Abstract: In a guide rail for a linear guide apparatus including a plurality of rolling elements and a slider, the guide rail includes a pair of rolling grooves formed in side surfaces of the guide rail for supporting the slider through the rolling elements, the rolling-element rolling grooves axially extending in parallel with each other, a pair of hardened surface layers formed continuously all over the side surfaces by subjecting the side surfaces to induction hardening, and a hole formed penetratingly in a soft portion existing between the hardened surface layers for fixing the guide rail. The hardened surface layers thus formed are sufficient to receive a shearing force which is applied to the guide rail when the linear guide apparatus is in operation.

Abstract: In a linear guide apparatus including a guide rail, a slider hanging over the guide rail to freely move with respect to the guide rail through the rolling movements of balls and a ball retainer mounted within the slider for holding the balls, the ball retainer is formed of plate-shaped metal and includes two ball holding parts respectively formed by bending the two side edge portions of a thin metal plate and two thin-plate shaped inner seal parts extending along and fixed integrally to the ball holding parts with the end portions thereof slidingly contactable with the upper surface of the guide rail. The ball retainer has not only a ball retainer function to be able to hold a large number of balls loaded into the ball rolling grooves formed in the slider but also an inner seal function to prevent foreign matter which have passed through side seals into the slider from entering into the ball rolling grooves.

Abstract: A locating table apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a housing, a base member fixed in the housing, a table mounted so as to freely move in a longitudinal direction, driving members located on the base member for supporting and driving the table, and a plurality of electrostatic dust absorbing members arranged at predetermined positions in the housing via respective electrical insulative members, wherein the electrostatic dust absorbing members provide a parallel plate-shaped condenser. Further, the locating table apparatus may provide a dust counter for monitoring the dust density at predetermined positions outside the housing, a device for operating the electrostatic dust absorbing members when the monitored dust density exceeds a warning level, and a device for forcing the motor to stop in response to a level of a signal detected by the dust counter.

Abstract: In a dust suction apparatus, a flexible sheet is provided on the open top of a channel body which communicates with an exhaust section. An opening support member is provided in a box-shaped slider, and separates a portion of the sheet from the open top of the body so that the sheet hermetically closes the open top except at the portion, and openings are made between the side edges of the portion of the sheet and the side portions of the body, and communicate with a dust generating part. The slider is disposed on the channel body so that the slider can be moved relative to the body along the longitudinal direction thereof as the slider remains in hermetic sliding contact with the body. The dust and the air are conducted from the dust generating part into the channel body through the openings between the portion of the sheet and the side portions of the body without elongating or compressing an exhaust tube as the part is moving.

Abstract: A locating table apparatus is provided with a housing, a base member fixed in the housing, a table mounted so as to freely move in a longitudinal direction, driving members located on the base member for supporting and driving the table, an outer cover covering the table, an inner cover formed with a U-shaped groove member for covering the driving members therein, and a sound absorbing member attached to at least one of the inner and outer cover, whereby the noisy sound generated inside the locating table apparatus is attenuated by and absorbed in the sound absorbing member.

Abstract: It is an object of the invention to provide a movable member feed device which is able to set or control the position of an intermediate support so that it can increase the natural vibration frequency of a feed screw shaft effectively to thereby reduce the vibration of the feed screw shaft.

Abstract: A ball screw apparatus having a revolving position detector for detecting revolutions of a ball screw nut and a ball spline nut and a number-of-revolutions altering means for issuing a command to decrement or increment the number of revolutions of the ball screw nut so that a difference between sets of revolution numbers becomes zero. In the ball screw apparatus, a driving motor is disposed in parallel with a driving shaft. An output of the driving motor is transmitted via a belt to each nut. When driving the motor in a clutch-off/brake-on state, only the ball screw nut is driven to revolve, and the driving shaft is slid in the axial direction. When driving the motor in a clutch-on/brake-off state, the two nuts revolve together, and the driving shaft is rotationally driven. A reduction ratio on the side of the ball screw nut is set equal to that on the side of the ball spline nut, whereby the two nuts synchronously revolve.

Abstract: A ball screw device includes a ball returning tube which is formed by covering the outer periphery of the tube with a heat shrinkable resin tube and heating the thus formed tube, formed of two halves, to shrink the heat shrinkable resin tube so that the two halves of the ball returning tube can be made integral. The ball screw device is advantageous in that it generates little noise, the ball returning tube has sufficient strength despite the splittable structure and manufacturing of the device is easy.

Abstract: There is disclosed an intermediate support device which can be moved in a controlled manner in a direction of movement of a table of a table feed apparatus. The intermediate support device includes a nut threadedly engaged with a screw shaft rotatably supported at opposite ends thereof, a slider of a linear guide device disposed parallel to the nut, a connecting member which interconnects the slider and the nut, and rotatably supports the nut through a rolling bearing, and a brake device mounted on the connecting member so as to restrain the rotation of the nut. The brake device is turned on to allow the free rotation of the nut, and is turned off to lock the nut on the connecting member, thereby controlling the movement of the nut, so that the screw shaft is supported at an optimal portion thereof to thereby increasing the natural frequency of the screw shaft.

Abstract: A ball screw device with internal motors comprises a shaft provided with a ball screw groove and a ball spline groove, a ball screw nut threaded on the shaft with balls interposed therebetween, a ball spline nut threaded on the shaft with balls interposed therebetween, and direct drive motors having rotors and stators, respectively. The rotors are provided on outer circumferences of the ball screw nut and ball spline nut, respectively, so that the rotors can rotate integrally with the corresponding nuts. The stators are arranged in an opposing circumference-to-circumference relationship with outer circumferences of the rotors and are secured on an inner wall of a housing. To detect rotation angles of the nuts, rotational positions sensors are arranged close to each other between the nuts.

Abstract: A ball screw device has a ball screw nut and a ball spline nut, both mounted on a shaft. Both the nuts are supported on a housing with ball bearings interposed therebetween. Inner race grooves of the ball bearings are formed on outer peripheral walls of the nuts, while outer race grooves of the ball bearings are formed on an inner peripheral wall of the housing. In another embodiment, ball insertion holes are formed through the nuts so that the ball insertion holes extend from inner peripheral walls of the nuts to the inner race grooves, respectively. The insertion holes are closed by plugs which were fitted in the insertion holes subsequent to the insertion of balls of the ball bearings through the insertion holes. In a further embodiment, a ball screw nut and a ball spline nut, both mounted on a shaft, are supported on a common housing by way of ball bearings, thereby constructing a ball screw device with a closed small space surrounded by the housing, ball screw nut, ball spline nut and shaft.

Abstract: An operating apparatus includes a ball screw apparatus having a nut secured to a table which is fixed on sliders of a linear guide apparatus. The nut is engaged with a screw shaft and, when the screw shaft is rotated by a driving motor, the table having a member to be driven fixedly mounted thereon is moved together with the nut linearly and horizontally along the screw shaft. The ball screw apparatus and the linear guide apparatus is placed on a clean room, and a dust suction pump located outside the clean room sucks the dust produced in the clean room. Furthermore, a suction pipe of the dust suction pump is connected to a feed oil bore of the nut, which bore has been formed normally beforehand as a feed oil nipple. Thus, the dust produced in the inside of the nut is also sucked out by the dust suction pump. The suction pipe has a spiral portion near the nut.

Abstract: A slider mounted movably on a guide rail interposing many balls therebetween is constructed by assembling as a unit, a race member having ball rolling grooves at both sides, a circulator having ball circulating grooves opening upwardly, and a cap sandwiched between the race member and the circulator. The cap is formed with column members protruding from the upper surface upwardly and aligned axially, and each of the column members has a threaded hole for attaching a member to be driven to the slider. The race member has through holes for the column members, so that the column members having the screw holes are exposed.

Abstract: This invention provides a ball screw apparatus complying with high-cleanliness specifications insofar as the apparatus has an axial through hole open at one end of the shaft and a large number of smaller holes on the periphery of the shaft which communicate with the hole, and an air sucking mechanism having a port communicating with the axial hole on the shaft so as to apply a negative pressure to the axial hole thereof. The shaft of this ball screw apparatus acts as a sucking duct so as to allow the use of ordinary grease lubrication even within a clean-room without the necessity of changing lubrication conditions depending on the type of greases.

Abstract: Each of end caps attached to opposite ends of a slider main body has a curved ball groove for connecting a ball rolling path formed by mutually opposing ball rolling grooves of a guide rail and a slider main body to a ball circulating path of the slider main body. In the end cap, the end portion of the curved ball groove to be joined to the ball circulating path of the slider main body is extended tangentially toward the slider main body to form a fitting protrusion having an extended groove. The slider main body is formed with a fitting recess in the end face thereof at the end portion of the ball circulating path to receive the fitting protrusion therein. When the fitting protrusion is fitted into the fitting recess, the curved ball groove is connected to the ball circulating path through the extended groove of the fitting protrusion without causing a stepped portion to be formed at the joining portion between the end cap and the slider main body.

Abstract: A linear guide device comprises a long rail, a carriage movable on the rail, a circulation path extending from between the rail and the carriage and through the carriage and again to between the rail and the carriage. The circulation path includes in at least a portion thereof a pipe inserted in the carriage, and a number of balls are disposed in the circulation path. The balls circulate while rolling in the circulation path during movement of the carriage to thereby facilitate the movement of the carriage.