JP2007032818A - End cap of linear guide device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a lubricant that spreads over an upper leg portion when both legs of a slider are arranged in a vertical direction with a simple structure at a low cost.
An end cap 220A provided with an oil filler port 22d is composed of a first divided body 221, a second divided body 222A, and a third divided body 223A. An oil passage 221fa extending from the oil supply port 22d to the second divided body 222A side and an oil passage 221fb extending to the third divided body 223A side are formed in the first divided body 221. An oil passage 222f connected to the oil passage 221fa of the first divided body 221 is formed in the second divided body 222A. The oil passage connected to the oil passage 221fb of the first divided body 221 is not formed in the third divided body 223A.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an end cap used by being fixed to an end portion in a linear motion direction of a slider main body of a linear guide device.

A conventional example of the linear guide device will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 5 is a front view showing the linear guide device with the right half of the end cap removed. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the linear guide device partially shown in cross section so that the inside of the circulation path can be seen. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an end cap and a return guide.
As shown in these drawings, the linear guide device includes a guide rail 1, a slider (also referred to as “bearing”) 2, and a plurality of balls (rolling elements) 3.

  In the guide rail 1, two rolling grooves (rolling surfaces) 11 extending in parallel with the longitudinal direction are formed on both side surfaces. The slider 2 includes leg portions 2A disposed on both sides in the width direction of the guide rail 1, and a body portion 2B that couples both leg portions 2A. The body portion 2B is disposed on one end side (in this drawing, on the upper surface side of the guide rail 1) in the thickness direction of the guide rail 1 (direction perpendicular to both the length direction and the width direction). Then, both inner side surfaces of the slider 2 are disposed opposite to both side surfaces of the guide rail 1.

The slider 2 is divided into a main body 21 and an end cap 22 in the linear motion direction, and the end caps 22 are disposed at both ends of the slider main body 21 in the linear motion direction. Roller grooves (rolling surfaces) 21 a facing the respective rolling grooves 11 of the guide rail 1 are formed on both inner side surfaces of the slider body 21. These rolling grooves 11 and 21a form the rolling passage 12 of the ball 3.
Further, two linear return passages 21b are formed outside the respective rolling grooves 21a of the slider main body 21 with an interval in the vertical direction. A female screw 21c for attaching the end cap 22 is formed between the two return passages 21b. Also, female screws 21d for attaching the end caps 22 are formed on both sides of the body 2B of the slider body 21 where the grease nipples N are attached.

As shown in FIG. 7, the end cap 22 includes a pair of leg portions 22 </ b> A that form the linear motion direction end portions of the leg portions 2 </ b> A of the slider 2 and a trunk portion that forms the linear motion direction end portions of the body portion 2 </ b> B of the slider 2. 22B.
On the surface of each leg 22A on the slider body 21 side, two semicircular arc-shaped recesses 22a and a groove (return guide groove) 22b for attaching the return guide 4 are formed. Each leg portion 22A is provided with a through hole 22c at a position corresponding to the female screw 21c of the main body 21, and the two concave portions 22a are arranged above and below the through hole 22c.

  The return guide 4 is formed in a semi-cylindrical shape, and its arcuate convex surface 4 a is fitted into the return guide groove 22 b of the end cap 22. Thereby, the direction change path 24 is formed by the concave portion (outer groove of the direction change path) 22a of the end cap 22 and the arcuate convex surface (inner groove of the direction change path) 4a of the return guide 4. The return guide 4 is provided with two oil passage holes 41 corresponding to the upper and lower recesses 22a.

At the center in the width direction of the body portion 22B of one end cap 22, a hole (oil supply port) 22d for attaching the grease nipple N is formed. Further, on both sides of the grease nipple mounting hole 22d, through holes 22e are provided at positions corresponding to the female screw 21d of the slider body 21.
An oil passage 22f for introducing lubricating oil into the direction changing passage 24 is further formed on the surface of the end cap 22 on the slider body 21 side. The oil passage 22f is formed so as to go from the grease nipple mounting hole 22d to the left and right (outside in the width direction), pass through the periphery along the through hole 22e, and then bend at a right angle to reach the recess 22a.

  Therefore, after the return guide 4 is fitted into the return guide groove 22b, the end cap 22 is attached to the slider main body 21, whereby an oil passage groove 45 (see FIG. 6) is provided between the slider main body 21 and the return guide 4. It is formed. As a result, the lubricating oil supplied from the grease nipple N enters the oil passage groove 45 through the oil passage 22 f and is then introduced from the oil passage hole 41 into the direction changing path 24. Lubricated.

In addition, the rolling passage 12 and the return passage 21b are communicated with each other through the direction change path 24, and a circulation path 25 that circulates the ball 3 infinitely through each of these paths is configured. Then, as the ball 3 circulates through each circulation path 25, the slider 2 slides along the guide rail 1.
When such a linear guide device is used with both legs 2A of the slider 2 arranged in the vertical direction, the lubricating oil flows downward due to its own weight, and therefore the oil passage 22f extending downward from the oil filler opening. However, it is difficult to flow into the oil passage 22f extending upward from the fuel filler port.

Therefore, conventionally, for example, the slider body 21 is provided with an oil passage that communicates with the oil supply port 22d of the end cap 22 and opens upward at the upper end.
Patent Document 1 describes that an oil supply restriction valve that selectively opens and closes each oil passage 22f is provided at an oil supply port 22d of the end cap.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-321933

However, the method of providing an oil passage in the slider body has problems that it is difficult to provide an appropriate oil passage, and that processing takes time and costs are increased. Further, the method described in Patent Document 1 may cause the oil path to be switched incorrectly or dust may be mixed when switching.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art. When the slider legs are arranged in the vertical direction and used with a low-cost and simple structure, the lubricating oil is placed on the upper side. It is a problem to make it spread to the leg part.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is used by being fixed to the linear motion device end of the linear movement of the slider body, and is disposed on both sides of the guide rail in the width direction, and is orthogonal to both legs. A body part extending in the direction and connecting both leg parts, and on the surface of the slider body side of the both leg parts, an outer groove of the direction change path of the rolling element is formed, and an oil filler opening is formed in the body part, The oil passage from the oil supply port toward the direction changing path is an end cap formed on a surface on the slider body side, the first divided body having a portion where the oil supply port of the body portion is formed, A second divided body and a third divided body each having a leg portion, and an oil passage extending from the oil filler port to the second divided body side and an oil passage extending to the third divided body side are formed in the first divided body, As the second divided body and the third divided body, in the oil passage of the first divided body It wants to provide an end cap of the linear guide apparatus characterized by comprising those not formed as the oil passage is formed.

  The end cap according to the present invention has a second or third divided body in which an oil passage connected to the oil passage of the first divided body is formed when both legs of the slider of the linear guide device are arranged in the vertical direction. On the upper side, the third or second divided body in which the oil passage is not formed is arranged on the lower side and used by being fixed to the slider body. In this case, the lubricating oil supplied from the oil supply port is directed upward along the oil passage, reaches the direction change path of the upper leg, and then travels from the gap between the guide rail and the slider to the lower leg. Therefore, by using the end cap of the present invention, the lubricating oil can be distributed to the upper legs.

  According to the end cap of the present invention, when the linear guide device is used with both the leg portions of the slider arranged in the vertical direction with a simple structure at a lower cost than the conventional one, the lubricating oil spreads to the upper leg portion. Can be.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
1A and 1B are views showing an embodiment of an end cap of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a front view showing a surface of the slider body, and FIG. 1B is a plan view thereof. Fig.2 (a) is a top view which shows the 1st-3rd division body used with the end cap of FIG. FIG.2 (b) is a top view which shows the 2nd division body and 3rd division body different from Fig.2 (a).

1 includes a first divided body 221, a second divided body 222A, and a third divided body 223A. These divided bodies have a shape in which the end cap 22 of FIG. 7 is divided at a portion where the through hole 22e of the body portion 22B is formed.
The first divided body 221 includes a portion 22Ba in which the oil supply port 22d of the body portion 22B is formed, and a thickness direction outer portion 22Bb of the portion in which the through hole 22e is formed. Therefore, the 1st division body 221 has oil supply port 22d and penetration hole 221e used as a part of penetration hole 22e. The first divided body 221 is formed with an oil passage 221fa extending from the oil supply port 22d toward the second divided body and an oil passage 221fb extending toward the third divided body.

  The second divided body 222A includes a thickness direction inner side (slider main body side) portion 22Bc of a portion where one through hole 22e of the body portion 22B is formed, and one leg portion 22A continuous therewith. Accordingly, the second divided body 222A includes the outer groove 22a of the direction change path, the return guide groove 22b, the through hole 22c, and the through hole 222e that is a part of the through hole 22e. In addition, an oil passage 222f connected to the oil passage 221fa of the first divided body 221 is formed in the second divided body 222A.

  The third divided body 223A includes a portion 22Bd in the thickness direction (slider body side) portion 22Bd of the portion where the other through hole 22e of the body portion 22B is formed, and the other leg portion 22A continuous therewith. Therefore, the 3rd division body 223 has the outer side groove | channel 22a of the direction change path, the groove | channel 22b for return guides, the through-hole 22c, and the through-hole 223e used as a part of through-hole 22e. Moreover, the oil passage connected to the oil passage 221fb of the first divided body 221 is not formed in the third divided body 223A.

  When the end cap 220A of FIG. 1 is assembled, the outer portion 22Bb of the first divided body 221 and the inner portion 22Bc of the second divided body 222A are brought into contact with each other, and the through hole 221e of the first divided body 221 and the second The through hole 222e of the divided body 222A is communicated, and the outer portion 22Bb of the first divided body 221 and the inner portion 22Bd of the third divided body 223A are brought into contact with each other, and the through hole 221e of the first divided body 221 and the third The through hole 223e of the divided body 223A is communicated. Thereby, the end cap 220A of FIG. 1 is formed by the first divided body 221, the second divided body 222A, and the third divided body 223A shown in FIG.

  Further, if the first divided body 221 shown in FIG. 2A and the second divided body 222B and the third divided body 223B shown in FIG. 2B are used, the end cap 220B of FIG. 3 can be assembled. The structure of the second divided body 222B shown in FIG. 2 (b) is the second divided body 222A shown in FIG. 2 (a) except that the oil passage connected to the oil passage 221fa of the first divided body 221 is not formed. Is the same. The structure of the third divided body 223B shown in FIG. 2B is the same as that of the third divided body shown in FIG. 2A, except that an oil passage 223f connected to the oil passage 221fb of the first divided body 221 is formed. It is the same as 223A.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the guide rail 1 of the linear guide device is used while being fixed to the wall 5, both legs of the slider 2 are arranged in the vertical direction. In addition, although a normal linear guide apparatus is used in a state where the side seal is fixed to the outside of the end cap, this is omitted in FIG.
When the lubricant is supplied from the front side of the paper in FIG. 4, the end cap 220A shown in FIG. 1 is fixed to the front side of the paper in FIG. Accordingly, the second divided body 222A of the end cap 220A in which the oil passage 222f is formed is disposed on the upper side.

  Therefore, the lubricating oil supplied from the oil supply port 22d of the end cap 220A moves upward along the oil passage 221fa of the first divided body 221 and the oil passage 222f of the second divided body 222A, and changes the direction of the upper leg. After reaching the path 22a, it goes from the gap between the guide rail 1 and the slider 2 to the lower leg. Therefore, by using the end cap 220A of this embodiment, the lubricating oil can be distributed to the upper leg portion.

In addition, when supplying lubricating oil from the paper surface back side of FIG. 4, the end cap 220B shown in FIG. 3 is fixed to the paper surface back side of FIG. Accordingly, the third divided body 223B of the end cap 220B in which the oil passage 223f is formed is disposed on the upper side.
Therefore, the lubricating oil supplied from the oil supply port 22d of the end cap 220B moves upward along the oil passage 221fb of the first divided body 221 and the oil passage 223f of the third divided body 223B, and changes the direction of the upper leg portion. After reaching the path 22a, it goes from the gap between the guide rail 1 and the slider 2 to the lower leg. Therefore, by using the end cap 220B of this embodiment, the lubricating oil can be distributed to the upper leg portion.

Further, if the end cap is assembled using the second divided body A in which the oil passage 222f is formed, the third divided body 223B in which the oil passage 223f is formed, and the first divided body 221, the body portion of the slider Is suitable as an end cap of a linear guide device used with the upper side disposed.
Accordingly, by preparing the first divided body 221, the second divided bodies 222A and 222B, and the third divided bodies 223A and 223B shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the linear guide device is used. By selecting and using the appropriate second divided body and third divided body according to the direction of the slider at the time, the lubrication state of the linear guide device can be improved.

1A and 1B are views showing an embodiment of an end cap of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a front view showing a surface of the slider body, and FIG. 1B is a plan view thereof. It is the top view (a) which shows the 1st-3rd division body used with the end cap of FIG. 1, and the top view (b) which shows the 2nd division body and 3rd division body different from (a). It is a figure which shows the end cap formed by integrating the 1st division body 221 shown to Fig.2 (a), the 2nd division body 222B shown in FIG.2 (b), and the 3rd division body 223B, (a ) Is a front view showing a surface of the slider main body side, and (b) is a plan view thereof. It is a front view which shows the use condition of the linear guide apparatus which attached the end cap of FIG. It is a front view which shows the linear guide apparatus of the state which removed the right side half of the end cap. It is a top view of the linear guide partially shown with the cross section so that the inside of a circulation path can be understood. It is a perspective view which shows an end cap and a return guide.

Explanation of symbols

1 Guide rail 11 Rolling groove (Rolling surface)
12 Rolling passage 2 Slider 2A Slider leg 2B Slider body 21 Slider body 21a Rolling groove (rolling surface)
21b Return passage 21c Female thread 21d Female thread 22 End cap 22A End cap leg 22B End cap body 22a Semi-circular recess (outer groove of direction change path)
22b Return guide groove 22c Through hole 22d Grease nipple mounting hole (oil supply port)
22e Through hole 22f Oil passage 220A, 220B End cap 221 First divided body 222A, 222B Second divided body 223A, 223B Third divided body 221e Through hole 221fa Oil path extending to the second divided body side 221fb Oil extending to the third divided body side Road 222e, 223e Through hole 222f, 223f Oil path connected to the oil path of the first divided body 24 Direction change path 25 Circulation path 3 Ball (rolling element)
4 Return guide 4a Arc-shaped convex surface of return guide (inner groove of direction change path)
41 Oil passage hole 45 Oil passage groove 5 Wall N Grease nipple

Claims (1)

Used to fix to the linear movement direction end of the slider body of the linear guide device,
A leg portion disposed on both sides in the width direction of the guide rail, and a trunk portion extending in a direction orthogonal to both the leg portions to connect the both leg portions,
The outer groove of the direction change path of the rolling element is formed on the surface of the both legs on the slider body side,
An oil supply port is formed in the body portion, and an oil passage from the oil supply port toward the direction changing path is formed on a surface on the slider body side,
The first divided body having a portion where the oil filler opening of the trunk portion is formed, and the second divided body and the third divided body each having the leg portion,
In the first divided body, an oil passage extending from the oil filler port to the second divided body side and an oil passage extending to the third divided body side are formed,
An end cap for a linear guide device, characterized in that as the second divided body and the third divided body, an oil passage that is connected to an oil passage of the first divided body is formed and an oil cap that is not formed is formed.

Images