JP2001199514A - Tray type article conveyer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tray type article conveyer capable of conveying various conveyed articles stably sorted even on a conveying route inclined in a vertical direction also capable of attaining a conveyance layout continued in a vertical direction and space saving of a conveying work area. SOLUTION: This conveyer is constituted by a driving lower frame 12a provided with a pair of front/rear running wheels 13 running on a conveying rail R1 in many carriages 12 supporting a tray 11 loading a conveyed article and a driven upper frame 12b provided with a driven roller 14 running on a rail R2 for a horizontal guide of the tray laid in the upward of the conveying rail R1 to support the tray 11, the driving lower frame 12a and the driven upper frame 12b are hinge connected in a front part of these frames.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tray-type article transport apparatus for placing articles on a plurality of trays and transporting the articles.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a tray-type article conveying apparatus in which a plurality of trays on which articles to be conveyed are placed are connected by connecting rods, for example, there is a tray-type article conveying apparatus as shown in FIG. This tray-type article transport device is mounted on a carriage A2 such that a tray A1 on which articles to be transported are placed can be tilted to the side in the transport direction according to the sorting destination. The front and rear portions of the carriage A2 are provided with wheels A3 running on running rails installed along a transport route and side rollers A for rolling prevention running on side rails.
4 are attached respectively. Also, the carriage A
2, a reaction plate A5 horizontally receiving a driving force in the transport direction from a primary coil (not shown) of a linear motor disposed along the transport path is horizontally provided, and A tray support A6 supported to be tiltable to the side in the transport direction and an index plate A7 for tilting the tray support A6 to the side are attached. The tray A1 on which the articles are placed is attached to the tray support A6.

In such a tray-type article transfer apparatus, the tray support A6 is controlled by controlling the operation of a known tilting operation member (not shown) in which the index plate A7 is fixed at a desired sorting position in the transfer path. Is tilted, and the conveyed articles on the tray A1 are released to the side chutes provided at the desired sorting positions to sort the conveyed articles.

[0004]

However, in the conventional tray-type article transport apparatus as described above, the wheels A3 are provided at the front and rear portions of the carriage A2 to which the tray A1 is attached, and the tray A1 Is generally used in a substantially horizontal transport path, and the transport path of the transported articles is vertically linear or curved. If it is inclined, the conveyed articles on the tray A1 may fall over or slip off. In the case where the transfer area extends to the transfer area, an extra load is required to transfer the transferred goods to another article transfer device that is discontinuously arranged, and the transfer path is inclined. Can not be performed sorting conveyor in the path area when the range, in short, the transport path form, transport task, there is a problem that severely limits the like conveying workspace.

[0005] Even if the transport path is substantially horizontal,
If this is a gentle slope that is slightly inclined in the vertical direction, the conveyed articles on the tray A1 will be in an unstable loading state, and will fall abruptly from the tray A1, which may cause sorting errors or damage to the conveyed articles. There is a problem that the applicable range of the conveyed article is limited.

In order to solve this, the tray A1
Has been changed to a shape that does not cause the conveyed articles to fall, but the unloading mechanism for unloading the conveyed articles from the tray A1 at the sorting position of the conveying path and the work load therefor are complicated. Alternatively, there is a troublesome tray replacement operation in which the tray A1 must be replaced with a tray suitable for each conveyed article, and as a result, there is a problem that the applicable range of the conveyed article cannot be expanded.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and to stably sort and convey a wide variety of conveyed articles even on a conveying path inclined vertically. Another object of the present invention is to provide a tray-type article transfer device capable of achieving a transfer layout that is continuous in a vertical transfer direction and a space saving of a transfer operation area.

[0008]

Therefore, a tray-type article transport apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is a tray-type article transport apparatus in which a number of carriages supporting trays on which articles to be transported are supported are separated and connected in a transport direction by connecting rods. In the transfer device, the tray includes a driving lower frame including a pair of front and rear running wheels on which the carriage runs on the transfer rail, and a driven roller that runs on a tray horizontal guide rail laid above the transfer rail. The above problem is solved by comprising a driven upper frame to be supported, and the driving lower frame and the driven upper frame are hinged at their front portions.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first aspect, the tray is provided so that the tray can be tilted laterally in the transport direction with respect to the driven upper frame. Thus, the above problem is further solved.

In the tray type article conveying apparatus of the present invention, a reaction plate which receives a driving force in the conveying direction from a primary coil of a linear motor disposed along the conveying path is vertically provided below the lower driving frame. Or
By adopting a linear system such as horizontal installation, or by adopting a trolley system such as vertically mounting a trolley that receives the driving force from the traction force of the transfer chain arranged along the transfer path, The traveling wheels travel on the transport rail.

In addition, the interval between the tray horizontal guide rail and the transport rail on which the tray-type article transport device of the present invention travels is appropriately set with respect to the transport rail. The driven upper frame is rotatable around the hinge connection with respect to the driving lower frame, so that the tray can be maintained in a horizontal state.

Further, the tray horizontal guide rail and the transport rail on which the tray-type article transport device of the present invention travels are formed to have an L-shaped cross section, and the traveling wheels and the driven rollers have their own weights on the respective rails. In order to prevent the vehicle from traveling, or to prevent abnormal rearward rotation at the time of starting the conveyance or abnormal frontal rotation at the time of stopping the conveyance, the cross section is formed in a U-shape and the traveling wheels and the driven rollers are formed. May be guided from above and below, respectively.

[0013]

The tray-type article transport device of the present invention always provides a tray for loading articles on a horizontal transport path or a straight or curved transport path inclined forward and downward. Tray horizontal transfer guide function.

That is, when a straight or curved transport path inclined forwardly is transported, the distance between the tray horizontal guide rail and the transport rail is larger than that in the case of a horizontal transport path, and the driven The driven roller provided at the rear portion of the upper frame is pushed up by the tray horizontal guide rail, and the driven upper frame rotates forward with respect to the driving lower frame about the hinge connection in the transport direction. The mounting surface of the tray provided on the upper frame for use becomes horizontal.

Further, when a straight or curved transport path inclined forward and downward is transported, the separation distance of the tray horizontal guide rail from the transport rail is smaller than that in the case of a horizontal transport path, so that the tray is driven. The driven roller provided at the rear part of the upper frame is pushed down by the tray horizontal guide rail, and the driven upper frame rotates rearward in the transport direction about the hinge connection with respect to the driving lower frame, so that the driven The mounting surface of the tray provided on the upper frame for use becomes horizontal.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 5 show a tray-type article transfer apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Is a side view of a main part showing a transport state in a horizontal path,
FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a side view of a main part showing a transfer state in a forwardly moving transfer path, and FIG. 4 is a side view of a main part showing a transfer state in a forwardly lowered transfer path. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a transport state on a curved transport path descending forward.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tray-type article transfer apparatus 10 of this embodiment runs on a transfer rail R1 and a tray horizontal guide rail R2 forming a transfer path. Note that the tray horizontal guide rails R2 are laid in parallel above and separated from the transport rails R2, and the interval between them is appropriately set according to the inclination gradient of the transport path.

First, the tray-type article transport device 1 of the present embodiment
0 is provided with a large number of carriages 12 supporting trays 11 on which the articles to be conveyed are placed.
Is a pair of front and rear traveling wheels 1 traveling on the transport rail R1.
Drive lower frame 12a provided with the first and third trays 13, 13 and a tray horizontal guide rail R laid above the transport rail.
2 and a driven upper frame 12b that supports the tray 11 with a driven roller 14 that runs on the driven roller 2.

The driving lower frame 12a and the driven upper frame 12b are hinged to each other at a front portion thereof by a connecting shaft 15 so as to be vertically rotatable.

Further, the drive lower frame 12a has a side rail R3 integrated with the transport rail R1.
A pair of front and rear side rollers 16 and 16 that roll on the upper side are provided to prevent the carriage 12 from swaying, and a reaction plate 17 of the linear motor M shown in FIG. 2 is horizontally mounted. The upper and lower ends of the connecting rods 18, 18 of the front and rear carriages are located above the mounting position of the traveling wheels 13, 13.
9 and 19, the connecting rods 18 and 1 are connected.
A well-known guard plate is horizontally attached to each end position of 8 as needed.

On the other hand, the driven upper frame 12b is provided with a tray support 21 for supporting the tray 11 so that the tray 11 can be tilted to the side in the transport direction. The tray support 20 is a known type as shown in FIG. An index plate 21 that is tilted sideways by the tilting movement mechanism K is attached.

The thus-obtained tray-type article transfer device 10 of the present embodiment, when transferring along a linear transfer path inclined forward and upward as shown in FIG. 3, is located behind the driven upper frame 12b. The driven roller 14 provided in the portion is pushed up by the tray horizontal guide rail R2, and the driven upper frame 12b is positioned forward of the position on the horizontal transfer path about the connecting shaft 15 with respect to the driving lower frame 12a in the transport direction. , The mounting surface of the tray 11 provided on the driven upper frame 12b is in a horizontal state.

In the case of transporting a straight forwardly sloping slope as shown in FIG. 4 or a curved forwardly sloping course as shown in FIG. 5, the driven upper frame 12b
The driven roller 14 provided at the rear of the drive shaft 12 is pushed down by the tray horizontal guide rail R2, and the driven upper frame 12b is connected to the driving lower frame 12a by the connecting shaft 15.
Is pivoted rearward in the transport direction from a position in the horizontal transport path around the center, so that the mounting surface of the tray 11 provided on the driven upper frame 12b is in a horizontal state.

Therefore, the tray-type article conveying apparatus 10 of this embodiment stably and reliably sorts and conveys a wide variety of articles to be conveyed not only on a horizontal conveying path but also on any vertical conveying path. Further, the effect is enormous, for example, the layout of the transport path that is continuous in the vertical direction can be laid, and the space for the transport work area can be saved.

[0026]

As described above, the tray-type article transport device of the present invention has a mechanism for horizontally supporting the tray mounting surface regardless of the inclined transport path.
The following specific effects can be obtained. In other words, the tray-type article transport device according to the first aspect of the present invention is inclined forward or downward even if the conventional tray-type article transport device could not transport even in a horizontal transport path. Even if the conveyance path is straight or curved, the tray horizontal guide function can always be exerted on the tray on which the articles are placed. It is possible to stably convey articles without being limited to
It is possible to simply lay out a transport path capable of continuously transporting transported articles vertically in a single article transport apparatus without reloading, and to achieve a space-saving transport operation area.

Further, the tray-type article conveying apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention can prevent the conveyed articles from falling in the conventional tray-type article conveying apparatus on any conveying path inclined in the vertical direction. Since the paper can be stably conveyed without having to change the shape of the tray in accordance with the conveyed article, the applicable range of the conveyed article can be expanded.

In addition, in the tray-type article conveying apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the tray is provided so as to be tiltable laterally in the conveying direction with respect to the driven upper frame. In addition, stable and reliable sorting / conveying can be performed even on a slope where the conventional tray-type article conveying apparatus cannot perform sorting / conveying due to a sorting error or breakage of the conveyed articles.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a main part of a tray-type article conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a conveying state in a horizontal path.

FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a main part showing a conveyance state in a conveyance path rising upward;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a main part showing a transport state in a forward-lowering transport path.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a transport state on a curved transport path descending forward.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a main part showing a transfer state of a conventional tray-type article transfer device on a horizontal path.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Tray-type article conveying apparatus 11 ... Tray 12 ... Carriage 12a ... Drive lower frame 12b ... Driven upper frame 13 ... Running wheel 14 ... Driven roller 15 ... · Connecting shaft 16 ··· Side roller 17 ··· Reaction plate 18 ··· Connecting rod 19 ··· Universal joint 20 ··· Tray support 21 ··· Index plate R1 ··· Transport rail R2 ··· Tray horizontal guide rail R3 Side rail M Linear motor K Tilt mechanism A1 Tray A2 Carriage A3 Wheel A4 Side roller A5 Tray Support A6: Reaction plate A7: Index plate

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme coat II (Reference) B65G 35/06 B65G 35/06 E 47/38 47/38 (72) Inventor Yasumichi Furuya 4 Tsurumi 4 Tsurumi-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka, Osaka No. 17-96, Tsubakimoto Chain Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3F015 AA06 DA02 3F034 QA05 QB07

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A tray-type article transport device in which a number of carriages supporting trays on which articles to be transported are supported are separated and connected in a transport direction by connecting rods, wherein the carriage is configured by a pair of front and rear traveling wheels traveling on a transport rail. A lower frame for driving, comprising a driven upper frame that supports the tray with a driven roller that runs on a tray horizontal guide rail laid above the transport rail, and the driving lower frame includes: A tray-type article transport device, wherein a driven upper frame is hinged at these front portions. 2. The tray-type article transport device according to claim 1, wherein the tray is provided so as to be tiltable laterally in the transport direction with respect to the driven upper frame.