Linear guide device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12398754-B2
Application number	US-202318447648-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 10, 2023
Priority date	Aug 10, 2022
Publication date	Aug 26, 2025
Grant date	Aug 26, 2025

Abstract

A linear guide device having a guide carriage with two guide units, each guide unit including two guide modules abutting guide surfaces of a base structure in an operating position of the guide carriage. One of the two guide modules is an adjustable guide module, which is adjustable by means of one of two adjustment units to set a pretension between the guide modules and the guide surfaces. For synchronous actuation of the two adjustment units, a central actuating device is provided which is drivingly coupled to both adjustment units.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A linear guide device comprising:
a guide carriage featuring a carriage base body which has two guide units arranged in succession in a carriage longitudinal direction, each guide unit having a first guide module arranged on the carriage base body and a second guide module arranged on the carriage base body at a distance opposite to the first guide module in a carriage transverse direction orthogonal to the carriage longitudinal direction,
wherein the guide carriage, in its operating position, is supported linearly movably on a base structure in the carriage longitudinal direction, wherein the two first guide modules bear against a first guide surface and the two second guide modules bear against a second guide surface of the base structure so as to be movable with respect thereto,
wherein one of the two guide modules of each guide unit is an adjustable guide module, and each of the two guide units is provided with an adjustment unit, the adjustment units being arranged in succession in the carriage longitudinal direction, by means of which the associated adjustable guide module is adjustable by an adjusting force to cause a movement oriented in the carriage transverse direction, relative to the carriage base body,
whereby a pretension is adjustable by adjusting the guide modules with the adjusting force with which the two guide modules of the guide unit are pressed against the respectively associated first or second guide surface of the base structure in the operating position of the guide carriage, and
wherein the guide carriage features a central actuating device drivingly coupled to the adjustment units of both guide units, through the actuation of which synchronous adjusting forces can be exerted on the two adjustable guide modules.

2. The linear guide device according to claim 1 , wherein the two first guide modules and the two second guide modules are designed as rolling-element guide modules with rolling bearing elements provided for bearing against the guide surfaces of the base structure.

3. The linear guide device according to claim 2 , wherein each of the two adjustment units is arranged in the carriage transverse direction between the first guide module and the second guide module of the associated first or second guide unit.

4. The linear guide device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the two adjustment units is designed as a wedge gear by means of which an actuating force, generatable via the central actuating device and effective in the carriage longitudinal direction, can be converted into an adjusting force acting on the associated adjustable guide module orthogonal to the carriage longitudinal direction.

5. The linear guide device according to claim 4 , wherein actuating directions of the two wedge gears are aligned in the carriage longitudinal direction and are oriented opposite to each other.

6. The linear guide device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the two adjustment units features a movable adjusting element drivable relative to the carriage base body to perform a driving movement in the carriage longitudinal direction, and an immovable adjusting element fixed with respect to the carriage base body in the carriage longitudinal direction, wherein the movable adjusting element is force-transmittingly coupled to the adjustable guide module for exerting the adjusting force in the carriage transverse direction, and wherein each of the two adjusting elements of each adjustment unit is provided with one of two force deflecting surfaces abutting against each other in a relatively slidable manner, of which at least one force deflecting surface is formed as an oblique surface inclined with respect to the carriage longitudinal direction and to the transverse direction of the carriage.

7. The linear guide device according to claim 6 , wherein the movable adjusting element of each adjustment unit features a pressing surface facing the adjustable guide module, which bears against a force-receiving surface of the adjustable guide module supported immovably with respect to the carriage base body in the carriage longitudinal direction and which, during the driving movement of the movable adjusting element, slides against the force-receiving surface while exerting the adjusting force, oriented in the carriage transverse direction, in the carriage longitudinal direction.

8. The linear guide device according to claim 7 , wherein each of the two abutting force deflecting surfaces of each adjustment unit is formed as an oblique surface inclined with respect to the carriage longitudinal direction, wherein the inclination with respect to the carriage longitudinal direction of the two force deflecting surfaces belonging to the same adjustment unit is identical.

9. The linear guide device according to claim 7 , wherein the at least one force deflecting surface of one of the two adjustment units has an opposite inclination with respect to the carriage longitudinal direction as the at least one force deflecting surface of the other of the two adjustment units, wherein, in order to generate the adjusting forces, the two movable adjusting elements are drivable by the central actuating device to mutually oppositely oriented driving movements with respect to the carriage longitudinal direction.

10. The linear guide device according to claim 6 , wherein each of the two force deflecting surfaces of each adjustment unit is formed as an oblique surface inclined with respect to the carriage longitudinal direction, wherein the inclination with respect to the carriage longitudinal direction of the two force deflection surfaces belonging to the same adjustment unit is identical.

11. The linear guide device according to claim 10 , wherein the at least one force deflecting surface of one of the two adjustment units has an opposite inclination with respect to the carriage longitudinal direction as the at least one force deflecting surface of the other of the two adjustment units, wherein, in order to generate the adjusting forces, the two movable adjusting elements are drivable by the central actuating device to mutually oppositely oriented driving movements with respect to the carriage longitudinal direction.

12. The linear guide device according to claim 6 , wherein the at least one force deflecting surface of one of the two adjustment units has an opposite inclination with respect to the carriage longitudinal direction as the at least one force deflecting surface of the other of the two adjustment units, wherein, in order to generate the adjusting forces, the two movable adjusting elements are drivable by the central actuating device to mutually oppositely oriented driving movements with respect to the carriage longitudinal direction.

13. The linear guide device according to claim 6 , wherein the movable adjusting element of each adjustment unit features a pressing surface facing the adjustable guide module, which bears against a force-receiving surface of the adjustable guide module supported immovably with respect to the carriage base body in the carriage longitudinal direction and which, during the driving movement of the movable adjusting element, slides against the force-receiving surface while exerting the adjusting force, oriented in the carriage transverse direction, in the carriage longitudinal direction, wherein both a normal vector of the pressing surface and a normal vector of the force-receiving surface are oriented in the carriage transverse direction.

14. The linear guide device according to claim 1 , wherein the central actuating device is designed to be manually actuated and features at least one actuating member f

Assignees

• Festo Se & Co Kg

Inventors

• Mäckle Felix
• Maischberger Alexander

Classifications

• F16C29/063

  with a bearing body, e.g. a carriage or part thereof, provided between the legs of a U-shaped guide rail or track · CPC title

• F16C29/126 Primary

  using tapered surfaces or wedges · CPC title

• F16C29/0602

  Details of the bearing body or carriage or parts thereof, e.g. methods for manufacturing or assembly · CPC title

• F16C29/0623

  with balls · CPC title

• F16C29/046

  with balls journaled in pockets · CPC title