KR20220143297A - Air injection nozzle of linear stage - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is an air injection nozzle forming an air bearing in a linear stage. The air injection nozzle comprises: a body made of a transparent body having brittleness; an air inlet hole, where air is introduced, formed on a rear end surface of the body; an air injection hole, where the air is discharged, formed on a front end surface of the body; an air injection passage formed inside the body to enable one end to be connected to the air inlet hole and enable the other end to be connected to the air injection hole; and a foreign substance collection groove formed in a portion of the air injection passage in an air transferring direction.

Description

AIR INJECTION NOZZLE OF LINEAR STAGE

The present invention relates to a linear stage to which an air bearing is applied, and more particularly, to a moving block disposed at regular intervals on a stone plate and a rail and moving along the rail and an air spray nozzle for spraying air between the rail.

In general, a linear stage refers to a device for transferring equipment mounted on a stage by driving a linear motor.

The linear stage is mainly used in industrial equipment and consists of bearings, linear motors, linear encoders, and servo controllers. The bearing that supports and guides the slider is a key element technology related to the precision of the linear unit and plays an important role among the components of the ultra-precision linear motion unit.

Although ball bearings and roller bearings have been widely used as support bearings for general linear motion systems, there is a limit to realizing high-precision positioning due to vertical shaking caused by elastic deformation of the balls and rollers and unevenness of the surfaces of the balls or rollers. Accordingly, in order to enable high-speed movement of an object and obtain high-precision plane motion, a fluid bearing, particularly an air bearing, has been developed that supports the slider by injecting a lubricating fluid such as air between the slider and the guide rail.

The air bearing supports the moving block sliding along the rail by spraying air supplied from the air compressor through a plurality of air injection nozzles. In addition, the air bearing can move the moving block with minimal frictional force as well as minimize vibration of the device.

However, since the air nozzle member according to the prior art has a very narrow diameter of the air injection path, when the linear stage is used for a long time, the air injection path is often clogged due to fine foreign substances such as dust contained in the air. There was a problem of lowering.

In addition, the air nozzle member according to the prior art is mainly made of brass. Accordingly, when the air injection path is clogged by dust, it is very difficult and time-consuming to separate the air nozzle member coupled to the coupling groove of the moving block in a close enough state to maintain airtightness from the coupling groove.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air jet nozzle of an air jet nozzle of a linear stage to which an air bearing is applied, which minimizes clogging of an air jet path by dust.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an air injection nozzle of a linear stage to which an air bearing is easily maintained.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an air jet nozzle for forming an air bearing in a linear stage, comprising: a body made of a brittle transparent body; an air inlet hole through which air is introduced into the rear end surface of the body; an air injection hole through which air is discharged on the front end surface of the body; an air jet path formed in the body so that one end communicates with the air inlet hole and the other end communicates with the air jet hole; And it provides an air jet nozzle comprising a foreign material collecting groove formed in a direction in which air is transferred to a part of the air jet passage.

The air jet passage may include: a first portion adjacent to the air jet hole; and a second portion adjacent to the air inlet hole, wherein a diameter of the second portion is greater than a diameter of the first portion, and the foreign material collecting groove is located at a portion where the first and second portions are connected. can do.

The foreign material collecting groove may have the same diameter as that of the second part and may be disposed to surround a part of the first part.

The foreign material collecting groove may have a surface adjacent to the first part inclined to form a protrusion protruding toward the second part.

The air jet passage may include: a first portion adjacent to the air jet hole; a second portion adjacent to the air inlet hole; and a third portion positioned between the first portion and the second portion. A diameter of the third portion may be greater than a diameter of the first portion, and the foreign material collecting groove may be located at a portion where the first portion and the third portion are connected.

A diameter of the second portion may be greater than or equal to a diameter of the first portion.

The diameter of the second part is larger than the diameter of the third part, and may further include an additional foreign material collecting groove formed in the connection part of the second part and the third part.

The first portion and the third portion are disposed on the same axis, the second portion is disposed parallel to the first portion, further comprising a fourth portion connecting the second portion and the third portion can The fourth part may be bent in multiple stages.

The body may be made of quartz or glass.

It further includes an inclined portion disposed between the first portion and the air injection hole, the inclined portion may be disposed to be inclined with respect to a central axis of the first portion.

It further includes a narrow portion disposed between the first portion and the air jet hole, the narrow portion may have a smaller diameter than the diameter of the first portion.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a linear stage to which an air bearing method is applied according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the air nozzle member shown in FIG. 1 .
3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an air jet path formed in the air nozzle member.
4 is an enlarged view showing a portion IV shown in FIG. 3 .
5 is an enlarged view showing a portion V shown in FIG. 3 .
6 to 8 are cross-sectional views showing various forms of the air injection path.
9 and 10 are views showing a modified example of the first part of the air injection path.

Hereinafter, various embodiments will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described herein may be variously modified. Certain embodiments may be depicted in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, the specific embodiments disclosed in the accompanying drawings are only provided to facilitate understanding of the various embodiments. Therefore, the technical spirit is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed in the accompanying drawings, and it should be understood to include all equivalents or substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the invention.

Terms including an ordinal number, such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe various elements, but these elements are not limited by the above-described terms. The above terminology is used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component.

In addition, in describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be abbreviated or omitted.

Hereinafter, the structure of the air injection nozzle of the linear stage to which the air bearing method is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a linear stage to which an air bearing method is applied according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The linear stage 1 to which the air bearing method is applied according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a stone plate 3 having a predetermined area, a rail 5 disposed on the upper surface of the stone plate 3, and a rail 5 ) may include a moving block 7 that moves linearly along, and a plurality of air injection nozzles 10 disposed on the moving block 7 .

The granite plate 3 has rigidity, wear resistance and corrosion resistance and can be made of granite that is not affected by temperature.

The rail 5 and the moving block 7 may be formed of the same material as the stone plate 3 . The rail 5 is fixedly installed on the upper surface of the granite plate 3 , and the moving block 7 can be moved in one direction and in the opposite direction along the rail 5 while being lifted by an air bearing.

In order to implement the air bearing, a plurality of air jet nozzles 10 may be arranged in a plurality of rows at the top and both sides of the moving block 7 . A plurality of air jet nozzles 10 are disposed inside the moving block 7 and are not visible from the outside.

Each air jet nozzle 10 is respectively inserted into a coupling groove (not shown) formed in advance in the moving block 7 . In this case, the air jet nozzles disposed on the upper part of the moving block 7 among the plurality of air jet nozzles 10 have an air jetting hole 31 (see FIG. 3 ) formed on the front end surface of the rail 5 corresponding to the upper surface, and , The air jet nozzles disposed on both sides of the moving block 7 have front end surfaces corresponding to both sides of the rail 5 , respectively.

A plurality of air injection nozzles 10 guide the compressed air supplied from an air compressor (not shown) to spray toward the upper surface and both sides of the rail 5 . In this case, a pipe (not shown) for supplying compressed air to the plurality of air injection nozzles 10 is preferably installed so as not to interfere with the movement of the moving block 7 along the rail 5 .

The moving block 7 is lifted in a non-contact state with the granite plate 3 and the rail 5 by the pressure formed by the air injected from the plurality of air injection nozzles 10 .

As such, the linear stage 1 may implement an air bearing in which the moving block 7 can smoothly move along the rail 5 through the plurality of air injection nozzles 10 .

Hereinafter, a structure of the air jet nozzle 10 that can minimize clogging of the air jet path by dust and facilitate maintenance will be described.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the air nozzle member shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an air jet path formed in the air nozzle member, Figure 4 is an enlarged view showing the portion IV shown in Figure 3, 5 is an enlarged view showing a portion V shown in FIG. 3 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , the material of the air jet nozzle 10 may be made of a brittle transparent material. For example, the air jet nozzle 10 may be made of a quartz or glass material having a predetermined rigidity while having brittleness. Here, the predetermined rigidity is sufficient as long as it can withstand the pressure generated inside the air injection nozzle 10 during air injection.

Since the air jet nozzle 10 is brittle, when a plurality of air jet passages 30 are all blocked by fine foreign substances such as dust and cannot perform the role of an air bearing, the air jet nozzle 10 is removed with a predetermined tool. It can be easily separated from the coupling groove of the moving block 7 by breaking it. Then, by inserting the new air injection nozzle 10 into the coupling groove, maintenance can be made quickly and simply.

The air jet nozzle 10 may include a body having a substantially cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. 2 and a plurality of air jet paths 30 formed inside the body.

The shape of the body does not necessarily have to be a cylindrical shape, and it is also possible to be formed of a rectangular pillar or a multi-sided pillar. In this case, the coupling groove formed in the moving block 7 is preferably processed into a shape corresponding to the shape of the body.

A plurality of air injection paths 30 may be formed in parallel along the longitudinal direction of the body.

Referring to FIG. 2 , a plurality of air injection paths 30 may be disposed at the same distance from the center c of the front end surface 11 . In this case, the air injection paths 30 adjacent to each other may be disposed at the same angle α.

In FIG. 2 , the plurality of air injection paths 30 are shown as eight, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and at least two or more are sufficient.

Since the plurality of air injection paths 30 are all formed in the same structure, one air injection path 30 will be described below. A method of forming the plurality of air jetting paths 30 may be a known laser processing or chemical etching process, and is not limited to a specific process.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the air jet path 30 may include a first portion 41 , a second portion 42 , and a third portion 43 . The first to third portions 41 , 42 , and 43 may be located on the same axis.

The first part 41 may have one end communicated with the air jet hole 31 located on the front end surface 11 of the air jet nozzle.

The second part 42 may have one end communicated with the air inlet hole 33 located on the rear end face 13 of the air jet nozzle.

The third part 43 may have one end communicating with the other end of the first part 41 and the other end communicating with the other end of the second part 42 .

In order to minimize clogging of the air jet path 30 by fine foreign matter such as dust, the first to third parts 41 , 42 , 43 of the air jet path 30 are the same as the air jet path 30 . A portion may be formed with a different diameter so that it is not formed with a diameter.

For example, the diameter D1 of the first portion and the diameter D2 of the second portion may be the same. Alternatively, the third portion 43 disposed between the first and second portions 41 and 42 may have a diameter D3 greater than the diameters D1 and D2 of the first and second portions.

In addition, the length L1 of the first portion may be formed to be the same as the length L2 of the second portion, and the length L3 of the third portion is greater than the lengths L1 and L2 of the first and second portions. It can be formed long. In this way, the length L3 of the third portion is formed to be longer than the lengths L1 and L2 of the first and second portions, so that a space in which foreign substances can reside can be increased.

However, the lengths L1 , L2 , and L3 of the first to third portions may be formed to have the same length without maintaining the above-described magnitude relationship.

Referring to FIG. 4 , a foreign material collecting groove 45 may be formed in a portion where the first part 41 and the third part 43 are connected.

The foreign material collecting groove 45 has the same diameter as the diameter D3 of the third part 43 , and may surround the first part 41 to overlap a part of the first part 41 . In this case, the circumferential surface 45a of the foreign material collecting groove 45 may extend along the same surface as the circumferential surface 43a of the third part 43 without a step difference.

The foreign material collecting groove 45 has a surface adjacent to the first part 41 inclined at a predetermined angle β in the direction away from the first portion 41 from the front end to the rear end of the foreign material collecting groove 45 (45b) can form.

The foreign material collecting groove 45 is formed with a protrusion 45c by the inclined surface 45b. Accordingly, when air passes through the third part 43 and flows into the first part 41 , the air collides with the protrusion 45c protruding toward the third part 43 and a vortex around the protrusion 45c. can be formed. Due to this vortex, foreign substances contained in the air may not flow into the first part 41 , but may be collected in the foreign substance collecting groove 45 or may be stagnant in the third part 43 .

Referring to FIG. 5 , a connection part 47 is formed in a section where the second part 42 and the third part 43 are connected. The connection part 47 may have a substantially cone shape whose diameter gradually increases from the second part 42 to the third part 43 . In this case, the circumferential surface of the connection part 47 may be inclined at a predetermined angle γ.

The connecting portion 47 considers a difference in diameter between the second portion 42 and the third portion 43 . The air passing through the second part 42 may be introduced into the third part 43 having a larger diameter than the second part 42 , and the flow rate may be reduced. The reduction in the flow rate may have an effect of preventing the dust contained in the air from being introduced into the first portion 41 from the third portion 43 .

Hereinafter, various types of air jet paths in which the air jet nozzle according to the present invention may be provided will be described with reference to the drawings.

6 to 8 are cross-sectional views showing various forms of the air injection path.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the air jet path 130 of the air jet nozzle 110 may include only the first part 141 and the second part 142 .

One end of the first portion 141 communicates with the air injection hole 131 , and one end of the second portion 142 communicates with the air inlet hole 133 . The other ends of the first and second portions 141 and 142 may be connected to each other.

The diameter of the second part 142 may be larger than the diameter of the first part 141 . Also, the length L12 of the second portion may be longer than the length L11 of the first portion.

A foreign material collecting groove 145 may be formed in a portion where the first part 141 and the second part 142 are connected. The foreign material collecting groove 145 may be formed in the same or similar shape as the aforementioned foreign material collecting groove 45 (refer to FIG. 4 ).

As such, even when the air jet path 130 includes only two parts 141 and 142 , an air filter function can be implemented like the above-described air jet path 30 (refer to FIG. 3 ), so that the air jet path 130 is Blockage by foreign objects can be minimized or prevented.

Referring to FIG. 7 , the air injection path 230 of the air injection nozzle 210 may include a first portion 241 , a second portion 242 , and a third portion 243 .

In this case, the diameter of the third portion 243 may be greater than the diameter of the first portion 241 , and the diameter of the second portion 242 may be greater than the diameter of the third portion 243 . In this case, the size of each part is gradually reduced from the air inlet hole 233 toward the air injection hole 231 side.

In the air injection path 230 , a first foreign material collecting groove 245 is formed in a portion where the first part 241 and the third part 243 are connected, and the second part 242 and the third part 243 are formed. A second foreign material collecting groove 247 may be formed in the connected portion.

The first and second foreign material collecting grooves 245 and 247 may be formed in the same or similar shape to the aforementioned foreign material collecting groove 45 (refer to FIG. 4 ).

In this way, the air passing through the air injection path 230 having the two foreign material collecting grooves 245 and 247 is first filtered by the first foreign material collecting groove 245 and is disposed in the second foreign material collecting groove 247 . As it is filtered by 2, it is possible to improve the dust collection efficiency compared to the above-described air injection paths 30 and 130 .

Meanwhile, the lengths L21 , L22 , and L23 of the first to third portions 241 , 242 , and 243 may all be formed to be the same as shown in FIG. 7 . However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and each of the lengths L21 , L22 , and L23 may be different, or two lengths may be the same and the other length may be different.

All of the above-described air injection paths 30, 130, and 230 are formed in a straight line from the air inlet hole to the air injection hole, but the air injection path 330 shown in FIG. The section may be formed to be bent in multiple stages.

Referring to FIG. 8 , the air injection path 330 of the air injection nozzle 310 may include a first portion 341 , a second portion 342 , a third portion 343 , and a fourth portion 344 . can

The first portion 341 and the third portion 343 connected to the first portion 341 are disposed on the first axis A1 , and the second portion 342 is parallel to the first axis A1 . It is disposed on the second axis A2. In this case, the fourth part 344 may be bent in multiple stages to connect the third part 343 and the second part 342 .

As such, when a partial section of the air injection path 330 , that is, the fourth part 344 is bent in multiple stages, the air introduced into the fourth part 344 from the second part 342 is the fourth part 344 . ) collides with the inner periphery of Accordingly, the air may be primary filtered by the fourth part 344 and secondary filtered by the foreign material collecting groove 345 formed in the part where the first part 341 and the third part 343 are connected.

The foreign material collecting groove 345 may be formed in the same or similar shape as the above-described foreign material collecting groove 45 (refer to FIG. 4 ).

Meanwhile, the first part 41 of the aforementioned nozzle 10 may be manufactured in various shapes as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 .

9 and 10 are views showing a modified example of the first part of the air injection path.

Referring to FIG. 9 , the first portion 441 of the nozzle 400 includes an inclined portion 442 . The inclined portion 442 may be disposed to be inclined at a predetermined angle F with respect to the central axis of the first portion 441 . The angle F of the inclined portion 442 is sufficient as long as the angle (for example, 60° or less) is not unreasonable to the movement of the moving block 7 .

The inclined portion 442 located at the tip of the first portion 441 communicates with the air injection hole 431 . Accordingly, the air introduced into the first part 441 from the second part 443 is not sprayed in a right angle direction with respect to the upper surface or both sides of the rail 5 (refer to FIG. 1) by the inclined part 442, but is obliquely. is sprayed

As such, when the air is sprayed obliquely to the upper surface or both sides of the rail 5 by the inclined portion 442 , it is possible to reduce the impact and vortex caused by the sprayed air.

The inclined direction of the inclined portion 442 may be set in any one direction within 360 degrees with respect to the central axis of the first portion 441 .

Referring to FIG. 10 , the first portion 541 of the nozzle 500 may include a narrow portion 542 disposed coaxially.

The narrow portion 542 communicates with the air injection hole 531 and may have a diameter G2 smaller than the diameter G1 of the first portion 541 .

In the above, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, but the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and it is common in the technical field to which the present invention pertains without departing from the gist of the present invention as claimed in the claims. Various modifications may be made by those having the knowledge of, of course, and these modifications should not be individually understood from the technical spirit or perspective of the present invention.

10, 110, 210, 310: air jet nozzle
30, 130, 230, 330: air blast furnace
41, 141, 241, 341: first part
42, 142, 242, 342: second part
43, 243, 343: the third part
244, 344: fourth part
45, 145, 245, 247, 345: Foreign matter collection groove

Claims (12)

An air jet nozzle disposed on a linear stage and forming an air bearing, comprising:
a body made of a transparent body having brittleness;
an air inlet hole through which air is introduced into the rear end surface of the body;
an air injection hole through which air is discharged on the front end surface of the body;
an air jet path formed in the body so that one end communicates with the air inlet hole and the other end communicates with the air jet hole; and
An air jet nozzle comprising a; a foreign material collecting groove formed in a direction in which air is transferred to a part of the air jet passage. The method of claim 1,
As the air jet,
a first portion on a side adjacent to the air jet hole; and
a second portion adjacent to the air inlet hole; and
a diameter of the second part is greater than a diameter of the first part;
The foreign material collecting groove is an air jet nozzle positioned at a portion where the first part and the second part are connected. 3. The method of claim 2,
The foreign material collecting groove has a diameter equal to that of the second part and surrounds a part of the first part. 4. The method of claim 3,
The foreign material collecting groove is an air jet nozzle in which a surface adjacent to the first part is formed to be inclined, and a protrusion is formed to protrude toward the second part. According to claim 1,
As the air jet,
a first portion on a side adjacent to the air jet hole;
a second portion adjacent to the air inlet hole; and
and a third portion positioned between the first portion and the second portion.
a diameter of the third part is greater than a diameter of the first part;
The foreign material collecting groove is an air jet nozzle positioned at a portion where the first part and the third part are connected. 6. The method of claim 5,
The diameter of the second portion is greater than or equal to the diameter of the first portion of the air jet nozzle. 6. The method of claim 5,
a diameter of the second part is greater than a diameter of the third part;
The air jet nozzle further comprising an additional foreign material collecting groove formed in the connection part of the second part and the third part. 6. The method of claim 5,
the first part and the third part are disposed coaxially,
the second portion is disposed parallel to the first portion,
The air jet nozzle further comprising a fourth part connecting the second part and the third part. 9. The method of claim 8,
The fourth part is an air jet nozzle formed by bending in multiple stages. According to claim 1,
The body is an air jet nozzle made of quartz or glass. 3. The method of claim 2,
Further comprising an inclined portion disposed between the first portion and the air injection hole,
The inclined portion is an air jet nozzle disposed to be inclined with respect to a central axis of the first portion. 3. The method of claim 2,
Further comprising a narrow portion disposed between the first portion and the air injection hole,
The narrow portion of the air jet nozzle having a smaller diameter than the diameter of the first portion.

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