WO2019109269A1

WO2019109269A1 - End-portion seal device and linear guidance system

Info

Publication number: WO2019109269A1
Application number: PCT/CN2017/114815
Authority: WO
Inventors: 关冉; 张建彬
Original assignee: 舍弗勒技术股份两合公司
Priority date: 2017-12-06
Filing date: 2017-12-06
Publication date: 2019-06-13
Also published as: CN110914559A; DE112017008190B4; CN110914559B; DE112017008190T5

Abstract

An end-portion seal device (13) and a linear guidance system (1). The end-portion seal device (13) comprises: a base component (130), provided with a channel (1301) in a longitudinal direction; and a seal assembly (131), comprising an upper seal member (1311) and a pair of side seal members (1312, 1313). The upper seal member (1311) and the side seal members (1312, 1313) are mounted on an end portion of the base component (130) in a longitudinal direction and define an opening (1314). The opening (1314) is in communication with the channel (1301). The upper seal member (1311) can be kept at a seal position and a non-seal position relative to the base component (130), and can downwards move from the non-seal position to the seal position.

Description

End seals and linear guidance systems

Technical field

The present invention relates to an end seal and a linear guide system including the end seal.

Background technique

The linear guidance system that can carry forces and moments in multiple directions can be widely used in machine tools, industrial automation and other fields. Typically, linear guidance systems include guide rails and sliders. The slider is sleeved on the rail and is slidable along the rail. In addition, the linear guide system also includes an end seal. An end seal is provided at the end of the slider and seals the gap between the rail and the slider by a sealing lip. In most applications, linear guide systems require a contact seal to prevent contamination of the linear guide system by the cuttings and cutting fluid. In the linear guidance system, the guide rail with the countersunk mounting hole on the upper part is the most widely used type. In order to prevent the chips from being hidden in the counterbore and the upper sealing lip being damaged by the edge of the counterbore, a tamping piece with an interference fit between the guide rails is designed. After the rail is fixed by screws, the tampon is fitted into the counterbore in the rail so that the upper surface of the rail is completely filled with a surface free of slits.

However, in the package of the assembled product without the tape on the guide rail and in the customer's acceptance test, it was found that the upper sealing lip in the sealing device failed. By analyzing the mode of the upper seal lip failure, it is the main reason that the sharp edge of the countersunk mounting hole on the guide rail is obtained. Although such a risk of failure has been taken into account at the time of design, it is clearly warned in the catalogue that the assembly of the guide rail and the slider can damage the seal without the installation of the tampon, but in practice the customer complains about the complaint on the guide rail. The tape is difficult to remove and the tape on the upper surface of the rail must be removed during the acceptance test. In both cases described above, no tampon was assembled. This is because the installation of the wadding sheet is disposable, so the tampon is not assembled to the rail before the linear guide system is officially installed.

The reason for not chamfering the sharp edges of the rail countersunk holes is that there will be a gap between the chamfered caulking and the chamfered edges. This gap will damage the upper sealing lip and the chips hidden in the gap It also contaminates the slider, which in turn causes the entire slider to fail.

There are two technical solutions in the prior art that solve the failure of the upper sealing lip. One solution is to develop a new type of tape for use on rails. However, this method only solves the problem that the sealing lip fails during the packaging process. Another solution is to mount the protective metal sheet between the counterbore and the upper sealing lip of the guide rail during the acceptance test. However, the protective metal sheet of the steel material has the risk of scratching the surface of the rail and scratching the fingers of the worker, while the protective metal sheet of copper or aluminum material is relatively expensive because it is discarded after the tampon is officially installed.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an end seal that is capable of preventing seal failure of a linear guide system.

Summary of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an end seal that is capable of preventing seal failure of a linear guide system.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an end seal device of a linear guide system, the end seal device comprising: a base member having a passage in a longitudinal direction; and a seal assembly including an upper seal and a pair A side seal, an upper seal and a side seal are mounted to the longitudinal end face of the base member and enclose an opening that communicates with the passage, wherein the upper seal can remain unsealed relative to the base member The position and sealing position are and can be moved down from the unsealed position to the sealed position.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the upper seal is provided with a first joint unit, the first joint unit includes one or more first joint portions, the base member is provided with a second joint unit, and the second joint unit includes one or more second joint portions And wherein the at least one first engagement portion and the at least one second engagement portion are engageable at a non-sealing position and disengaged when the upper seal is pushed downward, at the sealing position, the one or more first engagements The portion is engageable with the one or more second joints.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the one or more first engaging portions are respectively an upper buckle and a lower buckle, and the one or more second engaging portions are respectively an upper card slot and a lower card slot, and wherein, in the unsealed position, the upper latching portion Engaged with the upper card slot, and when the upper seal is pushed down, the upper buckle is disengaged from the upper card slot and the upper seal moves downward to the sealing position, in the sealed position, the lower buckle and the lower card slot The phase is stuck.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the upper buckle includes a hook-shaped upper engaging portion, and the lower buckle includes a hook-shaped lower engaging portion, and the upper buckle passes through the hook-shaped upper engaging portion and the upper card slot. The lower buckle is engaged with the lower card slot by the hook-shaped lower engaging portion.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the upper and lower snaps are integrally formed, and the upper and lower slots are in communication.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the upper seal is provided with two first joint units, two first joint units are disposed on the left and right sides of the upper seal, and the upper seal is provided with two second joint units, two The two joint units respectively correspond to the two first joint units.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the base member is provided with a guide portion that can be moved downward from the unsealed position to the sealed position under the guidance of the guide portion.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the end seal further includes: a scraper blade disposed at an end face of the seal assembly in the longitudinal direction, and the seal assembly is interposed between the scraper blade and the base member.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the end surface of the base member is provided with a recess for receiving the seal assembly, and the thickness of the upper seal in the longitudinal direction is smaller than the depth of the recess of the portion of the recess for receiving the upper seal .

Another aspect of the present invention provides a linear guide system including: a guide rail; a slider that is sleeved on the guide rail and slidable relative to the guide rail; the end seal device according to the above embodiment is mounted At the end of the slider, in the unsealed position, the lower surface of the upper seal of the end seal is spaced a predetermined distance from the upper surface of the rail, and when the upper seal is moved down to the sealing position, the upper seal The lower surface is in contact with the upper surface of the rail.

DRAWINGS

1 is a side view of a linear guide system with a lower surface of an upper seal spaced apart from an upper surface of a rail by a predetermined distance, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a side view of a linear guide system in which a lower surface of an upper seal abuts an upper surface of a guide rail according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is an exploded perspective view of an end seal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an assembled perspective view of an end seal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of an end seal for removing a scraper blade in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of an end seal for removing a scraper blade and an upper seal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a partial enlarged view of an end seal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be understood that the specific description is only intended to be illustrative of the embodiments of the invention.

In this document, the orientation words "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", and "back" are used. These terms are respectively defined with reference to the directions shown in the drawings, and are intended to facilitate describing the relative position of a component or component relative to other components or components, rather than the absolute position relative to the geodetic coordinate system. It will be understood that when a component or component shown in the drawings is rotated by a predetermined angle relative to the position shown in the figures, the other components or components are accordingly rotated by a predetermined angle and deviated from the position shown in the figures.

1 is a side view of a linear guide system with a lower surface of an upper seal spaced apart from an upper surface of a guide rail by a predetermined distance, and FIG. 2 is a lower portion of an upper seal according to an embodiment of the present invention, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Side view of a linear guide system with a surface that conforms to the upper surface of the rail. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the linear guide system 1 includes a guide rail 11 and a slider 12. The slider 12 is sleeved on the guide rail 11 and is slidable along the guide rail 11. The upper surface 110 of the guide rail 11 has a counterbore (not shown), and a screw (not shown) can pass through the counterbore to mount the guide rail 11 to a fixed position. The linear guide system 1 also includes an end seal 13 .

3 is an exploded perspective view of an end seal according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view of an end seal according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an end seal according to an embodiment of the present invention. A side view of a portion, and Figure 6 is a side view of a portion of an end seal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 3-6, the end seal 13 is mounted at the end of the slider 12 and includes a base member 130 and a seal assembly 131. The base member 130 is provided with a passage 1301 in the longitudinal direction. 4 to 6 show the XYZ coordinate system, and the longitudinal direction refers to the Z-axis direction. The seal assembly 131 includes an upper seal 1311, a left seal 1312, and Right side seal 1313. The upper seal 1311 and the pair of

side seals

1312, 1313 are mounted to the longitudinal end faces of the base member 130 and define an opening 1314. The opening 1314 communicates with the passage 1301 of the base member 130, and the guide rail 11 can pass through the passage 1301 and the opening 1314. A sealing lip surrounding the opening 1314 is formed at a lower end edge 1311a of the upper seal 1311, a right end edge 1312a of the left side seal 1312, and a left end edge 1313a of the right side seal 1313, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 1, the sealing lips of the left and

right seals

1312, 1313 are respectively attached to the left and right side surfaces 112 of the guide rail 11, and the sealing lip of the upper seal 1311 is spaced apart from the upper surface 110 of the guide rail 11. The predetermined distance L. The predetermined distance L may be sized such that the sharp edge of the counterbore does not damage the sealing lip of the upper seal 1311. In the state shown in Fig. 1, the end seal device 13 fails to seal the linear guide system 1. Herein, for convenience of description, the position at which the upper seal 1311 is located in FIG. 1 is referred to as a non-sealed position.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper seal 1311 and the left and

right seals

1312, 1313 are respectively attached to the upper surface 110, the left side surface 111, and the right side surface 112 of the guide rail 11. In the state shown in Fig. 2, the end seal device 13 is capable of sealing the linear guide system 1. Herein, for convenience of description, the position at which the upper seal in FIG. 2 is located is referred to as a sealed position.

In the packaging process or acceptance test of the linear guide system, the upper seal 1311 is in the unsealed position shown in FIG. At the unsealed position, the sealing lip of the upper seal 1311 is spaced apart from the upper surface 110 of the rail 11 by a predetermined distance. Thereby, the sealing lip is not damaged by the sharp edges of the counterbore holes on the guide rail 11. After the linear guide system 1 is officially installed (at this time, the tamping sheet is installed into the counterbore hole), the upper seal 1311 is pushed downward, so that the upper seal 1311 is moved downward to the sealing position shown in FIG. At the sealing position, the sealing lip of the upper seal 1311 abuts the upper surface 110 of the guide rail 11. Thereby, the linear guiding system is sealed so that lubricant leakage is reliably prevented and contamination of the linear guiding system by contaminants such as dust, chips, cutting fluid, and the like is prevented.

It can thus be seen that the end seal according to an embodiment of the present invention can prevent the sealing lip from being damaged by the sharp edge of the counterbore, thereby preventing the end seal from failing to seal the linear guide system. Secondly, the end seal eliminates the need for adhesive tape during the packaging process and eliminates the need for tape removal during formal installation, thereby reducing cost and increasing production efficiency. In addition, there is no need to install a disposable metal protection sheet in the counterbore to avoid the risk of scratching the surface of the rail and scratching the fingers of the worker. And reduce costs.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the end seal is configured such that the seal cannot move upwards at the sealing position. This makes it impossible to prevent the upper seal 1311 from being fitted to the upper surface 110 of the guide rail 11, thereby preventing the linear guide system 1 from being sealed.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the end seal 13 also includes a scraper 132. The scraping blade 132 is disposed at an end face of the seal assembly 131 in the longitudinal direction, and the seal assembly 131 is interposed between the scraper blade 132 and the base member 130. The scraper blade 132 can be fixed to the base member 130 by screws 133. The scraper blade 132 is provided with a passage 1321 in the longitudinal direction, and the guide rail 11 can pass through the passage 1321. The inner surface of the channel 1321 substantially conforms to the corresponding outer surface of the rail 11 for coarsely cleaning contaminants on the rail 11. The scraper blade 132 can be made of a metal material.

Figures 5 and 6 together with Figures 1 and 2 clearly show the internal structure of the end seal 13. As shown, the upper seal 1311 is provided with a first engagement unit 1315, and the first engagement unit 1315 includes an upper snap 1315a and a lower snap 1315b. The base member 130 is provided with a second engagement unit 1316, and the second engagement unit 1316 includes an upper card slot 1316a and a lower card slot 1316b. When the upper seal 1311 is in the unsealed position, the upper snap 1315a is engaged with the upper slot 1316a. When the upper seal 1311 is pushed down, the upper snap 1315a is disengaged from the upper slot 1316a and the upper seal 1311 is moved downward to the sealing position. In the sealed position, the lower buckle 1315b is engaged with the lower card slot 1316b.

The particular embodiment in which the first engagement unit 1315 is configured in the form of a snap and the second engagement unit 1316 is configured in the form of a card slot has been described above. It should be understood that as long as the engagement relationship between the first engagement unit and the second engagement unit ensures that the upper seal can be in the unsealed position and the sealed position and can be moved downward from the unsealed position to the sealed position, the first engagement unit and the second The joint unit can be other joint forms than those known in the art other than snap fit. For example, the first joint unit and the second joint unit may be joined by bonding or magnetic connection or the like.

It has been described above that the first engaging unit 1315 includes two first engaging portions (ie, an upper snap and a lower snap) and the second engaging unit 1316 includes two second engaging portions (ie, an upper card slot and a lower card slot) Particular embodiments. It should be understood that the number of the first joint portion and the second joint portion is not limited thereto. For example, the number of the first joint portion and the second joint portion may each be one or more. At the unsealed position, the at least one first engagement portion engages the at least one second engagement portion, and at the sealed position, the one or more first engagement portions engage the one or more second engagement portions. In one example, the one or more first joints that are joined at the sealing location may be the remainder of all of the first joints except at least one first joint that engages at the unsealed position First joint. In one example, the at least one first joint that engages at the unsealed location may coincide with the one or more first joint portions that engage at the sealed location. In another example, in the case where the number of the first joint portions is one, the first joint portion joined at the seal position is the same as the first joint portion joined at the unsealed position. Similarly, the distribution pattern of the second joint portion that is joined at the sealing position and the non-sealing position is similar to that of the first joint portion, and therefore will not be described herein.

It should be understood that the forms of the first engagement unit and the second engagement unit may be interchanged. For example, the first engaging unit may be in the form of a card slot, and the second engaging unit may be in the form of a snap.

The upper buckle 1315a includes a hook-shaped upper engaging portion 1315a1, and the lower buckle 1315b includes a hook-shaped lower engaging portion 1315b1. The upper and

lower buckles

1315a and 1315b are engaged with the upper and

lower card slots

1316a and 1316b by hook-shaped upper and lower engaging portions 1315a1 and 1315b1, respectively. It should be understood that the upper and lower engagement portions can be other shapes known in the art.

The upper buckle 1315a and the lower buckle 1315b are integrally formed, and the corresponding upper slot 1316a and the lower slot 1316b are in communication. As shown in FIG. 5, the upper snap 1315a and the lower snap 1315b (i.e., the first engaging unit 1315) are integrally formed into a substantially T-shape, and both ends of the T-shaped lateral portion are hook-shaped. It should be understood that the upper snap 1315a and the lower snap 1315b may also be formed separately.

The first joint unit 1315 and the upper seal 1311 are integrally formed. The first joint unit 1315 and the upper seal 1311 are, for example, rubber or plastic materials. The first engaging unit 1315 and the upper seal 1311 have flexibility, so that the shape of the first engaging unit 1315 also changes as the upper seal 1311 moves downward from the unsealed position to the sealed position. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first engaging unit 1315 is changed from the leftward tilt to the rightward tilt.

The above describes a specific embodiment in which the upper snap 1315a and the lower snap 1315b include a hook-like structure and are integrally formed into a T-shape. However, as long as the configuration of the upper snap 1315a and the lower snap 1315b can ensure that the upper seal 1311 can be in the unsealed position and the sealed position and can be non- The sealing position is moved down to the sealing position and the upper snap 1315a and lower snap 1315b can also be designed in other shapes as is known in the art.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the upper seal 1311 is pushed down at the unsealed position, the upper snap 1315a is disengaged from the upper slot 1316a, and when in the sealed position, the upper seal 1311 cannot move upward. This object can be achieved by designing the shapes of the buckle 1315a and the lower buckle 1315b. Fig. 7 shows the upper engaging portion 1315a1 and the lower engaging portion 1315b1 in an enlarged view. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the hook angle α of the upper engaging portion 1315a1 is relatively large, and the hook angle β of the lower engaging portion 1315b1 is relatively small. Furthermore, this object can also be achieved by designing the shapes of the card slot 1316a and the lower card slot 1316b.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the upper seal 1311 is provided with two first joint units 1315, and the two first joint units 1315 are disposed on the left and right sides of the upper seal 1311. The base member 130 is provided with two second engaging units 1316, and the two first engaging units 1315 are respectively disposed corresponding to the two second engaging units 1316.

It should be understood that the number and position of the first engaging unit 1315 and the second engaging unit 1316 are not limited thereto. For example, the number of the first joining unit 1315 and the second joining unit 1316 may be three or more, respectively. For example, in the view shown in FIG. 5, the first engagement unit 1315 may also be disposed on the back side of the upper seal 1311.

The base member 130 is provided with a recess 1302 at its longitudinal end, and the upper seal 1311 and the left and right seals are received in the recess 1302. The thickness of the upper seal 1311 in the longitudinal direction is smaller than the depth of the portion of the groove 1302 of the groove 1302 that accommodates the upper seal 1311. Thereby, when the upper seal 1311 is pushed down, the upper seal 1311 can smoothly move downward.

The base member 130 is provided with a guide portion, and the upper seal 1311 can be moved downward from the unsealed position to the sealed position under the guidance of the guide portion. The guide portion is a convex portion that extends from a bottom surface of the partial groove 1302a. The upper seal 1311 is provided with a corresponding passage, and the projection is slidable downward along the passage. Thus, when pushed down, the upper seal 1311 does not tilt so as to be prevented from being caught and cannot be moved downward, thereby affecting the sealing effect.

The embodiment in which the guide portion is in the form of a boss is described above. However, it should be understood that as long as the upper seal 1311 is smoothly moved downward, the guides may be other configurations known in the art. For example, the guiding portion is a recess recessed from the bottom surface of the partial groove 1302a, the upper seal The 1311 is provided with a raised portion, and the raised portion is slidable downward along the concave portion.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the base member 130 is also provided with an oil reservoir and a lubrication hole to provide lubrication to the linear guidance system.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a pair of

side seals

1312, 1313 may be formed by an injection molding process and may be a rubber or plastic material.

Some exemplary embodiments of the invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, however, these embodiments are merely exemplary. Appropriate combinations and/or variations of the various embodiments can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention should be determined by the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

An end seal device comprising:

a base member having a passage in a longitudinal direction; and

a seal assembly including an upper seal and a pair of side seals mounted to an end face of the base member in the longitudinal direction and enclosing an opening, An opening is in communication with the passage, wherein

The upper seal is positionable in the unsealed position and the sealed position relative to the base member and is movable from the unsealed position to the sealed position.
The end seal of claim 1 wherein

The upper seal is provided with a first joint unit, and the first joint unit includes one or more first joints,

The base member is provided with a second joint unit, the second joint unit includes one or more second joint portions, and wherein

At least one of the first engagement portion and the at least one of the second engagement portions are engageable at the unsealed position and disengaged when the upper seal is pushed,

At the sealed position, one or more of the first joints are engageable with one or more of the second joints.
The end seal of claim 2 wherein

The one or more first joint portions are an upper buckle and a lower buckle, respectively.

The one or more second joint portions are an upper card slot and a lower card slot, respectively, and wherein

In the unsealed position, the upper buckle is engaged with the upper card slot, and when the upper seal is pushed down, the upper buckle is disengaged from the upper card slot and Said that the seal moves down to the sealing position,

In the sealed position, the lower buckle engages with the lower card slot.
The end seal of claim 3 wherein

The upper buckle includes an upper engaging portion in a hook shape, and the lower buckle includes a lower engaging portion in a hook shape.

The upper buckle is engaged with the upper card slot by the hook-shaped upper engaging portion, the lower card The buckle is engaged with the lower card slot by the hook-shaped lower engaging portion.
The end seal of claim 4 wherein

The upper buckle and the lower buckle are integrally formed, and the upper card slot and the lower card slot are in communication.
The end seal device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein

The upper seal is provided with two first joint units, and the two first joint units are disposed on the left and right sides of the upper seal.

The upper seal is provided with two of the second joint units, and the two second joint units respectively correspond to the two first joint units.
The end seal device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein

The base member is provided with a guide portion that is movable downward from the unsealed position to the sealed position under the guidance of the guide portion.
The end seal device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, further comprising:

A scraper blade disposed at an end face of the seal assembly in a longitudinal direction, and the seal assembly is interposed between the scraper blade and the base member.
The end seal device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein

a groove is formed in the end surface of the base member, the groove is for receiving the sealing assembly, and

The thickness of the upper seal in the longitudinal direction is less than the depth of a portion of the groove of the groove that receives the upper seal.
A linear guidance system comprising:

guide;

a slider sleeved on the rail and slidable relative to the rail;

An end seal according to any one of claims 1 to 9 mounted at an end of the slider, in the unsealed position, a lower surface of the upper seal of the end seal A predetermined distance is spaced from an upper surface of the rail, and a lower surface of the upper seal abuts an upper surface of the rail when the upper seal moves down to a sealing position.