Linear guide rails and their guide rail lubrication structures

Abstract

This invention relates to a linear slide rail and its guide rail lubrication structure. The slider of the linear slide rail has a groove and a plurality of slots. A pair of end caps are attached to the two opposite sides of the slider. A plurality of balls are disposed in the slots. The guide rail lubrication structure supports the slider and includes a guide rail and a solid lubricating strip disposed on the guide rail. The solid lubricating strip is made of porous synthetic resin and is disposed along the extension direction of the guide rail and at positions where the guide rail can contact the balls, thereby maintaining the smoothness of the balls during rolling and completing a linear slide rail with a lubricating effect.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to linear guideways, and more particularly to a lubrication structure for a linear guideway. Background Technology

[0002] The structure of a linear guide mainly includes a U-shaped slider, two end caps opposite each other on the slider, and a plurality of (two or more) balls inside the slider. The balls reduce the friction between the slider and the track during relative movement, making the slider move more smoothly and enabling linear repetitive motion.

[0003] To improve the precision and smoothness of linear guideways, the ball bearings must be adequately lubricated to maintain normal operation and extend their service life. Currently, the lubrication system for linear guideways involves placing oil-absorbing sponges on the end caps at both ends of the slider to contact the guideway, lubricating the ball bearings and eliminating the need for frequent lubrication. However, this lubrication method uses oil-absorbing sponges that cannot control the amount of lubrication, and dust or debris easily adheres to the guideway, causing contamination, leading to rapid oil loss and a reduced lifespan of the lubrication system.

[0004] Furthermore, another type of linear guideway lubrication system involves adding lubrication elements (such as an oil tank, oil tank cover, and oil transfer elements) to the outer end of the slider to lubricate the guideway and the balls. However, these lubrication elements first transfer lubricant to the guideway, allowing the balls to pick up the lubricant as they pass through. This indirect lubrication method cannot maintain uniform contact between the balls and the guideway, resulting in uneven lubrication and poor lubrication performance. In addition, since most lubrication elements are made of porous materials such as felt or foam, they experience wear and deformation after prolonged use, reducing their lifespan and causing operational problems. Summary of the Invention

[0005] One object of the present invention is to provide a linear guide rail, wherein a lubrication structure is provided on the guide rail to maintain the smoothness of the rolling of the balls.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a linear slide rail, comprising a slider, a pair of end caps, a plurality of balls, and a guide rail lubrication structure. The slider has a groove and a plurality of grooves disposed on opposite sides of the groove. The pair of end caps are attached to opposite sides of the slider. The plurality of balls are disposed in each of the grooves. The guide rail lubrication structure supports the slider. The guide rail lubrication structure includes a guide rail and at least one solid lubricating strip disposed on the guide rail. The solid lubricating strip is made of a porous synthetic resin and is disposed along the extension direction of the guide rail and at a position where the guide rail can contact the balls.

[0007] Optionally, it may also include an upper retainer and a lower retainer, which are capable of abutting against an outer side of each of the grooves to keep each of the balls from moving out of the grooves.

[0008] Optionally, the chute has a bottom and an opening on the opposite side of the bottom, each of the grooves includes a pair of first grooves adjacent to the bottom of the chute and a pair of second grooves adjacent to the opening, the guide rail includes a pair of first guide grooves corresponding to the first grooves and a pair of second guide grooves corresponding to the second grooves, and the solid lubricating strip is disposed on one side of the pair of first grooves.

[0009] Optionally, the solid lubricating strip includes a pair of first lubricating strips and a pair of second lubricating strips disposed opposite to each other. The pair of first lubricating strips are disposed on a top surface of the guide rail facing the bottom of the slide groove, and the pair of second lubricating strips are disposed between the first guide groove and the second groove of the guide rail.

[0010] Optionally, the first lubricating strip has a smooth surface that adheres to the guide rail and an arc surface that adheres to the ball; the cross-section of the second lubricating strip is a trapezoid with chamfered corners.

[0011] Optionally, the solid lubricating strip has a protruding foot that extends into the guide rail.

[0012] Optionally, the porous material synthetic resin contains 65% to 85% lubricant to form an oil-containing resin.

[0013] Another object of the present invention is to provide a guide rail lubrication structure for a linear slide rail to lubricate a plurality of balls. The guide rail lubrication structure includes a guide rail and at least one solid lubricating strip disposed on the guide rail. The solid lubricating strip is made of porous synthetic resin and is disposed along the extension direction of the guide rail and at a position where the guide rail can contact the balls.

[0014] Compared to existing technologies, the linear slide rail of the present invention is provided with a guide rail lubrication structure, which is a solid lubricating strip made of porous synthetic resin on the guide rail. This allows the ball to continuously obtain lubricant released from the solid lubricating strip during rolling and achieve a lubrication effect, thereby maintaining the smoothness of the ball rolling and increasing the practicality of the present invention. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the linear slide rail of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of the linear guide rail of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional external view of the guide rail lubrication structure of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 4 This is an exploded perspective view of the guide rail lubrication structure of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 5 This is a combined cross-sectional view of the guide rail lubrication structure of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 6 This is another embodiment of the guide rail lubrication structure of the present invention.

[0021] In the picture:

[0022] 1: Linear guide rail; 10: Slider; 11: Groove; 110: Opening; 111: Bottom; 12: Groove; 121: First groove; 122: Second groove; 20: End cap; 30: Ball bearing; 40: Guide rail lubrication structure; 41: Guide rail; 410: Top surface; 411: First guide groove; 412: Second guide groove; 42: Solid lubricating strip; 42a: Protruding foot; 421: First lubricating strip; 4211: Smooth surface; 4212: Arc surface; 422: Second lubricating strip; 50: Upper retaining plate; 51: Lower retaining plate. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, so that those skilled in the art can better understand and implement the present invention. However, the embodiments described are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0024] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The figures shown are a three-dimensional schematic diagram and a cross-sectional view of the linear slide rail of the present invention. The present invention is a linear slide rail 1, comprising a slider 10, a pair of end caps 20, a plurality of balls 30, and a guide rail lubrication structure 40. The pair of end caps 20 are attached to opposite sides of the slider 10. Each of the balls 30 is disposed within the slider 10. Furthermore, the guide rail lubrication structure 40 supports the slider 10, thereby allowing each of the balls 30 to roll more smoothly. A more detailed description of the structure of the linear slide rail 1 follows.

[0025] The slider 10 has a generally U-shaped cross-section. The slider 10 has a groove 11 and a plurality of grooves 12 disposed on opposite sides of the groove 11. The groove 11 has a bottom 111 and an opening 110 located on the opposite side of the bottom 111. In this embodiment, each groove 12 includes a pair of first grooves 121 adjacent to the bottom 111 of the groove 11 and a pair of second grooves 122 adjacent to the opening 110.

[0026] The end caps 20 are attached to the opposite ends of the slider 10. Each of the ball bearings 30 is rotatably disposed in the groove 12 of the slider 10.

[0027] Furthermore, the guide rail lubrication structure 40 supports the slider 10. The guide rail lubrication structure 40 includes a guide rail 41 and at least one solid lubricating strip 42 disposed on the guide rail 41. The solid lubricating strip 42 is disposed along the extending direction of the guide rail 41 and is located at a position where the guide rail 41 can contact each of the balls 30. In addition, the solid lubricating strip 42 can be bonded to the guide rail 41 in various ways, such as by adhesive bonding, pressing, or ultrasonic bonding.

[0028] It should be noted that the solid lubricating strip 42 is a porous synthetic resin material, mainly composed of synthetic resin and lubricant, and is an oil-containing resin that can adsorb and release lubricant to the parts requiring lubrication through capillary action. Specifically, the synthetic resin can be polyolefin, such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The lubricant can be mineral oil, synthetic oil, or grease. Furthermore, the solid lubricating strip 42 has an oil content of 65-85% to maintain its strength.

[0029] In this embodiment, the linear guide rail 1 further includes an upper retaining plate 50 and a lower retaining plate 51. The upper retaining plate 50 and the lower retaining plate abut against an outer side of each of the grooves 12 to keep each of the balls 30 from moving out of each of the grooves 12.

[0030] Please refer to the following at the same time Figures 3 to 5 The figures show a three-dimensional appearance diagram, an exploded three-dimensional diagram, and a partially assembled three-dimensional diagram of the guide rail lubrication structure of the present invention. As shown, the guide rail lubrication structure 40 includes a guide rail 41 and a plurality of solid lubricating strips 42 disposed on the guide rail 41. Furthermore, the guide rail 41 includes a pair of first guide grooves 411 corresponding to the first groove 121 and a pair of second guide grooves 412 corresponding to the second groove 122. In this embodiment, the solid lubricating strip 42 is disposed on one side of the pair of first grooves 121.

[0031] Specifically, the solid lubricating strip 42 includes a pair of first lubricating strips 421 and a pair of second lubricating strips 422 disposed opposite to each other. The pair of first lubricating strips 421 are disposed on a top surface 410 of the guide rail 41 facing the bottom 111 of the slide groove 11. The pair of second lubricating strips 422 are disposed between the first guide groove 411 and the second groove 412 of the guide rail 41.

[0032] Preferably, the shapes of the first lubricating strip 421 and the second lubricating strip 422 are designed to increase the contact surface with each of the balls 30. For example, the first lubricating strip 421 has a smooth surface 4211 that contacts the guide rail 41 and an arcuate surface 4212 that contacts the balls 30. In addition, the cross-section of the second lubricating strip 422 is a trapezoid with chamfered corners, thereby increasing the contact area between the first lubricating strip 421, the second lubricating strip 422 and each of the balls 30.

[0033] Accordingly, each of the ball bearings 30 can contact the first lubricating strip 421 and the second lubricating strip 422 during rolling, thereby continuously acquiring the lubricant released by the solid lubricating strip 42 to achieve a lubrication effect.

[0034] Please refer to again Figure 6 This is another embodiment of the guide rail lubrication structure of the present invention. In this embodiment, the arrangement of the guide rail lubrication structure 40 is substantially the same as in the previous embodiment. The guide rail lubrication structure 40 includes a guide rail 41 and a plurality of solid lubricating strips 42 disposed on the guide rail 41. The difference in the guide rail lubrication structure 40 of this embodiment is that the solid lubricating strip 42 has a protrusion 42a extending into the guide rail 41. The provision of the protrusion 42a is beneficial to increasing the bonding force between the guide rail 41 and the solid lubricating strip 42.

[0035] The above-described embodiments are merely preferred embodiments provided to fully illustrate the present invention, and the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Equivalent substitutions or modifications made by those skilled in the art based on the present invention are all within the scope of protection of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A linear slide rail, characterized in that, include: A slider has a groove and a plurality of grooves disposed on opposite sides of the groove; A pair of end caps are attached to the two opposite sides of the slider; A plurality of balls are disposed in each of the grooves; and An upper retaining plate and a lower retaining plate are provided, which can abut against an outer side of each of the grooves to keep each ball from moving out of the grooves; A guide rail lubrication structure supports the slider. The guide rail lubrication structure includes a guide rail and at least one solid lubricating strip disposed on the guide rail. The solid lubricating strip is made of porous synthetic resin. The solid lubricating strip is disposed along the extension direction of the guide rail and is located at a position where the guide rail can contact each of the balls. The slide has a bottom and an opening on the opposite side of the bottom. Each groove includes a pair of first grooves adjacent to the bottom of the slide and a pair of second grooves adjacent to the opening. The guide rail includes a pair of first guide grooves corresponding to the first grooves and a pair of second guide grooves corresponding to the second grooves. The solid lubricating strip includes a pair of first lubricating strips and a pair of second lubricating strips disposed opposite each other. The pair of first lubricating strips are disposed on a top surface of the guide rail facing the bottom of the slide. The pair of second lubricating strips are disposed between the first guide grooves and the second guide grooves of the guide rail. The first lubricating strip has a smooth surface that adheres to the guide rail and an arc surface that adheres to the ball. The cross-section of the second lubricating strip is a trapezoid with a chamfer.

2. The linear guide rail as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The solid lubricating strip has a protruding foot that extends into the guide rail.

3. The linear guide rail as described in claim 1, characterized in that, This porous material synthetic resin contains 65% to 85% lubricant, thus constituting an oil-containing resin.

4. A guide rail lubrication structure for a linear slide rail, used to lubricate a plurality of balls, characterized in that, The guide rail lubrication structure includes a guide rail and at least one solid lubricating strip disposed on the guide rail. The solid lubricating strip is made of lubricating material and is disposed along the extension direction of the guide rail and located at a position where the guide rail can contact the ball. The guide rail includes a pair of first guide grooves and a pair of second guide grooves arranged opposite to each other. The solid lubricating strip includes a pair of first lubricating strips and a pair of second lubricating strips arranged opposite to each other. The pair of first lubricating strips are disposed on the pair of first guide grooves, and the pair of second lubricating strips are disposed between each of the first guide grooves and each of the second guide grooves. The first lubricating strip has a smooth surface that adheres to the guide rail and an arc surface that adheres to the ball. The cross-section of the second lubricating strip is a trapezoid with a chamfer.

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