JP2001301957A - Direction switching device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a cost as a whole, and to automatically release bite-in when a guided body is bitten in. SOLUTION: This device has an endless turning body 40 arranged along a main conveying route 45, guide bars 50 attached numerously to the turning body 40 individually and having a longitudinal direction 51 orthogonal to the main conveying route 45, a movable body 70 guided by the guide bar 50, the guided body 81 provided in a reverse face side of the movable body 70, guide devices 90, 100 for guiding the guided body 81, and switching devices 110, 111 arranged in branch parts of the guide devices 90, 100. The guide bar 50 has a pair of protrusions 63 along a direction of the main conveying route 45 in an end part of the longitudinal direction 51, and is attached to the endless turning body 40 via the protrusions 63. A rotary body 64 is provided only in one protrusion 63 out of the protrusions 63, and guide rail parts 18, 25 for supportingly guiding the rotary body 64 are provided along the main conveying route 45.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a conversion apparatus used for transferring an article being conveyed on a main conveyance path to a branch conveyance path provided outside the side of the main conveyance path. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as this type of apparatus, there has been provided a conversion apparatus as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-329244. In this conventional configuration, a large number of guide bars are mounted between a pair of left and right chains arranged along the main transport path in a direction perpendicular to the main transport path. A guided body is provided on the back side of the movable body guided by these guide bars, a guide device group for guiding the guided body, and a switching device provided at a branch of the guide device group are provided. It is composed.

[0003] Outer projecting cylinders are provided at two front and rear ends of each guide bar in the longitudinal direction, and the projecting portions of the connecting pins in the chain are inserted into the cylinders and connected. Thus, a number of guide bars are mounted between the pair of left and right chains. In addition, a rotating body is fitted on each cylindrical portion, and these rotating bodies are configured to be supported and guided by a guide rail on the main body frame side.

According to this conventional structure, articles can be supported and conveyed by a group of guide bars which move integrally by driving a chain, and at that time, a guided body is guided by the guide bar to move the movable body in the width direction of the conveyor. As a result, the article is laterally pushed by the movable body group and moved to the side.

[0005]

However, according to the above-described conventional structure, since the rotating body is externally fitted to each cylindrical portion, the overall cost is increased. further,
Since each rotating body is supported and guided by the guide rail portion, the guide bar group is constrained and moved, and therefore, when the guided body bites into the switching device or the like,
There is a possibility that the movable body and the switching device may be damaged.

Therefore, the invention of claim 1 of the present invention provides a conversion device which can reduce the cost as a whole, and can automatically eliminate the biting when the guided member gets stuck. It is intended for.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, there is provided a conversion apparatus comprising: an endless rotating body disposed along a main transport path; A guide bar having a length direction perpendicular to the main transport path, a movable body guided by these guide bars, and a guided body provided on the back side of the movable body, A guide device group for guiding the guided body, and a switching device disposed at a branch portion of the guide device group, each of the guide bars has a pair of a pair of ends at a longitudinal end in a direction of the main transport path. It has a protruding portion and is attached to the endless rotating body via these protruding portions. A rotatable body is provided only on one protruding portion of the pair of protruding portions, and a guide rail portion for supporting and guiding the rotatable body is mainly transported. It is noted that it was provided along the route It is obtained by the.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, by moving the endless rotating body to move the guide bar group,
The article supplied to the start end of the main transfer path can be transferred toward the end. At that time, the guide bar group can be supported and guided on the guide rail portion via the rotating body in a stable posture. The movable body that moves integrally with the guide bar during transportation moves in the longitudinal direction of the guide bar when the guided body is guided by the guide device group, whereby the movable body group traverses the article. And pushes it laterally out of the main transport path.

When operating in this manner, each guide bar
The horizontal posture can be maintained by the tension of the endless rotating body. In each guide bar, the number of rotating bodies can be reduced by providing the rotating body only in one of the pair of tubular parts. Furthermore, since the rotating body is provided only on one cylindrical portion of each guide bar, the endless rotating body moves away from the guide rail portion side when the guided body on the movable body bites in a switching device or the like. Can easily change. This allows the rotating body to be separated from the guide rail portion and allows the guided body to escape from the switching device or the like.

[0010] The conversion device according to claim 2 of the present invention,
In the above-described structure of the first aspect, the endless rotating body is formed of a chain, and a protruding portion is connected to a connecting pin of the chain.

Therefore, according to the second aspect of the present invention, each guide bar can be easily and inexpensively attached to the chain, and the rotating body can be easily separated from the guide rail portion by utilizing the bending of the link. Can do.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
Description will be made based on the drawings. 1 to 3, 6 and 7, reference numeral 1 denotes a body frame, which is a pair of upper and lower frame members 10, 20 on both sides, and an intermediate frame member for connecting the upper, lower, left and right frame members 10, 20. 2 and legs 3 connected downward from the lower frame material 20, etc.
The intermediate frame member 2 includes a vertical connecting member 4 and a horizontal connecting member 5.

The upper frame material 10 is formed in a rectangular shape in cross section by a molded product of aluminum, and has an upright portion 11 formed at the center thereof, and a notch-shaped step portion is formed inside and outside the upright portion 11. 12 and 13 are formed. Further, in the upper frame member 10, an inner upward dovetail groove 14 is formed at the upper end of the upright portion 11, and an outer upward dovetail groove 15 is formed at the position of the outer step portion 13, and an inner downward dovetail groove 16 is formed at the lower end. An outer downward dovetail groove 17 is formed.

The upper frame member 10 is formed with a forward-side guide rail portion 18 for supporting the guide bar inwardly from the position of the inner step portion 12, and has a lower end and an outer end for attaching a side cover. Is formed in the lower surface opening. The upper concave groove 19 has a seal material fitting groove 19a at the entrance. The dovetail grooves 14 to 17 and the outgoing side guide rail portion 18 and the like are
Is formed over the entire length in the longitudinal direction during the molding.

The lower frame member 20 is formed in a rectangular shape in cross section by a molded product of aluminum, and has an inner upward dovetail groove 21 and an outer upward dovetail groove 22 at an upper end, and an inner downward dovetail groove 23 at a lower end. Outward downward dovetail 2
4 are formed. Further, a return-side guide rail portion 25 for supporting the guide bar is formed inward from the inner middle portion, and the upper end is positioned above a step 26 formed by the return-side guide rail portion 25. Extension 27
Are formed.

At the upper end and the outer end of the lower frame member 20, a lower concave groove 28 for attaching a side cover is formed with an open upper surface, and the lower concave groove 28 has a seal material fitting groove 28a at its entrance. Have. The dovetail grooves 21 to 24 and the return path guide rail portion 25 are formed over the entire length in the length direction when the lower frame member 20 is formed.

The intermediate frame member 2 is provided with an upper frame member 10.
The plate-shaped nut body 6 is positioned in the both downward dovetail grooves 16 and 17 of the above, and the bolt 7 passed from below to the horizontal connecting member 5 of the intermediate frame member 2 is fitted to the nut body 6 and tightened. The upper frame member 10 is integrated with the lower frame member 20, and the lower frame member 20 is integrated with the lower frame member 20 by using the nuts 6 and the bolts 7 in the same manner as described above by using the both upward dovetail grooves 21 and 22. . A plurality of the intermediate frame members 2 are provided at predetermined intervals in the length direction of the two frame members 10 and 20. The leg 3 is connected to the lower frame member 20 by the nut 6 and the bolt 7 using the downward dovetail groove 24 of the lower frame member 20.

Between the frame members 10 and 20, there is provided a side cover 8 of a shoji dropping type utilizing both concave grooves 19 and 28. The side cover 8 is formed in a rectangular plate shape, and its upper edge is inserted into the upper concave groove 19 from below, the lower edge is opposed to the lower concave groove 28 from above, and the lower edge is formed in the lower concave groove. 28. At this time, the inner surface of the side cover 8 is brought into contact with the sealing material 29 fitted in the sealing material fitting grooves 19a and 28a. In addition, the side cover 8 is made of
A plurality of sheets are arranged in the length direction, and an operation handle 9 is provided on an outer surface of each of the plurality of sheets.

A driven shaft 30 in the left-right direction is rotatably disposed at the start end of the main body frame 1 constructed as described above, and a drive shaft 31 in the same direction is rotatably disposed at the end. Is done. Here, the driven shaft 30 and the drive shaft 31 are formed by a pair of left and right support members 3 disposed between the two frame members 10 and 20.
2 are rotatably supported via bearing devices 33, respectively. Drive device 3 linked to drive shaft 31
Reference numeral 4 denotes an electric motor 35 and a speed reducer 36 integrated therewith, and an output portion of the speed reducer 36 is linked to the drive shaft 31.

At both ends of the driven shaft 30 and the drive shaft 31, sprockets (an example of a wheel) 38, 39 are provided between opposing portions.
A chain (one example of an endless rotating body) 40 is provided via the. Here, the sprockets 38 and 39 are disposed inside the support member 32. The chain 40 includes a link 41 and a connecting pin 42.
Among them, a predetermined connecting pin 42 is projected inward. Many guide bars 50 are attached between the left and right chains 40. Here, the guide bar 50 is disposed as a length direction 51 in a direction perpendicular to the main transport path 45 which is a moving direction of both chains 40.

The guide bar 50 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 7, a loading plate portion 54 having a flat surface 52 formed with two (single or plural) recesses 53 along the length direction 51 in the direction of the main transport path 45; A pair of leg plates 55, 5, which are provided in a pair in the direction of the main transport path 45 from the intermediate portion on the back side of the portion 54 and extend in the straight
6, a front plate portion 57 extending downward and rearward from a front end of the loading plate portion 54, a rear plate portion 58 extending downward and rearward from a rear end of the loading plate portion 54, and a lower end and a rear portion of the rear plate portion 58. And a bottom plate portion 59 connecting the lower end of the leg plate portion 56 at the lower end. At the lower ends of the two leg plate portions 55 and 56, groove-shaped fitting portions 60 and 61 that open downward are formed.

Each of the guide bars 5 thus formed
No. 0 has a pair of protrusions at the end in the length direction 51 in the direction of the main transport path 45, and is attached to the chain 40 via these protrusions. That is, slat brackets 62 are attached to both ends of the guide bar 50 in the length direction 51 by insertion and connection. At two positions on the outer surface side of the slat bracket 62 in the direction of the main transport path 45, there are provided cylindrical portions (an example of protruding portions) 63 that protrude outward. A large number of guide bars 50 are mounted between the pair of left and right chains 40 by inserting and connecting the projecting portions of the connecting pins 42 of the chain 40 to the cylindrical portion 63.

Further, one of the pair of cylindrical portions 63, that is, the lower cylindrical portion 63 in the direction of the main transport path 45.
Only in this case, a rotating body (bearing type, roller type, etc.) 64 whose outer peripheral portion is made of urethane is provided so as to be externally fitted.
The rotating body 64 is configured to be supported and guided by both guide rails 18 and 25 provided on the main body frame 1 side along the main transport path 45.

Each guide bar 50 has a guide bar 5
A movable body 70 that is guided in 0 and is movable in the length direction 51 is provided. The movable bodies 70 are fitted to the guide bar 50 outside, and include an upper plate 71 facing the loading plate 54 from above, a front plate 72 facing the front plate 57 from the front, and a rear plate 72. A rear plate 73 facing the portion 58 from the rear side and a bottom plate 74 facing the bottom plate 59 and the like from below are formed in a rectangular cylindrical shape.

The bottom plate 74 and the two leg plates 55,
From the other side (front) in the front-rear direction with 56 as the center, it is fitted from below into a fitting portion 60 formed on the front leg plate portion 55 and is fitted and guided on the back side of the guide bar 50. A protruding fitted portion 75 is formed. In addition, the bottom plate member 74 and one side (rear) in the front-rear direction with the both leg plate portions 55 and 56 as a center, there is a backlash elastically abutting against the back surface formed by the bottom plate portion 59 of the guide bar 50. The prevention part 76 is formed. Here, the rattling prevention unit 76
A U-shaped cut is made in the bottom plate member 74 to form a tongue piece, and the free end has a protruding contact portion to the back surface side.

The upper plate 71 of the movable body 70 is formed with a pair of convex portions 77 which engage with the concave portions 53 formed in the guide bar 50 from above, and the bottom plate 74 has
A guided portion 78 which is fitted between the two leg plate portions 55 and 56 and slidably guided is formed. The movable body 70 is made of, for example, a synthetic resin, and at this time, an action portion 79 for lateral pressing is integrally formed on the surface side of the upper plate 71.

Then, a guided body is attached using the guided section 78. That is, the guided portion 7
A roller shaft 80 is suspended from the center of the roller shaft 8 by supporting the upper portion by embedding molding.
A guide roller 8, which is an example of a guided body,
The guide roller 81 is located outside the back surface of the movable body 70.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 8, a group of forward guide devices 90 for guiding the guide rollers 81 to the upper horizontal connecting member 5 in the intermediate frame member 2 of the main body frame 1.
But the lower horizontal connecting member 5 has
Is arranged. In the center branch, the upper switching device 110 on the outward route and the lower switching device 111 on the return route are provided.
And a pair of right and left sorting devices 112A and 112B are provided near the starting end on the outward path side.

The forward path guide device group 90 includes a pair of start guides 91A and 91 provided on both sides of the start end, respectively.
1B, a pair of left and right inner movement guides 92A, 92B opposed to the ends of the start guides 91A, 91B via the distribution devices 112A, 112B and inclined inward toward the lower side. Parts 92A, 9
A pair of left and right outer movement guides 93A and 93B that face the end of 2B via the upper switching device 110 and are inclined outward toward the lower side.
A and a pair of left and right end guide portions 94A and 94B disposed opposite to the ends of 93A and 93B, respectively.

The return guide device group 100 includes a pair of left and right inner movement guide portions 10 inclined inward toward the lower side.
1A, 101B and these inner movement guide portions 101A, 1A.
A pair of left and right outer movement guide portions 102A and 102B are arranged opposite to the end of 01B via the lower switching device 111, and are inclined outward toward the lower side.

The two guide device groups 90 and 100 are provided, for example, with the leading end guide portion 91B and the outer moving guide portion 10 in FIG.
2B, a main body 105 made of an extruded aluminum product and a guide plate 106 made of resin mounted on the inner surface of the main body 105. The main body 105 is connected to the horizontal connecting member 5 via a bracket 107. Fixed.
In addition, as shown in FIG.
In order to perform the first guide, the reversing guide bodies 108A, 108 which allow the fitting of the guide rollers 81 to the portions of the both shafts 30, 31.
B, 109A and 109B are attached.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
Outside of both sides of the main transport path 45, branch conveyors 114A and 114B forming branch paths 113A and 113B inclined outward and downward with respect to the main transport path 45 are provided. Here, the branch conveyors 114A and 114B have a large number of rollers 115.
The rollers 115 are arranged such that their ends are located in the steps 13 of the upper frame material 10 and are sufficiently close to the uprights 11. Note that the dovetail groove 17 and the like on the outer side of the upper frame material 10 are branched into
A, 114B can be used for connection. Reference numeral 116 denotes an article.

In the following, the operation of conveying and branching the article 116 in the above embodiment will be described. The conversion device can operate the electric motor 35 of the drive device 34 and forcibly rotate the sprocket 39 via the drive shaft 31 linked to the speed reducer 36, so that both chains 40 can be moved. By the movement of the two chains 40, the group of guide bars 50 can be moved while being supported and guided by the two guide rails 18, 25 via the rotating body 64. As a result, the group of guide bars 50 circulates, and the article 116 supplied on the guide bar 50 at the start end is conveyed on the main conveyance path 45.

At this time, the movable body 70 that moves integrally with the guide bar 50 group is guided by the guide device groups 90 and 100 so that the movable member 70 is It reciprocates in the length direction 51 and moves linearly along the main transport path 45 together with the guide bar 50.

That is, for example, the guide roller 81 guided by the one-side starting end guide portion 91A is guided straight when the sorting device 112A is in the straight sorting position, and goes straight without receiving the guide action and then ends. Guided by the guide portion 94A. As a result, the movable body 70 does not act on the article 116, and the article 116 is transported in a straight line on the main transport path 45. The same applies to the opposite side, and the guide roller 81 of the starting end guide portion 91B is provided.
Moves from the sorting device 112B to the terminal guide 94B.

The guide roller 81 guided by the one start guide portion 91A is guided inclining inward when the distribution device 112A is in the inclined distribution posture, and is guided inward by the inward movement guide portion 92A to move inward. After that, the outer movement guide section 9 is moved through the upper switching device 110.
3B, guided by the outer movement guide portion 93B, moved outward, and then guided by the terminal guide portion 94B.
As a result, the movable body group 70 crosses the main transport path 45 while moving in the transport direction.
9 acts laterally on the article 116 and passes the article 116 to the other branch conveyor 114B.

The same applies to the opposite side, and the guide roller 81 of the starting end guide portion 91B is provided with a sorting device 112B,
The inner moving guide portion 92B, the upper switching device 110, the outer moving guide portion 93A, and the terminal end guide portion 94A are guided, and the action portion 79 on one side of the movable body 70 group acts laterally on the article 116 to cause the article 116 to move. One branch conveyor 114A
Will be passed to. Thus, the two-way conveyor 114
A and 114B, the articles 116 on the guide bar 50 pass over the upper frame material 10 supporting the chain 40 and are transferred to the branch conveyors 114A and 114B located at the step 13. Roller 11
Transfer to 5.

As described above, the end guide portion 94
The guide rollers 81 that have reached the ends of A and 94B are guided by the reversing guides 109A and 109B to be reversed, and then guided to the inner moving guides 101A and 101B to be moved to the center. Next, after being sorted right and left by the lower switching device 111, the outer movement guide portions 102A and 102A
After being moved outward by the guidance of 2B and further guided and reversed by the reversing guide bodies 108A and 108B, it is moved to one of the starting end guide portions 91A and 91B.

In this way, the conversion device is connected to the main transport path 4
5 is transferred to the main transport path 4
5 can be used to transfer to branch paths 113A and 113B provided outside the side of the guide bar 5.
0 can maintain a horizontal posture by the tension of the chain 40. In each of the guide bars 50, since the rotating body 64 is provided only in one of the pair of tubular parts 63, the number of the rotating bodies 64 can be reduced and the overall cost can be reduced.

Further, one cylindrical portion 6 of each guide bar 50
3, the switching device 11 is provided.
When the guide roller 81 on the movable body 70 gets stuck in the distributing devices 112A and 112B, the chain 40 easily moves away from the guide rail portions 18 and 25 using the bending of the link. Can be changed to Thereby, the rotating body 64 is separated from the guide rail portions 18 and 25, and the guide roller 81 is switched to the switching device 1.
It can be released from the devices 10, 111 and the sorting devices 112A, 112B, thereby eliminating biting.

In the above-described embodiment, the chain 40 is shown as the endless rotating body, but it may be a belt or the like. In the above-described embodiment, the guide roller 81 is shown as the guided object, but this may be a guide pin or the like.

In the above embodiment, the cylindrical portion 63 is shown as the protruding portion, but it may be a bracket or a pin.

[0043]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the article supplied to the start end of the main transfer path is conveyed toward the end by moving the guide bar group by moving the endless rotating body. In this case, the guide bar group can be supported and guided on the guide rail portion via the rotating body in a stable posture. And the movable body that moves integrally with the guide bar during transport,
The guided body can be moved in the length direction of the guide bar by being guided by the guide device group, whereby the movable body group can laterally push the article and push it out of the main transport path to the side.

When operating in this manner, each guide bar
A horizontal posture can be maintained by the tension of the endless rotating body. In each of the guide bars, since the rotating body is provided only in one of the pair of tubular parts, the number of rotating bodies can be reduced and the overall cost can be reduced. Furthermore, by providing a rotating body only on one cylindrical part of each guide bar,
When the guided body on the movable body side gets stuck in a switching device or the like, the endless rotating body can easily change to the side away from the guide rail part side, thereby separating the rotating body from the guide rail part, The guide body can be released from the switching device or the like, and the bite can be automatically eliminated.

According to the second aspect of the present invention,
Attachment of each guide bar to the chain can be performed easily and inexpensively, and separation of the rotating body from the guide rail portion can be easily performed by utilizing bending of the link.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment of the present invention and is a partially cutaway plan view of a main part of a conversion device.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional front view of a main part of the conversion device.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional front view of an upper frame material portion in the conversion device.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional side view of a guide bar portion to which a movable body is attached in the conversion device.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional side view showing a change state of a guide bar portion to which a movable body is attached in the conversion device.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of the conversion device.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of the conversion device.

8A and 8B show a guide device group of the conversion device, FIG. 8A is a schematic plan view of a forward guide device group, FIG. 8B is a schematic plan view of a return guide device group, and FIG. 8C is a schematic side view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body frame 10 Frame material 18 Outbound side guide rail part 20 Frame material 25 Inbound side guide rail part 34 Drive device 38 Sprocket (ring) 39 Sprocket (ring) 40 Chain (endless rotating body) 41 Link 42 Connecting pin 45 Main Conveyance path 50 Guide bar 51 Length direction 54 Loading plate portion 63 Cylindrical portion (projecting portion) 64 Rotating body 70 Movable body 80 Roller shaft 81 Guide roller (guided body) 90 Forward guide device 100 Return guide device 110 Upper switching device 111 Lower switching device 112A Sorting device 112B Sorting device 113A Branch route 113B Branch route 116 Article

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An endless rotating body disposed along a main transport path, a guide bar attached to each of the endless rotary bodies in a large number, and having a length perpendicular to the main transport path.
A movable body guided by these guide bars, a guided body provided on the back side of the movable body, a guide device group for guiding the guided body, and a switching device disposed at a branch of the guide device group Each guide bar has a pair of protrusions at the end in the length direction in the direction of the main transport path, and is attached to the endless rotating body via these protrusions,
A conversion device, wherein a rotating body is provided on only one of a pair of projecting portions, and a guide rail portion for supporting and guiding the rotating body is provided along a main transport path. 2. The conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the endless rotating body comprises a chain, and a protruding portion is connected to a connecting pin of the chain.