JP3415440B2 - Bucket conveyor - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a bucket conveyor for carrying articles.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional bucket conveyor is constructed by fixing one end of a large number of blade members or box-shaped members to a belt or chain which can be circulated. Therefore, it is not easy to attach and detach the blade member and the box-shaped member. Further, since the blade member and the box-shaped member are completely fixed to the belt and the chain, the blade member and the box-shaped member may be damaged when a large external force acts on the blade member and the box-shaped member.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a bucket conveyor in which the blade member can be easily attached and detached and the blade member can be prevented from being damaged.

[0004]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bucket conveyor comprising: a first rotating member and a second rotating member which are arranged at a predetermined interval, and between the first rotating member and the second rotating member. A wound roller chain, and a large number of blade members attached to the roller chain at equal intervals,
The blade member includes a bifurcated base portion having a pair of grooves having a substantially semicircular cross section, and a flat blade portion integrally formed with the base portion, and one end of a pin of the roller chain. Is extended, and the groove of the base portion of the blade member engages with the extension portion of the pin in a disengageable manner.

A bucket conveyor according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the blade member is formed of a resin reinforced by glass fiber.

A bucket conveyor according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the blade portion of the blade member is formed with a plurality of grooves extending in the longitudinal direction.

A bucket conveyor according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the bucket conveyor according to the first aspect, wherein the first and second rotating members are:
It is characterized in that it is a resin member that can slide on the roller chain.

The bucket conveyor according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, a guide member for guiding the traveling of the roller chain is provided.

In the bucket conveyor according to the present invention, the blade member is attached to the roller chain by the extension of the pin of the roller chain being detachably engaged with the groove formed in the base portion of the blade member. The member can be easily attached and detached. Further, since the base portion of the blade member is formed into a bifurcated shape, the base portion can be elastically deformed when the blade member is attached to or detached from the pin, which makes it easier to attach or detach the blade member. Be seen.

Furthermore, since the groove on the blade member side that engages with the pin of the roller chain is formed in a substantially semicircular shape in cross section, even if an external force acts on the blade member at the time of introduction of an article, the blade member. Can change its posture to some extent, which can prevent damage to the blade members.

When the blade member is made of a resin reinforced with glass fiber, the rigidity of the blade member can be improved, so that the blade member is not damaged even when an excessive external force is applied to the blade member. You can definitely avoid it.

When the blade portion of the blade member is formed with a plurality of grooves extending in the longitudinal direction, the rigidity of the blade portion against bending can be improved, and thus the blade portion can be prevented from being broken when an external force is applied. it can.

Further, when the first and second rotating members are made of resin members slidable with the roller chain, the first and second rotating members do not necessarily rotate when the bucket conveyor is running. Since there is no need to do so, it is possible to reduce the moment of inertia that becomes a load on the drive source of the bucket conveyor, and thereby to reduce the drive source of the bucket conveyor.

When the guide member for guiding the traveling of the roller chain is provided, the traveling of the roller chain and thus the bucket conveyor can be performed more smoothly.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a product stacking apparatus adopting a bucket conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which a blade member is omitted in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a III-III line of FIG. Schematic cross section, FIG. 4 is FIG.
IV-IV line cross-sectional schematic view of FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of the roller chain, FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the mounting portion of the blade member, FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view of the blade member, and FIG. 8 is an enlarged end surface view of the blade member. Is.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bucket conveyor 1 constituting this product stacking apparatus has a first rotating member 3 arranged on a base 2 at a predetermined interval and a first rotating member 3 having a diameter smaller than that of the first rotating member 3. The rotary member 4 includes two rotary members 4, a roller chain 5 wound around the rotary member 4, and a large number of blade members 6 (only a part of which are shown in FIG. 1) mounted on the roller chain 5 at equal intervals.

The first span 5a of the roller chain 5 is provided with a first servomotor 7 for running the span 5a, and the second span 5b of the roller chain 5 is provided with the span. Second for running 5b
Servo motor 8 of is arranged. Sprockets 9 and 10 are attached to the rotary shaft ends of the servomotors 7 and 8, respectively, and the sprockets 9 and 10 mesh with the chain 5 at the first and second spans 5a and 5b, respectively. The first and second servo motors 7,
Reference numeral 8 is a motor with a reducer as shown in FIG.

The first span 5a includes the first span 5a.
A pair of sandwiching sprockets 12 and 13 for sandwiching and bending the chain 5 from inside and outside a are arranged, and the chain 5 meshes with these sandwiching sprockets 12 and 13. In addition, the first span 5 arranged on both sides of the chain holding portion by the holding sprockets 12 and 13.
The two straight sections of a and the second span 5b are parallel to each other. In addition, the first and second spans 5a and 5b
A plurality of guide members 15 for guiding the traveling of the chain 5 are arranged in the.

A product supply device for supplying the product C into the product accommodating portion 6a between the adjacent blade members 6 and 6 on the side of the chain holding portion by the holding sprockets 12 and 13 in the first span 5a. 20 are arranged. Although not shown, a product discharge device for discharging a predetermined number of products C transferred to the second span 5b side to the outside of the device is provided on the side of the substantially central portion of the second span 5b. Has been.

The first and second rotating members 3 and 4 are disk-shaped members as shown in the sectional view of FIG. 3, and are made of, for example, resin, and the chain 5 slides on the outer peripheral surfaces thereof. It is possible to move.

The first rotating member 3 is rotatably supported by a supporting shaft 30, and the supporting shaft 30 is fixed to a plate 31 arranged below the first rotating member 3. Similarly,
The second rotating member 4 is rotatably supported by a supporting shaft 32, and the supporting shaft 32 is fixed to a plate 33 arranged below the second rotating member 4. Also, the plates 31,
A bar 35 for maintaining a constant center distance between the first and second rotating members 3 and 4 is disposed between the bars 33.
Both ends of 5 are fixed on each plate 31, 33.

On the other hand, a rail 40 extending in the left-right direction is arranged on the base 2. Guides 41 and 42 which are slidable on the rail 40 are provided on the rail 40, and the guides 41 and 42 are provided on the plate 3 respectively.
It is fixed to the lower surface of 1, 33. With this configuration, the first and second rotating members 3 and 4 are slidable on the rail 40 while maintaining the distance between their centers.

The roller chain 5 is, as shown in FIG.
A pair of inner links 51, a pair of first outer links 52 arranged outside the inner links 51, a bush 53 arranged between the inner links 51, each inner link 51, each outer link 5
2 and the bush 54 and extend through the pin 54, and a second outer link 55 arranged at the tip of the pin 54.

On the other hand, the blade member 6 is made of a resin member reinforced with glass fiber or the like, as shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 5, the blade has a flat plate-shaped blade portion 61 that constitutes the product storage portion 6a, and a base portion 62 that is formed integrally with the blade portion 61 and is bifurcated by a slit 62a.

At the lower part of the base portion 62, a pair of grooves 62b having a substantially semicircular cross section extending in the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 6 are formed. The pin extension 54a (FIG. 5) of the roller chain 5 is removably engaged with the groove 62b. Groove 62
A pair of inclined surfaces 62c is formed on the base 62 below b. In addition, in the blade portion 61 of the blade member 6,
A plurality of grooves 61a extending in the longitudinal direction are formed.

When the blade member 6 is attached to the roller chain 5, the lower part of the base portion 62 of the blade member 6 is brought closer from above the roller chain 5 (upper surface of FIG. 5), and each pin extension 54a of the roller chain 5 is made. The bifurcated portion of the base portion 62 of the blade member 6 is inserted into the gap therebetween.

At this time, as the inclined surface 62c formed on the base portion 62 of the blade member 6 comes into contact with the pin extension portions 54a, and the blade member 6 is pushed into the gap between the pin extension portions 54a,
The bifurcated portion of the base 62 elastically deforms toward the side where the slit 62a of the base 62 is gradually narrowed. And the pin extension 5
After 4a engages with the groove 62b of the base 62, the elastically deformed base 62 returns to its original position. In this way, the blade member 6 is attached to the roller chain 5 (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

When the blade member 6 is removed from the roller chain 5, the blade member 6 is pulled away from the roller chain 5 so that the base portion 62 of the blade member 6 is removed.
Elastically deforms again, and as a result, the groove 62b of the base 62 and the pin extension 54a are disengaged.

As described above, the blade member 6 is attached to the roller chain 5 by the engagement of the extension portion 54a of the pin 54 of the roller chain 5 with the groove 62b formed in the base portion 62 of the blade member 6 in a detachable manner. Therefore, the blade member 6 can be easily attached and detached. Further, since the base portion 62 of the blade member 6 is formed in a bifurcated shape, the base portion 62 is elastically deformed when the blade member 6 is attached to or detached from the pin 54, so that the blade member 6 can be attached or detached. It's even easier.

Next, the alignment and stacking operation of products by this product stacking apparatus will be described. In this case, the product C conveyed from the belt conveyors 21 and 22 of the product supply unit 20 is supplied into the product storage unit 6a between the adjacent blade members 6 and 6. At this time, sandwiching sprocket 1
The blade portions 6 are opened in a fan shape due to the bent portion of the chain 5 being bent by 2 and 13 (see FIG. 1), which allows the product supply section 20 to the product storage section 6 a.
The product C is smoothly supplied to the inside.

When supplying this product, the blade member 6
By forming a plurality of longitudinal grooves 61a in the blade portion 61, the rigidity of the blade portion 61 against bending is improved, and thus, the blade portion 61 is not moved when the product is introduced into the product storage portion 6a. It is prevented from breaking due to the action of external force.

Further, since the blade member 6 is made of a resin reinforced by glass fiber, it has a high rigidity, so that even if an excessive external force is applied to the blade member 6, the blade member 6 is formed. The damage is surely avoided.

Further, since the groove 62b on the blade member 6 side which engages with the pin 54 of the roller chain 5 is formed in a substantially semicircular cross section, even when an external force acts on the blade member 6 at the time of product introduction. The blade member 6 can change its posture to some extent, and this also prevents the blade member 6 from being damaged.

Next, after supplying the product into the product accommodating portion 6a,
The first servomotor 7 is driven intermittently, the first span 5a of the chain 5 travels in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1, and the product C in the product storage portion 6a moves by one pitch. As a result, the next empty product storage portion 6a is arranged between the sandwiching sprockets 12 and 13.

The next product C is supplied from the product supply unit 20 into the empty product storage unit 6a, and after the product supply, the product C in the product storage unit 6a is driven intermittently by the first servomotor 7. Moves by one pitch. Hereinafter, by repeating the same operation, the products C are successively supplied into the product accommodating portion 6a arranged between the sandwiching sprockets 12 and 13.

On the other hand, the second servomotor 8 is operated while the plurality of products C are discharged by the product discharging device (not shown).
It has stopped. When a plurality of products C are discharged, the second servo motor 8 is continuously driven for a predetermined pitch and then stopped again. Then, the discharge of the next plurality of products C is repeated.

As described above, the first servomotor 7 has the first
Of the second span 5a is advanced by one pitch, and the second servomotor 8 continuously advances the second span 5b by a plurality of pitches. During this period, the first and second rotating members 3, 4
Slides on the slide unit according to the difference in the advance distances of the first span 5a and the second span 5b while maintaining the distance (see the solid line position and the chain double-dashed line position in FIG. 2).

When the product is supplied by the product supply unit 20, after the predetermined number of products C are supplied to the first span 5a side, the first span 5a is moved by two pitches of the product C, After that, the product C is supplied while the first span 5a is moved by one pitch of the product C, and the next predetermined number of products C are supplied.

By such operation control, when the product C moves to the second span 5b side, the empty product accommodating portion 6a is provided between the predetermined number of product groups and the adjacent predetermined number of product groups. Will be arranged. This eliminates the possibility that the product take-out member such as the pusher will interfere with the product C of the adjacent product group when the product is ejected by the product ejecting unit.
The product C can be discharged smoothly.

Further, since the first and second rotating members 3 and 4 are composed of resin members slidable with the chain 5, the chain 5 is driven by the first and second servomotors 7 and 8. When the vehicle travels, the first and second rotating members 3 and 4 do not necessarily need to be rotated by the chain 5, so that the moment of inertia acting as a load on the servo motors 7 and 8 can be reduced. As a result, the servo motors 7 and 8 can be downsized.

Further, since the guide member 15 for guiding the traveling of the roller chain 5 is provided, the traveling of the roller chain 5 and thus the bucket conveyor can be carried out more smoothly.

[0042]

As described above, according to the bucket conveyor of the present invention, the blade member can be releasably engaged with the pin extension portion of the roller chain by the groove formed in the base portion of the blade member. As it can be attached to the chain,
There is an effect that the blade member can be easily attached and detached.
Moreover, according to the present invention, the groove on the blade member side that engages with the pin of the roller chain is formed to have a substantially semicircular cross section, so that the blade member can be positioned to some extent even when an external force is applied to the blade member. Can be changed so that
There is also an effect of avoiding damage to the blade member.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a product stacking apparatus adopting a bucket conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which a blade member is omitted in FIG.

3 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG.

4 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG.

5 is an enlarged partial side view of the roller chain in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the mounting portion of the blade member in FIG.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view of the blade member.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged end view of the blade member.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 bucket conveyor 3 First rotating member 4 Second rotating member 5 roller chain 54 pin 54a pin extension 6 blade members 61 Feather part 61a groove 62 base 62a slit 62b groove 15 Guide member

Front page continued (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65G 19/24 B65G 17/32 B65G 17/42

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bucket conveyor, comprising: first and second rotating members arranged at a predetermined interval; a roller chain wound between the first and second rotating members; A plurality of blade members attached to the roller chain at equal intervals, wherein the blade member has a bifurcated base portion having a pair of grooves having a substantially semicircular cross section, and a flat plate shape integrally formed with the base portion. And one end of the pin of the roller chain is extended, and the groove of the base of the vane member is disengageably engaged with the extension of the pin. And a bucket conveyor. 2. The bucket conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the blade member is formed of a resin reinforced by glass fiber. 3. The bucket conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the blade portion of the blade member is formed with a plurality of grooves extending in the longitudinal direction. 4. The bucket conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the first and second rotating members are resin members slidable with the roller chain. 5. The bucket conveyor according to claim 1, further comprising a guide member for guiding the traveling of the roller chain.