JP6358943B2 - Exercise guidance device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a motion guide device for reciprocally guiding a movable body such as a table in a work table of a machine tool or a linear guide portion or a curved guide portion of various conveying devices.

  This type of motion guide device includes a track rail in which rolling surfaces of rolling elements such as balls and rollers are formed along the axial direction, and the track rail via a number of rolling elements that roll on the rolling surface. And a moving block that can reciprocate along the track rail. The moving block has an infinite circulation path of rolling elements, and the rolling block circulates in the infinite circulation path so that the movement block can move along the track rail without being restricted in stroke. It has become. The infinite circulation path is provided in parallel with the load passage where the rolling element rolls while applying a load between the moving block and the track rail, and the rolling element is released from the load. It comprises a no-load passage that rolls in a state and a direction change passage that connects these load passage and the no-load passage.

  In the motion guide device configured as described above, a lubricant such as grease or oil is applied to the track rail or the moving block in order to prevent wear of the rolling element itself and wear of the rolling surface of the track rail. Need to be supplied regularly. Here, the oil is a liquid lubricating oil such as sliding surface oil or turbine oil, ISOVG32 to 68, etc., and the grease is a gel-like and highly viscous oil containing a thickener. Is.

  As a method of supplying the lubricant, grease or oil is supplied from the outside of the moving block to the no-load passage or the direction changing path in the moving block, and the rolling passing through the inside of the no-load passage or the direction changing path is performed. A method of attaching a lubricant to a moving body is known. In this method, the lubricant adhering to the rolling element is conveyed to the rolling surface of the track rail as the rolling element circulates, and the rolling surface of the track rail is indirectly lubricated via the rolling element. On the other hand, in this method, when the moving distance of the reciprocating motion of the moving block relative to the track rail is short, the rolling element with the lubricant attached in the no-load passage may not reach the load passage. There is a concern that the lubricant cannot be adhered to.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses a motion guide device in which a lubricant is attached to rolling elements that roll in a load passage. In this motion guide device, a plate-like oil passage forming member is fixed inside the moving block facing the track rail, and lubricant is supplied from the oil passage forming member to the rolling elements that roll in the load passage. Yes. The moving block is provided with an introduction path for feeding a lubricant to the oil path forming member, and the lubricant can be supplied to the oil path forming member from the outside. Further, a groove serving as a lubricant supply path is provided on one surface of the oil path forming member, and by fixing the oil path forming member to the moving block so that the surface is in close contact with the moving block, A plurality of supply passages branched from the introduction passage of the moving block are formed between the oil passage forming member and the moving block, and directly from several places with respect to the plurality of rolling elements rolling on the rolling surface of the track rail. Lubricant is supplied.

JP 2013-79716 A

  The type of lubricant used varies depending on the environment in which the motion guide device is used.For example, oil is used in an environment where coolant such as machine tools scatters, and grease is used in an environment where the moving block moves at high speed relative to the track rail. It is done. As described above, the grease is in a gel form, whereas the oil is in a liquid form, and the properties of both are different. For this reason, when grease is used as the lubricant, the cross-sectional area of the supply path needs to be widened, and when oil is used as the lubricant, the cross-sectional area of the supply path needs to be narrowed.

  However, the oil path forming member of Patent Document 1 can only deal with either oil or grease. For example, if the cross-sectional area of the supply path is set assuming the use of grease, If the oil is used without any problem, the oil is excessively supplied. If the cross-sectional area of the supply passage is set assuming oil use, when grease is used as a lubricant, it becomes difficult for the grease to flow in the supply passage, and the lubricant is sufficiently applied to the rolling elements. Results in not being able to supply.

  In particular, the oil path forming member of Patent Document 1 is formed only with a groove as a supply path, and the supply path is formed by fixing the oil path forming member to the moving block. When grease is forcibly injected into the road, there is a concern that the grease leaks from the contact surface between the oil path forming member and the moving block. Even in this respect, there is a possibility that the lubricant cannot be sufficiently supplied to the rolling elements.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and can reliably lubricate the rolling surface of the track rail even when the distance of the reciprocating motion of the moving block relative to the track rail is short. In addition, it is possible to selectively use either oil or grease as a lubricant, and provide a motion guide device capable of reliably supplying these lubricants to the rolling elements and the rolling surfaces of the track rail There is to do.

  That is, the present invention provides a plurality of rolling rails that are loaded with a load between the raceway rail in which a plurality of rolling surfaces of the rolling elements are formed along the longitudinal direction and the rolling surface of the rolling rails. Each of the load passages has a plurality of no-load passages that circulate the rolling elements from one end to the other end of the load passages and is movable along the track rail. An introduction path for supplying a lubricant from the outside of the moving block to a position facing the track rail, and a fixed position on the moving block at a position facing the exit on the track rail side of the introduction path, and is sent from the introduction path And a distributed supply plate for supplying the lubricant to a plurality of locations in each load passage, wherein the distributed supply plate has a first supply path and a second supply path having different cross-sectional areas. When And a, a switching member that selectively direct to either one of the delivery lubricant first supply passage or the second supply passage from the introduction path of the moving block.

  According to the present invention, since the distributed supply plate supplies the lubricant supplied from the introduction path to a plurality of locations in the load passage of the rolling element, the distance of the reciprocating motion of the moving block relative to the track rail is short. Even if it exists, the rolling surface of a track rail can be reliably lubricated via a rolling element. The distributed supply plate is formed with two supply passages having different cross-sectional areas, and the lubricant sent from the introduction passage is selectively guided to only one of the supply passages according to the setting of the switching member. Therefore, regardless of whether oil or grease having different fluidity is used as the lubricant, the lubricant can be reliably supplied to the rolling surfaces of the rolling elements and the track rail. It becomes possible.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of the exercise | movement guide apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a front view which shows the state which removed the end plate from the movement block in the exercise | movement guide apparatus shown in FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows 1st embodiment of the dispersion | distribution supply plate of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows 2nd embodiment of the dispersion | distribution supply plate of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the distribution piece for grease used for the dispersion | distribution supply plate of 2nd embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the distribution piece for oil used for the dispersion | distribution supply plate of 2nd embodiment.

  Hereinafter, the motion guide device of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a motion guide device to which the present invention is applied. This motion guide device is composed of a track rail 1 extending linearly and a moving block 2 assembled to the track rail 1 through a large number of balls 5 as rolling elements, for example, a bed of a machine tool. The track rail 1 is laid on a fixed part such as a column or the like, and various transport objects are mounted on the moving block 2, so that the transport object has a slight motion resistance along the track rail 1. It can be used only for guidance.

  The track rail 1 has a substantially quadrangular cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The track rail 1 is formed with bolt mounting holes 12 penetrating from the top surface to the bottom surface at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction, and the track rail 1 is attached to the bed using a fixing bolt inserted into the bolt mounting hole 12. It can be firmly fixed to a fixing part such as a column. Further, the left and right side surfaces of the track rail 1 are respectively provided with protrusions 10 along the longitudinal direction. A rolling surface 11 of a pair of balls 5 is provided above and below each protrusion 10, and four ball rolling surfaces 11 are provided as a whole of the track rail 1.

  On the other hand, the moving block 2 includes a block main body 3 and a pair of end plates 4 attached to both ends of the block main body 3 in the moving direction with respect to the track rail 1. A seal member 40 is attached to the outside of each end plate 4, and the seal member 40 seals a gap between the end plate 4 and the track rail 1, and dust or the like adhering to the track rail 1 is inside the moving block 2. To prevent intrusion.

  FIG. 2 is a front view showing an assembled state of the moving block 2 with respect to the track rail 1, and the end plate 4 is removed from the moving block 2 for convenience of explanation. The block main body 3 includes a support portion 3a having an attachment surface 21 for the conveyance object, and a pair of skirt portions 3b that are opposed to both side surfaces of the track rail 1 and are formed integrally with the support portion 3a. ing. A space surrounded by the support portion 3a and the pair of skirt portions 3b from three sides is a groove that accommodates the upper half of the track rail 1. As shown in FIG. 1, since the end plate 4 is attached to the end of the block body 3, the end plate 4 is formed in substantially the same shape as the block body 3. Further, a tapped hole 20 is provided in the support portion 3 a of the block main body 3, and the conveyance object can be fixed to the mounting surface 21 with a bolt.

  Loaded rolling surfaces 30 of the balls 5 facing the rolling surface 11 of the track rail 1 are provided inside the skirt portion 3b facing the track rail 1, and these loaded rolling surface 30 and the track rail 1 are provided. By facing the rolling surface 11, a load passage 31 in which the ball 5 rolls while applying a load between the track rail 1 and the moving block 2 is configured. Two load rolling surfaces 30 are provided on the inner side surface of each skirt portion 3 b, and four load passages 31 are provided in the block body 3. Each skirt portion 3 b is provided with a ball return passage 32 corresponding to each load passage 31 and substantially parallel to the load passage 31. The inner diameter of the ball return passage 32 is set to be slightly larger than the diameter of the ball 5, and the ball 5 rolls in the ball return passage 32 while being released from the load.

  Each ball return passage 32 is connected to a corresponding load passage 31 by a direction changing passage 44 provided in the end plate 4. A broken line drawn between the load passage 31 and the ball return passage 32 in FIG. Each end plate 4 is provided with four direction change paths 44 corresponding to four load rolling surfaces 30 formed in the block body 3. Therefore, when the end plates 4 are mounted on both end surfaces of the block body 3 in the moving direction with respect to the track rail 1, the ends of the load passage 31 and the ball return passage 32 formed in the block body 3 are in the direction. Connected by the conversion path 44, the infinite circulation path of the ball 5 is completed.

  In the endless circulation path, the ball 5 rolls on the ball rolling surface of the track rail and the load rolling surface of the block body while applying a load in the load passage 31, and rolls on the load rolling surface. When finished, the end plate 4 enters the direction change path 44 and is released from the load. Thereafter, the ball 5 enters the ball return path 32 from the direction change path 44, rolls in the ball return path 32 in the direction opposite to the rolling direction in the load path 31, and the direction change path of the other end plate 4. After passing through 44, the load is again returned to the load passage 31, and a load is applied between the ball rolling surface 11 of the track rail 1 and the load rolling surface 30 of the block body 3.

  As a result, the moving block 2 can move freely along the track rail 1 as the ball 5 rolls in the endless circuit, and the object to be transported mounted on the mounting surface 21 can be moved to the track rail 1. Can be guided along.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 33 denotes a tap hole used for fixing the end plate 4, and reference numeral 34 denotes a seal member for sealing between the side surface of the track rail 1 and the skirt portion 3 b of the block body 3.

  In the motion guide apparatus shown in FIG. 1, a spacer 6 is inserted between the balls 5 adjacent to each other in order to reduce mutual friction between the balls rolling in the endless circulation path. However, the spacer 6 may be omitted and only the balls may be arranged in the infinite circulation path. Moreover, although the example which used the ball | bowl as a rolling element of this invention is demonstrated in the movement guide apparatus shown in FIG. 1, this rolling element may be a roller.

  In the motion guide apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in order to supply the lubricant to the balls 5 rolling in the load passage 31, the distributed supply plate 7 is connected to the support portion 3 a of the block body 3 and the It is provided in a gap with the track rail 1. When the moving distance of the moving block 2 with respect to the track rail 1 is short, the ball 5 may reciprocate in the load passage 31 without going through the endless circuit, and the ball rolling on the load passage 31 When the lubricant is attached to the roller 5, even in that case, the lubricant attached to the ball 5 can be uniformly attached to the load rolling surface 30.

  In order to guide the lubricant to the dispersion supply plate 7, an introduction path 70 is provided in the support portion 3 a of the block body 3. The introduction path 70 is provided so as to pass through the support portion 3a and extends to the mounting position of the distributed supply plate 7. From the outside of the moving block 2 to the distributed supply plate 7 via the introduction path 70. It is possible to supply a lubricant.

  FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing details of the dispersion supply plate 7. The dispersion supply plate 7 corresponds to both oil and grease as a lubricant. Grease is a product obtained by adding a thickener to oil and has poorer fluidity than oil. For this reason, the dispersion supply plate 7 includes two supply paths having different cross-sectional areas, that is, a first supply path 71 corresponding to grease and a second supply path 72 corresponding to oil. The first supply path 71 and the second supply path 72 can be used properly according to the type. The first supply path 71 and the second supply path 72 are provided in the same plane without crossing each other. Further, the first supply path 71 has a larger cross-sectional area than the second supply path 72, and even the grease having low fluidity can surely flow in the first supply path 71 to the tip. On the contrary, for oil having better fluidity than grease, excessive supply of the oil can be prevented by using the second supply path 72 having a smaller cross-sectional area than the first supply path 71. can do.

  The dispersion supply plate 7 includes a first plate 73 and a second plate 74 bonded together, and the first supply path 71 and the second supply path 72 provided between the plates 73 and 74. One first plate 73 is provided with a plurality of grooves corresponding to the supply paths 71 and 72, and the first plate 73 and the second plate 74 are bonded together so as to close the grooves. The first supply path 71 and the second supply path 72 are completed between the plates.

  A receiving hole 75 passes through the first plate 73 at a position corresponding to the introduction path 70 of the block body 3. The receiving hole 75 is closed by the second plate 74, and as a result, the dispersion supply plate 7 has a recess for receiving the lubricant at a position corresponding to the introduction path 70. One end of each of the first supply path 71 and the second supply path 72 opens into the receiving hole 75, and the other end opens into the long side 7 a of the dispersion supply plate 7 facing the load path 31. The discharge port is formed. Therefore, the lubricant supplied from the introduction path 70 of the block body 3 to the receiving hole 75 of the dispersion supply plate 7 flows into the first supply path 71 or the second supply path 72 from the receiving hole 75, After flowing through the supply path, it is pushed out from the long side of the distributed supply plate 7 and supplied directly to the balls 5 rolling on the load path 31.

  The receiving hole 75 is fitted with either a grease distribution piece 76 corresponding to the case where grease is used as a lubricant or an oil distribution piece 77 corresponding to the case where oil is used. The grease distribution piece 76 is provided with a connection path 76a having the same cross-sectional area as the first supply path 71, and a through hole 76b for introducing grease from the introduction path 70 of the block body 3 to the connection path 76a. ing. The oil distribution piece 77 is provided with a connection path 77a having the same cross-sectional area as the second supply path 72, and a through hole 77b for guiding oil from the introduction path 70 of the block body 3 to the connection path 77a. Is provided. The inner diameter of the through-hole 76b provided in the grease distribution piece 76 is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the introduction passage 70 of the block body 3, but the inner diameter of the through-hole 77b provided in the oil distribution piece 77 is the introduction diameter. The inner diameter of the passage 70 is set to be smaller, and the amount of oil taken into the dispersion supply plate 7 is limited by the through hole 77b. The introduction path 70 provided in the block main body 3 is formed with an inner diameter that can accommodate both grease and oil, that is, an inner diameter that assumes the use of grease. In order to properly use the supply passage 71 and the second supply passage 72 for oil, the oil distribution piece 77 has a function of limiting the flow rate of the lubricant.

  The first supply path 71 and the second supply path 72 are connected to the receiving hole 75 from different directions, and either the grease distribution piece 76 or the oil distribution piece 77 is connected to the receiving hole 75. It is necessary to change the direction of the fitting. For example, when the grease distribution piece 76 is fitted, the connection path 76a is fitted so as to be connected to the first supply path 71, or when the oil distribution piece 77 is fitted, the connection path 77a. Is fitted to the second supply path 72. Thereby, it is possible to select an optimum supply path corresponding to the type of lubricant from the first supply path 71 and the second supply path 72 built in the dispersion supply plate 7.

  The dispersion supply plate 7 is held by the pair of end plates 4 with holding portions 78 provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction. That is, when a pair of end plates 4 are fixed to both ends of the block body 3, the dispersion supply plate 7 is sandwiched between the end plates 4 and positioned with respect to the support portion 3 a of the block body 3. The distribution piece 76 (or 77) fitted in the seven receiving holes 75 and the introduction path 70 face each other. In order to prevent the lubricant from leaking out between the support portion 3a and the dispersion supply plate 7, a ring-like shape such as an O-ring or packing is provided between the distribution piece 76 (or 77) and the block body 3. A sealing member 79 is sandwiched.

  In the motion guide apparatus of the present embodiment configured as described above, the lubricant supplied from the introduction path 70 of the moving block 2 is loaded through the supply paths 71 and 72 provided inside the distributed supply plate 7. It is directly supplied to the ball 5 rolling in the passage 31. Thereby, even when the reciprocating distance of the moving block 2 with respect to the track rail 1 is short, the lubricant supplied to the balls 5 can be used for the ball rolling surface 11 of the track rail 1 or the load rolling surface of the moving block 2. It is possible to reliably adhere to 30.

  The dispersion supply plate 7 has a first supply path 71 and a second supply path 72 having different cross-sectional areas, and selects either the grease distribution piece 76 or the oil distribution piece 77 and By attaching to the distributed supply plate 7, an optimal supply path corresponding to the type of lubricant to be used can be selected. For this reason, if grease is used as the lubricant, the grease is surely made to reach the tip of the first supply passage 71, and the grease adheres to the balls 5 rolling on the load passage 31. It becomes possible to make it. On the other hand, if oil is used as the lubricant, it is possible to prevent waste of excessive supply of the oil to the ball 5 by selecting the second supply path 72 having a small cross-sectional area. Become.

  Further, since the dispersion supply plate 7 has the first supply path 71 and the second supply path 72 incorporated therein, it is attached to the introduction path 70 and the dispersion supply plate 7 provided in the moving block 2. If only the sealing property between the distribution piece 76 (or 77) is considered, even if the lubricant is supplied to the introduction passage 70 at a high pressure, the lubricant is lubricated from the gap between the dispersion supply plate 7 and the block body 3. The agent does not leak out, and also in this respect, the lubricant can be sufficiently supplied to the balls 5 rolling on the load passage 31.

  FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing another embodiment of the dispersion supply plate.

  In the dispersion supply plate 7 shown in FIG. 3, the first plate 73 and the second plate 74 are bonded together, and grooves that become the first supply path 71 and the second supply path 72 are formed only in the first plate 73. However, the dispersion supply plate 8 shown in FIG. 4 is formed by bonding three plate materials including the first plate 80, the second plate 81, and the third plate 82 to one of the pair of bonding surfaces. A first supply path 83 for grease is formed, and a second supply path 84 for oil is formed on the other bonding surface. In the first plate 80, only the groove serving as the first supply path 83 is formed, and the groove serving as the second supply path 84 is formed in the third plate 82. That is, the first supply path 83 exists on the first plate 80 side with the second plate 81 interposed therebetween, and the second supply path 84 exists on the third plate side.

  Receiving holes 85 and 86 penetrate the first plate 80 and the second plate 81 at positions corresponding to the introduction path 70 of the block body 3. The receiving hole 85 of the first plate 80 is connected to the first supply path 83. On the other hand, the third plate 82 is provided with a receiving groove 87 at a position overlapping the receiving holes 85, 86, and this receiving groove 87 is connected to the second supply path 84. Accordingly, when the three plates are overlapped, the receiving holes 85 and 86 and the receiving groove 87 are combined to form a recess for receiving the lubricant at a position corresponding to the introduction path 70 of the block body 3. The first supply path and the second supply path are connected to the recess.

  5 and 6 show a distribution piece fitted in the recess of the dispersion supply plate 8, FIG. 5 shows a grease distribution piece 88, and FIG. 6 shows an oil distribution piece 89. FIG. Depending on whether grease or oil is used as the lubricant, either the grease distribution piece 88 or the oil distribution piece 89 fits into the recess.

  The grease distribution piece 88 is provided with a connection path 88a having the same cross-sectional area as the first supply path 83, and a connection groove 88b for guiding grease from the introduction path 70 of the block body 3 to the connection path 88a. ing. The grease distribution piece 88 is formed by bonding two plate members 88c and 88d, and the connection path 88a and the connection groove 88b are formed on one plate member 88c. The thickness of the plate 88d is set to a depth in which the receiving hole 86 of the second plate and the receiving groove 87 of the third plate are overlapped, and the grease distribution piece 88 is fitted to the dispersion supply plate 8. When combined, the connection path 88a formed in the plate 88c faces the first supply path 83 inside the receiving hole 85 of the first plate 80, and the grease supplied to the introduction path 70 of the block body 3 is It flows to the first supply path 83 via the connection path 88a.

  On the other hand, the oil distribution piece 89 is provided with a connection path 89a having the same cross-sectional area as the second supply path 84, and a through-hole 89b for introducing grease from the introduction path 70 of the block body 3 to the connection path 89a. Is provided. Since the connection path 89a is provided on the bottom surface of the oil distribution piece, when the oil distribution piece is fitted to the dispersion supply plate, the connection path 89a opens to the receiving hole 85 of the first plate 80. One supply path 83 is blocked by the oil distribution piece 89, and only the second supply opening in the receiving groove 87 of the third plate is the introduction path 70 of the block body 3 through the connection path 89a and the through hole 89b. Will be connected. Thereby, when the oil distribution piece 89 is used, the oil supplied to the introduction path 70 of the moving block 2 flows into the second supply path 84 of the dispersion supply plate 8.

  Therefore, even when the dispersion supply plate 8 shown in FIG. 4 is used, either the grease distribution piece 88 or the oil distribution piece 89 is selected and mounted on the dispersion supply plate 8 to use the lubrication. It is possible to select an optimum supply path according to the type of agent, and it is possible to optimally lubricate the ball 5 rolling on the load passage 31 regardless of whether grease or oil is used as the lubricant. Become.

  Further, in this distributed supply plate 8, the first supply path 83 for grease and the second supply path 84 for oil are arranged with the second plate 81 interposed therebetween, so that each supply path 83, 84 is in the same plane. Thus, a large number of lubricant outlets for the balls 5 can be arranged as compared with the dispersion supply plate 7 shown in FIG. That is, it is possible to supply the lubricant substantially uniformly to the large number of balls 5 rolling along the load passage 31 correspondingly.

  The motion guide device to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to FIGS. 1 and 2. If the distributed supply plate of this invention is arrange | positioned in the clearance gap between a moving block and a track rail, the arrangement | positioning may be between the side surface of a track rail and the skirt part of a moving block, for example.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Track rail, 2 ... Moving block, 5 ... Ball (rolling body), 7 ... Dispersion supply plate, 70 ... Introduction path, 71 ... 1st supply path, 72 ... 2nd supply path, 76 ... Distribution piece for grease, 77 ... Distributing piece for oil

Claims (3)

A track rail in which a plurality of rolling surfaces of the rolling elements are formed along the longitudinal direction;
The rolling elements have a plurality of load passages that roll while applying a load between the rolling surfaces of the track rails, and non-load passages that circulate the rolling elements from one end to the other end of each load passage. A plurality of movable blocks that are movable along the track rail;
An introduction path that is formed through the moving block and supplies lubricant to a position facing the track rail from the outside of the moving block;
A dispersion supply plate that is fixed to the moving block at a position facing the exit on the track rail side of the introduction path, and that supplies the lubricant sent from the introduction path to a plurality of locations of each load path. ,
The distributed supply plate is
A first supply path and a second supply path having different cross-sectional areas;
A distribution piece that selectively guides the lubricant delivered from the introduction path of the moving block to either the first supply path or the second supply path;
A motion guide device comprising:   2. The dispersion supply plate according to claim 1, wherein two plates are stacked and bonded together, and the first supply path and the second supply path are provided on the bonding surface without crossing each other. Exercise guidance device.   The dispersion supply plate is formed by laminating three plates, and the first supply path is provided on one of the pair of bonding surfaces, and the second supply is provided on the other bonding surface. The movement guide apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a path is provided.

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