JP2004168522A - Chain conveyer type carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a structure capable of maintaining a work in a horizontal attitude regardless of an inclination of an endless power chain in conveying the work on an uphill slope. <P>SOLUTION: Work supporting plates 11 are oscillatably supported on a plurality of carriages 5 running so as to follow the movement of the power chain. The respective plates 11 are preset so that its center of gravity may be positioned more forward than its oscillating center. On the conveyance side of the power chain 3 as an uphill slope, the respective plates 11 autonomously self-hold a horizontal attitude. On the return side of the power chain 3 as a downhill slope, the plates 11 autonomously take a retreat attitude parallel to the power chain 3, thus realizing space saving on the return side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a chain conveyor-type transfer device, and particularly when a work is conveyed along an upward slope by an endless chain that moves around, always keeps a horizontal posture as a work posture regardless of the inclination posture of the conveyor itself. The present invention relates to a so-called trolley conveyor or pallet conveyor type chain conveyor-type transfer device capable of performing the above-mentioned steps.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a chain conveyor that conveys a workpiece from a low position to a high position with an upward inclination, for example, as shown in Patent Literature 1, a plurality of luggage support members are provided on a chain that moves around and swingably. On the transport side of the inclined chain, the luggage support member is kept horizontal to stably support the luggage, while on the return side of the downwardly inclined chain, each luggage support member is circulated in the stowed state. Things are known.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-5-278844 (FIGS. 1 and 6)
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the prior art as represented by Patent Document 1, the load supporting member is simply supported swingably with respect to the chain, and is independently horizontal on both the transport side and the return side of the chain. The state and the storage state cannot be maintained. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a guide rail rail or the like on each of the transport side and the return side of the chain, which engages with a part of the load supporting member and restrains the posture of the load supporting member. This is not preferable.
[0005]
Further, when the position of the load supporting member is fixed so that the load supporting member maintains a horizontal state at least on the transport side of the chain, a large space for circulation of the load supporting member is provided on the return side of the chain. It is necessary to secure it, and the occupied space must be expanded.
[0006]
In addition, since the chain conveyor itself does not have a storage function, it is necessary to completely load and unload goods from the chain conveyor, which enables efficient transport of goods. There is no defect.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and in particular, the work supporting plate can autonomously maintain an appropriate posture on the transport side and the return side of the chain, thereby reducing the size of the equipment. An object of the present invention is to provide a chain conveyor-type transfer device that can be simplified.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention according to claim 1 is a chain-conveyor-type transfer device that transfers a work by arranging an endless power chain at an inclination, and moving the power chain around with the ascending slope as a transport side and the descending slope as a return side. In the power chain, a plurality of work support plates for supporting the work to be transferred are swingably supported about a horizontal axis as a swing center, and the work support plate is moved in a transfer direction relative to the swing center position. The center of gravity is set in advance so that the center of gravity is located on the front side, and the work support plate holds the horizontal posture by itself on the transport side of the power chain, and the work support plate is parallel to the power chain on the return side of the power chain. It is characterized in that the posture is set to be held by itself.
[0009]
In this case, it is preferable to mount a plurality of trolleys on the power chain and to support the work supporting plate on each of the trolleys so as to be able to swing, for smooth operation.
[0010]
Furthermore, each bogie can be disengaged from the power chain.When the bogie and the power chain are engaged, the bogie follows the movement of the power chain and moves while the bogie is forcibly disengaged. When the vehicle is stopped, it is preferable to disengage the cart from the power chain and allow the relative movement between the cart and the power chain in order to provide a storage function.
[0011]
Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the work support plate autonomously maintains the horizontal state by its own weight balance on the transfer side of the power chain, so that the work to be transferred can be stably transferred. Also, at the return side of the power chain, the work support plate that has been placed in an empty state autonomously maintains the stored state parallel to the power chain due to its own weight balance, so that it is possible to save space on the return side. .
[0012]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, as a chain conveyor type transport device that transports the work at an upward inclination while maintaining the horizontal posture of the work, the work support plate autonomously sets an appropriate posture on the transfer side and the return side of the power chain. Since the structure is maintained, a guide rail or the like for controlling the posture of the work supporting plate is not required at all, unlike the related art, so that downsizing, simplification, and space saving of the equipment can be achieved.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
The drawings following FIG. 1 show a preferred embodiment of a chain conveyor type transfer apparatus according to the present invention, and FIGS. 1 and 2 show the overall schematic configuration in a cross section taken along line AA and a line BB in FIG. Corresponding cross-sectional views are shown. 3 and 4 and FIGS. 5 and 6 are enlarged views of the main parts of FIGS.
[0014]
Here, the outline of the entire apparatus will be described first with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, and the details of each unit will be described later with reference to FIGS.
[0015]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an endless power chain 3 is wound in an inclined posture between a drive side chain sprocket 1 and a driven side chain sprocket 2 as described later, and is driven by a drive motor (not shown). By rotating and driving the drive-side chain sprocket 1, the power chain 3 orbits with the upward inclination (the tight side of the power chain 3) as the transport side and the downward inclination (the slack side of the power chain 3) as the return side. .
[0016]
On both sides of the power chain 3, endless guide rails 4 each having a circuit that is slightly larger than the circuit of the power chain 3 are arranged, and a plurality of guide rails 4 are guided by these guide rails 4. The carts 5, 5,... Run and move.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 2, each carriage 5 is provided with a transport-side traveling dog 6 and a return-side traveling dog 7, each of which is swingably provided, and a release bar 8 extending rearward as a release member. ing. On the other hand, power transmission rollers 9 as power transmission members are mounted on the power chain 3 at an equal pitch, and the transport-side traveling dog 6 and the return-side traveling dog 7 are engaged with these power transmission rollers 9. It is possible to leave. Therefore, on the transport side of the power chain 3, the carriages 5, 5... Follow the movement of the power chain 3 for the engagement between the transport side travel dog 6 and the power transmission roller 9, while the power chain 3 On the return side, the carriages 5, 5,... Run following the movement of the power chain 3 to engage the power transmission roller 9 and the return side driving dog 7.
[0018]
A stopper as a movable (projecting and retracting) stopper member that can protrude and retract with respect to the traveling path of the transport-side traveling dog 6 and the return-side traveling dog 7 at each end of the power chain 3 on the transport side and the return side. 10 are arranged. When the stopper 10 is made to protrude at a predetermined timing, the transport-side traveling dog 6 of the specific bogie 5 comes into contact with the stopper 10 so that the bogie 5 is forcibly stopped. Due to the swing of 6, the engagement between the dog 6 and the power transmission roller 9 is immediately released. Each of the carts 5, 5,... Is provided with a back-feed prevention mechanism, as described later, so that the carts 5, 5,. It has become.
[0019]
When the following bogies 5, 5... Approach the bogie 5 forcibly stopped, the release bar 8 of the front bogie 5 and the transport-side traveling dog 6 of the rear bogie 5 come into contact with each other. As in the case of the tip, the power transmission from the power chain 3 to the rear bogie 5 is cut off, and the subsequent bogies 5, 5,... Are stored sequentially in a front-justified manner.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 1, a work support plate 11 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a plate) that directly supports a work W to be transported is swingable around a hinge pin 12 on each of the carts 5, 5,. Supported. The plate 11 is adjusted in advance so that its center of gravity is located forward of the hinge pin 12 in the transport direction as described later, and regardless of the inclination posture of the power chain 3 itself, as shown in FIG. The plate 11 is set so that the horizontal posture is stably maintained autonomously by its own weight, and at the same time, the storage posture, that is, the posture parallel to the return side of the power chain 3 is also stably maintained on the return side of the power chain 3 by its own weight. Have been.
[0021]
FIGS. 7 and 8 and FIGS. 9 and 10 show the details of the main part centering on the trolley 5. In particular, FIGS. 7 and 8 are enlarged views of the main part of FIGS. 3 to 6, and FIG. FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line C, and FIG. 10 is a plan view of FIG.
[0022]
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, endless guide rails 4 and 4 are arranged on the conveyor frame 13 on both sides of the power chain 3 so as to face each other. The guide rail 4 has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and guide rollers 17 on the carts 5, 5,...
[0023]
The bogie 5 is formed by connecting a pair of front and rear bogie plates 14 and 15 having a pair of right and left legs 44 to each other via left and right hinge brackets 16 (see FIG. 7). A roller 17 and a pair of auxiliary rollers 18 are provided. As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 9, the guide rollers 17 are respectively engaged with the guide rails 4 and the auxiliary rollers 18 are in contact with the open end faces of the guide rails 4, so that the carts 5, 5,. The vehicle can be guided by the rail 4. The bogies 5, 5,... Can be so-called folded-in as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 by connecting the bogie plates 14, 15, which are independent at the front and rear, to each other via a hinge bracket 16. Thus, the vehicle can travel smoothly even at the curvature portion of the guide rail 4 as shown in FIG.
[0024]
The plate 11 for supporting the workpiece W to be transported is formed of two short plate pieces 19 and 20 that are independent on the left and right, and each plate piece 19 and 20 is connected to the left and right hinge brackets 16 and The hinge pins 12 are supported between the hinge pins 12 so as to swing and rotate. The weight of the front portion of the plate pieces 19 and 20 is larger than that of the hinge pin 12 than the rear portion, and the center of gravity is adjusted in advance so that the center of gravity is located at the front portion. In FIG. 7, a weight imbalance such that the plate 11 rotates counterclockwise substantially is positively applied, and the position of the plate 11 (the swing limit) is provided on each of the bogie plates 14 and 15. Plate stoppers 21 and 22 for regulating the position). Therefore, as described above with reference to FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, as long as the carriage 5 is on the transport side of the power chain 3, the plate 11 abuts against the plate stopper 21 due to its weight imbalance, and the horizontal state is maintained. On the other hand, when the carriage 5 is located on the return side of the power chain 3 while holding itself, the plate 11 abuts against the plate stopper 22 due to the weight imbalance and becomes parallel to the traveling path of the power chain 3.
[0025]
Further, a power chain 3 composed of two endless chains 3a, 3a is disposed at the center of the conveyor frame 13 shown in FIG. The endless chains 3a, 3a are guided by a chain guide 23 provided in parallel with the guide rail 4, and the link plates of the endless chains 3a, 3a are mutually connected by a connecting block 24 provided at an equal pitch in the longitudinal direction of the chain. Are linked. Each connecting plate 24 is provided with a power transmitting roller 9 which is a power transmitting member for transmitting power from the power chain 3 to each of the carts 5, 5,.
[0026]
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 in addition to FIG. 8, the transport-side traveling dog 6 is swingably provided via a bracket 25 on the lower surface of the front bogie plate 14 forming the bogie 5. On the lower surface of the rear carriage plate 15, a return-side traveling dog 7 is also provided via a bracket 26 so as to be swingable, and the rear carriage plate 15 has a roller 27 at the rear end. A fixed release bar 8 as a release member is disposed so as to extend rearward. The urging force of the compression coil spring 29 acts on the transport-side traveling dog 6 and the return-side traveling dog 7 via the link 28, and the dogs 6 and 7 are always rotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. Being energized. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, when the carts 5, 5... Travel on the transport side of the power chain 3, the transport-side traveling dogs 6 of the carts 5, 5. When the trucks 5, 5,... Travel on the return side of the power chain 3, the return-side traveling dogs 7 of the trucks 5, 5,. The power transmission roller 9 on the power chain 3 side is engaged with the power transmission roller 9.
[0027]
As shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, the movable stopper 10 disposed at the end of the power chain 3 on the transport side and the return side rotates the hinge pin 31 by the operation of the air cylinder 30 as shown in FIG. A roller 33 is mounted on the tip of a stopper arm 32 that rotates about the center, and the stopper arm 32 includes a braking position P1 and a retreating position P2 where the roller 33 is located on the traveling locus of the transport-side traveling dog 6. It is designed to rotate between and. Note that the braking limit position is regulated by the contact between the stopper surfaces 34, 34. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, when the stopper arm 32 is rotated to the braking position P1 regardless of whether the power chain 3 is on the transport side or the return side, the roller at the tip of the stopper arm 32 is rotated. The transport-side travel dog 6 is flipped up for the contact between the transport-side travel dog 6 on the side of the carriage 5 and the engagement between the transport-side travel dog 6 and the power transmission roller 9 is released. The carriage 5 stops at that position. Further, when the succeeding bogie 5 approaches the bogie 5 stopped as described above, the release bar 8 of the front bogie 5 comes into contact with the transport-side traveling dog 6 of the rear bogie 5 and the transport-side traveling thereof. The lifting dog 6 is flipped up, and the subsequent bogie 5 is also moved forward.
[0028]
9, a portion of the chain guide 23 corresponding to the transport side of the power chain 3 is provided with a fixed type chain 35 which forms a part of the reverse feed mechanism of the truck 5, while the truck is attached. On the fifth side, a rotatable chain sprocket 36 and a one-way clutch 37 that mesh with the chain 35 are provided side by side. The one-way clutch 37 is fixed to the carriage plate 14 on the front side in the transport direction, and the chain sprocket 36 is supported at both ends by a bracket 38 so as to be coaxial with the shaft of the one-way clutch 37. The one-way clutch 37 has a function of allowing rotation of the chain sprocket 36 accompanying the movement of the bogie 5 following the movement of the power chain 3 and preventing reverse rotation of the chain sprocket 36. Together, they form a back-feed prevention mechanism 39 for the carriage 5. Therefore, as described above with reference to FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, when power transmission from the power chain 3 is cut off and the carriage 5 stops on the transport side of the power chain 3, the one-way clutch 37 is immediately activated. Thus, the carriage 5 can be stopped at the stop position.
[0029]
Here, the fixed type chain 35 constituting the above-mentioned back-feed prevention mechanism 39 is disposed in parallel with the power chain 3 on the portion on the transport side as shown in FIGS. However, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 12, the one end of the fixed type chain 35 is slightly inclined at the starting end on the transport side so that the chain sprocket 36 can be easily climbed on.
[0030]
According to the chain conveyor type transport apparatus configured as described above, the carriage 5 is temporarily stopped at the transport end positions Q1 and Q2 on the transport side and the return side of the power chain 3 as shown in FIGS. At the same time, the work W is mounted on the plate 11 by using a handling robot (not shown) at the transfer start position H1 on the transfer side, and the work W is similarly taken out by using the handling robot at the transfer end position Q1. And
[0031]
Then, as shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, when the power chain 3 is driven to rotate, on the transport side, the power transmission roller 9 on the power chain 3 side is engaged with the transport-side traveling dog 6 to return. On the side of the vehicle, the trucks 5, 5,... Continuously run following the movement of the power chain 3 by the engagement of the power transmission roller 9 on the power chain 3 side with the return side traveling dog 7. In this case, on the transfer side, the plate 11 on each of the carts 5, 5,... Autonomously holds the horizontal state by itself regardless of the inclination of the power chain 3 itself. It does not change even if placed on Therefore, even when the workpiece W is transported with an upward slope from the lower transport start position H1 to the higher transport end position Q1, the workpiece W is placed on the plate 11 and regardless of the tilt of the power chain 3 itself. The placed workpiece W can be stably transported while being kept in a horizontal posture.
[0032]
Here, the movable stopper 10 shown in FIG. 11 is protruded to the braking position P1, the carriage 5 is separated from the power chain 3, and the carriage 5 is temporarily stopped at the transfer end position Q1, and the carriage 5 is placed on the plate 11 at that position. The work W placed on the work is taken out. In the meantime, when the following trucks 5 approach the stopped leading truck 5, those subsequent trucks 5 are also sequentially moved forward, stopped and stored. In this case, the carriages 5, 5,... Operate at the same time as the carriages are stopped, and the above-described back-feed prevention mechanism 39 is operated. When the stopper 10 is returned to the evacuation position P2, the vehicle immediately starts running with the empty trucks 5 in a stopped state in order from the leading one.
[0033]
The trolley 5 in the empty state changes its posture from the transport side of the power chain 3 to the return side and continues traveling. At this time, when the carriage 5 moves to the return side, the plate 11 autonomously tilts and displaces due to the weight of the plate 11 and assumes a storage posture parallel to the traveling path of the power chain 3. Therefore, the space required on the return side of the power chain 3 is smaller than the space required on the transport side. In addition, in the process in which the bogie moves from the transport side to the return side of the power chain 3, the bogie 5 itself is bent in accordance with the radius of curvature of the guide rail 4 as shown in FIG. , And the diameter of the drive-side chain sprocket 1 and the driven-side sprocket 2 for driving the power chain 3 can be reduced.
[0034]
Are moved to the return side of the power chain 3 and sequentially stopped at the return end position Q2 on the return side by the operation of the stopper 10 shown in FIG. In the same way as in the case of the side, storage is performed in a left-justified manner, and thereafter, it is sequentially and cyclically reused.
[0035]
Here, the main effects of the present embodiment other than those described above in the section of the effects of the invention will be described below together with the causes thereof.
[0036]
(A) Since both the transfer side and the return side of the power chain 3 have a storage function, the degree of freedom and versatility as a transfer device is extremely high.
[0037]
(A) Since the carts 5, 5,... Are provided with the reverse running prevention mechanism 39, even if the carts 5 are stopped at an arbitrary position on the transport side that is inclined upward, the carts 5 are surely stopped at those positions. The stop position accuracy of the carriage 5 is improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an entire chain type conveyor device as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is an explanatory diagram corresponding to a cross section taken along line AA of FIG. 9;
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the entire chain type conveyor device, and is an explanatory diagram corresponding to a cross section taken along line BB of FIG. 9;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 2;
FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIGS.
FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIGS.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 1;
FIG. 10 is a plan view of FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is an enlarged explanatory view of a stopper in FIGS.
FIG. 12 is an enlarged explanatory view of a main part of FIG. 6;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 ... Power chain 3a ... Endless chain 4 ... Guide rail 5 ... Carriage 6 ... Transportation side running dog 7 ... Return side running dog 8 ... Release bar (release member)
9 Power transmission roller (power transmission member)
10. Stopper (movable stopper member)
11 Work support plate 12 Hinge pin (shaft)
14 and 15 trolley plates 19 and 20 plate pieces 21 and 22 plate stopper 35 fixed chain 36 chain sprocket 37 one-way clutch 39 back-feed prevention mechanism W work

Claims (10)

In a chain conveyor-type transfer device that arranges an endless power chain at an angle, and conveys a work by moving the power chain around with the ascending side as the conveying side and the ascending side as the returning side,
The power chain supports a plurality of work support plates that support the work to be transported in a swingable manner with the horizontal axis as the swing center.
The work support plate is set in advance so that the center of gravity is located forward of the swing center position in the conveyance direction,
A chain wherein the work support plate is self-maintained in the horizontal position on the transfer side of the power chain, and the work support plate is self-maintained in the storage position parallel to the power chain on the return side of the power chain. Conveyor type transfer device. The chain conveyor type transfer device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of carts are mounted on the power chain, and each of the carts swingably supports a work support plate. Each bogie is capable of engaging and disengaging from the power chain, and when the bogie and the power chain are engaged, the bogie follows the movement of the power chain while traveling.
3. The chain conveyor-type transfer according to claim 2, wherein when the bogie is forcibly stopped, the bogie and the power chain are disengaged to allow relative movement between the two. apparatus. The bogie includes a transport-side traveling dog that can be engaged and disengaged from the power chain, and a return-side traveling dog that can also be engaged with the power chain,
That the transfer-side traveling dog abuts the movable stopper member at an arbitrary position on the power chain traveling path, thereby disengaging the transfer-side traveling dog from the power chain. The chain conveyor-type transfer device according to claim 3, wherein: 5. The vehicle according to claim 3, wherein when the specific truck is forcibly stopped, the subsequent trucks are disengaged from the power chain and stored while being sequentially moved forward. The chain conveyor type conveying device as described in the above. 6. The truck according to claim 5, further comprising a release member that comes into contact with the transport-side traveling dog of the succeeding truck to release the engagement between the transport-side traveling dog and the power chain at the time of front-loading. The chain conveyor type conveying device as described in the above. 7. A back-feed prevention mechanism for keeping the dolly still in its position when the engagement between the dolly and the power chain is released on the power chain transfer side. Chain conveyor type transport device. The power chain is composed of two endless chains arranged side by side, and a power transmission member capable of engaging and disengaging the transfer-side traveling dog and the return-side traveling dog is provided between the endless chains. The chain conveyor type conveying device according to claim 4 or 6, wherein The back-feed prevention mechanism is
At least a fixed chain provided parallel to the power chain on the transport side,
A chain sprocket rotatably provided on each carriage and meshing with the fixed chain,
A one-way clutch that is provided on the same axis as the chain sprocket and that allows the rotation of the chain sprocket accompanying the movement of the bogie on the power chain transfer side while preventing reverse rotation thereof;
9. The chain conveyor-type transfer device according to claim 8, comprising: The chain conveyor-type transfer device according to any one of claims 2 to 9, wherein the carriage is capable of being bent at an intermediate portion of the length of the carriage itself in the transport direction.

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