Driving unit for pressure application shaft in a welding apparatus
AssigneeObara Corporation
InventorsYoshio Sato, Yoshiyuki Sasaki
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A driving unit for a pressure application shaft in a welding apparatus including a housing for housing therein a ball screw mechanism for converting rotation of an output shaft of a motor into reciprocating motion of the pressure application shaft, and a direct acting type rolling guide mechanism provided between the pressure application shaft and the housing. The housing includes a housing body which is opened at one side, and a plate for covering the opened portion. The ball screw mechanism, the pressure application shaft member, the rolling bearing which is fixed to the pressure application shaft member, and a rail combined with the rolling bearing are fixed to the housing body.
Claims16
A driving unit for a welding apparatus, said driving unit comprising:
- a pressure application shaft;
- a ball screw assembly for converting rotation of an output shaft of a motor to reciprocating motion of said pressure application shaft;
- a rolling guide arrangement provided between a portion of said pressure application shaft and a housing of said driving unit, said guide arrangement including an elongate rail fixed to said housing and a bearing fixed to said portion of said pressure application shaft and rollingly engaged with said rail, said ball screw assembly, said pressure application shaft, and said guide arrangement being secured to and disposed within said housing;
- and
- said housing having a transverse cross-sectional configuration which is U-shaped and opens downwardly such that a lower portion of said housing defines a bottom opening, said driving unit further including a plate fixed to said lower portion of said housing so as to close off said bottom opening, said plate being a separate component from said housing and removably attached thereto to permit installation of said ball screw assembly, said pressure application shaft and said guide arrangement as a preassembled unit within said housing through said bottom opening.
A method of assembling a welding apparatus, said method comprising:
- providing a housing having a transverse cross-sectional configuration which is U-shaped and opens downwardly such that a lower portion of the housing defines a bottom opening;
- providing a pressure application shaft, a ball screw assembly for converting rotation of an output shaft of a motor to reciprocating motion of the pressure application shaft, and a rolling guide arrangement including an elongate rail and a bearing for engagement therewith;
- assembling the pressure application shaft, the ball screw assembly, and the rolling guide arrangement with one another so as to form a unit;
- thereafter installing the assembled unit within the housing through the bottom opening thereof;
- and
- thereafter removably securing a plate-like member which is a separate component from the housing to the lower portion of the housing to close off the bottom opening thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.