JP2012004479A - Carrier lifting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a carrier lifting device which can locate a base at an upper position with a simple structure and without being affected by a large force and which hardly causes displacement.SOLUTION: A lifting device 30, capable of lifting a carriage 4, includes: a lifting base 32 that supports the carriage 4; a lifting mechanism 34; an upper stopper 36; and a controller 40. The lifting mechanism 34 lifts the lifting base 32 up and down to an upper position and a lower position with a lifting chain 62. The upper stopper 36 is disposed correspondingly to the upper position to abut on the rising lifting base 32 at the top. The controller 40 controls positioning of the lifting mechanism 34 with a lifting position of the lifting base 32 in contact with an upper positioning part under a state where the carriage 4 is supported on the lifting base 32, as the upper position.

Description

  The present invention relates to an elevating device, and more particularly to a conveying body elevating device capable of elevating and lowering a conveying body.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a transport body lifting device disposed between guide rails on which a transport body travels is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). A conventional carrier lifting device has a mast and a base that moves up and down guided by the mast. A lift rail is fixed to the base. The elevating rails are disposed between the upper and lower guide rails that are divided. The elevating rail moves up and down between the upper position connected to the upper guide rail and the lower position connected to the lower guide rail by the transport body elevating device. In this type of transport body lifting device, for example, the base is suspended by a suspension member such as a chain to raise and lower the lifting rail. At the upper position and the lower position, the base is positioned on the guide rail by the upper positioning portion and the lower positioning portion having pin members that advance and retreat.

JP 7-149231 A

  Recently, a conveying body having a large mass is guided by a guide rail. In such a transport body having a large mass, the mass of the base supporting it is inevitably large. When the carrier and the base having a large mass are suspended by the suspension member, the suspension member may be extended. Therefore, when the carrier and the base having a large mass suspended by the suspension member are positioned by the upper and lower positioning portions having the pin member, a large force corresponding to the mass of the carrier and the base acts on the pin member, and the positioning is performed. The structure of the part becomes large.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to make it possible to position a base at an upper position with a simple configuration without causing a large force to be applied and with little displacement.

  Hereinafter, a plurality of modes will be described as means for solving the problems. These aspects can be arbitrarily combined as necessary.

The conveyance body raising / lowering apparatus which concerns on this invention is an apparatus which can raise / lower a conveyance body. The transport body lifting device includes a base that supports the transport body, a lifting mechanism, an upper positioning unit, and a control unit. The elevating mechanism moves the base up and down between an upper position and a lower position using a suspension member. The upper positioning portion is arranged corresponding to the upper position so as to come into contact with the rising base from above. The control means controls the raising / lowering mechanism with the raising / lowering position at which the base contacts the upper positioning portion in the state where the carrier is supported by the base as the upper position.
In this carrier lifting / lowering device, the lifting / lowering mechanism raises / lowers the base between the upper position and the lower position. When raising the base from the lower position to the upper position, the control means controls the lifting mechanism with the lifting position where the upper positioning part contacts the base from the upper side with the carrier supported by the base as the upper position. . Therefore, the lifting mechanism is controlled so that the upper member is brought into contact with the base on which the upper positioning portion is raised from the upper side and the base is positioned at the upper position in a state where the carrier is supported and the suspension member is extended. For this reason, in a state in which the transport body is not supported, if there is no upper positioning portion, the lifting position is higher than the upper position by the amount that the suspension member does not extend. However, since the upper positioning portion contacts the base from above, the base cannot be raised. For this reason, in a state in which the transport body is not supported, the base comes into contact with the upper positioning portion and is positioned at the upper position in a state where the suspension member is extended for supporting the transport body.

  Here, the upper positioning part which contact | abuts from the upper side to the raise base is provided. In addition, the lifting mechanism is positioned and controlled with the lifting position where the upper positioning portion comes into contact with the base rising from the upper side while the transport body is supported by the base as the upper position. For this reason, the base is reliably positioned at the upper position. Further, in a state where the transport body is not supported, only the tension corresponding to the mass of the transport body acts on the upper positioning portion. For this reason, it is possible to position the base at the upper position without a large force acting with a simple configuration and without being displaced.

You may further provide the lower positioning part arrange | positioned corresponding to a lower position so that it may contact | abut to the base which descends from the lower side. In this case, the control means controls the raising / lowering mechanism with the raising / lowering position at which the base comes into contact with the lower positioning portion in the state where the carrier is not supported as the lower position.
As a result, when the base is lowered from the upper position to the lower position, the control means sets the lift position where the lower positioning portion comes into contact with the lower base in a state where the carrier is not supported by the base. The lifting mechanism is controlled as a lower position. Therefore, the elevating mechanism is controlled such that the lower positioning portion comes into contact with the base and the base is positioned at the lower position in a state where the conveying member is not supported and the suspension member does not extend so much. For this reason, in a state where the transport body is supported, if there is no lower positioning portion, the lift position is a position below the lower position. However, since the lower positioning portion contacts the base from below, the base cannot be lowered. For this reason, in a state where the transport body is supported and the suspension member is extended, the base is positioned in contact with the lower positioning portion, and even if the transport body is supported, the position does not shift.

  The elevating mechanism may be provided on one side of the base. As a result, the lifting mechanism can be configured in a compact manner that is not easily displaced at the upper position.

  According to the present invention, the upper positioning portion that contacts the rising base from above is provided. In addition, the lifting mechanism is positioned and controlled with the lifting position where the upper positioning portion comes into contact with the base rising from the upper side while the transport body is supported by the base as the upper position. For this reason, the base is reliably positioned at the upper position. Further, in a state where the transport body is not supported, only the tension corresponding to the mass of the transport body acts on the upper positioning portion. For this reason, it is possible to position the base at the upper position without a large force acting with a simple configuration and without being displaced.

1 is a plan view of a tracked cart system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The side view of a conveyance trolley. Sectional drawing of a conveyance trolley. The top view of a movable track. The side view of a movable track. Front view of movable track Sectional drawing of a movable non-contact electric power feeding line. The block diagram of a control apparatus.

(1) Tracked cart system As shown in FIG. 1, the tracked cart system 1 is configured such that, for example, an article such as a large glass substrate stored in a cassette C is transferred to each of a plurality of processing devices, a carry-in port, and a carry-out port. It is a device that conveys to and from the delivery unit 8. The tracked cart system 1 includes a fixed track 2, a movable track 3, a transport cart 4, a fixed non-contact power supply line 5, a movable non-contact power supply line 6, and a power supply line support 7. The fixed track 2 is suspended from the ceiling, and the periphery of the fixed track 2 is an enclosed clean space.

  The fixed track 2 has, for example, an oval loop track 9 and a maintenance track 10 that branches and merges from the loop track 9. The maintenance track 10 is divided at an intermediate portion, and the movable track 3 is provided at the divided portion. The transport carriage 4 travels on the fixed track 2 and the movable track 3 in a clockwise direction indicated by, for example, a white arrow.

  The movable track 3 is movable so as to be connected to and separated from the fixed track 2. In this embodiment, the movable track 3 has an elevating device 30 disposed in the middle part of the maintenance track 10. The movable track 3 can be moved by an elevating device 30 between an upper position connected to the maintenance track 10 and a lower position separated from the maintenance track 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the fixed track 2 and the movable track 3 have a travel rail 11 and a travel guide 12. The traveling rail 11 includes a pair of left and right first traveling rails 11a and a second traveling rail 11b. The first travel rail 11a and the second travel rail 11b have flat travel surfaces.

  The travel guide 12 has a first travel guide 12a and a second travel guide 12b. The first travel guide 12a and the second travel guide 12b are provided at outer ends of the first travel rail 11a and the second travel rail 11b, respectively. The first travel guide 12a and the second travel guide 12b extend upward from the outer end.

(2) Conveying Cart The conveying cart 4 has a placement part 15 on which the cassette C can be placed and a traveling part 16 capable of traveling on the fixed track 2 and the movable track 3 as shown in FIGS. is doing. The placement unit 15 is a rectangular frame member. A first attachment portion 15 a and a second attachment portion 15 b for attaching the traveling portion 16 are provided on the lower surface of the placement portion 15. The first attachment portion 15a is disposed on the front side in the traveling direction. The second attachment portion 15b is disposed on the rear side in the traveling direction.

  The travel unit 16 includes a drive travel unit 16a that is rotatably attached to the first attachment unit 15a, and a driven travel unit 16b that is rotatably attached to the second attachment unit 15b. The drive travel unit 16a and the follow travel unit 16b are bogies. The drive travel unit 16a includes a drive frame 20a, a left drive wheel 21a, and a right drive wheel 21b. The driven traveling unit 16b includes a driven frame 20b, a left driven wheel 21c, and a right driven wheel 21d. The left fixed guide roller 22a, the right fixed guide roller 22b, the left branch guide roller 23a, and the right branch guide roller are provided on both sides in the traveling direction of the left drive wheel 21a and the right drive wheel 21b, and the left driven wheel 21c and the right driven wheel 21d. 23b are provided separately. The left fixed guide roller 22a and the left branch guide roller 23a are guided by the first travel guide 12a. The right fixed guide roller 22b and the right branch guide roller 23b are guided by the second traveling guide 12b.

  The drive frame 20a is connected to the first mounting portion 15a so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis. The left drive wheel 21a and the right drive wheel 21b are supported by the drive frame 20a so as to be rotatable about a left-right axis. The left driving wheel 21a and the right driving wheel 21b travel on the first traveling rail 11a and the second traveling rail 11b separately. The left drive wheel 21a and the right drive wheel 21b are driven separately by a left drive motor 24a and a right drive motor 24b provided on the drive frame 20a.

  The driven frame 20b is connected to the second mounting portion 15b so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis. The left driven wheel 21c and the right driven wheel 21d are supported by the driven frame 20b so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis. The left driven wheel 21c and the right driven wheel 21d travel on the first traveling rail 11a and the second traveling rail 11b separately.

  A left pickup unit 28a and a right pickup unit 28b that receive electric power from the fixed non-contact power supply line 5 and the movable non-contact power supply line 6 are attached to the outer surfaces of the drive frame 20a and the driven frame 20b. The left pickup unit 28a and the right pickup unit 28b are connected via a left mounting bracket 29a and a right mounting bracket 29b, which are attached to surround the left driving wheel 21a, the right driving wheel 21b, the left driven wheel 21c, and the right driven wheel 21d, respectively. Are attached to the outer surfaces of the drive frame 20a and the driven frame 20b.

  The left fixed guide roller 22a and the right fixed guide roller 22b can be disposed separately with the left branch guide roller 23a and the right branch guide roller 23b, and the first travel guide 12a and the second travel guide 12b interposed therebetween. The left fixed guide roller 22a and the right fixed guide roller 22b are fixed to the left side surface and the right side surface of the drive frame 20a and the driven frame 20b, respectively. The left fixed guide roller 22a and the right fixed guide roller 22b can contact inner surfaces of the first travel guide 12a and the second travel guide 12b.

  The left branch guide roller 23a and the right branch guide roller 23b are connected to the drive frame 20a and the driven frame 20b so as to be swingable about the front and rear axes. The left branch guide roller 23a and the right branch guide roller 23b are collectively driven by an electric cylinder (not shown). The left branch guide roller 23a and the right branch guide roller 23b are a guide position that can contact the outer surfaces of the first travel guide 12a and the second travel guide 12b, a normal travel position that swings upward from the guide position, and a normal travel. It swings to the guide release position that swings further upward from the position. The left branch guide roller 23a and the right branch guide roller 23b are connected by a coupling mechanism (not shown) so that when the left branch guide roller 23a is disposed at the guide position, the right branch guide roller 23b is disposed at the guide release position. It is connected. Therefore, in this embodiment, when branching to the maintenance track 10, the right branch guide roller 23b is disposed at the guide release position, and the left branch guide roller 23a is disposed at the guide position. Further, when traveling on other than the branch, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3, the left branch guide roller 23a and the right branch guide roller 23b are arranged at the normal travel position.

(3) Lifting Device As shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, the lifting device 30 includes a lifting base 32 that supports the transport carriage 4, a lifting mechanism 34, an upper stopper 36, a lower stopper 38, And a control device 40 that controls the elevating mechanism 34. In the description of the lifting device 30, the traveling direction of the transport carriage 4 is defined as the front-rear direction, the direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction is defined as the left-right direction, and the lifting direction is defined as the up-down direction.

(4) Elevating Unit The elevating base 32 includes a rail mounting unit 42 that is horizontally disposed, and a lifting frame 44 that is disposed on the right side surface of the rail mounting unit 42 in the vertical direction. Therefore, the elevating base 32 is configured in an L shape in side view. On the rail mounting part 42, the traveling rail 11 and the traveling guide 12 of the movable track 3 are fixed. The traveling rail 11 and the traveling guide 12 of the movable track 3 are slightly longer than the length of the transport carriage 4 in the front-rear direction. The first traveling rail 11a and the first traveling guide 12a of the traveling rail 11 are disposed on the left side in the traveling direction of the transport carriage 4, and the second traveling rail 11b and the second traveling guide 12b are disposed on the right side.

  The elevating frame 44 includes a guide frame 45 extending in the vertical direction, and a pair of left and right first guide rollers 46a, a second guide roller 46b, and a third guide roller 46c disposed on the upper and lower portions of the guide frame 45, respectively. Have. The guide frame 45 has a rectangular frame shape that is fixed to the right end portion of the rail mounting portion 42 and extends upward. The guide frame 45 is disposed between two lift guide rails 50 described later of the lift mechanism 34.

  The first guide roller 46 a and the second guide roller 46 b are respectively guided to the lifting guide rail 50 while being in contact with the left and right surfaces of the two lifting guide rails 50. The third guide roller 46c comes into contact with the opposing surfaces of the two lifting guide rails 50 and is guided to the lifting guide rails 50. The first guide roller 46 a and the second guide roller 46 b are rotatably supported by a first guide bracket 47 fixed to the left and right sides of the upper and lower portions of the guide frame 45. The third guide roller 46c is rotatably supported by a second guide bracket 48 fixed to the left and right upper and lower ends of the guide frame 45. The diameter of the first guide roller 46a is larger than the diameter of the second guide roller 46b. The diameter of the third guide roller 46c is the same as the diameter of the first guide roller 46a. Here, in the upper part of the guide frame 45, the first guide roller 46a is arranged on the left side of the second guide roller 46b, and in the lower part, it is arranged on the right side. This is because the elevating base 32 is cantilevered by the elevating mechanism 34, so that a clockwise moment in FIG. 5 acts. Therefore, the diameters of the upper left and lower right guide rollers on which the force acts are increased to keep the surface pressure acting on the guide rollers constant.

(5) Elevating mechanism The elevating mechanism 34 elevates the elevating base 32 to an upper position connected to the fixed track 2 and a lower position separated from the fixed track 2 by using an elevating chain 62 as a suspension member. . The elevating mechanism 34 has a pair of front and rear elevating guide rails 50 that guide the elevating base 32, a fixed frame 52 that supports the elevating guide rail 50, and an elevating drive unit 54 that drives the elevating base 32 up and down. ing. have.

  The raising / lowering guide rail 50 is arrange | positioned at intervals in the front-back direction, and is arrange | positioned at the both outer sides of the guide frame 45. As shown in FIG. The elevating guide rail 50 includes a left restricting surface 50a for restricting leftward movement of the elevating base 32, a right restricting surface 50b for restricting rightward movement, and a front / rear restricting surface 50c for restricting forward and backward movement. And have. The first guide roller 46a and the second guide roller 46b are in contact with the left restricting surface 50a and the right restricting surface 50b, respectively, and the third guide roller 46c is in contact with the front and rear restricting surface 50c.

The fixed frame 52 includes two support columns 52a that fix the lifting guide rail 50 from the outside, and is formed in a rectangular frame shape. The lower part of the fixed frame 52 extends to the front side of the tip of the lift base 32. An elevating drive unit 54 is disposed on the fixed frame 52.
The lift drive unit 54 includes a lift motor 56, a pair of front and rear drive sprockets 58, a pair of front and rear driven sprockets 60, and a pair of front and rear lift chains 62 hung on the drive sprockets 58 and the driven sprockets 60. Yes.
The drive sprocket 58 is non-rotatably connected to a drive shaft 63 disposed along the front-rear direction below the fixed frame 52. The drive shaft 63 is chain driven by a lifting motor 56.

  The driven sprocket 60 is disposed above the fixed frame 52 so as to face the drive sprocket 58. The elevating chain 62 is fixed to the guide frame 45.

(6) Upper stopper The upper stopper 36 is a positioning member arranged corresponding to the upper position so as to contact the ascending / descending base 32 from above. The upper stopper 36 is a plate-like member disposed so as to protrude from the divided portion side of the maintenance track 10 to the movable track 3 side as shown in an enlarged view in the A portion of FIG. 4 and the B portion of FIG. 6. The upper stopper 36 is fixed to the support member of the maintenance track 10 in the vicinity of the lower surfaces of the first traveling rail 11a and the second traveling rail 11b of the maintenance track 10.

  In the rail mounting portion 42 of the elevating base 32, a plate-like upper contact portion 64 that contacts the lower surface of the upper stopper 36 is disposed on the inner surface of the first traveling rail 11 a and the second traveling rail 11 b of the movable track 3. Has been. The upper contact portion 64 has, for example, a shape in which one corner of a rectangular plate is cut out as a square. The upper contact portion 64 is fixed to the rail mounting portion 42 in the vicinity of the inner side surfaces of the first traveling rail 11a and the second traveling rail 11b.

(7) Lower stopper The lower stopper 38 is a positioning member arranged corresponding to the lower position so as to come into contact with the ascending / descending base 32 from below. The lower stopper 38 is disposed on the front end side of the fixed frame 52 so as to face the lower side of the traveling rail 11.

  A lower contact portion 66 that contacts the upper surface of the lower stopper 38 is disposed below the traveling rail 11 that faces the lower stopper 38 of the rail mounting portion 42 of the elevating base 32. The lower contact portion 66 is formed to extend downward.

(8) Control Device The control device 40 is disposed inside the control panel 68 disposed at the right end of the fixed frame 52. As shown in FIG. 8, the control device 40 controls a lifting motor 56 of the lifting device 30 and a later-described feed line support 69 of the variable non-contact feed line 6. The control device 40 is connected to a lift position detector 57, a lift motor 56, two electric cylinders 82 of the feeder support 69, a communication part 59, and other sensors. The lift position detector 57 uses, for example, a rotary encoder that detects the lift position of the lift base 32 by detecting the number of rotations of the lift motor 56. The communication unit 59 communicates with the control unit of the transport cart 4 and a host computer (not shown).

  The control device 40 includes an upper positioning control unit 40a and a lower positioning control unit 40b as functional configurations. In the upper positioning control unit 40a, an elevation position corresponding to the upper position is detected in advance, and the elevation motor 56 is stopped at the detected elevation position. Specifically, the lift position detected by the lift position detector 57 when the lift base 32 comes into contact with the upper stopper 36 while the transport carriage 4 is supported by the lift base 32 is stored as the upper position. The elevating mechanism 34 is positioned and controlled so that the elevating motor 56 stops when the elevating base 32 reaches the stored upper position. Thereby, the elevating base 32 is positioned at the lower position. When storing the upper position, it is preferable to place a weight or the like corresponding to the maximum load amount on the transport carriage 4.

  In the lower positioning control unit 40b, a lift position corresponding to the lower position is detected in advance, and the lift motor 56 is stopped at the detected lift position. Specifically, the lift position detected by the lift position detector 57 when the lift base 32 comes into contact with the lower stopper 38 in a state where the transport carriage 4 is not supported by the lift base 32 is stored as the lower position. The elevating mechanism 34 is positioned and controlled so that the elevating motor 56 stops when the elevating base 32 reaches the stored lower position. Thereby, the elevating base 32 is positioned at the lower position.

  Therefore, when the lift base 32 is raised, the control device 40 is in a state where the transport carriage 4 is supported and the lift chain 62 is slightly extended, and the upper stopper 36 comes into contact with the upper contact portion 64 and moves to the upper position. The lifting mechanism 34 is controlled so that the base 32 is positioned. Thereby, when the raising / lowering base 32 exists in an upper position, even if the conveyance trolley 4 remove | deviates from the raising / lowering base 32, the raising / lowering base 32 does not raise. At this time, the tension acting on the chain 62 is very small, and no excessive tension acts on the chain 62.

  On the other hand, when the elevating base 32 is lowered, the lower stopper 38 comes into contact with the lower abutting portion 66 and the elevating base 32 is in the lower position in a state where the transport carriage 4 is not supported and the elevating chain 62 is not extended so much. The lifting mechanism 34 is controlled so as to be positioned. Thereby, when the raising / lowering base 32 exists in a lower position, even if the conveyance trolley | bogie 4 is supported, the raising / lowering base 32 does not descend | fall.

  Here, the control device 40 is a simple lifting / lowering mechanism that simply controls the lifting / lowering motor 56 so that the drive sprocket 58 is rotated by the same number of rotations based on the detection value of the lifting / lowering position detection unit 57 when rising and lowering. 34 is controlled. Therefore, in the raising / lowering control by the control part 41, the control by the output of the sensor which detects an upper position and a lower position is not performed.

(9) Fixed Non-Contact Power Supply Line The fixed non-contact power supply line 5 is a power supply line that is arranged along the fixed track 2 and supplies power to the transport carriage 4 in a non-contact manner as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the fixed non-contact power supply line 5 includes two sets of litz wires 5 a and litz wires 5 b that are spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 1, power is supplied to the fixed contactless power supply line 5 from a power supply device 61. The fixed non-contact power supply line 5 is supported on the loop track 9 of the fixed track 2 by, for example, a power supply line support member (not shown) on the right side of the second traveling rail 11b. On the other hand, the maintenance track 10 is arranged on the left side of the first traveling rail 11a on the left side from the branching portion to the front side of the dividing portion and from the dividing portion to the joining portion. Note that, at the branch portion of the loop track 9 to the maintenance track 10 and the junction portion from the maintenance track 10, the fixed non-contact power supply line 5 is continuously arranged on the left side of the second traveling rail 11b with the maintenance track 10 by a predetermined distance. Has been.

(10) Movable non-contact power supply line The movable non-contact power supply line 6 is arranged so as to be able to advance and retreat from the fixed track 2 side with respect to the movable track 3 as shown in FIGS. It is a feed line for supplying electric power by contact. Power is supplied to the movable contactless power supply line 6 from the power supply device 61. As shown in FIG. 7, the movable non-contact power supply line 6 is composed of two sets of litz wires 6a and litz wires 6b that are spaced apart vertically. The movable non-contact power supply line 6 is disposed opposite to the fixed non-contact power supply line 5 on both sides of the divided portion of the maintenance track 10. Therefore, in this embodiment, the maintenance track 10 is disposed on the left side of the second traveling rail 11b.

  The movable non-contact power supply line 6 is supported by a power supply line support 69. The feeder support 69 has a fixed portion 70, a movable portion 72, and a drive portion 76 that are disposed on the left side of the second traveling rail 11 b of the maintenance track 10. The fixed portion 70 is fixed to a bracket 84 disposed on the left side of the second traveling rail 11 b of the maintenance track 10. The movable part 72 is supported by the fixed part 70 by a linear guide 74 so as to be movable back and forth. The movable portion 72 can move back and forth between a retracted position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 4 arranged on the maintenance track 10 and an advanced position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4 arranged on the movable track 3. A wiring bracket 78 is fixed to the side surface of the movable portion 72 on the second traveling rail 11b side. A wiring support portion 80 is locked to the tip of the wiring bracket 78. Two sets of movable contactless power supply lines 6 are held on the wiring support portion 80. The movable non-contact power supply line 6 can be disposed in the right pickup unit 28b mounted on the drive frame 20a and the driven frame 20b of the transport carriage 4 stopped on the movable rail 3 when the movable portion 72 is disposed at the advanced position. It is. The drive unit 76 includes, for example, an electric cylinder 82, and the movable unit 72 is fixed to the tip of the cylinder rod 82 a of the electric cylinder 82. The movable contactless power supply line 6 is guided by a cable bear (not shown) on the rear end side of the wiring support portion 80. The movable part 72 prevents the movable track 3 from being separated from the fixed track 2 when in the advanced position. That is, when the movable portion 72 moves forward, the movable contactless power supply line 6 is disposed in the right pickup unit 28b of the transport carriage 4, so that the moving operation of the movable track 3 is hindered.

(11) Control operation of control device The control device 40 controls the lifting device 30 and the feeder support 69. When the transport carriage 4 enters the movable track 3 via the maintenance track 10 and receives a command to lower it to the lower position, the control device 40 advances the movable portion 72 of the feeder support 69 to the advanced position. Moreover, the raising / lowering base 32 is raised to an upper position. As a result, power can be supplied to the transport carriage 4 and the movable track 3 can be entered. When the elevating base 32 is raised, the upper stopper 36 contacts the upper abutting portion 64 and the elevating base 32 is positioned at the upper position. The upper position is a position where the upper stopper 36 comes into contact with the upper contact portion 64 when the transport carriage 4 is supported by the lift base 32. Therefore, in this case, since the transport carriage 4 is not supported by the lift base 32, the transport carriage 4 does not stretch until the lift chain 62 is positioned. For this reason, if there is no upper stopper 36, it stops at a position above the upper position, but the upper stopper 36 comes into contact with the upper contact portion 64 from above, and the lifting base 32 is positioned at the upper position. By the positioning from above by the upper stopper 36, the elevating chain 62 extends to the weight of the transport carriage 4.

  When the transport carriage 4 enters the movable track 3 and stops, the lifting chain 68 is in an extended state, and the movable track 3 does not descend even when the transport cart 4 enters. When the transport carriage 4 stops on the movable track 3, the movable portion 72 is retracted to the retracted position. Thereby, the movable contactless power supply line 6 is arranged on the maintenance track 10 side. In this state, the lifting mechanism 34 is controlled to lower the lifting base 32 to the lower position. When the lower position is reached, the lower stopper 38 comes into contact with the lower contact portion 66 and the elevating base 32 is positioned at the lower position. When the lift base 32 is positioned at the lower position and the transport cart 4 is removed from the lower position, the tension acting on the lift chain 62 is reduced by the amount of the transport cart 4. However, since the lower position is a lifting position in a state where the transport carriage 4 is not supported, the lower position does not shift upward.

When receiving a command to move the transport carriage 4 at the lower position from the movable track 3 to the maintenance track 3, the control device 40 raises the lift base 32. At this time, since the transport carriage 4 is supported by the elevating base 32, the upper contact portion 64 contacts the upper stopper 36 when reaching the upper position. However, the upper contact portion 64 does not contact the upper stopper 36 strongly. At this time, the elevating chain 62 extends by the weight of the transport cart 4. When the elevating base 32 reaches the upper position, the control device 40 advances the movable portion 72 from the retracted position to the advanced position. As a result, power is supplied to the transport carriage 4, and the transport carriage 4 moves from the movable track 3 to the maintenance track 10. When the transport carriage 4 is removed from the movable track 3, the elevating chain 62 contracts and the upper contact portion 64 comes into strong contact with the upper stopper 36. However, since the upward movement is restricted by the upper stopper 36, the upper position does not shift.
In addition, even if the transport carriage 4 deviates from the movable track 3, the movable portion 72 maintains the advanced position. The movable part 72 retracts to the retracted position upon receiving a lowering command and an ascending command for the lifting base 32. When the movable portion 72 is in the advanced position, the control device 40 controls the lifting mechanism 34 after moving the movable portion 72 to the retracted position.

(12) Features (A) The lifting device 30 is a device that can lift and lower the transport carriage 4. The lifting device 30 includes a lifting base 32 that supports the transport carriage 4, a lifting mechanism 34, an upper stopper 36, and a control device 40. The elevating mechanism 34 moves the elevating base 32 up and down to an upper position and a lower position using the elevating chain 62. The upper stopper 36 is disposed corresponding to the upper position so as to come into contact with the ascending / descending base 32 from above. The controller 40 controls the lifting mechanism 34 with the lifting position where the lifting base 32 comes into contact with the upper stopper 36 in the state where the transport carriage 4 is supported by the lifting part 32 as the upper position.
In the lifting device 30, the lifting mechanism 34 moves the lifting base 32 up and down to an upper position and a lower position. When raising the lifting base 32 from the lower position to the upper position, the control device 40 sets the lifting position where the upper stopper 36 contacts the upper surface of the lifting base 32 in a state where the transport carriage 4 is supported by the lifting base 32. The lifting mechanism 34 is controlled as the upper position. Therefore, in the state where the carriage 4 is supported and the lifting chain 62 is extended, the lifting mechanism 34 is positioned so that the lifting stopper 32 is positioned at the upper position by contacting the lifting base 32 where the upper stopper 36 moves upward. Is controlled. For this reason, in the state where the transport carriage 4 is not supported, if the upper stopper 36 is not provided, the lifting position is higher than the upper position as the suspension member does not extend. However, since the upper stopper 36 contacts the lifting base 32 from above, the lifting base 32 cannot be raised. For this reason, the raising / lowering base 32 contacts the upper positioning part in the state where the raising / lowering chain 62 is extended by the amount supported by the transport carriage 4 and is positioned at the upper position.
Here, an upper stopper 36 that contacts the lifting base 32 from above is provided. In addition, the lifting mechanism 34 is positioned and controlled with the lifting position where the upper stopper 36 contacts the lifting base 32 rising from a state where the transport carriage 4 is supported by the lifting base 32 being the upper position. For this reason, the elevating base 32 is reliably positioned at the upper position. Further, in a state where the transport carriage 4 is not supported, only the tension corresponding to the mass of the transport carriage 4 acts on the upper stopper 36. For this reason, it is possible to position the elevating base 32 at the upper position without a large force acting with a simple configuration and with little displacement.

(B) A lower stopper 38 is further provided corresponding to the lower position so as to come into contact with the ascending / descending base 32 from below. In this case, the control device 40 controls the raising / lowering mechanism 34 with the raising / lowering position at which the raising / lowering base comes into contact with the lower stopper 38 in the state where the transport carriage 4 is not supported as the lower position.
Thereby, when lowering the lifting base 32 from the upper position to the lower position, the control device 40 changes the lifting base 32 where the lower stopper 38 is lowered in a state where the transport carriage 4 is not supported by the lifting base 32. The elevating mechanism 34 is controlled with the elevating position contacting from the lower side as the lower position. Therefore, in a state where the transport carriage 4 is not supported and the elevating chain 34 is not extended so much, the elevating mechanism 34 is arranged so that the lower stopper 38 contacts the elevating base 32 and the elevating base 32 is positioned at the lower position. Be controlled. For this reason, in the state where the transport carriage 4 is supported, if the lower stopper 38 is not provided, the lift position is lower than the lower position. However, since the lower stopper 38 contacts the lift base 32 from below, the lift base 32 cannot be lowered. For this reason, the base is positioned in contact with the lower stopper 38 in a state in which the transport carriage 4 is supported and the suspension member is extended, and the position does not shift even in the state in which the transport carriage 4 is supported.

  (C) The elevating mechanism 34 is provided on one side of the elevating base 32. As a result, the lifting mechanism 34 can be configured in a compact manner that is not easily displaced at the upper position.

(13) Other Embodiments Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, a plurality of embodiments and modifications described in the present specification can be arbitrarily combined as necessary.

  (A) In the above-described embodiment, the elevating mechanism 34 has a structure in which the elevating base 32 is cantilevered. However, the elevating mechanism 34 may be configured to support both ends of the elevating base.

  (B) In the said embodiment, although the chain was illustrated as a suspending member, a suspending member may be a rope and a belt.

  (C) In the said embodiment, although the raising / lowering apparatus which supports the conveyance trolley | bogie 4 arrange | positioned on the movable track | orbit 3 was illustrated, this invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can also be applied to an elevating device that supports a carrier that travels by detecting a mark arranged on a traveling path.

  The present invention is applicable to a lifting device that lifts and lowers a transport carriage supported by a base.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tracked vehicle system 2 Fixed track 3 Movable track 4 Carriage cart 5 Fixed non-contact electric supply line 5a Litz wire 5b Litz wire 6 Movable non-contact electric supply line 6a Ritz wire 6b Litz wire 7 Feed line support body 8 Passing part 9 Loop track 10 Maintenance track 11 Traveling rail 11a 1st traveling rail 11b 2nd traveling rail 12 Traveling guide 12a 1st traveling guide 12b 2nd traveling guide 15 Mounting part 15a 1st attaching part 15b 2nd attaching part 16 Traveling part 16a Drive traveling part 16b Driven travel part 20a Drive frame 20b Driven frame 21a Left drive wheel 21b Right drive wheel 21c Left driven wheel 21d Right driven wheel 22a Left fixed guide roller 22b Right fixed guide roller 23a Left branch guide roller 23b Right branch guide roller 24a Left drive motor 24b Right drive motor 28a Pickup unit 28b Right pickup unit 29a Left mounting bracket 29b Right mounting bracket 30 Lifting device 32 Lifting base 34 Lifting mechanism 36 Upper stopper 38 Lower stopper 40 Control device 40a Upper positioning control unit 40b Lower positioning control unit 42 Rail mounting unit 44 Lifting Frame 45 Guide frame 46a First guide roller 46b Second guide roller 46c Third guide roller 47 First guide bracket 48 Second guide bracket 50 Lifting guide rail 50a Left restricting surface 50b Right restricting surface 50c Front and rear restricting surface 52 Fixed frame 52a Post 54 Lifting Drive Unit 56 Lifting Motor 57 Lifting Position Detection Unit 58 Drive Sprocket 59 Communication Unit 60 Driven Sprocket 62 Lifting Chain 63 Drive Shaft 64 Upper Contact Portion 66 Lower Contact Portion 6 Control panel 69 the feed line support 70 fixed part 72 movable portion 76 driving portion 78 wire bracket 80 wire supporting portion 82 electric cylinder 82a cylinder rod 84 Bracket

Claims (3)

A transport body lifting device capable of lifting and lowering the transport body,
A base for supporting the carrier,
An elevating mechanism for elevating the base to an upper position and a lower position using a suspension member;
An upper positioning part arranged corresponding to the upper position so as to come into contact with the rising base from above;
Control means for positioning and controlling the lifting mechanism with the lifting position at which the base comes into contact with the upper positioning portion in the state where the carrier is supported by the base as the upper position;
Conveying device lifting device. A lower positioning portion arranged corresponding to the lower position so as to come into contact with the base that is lowered from below;
2. The transport body lifting / lowering according to claim 1, wherein the control means performs positioning control of the lifting mechanism with the lift position where the base comes into contact with the lower positioning portion being the lower position in a state where the transport body is not supported. apparatus.   The said raising / lowering mechanism is a conveyance body raising / lowering apparatus of Claim 1 or 2 provided in the one side of the side of the said base.

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