JP2000344491A - Pallet conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a conveying space and to increase conveying speed making sharp turns by providing a control part for supporting claws and controlling primary side induction parts and gas floating parts. SOLUTION: Claws 10 are primary induction parts for generating electromagnetic inductive force between them and a secondary induction part provided on a travel path. A linear motor part 11 and an air floating part 12 provided on the lower side of the linear motor part 11 to generate air floating force are connected in a laminated state. The linear motor part 11 is a well-known linear motor that generates horizontal thrust by electromagnetic induction between the primary and secondary induction parts. A control part 20 enclosed in a control box body 200 comprises a battery for supplying gravity to an inverter and an air compressor for supplying compressed air to the air floating part 12 and the inverter for driving the linear motor part 11, and supplies the linear motor part 11 and the air floating part 12 with driving force by electromagnetic induction and floating force by compressed air.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pallet transport device for placing a load on a pallet and inserting a nail driven by electromagnetic induction into a lower portion of the pallet to transport the pallet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Forklifts and unmanned carrier trucks have been widely used as a means for carrying a load on a pallet and carrying it along with the pallet. 6 and 7 show an outline of a pallet conveying means by the forklift 5. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 5a denotes an elevating mast provided upright at a rear portion of the forklift 5, and 51 denotes a claw which moves up and down along the elevating mast 5a. is there. In the forklift 5, the pawls 51 are inserted into grooves 2a formed in the lower part of the pallet 2, and the pawls 51 are lifted along the lifting mast 5a, and then moved horizontally to move the pallet 2
Is being transported.

As a technique for driving a pallet itself by driving force, the invention of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-64717 has been proposed. In the present invention, the guide rollers are guided by guide rails laid along the movement path of the air caster cart, and the pallets are conveyed by floating the pallets by air casters provided at the four lower corners of the pallets. Have been.

[0004]

As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, in a transfer means of the pallet 2 by a forklift 5 or a transfer means by an unmanned transfer carriage (not shown), the pallet 2 is A space is needed for a vehicle such as a forklift 5 that moves up and travels linearly or turns, and a space for transporting pallets on which pallets are placed requires a space as large as the moving space of the vehicle. As the radius increases and the transfer work space increases, the transfer speed cannot be increased, and the transfer work efficiency must be reduced.

In the means disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-64717, the pallet itself is guided by the guide rail and moves, so that the pallet has the function of a moving carriage, and the pallet itself is defined by the guide rail together with the load. Since the pallet cannot be separated from the track and cannot be taken out of the travel path regulated by the guide rail, the transport work becomes complicated and the work efficiency is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the present invention provides a pallet transporting apparatus for transporting a load by placing it on a pallet. Speed up,
The purpose is to improve the transport work efficiency.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a plate-like claw is inserted into a lower portion of a pallet, and a load is conveyed through the pallet. In the pallet conveyance device, the claw is
A primary guidance unit that generates electromagnetic propulsion by performing electromagnetic induction with a secondary guidance unit provided on the traveling path; and a primary guidance unit provided below the primary guidance unit. And a gas float that generates a levitation force by ejecting a gas toward the vehicle. The gas float is laminated, supports the claw, and includes a control unit that controls the primary guide unit and the gas float. We propose a featured pallet transfer device.

[0008] In this invention, claim 2 is preferable.
As described above, a plurality of the claws are provided and are configured to fit into grooves formed in a lower portion of the pallet.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the nail is
The control unit is supported in a cantilevered manner in the stored control box,
It is preferable that the control unit box and the claw can be integrally driven.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the gas floating portion includes a gas chamber containing a compressed gas, and a plurality of ejection holes for ejecting the gas in the gas chamber onto the traveling road surface. Is good.

According to the invention, the primary guide provided on the pawl supported by the control box housing the control unit and the secondary guide provided on the traveling path are provided between the primary guide and the secondary guide. When electromagnetic induction is performed by an operation from the control unit, a horizontal propulsive force is generated in the claw, and when compressed gas is supplied to the gas levitation by the operation from the control unit, a levitation force is applied to the claw. Occurs.

The propulsion force and the levitation force generated on the pawl cause the traveling transporting body, in which the control box and the pawl are integrated, to travel on a traveling path, and a lower portion of a pallet placed at a predetermined position. Preferably, the pawl enters the groove of the pallet, lifts the pallet by the levitation force, and transports the pallet and the load on which the pallet is placed to a predetermined place.

Therefore, according to the invention, the pawl and the control unit for controlling the pawl travel by lifting the pallet with the propulsive force of the electromagnetic induction of the pawl itself and the floating force of the gas ejection. Therefore, the vehicle does not require a vehicle for traveling as in the prior art, and travels on an extremely small and lightweight traveling carrier composed of claws and a control box to transport a pallet. The size is significantly smaller than that of a vehicle or that of a pallet itself moving along a guide rail.

As a result, the transfer space can be reduced, and the mobility can be improved. In addition, as described above, since the transporting body is small and lightweight, and the horizontal movement is performed by the electromagnetic induction force, the transporting speed is significantly increased as compared with the related art. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a pallet transfer device having greatly improved transfer work efficiency.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the traveling path is disposed on the claw side, and a soft non-magnetic material such as an aluminum material is disposed below the non-magnetic material. It is constituted by a two-layer body in which a magnetic material such as iron is laminated.

According to this invention, since the running surface facing the claw portion as the running body is made of a non-magnetic material,
Due to the eddy current generated in the non-magnetic material, leakage of magnetism is suppressed, and propulsion efficiency is improved. Further, since the running surface facing the bottom surface of the running claw portion (the bottom surface of the gas floating portion) is made of a soft material, even if the claw portion and the running surface come into direct contact with each other, the claw portion can be used. Is prevented from occurring.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not merely intended to limit the scope of the present invention, but are merely illustrative examples unless otherwise specified. Absent.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a pallet transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a pallet transport condition by the pallet transport device, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a front view showing a first example of the air levitation, and FIG. 5 is a front view showing a second example of the air levitation.

In FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, reference numeral 1 denotes a pallet transfer device, which is a control unit 2 housed inside a control box 200.
0 and a long plate-shaped claw 10 attached to the control box 200 in a cantilever manner. The number of the claws 10 is two in this example, but may be one or three or more.

The claw 10 is a primary guiding portion that generates an electromagnetic guiding force with a secondary guiding portion provided on the traveling path 3 described later. A linear motor unit 11 and an air levitation 12 that is provided below the linear motor unit 11 and generates an air levitation force are connected in a stacked manner. The linear motor unit 11 is a well-known linear motor that generates a horizontal propulsion force by electromagnetic induction between the linear motor unit 11 and a secondary guiding unit (in this example, a traveling path), and thus a detailed description of the structure is omitted. I do.

FIG. 4 shows a first example of the air floating part 12. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 124 denotes a chamber, and compressed air is introduced from an air inlet 125 provided in the linear motor unit 11. Reference numeral 122 denotes a large number of ejection holes formed in the lower member 127 of the chamber 124.
A gap 126 is formed between the jet hole 122 and the traveling path 3 by air buoyancy as described later.

The control unit 20 housed in the control box 200 includes an inverter for driving the linear motor unit 11, an air compressor for supplying compressed air to the air floating unit 12, and an inverter. And a battery or the like for supplying electric power to the air compressor, and applies a driving force by electromagnetic induction or a levitation force by compressed air to the linear motor unit 11 or the air levitation 12.

The lower member 127 in which the ejection holes 122 are provided, that is, the member facing the traveling path 3 is made of rubber, rubber, or the like so that the bottom shape can follow the unevenness or the step of the traveling path 3 without difficulty. A flexible material such as rubber is used.

FIG. 5 shows a second example of the air levitation 12. In this example, the structure above the lower member 127 having the ejection holes 122 is the same as that of the first example shown in FIG. 4, but the lower member 127 is made of a soft material such as rubber or rubber. The skirt portion 123 is provided.
A clearance 126 for floating d is formed between 23 and the traveling path 3. In this embodiment, the skirt 1
Since the member 23 can come into contact with the traveling path 3 first, the lower member 127 does not necessarily have to be made of a soft material as in the first example.

As shown in FIG. 3, the running path 3 has a layer of a soft non-magnetic material 3a such as an aluminum material on the upper side facing the claw 10, and a layer of a magnetic material 3b such as iron on the lower side. A floating gap 126 is formed between the non-magnetic material 3a and the lower member 127 of the air floating portion 12 (or the skirt portion 123 in FIG. 5).

During operation of the pallet transport device 1 having the above-described configuration, when a traveling command is issued from the control unit 20 housed in the control box 200, a linear motor serving as a primary guiding unit constituting the claw 10 is provided. Electromagnetic induction generated between the portion 11 and the magnetic material 3b, which is a secondary guiding portion of the traveling path 3, generates a horizontal propulsion force on the claw 10. At the same time, compressed air is introduced into the chamber 124 of the air levitation 12, and the compressed air is ejected little by little onto the non-magnetic material 3 a constituting the traveling path 3 from the many ejection holes 122.

With the above operation, the pawl 10 and the pallet transporting apparatus 1 supporting the pawl 10 and integrating the control box 200 accommodating the control section 20 are integrated with the lower member 127 of the air floating part 12 and the traveling path. 3 (non-magnetic material 3a)
A small amount of gap 126 is formed as shown in FIG. 5 to float, and the vehicle travels on the traveling path 3 by the propulsive force with extremely small frictional resistance.

When the pallet carrying device 1 reaches the pallet 2 on which the load is placed, the pawl 10 is inserted into the groove 2a of the pallet 2 by horizontal movement as shown in FIG. 2 is lifted by a fixed amount (the same amount as the gap 126 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 or a slightly larger amount), travels horizontally again to the destination, and conveys the pallet 2.

At the time of such transfer, the pallet transfer device 1 does not require a traveling vehicle such as a conventional forklift or an unmanned transfer vehicle in which the pawl 10 is mounted on the control box 200 in a cantilevered manner. Since it is a small self-propelled traveling carrier, the turning radius can be made extremely small, and since such a small and lightweight traveling carrier is horizontally driven by electromagnetic induction, the transport speed is also increased. In addition, the pallet 2 can be transported with a small amount of electric power because the levitation from the traveling path 3 by the air levitating section 12 causes the frictional resistance to be small and the size to be small.

Further, since the traveling path 3, which is the secondary-side guiding portion, is a two-layer body composed of the nonmagnetic material 3a and the magnetic material 3b, the leakage of magnetism is suppressed by the eddy current generated in the nonmagnetic material 3a. . Thereby, the propulsion efficiency of the pallet transport device 1 is improved. Further, since the lower surface side of the claw 10 of the traveling path 3, that is, the side of the air levitation 12 facing the lower member 127 is made of the non-magnetic material 3a made of a soft material, the claw 10 and the traveling path 3 are in direct contact. Even if it happens, the nail 10
Is not damaged.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, according to the present invention, the pawl and the control unit for controlling the pawl use the propulsive force of the pawl itself by electromagnetic induction and the levitation force of the gas ejection to lift the pallet. Since the vehicle is lifted and traveled, it does not require a vehicle for traveling as in the prior art, and travels with an extremely small and lightweight travel carrier composed of claws and a control box.
Since the pallet is transported, the turning radius is significantly smaller than that of a vehicle of the prior art or that the pallet itself moves along a guide rail. As a result, the transfer space can be reduced, and the mobility can be improved.
In addition, as described above, since the transporting body is small and lightweight, and the horizontal movement is performed by the electromagnetic induction force, the transporting speed is significantly increased as compared with the related art. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a pallet transfer device having greatly improved transfer work efficiency.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the running surface facing the claw portion, which is a running body, is made of a non-magnetic material, the eddy current generated in the non-magnetic material causes a magnetic eddy current. Leakage is suppressed, and propulsion efficiency is improved. Further, since the running surface facing the bottom surface of the running claw portion (the bottom surface of the gas floating portion) is made of a soft material, even if the claw portion and the running surface come into direct contact with each other, the claw portion can be used. Can be prevented from being damaged.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram (perspective view) of a pallet conveyance device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram (perspective view) showing a pallet conveyance state in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part of a claw and a traveling path in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front configuration diagram showing a first example of an air levitation in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front configuration diagram showing a second example of the air levitation.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a pallet transfer device using a forklift according to the related art.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the pallet according to the conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pallet conveyance apparatus 2 Pallet 2a Groove 3 Running path 3a Non-magnetic material 3b Magnetic material 10 Claw 11 Linear motor part 12 Air floating part 122 Spray hole 123 Skirt part 124 Chamber 125 Air inlet 126 Gap 127 Lower member

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masato Mihashi 1-8-1 Koura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama-shi F-term in Yokohama Research Laboratory, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. 3F333 AA01 BD10 BE10 CA11 DA10 DB10 5H301 AA02 BB05 CC06 EE02 EE27

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A pallet transport device in which a plate-like claw is inserted into a lower portion of a pallet and a package is conveyed via the pallet, wherein the claw is connected to a secondary guiding portion provided on a traveling path. A primary guiding portion for generating a horizontal propulsion force by performing electromagnetic guidance between the primary guiding portion, and a buoyancy force generated by blowing gas toward the traveling path and provided below the primary guiding portion. A pallet transport device comprising: a gas floating portion that is stacked on the pallet; and a controller that supports the claw and controls the primary-side guiding portion and the gas floating portion. 2. The pallet transport device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said claws are provided, and are configured to fit in grooves formed in a lower portion of said pallet. 3. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the pawl is supported in a cantilever manner by a control box housing the control unit, and the control unit box and the pawl are integrally movable. Pallet transfer device. 4. A two-layer body in which the traveling path is disposed on the claw side and is formed by laminating a soft non-magnetic material such as an aluminum material and a magnetic material such as iron disposed below the non-magnetic material. 2. The pallet transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the pallet transfer device comprises: 5. The pallet according to claim 1, wherein the gas float includes a gas chamber containing a compressed gas, and a plurality of ejection holes for ejecting the gas in the gas chamber onto the traveling road surface. Transport device.