JP2006273539A - Free flow conveyor device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a free flow conveyor device capable of transporting certainly objects using a simple structure and a less number of components and of enhancing the working easiness and the productivity. <P>SOLUTION: At the prescribed spacing, a plurality of drive pulleys 31 are installed on each side of a transport path for transporting lens racks, and follower rollers 35 are fitted on the shaft 34 of the drive rollers. At every other pulleys, friction members 36 are interposed between the drive pulley 31 and the follower roller 35, and the friction force between them 31 and 35 is made different at every other pulleys. Thereby the follower rollers share the work differently, i.e. the ones 35 having a larger friction force both transport and support lens racks, while the others 35 having a smaller friction force with no friction member 36 interposed only support the lens racks. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a free flow conveyor device that conveys an object to be conveyed such as a pallet or a rack.

  In the production process of spectacle lenses, in order to improve the light shielding properties, antiglare properties, light control properties, scratch resistance, etc., a coating film made of a material corresponding to the purpose is formed on the surface of the spectacle lens. ing. A coating apparatus for automatically forming such a coating film uses a free flow conveyor apparatus as a kind of conveyor apparatus that continuously conveys spectacle lenses.

  The free-flow conveyor device is equipped with a plurality of rollers, pulleys, belts, etc. arranged along the conveyance path, and conveys pallets, racks (conveyed objects), etc. on which products or parts are placed or stored. The conveyor to be transported can be moved to an arbitrary place without stopping the running operation of the conveyor itself by interposing a slip transmission means between the rotating member on the driving side and the rotating member on the driven side. (See, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 5).

  FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional free-flow conveyor device, in which 1 is a drive pulley in which the rotation of a motor is transmitted through an endless feed belt 2, and 3 is a shaft 4 </ b> A of the drive pulley 1. A free-flow conveyor device 6 is constituted by a driven roller rotatably attached via a friction member 5. Reference numeral 7 denotes a lens rack as an object to be conveyed. When the spectacle lens 8 is accommodated, the lens rack is placed on the driven roller 3. The driven roller 3 is rotated in a driven manner when the rotation of the normal driving pulley 1 is transmitted through the friction member 5 and conveys the lens rack 7.

  When the lens rack 7 is transported to a predetermined working position, the lens rack 7 comes into contact with the stopper and stops, and the internal lens 8 is taken out for application and curing of the coating solution. When the lens rack 7 comes into contact with the stopper and stops, slippage occurs between the drive pulley 1 and the driven roller 3 so that the load on the driven side is not applied. Therefore, there is no risk of damaging the lens rack 7. Then, when the locked state of the lens rank 7 by the stopper is released, the driven roller 3 is rotated again by the rotation of the driving pulley 1 to convey the lens rack 7 to the next working position. .

JP 2004-269254 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-045224 JP 10-310236 A JP-A-5-319527 Japanese Patent Application No. 7-125831

  However, the conventional free-flow conveyor apparatus as shown in FIG. 7 has a friction member 5 interposed between all the driving pulleys 1 and the driven rollers 3 to generate the frictional force between the driving pulley 1 and the driven rollers 3. Since the number of friction members 5 is the same as that of the drive pulley 1 and the driven roller 3, the number of parts and the number of assembling steps of the friction member 5 are increased.

  Further, when the conveyed object is stopped in the conveying path by the stopper, there is a problem that the subsequent conveyed object collides with the preceding conveyed object that is stopped. For this reason, conventionally, buffer means are provided to alleviate the collision, but if the object to be conveyed is stopped in the conveyance path, products, parts, etc. that are placed or stored in the subsequent object to be conveyed Further, there is a problem that workability and productivity are low because it is necessary to wait until the preceding transported object moves. In particular, when various types of spectacle lenses having different lens powers are continuously coated, a plurality of coating apparatuses may be provided for each lens power within a predetermined range in order to increase productivity. Therefore, when the preceding transported object is temporarily stopped in the transport path, it is not preferable to stop the subsequent transported object accordingly.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described conventional problems, and the object of the present invention is to have a simple structure, a small number of parts, and to reliably convey the object to be conveyed. An object is to provide a free flow conveyor device that can improve productivity and productivity.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides, in a free flow conveyor device for transporting an object to be transported, a plurality of drive-side rotating members respectively disposed at predetermined intervals on both sides of a transport path, and these A driving device for rotating the driving side rotating member; a rotation transmitting means for transmitting the rotation of the driving device to each driving side rotating member; and the object to be conveyed rotatably attached to the shaft of each driving side rotating member. A plurality of driven-side rotating members for conveying the drive side, and the frictional force between the driving-side rotating member and the driven-side rotating member is made different for each required number of driven-side rotating members, and the driven side having a large frictional force The rotating member is responsible for transporting and supporting the object to be conveyed, and the driven rotating member having a small frictional force is responsible for supporting the object to be conveyed.

  Further, according to the present invention, the transport path includes a stopper mechanism that temporarily stops the transported object, and a lifting mechanism that lifts the transported object stopped by the stopper mechanism and lifts the transported object upward. It is.

  Further, according to the present invention, the transport path includes a stopper mechanism that temporarily stops the transported object, and a lifting mechanism that lifts the transported object stopped by the stopper mechanism and lifts the transported object upward. It is.

In the present invention, the frictional force between the driving side rotating member and the driven side rotating member is made different for each required number, so that the frictional force is set to be small between the driving side rotating member and the driven side rotating member. Therefore, it is not necessary to interpose a friction member, and the number of friction members used and the number of work steps for assembly can be reduced. In this case, the driven-side rotating member having a large frictional force between the driving-side rotating member and the driven-side rotating member is responsible for transporting and supporting the object to be conveyed, and the driven-side rotating member having a small frictional force has the object of the object to be conveyed. There is no need to handle the conveyance, and only the support can be handled.
The stopper mechanism stops the conveyed object at a predetermined work position.
The lifting mechanism lifts the transported object stopped by the stopper mechanism and moves it to the upper side of the transport path. Therefore, the succeeding transport object can pass below the transport object transported upward.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a main part of the conveyor device showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a free flow conveyor device used in a spectacle lens coating device, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the free flow conveyor device. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the free flow conveyor device, FIG. 4 is a partially exploded perspective view showing a mounting structure of the driving pulley and the driven roller, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the driving pulley and the driven roller having a large frictional force. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the driving pulley and the driven roller having a small frictional force.

  1 to 3, a coating apparatus indicated by reference numeral 10 applies a coating solution to a surface to be coated 8a of a pair of spectacle lenses 8 and cures the coating film by irradiating with ultraviolet rays. It is a device that automatically performs a series of operations to be formed. The coating apparatus 10 includes a free flow conveyor device 22 that conveys a lens rack (conveyed object) 7 that houses a pair of spectacle lenses 8 along a conveyance path 21. The coating apparatus 10 is provided in the middle of the conveyance path 21 and has a plurality of stopper mechanisms 23 for stopping the lens rack 7 at a predetermined working position, and the lens rack 7 at a lens delivery position above the conveyance path 21. A plurality of lifting mechanisms 24 for lifting are provided. Further, on one side of the conveyance path 21, when the lens rack 7 is lifted to a predetermined lens delivery position, a conveyance device that holds and takes out the spectacle lens 8 accommodated in the lens rack 7 and conveys it to a predetermined work position. 25 is provided.

  In FIG. 2, the lens rack 7 is made of a plastic box that opens upward, and a pair of spectacle lenses 8 are placed inside the coated surface (convex surface) 8a. Two mounting portions 26 are provided.

  The spectacle lens 8 is a circular plastic lens whose coated surface 8a is polished to an optical surface having a predetermined radius of curvature and whose concave surface is unprocessed or polished to an optical surface, and has an outer diameter of, for example, 65 mm, There are types such as 70 mm, 75 mm, and 80 mm. In addition, the lens power of the spectacle lens 8 is different for each spectacle wearer.

  The free flow conveyor device 22 is disposed at a predetermined interval in the transport direction of the lens rack 7 on both sides of the transport path 21 with a motor 30 as a driving device disposed in the lower portion of the transport path 21. A plurality of drive pulleys (drive-side rotating members) 31, an endless feed belt 32 (rotation transmission means) for transmitting the rotation of the motor 30 to each drive pulley 31, and a predetermined tension applied to the feed belt 32. A tension pulley 33 to be applied, a plurality of driven rollers (driven-side rotating members) 35 rotatably mounted on the shaft portion 34 (FIG. 4) of each driving pulley 31, a driving pulley 31 and a driven roller 35. A shaft 41 having a threaded portion to be connected and fixed to the conveyor body, a hexagonal nut 42 and a retaining ring 43 used when the shaft and the conveyor body are fixed. In it is configured.

  The drive pulleys 31 are arranged in parallel in the transport direction so that the inter-axis distance L (FIG. 3) between two adjacent pulleys is approximately ½ W (L≈½ W) of the width W of the lens rack 7. ing. With such a dimensional relationship, when the lens rack 7 is placed on the driven roller 35 and transported, the bottom surface of the lens rack 7 is supported by the three front and rear driven rollers 35 adjacent to each other in the transport direction. Therefore, the lens rack 7 can be reliably transported in a stable posture. A V-shaped groove 38 around which the feed belt 32 is bridged is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the drive pulley 31.

  The driven roller 35 is fitted to the shaft portion (shaft) 34 of the drive pulley 31 with an appropriate frictional force. The outer peripheral surface of the driven roller 35 has a required width and forms a support surface 39 that supports the bottom side end of the lens rack 7.

  Further, the frictional force between the driving pulley 31 and the driven roller 35 is different for every other roller. For example, the odd-numbered driving pulley 31 and the driven roller 35 are counted from the starting end side of the free flow conveyor device 22. The frictional force between them is set larger than the frictional force between the even-numbered driving pulley 31 and the driven roller 35. Therefore, a ring-shaped friction member 36 is interposed between the opposing side surfaces of the odd-numbered drive pulley 31 and the driven roller 35 as shown in FIGS. The frictional force between the odd numbered driving pulley 31 and the driven roller 35 includes the frictional force between the shaft portion 34 and the shaft hole of the driven roller 35, and the frictional force due to the surface contact between the driving pulley 31 and the driven roller 35 against the friction member 36. And the sum. On the other hand, the frictional force between the even-numbered driving pulley 31 and the driven roller 35 is the frictional force between the shaft portion 34 and the shaft hole of the driven roller 35 and the surface contact between the driving pulley 31 and the driven roller 35. This is the sum of frictional forces.

  Further, the frictional force between the odd-numbered drive pulley 31 and the driven roller 35 is set to a frictional force sufficient to transport the lens rack 7, so that the lens rack 7 is conveyed to the odd-numbered driven roller 35. And support. On the other hand, the even-numbered drive pulley 31 and the driven roller 35 do not interpose the friction member 36 as shown in FIG. 6, and the opposing side surfaces of the drive pulley 31 and the driven roller 35 are lightly contacted or separated. The frictional force is smaller than the frictional force between the odd-numbered drive pulley 31 and the driven roller 35. Therefore, the even-numbered driven roller 35 only supports the lens rack 7. The actual frictional force between the driven roller 35 and the lens rack 7 is determined by the weight of the lens rack 7 and the spectacle lens 8.

  The friction member 35 is made of synthetic resin, felt, rubber or the like. The rotation of the drive pulley 31 is transmitted to the driven roller 35 through contact between the shaft portion 34 and the shaft hole of the driven roller 35 and surface contact with the friction member 35.

  The shaft 41 passes through the center hole of the drive pulley 31 and a retaining ring 43 is fitted to the tip of the shaft 41 to prevent the driven roller 35 from moving or dropping. The nut 42 is screwed into the threaded portion of the shaft 41 to press the drive pulley 31 against the driven roller 35, and the frictional force between the drive pulley 31 and the driven roller 35 is adjusted by the tightening condition of the nut 42. Is done.

  When the spectacle lens 8 is coated by the coating apparatus 10, the lens power of the spectacle lens 8 varies depending on the wearer. Therefore, depending on the lens power, all spectacle lenses having different lens powers when there is one kind of rotating dish for spin coating. 8 may not be supported. In such a case, in order to increase the production efficiency of the apparatus, a plurality of rotating dishes each corresponding to the lens power may be installed to perform the coating operation for each spectacle lens having a different lens power. For this reason, in the present coating apparatus 10, in order to perform the coating operation for each spectacle lens having a different lens power, a plurality of stopper mechanisms 23 and lifting mechanisms 24 are provided as shown in FIG. Each is provided in the conveyance path 21.

  The stopper mechanism 23 includes a stopper 46 provided in the middle of the conveyance path 21 so as to be movable up and down, and a drive device 47 such as a solenoid and an air cylinder for moving the stopper 46 up and down, and it is necessary to temporarily stop the lens rack 7. In some cases, the stopper 46 is raised and protruded into the movement region of the lens rack 7, and when passing through the lens rack 7, the stopper 46 is lowered and retracted out of the movement region of the lens rack 7. Yes.

  When the lens rack 7 comes into contact with the stopper 46 and stops, the front and rear three driven rollers 35 supporting the bottom surface of the lens rack 7 cannot rotate and slip between the driving pulley 31. On the other hand, the drive pulleys 31 corresponding to these three driven rollers 35 continue to rotate due to slippage between the driven rollers 35. Therefore, the load on the driven side is not applied to the drive pulley 31, and damage to the lens rack 7 due to collision with the stopper 46, riding on the stopper 46, and the like can be prevented.

  When the lens rack 7 comes into contact with the stopper 46 and stops, the lifting mechanism 24 lifts the lens rack 7 to a predetermined height and moves the lens rack 7 to a lens delivery position, which is an upper position of the conveyance path 21, thereby passing the subsequent lens rack 7. Is possible. When the eyeglass lens 8 in the lens rack 7 lifted by the lifting mechanism 24 is taken out of the lens rack 7 by the transport mechanism 25, it is placed on the rotating plate of the coating apparatus corresponding to the lens power, and the coating solution is spun. Coated.

  As described above, in the present invention, the frictional force between the driving pulley 31 and the driven roller 35 of the free flow conveyor device 22 is changed every other roller, and the odd numbered driving pulley 31 and the driven rotor 35 are The frictional force between the even numbered pulleys 31 and the driven rotor 35 is reduced to receive only the support of the lens rack 7 while the frictional force between them is set to be large and the lens rack 7 is conveyed and supported. Since it is configured so that it does not need to be provided with a special friction member 36 between the even-numbered drive pulley 31 and the driven rotor 35, the number of the friction members 36 used and the number of assembling steps can be reduced. Can do. Therefore, the free-flow conveyor device 22 can be simplified, and the even-numbered drive pulley 31 and the driven rotor 35 having a small frictional force are provided on the bottom surface of the lens rack 7 together with the odd-numbered drive pulley 31 and the driven rotor 35. Since it supports, the lens rack 7 can be conveyed in a stable state.

  In the present invention, the lens rack 7 stopped at the stop position is moved to the upper lens delivery position by the lifting mechanism 24, so that the subsequent lens rack 7 is moved below the preceding lens rack 7 moved upward. Can be transported to another work position. Therefore, the lens rack 7 does not stay in the conveyance path 21, and the coating operation for the plurality of spectacle lenses 2 having different lens powers can be performed in parallel, thereby improving the productivity of the apparatus.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the frictional force between the driving pulley 31 and the driven roller 35 is changed every other is described, but the present invention is not limited to this. By changing the outer diameter of the driving pulley 31 and the driven roller 35, the distance between the pulley axes, etc., the frictional force between the driving pulley 31 and the driven roller 35 is changed for every required number of rollers, for example, every two rollers. May be.

  Further, the frictional force between the driving pulley 31 and the driven roller 35 can be changed depending on the material and size of the friction member 36.

  Although this invention demonstrated the example used for conveyance of the lens rack 7 which accommodates the spectacle lens 2, it is not restricted to this, The to-be-conveyed object used in order to convey various products, parts, etc., for example, a pallet, a jig | tool, etc. It can also be applied to the conveyance of the above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is an external appearance perspective view of the principal part of the conveyor apparatus which shows one Embodiment which applied this invention to the free flow conveyor apparatus used for the coating apparatus of spectacle lenses. It is sectional drawing of the free flow conveyor apparatus. It is a sectional side view of the free flow conveyor apparatus. It is the perspective view which decomposed | disassembled one part which shows the attachment structure of a drive pulley and a driven roller. It is sectional drawing of a driving pulley and a driven roller with a large frictional force. It is sectional drawing of a driving pulley and a driven roller with small frictional force. It is sectional drawing of the conventional free flow conveyor apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 7 ... Lens rack, 8 ... Eyeglass lens, 10 ... Coating apparatus, 21 ... Conveyance path, 22 ... Free flow conveyor apparatus, 23 ... Stopper mechanism, 24 ... Lifting mechanism, 30 ... Motor, 31 ... Drive pulley, 32 ... Feed belt 34 ... Shaft portion, 35 ... Follower roller, 36 ... Friction member.

Claims (2)

In the free flow conveyor device that conveys the object to be conveyed,
A plurality of driving-side rotating members arranged at predetermined intervals on both sides of the conveying path, a driving device for rotating these driving-side rotating members, and the rotation of each of the driving devices is the driving-side rotating member. Rotation transmitting means for transmitting to the drive side, and a plurality of driven side rotation members that are rotatably attached to the shafts of the respective drive side rotation members and convey the object to be conveyed,
The frictional force between the drive-side rotating member and the driven-side rotating member is made different for each required number of driven-side rotating members, and the driven-side rotating member having a large frictional force is responsible for conveying and supporting the object to be conveyed. A free-flow conveying conveyor device characterized in that a driven-side rotating member having a small frictional force is supported by the object to be conveyed. The transport path includes a stopper mechanism for temporarily stopping the transported object, and a lifting mechanism for lifting the transported object stopped by the stopper mechanism and lifting the transported object upward. The free flow conveyor apparatus according to 1.

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