JPH05263809A - Rodless cylinder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a rodless cylinder equipped with a seal member which is leak free even for repeated use, and is high in durability. CONSTITUTION:This is a rodless cylinder made up of a cylinder main body 9 equipped with an expanding slot 4 which is opened over the whole length of the body in its outer circumferential longitudinal direction, a piston 7 which has a connecting section projected outside of the expanding slot 4 while being held in such a way that it can be slid within the cylinder main body 9, and of a seal band 1 blocking the expanding slot 4. The expanding slot 4 is provided with a locking member 3 composed of an elastic body in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the cylinder main body 9.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fluid pressure rodless cylinder used as an industrial drive device, and more particularly to a sealing means for a slit groove formed on a side surface of a rodless cylinder.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a piston fitted in a cylindrical cylinder is reciprocally moved in the longitudinal direction by air pressure so that a rod fixed to the end face of the piston and protruding from one end face of the cylinder to the outside is provided. Rod type cylinders that move forward and backward are widely used. However, the rod type cylinder
Extra space is required for the stroke of the rod in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder. Therefore, a cylinder that has a slit groove that opens over the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the side surface, a piston that has a connecting portion that projects from the slit groove to the outside and is slidably held in the cylinder, and a seal that closes the slit groove A rodless cylinder with a band is used.

In the rodless cylinder, the most technically problematic point in the prior art has been that the sealing performance of the slit, which is the opening, is poor and the airtightness of the cylinder cannot be maintained. When the air pressure is supplied to the cylinder, the seal band receives the air pressure and makes close contact with the inner surface of the slit to prevent air from leaking from the slit. Therefore, it is necessary to withstand the air pressure.

At the same time, when the pressure is not supplied to the cylinder, it should not interfere with the movement of the piston.
In addition, when air is supplied so that it can quickly adhere to the slit groove,
Must be retained in the kerf.

Conventionally, a sealing band for a rodless cylinder satisfying the above conditions has been proposed. Japanese Patent Publication Sho 51-2
In Japanese Patent No. 8793 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-124711, there is proposed a method for holding a seal material, in which a seal band is made of a magnetic metal material and attracted by a magnet element attached in the vicinity of a slit groove. However, in a factory environment where magnetic dust exists, when the magnet element is used in the seal band portion that requires a high degree of airtightness, the magnetic dust is adsorbed by the magnet element, which is practically inconvenient.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-237208,
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 58-118309 proposes a seal band in which a magnetic material is not used for the seal band and a metal seal part and a rubber holding part that can enter the slit groove are combined. However, since the metallic seal portion has too high rigidity, it is not sufficiently adhered to the inner surface of the cylinder and there is a problem in airtightness. Further, since the metal seal portion and the rubber holding portion are integrated, the elasticity of the rubber holding portion is also greatly restricted, and there is a problem that the rubber holding portion cannot be held properly.

In order to solve these problems, as shown in FIG. 8, a seal band 1 which is entirely made of an elastic material such as rubber is used. A pair of flares 1c are formed on both ends of the lower surface of the seal band 1. A pair of holding portions 1d having a width wider than that of the seal band groove 4a is formed at both ends of the upper surface of the seal band 1.

The seal band 1 is fitted in a seal band groove 4a formed on the inner surface of the cylinder of the slit groove 4. Seal belt 1
When air is not supplied to the lower surface of the seal band 1, the seal band 1 is held in the seal band groove 4a by the elastic force of the holding portion 1d which is elastically deformed by the seal band groove 4a.

When air is supplied to the lower surface of the seal band 1, the upper surface 12 of the seal band is a step surface 4b of the seal band groove 4a.
Abutting against and receiving the pressure of air. Also flare 1c
Is in contact with the inclined portion 4c formed at the end of the seal band groove 4a to prevent the air in the cylinder from leaking to the outside. Since the flare 1c is made of rubber, it has good adhesion to the inclined portion 4c, so that the airtightness of the cylinder can be maintained.

[0010]

However, the conventional seal band 1 shown in FIG. 8 has the following problems. (1) Although the pressure of air is received by the upper surface 12 of the seal band and the flare 1c, since the seal band 1 is made of an elastic material such as rubber, the rubber is deteriorated when the air pressure is repeatedly applied. There was a problem with durability. (2) Since the holding portion 1d is elastically deformed by the seal band groove 4a and held in the seal band groove 4a when air is not supplied, the holding part 1d has a wider width than the seal band groove 4a. There is. On the other hand, the seal band 1 is always removed from the seal band groove 4a when the connecting portion passes. Therefore, when the seal band 1 is fitted into the seal band groove 4a again, there is a problem that the holding portion 1d interferes and the seal band 1 is difficult to be inserted into the seal band groove 4a.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a rodless cylinder having a seal member that does not leak air even if it is repeatedly used and has improved durability. With the goal.

[0012]

In order to achieve this object, a rodless cylinder of the present invention comprises a cylinder provided with a slit groove that is opened over the entire length in the longitudinal direction, and a connecting portion protruding from the slit groove to the outside. A rodless cylinder having a piston slidably held in the cylinder and a seal band for closing the slit groove, wherein a locking member made of an elastic body for locking the seal band in the slit groove is provided. It is provided.

[0013]

The cylinder of the rodless cylinder of the present invention having the above means holds the piston slidably, seals the air supplied with air, and supplies air pressure to the piston. The piston receives the pressure of the air supplied into the cylinder and slides in the cylinder in the longitudinal direction,
A connecting portion protruding from the slit groove to the outside is slid in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder along the slit groove on the cylinder side wall.

When receiving the supply of air, the seal band is in close contact with the inner wall of the cylinder to maintain the airtightness of the slit, and prevents air from leaking from the slit. Further, the locking member made of an elastic body provided in the slit groove is elastically deformed by the seal band and holds the seal band in the slit groove by its reaction force when the air is not supplied. The seal band is held in the slit groove by fitting in the groove formed in the band.
When the seal band is inserted into the slit groove, even if the seal band is made of a material having rigidity such as resin, the locking member made of an elastic body escapes, so that the seal band can be easily fitted into the slit groove.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An example in which the present invention is applied to a rodless cylinder which is an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Here, the same reference numerals are used for the same configurations as in the prior art. FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the rodless cylinder 13 taken along the center line in the longitudinal direction. 6 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 6, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line YY in FIG.
A sectional view is shown.

The rodless cylinder 13 has as its main components a slender cylindrical cylinder body 9 and a pair of pistons 7 that fit into the cylinder inner surface 5 and slide. The holes at both ends of the cylinder body 9 are sealed by a pair of end caps 15. On the outer periphery of the cylinder body 9, the cut groove 4
Is open over the entire length in the longitudinal direction.

The pair of pistons 7 are connected to each other by a connecting portion 8 protruding from the cut groove 4 to the outside, and are held integrally slidably in the cylinder body 9. A pair of pistons 7
A lip-shaped seal packing 11 is fitted in the groove formed on the outer peripheral surface of the.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, both ends of the seal band 1 for closing the slit groove 4 are fixed to the end caps 15 and are held in a state of being fitted into the slit groove 4. A lid band 2 that covers the upper portion of the slit 4 to prevent dust and the like from entering is fixed at both ends to the end caps 15 and fitted on the upper portion of the slit 4.

An external sliding portion 6 is fixed to an upper portion of a connecting portion 8 which connects a pair of pistons 7. The connecting part 8 is provided with a seal band guide 8a for separating the seal band 1 from the slit groove 4 before the connecting part 8 passes and for fitting the seal band 1 into the slit groove 4 after the connecting part 8 passes. Has been done.
In addition, in the connecting portion 8 that connects the pair of pistons 7, the lid band 2 is detached from the slit groove 4 before the connecting portion 8 passes, and the lid band 2 is inserted into the slit groove 4 after the connecting portion 8 passes. A lid band guide 8b to be fitted is attached.

As shown in FIG. 7, the seal band 1 has a connecting portion 8
In the vicinity of, it is held on the lower surface of the seal band guide 8a. Further, the lid band 2 is located near the connecting portion 8 and the lid band guide 8
It is held on the upper surface of b. The cylinder inner wall 5 has an elliptical shape. Further, guide rails 10 for mounting a proximity sensor and the like are formed on both side surfaces of the cylinder body 9.

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the peripheral portion in the state where the seal band 1 is fitted in the slit groove 4. A locking member mounting groove 4e is formed on the seal band groove 4a of the slit groove 4 over the entire length in the longitudinal direction. Then, in the locking member mounting groove 4e, the mounting portion 3 of the locking member 3 shown in FIG.
a is fitted. At this time, the locking portion 3 of the locking member 3
b is projected from the surface of the seal band groove 4a. Also,
The locking member 3 is formed of urethane rubber which is an elastic body in this embodiment.

A pair of flares 1c are formed at both ends of the lower surface of the seal band 1. On both sides of the seal band 1,
An escape portion 1a for fitting with the locking member 3 is formed. Here, the seal band 1 is formed of a resin that is more rigid than rubber such as nylon 12 and more elastic than metal. Therefore, the seal band 1 can be more closely attached to the slit groove 4 than the metal seal band.

The seal band 1 is fitted in the seal band groove 4a formed on the inner surface of the cylinder of the slit groove 4. Seal belt 1
When air is not supplied to the lower surface of the seal band 1, the seal band 1 is held in the seal band groove 4a by the locking member 3 with which the locking portion 1a is fitted. When air is supplied to the lower surface of the seal band 1, the upper surface 12 of the seal band contacts the step surface 4b of the seal band groove 4a and receives the pressure of air.

On the other hand, the flare 1c contacts the inclined portion 4c formed at the end of the seal band groove 4a to prevent the air in the cylinder from leaking to the outside. Since the flare 1c is made of resin, the adhesion with the inclined portion 4c is secured as compared with the metal seal band, the airtightness of the cylinder can be maintained, and the flare 1c can be repeatedly used as compared with the rubber seal band. On the other hand, it has sufficient durability.

Next, the operation of the rodless cylinder 13 having the above structure will be described. FIG. 6 shows a state in which air is supplied to the right chamber 14 on the right side of the piston 7 of the cylinder. That is, the piston 7 is in contact with the left cylinder end. Next, in order to move the connecting portion 8 to the right, air is supplied to the left chamber 16 on the left side of the piston 7 of the cylinder, and the right chamber 14 is opened to the atmospheric pressure. As a result, the pair of pistons and the connecting portion 8 connecting them are moved to the right.

At this time, the seal band guide 8a is provided with the seal band 1 which is in front of the moving direction and which is fitted in the slit groove 4.
The pieces are sequentially removed from the cut groove 4. This is because the connecting portion passes through the slit groove 4. At this time, the supply of air to the right chamber 14 of the cylinder body 9 is stopped. Seal belt 1
Is retained in the slit groove 4 by fitting the escape portion 1 a into the locking member 3.

On the other hand, after the connecting portion 4 has passed, the seal band 1 is successively fitted into the slit groove 4. The seal belt 1 is
As shown in FIG. 2, it fits in the slit groove 4, and the escape portion 1 a fits with the locking member 3 to hold the seal band 1 in the slit groove 4 and prevent air from leaking out from the slit groove 4. To prevent.

Further, the flare 1c contacts the inclined portion 4c formed at the end of the seal band groove 4a to prevent the air in the cylinder from leaking to the outside. Also, the seal belt 1
When the air is supplied to the lower surface of the seal belt upper surface 12
Touches the step surface 4b of the seal band groove 4a and receives the pressure of air.

According to the above embodiment, the engaging member 3 is provided in the slit groove 4 in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the cylinder, and the seal band 1 has the escape portion 1a capable of engaging with the engaging member 3. Therefore, since the material of the seal band 1 can be made more rigid than rubber such as nylon resin, it is possible to improve the durability when the air pressure is repeatedly applied, as compared with the rubber seal band. Further, since the durability is improved, the thickness of the seal band 1 can be reduced, and the overall size of the rodless cylinder 13 can be reduced.

When the air is not supplied, the relief portion 1a of the seal band 1 is fitted with the locking member 3 mounted in the slit groove 4 in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the cylinder, and the seal band 1 Since it is held in the slit groove 4, when the seal band 1 is inserted into the slit groove 4, there is no obstruction unlike the conventional holding portion 1d, so that the seal band 1 can be easily fitted into the slit groove 4. You can

Next, a second embodiment of the locking member 3 will be described. FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the locking member 3. In the second embodiment, the engaging portion 3b of the engaging member 3 is only slightly protruded from the surface of the seal band groove 4a. However, the locking member 3 is formed of urethane rubber, and when the seal band 1 is inserted, distortion occurs inside the locking member 3. Due to the deformation due to this strain, the seal band 1 is divided into the cut grooves 4
Easily inserted into.

The contents of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment except for the above, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Next, a third embodiment of the locking member 3 will be described. FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the locking member 3. In the third embodiment, the shape material of the locking member 3 is the same as that of the first embodiment. However, a large clearance 1e is formed on the upper surface of the seal band 1, and a seal band retainer 4d is formed in the cut groove 4 corresponding to the clearance 1e.

In order to further improve the durability of the seal band 1, when the resin or the like is molded with a material having higher rigidity, even if the locking member 3 is molded with an elastic body such as urethane rubber, the seal band 1 is Locking member 3 when inserting into the slit groove 4
There is a risk that the seal band 1 will be difficult to be inserted into the cut groove 4 due to the small clearance. In that case, escape 1 as in this embodiment.
By forming e to reduce the thickness of both side surfaces of the seal band 1, the side of the seal band 1 can be deformed.

The contents of the third embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment except for the above, and the description thereof will be omitted. In the above three examples, the locking member 3 having the shape shown in FIG. 5A was used, but the shape shown in FIG. 5B may be used. According to the locking member 3 having the shape shown in FIG. 5B, the sealing band 1 is more easily elastically deformed.
Can be inserted into.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various developments are possible. In this embodiment, urethane rubber is used as the locking member 3, but other kinds of rubber may be used, or an elastic body other than rubber may be used. Further, the locking member itself may be made of a rigid body such as metal, and the seal band 1 may be locked by being urged by a spring or the like.

Further, in the present embodiment, the seal band 1 is held in the slit groove 4 by forming the relief portion 1e on the seal band 1 side and fitting it into the locking member 3, but the seal band 1 is held. Alternatively, the locking member 3 may be elastically deformed without forming the escape portion 1e on the first member 1 and the seal band 1 may be held by the reaction force thereof.

[0038]

As apparent from the above description, according to the rodless cylinder of the present invention, since the engaging member made of the elastic body for engaging the seal band is provided in the slit groove, the seal is formed. Since the material of the band can be made of resin or the like having a certain degree of rigidity, it is possible to improve the durability when the air pressure is repeatedly applied.

Further, when the air is not supplied, the locking portion of the seal band is fitted with a locking member provided in the slit in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder to hold the seal band in the slit. Therefore, when the seal band is inserted into the slit groove, there is no obstruction unlike the conventional holding portion, so that the seal band can be easily fitted into the slit groove.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a sealed state of a rodless cylinder that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the seal band of one embodiment of the present invention is sealing.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the seal band of the second embodiment is sealing.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the seal band of the third embodiment seals.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the shape of a locking member.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a rodless cylinder that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a rodless cylinder according to an embodiment of the present invention at a piston position.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a seal band is sealing in a conventional rodless cylinder.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 1 seal band 1a locking part 1c flare part 2 lid band 3 locking member 4 slit groove 5 cylinder inner surface 6 external sliding part 7 piston 8 connecting part 9 cylinder body

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cylinder having a slit groove that is opened over the entire length in the longitudinal direction, a piston that is provided with a connecting portion that projects outward from the slit groove, and is slidably held in the cylinder, and the slit groove. A rodless cylinder having a seal band that closes the seal band, wherein a locking member made of an elastic body for locking the seal band is provided in the cut groove.