JP2024048821A - Linear guide - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a linear guide capable of stably supplying lubricant to contact portions between a guide rail and a rolling element for a long period of time. [Solution] An oil passage unit 50 disposed on an abutment surface 32a of an end cap 30 facing a slider body 21 has a lubricating oil supply passage 71 defined between the slider body 21 and the oil passage unit 50, and a grease supply passage 81 defined between the end cap 30 and the oil passage unit 50. The lubricating oil supply passage 71 has a protruding ridge portion 51 protruding from the opposing surface 50a facing the slider body 21 along the communication path of the lubricating oil supply passage 71 and abutting against the slider body 21, and a step portion 53 formed adjacent to the protruding ridge portion 51 and defining an oil supply groove 75 for forming a meniscus of lubricating oil 77 together with an end surface 21a of the slider body 21 and the protruding ridge portion 51. The grease supply passage 81 is defined between the end cap 30 and an grease supply groove 55 recessed in the abutment surface 50b with the end cap 30. [Selected figure] Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to a linear guide, and more specifically, to a linear guide that can supply lubricant to the contact areas of a guide rail, a slider, and rolling elements for a long period of time.

Conventionally, a linear guide (linear guide) comprises a guide rail extending in the axial direction and a slider mounted on the guide rail so as to be movable relative to the guide rail. The slider moves relative to the guide rail in the axial direction via a number of rolling elements (balls or rollers) that circulate between rolling element rolling grooves (rolling element circulation paths) formed in the guide rail and the slider. Such linear guides are widely used in the linear motion mechanisms of various production facilities. In order to use this linear guide stably for a long period of time, it is important to supply a sufficient amount of lubricant (lubricating oil or grease) to the guide rail and rolling elements to maintain a good lubricated state.

In addition, this linear guide is used under various lubrication positions (front, top, side) and lubrication postures (wall-mounted, vertical), and a stable supply of lubricating oil is required regardless of the conditions. However, lubricating oil is prone to leakage because its viscosity is very low compared to the consistency of grease. In particular, under conditions affected by gravity, an imbalance occurs in the amount of lubricating oil supplied between the supply side and the opposite supply side, or vertically above and vertically below, creating the problem that a sufficient amount cannot be supplied to some rolling element circulation paths.

Patent Document 1 proposes a guide device (linear guide) that has a seal device (lubrication unit) that is composed of a felt material (lubricant holder) containing lubricating oil and a case, and when the felt material comes into contact with the raceway shaft (guide rail), the lubricating oil in the felt material is supplied to the raceway shaft by capillary action. This makes it possible to supply lubricating oil regardless of the oil supply position.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-141371

However, in the sealing device of Patent Document 1, the felt material comes into direct contact with the raceway shaft, so there are concerns about felt wear during use and clogging due to the accumulation of foreign matter. In addition, it is not possible to supply lubricants such as grease that do not soak into the felt material, so a separate mechanism is required to supply grease.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a linear guide that can stably supply lubricant to the contact area between the guide rail and the rolling elements for a long period of time.

The above object of the present invention can be achieved by the following configuration.
(1) A linear guide including a guide rail, a slider slidably engaged with the guide rail so as to straddle the guide rail, and an end cap attached to an axial end of a slider body of the slider,
an oil passage unit disposed on an opposing surface of the end cap opposing the slider body includes a lubricating oil supply passage defined between the slider body and the oil passage unit for communicating a direction change passage in the end cap with an oil supply port, and a grease supply passage defined between the end cap and the oil passage unit for communicating the direction change passage with a grease supply port;
the lubricating oil supply passage has a protruding ridge portion that protrudes from the opposing surface of the slider body along a communication path of the lubricating oil supply passage and abuts against the slider body, and a step portion that is formed adjacent to the protruding ridge portion and that defines, together with the opposing surface of the slider body and the protruding ridge portion, an oil supply groove for forming a meniscus of the lubricating oil,
The grease supply passage is defined between the end cap and a greasing groove recessed in a surface facing the end cap.
A linear guide characterized by:

The linear guide of the present invention can provide a linear guide that can stably supply lubricant to the contact area between the guide rail and the rolling element for a long period of time.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a linear guide according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the end cap shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the opposing slider body side. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the end cap and the oil passage unit shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4(a) and (b) are a front view and a side view of the end cap shown in FIG. 5A is a front view of the oil passage unit shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 5A. 6A is a rear view of the oil passage unit shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 6A. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main portion of the slider body and the end cap shown in FIG. 8A and 8B are enlarged views of parts C and D in FIG.

Below, the linear guide according to each embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the vertical direction and width direction of the slider respectively refer to the directions when the slider is assembled to a guide rail arranged with the longitudinal direction horizontal, and the width direction of the slider is the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the guide rail and the vertical direction of the slider, and is also called the left-right direction (see FIG. 1). The longitudinal direction is also called the axial direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the linear guide 1 according to the present invention comprises a linear guide rail 3 and a slider 20 with a C-shaped cross section that is assembled so as to straddle the guide rail 3 and slidably engages with it via a number of rolling elements (cylindrical rollers) not shown.

The guide rail 3 is made of metal, and on both sides in the width direction, two rows of rail-side track surfaces 5 extending in the axial direction are formed on each side, for a total of four rows. The guide rail 3 has multiple rail mounting holes 4 that penetrate the guide rail 3 in the height direction, and rail fixing bolts (not shown) that fix the guide rail 3 to a mounting surface (not shown) are inserted into these rail mounting holes 4.

The slider 20 comprises a slider body 21 having sleeves on both the left and right sides of the guide rail 3, a pair of end caps 30, 30 attached to both ends of the slider body 21 in the front-rear direction (axial direction), return guides 40, 40 incorporated into each of the end caps 30, 30, oil passage units 50 incorporated into each of the end caps 30, and a pair of side seals 60, 60 that seal the gap between the guide rail 3 and the end caps 30, 30.

The slider body 21 has a slider side raceway surface and a rolling element return path (not shown) on both the left and right sides. The slider side raceway surface is formed on the inner surface of both sleeves of the slider body 21 and faces the rail side raceway surface 5 of the guide rail 3, and the rail side raceway surface 5 and the slider side raceway surface form a loaded rolling path. The rolling element return path is formed by a hole that penetrates the thick parts of both sleeves in the axial direction of the guide rail 3. In addition, the top surface of the slider body 21 is provided with a driven element fixing screw insertion hole 25 through which a bolt that fixes a driven element such as a table to the slider 20 is inserted.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the end cap 30 is, for example, an injection-molded product made of synthetic resin, and is formed with a C-shaped cross section like the slider body 21. The end cap 30 is provided with a plurality of mounting screw insertion holes 34, and the end cap 30 is fastened to the front-rear end face (opposing face) 21a (see Figure 7) of the slider body 21 together with the side seal 60 by the mounting screws 35 inserted into the mounting screw insertion holes 34.

In addition, return guides 40 are incorporated into the left and right sleeves 31 of the end cap 30 on the contact surface 31a side that faces the front-rear end surface 21a of the slider body 21. The return guides 40 fit into recesses formed in the contact surface 31a of the end cap 30 to define direction change paths 26a, 26b that cross each other at an altitude between the end cap 30 and the return guide. The direction change paths 26a, 26b diagonally connect the load rolling path and the rolling body return path of the slider body 21, respectively.

The load rolling path, the rolling element return path, and the direction changing paths 26a, 26b form a rolling element circulating path. A large number of rolling elements (cylindrical rollers) are loaded in the rolling element circulating path so that they can roll freely. The slider 20 can move relatively along the axial direction on the guide rail 3 via these rolling elements that circulate endlessly while rolling in the rolling element circulating path.
A groove 42 communicating with the direction change paths 26a, 26b is formed on the opposing surface of the return guide 40 that faces the front-rear end surface 21a of the slider body 21.

The horizontal portion 32 of the end cap 30 has an oil passage unit fitting portion 33 recessed on the side of a contact surface (opposing surface) 32 a facing the front-rear end surface 21 a of the slider body 21 . The oil passage unit fitting portion 33 is used to incorporate the oil passage unit 50 .
The oil passage unit fitting portion 33 is formed by an inner peripheral wall 35 that covers the outer periphery of the oil passage unit 50 to be fitted thereto, and a bottom wall 36 that covers the axial end face of the oil passage unit 50 .

An oil supply port 37 for introducing lubricating oil into the oil passage unit fitting portion 33 and a greasing port 39 for introducing grease 87 into the oil passage unit fitting portion 33 are formed penetrating both left and right sides of the inner peripheral wall 35 .
An oil supply groove 38 is formed on the contact surfaces 31 a of the left and right sleeve portions 31 of the end cap 30 , the oil supply groove 38 extending from the oil passage unit fitting portion 33 to the groove 42 of the return guide 40 .

As shown in FIG. 3, the oil passage unit 50 is, for example, an injection molded product of a synthetic resin material, and is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape corresponding to the oil passage unit fitting portion 33. The oil passage unit 50 has an axial thickness dimension W1 that is smaller than the axial depth D1 of the oil passage unit fitting portion 33. The axial thickness dimension W1 of the oil passage unit 50 is the distance between the opposing surface 50a that faces the slider body 21 and the abutting surface (opposing surface) 50b that abuts against the bottom wall 36 of the end cap 30.

As shown in Figures 3 and 5, a convex streak portion 51 is protruded from the opposing surface 50a of the oil passage unit 50. The convex streak portion 51 has a horizontal convex streak portion 51a extending in the width direction of the oil passage unit 50, and a pair of vertical convex streak portions 51b, 51b that branch downward from near both ends of the horizontal convex streak portion 51a and reach the lower side surface of the oil passage unit 50. The distance between the abutment surface 50b of the oil passage unit 50 and the tip surface of the convex streak portion 51 is the same length dimension as the axial depth of the oil passage unit fitting portion 33.

As shown in Figures 3 and 6, a grease groove 55 is recessed in the contact surface 50b of the oil passage unit 50. The grease groove 55 has a horizontal grease groove 55a that extends in the width direction of the oil passage unit 50, and a pair of vertical grease grooves 55b, 55b that branch off from the vicinity of both ends of the horizontal grease groove 55a and reach the lower surface of the oil passage unit 50.

Therefore, as shown in Figure 7, the oil passage unit 50 fitted into the oil passage unit fitting portion 33 is positioned by the end cap 30 being attached to the fore-and-aft end of the slider body 21, so that the convex rib portion 51 abuts against the fore-and-aft end face 21a of the slider body 21.
As a result, a lubricating oil supply passage 71 is defined between the front-rear end face 21a of the slider body 21 and the opposing face 50a of the oil passage unit 50. In addition, a grease supply passage 81 is defined between the oil supply groove 55 recessed in the abutment face 50b of the oil passage unit 50 and the bottom wall 36 of the end cap 30.

Furthermore, step portions 53 lower than the protruding ridge portion 51 are adjacently provided on both sides of the width direction of the protruding ridge portion 51. The step portions 53 have horizontal step portions 53a, 53a adjacent to both sides of the width direction of the horizontal protruding ridge portion 51a and extending in the width direction of the oil passage unit 50, and vertical step portions 53b, 53b adjacent to both sides of the width direction of the vertical protruding ridge portion 51b and extending downward of the oil passage unit 50.

In other words, as shown in FIG. 7, the oil passage unit 50 fitted into the oil passage unit fitting portion 33 defines a lubricating oil supply passage 71 between the slider body 21 and the end cap 30, and a grease supply passage 81 between the end cap 30 and the slider body 21 by attaching the end cap 30 to the front-rear end of the slider body 21.

The lubricating oil supply passage 71 can communicate between the direction change passages 26 a , 26 b in the end cap 30 and the oil supply port 37 via the oil supply groove 38 that leads to the groove 42 of the return guide 40 .
7, the lubricating oil supply passage 71 has an oil supply groove 75 defined by a convex rib portion 51 that is protruded from the opposing surface 50a of the oil passage unit 50 along the communication path of the lubricating oil supply passage 71 and abuts against the axial end face 21a of the slider body 21, and a step portion 53 formed adjacent to the convex rib portion 51. The oil supply groove 75 has a groove width smaller than the axial spacing of the lubricating oil supply passage 71 so as to be able to form a meniscus of lubricating oil 77 (a liquid bridge that can be formed in a very small gap between objects by surface tension).

Then, the lubricating oil 77 supplied from the oil supply port 37 of the end cap 30 passes through the lubricating oil supply passage 71, the oil supply groove 38 of the end cap 30, and the groove 42 of the return guide 40, and reaches the direction change passages 26a, 26b. Therefore, the lubricating oil 77 that reaches the direction change passages 26a, 26b is reliably supplied to the load rolling path and the rolling element return path of the slider body 21, which form the rolling element circulation path together with the direction change passages 26a, 26b, and is also supplied to the rail side raceway surface 5 and the rolling elements.

The lubricating oil supply passage 71 has an oil supply groove 75 formed along the communication path of the lubricating oil supply passage 71, which forms a meniscus by surface tension to hold the lubricating oil 77. Therefore, according to the linear guide 1 of this embodiment, leakage of the lubricating oil 77 due to changes over time can be suppressed, and the lubricating oil 77 can be stably supplied to the rolling element circulation passage and the rolling elements regardless of the oil supply position or oil supply posture.

In addition, the grease supply passage 81 can communicate between the direction change passages 26 a , 26 b and the grease supply port 39 via the oil supply groove 38 that leads to the groove 42 of the return guide 40 .
Thus, the grease 87 supplied from the greasing port 39 of the end cap 30 passes through the grease supply passage 81, the oil supply groove 38 of the end cap 30, and the groove 42 of the return guide 40, and reaches the direction change passages 26a, 26b. Therefore, the grease 87 that reaches the direction change passages 26a, 26b is reliably supplied to the load rolling passage and the rolling element return passage of the slider body 21, which form the rolling element circulation passage together with the direction change passages 26a, 26b, and is also supplied to the rail-side raceway surface 5 and the rolling elements. According to the linear guide 1 of this embodiment, it is possible to supply the lubricating oil 77 or grease 87 to the rolling element circulation passage and the rolling elements with one oil passage unit 50.

Therefore, according to the linear guide 1 of this embodiment, it is possible to stably supply lubricant (lubricating oil 77 or grease 87) to the contact area between the guide rail 3 and the rolling body for a long period of time.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified, improved, etc. In addition, the material, shape, size, number, arrangement location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary as long as the present invention can be achieved, and are not limited.
For example, the oil passage unit 50 of the above embodiment is
The convex rib portion 51 of the oil passage unit (50) accommodated in the oil passage unit fitting portion 33 recessed in the end cap 30 abuts against the slider body 21 and is positioned to define a lubricating oil supply passage 71 between the slider body 21 and the oil passage unit 50. However, the lubricating oil supply passage of the present invention is not limited to this, and may be defined between the slider body and the oil passage unit by a recess recessed in the surface facing the slider body.
In addition, the oil passage unit 50 in the above embodiment is configured so that the step portions 53 are formed adjacent to both widthwise sides of the convex rib portion 51, but the oil passage unit of the present invention is not limited to this, and may be configured so that the step portions are formed adjacent to one widthwise side of the convex rib portion.
Moreover, balls may be used as the rolling elements of the linear guide instead of cylindrical rollers.

Here, the features of the embodiments of the linear guide according to the present invention described above will be briefly summarized and listed in the following [1] to [3].
[1] A linear guide (1) comprising a guide rail (3), a slider (20) slidably engaged with the guide rail (3) so as to straddle the guide rail (3), and an end cap (30) attached to an axial end of a slider body (21) of the slider (20),
An oil passage unit (50) disposed on an opposing surface (abutment surface 32a) of the end cap (30) opposing the slider body (21) has a lubricating oil supply passage (71) defined between the slider body (21) and the end cap (30) for communicating between the direction change passages (26a, 26b) in the end cap (30) and an oil supply port (37), and a grease supply passage (81) defined between the end cap (30) and the end cap (30) for communicating between the direction change passages (26a, 26b) and a greasing port (39),
the lubricating oil supply passage (71) has a convex rib portion (51) that protrudes from a surface (50a) facing the slider body (21) along a communication path of the lubricating oil supply passage (71) and abuts against the slider body (21), and a step portion (53) that is formed adjacent to the convex rib portion (51) and that defines, together with the facing surface (end surface 21a) of the slider body (21) and the convex rib portion (51), an oil supply groove (75) for forming a meniscus of the lubricating oil (77);
The grease supply passage (81) is defined between the end cap (30) and a greasing groove (55) recessed in a surface (abutment surface 50b) facing the end cap (30).
A linear guide (1).

According to the above configuration [1], the lubricating oil supply passage (71) has an oil supply groove (75) defined by a convex rib portion (51) protruding from the opposing surface (50a) of the oil passage unit (50) along the communication path of the lubricating oil supply passage (71) and abutting against the axial opposing surface (end face 21a) of the slider body (21), and a step portion (53) formed adjacent to the convex rib portion (51).
Therefore, in the linear guide (1) of this configuration, by having the oil supply groove (75) that holds the lubricating oil 77 by forming a meniscus by surface tension, leakage of the lubricating oil (77) due to changes over time can be suppressed, and the lubricating oil (77) can be stably supplied to the rolling element circulation path and the rolling elements regardless of the oil supply position or oil supply posture. Also, in the linear guide (1) of this embodiment, it becomes possible to supply the lubricating oil (77) or grease (87) to the rolling element circulation path and the rolling elements with one oil passage unit (50).

[2] The lubricating oil supply passage (71)
The convex rib portion (51) of the oil passage unit (50) accommodated in the oil passage unit fitting portion (33) recessed in the end cap (30) abuts against the slider body (21) and is positioned, thereby defining a gap between the slider body (21) and the oil passage unit (50).
The linear guide (1) described in [1] above.

The configuration [2] above allows greater freedom in designing the lubricating oil supply passage (71) and makes it easier to assemble the oil passage unit (50).

[3] The step portion (53) is formed adjacent to both sides of the protruding portion (51) in the width direction.
The linear guide (1) according to the above [1] or [2],

According to the configuration [3] above, an oil supply groove (75) that forms a meniscus by surface tension to hold the lubricating oil (77) can be defined on both sides of the width direction of the convex rib portion (51), and the amount of lubricating oil (77) that can be held can be increased.

1 Linear guide 3 Guide rail 20 Slider 21 Slider body 21a End surface (opposing surface)
26a, 26b Direction change path 30 End cap 32a Contact surface (opposing surface)
37 Oil supply port 39 Grease supply port 50 Oil passage unit 50a Opposing surface 50b Abutment surface (opposing surface)
51: ridge portion 53: step portion 55: grease groove 71: lubricating oil supply passage 75: oil groove 77: lubricating oil 81: grease supply passage 87: grease

Claims (3)

A linear guide comprising: a guide rail; a slider slidably engaged with the guide rail so as to straddle the guide rail; and an end cap attached to an axial end of a slider body of the slider,
an oil passage unit disposed on an opposing surface of the end cap opposing the slider body includes a lubricating oil supply passage defined between the slider body and the oil passage unit for communicating a direction change passage in the end cap with an oil supply port, and a grease supply passage defined between the end cap and the oil passage unit for communicating the direction change passage with a grease supply port;
the lubricating oil supply passage has a protruding ridge portion that protrudes from a surface facing the slider body along a communication path of the lubricating oil supply passage and abuts against the slider body, and a step portion that is formed adjacent to the protruding ridge portion and that defines, together with the facing surface of the slider body and the protruding ridge portion, an oil supply groove for forming a meniscus of the lubricating oil,
The grease supply passage is defined between the end cap and a greasing groove recessed in a surface facing the end cap.
A linear guide characterized by: The lubricating oil supply passage includes:
The convex portion of the oil passage unit accommodated in the oil passage unit fitting portion recessed in the end cap is abutted against the slider body and positioned, thereby forming a gap between the slider body and the oil passage unit.
2. The linear guide according to claim 1 . The step portions are formed adjacent to both sides of the protruding portion in the width direction.
3. The linear guide according to claim 1 or 2.

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