JP2002501869A - Conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] A conveyor for transporting individual items or the like along a path has a frame (1), a transport unit and a return unit supported by the frame and driven by a driving unit. Endless conveyor belt (8). The transport belt has a plurality of slats (9) that are elongated in the cross direction and that are practically rigid. The slats are directly or indirectly connected to each other, and are relatively rotatable at least about an axis parallel to the transport surface and orthogonal to the transport direction. The frame includes a support (10) that slidably supports the slats in the transport unit, and a plurality of pulleys (5, 6) that guide and change the direction of the transport belt and are connected to the support. , Is provided. The support preferably comprises a damping member (12) downstream of at least one roller. The damping member is positioned to support the slat as the slat moves away from the roller.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an endless transport belt having a frame, a transport section supported by the frame, driven by a driving means, and having a transport section and a return section, the transport belt being elongated in a transverse direction and having substantially rigidity. A plurality of moving support members are provided, and these moving support members are directly or indirectly connected to each other, and at least,
An endless transport belt, which is rotatable about an axis parallel to the transport surface and orthogonal to the transport direction; and a support portion provided on the frame and slidably supporting the moving support member in the transport portion. A plurality of pulleys disposed proximate to the support for guiding and diverting the endless transport belt; transporting individual items or the like along selected paths. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art

Although conveyors of this type have in fact been used satisfactorily in various forms, noise has become a problem, especially when operating at high speeds. One of the causes of such a phenomenon is that noise is generated at the connecting portion between the driving member, the reverse moving member, or the direction changing member and the moving support member. And this noise is due to the transition from a curved path with a moving support for the moving support at the pulley position to a straight path with a fixed support for the moving support at the support position. In particular, when the moving supporting member is deformed due to high speed, the moving supporting member vigorously falls on the supporting portion.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved conveyor that can solve at least one of the above problems.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the conveyor according to the present invention, in the support portion,
Downstream of at least one of the pulleys, a damping member
element is provided, the damping member being positioned to support the moving support member as the moving support member moves away from the pulley.

[0005] A damping member according to the present invention effectively reduces noise caused by a rigid moving support member resting on a rigid support. In addition, certain vibrations are also eliminated by the damping member. As the material of the damping member, it is preferable to use a rubber-like material or another material having damping characteristics.

In a highly advantageous embodiment, the damping member can move along the conveyor belt, for example, the damping member is a circulating endless member. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent friction from occurring between the damping member and the moving support member or a portion connected to the moving support member.

Thus, for example, the damping member is an elastic, preferably rubbery cord or the like, passing through the pulley in question and at least one further pulley in the path, The path extends slightly above the support surface of the support at least at the downstream side of the pulley, and further extends away from the pulley so as to be below the support surface. , When the damping member passes through the corresponding pulley.

Here, the support during the movement of the moving support member is passed from each pulley to the damping member. This handover is performed until the damping member is positioned below the support surface of the support. At this point, the support of the movable support member to the support portion is gradually taken over without generating noise. In this way, noise and vibration are very effectively attenuated.

In one embodiment of the conveyor according to the invention, the moving support member is guided in a convex path in consideration of the surplus length, in which case the damping member comprises It is advantageous if it is guided in a straight path located on the convex path so that it can extend slightly upwardly and bias the moving support member.

If the vibration or movement of the moving support member causes noise in a portion other than the pulley of the conveyor, it is possible to use the damping member at a position slightly away from the pulley. Please note. The present invention is applicable not only to slat-type conveyors having a plurality of slats (slats) connected to each other by chains, but also to other types of conveyors in which open and connected moving support members are used. Is also preferably used.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a conveyor according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The figure shows a conveyor capable of transporting articles, in particular piece goods, in a vertical direction by a spiral path. This type of conveyor is known as a spiral conveyor or a winding conveyor. These conveyors can convey products as a continuous stream. This flow of product may serve as a buffer during vertical transport or processing.
These conveyors are used, for example, in the food industry, distribution centers, graphics industry, and other fields. However, the invention can also be used as a conveyor with a transport belt guided on a straight path, a horizontal path or an inclined path.

The illustrated conveyor includes a frame 1. In this case, the frame 1 is provided with a central column 2 having a plurality of bases 3 and a spiral guide chute 4.
The spiral guide shoe 4 is fixed to the central support 2 in such a manner as to be wound around the central support 2. Of course, the frame can have various other structures.
End pulleys 5 and 6 are provided at the upper and lower ends of the guide chute 4, and a return chute 7 of the frame 1 extends between the two ends of the spiral guide chute 4.
In this case, the conveyor belt 8 supported by the frame 1 is provided with a conveying part.
And the return part are guided on different paths. However, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the transport section returns along the lower side of the guide chute 4.

In the illustrated example, the spiral guide chute 4 has four spirals, but this number may be increased or decreased according to the purpose of use. In the illustrated example, it is possible to provide a drive motor so as to engage with the pulley located at the end of the transport path, that is, the end pulley 5 or 6, but the auxiliary drive means is provided at another place of the conveyor. It is also possible to provide. Further, the transport belt 8 may be configured to be linearly driven. The conveyor can be connected to another conveyor at the upper end pulley 5 or the lower end pulley 6.

The transport belt 8 is provided with a large number of movable support members in the form of slats (slats: small split plates) 9 (see FIGS. 3 to 7). These moving supporting members are connected to each other directly or via endless connecting members. These slats 9 have a flat upper conveying surface. The spacing between the slats 9 in the transport direction is set small, so that the product can be supported by a plurality of adjacent slats 9. As described above, the slats are rotatably connected to each other directly or via an endless connection member (not shown) in the present embodiment. Accordingly, each slat 9 has two axes, a first axis extending parallel to the transport surface and perpendicular to the transport direction and a second axis extending perpendicular to the transport surface and perpendicular to the transport direction. It is possible to rotate around each other. Of the two pivoting operations described above, the latter is used in a spiral path, and the former allows the transport belt 8 to pass through the end pulleys 5,6. The slats 9 are slightly tapered in the vicinity of the ends of the slats 9 in the direction away from the axes, so that they do not interfere with each other even at the bent portions. Other shapes, such as diamond, V, tooth, overlap, or a combination thereof are also possible. In a special embodiment, the slats 9 can also be split. This, in practice, allows the transport belt to only move on a complete curved path, but the surface of the transport belt 8 is completely closed.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 2, the guide chute 4 of the frame 1 is provided with a spiral support 10 (see FIGS. 4 to 7). The spiral support has an upper support surface 11, on which the lower surface of each slat 9 rests. Therefore, each slat 9 is slidably supported by the support surface 11 during movement. The degree of friction and wear can be limited by appropriately selecting the material of the support 10 and the slats (made of plastic).

In particular, when this container is used in a situation where a very high conveying speed of up to 120 m / min. Is required, for example, from the support by the end pulleys 5 and 6 to the support by the support 10 Noise occurs at the part where the transition to. At the transition from the annular path through the pulleys 5 and 6 to the straight path through the support 10, the end of the slat 9 is deformed upward while passing through the pulley, and then the support surface 11 of the support 10 Because it falls vigorously up. The present invention addresses this problem by providing a damping member. In this case, the damping member is constituted by an elastic cord 12 made of rubber. The elastic cord is formed on an endless member. In this case, the elastic cord is partially guided through the end pulley 5 and guided as follows.
That is, in this case, the two cords 12 can receive both ends of the slats on the downstream side of the end pulley 5, thereby preventing generation of noise.

FIG. 5 shows the trajectory of the cord 12 over the end pulley 5 and two further pulleys 13, 14. Needless to say, the track of the cord and the use form of the pulley for the cord can be appropriately changed in some cases.

As shown in particular in FIG. 3, each cord 12 is guided in a groove 15 formed in each part of the end pulley 5, so that the cord 12 is in a state where the slats 9 are slightly tensioned. , And extends slightly above the surface of the end pulley 5. Each slat 9 is held by a support 10 outside the central position where a chain (not shown) is provided, so that the wings of the slat receive a slight tension when passing through the end pulley 5. . Just by this means,
The deformation of the slat 9 due to the centrifugal force can be prevented.

As shown in FIG. 6, the trajectory of the cord 12 above the pulley 5
Extend slightly inclining with respect to the supporting surface 11 of each supporting portion 10, thereby extending above the supporting surface 11 at a position close to the end pulley 5, and gradually increasing due to the inclination. At the bottom of the support surface 11. As a result of the cord 12 having such a track, the end pulley 5 at each end of the slat 9 is
The transition of the zero to the support surface 11 occurs gradually, so that almost no noise is generated. This gradual transition made by selection of the track of the cord 12 is illustrated in FIG.
a, 4b and 4c.

If the end pulley functions as a driving pulley and the conveyor is to convey upward, the pulling force on the conveyor belt 8 drops off behind the end pulley 5 and, as a result, At the same time that a certain length range of the drive chain gathers downstream of the end pulley 5, the lack of tension on the transport belt 8 and / or the tension of the transport belt chain also causes fluttering noise due to movement or vibration of the slats 9. I do.

In order to guide the transport belt on the downstream side of the driving end pulley 5, an intermediate portion of the transport belt 8 moves in a convex path. Therefore, the support 10 also follows the convex path. Again, the cord 12 can assist in functioning as a damping member for damping noise and / or vibration, and the cord 12 is guided in a straight path. The straight path is the path and support surface 11 for the chain of slats.
The cord 12 urges each end of each slat 9 so that the slats move in the transport plane or in a direction perpendicular to the transport plane. Is suppressed or prevented. This significantly reduces the noise caused by those movements.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the present invention.
It is used with a pulley 16 that guides over a 0 ° arc. Such a change in direction of the conveyor belt 8 also causes noise due to a change in the tension of the conveyor belt 8, and in this case, too, the generation of the noise can be reduced, for example, by urging the ends of the slats or other conveying members. Can be reduced. Of course, the trajectory of the cord 12 may be variously changed, and may be selected according to the path of the transport belt, the frame, or other structures. Instead of using two cords for each pulley, for example, four cords may be used to make the conveyor belt wider.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a conveyor provided with a large number of rigid moving support members connected to each other and having considerably reduced noise using simple means. It is clear that.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment shown and described above, but can be modified within the technical scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the damping member may be a stationary member or may be one or more members that rotate about an axis, such as a roller or a wheel. Of course, in embodiments where the endless member comprises a damping member, the endless member may be a belt or the like. The damping member may act on a portion other than the end of the moving support member, in which case the damping member may be located below the support surface of the support. The term pulley that drives, changes direction, or reverses a conveyor belt is meant to include wheels or polygonal drums or similar members.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an embodiment of a conveyor according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a frame of the conveyor shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a detail III in FIG. 1;

4 (a), (b) and (c) are respectively IVa-IVa in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines IVb-IVb and IVc-IVc.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the end pulley of the device shown in FIG. 1; .

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a detail 6 in FIG.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a detail 7 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a side view of a 90 ° turning pulley used in another embodiment with a damping member.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Frame 5, 6 Pulley 8 Conveying belt 9 Slat (moving support member) 10 Support part 12 Cord (damping member)

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An endless transport belt (8) having a frame (1), a transport unit and a return unit supported by the frame and driven by a driving unit, the transport belt being elongated in a crossing direction, and A plurality of practically rigid moving supporting members (9) are provided, and these moving supporting members are connected directly or indirectly to each other, and at least are parallel to the conveying surface and in the conveying direction. An endless transport belt (8) rotatable about an orthogonal axis, and provided on the frame (1), and the movement support member (9) in the transport unit.
(10) slidably supporting a plurality of pulleys (5, 6) provided in proximity to the support (10) to guide and change the direction of the endless transport belt (8); A conveyor for transporting individual items or the like along a selected path, comprising: at the support (10), preferably downstream at least one of the pulleys (5, 6) , A damping member, and the damping member is positioned to support the moving support members when the moving support members (9) move away from the pulleys (5, 6). Conveyor. 2. A conveyor according to claim 1, wherein said damping member (12) is movable along a conveyor belt (8). 3. A conveyor according to claim 2, wherein said damping member (12) is a circulating endless member. 4. A conveyor according to claim 3, wherein said damping member (12) passes through a target pulley (5, 6). 5. Conveyor according to claim 3, wherein the damping member (12) has a target pulley (5, 6) and at least one further pulley (1) in the path.
3,14) through an elastic, preferably rubbery cord or the like, said path being at least downstream of said pulleys (5, 6) from a support surface of a support (10). Also extends slightly upward and below the support surface (11) of the support surface (10), preferably spaced apart from the pulley (5) in a straight path. Conveyor characterized. 6. The conveyor according to claim 5, wherein the cord (12) is guided in a groove (15) in the pulley (5, 6), and the cord (12) is
Conveyor characterized in that it extends preferably slightly above the surface of the pulley to bias the moving support member (9). 7. The conveyor according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein
Conveyor, wherein said moving support members (9) are slats connected to each other by a roller chain or the like. 8. The conveyor according to any one of claims 5 to 7,
A conveyor, characterized in that at least two cords (12) are provided on the target pulleys (5, 6), these cords guiding both ends of said slats (9). 9. The conveyor according to claim 4, wherein the moving support member is guided in a convex path downstream of the driving pulley.
The damping member (12) is arranged such that the damping member extends slightly above the support part (10) and urges the moving support member (9) in a straight path located on the convex path. Conveyor characterized by being guided by. 10. The conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the damping member (12) is arranged along the supporting portion on both the upstream side and the downstream side of the pulley (5, 6). Conveyor characterized by being guided.