JPH0446092Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a miniature linear guide device in which a slider is supported by a rail via rolling elements arranged so as to be able to circulate, and is movable in the axial direction. In particular, the present invention relates to a miniature linear guide device that is extremely compact and lightweight.

[Conventional technology]

As a conventional miniature linear guide device, there is one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 136018/1983.

In this conventional example, a bed and a table having a substantially U-shaped cross section are stacked on top of each other with their bottom faces facing each other, a raceway groove is formed in the longitudinal direction of the overlapping side wall surfaces, and a ball is assembled in this raceway groove. In the attached bearing, a pair of ball no-load circulation paths formed in the table are formed by a single member in the left-right direction, and are formed by two members, an upper cover and a lower cover, in the vertical direction, The load circulation path is integrally fixed to the table with rivets, and a retainer or protrusion for guiding the balls is provided on the side surface of the table opposite to the bed side wall surface.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, in the conventional miniature linear guide device described above, the ball rolling along the raceway groove is guided by a retainer or a protrusion, and the ball circulation path is composed of two parts. Because of this, there is a difference in level at the joints of each part,
In addition, since it was not possible to reduce the distance between the side wall of the bed and the side of the table facing it, the ball rolling groove became shallow and the load capacity in the vertical direction was small, making the overall structure larger. As the weight of the table increases, the sliding resistance becomes large and the response becomes poor.In addition, the pair of ball unloaded circulation paths formed in the table are made of a single member in the left and right direction, and the top lid and 2 of the lower lid
These parts and the retainer are integrally fixed to the table with rivets, so
Assembly is troublesome. Furthermore, when the upper and lower covers are molded using a mold, errors in the mold can easily cause misalignment between the two, and when misalignment occurs between the two, the rolling of the balls in the no-load ball circulation path is inhibited, resulting in a defective product.
There were problems such as a decrease in product yield.

Therefore, the present invention was made by focusing on the problems of the conventional example, and is easy to assemble.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a miniature linear guide device that is extremely lightweight, has good positioning accuracy, and can improve product yield.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a guide rail which has a U-shape extending in the axial direction and has a ball rolling groove facing the inner surface of the side wall, and a guide rail which faces the ball rolling groove of the guide rail. A race member formed in a U-shape with a ball rolling groove formed on its outer circumferential surface, and a ball passage that fits into a recess of the race member and communicates with both ball rolling grooves of the race member. a plurality of balls that are inserted into the ball rolling grooves of the race member and the rail and the ball passages of the first and second ball guide members so as to be able to roll and circulate freely; and the lace member and the first and second
A positioning hole is provided in one of the ball guide members, and a positioning protrusion that fits into the positioning hole is provided in the other, and the first and second ball guide members are integrally formed by gluing vertically symmetrical halves. a ball rolling groove formed in the race member, which fits closely into the ball rolling groove of the rail at an end corresponding to the axial end of the race member, and communicates an internal ball passage with the ball rolling groove of the rail and the race member. an engaging concave portion on one of the opposing end surfaces of the first and second ball guide members, and an engaging convex portion that engages with the engaging concave portion on the other side. The race member and the first and second ball guide members are formed such that the positioning protrusions are fitted into the positioning holes, and the engagement recesses and engagement protrusions of the first and second ball guide members are connected to each other. It is characterized in that the slider is formed by being engaged and fixed together.

[Effect]

In the present invention, the first and second ball guide members are integrally formed by gluing vertically symmetrical halves,
These first and second ball guide members are fixed by fitting the positioning protrusion into the positioning hole of the race member with the positioning recess and the positioning protrusion fitted, and the race member and the first and second balls are fixed. By integrating the slider with the guide member, assembly is extremely easy and positioning accuracy can be improved. By providing a protrusion that fits closely into the groove to guide the ball into the slider, the opposing surfaces of the guide rail and slider can be brought closer together, reducing the depth of the ball rolling groove formed on the rail and slider. Since the ball can be made deep, sufficient load capacity can be obtained even with extremely small balls. Further, the ball guide members forming the ball return path are connected to the first and second ball guide members.
Since the ball guide member is divided into two ball guide members, even if the adhesive protrudes into the ball path and the curved ball path and narrows the ball path when the halves are glued together, this can be scraped off. The defective rate of products can be significantly reduced.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a steel guide rail for guiding the slider 5, and includes a bottom plate portion 1a and side walls 1b and 1 that serve as guide surfaces extending upward from both side edges of the bottom plate portion 1a.
c and is formed into a U-shaped cross section, and its side wall 1
Ball rolling grooves 2a and 1c are provided on the inner surfaces of b and 1c, respectively.
2b is formed to extend in the axial direction. The ball rolling grooves 2a, 2b are parallel to each other, and the cross section of the ball rolling grooves 2a, 2b is a so-called gothic arch-shaped groove in which two circular arcs having different centers are formed in a V shape. Further, the bottom plate portion 1a is provided with holes 3 for mounting screws for mounting the guide rail 1 to other members when using the miniature linear guide device.

The slider 5 includes a race member 10 made of thin-walled steel and first and second ball guide members 20 made of synthetic resin.
It is composed of A and 20B.

The race member 10 is attached to both side walls 1 of the guide rail 1.
A side wall 1 having an outer width narrower than the inner width of the upper plate portion 10a and 1c and extending downward from the upper plate portion 10a and both side edges thereof.
0b and 10c, and is arranged between both side walls 1b and 1c of the guide rail 1, and the guide rail 1 is formed on the outer surface of the both side walls 10b and 10c.
Ball rolling grooves 11a and 11b facing the ball rolling grooves 2a and 2b are formed to extend in the axial direction. The cross section of these ball rolling grooves 11a, 11b is a gossic arch-shaped groove similar to that of the guide rail 1. The upper plate portion 10a is formed with positioning holes 12a and 12b whose upper ends are tapered and chamfered, and female mounting threads 13 for mounting other members.

The first ball guide member 20A and the second ball guide member 20B are an upper half body 21a and a lower half body 21 that are molded with the same mold as shown in FIG.
b, and is formed by adhering the body part 22 to fit inside the lace member 10 as shown in FIG.
and a collar portion 23 that is provided at the end of the body portion 22 and extends so as to come into contact with the end surface of the lace member. A lace member 1 is provided on the upper surface of the body portion 22.
Positioning hole 12a provided in the upper plate part of 0 or 1
A protrusion 24 is provided that fits into 2b. Further, inside the body portion 22, two ball return passages 25a and 25b, which are parallel to each other and have a circular cross section, are formed in the longitudinal direction.
One end of a, 25b is a curved ball passage 26 which is a semi-doughnut-shaped space provided inside the collar part 23.
a, 26b, respectively, and the other end is connected to the flange 23.
It opens at the end of the body on the opposite side. That is, the inner circular arc surface and the outer circular arc surface of the curved ball passages 26a, 26b are the ball return passages 25a, 25b.
are continuously connected to the ball return passages 25a, 2.
5b and the curved ball passages 26a and 26b form one half of the ball circulation passage.

The other ends of the curved ball passages 26a, 26b have inner arcuate surfaces connected to the ball rolling grooves 11a, 11b of the race member 10, and outer arcuate surfaces inserted into the ball rolling grooves 2a, 2b of the guide rail 1. The protrusions 27a, 27b protruding from the flange 23 are partially cut out so as to be close to the bottom of the protrusions 27a, 27b, thereby forming sharp edges at the protrusions 27a, 27b.

Further, an engagement recess 28 with a tapered side surface is formed at the open end of the ball return passage 25a, and an engagement protrusion 29 that engages with the engagement recess 28 is formed at the open end of the ball return passage 25b. has been done.

In this way, the ball guide members forming the ball circulation path are connected to the first and second ball guide members 20A,
20B, the upper half body 21a and the lower half body 21 of each ball guide member 20A and 20B
In addition, when the ball guide members 20A and 20B are formed by bonding the halves 21a and 21b, the adhesive can be used to form the ball return passages 25a and 2.
5b or the curved ball passages 26a, 26b, which may narrow the ball passage and impede the rolling of the balls 30, the flange 23 should be cut from the end face of the half body side or from the protruding parts 27a, 27b side. Since it is possible to insert a tool, the overflowing adhesive can be removed, and a decrease in yield due to poor adhesion can be prevented.

And the first and second ball guide members 20A
and 20B are the engagement recess 28 and the engagement protrusion 2 of both.
9 are engaged with each other, the race member 10
A positioning protrusion 24 formed on the upper surface of the U-shaped inner surface of the race member 10 aligns with the positioning hole 12 of the race member 10.
a, 12b, and the flange portion 23 is fitted to the longitudinal end surface of the upper plate portion 10a of the race member 10, and the upper end portion of the positioning protrusion 24 is welded to the race member 10. The slider 5 is constructed by integrating the first and second ball guide members 20A and 20B. At this time, the first
And the second ball guide members 20A, 20B have respective engaging recesses 28a, 28b and engaging protrusions 29a, 2.
9b, there is no difference in level between the ball return passages 25a and 25b, and a good ball circulation passage can be formed.

The slider 5 is loosely fitted into the U-shaped recess of the guide rail 1, and is inserted into the ball rolling groove 2 of the guide rail 1.
A, 2b and the ball rolling grooves 11a, 11b of the race member 10 facing these, a large number of balls 30 are inserted in a freely rolling manner. This ball 30 has ball rolling grooves 2a, 2b and 11a, 11.
The slider 5 is inserted into the gossic arch-shaped groove shown in FIG. It is said that it can be moved by movement.

A ball 30 having the same diameter as the ball 30 disposed between the slider and the guide rail 1 is loosely fitted into the ball circulation path of the slider 5 so that it can roll freely.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained. When the slider 5 is moved backward in the axial direction, the guide rail 1
The balls 30 inserted between the ball rolling grooves 2a, 2b of the slider 5 and the ball rolling grooves 11a, 11b of the race member 10 provided on the slider 5 roll as the slider 5 moves. moving in the opposite direction, the direction is changed by the acute-angled ends of the protrusions 27a, 27b of the first ball guide member 20A at the end of the race member 10, and the ball enters the curved ball passages 26a, 26b; It makes a U turn along the curved ball passages 26a, 26b, passes through the ball return passages 25a, 25b, passes through the ball return passages 25b, 25a of the second ball guide member 20B, and then returns to the curved ball passages 26b, 26a on the opposite side. The ball rolling grooves 2a, 2b of the guide rail 1 and the ball rolling groove 11 of the race member 10 are U-turned.
a, 11b. At this time, the ball return passages 25a, 2 of the first ball guide member 20A and the second ball guide member 20B
5b is the engagement recess 28 and the engagement protrusion 2 near both.
9, the ball 30 is communicated without any discrepancy in position, and the ball 30 rolls in a stable state at the bottom of the ball circulation passage whose cross section is circular, so that the ball 30 circulates smoothly. be exposed.

In this embodiment of the miniature linear guide device, the diameter of the ball 30 is 2.0 mm, the cross section of the slider 5 is 6 x 12 mm, and the gap between the side surface of the guide rail 1 and the side surface of the slider 5 is is 0.2 mm, and the weight of the slider 5 is approximately 17 g.

In the above embodiment, the case where the side walls 1b and 1c of the guide rail 1 are vertical surfaces has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and they may also be sloped surfaces. In this case, the slider 5 The opposing surfaces of the ball guide members 20A and 20B may be made into an inclined surface parallel to the inclined surface.

Further, in the above embodiment, the race member 10
A case has been described in which the positioning holes 12a, 12b are provided in the ball guide members 20A, 20B, and the positioning protrusions 24 are provided in the ball guide members 20A, 20B. A positioning hole may be formed in each of the holes.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the first and second
Although the case where the engaging concave portion 28 and the engaging convex portion 29 are provided in the ball guide members 20A and 20B, respectively, is described, the present invention is not limited to this. An engaging convex portion may be formed on the other side of the mating recess.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, according to the present invention, the slider is constructed of a thin race member and first and second ball guide members made of synthetic resin that form a ball circulation passage, thereby achieving weight reduction. In addition, since the ball circulation path is formed by the first and second ball guide members, each ball guide member can be manufactured with high precision, and the adhesive can be prevented from extruding when manufacturing them. Obstacles caused by such problems can be easily removed, and the yield of the first and second ball guide members can be improved. Moreover, the cross section of the ball circulation passage is circular, and the protrusions provided on the flanges of the first and second ball guide members are fitted in close to the ball rolling groove of the guide rail. The protrusion is cut out on the outer arcuate surface of the curved ball path to guide the ball into the curved ball path, so the balls can roll smoothly, and the opposing sides of the guide rail and slider are brought close to each other to form a ball rolling groove. Since the depth of the ball can be made deep, it is possible to sufficiently increase the load capacity in the vertical direction even if a small ball is used.
The linear guide device can be downsized. As a result, the inertia of the slider can be reduced, and a miniature linear guide device with good high-speed controllability and almost no residual vibration when stopped can be obtained.

Since the balls circulate smoothly in this miniature linear guide device, the operating noise is extremely quiet, making it suitable for office machines and the like that are used in quiet rooms.

In addition, the thickness of the side wall of the U-shaped guide rail is determined in relation to the preload force of the ball, and the allowable accuracy of parts due to the smaller parts used is relaxed by elastic deformation of the side wall of the guide rail. Therefore, it is a miniature linear guide device with good controllability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention, with the left half taken in section, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line - - of Fig. 1, and Figs. FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway plan view showing the first ball guide member and the second ball guide member. In the figure, 1 is a guide rail, 1b, 1c are side walls, 2
a, 2b are ball rolling grooves, 5 is a slider, 10 is a race member, 11a, 11b are ball rolling grooves, 1
2a, 12b are positioning holes, 20A is a first ball guide member, 20B is a second ball guide member, 2
1a and 21b are halves, 22 is a body, 23 is a flange,
24 is a positioning projection, 25a and 25b are ball return passages, 26a and 26b are curved ball passages, 2
7a and 27b are protrusions, 28 is an engagement recess, 29 is an engagement protrusion, and 30 is a ball.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A guide rail having a U-shape extending in the axial direction and having a ball rolling groove facing the inner surface of the side wall, and a ball rolling groove being formed on the outer peripheral surface of the side wall facing the ball rolling groove of the guide rail, and A race member formed in a U-shape, and first and second ball guide members that fit into a recessed portion of the race member and have ball passages therein that communicate with both ball rolling grooves of the race member. , a plurality of balls inserted into the race member and the ball rolling groove of the rail and the ball passages of the first and second ball guide members so as to be able to roll and circulate, the race member and the first ball guide member; and a second ball guide member, one of which is provided with a positioning hole, and the other is provided with a positioning protrusion that fits into the positioning hole, and the first and second ball guide members are formed by bonding vertically symmetrical halves. The end portion corresponding to the axial end portion of the race member fits closely into the ball rolling groove of the rail, and the internal ball passage and the ball rolling groove of the rail and race member are connected to each other. an engagement recess on one of the opposing end surfaces of the first and second ball guide members and an engagement recess on the other; A convex portion is formed to allow the race member and the first and second ball guide members to fit the positioning projections into the positioning holes, respectively, and to engage the engagement concave portions and the engagement convex portions of the first and second ball guide members. A miniature linear guide device characterized in that a slider is formed by engaging and fixing the parts together.