JP2938712B2 - Self-propelled table device using rack and pinion - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a table device for linearly guiding a movable body such as a fine movement feed table and a transfer robot on a fixed portion such as a bed, and more particularly to a propulsion comprising a rack and a pinion. Using the means
The present invention relates to a table device for self-propelled operation .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-35776 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-55936 disclose a table apparatus in which a movable body is self-propelled on a fixed portion by a propulsion means including a rack and a pinion. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, a pair of track bases 101 and 102 disposed on the fixed unit 100 at predetermined intervals, and
A pair of slides 103 and 104 running along 102
And the above-mentioned fixed portion 1
A ball rolling groove is formed on one side surface of the track base 101 among the pair of track bases, and the slide base 103 is provided with the ball 107 via the ball 107. While being in contact with the side surface, a rack 108 is formed along the longitudinal direction on the other side surface of the track base 103, and a pinion 109 is engaged with the rack 108. The pinion 109 is fixed to a rotating shaft 111 of a motor 110 mounted on the movable body 105.

Accordingly, in the table apparatus shown in FIG. 1, when the motor 110 rotates, the pinion 109 is moved to the rack 108.
And the amount of advance / retreat corresponding to the amount of rotation of the motor 110 is given to the movable body 105, and the movable body 10
5 travels on the fixed part 100 along the way 101 and 102 by itself.

Further, in this table apparatus, as shown in FIG. 8, the slide table 103 is pressed in the direction of the track base 101 with a rack by a pressing bolt 112 screwed to the movable body 105. The gap between the table 103 and the track 101 and the gap between the slide table 104 and the track 102 are adjusted to apply a preload to the ball 107, and
The rigidity of the movable body 105 with respect to 0 is increased. In addition, the pressing bolt 112 is connected to the rack 1
08 and the pinion 109 are also adjusted, and by tightening the bolt 112, the two members 108, 109
, A backlash in the moving direction of the movable body 105 is eliminated.

[0005]

However, in the conventional table apparatus configured as described above, the slide tables 103, 10
4 and application of a preload to the rolling guide section composed of the rails 101 and 102, the rack 108 and the pinion 109.
The adjustment of the clearance of the propulsion means composed of
Since it is performed only by the above, there are the following problems.

That is, if the pressing bolt 112 is tightened to increase the rigidity of the movable body 105 and a sufficient preload is applied to the rolling guide, the preload of the propulsion means becomes excessive and the rack 108 and the pinion 109 are overheated. In addition, there has been a problem that the fatigue of the surface layer occurs and the life of the device is shortened. Conversely, when an appropriate preload is applied to the propulsion means, there is a problem that the preload of the rolling guide portion is insufficient and the rigidity of the movable body is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object the preload of a rolling guide unit for linearly guiding a movable body such as a table on a fixed unit;
It is an object of the present invention to provide a table device that can individually adjust the preload of a table propulsion unit including a rack and a pinion, can increase rigidity of a movable body, and can prevent overheating and damage of a rack and a pinion. .

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a table apparatus according to the present invention comprises a first and a second way which are disposed on a fixed portion at a predetermined interval, and a plurality of the way. first and second sliding platform that runs along the base, and a movable member guided on the fixed part by these sliding board, the
A rack formed on a side surface of the first way, and the rack;
Rotatably provided et al with respect to the movable body to co-when engaged with
By rotating the pinion and the pinion
Table having driving means for moving the movable body by itself
In the apparatus, the first and second slides are formed to have a substantially L-shaped cross section including a horizontal portion and a skirt portion hanging down from one end thereof, and form a concave portion together with the lower surface of the horizontal portion. One side of the skirt has a ball rolling groove inclined upward, and a lower surface of the horizontal portion has a ball rolling groove inclined downward toward the skirt,
Further, the movable body is provided with an endless track through which balls rolling in the ball rolling grooves are circulated, and the movable body is fixed to a mounting surface formed on an upper surface of the horizontal portion with a connecting bolt.
And second track rail has respectively a rolling groove to sandwich the balls I the ball rolling groove coupled with the upper surface facing the side surface and the horizontal section opposed to the skirt portion of the sliding board, further
In addition, the first way is projected sideways from the horizontal portion of the slide.
It is formed in a wide rectangular cross-section that is
When the movable body is fixed to the first and second slide tables, the rack is provided on a side surface protruding from the horizontal portion .
The ball slide groove formed in the horizontal portion is pushed down toward the track and the ball slide groove formed in the skirt portion is pulled up toward the movable body, and the slide table is attached to the movable body, While adjusting the preload of the balls rolling in these ball rolling grooves, a gap adjusting means for moving the pinion in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction with respect to the first track is provided. It is characterized in that the preload adjustment of the pinion and the rack is performed.

In such technical means, the first
Is required to have a rack on one side thereof, but this rack may be any as long as another member is fixed to the side surface of the rail. However, since it is necessary to increase the parallelism of the rack with the rolling groove of the way in order to increase the movement accuracy of the table, it is preferable that the rack is directly carved on the side surface of the way.

It is preferable that the above-mentioned way is formed to have a substantially rectangular cross section including the side surface on which the rack is formed. If the way is formed in such a shape, the way is formed by a hydraulic press straightening machine. Can be easily corrected. That is, it is possible to easily secure the straightness of the way.

Therefore, as the linear sliding device for guiding the movable body in the table apparatus of the present invention, its track is formed to have a substantially rectangular cross section, and one side is rotatably supported by the movable body. A rack that meshes with the pinion is engraved, and the other side surface has a rolling groove that sandwiches the ball in combination with a ball rolling groove formed in the skirt portion of the slide table. Has a rolling groove for sandwiching the ball in combination with a ball rolling groove formed in a horizontal portion of the slide table, and a linear slide with a rack on which the slide table travels along the track. Preferably it is a device.

From the viewpoint of increasing the torque transmitted from the pinion to the rack and ensuring smooth movement of the movable body, the track width of the track rail of the linear sliding device with a rack should be such that the tooth width of the rack is reduced. It is preferable to form the same height. Also, at this time, in order to avoid the upper surface of the track base having a substantially rectangular cross section from interfering with the ball retainer attached to the horizontal portion of the slide table, a concave groove along the longitudinal direction is formed on the upper surface of the track table. Are provided between the rack and the rolling grooves.

Further, in the present invention, the preload adjustment of the ball inserted between the slide table and the track is performed by pushing down the ball rolling groove formed in the horizontal portion toward the track and causing the ball to slide into the skirt. The slide table is mounted on the movable body in a state where the formed ball rolling groove is pulled up toward the movable body. The fixing of the slide base to the movable body may be performed, for example, by forming a mounting surface of the slide base to which the movable body is fixed in an inclined manner, or by using a shim between the mounting surface of the slide base and the movable body. (Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-11208,
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-3488, etc.).

Further, in the present invention, the preload adjustment between the pinion and the rack is performed by adjusting the pinion to the first position where the rack is formed.
Is performed by moving the rail in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. Such a movement of the pinion with respect to the track is performed, for example, by pressing the side surface of the first slide table on the skirt portion side with a push screw screwed to the movable member, and the pinion is supported by the reaction force. Is slightly moved with respect to the first track. Alternatively, the pinion may be slidably arranged in the direction with respect to the movable body, and only the pinion may be moved with respect to the first track without moving the movable body.

[0015]

According to the table apparatus of the present invention, the preload adjustment of the linear sliding device composed of the slide base and the track base is performed by pushing down the ball rolling groove formed in the horizontal portion toward the track base and adjusting the skirt. The slide table is attached to the movable body while the ball rolling groove formed in the portion is pulled up toward the movable body, and the preload adjustment of the propulsion means of the movable body composed of the rack and the pinion is performed as described above. Since the adjustment is performed by the gap adjusting means, the preloads of the linear sliding device and the propulsion means can be adjusted to appropriate magnitudes.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A self-propelled table apparatus using a rack and a pinion according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a table apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a fixed portion such as a bed, and a pair of right and left linear sliding devices 2 and 3 are arranged on the fixed portion 1 at predetermined intervals in parallel with each other. Reference numeral 4 denotes a movable body such as a table.
It is guided by the linear sliding devices 2 and 3 and is movable on the fixed portion 1 in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. One of the pair of linear sliding bear rigs 2 and 3 is a table 4
Is a linear sliding device with a rack in which a rack 5 is formed along the moving direction, and a pinion 6 attached to a spindle 40 penetrating the movable body 4 meshes with the rack 5. Reference numeral 7 denotes a motor mounted on the movable body 4, and a main shaft 70 is connected to the spindle 40.

FIGS. 2 to 4 show the device 2 for linear sliding with a rack. In these figures, reference numeral 21
Is a raceway fixed to the fixed part 1, reference numeral 22 is a slide base fixed on the movable body 4 and runs on the raceway base 21, and reference numeral 23 is sandwiched between the raceway base 21 and the slide base 22. Ball.

The slide table 22 includes a block 24 having a substantially L-shaped cross-section including a horizontal portion 24a and a skirt portion 24b hanging down from one end of the horizontal portion 24a. It comprises a pair of synthetic resin end caps 26, 26 attached to the front and rear end faces with bolts 25. In the block 24, a ball rolling groove 2 inclined upward is formed on an inner surface of a skirt portion 24b which forms a recess together with the lower surface of the horizontal portion 24a.
7 are formed, while the ball rolling grooves 2 inclined downward toward the skirt portion 24b are formed on the lower surface of the horizontal portion 24a.
8 is formed, and the ball 23 sandwiched between the slide table 22 and the track table 21 rolls in these ball rolling grooves 27 and 28 while applying a load acting on the slide table 22. Ball return holes 29 and 30 corresponding to the ball rolling grooves 27 and 28 are formed in the horizontal portion 24a and the skirt portion 24b, respectively. And this ball return hole 29,
Reference numeral 30 denotes a corresponding ball rolling groove 27, which is formed by a ball conversion passage (not shown) provided in the end cap 26.
28. Therefore, by attaching the end caps 26, 26 to the front and rear end surfaces of the block 24, respectively, the ball rolling grooves 27, 28 and the ball return holes 29,
An infinite circulation path of two balls, each of which is communicated and connected to each other, is formed. Reference numerals 31 and 32 denote ball holding plates attached to the lower end of the horizontal portion 24a opposite to the lower end of the skirt portion 24b and the one end of the horizontal portion 24a opposite to the skirt portion 24b (hereinafter referred to as the front end of the horizontal portion 24a). When the slide base 22 is removed from the track base 21, the balls 23
Is prevented from falling off from the endless circuit.

The sliding table 22 constructed as described above
A mounting surface 33 of the movable body 4 is formed on the upper surface of the movable body 4, and mounting holes 35, 35,... Into which coupling bolts 34, 34. Have been. Also, the mounting surface 33 is such that the horizontal portion 24a of the slide base 22 is thick on the tip side and the skirt portion 24b
It is formed so as to be thin on the side. Therefore,
As shown in FIG. 1, when the slide base 22 is fixed to the movable body 4 with the coupling bolt 34, the ball rolling grooves formed in the horizontal portion 24 a of the slide base 22 are pushed down toward the track bases 21 and 41. And the ball rolling groove formed in the skirt portion 24b is pulled up toward the movable body 4, and as a result, the slide table 22 rotates in the direction of the arrow with respect to the track table 21 or 41, and slides. The gap between the moving table 22 and the track tables 21 and 41 is adjusted.

On the other hand, the way 21 is formed in a rectangular cross section, and the rack 5 is formed on one side surface with the same tooth width as the height of the way 21. On the other side, the slide table 22 extends along the longitudinal direction (perpendicular to the paper surface).
The rolling groove 36 that sandwiches the ball 23 is formed in combination with the ball rolling groove 27 of FIG. Further, a concave groove 37 is formed on the upper surface of the track base 21 along the longitudinal direction for avoiding interference with the ball holding plate 32 attached to the horizontal portion 24a of the slide base 22, and a shoulder of the concave groove 37 is formed. A rolling groove 38 for sandwiching the ball 23 is formed in the portion together with the ball rolling groove 28 of the slide table 22. Reference numeral 39 denotes a mounting hole through which a fixing bolt 40 screwed to the fixing portion 1 passes.

This way 21 is manufactured by the following procedure. The rough shape of the track base 21 having the ball rolling grooves 36 and 38 and the concave groove 37 is formed by cold drawing. The rack 5 is rough-processed on the side surface of the molded track 21. Ball rolling groove 36,3
8 and the rack 5 are quenched, and if necessary, other parts are also quenched. Grinding is performed on the bottom surface, the upper surface, and each side surface to form a processing reference surface and a reference mounting surface to the fixed portion 1. The ball rolling grooves 36 and 38 and the rack 5 are ground and finished based on the processing reference surface and the mounting reference surface.

Since it is necessary to increase the straightness of the way 21 in the manufacture of the way 21, it is necessary to use a hydraulic press straightening machine after the cold drawing, quenching and grinding as required. The bending of the way 21 is corrected. In this straightening operation, the rail 21 is placed on the inspection plane provided in the hydraulic press straightening machine, and the size of the gap between the inspection plane and the rail 21 and the tendency thereof are inspected. The test is performed by holding the track 21 between the inspection plane and the track 21 at an interval, lifting the track 21, and pressing the track 21 toward the test plane with the pressurizing head of the hydraulic press straightening machine. The thickness and interval of the shim and the number of times of pressing by the pressure head are appropriately determined according to the size and tendency of the gap between the inspection plane and the track base 21.

In this correcting work, since the cross-sectional shape of the way 21 significantly affects the work efficiency, in this embodiment, the cross section of the way 21 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape including the rack 5. That is, if the cross section is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, the bend can be easily corrected by pressing the side surface or the upper surface of the track base 21, and the track base 2 can be easily corrected on the inspection plane.
Even when inspecting the first bend, this can be easily performed only by bringing the side and bottom surfaces of the track base 21 into contact with the inspection plane. In addition, as the cross-sectional shape of the way 21 is simpler, there is less concern that a complicated bend with torsion occurs, and the bend of the way 21 can be easily corrected by that much.

Next, the linear sliding device 3 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the linear sliding device 3 also includes a track 41 fixed to the fixed portion 1 and a slide fixed to the movable body 4 and running on the track 41. It is composed of Of these, the slide table has the same configuration as the linear sliding device with a rack, and therefore the same reference numerals are given to FIGS. 6 and 7 and the description thereof is omitted. The rail 41 is obtained by removing the rack 5 from the rail 21 and is formed in a rectangular cross section, and has a ball rolling groove 27 formed in the skirt portion 24b of the slide base 22 on one side.
In addition to this, a rolling groove 42 for sandwiching the ball 23 is formed, and a ball rolling groove 28 formed in the horizontal portion 24 a of the slide base 22 is formed at a corner where the other side surface and the upper surface intersect. In addition, a rolling groove 43 sandwiching the ball 23 is formed. Reference numeral 44 denotes a mounting hole through which the fixing bolt 40 screwed to the fixing portion 1 passes.

As shown in FIG. 1, a skirt 45 hangs from one side of the movable body 4, and a push screw 46 is screwed to the skirt 45. The tip of the push screw 46 is in contact with the side surface of the slide table 22 of the linear sliding device 2 with a rack, and is configured to press the slide table in the horizontal direction according to the amount of screwing of the push screw 46. I have.

The table apparatus of the present embodiment thus constructed is assembled as follows. First, the rail 41 is abutted against the mounting reference surface 45 formed on the fixed portion,
The fixing bolt 40 is fully tightened to fix the way 41. On the other hand, with respect to the rail way 21, the fixing bolts 40 are temporarily tightened and temporarily fixed. Next, the movable body 4 is connected to both of the slide bases 22 and 22 running on the track bases 21 and 41 by the connecting bolts 3.
At the same time, the pinion 6 and the rack 5 are engaged with each other. In this state, the movable body 4 is
1 and 41, and the fixing bolt 4 of the track base 21 which has been temporarily tightened while the parallelism of the track base 21 is determined.
Completely tighten 0. Thus, the fixing of the way 21 and 41 is completed.

Next, in a state where the slide base 22 is temporarily fixed to the movable body 4, when the slide base 22 is pressed from the side by the push screw 46, the pinion 6 is moved by the reaction force to the pinion 6 of the track base 21. The gap between the rack 5 and the pinion 6 can be adjusted by closely adhering to the rack 5. Thereby, an optimal preload is applied to the propulsion means including the rack 5 and the pinion 6, and backlash in the moving direction of the movable body 4 can be eliminated.

Finally, all the connecting bolts 34 for temporarily fixing the pair of slide tables 22 and 22 to the movable body 4 are fully tightened, and the slide tables 22 and 22 are permanently fixed to the movable body 4 and all Is completed. In this embodiment, when the slide base 22 is fully fixed to the movable body 4, the slide base 22 is moved to the track base 2 as described above.
1 or 41 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, and the gap between the two is adjusted. Therefore, only by fixing the slide table 22 to the movable body 4, the slide table 22 and the track table 21 or 41 A preload can be applied to the ball 23 sandwiched therebetween. When a large preload is to be applied to the ball 23, a shim (not shown) is inserted between the tip of the horizontal portion 24a of the slide table 22 and the movable body 4 in advance, and the track table 21,
The rotation of the slide table 22 in the direction of the arrow with respect to 41 may be made larger.

As described above, in the table apparatus of the present embodiment, the propulsion means of the movable body 4 composed of the rack 5 and the pinion 6 is pre-adjusted in accordance with the amount of tightening of the push screw 46, while being adjusted for linear sliding. The preload of the rolling guide of the movable body 4 constituted by the devices 2 and 3 is adjusted in accordance with the rotation amount of the slide relative to the track. Therefore, the preload adjusting operation of the propulsion unit and the preload adjusting operation of the rolling guide unit do not affect each other, and an optimal preload value can be set for both the propulsion unit and the rolling guide unit.

[0031]

As described above, according to the table apparatus of the present invention, the preload adjustment operation of the rolling guide portion for linearly guiding the movable body and the preload adjustment of the propulsion means of the movable body composed of the rack and the pinion. Since the work and the work do not affect each other, the preload of the rolling guide and the propulsion means can be adjusted to appropriate sizes, respectively, and the movable body is fixed while eliminating backlash in the moving direction of the movable body. In addition to improving the rigidity of the propulsion unit, it is also possible to prevent the propulsion means from being heated and shortened in life due to excessive preload.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a table device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a device 2 for linear sliding with a rack according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a device for linear sliding with a rack 2 according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the apparatus for linear sliding with a rack 2 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a way 21 of the apparatus 2 for linear sliding with a rack according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the linear sliding device 3 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the linear sliding device 3 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a conventional table device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Fixed part, 2 ... Device for linear sliding with a rack, 4 ... Movable body, 5 ... Rack, 6 ... Pinion, 7 ... Motor, 21 ... Track (first track), 22 ... Slide, 23 …ball,
34 ... connecting bolt, 41 ... way (second way), 4
6 ... Screw (gap adjusting means)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) F16C 29/00-29/06

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first and a second track which are arranged on a fixed portion at a predetermined interval, a first and a second slide which run along the track, and a slide which slides along the track. A movable body guided on the fixed part by a moving base;
When the rack formed on the side is engaged with this rack,
A pinion rotatably provided with respect to the movable body
And the movable body by rotating this pinion
Table device equipped with a driving means for self-propelling
Te, the first and second sliding stand is formed in a horizontal portion and a substantially L-shaped cross section and a skirt portion depending from one end, forming a recess I lower surface coupled with the horizontal portion One side surface of the skirt portion has ball rolling grooves inclined upward, and the lower surface of the horizontal portion has ball rolling grooves inclined downward toward the skirt portion. An endless orbit for circulating a ball rolling in a running groove; the movable body is fixed to a mounting surface formed on an upper surface of the horizontal portion with a connecting bolt; and the first and second track bases are The sliding base has a rolling groove for holding the ball in combination with the ball rolling groove on a side surface facing the skirt portion and an upper surface facing the horizontal portion. Beside the horizontal part of the platform
It is formed in a protruding wide cross-section approximately rectangular shape and slides
The rack is provided on a side protruding from a horizontal portion of the base, and when the movable body is fixed to the first and second slides, a ball rolling groove formed in the horizontal portion is fixed to the track base. The ball slide groove formed in the skirt portion is pushed down toward the movable body, and the slide table is attached to the movable body in a state where the ball rolling groove is pulled up toward the movable body. On the other hand, there is provided a gap adjusting means for moving the pinion in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction with respect to the first track, and a preload adjustment of the pinion and the rack is performed by the gap adjusting means. apparatus.