JP2679425B2 - Drive chain device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drive chain device used for, for example, a roller conveyor that conveys a workpiece through a pallet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a roller conveyor using this type of drive chain device, for example, the structure shown in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-111609 has been provided. In this conventional structure, a large number of conveying rollers are provided on the body frame so as to freely rotate to form a conveying path, and a support is provided on the body frame side so as to face each conveying roller. A passive wheel (sprocket) and a transmission roller are arranged on the support body via a support shaft, and the transmission roller can be brought into contact with and separated from the conveyance roller by the operation of the air cylinder device.

A pair of sprockets are provided on the main body frame side, and a chain is stretched between these sprockets.
The chain forms an upper working path portion and a lower return path portion that mesh with the passive wheel group. An upper guide rail for supporting and guiding the chain of the action path portion from below and a lower guide rail for supporting and guiding the chain of the return path portion from below are provided on the main body frame side.

According to this conventional type, when the chain is driven to rotate the transmission roller via the passive wheel body, the transmission roller is brought into contact with the conveying roller by the operation of the air cylinder device. The conveying roller can be rotated by the rotational force of the roller. The rotation can be stopped by separating them. In such a driving state, the chain is supported and guided from below by the guide rails in the action path portion and the return path portion.

[0005]

According to the above-mentioned conventional type, the lower side of the chain in the upper working path portion is supported and guided by the upper guide rail, and a large number of passive wheels are meshed with the upper side. Therefore, the player moves without dancing (jumping), but in the lower action path portion, the upper side is open, so that the player dances greatly up and down. As a result, the lower guide rails continuously collide with each other, generating noise and damaging the chain.

An object of the present invention is to provide a driving chain device which can guide a chain in a lower working path portion without dancing, although the structure is simple and inexpensive.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the drive chain device of the present invention is provided with a pair of chain wheels on the body frame side, and a chain is stretched between these chain wheels.
With this chain, an upper action path portion and a lower return path portion are formed, and on the main body frame side, an upper support body that supports and guides the action path portion chain from below, and a return path portion chain from below. Provide a lower support to support and guide,
A resin chain guide supported by the main body frame is provided in the return path portion near both chain wheels, and an arc-shaped contact portion that contacts the lower surface of the upper support is formed on the upper portion of the chain guide. At the same time, a penetrating portion is formed below the contact portion, and a pressing guide surface that guides the chain of the return path portion from above is formed at the lower portion of the chain guide, and a drive unit that interlocks with the chain is provided, A passive body that meshes with the chain of the action path portion from above is provided.

[0008]

According to such a constitution of the present invention, the chain can be moved between both chain wheels by the operation of the drive unit, and in both the path units, the chain is supported and guided from below by the respective supports. In the upper action path portion, the passive body group meshes with the chain from above, so that the chain can be prevented from dancing.

Further, in the lower return path portion, the pressing guide surface of the chain guide acts on the chain from above in the vicinity of the chain wheels at both ends thereof, so that the chain can be prevented from dancing. At this time, the contact portion of the chain guide has a spring-like shape due to the presence of the penetrating portion, and therefore, the contact portion is arranged so as to abut against the lower surface of the upper support side against the spring force, thereby arranging the spring force. Therefore, the chain guide is pushed down, so that the pressing guide surface is pressed against the chain so as to prevent the above-mentioned dance.

Since the chain guide is made of resin, it can be provided easily and inexpensively.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIGS. 3 to 6, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body frame having a U-shaped cross section, which includes a pair of left and right side frames 1A and 1B and side frames 1A and
1B and a base frame 1C that connects the lower parts of the base 1B, and is installed at a predetermined height on the floor via a plurality of legs 2 that are connected to the base frame 1C. L-shaped guide portions 4A and 4B are formed on the inner side surfaces of the side frames 1A and 1B which face each other, and dovetail groove portions 6A and 6B which allow the nut bodies 5A and 5B to slide are formed on the upper portions thereof. Also one side frame 1
A, mounting portions 7 and 8 are provided on the inner surface side of the lower portion, respectively.
Via the upper guide rail 9 which is an example of the upper support.
And a lower guide rail 10, which is an example of a lower support, are arranged in the frame length direction.

On the side of the main body frame 1, a pair of left and right idler rollers 11A and 11B are arranged inside the side frames 1A and 1B. Here, one idler roller 11A group is
It is unitized with the transmission device 20 or the braking device 50.
That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the transmission device 20 has a case-shaped support frame 21 made of resin as a main body, and the lower end of the vertical substrate portion 22 is fitted to the guide portion 4A, and
By screwing the bolt 23 passing through the middle of the base plate portion 22 into the nut body 5A, the position can be changed (slipped) in the frame length direction and can be fixed at the changed position.

A lower end of the cover plate portion 24 continuously connected from the lower half inner surface of the substrate portion 22 to the inside is connected by a connection plate portion 25. Further, a bearing hole 26 is formed in a lower portion of the substrate portion 22, and an inner end of a support shaft 27 in the left-right direction is fitted into the bearing hole 26 so that the support shaft 27 can swing up and down. Grooves 24a, which are open on opposite sides, are formed in the lower part of both cover plate parts 24 in the left-right direction.

The resin-made L-shaped plate 28 consisting of the horizontal plate portion 28a and the vertical plate portion 28b is attached to the support frame 21 side by inserting both edges of the horizontal plate portion 28a into the groove 24a and then fixing them. .
The outer end of the support shaft 27 is fitted in a vertical recess 29 formed in the vertical plate portion 28b to regulate the vertical swing range of the support shaft 27.

A passive chain wheel 30, which is an example of a passive body, is rotatably attached to the support shaft 27, and a transmission roller 31, which is an example of a power transmission body, is fitted onto the protruding boss portion of the passive chain wheel 30. Therefore, the both 30 and 31 can be integrally rotated. The transmission roller 31 is made of urethane rubber, and the outer periphery of the transmission roller 31 is the idle roller.
The lower part of the outer circumference of 11A is connectable and separable (free to contact and separate).

A cylinder device (an example of a vertically moving device) 32 using air for connecting and disconnecting is provided between the cylinder rubber receiver 33 attached to the outer end of the support shaft 27 and the horizontal plate portion 28a of the L-shaped plate 28. Is installed in the. Further, from the middle of the vertical plate portion 28b of the L-shaped plate 28, a receiving plate 35 is continuously provided inward via a bolt 34, and a support is provided between the lower surface of the receiving plate 35 and the upper surface of the cylinder rubber receiver 33. A compression spring 36 for urging the shaft 27 down is provided. The transmission device 20 is configured by the above 21 to 36.

The vertical plate portion 28b of the L-shaped plate 28 has the same height as the base plate portion 22, and the idler roller 11A is mounted between the upper ends of these 28b and 22. That is, the idle roller 11A
Consists of a narrow roller portion 12a and a wide boss portion 12b,
The roller shaft 13 is freely fitted to the roller shaft 13 via the boss portion 12b so as to freely rotate, and the washers 14 are fitted to both sides. An inner locking outer concave portion 37 is formed at the upper end of the substrate portion 22, and an outer inner locking concave portion is formed at the upper end of the vertical plate portion 28b.
Form 38. Therefore, the idle roller 11A can be mounted by engaging both ends of the roller shaft 13 with both the locking recesses 37, 38.

As shown in FIG. 7, the drive device 44 interlocked with each transmission device 20 includes a chain 45 that meshes with each passive chain wheel 30, a drive chain wheel 46 and a driven chain wheel 47 that stretch the chain 45, It is composed of a guide chain wheel 48 and a motor 49 which is an example of a drive unit linked to the drive chain wheel 44. A pair of driven chain wheels 47 is provided on the main body frame 1 side. Here, Chain 45 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the upper guide rail 9 supports and guides the upper working path portion 40, and the lower guide rail 10 supports and guides the lower return path portion 41. A supporting portion 42 is continuously provided from the side frame 1A so as to be located in the return path portion 41, and a screw groove 43 that is open to the inside is formed in the supporting portion 42 over the entire length in the length direction.

The braking device 50 has substantially the same structure as the transmission device 20, and only different parts will be described below. That is, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a non-passive chain wheel 51 is rotatably attached to the support shaft 27, and a urethane rubber braking body 52 is fixed to the protruding boss portion of the non-passive chain wheel 51. ing. The non-passive chain wheel 51 has a toothless shape, and approximately half of the toothless portion 51a faces the chain 45, and a stopper body 53 that engages between the teeth of the remaining toothed portion 51b is provided on the substrate portion 22. It can be inserted into and removed from the formed support cylinder.

A downward cylinder device 54 is provided between the upper ends of the cover plate portions 24 so as to act on the cylinder rubber receiver 33 from above, and between the side of the horizontal plate portion 28a and the lower surface of the cylinder rubber receiver 33. Further, a compression spring 55 for biasing the support shaft 27 upward is interposed. Here, the idler roller 11a with which the braking body 52 can freely abut is shown by 11a.

As shown in FIG. 6, the other idler roller 11B.
Is attached to the upper end of a bracket 17 via a roller shaft 15 and a fixing tool 16, and the lower end of the bracket 17 is engaged with a guide portion 4B, and a bolt 18 passing through the middle is attached to the nut body 5B. It is fixed to the side frame 1B by being screwed into.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a resin chain guide 85 supported by the body frame 1 is provided in the return path portion 41 near both driven chain wheels 47. This chain guide 85 is a long plate shape, a wide band-shaped and endless outer shell portion 86, a narrow rib portion 87 located in the outer shell portion 86,
It consists of a pair of front and rear thick width portions 88 located in the outer shell portion 86,
A long hole-shaped screw hole 89 is formed in both thick width portions 88.

A concave portion 90 is formed at an upper portion of the outer shell portion 86 at a middle portion in the longitudinal direction, and arcuate contact portions 91 for contacting a lower surface of the upper mounting portion 7 are formed at both end portions. ing. Further, below the contact portion 91, a through portion 92 is formed by removing the upper portion of the rib portion 87. In addition, the lower surface of the outer shell portion 86 is formed as a holding guide surface 93 that guides the chain 45 of the return path portion 41 from above. And by screwing the screw 94 passed from the outside into the screw hole 89 into the screw groove 43,
The chain guide 85 is supported on the body frame 1 side.

The transport path 60 composed of the idling rollers 11A, 11B, 11a is divided into a plurality of zones in the direction of the path. That is, in the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the zones are divided into seven zones A to G in order from the upstream side to the downstream side. In each zone A to G, a braking device 50 is provided facing at least one idler roller 11a, and a transmission device 20 is provided opposite to the remaining idler rollers 11A.

Each of the zones A to G is separately connected and moved.
At that time, a valve 61 for reversibly connecting and disconnecting the braking device 50 and the transmission device 20 is provided. That is, the supply / discharge hose 63 connected to the group of cylinder devices 32, 54 of the transmission device 20 and the braking device 50.
Further, a supply hose 65 from a fluid supply source 64 is configured to be connectable via a three-way electromagnetic valve 61. Transported object 57
Is a pallet 58 and the products 59 placed on this pallet 58.
, Which does not require the use of pallet 58.

Two zones adjacent to each other in the transport direction are provided with a control circuit 70 connected to each valve 61 so that the transmission device 20 can be connected to the downstream zone when the transported object 57 is absent.
That is, the control devices 71A, 71 are associated with the zones A to G, respectively.
B, 71C, 71D, 71E, 71F and 71G are arranged, and these control devices 71A to 71G are connected to each other and to the power supply device 72 in series.

Then, in the zones B to G except the first standby zone A, which is the most upstream, the presence detection devices 73B, 73C, 73D, 73
E, 73F, 73G are provided, and these presence detection devices 73B-
73G is connected to the control devices 71A to 71F in the adjacent upstream zones. For example, the presence detection device 73B is the control device 71A
And 73C is connected to 71B. Then, each of the control devices 71A to 71G sends a control signal 74A, 74B, 74C, 74D to the corresponding valve 61 so as to connect the zone and the upstream zone when the downstream load detection device is not detected. , 74E, 74
It is configured to give an F, 74G.

A support plate 81 is attached to the upper ends of both side frames 1A and 1B via bolts and nuts 80.
Guide bodies 82 are provided on the inner surfaces facing each other. Next, the operation of transporting the transported object 57 in the above embodiment will be described.

Zones C and D of FIGS. 3, 5, 6 and 7 are valves for connecting the supply / discharge hose 63 to the supply hose 65.
61 is switched, and the support shaft 27 is swung upward against the pressing force of the compression spring 36 by the upward expansion of the cylinder device 32,
The transmission roller 31 is brought into contact with the corresponding idler roller 11A from below, and the support shaft 27 is swung downward against the push-up biasing force of the compression spring 55 due to the downward expansion of the cylinder device 54, thereby braking. The body 52 is separated from the corresponding idler roller 11a.

At this time, the operation of the motor 49 causes the chain
45 has been moved between both driven chains 47, and both path parts
At 40 and 41, the chain 45 is the guide rail 9 and 10 respectively.
Is supported and guided from below by. In the upper action path section 40, the chain 45 is engaged with the chain 45 from above, so that the chain 45 can be prevented from dancing.

In the lower return path portion 41, the holding guide surface 93 of the chain guide 85 guides the chain 45 from above in the vicinity of the driven chains 47 at both ends thereof, and the chain 45 dances. Can be prevented. At that time, the chain guide
In 85, the contact portion 91 has a spring shape due to the presence of the through portion 92,
Therefore, by disposing the abutting portion 91 in contact with the lower surface of the upper mounting portion 7 against the spring force, the chain guide 85 is pushed down by the spring force, so that the presser guide surface 93 is moved to the chain 45. The above-mentioned dance prevention is suitably performed as a pressure contact state.

As described above, the group of passive chain wheels 30 meshes with the chain 45 from above, so that the passive chain wheels 30 are supported by the spindles.
It is spinning around 27. Further, the transmission roller 31 forcibly rotates the group of idler rollers 11A by being in contact with the lower peripheral portion of the idler roller 11A. As a result, the transported object 57 on the transport path 60 is supported between the groups of both idler rollers 11A and 11B, receives the transporting force by the forced rotation of the idler roller 11A on one side, and both side surfaces are guided. In the state of being guided by 82, it will be conveyed on this conveying path 60.

At this time, the braking body 52 of the braking device 50 is separated from the idler roller 11a as described above, so that no braking action is generated and the corresponding idler roller 11a.
The movement of the pallet 58 causes the 11a to idle.

For example, as shown in zones A, B, E to G of FIG. 7, by switching the valve 61 to open the supply / discharge hose 63, the compression spring 55 is opened by opening the cylinder device 54 as shown in FIG. The supporting shaft 27 can be swung upward by the pushing-up biasing force of the above, and the braking body 52 can be brought into contact with the corresponding idler roller 11a from below, and the idler roller 11a can be prevented from idling. As a result, the transported object 59 can be braked to prevent the transportation.

When the braking body 52 is brought into contact with the cylinder body 32 in this way, the cylinder device 32 of the transmission device 20 is also inoperative, and the support shaft 27 is swung downward by the pressing force of the compression spring 36. Figure 5
As shown by the imaginary line Q in FIG.
By separating 31 from each other, the idler rollers 11A group are not driven.

The roller conveyor consisting of a pair of idle rollers 11A and 11B is basically the object to be conveyed 57 as described above.
And then brake it.
Actually, the conveyance control is performed by switching the valve 61 based on the detection / non-detection of the presence detection devices 73B to 73G.

That is, the objects to be conveyed 57 are set in all the zones A to G.
Are carried, these carried objects 57 are detected by the presence detection devices 73B to 73G. As a result, as described above, the transmission roller 31 is separated from the idler roller 11A and becomes non-driven, and the braking body 52 comes into contact with the idler roller 11a, so that the zones A to G are subjected to the braking action.

In such a state, the most downstream zone G
The transported object 57 of is unloaded. Then, since there is no detection signal from the presence detection device 73G in the zone G, that is, the zone F and the zone G which are adjacent to each other in the transport direction, the transported object 57 is absent in the zone G on the downstream side. At the same time that the control signal 71F corresponding to the zone G is output to the valve 61 from the control device 71F, the control device 71G corresponding to the zone G outputs the valve 61.
A control signal 74G is output to the both valves 61, so that both valves 61 are automatically switched to connect the supply hose 65 to the supply / drain hose 63. Therefore, in both zones F and G, the braking body 52 moves away from each other and the transmission roller 31 abuts to be in a driving state, so that the transported object 57 in the zone F is transported to the zone G.

When the transported object 57 is carried into the zone G and detected by the presence detection device 73G, the zone G becomes non-driving, and the braking body 52 acts on the idler roller 11a to transport the transported object 57. Will be braked. Also, the transferred object
When the zone 57 is carried out to the zone G, the detection signal from the load detection device 73F in the zone F disappears, so that the zone E and the zone F are driven in the same manner as described above, and the zone E is transported. The object 57 is transported to the zone F. By repeating such an operation, the transported object 57 on the transport path 60 can be sequentially fed between the zones. Note that FIG. 7 shows a case where the transported object 57 in the zone C is transported to the zone D.

In the above embodiment, the left and right idle rollers 11A, 11B
It shows the form in which it is distributed by arranging, but this is the side frame 1
A type in which one idler roller 11A extending between A and 1B may be disposed.

[0041]

According to the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, the chain can be moved between both chain wheels by the operation of the drive unit, and in both the path units, the chain is supported and guided from below by the respective supports. be able to. Further, in the upper action path portion, since the passive body group meshes with the chain from above, the chain can be prevented from dancing.

Further, in the lower return path portion, the pressing guide surface of the chain guide can be guided from above to the chain near the chain wheels at both ends thereof, and this chain can be prevented from dancing. At this time, the chain guide can make the contact portion into a spring shape due to the presence of the penetrating portion. Therefore, by disposing the contact portion in contact with the lower surface of the upper support side against the spring force, the spring force can be increased. Thus, the chain guide can be pushed down, and the pressing guide surface can be pressed against the chain, so that the above-mentioned dance prevention can be suitably performed.

Further, since the chain guide is made of resin, the chain can be guided in the lower action route portion without dancing, while adding a simple and inexpensive structure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a chain guide disposition portion showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the chain guide.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional front view of the transmission unit.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional front view of the braking device section.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway side view of the same main part.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional front view of the roller conveyor.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view illustrating piping and control of the roller conveyor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Main frame 1A Side frame 1B Side frame 9 Upper guide rail (upper support) 10 Lower guide rail (lower support) 11A Idler roller 11B Idler roller 11a Idler roller 20 Transmission device 21 Support frame 27 Spindle 30 Passive Chain ring (passive body) 31 Transmission roller (transmission body) 32 Cylinder device 36 Compression spring 40 Upper action path part 41 Lower return path part 43 Screw hole 44 Drive device 45 Chain 47 Driven chain wheel 49 Motor (drive part) 50 Braking device 52 Braking body 57 Transported object 60 Transport path 85 Chain guide 86 Outer shell 87 Rib 92 Penetration 93 Presser guide surface 94 Screws A to G zones

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pair of chain wheels is provided on the body frame side, and a chain is stretched between these chain wheels to form an upper action path portion and a lower return path portion by the chain, On the body frame side, an upper support that supports and guides the chain of the action path portion from below, and a lower support that supports and guides the chain of the return path portion from below are provided, and in the return path portion near both chain wheels, A resin chain guide supported by the main body frame is provided, and an arc-shaped contact portion that contacts the lower surface of the upper support is formed on the upper portion of the chain guide, and a penetrating portion is formed below the contact portion. In addition, a pressing guide surface for guiding the chain of the return path portion from above is formed in the lower part of the chain guide, and a drive portion interlocking with the chain is provided, and a passive member that meshes with the chain of the operation path portion from above is formed. Body A drive chain device characterized by being provided.