Sealing material with cut pile woven or knitted fabric

Abstract

To provide a sealing material with a cut-pile woven or knitted fabric that has high effect of preventing foreign matter from penetrating into machinery housings.SOLUTION: A sealing material with a cut-pile woven or knitted fabric has a cut-pile woven or knitted fabric and a holding member to hold the cut-pile woven or knitted fabric. The holding member has a stepped opening. The ratio between the length of the implantation spacing of cut piles of the cut-pile woven or knitted fabric and the pile opening length of the cut piles is 1:2 to 1:5.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric. [Background technology]

[0002] As a sealant for the gap between the sliding surface of a rotating shaft and a support part that supports the rotating shaft, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a sealant having cut pile fabric, in which the cut pile fabric is bonded to a retaining member such as a metal elastic member or an ultra-shape-retaining sheet. The sealant having cut pile fabric can reduce frictional heat caused by contact between the sliding surface and the sealant, and is excellent at preventing powder leakage. Therefore, sealants having cut pile fabric are primarily used to prevent powder leakage, such as toner, in copiers and printers. Patent Document 3 also discloses a sealant having cut pile fabric with a diagonal or zigzag joint to maintain sealing properties. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-127832 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-204707 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-26728 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Seals used in machinery such as vehicles and industrial machinery typically use a rubber composition as a component that comes into contact with the sliding surface of a shaft. A seal containing the rubber composition exhibits high sealing properties. Therefore, a seal containing the rubber composition can prevent foreign matter from entering the housing through a gap between the shaft and the housing supporting the shaft. However, a seal containing the rubber composition may cause a decrease in breathability and an increase in frictional resistance between the sliding surface and the seal. For example, when a seal containing the rubber composition is applied to a shaft that moves as a piston in the machinery, the decrease in breathability may increase the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the housing at the piston. This increase in pressure difference impedes the movement of the piston. Furthermore, the increase in frictional resistance reduces the slidability of the shaft and increases frictional heat at the contact area between the sliding surface and the seal.

[0005] A sealing material having a cut pile woven / knitted fabric has superior breathability and can reduce frictional resistance compared to a sealing material having the above-mentioned rubber composition. Furthermore, a sealing material having a cut pile woven / knitted fabric can retain grease and maintain appropriate grease seepage when automatically replenishing grease into the shaft of the above-mentioned machinery. Therefore, by applying a sealing material having the above cut pile woven / knitted fabric to the above-mentioned machinery instead of a sealing material having the above-mentioned rubber composition, reduced frictional resistance, improved sliding properties of the shaft, suppression of frictional heat, and an improved automatic grease replenishing function can be expected.

[0006] Therefore, the present inventors attempted to use a sealing material having a cut pile woven / knitted fabric instead of a sealing material having a rubber composition on the rotating shaft of the joint of an industrial robot arm. However, contrary to the inventors' expectations, the sealing material having a cut pile woven / knitted fabric was not always effective in preventing foreign matter from entering the housing of the industrial robot arm.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric that is highly effective in preventing foreign matter from entering the housing of machinery. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention provides a cut pile woven / knitted fabric, a holding member for holding the cut pile woven / knitted fabric, The sealing material has a cut pile woven / knitted fabric having the above-mentioned structure, wherein the holding member has a stepped opening, and the ratio of the length of the planting interval of the cut pile of the cut pile woven / knitted fabric to the pile spread length of the cut pile is 1:2 to 1:5. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, a sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric is provided which is highly effective in preventing foreign matter from entering the interior of a housing of machinery. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a sealing material 100 having cut pile woven or knitted fabric. [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a side view of a sealing material 100 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric bent into a circular shape. [Figure 3] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the outer peripheral surface of a sealing material 100 having cut pile woven or knitted fabric. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a sealing material 100 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric is attached to an annular groove 210 provided in a housing 200 of a joint of an industrial robot. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the AA cross section shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the state of the holding member 120 forming the stepped opening 130 in FIGS. 4 and 5. [Figure 7] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the area indicated by B in FIG. [Figure 8]FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the area indicated by C in FIG. 5. [Figure 9] 1 is a perspective view of a sealing material 100 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric in a state where the sealing material 100 is fitted in an annular groove 210. FIG. [Figure 10] 1 is a perspective view showing a sealing material 1000 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric in a state where it is fitted in an annular groove 210. FIG. [Figure 11] 10 is a perspective view showing a sealing material 2000 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric in a state where it is fitted in an annular groove 210. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The present invention will be described in detail below based on preferred embodiments, with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these examples, but is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

[0012] (1) One embodiment of the present invention comprises a cut pile woven or knitted fabric, a holding member for holding the cut pile woven or knitted fabric; A sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric, The retaining member has a stepped opening, The ratio of the length of the planting interval of the cut pile in the cut pile woven or knitted fabric to the pile opening length of the cut pile is 1:2 to 1:5. A sealing material having cut pile woven or knitted fabric.

[0013] The sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric (1) above has a high effect of preventing foreign matter from entering the housing of machinery.

[0014] (2) In the sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric described in (1) above, the ratio of the planting interval of the cut pile of the cut pile woven or knitted fabric to the length of the fibers of the cut pile is 1:2 to 1:13.

[0015] (3) In the sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to (1) or (2) above, the pile opening angle of the cut pile is 20° to 50°.

[0016] (4) A sealing material having the cut pile woven / knitted fabric according to any one of (1) to (3) above, wherein the sealing material having the cut pile woven / knitted fabric is fitted into an annular groove provided in a housing of machinery, The ratio of the dimensional tolerance of the length of the inner circumference of the annular groove to the shortest length from the end face of the convex portion of the holding member to the end face of the concave portion at the stepped opening is 1:1 to 1:2.

[0017] A sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to any one of (2) to (4) above has an even greater effect of preventing foreign matter from entering the housing of machinery.

[0018] (5) In the sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to any one of (1) to (4) above, the holding member is an elastic body.

[0019] (6) In the sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric described in (5) above, the elastic body is a shape-retaining sheet or a stainless steel strip for a spring.

[0020] A sealing material having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric described in (5) or (6) above has excellent attachability to machinery.

[0021] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sealing material 100 (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "sealing material 100") having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the side of sealing material 100 when sealing material 100 is bent into an annular shape so that the end face of holding member 120 of stepped opening 130 abuts against it. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the outer peripheral surface of sealing material 100 shown in Fig. 2, including stepped opening 130 with which the end face abuts.

[0022] The sealing material 100 includes a cut pile woven / knitted fabric 110, a holding member 120, and a stepped opening 130. The cut pile woven / knitted fabric 110 is fixed to the holding member 120 with double-sided tape, adhesive, or the like. The stepped openings 130 are located at both ends of the sealing material 100. In FIG. 1 , one of the stepped openings 130 is shown as a joint 130a, and the other as a joint 130b. The joint 130a has a protruding end face 131a, a recessed end face 132a, and a side end face 133a in the holding member 120. The joint 130b has a protruding end face 131b, a recessed end face 132b, and a side end face 133b in the holding member 120.

[0023] The retaining member 120 according to one embodiment of the present invention is made of an elastic body. The elastic body may be made of any known material used as a retaining member for a sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric, and is not particularly limited. Examples of the elastic body include a shape-retaining sheet and a stainless steel strip for springs. The shape-retaining sheet may be any known material, and is not particularly limited. Specific examples of shape-retaining sheets include sheets made of stretched polyolefin resins or stretched materials made of polyolefin resins, such as "Forte" manufactured by Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. Examples of stainless steel strips for springs include stainless steel strips for springs conforming to JIS G 4313 (2011), and for example, SUS thin sheets can be used.

[0024] The sealing material 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention has a flat plate shape as shown in FIG. 1 when no external force is applied. As described above, the holding member 120 of the sealing material 100 is made of an elastic material. Therefore, the sealing material 100 deforms when an external force is applied and returns to its flat plate shape when the external force is removed. When the sealing material 100 is fitted into the annular groove 210 of the housing 200, as described below, the sealing material 100 is bent into an annular shape and inserted into the annular groove 210. The elastic force of the holding member 120 causes the sealing material 100 to expand in diameter and fit into the annular groove 210. This improves the adhesion of the sealing material 100 to the annular groove 210. Therefore, the sealing material 100 not only prevents foreign matter from entering the housing of machinery, but also provides excellent attachment to machinery.

[0025] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the sealing material 100 includes a stepped edge 130. By bending the sealing material 100 in an annular shape, the abutment between the abutment 130a and the abutment 130b can be achieved, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The stepped edge includes the stepped edge shapes specified in JIS B 8032-1:2016 and equivalent shapes. As shown in FIG. 3, the protruding end surface 131a and the recessed end surface 132b, and the recessed end surface 132a and the protruding end surface 131b, are brought into abutment by bending the sealing material 100 in an annular shape. Furthermore, by bending the sealing material 100 in an annular shape until the protruding end surface 131a and the protruding end surface 131b are aligned along the central axis of the annulus formed by the sealing material 100, the abutment between the side end surface 133a and the side end surface 133b begins. In other words, when the external force on the sealing material 100 that has been bent into a circular shape is gradually removed until the gap 130a and the gap 130b are brought into contact, the side end face 133a and a portion of the side end face 133b can remain in contact as long as the circular ring formed by the sealing material 100 does not expand in diameter to a position where the convex end face 131a and the convex end face 131b are aligned in the central axis direction of the circular ring.

[0026] 4 and 5 are schematic diagrams showing a state in which a sealing material 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention is mounted in an annular groove 210 provided in a housing 200 of a joint of an industrial robot. Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the housing 200 with the sealing material 100 mounted in the annular groove 210, as viewed from a direction perpendicular to the axis. Fig. 5 is a schematic view of the AA cross section shown in Fig. 4.

[0027] The housing 200 shown in Fig. 4 has a hole H. A rotating shaft 300 is inserted through this hole H. The housing 200 has an annular groove 210 for fitting the sealing material 100 and a bearing 400 for holding the rotating shaft 300. The sealing material 100 is fitted in the annular groove 210 so that the holding member 120 is fixed to the housing 200 and the cut pile woven / knitted fabric 110 is in sliding contact with the circumferential surface of the rotating shaft 300. The sealing material 100 fitted in this manner can prevent foreign matter from entering the interior of the housing 200 from the outside.

[0028] The sealing material 100 is inserted through the hole H in a state where it is bent into an annular shape with a diameter smaller than the diameter of the hole H, and is attached to the annular groove 210. As described above, the holding member 120 of the sealing material 100 is made of an elastic body. Therefore, the sealing material 100 inserted through the hole H expands in diameter to the diameter of the annular groove 210 by spring back, and is attached to the annular groove 210. In other words, the sealing material 100 is attached to the annular groove 210 in a state where a force due to the spring back of the sealing material 100 is applied to the annular groove 210. This makes it possible for the sealing material 100 to have an excellent effect of suppressing the intrusion of foreign matter into the housing 200 and to easily attach the sealing material 100 to the annular groove 210.

[0029] The width of the retaining member 120 is designed taking into consideration the dimensional tolerance of the width of the annular groove 210. Typically, the width of the retaining member 120 is designed to be smaller than the width of the annular groove 210. This reduces the possibility of the width of the retaining member 120 being larger than the width of the annular groove 210, making it impossible to install the sealing material 100 in the annular groove 210. In FIG. 4, when the sealing material 100 is installed in the annular groove 210, the side end surface 133a and the side end surface 133b do not abut on each other, creating a gap G1.

[0030] As described above, when the sealing material 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention is fitted into the annular groove 210, it is bent into an annular shape to a diameter smaller than the diameter of the hole H. The sealing material 100 then expands in diameter due to spring back and is fitted into the annular groove 210. Therefore, when the sealing material 100 is fitted into the annular groove 210, as shown in FIG. 5, the recess end surface 132a and the protrusion end surface 131b do not abut against each other, and a gap G2 is generated.

[0031] FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the state of the holding member 120 forming the stepped opening 130 in FIGS. 4 and 5. In the sealing material 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention, the width of the holding member 120 is smaller than the width of the annular groove 210. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, when the sealing material 100 is installed in the annular groove 210, a gap G1 is generated between the side end surface 133a and the side end surface 133b. Furthermore, when the sealing material 100 is installed in the annular groove 210, the diameter of the sealing material 100 expands due to springback. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, when the sealing material 100 is installed in the annular groove 210, a gap G2 is generated between the convex end surface 131a and the concave end surface 132b, and between the concave end surface 132a and the convex end surface 131b.

[0032] As described above, a sealing material having a cut pile woven / knitted fabric may not be sufficiently effective in preventing foreign matter from entering the housing of an industrial robot arm. The inventors analyzed the cause of the deterioration in the effect of preventing foreign matter from entering and found that the dimensional tolerance of the annular groove for fitting the sealing material affects the effect of the sealing material having a cut pile woven / knitted fabric in preventing foreign matter from entering.

[0033] Sealing materials with cut pile woven or knitted fabrics are primarily used to prevent the leakage of powders such as toner from copiers and printers. The diameters of the rotating shafts of developing rollers, supply rollers, and other components used in toner cartridges for copiers and printers are often smaller than the diameters of the rotating shafts used in the joints of industrial robots. The dimensional tolerance of the housing varies depending on the diameter of the rotating shaft. Typically, the larger the shaft diameter, the greater the dimensional tolerance of the housing. In other words, the dimensional tolerance of the housing of an industrial robot tends to be greater than the dimensional tolerance of the toner cartridges of copiers and printers. For example, if Figures 4 and 5 show the state in which the sealing material 100 is attached to a toner cartridge rather than to the joints of an industrial robot, the lengths of gaps G1 and G2 would be smaller. In particular, the dimensional tolerance of the diameter of the annular groove provided in the housing is more strongly influenced by the diameter of the rotating shaft than by the dimensional tolerance of the groove width. Therefore, the gap G2 when the seal material 100 is attached to a toner cartridge is even smaller than the gap G2 when the seal material 100 is attached to an industrial robot.

[0034] Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the area indicated by B in Fig. 4. Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of the area indicated by C in Fig. 5.

[0035] The cut pile woven / knitted fabric 110 may be either a cut pile woven fabric or a cut pile knitted fabric. The weave of the cut pile woven / knitted fabric 110 is not particularly limited, and any known weave that can be used for cut pile woven fabrics and cut pile knitted fabrics may be used. When the cut pile woven / knitted fabric 110 is a cut pile woven fabric, examples of the weave include plain, twill, satin, and variations thereof. When the cut pile woven / knitted fabric 110 is a cut pile knitted fabric, the weave may be either a warp knitted fabric or a weft knitted fabric. Examples of warp knitted fabrics include denbigh knit, cord knit, and atlas knit. Examples of weft knitted fabrics include plain knit, rib knit, purl knit, and smooth knit. The weave density and knitting density of the cut pile woven / knitted fabric 110 may be appropriately set depending on the planting interval IS, which will be described later. Below, we will explain the case where the cut pile woven / knitted fabric 110 is a cut pile woven fabric. The conditions such as the planting interval length IS, the pile opening length PO, the pile fiber length PL, and the pile opening angle θ are the same for the cut pile knitted fabric 110.

[0036] The cut pile woven / knitted fabric 110 is composed of a plurality of cut piles 111 and a knitted fabric 112. The tips of the cut piles 111 are open at a pile open length PO and a pile open angle θ. In Figures 7 and 8, the pile open angle θ indicates the angle of the fibers of the cut pile 111 that is most inclined relative to a perpendicular to the holding member 120 at the planting position of the cut pile 111. The cut piles 111 are held in place by ground yarns that make up the knitted fabric 112. In Figures 7 and 8, the planting interval IS indicates the distance between adjacent cut piles 111. The planting interval IS can be adjusted by the thickness of the ground yarns, the mesh spacing of the ground yarns of the knitted fabric 112, the weaving direction of the knitted fabric 112 when the cut pile woven / knitted fabric 110 is fixed to the holding member 120, etc. 7 and 8, the planting interval length IS is shown as the same length for convenience, but is not limited to this. The pile fiber length PL indicates the length of the cut pile 111 from the knitted fabric 112 to the tip of the cut pile 111.

[0037] As described above, the cut pile 111 has a pile spread length PO. The cut pile 111 has a pile spread, which allows the fibers of the cut pile 111 to become entangled with the fibers of adjacent cut pile 111. This entanglement of the fibers increases the fiber density over the planting interval IS. This improves the sealing material 100 having the cut pile woven or knitted fabric's ability to prevent the intrusion of foreign matter. In other words, if an entangled region where the fibers of adjacent cut pile 111 become entangled is not formed, the sealing material 100's ability to prevent the intrusion of foreign matter will be insufficient.

[0038] From the viewpoint of forming an intertwined region with the fibers of adjacent cut pile yarns 111, the ratio of the planting interval length IS to the pile fiber length PL is preferably 1:2 to 1:13. By making the length PL at least twice the length IS, the formation of an intertwined region ER, which will be described later, is ensured. Furthermore, by making the length PL no more than 13 times the length IS, the pile fibers are raised in the knitted fabric 112, and the pile yarn opening can be suitably formed. A ratio of the length IS to the length PL of 1:3 to 1:10 is particularly preferred.

[0039] The actual dimensions of the planting interval length IS and the pile fiber length PL are not particularly limited and can be adjusted appropriately to achieve the above-mentioned ratio depending on conditions such as the type of machinery to which the sealing material 100 is applied and the size of the annular groove 210 (described below). A specific planting interval length IS according to one embodiment of the present invention is 0.3 mm to 0.6 mm. A specific pile fiber length PL is 1.2 mm to 4.0 mm.

[0040] The ratio of the planting interval IS to the pile spread length PO is preferably 1:2 to 1:5. This allows the fibers of the cut pile 111 arranged near the end faces of the adjacent joints 130a and 130b to become entangled with each other when the joints 130a and 130b are brought close to each other. As a result, the formation of entangled regions ER, which will be described later, is ensured in the gaps G1. From the viewpoint of the formation of entangled regions between the fibers of adjacent cut pile 111, it is particularly preferable that the length PO be three times or more the length IS.

[0041] The actual size of the pile spread length PO is not particularly limited, and can be determined by appropriately adjusting the pile fiber length PL and pile spread angle θ so that the above-mentioned ratio is achieved in accordance with conditions such as the size of the annular groove 210 (described later). A specific pile spread length PO according to one embodiment of the present invention is 0.9 mm to 1.5 mm. A specific pile spread angle θ is 20° to 50°.

[0042] 7 and 8 are schematic diagrams showing a state in which the sealing material 100 is attached to an annular groove 210 provided in a housing 200 of a joint of an industrial robot (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as the "used state"). That is, the pile spread length PO and pile spread angle θ of the cut pile 111 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 are the length and angle when the cut pile 111 is in contact with the rotating shaft 300. Therefore, the pile spread length and pile spread angle when the cut pile 111 is not in contact with the rotating shaft 300 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as the "unused state") are different from the length PO and pile spread angle θ in the used state. The pile spread length and pile spread angle in the unused state are not particularly limited and may be appropriately set so as to achieve the length PO and angle θ in the used state. A specific pile spread length in the unused state according to one embodiment of the present invention is 0.7 mm to 0.9 mm. A specific pile spread angle θ in the unused state is 10° to 20°.

[0043] 7 and 8 show the cut pile fibers 111 radially spreading at a pile spread angle θ relative to a line perpendicular to the holding member 120 at the planting position. However, the spread state of the cut pile of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the cut pile fibers 111 can be slanted so that the fibers spread radially relative to a line inclined in a predetermined direction from the perpendicular line. This makes it possible to control the spreading direction of the cut pile fibers 111 in the above-mentioned usage state. As a result, the formation of an intertwined region between the fibers of adjacent cut piles 111 is promoted. The slanting angle of the cut pile 111 is not particularly limited and can be adjusted as needed to form the intertwined region ER described below. For example, the slanting angle can be set to 10° to 70° relative to the perpendicular line.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 7 , when the seal material 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention is installed in the annular groove 210, a gap G1 is formed between the side end surface 133a and the side end surface 133b. As described above, the gap G1, which is generated due to the dimensional tolerance of the groove width of the annular groove 210, is smaller than the gap G2, which is generated due to the dimensional tolerance of the diameter of the annular groove 210. Therefore, in FIG. 7 , the fibers of the cut pile 111 on the side end surface 133a side and the fibers of the cut pile 111 on the side end surface 133b side, which are adjacent to each other via the gap G1, are entangled, forming an entanglement region ER between the gap G1 and the gap G1. Therefore, the seal material 100 can prevent foreign matter from entering the housing 200 through the gap G1.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 8, when the sealing material 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention is installed in the annular groove 210, a gap G2 is formed between the recess end face 132a and the protrusion end face 131b. As described above, the gap G2, which is caused by the dimensional tolerance of the diameter of the annular groove 210, is larger than the gap G1, which is caused by the dimensional tolerance of the groove width of the annular groove 210. Therefore, in FIG. 8, an entanglement region ER cannot be formed between the fibers of the cut pile 111 on the recess end face 132a side and the fibers of the cut pile 111 on the protrusion end face 131b side, which are adjacent to each other through the gap G2. However, the side end face 133a of the joint 130a is located axially to the gap G2. Therefore, the space created by the gap G2 is filled by the cut pile 111 arranged in the area of ​​the side end face 133a. Similarly, gap G2 occurring between convex end surface 131a and concave end surface 132b is closed by cut pile 111 disposed in the region of side end surface 133b. Therefore, sealing material 100 can prevent foreign matter from entering housing 200 through gap G2.

[0046] Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the state of the sealing material 100 installed in the annular groove 210. Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing the state of the sealing material 1000 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric with a right-angled joint 1300 installed in the annular groove 210. Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing the state of the sealing material 2000 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric with a diagonal joint 2300 installed in the annular groove 210.

[0047] As described above, in the seal material 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 9, the gap G1 created by the groove width of the annular groove 210, which has a small dimensional tolerance, is filled by the entanglement region ER formed by the fibers of the cut pile 111 on the side end face 133a side and the fibers of the cut pile 111 on the side end face 133b side. Furthermore, the gap G2 created by the diameter of the annular groove 210, which has a large dimensional tolerance, is filled by the cut pile 111 arranged in the regions of the side end face 133a and the side end face 133b, which are located axially on the side of the gap G2. Therefore, the seal material 100 can effectively prevent foreign matter from entering the housing 200.

[0048] The sealing material 1000 shown in FIG. 10 has the same configuration as the sealing material 100, except that the stepped joint 130 is replaced with a right-angle joint 1300. As mentioned above, the dimensional tolerances of the housings of industrial robots tend to be larger than those of the housings of copiers and printers. Therefore, depending on the dimensional tolerances, as shown in FIG. 10, the gap G2 may be so narrow that the cut pile woven / knitted fabric 110 on one side of the joint end face 1300a and the cut pile woven / knitted fabric 110 on the other side of the joint end face 1300b cannot form an intertwined region. As a result, the sealing material 1000 may not be sufficiently effective in preventing foreign matter from entering the housing of the industrial robot arm.

[0049] 11 has the same configuration as the sealing material 100, except that the stepped gap 130 is changed to a diagonal gap 2300. As with the sealing material 1000, the gap G2 in the sealing material 2000 may be so wide that an entanglement region cannot be formed between the cut pile woven / knitted fabric 110 on one side of the gap end face 2300a and the cut pile woven / knitted fabric 110 on the other side of the gap end face 2300b. As a result, the sealing material 2000 may not be sufficiently effective in preventing foreign matter from entering the housing of the industrial robot arm.

[0050] As described above, sealing materials with cut pile woven / knitted fabrics can suppress the intrusion of foreign matter by forming an entanglement area between adjacent cut pile fibers. Therefore, sealing materials with cut pile woven / knitted fabrics can suppress the intrusion of foreign matter as long as the gaps created by the dimensional tolerances of the annular groove are within the range where the entanglement area is formed. In other words, sealing materials with cut pile woven / knitted fabrics inherently tolerate the dimensional tolerances of the annular groove and have the function of suppressing the intrusion of foreign matter. Additionally, sealing materials with cut pile woven / knitted fabrics are primarily used to suppress the leakage of powders such as toner from copiers and printers. The dimensional tolerances of toner cartridges for copiers and printers are often smaller than those of industrial robots. Therefore, conventional sealing materials with cut pile woven / knitted fabrics mainly use right-angle or oblique joints, which are easy to design and manufacture.

[0051] The present inventors attempted to apply the sealing material 1000 and the sealing material 2000 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 to the joint of an industrial robot arm. As a result, it was found that the sealing material 1000 and the sealing material 2000 varied in their effectiveness in preventing foreign matter from entering the housing. The present inventors analyzed the cause and found that the dimensional tolerance of the annular groove in which the sealing material is attached affects the effectiveness in preventing foreign matter from entering the housing. Furthermore, the present inventors found that the dimensional tolerance of the diameter of the annular groove, in particular, affects the variability in the effectiveness of the sealing material 1000 and the sealing material 2000 in preventing foreign matter from entering the housing. As a result of further research, the present inventors found that the sealing material 100 having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric and a stepped opening 130 shown in FIG. 9 can stably and effectively prevent foreign matter from entering the housing of the joint of an industrial robot arm.

[0052] In the seal material 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention, the ratio of the dimensional tolerance of the inner peripheral length of the annular groove 210 to the shortest length from the recess end face 132a to the protrusion end face 131b is preferably 1:1 to 1:2. Similarly, the ratio of the dimensional tolerance of the inner peripheral length of the annular groove 210 to the shortest length from the protrusion end face 131a to the recess end face 132b is preferably 1:1 to 1:2. In other words, in the seal material 100, the ratio of the dimensional tolerance of the inner peripheral length of the annular groove 210 to the length of the side end face 133a is preferably 1:1 to 1:2. Similarly, the ratio of the dimensional tolerance of the inner peripheral length of the annular groove 210 to the length of the side end face 133b is preferably 1:1 to 1:2. This allows the seal material 100 to exhibit a high effect of suppressing the intrusion of foreign matter into the housing 200. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 100 sealing material 110 Cut pile woven / knitted fabric 111 Cut pile 112 knitted fabric 120 Retaining member 130 Step Entrance 130a Joint 130b Joint 131a Convex end face 132a Recess end surface 133a Side end face 131b Convex end face 132b Recess end surface 133b Side end face 200 Housing 210 Annular groove 300 rotation axis 400 bearing 1300 Right-angle joint 1000 sealing material 2300 Joint 2000 sealing material G1 Gap G2 gap H hole IS Implant Interval Length PO pile opening length PL pile fiber length θ Pile opening angle

Claims

1. Cut pile woven and knitted fabrics, a holding member for holding the cut pile woven or knitted fabric; A sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric, The retaining member has a stepped opening; the ratio of the length of the planting interval of the cut pile in the cut pile woven or knitted fabric to the pile opening length of the cut pile is 1:2 to 1:5; A sealing material having cut pile woven or knitted fabric.

2. 2. A sealing material comprising a cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of the length of the planting interval of the cut pile in the cut pile woven or knitted fabric to the length of the cut pile fibers is 1:2 to 1:

13.

3. 2. A sealing material comprising the cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to claim 1, wherein the cut pile has a pile opening angle of 20° to 50°.

4. The sealing material having the cut pile woven / knitted fabric is fitted into an annular groove provided in a housing of machinery, the ratio of the dimensional tolerance of the length of the inner circumference of the annular groove to the shortest length from the end face of the convex portion of the holding member to the end face of the concave portion at the stepped opening is 1:1 to 1:2; A sealing material comprising the cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. 5. A sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to claim 4, wherein the holding member is an elastic body.

6. 6. A sealing material having a cut pile woven or knitted fabric according to claim 5, wherein the elastic body is a shape-retaining sheet or a stainless steel strip for a spring.

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