Rolling element retainer, slide member and limited-stroke slide rail

Abstract

To provide a rolling element retainer, a slide member, and a limited-stroke slide rail that can avoid vibration during sliding and damage to the body, and allow the rolling element to roll smoothly.SOLUTION: A body 1 of a rolling element retainer is extended along a path A, has a polygonal cross-sectional shape, and includes at least four protruding portions 12 protruding away from the body 1. A plurality of accommodating tanks 13 are distributed in the body 1 at intervals along the path A, and each accommodating tank 13 is used for accommodating a rolling element 2. A plurality of apertures 14 are formed in the body 1 and located between the accommodating tanks 13. The apertures 14 are communicated with the accommodating tanks 13. The apertures 14 are used for storing lubricating oil or a porous lubricant 3. At least one of the protruding portions 12 is continuously extended across all adjacent accommodating tanks 13 on the path A.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a rolling element cage, a sliding member, and a finite stroke slide rail. In particular, the rolling element cage includes a housing groove used for housing rolling elements, and lubricating oil or porous lubricant is stored in a hole communicated between adjacent housing grooves, which can provide a lubricating effect during the rolling of the rolling elements. Moreover, a protruding portion that extends continuously across all adjacent housing grooves is provided on the rolling element cage, enabling the rolling element cage to have high rigidity. The present invention relates to a rolling element cage, a sliding member, and a finite stroke slide rail.

Background Art

[0002] A finite stroke slide rail includes two slide rails of fixed length that can move relative to each other. A sliding member for assisting the relative movement between the two slide rails of fixed length is installed between the two slide rails of fixed length. The sliding member includes a retainer of a specific length and a plurality of balls installed at intervals by the retainer. The balls roll on the slide rail surface and are adapted to receive a load. Finite stroke slide rails are generally used in machining processes with relatively short moving distances.

[0003] The "finite linear motion guide unit with a cage" disclosed in Patent Document 1 uses a flat plate-shaped cage. The cage is provided with window holes arranged along the longitudinal direction, and rollers are installed obliquely in each window hole. Among them, the window holes are provided with recesses and lip portions adjacent to their peripheries, and are used for placing rolling elements and restricting their positions.

[0004] Since the cage described in the above Patent Document 1 is flat plate-shaped, the thickness of the cage is thin and the rigidity is low. Therefore, in order to maintain sufficient strength of the cage, it is necessary to reduce the number of window holes arranged in the longitudinal direction of the cage, resulting in a decrease in the number of rolling elements that can be accommodated, and thus the load-bearing capacity of the finite stroke slide rail is reduced. Moreover, the one described in Patent Document 1 does not consider how to lubricate the rolling elements and maintain smooth rolling.

[0005] The "linear rolling bearing cage" described in Patent Document 2 is constituted by connecting cage segments each having one accommodation groove, and rolling elements are accommodated in the accommodation grooves. Adjacent cage segments are elastically fitted into holes by journals on the end faces. However, in order to elastically deform the journals and fit them into the holes, through holes which are spaces necessary for accommodating the deformation in the journals are provided. As a result, after connecting adjacent cage segments, the through holes communicate with the accommodation grooves of the adjacent cage segments.

[0006] Since the cage disclosed in the above Patent Document 2 adopts a wrapping and covering method (pocket type) with respect to the rolling elements, it has higher rigidity than the cage in the aforementioned Patent Document 1. However, the through holes of the journals in Patent Document 2 are used as spaces necessary for accommodating the deformation of the journals, and this application does not consider how to lubricate the rolling elements during the rolling of the rolling elements to ensure smooth rolling of the rolling elements.

[0007] In the "linear motion guiding device" disclosed in Patent Document 3, the cage is constituted by connecting a first divided body and a second divided body to each other. Retaining portions extending in the longitudinal direction are provided at the upper and lower corners in the longitudinal direction of the rectangular cage body, and segmented hooks adjacent to the accommodation grooves are provided at the left and right corners in the lateral direction. The retaining portions and the segmented hooks can restrict the positions of the rolling elements. Further, a gear for restricting sliding is installed in this cage, and recesses for accommodating the shafts of the gears are respectively formed on the first divided body and the second divided body of the cage.

[0008] In the cage disclosed in the above Patent Document 3, by restricting the positions of the rolling elements with the retaining portions and the segmented hooks, the structural rigidity of the cage can be further increased. However, since the segmented hooks on the left and right in the lateral direction do not extend across all the rolling elements over the entire length, the tensile strength against the axial tensile force causing axial sliding of the guide rail is low. In addition, the technology described in Patent Document 3 does not consider how to lubricate the rolling elements during rolling to ensure smooth rolling of the rolling elements. Further, when regulating the gears that assemble and slide the cage, the shaft of the gear needs to be incorporated onto the concave portion 25 of the cage by an externally assembled method, which may cause the gears to become unstable.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0009]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0010] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a rolling - element cage, a sliding member, and a finite - stroke slide rail that can avoid vibrations during sliding and breakage of the main body, and enable smooth rolling of the rolling elements.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0011] The rolling element cage of the present invention includes a main body, a plurality of accommodating grooves, and a plurality of holes. The main body extends along a path, presents a polygon in a longitudinal cross-section intersecting the path, and has at least four protruding portions protruding so as to move away from the main body. The plurality of accommodating grooves are distributed in the main body and the protruding portions along the path, and the accommodating grooves are separated from each other by a predetermined distance. Each accommodating groove is used to accommodate a rolling element. The plurality of holes are formed in the main body and are located between the accommodating grooves. The holes communicate with the accommodating grooves, and the holes are used to store lubricating oil or porous lubricating materials. At least one of the protruding portions extends continuously across all adjacent accommodating grooves on the path.

[0012] Furthermore, the width of the accommodating groove is slightly larger than the width of the rolling element, and the accommodating groove has an opening on the main body. The width of the opening is slightly smaller than the width of the rolling element. The main body can be elastically deformed to push the rolling element into the accommodating groove from the opening, and the detachment is restricted. The rolling element has a rolling surface protruding from the main body.

[0013] Furthermore, it includes a first divided portion and a second divided portion extending along the path, and the first divided portion and the second divided portion are coupled to each other on a coupling surface via corresponding coupling portions, and the rolling element cage is constituted.

[0014] Furthermore, the main body has a shaft integrally formed in the vertical direction, a rotatable gear is pivotally supported on the shaft, a notch is provided at a position corresponding to the gear of the main body, and a part of the gear is exposed to the outside from the notch.

[0015] Furthermore, it includes a first divided portion and a second divided portion extending along the path, and the first divided portion and the second divided portion are coupled to each other on a coupling surface via corresponding coupling portions to constitute the rolling element cage. The coupling surface is parallel to the axis of the gear.

[0016] Furthermore, the path is a straight path or an arc path.

[0017] Furthermore, a sliding member includes the rolling element retainer according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and the rolling elements are respectively received in the respective receiving grooves.

[0018] Furthermore, the rolling elements are rollers or balls.

[0019] Furthermore, in adjacent rolling elements, the directions of their rolling axes serving as the rotation centers are staggered.

[0020] The finite stroke slide rail of the present invention includes the rolling element retainer according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and two fixed-length slide rails. The rolling elements are respectively received in the respective receiving grooves. Sliding grooves are respectively provided on the opposing surfaces of the two fixed-length slide rails. In the longitudinal direction, the sliding grooves of the two fixed-length slide rails jointly define one sliding space. The contour of the sliding space corresponds to the contour of the rolling element retainer. The rolling element retainer is installed in the sliding space. The rolling elements roll on the sliding grooves. A rail gap and a recessed groove are formed in the sliding space in the longitudinal cross-section. The protruding portion is located in the rail gap and the recessed groove.

[0021] Furthermore, a gear is installed on the rolling element retainer, and gear grooves corresponding to the gear are respectively provided on the two fixed-length slide rails, and the gear is meshed with the gear grooves.

Advantages of the Invention

[0022] Based on the above technical features, the present invention can achieve the following effects.

[0023] 1. A plurality of holes on the rolling element retainer are formed between the receiving grooves of the main body and communicated with adjacent receiving grooves. Lubricating oil or porous lubricant can be stored in the holes, and a lubricating effect can be provided during the rolling of the rolling elements, avoiding phenomena such as vibration when the two fixed-length slide rails slide relative to each other due to the non-smooth rolling of the rolling elements.

[0024] 2. In the longitudinal cross-section of the rolling element cage, at each corner of each receiving groove, there is a protruding portion that passes through all the receiving grooves along the axial direction. All the protruding portions distributed around the corners of the receiving grooves enhance the connection strength between all adjacent receiving grooves, effectively improve the rigidity of the rolling element cage, and can provide greater tensile strength in the axial direction of the rolling element cage. Due to the increase in rigidity brought about by the protruding portions, it becomes possible to provide more receiving grooves with a rolling element cage of the same length to accommodate more rolling elements, endow the finite stroke slide rail with a higher load capacity, and avoid the destruction of the main body caused by external forces during the assembly and use processes.

[0025] 3. In the longitudinal cross-section of the rolling element cage, since the accommodation space of the receiving groove extends to the protruding portion, it is possible to provide a larger contact range on the exposed surface of the rolling element.

[0026] 4. When a gear is installed in the middle section of the rolling element cage and the gear meshes with the tooth grooves of two fixed-length slide rails, when the two fixed-length slide rails move relatively, the relative movement between the rolling element cage and the two fixed-length slide rails can be maintained at a predetermined position, and the creep phenomenon can be prevented from occurring. And because the shaft of the gear is integrally formed on the main body of the rolling element cage, there is no need for separate assembly, the perpendicularity of the shaft can be ensured, and the gear can be rotated in a stable state.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0027]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16

Figure 17

Figure 18

Figure 19

Figure 20

Figure 21

Figure 22

Figure 23

Figure 24

Figure 25

Figure 26

Figure 27

Figure 28

Figure 29

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0028] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the following examples. In each of the examples described below, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals. In each of the examples from Example 2 onwards, detailed description of the same structure as in Example 1 will be omitted.

Examples

[0029] FIG. 1 shows a rolling element cage 10 and a sliding member 20 according to Example 1. The rolling element cage 10 is integrally formed and includes a main body 1. The main body 1 has a polygon and is made of a rigid material such as stainless steel. Further, the main body 1 extends along a path. The path may be a straight path or an arc path as required. In this example, an example is given in which the main body 1 extends along a straight path configured in the axial direction A.

[0030] A plurality of rolling elements 2 are placed in the main body 1 of the rolling element cage 10 to form the sliding member 20. In this embodiment, rollers are used as the rolling elements 2, and the rolling axes which become the rotation centers of adjacent rolling elements 2 are staggered, for example, the rolling axes of adjacent rolling elements 2 are offset by 90 degrees from each other. A plurality of rolling elements 2 are placed in the main body 1 of the rolling element cage 10 to form the sliding member 20.

[0031] 2 and 3, on a cross section in a vertical direction P intersecting the path (axial direction A), the main body 1 has a plurality of corners 11. In this embodiment, the main body 1 is rectangular and has four corners 11, and at least four protrusions 12 protrude away from the main body 1. In this embodiment, the four protrusions 12 protrude away from the main body 1 from the positions of the corners 11, respectively. The rolling element cage 10 is formed with a plurality of accommodating grooves 13 distributed along the axial direction A within the body 1 and the protruding portion 12. The accommodating grooves 13 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance D, and the protruding portion 12 extends continuously across all the adjacent accommodating grooves 13 along the entire length in the axial direction A.

[0032] The width of the accommodating tank 13 is slightly larger than that of the rolling elements 2, so that the rolling elements 2 can be accommodated in the accommodating tanks 13, respectively. After the rolling elements 2 are placed in the accommodating tanks 13, the rolling surfaces 21 protrude from the main body 1. Furthermore, a plurality of holes 14 are formed between the storage tanks 13 of the main body 1, and the holes 14 are connected to the storage tanks 13, so that lubricating oil or a porous lubricant can be stored in the holes 14. In this embodiment, a porous lubricant 3 is installed as an example.

[0033] 4, in this embodiment, the accommodating tank 13 has an opening 15 on the main body 1. The width of the opening 15 is slightly smaller than the width of the rolling elements 2, and since the main body 1 allows for some elastic deformation, the rolling elements 2 can be pushed into the accommodating tank 13 through the opening 15 by applying force. After the rolling elements 2 are placed in the accommodating tank 13, their escape is restricted and they will not freely come out of the opening 15.

[0034] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the finite stroke slide rail 30 is configured by incorporating the sliding member 20 between two fixed-length slide rails 4, and can assist the relative movement of the two fixed-length slide rails 4. Sliding grooves 41 are respectively provided on the opposing surfaces of the two fixed-length slide rails 4. The inner surface of the sliding groove 41 is the rail surface 411, and the sliding grooves 41 of the two fixed-length slide rails 4 jointly define a single sliding space 42. The contour of the sliding space 42 corresponds to the contour of the rolling element retainer 10, and the sliding member 20 is installed within the sliding space 42, enabling the rolling elements 2 to roll along the rail surface 411 of the sliding groove 41.

[0035] In the vertical direction P, a rail gap 421 and a recessed groove 422 are formed in the sliding space 42, and the protruding portion 12 is disposed within the rail gap 421 and the recessed groove 422. As shown in FIG. 6, the two fixed-length slide rails 4 are arranged on the left and right sides. Recessed grooves 422 for accommodating the protruding portions 12 on the left and right sides of the rolling element retainer 10 are respectively formed on the opposing surfaces of the two fixed-length slide rails 4, and the two fixed-length slide rails 4 are installed at a distance from each other, forming the rail gap 421 for accommodating the protruding portions 12 on the upper and lower sides of the rolling element retainer 10 on the upper and lower sides.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 3, by placing the porous lubricant 3 into the hole 14 communicated between adjacent accommodating grooves 13 on the main body 1, a lubricating effect can be provided during the rolling of the rolling elements 2, and it is possible to avoid the occurrence of phenomena such as vibration when the two fixed-length slide rails 4 move relatively due to the non-smooth rolling of the rolling elements 2.

Embodiment

[0037] FIGS. 7 to 11 show Embodiment 2 of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and 9, the main body 1 of the rolling element retainer 10 is provided with a notch 19 in the middle portion in the axial direction A. A rotatable gear 18 is incorporated at the position of the notch 19, a part of the gear 18 is exposed from the notch 19, and in the vertical direction P, the length of the gear 18 is slightly larger than the protruding lengths of the two opposing protruding portions 12. In addition, a shaft 17 integrally formed on the main body 1 has a gear 18 pivotally attached thereto. With the shaft 17 integrally formed on the main body 1, the gear 18 can be easily incorporated into the main body 1, and the perpendicularity of the shaft 17 can be ensured, enabling the gear 18 to rotate in a stable state.

[0038] In Embodiment 2, all the receiving grooves 13 located on one side of the gear 18 along the axial direction A are a set of 'adjacent' receiving grooves 13, and all the receiving grooves 13 located on the other side of the gear 18 along the axial direction A are another set of 'adjacent' receiving grooves 13. The two receiving grooves 13 closest to the gear 18 with the gear 18 in between are located on two sides of the gear 18 respectively. The two separated receiving grooves 13 are not adjacent and do not correspond to the 'adjacent' receiving grooves 13 defined by the present invention.

[0039] As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a plurality of rolling elements 2 are inserted into the main body 1 of the rolling element retainer 10 to form a sliding member 20. In Embodiment 2, the finite stroke slide rail 30 has tooth grooves 44 extending along the axial direction A respectively provided on two fixed-length slide rails 4. When the sliding member 20 is incorporated between the two fixed-length slide rails 4, the gear 18 meshes with the tooth grooves 44. Thus, through the meshing action of the gear 18 and the tooth grooves 44, when the two fixed-length slide rails 4 move relative to each other, the sliding member 20 and the two fixed-length slide rails 4 can move relative to each other while maintaining a predetermined position, and no creep phenomenon occurs.

Embodiment

[0040] FIGS. 12 to 16 show Embodiment 3 of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, in Embodiment 3, the rolling element retainer 10 provided with the gear 18 is of an assembled type and includes a first divided portion 101 and a second divided portion 102 extending along a straight path. The first divided portion 101 and the second divided portion 102 are coupled to each other on a coupling surface via corresponding coupling portions to form the rolling element retainer 10. The joint surface includes a first joint surface 1013 on the first divided portion 101 and a second joint surface 1023 on the second divided portion 102.

[0041] In this embodiment, since the forms of the first divided portion 101 and the second divided portion 102 are in a form cut in half along the diagonal protruding portions 12 of the rolling element cage 10, the first divided portion 101 and the second divided portion 102 have half of the protruding portion 12 on the opposite sides in the cutting direction, and when the first divided portion 101 and the second divided portion 102 are combined, a complete protruding portion 12 is formed. The joint portion includes a plurality of first assembly protruding columns 1011 and a plurality of first assembly holes 1012 arranged alternately and spaced apart on the first joint surface 1013, and a plurality of second assembly protruding columns 1021 and a plurality of second assembly holes 1022 arranged alternately and spaced apart on the second joint surface 1023. When the first divided portion 101 and the second divided portion 102 are combined and assembled, the rolling element cage 10 is formed. In this embodiment, semi-axes 171 are integrally formed on the first divided portion 101 and the second divided portion 102 respectively.

[0042] As shown in FIGS. 14, 15, and 16, when the first divided portion 101 and the second divided portion 102 are combined, the first joint surface 1013 and the second joint surface 1023 are bonded to each other, the first assembly protruding columns 1011 are fitted into the second assembly holes 1022, the second assembly protruding columns 1021 are fitted into the first assembly holes 1012 respectively, and the semi-axes 171 on the first divided portion 101 and the second divided portion 102 form the shaft 17 of the gear 18. In this embodiment, since the rolling elements 2 and the shaft 17 are first placed on the first divided portion 101 or the second divided portion 102 and then the second divided portion 102 or the first divided portion 101 is combined and assembled, the forming and manufacturing of the rolling element cage 10 are easy, and the attachment of the rolling elements 2 and the shaft 17 is also easy.

Embodiment

[0043] In Example 4, as shown in FIGS. 17, 18, and 19, the rolling element cage 10 provided with the gear 18 is an assembled type and includes a first divided portion 101 and a second divided portion 102 that extend along a straight path. The first divided portion 101 and the second divided portion 102 are coupled to each other on the coupling surface via corresponding coupling portions, and the rolling element cage 10 is constituted. The coupling surface includes a first coupling surface 1013 on the first divided portion 101 and a second coupling surface 1023 on the second divided portion 102. In this embodiment, the forms of the first divided portion 101 and the second divided portion 102 are in a form cut in half along the diagonal protruding portion 12 of the rolling element cage 10, and each has one complete protruding portion 12 on the opposite sides in the cutting direction of the first divided portion 101 and the second divided portion 102.

[0044] The main body 1 of the rolling element cage 10 has a polygon, and the protruding portion 12 protrudes from the corner portion 11. A first recessed portion 1014 is formed on the protruding portion 12 of the first divided portion 101 in the cutting direction, and when the first divided portion 101 and the second divided portion 102 are coupled, the corner portion 11 on the opposite side of the second divided portion 102 is accommodated. A second recessed portion 1024 is formed on the protruding portion 12 of the second divided portion 102 in the cutting direction, and when the first divided portion 101 and the second divided portion 102 are coupled, the corner portion 11 on the opposite side of the first divided portion 101 is accommodated.

[0045] First fitting portions 1015 extending from the protruding portion 12 are further provided at two opposite ends of the first divided portion 101, and first fitting grooves 1016 corresponding to the opposite sides are provided. Second fitting portions 1025 extending from the protruding portion 12 are further provided at two opposite ends of the second divided portion 102, and second fitting grooves 1026 corresponding to the opposite sides are provided. The coupling portion includes a plurality of first assembly protruding columns 1011 and a plurality of first assembly holes 1012 arranged adjacent to each other on the first coupling surface 1013, and a plurality of second assembly protruding columns 1021 and a plurality of second assembly holes 1022 arranged adjacent to each other on the second coupling surface 1023. When the first divided portion 101 and the second divided portion 102 are coupled, the rolling element cage 10 is constituted.

[0046] In this embodiment, the semi-axis 171 is integrally formed with the first dividing part 101 and the second dividing part 102 respectively. (The first dividing part 101 and the second dividing part 102 are symmetrically installed. During manufacturing, if the first dividing part 101 is inverted by 180 degrees, it will become the second dividing part 102. Therefore, in FIGS. 18 and 19, the first dividing part 101 and the second dividing part 102 are displayed simultaneously).

[0047] As shown in FIGS. 20, 21, and 22, when the first dividing part 101 and the second dividing part 102 are combined, the first fitting part 1015 at the end of the first dividing part 101 is inserted into the second fitting groove 1026 at the end of the second dividing part 102, the second fitting part 1025 at the end of the second dividing part 102 is inserted into the first fitting groove 1016 at the end of the first dividing part 101, and the first joint surface 1013 and the second joint surface 1023 are attached to each other.

[0048] In addition, the corner 11 on the opposite side of the second dividing part 102 is received in the first recess 1014 of the first dividing part 101, the corner 11 on the opposite side of the first dividing part 101 is received in the second recess 1024 of the second dividing part 102, the first assembly projection column 1011 is inserted into the second assembly hole 1022, the second assembly projection column 1021 is inserted into the first assembly hole 1012, and the semi-axes 171 on the first dividing part 101 and the second dividing part 102 form the shaft 17 of the gear 18.

[0049] In this embodiment, since the rolling elements 2 and the shaft 17 are first placed on the first dividing part 101 or the second dividing part 102 and then the second dividing part 102 or the first dividing part 101 is combined and assembled, the forming and manufacturing of the rolling element retainer 10 are easy, and the installation of the rolling elements 2 and the shaft 17 is also easy.

Embodiment

[0050] As shown in FIGS. 23 to 25, the difference from the above-described embodiments of Embodiment 5 is that balls are used for the rolling elements 2, indicating that it can be applied to rolling elements 2 such as rollers and balls that are most commonly used in linear movement slide rails.

[0051] As shown in FIGS. 26 and 27, the finite stroke slide rail 30 is configured by incorporating the aforementioned sliding member 20 between two fixed-length slide rails 4. The rolling elements 2 roll along the rail surface 411 to support the relative movement of the two fixed-length slide rails 4.

Embodiment

[0052] In the rolling element retainer 10 and the sliding member 20 according to Embodiment 6 shown in FIG. 28, balls are used as the rolling elements 2, and a gear 18 is installed in the rolling element retainer 10.

Embodiment

[0053] In Embodiment 7 shown in FIG. 29, the rolling element retainer 10 and the sliding member 20 use balls as the rolling elements 2, a gear 18 is installed in the rolling element retainer 10, and the rolling element retainer 10 is configured by combining a first divided portion 101 and a second divided portion 102.

[0054] The above describes the best embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention cannot be limited by this. All changes and modifications that do not depart from the scope of the claims are included within the scope of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0055] 10 Rolling element retainer 20 Sliding member 30 Finite stroke slide rail 1 Body 101 First divided portion 1011 First assembly projection column 1012 First assembly hole 1013 First joint surface 1014 First recess 1015 First fitting portion 1016 First fitting groove 102 Second divided portion 1021 Second assembly projection column 1022 Second assembly hole 1023 Second joint surface 1024 Second recess 1025 Second fitting part 1026 Second fitting groove 11 Corner part 12 Protrusion 121 Inverted hook 13 Receiving groove 14 Hole part 15 Opening 17 Shaft 171 Half shaft 18 Gear 19 Notch 2 Rolling element 21 Rolling surface 3 Porous lubricant 4 Fixed-length slide rail 41 Sliding groove 411 Rail surface 42 Sliding space 421 Rail gap 422 Concave groove 44 Tooth groove A Axial direction P Vertical direction D Distance

Claims

1. A rolling element cage including a body, a plurality of accommodating tanks, and a plurality of holes, the body extends along a path, has a polygonal shape in a longitudinal cross section intersecting the path, and includes at least four projections projecting away from the body; The plurality of accommodating grooves are distributed in the body and the protruding portion along the path, each of the accommodating grooves is spaced apart from the other by a predetermined distance, and each of the accommodating grooves is used to accommodate a rolling element, The plurality of holes are formed in the body and are located between the storage tanks, the holes are connected to the storage tanks, and the holes are used to store lubricating oil or porous lubricant; At least one of the protrusions is continuously extended across all of the adjacent storage tanks on the path. A rolling element cage comprising:

2. 2. The rolling element retainer of claim 1, wherein the width of the accommodating tank is slightly larger than the width of the rolling elements, the accommodating tank has an opening on the main body, the width of the opening is slightly smaller than the width of the rolling elements, the main body can be elastically deformed to push the rolling elements into the accommodating tank from the opening, and the rolling elements have a rolling surface that prevents the rolling elements from coming out and protrudes from the main body.

3. 2. The rolling element retainer according to claim 1, further comprising a first divided portion and a second divided portion extending along the path, the first divided portion and the second divided portion being joined to each other on joining surfaces via corresponding joining portions, thereby forming the rolling element retainer.

4. 2. The rolling element retainer according to claim 1, characterized in that the main body has a shaft integrally molded in the vertical direction, a rotatable gear is supported on the shaft, a notch is provided in the main body at a position corresponding to the gear, and a portion of the gear is exposed to the outside through the notch.

5. 5. The rolling element cage according to claim 4, comprising a first divided portion and a second divided portion extending along the path, the first divided portion and the second divided portion being joined to each other on a joining surface via corresponding joining portions to form the rolling element cage, the joining surface being parallel to an axis of the gear.

6. 2. The rolling element cage according to claim 1, characterized in that the path is a straight path or an arcuate path.

7. A sliding member, comprising the rolling element cage according to claim 1 , wherein the rolling elements are housed in the housing tanks, respectively.

8. 8. The sliding member according to claim 7, wherein the rolling elements are rollers or balls.

9. 8. The sliding member according to claim 7, wherein adjacent rolling elements have rolling axes that are rotation centers staggered with each other.

10. 7. A limited stroke slide rail, comprising: the rolling element cage according to claim 1; and two fixed-length slide rails, the rolling elements are accommodated in each of the accommodation tanks, sliding grooves are provided on opposing surfaces of the two fixed-length slide rails, the sliding grooves of the two fixed-length slide rails jointly define a sliding space in the longitudinal direction, a contour of the sliding space corresponds to a contour of the rolling element cage, the rolling element cage is installed in the sliding space, the rolling elements roll on the sliding grooves, a rail gap and a recessed groove are formed in the sliding space in the longitudinal cross section, and the protrusions are located in the rail gap and the recessed groove.

11. The limited stroke slide rail according to claim 10, characterized in that a gear is installed on the rolling element cage, and the two fixed length slide rails are respectively provided with tooth grooves corresponding to the gear, and the gear is meshed with the tooth grooves.

Images