Air floating linear guide rail
By setting inclined working surfaces and reference surfaces on the slider and slide rail, combined with throttling orifices and negative pressure suction, the problem of hard contact between the slider and slide rail after the air source is turned off is solved, thus achieving stable fixation of the slider and a damage-free air flotation effect.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- NINGBO LIMON ROBOT CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2026-04-27
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-12
AI Technical Summary
Existing air-bearing linear guides are prone to hard contact damage between the slider and the guide rail after the air source is turned off. Existing clamping methods can easily cause slider displacement, damaging the high-precision working surface.
The working surface and reference surface on the slider and slide rail are designed to be inclined to form a safety gap, and an air flotation film is provided through a throttling orifice. Combined with negative pressure suction and magnetic components, the slider is fixed to avoid hard contact.
After the air source is turned off, there is no hard contact between the slider and the slide rail, which avoids damage to the high-precision working surface, achieves stable fixation of the slider, maintains the gap of the air flotation film, and prevents slider displacement.
Smart Images

Figure CN122191193A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the technical field of ultra-precision motion control, specifically to the field of ultra-precision motion control of air-bearing linear guides. Background Technology
[0002] Linear guides are devices used to guide mechanical parts to move linearly in a specific direction. With the development of linear guides, air-bearing linear guides, due to their characteristic of no direct contact friction between the slide rail and the slider, are widely used in measuring instruments, precision machinery, semiconductors, ultra-precision measurement, and optical instrument manufacturing. However, after the air supply to an air-bearing linear guide is stopped, the slider will descend under its own weight until it makes direct hard contact with the slide rail, which can cause contact damage between the slider and the slide rail. Therefore, for air-bearing linear guides, how to prevent direct hard contact between the high-precision working surfaces used to form the air-bearing film between the slider and the slide rail after the air supply is turned off is a technical challenge in the industry.
[0003] A common practice in existing technologies is to use clamps to hold and fix the slider in place before shutting off the air supply. For example... Figure 1 The air-bearing linear guide shown has a large exposed side area after the slider 200 is fitted onto the slide rail 100, which facilitates the application of a relative clamping force F to the slider 200 by the clamp. However, during the clamping process, the slider 200 will inevitably be displaced to some extent. The thickness of the air-bearing film in existing air-bearing linear guides is mostly in the millimeter or even micrometer range, making it highly susceptible to clamping position misalignment, which can damage the high-precision working surfaces of the slider and slide rail. On the other hand, some existing air-bearing linear guides use... Figure 2 The structure shown has a very small exposed surface area of the slider 200 outside the slide rail 100, which further increases the difficulty of the fixture holding the slider 200. Summary of the Invention
[0004] The present invention aims to at least partially solve one of the technical problems in the related art: to provide an air-bearing linear guide rail, which ensures that the working surfaces of the slider and the guide rail used to generate the air-bearing film do not make direct hard contact after the air source is turned off.
[0005] Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide an air-bearing linear guide rail, comprising: The slide rail has a horizontally set reference surface and fixed working surfaces set on both sides of the reference surface along the width direction, with the fixed working surfaces set at an angle to the reference surface; The slider is slidably fitted onto the slide rail, and a moving reference surface and a moving working surface are respectively provided on the slider at positions corresponding to the fixed reference surface and the fixed working surface. The moving working surface and the fixed working surface are parallel and there is a gap d1 between the moving working surface and the fixed working surface for forming an air flotation film. The moving reference surface and the fixed reference surface are parallel and there is a gap d2 between the moving reference surface and the fixed reference surface. When the moving reference surface moves down with the slider and fits against the fixed reference surface, the gap d1 between the moving working surface and the fixed working surface is greater than zero. Throttling orifices, arranged on a fixed or moving working surface, are used to provide compressed air required for the formation of an air flotation film.
[0006] The above technical solution has the following advantages or beneficial effects: the working surfaces for forming the air flotation film on the slider and slide rail are both set on inclined surfaces, that is, the fixed working surface on the slide rail is located on both sides of the horizontal fixed reference surface, and the moving working surface on the slider is located on both sides of the horizontal moving reference surface. Furthermore, by changing the widths of the moving and fixed reference surfaces, sufficient safety clearance can still be maintained between the working surface and the fixed working surface when the moving and fixed reference surfaces are in contact, ensuring that the clearance d1 between the working surface and the fixed working surface is greater than zero. Therefore, for the air-floating linear guide rail of this application, it does not require additional external clamps and the air source can be directly shut off. As the air pressure of the air flotation film decreases, the slider can descend vertically and rest on the slide rail. Since a safety clearance is still maintained between the working surface and the fixed working surface when the moving and fixed reference surfaces are in contact, hard contact damage between the working surface and the fixed working surface will not occur.
[0007] According to one example of the present invention, the inner side of the fixed working surface is connected to the fixed reference surface, the outer side of the fixed working surface is inclined upward in the vertical direction, and the projection of the moving reference surface on the horizontal plane is located within the fixed reference surface.
[0008] According to one example of the present invention, the inner side of the fixed working surface is connected to the fixed reference surface, the outer side of the fixed working surface is inclined downward in the vertical direction, and the projection of the fixed reference surface on the horizontal plane is located in the moving reference surface.
[0009] According to one embodiment of the invention, the slider includes a top plate and side plates fixed to both sides of the top plate. The gap d3 between the inner wall of the side plate and the outer wall of the slide rail is smaller than the width-direction distance H between the connection point Q1 between the fixed working surface and the fixed reference surface and the connection point Q2 between the moving working surface and the moving reference surface. The side plates constrain the slider's displacement in the width direction, and since the gap d3 is smaller than the distance H, the gap d1 between the fixed working surface and the moving working surface can always remain greater than zero when the moving reference surface on the slider abuts against the fixed reference surface on the slide rail.
[0010] According to one embodiment of the invention, the top surface of the slide rail has a concave groove, and the slider slides within the groove. The gap d4 between the inner wall of the groove and the outer wall of the slider is smaller than the width-direction distance H between the connection point Q1 between the fixed working surface and the fixed reference surface and the connection point Q2 between the moving working surface and the moving reference surface. The inner wall of the groove constrains the slider's width-direction displacement, and since the gap d4 is smaller than the distance H, the gap d1 between the fixed working surface and the moving working surface can always remain greater than zero when the moving reference surface on the slider abuts against the fixed reference surface on the slide rail.
[0011] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a small suction hole is provided on the fixed or moving reference surface. The suction hole is connected to an external negative pressure device to provide negative pressure suction. The external negative pressure device can continuously generate negative pressure suction. After passing through the suction hole, the negative pressure suction can be applied between the fixed and moving reference surfaces. After the fixed and moving reference surfaces are in contact with each other, the negative pressure suction can adsorb and fix the slider on the slide rail, preventing the slider from moving along the length of the slide rail and avoiding surface scratches caused by movement when the fixed and moving reference surfaces are in contact.
[0012] According to one example of the present invention, the fixed working surface or the moving working surface is provided with a groove, and a porous sheet is embedded in the groove. The throttling hole is connected to the bottom of the groove and is used to provide compressed air into the groove.
[0013] According to one example of the present invention, the bottom surface of the groove is recessed to form a pressure equalization cavity, and the throttling orifice is connected to the middle position of the pressure equalization cavity.
[0014] According to one example of the present invention, the porous sheet is a sheet-like porous alumina ceramic or a porous silicon carbide ceramic.
[0015] According to one example of the present invention, a heating component for heating the compressed air within the groove is provided in the groove. By heating the local compressed air with the heating component, fine-tuning of the pressure at different positions of the air flotation film can be achieved. Compared with the prior art method of using valves to control the airflow rate in each throttling orifice, the structure of this application is simpler.
[0016] According to one example of the present invention, the heating component is a graphene heating element, which includes a mesh-like substrate with a graphene film layer disposed on the outer surface of the substrate. The graphene heating element is located between the porous sheet and the bottom of the groove. The mesh structure allows airflow to smoothly pass through each mesh opening into the porous sheet without affecting airflow. Furthermore, as the airflow passes through each mesh opening, the graphene film layer attached to the outer surface of the substrate heats the airflow upon energization. During this process, the mesh openings are uniformly distributed, resulting in more uniform heating of the airflow.
[0017] Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Attached Figure Description
[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an air-bearing linear guide rail in the prior art, in which the slider is sleeved outside the slide rail; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an air-floating linear guide rail in the prior art, where the slider is located in the groove of the slide rail; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the first type of air-bearing linear guide rail of the present invention; Figure 4 for Figure 3 A magnified view of a portion of region "A" in the diagram; Figure 5 for Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the slider descending after the air supply to the middle throttle orifice is cut off; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the second type of air-bearing linear guide rail of the present invention; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the third type of air-bearing linear guide rail of the present invention; Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the fourth type of air-bearing linear guide rail of the present invention; Figure 9 for Figure 8 A magnified view of a portion of region "B" in the diagram; Figure 10 for Figure 9 A schematic diagram of the slider descending after the air supply to the middle throttle orifice is cut off; Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the fifth type of air-bearing linear guide rail of the present invention; Figure 12 for Figure 11 A bottom view; Figure 13 for Figure 12 A cross-sectional view along the "CC" direction; Figure 14 for Figure 13 A magnified view of a portion of region "D" in the diagram; Figure 15 This is an enlarged schematic diagram of the porous sheet and graphene heating plate in this invention.
[0019] Among them, 100 is the slide rail; 200 is the slider; 1. Fixed reference surface; 2. Fixed working surface; 3. Slide groove; 4. Moving reference surface; 5. Moving working surface; 6. Top plate; 7. Side plate; 8. Throttling orifice; 9. Suction hole; 10. Groove; 11. Porous sheet; 12. Pressure equalization chamber; 13. Heating component; 13.1. Substrate; 13.2. Graphene film layer; 13.3. Mesh; 14. Electromagnet; 15. Iron parts; 16. Air pipe interface; 17. Box body. Detailed Implementation
[0020] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and intended to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.
[0021] The air-bearing linear guide rail according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0022] The width direction in the following text refers to Figure 3 The left and right directions, and the vertical direction refers to Figure 3 The up and down directions in the middle.
[0023] Example 1 This invention provides an air-bearing linear guide, as shown in the figure, which includes a slide rail 100 and a slider 200 slidably fitted on the slide rail 100. The slide rail 100 has a horizontally arranged fixed reference surface 1 and fixed working surfaces 2 symmetrically arranged on both sides of the fixed reference surface 1 along its width direction. The fixed working surfaces 2 are connected to adjacent edges of the fixed reference surface 1 and are angled towards each other. The slider 200 has a movable reference surface 4 and a movable working surface 5 at positions corresponding to the fixed reference surface 1 and the fixed working surface 2, respectively. The movable working surface 5 is parallel to the fixed working surface 2, and a gap d1 for forming an air-bearing film exists between them. The movable reference surface 4 is parallel to the fixed reference surface 1, and a gap d2 exists between them. The movable reference surface 4 and the movable working surface 5 are angled towards each other. When the slider 200 moves the movable reference surface 4 vertically downwards until the movable reference surface 4 is in contact with the fixed reference surface 1, the gap d1 between the movable working surface 5 and the fixed working surface 2 is greater than zero. The slide rail 100 or slider 200 is provided with a throttling orifice 8 for providing compressed air required to form an air flotation film.
[0024] Specifically, the throttling orifice 8 is arranged on the fixed working surface 2 of the slide rail 100, and the throttling orifice 8 penetrates the fixed working surface 2 and communicates with the gap space between the fixed working surface 2 and the moving working surface 5. The throttling orifice 8 is arranged on the moving working surface 5 of the slider 200, and the throttling orifice 8 penetrates the moving working surface 5 and communicates with the gap space between the fixed working surface 2 and the moving working surface 5.
[0025] In this embodiment, the gap d1 is 0.002mm~0.05mm. The gap d2 is 0mm~0.05mm.
[0026] Example 2 Based on the preferred embodiment of the above, such as Figure 3 and Figure 8 As shown, the fixed working surface 2 is connected to the fixed reference surface 1 on its inner side near the fixed reference surface 1, and the fixed working surface 2 is tilted upward in the vertical direction away from the fixed reference surface 1, so that the fixed working surface 2 as a whole is tilted upward. The projection of the moving reference surface 4 on the horizontal plane is located in the fixed reference surface 1.
[0027] Example 3 Based on the preferred embodiment of the above, such as Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, the fixed working surface 2 is connected to the fixed reference surface 1 on its inner side near the fixed reference surface 1, and the fixed working surface 2 is tilted downward in the vertical direction away from the fixed reference surface 1, so that the entire fixed working surface 2 is tilted downward. The projection of the fixed reference surface 1 on the horizontal plane is located in the moving reference surface 4.
[0028] Example 4 Based on the preferred embodiments of Examples 2 and 3 above, such as Figures 3-6 As shown, the slider 200 includes a top plate 6 and side plates 7 fixed on both sides of the top plate 6. The C-shaped structure formed by the top plate 6 and the two side plates 7 is fitted over the slide rail 100.
[0029] Optionally, the gap d3 between the inner wall of the side plate 7 and the outer wall of the slide rail 100 is smaller than the distance H in the width direction between the connection Q1 between the fixed working surface 2 and the fixed reference surface 1 and the connection Q2 between the moving working surface 5 and the moving reference surface 4. This gap d3 is the standard value of the gap d3 after the vertical center line of the slide rail 100 and the vertical center line of the slider 200 overlap. At this time, the gap d3 is smaller than the distance H. Therefore, when the slider 200 moves a certain distance in the width direction, the projection of the moving reference surface 4 on the horizontal plane can always be within the fixed reference surface 1. This ensures that after the entire air-bearing linear guide rail is de-aired and the moving reference surface 4 moves down to abut against the fixed reference surface 1, the gap d1 between the moving working surface 5 and the fixed working surface 2 is always greater than zero, thus avoiding hard contact between the moving working surface 5 and the fixed working surface 2.
[0030] In this embodiment, the gap d3 is 0.002mm~0.05mm.
[0031] Example 5 Based on the preferred embodiments of Examples 2 and 3 above, such as Figures 7-10As shown, the top surface of the slide rail 100 has a concave groove 3, and the slider 200 is slidably fitted in the groove 3, with the top of the slider 200 exposed outside the groove 3.
[0032] Optionally, the gap d4 between the inner wall of the groove 3 and the outer wall of the slider 200 is smaller than the distance H in the width direction between the connection Q1 between the fixed working surface 2 and the fixed reference surface 1 and the connection Q2 between the moving working surface 5 and the moving reference surface 4. This gap d4 is the standard value of the gap d4 after the vertical center line of the slide rail 100 and the vertical center line of the slider 200 overlap. At this time, the gap d4 is smaller than the distance H. Therefore, when the slider 200 moves a certain distance in the width direction, the projection of the moving reference surface 4 on the horizontal plane can always be within the fixed reference surface 1. This ensures that after the entire air-bearing linear guide rail is de-aired and the moving reference surface 4 moves down to abut against the fixed reference surface 1, the gap d1 between the moving working surface 5 and the fixed working surface 2 is always greater than zero, thus avoiding hard contact between the moving working surface 5 and the fixed working surface 2.
[0033] In this embodiment, the gap d4 is 0.002mm~0.05mm.
[0034] Example 6 In a preferred embodiment as described above, the reference surface 1 is provided with a suction hole 9, which is connected to an external negative pressure device to provide negative pressure suction. Figures 8-10 As shown, in this embodiment, after the moving reference surface 4 on the slider 200 and the fixed reference surface 1 on the slide rail 100 are in contact with each other, the external negative pressure device is activated, so that the suction hole 9 generates negative pressure suction, which attracts and fixes the moving reference surface 4 and the fixed reference surface 1. The external negative pressure device includes, but is not limited to, a vacuum pump.
[0035] Alternatively, the moving reference surface 4 is provided with a suction hole 9, which is connected to an external negative pressure device to provide negative pressure suction. After the moving reference surface 4 on the slider 200 and the fixed reference surface 1 on the slide rail 100 are in contact with each other, the external negative pressure device is activated, causing the suction hole 9 to generate negative pressure suction, thereby attracting and fixing the moving reference surface 4 and the fixed reference surface 1 together. This external negative pressure device includes, but is not limited to, a vacuum pump. In this embodiment, since the slider 200 needs to reciprocate along the length of the slide rail 100, the suction end of the external negative pressure device can be connected to the suction hole 9 on the slider 200 through a flexible hose, and the flexible hose is stored by a cable chain.
[0036] Example 7 Compared to Embodiment 6 above, in order to achieve the purpose of mutual contact and fixation between the moving reference surface 4 and the fixed reference surface 1, the improvement of this embodiment is that the linear guide rail also includes a magnetic attraction assembly. The magnetic attraction assembly includes a strip-shaped iron component 15 and an electromagnet 14. The iron component 15 and the electromagnet 14 are respectively embedded in the slide rail 100 and the slider 200, and the iron component 15 and the electromagnet 14 correspond to the moving reference surface 4 and the fixed reference surface 1, respectively.
[0037] Optionally, such as Figure 3 As shown, electromagnet 14 is embedded in slider 200 and corresponds to the moving reference surface 4 on slider 200, while iron component 15 is embedded in slide rail 100 and corresponds to the fixed reference surface 1 on slide rail 100. Electromagnet 14 is electrically connected to the power supply component on the controller of the linear guide rail via a wire. This controller is a conventional component on existing linear guide rails and is used to control the movement of slider 200 on slide rail 100.
[0038] Example 8 Based on the preferred embodiments described above, the fixed working surface 2 is provided with a groove 10, and a porous sheet 11 is embedded in the groove 10. The throttling hole 8 is connected to the bottom of the groove 10 and is used to provide compressed air into the groove 10.
[0039] Alternatively, the working surface 5 is provided with a groove 10, and a porous sheet 11 is embedded in the groove 10. The throttling hole 8 is connected to the bottom of the groove 10 and is used to provide compressed air into the groove 10.
[0040] In this embodiment, the throttle hole 8 is connected to an external air source device, such as a high-pressure air pump. The compressed air provided by the high-pressure air pump is pumped through the throttle hole 8 into the gap space between the fixed working surface 2 and the moving working surface 5 to form an air flotation film. Under the support of the air flotation film, the slider 200 is suspended on the slide rail 100.
[0041] Example 9 Based on the preferred embodiment of the above, such as Figures 11-14As shown, the slide rail 100 has an octagonal cross-section and is symmetrical along its longitudinal section, which is the section along the center line of the slide rail 100 along its length. The cross-section of the slide rail 100 is generally a rectangle with four beveled surfaces cut at the four corners to form an octagonal structure. The top surface of the slide rail 100 serves as a fixed reference surface 1. The upper left and upper right bevels of the four bevels on the slide rail 100 serve as moving working surfaces 5. The surface precision requirement of the moving working surfaces 5 is higher than that of other parts of the slide rail 100. The slider 200 has grooves 10 at the positions corresponding to each moving working surface 5. Porous sheets 11 are embedded in the grooves 10. Throttling holes 8 are provided inside the slider 200 at the positions corresponding to each groove 10 to provide compressed air into the grooves 10.
[0042] Optionally, the two inclined surfaces located at the lower left and lower right of the four inclined surfaces are also provided with concave grooves 10. Porous sheets 11 are embedded within the grooves 10. Throttling orifices 8 are respectively provided inside the slider 200 at positions corresponding to each groove 10, for supplying compressed air into the grooves 10. Traditional air-bearing linear guides use two sets of throttling orifices 8 to control the left-right and vertical directions, respectively, such as the air-bearing guide with publication number CN102878203B. Compared to this traditional air-bearing linear guide, in this embodiment, the thickness of the air-bearing film between the slider 200 and the slide rail 100 is adjusted by the coordinated throttling orifices 8 on the two moving working surfaces 5 at the upper left and upper right, as well as the two throttling orifices 8 at the lower left and lower right. The pressure change of each throttling orifice 8 can simultaneously affect both the horizontal and vertical directions, thus achieving more precise control.
[0043] Furthermore, the slider 200 is provided with an air pipe interface 16 for connecting to an external air source, and the air pipe interface 16 is connected to each throttling hole 8 through a connecting pipe inside the slider 200.
[0044] Example 10 Based on the preferred embodiment of the groove 10 in the above embodiments, such as Figure 14 As shown, the bottom surface of the groove 10 is recessed to form a pressure equalization cavity 12, and the throttling orifice 8 is connected to the middle position of the pressure equalization cavity 12.
[0045] Example 11 Based on the preferred embodiment of the porous sheet 11, the porous sheet 11 is a sheet-like porous alumina ceramic or a porous silicon carbide ceramic.
[0046] Example 12 Based on the preferred embodiment of the above, the groove 10 is provided with a heating component 13 for heating the compressed air within the groove 10. The four throttling orifices 8 can simultaneously influence both the horizontal and vertical directions, thus achieving precise control. However, the airflow pressure ejected from the porous sheet 11 through each throttling orifice 8 requires fine-tuning. The compressed air supplied by the external air source is input into the connecting pipe within the slider 200 through the same air pipe interface 16. If individual control of the airflow within the four throttling orifices 8 is required, an additional control valve would need to be added to each pipe, significantly increasing assembly and control complexity. Therefore, in this embodiment, the heating component 13 is used to heat the compressed air within the groove, changing the local air pressure through temperature variations.
[0047] Specifically, the heating component 13 is a graphene heating sheet, which can be made into a thin sheet with a thickness of less than millimeters. The graphene heating sheet is attached to the inner wall of the groove 10 to heat the compressed air. The slider 200 has a detachable housing 17 at its end along its own direction of movement. The housing 17 contains a power supply component (not shown in the figure) for providing the electrical energy required to heat the graphene heating sheet. When the attitude sensor on the linear guide detects a positional shift of the slider 200, it can precisely control the temperature of the compressed air ejected through the porous sheet 11 by controlling the heating and cooling of the graphene heating sheet. This adjusts the thickness of the air-bearing film in the corresponding position gap, enabling the air-bearing linear guide in this embodiment to achieve automatic correction of the motion attitude. It should be understood that the various attitude sensors installed on the linear guide are commonly used sensors in existing linear guides, used to detect the position of the slider in real time, and therefore will not be described in detail in this embodiment.
[0048] In the above embodiments, the porous sheet 11 has poor thermal conductivity due to its porous structure. Heating by attaching graphene heating elements to the inner wall of the groove can only heat the compressed air at the outer edge to a certain extent, and the heating effect on the compressed air flowing out from the middle of the porous sheet 11 is poor. Therefore, improvements based on the above embodiments are made, such as... Figure 15 As shown, the graphene heating element includes a mesh-like substrate 13.1, on the outer surface of which a graphene thin film layer 13.2 is attached. The electrodes of the graphene thin film layer 13.2 are electrically connected to a power supply component via wires. The graphene heating element 13 is located between the porous sheet 11 and the bottom of the groove 10. The wires are embedded in the slider 200, with one end connected to the electrode of the graphene thin film layer 13.2 and the other end extending outside the slider 200 and electrically connected to the power supply component inside the housing 17. Compressed air can be uniformly heated by passing through the mesh 13.3 on the graphene heating element, and the mesh 13.3 does not obstruct the airflow.
[0049] Optionally, the graphene film layer 13.2 on the outer surface of the substrate 13.1 is formed using existing graphene preparation methods such as chemical vapor deposition and silicon carbide epitaxial growth.
[0050] It should be noted that in the description of this invention, the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," "counterclockwise," "axial," "radial," and "circumferential" indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this invention.
[0051] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this invention, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.
[0052] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.
[0053] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, "above" or "below" the second feature can mean that the first feature is in direct contact with the second feature, or that the first feature is in indirect contact with the second feature through an intermediate medium. Furthermore, "above," "over," and "on top" of the second feature can mean that the first feature is directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Below," "below," and "under" the second feature can mean that the first feature is directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.
[0054] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples. Moreover, without contradiction, those skilled in the art can combine and integrate the different embodiments or examples described in this specification, as well as the features of different embodiments or examples.
[0055] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it is understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make changes, modifications, substitutions and variations to the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.
[0056] For those skilled in the art, various changes and modifications will undoubtedly be apparent after reading the above description. Therefore, the appended claims should be construed as covering all changes and modifications that encompass the true intent and scope of the invention. Any and all equivalent scope and content within the scope of the claims should be considered to remain within the intent and scope of the invention.
Claims
1. An air-bearing linear guide rail, characterized in that, include: The slide rail has a horizontally set reference surface and fixed working surfaces set on both sides of the reference surface along the width direction, with the fixed working surfaces set at an angle to the reference surface. The slider is slidably fitted onto the slide rail, and a moving reference surface and a moving working surface are respectively provided on the slider at positions corresponding to the fixed reference surface and the fixed working surface. The moving working surface and the fixed working surface are parallel and there is a gap d1 between the moving working surface and the fixed working surface for forming an air flotation film. The moving reference surface and the fixed reference surface are parallel and there is a gap d2 between the moving reference surface and the fixed reference surface. When the moving reference surface moves down with the slider and fits against the fixed reference surface, the gap d1 between the moving working surface and the fixed working surface is greater than zero. Throttling orifices, arranged on a fixed or moving working surface, are used to provide compressed air required for the formation of an air flotation film.
2. The air-bearing linear guide rail according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner side of the fixed working surface is connected to the fixed reference surface, the outer side of the fixed working surface is inclined upward in the vertical direction, and the projection of the moving reference surface on the horizontal plane is located within the fixed reference surface.
3. The air-bearing linear guide rail according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner side of the fixed working surface is connected to the fixed reference surface, and the outer side of the fixed working surface is inclined downward in the vertical direction. The projection of the fixed reference surface on the horizontal plane is located in the moving reference surface.
4. The air-bearing linear guide rail according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The slider includes a top plate and side plates fixed on both sides of the top plate. The gap d3 between the inner wall of the side plate and the outer wall of the slide rail is smaller than the distance H in the width direction between the connection point Q1 between the fixed working surface and the fixed reference surface and the connection point Q2 between the moving working surface and the moving reference surface.
5. The air-bearing linear guide rail according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The top surface of the slide rail has a concave groove, and the slider slides within the groove. The gap d4 between the inner wall of the groove and the outer wall of the slider is smaller than the width distance H between the connection point Q1 between the fixed working surface and the fixed reference surface and the connection point Q2 between the moving working surface and the moving reference surface.
6. The air-bearing linear guide rail according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that: The fixed or moving reference surface is provided with a small suction hole, which is connected to an external negative pressure device to provide negative pressure suction.
7. The air-bearing linear guide rail according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fixed or moving working surface is provided with a groove, and a porous sheet is embedded in the groove. The throttling hole is connected to the bottom of the groove and is used to provide compressed air into the groove.
8. The air-bearing linear guide rail according to claim 7, characterized in that: The bottom surface of the groove is recessed to form a pressure equalization cavity, and the throttling orifice is connected to the middle position of the pressure equalization cavity.
9. The air-bearing linear guide rail according to claim 7, characterized in that: The porous sheet material is a sheet-like porous alumina ceramic or porous silicon carbide ceramic.
10. The air-bearing linear guide rail according to claim 7, characterized in that: The groove is equipped with a heating component for heating the compressed air inside the groove.
11. The air-bearing linear guide rail according to claim 10, characterized in that: The heating component is a graphene heating element, which includes a mesh substrate with a graphene film layer on the outer surface of the substrate. The graphene heating element is located between the porous sheet and the bottom of the groove.