JPH11344033A - Linear motion guiding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent falling of a roller and improve withstand load characteristic and workability by providing a connecting belt part holding the roller and extending to the outside from both the ends of the longitudinal direction and providing a guide part holding the connecting belt part on an endless circulating path. SOLUTION: A roller chain 5 is a resin molding body that a spacer part 11 and a flexible connecting belt part 12 are integrally molded, a roller 3 is held from the front and rear sides of an aligning direction of the roller 3 by the spacer part 11, a chamfering part for holding roller is not required at a tip part of the roller 3 and load can be supported by almost the whole length of the roller 3. Both the side tips of the connecting belt part 12 are extended to the outside from both the longitudinal direction ends of the roller 3, are guided over the entire periphery along guide grooves 9c, 10c provided on each roller end face guide wall 9b, 10b on both the sides of a roller return passage 9, a change-direction path 10 and a roller transfer surface 8 and a guide groove 22 provided on a load roller end face guide wall 21 when the chain 5 is circulated and moved, and deflection of the chain 5 is regulated. As a result, the holding of the roller 3, improvement of withstand load characteristic and workability, and the prevention of falling of the roller 3 are contrived.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a linear motion guide device, and more particularly to a roller holding technique.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional linear motion guide device, there is a device in which a moving block is movably supported on a track rail via a number of rollers. The linear motion guide device using such a roller has advantages of higher rigidity and higher load-bearing capacity than those using a ball.

The configuration of a linear motion guide device using rollers will be briefly described. First, a moving block includes a block body and side covers attached to both ends of the block body. A roller return passage is provided for infinite circulation between the surface and the roller row.
The side lid is provided with a direction change path connecting the roller rolling surface side and the roller return path.

A roller end surface guide wall for guiding the roller end surface is provided on both sides of the roller rolling surface of the block body, and a guide wall continuous with the roller end surface guide wall is also provided in the roller return passage and the direction change path. The roller end face is guided and circulated around the entire circumference.

[0005]

In the case of the above-mentioned conventional linear motion guide device, as shown in FIG.
When the total roller system in which the rollers 0 are in contact with each other is employed, the rollers 100 rub against each other, causing a large noise and a faster wear.

When the moving block 101 moves, the rollers 100 in the load area A between the roller rolling surfaces 102 and 103 are moved.
Rolls and pushes out the roller 100 in the no-load area, and pushes the roller 100 in the no-load area located in the direction change path 104 into the load area A.
And the roller 100 is circulated.

However, when the roller 100 enters the load area A from the no-load area B, since the resistance is high, the rollers 100 tend to stagnate in the vicinity of the passage entrance of the load area A, so that the roller row has a zigzag shape. It bends and hinders smooth circulation.

In order to prevent the load from being suddenly applied to the roller 100, the roller rolling surface 102 in the load region has been conventionally used.
Is provided with a crowning portion 104 so that a load is gradually applied to the roller 100 to smoothly move the roller 100. However, the roller 100 also tends to stay in the crowning portion 104.

Conventionally, the roller end face is guided by an end face guide wall to prevent shaft runout (skew) of the roller. However, a gap is required between the end face guide wall and the roller end face.
Since the roller rattled by the clearance, the skew of the roller was not sufficiently prevented.

[0010] In particular, since the roller row has a zigzag shape when shifting to the load area, the transfer of the roller to the load area roller rolling section is not smooth, and skew is likely to occur.

Further, in order to hold the roller 100 on the rolling surface 102, a relatively large chamfer is applied to the end of the roller 100, and the roller rolling surface 10 is held so as to hold the chamfered portion.
A configuration in which a protruding holding portion is provided on an end surface guide wall on the third side has conventionally been employed.

According to such a holding method, with respect to the roller, the chamfered portion cannot be used for rolling to support the load, and the effective length of the roller (relative to the entire length of the roller) is shortened. Since the gap between the roller rolling surface and the roller rolling surface is set to be small, there is a fear of contact interference with the roller rolling surface, and the roller and the protrusion holding portion need to be processed with high precision.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a linear motion guide device which can prevent the roller from falling off, improve the load-bearing characteristics and the workability, and can smoothly guide the circulation of the roller.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a number of rollers, a track shaft having a rolling surface of the rollers, and an infinite circulation path for guiding the rollers. And a moving member provided movably with respect to the track axis via a roller, wherein a connecting belt portion that holds the roller and projects outward from both ends in the longitudinal direction of the roller while holding the roller. And a roller chain attached to the endless circulation path of the moving member, and a guide formed in the endless circulation path to hold a connecting belt of the roller chain.

With this configuration, the roller is held by the roller chain, and the roller chain is guided on the track of the infinite circulation path while the connecting belt portion is held by the guide section of the infinite circulation path. , The rollers are prevented from falling off by the roller chains, and are smoothly guided through the endless circulation path.

Therefore, an engagement margin (chamfered portion) for preventing the roller from falling off at the end of the roller is not required, and the roller contact length with the rolling surface can be used as much as the entire length of the roller, and the maximum load can be increased. be able to.

Further, the endless circulation path has a roller end face guide wall for guiding an end face of the roller, and a guide section for holding the connecting belt portion is formed on the roller end face guide wall along the endless circulation path. It is also preferable that the guide groove is a curved guide groove.

The roller is held so as not to fall off from the roller chain, and the roller chain is held in an infinite circulation path of the moving member, so that an engagement allowance of the roller and a moving member corresponding to the engagement allowance are provided. It is also preferable that a roller can be held by the moving member without the side projection holding portion.

As described above, by holding the roller on the moving member to prevent the roller from falling off, the roller has been employed in the prior art.
There is no need for a roller allowance (chamfered portion) and a protruding holding portion on the moving member side corresponding to the engagement allowance, and there is a concern of contact interference with the roller rolling surface due to a small gap between the roller rolling surface. In addition, highly accurate processing of the roller and the protrusion holding portion is not required.

[0020]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 1 shows a roller chain according to an embodiment of the present invention. This roller chain 5
Is assembled, for example, to a linear motion guide device 1 as shown in FIG.

The linear roller guide device 1 is movably assembled via a track rail 2 as a track shaft, and two rows of rollers 3 on the upper surface side of the track rail 2 and four rows of rollers 3 on the left and right side surfaces. And a moving block 4 as a moving member.

The rollers 3 in each of the four rows are chained in series as a roller chain 5, and the roller chain 5 is mounted on an infinite circulation path 6 provided in the moving block 4. Therefore, the roller 3 is held by the roller chain 5, and the roller chain 5 is held by the endless circulation path 6 provided in the moving block 4.

The infinite circulation path 6 has a load roller rolling surface 8 opposed to a roller rolling surface 7 provided on the track rail 2 and a non-extending circuit extending substantially parallel to the load roller rolling surface 8 at a predetermined interval. It comprises a roller return passage 9 in the load region, and a U-shaped direction change path 10 connecting both ends of the load roller rolling surface 8 and both ends of the roller return passage 9. The direction change path 10 is constituted by side lids 10 </ b> A attached to both ends of the moving block 4.

Roller return path 9 and direction change path 10
Is formed in a tunnel shape having a square cross section substantially equivalent to the cross sectional shape of the roller 3, and each of the roller return passage 9 and the turning path 10 is provided with roller end surface guide walls 9b, 10b for guiding the end surface of the roller 3. Have been. Outer and inner circumferential guide surfaces 9a of each roller return passage 9 and direction change passage 10
1, 9a2: The dimension between 10a1 and 10a2 is slightly larger than the diameter of the roller 3 to the extent that a minute gap is formed between the outer circumference of the roller and the roller end face guide walls 9b, 9b;
The distance between the rollers b and 10b is set to be slightly larger than the length of the roller 3 so that a minute gap is formed between the roller 3 and the end face of the roller 3, so that the roller 3 can be smoothly transferred.

The non-load roller end face guide walls 9b, 9b;
10b, 10b, the connecting belt portion 1 of the roller chain 5
2 are formed with guide grooves 9c, 9c; 10c, 10c.

A roller end surface guide wall 21 for guiding the roller end surface in the load application area is provided along both sides of each of the four loaded roller rolling surfaces 8. A guide groove 22 with which the connecting belt portion 12 of the roller chain 5 is engaged is formed in the load roller end face guide wall 21. The interval between the load roller end face guide walls 21 is formed to be slightly larger than the length of the roller 3, and a minute gap is formed between the load roller end face guide wall 21 and the roller end face. Accordingly, the connecting belt portion 12 of the roller chain 5 is held by the guide grooves 9c, 10c, 22.

The roller chain 5 is, as shown in FIG.
Many rollers 3 and spacers 11 interposed between the rollers 3
And a flexible connecting belt portion 12 connecting between the spacer portions 11
The outer periphery of each roller 3 is slidably brought into contact with a spacer 11 in front of and behind the roller 3, and the rollers 3 are aligned in parallel by the spacer 11. Therefore,
The roller 3 is held by a roller chain 5.

The roller chain 5 is a resin molded body in which the spacer section 11 and the connecting belt section 12 are integrally formed, and has an end band shape as a whole. If the spacer section 11 and the connecting belt section 12 are integrally formed in this manner, the manufacture can be simplified.

Further, by using the end-band configuration, the work of mounting the movable block 4 can be simplified. In order to simplify the mounting operation, the tip of the roller chain 5 is rounded so that it can be smoothly inserted at the time of mounting.
Of course, the roller chain 5 should not be formed into an end belt-like configuration,
It may have an endless configuration.

The connecting belt portion 12 is located on an imaginary plane connecting the central axes of the rollers 3, and both ends protrude outward from both axial ends of the rollers 3. The spacer 11 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped member having a predetermined thickness interposed between the rollers 3, and has a length substantially equal to the axial length of the roller 3 and a width shorter than the diameter of the roller 3.

The spacers 3 do not interfere with each other due to the spacers 11, thereby preventing noise and abrasion caused by friction between the rollers 3.

The roller 3 is a roller chain 5 spacer 11
With the center axes of the rollers 3 held parallel to each other, the roller return passage 9 and the direction change path 10 in the no-load region and the roller rolling surfaces 7, 8 in the load region are maintained at predetermined intervals. The rolling transition is performed smoothly.

The rollers 3 move from the no-load region of the endless circulation path 6 to the track rails 2 and the load roller rolling surfaces 7, 8 of the moving block 4.
However, the rollers 3 are drawn into the load area via the connecting belt 12 connecting the spacers 11, and the rollers 3 circulate smoothly. I do.

Since the spacer 11 is in contact with the outer periphery of the roller 3 over its entire length in the length direction, the center axis of the roller 3 is held by the spacer 11 in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction, and the skew of the roller 3 is reduced. Is prevented.

The spacer 11 is provided with a concave roller holding portion 13 corresponding to the outer peripheral cylindrical surface of the roller 3, and the roller holding portion 13 prevents the roller 3 from falling off. By providing the roller holding portion 13 in the spacer 11 in this way, when the track rail 2 is extracted from the moving block 4, the roller chain 5 can prevent the roller 3 from falling off.

As described above, each roller 3 is held by the spacers 11 of the roller chain 5 from the front and rear in the alignment direction of the roller 3, and it is not necessary to provide a chamfer for holding the roller at the end of the roller 3. The load can be supported by the substantially entire length of the roller 3, and the effective length of the roller 3 that supports the load can be increased.

Both ends of the connecting belt portion 12 project outward from both ends in the longitudinal direction of the roller 3, and when the roller chain 5 circulates, the both ends of the connecting belt portion 12 come into contact with the roller return passage 9. , The entire circumference along the guide grooves 9c, 10c provided in the roller end surface guide walls 9b, 10b on both sides of the direction change path 10 and the roller rolling surface 8, and the guide groove 22 provided in the load roller end surface guide wall 21. And the run-out of the roller chain 5 during the circulating movement is regulated over the entire circumference. Therefore, the roller chain 5 circulates on a predetermined orbit over the entire circumference of the infinite circulation path, so that the roller 3 rolls and shifts more accurately, and the skew of the roller 3 can be prevented.

Further, in this embodiment, the gap between the end faces of the roller 3 can be precisely and uniformly fixed by the guide wall 21, the roller return passage 9 and the roller end face guide walls 9b, 10b of the direction change path 10 in this load region. Since the gap can be maintained, the gap can be made as small as possible, and the skew of the roller 3 can be more reliably prevented in association with the holding by the roller chain 5.

Further, the roller 3 is prevented from falling off from the moving block 4, and the engaging margin (chamfered portion) of the roller and the moving block 4 corresponding to the engaging margin, which are employed in the prior art, are used.
The projection holding portion on the side becomes unnecessary, and there is no need to worry about contact interference with the roller rolling surface due to the small gap between the roller and the rolling surface, and it is not necessary to process the roller and the projection holding portion with high precision.

[0041]

According to the present invention described above, the holding of the roller, the improvement of the load-bearing characteristic and the workability, the prevention of the roller from falling off, and the smooth circulation guide of the roller are performed.

That is, the rollers are aligned and held by a roller chain, and the roller chain is guided on the track of the infinite circulation path with its connecting belt portion engaged with the guide section of the infinite circulation path. , The rollers are smoothly guided in the endless circulation path.

Since the roller is prevented from falling off from the moving member, an engagement margin (chamfered portion) for preventing the roller from falling off at the end of the roller is not required, and the length of contact of the roller with the rolling surface is set to the full length of the roller. It can be used and the maximum load can be increased.

Further, the protrusion holding portion on the moving member side corresponding to the engagement margin (chamfered portion) of the roller, which is employed in the prior art, becomes unnecessary, and the gap between the roller rolling surface and the roller can be increased. In addition, it is possible to prevent contact interference with the roller rolling surface, and it is not necessary to perform highly accurate processing on the roller and the protrusion holding portion for preventing the roller from falling off.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a roller chain according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) is a perspective view, FIG. 1 (b) is a front view, FIG. 1 (c) is a plan view, FIG. 4D is the same as FIG.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line DD of FIG.

2A and 2B show a linear motion guide device incorporating the roller chain of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 2A is a half sectional front view, FIG. 2B is a half sectional side view, and FIG. () Is an exploded cross-sectional view of the turning path, and (d) is a perspective view of the turning path of FIG. (C) with a side cover removed.

FIG. 3 is a view schematically showing a roller stagnation state in the case of a conventional total roller system.

[Description of Signs] 1 Linear motion guide device 2 Track rail 3 Roller 4 Moving block 5 Roller chain 6 Infinite circulation path 7 Roller rolling surface 8 Load roller rolling surface 9 Roller return path 10 Direction change path 11 Spacer 12 Connection Belt part 13 Roller holding part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A moving member having a number of rollers, a track shaft having a rolling surface of the rollers, and an infinite circulation path for guiding the rollers, and provided movably with respect to the track shafts via rollers. And a linear motion guide device comprising: a roller chain that holds the roller and has a connecting belt portion that extends outward from both ends in the longitudinal direction of the roller, and is mounted on an infinite circulation path of the moving member; A guide portion formed in the infinite circulation path and holding a connecting belt portion of the roller chain. 2. The endless circulation path has a roller end face guide wall for guiding an end face of a roller, and the guide part holding the connecting belt portion is formed on the roller end face guide wall along the endless circulation path. The linear motion guide device according to claim 1, wherein the guide groove is a curved guide groove. 3. The roller is held so as not to fall off from the roller chain, and the roller chain is held in an infinite circulation path of the moving member, so as to correspond to the engagement allowance of the roller and the engagement allowance. The linear motion guide device according to claim 1, wherein a roller can be held by the moving member without providing a protrusion holding portion on the moving member side.