JP2020026335A - Carrier system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a carrier system capable of inhibiting noise and uneven rotation of a pinion by a simple structure and inhibiting a press force from generating in a moving direction on a movable part upon an engagement between a pinion tooth and a rack tooth.SOLUTION: A carrier system 100 has a rack 120 provided on a moving body, and a pinion 130 for moving the moving body. The rack 120 has fixed rack teeth 122 and a movable part 123 provided with movable rack teeth 124 continuing to ends of the fixed rack teeth 122. The movable part 123 is supported for swinging about a support shaft 125, and the pinion 130 is connected to a lifter 140 capable of moving the pinion 130 toward and away from a lower side of the movable rack teeth 124.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport system in which a pinion is engaged with a rack provided on a movable body such as a transport trolley, and the movable body such as a transport trolley is moved by rotation of the pinion.

Conventionally, in a transport system that transports a moving body such as a transport trolley, for moving, a moving unit provided with a driving unit, a driving unit provided on the conveying path side, a plurality of moving bodies connected and towed, Various things are known, such as those that engage and disengage with a traveling chain or the like.
For example, in order to apply paint to an automobile body or the like, a mobile body (transportation cart 11) is used as a transport system that holds the automobile body or the like on a transport cart as a moving entity and transports various processes such as painting and drying for each transport cart. , A pinion (drive gear 30) is arranged on the side of the transport path, and the pinion (drive gear 30) is engaged with the rack 25 provided on the moving body (transportation trolley 11), and the pinion (drive gear 30) is provided. 2. Description of the Related Art A transport system that moves a moving body (transportation trolley 11) by rotation of is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

In the transport system to which the engagement of the rack and the pinion is applied, a plurality of pinions (drive gears 30) are arranged on the transport path side, and the racks 25 provided on the moving body (the transport vehicle 11) sequentially rotate the pinions (drive gears). 30), it is conveyed in a predetermined direction while engaging and disengaging. If the phases and speeds of the rack teeth and the pinion teeth are shifted during the engagement, impact, vibration, noise, etc. are generated. In the worst case, there is a possibility that the rack 25 and the pinion (drive gear 30) may be damaged or may not be engaged to stop.
In particular, when the transfer system is used for processes such as baking and drying, even when the pinion (drive gear 30) is installed in phase with the rack teeth and the pinion teeth, the high temperature oven itself causes a large temperature change. The pitch of the pinion (drive gear 30) installed also expands and contracts in accordance with the expansion and contraction, and a phase shift is inevitable.
Further, when the entire length of the rack 25 is long or when the pitch between the rack teeth is small, the phase shift between the rack teeth and the pinion teeth due to the temperature change is large, and the above-described problem is more likely to occur.

In order to cope with this, there is known a transport system that detects the position of the rack 6 and the rotation phase of the pinion (pinion gear 5) and controls the phases and speeds of the rack teeth and the pinion teeth to coincide (for example, See Patent Document 2 etc.).
However, the transport system disclosed in Patent Document 2 requires an electric detection mechanism and a control mechanism to be disposed on the transport path side, which may complicate the apparatus configuration, increase the maintenance frequency, etc., and may cause the spraying of paint. There is a possibility that it is difficult to cope with an environment, a high temperature environment, or the like.

The front end portion including the first teeth r1 that first meshes with the pinion 2 of the rack 1 is a movable portion (another member 1B), and the movable portion (another member 1B) is swung by a support shaft parallel to the rotation axis of the pinion 2. A known transport system is movably supported, and the support shaft is disposed behind the first tooth r1 to swing the movable part (another member 1B) to press the first tooth r1 against the pinion 2. (For example, see Patent Document 3 and the like).
Since the transport system known in Patent Document 3 is constituted only by a mechanical structure, it can be installed in a paint spray environment or a high-temperature environment.

  However, since the swing center of the movable portion (the separate member 1B) is located rearward in the moving direction from the rack teeth that first engage with the pinion teeth, when the moving speed of the rack 1 is higher than the peripheral speed of the pinion 2, When the rack 1 engages with the front pinion 2, depending on the position where the pinion teeth and the rack teeth abut, a large frictional force is generated due to a strong pressing force in the moving direction, and the movable portion (the separate member 1 </ b> B) is moved. There is a risk that a large impact against the frictional force will occur when pushing up, and that the frictional force will not be able to be pushed up so much that the rack 1 may be stopped or damaged.

Further, the rack 120 has a main body 121 provided with a plurality of fixed rack teeth 122 at the center, and a movable part 123 provided with a movable rack tooth 124 continuous with at least one end of the fixed rack teeth 122. A transport system in which the movable portion 123 is swingably supported around a support shaft portion 125 is known (for example, see Patent Document 4).
In the transport system known in Patent Literature 4, since the support shaft portion 125 is provided forward of the position where the movable rack teeth 124 of the movable portion 123 exist, the phases and speeds of the rack teeth and the pinion teeth are different. However, the movable portion 123 is easily pushed upward by the rack teeth that first engage with the pinion teeth, and even when the moving speed of the rack 120 is faster than the peripheral speed of the pinion, the movable portion does not receive a strong force. It is easily pushed upward and does not receive a strong pressing force in the moving direction.
In addition, even if the convergence of the phase shift between the rack teeth and the pinion teeth after pushing up the movable portion 123 is delayed, the pushed-up rack teeth sequentially move to the teeth farther from the support shaft portion 125. It becomes smaller gradually.

As a result, even if the phases and speeds of the rack teeth and the pinion teeth are different or the phase of the pinion 130 is shifted due to a temperature change, the shock, vibration, The rack 120 can be reliably engaged with and disengaged from the plurality of pinions 130 without stopping or breaking the rack 120 while suppressing noise and the like.
When the transport speed of the rack 120 is made different for each transport section, it is not necessary to synchronize the adjacent pinions 120 only by independently setting the speed of the pinion 130 for each transport section, and a complicated control mechanism is required. It becomes unnecessary.

JP 2007-276515 A JP 2005-206051 A JP 2006-038190 A JP-A-2017-081703

  However, there is still room for improvement in the transport systems known in the above-mentioned patent documents and the like.

That is, in the transport system known in Patent Document 4 and the like, in the case of a configuration in which the driving force is transmitted to the pinion by the chain, there is a possibility that the operation noise of the chain becomes noise and that the rotation of the pinion is likely to be uneven. At the same time, there is a possibility that the time required for installation of the device and adjustment of the transport pitch on site may become long.
Also, even if the movable part is easily pushed upward by the rack teeth that first engage with the pinion teeth, the pinion approaches from the side of the rack and engages. There is a possibility that a strong pressing force is generated in the moving direction with respect to the portion.

  The present invention solves these problems, and with a simple configuration, noise and uneven rotation of the pinion can be suppressed, and device installation and adjustment can be performed in a short time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a transport system capable of suppressing a pressing force generated in a moving direction with respect to a movable portion when the engaging is performed.

  The transfer system of the present invention is a transfer system having a rack provided on a moving body and a pinion that engages with the rack to move the moving body, wherein the rack has a plurality of fixed rack teeth provided in the center. And a movable portion provided with movable rack teeth continuous with at least one end of the fixed rack teeth, wherein the movable portion is swingably supported around a support shaft portion. The support shaft portion and the movable portion are provided at least at the front end in the moving direction of the main body portion, and the pinion is a lifting device capable of moving the pinion closer to and away from the lower side of the movable rack teeth. The connection solves the problem.

In the transport system according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the pinion is connected to an elevating device that allows the pinion to approach and detach below the movable rack teeth, the pinion approaches the movable rack tooth by the elevating device. As compared with the case where the pinion and the movable rack teeth are engaged from the side, the impact generated when the pinion and the movable rack teeth are engaged and the pressing force generated in the moving direction can be reduced.
Also, when the rack transfers the pinion, the engaged pinion is separated from the rack before the transfer, and the moving speed of the rack before and after the transfer is changed by moving the destination pinion closer to the rack. In addition, it is possible to prevent the rack and the pinion from biting or disengaging due to a difference in the peripheral speed of the pinion before and after the connection.
Also, it is not necessary to strictly adjust the phase and rotation speed by control, such as pinion frame alignment before and after the transfer, and it can be driven by an inexpensive motor, and there is no need to go through a separate conveyor before and after the transfer. It is possible to prevent the configuration from becoming complicated and the cost from increasing.

According to the configuration of the second aspect, the pinion is connected to the drive device that drives the pinion via the universal joint, so that only the pinion can approach the rack without moving the drive device up and down. .
In addition, the degree of freedom in arranging the driving device is improved as compared with the case where the driving device is directly connected to the pinion.
Furthermore, by connecting the drive device and the pinion with two universal joints connected to each other, the rotational speeds of the drive device side and the pinion side can be matched even if the pinion is moved up and down.
According to the configuration of the third aspect, since the movable portion is formed such that the top of the tooth farthest from the main body portion is formed low, the movable portion is first pushed up by the movable rack teeth that engage with the pinion teeth. Since the swing angle can be reduced, the clearance above the movable portion can be reduced.

According to the configuration described in claim 4, since the pinion and the elevating device are connected via the elastic member, the impact when the pinion approaches and engages from below the movable rack teeth is reduced by the elastic member. By doing so, breakage and deterioration due to impact on the pinion and the rack can be suppressed.
According to the configuration of the fifth aspect, the support shaft portion is provided forward of the position where the movable rack teeth of the movable portion exist in the movement direction, so that even if the phases and speeds of the rack teeth and the pinion teeth are different. First, the movable part is easily pushed upward by the movable rack teeth that are engaged with the pinion teeth, and even if the moving speed of the rack is faster than the peripheral speed of the pinion, the movable part is easily moved upward without receiving a strong force. , And does not receive a strong pressing force in the moving direction.
Also, even if the convergence of the phase shift between the rack teeth and the pinion teeth after pushing up the movable portion is delayed, the pushed up rack teeth sequentially move to the teeth farther from the support shaft portion, so the pushing amount is gradually increased. Become smaller.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a transport system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion A of the transport system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state in which the lifting pinion 130 is lowered in the transport system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state in which a lifting pinion 130 is raised in the transport system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The side view which shows the conveyance procedure 1 of the conveyance trolley 110 of the conveyance system 100 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a transfer procedure 2 of the transfer cart 110 of the transfer system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The side view which shows the conveyance procedure 3 of the conveyance trolley 110 of the conveyance system 100 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, a transport system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In addition, each drawing does not illustrate a part for description.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a transport system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention engages a pinion (a lifting pinion 130 and a fixed pinion 131) with a rack 120 provided on a moving body 110 such as a transport trolley. The rack 120 is moved by moving the pinions 130 and 131, and the rack 120 is composed of a main body 121 provided with a plurality of fixed rack teeth 122 in the center, and an end of the fixed rack teeth 122. And a movable portion 123 provided with movable rack teeth 124 continuous with the movable portion 123. The movable portion 123 is swingably supported around a support shaft portion 125, and the elevating pinion 130 is connected to the elevating pinion 130 by a movable rack. The lifting device 140 is connected to the lower side of the teeth 124 so as to be able to approach and detach therefrom.
Further, the support shaft portion 125 is provided forward of the position where the movable rack teeth 124 of the movable portion 123 exist, so that even if the phases and speeds of the rack teeth and the pinion teeth are different, the pinion is initially provided. The movable portion 123 is easily pushed upward by the movable rack teeth 124 engaged with the teeth 132, and the movable portion 123 receives a strong force even when the moving speed of the rack 120 is higher than the peripheral speed of the pinions 130 and 131. It is easily pushed upward without any strong pressing force in the moving direction.

Further, even if the convergence of the phase shift between the rack teeth and the pinion teeth after pushing up the movable portion 123 is delayed, the movable rack teeth 124 that are pushed up sequentially shift to teeth farther from the support shaft portion 125, so that the push-up is performed. The amount gradually decreases.
The moving body 110 is configured such that the wheels 111 are grounded on the rails 101 of the transport path base 102 so as to be movable along the rails 101, and transports a transported article or the like on the vehicle body support base 112.

The lifting pinion 130 is connected to the worm speed reducer 141, and rotates about the rotation shaft 133 of the worm speed reducer 141 to which rotation is transmitted via a universal joint 142 from a driving device (not shown).
The elevating pinion 130 and the worm speed reducer 141 are connected via a barrel spring 134 as an elastic member.

The worm speed reducer 141 is fixed on the elevating device 140, and the elevating device 140 moves the worm speed reducer 141 up and down to move the elevating pinion 130 toward and away from the movable rack teeth 124, so that the pinion teeth 132 Are configured to be engageable with and disengageable from the rack 120.
The elevating position of the elevating device 140 is controlled by a limit switch 143.
The specific configuration of the lifting device 140 is not particularly limited. For example, if an air cylinder or the like is used, the pressing pressure when the lifting pinion 130 is engaged with the rack 120 can be easily adjusted.

Next, a procedure for moving the moving body 110 using the transport system 100 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, as shown in FIG. 5, the movable body 110 is placed on the transport path base 102, and the first fixed pinion 131a and the first elevating pinion 130a are engaged with the movable rack teeth 124 of the rack 120. The transport of the moving body 110 is started by rotating the first fixed pinion 131a and the first elevating pinion 130a.

At this time, since the first fixed pinion 131a and the first elevating pinion 130a have the same peripheral speed, even if the first fixed pinion 131a and the first elevating pinion 130a are simultaneously engaged with the rack 120, the first fixed pinion 131a and the first elevating pinion 130a are engaged. The moving body 110 can be conveyed at a stable speed without causing any disengagement.
The moving body 110 that has started to be conveyed is conveyed by the first elevating pinion 130a until the movable portion 123 is positioned above the second elevating pinion 130b.

Next, when the moving body 110 is transported above the second elevating pinion 130b, as shown in FIG. 6, the first elevating pinion 130a is lowered by the elevating device 140, and the second elevating pinion 130b is raised.
As a result, the rack 120 is disengaged from the lowered first elevating pinion 130a and is engaged with the ascending second elevating pinion 130b, so that the first elevating pinion 130a and the second elevating pinion 130b Even if there is a difference in the peripheral speed between the two, the first elevating pinion 130a and the second elevating pinion 130b do not engage with the rack 120 at the same time to cause biting or disengagement. Can reliably transfer from the first elevating pinion 130a to the second elevating pinion 130b.

In addition, it is not necessary to strictly adjust the phase and the number of revolutions by control such as frame alignment of the pinions 130 and 131 before and after the connection, and it is possible to cope with driving by an inexpensive motor, and it is also necessary to use another conveyor before and after the connection. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the device configuration from becoming complicated and the cost from increasing.
Further, since the elevating pinions 130a and 130b are connected to the worm reducer 141 via the barrel spring 134, the impact when the elevating pinions 130a and 130b are raised and engaged with the rack 120 can be reduced. it can.

Further, since the worm speed reducer 141 and the driving device (not shown) are connected by the universal joint 142, the driving device (not shown) does not move up and down when the worm speed reducer 141 is raised and lowered by the lifting device 140. The rotation can be reliably transmitted to the worm reducer 141, and the connection range of the universal joint 142 (for example, when a universal joint with a spline shaft is used, it corresponds to the slidable range of the spline shaft). If this is the case, the degree of freedom of the installation location of the driving device (not shown) can be improved.
Thus, for example, even on a transport line that needs to be explosion-proof, only the drive device can be installed outside the explosion-proof range, so that it is not necessary to use an expensive drive device with an explosion-proof specification, thereby suppressing an increase in cost.

When two universal joints 142 connecting the drive device (not shown) and the worm speed reducer 141 are connected, even if the worm speed reducer 141 is raised and lowered by the elevating device 140, the drive device (not shown) and the worm Since the number of rotations of the speed reducer 141 can always be matched, the rotation speed of the pinions 130 and 131 can be easily controlled from the driving device (not shown) side.
Furthermore, the rotation of the pinions 130 and 131 is not uneven, and the noise is small, as compared with the case where the rotation from the driving device (not shown) to the worm reducer 141 is transmitted by a chain.
In addition, since the configuration does not use a chain, it is possible to reduce the operation time and cost required for maintenance such as tension adjustment accompanying extension of the chain.

The moving body 110 having the rack 120 engaged with the second elevating pinion 130b advances in the transport direction by the rotation of the second elevating pinion 130b, engages with the second fixed pinion 131b, and is further transported to the next step.
At this time, since the top of the tooth farthest from the main body 121 is formed low, the movable part 123 is first moved by the movable rack teeth 124 that engage with the pinion teeth 132 of the second fixed pinion 131b. When pushed up, the swing angle can be reduced, and the clearance above the movable portion 123 can be reduced.
Further, the first elevating pinion 130a waits at a position where it is raised again by the elevating device 140 before the moving body 110 to be conveyed next reaches the first elevating pinion 130a.

  As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various design changes can be made without departing from the present invention described in the claims. It is possible.

In the embodiment described above, the fixed pinion and the elevating pinion are described as being mixed along the transport path.However, the configuration of the transport path is not limited to this.For example, without providing a fixed pinion, It may be constituted by a lifting pinion.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the worm reduction gear and the lifting pinion are described as being raised and lowered by the lifting device. However, the lifting device is not limited to this, and for example, the drive device may be the same as the worm reduction gear and the lifting pinion. You may comprise so that it may go up and down at timing.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the elevating pinion and the worm speed reducer have been described as being connected via the barrel spring, but the connection relationship between the elevating pinion and the worm speed reducer is not limited thereto. For example, the lifting pinion and the worm reducer may be connected without interposing a barrel spring or another elastic member, an elastic member is arranged between the lifting device and the worm reducer, and the pinion and the rack are connected to each other. May be configured to absorb the shock at the time of engagement.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the elevating position of the elevating device has been described as being controlled by the limit switch. However, the method of controlling the elevating position of the elevating device is not limited to this. In addition, a stopper may be arranged at the maximum elevation position of the elevating device when the pinion and the rack are engaged to limit the amount of elevation of the elevating device.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the worm speed reducer and the drive device are described as being connected by the universal joint.However, the connection relationship between the worm speed reducer and the drive device is not limited to this. The worm speed reducer and the drive device may be arranged on the elevating device, and the worm speed reducer and the drive device may be directly connected without using a universal joint.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the support shaft is described as being provided forward of the position where the movable rack teeth of the movable unit exist, but the position of the support shaft is not limited thereto. For example, the support shaft may be provided above the center of the movable portion where the movable rack teeth exist.

100: transport system 101: rail 102: transport path base 110: moving body (transfer cart)
111 ... wheels 112 ... body support stand 120 ... rack 121 ... main body part 122 ... fixed rack teeth 123 ... movable part 124 ... movable rack teeth 125 ... support shaft part 130a: First lifting pinion (pinion)
130b ... second lifting pinion (pinion)
131a 1st fixed pinion (pinion)
131b ... second fixed pinion (pinion)
132 ... pinion teeth 133 ... rotating shaft 134 ... barrel spring (elastic member)
140 ··· Lifting device 141 ··· Warm reducer 142 ··· Universal joint 143 ··· Limit switch

Claims (5)

A transport system having a rack provided on a moving body and a pinion that engages with the rack to move the moving body,
The rack has a main body portion provided with a plurality of fixed rack teeth in the center, and a movable portion provided with movable rack teeth continuous to at least one end of the fixed rack teeth,
The movable portion is supported swingably about a support shaft portion,
The support shaft portion and the movable portion are provided at least at a front end in a moving direction of the main body portion,
The transport system according to claim 1, wherein the pinion is connected to an elevating device capable of approaching and detaching the pinion below and below the movable rack teeth.   The transport system according to claim 1, wherein the pinion is connected to a driving device that drives the pinion via a universal joint.   The transport system according to claim 1, wherein the movable portion is formed such that a top portion of a tooth farthest from the main body portion is low.   The transport system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pinion and the lifting device are connected via an elastic member.   The transport system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the support shaft is provided forward of a position where the movable rack teeth of the movable unit exist.

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