Bearings – Linear bearing – Recirculating
Patent
1998-07-23
1999-11-23
Hannon, Thomas R.
Bearings
Linear bearing
Recirculating
29898067, 384 51, F16C 3356, F16C 4308
Patent
active
059888830
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an endless retainer in a guide device of, for example, a linear guide device, a curved guide device, a pivoting bearing or the like for infinite sliding, which is inserted into an infinite track thereof and which supports relative linear movement or rotational movement between a pair of bearing races forming the infinite track, and its fabrication method.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
According to various guide devices having bearings, linear movement or rotational movement between bearing races can be carried out by utilizing rolling movement of rolling bodies comprising balls or rollers sandwiched between a pair of the bearing races. It is general to integrate a number of the rolling bodies between the bearing races by holding them by a retainer or a cage made of a metal thin plate or synthetic resin with purposes of preventing detachment of the rolling bodies when the pair of bearing races are separated from each other, achieving reduction in frictional resistance by avoiding contact among the respective rolling bodies, obtaining smooth movement by aligning the respective rolling bodies at predetermined positions and so on.
However, according to a conventional guide device using a retainer, the guide device is integrated by integrating the retainer to a side of either of the bearing races, integrating the rolling bodies to a formed rolling path of the rolling bodies and successively integrating other of the bearing races. Particularly when the guide device includes an infinite track of the rolling bodies, skill is required in the operation of integrating the guide device using the retainer and its automation is difficult.
Further, according to a conventional guide device using a cage, the cage is provided with a number of pockets and the respective rolling bodies are rotatably held in the pockets and accordingly, there is provided an advantage where the operation of integrating a number of the rolling bodies to the guide device is facilitated. However, there poses other problem in which a number of the rolling bodies need to be integrated in the respective pockets of the cage and held thereby such that the rolling bodies are not detached and enormous time and labor is required in fabricating the cage per se.
Hence, in order to resolve such problems, there have been proposed a ball retainer or a ball cage in a chain-like shape which is fabricated by injection molding of resin where balls are arranged as cores at a substantially flat face in a mold and forms a predetermined shape by being folded or bent in using it (Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. JP-B-6-56181, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. JP-A-5-52217, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. JP-A-5-126149, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. JP-A-5-196036 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. JP-A-5-196037).
However, according to the ball retainer or the ball cage in a chain-like shape, rotatability is provided to the balls which have been cast as cores in the resin by utilizing a property of the resin that it is contracted after the injection molding. Accordingly, there are cases where an extremely long period of time is required for providing the rotatability to the balls, it is difficult to provide the smooth rotatability and the rotatability cannot be provided to the balls depending on the kind of resin.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has solved difficulty in handling a conventional retainer or a cage for rolling bodies and resolved the problem of the ball cage or the ball retainer in a chain-like shape which has previously been proposed and it is an object of the present invention to provide an endless retainer not only having advantages where the retainer can be fabricated extremely easily, handling thereof is extremely facilitated without detaching rolling bodies and an automation in integrating the retainer to a guide device can be carried out, but being capable of extremely smooth rotatability to the rolling bodies with certainly
REFERENCES:
patent: 3732606 (1973-05-01), de Germond
patent: 4886377 (1989-12-01), Adachi et al.
patent: 5156462 (1992-10-01), Jacob et al.
Abstract of Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-231432; dated Sep. 7, 1993.
Honma Mitsuaki
Mochizuki Hiroaki
Murata Tomozumi
Takamatu Hiroshi
Hannon Thomas R.
THK Co. Ltd.
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