JP2003063638A - Carriage - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a carriage capable of centering a work easily and accurately and saving energy in centering. SOLUTION: The carriage 1 comprises a traveling carriage body 2, a chain conveyor 3, mounted on the carriage body 2 so as to be movable along a traveling direction X, for carrying the work W in a direction Y orthogonal to the traveling direction X and mounting the work W, a centering mechanism 4 for centering the work W by sandwiching the work W mounted on the chain conveyor 3 from both sides extending along the traveling direction X of the carriage body 2 and moving the chain conveyor 3, a restraint mechanism 10 for fixedly positioning the chain conveyor 3 by restraining the chain conveyor 3 to the carriage body 2, and a return mechanism 24 for moving the chain conveyor 3 to a specified standby position.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention
More specifically, the present invention relates to a carrier truck in which a chain conveyor for transferring a work is mounted on a truck body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a manufacturing process of a machine having a large outer shape to a certain extent and a heavy weight, for convenience of manufacturing, a workpiece which is a semi-finished product is being assembled from an upstream manufacturing line (chain conveyor) to a downstream side. It may be necessary to transfer to the production line (chain conveyor) of. Then, in such a case, a carrier truck is provided between the upstream and downstream manufacturing lines, and the workpiece, which is a transported object, is transferred using the carrier truck.

However, in this case, the center positions of the workpieces on the upstream side production line and the downstream side production line do not necessarily coincide with each other, and in many cases, they are displaced from each other. is there. Therefore, the work is centered on the chain conveyor of the upstream production line or the downstream production line, that is, the work aligned with the upstream production line is misaligned to be aligned with the downstream production line. Is done.

That is, at the time of centering such a work, the position of the work placed on the chain conveyor is forcibly changed while dragging it along the width direction of the chain conveyor. Alternatively, rollers that can move up and down separately from the chain conveyor are arranged in the chain conveyor, the work is transferred to these rollers, and the position of the work is changed. Turning back is also done.

[0005]

However, when the work is centered by being dragged along the width direction of the chain conveyor as in the above-mentioned conventional example,
It is not preferable because it requires a large amount of energy to drag a work that is also a heavy object while resisting frictional resistance, and may cause damage to the chain links that make up the chain conveyor and damage to the bottom surface of the work itself. Is the fact.

Further, in the method of using a roller that can move up and down, the roller must be arranged in a chain conveyor that does not have a space in terms of space, and a large amount of energy is required to lift the work, but it is avoided. It is clear that it is not the best because it is not possible. Since the position is displaced by these rollers, the bottom surface of the work needs to have a shape that allows easy position change in advance.

The present invention was devised in view of such inconvenience, and it is possible to perform centering of a work extremely easily and accurately, and it is possible to save energy during the centering. The purpose is to provide a carrier.

[0008]

A carrier truck according to claim 1 of the present invention is mounted on a carriage main body which is movable and along a traveling direction thereof, and is mounted on the carriage main body in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction. A chain conveyor that carries in and out the work and places it, a centering mechanism that sandwiches the work placed on the chain conveyor from both sides along the traveling direction of the bogie body, and moves the chain conveyor to center the work, and a chain. The present invention is characterized by including a restraint mechanism that restrains the conveyor to the carriage body to position and fix it, and a return mechanism that moves the chain conveyor to a predetermined standby position.

With the structure according to the first aspect, the chain conveyor is fixed during the standby for loading the work, and the chain conveyor can be moved during the centering of the work. Therefore, when the work is centered by the centering mechanism, the chain conveyor also moves while following the work. The chain conveyor, which has finished moving at the same time as the centering of the work is completed, continues to be positioned and fixed by the restraint mechanism until the work is discharged, and is returned to the predetermined standby position by the return mechanism after the work is discharged. .

That is, in this structure, since the chain conveyor itself moves together with the centered work, the work is dragged on the chain conveyor,
There is no need to use a vertically movable roller and center only the work. Therefore, the centering of the work can be performed very easily and accurately, and the advantage that the energy saving at the time of centering the work can be achieved is ensured.

A transport carriage according to claim 2 of the present invention is the one according to claim 1, wherein the centering mechanism coincides with both side positions along the moving direction of the chain conveyor, that is, with the traveling direction of the carriage body. One of a pair of work guides that are arranged facing each other on both sides of the chain conveyor, a parallel crank link row that opens and closes these work guides, and a pair of links that are arranged to face each other and are swingable It is characterized in that it is composed of a cylinder that swings along the traveling direction of the main body.

According to this structure, the work guides, which are arranged at both positions along the traveling direction of the carriage main body and face each other, are closed synchronously by the cylinders via the parallel crank link row. Then, after one of the work guides comes into contact with the work, the other work guide comes into contact with the work, and as a result of being sandwiched by these work guides, the work is centered.
At this time, since the chain conveyor itself on which the work is placed is also movable, no inconvenience can occur between the work and the chain conveyor, and the work can be centered efficiently.

A transport carriage according to claim 3 of the present invention is as described in claim 1 or 2, and the restraint mechanism includes a rack attached to either one of the carriage body or the chain conveyor, and the rack. It is characterized by comprising a pinion that meshes with a rack, and an electromagnetic brake that is attached to the other of the main body of the carriage or the chain conveyor and pivotally supports the pinion.

With this structure, when the pinion meshing with the rack is made non-rotatable by the differential electromagnetic brake, the movement of the chain conveyor with respect to the carriage main body is immediately stopped. Further, when the electromagnetic brake is deactivated and the pinion cannot be rotated, the chain conveyor becomes movable. Therefore, when the structure according to claim 3 is adopted, the advantage that the chain conveyor can be moved with respect to the carriage main body and that the movement can be stopped and fixed easily can be ensured.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a carrier truck according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the return mechanism is a pair of both side positions along the moving direction of the chain conveyor. It is characterized in that each cylinder presses a side portion of the chain conveyor. According to the present invention, it is possible to quickly return the chain conveyor, which has been able to pay out the work and be movable, to a predetermined standby position, so that it is easy to improve the efficiency of the entire transfer work.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view schematically showing a usage state of a carrier vehicle according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the entire structure of the carrier vehicle according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a side view thereof. 4 is a plan view showing a simplified structure around the chain conveyor, and FIG. 5 is a side view thereof. 6 is a plan view showing the centering mechanism in a simplified manner, and FIG. 7 is a front view thereof.

The carrier vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment is a battery-operated unmanned carrier vehicle used in the manufacturing process of a machine or the like having a large outer shape to some extent and a heavy weight.
As shown in FIG. 1, a work W that is a semi-finished product being assembled.
Is used as a transport object, and the work W is transferred from the upstream side production line L1 installed opposite to the downstream side production line L2. And in such a case, the upstream and downstream manufacturing lines L1, L
Since the center position of the work W in each of the two is not the same and is often displaced, the work W is centered during the traveling of the transport carriage 1, that is, the center position of the upstream manufacturing line L1. The position of the work W, which has been aligned, is changed so as to align with the center position of the downstream manufacturing line L2.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the carriage 1 has a carriage main body 2 which runs between the production lines L1 and L2 while drawing a loop, and a chain conveyor 3 mounted on the carriage main body 2. A centering mechanism 4 for centering the work W placed on the chain conveyor 3 is provided. The centering mechanism 4 here aligns the center position of the work W with the center position of the downstream production line L2. The positioning is adjusted so that Further, traveling wheels 5 and steered wheels 6 are provided at front and rear positions along the traveling direction X of the carriage main body 2 included in the transport carriage 1.
With the driving of the traveling wheels 5 and the steered wheels 6 based on an instruction from the outside, the carriage main body 2 travels between the manufacturing lines L1 and L2.

Reference numeral 7 in FIG. 3 is a radio antenna for receiving an instruction from the outside, and an instruction for transferring the work W is given to the carrier vehicle 1 through the radio antenna 7. Further, the chain conveyor 3 at this time is movable along the traveling direction X of the carriage main body 2 and then mounted on the carriage main body 2.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the conveying direction Y of the chain conveyor 3, that is, the traveling direction X of the carriage main body 2 is shown.
Guide rollers 8 are rotatably disposed at lower ends on both ends in a direction Y orthogonal to the carriage Y. The guide rollers 8 are oriented in a direction matching the traveling direction X of the carriage main body 2 and at a predetermined position on the carriage main body 2. The guide roller 8 is guided by the guide 9 arranged in the chain conveyor 3, so that the chain conveyor 3 moves along the traveling direction X of the carriage main body 2. Further, the chain conveyor 3 is movable along the traveling direction X of the carriage main body 2 and can be fixed.

That is, a restraint mechanism 10 for stopping the free movement of the chain conveyor 3 and positioning and fixing the chain conveyer 3 is disposed below one end of the chain conveyer 3 in the transport direction Y. Three
It is composed of an electromagnetic brake 11 attached to, a pinion 12 pivotally supported by the electromagnetic brake 11, and a rack 13 arranged on the carriage main body 2. And, the rack 13 that constitutes this restraint mechanism 10
It is attached on the trolley body 2 in a direction that matches the moving direction X of the chain conveyor 3 that is the same as the traveling direction X of the trolley body 2.

Therefore, the chain conveyor 3 when the electromagnetic brake 11 constituting the restraint mechanism 10 is inactive
Since the pinion 12 and the rack 13 can be freely meshed with each other, the carriage can be moved along the traveling direction X of the carriage main body 2. On the other hand, since the meshing between the pinion 12 and the rack 13 is fixed, the chain conveyor 3 when the electromagnetic brake 11 is operating can be fixed at any position in the carriage direction 2. That is, the chain conveyor 3 equipped with such a restraint mechanism 10
This means that it can be stopped and fixed at the standby position set on the trolley body 2, and the chain conveyor 3 fixed at the standby position has a chain conveyor 3 orthogonal to the traveling direction X of the trolley body 2. A workpiece W to be transferred is loaded from the upstream manufacturing line L1 along the transport direction Y of the workpiece W and then placed.

Further, a centering mechanism 4 is arranged on the carriage main body 2, and the centering mechanism 4 is a work W placed on a movable chain conveyor 3.
Is sandwiched from both sides along the traveling direction X of the carriage main body 2, that is, the moving direction X of the chain conveyor 3 for centering. This centering mechanism 4
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a pair of work guides 15 are arranged at both side positions along the moving direction X of the chain conveyor 3, and a pair of work guides 1 arranged opposite to each other.
Parallel crank link row 1 to open and close 5 synchronously
6 and parallel crank link rows 16 that are arranged to face each other.
And a hydraulic cylinder 18 for swinging one of the pair of link rods 17 (on the right side in the drawing) constituting the above-mentioned structure along the moving direction X of the chain conveyor 3.

The parallel crank link row 16 is composed of short link rods 17, which are arranged so as to face each other at both side positions along the moving direction X of the chain conveyor 3, and both side ends thereof are rotatably connected. Each of the link rods 1 and
A central position of 7 is rotatably supported by a support pin 20 provided upright at a predetermined position on the carriage main body 2. Also,
A pair of work guides 15 arranged at both side positions along the moving direction X of the chain conveyor 3 are fixed to a slide plate 21, and guide rollers 22 rotate at lower ends of both ends of the chain conveyor 3 along the carrying direction Y. The slide plate 21 movably arranged is used for the chain conveyor 3
The guide roller 22 is to be moved as the guide rollers 22 are guided by a guide 23 arranged at a predetermined position on the carriage main body 2 in a direction that matches the moving direction X of.

Further, at this time, a hydraulic cylinder 18 is connected to one slide plate 21 (right side in the figure), and a pair of workpieces arranged opposite to each other is associated with expansion and contraction of the hydraulic cylinder 18. The guide 15 is opened / closed synchronously through each of the parallel crank link row 16 and the slide plate 21. Then, the work W placed on the movable chain conveyor 3 is sandwiched by the work guides 15 that are closed as shown by the phantom lines in FIG. As a result of being sandwiched by the work guides 15 from both sides, the work W is centered.
Since the centering mechanism 4 is positioned and adjusted so that the center position of the work W coincides with the center position of the downstream production line L2, the centered center position of the work W is the center of the downstream production line L2. It will always match the position.

Further, when the work W is centered, the chain conveyor 3 is movable, so that the chain conveyor 3 also moves following the centering of the work W. The chain conveyor 3 from the time of completion of centering to the time of payout uses the restraint mechanism 10 and then the carriage main body 2
Positioned and fixed with respect to. Furthermore, this trolley body 2
Is provided with a return mechanism that moves the chain conveyor 3 that is movable after the work W is delivered to the initial standby position. This return mechanism is located at both side positions along the moving direction X of the chain conveyor 3. It is composed of a pair of hydraulic cylinders 24 arranged in the. That is, each of these hydraulic cylinders 24 presses the side portion of the movable chain conveyor 3 respectively.

Next, the carrier truck 1 according to the present embodiment.
The operation of will be described according to a specific procedure. From the upstream production line L1 to the downstream production line L
The work W to be transferred to 2 will be transported,
The conveyed work W is carried into the chain conveyor 3 of the conveyance carriage 1 waiting at the position facing the production line L1. At this time, the chain conveyor 3 mounted on the trolley body 2 is fixed at the standby position because the electromagnetic brake 11 of the restraint mechanism 10 is operating, and the work guide 15 of the centering mechanism 4 is The hydraulic cylinder 18 is fully opened by the opening operation.

The work W carried in from the upstream production line L1 is placed on the chain conveyor 3,
The center position of the work W is displaced from the center position of the downstream manufacturing line L2 to be transferred. Therefore, after the electromagnetic brake 11 is deactivated and the restraint mechanism 10 is opened to allow the chain conveyor 3 to move, the hydraulic guide cylinders 18 of the centering mechanism 4 synchronously close each of the work guides 15. Let
At this time, the trolley body 2 of the carrier vehicle 1 travels from the upstream production line L1 toward the downstream production line L2.

One of the work guides 15 operated synchronously to close the work W at a time earlier than the other because the center position of the work W deviates from the center position of the production line L2. Abut. Then, the one work guide 15 contacted at the previous time point presses the work W toward the other work guide 15. However, at this time, since the chain conveyor 3 on which the work W is placed is also movable, as the work W, which is a heavy object, is pressed by the work guide 15, the chain conveyor 3 also moves to the work W. It will move while following.

The work W pressed by one work guide 15 eventually comes into contact with the other work guide 15, and centering is completed when the work W is sandwiched by both work guides 15. And
When the centering of the work W is completed, the electromagnetic brake 11
As a result, the chain conveyor 3 is positioned and fixed to the carriage main body 3 by the restraint mechanism 10. The restraint mechanism 10 is used when the work W is delivered from the completion of the centering of the work W, that is, when the work W placed on the chain conveyor 3 is delivered to the downstream production line L2. Continue to fix the chain conveyor 3 until. Further, the work guide 15 closed by the hydraulic cylinder 18 of the centering mechanism 4 also continues centering with the work W being sandwiched.

In the carriage 1 which has reached the position facing the downstream manufacturing line L2 on which the work W is to be transferred, the work guide 15 is synchronously opened by the hydraulic cylinder 18 of the centering mechanism 4. And the production line L from the chain conveyor 3 mounted on the trolley body 2
Work W is paid out to 2. Then, after the work W is delivered, the electromagnetic brake 11 is deactivated and the restraint mechanism 10 is opened, and as a result, the chain conveyor 3 can move. Subsequently, one of the hydraulic cylinders 24 arranged at both positions along the moving direction X of the chain conveyor 3, that is, the hydraulic cylinder 24 on the side closer to the chain conveyor 3 is driven, and the extension operation is performed. As a result of the side portions being pressed by the hydraulic cylinder 24, the chain conveyor 3 is moved to the initial standby position and then returned.

By the way, in the present embodiment, the carriage 1 is assumed to be an unmanned operation type, but it is not limited to an unmanned operation type, and needless to say, it may be a manned operation type with an operator on board. is there. Further, in the present embodiment, the electromagnetic brake 11 pivotally supporting the pinion 12 is attached to the chain conveyor 3 and the rack 13 is attached to the truck main body 2, but the electromagnetic brake 11 is attached to the truck main body 2.
A structure in which the rack 13 is attached and the rack 13 is attached to the chain conveyor 3 may be adopted. Further, although cylinders are used as various actuators in the present embodiment, a linear drive mechanism including a rack and a pinion may be used, and a simpler slide may be used instead of the guide mechanism by the guide roller or the guide. Of course, a mechanism may be adopted.

[0033]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention.
In the transport carriage according to (1), the chain conveyor can be moved when the work is centered. Therefore, when the work is centered by the centering mechanism, the chain conveyor also moves following the work. Therefore,
It is not necessary to center the work only by dragging the work on the chain conveyor of the upstream manufacturing line or the downstream manufacturing line, or by using a vertically movable roller. As a result, the centering of the work can be performed extremely easily and accurately, and sufficient energy saving can be achieved at the time of centering the work.

In the carrier truck according to claim 2 of the present invention,
The work guides arranged on both sides along the moving direction of the chain conveyor are to be opened and closed synchronously by the cylinder via the parallel crank link row, and the chain on which the work to be centered is placed. The conveyor is also movable. Therefore, no inconvenience can occur between the work to be centered and the chain conveyor, and the work can be efficiently centered.

With the structure of the carrier truck according to claim 3 of the present invention, the advantage that the chain conveyor can be moved with respect to the carriage body and that the movement can be stopped and fixed very easily is ensured. To be done. Further, in the transport carriage according to claim 4 of the present invention, the chain conveyor after the work is dispensed can be quickly returned to the predetermined standby position, so that it is easy to improve the efficiency of the entire transport work. Is obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view schematically showing a usage state of a carrier truck according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a simplified overall structure of a carrier vehicle according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a simplified structure around a chain conveyor.

FIG. 5 is a side view thereof.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a simplified centering mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a front view thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 carrier 2 dolly body 3 chain conveyor 4 Centering mechanism 10 Restraint mechanism 11 Electromagnetic brake 12 pinion 13 racks 15 Work guide 16 Parallel crank link row 18 hydraulic cylinder 24 Hydraulic cylinder (return mechanism) X traveling direction (moving direction) Y transport direction W work L1 upstream production line L2 downstream production line

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A traveling carriage main body, a chain conveyor mounted on the carriage main body so as to be movable along the traveling direction thereof, and carrying in and out a work in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction, and a chain conveyor. A centering mechanism that sandwiches the placed work from both sides along the traveling direction of the bogie main body and moves the chain conveyor to center the work, a restraint mechanism that constrains the chain conveyor to the bogie main body and positions and fixes it, and a chain. A carrier vehicle, comprising: a return mechanism that moves the conveyor to a predetermined standby position. 2. The centering mechanism is provided with work guides arranged opposite to each other at both positions along the moving direction of the chain conveyor, parallel crank link rows for opening and closing these work guides, and the centering mechanism is arranged so as to be swingable. 2. The carrier truck according to claim 1, further comprising: a cylinder that swings one of the pair of links supported by the cylinder along the traveling direction of the carriage body. 3. The restraint mechanism has a rack attached to either one of the trolley body or the chain conveyor, a pinion engaged with the rack, and a pinion attached to the other of the trolley body or the chain conveyor to pivotally support the pinion. The carrier vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the carrier vehicle comprises an electromagnetic brake. 4. The return mechanism is composed of a pair of cylinders arranged at both positions along the moving direction of the chain conveyor, and each cylinder presses a side portion of the chain conveyor. Claim 1
The carrier vehicle according to claim 3.