JP2005206306A - Overhead traveling vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve weight reduction by disposing a drive unit 41 for an overhead traveling vehicle so as to be overlapped with a front and a rear bogie 8a, 8b and by mounting a guide roller 24 and a branch roller 25 on the bogies 8a, 8b. <P>SOLUTION: One end of a rocking frame 40 is rockably mounted on the bogie 8a, and the other end thereof is mounted on the bogie 8b so as to be energized upward. A traveling motor 42, a transmission 48, and bearings 46 and a drive wheel 44 are mounted on the rocking frame 40. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an overhead traveling vehicle, and more particularly to the arrangement of drive units between front and rear bogies.

  An overhead traveling vehicle travels along a traveling rail disposed at a high place inside a clean room, a general factory, a hospital, a building, or the like, and conveys articles. In an overhead traveling vehicle, in order to facilitate curve traveling, the overhead traveling vehicle body is supported by front and rear bogies.

In Patent Document 1, a frame is passed between front and rear bogies, a frame of the drive unit is provided separately on the frame, and the frame of the drive unit is urged upward. The drive unit is provided with a drive wheel and a travel motor, and the drive wheel comes into contact with the upper bottom surface of the travel rail by an urging force to drive the overhead traveling vehicle. The travel motor is arranged with its longitudinal direction parallel to the frame and extends to a position overlapping one of the bogies.
JP 2002-321616 A

An object of the present invention is to simplify the structure of a drive unit and reduce the weight of an overhead traveling vehicle.
An additional problem in the second and third aspects of the invention is that various devices can be added to the bogie by preventing the travel motor from interfering with the bogie.

  The present invention relates to an overhead traveling vehicle in which a pair of shaft portions extending upward from an overhead traveling vehicle main body are supported by front and rear bogies, and one end of a frame to which a driving wheel and a traveling motor are attached is connected to one of the front and rear bogies. The other end of the frame is attached to the other one of the front and rear bogies so as to be biased upward from the other shaft. .

  Preferably, the travel motor is arranged such that its longitudinal direction appears in the width direction of the overhead traveling vehicle.

  Particularly preferably, at least a pair of guide rollers each having an axis oriented in the vertical direction is provided near each of the upper portions of the front and rear bogies near the center in the left-right direction, and the shafts can be moved up and down on both outer sides in the left-right direction so that the axis faces the vertical direction. A branching roller is provided.

  In the present invention, the frame that supports the drive wheel and the travel motor is disposed between the front and rear bogies and supported by the front and rear shafts. Therefore, compared to the case of Patent Document 1, the drive wheel and the travel motor are provided. As a result, the overhead traveling vehicle can be reduced in weight.

  In the invention of claim 2, since the longitudinal direction of the traveling motor is arranged so as to appear in the width direction of the overhead traveling vehicle, the traveling motor does not interfere with the front and rear bogies, and various mechanisms are added to the empty space of the bogie. it can.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the space at the top of the bogie that is obtained by improving the arrangement of the travel motors is utilized, and at least a pair of guide rollers whose axes are directed vertically toward the center in the left-right direction at the top of the bogie. Since it is provided, the bogie can be guided by the guide roller. Further, branching rollers whose axes are vertically oriented are provided on both outer sides in the left-right direction, so that branching can be controlled by operating the branching roller.

  In the following, an optimum embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be shown.

  1 to 8 show an embodiment and its operation. The traveling rail 2 is suspended from a high place such as a ceiling of a clean room by suspension bolts 4 or the like, and left and right power supply rails 5 and 6 are fitted and attached to the lower portion of the traveling rail 2, for example. The overhead traveling vehicle 7 includes front and rear bogies 8a and 8b, a power feeding unit 10, a communication unit 11, and an overhead traveling vehicle main body 14. A drive unit 41 is provided so as to connect the front and rear bogies 8a and 8b. The overhead traveling vehicle main body 14 includes a lateral feed unit 16, a lift drive unit 18, and a lift platform 20. The lateral feed unit 16 feeds the lift drive unit 18 and the lift platform 20 in a direction perpendicular to the traveling rail 2. The elevating platform 20 is moved up and down by the elevating drive unit 18, and the elevating platform 20 is rotated in a horizontal plane. The lifting platform 20 chucks a transported article such as a semiconductor cassette (not shown) or transports it while supporting the bottom surface.

  The front and rear bogies 8a and 8b are each provided with a total of four traveling wheels 22 and 23, two on the left and right, and on the upper part, for example, a total of four guide rollers 24 are provided on the left and right and front and rear. Branch rollers 25 and 26 are provided on both outer sides, and are guided by guide rails 28 and 29 to perform branch control. Here, the guide rails 28 and 29 have different protruding amounts from the upper bottom surface of the traveling rail 2, and the guide rail 29 has a shorter protruding amount than the guide rail 28. The branching rollers 25 and 26 can be moved up and down by an elevating unit 30, and are at a high position (a position guided by any of the guide rails 28 and 29), a neutral position (a position guided only by the guide rail 28), and a low position (a guide). The position between the rails 28 and 29 is not raised or lowered). The mechanism of the raising / lowering part 30 is arbitrary.

  A pair of front and rear fixed shafts 32 fixed to the overhead traveling vehicle body 14 extend upward from the overhead traveling vehicle body 14 and support the weight of the overhead traveling vehicle body 14 by the bogies 8a and 8b. Support both ends of the moving frame. A frame 38 of the bogies 8a and 8b supports the fixed shaft 32 by a bearing 36. The power feeding unit 10 and the communication unit 11 are supported by a rotating shaft 34 that is coaxial with the fixed shaft 32 and integrated with the frame 38, and the power feeding unit 10 and the communication unit 11 together with the bogies 8 a and 8 b with respect to the overhead traveling vehicle main body 14. To be able to rotate.

  In the power supply unit 10, the power receiving units 12 and 12 are provided on the left and right of the rotation shaft 34. Similarly, the communication unit 13 is provided on the left and right of the rotation shaft 34 in the communication unit 11 (FIG. 3). In this way, at any position including a curve or a branch, the left or right power receiving unit can receive non-contact power supply, and the controller or other ceiling can be connected from the communication unit via the non-contact power supply litz wire 64. It can communicate with traveling vehicles. When a pair of units of the same type are provided on the left and right sides of one bogie, power reception and communication are possible at an arbitrary position of the branch part. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the power reception unit and communication unit are connected to Each pair may be provided on the left and right. For example, the power receiving unit 12 and the communication unit 13 may be provided on the left and right sides of the bogie carriage 8a, and the communication unit 13 and the power receiving unit 12 may be provided on the bogie carriage 8b by inverting the left and right sides of the bogie carriage 8a.

  On the power supply rails 5 and 6, for example, a pair of upper and lower litz wires 64 for both non-contact power supply and communication are arranged, and the upper and lower litz wires 64 and 64 form a loop. The power receiving unit 12 is rotated in conjunction with the bogie carriage 8a, and is provided with a magnetic core 60 so as to go deeper into the power supply rail than the litz wire 64. The power receiving coil 62 is wound around the magnetic core to receive power. For teaching the stop position and the like, a dog 66 is provided on the side of the upper and lower litz wires 64 and 64 (outside in the left-right direction), and the dog 66 is detected by a pickup (not shown) provided in the communication unit 13. For example, a photo interrupter (not shown) is used for the pickup, and when the light from the light emitting side to the light receiving side of the photo interrupter is blocked by the dog 66, the dog 66 is detected. The type of dog and the type of sensor for detecting the dog are arbitrary.

  67 is a linear sensor, for example, provided on the overhead traveling vehicle main body 14 and the like, and 68 is a plate to be detected, which is attached to the traveling rail 2 or the like. Then, the detected plate 68 is separated from the litz wire 64 as much as possible to reduce the noise of the linear sensor 67. The linear sensor 67 detects the position with respect to the detected plate 68, and if the position of the detected plate 68 is known, the absolute position of the overhead traveling vehicle 7 is determined.

  The front and rear bogies 8a and 8b support the overhead traveling vehicle main body 14 by fixed shafts 32 and 32, and a swing frame 40 is provided so as to connect the front and rear fixed shafts 32 and 32 (FIG. 2). One end of the swing frame 40 is attached to one fixed shaft 32 of the bogies 8a, 8b so as to be swingable up and down (within a vertical plane), for example, with a pin 54, and the other end is fixed to the other bogie. The shaft 32 is attached by being biased upward by a spring 56. Instead of being directly attached to the fixed shaft 32, the fixed shaft 32 may be attached to an extended portion or the like. The spring 56 may be a coil spring, a leaf spring, or the like, or may be one that can adjust the urging force according to the traveling state, such as an active suspension. The swing frame 40 is passed between the front and rear bogies 8a and 8b, supported by the front and rear fixed shafts 32, urged upward in the vertical plane by the spring 56, and the drive unit 41 is supported by the swing frame 40. .

  In the drive unit 41, for example, a traveling motor 42 is disposed on the lower side of the swing frame 40 so that the longitudinal direction thereof faces the vehicle body width direction (left-right direction) of the overhead traveling vehicle 7. A drive wheel 44 and its bearing 46 and a transmission 48 are attached to the swing frame 40, and the rotation of the gear 49 of the travel motor 42 is rotated via the gears 50 and 51 of the transmission 48 and the gear 52 of the bearing 46. To communicate. Transmission of the driving force and speed change may be performed by a magnetic fluid transmission or the like instead of the gear. The drive wheels 44 are pressed against the upper bottom surface of the traveling rail 2 by the force from the spring 56 to drive the overhead traveling vehicle 7 to travel. Since the drive wheels 44 are in contact with the upper bottom surface of the traveling rail at the center in the vehicle body width direction, there is only a limited room on the left and right sides. Therefore, the drive wheel 44 is provided with a recess 58, and the mounting portion between the drive wheel 44 and the drive shaft 59 is disposed on the opposite side of the bearing 46 as viewed from the center in the left-right direction of the traveling rail 2. Part of the house.

  In the embodiment, the traveling motor 42, the transmission 48, and the bearing 46 are arranged so as to overlap each other, but these may be arranged so as not to overlap with the bogies 8a and 8b in plan view, for example. The travel motor 42 is preferably arranged so that its longitudinal direction is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the swing frame 40. In the embodiment, since the drive unit 41 does not overlap with the bogies 8a and 8b in plan view, the four guide rollers 24 and the left and right branching rollers 25 and 26 can be provided on the upper portions of the bogies 8a and 8b. Branch control becomes easy. Further, the inner traveling wheel 23 prevents rattling of the overhead traveling vehicle 7 when the traveling wheel 22 passes through the opening of the traveling rail 2 at the branch portion, but the traveling motor 42 includes a bogie truck 8a, Since it does not overlap with 8b, the traveling wheel 22 and the traveling wheel 23 having the same diameter, for example, can be used, and rattling at the branch portion can be reduced.

  5 to 8 show the operation at the time of branching in the embodiment. FIG. 5 shows a layout of the traveling rail 2 near the branching portion. A guide rail 28 having a large downward protrusion amount is disposed on the left side of the branch portion without a gap, and the guide rail 28 is also disposed on the right side except for the branch portion. On the branch side of the traveling rail, guide rails 29 having a short downward protrusion are arranged on both sides of the rail, and when the branch is completed, the type of the guide rail is changed to the guide rail 28. In places other than the branching portion of the traveling rail 2, the guide rails 28, 28 are disposed on both sides of the opening, and the guide roller 24 and the branching rollers 25, 26 are guided by the guide rail 28. At this time, the branching rollers 25, 26 is at a neutral height.

  In the case of straight traveling, it is not necessary to operate the branching rollers 25 and 26, the branching roller 25 on the left side of the figure is guided by the guide rail 28 in the neutral position, and the right side guide roller 26 is in contact with the guide rail 29 in the neutral position. Without passing through its bottom. Further, rattling when the traveling wheel 22 passes through the opening of the traveling rail 2 is prevented by providing a large-diameter traveling wheel 23, and the guide roller on the right side of the figure is temporarily free from the guide rail. The moment of force is supported by the branching roller 25 coming into contact with the side surface of the guide rail 28. For these reasons, the branch portion can be moved straight in a stable posture without the operation of the branch rollers 25 and 26, and there is no need for deceleration at the time of branch.

  7 and 8 show the state at the time of branching. In FIG. 7, the bogie truck 8a moves to the branch side, and the bogie truck 8b is in front of the branch section. Here, the branching roller 26 of the bogie 8a is at the high position and is guided by the guide surface outside the guide rail 29, and the branching roller 25 passes through the lower side of the guide rail 28 at the low position. In addition, the bogie 8 a is prevented from being tilted by the branching roller 26 being guided by the guide rail 29. Therefore, it is possible to branch in a stable posture by operating the branching rollers 25 and 26.

In the embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
1) In Patent Document 1, a frame for driving wheels is required separately from a frame for connecting front and rear bogies, but the overhead traveling vehicle can be reduced in weight by integrating these frames.
2) A traveling motor, transmission, etc. can be supported by a swing frame so that they do not overlap with the front and rear bogies in plan view. For this reason, each of the four guide rollers 24 and the pair of left and right branching rollers 25 and 26 can be provided on the upper part of the bogie, and branching is facilitated. Further, since the traveling motor can be separated from the bogie, the large-diameter traveling wheel 23 can be provided to reduce rattling at the time of branching.
3) Since the recess 58 is provided in the drive wheel 44 to accommodate a part of the bearing 46, the bearing 46 can be arranged in a limited space on one side in the left-right direction.

Bogie bogie and surrounding vertical sectional view of the overhead traveling vehicle of the embodiment Side view of essential parts showing front and rear bogies and drive unit between them in the overhead traveling vehicle of the embodiment Plan view of front and rear bogies and drive unit in overhead traveling vehicle of embodiment Vehicle body width direction vertical sectional view of the drive unit in the overhead traveling vehicle of the embodiment The top view which shows typically the effect | action of the branching roller at the time of going straight through a branch part Vertical sectional view schematically showing the action of the branching roller when going straight through the branching section The top view which shows typically the effect | action of the branch roller at the time of branching a branch part Vertical sectional view schematically showing the action of the branching roller when branching the branching section

Explanation of symbols

2 traveling rail 4 suspension bolt 5, 6 feeding rail 7 overhead traveling vehicle 8 a, 8 b bogie bogie 10 power feeding unit 11 communication unit 12 power receiving unit 13 communication unit 14 overhead traveling vehicle body 16 lateral feed unit 18 lifting drive unit 20 lifting platform 22, 23 Traveling Wheel 24 Guide Rollers 25, 26 Branching Rollers 28, 29 Guide Rail 30 Lifting Unit 32 Fixed Shaft 34 Rotating Shaft 36 Bearing 38 Frame 40 Oscillating Frame 41 Drive Unit 42 Traveling Motor 44 Driving Wheel 46 Bearing 48 Transmission 49 52 gear 54 pin 56 spring 58 recess 59 drive shaft 60 magnetic core 62 power receiving coil 64 litz wire 66 dog 67 linear sensor 68 plate to be detected

Claims (3)

In an overhead traveling vehicle in which a pair of shaft portions extending upward from the overhead traveling vehicle body are supported by front and rear bogies,
One end of the frame to which the driving wheel and the traveling motor are attached is attached to one of the front and rear bogies so as to be swingable up and down, and the other end of the frame is attached to the other of the front and rear bogies. The overhead traveling vehicle is mounted so as to be urged upward from the other shaft portion. The overhead traveling vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the traveling motor is arranged such that a longitudinal direction thereof appears in a width direction of the overhead traveling vehicle. At least a pair of guide rollers with the shafts facing the vertical direction are provided near the center of the left and right sides of the upper parts of the front and rear bogies, and the branching rollers with the shafts facing the vertical direction so that the shafts can be raised and lowered to both lateral sides. The overhead traveling vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the overhead traveling vehicle is provided.

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