JP3351129B2 - Method and apparatus for supplying power to loading 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 method and apparatus for supplying power to a loading device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a ceiling-type carrier that travels along a traveling rail laid on a ceiling of a factory or the like is provided with a handling device for placing a load. This handling device is suspended from a vehicle body of a ceiling transport vehicle via a suspension belt, and moves up and down according to the extension and winding of the suspension belt. Further, the handling device is provided with a conveyor for transferring a load. Then, a load delivery operation is performed with a station provided below a traveling route formed by the traveling rails.

Power is supplied from a power supply trolley provided on a traveling rail to a ceiling-type carrier, and based on the power from the power-supply trolley, traveling of the overhead carrier, lifting and lowering of a handling device, and driving of a conveyor are performed. Is performed.

[0004]

However, in order to drive the conveyor with the power supply from the power supply trolley, it is necessary to perform wiring and the like for transmitting the power supply from the power supply trolley to the conveyor. For this reason, when the handling device is moved up and down, there is a problem that the wiring hinders the handling device from being moved up and down.

[0005] Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-52788 proposes a technique in which a suspension belt is formed of a conductive material. However, since the suspension belt is a conductive material and is exposed, there is a problem that the suspension belt may be disconnected due to contact with other members.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a power supply method for a load transport device and a device for easily supplying power to the load transport device. Is to do.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to the first aspect of the present invention raises and lowers a vehicle body traveling along a traveling rail laid on a ceiling via a suspension member. The power supply connector provided on the loading device and the power supply connector provided on the ground station side are connected by lowering the loading device for transferring the load to the ground station, and the driving power source is connected to the loading device. The gist of the present invention is to supply the.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a loading apparatus provided in a loading apparatus that moves up and down via a suspension member with respect to a vehicle body of a ceiling type carrier that travels along a traveling rail laid on a ceiling. A power supply connector for driving, and a power supply connector provided at a ground station for performing transfer work between the loading device and the power supply connector which can be connected to the power supply connector when the loading device is lowered. That is the gist.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the loading device includes a conveyor.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the overhead carrier travels along the traveling rail, stops at a position corresponding to the ground station, and lowers the loading device. Then, a load transfer operation is performed between the ground station and the loading device. In this case, when the loading device descends to the ground station, the power supply connector on the loading device side and the power connector on the ground station side are connected, and power is supplied from the power supply device to the loading device. Then, the loading device is driven based on the power supply from the power supply device.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the overhead carrier travels along the traveling rail, stops at a position corresponding to the ground station, and lowers the loading device. Then, a load transfer operation is performed between the ground station and the loading device. In this case, when the loading device descends to the ground station, the power supply connector on the loading device side and the power connector on the ground station side are connected, and power is supplied from the power supply device to the loading device. Then, the loading device is driven based on the power supply from the power supply device.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the conveyor of the loading device is driven based on the power supplied from the power supply connector and the power supply supplied through the power supply connector.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a traveling rail 1 that forms a traveling route is laid on a ceiling of a factory or the like, and an overhead carrier 2 travels along the traveling rail 1. I have. The overhead carrier 2 is located below the traveling route, and performs the work of transferring the load W to and from the ground station ST provided on the ground.

The traveling rail 1 has a substantially U-shaped cross section and comprises a horizontally extending lower supporting portion 3, an upper supporting portion 4, and a connecting portion 5 for connecting the two supporting portions 3 and 4. ing. The running rail 1 is formed by extrusion molding. An upright portion 3 a is formed at the tip of the lower support portion 3 along the longitudinal direction of the traveling rail 1. A horizontal portion 3b wider than the base side is formed at the distal end (upper end) of the upright portion 3a. A guide ridge 4 a projecting downward is formed at the tip of the upper support portion 4 along the longitudinal direction of the traveling rail 1.

A power supply trolley 7 is disposed on a connecting portion of the traveling rail 1 opposite to the support portions 3 and 4.
The transport body 8 as a vehicle body constituting the ceiling type transport vehicle 2 includes:
As shown in FIG. 1, a driving wheel 9 and a driven wheel 10 as running wheels are provided. The overhead carrier 2 travels along the traveling rail 1 by rolling the drive wheel 9 and the driven wheel 10 on the horizontal portion 3b. The carrier 8 is provided with a power collection unit 11 that receives power supply from the power supply trolley 7 and a travel motor 12 that is driven based on power supply from the power collection unit 11. ing. And
The driving wheels 9 are driven based on the driving of the traveling motor 12.

The transport body 8 includes guide rollers 13a, 13
b is provided, and by rolling the side surfaces of the guide ridge 3a and the upright portion 4a, the lateral movement of the transport body 8 during traveling is prevented.

An optical communication device Ha is attached to the lower surface of the carrier 8. Further, a base 15 is attached to a lower portion of the transport body 8 via a suspension belt 14 as a suspension member. The suspension belt 14 is wound up and fed out by a winding device 32 described later provided in the transport body 8. The base 15 moves up and down based on the winding and unwinding of the suspension belt 14. The hoisting device 32 is driven by the power supplied from the current collecting unit 11. An optical communication device Hb is mounted on the upper surface of the base 15 at a position facing the optical communication device Ha.

The base 15 is provided with a handling device 21 as a loading device for loading the load W. The handling device 21 includes the base 1
5, an upper plate 22, a plurality of square frames 23 mounted below the upper plate 22, and the frame 23.
And an in-vehicle conveyor device 24 mounted therein. The conveyor device 24 is provided with a conveyor belt 24a for placing and transferring the load W, and the belt 24a is rotationally driven based on driving of a vehicle-mounted conveyor motor 24b. The frames 23 are connected by a connection frame 23a.
A is formed with a protrusion 23b. The projection 23b is formed with a tapered guide hole 23c that extends in the vertical direction and decreases in diameter as going upward.

A power supply coupler 25 as a power supply connector is mounted on the side of the frame 23 via a mounting member Ra. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, a storage recess 25 a is formed below the power supply coupler 25. On the upper surface of the accommodation recess 25a, there are three accommodation holes 25.
b is formed. An electrode terminal 26 is provided in each storage hole 25b.
These electrode terminals 26 are always urged downward by a spring 26a. Each of the three electrode terminals 26 corresponds to a three-phase AC power supply.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the station ST is provided with a ground conveyor 27, and the ground conveyor 27 is provided with a plurality of rollers 27a. That is, the roller 27a is connected to the ground conveyor motor 2
7b is driven to rotate. In addition, a port PT for disposing the handling device 21 is provided in front of the ground conveyor device 27. The conveyor belt 24a and the roller 2
In the state where 7a is driven, the transfer operation of the load W is performed between the ground conveyor device 27 and the on-board conveyor device 24. In this case, the height of the handling device 21 in which the upper surface of the conveyor belt 24a is flush with the upper end of the roller 27a is the transfer height.

Guide pins P extending vertically are provided on both sides of the frame of the port PT.
Is formed with a tapered portion Pa whose diameter decreases toward the front end. That is, the guide pin P is inserted into the guide hole 23c when the handling device 21 descends, so that the handling device 21 is reliably positioned with respect to the port PT.

A power supply coupler 28 as a power supply connector is attached to the port PT of the station ST via an attachment member Rb. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6,
On an upper surface of the power supply coupler 28, three electrode terminals 29 corresponding to a three-phase AC power supply are provided. The power supply coupler 28 is connected to a power supply device 30 installed in a factory. When the handling device 21 is lowered to the transfer height with the guide pin P inserted into the guide hole 23c, the head portion 28a of the power supply coupler 28 is inserted and connected to the storage portion 25a of the power supply coupler 25. In this connection state, the electrode terminals 26 of the power supply couplers 25 and 28
And the electrode terminal 29 are in contact with each other. Then, the power is supplied from the power supply device 30 to the power supply coupler 25 side by the contact. Moreover, the electrode terminals 26 and 29 are in contact with each other in a state where the electrode terminals 26 are pressed upward against the spring force by the electrode terminals 29 when the power supply couplers 25 and 28 are connected. Therefore, the electrode terminals 26 and 29 can be reliably brought into contact.

Next, the electrical configuration of the ceiling type carrier 2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the vehicle 8 is provided with an in-vehicle controller 31 for controlling the vehicle 8. The traveling motor 12 and the hoisting device 32 are connected to the on-vehicle controller 31. That is, the in-vehicle controller 31 drives and controls the traveling motor 12 and the hoisting device 32. The traveling motor 12 and the hoisting device 32 are supplied with power from the current collecting unit 11. The on-board controller 31 is also supplied with power from the power collection unit 11.

The on-vehicle controller 31 includes optical communication devices Ha, H
It is provided so as to be able to communicate with the transfer controller 33 provided in the handling device 21 via b. The in-vehicle conveyor motor 24b is connected to the transfer controller 33. The transfer controller 33 drives the in-vehicle conveyor motor 24b based on a command signal from the in-vehicle controller 31 to drive and control the conveyor belt 24a. The vehicle-mounted conveyor motor 24b is connected to a power supply coupler 25, and power is supplied from a power supply device 30 via the power supply couplers 25 and 28. or,
The transfer controller 33 is also connected to the power coupler 25,
Power is supplied from a power supply device 30 via power supply couplers 25 and 28.

The transfer controller 33 completes the transfer of the load W on the conveyor belt 24a based on a detection signal from a load detection sensor (not shown) for detecting the load W on the conveyor belt 24a. A completion signal indicating whether the operation has been performed and various signals indicating the state of loading of the load W on the conveyor belt 24a are output to the on-vehicle controller 31 via the optical communication devices Ha and Hb. The in-vehicle controller 31 determines the transfer state of the load W on the conveyor belt 24a based on various signals from the transfer controller 33, and sends various control signals to the transfer controller 33 using the optical communication devices Ha and Hb. Is output via.

When the transfer of the load W to / from the station ST is performed in the ceiling-type carrier 2 configured as described above, the detection sensor (not shown) of the ceiling-type carrier 2 moves the rail 1 for traveling. By detecting the detection mark indicating the station ST attached to the vehicle, the position of the station ST is determined, and the in-vehicle controller 31 stops the overhead carrier 2. Thereafter, the in-vehicle controller 31 drives the hoisting device 32, draws out the suspension belt 14, and lowers the handling device 21 to the transfer height. Then, the guide hole 23c is inserted through the guide pin P, and the handling device 21 is positioned with respect to the ground station ST.

In this case, the traveling of the overhead carrier 2 and the lifting and lowering of the handling device 21 are performed by supplying power from a power supply trolley 7 disposed on the traveling rail 1. When the handling device 21 is lowered to the transfer height and the power supply couplers 25 and 28 are connected, the power supply device 3
From 0, power is supplied to the conveyor device 24 and the transfer controller 33. Then, the transfer controller 33 outputs a signal indicating that the vehicle has arrived at the transfer position to the on-vehicle controller 31 via the optical communication devices Ha and Hb. In-vehicle controller 3
1 responds to this and outputs a control signal for driving the conveyor device 24 to the transfer controller 33.
The in-vehicle conveyor motor 24b is driven based on the control signal, and transfers the load W on the conveyor belt 24a to the receiving tray 27.
The load W is placed on the conveyor belt 24a or the load W on the load receiving table 27 is transferred. That is, the conveyor device 24 is driven by the power supplied from the power device 30 via the power couplers 25 and 28.

Therefore, according to the above embodiment, it is not necessary to supply power from the power supply trolley 7 to the handling device 21, and it is not necessary to perform various wiring such as a power supply cable from the carrier 8 to the handling device 21. The structure for supplying power to the handling device 21 can be simplified.
For example, the cable and the slip ring for supporting the cable and preventing the cable from being twisted can be eliminated. For this reason, at the time of the maintenance work of the handling device 21, the maintenance of each member such as the cable and the slip ring becomes unnecessary, and the maintenance work can be easily performed.

Further, since power is supplied from the power couplers 25 and 28 to the handling device 21, the cable is not twisted as compared with the case where power is supplied by the cable, for example, so that the cable is not twisted. Power can be supplied. Then, the power supply coupler 2
The conveyor belt 24a can be reliably driven by the power supply from the power supply 5, 28, and the transfer operation can be performed reliably.

Further, since optical communication is performed between the onboard controller 31 and the transfer controller 33 via the optical communication devices Ha and Hb, the conveyor belt 24a is connected by the optical communication.
Can be reliably controlled. In addition, since there is no signal line for communication, the work for the wiring can be eliminated.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but may be modified as appropriate and implemented as follows without departing from the spirit of the invention. (1) In the above embodiment, a three-phase AC power supply is used, but a two-phase AC power supply or a DC power supply may be used.

(2) In the above embodiment, a suspension chain may be used instead of the suspension belt 14 as the suspension member. (3) In the above embodiment, the handling device 21 may be provided with, for example, a chuck device as a gripping device for gripping the load W instead of the conveyor device 24.

The technical ideas other than the claims that can be grasped from the above embodiment will be described below together with their effects. (1) The on-board controller 31 of the carrier 8 and the transfer controller 33 on the handling device 21 side are optical communication devices H
a, a ceiling-type carrier that communicates via Hb and controls the conveyor device 24 by the optical communication. According to this ceiling-type carrier, the conveyor device 2 can be reliably connected by the optical communication devices Ha and Hb.
4 can be controlled.

The term “loading device” used in this specification is defined as follows. "Loading device"
A conveyor device that is provided so as to be able to move up and down with respect to a carrier of a ceiling-type carrier, and that includes various devices that require a power supply for transferring or gripping a load, and is a conveyor device shown in the above embodiment Not only the chuck device and the chuck device, but also a device such as a lamp for illuminating the load and a notification buzzer for notifying the transfer state of the load are included.

[0035]

As described in detail above, according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, power can be supplied to the loading device from the ground station through the power supply and the power connector. In addition to simplifying the structure for supplying power, the power can be reliably supplied to the loading device.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the conveyor can be reliably driven according to the power supplied from the power supply and from the power supply connector, and the transfer operation can be reliably performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a ceiling type carrier and a ground station.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a ceiling-type carrier.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a ground station and a handling device.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a power supply coupler on the handling device side.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a power coupler on the ground station side.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a power supply coupler.

FIG. 7 is an electric block diagram of a ceiling-type carrier.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Rail for running, 2 ... Ceiling type conveyance vehicle, 8 ... Conveyor body as a vehicle body, 14 ... Hanging belt as a hanging member, 21 ...
A handling device as a loading device, 24 a conveyor device as a conveyor, 25 a power coupler as a power supply connector, 28 a power coupler as a power connector, W ... load, ST ... ground station.

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A vehicle body traveling along a traveling rail laid on a ceiling is lifted and lowered via a suspension member, and a loading device for delivering and receiving a load is lowered to a ground station. A power supply method for a loading device provided in a ceiling type carrier for connecting a provided power supply connector and a power connector provided on a ground station side to supply driving power to the loading device. 2. A power supply for driving a loading device provided in a loading device that rises and lowers via a suspension member with respect to a vehicle body of a ceiling type carrier that travels along a traveling rail laid on a ceiling. And a power supply connector provided at a ground station for performing a transfer operation between the loading device and the loading device, the power supply connector being connectable to the power supply connector when the loading device is lowered. Feeding device. 3. The power supply device for a loading device according to claim 2, wherein the loading device includes a conveyor.