JP2563750B2 - Variable outer diameter roller, conveyor device, transfer device and transfer method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention uses a variable outer diameter type roller, a conveyor device for mounting the variable outer diameter variable type roller on a shaft and driving a motor to convey articles, and the variable outer diameter type roller. And the other conveyor means arranged around the conveyor device, such as a belt conveyor, a chain conveyor, or a roller conveyor (when the outer diameter is small, it is also referred to as a roller conveyor), etc. Regarding the transfer device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A variable outer diameter type roller (or roll or the like) for changing the outer diameter dimension by using a fluid such as compressed air is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-3-20420 and JP-A-3-259843. A roller that expands the cylindrical elastic body to change its outer diameter by supplying compressed air to a cylindrical elastic body pressure chamber (including a combination of a plurality of pressure chambers) fixed to a rotating shaft. (Or roll) is proposed. Further, an actuator such as a cylinder using air pressure or hydraulic pressure intervenes in transferring the article from the first conveyor to the second conveyor.

[0003]

However, in any of the above proposed devices, the cylindrical elastic body is expanded by the fluid pressure supplied to the cylindrical elastic body, and the outer diameter dimension of the cylindrical elastic body is changed. . Normally, the compressed air pressure that is centrally controlled and supplied in the factory has a wide pressure range of about 4.5 Kgf / cm ² to about 8.5 Kgf / cm ² and is unstable.

In the case of the above-mentioned conventional roller, when the change ratio of the outer diameter dimension of the cylindrical elastic body during expansion and the outer diameter dimension in the normal state is large (that is, when the expansion rate is large), for example, it is soft like a rubber member. Even if it is an elastic body, if it repeats expansion with elastic strain exceeding 50% more than 2 million times,
There is a high risk of fatigue failure due to tension. It is extremely difficult to obtain an inexpensive elastic material that can deal with this.

When the article to be conveyed uses a high pressure fluid such as high pressure compressed air of about 5.5 Kgf / cm ² or more due to a heavy load, the cylindrical elastic body of the above-mentioned conventional apparatus has a great circumferential tension when expanded. growing. An elastic material such as a rubber member is extremely difficult to use due to restrictions on the structure and the number of times of fatigue resistance.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional cylindrical elastic body, the outer diameter dimension changes in accordance with the change in the internal pressure. Therefore, it is necessary to control the supplied fluid pressure with high accuracy in order to keep the outer diameter dimension at the time of expansion constant. As a result, the structure becomes complicated and an expensive and high-performance pressure sensor and pressure control device are required. Further, the bottom shape of the article to be conveyed varies, and there are metal members having acute-angled projections. If the acute-angled protrusions come into direct contact with the cylindrical elastic body made of a rubber member, there is a high possibility that they will be damaged in a short time.

Further, the transfer device having an actuator such as a cylinder has a complicated structure and is expensive, and it takes a long time for the transfer operation. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide an inexpensive device having a simple structure.

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems, the outer diameter variable roller of the present invention has a plurality of through holes radially arranged on the side surface and a hollow portion communicating with the through holes. And a sealing member fitted in the hollow portion and having a diaphragm corresponding to each of the through holes, and slidably fitted in each of the through holes to form a roller outer peripheral surface. A slider is provided, and the fluid is supplied into the sealing member to press and move the slider through the diaphragm in a direction in which the outer diameter of the roller increases.

More specifically, a sealing member having a vase-shaped diaphragm corresponding to each of the through holes is fitted inside a pipe having a plurality of through holes formed in a cylindrical surface, and further, A rotary shaft provided with a fluid supply hole for pressing the diaphragm by slidably fitting a slider constituting the roller outer peripheral surface into each through hole, and side plates arranged on both sides of the end surface of the pipe. The sealing member and the pipe are fastened in an airtight state by means of a fluid supplied from a rotary joint connected to the rotary shaft, such as compressed air, through the diaphragm, and the outer diameter dimension of the roller is increased. It is configured to be pressed and moved to.
That is, the plurality of elastic diaphragms arranged along the sealed inner wall surface of the pipe are pressed by the fluid supplied from the hole of the rotating shaft. As a result, the sliders that have been inserted into the jar of the diaphragm through the holes on the side surface of the pipe cylinder are pushed out of the pipe. Then, the circular arc portion which is located on the head side of the slider and constitutes the roller outer peripheral surface moves by a predetermined dimension to expand the roller diameter and become a desired roller outer peripheral surface (outer diameter dimension). As a matter of course, the protrusion (step) of the slider and the side plate come into contact with each other to regulate the movement range of the slider.

After the transfer of the articles between the transfer conveyors is completed, the compressed air inside the pipe is discharged, and the tension of the rubber ring arranged in the groove of the outer peripheral surface of the roller causes the slider to press the diaphragm and move to the original position. Return to. as a result,
The circular arc portion of the slider forms the original small roller outer peripheral surface (outer diameter dimension).

The conveyor device of the present invention comprises a plurality of rotating shaft means which are provided with the variable outer diameter type rollers at both ends of the shaft and are driven by a motor.

Further, the article transfer device is provided with a plurality of outer diameter variable rollers at both ends of the shaft, a plurality of rotating shaft means driven by a motor, and a conveyor means arranged in the vicinity of the rotating shaft means. It has a built-in configuration.

[0013]

According to the present invention, with the above-described structure, the structure of the roller, the conveyor device using the roller, and the transfer device becomes extremely simple.

Further, excessive tension does not act on the diaphragm constituting the outer diameter variable roller. When the diaphragm is deformed from a vase-like shape to a flat plate-like shape, only a slight compression and a slight bending distortion occur. Therefore, fatigue failure does not occur even when the operation is repeated more than 2 million times or compressed air of 5 kgf / cm ² or more.

Furthermore, since the movable range of the slider is regulated by the side plate, the maximum outer diameter of the roller formed by the slider is always constant regardless of the pressure of the fluid applied to the diaphragm. Furthermore, it is the head of the slider that makes contact with the bottom surface of the conveyed product, and the diaphragm made of an elastic member or the like does not directly contact the conveyed product. Absent.

[0016]

【Example】

(Embodiment 1) A variable outer diameter roller 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. 1 and 2, the pipe 1 is made of a metal member or a hard member such as an epoxy resin, polystyrene (PS) or FRP (glass fiber reinforced plastic) resin member.
Further, the pipe 1 has a plurality of through holes such as 9
Four through holes 12 are radially formed at every 0 degree.

The pipe 1 is formed by continuously processing a metal pipe with an NC (numerical control) lathe, or by injection molding the resin member. Further, the pipe 1 is sandwiched by the side plates 2 and 3 from both sides via the edge portion 9C of the sealing member 9. The side plates 2 and 3 are disc-shaped with their end portions bent in cross section.

The side plates 2 and 3 are usually formed by pressing a metal plate, but may be formed by another resin member such as FRP (glass fiber reinforced plastic). A roller shaft 4 arranged at the axis of the pipe 1 and the side plates 2 and 3
Is sealed and fastened in an airtight state by a disk-shaped rubber packing 5, a disk-shaped packing retainer 6, and a bolt 8. The mounting state of the rectangular rotation stop plate 13 is shown in the arrow C of FIG. The rotation stop plates 13 are provided at two positions in each of the H-cut groove portions of the roller shaft 4 (portions where the roller shaft 4 has a substantially oval cross-section (not shown)), a total of four positions, which are perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. It is fitted in the direction and is fixed to the side plates 2 and 3 together with the disk-shaped rubber packing holder 6 by the bolt 8.

The disc-shaped rubber packing 5 projects according to the fastening strength of the bolt 8 in the direction of pressing the roller shaft 4 from the outer peripheral direction and performs a sealing function. Therefore, the surface finishing of the roller shaft 4 is unnecessary, and the seal can be sufficiently maintained even with the rough surface roughness of the steel material drawn. The side plate 2, the side plate 3 and the pipe 1 are completely hermetically fastened together by the edge portion 9C of the sealing member 9, the bolt 7 and the nut 14.

As shown in FIG. 5, the sealing member 9 is formed by integrally molding an elastic material such as a rubber member such as silicon rubber or butyl rubber or a soft plastic member.
As a means of integral molding, a processing method such as casting (casting) or injection molding (injection molding) may be arbitrarily selected.

The sealing member 9 is fitted in the pipe 1. The shape of the sealing member 9 is, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a cylindrical body portion 9D, a through hole 9B, and a diaphragm 9
A, an edge portion 9C, and an annular groove 9E. Through hole 9B
Are provided at four positions corresponding to the through holes 12 provided in the pipe 1, and a spindle 10A portion of a slider 10 described later is slidably fitted therein.

Diaphragms 9A are provided at four positions corresponding to the through holes 12 provided on the cylindrical side surface of the pipe 1. Then, a convex shape (vase shape) protruding toward the inner surface side of the cylindrical body portion 9D is formed. The annular groove 9E and the brim-shaped edge portion 9C mounted on the end portion of the pipe 1 enable a hermetic seal between the side plates 2 and 3 and the pipe 1 by fastening the bolt 7 and the nut 14.

Needless to say, the shape of the vase-shaped diaphragm 9A of the sealing member 9 may be any shape such as a bellows shape or a polyhedron. As is apparent from FIG. 1, the through hole 12 of the pipe 1 into which the slider 10 is fitted.
Are sealed by the diaphragm 9A of the sealing member 9.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the slider 10
Comprises a support shaft 10A, a roller outer peripheral surface portion 10B, a protrusion 10C, a groove 10F and a concave groove 10D. Further, the slider 10 is formed of a resin member into a desired shape by FRP or the like. When heat resistance is required, it is composed of a metal member and processed by die casting or casting.

The grooves 10F are arranged at predetermined intervals in order to increase the frictional force when they come into contact with an article. Needless to say, rubber lining or plastic or rubber member attachment to the roller outer peripheral surface portion 10B may be optionally performed for the purpose of increasing frictional force, cushioning effect when contacting with an article.

Further, an arcuate roller outer peripheral surface portion 10B forming an outer peripheral surface of the roller is formed on one end side of the support shaft 10A with a concave groove 1.
They are arranged symmetrically with respect to 0D. By disposing the arcuate portions in a point-symmetrical manner with a predetermined offset, when the slider 10 is radially disposed at four positions every 90 degrees,
Mutual interference between arcuate portions is prevented, and a continuous roller circumferential surface is formed even when the roller diameter is enlarged. The arrangement of the roller outer peripheral surface portion 10B is arbitrary, and the roller outer peripheral surface may be arranged, for example, in a substantially Y shape or an S shape in addition to the point object so that the roller outer peripheral surface is continuous.

Further, a rubber ring 11 is attached to the groove 10D of the slider 10. This rubber ring 11
Has a function of simultaneously pressing a plurality of sliders 10 (four in the embodiment of FIG. 1) toward the axis of the roller shaft 4 and returning to the origin. The means for returning the slider 10 to the origin may be any means such as a means for applying a negative pressure to the diaphragm 9A instead of the rubber ring 11 or a means for stretching the tension coil spring in an annular shape. The high-pressure compressed air passes through the rotary air joint 17 (rotary joint), the blind hole 15 bored in the axial center, and the communication hole 16 in a cylindrical body portion 9D of the sealing member 9 according to a predetermined timing signal. Is supplied to. The diaphragm 9A of the sealing member 9 is supplied by the high-pressure air as shown by an arrow B in FIGS. 3 and 4.
Is pressed and deformed from a vase-like shape to a flat-plate shape, and pushes the slider 10 to the outside of the pipe 1. At the stroke end of the slider 10 due to air pressure, the protrusion 10C of the slider 10 comes into contact with the U-shaped edges 2A and 3A of the side plates 2 and 3 which are bent in a hook shape, and the operating limit of the slider 10 is reached. Become.

A slider 10 extruded to the outside of the pipe 1.
Forms a predetermined outer peripheral surface (outer diameter dimension) that is slightly larger than that shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. At the same time, naturally, the rubber ring 11 stretched in the concave groove 10D of the slider 10 is expanded. Usually, the conventional cylindrical elastic body made of a rubber member has a withstand pressure of about ² Kgf / cm ² , and has a small ability (allowable load) to lift a conveyed object.

[0029] In the present invention to secure a conventional air cylinder or the like equal to or greater than the conveying capacity, imparting 5 Kgf / cm ² or more high-pressure compressed air to the diaphragm 9A. In this case, the diaphragm 9A made of a soft rubber member or the like is deformed into a flat plate shape, bites into a sharp edge portion or is pushed into a minute gap. As a result, when the diaphragm 9A is repeatedly strongly pressed into a minute gap between hard members made of metal or the like, the soft surface of the diaphragm 9A is peeled off little by little, and finally the pressure resistance is lowered and the diaphragm is ruptured. In order to prevent the diaphragm 9A that repeatedly operates under high-pressure fluid from bursting or cracking, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 7, the end face edge of the support shaft 10A has a spherical R corner 10E.

In the pneumatically actuated state, as shown by the arrow A in FIG. 4, the deformed portion of the diaphragm 9A is sealed with the sealing member 9.
Surface of cylindrical body member 9D and R corner 10E of spindle 10A
And the diaphragm 9A is configured to minimize bending distortion and peeling. With the above structure, the diaphragm 9A having the structure of the present invention can be repeatedly used for 2 million times or more even at an operating air pressure of 5 kgf / cm ² or more.

As will be described later, after the article is conveyed from the first position to the second position by the conveying means using the variable outer diameter type roller, the compressed air pressing the diaphragm 9A is transferred to the roller shaft 4. The compressed air is discharged through the supply hole. As the air pressure inside the sealing member 9 decreases, the support shaft 10A is pushed into the pipe 1 by the tension of the rubber ring 11 and returns to the initial state as shown in FIGS.

As a result, the outer peripheral surface (outer diameter dimension) of the roller outer peripheral surface portion 10B becomes smaller than the outer diameter dimension of the side plates 2 and 3.

Next, a conveyor device and a transfer device constituted by using the variable outer diameter type roller 100 will be described. These devices are effective as means for carrying, branching and joining arbitrary articles such as a television receiver and a semiconductor substrate. The conveyor device includes a rotating shaft means in which the outer diameter variable roller 100 is attached to a shaft portion.
It is composed of a plurality of units. The rotating shaft is driven by a motor through a belt, a chain, a gear coupling, or the like. The transfer device is composed of a conveyor device having a plurality of rotating shaft means in which a variable outer diameter type roller 100 is attached to a shaft portion, and a conveyor device separately arranged in the vicinity of the conveyor device.

For example, a conveyor and belt conveyor using variable outer diameter rollers, a conveyor and chain conveyor using variable outer diameter rollers, or a conveyor and roller conveyor using variable outer diameter rollers (small outer diameter) In that case, it is also called a roller conveyor.) And the like are possible. In the transfer device, predetermined compressed air is supplied via each roller shaft.

As a result, the outer diameter of the roller is expanded as described above, and the roller shaft 4 supported by the ball bearing and the like is rotated by the drive motor and the conductive means such as the chain, so that the article is conveyed from the conveying surface such as the chain conveyor. Is pushed up (lifted) to transfer or branch the article in an arbitrary direction. After the articles are transferred or branched, the compressed air in the sealing member 9 is discharged to shrink the outer diameter dimension of the outer diameter variable roller 100 to the initial state and wait for the next conveyed product.

Thus, the outer diameter variable roller 1 of the present invention
00 includes a sealing member 9 on which a diaphragm 9A made of an elastic member is arranged and a plurality of sliders 10 forming the outer peripheral surface of the roller, so that an article can be transferred or branched with an extremely simple structure.

An embodiment of the transfer device using the variable outer diameter roller 100 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. The transfer device 200 is a transfer conveyor that uses a motor-driven chain, belt, or roller (also referred to as a roller) as a means for mounting and transferring articles, and an outer diameter variable roller 100 at two end portions of the shaft. It is configured with a conveyor device having a plurality of attached rotating shafts to transfer or branch articles. In the case of the apparatus shown in FIG. 9, two conveyor belts 37 are provided so as to sandwich a plurality of rotary shaft means (shown as three in the figure for convenience) in which a variable outer diameter type roller is attached to a shaft portion. It is arranged on both sides.

The traveling direction of the conveyor belt 37 and the rotating direction of the outer diameter variable roller 100 are orthogonal to each other.
The power transmission for driving the outer diameter variable roller 100 to rotate is
By means of belts, pulleys or sprockets, chains, etc. Bearings (not shown) attached to the frame 36 hold the pulleys 39 and 40, and the pulleys 39 and 40 drive the conveyor belt 37. A pulley 39 and a sprocket (chain wheel) 41 are fixed to the rotary shaft 20. The driving force of the drive motor 38 is transmitted to the sprocket 41 by the sprocket 19 and the chain 18. The variable outer diameter type roller 100 is attached to each of the two ends of each of the rotary shafts 28, 22, and 29 at two locations, and is supported by bearings 23. In the initial state, that is, in the state where the compressed air is discharged and the roller outer peripheral surface 10B is contracted, the height of the article conveyance surface of the outer diameter variable roller 100 is lower than that of the conveyance belt 37. (Indicated by dimension H2 in FIG. 10) In the operating state, that is, in the state where compressed air is supplied and the roller outer peripheral surface 10B is expanded, the height is higher than the upper surface of the conveyor belt 37. (Indicated by the dimension H1 in FIG. 10.) In the case of the transfer device 200 shown in FIG.
2, 28 and 29 are arranged in parallel.

The drive force of the motor 27 is transmitted to the rotary shaft 22 by the connection of the sprockets 24 and 26 and the chain 25. The rotating shafts 28, 29 are sprockets 30, 32,
The driving force of the rotary shaft 22 is transmitted by the chain 31.

Next, the article transfer operation will be described. Arrow Y
The case where an article is received from the direction and transferred (branched) in the X direction will be described. First, the compressed air is rotated by the rotary shafts 22, 28, 2
9 is supplied to the outer diameter variable roller 100, and the article is pulled in from the arrow Y direction while rotating at the height H1.

Next, after the pulling of the article is completed (after the article reaches the first position), the variable outer diameter roller 100 is stopped and the compressed air is discharged to change the height to H2 (outside). (The diameter is reduced), the article is placed on the upper surface of the conveyor belt 37, and the arrow X
Direction (second position direction). On the contrary, when the article is flowed from the arrow X direction to the arrow Y direction, the outer diameter variable roller 100 first waits at the height of H2. When the article reaches the outer diameter variable roller 100 (first position) by the conveyor belt 37, the outer diameter dimension of the outer diameter variable roller 100 changes to the height H1, and the article is conveyed to the upper surface of the conveyor belt 37. Lift more. After that, the outer diameter variable roller 100 is driven to rotate and is transferred in the arrow Y direction (second position direction).

As described above, the transfer device 200 can transfer articles in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the belt conveyor and is reversible. Compared to the conventional apparatus, in which the entire conveying device such as a belt conveyor, a roller conveyor, or a chain conveyor is lifted using a means such as an air cylinder to change the conveying direction of the article, the transfer device 200 of the embodiment of the present invention is The structure is extremely simple and inexpensive to construct.

Further, since the structure is simple, the reliability of the equipment is greatly improved. Further, the conventional belt conveyor or chain conveyor has a lower upper limit of the transfer speed of about 20 m / min, whereas the present invention can handle it at a high speed of 80 to 90 m / min. As a matter of course, it goes without saying that a single conveyor device using the variable outer diameter type roller may be used as a conventional article conveying conveyor device.

Next, FIG. 11 shows a transfer device 300 according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which the number of the variable outer diameter type rollers 100 and the arrangement of the rotating shafts are changed.

Also in this transfer device, articles can be received from the direction of arrow Y and transferred in the direction of arrow A at a predetermined angle, or vice versa. The transfer device 300 basically includes three conveying means, that is, a conveyor belt 37A, a conveyor device including a plurality of rotating shaft means to which the outer diameter variable roller 100 is attached, and a roller conveyor 42 separately prepared. Specifically, the outer diameter variable rollers 100 are arranged in three rows from the left side in the order of 3, 4, and 6, respectively, and are provided with a first conveyor means, and then two rollers are provided on both sides in the vicinity of the first conveyor means. A second conveyor means composed of a belt conveyor 37A is arranged, and further, a roller conveyor 42 is arranged as a third conveyor means so as to intersect the second conveyor means at a predetermined angle.

In order to transfer the articles on the roller conveyors arranged in the direction of arrow A at a predetermined angle, or vice versa, the outer diameter variable rollers 100 are mounted.
The installation angle is gradually twisted in an arc shape and changed.

The variable outer diameter roller 100 has drive shafts 22A and 28 by means of pulleys 34 and 35 and a lap belt (not shown) stretched between these pulleys.
Power is transmitted from A and 29A. Further, one outer diameter variable roller 100 is attached to the rotating shaft, and is supported in a predetermined manner by bearing means from both sides.

Needless to say, the transmission belt may be any transmission means other than the round belt and the timing belt. As described above, the article transfer devices 200 and 300 using the variable outer diameter type roller of the present invention can instantly lift the conveyed article by supplying the compressed air and change the conveying direction, and high-speed branching or merging is possible. become.

(Embodiment 2) A variable outer diameter roller 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 12 to 15. Outer diameter variable roller 4 in Example 2
00 has a configuration in which the sealing member 9 having a diaphragm function is not used as compared with the outer diameter variable roller 100 described in the first embodiment.

That is, a plurality of through holes are radially arranged on the side surface, and a holding member having a fluid supply hole communicating with the through holes, and a slidable fitting member for each of the through holes are provided. And a slider that forms an outer peripheral surface of the roller, and is configured to press and move the slider in the direction in which the outer diameter of the roller increases by the fluid supplied to the fluid supply hole.

Further, the clearance (gap size) between the slider and the bearing hole into which the slider is fitted is set to several tens of micrometers, and the outer diameter variable type is manufactured by finishing the fitting state to H7f6. The roller structure is made compact and the outer dimensions are made smaller.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing a state where the outer diameter variable roller 400 is attached to the hollow shaft 121. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the cutting line S3 to S3, showing a state in which air is supplied to the hollow shaft 121 and the outer diameter of the roller is enlarged. However, O
The description of the ring is omitted. 14 is a front view of the slider 124, and FIG. 15 is a plan view of the slider 124.

First, a hollow portion 1 for supplying a fluid such as air
A hollow shaft 121 having 32 as its center is prepared. One end of the hollow shaft 121 is sealed with a plug 129, and the other end is a rotary air joint (rotary joint).
130 is attached and supplies air of a predetermined pressure. further,
Both ends of the hollow shaft 121 are supported by bearings 131 arranged at predetermined intervals. The hollow shaft 121 is rotationally driven by a driving motor, a pulley and a belt means, a driving motor and a sprocket (chain wheel) and a chain, or a driving motor and a gear coupling means. (Neither is shown.) Furthermore, the hollow shaft 121 has two through holes 122 near the bearing 131, four through holes 122 communicating with the hollow portion 132 at four positions on the side surface, four at every 90 degrees, for a total of eight positions. It is arranged radially. A main body disk 123 is attached and fixed to the hollow shaft 121 as a member for holding a slider 124 which will be described later. FIG. 12 shows a state in which two locations are attached. The main body disk 123 is provided with four through holes 128 radially corresponding to the respective through holes 122, and each through hole 122 and each through hole 128 are arranged so as to communicate with each other.

Further, a slider 124 is slidably fitted in each through hole 128 of the main body disk 123.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, four sliders 124 are fitted to one main body disk 123. As in the case of the first embodiment, the slider 124 includes the support shaft 124A and the roller outer peripheral surface portion 124.
It consists of B and. The detailed shape is shown in FIG. Support shaft 124A
Is a predetermined clearance (gap size) for the through hole 128
It is fitted in the state of H7f6 which has. O-rings 125 are provided at one or two predetermined locations on the outer peripheral portion (one location in FIG. 12) to prevent air leakage and prevent dust.

As a matter of course, the surface finish of the support shaft 124A is smoothly finished to a mirror surface state or a state close to a mirror surface by means such as lathe processing or grinding processing. However, when the slider 124 is resin-molded, the surface roughness of the molding die may be improved and the finishing process may be unnecessary. The roller outer peripheral surface portion 124B has a groove 124.
An arcuate portion forming a roller circumferential surface (roller outer diameter) at a predetermined angle with C in the center is provided as a point symmetrical shape. By arranging the arc-shaped portions in a point-symmetrical manner with a predetermined offset, mutual interference between the arc-shaped portions is prevented when the sliders 124 are radially arranged at four positions every 90 degrees and the rollers Even when the diameter is enlarged, a continuous roller circumferential surface is formed. The surface shape of the roller circumferential surface may be set arbitrarily. The groove 10F may be smooth as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, or as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a shallow groove 10F having a U-shaped or V-shaped cross-section may be provided substantially at the front surface at predetermined intervals. You may do it. Of course, the grooves 10F may have a knurled shape that intersects with each other.

Further, the cross-sectional shape of the outer peripheral surface of the roller is arbitrary, and as shown in FIG. 12, a substantially U-shaped concave groove 124 is formed.
In addition to C, V-shape, U-shape, spherical shape, etc. may be set as necessary. A ring-shaped tension coil spring 126 corresponding to the rubber ring 11 in the first embodiment is annularly stretched in the recessed groove 124C. As described in the first embodiment, the action of the ring-shaped tension coil spring 126 is such that when the air pressure does not act, the slider 124 is returned to the initial position, that is, the outer diameter dimension of the roller is returned to the original small diameter dimension state. Make up.

Side plates 127 are provided on both side surfaces of the main body disk 123, respectively. The side plate 127 is the slider 12
While restricting (limiting) the stroke end of 4,
The rotation of the spindle of the slider 124 is prevented.

That is, the side plate 127 regulates the maximum outer diameter of the roller outer peripheral surface formed by the slider 124 when air of a predetermined pressure is supplied into the through hole 128, and the slider 1
24 is prevented from falling out of the through hole 128. The outer diameter variable roller 400 having the above structure has an outer diameter increased by the air supplied through the rotary air joint (rotary joint) 130 described above.

On the contrary, the outer diameter of the roller is reduced to the initial small size by discharging air. In this case, the response speed of the slider 124 with respect to the air is extremely high at several tens of milliseconds to several hundreds of milliseconds. Of course, it goes without saying that a speed controller for controlling the inflow / outflow speed of air may be used together.

Note that, in FIG. 12, the position of the slider shown by the chain double-dashed line is in the state in which the outer diameter of the roller is expanded by being operated by air. In the above embodiment, FIG. 12 shows a case where the outer diameter variable roller 400 is arranged at two positions with respect to the hollow shaft 121.
It goes without saying that the number of installations of 00 and the installation position may be set arbitrarily.

Further, the main body disk 123 and the side plate 127
Also, the shape and combination of the hollow shaft 121 are arbitrary. For example, like the outer diameter variable roller 500 shown in FIG. 16, a member in which the main body disc and the side plate are integrated is used as a slider holding member 173, and the stroke end of the slider 124 is regulated by a stopper 177. May be

Further, like the outer diameter variable roller 600 shown in FIG. 17, a member structure for holding the slider by integrating the main body disk and the hollow shaft in FIG. 12 and the outer diameter variable roller shown in FIG. As in the mold roller 700, any configuration such as a configuration in which the main body disc, the hollow shaft, and the side plate are integrated is possible.

Further, in FIG. 16, instead of the stopper 177 for restricting the movement of the slider 124, a pin or the like may be projected from the holding member 173 to restrict it from the lateral direction of the spindle or roller outer peripheral surface portion. Good. (Not shown)
That is, a plurality of through holes are radially arranged on the side surface and a holding member having a fluid supply hole communicating with the through holes, and a slidably fitted into each of the through holes.
A variable outer diameter type roller, which is composed of a slider forming an outer peripheral surface of the roller, and presses and moves the slider in a direction in which the outer diameter of the roller expands by the fluid supplied to the fluid supply hole. do it.

Further, the constituent member of the main body disc, the side plate, the hollow shaft, or the holding member formed by integrating these and the processing means are optional, and the polystyrene resin member (PS)
Alternatively, an epoxy resin member or FRP may be molded by resin. The outer diameter variable roller 400 described in the second embodiment,
The description of configuring the conveyor device and the transfer device using 500, 600, and 700 will be omitted because the same configuration can be achieved by replacing the outer diameter variable roller 100 described in the first embodiment.

[0065]

According to variable outer diameter roller of the present invention as described above, according to the present invention, without requiring a precision machined ^{parts, 5Kgf / cm 2 ~8Kgf / cm} 2 and a large high pressure dispersion by simple structure Even when a fluid is used, the outer peripheral dimension (outer diameter dimension) of the roller can be instantly varied. In addition, the repeated life and reliability are greatly improved.

Further, in the structure using no diaphragm, the external dimensions can be reduced and the structure can be further simplified.

Further, also in the conveyor device and the transfer device for articles using the variable outer diameter type roller of the present invention, the manufacturing cost is greatly reduced, and further, the size and weight are extremely reduced, and the high speed operation in the transfer facility is realized. The branching or merging becomes possible, and the range of use is expanded, which has many effects.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an outer diameter variable roller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane S1 to S1 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which compressed air is supplied to the outer diameter variable roller of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the plane S2-S2 of FIG.

5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the sealing member constituting FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a sealing member which constitutes FIG.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the slider that constitutes FIG.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the slider that constitutes FIG.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a transfer device using an outer diameter variable roller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a front view of a transfer device using a variable outer diameter roller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of another transfer device using a variable outer diameter roller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of an outer diameter variable roller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 viewed from the direction of cutting lines S3 to S3.

14 is a front view of the slider forming FIG.

15 is a plan view of the slider forming FIG.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view of a variable outer diameter roller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view of an outer diameter variable roller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view of an outer diameter variable roller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Pipe 2, 3, 57 Side Plates 2A, 3A Edge 4 Roller Shaft 5 Rubber Packing 6 Packing Presser 9 Sealing Member 9A Diaphragm 9B Through Hole 9C Edge 9D Cylindrical Body 9E Annular Groove 10, 54, 124 Slider 10A, 124A Support shaft 10B, 124B Roller outer peripheral surface portion 10E R Corner 10F Groove 11 Rubber ring 12, 16, 52, 122, 128 Through hole 13 Rotation stop plate 14 Nut 15 Hole 17,130 Rotary air joint 18, 25, 31, 31A Chain 19, 24, 26, 30, 32, 30A, 32A, 41
Sprocket 20, 22, 28, 29, 29A Rotating shaft 23, 23A Bearing 27, 27A Motor 34, 35, 39, 40 Pulley 36, 36A Frame 37, 37A Conveyor belt 38 Drive motor 42 Coroconveyor 51, 121, 181 Hollow shaft 59 , 129 plug 100, 400, 500, 600, 700 outer diameter variable roller 200, 300 transfer device 123 main body disk 123A boss portion 124C recessed groove 125 O-ring 126 ring-shaped tension coil spring 127 side plate 131 bearing 132 hollow portion 173 Holding member 177,187 Stopper

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-57-23504 (JP, A) JP-A-2-100938 (JP, A) JP-A-48-9483 (JP, A) JP-A-3- 20420 (JP, A) Actual development Sho 53-115587 (JP, U) Special public account 45-11856 (JP, B1) Actual public 47-42375 (JP, Y1)

Claims (21)

(57) [Claims] 1. A holding member in which a plurality of through holes are radially arranged on a side surface and a diaphragm is arranged corresponding to the through holes, and slidably fitted in the respective through holes,
A slider constituting the outer peripheral surface of the roller, and the fluid supplied into the holding member presses the slider through the diaphragm in the direction in which the outer diameter of the roller increases. Variable outer diameter type roller. 2. The outer diameter according to claim 1, wherein the slider includes an arc portion forming a roller outer peripheral surface of a predetermined angle, and a support shaft fitted into the through hole. Adjustable roller. 3. The outer diameter variable roller according to claim 1, wherein either one of a rubber member and a plastic member is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the roller. 4. A sealing member, in which a diaphragm is arranged corresponding to each of the through holes, is fitted inside a pipe formed by forming a plurality of through holes in a cylindrical surface, and further, each of the through holes. A slidable member constituting the roller outer peripheral surface is slidably fitted to the pipe, and the sealing member and the pipe are fastened in a confidential state by a side plate arranged on the end face side of the pipe, and a fluid is used to interpose the diaphragm. A variable outer diameter type roller characterized in that the slider is pressed and moved in a direction in which the outer diameter dimension of the roller increases. 5. A conveyor device comprising a plurality of rotating shaft means having the variable outer diameter type roller according to claim 1 attached to a shaft portion. 6. A plurality of rotating shaft means having the variable outer diameter type roller according to claim 1 attached to a shaft portion, and conveyor means arranged in the vicinity of the rotating shaft means. Transfer device for articles. 7. The transfer of articles according to claim 6, wherein the conveyor means arranged in the vicinity of the rotating shaft means is one or more means of a belt conveyor, a chain conveyor or a roller conveyor. Mounting device. 8. A plurality of rotating shaft means each having a variable outer diameter type roller according to claim 1 attached to a shaft portion are sandwiched therebetween.
An article transfer device, characterized in that a book conveyor is provided on both sides. 9. The article transfer device according to claim 8, wherein a rotation direction of the outer diameter variable roller and a traveling direction of the transport conveyor intersect with each other. 10. Two transport conveyors are provided on both sides so as to sandwich a plurality of rotating shaft means having the variable outer diameter type roller according to claim 1 attached to a shaft portion, and intersect the transport conveyors at a predetermined angle. An article transfer device comprising a third conveyor means as described above. 11. The article transfer apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the third conveyor means is a roller conveyor. 12. The article transfer device according to claim 10, wherein at least one installation angle of each of the outer diameter variable rollers is changed. 13. The article is transported to a first position by a transport conveyor, and then fluid is supplied to a plurality of rotary shaft means having the variable outer diameter type roller according to claim 1 attached to a shaft portion of the article. Is lifted from the conveyor and is conveyed to a second position. 14. The article is conveyed to a first position by a plurality of rotating shaft means having the variable outer diameter type roller according to claim 1 attached to a shaft portion, and then fluid is discharged from the variable outer diameter type roller. Then, the article is lowered, and the article is transported to the second position by a separately prepared transport conveyor. 15. A holding member having a plurality of through holes radially arranged on a side surface and having a fluid supply hole communicating with the through holes, and a holding member slidably fitted in each of the through holes. -A slider forming an outer peripheral surface of the roller, and the fluid supplied to the fluid supply hole presses and moves the slider in a direction in which the roller outer diameter dimension increases. Adjustable outer diameter roller. 16. A conveyor device comprising a plurality of rotating shaft means to which the variable outer diameter type roller according to claim 15 is attached. 17. An article comprising a plurality of rotating shaft means to which the variable outer diameter type roller according to claim 15 is attached, and conveyor means arranged in the vicinity of the rotating shaft means. Transfer device. 18. The transfer of an article according to claim 17, wherein the conveyor means arranged in the vicinity of the rotating shaft means is one or more means of a belt conveyor, a chain conveyor or a roller conveyor. Mounting device. 19. A holding member having a plurality of through holes radially arranged on a side surface thereof and having a fluid supply hole communicating with the through holes, and a holding member slidably fitted in each of the through holes. -A slider that forms the outer peripheral surface of the roller and a member that limits the operating range of the slider, and the outer diameter of the roller is increased by the fluid supplied to the fluid supply hole. A variable outer diameter type roller characterized in that it is pushed and moved in the direction. 20. A main body disk having a plurality of through holes radially arranged on a side surface and having a fluid supply hole communicating with the through holes, and slidably fitted in each of the through holes. It consists of a slider that forms the outer peripheral surface of the roller and a member that limits the operating range of the slider, and the outer diameter of the roller is increased by the fluid supplied to the fluid supply hole. A variable outer diameter type roller characterized in that it is pressed and moved in the direction of. 21. A hollow shaft formed by radially arranging a plurality of through holes on a cylindrical surface, and a slider which slidably fits into each of the through holes to form a roller outer peripheral surface. And a member for limiting an operation range of the slider, wherein the slider is pressed and moved by a fluid supplied to the hollow shaft in a direction in which a roller outer diameter dimension increases. Adjustable outer diameter roller.