JP2023184037A - Sealing material with cut-pile woven or knitted fabric - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a sealing material with a cut-pile woven or knitted fabric that has high effect of preventing foreign matter from penetrating into machinery housings.SOLUTION: A sealing material with a cut-pile woven or knitted fabric has a cut-pile woven or knitted fabric and a holding member to hold the cut-pile woven or knitted fabric. The holding member has a stepped opening. The ratio between the length of the implantation spacing of cut piles of the cut-pile woven or knitted fabric and the pile opening length of the cut piles is 1:2 to 1:5.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric.

Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose cut pile fabric as a sealing material for the gap between the sliding surface of the rotating shaft and the supporting part that supports the rotating shaft, and a holding member such as a metal elastic member or a super shape-retaining sheet. A sealing material having a cut pile fabric laminated to a fabric is disclosed. A sealing material having a cut pile fabric can reduce frictional heat caused by contact between the sliding surface and the sealing material, and is excellent in preventing powder leakage. Therefore, sealing materials having cut pile fabrics are mainly used to suppress leakage of powder such as toner in copying machines and printers. Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a sealing material having a cut pile fabric and having a diagonal or zigzag opening in order to maintain sealing performance.

JP 2021-127832 Publication Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-204707 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-26728

Sealing materials used in machinery such as vehicles and industrial machines generally use a rubber composition as a member that comes into contact with the sliding surface of a shaft. A sealing material containing a rubber composition has high sealing properties. Therefore, the sealing material including the rubber composition can suppress foreign matter from entering the housing through the gap between the shaft and the housing that supports the shaft. On the other hand, the sealing material containing the rubber composition may cause deterioration in air permeability and increase in frictional resistance between the sliding surface and the sealing material. Therefore, for example, if a sealing material containing the rubber composition is applied to the shaft body on which the piston moves in the above-mentioned machinery, the pressure difference between the inside of the housing and the outside of the housing in the piston will increase due to deterioration of air permeability. There are cases. This increase in pressure difference becomes a cause of inhibiting the piston movement. Furthermore, the increase in frictional resistance causes a decrease in the sliding properties of the shaft and an increase in frictional heat in the contact area between the sliding surface and the sealing material.

A sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric has excellent air permeability and can reduce frictional resistance compared to a sealing material having the above-mentioned rubber composition. Further, the sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric can retain grease and maintain appropriate seepage of grease when automatically replenishing grease to the shaft of the above-mentioned machinery. Therefore, by applying a sealing material having the above-mentioned cut pile woven or knitted fabric to the above-mentioned machinery instead of a sealing material having the above-mentioned rubber composition, it is possible to reduce frictional resistance, improve the slidability of the shaft body, and reduce frictional heat. It is expected that this will reduce the amount of water and improve the automatic grease replenishment function.

Therefore, the present inventors attempted to apply a sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric to the rotating shaft of the joint of an industrial robot arm instead of a sealing material having a rubber composition. However, contrary to the inventors' expectations, the sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric may not have a sufficient effect of suppressing foreign matter from entering the housing of the industrial robot arm.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric, which is highly effective in suppressing foreign matter from entering into the housing of machinery.

The present invention provides a cut pile woven or knitted fabric, a holding member that holds the cut pile woven or knitted fabric,
A sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric having a structure, wherein the holding member has a stepped opening, and the length of the planting interval of the cut piles of the cut pile woven or knitted fabric and the pile opening length of the cut pile. This is a sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric having a ratio of 1:2 to 1:5.

According to the present invention, there is provided a sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric that is highly effective in suppressing foreign matter from entering into the housing of machinery.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sealing material 100 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a side surface of a sealing material 100 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric bent in an annular shape. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the outer peripheral surface of a sealing material 100 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a sealing material 100 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric is attached to an annular groove 210 provided in a housing 200 of a joint part of an industrial robot. 5 is a schematic diagram of the AA cross section shown in FIG. 4. FIG. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the state of the holding member 120 forming the stepped abutment 130 in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the area indicated by B in FIG. 4; 6 is an enlarged view of the area indicated by C in FIG. 5. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a sealing material 100 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric installed in an annular groove 210; FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a sealing material 1000 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric installed in an annular groove 210; 3 is a perspective view showing a state of a sealing material 2000 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric installed in an annular groove 210. FIG.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments and with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to these examples, but is indicated by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all changes within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

(1) One embodiment of the present invention includes a cut pile woven or knitted fabric,
a holding member that holds the cut pile woven or knitted fabric;
A sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric having
The holding member has a stepped opening,
The ratio of the planting interval length of the cut piles of the cut pile woven and knitted material to the pile opening length of the cut piles is 1:2 to 1:5.
This is a sealing material that has a cut pile woven or knitted fabric.

The sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric described in (1) above has a high effect of suppressing foreign matter from entering into the housing of machinery.

(2) In the sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to (1) above, the ratio between the length of the planting interval of the cut piles of the cut pile woven or knitted fabric and the length of the fibers of the cut pile is 1:2. ~1:13.

(3) In the sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to (1) or (2) above, the cut pile has a pile opening angle of 20° to 50°.

(4) In the sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to any one of (1) to (3) above, the sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric is installed in an annular groove provided in a housing of machinery. A sealing material made of
The ratio between the dimensional tolerance of the length of the inner circumference of the annular groove and the shortest length from the end face of the convex part of the holding member to the end face of the concave part at the stepped opening is 1:1 to 1:2. It is.

The sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to any one of (2) to (4) above has an even higher effect of suppressing foreign matter from entering into the housing of machinery.

(5) In the sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to any one of (1) to (4) above, the holding member is an elastic body.

(6) In the sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to (5) above, the elastic body is a shape-retaining sheet or a stainless steel strip for a spring.

The sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric described in (5) or (6) above has excellent attachability to machinery.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sealing material 100 (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "sealing material 100") having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a side surface of the sealing material 100 when the sealing material 100 is bent in an annular shape so that the end surface of the holding member 120 of the stepped opening 130 comes into contact with the sealing material 100. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the outer circumferential surface of the sealing material 100 shown in FIG. 2, including the stepped abutment 130 with which the end surface abuts.

The sealing material 100 includes a cut pile woven or knitted fabric 110, a holding member 120, and a stepped opening 130. The cut pile woven or knitted fabric 110 is fixed to the holding member 120 with double-sided tape, adhesive, or the like. Stepped apertures 130 exist at both ends of the sealing material 100. In FIG. 1, one of the stepped abutments 130 is shown as abutment 130a and the other as abutment 130b. The abutment 130a has a convex end surface 131a, a recessed end surface 132a, and a side end surface 133a in the holding member 120. In the holding member 120, the abutment 130b has a convex end surface 131b, a recessed end surface 132b, and a side end surface 133b.

The holding member 120 according to one embodiment of the present invention is made of an elastic body. The elastic body is not particularly limited, and any known material may be used as a holding member for a sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric. Examples of the elastic body include a shape-retaining sheet, a stainless steel strip for springs, and the like. The shape-retaining sheet described above is not particularly limited and may be any known one. Specific examples of the shape-retaining sheet include sheets using stretched polyolefin resins or stretched materials made of polyolefin resins, such as "Forte" manufactured by Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. Examples of the stainless steel strip for springs include stainless steel strips for springs based on JIS G 4313 (2011), and for example, SUS thin plates can be used.

The sealing material 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention has a flat plate shape as shown in FIG. 1 when no external force is applied. As described above, in the sealing material 100, the holding member 120 is made of an elastic body. Therefore, the sealing material 100 is deformed by applying an external force, and returns to a flat plate shape by removing the external force. When installing the sealing material 100 into the annular groove 210 of the housing 200, which will be described later, the sealing material 100 is bent into an annular shape and inserted into the annular groove 210. The sealing material 100 inserted into the annular groove 210 expands in diameter by springback due to the elastic force of the holding member 120, and is attached to the annular groove 210. This increases the adhesion of the sealing material 100 to the annular groove 210. Therefore, the sealing material 100 not only has an effect of suppressing foreign matter from entering into the housing of machinery, but also has excellent attachability to machinery.

The sealing material 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a stepped abutment 130, and by bending the sealing material 100 in an annular shape, the abutment is formed as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. 130a and abutment 130b can be brought into contact. Here, the stepped abutment includes the abutment shape of a stepped abutment (step) listed in JIS B 8032-1:2016, and its equivalent shape. As shown in FIG. 3, the convex end surface 131a and the concave end surface 132b and the concave end surface 132a and the convex end surface 131b come into contact with each other by bending the sealing material 100 in an annular shape. Further, if the sealing material 100 is bent in an annular shape to a position where the convex end surface 131a and the convex end surface 131b are along the central axis direction of the annular ring formed by the sealing material 100, the side end surface 133a and the convex end surface 131b are bent. Contact with the side end surface 133b begins. In other words, when the external force on the sealing material 100 that is bent in an annular shape is gradually removed until the abutment 130a and the abutment 130b come into contact with each other, the direction of the central axis of the annular ring formed by the sealing material 100 is In addition, while the diameter of the ring does not expand to a position where the convex end surface 131a and the convex end surface 131b are aligned, the side end surface 133a and a part of the side end surface 133b can maintain a state in which they are in contact with each other. can.

4 and 5 are schematic diagrams showing a state in which a sealing material 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed in an annular groove 210 provided in a housing 200 of a joint part of an industrial robot. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the housing 200 in which the sealing material 100 is attached to the annular groove 210, when viewed from the direction perpendicular to the axis. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the AA cross section shown in FIG. 4.

The housing 200 shown in FIG. 4 is provided with a hole H. A rotating shaft 300 is inserted through this hole H. The housing 200 has an annular groove 210 for mounting the sealing material 100 and a bearing 400 for holding the rotating shaft 300. The sealing material 100 is installed in the annular groove 210 such that the holding member 120 is fixed to the housing 200 and the cut pile woven or knitted fabric 110 is in sliding contact with the circumferential surface of the rotating shaft 300. The sealing material 100 installed in this manner can prevent foreign matter from entering the housing 200 from the outside to the inside.

The sealing material 100 is bent into an annular shape to a diameter smaller than the diameter of the hole H, and is inserted through the hole H and attached to the annular groove 210 . As described above, the holding member 120 of the sealing material 100 is made of an elastic body. Therefore, the sealing material 100 inserted through the hole H expands to the diameter of the annular groove 210 by springback, and is attached to the annular groove 210. That is, the sealing material 100 is attached to the annular groove 210 in a state where force due to springback of the sealing material 100 is applied. As a result, the sealing material 100 has an excellent effect of suppressing foreign matter from entering into the housing 200 and is excellent in attachability of the sealing material 100 to the annular groove 210.

The width of the holding member 120 is designed in consideration of the dimensional tolerance of the width of the annular groove 210. Typically, the width of the holding member 120 is designed to be smaller than the width of the annular groove 210. As a result, the width of the holding member 120 becomes wider than the width of the annular groove 210, and it is possible to reduce defects in which the sealing material 100 cannot be attached to the annular groove 210. In FIG. 4, when the sealing material 100 is installed in the annular groove 210, the side end surfaces 133a and 133b do not come into contact with each other, and a gap G1 is created.

As described above, when the sealing material 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed in the annular groove 210, it is bent in an annular shape to a diameter smaller than the diameter of the hole H. Then, the sealing material 100 expands in diameter due to springback and is installed in the annular groove 210. Therefore, when the sealing material 100 is installed in the annular groove 210, as shown in FIG. 5, the concave end surface 132a and the convex end surface 131b do not come into contact with each other, creating a gap G2.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the state of the holding member 120 forming the stepped opening 130 in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. In the sealing material 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention, the width of the holding member 120 is smaller than the width of the annular groove 210. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, when the sealing material 100 is installed in the annular groove 210, a gap G1 is created between the side end surface 133a and the side end surface 133b. Furthermore, when the sealing material 100 is installed in the annular groove 210, the diameter expands due to springback. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, when the sealing material 100 is installed in the annular groove 210, there is a gap G2 between the convex end surface 131a and the concave end surface 132b, and between the concave end surface 132a and the convex end surface 131b. arise.

As described above, a sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric may not have a sufficient effect of suppressing foreign matter from entering the housing of an industrial robot arm. The present inventors analyzed the cause of the deterioration of the above-mentioned effect of suppressing foreign matter intrusion, and found that the dimensional tolerance of the annular groove for installing the sealing material has an effect on the effect of suppressing foreign matter intrusion of the sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric. I found that it has an impact.

Sealing materials having cut pile woven and knitted fabrics are mainly used to suppress leakage of powder such as toner in copying machines and printers. The shaft diameters of rotating shafts such as developing rollers and supply rollers used in toner cartridges of copying machines and printers are often smaller than the shaft diameter of rotating shafts used in joints of industrial robots. The dimensional tolerance of the housing varies depending on the diameter of the rotating shaft. Generally, the larger the shaft diameter, the larger the dimensional tolerance of the housing. That is, the dimensional tolerance of the housing of an industrial robot tends to be larger than the dimensional tolerance of the toner cartridge of a copying machine or printer. For example, if FIGS. 4 and 5 show the state in which the sealing material 100 is attached to a toner cartridge rather than a joint of an industrial robot, the lengths of the gap G1 and the gap G2 will be smaller. . In particular, the dimensional tolerance of the diameter of the annular groove provided in the housing is more strongly influenced by the shaft diameter of the rotating shaft than the dimensional tolerance of the groove width. Therefore, the gap G2 when the sealing material 100 is attached to the toner cartridge is smaller than the gap G2 when the sealing material 100 is attached to the industrial robot.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the area indicated by B in FIG. FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the area indicated by C in FIG.

The cut pile woven or knitted fabric 110 may be either a cut pile fabric or a cut pile knitted fabric. The structure of the cut pile woven or knitted fabric 110 is not particularly limited, and any known structure that can be used as a structure of a cut pile woven fabric or a cut pile knitted fabric may be used. When the cut pile woven or knitted fabric 110 is a cut pile fabric, examples of its texture include flat, twill, satin, and variations thereof. When the cut pile woven or knitted fabric 110 is a cut pile knitted fabric, its structure may be either a warp knitted fabric or a weft knitted fabric. Examples of warp knits include Denby knit, cord knit, and atlas knit. In addition, examples of weft knitted fabrics include flat knitting, rubber knitting, purl knitting, smooth knitting, and the like. The weaving density and knitting density of the cut pile woven and knitted fabric 110 may be appropriately set according to the length IS of the planting interval, which will be described later. Hereinafter, a case where the cut pile woven or knitted fabric 110 is a cut pile fabric will be explained. The conditions such as the planting interval length IS, the pile opening length PO, the pile fiber length PL, and the pile opening angle θ are the same for the cut pile woven or knitted fabric 110 when it is a cut pile knitted fabric.

The cut pile woven or knitted fabric 110 is composed of a plurality of cut piles 111 and a knitted fabric 112. At the tip of the cut pile 111, a plurality of fibers constituting the cut pile 111 are in an open state with a width of the pile opening length PO and a pile opening angle θ. In FIGS. 7 and 8, the pile opening angle θ indicates the angle of the fibers of the cut pile 111 that are most inclined with respect to the perpendicular to the holding member 120 at the implantation position of the cut pile 111. The cut pile 111 is held in place by ground yarns forming the knitted fabric 112. In FIGS. 7 and 8, the planting interval length IS indicates the distance between adjacent cut piles 111. Here, the length IS of the planting interval depends on the thickness of the ground yarn, the interval between the meshes of the ground yarn of the knitted fabric 112, the weaving direction of the knitted fabric 112 when fixing the cut pile woven fabric 110 to the holding member 120, etc. , adjustment is possible. Therefore, in FIGS. 7 and 8, the lengths IS of the implantation intervals are shown as the same length for convenience, but the length IS is not limited to this. The fiber length PL of the pile indicates the length of the cut pile 111 from the knitted fabric 112 to the tip of the cut pile 111.

As described above, the cut pile 111 has a pile opening length PO. Since the cut pile 111 has a pile opening, the fibers of the cut pile 111 can intertwine with the fibers of the adjacent cut pile 111. The entanglement of the fibers increases the density of the fibers during the length IS of the implantation interval. Thereby, the effect of suppressing foreign matter intrusion of the sealing material 100 having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric is improved. In other words, if an intertwined region is not formed in which the fibers of adjacent cut piles 111 intertwine with each other, the effect of the sealing material 100 to suppress foreign matter intrusion will be insufficient.

From the viewpoint of forming an entangled region by the fibers of adjacent cut piles 111 as described above, the ratio of the length IS of the planting interval to the length PL of the fibers of the pile is preferably 1:2 to 1:13. By making the length PL at least twice the length IS, formation of the intertwined region ER, which will be described later, is ensured. Further, by setting the length PL to 13 times or less as compared to the length IS, the fibers of the pile can stand up in the knitted fabric 112, and a pile opening can be suitably formed. The ratio of length IS to length PL is particularly preferably 1:3 to 1:10.

The actual size of the planting interval length IS and the pile fiber length PL is determined by adjusting the above-mentioned ratio according to conditions such as the type of machinery to which the sealing material 100 is applied and the size of the annular groove 210 described later. It may be adjusted as appropriate so that it becomes, and is not particularly limited. Note that the specific length IS of the implantation interval according to one embodiment of the present invention is 0.3 mm to 0.6 mm. Further, the specific pile fiber length PL is 1.2 mm to 4.0 mm.

The ratio between the planting interval length IS and the pile opening length PO is preferably 1:2 to 1:5. As a result, when the abutment 130a and the abutment 130b are brought close to each other, the fibers of the cut piles 111 disposed adjacent to each end face of the abutment 130a and each end face of the abutment 130b are mutually It is possible to form a state in which the two objects are intertwined. As a result, formation of the intertwined region ER, which will be described later, is ensured in the gap G1. In addition, from the viewpoint of forming an entangled region by the fibers of the adjacent cut piles 111, it is particularly preferable that the length PO is three times or more greater than the length IS.

The actual size of the pile opening length PO can be determined by suitably adjusting the pile fiber length PL and the pile opening angle θ so that the above-mentioned ratio is achieved in accordance with conditions such as the size of the annular groove 210, which will be described later. Well, no particular restrictions. Note that the specific pile opening length PO according to one embodiment of the present invention is 0.9 mm to 1.5 mm. Further, the concrete pile opening angle θ is 20° to 50°.

Here, FIGS. 7 and 8 show a state in which the sealing material 100 is installed in an annular groove 210 provided in a housing 200 of a joint part of an industrial robot (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "usage state"). It is a schematic diagram. That is, the pile opening length PO and pile opening angle θ of the cut pile 111 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 are the length and angle when the cut pile 111 is in contact with the rotating shaft 300. . Therefore, the pile opening length and pile opening angle when the cut pile 111 is not in contact with the rotating shaft 300 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "unused state") are the length PO and the pile opening angle in the used state. It is different from θ. The pile opening length and pile opening angle in an unused state may be appropriately set so as to be the length PO and the angle θ in a used state, and are not particularly limited. Note that the specific pile opening length in an unused state according to an embodiment of the present invention is 0.7 mm to 0.9 mm. Further, the concrete pile opening angle θ in an unused state is 10° to 20°.

7 and 8 show a state in which the fibers of the cut pile 111 spread radially at a pile opening angle θ with reference to a perpendicular line to the holding member 120 at the implantation position. However, the spread state of the cut pile of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the cut pile 111 may be made obliquely so that the fibers of the cut pile 111 spread radially based on a line inclined in a predetermined direction from the perpendicular line. Thereby, the direction of spread of the fibers of the cut pile 111 in the above-mentioned usage condition can be controlled. As a result, the formation of intertwined regions by the fibers of adjacent cut piles 111 is promoted. The oblique hair angle of the cut pile 111 is not particularly limited and may be adjusted as appropriate so that the intertwined region ER described below is formed. For example, the bevel angle can be set at 10° to 70° with respect to the perpendicular line.

As shown in FIG. 7, the sealing material 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention has a gap G1 between the side end surface 133a and the side end surface 133b when the sealing material 100 is installed in the annular groove 210. is occurring. As described above, the gap G1 caused by the dimensional tolerance of the groove width of the annular groove 210 is smaller than the gap G2 caused by the dimensional tolerance of the diameter of the annular groove 210. Therefore, in FIG. 7, the fibers of the cut pile 111 on the side end surface 133a side and the fibers of the cut pile 111 on the side end surface 133b side, which are adjacent to each other through the gap G1, become entangled, and the intertwined area is created between the gap G1. ER is now ready to form. Therefore, the sealing material 100 can suppress foreign matter from entering into the housing 200 through the gap G1.

As shown in FIG. 8, the sealing material 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention has a gap G2 between the concave end surface 132a and the convex end surface 131b when the sealing material 100 is installed in the annular groove 210. It is occurring. As described above, the gap G2 caused by the dimensional tolerance of the diameter of the annular groove 210 is larger than the gap G1 caused by the dimensional tolerance of the groove width of the annular groove 210. Therefore, in FIG. 8, the entanglement region ER cannot be formed between the fibers of the cut pile 111 on the side of the concave end surface 132a and the fibers of the cut pile 111 on the side of the convex end surface 131b, which are adjacent to each other through the gap G2. ing. However, a side end surface 133a of the abutment 130a exists on the axial side of the gap G2. Therefore, the space created by the gap G2 is closed by the cut pile 111 disposed in the region of the side end surface 133a. Similarly, the gap G2 generated between the convex end surface 131a and the concave end surface 132b is closed by the cut pile 111 disposed in the region of the side end surface 133b. Therefore, the sealing material 100 can suppress foreign matter from entering into the housing 200 through the gap G2.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the state of the sealing material 100 installed in the annular groove 210. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state of a sealing material 1000 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric and having a right-angled abutment 1300 installed in an annular groove 210. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a state of a sealing material 2000 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric and having a diagonal aperture 2300 installed in an annular groove 210.

As described above, in the sealing material 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. and the fibers of the cut pile 111 on the side end surface 133b side are blocked by an entangled region ER. Furthermore, the gap G2 generated due to the diameter of the annular groove 210 with a large dimensional tolerance is created by the cut pile 111 disposed in the region of the side end surface 133a and the side end surface 133b, which are present on the axial side of the gap G2. , is blocked. Therefore, the sealing material 100 can effectively prevent foreign matter from entering into the housing 200.

A sealing material 1000 shown in FIG. 10 has the same configuration as the sealing material 100 except that the stepped abutment 130 is changed to a right-angled abutment 1300. As mentioned above, the dimensional tolerance of the housing of an industrial robot tends to be larger than the dimensional tolerance of the housing of a copier or printer. Therefore, depending on the above-mentioned dimensional tolerance, as shown in FIG. 10, the gap G2 is caused by the intertwining of the cut pile woven or knitted fabric 110 on one side of the abutment end surface 1300a and the cut pile woven or knitted fabric 110 on the other side of the abutment end surface 1300b. In some cases, the width becomes such that a region cannot be formed. As a result, the sealing material 1000 may not be able to sufficiently suppress foreign matter from entering the housing of the industrial robot arm.

A sealing material 2000 shown in FIG. 11 has the same configuration as the sealing material 100, except that the stepped abutment 130 is changed to a diagonal abutment 2300. Similar to the sealing material 1000, in the sealing material 2000, the gap G2 forms an intertwining area between the cut pile woven or knitted fabric 110 on one side of the abutment end surface 2300a and the cut pile woven or knitted fabric 110 on the other side of the abutment end surface 2300b. There may be cases where the width is not possible. As a result, the sealing material 2000 may not be able to sufficiently suppress foreign matter from entering the housing of the industrial robot arm.

Now, as described above, a sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric can exhibit the effect of suppressing foreign matter intrusion by forming an intertwined region with adjacent cut pile fibers. Therefore, the sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric can suppress the intrusion of foreign matter as long as the gap caused by the dimensional tolerance of the annular groove is within the range in which the intertwined region is formed. That is, a sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric inherently has the function of allowing the dimensional tolerance of the annular groove and suppressing the intrusion of foreign matter. In addition, sealing materials having cut pile woven or knitted fabrics are mainly used to suppress leakage of powder such as toner in copying machines and printers. Toner cartridges for copiers and printers often have smaller dimensional tolerances than those for industrial robots. Therefore, in conventional sealing materials having cut pile woven or knitted fabrics, right-angled joints and diagonal joints, which are easy to design and manufacture, are mainly used.

The present inventors attempted to apply sealing material 1000 and sealing material 2000 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 to the joints of industrial robot arms. As a result, it became clear that the sealing material 1000 and the sealing material 2000 varied in their effectiveness in suppressing foreign matter from entering the housing. The present inventors analyzed the cause and found that the dimensional tolerance of the annular groove in which the sealing material is mounted affects the effect of suppressing foreign matter from entering the housing. Further, the present inventors have found that in the sealing material 1000 and the sealing material 2000, there are variations in the effectiveness of suppressing foreign matter from entering the housing, particularly due to the influence of the dimensional tolerance of the diameter of the annular groove. As a result of further research, the present inventors found that a sealing material 100 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric and having a stepped opening 130 shown in FIG. It has been found that a stable and high inhibitory effect against invasion can be obtained.

Here, in the sealing material 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the ratio of the dimensional tolerance of the length of the inner circumference of the annular groove 210 to the shortest length from the concave end surface 132a to the convex end surface 131b is 1. :1 to 1:2 is preferable. Similarly, it is preferable that the ratio between the dimensional tolerance of the length of the inner circumference of the annular groove 210 and the shortest length between the convex end surface 131a and the concave end surface 132b is 1:1 to 1:2. In other words, in the sealing material 100, the ratio of the dimensional tolerance of the length of the inner circumference of the annular groove 210 to the length of the side end surface 133a is preferably 1:1 to 1:2. Similarly, the ratio of the dimensional tolerance of the length of the inner circumference of the annular groove 210 to the length of the side end surface 133b is preferably 1:1 to 1:2. Thereby, the sealing material 100 can exhibit a high effect of suppressing foreign matter from entering into the housing 200.

100 Seal material 110 Cut pile woven or knitted fabric 111 Cut pile 112 Knitted fabric 120 Holding member 130 Stepped abutment 130a Abutment 130b Abutment 131a Convex end face 132a Concave end face 133a Side end face 131b Convex end face 132b Concave end face 133b Side end Area 200 Housing 210 Annular groove 300 Rotating shaft 400 Bearing 1300 Right angle abutment 1000 Seal material 2300 Abutment 2000 Seal material G1 Gap G2 Gap H Hole IS Length of planting interval PO Pile opening length PL Pile fiber length θ Pile opening angle

Claims (6)

Cut pile woven and knitted fabric,
a holding member that holds the cut pile woven or knitted fabric;
A sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric having
The holding member has a stepped aperture,
The ratio of the planting interval length of the cut piles of the cut pile woven or knitted material to the pile opening length of the cut piles is 1:2 to 1:5.
Sealing material with cut pile woven or knitted fabric. The seal having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of the length of the planting interval of the cut piles of the cut pile woven or knitted fabric to the length of the fibers of the cut pile is 1:2 to 1:13. Material. The sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to claim 1, wherein the cut pile has a pile opening angle of 20° to 50°. The sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric is a sealing material installed in an annular groove provided in a housing of machinery,
The ratio between the dimensional tolerance of the length of the inner circumference of the annular groove and the shortest length from the end face of the convex part of the holding member to the end face of the concave part at the stepped abutment is 1:1 to 1:2. is,
A sealing material comprising the cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to claim 4, wherein the holding member is an elastic body. The sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to claim 5, wherein the elastic body is a shape-retaining sheet or a stainless steel band for a spring.

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