JP2017215003A - Side seal for linear motion guide device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily fit a slider which is fixed with a side seal from one end of a guide rail in a longitudinal direction, in a linear motion guide device having a raceway groove which is formed of a raceway groove and a relief groove, and in which a recess extending along a longitudinal direction is formed at a side face, and the side seal in which a reinforcing plate exists even at a portion intruding into the relief groove of a lip part.SOLUTION: A lip part 63 of a main body 62 constituting a side seal 6 has a first tip 631 and a second tip 632 which continue along a longitudinal direction D of a guide rail 1. The second tip 632 exists at an anti-slider side H rather than the first tip 631. The first tip 631 is an advancing part which gradually approximates the guide rail 1 as progressing toward the anti-slider side H from a slider side S along the longitudinal direction D, and the second tip 632 is a relief part which gradually separates from the guide rail 1 as progressing toward the anti-slider side H from the slider side S along the longitudinal direction D.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a side seal for a linear motion guide device.

  The linear motion guide device includes a guide rail, a slider, and a plurality of rolling elements. The slider has a shape in which a leg portion arranged on the outer side of each side surface of the guide rail and a trunk portion connecting both the leg portions are integrated. The guide rail and the slider each have a raceway surface that forms a rolling path of the rolling elements at positions facing each other, and both raceway surfaces extend in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail. The linear motion guide device is a device in which a slider linearly moves along a guide rail via a rolling element that rolls in a rolling state in a rolling path.

  In a linear guide device having a ball as a rolling element, a raceway groove is provided as a raceway surface, and a relief groove is formed on the bottom surface of the raceway groove formed on the side surface of the guide rail. A holding wire is disposed in the escape groove. The holding wire is for holding the ball at the time of assembling the linear motion guide device to prevent dropping, and is disposed in the escape groove so as not to interfere with the ball during use of the linear motion guide device. As described above, in the linear motion guide device having a ball as a rolling element, the side surface of the guide rail is formed with a recess that includes the raceway groove and the escape groove and extends in the longitudinal direction.

Further, in the linear motion guide device, dustproof side seals are attached to both ends of the slider in the moving direction. The side seal has a lip portion that closes between the guide rail and the slider and is in sliding contact with the guide rail.
In Patent Document 1, as a side seal for a linear motion guide device having a ball as a rolling element, a side seal provided with a reinforcing plate disposed on the slider side and a rubber plate integrally fixed to the reinforcing plate. Is described. In this side seal, the rubber plate has a lip portion, and the lip portion has a groove insertion portion that enters the concave portion of the guide rail. The reinforcing plate is also present in the portion of the groove insertion portion that enters the escape groove. Thereby, since the rigidity of a lip | rip part becomes high, sealing performance improves.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 06-35649

  A linear guide device having a ball as a rolling element is assembled by inserting a slider, in which a ball arranged in a raceway groove is held by a holding wire and a side seal is fixed, from one end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail. However, when the rigidity of the lip portion is high as in the side seal of Patent Document 1, particularly when the tightening allowance between the guide rail and the lip portion is large, the side seal is It becomes difficult to fit the fixed slider from one end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail.

  Furthermore, when the clearance groove is narrow and deeper than the groove width, a reinforcing plate is also present at the portion of the lip that enters the clearance groove, so that the slider with the side seal fixed can be used as a guide rail. If it is forced to fit, the reinforcing plate in the portion of the lip that enters the relief groove is bent or the tip of the lip is damaged. As a countermeasure, it is conceivable to chamfer the corner of one end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail. However, since the raceway groove and the relief portion are small and have a complicated shape, the chamfering process takes time and the manufacturing cost increases.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a guide rail that includes a raceway groove and a relief groove, and a recess that extends along the longitudinal direction is formed on a side surface, and a side seal in which a reinforcing plate is also present in a portion of the lip portion that enters the relief groove. In the linear motion guide device having the above, the slider to which the side seal is fixed is easily fitted from one end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail.

In order to solve the above-described problems, one aspect of the present invention is a side seal for a linear motion guide device, characterized by having the following configurations (1) to (5).
(1) Used together with the guide rail and the ball, fixed to the end portion in the moving direction of the slider constituting the linear motion guide device. In the linear motion guide device, concave portions extending along the longitudinal direction are formed on both side surfaces of the guide rail, the raceway groove of the ball and the relief groove formed on the bottom surface of the raceway groove. is there.

(2) A reinforcing plate disposed on the slider side and a main body made of a highly elastic material (rubber or thermoplastic elastomer). The main body has a surface opposite to the slider side of the reinforcing plate and the guide. It is fixed on the surface facing the rail.
(3) The reinforcing plate is disposed between the pair of legs disposed outside the both side surfaces of the guide rail via a gap and the pair of legs connected to the guide rail via the gap. The body part has an integrated shape. The leg portion has a convex portion disposed in the concave portion with a gap. The convex part has a base part arranged in the track groove and a tip part arranged in the escape groove.

(4) The main body includes a lip portion that slidably contacts the guide rail while filling the gap between the guide rail and the leg portion, the trunk portion, and the convex portion.
(5) The lip portion has a first tip portion and a second tip portion that are continuous along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail. The second tip is present on the side opposite the slider than the first tip. The first tip portion is an advancing portion that gradually approaches the guide rail as it goes from the slider side to the non-slider side along the longitudinal direction. The second tip portion is a clearance portion that gradually moves away from the guide rail as it goes from the slider side to the non-slider side along the longitudinal direction.

  In the side seal for a linear motion guide device according to the present invention, the tip portion of the lip portion has a relief portion on the side opposite to the slider. Therefore, the slider to which the side seal is fixed comprises a raceway groove and a relief groove along the longitudinal direction. It becomes easy to insert from the longitudinal direction one end of the guide rail in which the recessed part extended in this way was formed in the side surface.

It is a perspective view which shows the linear guide apparatus of embodiment. In the linear guide apparatus of embodiment, it is a front view which shows the state which removed the end cap from the slider. It is a front view which shows the side seal of embodiment. It is a front view which shows the relationship between the guide rail which comprises the linear motion guide apparatus of embodiment, and the reinforcement board of a side seal. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the side seal of an embodiment, and corresponds to the AA sectional view of FIG.

Hereinafter, although embodiment of this invention is described, this invention is not limited to embodiment shown below. In the embodiment described below, a technically preferable limitation is made for carrying out the present invention, but this limitation is not an essential requirement of the present invention.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the linear guide device 10 of this embodiment includes a guide rail 1, a slider 2, a grease nipple 24, a plurality of balls 3, a cage 4, and a holding wire 5. The side seal 6 and the under seal 7 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, the slider 2 is divided into a slider body 21 made of metal and a pair of end caps 22 made of synthetic resin in the moving direction of the slider 2 (that is, the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 1). A side seal 6 is fixed to the end of the slider 2 in the moving direction.
As shown in FIG. 2, the slider main body 21 has a structure in which leg portions 211 arranged on both sides in the width direction of the guide rail 1 and a body portion 212 that couples both leg portions 211 are integrated.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the guide rail 1 is made of metal and has an upper surface 111 that faces the inner surface of the body portion 212 of the slider 2 and a side surface 112 that faces the inner surface of the leg portion 211 of the slider 2. In the guide rail 1, upper corner portions including an upper surface 111 and side surfaces 112, and track grooves 11 and 12 extending along the longitudinal direction are formed on the side surfaces 112. A clearance groove 13 extending along the longitudinal direction is formed on the bottom surface of the track groove 12 on each side surface 112. That is, the side surface 122 of the guide rail 1 is formed with a recess 14 that includes the raceway groove 12 and the escape groove 13 and extends along the longitudinal direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, raceway grooves 213 and 214 are formed inside the leg portion 211 of the slider body 21. The track groove 213 is formed at a position facing the track groove 11 at the upper corner of the guide rail 1. The track groove 214 is formed at a position facing the track groove 12 on the side surface 112 of the guide rail 1. The track grooves 11 and 12 of the guide rail 1 and the track grooves 213 and 214 of the slider 2 facing each other form a two-to-four load rolling path.

  Two legs and four rows of return paths 215, 216 and female threads 211a are formed on both legs 211 of the slider body 21. The female screw 211 a is formed between the return paths 215 and 216. A pair of female screws 212 a is formed on the body 212 of the slider body 21. The female screw 211a of the leg 211 is for fixing the end cap 22 and the leg of the side seal 6 to the leg 211 of the slider body 21 with bolts. The female screw 212a of the body portion 212 is for fixing the body portion of the end cap 22 to the body portion 212 of the slider body 21 with a bolt.

Each load rolling path and each return path 215, 216 are connected by a direction changing path formed in the end cap 22. In other words, the linear motion guide device 10 has two to four rows of circulation paths for the balls 3 that are configured by a load rolling path, a return path, and a direction changing path. A plurality of balls 3 are arranged in each circulation path.
The cage 4 has a holding surface 41 of the ball 3 disposed in the raceway groove 213 of the slider body 21. The cage 4 is disposed at a lower portion of the body portion of the slider 2, and both end portions thereof are fixed to the end cap 22.

  The holding wire 5 is disposed in the escape groove 13 of the guide rail 1. Attachment portions to the end cap 22 are formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the holding wire 5. The end cap 22 is formed with a mounting portion (for example, a mounting hole) for mounting a longitudinal end portion of the holding wire 5. The holding wire 5 is fixed to the slider 2 by attaching the longitudinal end of the holding wire 5 to the attachment portion of the end cap 22.

The side seal 6 is a part that covers the space between the upper surface 111 and the side surface 112 of the guide rail 1 and the surface of the slider 2 (the lower surface of the body portion and the inner surface of the leg portion) facing each other at both ends in the moving direction of the slider 2. is there.
The under seal 7 is a component that closes between the side surface 112 of the guide rail 1 and the inner surface of the leg portion of the slider 2 facing the side surface 112 at the lower end side of the leg portion of the slider 2. The base end portion of the under seal 7 is disposed in a notch 211 a provided on the lower surface of the slider body 21, and the tip end portion of the under seal 7 is in contact with the side surface 112 of the guide rail 1. Both end portions of the base end portion of the under seal 7 are fixed to the end cap 22.

When the linear guide device 10 is assembled, the ball 3 is held in the raceway groove 214 of the slider 2 by the holding wire 5, and the ball 3 is held in the raceway groove 213 of the slider 2 by the retainer 4. The under seal 7 is fixed. The slider 2 in this state is fitted from one end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 1.
Below, the side seal 6 is explained in full detail using FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the side seal 6 includes a metal reinforcing plate 61 disposed on the slider side and a rubber main body 62.
As shown in FIG. 4, the reinforcing plate 61 connects the pair of leg portions 611 disposed on the outside of the both side surfaces 112 of the guide rail 1 via a gap, and the pair of leg portions 611, and the upper surface 111 of the guide rail 1. And a body portion 612 disposed through a gap. The leg portion 611 of the reinforcing plate 61 has a convex portion 613 disposed through a gap in the concave portion 14 formed of the track groove 12 and the escape groove 13 formed on the side surface 122 of the guide rail 1. The convex part 613 has a base part 613 a arranged in the raceway groove 12 and a tip part 613 b arranged in the escape groove 13.

Further, a bolt insertion hole 611 a is formed in the leg portion 611 of the reinforcing plate 61 at the position of the female screw 211 a of the leg portion 211 of the slider body 21. An insertion hole 612a for the grease nipple 24 is formed at the center of the body portion 612 in the width direction. The insertion hole 612 a is formed at a position continuous with the mounting hole of the grease nipple 24 formed in the end cap 22.
In FIG. 5, the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 1 is indicated by D, the slider side along the direction D is indicated by S, and the non-slider side is indicated by H.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the main body 62 of the side seal 6 is fixed to a surface 61 b opposite to the surface 61 a on the slider side S of the reinforcing plate 61 and a surface 61 c facing the guide rail 1. The main body 62 of the side seal 6 has a lip portion 63 around the guide rail 1. The lip portion 63 is a portion that slidably contacts the guide rail 1 by filling the gaps between the guide rail 1 and the leg portions 611, the trunk portion 612, and the convex portion 613 of the reinforcing plate 61.

In FIG. 5 corresponding to the AA sectional view of FIG. 3, as the lip portion 63, a lip portion 63 </ b> A that slidably contacts the guide rail 1 while filling the gap between the guide rail 1 and the convex portion 613 of the reinforcing plate 61 is displayed. Has been. Further, the dimensional relationship between the guide rail 1 and the lip portion 63 is a fastening allowance δ, and the lip portion 63 is in sliding contact with the guide rail 1 in an elastically deformed state.
The lip portion 63 has a first tip portion 631 and a second tip portion 632 that are continuous along the direction D. The second tip 632 exists on the non-slider side H from the first tip 631. The first tip portion 631 is an advancing portion that gradually approaches the guide rail 1 as it goes from the slider side S to the non-slider side H along the direction D. The second tip 632 is an escape portion that gradually moves away from the guide rail 1 as it goes from the slider side S to the non-slider side H along the direction D. That is, the tip end portion of the lip portion 63 protrudes most toward the guide rail 1 at the boundary position T1 between the first tip end portion 631 and the second tip end portion 632. The most protruding end of the lip portion 63 is an arc surface.

  And the 2nd front-end | tip part 632 has the flank 632a which leaves | separates gradually from the guide rail 1 as it goes to the non-slider side H along the direction D from the position T1. The flank 632 a is a surface that contacts or faces the guide rail 1 of the flank 632. The end surface 633 of the lip 63 on the side opposite to the slider H and the flank 632 a are connected by a circular arc surface 634. The first tip portion 631 has a slope 631a that gradually moves away from the guide rail 1 as it goes from the position T1 along the direction D toward the slider side S.

In addition, the dimension α of the escape portion 632 along the direction perpendicular to the outer surface (the upper surface 111, the side surface 112, the surface of the raceway grooves 11, 12 and the surface of the escape groove 13) facing the reinforcing plate 61 of the guide rail 1 is The fastening allowance δ between the guide rail 1 and the lip portion 63 is larger. For example, the dimension α is 0.5 mm or less and the interference δ is less than 0.5 mm.
As described above, the tip portion of the lip portion of the conventional side seal has a shape in which the slope 631a of the first tip portion 631 extends to the end surface 633 on the non-slider side H, whereas the side seal 6 of this embodiment. The lip portion 63 has a shape in which a portion on the side opposite to the slider H of the tip portion of the conventional lip portion is cut by a flank 632a.

  Therefore, according to the side seal 6 of this embodiment, the tightening allowance δ between the guide rail 1 and the lip portion 63 is large although the rigidity of the lip portion 63 is increased by the convex portion 613 of the reinforcing plate 61. Even in this case, when the slider 2 to which the side seal 6 is fixed is attached to the guide rail 1, the lip portion 63 has the escape portion 632, so that it can be easily fitted from one end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 1.

Therefore, even when the width of the escape groove 13 of the guide rail 1 is narrow and larger than the groove width, the escape groove of the lip portion 63 is attached when the slider 2 to which the side seal 6 is fixed is attached to the guide rail 1. It is possible to prevent the reinforcing plate 613b existing in the portion entering 13 from being bent or the tip of the lip portion 63 from being damaged.
Further, in the side seal 6 of this embodiment, the dimension α of the escape portion 632 along the direction perpendicular to the outer surface (the surface of the escape groove 13 in FIG. 5) facing the reinforcing plate 61 of the guide rail 1 is tightened. Greater than δ. Accordingly, a gap is generated between the escape portion 632 and the outer surface of the guide rail 1 within a range indicated by A in FIG. Therefore, when the slider 2 to which the side seal 6 is fixed is fitted from one end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 1, the escape portion 632 does not contact the guide rail 1 in the range indicated by A in FIG. 5.

Therefore, according to the linear motion guide device of this embodiment, the slider 2 to which the side seal 6 is fixed is moved from one end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 1 as compared with the linear motion guide device whose dimension α is equal to or less than the tightening allowance δ. Can be easily fitted.
Furthermore, since the end surface 633 of the lip portion 63 on the side opposite to the slider and the flank 632a are connected by an arc surface 634, when the slider 2 to which the side seal 6 is fixed is fitted from one end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 1, The lip portion 63 is less likely to be damaged.

  The main body 62 constituting the side seal 6 of this embodiment is made of rubber, but may be made of a thermoplastic elastomer. Specific examples of the thermoplastic elastomer include polyester elastomers and urethane elastomers. Specific examples of the rubber include nitrile rubber, fluorine rubber, and silicone rubber. These thermoplastic elastomers and rubbers are also used as the material for the under seal 7.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Guide rail 11 Guide rail track groove 12 Guide rail track groove 13 Guide rail escape groove 14 Guide rail recess 111 Guide rail upper surface 112 Guide rail side surface 2 Slider 21 Slider body 211 Slider body leg 212 Slider body 213, 214 Slider track groove 215, 216 Return path 22 End cap 3 Ball 4 Cage 5 Holding wire 6 Side seal 61 Side seal reinforcing plate 61a Reinforcing plate slider side 61b Reinforcing plate slider side Is the opposite surface 61c The surface of the reinforcing plate facing the guide rail 611 The leg of the reinforcing plate
612 Reinforcement plate body 613 Reinforcement plate projection 613a Projection base 613b Projection tip 62 Side seal body 63 Side seal lip 631 Lip tip first tip (advance)
631a Slope of the first tip 632 Second tip of the lip (escape portion)
632a flank (surface facing or facing the guide rail of the lip)
633 Anti-slider side end face of lip part 634 Arc face 7 Under seal 10 Linear motion guide device D Guide rail longitudinal direction H Anti-slider side S Slider side T1 Boundary position between first tip part and second tip part of lip part

Claims (3)

A side seal used by being fixed to the moving direction end of the slider that constitutes the linear motion guide device together with the guide rail and the ball,
On both side surfaces of the guide rail, a raceway groove of the ball and a relief groove formed on the bottom surface of the raceway groove are formed, and a recess extending along the longitudinal direction is formed.
The side seal is composed of a reinforcing plate disposed on the slider side and a main body made of a highly elastic material, and the main body is a surface opposite to the slider side of the reinforcing plate and a surface facing the guide rail. Fixed to
The reinforcing plate includes a pair of legs disposed on the outside of the both side surfaces of the guide rail via a gap, and a trunk portion connecting the pair of legs and disposed on the guide rail via the gap. , Has an integrated shape, the leg portion has a convex portion disposed in the concave portion through a gap,
The convex portion has a base portion disposed in the track groove and a tip portion disposed in the escape groove,
The main body has a lip portion that slidably contacts the guide rail by filling the gap between the guide rail and the leg portion, the body portion, and the convex portion,
The lip portion has a first tip portion and a second tip portion that are continuous along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail, the second tip portion is present on the side opposite to the slider from the first tip portion, and The one end portion is an advancing portion that gradually approaches the guide rail as it goes from the slider side to the non-slider side along the longitudinal direction, and the second tip portion is from the slider side along the longitudinal direction. A side seal for a linear motion guide device, which is an escape portion that gradually moves away from the guide rail toward the side opposite to the slider.   2. The linear motion guide device according to claim 1, wherein a dimension of the relief portion along a direction perpendicular to an outer surface of the guide rail facing the reinforcing plate is larger than a tightening margin between the guide rail and the lip portion. Side seal.   The side seal for a linear motion guide device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an end surface of the lip portion on the side opposite to the slider and a surface of the escape portion that contacts or faces the guide rail are connected by an arc surface. .

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