Abstract: A ball screw comprises a screw shaft formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof with a spiral ball rolling groove, a nut member having an inner peripheral surface on which a spiral loaded ball rolling groove corresponding to the spiral ball rolling groove of the screw shaft is formed, both the spiral grooves constituting a loaded ball rolling passage in combination thereof when the screw shaft is fitted to the nut member, a number of balls rolling in the loaded ball rolling passage, and a return pipe having one end connected to one end of the loaded ball rolling passage and another end connected to another end of the loaded ball rolling passage so as to scoop the balls rolling in the loaded ball rolling passage at the one end of the return pipe and return the balls to the loaded ball rolling passage at the other one end of the return pipe.

Abstract: A rolling-element hold spacer 9 includes a spherical indent 11 which is formed in either side of a rolling element 7 so as to match the curved surface of the rolling element 7; thick hold sections 10a, 10b to be interposed between the rolling elements 7; and thin bent sections 12 for interconnecting only one thick hold section pair 10a, 10b in which the rolling element 7 is to be interposed. The thin bent section 12 is deflected or twisted in a curved portion of a rolling-element circulation path. Further, the rolling-element hold spacers which are adjacent to each other with a single rolling element interposed therebetween mutually perform pivotal movement around the rolling element 7, thereby enabling smooth circulation of the rolling elements 7. Clearance arises between the rolling element 7 and the thick hold sections 10a, 10b as a result of bent of the thin bent section 12. Lubricant enters the clearance, to thereby sufficiently lubricate the rolling elements 7.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a lubricating oil supply system provided in a rolling guide apparatus with which a track shaft and a slide member are engaged through a rolling element such as a ball or a roller, and lubricating a rolling surface of the rolling element formed on the rolling element or the track shaft, and more particularly to an improvement for securely performing a lubrication of the rolling guide apparatus by a simple and inexpensive structure. The lubricating oil supply system comprises a supply member impregnating the lubricating oil, fixed to the slide member and applying the lubricating oil with respect to the rolling surface of the rolling element or the track shaft together with a motion of the slide member, a reservoir tank receiving the lubricating oil and mounted to the movable element, and a supply tube having a fiber entangling element therewithin and introducing the lubricating oil within the reservoir tank to the supply member.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a ball chain used by being integrated to, for example, a ball endless track of a linear guide device for endless sliding in which a number of balls are arranged in one row and rollably held, particularly to a ball chain which is most pertinent to a linear guide device having a ball rolling groove in a shape of a Gothic arch. According to the ball chain, the number of balls are arranged in one row and the balls are held rollably, each of the balls is pinched by a pair of spherical seats and the spherical seats are connected to each other by flange portions to thereby constitute a ball holding unit and a plurality of the ball holding units are connected in a shape of a rosary by a flexible connecting portion. Further, the spherical seats and the flange portions are molded by a resin material whereas the connecting portion is formed by a material having a tensile strength larger than that of the resin material.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of manufacture of a slider of a rectilinear guide unit for guiding a movable body such as a work table of a machine tool, an industrial robot or the like by moving along an orbital rail arranged on a stationary section such as a bed, column or the like as it bears a load thereon. This method comprises a first step in which a metallic block main body as a core of the slider is machined to a predetermined shape and to form ball load rolling contact surfaces in the block main body and a second step in which the block main body machined in the previous step is inserted into a mold so as to allow a die-molding material to be padded thereon to thereby form an endless ball circulation path wherein in the first step, chamfered sections are formed on the corners of the block main body corresponding to a portion where the above-mentioned endless ball circulation path is formed.

Abstract: A method of molding a movable block for a rolling motion guide device can effectively prevent the formation of burrs in the rolling member rolling groove and accurately positioning the movable block body in a molding die.The positioning of the movable block body in width, vertical and longitudinal directions is performed at plain surfaces that are different from the rolling member rolling groove, so that damage or injury of the rolling member rolling groove can be prevented. Further, the molding material is shut off at either both end portions or both side peripheries of the rolling member rolling grooves, so that the molding material can be prevented from invading into the rolling member rolling grooves.

Abstract: The invention provides a rolling element string which can be bent or twisted freely in any direction in use while holding rolling elements such as balls or rollers surely and which can be used in existing linear guide devices and ball screw devices without any special processing having to be carried out on the rolling element rollways thereof along which the rolling elements are to roll, and a linear guide device and a rolling element screw device having this rolling element string fitted in an endless raceway.

Abstract: A linear motion apparatus comprises a linear track rail having a roller running groove; a feeding threaded shaft rotatably arranged in parallel with the track rail; and a movable block arranged on the track rail through rollers, and provided with a nut portion having a threaded bore into which the feeding threaded shaft is to be screwed. The movable block comprises (i) a block body having a roller running counter-groove which faces on the roller running groove of the track rail and a roller returning passage and (ii) direction changing passage forming members respectively provided on both ends of the block body, each of which members forms a U-shaped direction changing passage connecting the roller running counter-groove and the roller returning passage to each other. The movable block is linearly moved on the track rail through the rollers by rotating the feeding threaded shaft.

Abstract: A guide rail has two roller running surfaces and two ball running grooves. A movable block has a horizontal member facing the upper surface of the guide rail and wing members respectively facing the side surfaces of the guide rail. The horizontal member has on its under surface two roller running counter-surfaces corresponding to the two roller running surfaces of the guide rail. Each of the wing members has on its inner surface two ball running counter-grooves corresponding to the two ball running grooves of the guide rail. Two trains of rollers are arranged between the two roller running surfaces and the two roller running counter-surfaces, respectively, so as to be rollable. Two trains of balls are arranged between the two ball running grooves and the two ball running counter-grooves, in each of gaps between the side surfaces of the guide rail and the inner surfaces of the wing members, so as to be rollable.

Abstract: An object of this invention is to provide a rolling motion guide apparatus and a method of manufacturing a movable member for the apparatus enabling to enhance a working efficiency by sufficiently minimizing the boundary portion between the molding shaped portion and the movable member body. The apparatus and the method are characterized in that a pipe portion (14) for forming a rolling member return passage is integrally provided to an inner periphery portion of a through bore (13) formed so as to penetrate through a movable block body (6), and a boundary portion between a molding die portion and the movable block body (6) is limited to portions, i.e., a portion between an end surface (61) of the movable block body and a round piece portion (16) and a portion between a ball rolling groove (10) and a ball retaining portion (12).

Abstract: An object is to increase structural rigidity of a movable block by improving a contacting structure and arranging relations of four rows of rollers disposed between the movable block and a track rail.The device is characterized in that upper two rows of rollers 21, 22 are arranged to portions close to a center side from side ends of the upper surface of the track rail 1, while roller rolling surfaces 61, 62 corresponding to the rollers 21, 22 are formed to the upper surface of the track rail 1 and a lower surface of a horizontal portion 4 of the movable block 3, that lower two rows of rollers 23, 24 are arranged such that one row of rollers is disposed to right and left side surfaces of the track rail 1, respectively, while roller rolling surfaces 63, 64 corresponding to the lower two rows of rollers 23, 24 are formed to the right and left side surfaces of the track rail 1 and inner side surfaces of the supporting leg portions 5, 5 of the movable block 3.

Abstract: A linear guide device with which it is possible to prevent leakage of lubricant introduced into a slider and thereby reduce an amount of lubricant consumed and to surely lubricate rolling elements and an endless circulation passage thereof, and with which furthermore this can be achieved by means of a simple construction.

Abstract: A ball screw comprises a screw shaft, a hollow cylindrical nut member, balls, a ball returning means and a pair of deflectors. The screw shaft has a helical ball running groove. The nut member has a helical ball running counter-groove facing on the helical ball running groove of the screw shaft, and has a pair of ball-passing holes for connecting inner and outer surfaces of the nut member with each other. The balls are arranged between the ball running groove and the ball running counter-groove. The ball returning means is arranged on the outer surface of the nut member, for connecting the ball-passing holes with each other. The deflectors are disposed so as to be respectively correspondent with the ball-passing holes, for picking up the balls from the ball running groove to transfer the thus picked up balls into the ball-passing hole. Each of the deflectors comprises a ring-shaped base member fitted in an opening end of the nut member, and a ball-picking-up member projected from the base member.

Abstract: A seismic isolator includes a lower guide rail 4 having grooves on the side surfaces thereof and fitted to an upper surface of a lower plate 1, an upper guide rail 6 having grooves on the side surfaces thereof and fitted to a lower surface of an upper plate in a direction criss-crossing the lower guide rail 4, a block body 9 clamping at its lower part the lower guide rail 4 and clamping at its upper part the upper guide rail 6, a large number of rollers interposed between the lower guide rail 4 and the block body 9 and between the upper guide rail 6 and the block body 9, a large number of balls interposed between grooves of the side surfaces of the lower guide rail 4 and the block body 9 and between grooves of the side surfaces of the upper guide rail 6 and the block body 9 and a flexible member 22 fitted between the lower surface of the upper plate and the upper surface of the lower plate 1.

Abstract: A rolling guide unit comprises a movable member provided with a pair of support portions extending from lateral end portions of a main body portion so as to provide a recessed portion between the main body portion and both the support portions, a guide rail disposed in the recessed portion of the movable member so that side surfaces of the guide rail face the inner surfaces of the support portions, respectively, and a number of rolling members disposed to be rollable between corresponding rolling member rolling grooves formed to the guide rail and the support portions of the movable member so that each of the rolling members contact the rolling member rolling grooves at two contact points and the rolling members apply load to the rolling member rolling grooves, the movable member and the guide rail being relatively movable through the rolling of the rolling members.

Abstract: At least a ball escape hole (10) of a ball circulation passage (7) is formed of a molded body (12) and the molded body (12) is formed integrally with a block body (13) having high rigidity through an insert molding process, thereby eliminating a drilling working, possibly reducing assembling processes and reducing generation of noise.It is preferred that the molded body (12) is provided with an inner peripheral portion of a direction changing passage (11) integrally connected with the ball escape hole (10) and joined with both end surfaces of the block body (13).Furthermore, it is preferred that the molded body (12) is provided with a retainer (17) extending along a loaded ball passage (8) and integrally connected, at its both ends, with the inner peripheral portion of the direction changing passage (11), thereby providing a closed sectional shape surrounded by the ball escape hole portion (10), the direction changing portion (11) and the retainer portion (17).

Abstract: A linear motion guide device provided with a plural ball row chain capable of achieving easy assembling working and realizing an improved smooth ball circulation.It is characterized that ball retainer members 23, 23 to which one sides of the respective two ball rows 3, 3 arranged along loaded ball rolling grooves 10, at a time of removing a movable block 4 from a track rail 1, are formed to the movable block 4, the falling-off of the balls in the ball rows can be prevented by the assembling of the ball retainer members 23, 23 and a plural ball row chain 20, and the hanging-down of an end portion of the plural ball row chain 20 can be also prevented.

Abstract: At least a ball escape hole (10) of a ball circulation passage (7) is formed of a molded body (12) and the molded body (12) is formed integrally with a block body (13) having high rigidity through an insert molding process, thereby eliminating a drilling working, possibly reducing assembling processes and reducing generation of noise.It is preferred that the molded body (12) is provided with an inner peripheral portion of a direction changing passage (11) integrally connected with the ball escape hole (10) and joined with both end surfaces of the block body (13).Furthermore, it is preferred that the molded body (12) is provided with a retainer (17) extending along a loaded ball passage (8) and integrally connected, at its both ends, with the inner peripheral portion of the direction changing passage (11), thereby providing a closed sectional shape surrounded by the ball escape hole portion (10), the direction changing portion (11) and the retainer portion (17).

Abstract: A rolling guide unit comprises a movable member provided with a pair of support portions extending from lateral end portions of a main body portion so as to provide a recessed portion between the main body portion and both the support portions, a guide rail disposed in the recessed portion of the movable member so that side surfaces of the guide rail face the inner surfaces of the support portions, respectively, and a number of rolling members disposed to be rollable between corresponding rolling member rolling grooves formed to the guide rail and the support portions of the movable member so that each of the rolling members contact the rolling member rolling grooves at two contact points and the the rolling members apply load to the rolling member rolling grooves, the movable member and the guide rail being relatively movable through the rolling of the rolling members.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a spherical joint for transmitting rotating and rocking motions between an inner member and an outer member in sliding contact with each other, and provides a spherical joint which is excellent in the mechanical strength and capable of achieving smooth rocking or rotating motions, and a process for manufacturing the spherical joint. In order to achieve this object, according to the present invention, there is provided a spherical joint comprising: an internal member having a convex-spherical surface; an outer member cast by using the inner member as a core and so connected to the inner member as to rock and rotate relative to the inner member; and a bushing sandwiched between the inner member and the outer member and having a concave-spherical surface for sliding contact with the convex-spherical surface of the inner member. When the outer member is to be cast, the bushing made of a thin metal is partially fused to and rigidly unified with the cast outer member.