JP5267329B2 - Linear guide device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a linear guide device in which a rolling element does not circulate and a cage is longer than a slider.

  A conventional general linear guide device includes a guide rail, a slider, and a plurality of rolling elements. When the rolling element circulates in a circulation path, one of the guide rail and the slider is relative to the other. Is configured to linearly move. The circulation path is composed of a rolling path formed by a rolling surface disposed opposite to the guide rail and the slider, and a return path and a direction changing path of the rolling element formed in the slider, and the direction changing path is defined as a return path. The rolling elements are circulated by connecting the rolling passages.

  In recent years, the need for ultra-precision machining has been increasing in the machine tool industry. However, in the linear guide device of the type in which the rolling element circulates, the minute undulation associated with the circulation of the rolling element cannot be avoided. When this is applied to an ultra-precision processing machine that processes a mold such as an optical component, there has been a problem that minute waviness occurs in the workpiece. Therefore, post-processing such as polishing is required for the workpiece.

In Patent Document 1 below, a linear guide that does not circulate the rolling element, which is not an expensive device such as an air slide device, but can prevent the above-described problem from occurring using a linear guide device having an existing rolling element. A device (moving device) is described.
In this linear guide device, the rolling element is rotatably held by a cage extending along the guide rail, and the length of the cage along the guide rail is longer than the slider. Then, while the rolling element rotates in the cage pocket, it rolls along the rolling path formed by the rolling surface disposed opposite to the guide rail and the slider, thereby extending the length along the guide rail of the cage. One of the guide rail and the slider moves linearly relative to the other within a predetermined distance range corresponding to the distance.

JP 2008-115921 A

  However, since the linear guide device described in Patent Document 1 has a longer length along the guide rail of the cage than the slider, the portion of the cage that is detached from the slider is exposed. Therefore, depending on the usage environment, foreign substances such as dust may adhere to the rolling elements at the part of the cage that is removed from the slider, which may cause damage. Further, in an environment where the linear guide device receives a large vibration from the outside, it is necessary to prevent the rolling elements from wobbling in the pockets of the cage and generating noise or coming off the cage.

  An object of the present invention is to prevent foreign matters such as dust from adhering to a rolling element in a part of the linear guide device in which the rolling element does not circulate and the cage is longer than the slider at a portion removed from the slider. And the rolling element is stably held by the cage.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a linear guide device according to the present invention includes a guide rail, a slider, and a plurality of rolling elements, and the guide rail and the slider are arranged to face each other and the rolling passage of the rolling element. The rolling element is rotatably held by a cage extending along the guide rail, the length of the cage along the guide rail is longer than the slider, and the rolling element is of the cage. A linear guide device in which one of the guide rail and the slider moves linearly relative to the other by rolling in the rolling passage while rotating in a pocket, and at least one end of the slider in the linear motion direction to extend along the guide rail, the cover covering a portion deviated from the slider of the retainer is provided, the gap between the rolling element and a cover which is held by the retainer, less than the diameter of the rolling element A seal having a lip portion that contacts the raceway surface of the guide rail or a seal having a slight gap (for example, 0.1 to 0.2 mm) between the track surface and the slider side of the cover The cover and the slider are formed as one member at an end opposite to the head.

  According to the linear guide device of the present invention, by providing the cover, it is possible to prevent foreign matters such as dust from adhering to the rolling elements held by the cage. Moreover, since the part removed from the slider of the cage is covered with the cover, by setting the gap between the rolling element held by the cage and the cover to an appropriate value smaller than the diameter of the rolling element, the rolling element Can be stably held by the cage.

  According to the linear guide device of the present invention, it is possible to prevent foreign matters such as dust from adhering to the rolling element at a portion removed from the slider of the cage, so that the rolling element is stably held by the cage. Can do.

It is a perspective view which shows the linear guide apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is the perspective view which removed the cover from the linear guide apparatus of FIG. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a partial expansion perspective view of the linear guide apparatus of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the holder | retainer of the linear guide apparatus of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the inner surface side of the holder | retainer of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the positional relationship of the holder | retainer, guide rail, and ball | bowl of the linear guide apparatus of FIG. In the linear guide apparatus of FIG. 1, it is a schematic diagram which shows the motion of a holder | retainer and a cover when a slider moves. It is a perspective view which shows the linear guide apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating movement of the cage and the cover when the slider is moved in the linear guide device of FIG. 9. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a relationship among a slider, a cage, and a cover, showing an example in which only the fixing position of the seal is changed in the linear guide device of FIG. 9. It is a perspective view which shows the linear guide apparatus of 3rd Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the inner surface side of the member which comprises the linear guide apparatus of FIG. 12, and the slider and the cover were integrated. It is a schematic diagram explaining the linear guide apparatus of FIG. It is a linear guide device which has two sliders, Comprising: It is a perspective view which shows the state which removed the cover.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the linear guide device according to the first embodiment includes a guide rail 1, a slider 2, a plurality of balls (rolling elements) 3, a cage 4, a cover 5, and a seal. 6.
As shown in FIG. 3, the guide rail 1 and the slider 2 have rolling grooves (rolling surfaces) 11, 12, 21, and 22 that face each other and form a rolling path of the ball 3. One rolling groove 11 of the guide rail 1 is formed on a side surface facing the leg portion 2 </ b> A of the slider 2. The other rolling groove 12 of the guide rail 1 is formed at the upper corner. Screw holes 29 for attaching the cover 5 are formed on both end faces of the slider 2.

  Concave portions 23 and 24 are formed in the leg portion 2A and the trunk portion 2B of the slider 2 to secure a space for the cage 4 to enter between the guide rail 1 and the slider 2. One rolling groove 21 of the slider 2 is formed in a protrusion 25 that faces the guide rail 1 from the lower side of the recess 23 of the leg 2A. The other rolling groove 22 of the slider 2 is formed at the boundary between the recess 24 of the body 2B and the recess 23 of both legs 2A.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the cage 4 is arranged at the upper member 41 that covers the upper side of the guide rail 1, the side member 42 that is arranged on the side surface of the guide rail 1, and the longitudinal ends of the side member 42. End member 43, a number of partition plates 44 arranged in parallel with the end member 43, a T-shaped protrusion 45 protruding from one longitudinal end of the upper member 41, and the other end of the upper surface of the upper member 41 It comprises a T-shaped recess 46 formed in the part.

The length of the cage 4 along the guide rail 1 is longer than that of the slider 2. In addition, the retainer 4 is formed with an opening extending in the longitudinal direction at a corner between the upper member 41 and the side member 42. The partition plate 44 has a shape that bends at a right angle at the opening and reaches the lower end along the side member 42.
A portion of the opening portion partitioned by the adjacent partition plate 44 and a portion between the end member 43 and the partition plate 44 are opposed to the rolling groove 12 formed in the upper corner portion of the guide rail 1. It is a pocket 47 of the ball 3 disposed between the rolling groove 22 of the slider 2. The opening dimension of the pocket 47 on the slider 2 side (A in FIG. 7) is smaller than the diameter of the ball 3. Therefore, even if the cover 5 is not present, the ball 3 cannot be removed from the pocket 47 in a normal use state.

  Further, a portion partitioned by the adjacent partition plate 44 at the lower part of the side member 42 and a portion between the end member 43 and the partition plate 44 are formed in the rolling groove 11 formed on the side surface of the guide rail 1 and the rolling groove 11. It is a pocket 48 of the ball 3 disposed between the opposing rolling grooves 21 of the slider 2. In the pocket 48, the side member 42 and the partition plate 44 hold the ball 3 to a position slightly below the center line (line B in FIG. 7). Therefore, even if the cover 5 is not present, the ball 3 cannot be removed from the pocket 48 in a normal use state.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 8, the cover 5 has a main body 51 that covers the entire cage 4 in a state where the ball 3 is held, and one end in the length direction of the main body 51 is fixed to the slider 2. Mounting portions 52a and 52b, and a seal fixing portion 53 for fixing the seal 6 to the tip.
As shown in FIG. 3, the main body 51 includes an upper part 51a disposed on the upper side of the upper member 41 of the retainer 4, a side part 51b disposed on the outer side of the side member 42 of the retainer 4, and an upper member 51a. From the side 51b to the guide rail 1 side, and to the inner side surface of the leg 2A of the slider 2 and 51d.

  The upper inclined portion 51c is formed so as to have a slight gap with respect to the ball 3 held in the pocket 47 (rolling between the raceway grooves 12 and 22) with the cover 5 attached. The lower inclined portion 51d is formed so as to have a slight gap with respect to the ball 3 held in the pocket 48 (rolling between the raceway grooves 11 and 21) with the cover 5 attached. These gaps are, for example, 1/10 of the diameter of the ball 3.

The upper inclined portion 51 c restricts the upward movement of the ball 3 held in the pocket 47 of the cage 4. The lower inclined portion 51d restricts the downward movement of the ball 3 held in the pocket 48 of the cage 4. Therefore, the presence of the cover 5 prevents the ball 3 from being removed from the pockets 47 and 48 even when a strong impact is applied in use.
In addition, since the lower inclined portion 51 d has a shape extending to the inner surface of the leg portion 2 </ b> A of the slider 2, the minimum clearance between the cover 5 and the guide rail 1 is the same as the clearance between the slider 2 and the guide rail 1. ing. The minimum value of the gap between the cover 5 and the guide rail 1 is desirably 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm.

The attachment part 52 a extends upward from the upper part 51 a at one end in the length direction of the main body 51, and is screwed to the body part 2 B of the slider 2. The attachment portion 52 b extends outward from both side portions 51 b of the main body 51 and is screwed to the leg portion 2 A of the slider 2.
As shown in FIG. 8, in the linear guide device of this embodiment, when the slider 2 moves with respect to the guide rail 1 by a distance S, the cage 4 moves with respect to the guide rail 1 by a distance S / 2. . FIG. 8A shows a state in which the slider 2 is arranged at the center of the guide rail 1 in the length direction. FIG. 8B shows a state in which the slider 2 is disposed on the leftmost side in the movable range with respect to the guide rail 1, and even in this state, all the parts of the cage 4 that are detached from the slider 2 are covered with the cover 5. . Thus, the length of the main body 51 of the cover 5 (the dimension along the guide rail 1) is such that the portion of the cage 4 that is detached from the slider 2 is always covered by the cover 5 within the movable range of the slider 2. It is set to be.

  The cover 5 can be produced by, for example, sheet metal processing of a metal plate made of steel, aluminum, or the like, or injection molding of a synthetic resin such as polyamide or polyacetal. When the tip of the lower inclined portion 51d of the cover 5 is brought into contact with the guide rail 1, the contact portion may be made of an elastomer (synthetic rubber or thermoplastic elastomer) so that the guide rail 1 is not damaged. desirable.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the seal 6 includes lip portions 61 and 62 that contact the raceway grooves 11 and 12 of the guide rail 1 and a fixing portion 63 that corresponds to the seal fixing portion 53 of the cover 5. This seal 6 is disposed on the end surface of the cover 5 on the seal fixing portion 53 side by screwing the fixing portion 63 to the seal fixing portion 53 of the cover 5, and the gap between the main body 51 of the cover 5 and the guide rail 1. Block.

  As described above, according to the linear guide device of this embodiment, the cover 5 is attached to both ends of the slider 2 in the linear movement direction, and all the portions of the cage 4 that are detached from the slider 2 are within the movable range of the slider 2. Since the cover 5 is always covered, it is possible to prevent foreign matters such as dust from adhering to the ball 3 held by the holder 4 at a portion removed from the slider 2. In addition, since the seal 6 is fixed to the tip of the cover 5, foreign matter can be prevented from entering the cover 5 from the tip of the cover 5.

In addition, the upper inclined portion 51c and the lower inclined portion 51d of the main body 51 of the cover 5 restricts the upward and downward movement of the ball 3 held in the pockets 47 and 48 of the cage 4, thereby Even when a strong impact is applied, the ball 3 is stably held by the cage 4.
In this embodiment, since the seal 6 having the lip portions 61 and 62 contacting the raceway grooves 11 and 12 of the guide rail 1 is used, high dustproof performance is exhibited. However, when it is desired to suppress an increase in sliding resistance, a seal having a slight gap (for example, 0.1 to 0.2 mm) between the raceway grooves 11 and 12 of the guide rail 1 is used. A certain dustproof effect can be obtained while keeping the dynamic resistance low.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the linear guide device of the second embodiment includes a cover 5 having a main body 51 having the same cross-sectional shape and a long length as those of the first embodiment. Further, the front end of the cover 5 is opened, and seals 7 are fixed to both ends in the length direction of the guide rail 1 with bolts. Other points are the same as those of the linear guide device of the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 9, the seal 7 includes a lower portion 71 corresponding to the end face of the guide rail 1 and an upper portion 72 disposed above the guide rail 1. The upper portion 72 closes between the guide rail 1 and the cover 5, and the outer edge portion is in sliding contact with the inner surface of the cover 5.

As shown in FIG. 10, also in the linear guide device of this embodiment, when the slider 2 moves relative to the guide rail 1 by the distance S, the cage 4 moves relative to the guide rail 1 by the distance S / 2. . FIG. 10A shows a state in which the slider 2 is arranged at the center in the length direction of the guide rail 1.
FIG. 10B shows a state in which the slider 2 is disposed on the leftmost side in the movable range with respect to the guide rail 1. Even in this state, the part of the guide rail 1 that is detached from the slider 2 is covered with the cover 5. Thus, the length of the main body 51 of the cover 5 (the dimension along the guide rail 1) is set so that the guide rail 1 is always covered with the cover 5 within the movable range of the slider 2. Yes.

As a result, all the parts of the cage 4 that are detached from the slider 2 are always covered with the cover 5, and the seal 7 fixed to the guide rail 1 allows foreign matter to enter the cover 5 from the end in the longitudinal direction of the cover 5. It is prevented from entering. Therefore, it is possible to prevent foreign matters such as dust from adhering to the ball 3 held by the cage 4 at a portion removed from the slider 2.
In addition, the seal 6 of the first embodiment requires complicated lip portions 61 and 62 corresponding to the raceway grooves 11 and 12 of the guide rail 1, but the seal 7 of the second embodiment is similar to the cover 5. Since it is sufficient to match the inner shape of the main body 51, a simple shape can be obtained.

In the linear guide device of FIG. 9, the seal 7 is fixed to both end faces of the guide rail 1. However, as shown in FIG. 11, the seal 7 </ b> A is disposed inside the guide rail 1 at both ends in the length direction of the cage 4. It may be fixed at a position outside the movement range. The seal 7A has a shape in which a concave portion that fits into the guide rail 1 is provided in the lower portion 71 of the seal 7 in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 12, the linear guide device of the third embodiment includes a slide member 8 in which a slider and a cover are integrated, and seals 7B are fixed to both end faces thereof. The other points are the same as those of the linear guide device of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

The slide member 8 includes a slider portion 81 and a cover portion 82, and a portion where the attachment hole 81 </ b> A of the slider portion 81 is formed is formed higher than the cover portion 82. The slider portion 81 has the same shape as the slider 2 of the first embodiment, and cover portions 82 having substantially the same cross-sectional shape are integrally formed at both ends in the length direction.
The slider portion 81 is formed with the same raceway grooves 21 and 22 as the slider 2 of the first embodiment, and the cover portion 82 is formed with a holding groove continuing to the raceway grooves 21 and 22. The holding groove of the cover portion 82 is formed to have a slightly larger cross section than the raceway grooves 21 and 22 of the slider portion 81 so that no load is generated on the ball 3 in contact with the holding groove.

Since the linear guide device of this embodiment has fewer parts than the linear guide devices of the first and second embodiments, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.
The slide member 8 can be manufactured by the same method as a normal slider. Both the raceway groove and the holding groove may be formed by grinding, or the raceway groove may be ground after the holding groove is cut. When both the raceway groove and the holding groove are formed by grinding, the shape of the holding groove is brought close to the raceway groove as long as no load is applied to the ball (the gap between the holding groove and the ball is, for example, several μm to several tens μm) As a result, the wobble of the ball in the cover portion 82 can be reduced. As a result, generation of noise can be prevented.

In the case of a linear guide device having a plurality of sliders 2 (FIG. 15 shows an example having two sliders), a cover is also fixed between adjacent sliders 2 to cover the cage 4 over the entire length. Is desirable.
In each of the above embodiments, the rolling element is an example of a ball. However, when the rolling element is a roller, a roller cage is used and a cover for covering the roller may be provided.

1 Guide rail 11, 12 Rolling groove (rolling surface) of guide rail
2 Slider 21 and 22 Rolling groove (rolling surface) of slider
3 balls (rolling elements)
4 Cage 5 Cover 6 Seal 7 Seal 7A Seal 8 Slide Member 81 Slider Part 82 Cover Part

Claims (1)

A guide rail, a slider, and a plurality of rolling elements,
The guide rail and the slider have a rolling surface that is disposed opposite to each other and forms a rolling passage of the rolling element,
The rolling element is rotatably held by a cage extending along the guide rail, and the length of the cage along the guide rail is longer than the slider.
A linear guide device in which one of the guide rail and the slider linearly moves relative to the other by rolling the rolling element while rotating in the pocket of the cage.
At least one end in the linear motion direction of the slider is provided with a cover that extends along the guide rail and covers a portion of the cage that is detached from the slider;
The gap between the rolling element held by the cage and the cover is formed smaller than the diameter of the rolling element,
A seal having a lip portion in contact with the raceway surface of the guide rail or a seal having a slight gap between the raceway surface and an end opposite to the slider side of the cover;
The linear guide device characterized in that the cover and the slider are formed as one member.

Images