JP3562788B2 - Load transfer device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial applications]
The present invention relates to a device for transporting a load, and more particularly to a device for transporting the load by a transport vehicle traveling along a predetermined route.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Transport of a load in a factory, a distribution center, or the like is performed, for example, as shown in FIG. In the figure, 1 is an automatic warehouse, 2 is a conveyor, between which a transport path 3 is installed, along which a plurality of transport vehicles 4 circulate. Loads W of products manufactured in factories and the like are carried out by the conveyor 2, transferred one by one to the carrier 4, transported on the route 3, and then stored in the automatic warehouse 1.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The transport vehicle 4 is for transporting the load W from the conveyor 2 to the warehouse 1. However, since it is necessary to circulate in a predetermined order, the transport path 3 is usually formed in an oval shape as shown in the figure. Is done. The straight portions 3a, 3a of the transport path 3 are necessary to facilitate the transfer of the load W to the transport vehicle 4 in front of the conveyor 2 and the warehouse 1, but the arc-shaped portions 3b, 3b at both ends are semicircular. It is preferable that the vehicle travels on a straight line indicated by alternate long and short dash lines 3c if possible. However, in order to pass such a straight path 3c, the transport vehicle 4 must bend the corner 3d at a right angle, which requires a special complicated mechanism for turning the transport vehicle 4 in the direction.
[0004]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a device that can easily travel on various routes with a simple configuration.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
For this reason, as a first invention, there is provided a device for traveling a carrier along a predetermined route having a turning point, wherein a first track installed on the route, the first track, A second track installed in parallel, a first truck for loading guided by the first track, and a second truck guided by the second track and driven by a driving device And the two trucks are relatively rotatably connected by an axis perpendicular to a plane formed by the path, and the first track is located before and after the turning point. Are arranged so as to maintain the same posture, and the second trajectory is formed to have a gentler curve than the first trajectory at the turning point.
[0006]
In the first aspect, the turning point means a point at which the traveling direction of the carrier changes. As described above, the first invention has a first truck and a first track for transporting a load along a predetermined route, and a first truck for traveling the first truck along the first track. And a second truck and a second track. That is, two carts and two tracks are prepared, and each has a different function. Each track can draw different lines at the turning point, and at this time, the first and second trucks take different running postures at the turning point, but both trucks are relatively rotatable by the shaft. , Both trucks can travel without difficulty while changing the relative angle, and each of the above-mentioned functions is reliably exhibited. Therefore, according to the first aspect, it is possible to realize a load transport device that can flexibly cope with various transport routes. Further, at the turning point, even if the second bogie travels while changing its traveling direction, the first bogie does not change its angle or the like. The collapse of the load due to the above is prevented. Further, at the turning point, the second bogie travels along the second track having a gentler curve than the first track, so that a reasonable and stable travel is realized.
[0007]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail through examples.
[0008]
【Example】
2 and 3 show a first embodiment according to the present invention. Reference numerals 5a and 5b denote first rails as first tracks installed on the ground along the transport route of the transport vehicle 4, and two rails are provided on both sides of the transport vehicle 4. Reference numeral 6 denotes a second rail serving as a second track disposed between the first rails 5a and 5b.
[0009]
As shown in FIG. 2, the two rails 5a, 5b, 6 have two right-angle turning points, that is, corners C1, C2, and have a substantially U-shape as a whole. The second rail 6 is provided so as to keep the same distance as the outer first rail 5a, and is provided so as to draw a gentler curve than the rail 5a at the turning points C1 and C2.
[0010]
As shown in FIG. 3, the carrier 4 is divided into a first carriage 4a corresponding to an upper part thereof and a second carriage 4b corresponding to a lower part thereof, and both the carriages 4a and 4b are vertically arranged at the center of the first carriage 4a. That is, the rails are connected to each other so as to be relatively rotatable by a shaft 7 perpendicular to a plane parallel to the ground formed by the rails. Specifically, the shaft 7 is rotatably supported by a first bogie 4a via a bearing (not shown), and a frame 8 of a second bogie 4b is fixed to the shaft 7.
[0011]
The first carriage 4a is for carrying the load W on the upper surface thereof and transporting the same on the route, and the first rails 5a, 5b are rotatably provided at four corners of the lower surface thereof by guide rollers 9. Are guided in contact with the inner surfaces of
[0012]
The second carriage 4b has on its frame 8 three free rollers 10 that come into contact with the upper surface of the second rail 6 and six rollers 11 and 12 that come into contact with the rail 6 from left and right, and are guided along the rail 6. Is done.
[0013]
The large-diameter roller 11 among the rollers 10 and 11 is a free roller rotatably supported by the frame 8 and is disposed at the same position as the shaft 7. The above-mentioned second rail 6 is set so that the inside thereof has an arc shape equal to the outer periphery of the roller 11 at each of the above-mentioned corners C1 and C2. An electric motor M, which is supplied with power and is driven from the outside via a shoe (not shown), is attached to the second carriage 4b, and the motor M drives the drive roller 12 fixed to its drive shaft to rotate. More specifically, the power taken in by the shoes is frequency-controlled by an inverter (not shown) in the first truck 4a, and then sent to the motor M of the second truck 4b. Reference numeral 13 denotes a guide roller that is rotatably disposed before and after the drive roller 12.
[0014]
In FIG. 2, it is assumed that the transport vehicle 4 travels from the position 4-1 to the position 4-4 through corners C1 and C2 in order. When the transport vehicle 4 reaches the first corner C1, the first vehicle 4a stops at the position 4-2 when the guide roller 9 contacts the outer first rail 5a. At this time, the drive roller 12 continues to travel along the outside of the second rail 6, and the second bogie 4b turns around the shaft 7 in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing. When the second carriage 4b rotates 90 degrees, both the first and second carriages 4a and 4b start traveling downward in the drawing.
[0015]
When the transport vehicle 4 reaches the second corner C2, the first vehicle 4a stops again, and the second vehicle 4b continues traveling and further turns leftward in the drawing. At this point, the transport vehicle 4 starts traveling rightward in the drawing and reaches the position 4-4 at the time when the vehicle again rotates 90 degrees. The traveling direction is reversed by 180 degrees from the original direction and continues traveling.
[0016]
In the above-described embodiment, the traveling route of the transport vehicle 4 does not draw an arc but bends substantially linearly at a right angle, so that a useless space for the arc is not required. Further, since there is no arc, it is possible to set a small interval D between the forward path of the path from 4-1 to 4-2 and the return path from 4-3 to 4-4. Further, since the first truck 4a does not change its angle before and after passing through the corners C1 and C2, the load W mounted on the truck 4a does not collapse due to centrifugal force.
[0017]
FIG. 4 shows another example of the traveling route of the carrier 4 different from FIG. 2 described above. In this example, the route in the example of FIG. 2 is composed of two routes, the forward route and the return route, but the forward route and the return route are one common route. The vehicle turns 180 degrees at the turning point at the end of the route and travels on the original route.
[0018]
In FIG. 4, the transport vehicle 4 traveling leftward in the drawing from the position 4-5 indicated by the two-dot chain line takes the position 4-6 indicated by the solid line at the turning point C3 on the left end, and then reverses to the right. To reach the position 4-7 indicated by the dashed line.
[0019]
The carrier 4 having reached the turning point C3 stops the first carriage 4 by the guide rollers 9 abutting on the rail 5c connecting the first rails 5a and 5b, and the second carriage 4b is turned 180 degrees. And start running again. Thereby, the transport vehicle 4 reciprocates on the same route.
[0020]
FIG. 5 shows another example of the carrier 4 in which an electric motor M is provided on the first truck 4a side. In the description of the example of this figure, the same parts as those of the example of FIG. 3 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals.
[0021]
In FIG. 5, the first rails 5a and 5b are the same as the example in FIG. 3, but the second rail 20 installed in parallel with the first rails 5a and 5b has a substantially L-shaped cross section. I have. Reference numeral 21 denotes a shaft rotatably supported at the center of the lower surface of the first truck 4a, and a frame 22 is fixed to the shaft 21.
[0022]
On the upper side of the frame 22, gears 23 and 24 integrated with each other are rotatably supported around a shaft 21, and the upper gear 23 is connected to an output gear 25 of an electric motor M housed and fixed inside the first carriage 4a. The gears are meshed and driven to rotate.
[0023]
At one end of the frame 22, a gear 26 and a free roller 27 which is in contact with the right side surface of the second rail 20 are supported so as to be integral with each other and rotatable. Is wound around the endless chain 28.
[0024]
A free roller 29 that contacts the left side surface of the second rail 20 is rotatably supported on the lower side of the frame 22 around the shaft 21, and a rotating roller that contacts the upper surface of the second rail 20 is provided at the lower end of the shaft 21. A shaft 31 having free rollers 30 at both ends is fixed.
[0025]
Accordingly, the gear 23 rotates by the driving of the motor M, and the rotation of the gear 23 also rotates the gear 24 integrated therewith. The gear 26 rotates via the chain 28 and the driving roller 27 rotates. By the rotation of the rollers 27, the transport vehicle 4 travels along the rails 5a, 5b, 20. At this time, the first truck 4a is guided by the rollers 9, 9, and the second truck 4b is guided by the rollers 27, 29, 30. Is done.
[0026]
Although the embodiments are as described above, for example, the present invention is not limited to these, and various design changes are possible, and all of them are included.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first invention of the present application, it is possible to widely support a load transport path of various shapes with a simple configuration, and it is possible to sufficiently reduce the space required for this. In addition, since the posture of the load mounted on the trolley does not change, there is an advantage that the possibility of collapse of the load is reduced. Furthermore, there is an advantage that the turning point can be smoothly passed and the collapse of the load can be effectively prevented.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a factory or a distribution center to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of a track layout according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross section showing an example of a carrier according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a second layout example of the track according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a second example of the carrier according to the present invention.
3 transport route 4 transport vehicle 4a first truck 4b second truck 5a first rail (first track)
5b 1st rail (1st track)
6 2nd rail (2nd track)
7 axis 12 drive roller 20 2nd rail (2nd track)
21 shaft 27 drive roller C1 corner (turning point)
C2 corner (turning point)
C3 corner (turning point)
C4 corner (turning point)
M Electric motor (drive device)
W load

Claims (1)

An apparatus for traveling a carrier along a predetermined route having a turning point, comprising: a first track installed on the route, and a second track installed in parallel with the first track. A track, a first truck for loading guided by the first track, and a second truck guided by the second track and driven to run by a driving device; It is relatively rotatably connected by an axis perpendicular to the surface formed by the path,
The first trajectory is arranged so that the first bogie maintains the same posture before and after the turning point, and the second trajectory has a gentler curve than the first trajectory at the turning point. A load transport device characterized in that it is formed in a load.

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