Abstract:
The present invention relates to a lubrication module of linear guideway, the lubrication module which was made up of the oil-storage box and the oil-bearing material. The characteristic of the lubrication module of linear guideway is that the lubrication module be installed in the sliding block, and it can lubricate the roller directly by the oil-bearing material, therefore can save the space and reduce the waste of the lubricant.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a lubrication module, and more particularly to a lubrication module of linear guideway capable of lubricating the rollers in a direct manner, the linear guideway is widely applied to mechanical arm, machines, auto equipment, measurement equipment and electronic equipment, and the likes.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Arts  
         [0004]     Currently, linear guideway has been applied to precision machinery and general machines, and generally there are two kinds of method for lubricating the linear guideway: first one as shown in  FIG. 6 , wherein the lubrication system is mounted on both end cups  53  of a sliding block  54 , and the lubricant is stored in the oil box  52 . And then smear the rolling passage (not shown) of the linear guideway with hair felt  51 , so as to lubricate the rollers  55  indirectly when the rollers  55  roll through the rolling passage. The second lubricating methods as shown in  FIG. 7 , wherein oil-bearing material  63  is mounted on the circulating device  62  at both ends of the sliding block  61  in a manner that the oil-bearing material  63  directly contacts the surface of the rolling passage of the rail  64 , so as to smear the lubricant of the oil-bearing material  63  on the surface of the rolling passage. In this case, the second method also is indirect lubrication.  
         [0005]     The above two methods suffer from one or more of the following disadvantages:  
         [0006]     First, the lubrication system of the both methods will extend the length of the sliding block, such that the effective travel of the linear guideway is relatively shortened.  
         [0007]     Second, both of the methods lubricate the rollers by smearing lubricant on the rolling passage not directly on the rollers, and thus lubricant consumption is increased.  
         [0008]     Furthermore, the replenishment of the lubricant in the oil-bearing material can only be achieved by disassembling the linear guideway and replacing the oil-bearing material, so it is low efficiency and not good for environmental protection.  
         [0009]     The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional lubrication system for linear guideway.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     The primary object of the present invention is to provide a lubrication module of linear guideway capable of lubricating the rollers in a direct manner, and thus the efficiency is improved while the lubricant consumption is reduced. The self-lubrication system is defined with oil-storage space without extending the length of the sliding block, such that the effective travel of the linear guideway is not shortened.  
         [0011]     Since the linear guideway has been widely used in general mechanics and precision machinery, with the rapid growth of the science and technology, the linear guideway has to overcome some problems caused by high speed, and lubrication is one of the key problems.  
         [0012]     First, in order to improve the efficiency of lubrication, the present invention uses the improved direct lubrication mehtod instead of conventional method of indirect lubrication (the method of lubricating the roller directly). To enable the lubrication module of the present invention to lubricate the roller directly, the lubrication module should be installed in the scope of the circumrotate way of the roller, that is on the periphery of the sliding block.  
         [0013]     Second, in order not to reduce the effective travel after the linear guideway is provided with lubrication module, the lubrication module of the present invention is disposed on the circumrotate way of the roller at the periphery of the sliding block of the linear guideway. In this case, it will not increase the length of the sliding block and accordingly the effective travel of the linear guideway will not be reduced.  
         [0014]     The lubrication module of the present invention is designed to match the shape of the sliding block and interiorly defined with an oil-storage space for the storage of lubricating oil, such that not only space is saved but also the whole structure of the slide block can be unchanged. Thereby, without changing the sizes of the machine and the linear guideway, it can be conveniently replaced with the linear guideway with self-lubrication of the present invention.  
         [0015]     Furthermore, in order to introduce the lubricating oil in the lubrication module to the surface of the roller in the circumrotate way, an oil-bearing material is provided in the oil-storage space of the lubrication module, wherein the oil-bearing material is able to lubricate the roller by capillary action so as not only to prevent the waste of the lubricant, but also to prolong the service life of the linear guideway. The oil-bearing material in accordance with the present invention can be in form of felt, flannelet, cotton, sponge and the likes.  
         [0016]     In addition, for easy assembly, the oil-storage space of the lubrication module of the present invention is comprised of two elements, the two elements are assembled together using ultrasonic bonding method, such that the tightness is good and cost is lower, so as to prevent oil leakage.  
         [0017]     The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which shows, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a linear guideway with self-lubrication system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is an assembly view of the sliding block equipped with the self-lubrication system in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the lubrication module of linear guideway in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0021]      FIG. 4  is an assembly view of the lubrication module of linear guideway in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view taken along with the line A-A in  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0023]      FIG. 6  is an illustrative view of a conventional lubrication system for linear guideway;  
         [0024]      FIG. 7  is an exploded view of another conventional lubrication system for linear guideway. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0025]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a linear guideway with self-lubrication system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; wherein a sliding block  20  is mounted on a rail  10 , and at both ends of the sliding block  20  is provided with a circulating device  30  respectively so as to make the rollers (not shown) circulate in the sliding block  20 , such that the sliding block  20  is able to move circularly along the rail  10 . In this embodiment, the sliding block  20  is further provided at both sides thereof with a self-lubrication module  40  for lubricating the rolling members in the sliding block  20 .  
         [0026]      FIG. 2  is an assembly view of the sliding block equipped with the self-lubrication system in accordance with the present invention. Wherein at least one recess  22  is defined at both sides of the sliding block  20  and located adjacent to threaded holes  21  for reception of the self-lubrication module  40 . An upper and a lower lubricating holes  221 ,  222  corresponding to upper passage  23  and lower passage  24  respectively are defined in the recess  22 , such that the rollers in the upper and the lower passages  23 ,  24  can be lubricated by the self-lubrication module  40 . Furthermore, the self-lubrication module  40  is mounted to the sliding block  20  using a tongue and groove method. In this case, engaging groove  223  is defined in the recess  22  for engaging with the tongue structure of the self-lubrication module  40 .  
         [0027]      FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the lubrication module of linear guideway in accordance with the present invention.  FIG. 4  is an assembly view of the lubrication module of linear guideway in accordance with the present invention. Wherein the self-lubrication module generally comprises oil-storage box (not shown) and oil-bearing material  43 . The oil-storage box (not shown) is interiorly provided with an oil-storage space and designed as having a front cover  41  and a rear cover  42  for easy production, and the front and the rear covers  41 ,  42  can be assembled together using ultrasonic bonding method. The oil-bearing material  43  is received in the oil-storage box for absorbing the lubricating-oil in the oil-storage box and lubricating the rollers. The front cover  41  is defined with an upper aperture (not shown) and a lower aperture  412 . And the upper and the lower apertures are provided with an upper protrusion  411   a  and a lower protrusion  412   a  respectively around the periphery thereof for positioning purpose. Both the upper and the lower apertures are provided with an oil-seal loop  44  for improving the effect of oil-seal. On the rear cover  42  is defined with a replenishing pipe  421 , such that it is in line with environmental protection standards and convenient that the self-lubrication module  40  can be replenished with lubrication without assembly or disassembly. At both sides of the rear cover  42  are provided with an elastic piece  422  that serves to engage in the engaging groove  223  of the sliding block  20 , such that it is convenient for assembly and disassembly. Furthermore, the oil-bearing material  43  is provided with an upper flange  431  and a lower flange  432  for insertion through the oil-seal loop  44 , the lower and the upper apertures respectively, such that after the assembly of the self-lubrication module  40 , the oil-bearing material  43  is connected to the oil-storage space and the rollers so as to lubricate the rollers directly.  
         [0028]     Referring to  FIG. 5 , which is a cross sectional view taken along with the line A-A in  FIG. 2 , when the self-lubrication module  40  is fixed to the sliding block  20 , the oil-bearing material  43  will absorb the lubricant in the oil-storage space between the front and the rear covers  41 ,  42 , and then the lubricant is introduced into the upper and the lower passages  23 ,  24  via the upper and the lower flanges  431 ,  432  of the oil-bearing material  43 , so as to lubricate the rollers directly. The oil-seal loop  44  is disposed between the upper and the lower protrusions  411   a ,  412   a  and flanges  431 ,  432 , such that the oil-seal effect is improved. In addition, a bolt  45  is disposed in the replenishing pipe  421  so as to prevent leakage of the lubricant in the oil-storage space. The user can unscrew the bolt  45  and replenish lubricant via the replenishing pipe  421 . The replenishing pipe  421  is designed as having a proper length for enabling the rollers to be lubricated directly and easily. The replenishing pipe  421  is further defined with oil apertures  423 , such that the lubricant can be absorbed by the oil-bearing material  43  while being introduced into the oil-storage space through the oil apertures  423 , so as to reduce the time for oil replenishment.  
         [0029]     The self-replenishing system for linear guideway in accordace with the present invention has the characteristics as follows:  
         [0030]     1. The self-replenishing system for linear guideway of the present invention is of direct lubricating type, not indirect lubricating type, such that the loss lubricant is reduced.  
         [0031]     2. The self-replenishing system for linear guideway of the present invention is designed in a manner that the travel space for the sliding block is not affected, so as to save space on the condition that the effective travel of the line guideway is not reduced.  
         [0032]     3. It is convenient to replenish the self-replenishing system for linear guideway of the present invention with lubricant, and the time for oil replenishment is reduced.  
         [0033]     4. The assembly is easy because the self-replenishing system for linear guideway of the present invention is assembled and disassembled using tongue and groove method and no screw is required.  
         [0034]     While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.