JP2007126268A - Carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a carrying device capable of reducing the whole height dimension of the carrying device by dispensing with even a take-up device for a driving chain by dispensing with the driving chain. <P>SOLUTION: This carrying device is composed of a carrying rail 4 constituting a carrying passage, a traveling body 1 moving in this carrying rail and a carrying tray 5 supported by a column 6 erected on this traveling body. The carrying rail is an annular carrying rail constituting an endless edge carrying passage. The traveling body is a traveling body having at least rear through-hole 8 being a long size elongate hole in the advancing direction by arranging the connecting through-holes 7 and 8 on its front end and the rear end, and the traveling body is arranged on and connected to the whole periphery of the annular carrying rail. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a workpiece transfer device, and more particularly to a device that transfers a workpiece while supporting the workpiece on a traveling body that runs in a transfer rail installed on a floor.

A conventional transport device is provided with a transport rail along a track to be transported, and is composed of a traveling body that travels in the transport rail. The drive chain circulates and travels to move the traveling body. The body was configured to receive a driving force from the driving chain (see Patent Document 1).
Noto 3086461 gazette

  The transport device was developed by the inventor of the present application, and is a transport device having a stage function that enables three-dimensional operation and transmission and stop of driving force for each traveling body. This is suitable when it is necessary to stop the traveling body at a predetermined position while transporting the section.

  However, since a drive chain is required as a drive force transmission mechanism, the drive chain must be configured to move along the transport rail, and the height dimension must be increased to provide the installation area. The downsizing of the installation space has been difficult. In addition, a so-called take-up mechanism is required because a drive chain is used to apply a driving force, which makes it difficult to reduce the floor of the entire apparatus.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points. The object of the present invention is to eliminate the need for a drive chain by eliminating the need for a drive chain, and further to It is an object of the present invention to provide a transport device capable of reducing the height dimension.

  In view of this, the present invention provides a transport apparatus comprising a transport rail that constitutes a transport path, a traveling body that moves within the transport rail, and a transport tray that is supported by a column that is erected on the traveling body. The rail is an annular transport rail that forms an endless transport path, and the traveling body has a through hole for connection at the front end and the rear end thereof, and at least one of the through holes is long in the traveling direction. It is a traveling body which is a long hole, and the gist of the transportation apparatus is characterized in that the traveling body is arranged and connected to the entire circumference of the annular transport rail.

  According to the above configuration, since the traveling body that moves along the transport rail is connected to the front and rear, by transmitting the driving force to the single traveling body, the subsequent traveling body that is connected to the traveling body is also Thus, the plurality of traveling bodies can be moved simultaneously without individually transmitting the driving force to the respective traveling bodies. Further, since the transport rail is formed in an annular shape and the traveling body is arranged and connected to the entire circumference of the transport rail, all the traveling bodies are moved simultaneously by moving a single traveling body. . The through holes for connecting the respective traveling bodies are constituted by long holes, so that a specific traveling body to which a driving force is applied and a state immediately before becoming the last traveling body as viewed from this specific traveling body. Play is generated in the connection state with the traveling body, and the variation in the circumferential length of the entire traveling body due to a manufacturing error or a change in the gap due to wear is absorbed. That is, the specific traveling body to which the driving force is applied can be prevented from pushing out the last traveling body, and all the following traveling bodies can be pulled.

  In the present invention, the traveling body includes a traveling main body portion provided with a support column that supports the transport tray, and a traveling body connecting portion coupled to the traveling main body portion and coupled to the next order traveling body. It can be a running body. According to such a configuration of the traveling body, it is possible to support the weight of the work on the traveling main body portion and adjust a predetermined length dimension necessary for connection with the subsequent traveling body by the traveling body connection portion. Become.

  And the traveling body part in the structure of the traveling body is configured to include a wheel that rolls in the transport rail, while the traveling body connecting part has its tip at a horizontal direction at the rear end of the traveling body part. It can be set as the structure connected, enabling free rotation. With such a configuration, the traveling body portion that should support the workpiece weight is provided with wheels, and it is possible to move within the transport rail while supporting the workpiece weight by the wheels, Since the workpiece weight does not act, it can be connected to the traveling main body without providing wheels. And since both are rotatable in the horizontal direction, when the traveling main body changes the direction according to the curvature in the section where the conveyance rail is curved, the traveling body connecting portion is the traveling main body portion. Can be towed in different orientations. In particular, in the curved state in which the traveling main body portion to which the traveling body connecting portion is connected and the traveling main body portion of the traveling body subsequent thereto are in different directions, the intermediate between both traveling main body portions. It is possible to alleviate changes in extreme directions.

  Further, in the above invention, the wheel of the traveling main body is a wheel that is rotatable about a horizontal axis, and is supported by a rotation shaft provided in a vertical direction at the base of the traveling main body. Preferably there is. In this case, the wheel can roll along the horizontal plane of the transport rail, while when the transport rail is curved, the direction of the entire wheel can be changed to a state suitable for the traveling main body. . Thereby, when the traveling body following the specific traveling body to which the driving force is applied is pulled by the specific traveling body, the wheels roll along the transport rail regardless of the direction of the traveling body. Thus, the individual traveling bodies disposed on the entire circumference of the annular transport rail can travel smoothly.

  In the above invention, the connecting through-hole is a through-hole penetrating in the vertical direction, and the through-holes at one end of the connection-side traveling body and the other end of the connected-side traveling body are overlapped vertically. It is preferable that the rotation shaft is inserted into both through holes at the same time. In this case, the connecting-side traveling body and the connected-side traveling body are connected by a rotating shaft having an axis in the vertical direction, and both are rotatably connected in the horizontal direction. Even when the vehicle is towed within the range, the direction of each traveling body can be changed according to the curvature.

  According to the present invention, the traveling body is provided on the entire circumference of the annular transport rail, and by driving any one of these traveling bodies, all the other traveling bodies are driven by the traveling body. Therefore, the driving chain for transmitting the driving force can be made unnecessary. At the same time, it is not necessary to provide a so-called take-up device that is essential for the drive chain.

  Furthermore, since it is not necessary to receive driving force from the drive chain, there is no need to provide a latching device between the drive chain and the traveling body. The installation space for the hooking device can be omitted, and the floor of the entire device can be reduced. In particular, according to the comparison with the configuration in which the latching device is provided in the lower part of the traveling body, the traveling body can be moved at a low position.

  Further, in the configuration in which the driving force is applied from the drive chain, the vehicle is in a running state while being driven by the drive chain, and a special mechanism is required for running intermittently (running and stopping repeatedly). However, according to the present invention, the entire traveling body can be intermittently traveled simultaneously by intermittently traveling the single traveling body. In this type of intermittent traveling, the workpieces placed on each of the continuous traveling bodies are stopped at a predetermined position, and necessary processing or the like can be performed at the stop position.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is composed of a transport rail and a traveling body that moves along the transport rail. First, the configuration of the traveling body will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the traveling body 1 includes a traveling body portion 2 and a traveling body connecting portion 3 that is continuous therewith. The traveling main body 2 includes wheel groups 22 and 23 at the lower portion of the long base portion 21 and can travel by being given a driving force. The wheel groups 22 and 23 are supported by through bolts 24 and 25 penetrating the base 21 of the traveling main body 2, and are provided so as to be rotatable around the axis of the through bolts 24 and 25. The wheel groups 22 and 23 include traveling wheels 26 and 27 that can roll around a horizontal axis, and regulation wheels 28 and 29 that can roll around a vertical axis. 27 rolls on the surfaces of the inner bottom surfaces 41, 42 of the transport rail 4, and the regulating wheels 28, 29 can come into sliding contact with the upper facing end surface of the transport rail 4. For this reason, the transport rail 4 has a configuration in which rail-shaped members having a substantially U-shaped cross section are arranged with the open end edges facing each other, and the wheel groups 22 and 23 can move in the internal space. Thus, when the traveling wheels 26 and 27 are placed on the surfaces of the inner bottom surfaces 41 and 42, the dimensions are adjusted so that the heights of the opposing end edges of the restricting wheels 28 and 29 are opposite to each other. At the same time, the position of the wheel groups 22 and 23 in the width direction is restricted due to the presence of the restricting wheels 28 and 29 in the gap between the opposing edges. The surfaces of the bottom surfaces 41 and 42 can be rolled. The transport tray 5 for setting the work to be transported is supported by the support column 6 erected on the traveling main body 2 so that the weight of the work to be transported can be supported by the wheel groups 22 and 23. It has become.

  Here, connecting holes (through holes) 7 and 8 are provided through the front end of the traveling main body 2 and the rear end of the traveling body connecting portion 3 constituting the traveling body 1, respectively. The connection holes 7 and 8 are connected in a freely rotatable state when a single connection pin (rotation shaft) 9 is simultaneously inserted. Of the connecting holes 7 and 8, the connecting hole 8 provided in the traveling body connecting portion 3 is a long hole that is long with respect to the longitudinal direction of the traveling body connecting portion 3 (the traveling direction of the traveling body 1). In the state of being connected by the connecting pin 9, the longitudinal direction (the traveling direction of the traveling body 1) has play.

  Since the configuration of the traveling body 1 is as described above, as shown in FIG. 2, the wheel groups 22 and 23 are rotated even when the transport rail 4 is arranged in a curve, and the rails 4 follow the curve of the rail 4. It will be able to roll in the direction that was. That is, as shown in FIG. 2A, in the section in which the transport rail 4 is provided in a straight line, the regulation wheels 28 and 29 are aligned on a straight line and the traveling wheels 26 and 27 are linearly rolled. be able to. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, when the transport rail 4 is curved, the regulation wheels 28 and 29 rotate around the through bolts 24 and 25, respectively. While being adjusted between the opposite end edges 43 and 44 of the transport rail 4, the longitudinal direction becomes a state along the tangential direction of the curve, and the traveling wheels 26 and 27 can roll in the tangential direction. . As a result, the traveling wheels 26 and 27 are movable by rolling without slipping the surfaces of the inner bottom surfaces 41 and 42 of the transport rail 4. Note that the base 21 when the traveling main body 2 moves along the curved conveying rail 4 connects two wheel groups 22 and 23 as shown (FIGS. 2B and 2C). It becomes a straight state.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, since the traveling body 1 and the traveling body coupling portion 3 are also rotatably connected, when the traveling body 1 travels along the curved conveyance rail 4, The traveling body 2 and the traveling body connecting portion 3 are bent and pass through the curved portion. Here, since the traveling body connecting portion 3 is connected to the traveling main body portion 2 of the traveling body of the lower rank, the bending direction is determined in the middle of both the traveling main body portions 2 in the front and rear. That is, as shown in the figure, the traveling body 1b of the next order is connected to the traveling body connecting portion 3a of the preceding traveling body 1a, and the traveling body 1c of the subsequent order is connected to the traveling body connecting portion 3b. The traveling body portion 2a of the preceding traveling body 1a pulls the traveling body connecting portion 3a, and further, the traveling body connecting portion 3a pulls the traveling body portion 2b of the next rank traveling body 1b. However, only the traveling main body portions 2 a and 2 b having the wheel groups 26 and 27 are restricted by the transport rail 4, and the traveling body connecting portion 3 a is not restricted at all by the transport rail 4. Therefore, the state of the traveling body connecting portion 3 a is determined by the positional relationship between the traveling main body portions 2 a and 2 b before and after being regulated according to the curved state of the transport rail 4.

  Next, an embodiment of the entire transport apparatus will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the transport rail 4 is provided so as to form an endless annular shape, and the traveling body 1 is disposed on the entire circumference thereof. As described above, the traveling body 1 is composed of the traveling body portion 2 and the traveling body connecting portion 3. Therefore, the traveling bodies 1 are connected to each other by connecting the rear ends of the traveling body connecting portions 3 constituting the traveling bodies 1 to the leading ends of the traveling body portions 2 of the traveling bodies 1 of the next rank. By connecting all the traveling bodies 1 that are adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction, a moving annular body that is continuous in an endless annular shape can be formed. Of these traveling bodies 1, by applying a driving force to a single traveling body 1, the traveling body 1 is connected to the traveling body 1 connected rearward and further traveled connected to the rear thereof. The driving force is transmitted so as to sequentially pull the body 1, and the vehicle 1 travels along the ring while being regulated by the ring-shaped transport rail 4 as a whole.

  Here, as described above, since the connecting hole (through hole) 8 of the traveling body connecting portion 3 is constituted by a long hole, the rear traveling body portion 2 connected to the connecting hole 8 is connected to be inserted. The driving force is transmitted while the pin (rotating shaft) is in contact with the rear end edge of the long hole 8. Accordingly, the traveling main body 2 of the traveling body (this is referred to as the first traveling body) 1a to which the driving force is applied at the head is the traveling body (this is referred to as the last traveling body) 1z to be connected to the front end thereof. The body connecting portion 3 is not pushed out, and is not pulled around once. That is, even if the first traveling body 1a is given a driving force from the outside, the front end of the traveling main body 2 moves the connecting pin (rotating shaft) 9 forward, but the connecting pin (rotating shaft) ) 9 moves inside the elongated hole 8 of the traveling body connecting portion 3 of the last traveling body 1z, and does not push out the last traveling body 1z depending on the movement. Further, the traveling body 1 installed on the transport rail 4 is not arranged with play between the front and rear adjacent ones, and the longitudinal direction of the long hole 8 with respect to one turn of the transport rail 4 It is configured to have a play less than the length dimension equivalent.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, when a driving force is applied to the first traveling body 1a from the outside (in the state of FIG. 5A), a long hole provided at the rear end of the traveling body connecting portion 3a. The connecting pin (rotating shaft) 9b inserted through the front end of the rear traveling body 1b is brought into contact with and pulled by the rear end edge of 8a. At this time, the connecting pin (rotating shaft) 9a at the front end of the first traveling body 1a inserted into the long hole 8z of the traveling body connecting portion 3z of the rearmost traveling body 1z is intermediate between the long holes 8z. Exists in position. And when each traveling body 1a-1z moves as a whole and a driving force is given from the exterior with respect to the traveling body 1b of the next order to the 1st traveling body 1a (in the state of FIG.5 (b)). The driving force is no longer applied to the first traveling body 1a, and the first traveling body 1a needs to be pulled by the last traveling body 1z in order to move. At this time, the positional relationship between the first traveling body 1a and the last traveling body 1z is slightly retracted unlike the above case (when the driving force is applied to the first traveling body 1a). Therefore, the connecting pin (rotating shaft) 9a comes into contact with the rear end edge of the long hole 8z of the traveling body connecting portion 3z of the rearmost traveling body 1z. At the same time, the connecting pin (rotating shaft) 9b of the lower order traveling body 1b to which a new driving force is applied advances relatively inside the elongated hole 8a of the traveling body connecting portion 3a of the first traveling body 1a. However, the driving force is transmitted only to the following traveling body 1c... Without stopping against the front end edge of the long hole 8a and staying at an intermediate position.

  Since the embodiment of the present invention is as described above, the row of annular traveling bodies connected to the entirety along the transport rail 4 sequentially applies driving force to the single traveling body 1. Thus, the entire body is moved by pulling the other traveling bodies 1 except for the traveling bodies 1 to which the driving force is applied without causing slack in the row of traveling bodies, and a so-called take-up device is provided. A continuous traveling body can be moved without having to do this.

  Note that various modes can be assumed for the driving force applied to the traveling body 1. For example, a method of receiving a rotational force from a driving source such as a motor and transmitting it to a side portion of the traveling body via a roller or the like is conceivable. In the case of intermittent driving, a method of transmitting a driving force corresponding to a predetermined stroke by a cylinder mechanism is conceivable. An example of a method using this type of cylinder mechanism is shown in FIG. This is because, in the range where the transport rail 4 is installed in a straight line, a chuck carriage 100 that moves parallel to the chuck rail 100 is provided, and a chuck 101 that can be projected and retracted from the chuck carriage 100 toward the traveling body 1 is provided. A driving force is transmitted to the traveling main body 2 by moving the chuck carriage 100 while gripping the vicinity of the base of the column 6 erected on the traveling main body 2 by the chuck 101. The chuck carriage 100 is provided so as to be able to run along a regulation rail 102 parallel to the transport rail 4, and the tip of a piston 104 of a cylinder 103 is connected to one end of the chuck carriage 100. By operating 103, advance and retreat corresponding to the stroke is possible. The stroke length of the cylinder 103 is made equal to the total length of one traveling body 1, that is, the total length in a state where the traveling main body portion 2 and the traveling body connecting portion 3 are connected. When 104 advances and retreats by an amount corresponding to one stroke, the chuck carriage 100 can advance the traveling body 1 by one.

  In the case of driving by the cylinder 103, the traveling body 1 travels intermittently (repeatedly travels and stops). In this case, the workpiece conveyed during the stop period is processed. It becomes. When processing is performed, it is necessary to stably stop the workpiece conveyed by each traveling body 1 at a predetermined position during the stop period of the traveling body 1. By providing a stopper having the same shape as the chuck 101 so as to be able to appear and retract, the stopper grips the column 6 at the position where each traveling body 1 stops, so that the state of the traveling body 1 at the stop position can be stabilized. .

  Moreover, it is possible to take the various aspects in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention. For example, in the above embodiment, a description has been given of a case where the through hole 8 provided at the rear end of the traveling body connecting portion 3 is formed as a long hole, but the through hole 7 provided at the front end of the traveling main body portion 2 is provided. What was comprised in the long hole, or what was comprised in the long hole may be sufficient. In this case, the play between the traveling bodies connected in the front-rear direction is ensured by one or both of the long holes.

It is a perspective view which shows the outline of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the base of a traveling body part, and a wheel group. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which the some traveling body connected connects. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state of the traveling body installed in a cyclic | annular conveyance rail. It is explanatory drawing which shows the connection state of a traveling body. It is explanatory drawing which shows the apparatus for driving a traveling body.

Explanation of symbols

1 traveling body 1a first traveling body (preceding traveling body)
1b Next-order traveling body 1z Rearmost traveling body 2, 2a, 2b, 2z Traveling body part 3, 3a, 3b, 3z Traveling body connecting part 4 Conveying rail 5 Conveying tray 6 Supporting column 7, 8 Connecting hole (through hole)
9 Connecting pin (rotating shaft)
21 traveling main body base 22, 23 wheel group 24, 25 through bolt 26, 27 traveling wheel 28, 29 regulating wheel 41, 42 conveying rail inner bottom surface 43, 44 conveying rail opposite edge 100 chuck carriage 101 chuck 102 regulating rail 103 cylinder 104 piston

Claims (5)

In a transport apparatus comprising a transport rail that constitutes a transport path, a traveling body that moves within the transport rail, and a transport tray that is supported by a column that is erected on the traveling body, the transport rail has an endless edge. An annular transport rail constituting a transport path, wherein the traveling body includes a through hole for connection at a front end and a rear end thereof, and at least one of the through holes is a long hole elongated in a traveling direction. And the traveling body is arranged and connected to the entire circumference of the annular transport rail. The traveling body is a traveling body composed of a traveling body portion provided with a support column that supports the transport tray, and a traveling body connecting portion coupled to the traveling body portion and coupled to the next order traveling body. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1. The traveling body portion is a traveling body portion provided with wheels that roll in the conveyance rail, and the traveling body coupling portion has a distal end freely rotatable in a horizontal direction at a rear end of the traveling body portion. The conveying device according to claim 2, which is a traveling body connecting portion connected while being connected. The wheel of the said travel main-body part is a wheel which can be rotated to the periphery of the axis line of a horizontal direction, and is supported by the rotating shaft provided in the perpendicular direction at the base of this travel main-body part. Conveying device. The connecting through hole is a through hole provided in the vertical direction, and passes through the rotating shaft while overlapping one end of the connecting side traveling body and the other end of the connected side traveling body vertically. The conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the conveying apparatus is inserted through the holes simultaneously.

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