JP2023130320A - roller conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a roller conveyor which can facilitate assembly/disassembly work and facilitate maintenance work.SOLUTION: A roller conveyor includes: a frame; and a cartridge which is detachably attached to the frame from above in a state that rollers are attached to a cartridge frame. The structure can facilitate assembly/disassembly work of the roller conveyor. For example, the structure achieves a prominent effect when applied to a roller conveyor used in a pallet transport line.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a roller conveyor, and particularly to a roller conveyor that is devised to facilitate assembly/disassembly work and maintenance work.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses the configuration of this type of roller conveyor.
The double frame type wheel conveyor according to the invention described in Patent Document 1 has the following structure. First, there is an outer frame, and an inner frame is installed inside this outer frame. A bearing hole is formed in the inner frame. On the other hand, there is a wheel equipped with a rotating shaft, and both ends of the rotating shaft of this wheel are inserted into bearing holes provided in the inner frame, so that the wheel is rotatably attached to the inner frame.

Patent No. 5687477

The conventional configuration described above has the following problems. That is, there was a problem in that assembly and disassembly work was troublesome. That is, after installing the inner frame on the outer frame, the wheels must be attached one by one, but this work is by no means easy and there is a problem in that the work is tedious.
This also applies when replacing a damaged wheel.

The present invention has been made based on the above points, and its object is to provide a roller conveyor whose rollers can be easily assembled and disassembled, and whose maintenance work can be facilitated.

In order to solve the above problems, a roller conveyor according to claim 1 of the present invention is characterized by comprising a frame and a cartridge that is detachably attached to the frame from above with the roller attached to the cartridge frame. That is.
A roller conveyor according to a second aspect of the present invention is the roller conveyor according to the first aspect, characterized in that a cartridge of a predetermined length is prepared in advance, in which an arbitrary number of rollers are attached to a cartridge frame.
Further, in the roller conveyor according to claim 3, in the roller conveyor according to claim 2, a plurality of types of cartridges of a predetermined length each having the arbitrary number of rollers attached to a cartridge frame are prepared, each having a different number of rollers. It is characterized by this.
Moreover, the roller conveyor according to claim 4 is characterized in that, in the roller conveyor according to claim 4, the arbitrary number is one, two, three, or seven.
Further, in the roller conveyor according to claim 5, in the roller conveyor according to claim 1, the frame is provided with an engaging portion, the cartridge frame of the cartridge is also provided with an engaging portion, and the cartridge frame is provided with an engaging portion, and the cartridge frame is provided with an engaging portion. is characterized in that it can be detachably attached by engaging its engaging portion with the engaging portion of the frame.
Further, in the roller conveyor according to claim 6, in the roller conveyor according to claim 1, a shaft is provided at both ends of the roller, and the cartridge frame has an upward recess into which both ends of the shaft are inserted. and a downward recess is provided at the back of the upward recess, and both ends of the shaft are attached to the cartridge frame while being sandwiched between the upward recess and the downward recess. That is.
The roller conveyor according to claim 7 is characterized in that, in the roller conveyor according to claim 6, a shaft support wall erected from the frame is disposed below the downward recessed portion of the cartridge frame. It is something to do.
Further, in the roller conveyor according to claim 8, in the roller conveyor according to claim 7, the cartridge frame is provided with an elastically deformable rib, the upward recess is provided in this rib, and the roller conveyor is provided with an elastically deformable rib. When a load is applied, the ribs bend toward the frame, so that the shaft of the roller comes into contact with the shaft support wall of the frame.
Further, in the roller conveyor according to claim 9, in the roller conveyor according to claim 6, the upward concave portion is extended to the position of the downward concave portion, and both ends of the shaft are always connected by the upward concave portion and the downward concave portion. It is characterized by being sandwiched.

As described above, the roller conveyor according to claim 1 of the present application includes a frame and a cartridge that is removably attached to the frame from above with the rollers attached to the cartridge frame. Therefore, assembly and disassembly work can be facilitated.
Further, according to the roller conveyor according to claim 2, in the roller conveyor according to claim 1, since a cartridge of a predetermined length with an arbitrary number of rollers attached to the cartridge frame is prepared in advance, it is possible to attach an arbitrary number of rollers to the cartridge frame. By appropriately selecting cartridges of a predetermined length and attaching them to the frame, a desired roller conveyor can be easily constructed. The same applies to the case of disassembly.
Further, according to the roller conveyor according to claim 3, in the roller conveyor according to claim 2, a plurality of types of cartridges of a predetermined length each having an arbitrary number of rollers attached to a cartridge frame are prepared, each having a different number of rollers. Therefore, an appropriate cartridge can be selected and installed according to the length of the frame, and a desired roller conveyor can be easily constructed.
Further, according to the roller conveyor according to claim 4, in the roller conveyor according to claim 4, since the arbitrary number of cartridges is 1, 2, 3, or 7, an appropriate cartridge can be selected depending on the length of the frame. can be selected and installed, and a desired roller conveyor can be easily configured.
According to a fifth aspect of the roller conveyor, in the roller conveyor of the first aspect, the frame is provided with an engaging portion, the cartridge frame of the cartridge is also provided with an engaging portion, and the cartridge frame is provided with an engaging portion. Since the cartridge is removably attached by engaging its engaging portion with the engaging portion of the frame, assembly and disassembly operations can be facilitated.
According to a sixth aspect of the roller conveyor, in the roller conveyor of the first aspect, shafts are provided at both ends of the rollers, and both ends of the shafts are inserted into the cartridge frame in an upward direction. A recess is provided, and a downward recess is provided at the back of the upward recess, and both ends of the shaft are attached to the cartridge frame while being sandwiched between the upward recess and the downward recess. The roller does not come off inadvertently from the cartridge, and it is possible to improve the workability of attaching and detaching the cartridge to the frame to which the roller is attached.
According to a seventh aspect of the roller conveyor, in the roller conveyor of the sixth aspect, a shaft supporting wall erected from the frame is disposed below the downward recess of the cartridge frame. can be supported between the downward recess and the shaft support wall from above and below.
According to an eighth aspect of the roller conveyor, in the roller conveyor of the seventh aspect, the cartridge frame is provided with an elastically deformable rib, the upward recess is provided in this rib, and the roller conveyor is provided with an elastically deformable rib. When a load is applied to the rib, the rib is bent toward the frame, and as a result, the shaft of the roller comes into contact with the shaft supporting wall of the frame, so that the shaft can be firmly supported.
According to a ninth aspect of the roller conveyor, in the roller conveyor of the sixth aspect, the upward concave portion is extended to the position of the downward concave portion, and both ends of the shaft are always connected to the upward concave portion and the downward concave portion. Since the shaft is sandwiched between the shafts and the frame, the shaft does not come into contact with the frame, and it is possible to prevent the generation of noise caused by the shaft and the frame coming into contact with each other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the first embodiment of the present invention, and is an exploded perspective view of a roller conveyor. 1 is a diagram showing the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view of a roller conveyor. FIG. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention, and is a front view of a roller conveyor. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a bottom view of the roller conveyor. 3 is a diagram showing the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a view taken along the line VV in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the first embodiment of the present invention, and is an enlarged view of section IX in FIG. 6. FIG. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a partial perspective view showing a usage state. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a side view showing the state of use. It is a figure which shows the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, and is an exploded perspective view of a roller conveyor. It is a figure which shows the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, and is a top view of a roller conveyor. 14 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and is a sectional view taken along line XIV-XIV in FIG. 13. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and is a sectional view taken along the line XV-XV in FIG. 13. FIG.

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11. First, there is a frame 1, which is an extrusion molded product made of aluminum. Looking at the shape of the end face, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, it is approximately U-shaped, and a U-shaped recess 3 facing upward in the figure is formed. Further, in FIGS. 5 and 6, guide convex portions 5 and 7 are provided protrudingly on the outside of both left and right sides. Further, a T-nut groove 9 is formed below the recess 3 in the drawing.

Further, in FIGS. 5 and 6, engaging portions 11 and 13 are provided at the upper ends of both left and right sides of the recessed portion 3, and shaft supporting walls 15 and 17 are provided in these engaging portions 11 and 13. It is erected.

A cartridge 21 is removably attached to the upper part of the frame 1. The cartridge 21 includes a cartridge frame 22 made of resin, and as shown in FIGS. It is formed. Examples of the plurality of pieces include one, two, three, and seven. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, engaging portions 31 and 33 are provided intermittently along the longitudinal direction on both left and right sides 27 and 29 of the cartridge frame 22. As shown in FIGS. The cartridge 21 is removably attached to the frame 1 by engaging the engaging portions 31 and 33 of the cartridge frame 22 with the aforementioned engaging portions 11 and 13 of the frame 1 from above.

As for the rib 25 mentioned above, as shown in FIG. 2, there is one rib 25 at the end of the cartridge frame 22, but two ribs 25, 25 are connected in the middle. There is. This is because by cutting the cartridge frame 22 at the center of the two ribs 25, 25, a single rib 25 remains in each. For example, the cartridge frame 22 made of resin is molded into a long length, and then cut into a desired length. At this time, a single rib 25 is left on both sides of the cut.

A roller 41 is installed in the roller penetration portion 23. The roller 41 is rotatably attached to a shaft 43 via bearings 45 and 47. Both left and right ends of the shaft 43 protrude from the roller 41.

Shaft support parts 51 and 53 that support both ends of the shaft 43 of the roller 41 are provided on the left and right sides of a predetermined position in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge frame 22 . Looking at the configuration of the shaft support portion 51, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, a rib 54 is provided on the cartridge frame 22 with a slit 56 in between, and the shaft of the roller 41 is located at the center of the rib 54. An upward concave portion 55 is provided to support the end portion of 43 from below. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a downward recess 57 is formed at the back of the upward recess 55 to support the shaft 43 from above. Directly below the downward recess 57, the shaft supporting wall 15 on the frame 1 side, which has already been described, is located.
Incidentally, the shaft support portion 53 side has a similar configuration, and the same parts in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

The roller 41 is attached to the cartridge frame 22 with both ends of its shaft 43 supported from above and below by the upward concave portion 55 of the rib 54 and the downward concave portion 57 at the back thereof. There is no possibility that the cartridge will separate from the cartridge frame 22.
Further, when the cartridge 22 with the roller 41 attached to the cartridge frame 22 is attached to the frame 1, both ends of the shaft 43 of the roller 41 are connected to the downward recesses 57, 57 of the cartridge frame 22 and the shaft support wall on the frame 1 side. 15 and 17 from above and below. When no load is acting on the roller 41, both ends of the shaft 43 are located slightly apart from the shaft support walls 15, 17, and the rib 54 is bent by the load acting on the roller 41. Both ends of the shaft 41 abut against the shaft support walls 15 and 17. This provides strong support.

The roller 41 is attached to the cartridge frame 22 in the following manner. First, one end of the shaft 43 of the roller 41 is inserted onto the upward recess 55 of the shaft support portion 51 of the cartridge frame 22 until it reaches the downward recess 39 . In this state, the cartridge frame 22 made of resin is slightly spread laterally and the roller 41 is pushed downward. Thereby, the opposite end of the shaft 43 is inserted into the upward recess 55 and the downward recess 57 of the shaft support portion 53. The roller 41 is now attached to the cartridge frame 22.

Next, the cartridge 21 holding the roller 41 by the cartridge frame 22 is installed on the frame 1. As a result, a row of roller conveyors RC (Roller conveyors) is completed.

In this embodiment, a plurality of types of cartridges 21 each having an arbitrary number of rollers 41 and having a predetermined length are prepared in advance. Examples of the above-mentioned arbitrary number include 1, 2, 3, and 7. On the other hand, the frame 1 is a relatively long one having a predetermined length. Cartridges 21 having a predetermined length and provided with the above-mentioned arbitrary number of rollers 41 are arbitrarily selected and installed on the frame 1 to complete the roller conveyor RC.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the roller conveyors RC are installed in two rows on the left and right on the pedestal 61 with a predetermined interval therebetween. A pallet 63 is movably installed over these two rows of left and right roller conveyors RC, RC, and various articles such as workpieces (not shown) are placed on the pallet 63 and conveyed.
In addition, the opposing guide convex portions 5 and 7 of the frames 1 and 1 of the two rows of left and right roller conveyors RC and RC are such that, for example, when the pallet 63 moves, the sliding portion on the pallet 63 side is movable. It functions as a guide by engaging with.

The operation will be explained based on the above configuration.
A pallet 63 is installed on roller conveyors RC and RC installed in two rows on the left and right, and various articles such as workpieces (not shown) are placed on the pallet 63 and conveyed.

For example, if the roller 41 is damaged due to aging, only the cartridge 21 to which the damaged roller 41 is attached is removed. Next, in the removed cartridge 21, the damaged roller 41 is removed from the cartridge frame 22 and a new roller 41 is attached. Then, the cartridge 21 is installed in the original position of the frame 1.
No tools are required for this series of operations.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the following effects can be achieved.
First, since both ends of the shaft 43 of the roller 41 are supported by being sandwiched from the vertical direction by the upward recess 54 of the rib 54 of the cartridge frame 22 and the downward recess 57 of the cartridge frame 22, the roller 41 is supported by the cartridge frame 22. There is no need to leave the 22nd team carelessly. This greatly contributes to improving the workability of attaching and detaching the cartridge 21, on which the roller 41 is attached to the cartridge frame 22, to and from the frame 1.
Further, when the cartridge 21 is attached to the frame 1, the deformation of the cartridge frame 22 itself in the expansion direction is restricted, so that the roller 41 is reliably prevented from coming off inadvertently.
Furthermore, when a load is applied to the roller 41, the ribs 54 of the cartridge frame 22 are bent, and both ends of the shaft 43 of the roller 41 come into contact with the shaft support walls 15 and 17 of the frame 1. 41 can be firmly supported and stable operation can be provided. When no load is applied, it can stand by in a free state without contacting the shaft support walls 15, 17.
Further, the roller conveyor RC is easy to disassemble and assemble. This is because a cartridge 21 of a predetermined length to which an arbitrary number of rollers 41 are attached can be arbitrarily selected and installed on the frame 1, and when disassembling it, the procedure can be reversed.
Furthermore, even if the roller 41 is damaged due to aging and needs to be replaced with a new roller 41, it is easy to replace the roller 41 by removing only the cartridge 21 to which the damaged roller 41 is attached. . No tools are required.
Further, the roller 41 can be easily attached to and detached from the cartridge frame 22. Again, no tools are required.
Further, since guide protrusions 5 and 7 are protruded from both left and right ends of the frame 1, the pallet can be moved using the guide protrusions 5 and 7, for example.
Furthermore, since a T-nut groove 9 is formed on the opposite side of the recess 3 of the frame 1, the roller conveyor RC can be attached to any desired location using this T-nut groove 9.
Furthermore, if a plurality of types of cartridges 21 of a predetermined length and provided with an arbitrary number of rollers 41 are prepared in advance, the cartridge 21 arbitrarily selected from among them can be simply installed on the frame 1 that has been laid in advance. , a desired roller conveyor RC can be constructed.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 15. In the case of the first embodiment, when a load is applied to the roller 41, the rib 54 of the cartridge frame 22 is bent, and both ends of the shaft 43 of the roller 41 are attached to the shaft supporting walls 15, 17 of the frame 1. However, in the case of this second embodiment, the shaft 43 of the roller 41 is configured so as not to come into contact with the frame 1. There is.

As shown in FIG. 14, the cartridge frame 22 is provided with a lower shaft support portion 55' (corresponding to the upward concave portion 55 in the first embodiment) that supports the shaft 43 from below. As shown in FIG. 15, a portion of the lower shaft support portion 55' extends in the shape of a tongue toward the back. Furthermore, an upper shaft support portion 57' (corresponding to the downward recessed portion 57 in the first embodiment) that supports the shaft 43 from above is provided at the back of the lower shaft support portion 55'. The tongue-like extended portion of the lower shaft support portion 55' is located below the upper shaft support portion 57'. The upper support portion 57' is provided so as to protrude from both sides so as to have a smaller diameter than the outer diameter of the shaft 43. The end of the shaft 43 is held between the lower shaft support part 55' and the upper shaft support part 57' from above and below.

When attaching the roller 41 rotatably held by the shaft 43 to the cartridge frame 22, the cartridge frame 22 is elastically deformed so that the upper side is convex and slightly bent. 53 is slightly expanded, and the roller 41 rotatably held by the shaft 43 is dropped therein. By releasing the deflection, both ends of the shaft 43 are held between the lower shaft support portion 55' and the upper shaft support portion 57' of the shaft holding portions 51 and 53 on both sides in the vertical direction.
Further, even when a load is applied, both ends of the shaft 43 are always held between the lower shaft support part 55' and the upper shaft support part 57' of the shaft holding parts 51 and 53 from above and below, Unlike the first embodiment, the shaft 43 does not come into contact with the frame 1 side.
The rest of the structure is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the same parts in the figures are denoted by the same reference numerals and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

Therefore, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be achieved.
Furthermore, since both ends of the shaft 43 of the roller 41 are always supported from below by the lower shaft support portion 55' and never come into contact with the frame 1, noise caused by the contact between the shaft 43 and the frame 1 is reduced. Occurrence can be prevented.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the first and second embodiments.
First, regarding the plurality of types of cartridges each having an arbitrary number of rollers 41, the arbitrary number is not limited to 1, 2, 3, or 7, and literally any number may be used.
In addition, the illustrated configuration is merely an example.

The present invention relates to a roller conveyor, and in particular to one devised to facilitate assembly/disassembly work and maintenance work, and is suitable for example for a roller conveyor used in a pallet conveyance line. It is.

1 Frame 3 U-shaped recess 5 Guide protrusion 7 Guide protrusion 9 T-nut groove 11 Engagement portion 13 Engagement portion 15 Shaft support wall 17 Shaft support wall 21 Cartridge 22 Cartridge frame 23 Roller penetration portion 25 Rib 27 Side part 29 Side part 31 Engagement part 33 Engagement part 41 Roller 43 Shaft 45 Bearing 47 Bearing 51 Shaft support part 53 Shaft support part 55 Upward concave part 57 Downward concave part 55' Lower shaft support part (upward recess)
57' Upper shaft support part (downward concave part)

Claims (9)

frame and
a cartridge that is removably attached to the frame from above with the roller attached to the cartridge frame;
A roller conveyor characterized by being equipped with. The roller conveyor according to claim 1,
A roller conveyor characterized in that a cartridge of a predetermined length is prepared in advance with an arbitrary number of rollers attached to a cartridge frame. The roller conveyor according to claim 2,
A roller conveyor characterized in that a plurality of types of cartridges of a predetermined length each having an arbitrary number of rollers attached to a cartridge frame are prepared, each having a different number of rollers. The roller conveyor according to claim 4,
A roller conveyor characterized in that the above arbitrary number is 1, 2, 3, or 7. The roller conveyor according to claim 1,
The frame is provided with an engaging portion, and the cartridge frame of the cartridge is also provided with an engaging portion, and the cartridge is attached and detached by engaging the engaging portion with the engaging portion of the frame. A roller conveyor characterized in that it can be installed. The roller conveyor according to claim 1,
A shaft is protruded from both ends of the roller,
The cartridge frame is provided with an upward recess into which both ends of the shaft are inserted, and a downward recess is provided at the back of the upward recess;
The roller conveyor is characterized in that both ends of the shaft are attached to the cartridge frame while being sandwiched between the upward recess and the downward recess. The roller conveyor according to claim 6,
A roller conveyor characterized in that a shaft supporting wall erected from the frame is disposed below the downward recess of the cartridge frame. The roller conveyor according to claim 7,
The cartridge frame is provided with an elastically deformable rib, and the upward recess is provided in this rib,
A roller conveyor characterized in that when a load is applied to the roller, the rib bends toward the frame, whereby the shaft of the roller comes into contact with a shaft supporting wall of the frame. The roller conveyor according to claim 6,
The upward recess extends to the position of the downward recess,
A roller conveyor characterized in that both ends of the shaft are always sandwiched between the upward recess and the downward recess.

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