Nippon Thompson Co., Ltd.

Norimasa Agari

Toyohisa Ishihara

Seiji Takei

Shigemasa Itabashi

Hiroshi Ueki

Akihiko Kamimura

Masataka Kato

Hideki Kuwahara

Gen Ohzono

Kazue Furuta

A rolling guide unit as provided here is capable of raising the degree of flexibility in design and simplifying the control of lubricating oil and has a low sliding resistance to the rolling elements. The rolling guide unit is provided with a cylindrical memberthrough which a railpasses for it to slide on, raceway paths a constituted of a combination of the cylindrical memberand the rail, circuit paths b formed in the cylindrical memberand each making interconnection between the two ends of each of the raceway paths a by way of direction-changing recesses, and a plurality of rolling elementsplaced in the circuit paths b and the raceway paths a. The rolling elementscirculate in the circuit paths b and the raceway paths a in accordance with the relative movement between the railand the cylindrical member. The rolling guide unit is characterized by mounting holesformed in the cylindrical member; oiled membersrespectively installed in the mounting holes; and oil-supply memberseach provided along the contact faces of the rolling elementstraveling through either the raceway path a or the circuit path. The oil-supply membersare in contact with the oiled members

Rolling guide unit

A linear motion guide unit with a lubricating system made compact or slim in construction with inexpensive production cost and permitted to lubricatesliding contacts with accompanying reduced maintenance. The slider has a tubular member for a return passage to allow rolling elements rolling through there, a lubricant reservoir to accumulate lubricant, and a leading member to transfer the lubricant from the reservoir to the tubular member. The lubricant is supplied from the reservoir into the return passage via the leading member. The lubricant reservoir including an occluding member packed in a cartridge to keep the lubricant inside the cartridge.

Linear motion guide unit

The invention provides a guide unit in which a slider is provided on a rail. The slider comprises a casing and an end cap provided on one end of the casing. The end cap comprises a raceway path which is constituted jointly by the casing and the rail. A direction changing path is provided in the end cap and a return path is provided in the casing. An oil retaining sleeve of porous structure is inserted into the return path. The slider circulates rolling elements in the raceway path, direction changing path and oil retaining sleeve. In the guide unit, a cylindrical guide member is interposed between the direction changing path of the end cap and the oil retaining sleeve. The ratio of a length in the axis line direction of the guide member to the diameter of the rolling element may be between 0.3 to 3.0.

Guide unit

In a curvilinear motion guide unit in which sliders are allowed to move along a track rail extending curved with a preselected curvature, this unit makes the slider reduced in size with well balance. An end cap may be made common in specification to a variety of sliders, which are modified in specification depending on diverse variations in curvature of track rail. To this end, a casing for the slider has forward and aft end faces that are arranged, regardless of the variations in length of the casing, such that imaginary planes including the end faces and normal to a top surface of the track rail coincide with radial planes extending through the center of curvature of the track rail. The return passages are opened on the forward and aft end faces at locations that are closer to the centroidal axis of the track rail than the loaded raceways. Moreover, the return passages are linear bores that run straight through the casing.

Curvilinear motion guide units

A linear motion guide unit is provided with lubricating means that is compact in size and may continue to apply lubricant to raceway grooves on the track rail for a long service life. The lubricating means has a case containing therein lubricant and having an opening that is closed with a lubricating plate assembly for applying the lubricant onto the raceway grooves. A slider movable along the track rail has mounted at one end thereof with a case, made therein with a lubricant reservoir, by clamping bolts. The opening of the case is closed with the lubricating plate assembly composed of a lubricant-containing member of sintered porous resinous component, and a core metal for reinforcing the lubricant-containing member. The lubricant in the reservoir soaks into the lubricant-containing member and oozes onto the raceway grooves of the track rail through convexities of the lubricant-containing member, thereby lubricating the confronting raceway grooves of the track rail and the sliding element.

Linear motion guide unit with lubricating means

A linear motion guide unit in which lubricating plate assemblies may be mounted and demounted with no needs of modification in the basic specifications. The linear motion guide unit comprises a round track shaft and a slider surrounding around the track shaft for sliding movement along the track shaft. Lubricating plate assemblies are each composed of a lubricant-containing member of the sintered resinous component having a porous structure impregnated with lubricant, and a core metal fixed to the lubricant-containing member. The lubricant-containing member is attached to a casing, with interposed between the end face of the end cap and the core metal.

Linear motion guide unit with lubricating plate assembly

A linear motion guide unit comprises a round track shaft and a slider surrounding around the track shaft for sliding movement along the track shaft. A lubricating plate assembly for self-lubrication may be simply installed in most prior linear motion guide units, with no need of modification in the basic specification of a slider. Both the lubricating plate assembly and the slider are held by a retaining ring in a radially enlarged bore in the housing of the instrument in such a manner as to be kept from falling off the bore. The lubricating plate assembly includes a case accommodating therein an end seal and a lubricant plate, which is composed of a lubricant- containing member, made of a sintered resinous component having a porous structure impregnated with lubricant. As the slider moves along the track shaft, the lubricant-containing member may apply incessantly the lubricant to the track shaft.

A linear motion guide unit is disclosed wherein the end seals may be simply attached and/or detached from the end surfaces of the end caps to deal with the miniaturization. The end caps are provided on the end surfaces thereof with protuberances while the end seals are formed with perforations in correspondence with the protuberances. The protuberances each are of a rectangular contour in plan view and have jaws on its widthwise-opposing sides. The jaws may make engagement with stopper edges formed along the perforations. The end seals may be mounted onto the end surfaces of the end caps by simply forcing the end seals against the end caps, thereby making engagement of the protuberances with the perforations.

In this linear motion rolling guide unit, separators of different thicknesses are interposed between adjacent rolling elements so that the rolling elements are arranged in an unequally spaced manner, whereby the vibrations and noises, which are ascribed to regular rolling of the rolling elements, are minimized, the early wear in a casing and end caps being thereby prevented. The rolling elements roll in rolling element circulating passages comprising raceways formed between raceway surfaces of a track rail and the casing, direction changing passages formed in the end caps, and return passages formed in the casing. Among the rolling elements, separators 30 formed to unequal thickness are provided. When an excessively large load is imparted to the rolling elements, impressions occurs at irregular intervals in the raceway surfaces, so that the rolling elements do not simultaneously fit in the irregularly spaced impressions while the slider is moved. Therefore, the vibrations and noises due to the rolling of the rolling elements and the early wear in the casing and end caps decrease.

Linear motion rolling guide unit

The linear motion rolling guide unit according to the present invention comprises a track rail provided with raceway grooves in both of longitudinally extending side surfaces thereof, and a slider saddled on and capable of being moved linearly and relatively to the track rail. A casing constituting the slider is provided with a flange formed integrally therewith and extending from the surface thereof which is on the opposite side of the raceway grooves. The flange has a fixing reference surface on a side portion thereof. A part to be fixed to the flange is provided with a fixing reference surface engageable with that of the flange. Since this linear motion rolling guide unit is thus constructed, the degree of freedom of designing the fixing structure for securing the part mentioned above to the slider can be improved.

A compound rolling guide unit in which a plurality of sliders are saddled on a track rail, in each of longitudinal surfaces of which raceway grooves are formed, in such a manner that the sliders can be slid relatively to the track rail, is provided with raceway grooves in each longitudinal surface of the track rail, a plurality of sliders being saddled on each surface of the single track rail so that the sliders are slid relatively to the track rail. The sliders can be slid independently of each other in the longitudinal direction of and relatively to the track rail.

Compound rolling guide unit

A linear motion rolling guide unit in which the ball retaining capability of retainer bands for retaining balls is improved by increasing the holding area and rigidity thereof. Each of the retainer bands extends along the relative raceway groove in a casing, and is fitted in a non-contacting state, i.e., loosely in the relative retainer band fitting groove formed along a raceway groove in a side surface of a track rail, the retainer band being formed so that both of longitudinal corner portions thereof which continue from the ball retaining surface thereof have an acute angle. The width of the ball retaining ball-opposed surface of the retainer band is set larger than that of a rear surface thereof which is on the opposite side of the ball retaining surface, i.e., the retainer band is formed to a substantially trapezoidal cross-sectional shape.

A cage that contributes to smooth operation of a rolling guide unit and said rolling guide unit itself are provided. Projections are formed continuously between each of a plurality of openings, arranged in a row for insertion of rolling elements, that prevent rolling elements from coming out of those openings, thereby increasing the rigidity of the cage to prevent warping. The openings are provided with different sized diameters on opposite sides of the cage. On a given side, larger and smaller diameters alternate.

Cage and rolling guide unit on which it is equipped

This track rail fixing structure for linear motion units is capable of fixing a track rail on a mounting base without forming fixing bores in the track rail; and correcting the warpage and bend of the track rail. The track rail is provided in the portions thereof which are below raceway grooves therein with cross-sectionally arcuate grooves extending in the longitudinal direction. The mounting base is provided with a longitudinally extending track rail installation groove, in which projections extend in the longitudinal direction thereof. The track rail is set in the track rail installation groove in the mounting base, whereby the track rail is fixed on the mounting base.

Growing community of inventors

Seki, Japan

Norimasa Agari