JP2012121694A - Transport device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transport device which simplifies a structure of a transport object support means, simplifies a facility of the whole of a transport path, improves transport efficiency by transporting a transport object without being tilted even in an inclined part of the transport path, facilitates work of installation and adjustment, and needs a small installation space.SOLUTION: This transport device 100 includes a transport object support means arranged above a transport chain where chain rollers 104 run along a chain guide rail 105 for holding a transport object W, wherein the transport chain includes universal joints 143 for freely bendably connecting both respective ends of vertical links 141 and lateral links 142, and the vertical link 141 includes support links 144 including running rollers 104 at extension parts of horizontal shafts 145 of the universal joints 143 at both ends.

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport apparatus having transport object support means for holding an object to be transported above a transport chain, and particularly used in a painting / drying line of an automobile body and supported by a transport object support means. The present invention relates to a transport device in which a transported object is transported along a transport path that bends up and down and left and right.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a conveying apparatus that continuously conveys a supported object by providing a supported object supporting means for holding the object to be conveyed above the conveying chain is known.
In these known conveying devices, in order to stabilize the posture against the load applied to the conveyed object supporting means, a roller is provided on the conveyed object supporting means separately from the chain guide rail that guides the chain roller provided on the conveying chain. A load guide rail that is provided and receives a load separately is provided (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Further, in these known transport devices, if adjacent transported objects are close to each other, the adjacent transported objects come into contact with each other in the inclination changing portion of the transport path, so that the adjacent transported objects are in contact with each other. It was necessary to set a wide interval between objects.

  In order to increase the transport efficiency by narrowing this interval, a roller is provided at one end in the transport direction of the transport object support means provided above the transport chain to hold the transport object and guided by the load guide rail, and the other end is A conveying device is known that is configured so that the posture of the object to be conveyed is maintained constant by being supported by the conveying chain, and conveys the object to be conveyed without being inclined even in the inclined portion of the conveying path (for example, , See Patent Document 2).

JP-A-7-172537 (all pages, all figures) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-187187 (pages 3 to 4, FIGS. 2 to 6)

  However, in the known conveyance device shown in Patent Document 1, as described above, in order to stabilize the posture against the load applied to the conveyed product support means, a separate roller is provided on the conveyed object support means, and the load that receives the load is provided. There is a problem that it is necessary to provide a guide rail, and the structure of the conveyed product support means becomes complicated, and the facilities of the entire conveyance path increase.

  In addition, as described above, when adjacent objects to be conveyed are close to each other, the adjacent objects to be brought into contact with each other in the inclination change portion of the conveyance path due to the difference in the inclination angle. Had to be set widely.

  In the known transport device shown in Patent Document 2, it is possible to maintain the posture of the transported object support means itself in the inclined change portion of the transport path, but, similar to the known transport device shown in Patent Document 1, It was necessary to provide a load guide rail, and there was a problem that the facilities of the whole conveyance path increased.

  In addition, since the other end in the transport direction of the transported object support unit is directly supported by the transport chain, there is a problem that a load is applied to the transport chain and it is difficult to ensure the stability of the posture of the transported object support unit.

  The present invention solves the problems of the prior art as described above, that is, the object of the present invention is to simplify the structure of the transported object support means, simplify the facilities of the entire transport path, and transport An object of the present invention is to provide a transport apparatus that transports an object to be transported without inclining on an inclined portion of a road to increase transport efficiency, facilitates installation and adjustment, and has a small installation space.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transport chain having a chain roller guided by a chain guide rail constituting a transport path and traveling along the chain guide rail, and an object to be transported provided above the transport chain. A transport device having transported object supporting means for holding, wherein the transport chain is a pair of left and right vertical links disposed with the width direction vertical, and a pair of upper and lower horizontal links disposed with the width direction horizontal. And a universal joint that connects both ends of the vertical link and the horizontal link so as to be freely bendable, and the vertical link includes a support link that supports the conveyed product support means, and the chain roller includes the chain roller, The above-mentioned problem is solved by being rotatably supported by the extension part of the horizontal axis of the universal joint provided at both ends of the support link.

  In the invention according to claim 2, in addition to the configuration of the transport apparatus according to claim 1, the transport object support means includes a transport object support part and a chain fixing part, and the chain fixing part includes: The problem is solved by being fixedly supported by a support link of the transport chain.

  In the invention according to claim 3, in addition to the configuration of the transport device according to claim 1 or 2, the chain roller is rotatably supported at a central portion in the running direction of a vertical link other than the support link. Thus, the above-described problems are solved.

  In the invention according to claim 4, in addition to the configuration of the transport apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, the transport object support means supports the transport object between the transport object support section and the chain fixing section. Posture changing means for changing the posture of the section, and the posture changing means is provided so as to be swingable upward about a first horizontal axis perpendicular to the traveling direction provided on the base of the chain fixing portion. A first swinging means having a first guide roller on the side of the swinging end, and a second horizontal axis perpendicular to the traveling direction provided at the swinging end of the first swinging means upward. The first swinging means and the second swinging means are provided so as to be swingable, and have a second guide roller provided on the side of the swinging end and having a second guide roller and supporting the conveyed product support means. However, swinging downward is regulated by the base of the chain fixing portion, and the first guide rod The first and second guide rollers engage with a first guide rail provided on one side of the travel path and a second guide rail provided on the other side of the travel path, respectively, thereby causing the first swing. The above-mentioned problem is solved by swinging the means and the second swinging means to change the posture of the conveyed product support portion.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the conveying apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the first horizontal axis serving as the swing center of the first swinging unit and the swing end are arranged in the front-rear direction. The second horizontal axis serving as the oscillation center of the second oscillation means and the arrangement in the front-rear direction of the oscillation end are opposite to each other, and each of the first oscillation means and the second oscillation means is provided. The length in the front-rear direction from the horizontal axis serving as the swing center to the guide roller provided at the swing end is set to be the same, thereby further solving the above problem.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the transfer device according to the fourth or fifth aspect, the first guide rail and the second guide rail are sections in which the traveling unit travels in a horizontal state. None of the above is provided, and only one of the sections in which the chain fixing portion travels in an inclined state is provided in accordance with the inclination direction, thereby further solving the above-described problem.

  In the invention according to claim 7, in addition to the configuration of the transport apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 6, the transport object support portion serves as a swing center of the second swing means. By providing the center in the front-rear direction of the second horizontal axis and the swing end, the above-mentioned problem is further solved.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transport device having a chain roller guided by a chain guide rail constituting a transport path and traveling along the chain guide rail, and a transport chain provided above the transport chain. A transport device having transported object supporting means for holding a transported object, wherein the transport chain is a pair of left and right vertical links disposed with the width direction vertical and a pair of upper and lower pairs disposed with the width direction horizontal. A horizontal link, and a universal joint for connecting both ends of the vertical link and the horizontal link so as to be freely bendable. The vertical link includes a support link for supporting the conveyance support means, and the chain roller includes the support link. The chain rollers at both ends of the support link are supported by being rotatably supported by the extension of the horizontal axis of the universal joint provided at both ends of the support link. Since it is guided in the load direction by the chain guide rail, it can maintain a stable posture even if it receives a load applied to the transported object support means, and it is not necessary to provide a separate roller for the transported object support means. There is no need to provide guide rails.

  This simplifies the structure of the conveyed product support means and also simplifies the facilities of the entire conveyance path, so that it is possible to provide a conveyance apparatus that is easy to install and adjust and requires a small installation space.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, the conveyed product support means includes the conveyed product support portion and the chain fixing portion, and the chain fixing portion is fixedly supported by the support link of the conveyance chain. Accordingly, it is possible to maintain a stable posture of the chain fixing portion and replace the conveyed product support portion with an appropriate one according to the object to be conveyed.

  According to the configuration of the third aspect of the present invention, the chain roller is rotatably supported at the center in the running direction of the vertical link other than the support link, so that the vertical link other than the support link has the same structure as the conventional one. Therefore, it is possible to provide a transport device that minimizes changes from the conventional configuration, prevents the chain structure from becoming complicated, and is easy to install and adjust.

  According to the configuration of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the conveyed product support means includes the posture changing means for changing the posture of the conveyed product support portion between the conveyed product support portion and the chain fixing portion, so that the conveyance path Even in the inclined portion, the object to be conveyed can be conveyed without being inclined to increase the conveyance efficiency.

  Further, the posture changing means is provided so as to be able to swing upward about a first horizontal axis perpendicular to the traveling direction provided on the base of the chain fixing portion, and the first guide roller is provided on the side of the swing end. A first swinging means provided; and a first swinging means provided on the swinging end of the first swinging means and swingable upward about a second horizontal axis perpendicular to the traveling direction. And a second swinging means for supporting the conveyed product support means, and the first swinging means and the second swinging means swing downwards, respectively. The first guide roller and the second guide roller engage with a first guide rail provided on one side of the travel path and a second guide rail provided on the other side of the travel path, respectively. As a result, the first swinging means and the second swinging means are swung so By changing the posture of the portion, the first swinging means or the second swinging means can be swung upward in the inclined section to keep the conveyed object horizontally, and the first swinging means and Since the second swinging means can be controlled by the base of the chain fixing portion to swing downward, the guide rail for changing the posture becomes unnecessary in the horizontal section. Equipment is simplified, and installation and adjustment can be easily performed.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the arrangement in the front-rear direction of the first horizontal axis and the rocking end serving as the rocking center of the first rocking means is the rocking center of the second rocking means. 2 The horizontal axis and the oscillating end are reversely arranged in the front-rear direction, and are provided at the oscillating end from the horizontal axis that is the oscillation center of each of the first oscillating means and the second oscillating means. Since the length in the front-rear direction to the guide roller is set to be the same, the length in the conveying direction of the posture changing means can be made the same as when only one swinging means is used. Due to the length of the means, it is possible to prevent the necessity of setting a wide interval between adjacent objects to be conveyed, and the conveyance efficiency can be increased.

  According to the configuration of the sixth aspect of the present invention, neither the first guide rail nor the second guide rail is provided in the section in which the traveling means travels in the horizontal state, and the section in which the chain fixing portion travels in the inclined state. Since only one of them is provided according to the inclination direction, the installation space can be reduced.

  According to the configuration of the seventh aspect of the present invention, the conveyed object support means is provided at the center in the front-rear direction of the second horizontal axis and the rocking end as the rocking center of the second rocking means. Since the relative posture variation between the object support portion and the chain fixing portion is the same regardless of the inclination direction, the stability of the posture is further improved.

The side view of the conveying apparatus which is one Example of this invention. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged side view of a transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The front view of FIG. The side view of the attitude | position change means of the conveying apparatus which is one Example of this invention. The front view from the AA line of FIG. The front view from the BB line of FIG. 4 (a part is omitted). The top view of the attitude | position change means of the conveying apparatus which is one Example of this invention. The side view in the inclination section of the conveying apparatus which is one Example of this invention. The front view in the inclination section of the conveying apparatus which is one Example of this invention. The top view in the inclination section of the conveying apparatus which is one Example of this invention. The side view in the reverse inclination area of FIG. The front view in the reverse inclination area of FIG. The top view in the reverse inclination area of FIG. The partially expanded side view of the conveying apparatus which is the other Example of this invention. The front view of FIG. The side view of the inclination area of FIG.

  The transport device of the present invention has a transport roller that has a chain roller guided by a chain guide rail that constitutes a transport path and travels along the chain guide rail, and is provided above the transport chain to hold an object to be transported. A conveying device having a conveyed product support means, wherein the conveying chain has a pair of left and right vertical links arranged vertically in the width direction, and a pair of upper and lower horizontal links arranged horizontally in the width direction. A universal joint for connecting both ends of the link and the lateral link so as to be freely bendable, the vertical link includes a support link for supporting the conveyed product support means, and chain rollers are provided at both ends of the support link. It is rotatably supported by the extension of the horizontal axis of the universal joint, simplifies the structure of the transport object support means, and simplifies the equipment for the entire transport path. Even if the transported part is transported without tilting in the inclined part of the transport path to increase the transport efficiency, the installation and adjustment work is easy, and the installation space can be reduced. Any embodiment may be used.

  In other words, the transported object support means of the transport apparatus of the present invention may support the transported object by any mechanism, and in particular, when used in an automobile body painting / drying line, etc. A structure that supports the object to be conveyed is preferable.

Hereinafter, a transport apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the transport apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention has a chain roller 104 guided by a chain guide rail 105 that constitutes a transport path, and travels along the chain guide rail 105. And a transport object support unit that is provided above the transport chain 140 and holds the transported object W.

  The transport chain 140 includes a pair of left and right vertical links 141 arranged with the width direction vertical, a pair of upper and lower horizontal links 142 arranged with the width direction horizontal, and each of the vertical links 141 and the horizontal links 142. It has a universal joint 143 that connects both ends so as to be freely bent, and is configured to be freely bent vertically and horizontally.

The chain roller 104 provided on the pair of left and right vertical links 141 rolls on the chain guide rail 105 to define the vertical travel path of the transport chain 140, and the horizontal chain roller provided on the pair of upper and lower horizontal links 142. 146 rolls on the side wall of the chain guide rail 105 to define the lateral travel path of the transport chain 140.
The chain roller 104 and the horizontal chain roller 146 are provided at the center in the traveling direction of the vertical link 141 and the horizontal link 142, respectively.

The vertical link 141 is configured to include a support link 144 that supports the conveyed product support means at predetermined intervals. In the support link 144, the chain rollers 104 are horizontally connected to the universal joints 143 provided at both ends. The shaft 145 is rotatably supported by an extension portion.
Thus, since the chain rollers 104 at both ends of the support link 144 are guided in the load direction by the chain guide rail 105, a stable posture can be maintained even when a load is applied to the conveyed product support means.

The conveyed product support means includes a conveyed product support portion 130 and a chain fixing portion 117, and the chain fixing portion 117 is fixedly supported by the support link 144 of the conveyance chain 140.
An attitude changing unit 120 that changes the attitude of the conveyed product support unit 130 is provided between the conveyed product support unit 130 and the chain fixing unit 117.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the posture changing unit 120 includes a base 114 provided at the upper end of the chain fixing portion 117, a first swinging unit 121, and a second swinging unit 124. Yes.
The first swinging means 121 is provided so as to be swingable upward about a first horizontal shaft 113 that is orthogonal to the traveling direction provided on the base 114, and to the side of the swinging end of the first swinging means 121. Is provided with a first guide roller 122.
The second swinging means 124 is provided so as to be swingable upward about a second horizontal shaft 123 that is orthogonal to the traveling direction provided at the swinging end of the first swinging means 121. A second guide roller 125 is provided on the side of the swinging end of the first swinging member, and a transported object supporting unit 130 is supported at the center of the second swinging unit 124 in the traveling direction via a transported object supporting unit base 131.

  In the present embodiment, the chain fixing portion 117 is provided with an auxiliary roller 115 guided by the auxiliary rail 103, and is configured to stably hold the posture in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction. At the same time, the chain fixing portion 117 extends upward while avoiding the auxiliary rail 103 and supports the base 114.

Next, the operation of the transport apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the chain guide rail 105 engages with the second guide roller 125 provided on the side of the swinging end of the second swinging unit 124 in the upwardly inclined section illustrated in the figure. A second guide rail 106 is provided, and the second swinging means 124 swings upward about a second horizontal shaft 123 that is orthogonal to the traveling direction provided at the swinging end of the first swinging means 121.

  At this time, due to the weight of the transported object support means 130 and the transported object W, the first swinging means 121 is restricted from swinging downward by the base 114 at the upper end of the chain fixing portion 117, and the first guide roller 122 is Since the second horizontal shaft 123 remains at the position, the second swinging means 124 is kept horizontal, and the transported object support unit base 131 provided at the center of the second swinging means 124 is maintained in the horizontal direction. The posture of the conveyed object W is maintained by maintaining the posture of the unit 130 in the same posture as the horizontal section.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, the chain guide rail 105 is engaged with a first guide roller 122 provided on the side of the swinging end of the first swinging means 121 in the upwardly inclined section shown in the figure. The first guide rail 102 is provided, and the first swinging means 121 is swung upward about a first horizontal axis 113 orthogonal to the traveling direction provided on the base 114 of the traveling means 110.

  At this time, the second swinging means 124 is restricted from swinging downward by the base 114 at the upper end of the chain fixing part 117 due to the weight of the transported object support part 130 and the transported object W, and the second guide roller 125 is Since the first horizontal shaft 113 remains in place, the second swinging means 124 is kept horizontal, and the transported object support unit base 131 provided at the center of the second swinging means 124 is maintained in the horizontal direction. The posture of the conveyed object W is maintained by keeping the posture of the means 130 the same as that of the horizontal section.

  According to the transport apparatus configured as described above, the transported object W continuous in the front-rear direction is not tilted even in the inclined section, and there is no interference between the transported objects W due to the tilt. The conveyance efficiency can be increased by reducing the interval.

  Further, in the horizontal section, even if the first guide rail 102 and the second guide rail 106 are not provided, the first swinging means 121 and the second swinging means 124 are kept at the swinging lower end defined by the base 114 by their own weight. In addition to maintaining the level, it is only necessary to provide either the first guide rail 102 or the second guide rail 106 depending on the inclination direction even in the inclined section, and the installation and adjustment work is easy and the installation space can be reduced. .

  Further, in this embodiment, the first horizontal shaft 113 and the swing end of the first swinging means 121 are arranged in the front-rear direction, and the second horizontal as the swing center of the second swinging means 124. The arrangement of the shaft 123 and the rocking end in the front-rear direction is reversed, and the rocking is performed from the horizontal shafts 113 and 123 that are the rocking centers of the first rocking means 121 and the second rocking means 124, respectively. Since the length in the front-rear direction to the guide rollers 122 and 125 provided at the ends is set to be the same, the length in the conveyance direction of the posture changing means is the same as that when only one swinging means is provided. It is possible to prevent the necessity of setting a wide interval between the adjacent objects to be conveyed W due to the length of the posture changing means, and it is possible to increase the conveyance efficiency.

  In order to further stabilize the posture of the conveyed object W, the first guide rail 102 and the second guide rail 106 may be provided in the horizontal section, and the first guide rail 102 and the Both of the second guide rails 106 may be provided.

Further, the posture changing means 120 described above can also be applied to a transport apparatus 200 having a base support portion 116 that is not fixed to the transport chain 140, as shown in FIGS.
The transport device 200 includes a traveling main body 111 in which the traveling unit 110 travels by a traveling roller 112 along a traveling rail 101 configured by the upper surface of the chain guide rail 105.

The traveling body 111 is driven to travel forward by the lateral link 142 of the transport chain 140 while maintaining a stable posture by the front and rear traveling rollers 112.
The transported object support unit 130 is provided above the travel unit 110 that travels stably, holds the transported object W, and the posture changing unit 120 changes the posture of the transported product support unit 130 with respect to the travel unit 110. It is configured. Other configurations are the same as those in the above-described embodiment.

  As described above, according to the transport device of the present invention, the structure of the transported object supporting means is simplified, the facilities of the entire transport path are simplified, and the transported object is not inclined even in the inclined portion of the transport path. The effect is enormous, for example, it is possible to increase the conveyance efficiency by carrying the film, to facilitate installation and adjustment, and to reduce the installation space.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Transfer apparatus 101 ... Traveling rail 102 ... 1st guide rail 103 ... Auxiliary rail 104 ... Chain roller 105 ... Chain guide rail 106 ... 2nd guide rail 110 ... · Traveling means 111 ··· Traveling body 112 ··· Traveling roller 113 ··· First horizontal shaft 114 ··· Base 115 ··· Auxiliary roller 116 ··· Base support portion 117 ··· Chain fixing portion 120 ... posture changing means 121 ... first swinging means 122 ... first guide roller 123 ... second horizontal shaft 124 ... second swinging means 125 ... second guide roller 130・ ・ ・ Conveyed object support part 131 ・ ・ ・ Conveyed object support part base W ・ ・ ・ Conveyed object 140 ・ ・ ・ Conveyance chain 141 ・ ・ ・ Vertical link 142 ・ ・ ・ Horizontal link 143 ・ ・ ・ Uni Over monkeys joint 144 ... support link 145 ... horizontal axis 146 ... horizontal chain rollers

Claims (7)

A conveyance chain having a chain roller guided by a chain guide rail that constitutes a conveyance path and traveling along the chain guide rail; and a conveyance support unit that is provided above the conveyance chain and holds an object to be conveyed. A conveying device,
The transport chain is freely bent at a pair of left and right vertical links arranged with the width direction vertical, a pair of upper and lower horizontal links arranged with the width direction horizontal, and both ends of the vertical link and the horizontal link. Universal joints that can be connected,
The vertical link includes a support link that supports the conveyed product support means,
The conveying device, wherein the chain roller is rotatably supported by an extension portion of a horizontal shaft of a universal joint provided at both ends of the support link. The transport object support means has a transport object support part and a chain fixing part,
The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the chain fixing portion is fixedly supported by a support link of the transport chain.   The transport device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the chain roller is rotatably supported at a central portion in a running direction of a vertical link other than the support link. The transport object support means has posture changing means for changing the attitude of the transport object support part between the transport object support part and the chain fixing part,
The posture changing means is provided so as to be swingable upward about a first horizontal axis perpendicular to the traveling direction provided on the base of the chain fixing portion, and a first guide roller is provided on the side of the swing end. A first swinging means provided; and a first swinging means provided on the swinging end of the first swinging means and swingable upward about a second horizontal axis perpendicular to the traveling direction. And a second swinging means for supporting the conveyed product support means and a second guide roller.
The first swinging means and the second swinging means are respectively restricted from swinging downward by the base of the chain fixing part,
The first guide roller and the second guide roller engage with a first guide rail provided on one side of the travel path and a second guide rail provided on the other side of the travel path, respectively. The transport apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the posture of the transported object support portion is changed by swinging the first swinging means and the second swinging means. The first horizontal axis serving as the swing center of the first swinging means and the back-and-forth direction of the swing end are arranged in the front-rear direction of the second horizontal axis serving as the swing center of the second swinging means and the swing end. Configured to be the opposite of
The length in the front-rear direction from the horizontal axis serving as the center of swinging of each of the first swinging means and the second swinging means to the guide roller provided at the swinging end is set to be the same. The transport apparatus according to claim 4.   None of the first guide rail and the second guide rail is provided in a section in which the chain fixing portion travels in a horizontal state, and any one in a section in which the traveling means travels in an inclined state according to the inclination direction. The conveying apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, wherein only one of them is provided.   7. The transported object supporting portion is provided at a center in the front-rear direction of a second horizontal axis and a swing end that are a swing center of the second swing means. The conveying apparatus in any one.

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