JP2009179474A - Movable rack and its safety mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a movable rack and its safety mechanism facilitating easy maintenance with a structure easily attaching and detaching a safety bar at an installation site of the movable rack even if the safety mechanism is not provided as a unit. <P>SOLUTION: This safety mechanism is provided with a frame 2 as a base of the movable rack 1, a safety bar holding member 12 fixed at a front face of the frame 2, the safety bar 30 for extending in a side direction along the front face of the frame 2 and, rockably hooked by the safety bar holding member 12, rocking as an external force is applied, a safety bar pressing member 40 for regulating movement of the safety bar 30 to prevent the safety bar 30 from dropping from a hooking part by the safety bar holding member 12 and a switch 20 fixed with the safety bar holding member 12, which is operated as the safety bar 30 is rocked by the external force, for operating an actuator to stop movement of the movable rack. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a movable shelf and a safety mechanism thereof that can improve the ease of assembly and workability at the time of maintenance, without having to wire the operation detection circuit of the safety bar within the frame of the movable shelf. It is.

  A movable shelf in which a plurality of movable shelves are gathered and arranged in a discrete manner so that a work path is formed only on an article loading / unloading surface (hereinafter referred to as “front surface”) of a shelf that requires loading and unloading of articles and the like. There is a device. The individual mobile shelves constituting the mobile shelf device have a considerable weight per se, and when the books and other articles are stored in the mobile shelves, the weight is considerably heavy. Therefore, once it starts to move, it has a large energy, and it is almost impossible to stop even if it tries to directly hold the moving shelf by human power. Therefore, for example, when entering the work passage formed on the front surface of the moving shelf and carrying out the work of putting in and out the goods, even if the moving shelf approaches, the safety bar provided on the front surface of the moving shelf base When a worker touches, a safety mechanism is provided to ensure safety by stopping the moving shelf in an emergency. This safety mechanism is operated not only by a human body but also when a foreign object is present in the moving path of the moving shelf, and is operated by the safety bar coming into contact with the foreign object to stop the moving shelf urgently.

  There are two types of movable shelves: manual movable shelves that rotate and move the rotating handle by human power, and electric movable shelves that move by the driving force of a motor that rotates forward and reverse by operating a movement command switch. In the manual moving shelf, the mechanical operation of the safety mechanism is transmitted to a mechanical stop mechanism to make an emergency stop. In the electric movable shelf, a switch or the like is operated by the mechanical operation of the safety mechanism to convert it into an electric signal, and this electric signal is input to the moving shelf control circuit to stop the driving of the motor. Emergency stop. In addition, a manual moving shelf has also been proposed in which the operation of a safety mechanism is converted into an electric signal, an actuator is operated by this electric signal, and a mechanical stop mechanism is operated.

  In what converts the operation of the safety mechanism into an electric signal, it is necessary to draw the wiring connected to the switch for detecting the operation of the safety bar into the frame of the movable shelf in order to connect to the electric circuit such as the control circuit. There is. In general, the safety bar has a length that spans the front surface of the movable shelf in the left-right direction, and is attached to the front surface of the movable shelf. Therefore, for the convenience of transporting mobile shelves manufactured at the factory to the installation site, mobile shelves and safety mechanisms are manufactured separately at the mobile shelf manufacturing factory, and the safety mechanisms are retrofitted to the mobile shelves at the installation site. Has been done.

  Hereinafter, an outline of a general configuration of a safety mechanism in a conventional movable shelf will be described. Limit switches are respectively attached to a plurality of holes provided on the front surface of the underframe. These limit switches are covered from the front side, the safety bar is arranged on the front surface of the frame, and the upper edge of the safety bar is locked by a bar receiving metal provided on the front surface of the frame. The safety bar can be swung with the locking portion with the bar receiving bracket as a swing center in the horizontal direction. The number of safety bars is one or more according to the number of moving shelves, that is, the width of the front surface, and the number of limit switches is increased or decreased according to the number of safety bars. The safety bar tries to take a posture of hanging in the direction of gravity with the swing center as a fulcrum, but before taking the hanging posture, it comes into contact with the operated portion (front end) of the front end of the limit switch, and The limit switch is urged in a direction in which the operated portion protrudes, and thus swinging is restricted in an inclined posture. When viewed from the limit switch side, the load of the safety bar taking an inclined posture is applied. Therefore, the operated part of the limit switch is made of special steel bars so that the limit switch does not malfunction due to this load. The switch is urged in the protruding direction by a compression coil spring to reinforce the mechanical strength of the switch part. Therefore, in order for the limit switch to operate, the safety bar needs to be pushed with a certain amount of force, and there is a problem that the safety bar will not operate unless a foreign object with a certain weight or more contacts the safety bar. .

  In the electric movable shelf, wiring for driving the motor, electric wires connected to the limit switch, and other cables are fixed in the frame using a binding band, and the electric wiring in the frame is complicated. Therefore, when a safety mechanism is retrofitted at the installation site of the moving shelf, it is necessary to connect the safety bar attached to the outside of the frame and the electric circuit inside the frame with a cable, and the installation work of the safety mechanism becomes complicated. There was a difficulty.

  As an improvement measure, the safety mechanism is unitized by a safety bar, a switch installed in the safety bar, and a connector provided at the end of the electric wire extending from the switch. A wiring structure of a movable shelf with a safety bar has been proposed in which the unit is attached to the movable shelf and the connector is connected to a predetermined electric wire on the movable shelf main body side (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-9411

  According to the invention described in Patent Document 1, since the safety mechanism is unitized, workability at the time of installation of the movable shelf is improved, and when the safety mechanism malfunctions, the unitized safety mechanism is replaced. The advantage is that maintenance is simple and simple. However, when trying to unitize the safety mechanism as in the invention described in Patent Document 1, in addition to the safety bar, switch, and connector, the mounting board for fixing the switch, and the safety bar can be swung with respect to the mounting board It requires a lot of parts, such as a hinge that supports it, and bolts and nuts that connect the mounting board and safety bar to the two wings of this hinge, making the structure complicated, and the assembly workability of the safety mechanism itself is not good . Further, it is necessary to transport the safety mechanism as a unit from the production site to the installation site of the movable shelf, and therefore, it is necessary to transport it in a bulky state. In addition, when a trouble occurs in the safety mechanism, it is necessary to replace the entire safety mechanism, and the maintenance cost is high, which is not desirable from the viewpoint of resource saving. During maintenance, it is possible to disassemble the safety mechanism and replace the part in question. However, since the structure is complicated as described above, the maintenance workability is poor.

  Even if the safety mechanism is not unitized as in the invention described in Patent Document 1, if the structure of the safety mechanism is devised, the assembly work can be performed even if the safety mechanism is assembled at the installation site like a conventional mobile shelf. It should be possible to improve performance and maintenance workability.

Therefore, the present invention is based on the above concept, and can be easily attached to the safety shelf at the installation site of the movable shelf without removing the safety mechanism as a unit, and can be easily removed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a movable shelf and a safety mechanism thereof that facilitate maintenance.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a movable shelf and a safety mechanism for the same, which can facilitate the wiring by allowing the wire connected to the switch for detecting the operation of the safety bar to pass through the safety bar receiving member. And

The safety mechanism of the movable shelf according to the present invention includes a frame that forms the base of the movable shelf, a safety bar holding member that is fixed to the front surface of the frame, and a lateral extension along the front surface of the frame. The safety bar is swingably latched on the safety bar holding member and swings when an external force is applied, and the safety bar is moved so that the safety bar does not fall off the latching portion by the safety bar holding member. A safety bar pressing member to be regulated, and a switch that is fixed to the safety bar holding member and that operates when the safety bar swings with an external force to stop the movement of the movable shelf. This is the main feature.
The movable shelf according to the present invention has the safety mechanism configured as described above.

  Since the safety bar has a simple structure that can be swingably supported only by being latched to the latching portion of the safety bar holding member, a safety mechanism including the safety bar and the safety bar can be easily attached at the installation site of the moving shelf. Can do. Even during maintenance of the safety mechanism, the safety bar can be removed for easy maintenance. Even if the safety bar is damaged, the safety bar can be easily replaced. Since it is not necessary to unitize the safety mechanism, it can be transported as a component of the safety mechanism, and the transportation cost can be reduced.

  In addition, by providing an arrangement space for the electric wire connecting the switch and the electric circuit between the switch fixing portion of the safety bar holding member and the front surface of the underframe, the electric wire can be passed through this space. It is possible to facilitate the maintenance of the electric wiring.

  Embodiments of a movable shelf and its safety mechanism according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  In FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, the movable shelf denoted by reference numeral 1 has a frame 2 that forms a base, and an appropriate number of columns 4 are erected on the frame 1, and the upper end of each column 4 is a top plate. The shelf board is supported by each support. An appropriate number of wheels 5 are rotatably supported inside the underframe 2, and each wheel 5 is slidably mounted on the rail 6 so that the movable shelf 1 moves along the rail 6. Can do. The movable shelf 1 may be, for example, a manually-operated movable shelf in which the wheel 5 is rotationally driven by rotating the rotational operation handle by human power, or the wheel 5 is rotationally driven by a motor that rotates forward and backward according to a command. It may be an electrically operated moving shelf. An end stopper 7 is disposed at the end of the rail 6 to prevent the wheel 5 from coming off the rail 6 and to stop the movement of the movable shelf 1 by stopping the rolling of the wheel 5 while reducing the impact force. ing. In the movable shelf 1, a surface orthogonal to the traveling direction is a loading / unloading surface for an article such as a book, and this loading / unloading surface is a front surface in this specification. A damper 9 is provided at the upper end of the front surface of the underframe 2 so as to reduce the impact force when adjacent movable shelves collide with each other.

  A safety mechanism 10 is assembled on the front surface of the underframe 2. The safety mechanism 10 includes a safety bar holding member 12 fixed to the front surface of the front plate 3 of the underframe 2 and a safety bar that is swingably hooked on the safety bar holding member 12 and swings when an external force is applied. 30 and a safety bar pressing member 40 that regulates the movement of the safety bar 30 so that the safety bar 30 does not fall off the latching portion by the safety bar holding member 12. The safety mechanism 10 also includes a switch 20 that is fixed to the safety bar holding member 12 and that is activated when the safety bar 30 is swung by an external force. The switch 20 is activated when the safety bar 30 is swung by an external force, and a signal resulting from this operation is transmitted to a control circuit or the like in the frame 2 so as to activate an actuator for stopping the movement of the movable shelf. It has become.

  The safety bar holding member 12 is manufactured, for example, by press-molding a metal plate, and extends in the left-right direction along the front surface of the frame 2 as shown in FIGS. The safety bar holding member 12 is formed with a fixing portion 16 for fixing the safety bar holding member 12 to the front plate 3 of the frame 2 in the upper half portion when viewed from the side. The lower half portion of the safety bar holding member 12 is a switch holding portion 14 that is formed so as to protrude in a U-shape with a cross-sectional shape facing the front. At both ends in the longitudinal direction of the safety bar holding member 12, a safety bar receiving portion 18 is formed integrally with the frame 2, which extends forward from the fixing portion 16 to the front plate 3 and protrudes upward. . The fixing portion 16 to the front surface of the underframe is fixed to the front surface of the underframe 2 by a fixing means such as a bolt, so that the safety bar holding member 12 extends in the horizontal direction and the front plate 3 of the underframe 2 is fixed. It is fixed to the front. A horizontally long space defined between the inner surface of the switch holding portion 14 of the safety bar holding member 12 and the front surface of the frame 2 by fixing the safety bar holding member 12 to the frame 2 as described above. This space is an electric wire arrangement space 11. In the electric wire arrangement space 11, electric wires connecting the switch 20 and the electric circuit in the frame 2 are arranged. The electric wire can be drawn into the inside through a connector or the like from the left and right ends of the frame 2.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the switch holding portion 14 of the safety bar holding member 12 has a switch mounting hole formed through the switch holding portion 14 in the front-rear direction, and the switch 20 is fixed through the switch mounting hole. ing. The operated portion 22 of the switch 20 protrudes forward from the switch holding portion 14. In this embodiment, two switches 20 are fixed to one safety bar holding member 12. As shown in FIG. 4, holes 15 are formed adjacent to the switches 20 in the switch holding portion 14 of the safety bar holding member 12, and an urging mechanism is attached to each hole 15. As shown in FIG. 4, the urging mechanism includes a headed pin 24 slidably fitted in the hole 15, a washer 26 fitted to the headed pin 24, and a washer 26. A compression coil spring 28 as an urging member fitted on the outer periphery of the headed pin 24 between the front surface of the switch holding portion 14 and a retaining member for preventing the headed pin 24 from falling off due to the urging force of the spring 28. Means. The headed pin 24 is urged in a direction protruding forward from the front surface of the switch holding portion 14 by the urging force of the spring 28, and movement in the urging direction is restricted by the retaining means.

  The safety bar 30 in this embodiment is assumed to be manufactured by press forming a metal plate. The safety bar 30 is a horizontally long member that is approximately the same length as or slightly longer than the safety bar holding member 12, and the upper and lower end edges thereof are bent at right angles toward the back surface side, and further bent at a right angle. An upper edge 32 and a bent lower edge 34 are formed. As shown also in FIG. 6, the attachment plate 36 is fixed to the upper side of both ends in the longitudinal direction of the safety bar 30 by means such as welding. The accessory plate 36 is fixed so as to form a space having a square cross section by dividing the inside of the upper end of the safety bar 30. In addition, a receiving hole 38 is formed in the attachment plate 36 on a surface parallel to the upper surface of the safety bar 30. By suspending the safety bar 30 on the safety bar holding member 12 so that the safety bar receiving portion 18 of the safety bar holding member 12 penetrates the receiving hole 38, the safety bar 30 is vertical with the hooking portion as a fulcrum. It can swing while drawing a locus of directions.

  The operated portion 22 of the switch 20 and the head of the headed pin 24 of the biasing mechanism are in contact with the inner surface side of the safety bar 30. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the safety bar 30 has an inclined posture in which the lower end protrudes forward by the protruding urging force of the operated portion 22 of the switch 20 and the protruding urging force of the headed pin 24. The safety bar 30 is only latched on the safety bar holding member 12 as described above. If it is left as it is, the safety bar 30 will fall off the safety bar holding member 12 when a lifting force is applied. It is fixed to the front plate 3 of the frame 2. The safety bar pressing member 40 is made of an angle material, and has a portion that is overlapped along the front surface of the underframe 2 and a portion that is bent at a right angle and protrudes forward. The portion that protrudes forward is a safety bar. The movement restricting portion 42 is configured to advance above 30 and restrict the upward movement of the safety bar 30 to a limited range.

  As can be seen from the configuration of the first embodiment described above, when the movable shelf 1 moves and the safety bar 30 comes into contact with a part of the body such as the operator's leg or an article existing on the path, The safety bar 30 swings around the latching portion against the protruding biasing force of the operated portion 22 of the switch 20 and the protruding biasing force of the headed pin 24, and the operated portion 22 of the switch 20 is pushed. The switch 20 operates. The operation signal of the switch 20 is transmitted to the circuit inside the frame 2 through the electric wire passed through the electric wire arrangement space 11, and the emergency stop mechanism or the emergency stop circuit is operated to urgently stop the movement of the movable shelf 1.

  According to the embodiment described above, the safety bar 30 can be swingably supported simply by being hooked on the safety bar holding member 12, and the safety bar having a very simple shape for preventing the safety bar 30 from falling off. The safety mechanism can be assembled to the movable shelf simply by attaching the pressing member 40 and attaching the switch 20 to the safety bar holding member 12. Therefore, even if the safety mechanism is not unitized, the components of the safety mechanism can be brought to the installation site of the moving shelf and assembled to the moving shelf, and the transportation cost can be reduced. In addition, by adopting the above-described configuration, it is devised so that the number of necessary parts is small and the assembling work is simplified, so that the installation work of the movable shelf is simple. Since the safety bar 30 can be easily removed, the workability during maintenance is improved. Since the safety bar 30 can be removed alone, when the safety bar 30 is damaged, it can be repaired by replacing only the safety bar 30. The electric wires connected to the switch 20 may be arranged in the electric wire arrangement space 11 defined by the switch holding portion of the safety bar holding member 12 and the front plate 3 of the base frame 2, and the electric wires are drawn into the base frame 2 for each switch 20. Since it is not necessary, the processing of the electric wire is easy and the maintenance of the electric system is also easy.

  Next, a second embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 will be described. This embodiment is an embodiment suitable for the case where the safety bar 60 constituting the safety mechanism 50 is made of, for example, aluminum manufactured by extrusion molding. Since the configuration of the safety bar 60 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  7 and 8, the upper and lower edges of the safety bar 60 are bent and folded back toward the back side in the same manner as in the first embodiment. A bolt-like or pin-like swing support member 70 is fitted through the portion 62 from the back side thereof. The swing support member 70 that protrudes through the folded portion 62 is placed on the upper edge of the safety bar holding member 12, and the safety bar 60 swings with the upper edge of the safety bar holding member 12 as a fulcrum. Supported as possible. For example, two swing support members 70 for each safety bar 60 are formed adjacent to the safety bar receiving portion 18 of the safety bar holding member 12 and at both ends in the length direction of the safety bar holding member 12. The pair of safety bar receiving portions 18 may be provided adjacent to the inner side surfaces of each other. In this way, the displacement in the length direction of the safety bar 60 is regulated by the contact between the safety bar receiving portion 18 and the swing support member 70.

  The safety bar pressing member 40 is also attached in the second embodiment. Since the operational effects of the second embodiment are substantially the same as the operational effects of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

It is a side view which shows the 1st Example of the safety mechanism of the movement shelf concerning this invention. It is a side view which expands and shows the principal part of the said 1st Example. It is a side view which shows the relationship between the safety bar holding member and switch in the said Example. It is a side view which shows the relationship between the safety bar holding member and urging | biasing mechanism in the said Example. The part of the base frame and safety bar holding member in the said Example is shown, (a) is a top view of the state which attached the safety bar holding member to the base frame, (b) is a front view of the safety bar holding member. is there. It is an expanded rear view which shows a part of safety bar in the said Example. It is a side view which shows the 2nd Example of the safety mechanism of the movable shelf concerning this invention. It is a side view which expands and shows the principal part of the said 2nd Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Moving shelf 2 Underframe 3 Front plate of underframe 4 Support | pillar 5 Wheel 6 Rail 10 Safety mechanism 11 Electric wire arrangement space 12 Safety bar holding member 14 Switch holding part 18 Safety bar receiving part 20 Switch 22 Operated part 28 As biasing member Coil spring 30 safety bar 36 attachment plate 38 receiving hole 40 safety bar pressing member 50 safety mechanism 60 safety bar 62 folded portion 70 swing support member

Claims (5)

Underframe that forms the base of the moving shelf,
A safety bar holding member fixed to the front surface of the underframe,
A safety bar that extends laterally along the front surface of the underframe and that swings around the safety bar holding member so as to swing when an external force is applied;
A safety bar pressing member that regulates the movement of the safety bar so that the safety bar does not fall off the latching portion by the safety bar holding member;
A switch that is fixed to the safety bar holding member and that operates when the safety bar swings with an external force to stop the movement of the movable shelf. Safety mechanism.   2. The safety mechanism for a movable shelf according to claim 1, wherein the safety bar holding member includes an electric wire arrangement space connecting the switch and the electric circuit between the switch fixing portion and the front surface of the frame.   The safety bar holding member has a protruding safety bar receiving portion extending upward from the upper end, and the safety bar holds the safety bar by fitting a receiving hole formed on the safety bar side into the safety bar receiving portion. 2. The safety mechanism for a movable shelf according to claim 1, wherein the safety mechanism is hooked on the member.   The safety bar has a swing support member at the upper edge folding portion. The swing support member is placed on the upper edge of the safety bar holding member and swings with the upper edge of the safety bar holding member as a fulcrum. 2. The safety mechanism for a movable shelf according to claim 1, wherein the safety mechanism is supported in a possible manner.   A movable shelf provided with the safety mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 4 on a front surface of a frame.

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