JP6890445B2 - Slide rail - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a slide rail that provides a support for translating a movable member, and more particularly to a slide rail that uses a bearing in which a plurality of steel balls are held by retainers.

A slide rail is used as a support member for moving the movable member in parallel. Among such slide rails, there is one in which a bearing is interposed between the base rail on the fixed side and the movable rail on the moving side. The bearing steel ball is rotated (rolled) by a predetermined amount in response to the relative movement between the base rail and the movable rail to smoothly move the movable rail relative to the base rail, and a large stroke can be obtained with a small slide resistance. It is. Such slide rails are often used in mechanisms inside gaming machines that enable stable and high-speed translation of large parallel movements while being in a compact space.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes that in a slide rail used for an effect mechanism of a gaming machine capable of giving an effect operation of linear reciprocating movement, a bearing can be interposed to reduce the slide resistance and give a high-speed movement operation. .. The base rail side of the slide rail is fixed to the main body of the gaming machine, and the effect is given on the movable rail attached via the bearing. The effect is attached to the swinging end of the operating arm that swings left and right, and is linearly reciprocated with respect to the base rail. According to this, even if the rotational drive torque of the operating arm is small, the effect can be quickly and stably moved back and forth in a straight line.

By the way, the bearing steel ball is sandwiched between the base rail and the movable rail and rolls with respect to each of the two rails, and the amount of rotation thereof and the relative stroke amount of both rails have a certain relationship. That is, the bearing steel ball moves with respect to the base rail by half the stroke amount of the movable rail with respect to the base rail. On the other hand, it is widely practiced to use a plurality of bearing steel balls and accommodate them in a retainer to disperse the pressure on each bearing steel ball and try to rotate the bearing steel balls smoothly. As it becomes smaller, it becomes easier for the retainer to be displaced with respect to the base rail and the movable rail. Even if the position of the retainer is displaced, the position of the retainer can be returned to the original position by the stopper at the end by forcibly sliding the movable rail. However, this cannot be done if the driving force of the movable rail is small.

In Patent Document 2, as a slide rail for suppressing such misalignment of the retainer, an auxiliary rolling element made of a rubber cylindrical body is rotatably supported by the retainer, and the auxiliary rolling element is referred to as a base rail and a movable rail. The mechanism for sandwiching between them is disclosed. The auxiliary rolling element provides slip resistance to both rails of the retainer and suppresses misalignment.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-059477 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-098863

The displacement of the retainer can be suppressed by giving a sliding resistance between the rolling element such as a bearing steel ball and the base rail and / or the movable rail, but the rolling resistance is excessively increased when the slide rail is translated at high speed. Is not preferable.

Further, the above-mentioned misalignment of the retainer is likely to occur during transportation of the product with the slide rail attached. That is, when the movable rail is positioned at the end of the stroke, the stopper abuts and the retainer cannot move, but when the movable rail is located in the middle of the stroke, the retainer slides down due to vibration during transportation. It causes misalignment. Such misalignment during transportation can also be suppressed by the auxiliary rolling element as described in Patent Document 2, but when slip resistance is given by rubber, the rolling resistance becomes excessively large due to its large rolling resistance coefficient. It ends up.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to shift the position of the retainer, particularly, to shift the position during transportation, without excessively increasing the rolling resistance of the bearing mechanism. The purpose is to provide a slide rail that can suppress the above.

The slide rail according to the present invention is a slide rail provided with a movable rail that slides and moves in combination with the base rail, and a bearing steel ball is sandwiched between the facing surfaces of the base rail and the movable rail. The bearing steel ball is rotated while being moved with respect to the base rail by a distance of half the length of the sliding movement along the slide axis of the movable rail, and the movable rail is reciprocated along the slide axis. The bearing mechanism includes a plurality of the bearing steel balls to be moved, and includes a retainer for arranging these in a row along the slide axis and keeping a constant distance between the bearing steel balls. A magnet for attracting the bearing steel ball is fixedly arranged in the moving section, and the bearing steel ball is urged to the base rail and / or the movable rail.

According to such an invention, the sliding resistance of a plurality of bearing steel balls can be increased by attracting magnets, and the misalignment of the retainer, particularly the misalignment of the retainer during transportation, can be suppressed without excessively increasing the rolling resistance. ..

In the above invention, the magnet may be fixedly arranged close to the back surface of the outer surface of the base rail or the movable rail on which the steel ball is sandwiched. According to such an invention, the sliding resistance of the bearing steel ball can be easily increased to suppress the displacement of the retainer.

In the above invention, the magnet may be characterized in that at least a part of the bearing steel balls moving in the moving section is fixedly arranged so as to always face each other. According to such an invention, the bearing steel ball can be reliably sucked no matter where it moves in the moving section.

In the above invention, the magnet may be a permanent magnet. According to such an invention, the bearing steel ball can be easily sucked.

In the above-described invention, the permanent magnet may be magnetized so that the entire surface on the side that attracts the bearing steel ball has the same pole. According to such an invention, the bearing steel ball moving in the moving section can be stably sucked.

It is sectional drawing of the slide rail in one Example by this invention. It is a perspective view of a slide rail. It is a top view of the main part of a slide rail. It is sectional drawing of the slide rail in another Example by this invention.

[Example 1]
A slide rail as an example according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

As shown in FIG. 1, the slide rail 10 is an outer rail 1 which is a base rail whose back surface is fixed to a mounting surface 6 on the fixed side, and a movable rail which can slide and move along the slide shaft L. A plurality of steel balls 3 sandwiched between a certain inner rail 2 and the outer rail 1 and the inner rail 2 and arranged side by side along the slide axis L, and a plurality of steel balls 3 are kept constant from each other. Includes a retainer 4 and so on. The back surface of the inner rail 2 is fixed to the mounting surface 7 on the movable side.

The outer rail 1 is a rail member having a substantially "U" -shaped cross section, and is provided with rolling grooves 11 extending along the slide shaft L on both inner side surfaces thereof. Further, the inner rail 2 is also a rail member having a substantially "U" cross section, and is arranged at a position inside the outer rail 1 so that both outer surfaces thereof are opposed to both inner side surfaces of the outer rail 1. Further, both outer surfaces thereof are provided with rolling grooves 21 extending along the slide shaft L. A steel ball 3 is sandwiched between the rolling grooves 11 and 21, and can roll along the rolling grooves 11 and 21, that is, along the slide axis L. As described above, the plurality of steel balls 3 are arranged in a row along the slide axis L, and each of them is held by the retainer 4 so as to keep a constant distance from each other. Further, the retainer 4 is between the outer rail 1 and the inner rail 2 so that the two rows of steel balls 3 arranged on the two rolling grooves 21 provided on both side surfaces of the outer rail 1 are held by one member. It is a plate-like body that extends in the width direction and is bent, and has a plurality of holes for holding the steel balls 3.

As a result, the retainer 4 and the plurality of steel balls 3 can act as a bearing mechanism to reciprocate and slide the inner rail 2 with respect to the outer rail 1 along the slide axis L, and the direction along the slide axis L. The inner rail 2 is combined with the outer rail 1 so as to restrict movement in directions other than the above.

A magnet 5 is arranged on the outer surface of the outer rail 1 so as to attract the steel ball 3. That is, the magnet 5 is arranged close to the back surface of the rolling groove 11 that sandwiches the steel ball 3. At this time, the magnet 5 is fixed to the outer surface and / or the mounting surface 6 on the fixed side of the outer rail 1. Details of the magnet 5 will be described later.

Referring to FIG. 2 together, the outer rail 1 is provided with a plurality of holes 12 on the bottom surface thereof, whereby the outer rail 1 is fixed to the mounting surface 6 with screws or the like. Similarly, a plurality of holes 22 are provided on the bottom surface of the inner rail 2 so that the inner rail 2 can be fixed to the mounting surface 7.

The outer rail 1 is provided with a protruding piece 13 rising from the bottom surface at the upper right end of the paper surface, and serves as a stopper for restricting the movement of the inner rail 2 from the same end to the tip. Further, a protrusion 14 protruding from the bottom surface is provided at a position separated from the protruding piece 13, and is used as a stopper for restricting the movement of the retainer 4 from the protrusion 14 to the upper right side. Further, a protruding piece 15 is provided at the lower left end of the outer rail 1 on the paper surface to serve as a stopper for restricting the movement of the retainer 4 in the lower left direction. Similarly, the protrusion 25 (particularly, the inner rail 2 is restricted from moving in the upper left direction with respect to the retainer 4) is also restricted at the upper right end of the inner rail 2 on the paper surface. (See FIG. 1) is provided, and a stopper (not shown) is also formed at a position separated from the lower left end of the inner rail 2 to restrict the movement of the retainer 4 with respect to the inner rail 2 in the lower left direction.

As described above, the slide rail 10 can slide the inner rail 2 along the slide axis L with respect to the outer rail 1. At this time, the steel ball 3 rolls along the rolling groove 11 and the rolling groove 21. That is, the steel ball 3 rotates at an angle of rotation corresponding to the distance of the outer circumference that has rolled, and the outer rail 1 and the inner rail 2 are separated or brought close to each other by the same rotation from the center thereof. That is, the steel ball 3 moves with respect to the outer rail 1 by half the distance (stroke) of the inner rail 2 with respect to the outer rail 1. Further, since it moves together with the steel ball 3 that also holds the retainer 4, it moves at a distance that is half the stroke of the inner rail 2 with respect to the outer rail 1.

The movement range of the retainer 4 is limited by the stopper described above, and the retainer 4 moves at a constant movement ratio with respect to the stroke of the inner rail 2 described above due to the rolling of the steel ball 3. As a result, the steel ball 3 held by the retainer 4 is accommodated so as to be the shortest as shown in FIG. 2 (b) from the position a in the state where the inner rail 2 shown in FIG. 2 (a) is pulled out for the longest time. It moves between the moving sections up to the position b in the state of being moved. The position a is the position of the plurality of steel balls 3 when the retainer 4 is sandwiched between the protruding piece 15 of the outer rail 1 and the protruding piece 25 of the inner rail 2 with both ends in contact with each other. At position b, the inner rail 2 abuts on the protruding piece 13 to restrict movement, and the retainer 4 is arranged between the above-mentioned protrusion 14 and the above-mentioned stopper (not shown). This is the position of the plurality of steel balls 3 when they are moved in the direction. That is, the steel ball 3 held by the retainer 4 moves in the moving section c connecting the positions a and b.

Then, the magnet 5 is arranged in the moving section c, and is fixed to the outer surface and / or the mounting surface 6 on the fixed side of the outer rail 1 as described above. As a result, the steel ball 3 is attracted to the magnet 5 in the moving section c.

Here, it is assumed that the product to which the slide rail is attached is transported with the slide shaft oriented in a direction other than horizontal such as the vertical direction. In this case, gravity acts to force the retainer to slide downward along the slide axis. Even if the movable rail is fixed to the base rail during transportation, if the stopper is not in contact with the bottom of the retainer, the retainer may move, that is, the retainer may be misaligned due to vibration or the like. is there.

On the other hand, according to the slide rail 10, since the steel ball 3 is attracted by the magnet 5 in the moving section c, for example, the steel ball 3 is urged against the rolling groove 11 or 21 to reduce the slip resistance. By increasing the number, it is possible to suppress the misalignment of the steel ball 3 and the retainer 4 with respect to the outer rail 1 and the inner rail 2. In particular, it is possible to suppress the displacement of the retainer 4 during transportation as described above. The magnet 5 may be an electromagnet, but it is preferably a permanent magnet in order to easily obtain the slide rail 10, and here it is a permanent magnet. The rolling resistance also increases with the increase in the slip resistance described above, but it is preferable to increase this appropriately so as not to hinder the high-speed parallel movement of the outer rail 1 and the inner rail 2, and the magnet. It can be appropriately adjusted by the magnetic force magnetized on the 5 and the arrangement of the magnets 5.

Further, although the magnet 5 can be arranged in the slide rail 10, it may be necessary to change the internal structure. Therefore, the magnet 5 is arranged at a position on the outside of the slide rail 10 where the steel ball 3 can be easily attracted. That is, it is preferable that the steel balls 3 are fixedly arranged close to the back surface of the surface sandwiching the steel balls 3. In the slide rail 10, the slide rail 10 is arranged on the side portion of the outer rail 1 so as to be close to the outer surface of the outer rail 1 which is the back surface sandwiching the steel ball 3. In this case, the magnet 5 can be fixedly arranged without changing the internal structure of the slide rail 10. Further, a simple structure can be obtained as long as a sufficient gap for arranging the magnet 5 is provided between the mounting surfaces 6 and 7.

In particular, the magnet 5 is among the steel balls 3 that have a predetermined length in the direction along the slide axis L and are arranged across both the above-mentioned positions a and b and move in the moving section c. It is preferable that at least a part of the surface always faces each other (see FIG. 2). According to this, it is possible to reliably attract the plurality of steel balls 3 held by the retainer 4 by the magnet 5 at any position in the moving section c.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, it is preferable that the magnet 5 is magnetized so that the entire surface facing the outer rail 1 side, which is the surface on the side that attracts the steel ball 3, has the same pole. According to this, when the retainer 4 is moved with the movement of the inner rail 2 which is a movable rail, such as when the product is in operation, the steel ball 3 can be stably sucked so as not to hinder the movement. .. Further, since the steel ball 3 is sucked and urged to the rolling groove 11, at least the frictional force with respect to the rolling groove 11 can be increased to suppress the occurrence of idling of the steel ball 3, and the retainer accompanying the operation of the inner rail 2 can be suppressed. The misalignment of 4, that is, the misalignment during operation rather than during transportation can also be suppressed. The magnet 5 may be lengthened and arranged over the entire moving section c.

The rails can be arranged by exchanging the fixed side and the movable side. That is, the inner rail 2 is fixed to the fixed side mounting surface 6 as a base rail, and the outer rail 1 is fixed to the movable side mounting surface 7 as a movable rail. In that case, the magnet 5 is arranged so as to have a gap with respect to the side surface of the outer rail 1 to secure the movement of the outer rail 1 and is fixed to the mounting surface 6 on the fixed side. The magnets may be fixedly arranged by considering the mounting surface 7 on the movable side as the fixed side and the mounting surface 6 as the movable side.

[Example 2]
Next, a slide rail as another embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The slide rail 20 is a so-called three-stage pull slide rail, and includes two outer rails 1a and 1b and an intermediate rail 2'arranged between the two outer rails 1a and 1b. The intermediate rail 2'has a shape in which the inner rail 2 of the slide rail 10 is turned upside down and stacked vertically, that is, has a substantially "H" -shaped cross section, and faces both inner side surfaces of the outer rails 1a and 1b. Rolling grooves 21 are provided at four locations on the outer side surface. The outer rails 1a and 1b are provided with a rolling groove 11 like the slide rail 10, and face the rolling groove 21 of the intermediate rail 2', respectively. A plurality of steel balls 3 arranged side by side along the slide shaft L are sandwiched between the rolling groove 11 and the rolling groove 21, and are held by the retainers 4a and 4b. The retainers 4a and 4b are arranged between the outer rails 1a and 1b and the intermediate rail 2', respectively.

Further, a protrusion 25'that regulates the movement of the retainer 4a, a protrusion 15 that regulates the movement of the retainer 4b, and the like are provided, but other internal structures of the three-stage pull slide rail 20 are known, so description thereof will be omitted. ..

A magnet 5a is fixedly arranged on the side of the outer rail 1a in the same manner as the slide rail 10 described above. Further, the magnet 5b is also fixedly arranged on the side portion of the outer rail 1b. At this time, it is preferable that the magnets 5a and 5b are arranged obliquely so as to reduce interference due to magnetic force with each other. Further, although not shown, the magnets 5a and 5b are within the moving section of the steel balls 3 held by the retainers 4a and 4b, respectively, and are provided to attract the steel balls 3 held by the retainers 4a and 4b, respectively. Be done.

The slide rail 20 can also suppress the misalignment of the retainers 4a and 4b, particularly the misalignment during transportation, by increasing the sliding resistance of the steel ball 3 with respect to the rolling groove 11, for example. At this time, the drag coefficient of the rolling resistance is invariant, and the rolling resistance is not excessively increased.

The slide rail 10 and the slide rail 20 can be suitably used for a product or the like which can suppress the displacement of the retainer during transportation and can apply only a small driving force. For example, it can be used as a support member for a movable effect member such as a ball game machine or a rotating body type game machine.

Although the representative examples according to the present invention and the modified examples based on the present invention have been described so far, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and those skilled in the art can use the gist of the present invention or the scope of the attached claims. Various alternative and modified examples can be found without departing from the above.

1 Outer rail 2 Inner rail 3 Steel ball (bearing steel ball)
4 retainer 5 magnet 10 slide rail

Claims (5)

A slide rail equipped with a movable rail that slides in combination with the base rail.
A bearing steel ball is sandwiched between the facing surfaces of the base rail and the movable rail, and the bearing steel ball is slid with respect to the base rail along the slide axis of the movable rail. Includes a bearing mechanism that slides the movable rail back and forth along the slide axis by rotating while moving only.
The bearing mechanism, the include plural bearings steel spheres, they include a retainer for retaining the distance and mutual is arranged in a row along the slide shaft constant Oite the inside movement section of the bearing steel balls slide rails is an sandwiching the magnet to attract the bearing steel balls fixedly arranged at the bearing steel balls between the base rail or the moveable rail the Besure Le also characterized by biasing the movable rail. The magnet according to claim 1, wherein the slide rail, characterized in that it is fixedly disposed on the base rail or the moveable rail. The slide rail according to claim 2, wherein at least a part of the bearing steel balls moving in the moving section is fixedly arranged so as to always face each other. The slide rail according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the magnet is a permanent magnet. The slide rail according to claim 4, wherein the permanent magnet is magnetized so that the entire surface on the side that attracts the bearing steel ball has the same pole.

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