JP3186396B2 - Pallet transfer 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 pallet transfer device capable of reducing a transfer space.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A pallet is generally conveyed together with a work by a conveyor, a conveyance vehicle, or the like . The pallet is transported by another route and sent to the discharge side of the processing machine.

[0003] Such a workpiece processing line will be described with reference to FIG. 8. The workpiece processing line d is provided at both ends of a processing machine b with a loading conveyor a capable of loading a workpiece and an unloading conveyor capable of transporting a processed workpiece. While having a conveyor c,
And an automatic guided vehicle e that can travel around these.

An automatic guided vehicle e has a guide g1 laid on a road surface in a direction orthogonal to the plurality of rows of work processing lines d.
And a guide g laid between the work processing lines d and d
You can run along each of the two.

However, the automatic guided vehicle e loads a pallet f on which a work w is placed from a station (not shown),
The work w is transferred together with the pallet f to the carry-in conveyor a specified in advance.

When the workpiece w is transferred to the processing machine b, the carry-in conveyor a transfers the empty pallet f (hereinafter, referred to as an “empty pallet”) to the automatic guided vehicle e again.
Further, the automatic guided vehicle e having received the empty pallet f moves to the unloading conveyor c side along the guide g2, and the empty pallet f
Is sent from the automatic guided vehicle e to the processing machine b via the unloading conveyor c.

In the processing machine b, the processed work w is placed on the empty pallet f and transferred again to the automatic guided vehicle e via the unloading conveyor c , and one processing cycle is completed.

[0008]

However, in such a conventional configuration, the unmanned transport vehicle e is used to transport the empty pallet f from the carry-in conveyor a to the carry-out conveyor c. There is a problem that the setting pitch I must be sufficiently large, and the space cannot be used efficiently.

[0009] The AGV e is, along with the required a lot of space at the time of turning to possess from the guide g 1 to g 2,
Since the speed becomes sufficiently slow and slow, it is also difficult to reduce the cycle time.

The present invention has been devised in view of the above problems, and is based on the concept of transporting a pallet in an inverted state in which a work mounting surface thereof is orthogonal to a horizontal plane. It is an object of the present invention to provide a pallet transfer device that can solve the above-mentioned problem by shortening the length of the pallet.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a loading machine in which a work provided on one end of a processing machine for processing a work is loaded into the processing machine and an empty pallet is sent back from the processing machine. A pallet transporter having a pallet moving tool that transports an empty pallet between a conveyor and an unloading conveyor that is provided at the other end of the processing machine, sends an empty pallet to the processing machine, and receives and unloads a pallet on which a work is placed. An apparatus, wherein the empty pallet, which is disposed adjacent to the carry-in conveyor and sent out from the carry-in conveyor, is moved by the pallet moving tool so that the work mounting surface thereof is perpendicular to the horizontal plane.
A loading-side pallet rotating tool for rotating the pallet in the direction in which the pallets are transported, and an unloading-side pallet rotating tool adjacent to the unloading conveyor and capable of transferring the empty pallet in the vertical state to the unloading conveyor. together comprise the door, said path
The pallet moving device is disposed between the two conveyors and rotates the empty pallet rotated by the pallet rotating device on the loading side to the vertical position.
The pallet is conveyed to the pallet rotating tool on the carry-out side while being oriented in the conveying direction in the state .

[0012]

According to the present invention, a pallet placed on a conveyor, a transporting vehicle, or the like with a workpiece mounting surface parallel to a horizontal plane can be held by a holder, and the holder is rotated by a driving means. This allows the pallet to rotate in a vertical state in which the work mounting surface is perpendicular to the horizontal plane.

Further, in the pallet in the vertical state, the work placement surface can be moved horizontally and vertically by the pallet moving tool, so that the plane space required for conveyance can be reduced.

It should be noted that the pallet rotating tool and the pallet moving tool may or may not be integrally formed.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, taking an example in which the present invention is applied to a work processing line.

As shown in the figure, a work processing line 7 comprises a processing machine 10, loading and unloading conveyors 9 and 11 provided at both ends of the processing machine 10, pallet conveyors 13 provided respectively for these, And the pallet transport device 1 provided on the conveyor 13 side .
A loading conveyor 9 is provided at one end of the processing machine 10 and a loading conveyor 9 is provided at the other end.
An output conveyor 11 is provided.

The processing machine 10 is capable of performing some processing on the work, and includes, for example, a printing machine, a machining center, a press machine, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the carry-in conveyor 9 comprises a table lifter 15 and a roller conveyor 16 in this embodiment. The table lifter 15 has a table 18 which is movable up and down with respect to the frame 17 and has a plurality of drive rollers 19 on the upper surface, and can absorb the difference in height between the automatic guided vehicle 12 and the roller conveyor 16. The table lifter 15 can be omitted by adjusting the height of the roller conveyor 16 to the mounting surface of the automatic guided vehicle 12.

The roller conveyor 16 includes the table lifter 1
5 is provided with a plurality of drive rollers 19 that can transfer the workpiece W transferred from the processing machine 5 to the processing machine 10. In addition, the roller conveyor 1
6 includes a belt conveyor 21 as a carrier capable of sending a pallet in a direction orthogonal to the workpiece transfer direction.
Is provided.

The belt conveyor 21 is usually positioned below the upper surface of the drive roller 19, and detects that the empty pallet has been fed back from the processing machine 10 by a detector (not shown). From the upper surface of the pallet, and driven by the electric motor 22, the empty pallet can be sent out toward the pallet conveyor 13.

The pallet conveyor 13 comprises a plurality of drive rollers 19 may feed the air path <br/>Re' bets fed from the belt conveyor 21 to the pallet conveying apparatus 1 side.

As shown in FIG. 3, the carry-out conveyor 11 has a symmetrical structure with the carry-in conveyor 9 with the processing machine 10 interposed therebetween, so that the description of the carry-out conveyor 11 is omitted.

The pallet conveyor 13 provided on the carry-out conveyor 11 side transfers the empty pallets sent out from the pallet conveying device 1 to the roller conveyor 16 side, and is surely transferred to the roller conveyor 16 by the belt conveyor 21 which has appeared and retracted. You.

As shown in FIG. 4, the pallet transport device 1 has a pallet rotating tool 5 comprising a holder 3 capable of holding a pallet and a driving means 4 capable of rotating the holder 3.
And a pallet moving tool 6 that can horizontally move the pallet 2 held vertically by the pallet rotating tool 5. The pallet rotating tools 5 correspond to the pallet conveyors 13, that is, the pallet rotating on the loading side.
Tool 5 and a pallet rotating tool 5 on the carry-out side are provided.
You.

As shown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, the holder 3 comprises a base 23 and claws 24 projecting from the base 23 at a predetermined distance from each other.
The sheet-like pallet 2 can be inserted and held between the four.
A light emitting device 25 and a light receiving device 26 are mounted near the base of the claw portion 24.

Therefore, when the pallet 2 is inserted deeply into the base of the claw portion 24, the light of the light emitting device 25 is blocked by the pallet 2, and the light receiving device 26 can detect such a state and recognize the completion of the pallet support. .

The base 23 of the holder 3 is formed by projecting pivots 29 at both ends thereof .
It is rotatably supported.

As shown in FIG. 6, the driving means 4 includes an electric motor 30, a sprocket 20A provided on the electric motor 30, and a sprocket 20 fitted on the pivot 29.
B and a chain 33 mounted between the two sprockets 20A and 20B and capable of transmitting the torque of the electric motor 30. In this example, the holder 3 is rotated within a range of 180 degrees. I have.

Also, the pivot 29 has 0 °, 9 ° centered on each stop position of the holder 3, in this example, about the axis of the pivot 29.
Recesses 31A respectively corresponding to three positions of 0 ° and 180 °
Is integrally fixed, and the concave portion 31A of the cam 31 is detected by a detector 32 such as a limit switch, an optical sensor, or a magnetic sensor, and the electric motor 30 can be stopped based on the detection signal. .

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the pallet moving device 6 includes a rail 34 and a rail 3 in this embodiment.
4 and a clamp body 35 capable of mooring and holding the pallet.

The rail body 34 is composed of two upright columns 36 and a rail member 37 having an "I" cross section which connects the upper ends of the columns 36.

On the other hand, the clamp body 35 has a base frame 39
And a clamp 40 provided below the base frame 39.

The base frame 39 is provided with wheels 42A and 42B capable of rolling on the flange of the rail member 37, and the wheels 42A are rotationally driven by an electric motor 43 with a brake.

The clamp 40 includes an electric cylinder 45 fixed to the lower plate 41 of the base frame 39, and a pair of clamp arms 46 that can be opened and closed by the electric cylinder 45.
It is composed of

In the present embodiment, the clamp arm 46 is provided with an engaging pin 46A projecting from a surface facing each of its free ends.
And the other end is pivotally connected to the rod of the electric cylinder 45 by a pin 49. The intermediate portion is rotatably supported by a shaft pin 47 protruding from the hanging plate 44.

Therefore, the clamp arm 46 can be opened and closed by extending and contracting the rod of the electric cylinder, and the engaging pin 46A is inserted into the engaging hole 50 formed in the pallet 2.
As a result, the pallet 2 can be securely gripped.

The clamp arm 46 is provided with an engaging pin 4
6A can be omitted and the pallet can be gripped by frictional force.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described in detail based on this embodiment. The automatic guided vehicle 12 transfers the work W to the pallet 2
And travels straight through the guide 14 and stops at an arbitrary position of the carry-in conveyor 9. The pallet 2 on which the work W is placed is transferred to the carry-in conveyor 9 by using a transfer device (not shown) of the automatic guided vehicle 12.

The carry-in conveyor 9 sends out the work W together with the pallet 2 to the processing machine 10 by the drive roller 19,
Machine in 10 only work W processing is carried out, empty palette
Is returned to the carry-in conveyor 9 and is sent out to the pallet conveyor 13 by the belt conveyor 21 after the traveling direction is changed by 90 degrees.

As shown in FIG. 6, the holder 3 is on standby on the pallet conveyor 13 side, and the pallet 2 sent from the pallet conveyor 13 is moved to the claw portions 24 thereof.
Hold at 24. Note that the completion of holding the pallet 2 can be detected by the light receiving device 26.

In this state, the electric motor 30 is driven to bring the holder 3 into a vertical state. The angle of the holder 3 can be detected by the cam 31 and the detector 32. As shown in FIG.
The pivot 29 is arranged horizontally in the same direction as the pallet moving device 6.
Empty pallet, the work mounting surface of the empty pallet is horizontal.
With respect to the vertical
Align the worklet horizontally and align the work placement surface with the movement direction.
Can be moved.

The pallet 2 held in a vertical state can be held by the clamp portion 40 of the pallet moving tool 6, guided by the rail member 37, and moved to the position of the pallet conveyor 13 on the unloading conveyor 11 side.

The pallet moving device 6 can be moved and stopped by the electric motor 43 with a brake. The positioning of the pallet moving device 6 can be performed by various sensors provided on the pallet moving device 6 and a stopper on the rail member. And so on. Further, the pallet moving tool 6 is externally supplied with power by a power supply means such as a trolley duct or a cable bear.

The pallet conveyor 1 on the unloading conveyor 11 side
On the side 3, the holding tool 3 is standing by in a vertical state, and the pallet moving tool 6 stops while inserting the empty pallet 2 from both sides between the claw portions 24, 24 of the holding tool, and the clamp 40.
To release.

The holder 3 having received the empty pallet 2 rotates toward the pallet conveyor 13, while the pallet conveyor 13 pulls out the empty pallet 2 by the driving roller 19 and transfers it to the carry-out conveyor 11. The transfer is completed.

The empty pallet 2 transferred to the unloading conveyor 11 is sent to the processing machine 10 by the drive roller 19, on which the processed work W is mounted, and again passed through the unloading conveyor 11 to the unmanned transport vehicle 12 Placed on top.

Therefore, the transfer of the empty pallet 2 from the carry-in conveyor 9 to the carry-out conveyor 11 can be performed with the pallet in a vertical state, so that the transfer space can be reduced and the arrangement pitch of the work processing lines 7 can be reduced. The result space can be used effectively.

Further, since the pallet is moved linearly, the moving speed can be increased and the cycle time can be improved. Since the traveling route of the automatic guided vehicle 12 is only a straight line, the traveling speed can be increased, and the work supply efficiency can be improved.

Further, in this embodiment, the pallets sent from the pair of pallet conveyors 13 facing each other are installed between the pair of work processing lines 7 and the holder 3 can rotate 180 degrees as a result. 2 can be handled by one pallet rotation tool 5.

In this embodiment, the pallet 2 is a thin sheet pallet. However, as shown in FIG. 7, a pallet 51 having a slot 52 into which a fork or the like can be inserted as shown in FIG. The shape of 3 may be a flat fork. At this time, it is possible to detect that the pallet 51 has been inserted by providing a stopper 53 projecting up and down at the base of the fork and a pallet detector 54 including a pressure sensor and the like.

The present invention can be variously modified in addition to the above embodiment. For example, the holding tool and the pallet turning tool may be provided on a pallet moving tool which can move on the ground.
The configuration of the apparatus can be simplified by eliminating the need for pallet clamping.

[0052]

As described above, since the pallet can be transported while being rotated vertically, the space required for transporting the pallet can be reduced and the space can be effectively utilized. In addition, since the pallets can be transported linearly, the transport speed can be increased and the cycle time in the processing line can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a processing line showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a processing line on a loading conveyor side.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a processing line on a loading conveyor side.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the pallet transfer machine.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a pallet moving device.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a pallet support tool and a pallet rotation tool.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing another embodiment of the pallet support.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a conventional processing line.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pallet conveyance apparatus 2 Pallet 3 Holder 4 Driving means 5 Pallet rotating tool 6 Pallet moving tool

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65G 47/22-47/32 B65G 47/90-47/92

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A carry-in conveyor provided at one end of a processing machine for processing a work, the work placed on a pallet is carried into the processing machine, and an empty pallet is sent back from the processing machine, and the other end of the processing machine. transporting the empty pallets to and from the carry-out conveyor to receive and carry the pallet mounted with the workpiece and sends the empty pallet is provided to the processing machine the pallet transfer
A pallet transfer device having moving tools, wherein a pallet transfer direction of the pallet moving tool is provided such that an empty pallet delivered from the carry-in conveyor is disposed adjacent to the carry-in conveyor, and a work mounting surface thereof is perpendicular to a horizontal plane. A loading-side pallet rotating tool that rotates in the direction
An unloading-side pallet rotating tool which is adjacent to the unloading conveyor and which can transfer the empty pallets in the vertical state to the unloading conveyor, and the pallet moving device.
The empty pallet disposed between the two conveyors and rotated by the pallet rotation tool on the loading side moves the empty pallet in the vertical state and the
A pallet transfer device , wherein the pallet transfer device transfers the pallet rotating tool on the unloading side while facing the transfer direction .