JP2023116798A - Multi-row workpiece arrangement device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a multi-row workpiece conveyance method and a multi-row workpiece conveyance device realizing the cost reduction of multi-row conveyance rollers.SOLUTION: In a conveyance method in which multi-row workpieces 30 are conveyed in a conveyance direction F while being supported by multi-row rollers 20, workpieces 31 to 35 in the multi-row workpieces 30 are arranged so as to be separated in a width direction T crossed to the conveyance direction F, conveyance rollers 21 to 26 in the multi-row conveyance rollers 20 are arranged so as to be separated in the conveyance direction F, and the multi-row workpieces 30 are conveyed in the conveyance direction F at a misaligned arrangement in which a certain workpiece in the multi-row workpieces 30 is misaligned in the conveyance direction F with respect to other workpieces located next to the certain workpiece.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for transporting multiple-row workpieces.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a roller hearth furnace in which a plurality of low dust-generating rollers (transport rollers) are arranged along the transport direction. Patent Literature 2 discloses a heat retaining furnace in which a long rolling material (work) is oscillated by an in-furnace transfer table (transfer roller). Patent Document 3 discloses a continuous heating furnace in which a large number of long steel materials (workpieces) are charged in parallel and heated.

JP 2013-100963 A JP-A-9-296220 Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-15645

The figure shows that when multiple-row workpieces are transported while being supported by multiple-row transport rollers, the load on the multiple-row transport rollers due to the multiple-row workpieces varies depending on the positional relationship between the multiple-row workpieces and the multiple-row transport rollers. 11 and FIG. 12 .

11 and 12 are plan and side views, respectively, of a transport device 7 according to the prior art. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, consider the case where the ends of the multiple-row workpieces 30 are aligned in a plane view. FIGS. 11 and 12 show that when a plurality of rows of works 30 (works 31 to 35) are transported in the transport direction F while being supported by a plurality of rows of transport rollers 20 (transport rollers 21 to 26) arranged at regular intervals, a plurality of The load on the multi-row conveying roller 20 by the row work 30 is schematically shown. In the multi-row works 30 (works 31 to 35), the downstream end and the upstream end in the transport direction F are simply referred to as the downstream end and the upstream end, respectively. As an example for clarity, the multi-row work 30 shown in FIGS. , and immediately before the upstream end of the multi-row work 30 separates from the fifth conveying roller 25. FIG.

In FIG. 11, 1.5w is one span on the downstream side (because the downstream end of the multiple-row work 30 is just before being supported by the first transport roller 21, hereinafter, it will be considered as one span for convenience) and upstream. This means that a load of 1.5 spans, which is the sum of 0.5 spans on the side, is applied to the second transport roller 22 . In addition, 1.0w means that the load for one span, which is the sum of the 0.5 span on the downstream side and the 0.5 span on the upstream side, is applied to each of the third transport roller 23 and the fourth transport roller 24. means to be In addition, 0.5w means that a load of 0.5 span on the upstream side is applied to the fifth transport roller 25 (the upstream end of the multiple-row work 30 separates from the fifth transport roller 25). Since it is immediately before, 0.5 span is considered for convenience.). Then, as shown in FIG. 12, instead of the load of the multi-row work 30 being applied to the first conveying roller 21, the second conveying roller 22 has a total load of 7.5 w due to the multi-row work 30. A load is applied.

11 and 12, a total load of 5.0 w is applied to each of the third transport roller 23 and the fourth transport roller 24. A total load of 7.5 w is applied to the second transport roller 22 at . That is, in the mode shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 , the largest total load is applied to the second transport rollers 22 . If a high-strength multi-row conveying roller 20 is used to withstand such a load, the diameter and thickness of the multi-row conveying roller 20 are increased, resulting in an increase in cost. Further, when the multi-row conveying roller 20 is used in a heat treatment apparatus for heat treatment at a high temperature, the use of the multi-row conveying roller 20 made of a heat-resistant material increases the cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a multi-row work transport method and a multi-row work transport apparatus that can reduce the cost of multi-row transport rollers.

In order to solve the above problems, a method for transporting a plurality of rows of workpieces according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
In a transport method for transporting multiple rows of workpieces in the transport direction while supporting them with multiple rows of transport rollers,
The works in the plurality of rows of works are spaced apart in a width direction intersecting the conveying direction,
The transport rollers in the multiple-row transport rollers are spaced apart in the transport direction,
The plural rows of works are conveyed in the conveying direction in a misaligned arrangement in which one of the plural rows of works is displaced in the conveying direction with respect to another work positioned adjacent to the certain work. characterized by

According to the present invention, conveyance in a misaligned arrangement disperses the load on each conveying roller due to the plurality of rows of workpieces, compared to conveyance in which the plurality of rows of workpieces are arranged flush with each other in a plan view. Cost reduction of the roller can be realized.

It is a figure explaining typically the processing system containing the conveying apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1; 2 is a plan view of a transport device in the processing system shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a side view of the transport device shown in FIG. 3; FIG. It is a top view of the arrangement|sequence device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a conveying device arranged on the downstream side of the arranging device shown in FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a side view of the conveying device shown in FIG. 6; It is a top view of the arrangement|sequence device which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 9 is a plan view of a conveying device arranged on the downstream side of the arranging device shown in FIG. 8; FIG. 10 is a side view of the transport device shown in FIG. 9; It is a top view of the conveying apparatus which concerns on a prior art. FIG. 12 is a side view of the conveying device shown in FIG. 11; 1 is a perspective view of an arranging device according to a first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the movement of the arranging device shown in FIG. 13;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a conveying device 7 according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
A conveying device 7 according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, 13 and 14. FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a processing system 1 including a conveying device 7 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the transport device 7 in the processing system 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view of the transport device 7 shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the arranging device 3 according to the first embodiment. 14A and 14B are diagrams for explaining the movement of the arranging device 3 shown in FIG. 13 (the left diagram is a side view and the right diagram is a top view). In FIG. 14, (A) shows how the multi-row work 30 is conveyed, (B) shows that the positioning unit 10 is positioned at the lower positioning position and positions the multi-row work 30, (C) shows that the positioning part 10 is in the upper retracted position.

A processing system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes an arranging device 3 and a heat treatment device 5 . The heat treatment device 5 has a carrier device 7, which will be described later. The arranging device 3 is arranged upstream in the transport direction F with respect to the transport device 7 . The heat treatment device 5 is, for example, a roller hearth furnace for continuously heat-treating a multi-row work 30 conveyed while being supported by multi-row conveying rollers 20 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , the heat treatment apparatus 5 has a furnace body 6 and a transfer device 7 . In the heat treatment apparatus 5 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the furnace body 6 extends in the transport direction F. As shown in FIG. The furnace body 6 is composed of, for example, a steel box and an inner wall made of heat insulating material. The interior of the furnace body 6 is heated by a heat source (not shown) such as an electric heater or gas burner. A multi-row workpiece 30 as an object to be processed is heated to a temperature of, for example, about 500 to 1200° C. by the heat treatment device 5 .

The conveying device 7 has a multi-row conveying roller 20 and a roller driving section (not shown) that drives the multi-row conveying roller 20 to rotate. The multi-row conveying rollers 20 are arranged in the furnace body 6 of the heat treatment apparatus 5 for heat-treating the multi-row workpieces 30 . The multi-row conveying rollers 20 convey the multi-row work 30 in the conveying direction F while supporting the multi-row work 30 in the furnace body 6 . In other words, the multi-row workpieces 30 are heat-treated in the heat treatment device 5 while being conveyed in a positionally-shifted arrangement, which will be described later. The multi-row conveying roller 20 used in the heat treatment device 5 is made of a heat-resistant material (for example, heat-resistant steel) having heat resistance corresponding to the heat treatment temperature in the heat treatment device 5 . In this case, the amount of expensive heat-resistant material that can withstand high temperatures during heat treatment can be reduced, and the cost of the multi-row conveying roller 20 can be reduced.

The multi-row transport roller 20 has a plurality of transport rollers 21 to 26, for example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a first transport roller 21, a second transport roller 22, and a third transport roller 23. , a fourth transport roller 24 , a fifth transport roller 25 and a sixth transport roller 26 . The first transport roller 21 to the sixth transport roller 26 are rotatably supported by a support shaft 28 and spaced apart in the transport direction F. As shown in FIG. The first to sixth transport rollers 21 to 26 are arranged such that the distances (span lengths) between adjacent transport rollers are equal.

The roller driving unit of the conveying device 7 may be, for example, a batch drive type in which the supporting shafts 28 of the multi-row conveying rollers 20 are collectively driven by an endless chain, or a motor that drives the supporting shafts 28 of the multi-row conveying rollers 20 . It can be an individual drive type that drives individually. When the multi-row conveying roller 20 rotates forward, the multi-row work 30 is conveyed in the conveying direction F (downstream), and when the multi-row conveying roller 20 rotates in the reverse direction, the multi-row work 30 moves in the opposite direction of the conveying direction F (upstream). ).

The multi-row work 30 is horizontally conveyed from the right side to the left side, for example, along the conveyance direction F by the multi-row conveying rollers 20 as shown in FIG. The multi-row work 30 has a plurality of works, for example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a first work 31, a second work 32, a third work 33, a fourth work 34, 5 workpieces 35; The first work 31 to the fifth work 35 are spaced apart in the width direction T intersecting the conveying direction F (for example, orthogonal to the conveying direction F), for example, arranged so that the intervals between adjacent works are equal. be done. The first work 31 to the fifth work 35 are long workpieces (for example, bars and squares) extending in the conveying direction F, and are configured to have the same overall length in the conveying direction F. As shown in FIG.

A certain work (for example, the second work 32) in the multi-row work 30 is positioned in the transport direction F with respect to another work (for example, the first work 31) positioned next to the certain work (for example, the second work 32). The multi-row workpieces 30 are transported in the transport direction F in the misaligned arrangement. Hereinafter, the downstream side and the upstream side in the transport direction F are simply referred to as the downstream side and the upstream side, respectively. In FIG. 3, the second work 32 is located downstream of the first work 31 by a length slightly less than the 1.0 span length, and the third work 33 is slightly less than the 1.0 span length. The fourth work 34 is positioned upstream of the second work 32 with a short length, and is positioned downstream of the third work 33 with a length slightly shorter than the 1.0 span length. 35 is located upstream of the fourth work 34 with a length slightly shorter than the 1.0 span length. Therefore, the first work 31 to the fifth work 35 in the multi-row work 30 are arranged alternately in plan view. In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the multi-row workpieces 30 are conveyed in the conveying direction F in a zigzag arrangement in which the positions are shifted in a zigzag manner in plan view.

In FIG. 3, the downstream ends of the first work 31, the third work 33 and the fifth work 35 have just started to be supported by the second transport rollers 22, and the second work 32 and the fourth work 34 have just started to be supported. Each downstream end is not supported by the first transport roller 21 because it is just before being supported by the first transport roller 21 . In other words, the downstream span load of the second work 32 and the fourth work 34 is applied to the second transport roller 22, but the span load of the first work 31, the third work 33 and the fifth work 35 is The second conveying roller 22 is not loaded.

Further, the upstream ends of the second work 32 and the fourth work 34 are supported by the fifth conveying roller 25, and the upstream ends of the first work 31, the third work 33 and the fifth work 35 are supported by the sixth work 35. Since it has just left the transport roller 26 , it is not supported by the sixth transport roller 26 . In other words, the upstream span loads of the first work 31, the third work 33 and the fifth work 35 are applied to the fifth transport roller 25, but the span loads of the second work 32 and the fourth work 34 are No load is applied to the fifth transport roller 25 .

Further, for example, since the first work 31 to the fifth work 35 are supported by the second transport roller 22 and the third transport roller 23, the second transport roller 22 supports the first work 31 to the fifth work 35. and a one-span load downstream of each of the second work 32 and the fourth work 34 are applied. Therefore, if each span load of the first work 31 to the fifth work 35 is 1 w, the load of 0.5 w on the first work 31, the load of 1.5 w on the second work 32, and the load of 0.5 w on the third work 33 A load of 0.5 w, a load of 1.5 w on the fourth work 34 , and a load of 0.5 w on the fifth work 35 are applied to the second transport roller 22 . Then, as shown in FIG. 4 , a load of 4.5 w is applied to the second conveying roller 22 as a total load from the first work 31 to the fifth work 35 .

Similarly, the third transport roller 23 and the fourth transport roller 24 are loaded with a load of 5.0 w as the total load from the first work 31 to the fifth work 35, and the fifth transport roller 25 is loaded with a load of 5.0 w. A load of 5.5 w is applied as a total load by the first work 31 to the fifth work 35 . Therefore, a maximum total load of 5.5 w is applied to the fifth transport roller 25 . Therefore, in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (staggered misalignment arrangement), compared with the maximum total load of 7.5 w in the embodiment of FIG. As a result, the load of the multi-row conveying rollers 20 by the multi-row work 30 is distributed.

Therefore, according to the conveying device 7, the staggered positional displacement arrangement is more advantageous than the conveyance in which the plural rows of works 30 are aligned in a plane view. Since the load on the multiple-row conveying roller 20 is distributed, cost reduction of the multi-row conveying roller 20 can be realized.

The zigzag arrangement of the plural rows of workpieces 30 shown in FIG. 3 is formed by the arrangement device 3 (shown in FIG. 1) arranged upstream in the transfer direction F with respect to the transfer device 7 . By the arranging device 3, it is possible to easily realize a misaligned arrangement in which the plural rows of works 30 are misaligned in the transport direction F in advance.

The arranging device 3 shown in FIG. 1 has a mounting section 4 , a positioning section 10 and a moving section 14 . As shown in FIG. 14A, the mounting unit 4 has a plurality of rows of transport rollers 20 spaced apart in the transport direction F, and a plurality of rows of workpieces 30 from a first work 31 to a fifth work 35 . is placed and transported in the transport direction F. The roller driving section of the arranging device 3, like the roller driving section of the conveying device 7, can be of a collective driving type or an individual driving type.

As shown in FIGS. 1 , 13 and 14 , the moving section 14 of the arranging device 3 has a support 18 , a pair of posts 19 , a pair of elevation screws 15 and a pair of elevation driving sections 16 . The moving part 14 moves the positioning part 10 supported by the support 18 between the positioning position and the retracted position. A pair of pillars 19 are erected on the mounting portion 4 . A lifting drive unit 16 is attached to each post 19 . The elevation drive unit 16 is, for example, an electric motor. The lifting screw 15 is, for example, a ball screw. When the elevation screw 15 extending in the vertical direction is rotated by driving the elevation drive section 16, the positioning section 10 moves in the vertical direction between the positioning position and the retracted position. As shown in (B) of FIG. 14 , the positioning position is a lower position where the multiple-row work 30 conveyed on the placing section 4 is positioned by the positioning section 10 . As shown in (C) of FIG. 14 , the retracted position is an upper position where the positioning section 10 does not interfere with the multi-row work 30 conveyed on the mounting section 4 .

In (A) of FIG. 14 , a plurality of rows of workpieces 30 aligned in a flush manner are transported along the transport direction F by a plurality of rows of transport rollers 20 to approach the contact portion 13 located at the lower positioning position. Then, in FIG. 14B, the multi-row work 30 comes into contact with the abutment portion 13, thereby stopping the conveyance along the conveyance direction F. As shown in FIG. Even if the conveyance of the multi-row work 30 is stopped, the multi-row conveying roller 20 continues to rotate, but slips on the multi-row work 30, so that the multi-row conveying roller 20 is idle. As a result, the plurality of rows of workpieces 30 are positioned with a predetermined positional displacement arrangement corresponding to the contact portions 13 arranged with a predetermined positional displacement arrangement. After that, as shown in FIG. 14C, by moving the positioning portion 10 upward to the retracted position, the contact of the plurality of rows of works 30 against the contact portion 13 is released all at once. Then, the multi-row workpieces 30 are conveyed downstream in the conveying direction F while passing under the positioning unit 10 while maintaining a predetermined positional displacement arrangement. As a result, the arranging device 3 can smoothly perform the positioning of the plural-row workpieces 30 and the switching of transportation. The elevation driving section 16 and the elevation screw 15 in the moving section 14 can be configured by, for example, a cylinder driven by fluid pressure and a rod connected to the cylinder.

The positioning unit 10 of the arranging device 3 shown in FIG. 1 is arranged downstream in the transport direction F in the arranging device 3, for example. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 13 , the positioning section 10 has a plurality of contact sections 13 , a plurality of positioning screws 12 , and a plurality of positioning driving sections 17 arranged corresponding to the plurality of rows of workpieces 30 . The positioning part 10 movably positions the contact part 13 so that the plural rows of workpieces 30 are arranged in a predetermined positional displacement arrangement. The plurality of contact portions 13 and the positioning screws 12 are spaced apart in the width direction T and arranged at positions corresponding to the multi-row work 30 .

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 13 , a positioning drive 17 is attached to the lower surface of the support 18 . The positioning driver 17 is, for example, an electric motor. The positioning screw 12 is, for example, a ball screw. By driving the positioning driving portion 17, the positioning screw 12 extending in the transport direction F rotates, and the contact portion 13 moves upstream or downstream in the transport direction F. As shown in FIG. The contact portions 13 are arranged at respective predetermined positions by the individual operation of the positioning drive portions 17 . Therefore, the positioning section 10 is configured to be able to individually adjust the amount of movement along the transport direction F corresponding to the misaligned arrangement by the positioning driving section 17 . As a result, it is possible to flexibly and quickly change the misaligned arrangement of the multi-row workpieces 30 . The positioning part 10 including the positioning driving part 17 and the positioning screw 12 can also be configured to include, for example, a cylinder driven by fluid pressure and a rod connected to the piston of the cylinder.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the contact portion 13 corresponding to the first work 31 is located at a position protruding upstream with respect to the contact portion 13 corresponding to the second work 32 . The contact portion 13 corresponding to the third work 33 is located at a position protruding upstream with respect to the contact portion 13 corresponding to the second work 32 . The contact portion 13 corresponding to the fourth work 34 is located at a position protruding downstream with respect to the contact portion 13 corresponding to the third work 33 . The contact portion 13 corresponding to the fifth work 35 is located at a position protruding upstream with respect to the contact portion 13 corresponding to the fourth work 34 . Therefore, by the positioning unit 10 shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of rows of workpieces 30 are formed in a staggered arrangement in which the positions are shifted in a staggered manner in plan view.

[Second embodiment]
A conveying device 7 according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7. FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the arranging device 3 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the conveying device 7 arranged on the downstream side of the arranging device 3 shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a side view of the conveying device 7 shown in FIG.

In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the multi-row workpieces 30 are conveyed in the conveying direction F in a stepped arrangement that is shifted stepwise in plan view.

6, the downstream end of the first work 31 has just started to be supported by the second transport rollers 22, and the downstream ends of the second work 32 to the fifth work 35 are supported by the second transport rollers 22. While being supported, it protrudes stepwise in the transport direction F between the first transport roller 21 and the second transport roller 22 without being supported by the first transport roller 21 . In other words, the downstream load from the second work 32 to the fifth work 35 is applied to the second transport roller 22 according to the length of protrusion to the downstream side. In addition, the upstream half span load from the first work 31 to the fifth work 35 is applied to the second transport roller 22 .

The projecting length from the second work 32 to the downstream side of the fifth work 35 is slightly shorter than 0.25 span length, 0.5 span length, 0.75 span length, and 1.0 span length. length. Assuming that each span load of the first work 31 to the fifth work 35 is 1 w, the load of the first work 31 is 0.5 w, the load of the second work 32 is 0.75 w, and the load of the third work 33 is 1.0 w. , a load of 1.25 w on the fourth work 34 , and a load of 1.5 w on the fifth work 35 are applied to the second transport rollers 22 . Then, as shown in FIG. 7, a total load of 5.0 w is applied to the second conveying roller 22 by the first work 31 to the fifth work 35 .

Similarly, a load of 5.0 w is applied to the third transport roller 23 , the fourth transport roller 24 and the fifth transport roller 25 as the total load from the first work 31 to the fifth work 35 . Therefore, in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 (stepped misalignment arrangement), compared to a maximum total load of 7.5 w in the embodiment of FIG. 12 (flush aligned arrangement) described as prior art As a result, the load of the multi-row conveying rollers 20 by the multi-row work 30 is distributed.

Therefore, according to the conveying device 7, the conveying in the stepped misalignment arrangement is better than the conveying in which the plural rows of works 30 are arranged flush with each other in plan view. Since the load on the multiple-row conveying roller 20 is distributed, cost reduction of the multi-row conveying roller 20 can be realized.

6 is formed by an arranging device 3 (shown in FIG. 5) arranged downstream of the conveying device 7 in the conveying direction F. As shown in FIG. By the arranging device 3, it is possible to easily realize a misaligned arrangement in which the plural rows of works 30 are misaligned in the transport direction F in advance.

The arranging device 3 shown in FIG. 5 has a mounting section 4 , a positioning section 10 and a moving section 14 . The positioning unit 10 is arranged downstream in the transport direction F in the arranging device 3, for example. The positioning portion 10 has a plurality of contact portions 13 and a plurality of fixing portions 11 arranged corresponding to the plurality of rows of workpieces 30 . In the positioning part 10 shown in FIG. 5 , a plurality of fixing parts 11 are fixed to the supporting body 18 at intervals in the width direction T. As shown in FIG. The abutting portion 13 connected to the fixed portion 11 fixes and positions the plural rows of works 30 on the mounting portion 4 in a predetermined misaligned arrangement. In the positioning portion 10 shown in FIG. 5, the contact portion 13 does not move in the conveying direction F, and the protrusion amount that protrudes to the opposite side of the conveying direction F corresponding to the misaligned arrangement is fixed.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , the contact portion 13 corresponding to the fourth work 34 is located at a position protruding upstream with respect to the support 18 . The contact portion 13 corresponding to the third work 33 is located at a position protruding upstream with respect to the contact portion 13 corresponding to the fourth work 34 . The contact portion 13 corresponding to the second work 32 is located at a position protruding upstream with respect to the contact portion 13 corresponding to the third work 33 . The contact portion 13 corresponding to the first work 31 is located at a position protruding upstream with respect to the contact portion 13 corresponding to the second work 32 . In addition, the fifth work 35 is configured to abut on the support 18 . Therefore, by the positioning portion 10 shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of rows of workpieces 30 are formed in a stepped arrangement that is displaced stepwise in plan view.

[Third embodiment]
A conveying device 7 according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10. FIG. FIG. 8 is a plan view of the arranging device 3 according to the third embodiment. FIG. 9 is a plan view of the conveying device 7 arranged on the downstream side of the arranging device 3 shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a side view of the conveying device 7 shown in FIG.

In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the multi-row workpieces 30 are conveyed in the conveying direction F in a state of a half-wave array that is displaced in a half-wave shape in plan view.

In FIG. 9, the downstream ends of the first work 31 and the fifth work 35 have just started to be supported by the second transport rollers 22, and the downstream ends of the second work 32 to the fourth work 34 are It protrudes in a semi-wave shape in the transport direction F between the first transport roller 21 and the second transport roller 22 without being supported by the first transport roller 21 . In other words, the downstream load from the second work 32 to the fourth work 34 is applied to the second transport roller 22 in accordance with the length of protrusion to the downstream side. In addition, the upstream half span load from the first work 31 to the fifth work 35 is applied to the second transport roller 22 .

Assume that the projecting length from the second work 32 to the downstream side of the fourth work 34 is 0.5 span length, a length slightly shorter than 1.0 span length, and 0.5 span length. . Assuming that each span load of the first work 31 to the fifth work 35 is 1 w, the load of the first work 31 is 0.5 w, the load of the second work 32 is 1.0 w, and the load of the third work 33 is 1.5 w. , a load of 1.0 w on the fourth work 34 , and a load of 0.5 w on the fifth work 35 are applied to the second transport rollers 22 . Then, as shown in FIG. 10 , a load of 4.5 w is applied to the second conveying roller 22 as a total load from the first work 31 to the fifth work 35 .

Similarly, the third transport roller 23, the fourth transport roller 24, and the fifth transport roller 25 are loaded with a load of 5.0 w and a load of 5.0 w, respectively, as the total load from the first work 31 to the fifth work 35 load and a load of 5.5w are applied. Thus, in the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 (half-wave offset arrangement), a total load of up to 7.5 w in the embodiment of FIG. 12 (flush aligned arrangement) described as prior art , the load on the multi-row conveying roller 20 by the multi-row work 30 is distributed.

Therefore, according to the conveying device 7, the half-wave-shaped misalignment arrangement is better than the conveyance in which the plurality of rows of workpieces 30 are arranged flush with each other in plan view. Since the load on the rollers 20 is distributed, the cost of the multi-row transport rollers 20 can be reduced.

9 is formed by an arranging device 3 (shown in FIG. 8) disposed upstream in the transport direction F with respect to the transport device 7. The staircase-shaped misaligned alignment of the multiple-row workpieces 30 shown in FIG. By the arranging device 3, it is possible to easily realize a misaligned arrangement in which the plural rows of works 30 are misaligned in the transport direction F in advance.

The positioning unit 10 of the arranging device 3 shown in FIG. 8 is arranged on the upstream side in the conveying direction F of the arranging device 3, for example. The positioning portion 10 in FIG. 8 has the same configuration as the positioning portion 10 shown in FIG. 13 . That is, the positioning unit 10 has a plurality of contact portions 13, a plurality of positioning screws 12, and a plurality of positioning drive portions 17 arranged corresponding to the plurality of rows of workpieces 30, so that the plurality of rows of workpieces 30 are positioned at predetermined positions. The abutting portion 13 is positioned so as to be displaceable so as to form a staggered arrangement. Therefore, the positioning section 10 is configured to be able to individually adjust the amount of movement along the transport direction F corresponding to the misaligned arrangement by the positioning driving section 17 . As a result, it is possible to flexibly and quickly change the misaligned arrangement of the multi-row workpieces 30 .

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the contact portion 13 corresponding to the first work 31 is located at a position protruding downstream with respect to the support 18 . The contact portion 13 corresponding to the second work 32 is located at a position projecting downstream with respect to the contact portion 13 corresponding to the first work 31 . The contact portion 13 corresponding to the third work 33 is located at a position projecting downstream with respect to the contact portion 13 corresponding to the second work 32 . The contact portion 13 corresponding to the fourth work 34 is located at a position protruding upstream with respect to the contact portion 13 corresponding to the third work 33 . The contact portion 13 corresponding to the fifth work 35 is located at a position protruding upstream with respect to the contact portion 13 corresponding to the fourth work 34 . The contact portion 13 corresponding to the first work 31 and the contact portion 13 corresponding to the fifth work 35 have the same protrusion amount, and the contact portion 13 corresponding to the second work 32 and the fourth work 34 have the same protrusion amount. The amount of protrusion of the contact portion 13 corresponding to is the same. Therefore, by the positioning part 10 shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of rows of workpieces 30 arranged in a half-wave pattern, which are displaced in a half-wave pattern in a plan view, are formed.

The plurality of rows of workpieces 30 arranged flush with each other are conveyed along the conveying direction F by the forwardly rotating plurality of rows of conveying rollers 20, and the upstream end of the plurality of rows of workpieces 30 is below the positioning unit 10 at the upper retracted position. , the forward rotation of the multi-row conveying roller 20 is stopped. After the positioning portion 10 is moved to the lower positioning position, the multi-row conveying rollers 20 are reversely rotated to correspond to the contact portions 13 arranged in a predetermined positional displacement arrangement in the same manner as the positioning described above. Thus, the multiple rows of workpieces 30 are positioned in a predetermined positional displacement arrangement. After that, by rotating the multi-row conveying roller 20 forward, the multi-row work 30 is conveyed downstream in the conveying direction F while maintaining a predetermined positional displacement arrangement.

Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the moving part 14 moves the positioning part 10 in the vertical direction with respect to the mounting part 4. However, by moving the positioning part 10 in the width direction T with respect to the mounting part 4, , the positioning position and the retracted position.

In the half-wave-shaped misaligned arrangement of the third embodiment, the central portion of the multiple rows of works 30 in the width direction T protrudes downstream in the transport direction F in a plan view. The central portion in the width direction T may be recessed toward the upstream side in the transport direction F in plan view.

The conveying device 7 of the present invention continuously heat-treats the plurality of rows of workpieces 30 by placing the plurality of rows of workpieces 30 on the plurality of rows of conveying rollers 20 and conveying them. It is applicable to various heat treatments such as

In the present invention, various means and methods such as manual positioning can be employed in place of the above-described automatic positioning by the positioning unit 10 in order to position the multi-row workpieces 30 in a predetermined positional displacement arrangement.

The present invention and embodiments are summarized as follows.

A conveying method according to one aspect of the present invention comprises:
In the transport method for transporting the multi-row work 30 in the transport direction F while supporting the multi-row work 30 with the multi-row transport roller 20,
The works 31 to 35 in the plurality of rows of works 30 are spaced apart in the width direction T intersecting the transport direction F,
The transport rollers 21 to 26 in the multiple-row transport roller 20 are arranged apart in the transport direction F,
A positional displacement arrangement in which a certain work in the plurality of rows of works 30 is displaced in the conveying direction F with respect to another work positioned adjacent to the certain work, and the plurality of rows of the works 30 are arranged in the conveying direction. It is characterized by being transported to F.

According to the above aspect, the transport in the misaligned arrangement disperses the load on the multi-row transport rollers 20 from the multi-row works 30 more than the transport in which the multi-row works 30 are arranged flush with each other in a plan view. , the cost of the multi-row conveying roller 20 can be reduced.

Further, in the transport method of one embodiment,
The displaced array is an array displaced in a staggered manner, an array displaced in a stepwise manner, or an array displaced in a half-wave shape in plan view.

According to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to disperse the load of the multi-row workpieces 30 on the multi-row conveying rollers 20 more than when the multi-row works 30 are conveyed flush with each other in plan view.

Further, in the transport method of one embodiment,
The plurality of rows of workpieces 30 in the misaligned arrangement are heat-treated in the heat treatment device 5 .

According to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to reduce the amount of expensive heat-resistant material that can withstand high temperatures during heat treatment, and reduce the cost of the multi-row conveying roller 20 .

A conveying device 7 according to another aspect of the present invention includes:
In the transport device 7 that transports the multi-row work 30 in the transport direction F while supporting the multi-row work 30 with the multi-row transport roller 20,
The works 31 to 35 in the plurality of rows of works 30 are spaced apart in the width direction T intersecting the transport direction F,
The transport rollers 21 to 26 in the multiple-row transport roller 20 are arranged apart in the transport direction F,
An arranging device 3 for forming a misaligned arrangement in which a certain work in the plurality of rows of works 30 is displaced in the conveying direction F with respect to another work positioned adjacent to the certain work is provided with the conveying It is disposed upstream or downstream in the transport direction F with respect to the device 7 .

According to the above aspect, the misaligned arrangement in which the plural rows of works 30 are misaligned in the transport direction F can be easily realized in advance.

Further, in the transport device 7 of one embodiment,
The arranging device 3 includes a placing portion 4 for placing and transporting the plurality of rows of works 30, a positioning portion 10 for positioning the plurality of rows of works 30 on the placing portion 4 in the misaligned arrangement, and the positioning and a moving portion 14 for moving the portion 10 with respect to the placing portion 4 between the positioning position and the retracted position.

According to the above embodiment, the arranging device 3 can smoothly position and transport the multi-row workpieces 30 .

Further, in the transport device 7 of one embodiment,
The positioning unit 10 is configured to be able to individually adjust the amount of movement along the transport direction F corresponding to the misaligned arrangement of the plurality of rows of workpieces 30 .

According to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to flexibly and quickly change the misaligned arrangement of the multi-row workpieces 30 .

Further, in the transport device 7 of one embodiment,
The plurality of rows of conveying rollers 20 are arranged in a heat treatment device 5 for heat-treating the plurality of rows of workpieces 30 .

According to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to reduce the amount of expensive heat-resistant material that can withstand high temperatures during heat treatment, and reduce the cost of the multi-row conveying roller 20 . Moreover, the present invention can be applied to existing heat treatment apparatuses 5 in addition to the new heat treatment apparatus 5 . In any heat treatment device 5, the load on the multi-row conveying roller 20 and the roller drive unit (motor) that rotationally drives the multi-row conveying roller 20 is reduced, so the advantage is that the life of the heat treatment device 5 can be extended. There is also

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Processing system 3... Arrangement apparatus 4... Placement part 5... Heat treatment apparatus 6... Furnace body 7... Transfer apparatus 10... Positioning part 11... Fixing part 12... Positioning screw 13... Contact part 14... Moving part 15... Lifting screw DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 16... Up-and-down drive part 17... Positioning drive part 18... Support body 19... Support|pillar 20... Plural-row conveyance roller 21... 1st conveyance roller (conveyance roller)
22... Second transport roller (transport roller)
23... Third transport roller (transport roller)
24... Fourth transport roller (transport roller)
25 Fifth transport roller (transport roller)
26... Sixth transport roller (transport roller)
28... Spindle 30... Multi-row work 31... First work (work)
32 Second work (work)
33... Third work (work)
34... Fourth work (work)
35 Fifth work (work)
F... Conveying direction T... Width direction

Claims (5)

a placing unit for placing a plurality of rows of works and carrying them in the carrying direction;
a plurality of abutting portions disposed on the upstream side or downstream side of the placing portion in the conveying direction and abutting on respective ends of the plurality of rows of works;
a positioning unit that movably positions the plurality of contact portions so that the plurality of rows of workpieces are arranged in a predetermined positional displacement arrangement;
a moving part that moves the plurality of contact parts up and down between an upper retracted position and a lower positioning position;
When the plurality of contact portions are positioned at the retracted position, the plurality of rows of workpieces conveyed by the placement portion can pass through,
When the plurality of contact portions are positioned at the positioning positions, the end portions of the plurality of rows of workpieces conveyed by the placement portion abut against the plurality of contact portions, thereby moving the plurality of rows of workpieces to the above position. A device for arranging a plurality of rows of workpieces, characterized by arranging the workpieces in a positionally shifted manner in the conveying direction. The placement unit has a plurality of rows of transport rollers spaced apart in the transport direction,
The misaligned arrangement is formed by continuously rotating the multi-row conveying rollers and idling until all of the end portions of the multi-row workpieces are brought into contact with the abutting portions. 2. The arranging device according to claim 1, characterized by: A heat treatment device having a transfer device is disposed on the downstream side of the arrangement device in the transfer direction, and the plurality of rows of works having the misaligned arrangement are heat-treated in the heat treatment device while being transferred by the transfer device. 3. The arranging device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: 4. The arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the misalignment arrangement is a staggered arrangement, a stepwise arrangement, or a half-wave arrangement in plan view. An arraying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The positioning unit is configured to be able to individually adjust the amount of displacement along the conveying direction corresponding to the misaligned arrangement of the plurality of rows of workpieces. Item 5. The arraying device according to any one of Item 4.

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