JP3044973B2 - Conversion 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 conversion apparatus used for transferring an article being conveyed on a main conveyance path to a branch conveyance path provided outside the side of the main conveyance path. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of apparatus, for example, a configuration as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-32309 has been provided. In this conventional type, a plurality of slats are arranged between a pair of left and right endless chains. This slat is
The transport surface for longitudinal transfer is formed by the uppermost surface, and a branch shoe is movably attached to the slat for moving the articles laterally with respect to this transport surface.

The slat is formed by a cylindrical wall having a flat upper portion forming a transfer surface, and protrudes downward from the lower wall with a T-shaped cross section. The branch shoe surrounds the wall of the slat, and includes a support member including a sliding surface having substantially the same shape as the outer surface of the slat, and a branch member continuously provided on the support member. . A projecting portion is provided downward from the lower wall of the support member, and a bearing is attached to a lower portion of the branch pin whose upper portion is supported by the projecting portion, and a guide track to which the bearing is fitted is provided.

According to this conventional type, articles can be supported and conveyed by a group of slats which move integrally by driving an endless chain. At this time, a bearing is guided by a guide track and a branch shoe is moved in the width direction of the conveyor. Then, the article is laterally pushed by the branch shoe group and moved to the side.

[0005]

According to the above-mentioned conventional construction, the sliding surface of the branch shoe having substantially the same shape is opposed to the flat conveying surface of the slat, and the front and rear surfaces are located between both surfaces. Since a linear gap is created, when the branch shoe group pushes the article sideways, the thin article itself or a thin part integral with the article enters the gap and smoothly moves to the side due to the side pushing. Can not be done. Since the transport surface is flat, the article is easy to slip, and the transfer to the side is easily performed diagonally.

[0006] Further, since the bearing is located at a position far below the lower wall of the supporting member, the overall height of the branch shoe including the bearing is increased, resulting in poor stability.
Further, the branch pin must be thick and firmly supported by the projection. A pair of corners of the slat are formed as round corners in order to resist the repulsive force that rotates the group of branch shoes when the article is laterally pushed. Is large and the noise is loud.

An object of the present invention is to provide a conversion device which can smoothly move articles even if it is a thin object, can reduce the overall height and improve the stability, and has a small backlash.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conversion device having an endless rotating body arranged along a main transport path, a plurality of endless rotating bodies attached to the endless rotating body, and A guide bar having a length perpendicular to the path, a movable body guided by the guide bar, a guided body provided on the back side of the movable body, and a guide device group for guiding the guided body And a switching device disposed at a branch portion of the guide device group, wherein the guide bar has a loading plate portion having a flat surface formed with a concave portion along the length direction, and the loading plate portion. The movable body is formed by a pair of leg plates that are provided in a pair in the direction of the main transport path from the rear surface of the portion and extend along the length direction , and the movable body is fitted on the guide bar and engaged with the recess. Part and a guided part located between both leg plate parts The guided member is located on the back outward, wherein is made to face the guide unit groups attached to the guided portion.

Further, in the conversion device according to the second aspect of the invention, the movable body guided by the guide bar is provided with a rattling preventing portion which elastically abuts on the back side of the guide bar. In the conversion device according to the third aspect of the present invention, the movable body guided by the guide bar is provided with a rattling preventing portion elastically abutting against the back side of the guide bar in one of the front and rear directions with both leg plate portions as the middle. At the same time, a mating portion to be fitted and guided on the back side of the guide bar is formed on the other side.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the article supplied to the start end of the main transfer path is conveyed toward the end by moving the guide bar group by moving the endless rotating body. . At that time, the movable body that moves integrally with the guide bar is guided by the guide device group and moves in the length direction of the guide bar, whereby the movable body group laterally pushes the article and the main transport path. From the side.

At this time, since the convex portion of the movable body moves in the concave portion of the guide bar, that is, the convex portion moves below the surface, the thin portion of the article and the like can move with the loading plate portion. The desired article can be moved laterally without entering the gap between the body. The movement of the article on the surface can be performed without slipping due to the presence of the concave portion. Further, since the guided portion of the movable body is slidably guided between the two leg plates of the guide bar, the movable body is smoothly moved without rattling.

Further, by supporting the upper part of the guided body in the center of the guided part by embedding, the supporting part can be located between the two leg plate parts, that is, it can be located above the back surface of the guide bar, Thereby, the lower part of the guided body can be arranged close to the back surface, and the height of the movable body itself can be reduced,
The guided body can be firmly supported by the guided portion which can take a sufficient height.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the guided portion of the movable body is slidably guided between the two leg plates of the guide bar, and the fitted portion of the movable body is fitted to the fitting portion of the guide bar. Because of the sliding guide, the movable body can be smoothly moved without rattling, and the fitting sliding structure can surely receive the reaction force at the time of the lateral pushing action.

According to the configuration of the third aspect of the present invention, since the play preventing portion of the movable body is elastically abutted on the back surface side of the guide bar, the play that is likely to occur when the movable body is moved is more reliably prevented. Can be prevented.

[0015]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 3 to 6, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body frame, which includes frame members 10 and 20 arranged on a pair of upper and lower sides, an intermediate frame member 2 for connecting the upper and lower and left and right frame members 10 and 20, and a lower frame member. Legs 3 connected downward from 20
The intermediate frame member 2 is composed of a vertical connecting member 4, a horizontal connecting member 5, and the like.

The upper frame member 10 is formed in a rectangular shape in cross section by a molded product of aluminum, and has an upwardly erected portion 11 formed at a central portion thereof. 12 and 13 are formed. Further, in the upper frame member 10, an inner upward dovetail groove 14 is formed at the upper end of the upright portion 11, and an outer upward dovetail groove 15 is formed at the position of the outer step portion 13, and an inner downward dovetail groove 16 is formed at the lower end. Outward downward dovetail
17 is formed.

The upper frame member 10 has an inner step 12.
The outward guide rail 18 protrudes inward from the position. The dovetail grooves 14 to 17 and the outward guide rail portion 18 are formed over the entire length in the length direction when the upper frame material 10 is formed.

The lower frame member 20 is formed in a rectangular shape in cross section by a molded product of aluminum, and has an inner upward dovetail groove 21 and an outer upward dovetail groove 22 at an upper end, and an inner downward dovetail groove 23 at a lower end. An outer downward dovetail groove 24 is formed. Further, a return-side guide rail portion 25 is formed inward from the inner intermediate portion, and an upper end extension is provided above a step portion 26 formed by the return-side guide rail portion 25.
27 are located. The dovetail grooves 21 to 24 and the return-side guide rail portion 25 are formed over the entire length in the length direction when the lower frame member 20 is formed.

The intermediate frame member 2 has a plate-like nut body 6 positioned in both downward dovetail grooves 16, 17 of the upper frame member 10, and from below the horizontal connecting member 5 of the intermediate frame member 2. The threaded bolt 7 is joined to the nut body 6 and tightened to be integrated with the upper frame material 10 and the lower frame material 20
By using the two upward dovetail grooves 21 and 22, the lower frame member 20 is integrated with the nut body 6 and the bolt 7 in the same manner as described above. A plurality of the intermediate frame members 2 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the length direction of the two frame members 10 and 20. The leg 3 is connected to the lower frame member 20 by the nut 6 and the bolt 7 using the downward dovetail groove 24 of the lower frame member 20.

A left-right driven shaft 30 is rotatably disposed at the start end of the main body frame 1 constructed as described above, and a drive shaft 31 in the same direction is rotatably disposed at the end. Is done. Here, the driven shaft 30 and the drive shaft 31 are
It is rotatably supported by a pair of left and right support members 32 disposed between 10 and 20 via bearing devices 33, respectively. The drive unit 34 linked to the drive shaft 31 has an electric motor 35 and a speed reducer 36 integrated therewith, and an output part of the speed reducer 36 is linked to the drive shaft 31.

Between both ends of the driven shaft 30 and the drive shaft 31 and between opposing portions, a chain (an example of an endless rotating body) 40 is disposed via sprockets (an example of a wheel) 38, 39. . Here, the sprockets 38 and 39 are disposed inside the support member 32. The chain 40 includes a link 41 and a connecting pin 42.
The connecting pin 42 is projected inward.
A large number of guide bars 50 are mounted between the left and right chains 40. Here, the guide bar 50 is
The direction perpendicular to the main transport path 45, which is the moving direction of the main transport path 45, is disposed as the length direction 51.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the guide bar 50 has two (single or plural) recesses 53 along the longitudinal direction 51 on the flat surface 52 in the direction of the main transport path 45. The formed loading plate portion 54, and a pair of the loading plate portions 54 are arranged in a row in the direction of the main transport path 45 from an intermediate portion on the back surface of the loading plate portion 54 and have a length direction.
Leg plate portions 55 and 56 along 51, a front plate portion 57 extending downward and rearward from the front end of the loading plate portion 54, a rear plate portion 58 extending downward and rearward from the rear end of the loading plate portion 54, A bottom plate 59 connecting the lower end of the rear plate portion 56 and the lower end of the rear leg plate portion 56 is provided. The lower ends of both leg plate portions 55, 56 have groove-shaped fitting portions 60, which open downward. 61 are formed.

Slat brackets 62 are attached to both ends of the thus formed guide bar 50 in the longitudinal direction 51 by insertion and connection. This slat bracket
A cylindrical part 63 protruding outward
A rotating body (bearing, roller, or the like) 64 externally fitted to the cylindrical portion 63 is supported and guided by the two guide rails 18 and 25 on the main body frame 1 side. The chain 40
A large number of guide bars 50 are attached between the pair of left and right chains 40 by inserting and projecting the protruding portions of the connecting pins 42 into the cylindrical portion 63.

Each guide bar 50 is provided with a movable body 70 which is guided by the guide bar 50 and is movable in the longitudinal direction 51. These movable bodies 70 are externally fitted to the guide bar 50, and an upper plate 71 facing the loading plate portion 54 from above,
A front plate member 72 facing the front plate portion 57 from the front side, a rear plate member 73 facing the rear plate portion 58 from the rear side, and a bottom plate member 74 facing the bottom plate portion 59 and the like from the bottom side have a rectangular cylindrical shape. Formed.

From the other (front) of the bottom plate 74 and the two leg plates 55 and 56 in the front-rear direction, the front leg 55
A projecting fitting part 75 is formed which fits from below into the fitting part 60 formed on the guide bar 50 and is fitted and guided on the back side of the guide bar 50. Further, the guide bar is provided on one side (rear) of the bottom plate 74 in the front-rear direction with the two leg plate portions 55 and 56 in the middle.
An anti-rattle portion 76 is formed to elastically contact the back surface formed by the bottom plate portion 59 of 50. Here, the rattling preventing portion 76 is formed in a tongue shape by making a U-shaped cut in the bottom plate member 74, and a contact portion on the back side is formed in a protruding shape at the free end. .

The upper plate 71 of the movable body 70 has a pair of projections 77 which are engaged with the recesses 53 formed in the guide bar 50 from above, and the bottom plate 74 has two leg plate portions.
A guided portion 78 that fits between 55 and 56 and is slid and guided is formed. Note that the movable body 70 is made of, for example, a synthetic resin.
79 is integrally molded.

Then, a guided body is attached using the guided section 78. That is, a roller shaft 80 is suspended from the central portion of the guided portion 78 by supporting the upper portion by embedding molding, and a guide roller 81, which is an example of a guided member, is loosely mounted on the lower portion of the roller shaft 80. The guide roller 81 is rotatably mounted, so that the guide roller 81 is positioned outside the back surface of the movable body 70.

As described above, the upper part of the roller shaft 80 is
By supporting the central portion of 78 by embedding molding, the supporting portion of the roller shaft 80 can be located between the leg plate portions 55 and 56,
That is, the guide bar 81 can be located above the bottom plate portion 59 of the guide bar 50, whereby the guide roller 81 can be arranged close to the bottom plate portion 59, and the height of the movable body 70 itself can be reduced. Further, the roller shaft 80 can be firmly supported by the guided portion 78 having a sufficient height.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 7 to 9, the upper horizontal connecting member 5 in the intermediate frame member 2 of the main body frame 1 is provided.
Guide device group 90 for guiding the guide rollers 81
However, a group of return guide devices 100 is disposed on the lower horizontal connecting member 5. An upper switching device 110 on the forward path and a lower switching device 111 on the return path are disposed in the central branching section, and a pair of right and left sorting devices 112A and 112B are disposed near the starting end on the forward path. Is done.

The forward path guide device group 90 includes a pair of start guides 91A and 91B provided on both sides of the start end, respectively.
And a pair of left and right inner movement guide portions 92A, 92B which face the end of the start end guide portions 91A, 91B via the distribution devices 112A, 112B and are inclined inward toward the lower side.
A pair of left and right outer moving guides 93A and 93B that face the ends of the inner moving guides 92A and 92B via the upper switching device 110 and are inclined outward toward the lower side;
It comprises a pair of left and right end guides 94A and 94B disposed opposite to the ends of the outer movement guides 93A and 93B, respectively.

The return guide device group 100 includes a pair of left and right inner movement guide portions 101 inclined inward toward the lower side.
A, 101B, and a pair of left and right outer moving guides which face the ends of the inner moving guides 101A, 101B via the lower switching device 111, and are inclined more outward toward the lower side.
102A and 102B.

The two guide device groups 90 and 100 are, for example, shown in FIG.
As shown by the leading end guide portion 91B and the outer moving guide portion 102B, the main body is made of an extruded aluminum product.
The main body 105 is fixed to the horizontal connecting member 5 via a bracket 107. The main body 105 includes a guide plate 106 made of resin and mounted on the inner surface side of the main body 105. As shown in FIG. 5, in order to guide the guide roller 81 in the reversing part at the beginning and the end,
Reversing guide bodies 108A, 108B, 109A, 109B that allow fitting of the guide rollers 81 are attached to the portions of both shafts 30, 31.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 10, on both sides of the main body frame 1, branch paths 113A and 113B that are inclined outward and downward with respect to the main transport path 45 are provided. A branch conveyor 114A, 114B to be formed is provided. Here, the branch conveyors 114A and 114B have a large number of rollers 115, and the ends of these rollers 115 are located within the stepped portion 13 of the upper frame material 10 and sufficiently close to the upright portion 11. It is arranged in. The outer dovetail groove 17 on the upper side of the upper frame member 10 can be used for connection with the branch conveyors 114A and 114B. 116 indicates an article.

Next, in the above embodiment, the conveyance of the article 116,
The branching action will be described. The electric motor 35 of the driving device 34 is operated, and the sprocket is driven through the driving shaft 31 interlocked with the speed reducer 36.
The chain 39 can be forcibly rotated, so that the two chains 40 can be moved while being supported and guided by the two guide rail portions 18 and 25 via the rotating body 64. As a result, the group of guide bars 50 circulates, so that the articles 116 supplied on the guide bar 50 at the start end are
Is transported on the main transport path 45.

At that time, the movable body 70 which moves integrally with the guide bar 50 group is provided with a guide roller 81 whose guide device group 90,
The guide bar 100 reciprocates in the longitudinal direction 51 of the guide bar 50 via the guided portion 78, and moves linearly along the main transport path 45 together with the guide bar 50.

That is, for example, one start guide section
A guide roller 81 guided to 91A is a sorting device.
When 112A is in the linear distribution posture, it is guided straight, and after being guided straight without receiving a guiding action, it is guided to the end guide portion 94A. This allows the movable body 70
Does not act on the article 116, and the article 116 is conveyed straight on the main conveyance path 45. The same applies to the opposite side, and the guide roller 81 of the starting end guide portion 91B is
It moves from B to the end guide portion 94B.

The guide roller 81, which is guided by the starting guide portion 91A on one side, is inclined inward when the sorting device 112A is in the inclined sorting posture, and is guided inward by the inner moving guide portion 92A. After being moved, it moves to the outer moving guide portion 93B via the upper switching device 110, is guided by the outer moving guide portion 93B, is moved outward, and is then guided by the terminal guide portion 94B. This allows the movable body 70
The group moves across the main transport path 45 while moving in the transport direction, so that the action section 79 on the other side pushes the article 116 laterally and transfers the article 116 to the other branch conveyor 114B. become.

The same applies to the opposite side, and the starting end guide portion
The guide roller 81 of 91B includes a sorting device 112B, an inner moving guide portion 92B, an upper switching device 110, and an outer moving guide portion.
Guided by 93A and the end guide portion 94A, the action portion 79 on one side of the movable body 70 group acts laterally on the article 116, and this article 116
To one of the branch conveyors 114A. As described above, the articles 116 on the guide bar 50 pass over the upper frame member 10 supporting the chain 40 when being distributed to the two branch conveyors 114 A and 114 B, and
Transfer to rollers 115 of both branch conveyors 114A and 114B located at 13c.

As described above, when the movable members 70 move across the main transport path 45 while moving in the transport direction, the convex portions 77 of the movable members 70 move in the concave portions 53 of the guide bar 50. In other words, since the convex portion 77 moves below the surface 52, even if the article 116 is thin,
Alternatively, even if the article 116 has a thin portion integrally,
The desired article 116 can be moved laterally without the thin portion or the like entering the gap between the loading plate portion 54 and the upper plate portion 71. The movement of the article 116 on the surface 52 is
Can be performed without unexpected slippage and without being unnecessarily inclined.

When the movable body 70 moves across, the guided portion 78 of the movable body 70 is moved to the two leg plate portions 5 of the guide bar 50.
The sliding movement between the movable body 70 and the movable body 70 is performed smoothly without rattling because the fitted portion 75 of the movable body 70 is guided by the sliding portion 60 of the guide bar 50 while being slidably guided between 5, 56. Done in And, by the sliding structure in which the fitted portion 75 is fitted to the guide bar 50, the reaction force at the time of the lateral pressing action can be reliably received. Furthermore, the backlash preventing portion 76 of the movable body 70 is elastically in contact with the bottom plate 59 of the guide bar 50, so that the movable body 70
It is possible to more reliably prevent rattling that is likely to occur when moving.

As described above, the end guide portions 94A, 94
The guide roller 81 that has reached the end of B is a reverse guide body 109
A, 109 B guides and reverses, and the inner moving guide section
It is guided to 101A and 101B and moved to the center. Next, after being sorted to the left and right by the lower switching device 111, it is moved outward by the guidance of the outer moving guide portions 102A and 102B, and further guided by the reversing guide members 108A and 108B to be reversed. The operation is transferred to one of the sections 91A and 91B.

In the above embodiment, the upper frame member 10 and the lower frame member 20 are separated from each other. However, the lower frame member 20 may be formed into a side plate or a side frame.

[0043]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the fitting of the convex portion and the concave portion allows the article to be always smoothly and reliably moved even if the object is thin, and the presence of the concave portion allows the article to move smoothly. Articles can be moved in their intended orientation without slipping. In addition, since the guided portion slides between the two leg plate portions, the movable body can be smoothly moved without rattling. In addition, the upper part of the guided body is located between the two leg plate parts, so that the lower part of the guided body can be arranged close to the back surface, the height of the movable body itself can be reduced, and the guided body is firmly supported it can.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the movable body is moved by guiding the guided portion between the two leg plates and slidingly guiding the fitted portion with the fitting portion. Can be performed smoothly without rattling, and the reaction force at the time of the lateral pressing action can be reliably received.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the rattling preventing portion elastically abutting against the back surface of the guide bar can more reliably prevent rattling that tends to occur when the movable body moves. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the present invention, and is a longitudinal side view of a guide bar portion to which a movable body is attached.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a guide bar portion to which the movable body is attached.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional front view of a main part of the conversion device.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional front view of the upper frame material.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of the conversion device.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of the conversion device.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view showing a group of outward guide devices of the conversion device.

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view showing a group of return guide devices of the conversion device.

FIG. 9 is a schematic side view showing a guide device group of the conversion device.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a main part of the conversion device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Body frame 10 Upper frame material 18 Outgoing side guide rail part 20 Lower frame material 25 Incoming side guide rail part 30 Follower shaft 31 Drive shaft 34 Drive unit 38 Sprocket (wheel) 39 Sprocket (wheel) 40 Chain (endless rotating body) ) 45 Main transport path 50 Guide bar 51 Length direction 52 Surface 53 Recess 54 Loading plate 55 Leg plate 56 Leg plate 57 Front plate 58 Rear plate 59 Bottom plate 60 Fitting part 61 Fitting part 62 Slat bracket 64 Rotating body 70 Movable body 75 Part to be fitted 76 Anti-rattle part 77 Convex part 78 Guided part 79 Working part 80 Roller shaft 81 Guide roller (guided body) 90 Forward guide group 100 Return guide group 110 Upper switching device 111 Lower switching device 112A Sorting device 112B Sorting device 114A Branch conveyor 114B Branch conveyor 116 Article

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] An endless rotary body disposed along a main transport path, a plurality of guide bars attached to the endless rotary body, and having a length direction perpendicular to the main transport path, and A movable body to be guided, a guided body provided on the back side of the movable body, a guide device group for guiding the guided body, and a switching device provided at a branch of the guide device group. A loading plate portion having a flat surface formed with a recess along the length direction, and a pair of guide bars extending in the direction of the main transport path from the back surface of the loading plate portion and having a length. The movable body fits the guide bar outside, forms a convex portion that engages with the concave portion, and forms a guided portion located between the two leg plate portions. The guided body is located outside the back surface and is attached to the guided part. A conversion device characterized in that the conversion device faces the guide device group. 2. The conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the movable body guided by the guide bar is provided with an anti-rattle portion elastically abutting against the back side of the guide bar. 3. A movable body guided by a guide bar is provided with an anti-rattle portion elastically abutting against the back side of the guide bar in one of the front and rear directions with both leg plate portions as the center, and on the other side. 2. The conversion device according to claim 1, wherein a fitted portion to be fitted and guided is formed on the back side of the guide bar.