, when the insertion portion 21 of the grease nipple 20 is inserted into the inner peripheral surface 33 of the elastic sleeve 30, the linear guide 10 is inserted into the elastic sleeve 30 as shown in FIG. It is formed so that the engagement state which restrains the movement to a mutual axial direction and the circumferential direction between the parts 21 arises. In addition, in the same figure, the image (part shown with the code | symbol 21k) of the engagement state by elastic deformation is exaggerated and shown.

  Further, the elastic sleeve 30 has a lubricant as shown in an image in FIG. 5 by the force that the plurality of protrusions 31 attempt to restore the shape before the force due to the insertion of the insertion portion 21 of the grease nipple 20 is applied. A pressing force F is applied to the inner peripheral surface of the supply port 7h at a location opposite to the plurality of protrusions 31. As a result, the elastic sleeve 30 is fixed between the outer peripheral surface 32 and the inner peripheral surface of the lubricant supply port 7h with restrained movement in the axial direction and the circumferential direction.

Next, functions and effects of the linear guide 10 will be described.
In this linear guide 10, when the grease nipple 20 is attached to the lubricant supply port 7h of the end cap 7, an elastic sleeve 30 provided with a plurality of protrusions 31 on the inner peripheral surface 33 is used, as shown in FIG. First, the elastic sleeve 30 is inserted into the lubricant supply port 7 h of the end cap 7. The elastic sleeve 30 is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the lubricant supply port 7h without a gap by elastic deformation corresponding to the gap between both ends. The insertion position of the elastic sleeve 30 is a position where the end face on the entry side (left side in the figure) is flush.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the grease nipple 20 is inserted into the inner periphery of the elastic sleeve 30 with respect to the lubricant supply port 7 h into which the elastic sleeve 30 has been inserted. Since the plurality of protrusions 31 have inclined surfaces that continue from the entry side toward the back side, and the protrusion height of the protrusions 31 increases toward the back side in the insertion direction, the insertion part 21 is elastic. It can be smoothly inserted into the sleeve 30.
Thereby, in this linear guide 10, the grease nipple 20 is attached to the lubricant supply port 7 h of the end cap 7 via the elastic sleeve 30. Therefore, according to the structure for fixing the grease nipple 20 of the linear guide 10, the grease nipple 20 can be easily inserted into the lubricant supply port 7 h of the end cap 7.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 7, when the grease nipple 20 is inserted up to the proximal end of the insertion portion 21, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 7 (b), when the insertion portion 21 is inserted from the entry side, The insertion part 21 is elastically deformed along the inclined surfaces of the plurality of protrusions 31. Then, as it is inserted, the elastically deformed position moves as shown in FIG. 5B, and the plurality of protrusions 31 provided on the inner peripheral surface 33 of the elastic sleeve 30 are inserted into the grease nipple 20. Engage with the outer peripheral surface of each part. This “engagement” refers to an engagement state generated by mutual elastic deformation of the cylindrical elastic sleeve 30 and the insertion portion 21 of the grease nipple 20. At the same time, the elastic sleeve 30 is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the lubricant supply port 7 h of the end cap 7 by the pressing force F.

  In other words, in this linear guide 10, the elastic sleeve 30 is configured such that the plurality of protrusions 31 are elastically deformed by the insertion of the insertion portion 21 of the grease nipple 20, so that the elastic sleeve 30 and the insertion portion 21 are in the axial and circumferential directions. Since the engagement state that restricts the movement to the elastic sleeve 30 is formed, the mounting posture of the grease nipple 20 with respect to the elastic sleeve 30 can be easily positioned.

  At this time, as shown in FIGS. 7B and 7C, the engagement state 21k is due to elastic deformation, so that the engagement state 21k moves sequentially according to the insertion position of the grease nipple 20, and the protrusion 31 The deformation state shown in the engagement state 21k is limited only to the position opposite to. Therefore, the restraining force in the removal direction can be maintained. In particular, in the present embodiment, since the plurality of protrusions 31 function as “reverse wrinkles” in the direction in which the insertion portion 21 is to be pulled out, the insertion position of the grease nipple 20 is more reliably maintained.

  Further, the elastic sleeve 30 has an outer peripheral surface 32 of the elastic sleeve 30 that is restored to the shape before the force due to the insertion of the insertion portion 21 is applied to the plurality of protrusions 31. Since it is fixed to the surface so as to restrain the movement in the axial direction and the circumferential direction, the mounting posture of the elastic sleeve 30 with respect to the lubricant supply port 7h can be easily positioned.

  Therefore, according to the fixing structure of the grease nipple 20 of the linear guide 10, the grease nipple 20 can be easily inserted into the lubricant supply port 7h of the end cap 7, and the grease nipple 20 with respect to the lubricant supply port 7h can be easily inserted. The mounting posture can be easily positioned. The linear motion guide device according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, a hollow cylindrical part manufactured by rolling a metal thin plate has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the elastic sleeve 30 is manufactured by, for example, MIM (metal powder injection molding). May be. Moreover, although the elastic sleeve 30 demonstrated in the said embodiment in the example of a hollow cylinder shape, you may form a flange in the elastic sleeve 30 as shown not only in this but the modification in FIG.

  That is, as shown in the figure, the elastic sleeve 30 of this modification has an annular flange portion 34 projecting radially outward at the end opposite to the side inserted into the lubricant supply port 7h. Have. On the other hand, the lubricant supply port 7h of this modified example has an annular chamfered portion 7m that contacts the flange portion 34 at the peripheral portion on the side where the elastic sleeve 30 is inserted. The rest of the configuration is the same as in the above embodiment.

  With such a configuration, the flange portion 34 of the elastic sleeve 30 is in contact with the chamfered portion 7m of the lubricant supply port 7h, which is suitable for restricting the insertion position of the elastic sleeve to an intended position. Therefore, for example, as in the above-described embodiment, the elastic sleeve 30 is not limited to a configuration in which the elastic sleeve 30 is elastically deformed by a gap between both end portions and is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the lubricant supply port 7h without a gap. Is suitable for maintaining the insertion position of the elastic sleeve 30.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Guide rail 2 Slider 3 Rolling body 4 Rolling body rolling groove (of guide rail) 5 Slider body 6 Rolling body rolling groove of (slider) 7 End cap 7h Lubricant supply port 8 Rolling body rolling path 10 Linear guide ( Linear motion guide device)
11 Rolling body return path 12 Direction change path 20 Grease nipple (oil supply parts)
21 Insertion part (of grease nipple) 28 Fixing screw 30 Elastic sleeve 31 Projection part of (elastic sleeve) 32 Outer peripheral surface of (elastic sleeve) 33 Inner peripheral surface of (elastic sleeve)

Claims (3)

A guide rail and a slider that moves relative to the guide rail via a plurality of rolling elements, the slider having end caps at both ends in the direction of relative movement, and at least one of the end caps. A linear motion guide device having a lubricant supply port,
A hollow cylindrical elastic sleeve having a plurality of protrusions provided on the inner peripheral surface of the lubricant supply port so that an outer peripheral surface thereof can be inserted and spaced apart from the inner peripheral surface of the lubricant supply port. An oil supply part having a cylindrical insertion portion formed on the periphery so that the outer peripheral surface thereof can be inserted;
The plurality of protrusions of the elastic sleeve have an engagement state that restricts movement in the axial direction and the circumferential direction between the elastic sleeve and the insertion portion by elastic deformation due to insertion of the insertion portion of the oil supply component. Formed to occur,
Further, the elastic sleeve is configured such that the outer peripheral surface of the elastic sleeve becomes the inner peripheral surface of the lubricant supply port by a force that the plurality of protrusions attempt to restore the shape before the force due to the insertion of the insertion portion is applied. The linear motion guide device is fixed so as to restrain movement in the axial direction and the circumferential direction.   The elastic sleeve has an annular flange portion projecting radially outward at an end opposite to the side inserted into the lubricant supply port, and the lubricant supply port includes the elastic sleeve The linear motion guide device according to claim 1, further comprising an annular chamfered portion that comes into contact with the flange portion at a peripheral edge portion on the insertion side.   The linear guide device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic sleeve is manufactured by rolling a thin metal plate.

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