JP2009091056A - Conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conveying device capable of restraining a pulsation generated on a conveying surface of a circulating conveyor chain, reducing the capacity of a drive source, flexibly coping with a change of a machine length/width, lowering a floor of the device, and improving general versatility of the device. <P>SOLUTION: A conveyor chain is circulated while at least being supported by a starting end side conveying unit 110 arranged on a starting end side of a conveying path, a terminal end side conveying unit 120 arranged on a terminal end side of the conveying path, and a drive source unit 130 arranged between the starting end side conveying unit 110 and the terminal end side conveying unit 120. A conveyed article mounted on a chain placing face is conveyed, which solves the above problem. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to, for example, a transfer device that is used to move a worker along an assembly line in a factory. More specifically, the present invention suppresses pulsation of the transfer surface, and from the installation surface to the transfer surface. It is related with the conveying apparatus which made height low.

  Conventionally, as a method of driving a transport device using a circulating conveyor chain as a transport medium, (1) a conveyor chain is hung on a drive sprocket and a driven sprocket that are spaced apart, and the drive sprocket is rotated by a prime mover or the like. A sprocket drive system for driving the conveyor chain by moving it, and (2) a conveyor chain is hung on two guide sprockets that are spaced apart from each other, and the conveyor chain is mounted on at least one of the linearly traveling portions of the conveyor chain. There is known a caterpillar drive system for driving a conveyor chain by installing a caterpillar drive mechanism including an endless drive chain having a plurality of propulsion teeth meshing with each other.

  In the former sprocket drive system, in order to suppress the pulsation of the conveyance surface due to polygonal movement caused by the meshing of the sprocket and the conveyor chain, and to achieve stable conveyance, a sprocket tooth shape is devised (for example, patent document) 1).

According to the latter caterpillar drive system, the arrangement position and the number of arrangements of the caterpillar drive mechanism can be arbitrarily selected in the straight traveling part of the conveyor chain. Therefore, when the travel distance of the conveyor chain becomes a long distance, a plurality of caterpillar drive mechanisms are provided. It has the advantage that the driving force can be increased by installing it at a location, and the chain tension can be reduced (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2006-111430 A JP 59-48319 A

  However, in the above-described transfer device using the sprocket drive system, although pulsation could be suppressed, there was a problem that pulsation still remained depending on the travel distance and width of the conveyor chain or the number of teeth of the sprocket. In addition, since all the load of the conveyed product is received by the conveyor chain, if the traveling distance becomes long, the chain size has to be increased, which leads to an increase in size and cost of the conveying device. Furthermore, in order to reduce the pulsation, it is necessary to increase the number of teeth of the sprocket, and the sprocket becomes larger correspondingly. As a result, there is a problem that extra man-hours and costs such as digging a side groove (pit) for storing the return conveyor chain at the time of installation of the transfer device are required, and the layout cannot be freely changed. It was. In addition, there are problems such as the occurrence of slack in the conveyor chain due to the load and travel distance, the occurrence of bending of the drive shaft and driven shaft, difficulty in dealing with low flooring, the meandering of the conveyor chain, and the need for a large capacity drive source. It remained.

  On the other hand, in the caterpillar drive type conveying apparatus, there is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the floor by increasing the size of the apparatus by newly arranging the caterpillar driving mechanism. Further, since the endless drive chain constituting the caterpillar drive mechanism itself causes a polygonal motion, the pulsation generated in the straight running portion of the conveyor chain cannot be completely removed. Furthermore, in the case of an apparatus using two or more conveyor chains, since a plurality of conveyor chains are driven and driven by separate caterpillar drive mechanisms, there is a problem that a shift occurs in the conveyor speed. In addition, the conveyor chain itself needs to be a dedicated chain structured to mesh with the caterpillar drive mechanism, and the apparatus is not versatile, resulting in increased costs.

  Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention, that is, the object of the present invention is to suppress pulsation generated on the conveying surface of a circulating conveyor chain, to reduce the capacity of a drive source, and to flexibly change the length and width. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a transfer apparatus that realizes reduction in floor space of the apparatus and improvement in versatility of the apparatus.

  First, the invention according to claim 1 includes a start-end-side transport unit in which a conveyor chain is disposed on a start-end side of a transport path, a termination-side transport unit disposed on a terminal-end side of the transport path, the start-end-side transport unit, and a termination A transport device that circulates and transports a transported product mounted on a chain mounting surface in a state of being supported at least by a drive source unit disposed between the transport unit and the start-side transport unit. Are arranged in the chain width direction of the conveyor chain and arranged in the chain width direction in a state of being oriented in the chain traveling direction of the conveyor chain and arranged on the back surface of the conveyor chain. A plurality of start-side spiral drums that transmit power by engaging with the transport guide claws that are protruding, and the end-side transport unit includes a front A plurality of end sprockets arranged in the chain width direction of the conveyor chain and circulated around the conveyor chain, and a plurality of sprockets arranged in the chain width direction in a state of being oriented in the chain traveling direction of the conveyor chain are projected on the back surface of the conveyor chain. A plurality of terminal-side spiral drums that transmit power by engaging with the conveying guide claws, and the drive source unit includes a pair of left and right drive transmission shafts extending along the conveyance path and power to the drive transmission shafts. The above problem is solved by providing a drive source for transmission.

  The invention according to claim 2 includes, in addition to the structure of the transfer apparatus according to claim 1, a transfer extension unit that is disposed adjacent to at least one of the start-end-side transfer unit, the end-end-side transfer unit, and the drive source unit. However, the problem is further solved by providing a pair of left and right drive transmission extending shafts extending along the conveyance path.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 3, in addition to the configuration of the transport apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, an intermediate drive auxiliary unit disposed adjacent to the transport extension unit extends along the transport path. The above problem is further solved by providing a pair of left and right drive assisting spiral drums that transmit power by engaging with the conveyance guide claws projecting from the back surface of the conveyor chain.

  In addition to the configuration of the transfer apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the invention according to claim 4 is configured such that the drive source unit is driven by the drive motor serving as the drive source and the drive motor. A bevel gearbox for transmitting power to the transmission shaft is provided, and the input shaft and the output shaft of the bevel gearbox are arranged on two different planes parallel to the chain mounting surface, It solves the problem further.

  In addition to the configuration of the conveying device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the starting-end-side conveying unit has a conveyor chain feeding speed by the starting-end-side spiral drum. The above-mentioned problem is further solved by providing connecting means comprising a plurality of gear groups that synchronize the feed speed of the conveyor chain by the starting end side sprocket.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 6, in addition to the configuration of the transport apparatus according to any of claims 3 to 5, the intermediate drive auxiliary unit is closer to the end of the transport path than the drive source unit. The arrangement further solves the above problem.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the conveying device according to any one of the third to sixth aspects, a pair of left and right starting end side spiral drums arranged in the starting end side transfer unit, intermediate driving assistance The pair of left and right drive assisting spiral drums arranged in the unit and the pair of left and right end side spiral drums arranged in the end side conveying unit are set to have different drum rotation directions in the chain width direction of the conveyor chain. Thus, the above problem is further solved.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 8, in addition to the configuration of the transfer device according to any of claims 3 to 7, the synthetic resin guide for guiding and guiding the transfer guide claw body of the conveyor chain is By interposing between the start end side spiral drum of the start end side transport unit, the drive assist spiral drum of the intermediate drive assist unit, the end side spiral drum of the end side transport unit and the back surface of the conveyor chain, It solves the problem further.

  In addition to the configuration of the transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the invention according to claim 9 is engaged with a transfer guide claw protruding from the back surface of the conveyor chain. The problem is further solved by the fact that the return-side spiral drum for transmitting power is arranged at any location on the return side of the conveyor chain.

  The transport apparatus of the present invention includes a start-end-side transport unit in which a conveyor chain is disposed on the start-end side of the transport path, a terminal-end transport unit disposed on the terminal-end side of the transport path, the start-end-side transport unit, and the terminal-end-side transport unit. The transport device is configured by combining a plurality of units by circulating and transporting a transported object mounted on the chain placing surface while being supported at least by a drive source unit disposed between As a result, the degree of freedom of the installation layout can be improved, and in addition, the following special effects corresponding to the configurations specific to each claim can be achieved.

That is, according to the conveying apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the starting-end-side conveying units are arranged in the chain width direction of the conveyor chain and are arranged in the chain width direction of the conveyor chain. A plurality of starting end side spiral drums that are arranged in the chain width direction and engage with the conveying guide claws projecting on the back surface of the conveyor chain to transmit power, and the end side conveying unit is a conveyor Multiple end sprockets that are arranged in the chain width direction of the chain and circulate around the conveyor chain and are arranged in the chain width direction in a state of being oriented in the chain traveling direction of the conveyor chain, and are projected on the back surface of the conveyor chain A drive source unit comprising a plurality of terminal end side spiral drums that transmit power by engaging with a conveyance guide claw body By providing a pair of left and right drive transmission shafts extending along the conveyance path and a drive source for transmitting power to the drive transmission shaft, the conveyor chain is directly driven in the conveyance direction by the start-side spiral drum and the end-side spiral drum Therefore, the pulsation generated on the conveying path due to the polygonal movement caused by the meshing of the sprocket and the conveyor chain can be suppressed, and the sprocket can be miniaturized.
Further, since the full load is not applied to the sprocket, even when the chain width is widened, the rotating shaft that supports the sprocket does not bend. Further, since the driving force can be applied to the conveyor chain by being distributed by the start-side spiral drum and the end-side spiral drum, the drive source can be reduced in capacity and the chain can be downsized. In addition, due to the synergistic effects such as downsizing the sprocket, reducing the capacity of the drive source, and downsizing the chain, it is possible to realize a dramatic reduction in the floor of the transport device.

  According to the transport apparatus according to claim 2, in addition to the effect achieved by the transport apparatus according to claim 1, the transport apparatus is disposed adjacent to at least one of the start-end-side transport unit, the end-end-side transport unit, and the drive source unit. Since the conveyance extension unit includes a pair of left and right drive transmission extension shafts extending along the conveyance path, the length of the conveyance device can be freely changed by changing the number of arrangement of the conveyance extension units. The versatility and flexibility of installation layout are greatly improved.

  Further, according to the transport device according to claim 3, in addition to the effect exhibited by the transport device according to claim 1 or 2, the intermediate drive auxiliary unit disposed adjacent to the transport extension unit is provided along the transport path. This is a case where the length of the transport device is increased by providing a pair of left and right drive assisting spiral drums that extend and extend to engage the transport guide claws projecting from the back of the conveyor chain. However, since a propulsive force can be directly applied to the conveyor chain at an appropriate place in the conveyor chain, it is not necessary to increase the chain size and the conveyor chain does not loosen in the middle. Can realize stable long-distance conveyance.

  Further, according to the transport device according to claim 4, in addition to the effects exhibited by the transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the drive source unit includes a drive motor serving as a drive source and the drive motor. A bevel gearbox that transmits power to the drive transmission shaft is provided, and the shaft center of the input shaft and the shaft center of the output shaft of this bevel gearbox are arranged on two different planes parallel to the chain mounting surface. As a result, the height of the shaft center of the output shaft can be made closer to the conveyor chain than the height of the shaft center of the input shaft of the bevel gear box defined by the height of the rotation shaft of the drive motor. The diameter of the drum can be reduced, and the floor of the transport device can be further reduced.

  Moreover, according to the conveying apparatus which concerns on this 5th aspect, in addition to the effect which the conveying apparatus which concerns on any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4, there exists a starting end side conveyance unit, feeding of the conveyor chain by a starting end side spiral drum is carried out. The chain slack that tends to occur in the chain reversal part caused by the frictional resistance on the return side of the conveyor chain by providing the connecting means consisting of multiple gear groups that synchronize the speed and the feed speed of the conveyor chain by the start end side sprocket Is prevented, and the occurrence of lifting of the chain mounting surface is prevented, so that smooth circulating travel can be realized.

  Further, according to the transport apparatus according to claim 6, in addition to the effect exerted by the transport apparatus according to any of claims 3 to 5, the intermediate drive auxiliary unit is more at the end of the transport path than the drive source unit. By being arranged on the side, a propulsive force can be applied in a distributed manner to the conveyor chain that circulates, thereby eliminating the drive force shortage that tends to occur on the end side of the conveyor chain. Further, since the load on the conveyor chain can be reduced, the chain can be further downsized.

  Moreover, according to the conveying apparatus which concerns on this invention 7, in addition to the effect which the conveying apparatus which concerns on any one of Claim 3 thru | or 6, there exists a pair of right and left starting end side spiral drums arranged in the starting end side conveying unit, The pair of left and right drive assist spiral drums arranged in the intermediate drive assist unit and the pair of left and right end spiral drums arranged in the end side transport unit are set so that the drum rotation directions are different in the chain width direction of the conveyor chain. Therefore, when the right-handed spiral drum is rotated to the right, the conveyance guide claw engaged with the spiral drum receives a force that skews in the right direction with respect to the traveling direction, and the left-handed spiral drum is When the counterclockwise rotation is performed, the conveyance guide claws engaged with the spiral drum receive a force that skews in the left direction with respect to the traveling direction, and these skewing forces cancel each other. Is, serpentine-deviation of the conveyor chain is eliminated, smooth chain travel maintained a flat chain mounting face can be achieved.

  Moreover, according to the conveying apparatus which concerns on this 8th aspect, in addition to the effect which the conveying apparatus which concerns on any one of Claim 3 thru | or 7, there exists a synthetic resin guide which carries out guidance guidance of the conveyance guidance nail | claw body of a conveyor chain. Is interposed between the back end of the conveyor chain along the start side spiral drum of the start side transport unit, the drive assist spiral drum of the intermediate drive auxiliary unit, and the end side spiral drum of the end side transport unit, The synthetic resin guide forcibly suppresses the skew of the conveyance guide claw that occurs when the engagement surface between the conveyance guide claw and the spiral drum is not orthogonal to the direction of travel of the conveyor chain. The unevenness is eliminated and smooth chain running can be realized.

  Moreover, according to the conveying apparatus which concerns on this invention 9, in addition to the effect which the conveying apparatus which concerns on any one of Claim 1 thru | or 8, there exists in the conveyance guidance nail | claw body protrudingly provided by the back surface of the conveyor chain Since the return side spiral drum that engages and transmits power is arranged at any position on the return side of the conveyor chain, it is possible to apply a propulsive force directly to the return side of the conveyor chain, and the conveyor runs in circulation. The slackness of the chain that tends to occur on the return side of the chain is eliminated, and the force applied to the conveyor chain can be distributed and the chain can be downsized, thereby further reducing the floor of the conveying device.

  According to the present invention, a conveyor chain is disposed between a start-side transport unit disposed on a start end side of a transport path, a terminal-end transport unit disposed on a terminal end side of the transport path, and the start-end transport unit and the terminal-end transport unit. A conveying device that circulates in a state of being supported at least by a drive source unit that is arranged and conveys a conveyed product mounted on a chain placing surface, wherein the start-side conveying unit is a chain of the conveyor chain. A plurality of start end side sprockets that are arranged in the width direction and circulate around the conveyor chain, and a conveyance guide that is arranged in the chain width direction in a state of being oriented in the chain traveling direction of the conveyor chain and projecting from the back surface of the conveyor chain A plurality of start-side spiral drums that engage and engage with the claws to transmit power, and the end-side transport unit is connected to the conveyor chain. A plurality of end sprockets that are arranged in the chain width direction and circulate around the conveyor chain, and a plurality of the sprockets arranged in the chain width direction in a state of being oriented in the chain traveling direction of the conveyor chain and projecting on the back surface of the conveyor chain A plurality of terminal end side spiral drums that engage with the guide claws and transmit power, and the drive source unit drives the power transmission to the pair of left and right drive transmission shafts extending along the transport path and the drive transmission shaft. Power supply, suppression of pulsation generated on the conveying surface of a circulating conveyor chain, reduction of drive source capacity, flexible response to changes in length and width, reduction of equipment floor, and versatility of equipment As long as the improvement can be realized, any specific embodiment may be used.

  The “conveyor chain” in the present invention is a generic term for a belt-shaped transport medium in which a plurality of plates made of engineering plastic or steel are connected so as to be bendable and transport a transported object mounted on the mounting surface. It is. The “conveyed item” includes not only articles such as products, merchandise, and parts, but also all conveyed items including workers.

  Accordingly, a first embodiment, which is an embodiment of the transfer device of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the transfer apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment with a conveyor chain removed. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a part of the drive source unit when viewed from the direction of arrow II in FIG. 1 with a conveyor chain. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a part of the starting end side transport unit.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the transport apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment includes a conveyor chain 140 (not illustrated in FIG. 1, see FIG. 3), which is a start-end-side transport unit 110 arranged on the start-end side of the transport path. And the end-side transport unit 120 disposed on the end side of the transport path, the start-side transport unit 110, and the drive source unit 130 disposed between the end-side transport unit 120 and circulatingly travel in a supported state. Transports the transported goods mounted on the chain placement surface. In FIG. 1, members denoted by reference numerals 111, 121, and 131 are side plates that support the units.

  The plurality of start end side transport units 110 are arranged in the chain width direction in a state where a plurality of start end side sprockets 112 arranged in the chain width direction of the conveyor chain 140 and circulate the conveyor chain 140 and the chain direction of the conveyor chain 140 are oriented. A plurality of left and right starting-end-side spiral drums 114, 114 that transmit power by engaging a plurality of conveyance guide claws 142 that are arranged in a plurality and are arranged on the back surface of the conveyor chain 140 are provided. The pair of left and right start-end side spiral drums 114 and 114 have drum rotation directions, that is, spiral winding directions opposite to each other. Further, the start-end side spiral drum 114 is connected to a drive transmission shaft 136 of a drive source unit 130 described later via a start-end side drive transmission shaft 116 and is driven to rotate.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the start-end side transport unit 110 is composed of a plurality of gear groups that synchronize the feed speed of the conveyor chain 140 by the start-end side spiral drum 114 and the feed speed of the conveyor chain 140 by the start-end side sprocket 112. A connecting means 119 is provided. Therefore, since the slack in the reversing part of the conveyor chain 140 is prevented, smooth circulation traveling can be realized.

  In addition, a plurality of end-side transport units 120 are arranged in the chain width direction of the conveyor chain 140 in the chain width direction with a plurality of end-side sprockets 122 arranged around the conveyor chain 140 in the chain width direction and oriented in the chain traveling direction of the conveyor chain 140. A plurality of terminal-side spiral drums 124 that are arranged in plural and engage with the conveyance guide claws 142 projecting from the back surface of the conveyor chain 140 to transmit power are provided. The drive source unit 130 includes a pair of left and right drive transmission shafts 136 extending along the conveyance path, and a drive motor 132 serving as a drive source for transmitting power to the drive transmission shaft 136.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the drive source unit 130 includes a drive motor 132 serving as a drive source and a bevel gear box 134 that transmits power from the drive motor 132 to the drive transmission shaft 136. In FIG. 2, the description of the bevel gearbox installed on the front side is omitted. The bevel gear box 134 is a unit in which bevel gears (bevel gears) that change the power direction by 90 degrees are combined into a unit, and in the present invention, a T-type that outputs in two directions is used. Furthermore, in the present invention, the shaft center of the input shaft 134a and the shaft center of the output shaft 134b of the bevel gear box 134 are arranged on two different planes parallel to the chain mounting surface. That is, the heights of the axis centers of the input shaft 134a and the output shaft 134b are different. By adopting such a bevel gear box 134, the output shaft 134b can be brought closer to the conveyor chain 140 than the height of the input shaft 134a of the bevel gear box defined by the height of the rotation shaft of the drive motor 132. Since the diameter of each spiral drum arranged in the unit can be reduced and the floor of the transport device can be further reduced, the effect is enormous.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the drive motor 132 transmits power to a pair of left and right drive transmission shafts 136 and 136 extending along the conveyance path as shown in FIG. A type hyponic gear motor is used. Further, the arrangement of the bevel gears built in the bevel gear box 134 is changed, and the output shafts of the left and right bevel gear boxes 134 are rotated in reverse to each other. As a result, the pair of left and right drive transmission shafts 136 and 136 can be synchronized and rotated such that the rotation directions are opposite to each other, and the pair of spiral drums having different spiral winding directions are rotated in the opposite directions. be able to.
Each unit is connected by shaft joints 128 and 138, and the driving force from the drive source unit 130 is transmitted to each unit.

  Next, a second embodiment which is another embodiment of the transport apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of the transfer apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention with the conveyor chain removed. The transport apparatus 200 of the second embodiment has the same basic apparatus configuration as the transport apparatus 100 of the first embodiment described above. Therefore, by rewriting the 100th reference numeral attached to the same member to the 200th order, Description is omitted.

  In addition to the configuration of the transport apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, the transport apparatus 200 includes a transport extension unit 250 adjacent to at least one of the start-end-side transport unit 210, the terminal-end-side transport unit 220, and the drive source unit 230. . The transport extension unit 250 includes a pair of left and right drive transmission extension shafts 256 extending along the transport path. By changing the number of the transfer extension units 250, the length of the transfer device 200 can be freely changed. Therefore, the versatility of the transfer device 200 and the degree of freedom of the installation layout are greatly improved, and the effect is enormous.

  Further, an intermediate driving auxiliary unit 260 is disposed adjacent to the conveyance extension unit 250. The intermediate drive auxiliary unit 260 extends along the conveyance path and engages with a conveyance guide claw projecting on the back surface of a conveyor chain (not shown) to transmit power by transmitting a pair of left and right drive auxiliary units. Spiral drums 264 and 264 are provided. As a result, even when the length of the conveying device 200 is increased, a propulsive force can be directly applied to the conveyor chain at an appropriate place of the conveyor chain, so that the conveyor chain does not loosen in the middle. Smooth long distance conveyance can be realized, and the effect is enormous.

  Further, the intermediate drive auxiliary unit 260 is disposed on the terminal side of the transport path with respect to the drive source unit 230. As a result, a propulsive force can be distributed and applied to the conveyor chain that circulates, thereby eliminating the drive force shortage that tends to occur on the end side of the conveyor chain. Further, the intermediate drive auxiliary unit 260 transmits intermediate power transmitted from the drive transmission shaft 256 of the drive source unit 230 via the drive transmission extension shaft 256 of the transport extension unit 250 to the subsequent unit. It has a shaft 266. Each unit is connected by shaft joints 228, 238, 258, 268, and the driving force from the drive source unit 230 is transmitted to each unit.

  Next, a third embodiment, which is still another embodiment of the transport apparatus of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view of the transfer device 300 according to the third embodiment of the present invention with the conveyor chain removed. The transport apparatus 300 of the third embodiment has the same basic apparatus configuration as the transport apparatus 100 of the first embodiment described above. Therefore, by rewriting the reference number 100 series attached to the same member to the 300th series, Description is omitted.

The conveyance device 300 is a device in which the width of the conveyance device 100 of the first embodiment is doubled. By providing the drive source unit 330 with the cross-shaped bevel gearbox 335, in addition to the pair of left and right drive transmission shafts 336 extending along the conveyance path, an auxiliary drive transmission shaft oriented in the chain traveling direction at the center in the width direction. 337 is provided. And it is connected with this auxiliary drive transmission shaft 337 and engages with a conveyance guide claw body projecting on the back surface of a conveyor chain (not shown) on the start end side conveyance unit 310 side to transmit power. A start-side spiral drum 314 is installed, and a termination-side spiral drum 324 is disposed on the termination-side transport unit 320 side. The auxiliary drive transmission shaft 337 of the drive source unit 330 and the start end side spiral drum 314 are connected via the start end side auxiliary drive transmission shaft 317. Further, the units are connected to each other by shaft joints 328 and 338, and the driving force from the driving source unit 330 is transmitted to the units.
Similarly, by increasing the cross-shaped bevel gear box 335, the width of the transfer device 300 can be freely changed, so that the versatility of the transfer device 300 and the flexibility of the installation layout are significantly improved. The effect is enormous.

  Next, a fourth embodiment, which is still another embodiment of the transport apparatus of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the side plate is removed from the starting end side transport unit of the transport apparatus 400 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the transfer device 400 shown in FIG. 6 with the conveyor chain 440 removed. FIG. 8 is a front view showing the left end when the transfer device 400 shown in FIG. 6 is viewed from the direction of arrow VIII. The transport apparatus 400 of the fourth embodiment has the same basic apparatus configuration as the transport apparatus 100 of the first embodiment described above. Therefore, by rewriting the 100th reference numeral attached to the same member to the 400th order, Description is omitted.

The conveying device 400 includes a return side spiral drum 415 that engages with a conveyance guide claw 442 protruding from the back surface of the conveyor chain 440 and transmits power on the return side of the conveyor chain 440. The return-side spiral drum 415 is coupled to the start-end side drive transmission shaft 416 by a gear and rotates in directions opposite to each other. By providing a propulsive force on the return side of the conveyor chain 440 in this way, the slack that tends to occur on the return side of the circulating conveyor chain can be eliminated, and the force applied to the conveyor chain 440 can be distributed and the chain downsized. Therefore, the floor of the transport device can be further reduced. The return-side spiral drum 415 is not limited to the starting-end-side transport unit 410 but can be attached to an external unit constituting the transport device.
6 and 7, a member denoted by reference numeral 438 is a shaft joint for connecting to an adjacent drive source unit.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the conveying device 400 includes a synthetic resin guide 450 that guides and guides a conveying guide claw 420 projecting from the back surface of the conveyor chain 440, and a starting end side spiral drum of the starting end side conveying unit. 414, the drive assisting spiral drum of the intermediate drive assisting unit, and the end side spiral drum of the end side transport unit are interposed between the back surface of the conveyor chain 440. As a result, the synthetic resin guide 450 forces the skew of the conveyance guide claw 420 caused by the fact that the engagement surface between the conveyance guide claw 420 and each spiral drum is not orthogonal to the traveling direction of the conveyor chain 440. Therefore, the meandering / bias of the conveyor chain 440 is eliminated, and even when a heavy transported object is mounted on the chain mounting surface, the back surface of the chain is supported by the synthetic resin guide 450 and the chain mounting surface In order to suppress the sinking, smooth chain running can be realized, and the effect is enormous.

  As a result of intensive studies by the present inventors, the present inventors have suppressed pulsation generated on the transport running surface, reduced the capacity of the drive source, flexible response to changes in the length and width, reduced equipment floor, and versatility of the equipment. This is a transport device that realizes improvement of the industrial use, and not only the transport of workers in the factory, but also the transportability of passengers in commercial facilities, the transport of goods in distribution centers, etc. Is extremely expensive.

The whole perspective view of the state which removed the conveyor chain of the conveying apparatus of Example 1. FIG. The perspective view of a drive source unit when it sees from the arrow II direction of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a part of the starting end side transport unit of the transport apparatus according to the first embodiment. The whole perspective view of the state except the conveyor chain of the conveying apparatus of Example 2. FIG. The whole perspective view of the state except the conveyor chain of the conveying apparatus of Example 3. FIG. The perspective view of the state which remove | excluded the side plate from the starting end side conveyance unit of the conveying apparatus of Example 4. FIG. The perspective view of the state which removed the conveyor chain of the conveying apparatus shown in FIG. The front view which showed the left end when the conveying apparatus shown in FIG. 6 was seen from arrow VIII direction.

Explanation of symbols

100, 200, 300, 400... Transport device 110, 210, 310, 410... Start end side transport unit 111, 311, 411... (Side end side transport unit) side plate 112, 212, 312, 412. .. Start end side sprockets 114, 214, 314, 414 ... Start end side spiral drums 116, 216, 316, 416 ... Start end side drive transmission shafts
119, 219, 319 ... transfer means 120, 220, 320 ... end side transport units 121, 321 ... side plates 122, 212, 312 (of the end side transport unit) ... end side sprockets
124, 224, 324... End-side spiral drum 128, 138, 228, 238, 258, 268, 328, 338, 438 ... Shaft joint 130, 230, 330 ... Drive source unit 131, 331. Side plates 132, 232, 332 (drive source unit) drive motors 134, 234, 334, 335 ... bevel gearboxes 136, 236, 336 ... drive transmission shafts 140, 440 ... conveyor chain 142 , 442 ・ ・ ・ Conveyance guide claw body 250 ・ ・ ・ Conveyance extension unit 256 ・ ・ ・ Drive transmission extension shaft 260 ・ ・ ・ Intermediate drive auxiliary unit 264 ・ ・ ・ Drive assist spiral drum 317 ・ ・ ・ Start side auxiliary drive transmission Shaft 337 ... Auxiliary drive transmission shaft 415 ... Return side spiral drum 450 ... Synthetic resin guide

Claims (9)

A conveyor chain is disposed between the start-side transport unit disposed at the start end of the transport path, the end-side transport unit disposed at the end of the transport path, and the drive between the start-end transport unit and the end-side transport unit. A conveying device that circulates in a state of being supported at least by the source unit and conveys a conveyed product mounted on the chain placement surface,
A plurality of the start end side transport units are arranged in the chain width direction in a state in which the plurality of start end side sprockets are arranged in the chain width direction of the conveyor chain and circulate around the conveyor chain and are oriented in the chain traveling direction of the conveyor chain. A plurality of start-end side spiral drums that engage with a conveyance guide claw projecting on the back surface of the conveyor chain and transmit power;
A plurality of the end-side transport units are arranged in the chain width direction in a state in which the plurality of end-side sprockets are arranged in the chain width direction of the conveyor chain and circulate around the conveyor chain and are oriented in the chain traveling direction of the conveyor chain. A plurality of terminal-side spiral drums that engage the conveyance guide claws projecting on the back surface of the conveyor chain and transmit power;
The conveyance device, wherein the drive source unit includes a pair of left and right drive transmission shafts extending along the conveyance path and a drive source for transmitting power to the drive transmission shaft.   The conveyance extension unit disposed adjacent to at least one of the start-side conveyance unit, the termination-side conveyance unit, and the drive source unit includes a pair of left and right drive transmission extension shafts extending along the conveyance path. The conveying device according to claim 1.   A pair of left and right drives in which an intermediate drive auxiliary unit arranged adjacent to the transport extension unit extends along the transport path and engages with a transport guide pawl projecting on the back surface of the conveyor chain to transmit power. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an auxiliary spiral drum.   The drive source unit includes a drive motor serving as the drive source and a bevel gear box for transmitting power from the drive motor to a drive transmission shaft, and an axis of an input shaft and an axis of an output shaft of the bevel gear box Are arranged on two different planes parallel to the chain mounting surface. 4. A transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein   The start-end-side transport unit includes connecting means including a plurality of gear groups that synchronize the feed speed of the conveyor chain by the start-end spiral drum and the feed speed of the conveyor chain by the start-end sprocket. The conveying apparatus in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 4.   The transport apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the intermediate drive auxiliary unit is disposed closer to a terminal end of the transport path than the drive source unit.   A pair of left and right start end side spiral drums arranged in the start end side transport unit, a pair of left and right drive assist spiral drums arranged in an intermediate drive auxiliary unit, and a pair of left and right end side spiral drums arranged in the end side transport unit; The conveying device according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the drum rotation direction is set to be different in the chain width direction of the chain.   Synthetic resin guides for guiding and guiding the conveyance guide claw bodies of the conveyor chain are provided on the start-end side spiral drum of the start-end side transfer unit, the drive assist spiral drum of the intermediate drive auxiliary unit, and the end-side spiral drum of the end-side transfer unit. The conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the conveying apparatus is interposed between the conveyor chain and the back surface of the conveyor chain.   A return-side spiral drum that engages with a conveying guide claw projecting on the back surface of the conveyor chain and transmits power is disposed at any location on the return side of the conveyor chain. The transport apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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