KR20010107327A - Linear motion guide - Google Patents

Abstract

The linear motion guide for guiding the linear movement of the present invention includes a frame, a rail member, and a carrier. The frame has a base extending in the longitudinal direction and sidewalls facing each other, and a rail groove extending in the longitudinal direction is provided on the opposite sides of the sidewall. The rail member extends in the longitudinal direction inserted into the rail groove. The carrier is provided with a carrier block and a plurality of track roller bearings connected to the carrier block, the outer peripheral surface of which is in contact with each rail member. According to the manufacturing method of the present invention, the rail member is arranged side by side in the rail groove and then press-in, or aligned with the rail groove and inserted to rotate.

Description

Linear Motion Guide {LINEAR MOTION GUIDE}

The present invention relates to a linear motion guide for guiding linear motion, and to a linear motion guide having a compact structure and ensuring a secure contact between the rail member and the track roller, and in the linear motion guide of such a structure. A linear motion guide manufacturing method for effectively inserting a rail member into a groove of a frame.

Linear motion guide is also called as linear bearing, linear bearing, linear guide device, etc., and is used to guide and support straight line transfer (including reciprocating motion). There is also. As a conventional linear motion guide, for example, the linear motion guide disclosed in Patent No. 10-246985 can be given. The linear motion guide has a long frame of hollow section steel. Rail members are installed on both outer sides of the frame. Therefore, the carrier is configured in a shape surrounding the frame. The carrier is provided with a track roller which rotates while contacting the rail member. Guide grooves are formed in the outer ring of the track roller and have a circular cross section. The linear motion guide of this structure is first large in appearance size. Therefore, it is difficult to mount in a small space.

Since the guide groove is circular in shape, when the diameter of the circular rail member (also called a guide shaft or shaft) is large, it may not be able to enter the guide groove properly. When the diameter of the rail member is small, it enters the guide groove and makes contact with the outer surface of the guide groove. However, the rail member and the guide groove only contact at one point. Therefore, slip or wear can easily occur.

A conventional linear motion guide manufacturing apparatus is disclosed in Patent No. 246986. In the method used in this conventional manufacturing apparatus, it is proposed in the method of fixing a rail member. The rail member is placed in the groove and plasticized while fixing the rail member by making a groove in a portion adjacent to the rail member (part of the frame). When fixing the rail member, grooves are formed in the periphery of the rail member, that is, the frame, which may impair the rigidity of the frame. As a result, new technology development for the process of fitting the rail member is required.

In view of this point, an object of the present invention is to provide a linear motion guide that is compact, smooth in contact, and capable of responding to a change in thickness of a rail member.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a linear motion guide provided with a step of effectively inserting a rail member into a rail groove.

1 is a perspective view of a linear motion guide according to an embodiment of the present invention

2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the linear motion guide of FIG.

3 is a view illustrating a linear motion guide manufacturing method of FIG.

Figure 4 is a linear motion guide perspective view according to another embodiment of the present invention

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

10: linear motion guide 20: frame

30: rail member 40: carrier

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a linear motion guide for guiding linear movement,

A frame having a base extending in the longitudinal direction and sidewalls facing each other, and having a rail groove extending in the longitudinal direction on opposite sides of the sidewall;

A rail member extending in a longitudinal direction inserted into the rail groove;

A carrier provided with a carrier block and a plurality of track roller bearings connected to the carrier block, the outer peripheral surface of which is in contact with each rail member.

It provides a linear motion guide comprising a.

According to another aspect of the invention, in the linear motion guide for guiding linear movement,

A frame provided with a rail groove extending in the longitudinal direction,

A rail member extending in the longitudinal direction inserted into the rail groove;

And a track roller bearing connected to the carrier block and having an outer circumferential surface thereof contacting the rail member.

The outer circumferential surface of the track roller bearing is provided with a linear motion guide comprising two inclined surfaces in contact with the rail member.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a linear motion guide 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the frame 20 is shown cut in the middle, the frame 20 is elongated. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the linear motion guide 10. 1 and 2, the linear motion guide 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a frame 20, a guide rail member 30, and a carrier 40. The frame 20 has a generally long rod shape. The frame 20 is generally U-shaped, with a base 22 and both side walls 24, 26, which extend long. Opposite surfaces of both sidewalls 24 and 26 are provided with rail grooves 28 formed in the longitudinal direction. As will be described later, the rail groove 28 has a cross section that forms part of an arc. The frame 20 is usually manufactured by extruding a metal material such as aluminum or structural aluminum alloy, and may be manufactured by adding plastic working such as drawing to improve straightness. The shape of the frame may be variously extruded according to the use as well as the shape of the above example.

A rail member (also called a guide rail) 30 made of a circular rod is inserted into the rail groove 28. The rail member 30 may be press-fitted or may be inserted by being pushed in the longitudinal direction by a fitting method as described later. As can be seen from Fig. 2, an area of at least half (i.e., semicircle or more) of the rail member 30 is inserted into the rail groove 28, and some arcs are projected (exposed). As a result, the rail member 30 does not fall out of the rail groove 28 because of the narrow entrance of the rail groove 28. Since the inlet is narrow and there are locking jaws 28a and 28b on both sides of the inlet, the present inventors press-fit the rail member 30 in the radial direction (the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction) and in the longitudinal direction as described below. Pushed to devise a way to fit the rail member 30 into the rail groove 28. The rail member 30 is made of a metal material such as bearing steel, stainless steel, structural carbon steel, and is manufactured through heat treatment and precision grinding.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rail member 30 can be manufactured by being fitted into one end of the rail groove 28. The rail member 30 is adjusted in size through a grinding process in advance so as to be pushed into the rail groove 28.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the carrier 40 is formed in a structure that is movable along the longitudinal direction of the frame 20 on the frame 20. The carrier 40 is coupled to a component (not shown) that requires linear transfer in a mechanical device using the linear motion guide of the present invention.

The carrier 40 includes a carrier block 42, a track roller bearing 44, and a coupling fastener. Joining fasteners are composed of a fastening bolt 46 and a fastening nut (48). The carrier block 42 is formed with a screw groove 42a for use in coupling a linear transfer part (not shown) to both edges. An intermediate portion is provided with a coupling seat 43 consisting of a plurality of bolt holes 43a and a nut seat 43b connected to the bolt holes. These coupling seats are spaced apart from the center line in the longitudinal direction of the carrier block 42 (i.e., the central axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the frame). It may be biased toward (26) or to the left sidewall (24). As can be appreciated, the bearing 44 contacting the right rail member 30 is coupled to the seat 431 biased toward the right sidewall 26, and the left rail is located on the seat 432 biased toward the left sidewall 24. The bearing 44 in contact with the member 30 is engaged. In Figure 1 it is shown that three coupling seats 43 on the carrier block 42 alternately biased to each other. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. The number of coupling seats 43 may also be four or more.

The track roller bearing 44 has an inner ring 440 and an outer ring 442 and a plurality of balls 444 positioned between them. The outer circumferential surface (surface in contact with the rail member) 442a of the outer ring 442 is inwardly shaped in a V-shape, which is different from the conventional outer circumferential surface in a circular arc shape. Therefore, the rail member 30 and the outer peripheral surface 442a are in contact with each other at two points. While in contact with the rail member, the inclined surface that is substantially V-shaped is generally straight when shown in cross section as shown in FIG. The inside of the V-shaped outer circumferential surface 442a is provided with a groove 442b extending around the outer ring in a ring shape. For example, a lubricant or the like can be supplied to the groove 442b. On the other hand, if the width of the groove 442b and the inclination angle of the V-shaped outer circumferential surface 442a are different, the position in contact with the rail member 30 may be different, and the vertical load capacity of the bearing may be increased according to the inclination angle with the rail member. Can be.

The first end (lower in the figure) 440a in the rotation axis direction of the inner ring 440 is slightly inward of the first end face (lowermost in the figure) 442c of the outer ring 442. The second end (upper end on the drawing) 440b extends beyond the outer ring 442 in the axial direction. When assembling the bearing 44, the second end 440b comes into contact with the bottom surface of the carrier block 42. The fastening bolt 46 has a bolt head 460, a large diameter portion (meaning a large diameter portion) 462, and a small diameter portion (meaning a small diameter portion. 464 is configured in succession. The height of the bolt head 460 is preferably smaller than the deviation (distance) between one side surface 442c of the outer ring 42 and the first end 440a of the inner ring. This is because the height of the sidewalls 24 and 28 of the frame 20 can be reduced while preventing the base 20 and the bolt head 460 from interfering with each other. This structure can reduce the size of the linear motion guide.

The inner ring is fitted (preferably fitted) to the large diameter portion 462 to be fixed. The length of the large diameter portion 462 is smaller than the axial length of the inner ring 440. The small diameter portion 464 is eccentric from the center of the large diameter portion 462. The small diameter part 464 is provided with the screw. A fastening nut 48 is engaged with this screw and fixed. The end of the small diameter portion 464 is provided with a groove for fitting the hexagon wrench. When the hex wrench was inserted into this groove 464a while the nut 48 was slightly loosened, the bearing 44 assembled to the large diameter portion moved away from the rail member due to the eccentricity of the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion. The position of the bearing 44 can be set by fixing the hexagon wrench at the position where the outer circumferential surface 442a of the bearing 44 contacts (contacts) the rail member 30 and tightening the fastening nut 48 with a tool such as a spanner. . This eccentric fastening bolt 46 is preferably used only for one of the coupling seat. The other side is tightened by tightening bolts (not shown) in which the small diameter portion and the large diameter portion are not eccentric. On the other hand, the configuration for bringing the bearing 44 in close contact with the rail member 30 is not limited to using the eccentric bolt. By forming the bolt hole provided in the carrier into a long hole (long hole), the position of the bearing can be adjusted.

4, a perspective view of a linear motion guide 110 according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. The linear motion guide 110 has the same configuration as that of the linear motion guide 10 shown in FIG. 1, but further includes a linear encoder device. The parts indicated by the same reference numerals as the reference numerals have the same configuration as the guide 10 of FIG. The linear encoder device has a linear scale 180 extending along the longitudinal direction attached to the outer surface of the frame 20. The mark 182 is formed in the linear scale 180 at equal intervals. The linear scale may be a steel tape scale or a glass scale. Meanwhile, the scanning head 160 is attached to the carrier 40. The scanning head 160 is provided with a light emitting element and an optical sensor. This linear encoder device is used to find out the distance or speed of movement and to control the movement of the carriage accordingly.

On the other hand, the linear encoder device may be a magnetic method other than the optical type as described above. In this device, magnetic poles of fine width are alternately formed on the linear scale. At this time, the scanning head is provided with a magnetic sensor. Such a linear encoder device can be used in addition to the above-mentioned conventional devices.

The encoder device can be mounted because the rail member is installed inside the frame. That is, according to the configuration of the present invention, there is an advantage that the linear encoder device can be installed on the outer wall.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art may make modifications, changes, and the like without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, but it will be understood that such modifications and changes also belong to the present invention.

According to the configuration of the present invention, by placing the rail member facing the inside of the frame, the linear motion guide size can be made small. The outer circumferential surface of the track roller bearing (the surface in contact with the rail member) is made into a V-shape so that it can always be contacted at two points between the rail member and the bearing so that stable conveyance is possible. Even if the outer peripheral surface of the bearing is V-shaped and there is a deviation in the diameter of the rail member (typically, there may be a deviation in the diameter according to the dimensional deformation of the rail groove), it can correspond to it. In addition, the generation of heat during high speed movement is less and the heat is easily released. Therefore, it is also suitable for a device requiring high speed motion. Since one end of the inner ring of the track roller bearing is located inside the outer ring, the head of the fastening bolt used does not come out of the bearing, so that the linear motion guide can be made small. In addition, according to the above configuration, there is an advantage that the linear encoder device can be attached to the outside of the linear motion guide. When the linear encoder device is attached, the position and the moving speed can be controlled.

Claims (7)

In the linear motion guide for guiding linear movement, A frame having a base extending in the longitudinal direction and sidewalls facing each other, and having a rail groove extending in the longitudinal direction on opposite sides of the sidewall; A rail member extending in a longitudinal direction inserted into the rail groove; A carrier provided with a carrier block and a plurality of track roller bearings connected to the carrier block, the outer peripheral surface of which is in contact with each rail member. Linear motion guide comprising a. The linear motion guide of claim 1, wherein the outer circumferential surface of the track roller bearing has two inclined surfaces in contact with the rail member. In the linear motion guide for guiding linear movement, A frame provided with a rail groove extending in the longitudinal direction, A rail member extending in the longitudinal direction inserted into the rail groove; And a track roller bearing connected to the carrier block and having an outer circumferential surface thereof contacting the rail member. The outer circumferential surface of the track roller bearing has two inclined surfaces in contact with the rail member. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein The track roller bearing has an outer ring, an inner ring and a plurality of rolling members positioned between the outer ring and the inner ring, One end of the inner ring is located inward of the one end of the outer ring, the other end of the inner ring is a linear motion guide, characterized in that outwards through the other end of the outer ring. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein The carrier is a linear motion guide, characterized in that the position of the track roller bearing is adjusted when the track roller bearing is fixed to the carrier block. The method of claim 5, The carrier is provided with a fastening bolt and a fastening nut for adjusting the position of the track roller bearing when the track roller bearing is fixed to the carrier block. The fastening bolt has a first part coupled to the track roller and a second part coupled to the fastening nut, but the first part and the second part are eccentric with each other. The linear motion guide, characterized in that the position of the track roller bearing is adjusted by rotating the fastening bolt about the second portion. The scanning head of claim 1, further comprising a linear encoder device, wherein the linear encoder device is attached to an outer side of the side wall and coupled to one side of the carrier and a linear scale extending along a longitudinal direction of the frame. Linear motion guide characterized in that the provided.