JP2005263360A - Conveying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conveying apparatus, effectively preventing damage of a conveyer by restraining interference between a transition conveyer and a first or second conveyer to the utmost even if an earthquake occurs. <P>SOLUTION: In this conveying apparatus, a pair of construction bodies, at least one of which has a base isolation structure, are arranged at a space between them. The first conveyer 1 and the second conveyer 2 are installed separately in the paired construction bodies at an interference preventing space 5 therebetween. The transition conveyer 10 is provided to be freely switched between a conveying attitude A of being positioned in the interference preventing space 5 to deliver an article C from the first conveyer 1 to the second conveyer 2 and a retreat attitude of being retreated from the interference preventing space 5. The conveying apparatus is provided with a control means for switching the attitude of the transition conveyer 10, and the control means controls the transition conveyer 10 to be switched to the conveying attitude A in conveying the article C, and controls the transition conveyer 10 to be switched to the retreat attitude B during non-conveying operation for the article C. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  According to the present invention, a first conveyor and a second conveyor, which are separately installed in each of a pair of components that are arranged in a seismic isolation structure at least one side by side, are arranged with a space for preventing interference. And a transfer conveyor is provided in the interference prevention space so as to be switchable between a conveying posture for transferring articles from the first conveyor to the second conveyor and a retracting posture for retreating from the interference prevention space. It is related with the conveying apparatus.

Such a transport device avoids interference between the first conveyor and the second conveyor by switching to a retracted posture in which the crossing conveyor is retracted from the interference prevention space when an earthquake occurs, for example, so that the first conveyor and the second conveyor This is to prevent damage in advance.
Conventionally, as this kind of transfer device, the above-mentioned transfer conveyor is always maintained in the transfer posture, and when the earthquake occurs, the transfer conveyor is switched to the retracted posture based on the detection of the occurrence of the earthquake. Is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-362931 A

However, in the prior art described in the above publication, after the occurrence of an earthquake is detected, the transition conveyor is switched to the retracted posture, so it takes time from the occurrence of the earthquake to the transition of the transition conveyor.
Therefore, there is a high possibility that the transfer conveyor and the first or second conveyor will be interfered due to the time delay, and the transfer conveyor or the first and second conveyors are likely to be damaged. there were.

  The present invention pays attention to such a conventional problem, and its purpose is to suppress the interference between the transition conveyor and the first or second conveyor as much as possible even when an earthquake occurs. It is in providing the conveying apparatus which can prevent damage of this effectively.

  According to the first characteristic configuration of the present invention, at least one of the first conveyor and the second conveyor installed separately in each of a pair of components arranged in a seismic isolation structure and arranged in parallel with each other prevents interference. And a transfer posture in which the transfer conveyor is located in the interference prevention space and delivers articles from the first conveyor to the second conveyor, and a retreat posture that retreats from the interference prevention space. A control device for switching and controlling the posture of the transition conveyor, and the control means controls the switching of the transition conveyor to the transport posture when conveying an article, The crossover conveyor is configured to be controlled to be switched to the retracted posture when the article is not conveyed.

According to the first characteristic configuration of the present invention, the control means for switching and controlling the posture of the transfer conveyor switches the transfer conveyor to the transfer posture when the article is transferred, and switches the transfer conveyor to the retracted position when the item is not transferred. Since the transfer conveyor is configured to be controlled, the transfer conveyor is switched to a transfer position only when an article that requires the transfer conveyor is transferred, and is always switched to a retracted position in other situations.
Therefore, even if an earthquake occurs, there is a high possibility that the transition conveyor is maintained in the retracted position, and unlike the conventional technology described above, there is no danger of interference between conveyors due to time delays. The accompanying conveyor damage can be effectively prevented.

  According to a second characteristic configuration of the present invention, the control means is configured to preferentially switch the transfer conveyor to the retracted position based on a vibration signal from a vibration sensor.

  According to the second characteristic configuration of the present invention, the control means is configured to preferentially switch the transfer conveyor to the retracted position based on the vibration signal from the vibration sensor. At the time of occurrence, even if the transition conveyor is in the transport posture, it is immediately switched to the retracted posture, and damage due to interference between the conveyors when the transition conveyor is in the transport posture can be suppressed.

  According to a third characteristic configuration of the present invention, the transfer conveyor has the horizontal or substantially horizontal conveying posture and the retracted posture in the downwardly tilted state by vertically swinging with one end portion in the conveying direction as a fulcrum. It is in the place where it can be switched to.

According to the third characteristic configuration of the present invention, the transfer conveyor is vertically or substantially horizontally transported by a vertical swing with one end in the transport direction as a fulcrum, and is retracted in a downwardly tilted state. For example, the posture of the transition conveyor is compared with the configuration in which the transition conveyor is moved laterally with respect to the first and second conveyors to switch between the transport posture and the retracted posture. The configuration for switching can be simplified.
In addition, since it is switched to the retracted position by swinging downward, the transition conveyor is switched to the retracted position based on the vibration signal from the vibration sensor as described in relation to the second feature configuration. By effectively utilizing the weight of the transfer conveyor, it is possible to quickly switch to the retracted position with less power, and the possibility of damage to the conveyor can be further reliably reduced.

An embodiment of a transfer device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, for example, the transfer device includes a fixed floor F1 which is an example of a structure configured in a non-base isolation structure and a base isolation floor which is an example of a structure configured in a base isolation structure. The fixed floor F <b> 1 and the seismic isolation floor F <b> 2 are juxtaposed at a distance from each other.
A first conveyor 1 is installed on the fixed floor F1 via a large number of legs 3, and a second conveyor 2 is installed on the seismic isolation floor F2 via a number of legs 4. The conveyors 1 and 2 are arranged such that each conveyance path is positioned on the same line in a horizontal or substantially horizontal posture, and an interference prevention space 5 is placed between the conveyors 1 and 2.

The first conveyor 1 is a roller-type conveyor driven by a motor M1, and includes a pair of left and right frame bodies 6 and a plurality of rollers 7 rotatably attached between the frame bodies 6 when viewed from the transport direction, and The free-running split roller 7a is divided into three parts between the auxiliary frame 6a projecting from the frame 6 toward the second conveyor 2 side. The leg 3 is attached.
The second conveyor 2 is also a roller-type conveyor driven by a motor M2, and includes a pair of left and right frames 8 as viewed from the conveying direction and a plurality of rollers 9 attached between the frames 8. The leg portion 4 is attached to the frame body 8.
The interference prevention space 5 is set at a sufficient distance so that the conveyors 1 and 2 do not interfere with each other when an earthquake occurs, and the crossing conveyor conveys articles across the interference prevention space 5. 10 is attached to the 1st conveyor 1 side, for example.

The transfer conveyor 10 is a roller type conveyor provided with a pair of left and right frames 11 and one free-rolling roller 12, and in the vicinity of the end of the first conveyor 1, the transfer conveyor 10 is vertically It is swingably attached.
Specifically, in the first conveyor 1, the rotary shaft of the split roller 7 a located closest to the second conveyor 2 is shared, and the rotary shaft center is attached to the first conveyor 1 so as to be swingable up and down.
A cylinder mounting bracket 13 is attached to the frame body 6 of the first conveyor 1, and a cylinder rod mounting bracket 14 is attached to the frame body 11 of the transition conveyor 10. A pair of left and right air cylinders 15 are interposed at positions that do not interfere with 7a.

That is, both the air cylinders 15 are attached to the cylinder mounting bracket 13 so that the cylinder side is relatively rotatable, and the cylinder rod side is attached to the cylinder rod mounting bracket 14 so as to be relatively rotatable.
These two air cylinders 15 are so-called single-acting cylinders, which are extended by sending air from an air supply source 16 such as a compressor. As shown by phantom lines in FIG. 5 is switched to the transport posture A which is in the horizontal or substantially horizontal state, shortened by removing the air, and the crossover conveyor 10 falls down as shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 to prevent interference. It is configured to be switched to a retracted posture B that retracts from the space 5.
And also in the conveyance attitude | position A shown with a virtual line, it sets so that the predetermined space | interval T may be maintained between the transfer conveyor 10 and the 2nd conveyor 2, and this space | interval T is set to the magnitude | size etc. of the article to convey. Although it can set freely according to this, in order to suppress interference with the transfer conveyor 10 and the 2nd conveyor 2 as much as possible, it is preferable to set as long distance as possible within the range which can convey articles | goods.

The posture of the transfer conveyor 10 is configured to be controlled to be switched by a control device 17 as a control means. With respect to the control device 17, a first sensor S1 for detecting an article provided on the first conveyor 1 side is provided. A signal is input from the second sensor S2 for article detection provided on the second conveyor 2 side, and a signal is also input from the vibration detection sensor 18 for seismic detection arranged at an appropriate location. Has been.
The first and second sensors S1 and S2 are, for example, photoelectric tube type sensors. When an article is conveyed from the first conveyor 1 to the second conveyor 2, the first sensor S1 detects the leading end of the conveyed article in the conveyance direction. In addition, the second sensor S2 is configured to detect the rear end of the transported article in the transport direction.
Accordingly, the installation positions of the sensors S1 and S2 are set to the minimum necessary time for the transition conveyor 10 to be maintained in the transport posture A in consideration of the transport speed of articles by the conveyors 1 and 2 and the size of the articles. It is preferable to set such a position.

Next, the operation of this transport device will be described.
For example, when the article C is conveyed from the first conveyor 1 side to the second conveyor 2 side as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 3, the first sensor S <b> 1 is connected to the leading end of the conveyed article C as shown in FIG. Is detected, the control device 17 sends air from the air supply source 16 to both the air cylinders 15 based on the detection signal.
As the air is fed, the air cylinders 15 are extended, and as shown in (b), the transfer conveyor 10 is switched to the transport posture A, and the article C is delivered from the first conveyor 1 to the second conveyor 2.
After that, as shown in (c), when the second sensor S2 detects the rear end portion of the conveyed article C, the control device 17 stops the air feeding to both the air cylinders 15 based on the detection signal, The air is allowed to escape from both air cylinders 15, and the transfer conveyor 10 swings downward by its own weight and is switched to the retracted posture B.
When the vibration sensor 18 detects a vibration greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the control device 17 stops sending air to both the air cylinders 15 based on the vibration signal, and the air is released from both the air cylinders 15. Make it possible. That is, even if the transfer conveyor 10 is in the transfer posture A and the articles C are being transferred, the transfer conveyor 10 is switched to the retracted posture B preferentially.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the previous embodiment, the floors F1 and F2 such as buildings were illustrated and described as a pair of components for installing the first and second conveyors 1 and 2, respectively. The present invention can also be applied between the two conveyors 1 and 2 installed in the above.
Moreover, when the floors F1 and F2 of the building are taken as an example as a pair of components, as shown in the previous embodiment, not only when one is the fixed floor F1 and the other is the seismic isolation floor F2, The present invention can also be applied to the case where the first and second conveyors 1 and 2 are individually installed on a pair of seismic isolation floors F1 and F2 having different seismic isolation performance.

(2) In the previous embodiment, an example in which the first and second conveyors 1 and 2 and the transfer conveyor 10 are all configured by roller conveyors has been described. The configuration is not limited, and for example, one or all of these conveyors 1, 2, and 10 can be configured by different types of conveyors such as a chain conveyor.
Further, the transition conveyor 10 is attached to the first conveyor 1 so as to be swingable up and down around a fulcrum P, and the posture of the transition conveyor 10 is switched between the transport posture A and the retracted posture B by the vertical swing. However, for example, the crossover conveyor 10 is configured to be movable in the lateral direction with respect to the first and second conveyors 1 and 2 and is switched between the transport posture A and the retracted posture B by the lateral movement. It can also be configured as follows.
Furthermore, when the transition conveyor 10 is configured to be swingable up and down as in the previous embodiment, the transition conveyor 10 is divided into two parts, and one of the transition conveyors 10 is swingable up and down with respect to the first conveyor 1. The other can be attached to the second conveyor 2 so as to be swingable up and down, and the divided crossover conveyor can be switched between the transport posture A and the retracted posture B.

Plan view of transfer device Vertical side view of conveyor Longitudinal side view showing the operation of the transport device

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st conveyor 2 2nd conveyor 5 Space for interference prevention 10 Transition conveyor 17 Control means 18 Vibration sensor A Conveyance posture B Retraction posture C Article F1, F2 Structure P Pivoting fulcrum of the transition conveyor

Claims (3)

A first conveyor and a second conveyor, which are separately installed in each of a pair of components that are arranged in a seismic isolation structure at least one side by side, are arranged with a space for preventing interference, Is provided in such a manner that it can be switched between a conveying posture for transferring articles from the first conveyor to the second conveyor and a retracting posture for retreating from the interference preventing space. Because
Control means for switching and controlling the posture of the transition conveyor is provided, and the control means switches the transition conveyor to the transport posture when the article is transported, and switches the transition conveyor to the retracted position when the article is not transported. A transport device configured to control.   The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to preferentially switch the transfer conveyor to the retracted posture based on a vibration signal from a vibration sensor.   The transit conveyor is configured to be switched between the horizontal or substantially horizontal conveying posture and the retracted posture in a downwardly tilted state by swinging up and down with one end in the conveying direction as a fulcrum. The transport apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

Images