JPH081214B2 - Dust cover - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a dustproof cover used in a mechanism such as an industrial machine or an industrial machine that linearly moves a block along a rail via a bearing or the like. Is.

[Conventional technology]

As this type of dustproof cover, the one shown in FIG. 5 is generally known. Here, the linear guide unit A
A structure in which a bellows-shaped dustproof cover c is attached between both ends of the rail a constituting the above and a block b such as a tool head that moves along the rail a is adopted.

The bellows-shaped dustproof cover c is composed of a large number of skeletons C1 formed in a substantially U shape and a stretchable portion C2 made of cloth or paper connected between the skeletons C1. The dust-proof covers are attached to both ends of the block b, respectively, and are attached to the base d on which the rail a is arranged.
Both sides are slidably supported by a V-shaped guide rail e.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional dust cover, since it is configured to be folded at the time of expansion and contraction, it is necessary to make the occupied space of the dust cover larger than that of the block,
Further, since it is necessary to provide a guide rail for guiding the sliding movement of the dustproof cover, disposing this linear guide unit in an industrial machine or the like causes a problem that the entire apparatus becomes large.

Further, the expansion / contraction ratio (maximum contraction length / maximum expansion length) of this dust-proof cover is at most about 1/5, which is insufficient for use in a structure such as an industrial robot.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a dustproof cover having a simple structure, a minimum required occupied space, and a high expansion / contraction ratio.

[Means for solving the problem]

Next, means for achieving the above object will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 corresponding to the embodiment.

The dustproof cover of the present invention is a dustproof cover that covers the rail with respect to a moving region of the block 2 that moves along the rail 1 with respect to the rail, in the longitudinal direction of the rail within the moving region along the rail. A plurality of plate-like spacers 4 arranged so as to be moved in the thickness direction, and the rails are connected to each other when the spacers are connected to each other with a cross-sectional shape substantially matching the shape of the plate surface of the spacers. It is configured as a continuous body with a sponge-like flexible member 5 for covering, and is characterized in that the flexible member covers the moving region that changes due to the movement of the block by expanding and contracting in the longitudinal direction of the rail. .

[Action]

When the block 2 moves on the rail, the flexible member 5 connected between the plurality of spacers 4 that move along the rail 1 in the moving region of the block 2 moves along with the movement of the block 2 along with the movement of the block 2. It extends or contracts in the longitudinal direction to cover the moving area of the rail.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a rail that is formed in a substantially trapezoidal shape for mounting and moving a block 2 such as a tool head, and slide grooves 1a are formed on both sides of the upper portion. Inside the block 2, a bearing (not shown) rolls on the slide groove 1a.
A dustproof cover body 3 is arranged between the end of the rail 1 and the blog 2 so as to cover the rail 1, and both ends of the dustproof cover body 3 are fixed to each other. As shown in FIG. 3, the dust-proof cover body 3 is slidably fitted in the slide groove 1a, and is a slide projection that serves as a claw for preventing the dust-proof cover body 3 from falling off.
A large number of plate-shaped spacers 4 having 4a are arranged with the thickness direction thereof oriented in the longitudinal direction of the rail 1, and a sponge-like flexible member having closed cells such as urethane foam between these spaces 4. 5, the flexible member 5 is adapted to expand and contract in the longitudinal direction of the rail 1 due to its characteristics as a raw material. In this embodiment, the cross section of the flexible member 5 is substantially the same as the shape of the spacer 4 except for the slide protrusion 4a.

In such a configuration, when the block 2 is moved on the rail 1 with respect to the moving area A of the block 2 with respect to the rail 1, the one end side of the block 2 is about 10 times the minimum contracted length. The dustproof cover body 3 can be extended to the length, and the dustproof cover body 3 can be reduced to about 1/10 times the maximum extension length at the other end side. Does not change regardless of expansion and contraction (4th
See figure).

Therefore, since the flexible member 5 only expands and contracts in the longitudinal direction of the rail 1, unlike the conventional bellows-like dust cover, there is no widening due to folding in the direction orthogonal to the rail 1.
There is no need to set a large occupied space in that direction in advance, and it can be made compact. Moreover, structurally, since the dustproof cover main body 3 is composed of the continuous body of the spacer 4 and the flexible member 5, the structure is simple and the cost is low.
Since the flexibility of the flexible member 5 itself is used, it is possible to secure a necessary and sufficient contraction rate as compared with a bellows-shaped dustproof cover.
The device can be miniaturized, and it can be applied to various purposes such as industrial robots. Further, according to this dustproof cover, since the expansion / contraction rate is high, the moving area A of the block 2 can be made larger than the length of the rail 1, so that the rail length can be significantly shortened as compared with the conventional one. There is also the effect.

In this embodiment, an example in which the flexible member is formed of closed-cell urethane foam has been described, but it may be formed of open-cell urethane foam. In this case, although it is slightly inferior in terms of dust resistance to the closed-cell urethane foam, the effects such as space efficiency are the same.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the dustproof cover of the present invention, since it is composed of the continuous body in which the plate-shaped spacer and the flexible member are connected, there is an effect that the structure is simple and the cost is low.

In addition, the flexible member of this dustproof cover has a cross-sectional shape that substantially matches the shape of the plate surface of the spacer that moves along the rail, and the length of the rail does not change in the moving area of the block without changing the cross-sectional area. Since it expands and contracts in the direction, unlike the conventional bellows-shaped dustproof cover, it requires only a minimum occupied space, which has the effect of making it compact, which greatly contributes to downsizing of the target device to which this dustproof cover is attached. be able to.

Further, according to this dustproof cover, since the flexible member has a high expansion / contraction rate, the moving distance (moving region) of the block can be set larger than the length of the rail, so that the length of the rail can be set short. .

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the same, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2, and FIG.
FIG. 5 is a side view showing a mode of use, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a conventional example. 1 ... Rail, 2 ... Block, 3 ... Dust-proof cover body, 4 ... Spacer, 5 ... Flexible member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A dustproof cover for covering the rail with respect to a moving area of the block (2) moving along the rail (1) with respect to the rail. A large number of plate-shaped spacers (4) arranged so as to be moved in the longitudinal direction as a thickness direction, and a cross-sectional shape that substantially corresponds to the shape of the plate surface of the spacers to connect the spacers together. It is configured as a continuous body with a sponge-like flexible member (5) that covers the rail, and the movable region that changes due to the movement of the broke is covered by the flexible member expanding and contracting in the longitudinal direction of the rail. A dustproof cover that is characterized by that.