| 摘要 |
A ball retainer for holding the balls in the upper ball rolling groove of the slider is made of a synthetic resin material and has a rectangular flat frame shape. The ball retainer has supporting portions protruding axially from opposite ends and side frames which can be deflected inwardly by an elastic deformation when an external force is applied thereto. A ball holding groove of an arcuate cross section is formed in an outer said surface of each of the side frames. The side frames have hook portions at longitudinally intermediate positions protruding inwardly to oppose each other. The hook portions are normally spaced from each other with a predetermined interval, and when the side frames are deflected by the external force inwardly, the hook portions engage each other to maintain the side frame in the deflected state so that the balls can be mounted into the ball rolling grooves of the slider. After the balls are mounted, the engagement of the hook portions is released to allow the ball retainer to return to its original shape. The ball retainer is supported at the supporting portions by the end caps which are respectively attached to the opposite ends of the slider main body so that the ball retainer is accommodated in a space between the upper surface of the guide rail and the inner surface of the slider main body.
|
