JPH10159845A - Self-propelled roller type linear guide device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] To provide a self-propelled roller-type linear guide device which has a simple structure, is easy to assemble, is inexpensive, and has high linear accuracy. [Structure] Consisting of a rail 2 and a slider 3 mounted on the rail 2 via rollers 9 so as to be able to travel. The rail 2 is formed by molding a plate-like material into a U-shaped cross section, and the slider 3 is provided with at least three rollers 9 so that the outer width dimension d relating to the arrangement thereof is larger than the inner width dimension w of the rail 2 on the track surface. To place. The roller 9 disposed on the slider 3 is mounted on the track surface of the rail 2 by utilizing the elastic deformation of the rail 2. A self-propelled roller-type linear guide device, wherein at least one roller is rotatable by a drive motor attached to a slider.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a self-propelled roller type linear guide device which is mainly used when guiding an apparatus along a linear track.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As this type of linear guide device, a slider slidable on a linear rail is conventionally held reciprocally via a circulating bearing or a roller.
As a drive device for reciprocating the slider, a device in which the slider and the feed screw are unitized (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-214)
015) Alternatively, a device in which a slider is fixed to one side of a toothed belt wound around a pulley and reciprocated (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
194209) Alternatively, a rack is provided on a straight rail,
Various devices have been proposed, such as a self-propelled structure by engaging a pinion gear of a slider (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-269569). Kaihei 7-269
No. 569). However, in each case, a relatively large and complicated transmission element is used for the drive unit, and there is a problem that the mechanism using such a linear guide device itself becomes large in size, and the manufacturing cost increases. There was a problem.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a self-propelled roller type linear guide device which has a simple structure, is easy to assemble, is inexpensive, and has high linear accuracy.

[0004]

A self-propelled roller-type linear guide device includes a rail and a slider. In the rail, a plate-like material is formed into a substantially U-shaped cross section, and the inner surfaces of the side walls on both sides are used as track surfaces. The slider includes a plate for mounting the device and at least three or more rollers, and at least one roller is a driving roller that is rotated by a driving motor mounted on the slider. The slider is mounted movably with the roller of the plate abutting and supporting the track surface of the rail with respect to the rail.

Each roller of the slider has an outer diameter smaller than the width of the right and left raceways of the rail, and is rotatably mounted on each support shaft perpendicular to the surface of the plate and protruding from one surface of the plate and fixed. . The plurality of rollers attached to the plate are arranged such that the outer width dimension related to the arrangement is slightly larger than the inner width dimension of the rail track surface, and that the roller is in contact with the left and right track surfaces of the rail by approximately half in the longitudinal direction of the rail. . Note that the plurality of rollers may have an outer width dimension related to their arrangement slightly smaller than the inner track rail width dimension. In this case, a plurality of rollers, which are arranged on the right and left track surfaces of the rail in the longitudinal direction of the rail in an almost half number, are driven in an arrangement on the load side (the side on which the load of the device acts) in contact with the track surface of the rail. Arrange to encompass the rollers. It is preferable that the material of the roller is a combustible metal and that the roller is impregnated with a lubricating oil and held, or that the material of the roller is an elastic material such as synthetic resin or rubber.

[0006]

The structure in which the plate-like material is formed into a substantially U-shaped cross section to form a rail simplifies the structure of the self-propelled roller type linear guide device. The drive motor rotates the drive roller. Then, the outer width of the plurality of rollers is set slightly larger than the inner width of the track surface of the rail, and a contact pressure is generated at a contact portion between the roller and the track surface of the rail. Self-propelled on the rails. A configuration in which a plurality of rollers are arranged so as to contact the right and left track surfaces of the rail almost in half in the longitudinal direction of the rail suppresses pitching and yawing of the slider.
The configuration in which the driving motor is directly attached to the slider and the driving roller is rotated by the driving force of the motor makes the self-propelled roller type linear guide device as a whole a compact configuration.

[0007]

FIG. 1 shows a self-propelled roller type linear guide device 1 (first embodiment) according to the present invention, which comprises a rail 2 and a slider 3. The rail 2 is formed by forming a plate-shaped material such as a steel plate into a substantially U-shaped cross section (FIG. 3), and the inner surfaces of the side walls 4 (a, b) on both sides are track surfaces. The bottom wall 5 of the rail 2 is provided with mounting holes 6 spaced apart in the longitudinal direction.
(FIG. 1) is pierced, and sliders 3 are provided on both sides of the rail 2.
A rubber cushion 7 serving as a stopper is attached. The side edges 4 (a, b) on both sides are bent so as to be wound inward so that the mounted slider 3 does not come out upward in FIG.

The slider 3 is provided with a plate 8 for mounting a device and, as shown in FIG. 2, three rollers 9 (a, b, c) in this embodiment. The plate 8 is a portion for attaching equipment to be guided by the roller-type linear guide device 1, and is a lightweight and rigid flat plate. Reference numeral 10 denotes a fixing hole for attaching a device to the plate 8. The plate 8 has a speed reducer 16
A drive motor 15 equipped with a set screw 17 is attached to the motor shaft 18 (FIG. 3).
This fixes the drive roller 9b.

As shown in FIG. 4, rollers 9 (a, b)
The bearing 11 is inserted and stopped by a stop ring 12. After the inner ring of the bearing 11 is fitted to the step formed at the intermediate portion of the support shaft 13 (a, c), the support shaft 13 is attached to the support shaft 13 by caulking. Each support shaft 13 has its base end fitted into a mounting hole of a mounting seat 14 formed in the plate 8 by embossing, and then the portion is fixed to the plate 8 by caulking.

Thus, the rollers 9 (a, c) interpose the bearings 11 with respect to the support shafts 13 (a, c) which are orthogonal to the surface of the plate 8 and protrude from one surface of the plate 8 and are fixed. It is possible to rotate. Each roller 9 is made of a fired metal impregnated in this embodiment, and has the same outer diameter in this example, and is smaller than the width dimension w of the rail 2 in the right and left direction (FIG. 2).

The three rollers 9 (a, b, c) attached to the plate 8 are arranged such that the rollers 9 (a, c) are arranged in the same row on one side in the width direction along the longitudinal direction of the rail 2. The drive roller 9b is arranged on the other side in the width direction between the rollers 9 (a, c). For this reason, the roller 9 (a,
b, c) are arranged so as to alternately contact the left and right track surfaces of the rail 2 in the longitudinal direction of the rail 2. That is,
Almost half of the plurality of rollers 9 attached to the plate 8 are in contact with the left and right track surfaces of the rail 2. And the widthwise extension of the rollers 9 (a, b, c), that is,
The outer width dimension d (FIG. 2) related to the arrangement is slightly larger than the inner track width w of the rail 2.

The slider 3 is mounted on the rail 2 such that the rollers 9 (a, b, c) of the plate 8 abut and support the track surface of the rail 2 so that the slider 3 can run. At this time, the outer width dimension d relating to the arrangement of the rollers 9 on the plate 8 is slightly larger than the inner width dimension w of the track 2 of the rail 2 and there is a dimensional difference, but the rail made of a plate-like material can be elastically deformed on both outer sides. Therefore, the slider 3 can be mounted on the rail 2 without play by absorbing the dimensional difference. When the slider 3 is mounted on the rail 2 and the drive motor 15 attached to the slider 3 is operated, the drive roller 9b rotates, and the slider 3 receives a thrust by the frictional force between the drive roller 9b and the track surface of the rail 2, and the rail 2 Self-propelled inside.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a second embodiment, which differs from the first embodiment in the structure of power transmission from the drive motor 15 to the drive roller 9b. That is, a pinion 20 is fixed to the motor shaft 18 of the drive motor 15, and a driven gear 21 that meshes with the pinion 20 is integrally formed on the motor side surface of the drive roller 9b. The driving roller 9b is a roller 9 (a, c).
Similarly, the bearing 11 is inserted, the inner ring of the bearing 11 is fitted to the step formed in the middle part of the support shaft 13, and the bearing 11 is stopped by the stop ring 12.
Is attached to the support shaft 13 by caulking. The support shaft 13 is fixed to the plate 8 by caulking its base end into a mounting hole of a mounting seat 14 formed by embossing the plate 8 and then caulking that portion.

The other configuration is almost the same as that of the first embodiment. Therefore, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted. Therefore, when the drive motor 15 is operated, the drive roller 9 b is driven and rotated via the pinion 20 and the driven gear 21, and the slider 3 travels in the rail 2 by the frictional force between the drive roller 9 b and the track surface of the rail 2. I do. The outer width of the plurality of rollers 9 attached to the plate 3 may be slightly smaller than the inner width of the track surface of the rail 2 in some cases. in this case,
Although a gap is generated between one of the rail raceway surfaces and the roller 9 due to the dimensional difference, the drive motor 15 may be attached to one of the roller rows on the side of the rail 2 that is in close contact with the raceway surface. That is, one of the rollers 9 on the load side is a drive roller 9b.

With the above structure, the rail 2 formed of a plate-like material has a simple structure and is inexpensive. Rail 2
The roller surface is brought into point or line contact with the roller 9 to increase the surface pressure. However, if the material of the roller 9 is a sintered metal containing oil, lubrication is sufficiently performed and abnormal wear does not occur.
If the material of the roller 9 is an elastic material such as synthetic resin or rubber, abnormal wear can be easily avoided. The above is the embodiment, and the invention of the present application is not limited to the specific configuration illustrated. When the driving motor 15 is a stepping motor, the positioning control of the slider 3 can be easily performed. Further, the number of the rollers 9 may be increased or the outer dimensions of the rollers 9 may be changed so that the rollers 9 can be configured for heavy loads.

[0016]

Since the rail structure is simple and the processing and assembly are easy, it is possible to obtain a device for linearly moving the device at low cost. A self-propelled roller with a simple structure, low breakdown, and easy maintenance because one of the rollers in contact with the track surface of the rail is driven directly or through only a simple gear with a drive motor attached to the slander. A mold linear guide device can be obtained. When the driving motor is rotated in the reverse direction to change the traveling direction of the slander in the opposite direction, the device is less backlashed because the driving motor is directly connected to the slider.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the whole.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the slider as viewed from the back side.

FIG. 3 is a sectional perspective view taken along line BB in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional perspective view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the slider as viewed from the back side. (2nd embodiment about a roller)

FIG. 6 is a sectional perspective view taken along line CC in FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Roller type linear guide device 2 Rail 3 Slider 4 Side wall 5 Bottom wall 6 Mounting hole 7 Rubber cushion 8 Plate 9 Roller 10 Fixing hole 11 Bearing 12 Stop ring 13 Support shaft 14 Mounting seat 15 Drive motor 16 Reduction screw 17 Mounting screw 18 Motor shaft 19 Set screw 20 Pinion 21 Follower gear

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A rail comprising a rail and a slider. The rail is formed such that a plate-like material is formed into a substantially U-shaped cross section, inner surfaces of side walls on both sides are track surfaces, and edges thereof are rolled inward. The slider is provided with a plate for mounting equipment and at least three or more rollers, each roller having an outer diameter smaller than the width of the right and left track surfaces of the rail, perpendicular to the surface of the plate and on one side of the plate. It is rotatably mounted on each protruding and fixed spindle, and the slider is mounted on the rail so that it can run by contacting and supporting the roller of the plate with the track surface of the rail and mounting on the plate The outer width of the rollers is slightly larger than the inner width of the track, and almost half of the rollers contact the left and right track surfaces in the longitudinal direction of the rail. A self-propelled roller-type linear guide device, wherein the self-propelled roller-type linear guide device is arranged so as to be in contact with, and at least one roller is a drive roller rotated by a drive motor attached to a slider. 2. A rail comprising a rail and a slider. The rail is formed such that a plate-like material is formed into a substantially U-shaped cross section, inner surfaces of side walls on both sides are track surfaces, and edges thereof are wound inward. The slider is provided with a plate for mounting equipment and at least three or more rollers, each roller having an outer diameter smaller than the width of the right and left track surfaces of the rail, perpendicular to the surface of the plate and on one side of the plate. It is rotatably mounted on each protruding and fixed spindle, and the slider is mounted on the rail so that it can run by contacting and supporting the roller of the plate with the track surface of the rail and mounting on the plate The plurality of rollers have an outer width dimension related to the arrangement slightly smaller than the inner width dimension of the rail, and the rollers are in contact with the right and left raceways of the rail in a lengthwise direction by approximately half. The at least one roller is a driving roller that is rotated by a driving motor attached to a slider, and the driving roller is disposed on a load side that is in close contact with a track surface of the rail. Self-propelled roller type linear guide device.