JP3819499B2 - Transport device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a transfer device that shifts a workpiece moving on an upper position conveyance path onto a lower position conveyance path, and is particularly suitable for shifting a heavy object as a workpiece.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When a work is transported in a short time without taking up space, a transport device is used that shifts the work between transport paths having steps in the vertical direction, that is, moves the transport path from the upper position transport path to the lower position transport path.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Conventionally, when such a transfer device receives the workpiece fed from the upper position conveyance path by the transfer body, when the lowered transfer body falls to the bottom position bottom of the device housing, the workpiece is impacted and the workpiece is moved. The work environment is deteriorated due to damage or noise. This is a problem especially when the workpiece is heavy. For this reason, the conventional transfer device has a spiral path in the device housing so that the transfer body descends while rotating due to the gravity of the work, or is raised and lowered by driving means such as an electric motor or a hydraulic actuator, Electric power equipment and hydraulic equipment are required and cost is high.
[0004]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a transfer device that can avoid damage to a workpiece and can shift the workpiece silently without using costly facilities such as power equipment and hydraulic equipment.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the technical means employed in the invention of claim 1 is a transfer body movable between the inlet gate and the outlet gate in a body housing having an upper inlet gate and a lower outlet gate. And a balance spring means for lowering the transfer body from the entrance gate to the exit gate by gravity containing the work and pulling up the transfer body from which the work has been removed from the exit gate to the entrance gate. It is in providing.
[0006]
Since the balance spring means suspends the transfer body in the transport device having the above configuration, when the work is stored in the transfer body, the spring means is extended by the gravity of the work W, and the transfer body descends downward. When the workpiece is removed, the transfer body is pulled up. When the transfer body descends downward, the force of the balance spring means acts as a braking force, and the workpiece can be slowly lowered downward.
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the main body housing has a cover plate that opens the inlet gate by raising the transfer body and closes the inlet gate by lowering the transfer body. When the transfer body rises to accept the workpiece, the cover plate also opens the entrance gate, allowing the workpiece to pass through the entrance gate. On the other hand, when the work passes through the entrance gate and gets on the transfer body, the transfer body descends downward due to the load of the work. Thereby, the entrance gate is closed by the lid plate, and even if the next workpiece is sent to the entrance gate, it is blocked by the lid plate, and the next workpiece does not enter the main body housing.
The technical means according to claim 3 is that the floor surface of the transfer body is inclined higher to the entrance gate side and lower to the exit gate side, whereby the transfer body is positioned in the main body housing. The structure of the main body housing or the transfer body can be simplified, and the power for storing the work in the transfer body, the power for lowering it, and the power for removing it from the transfer body are all reduced by the gravity of the work. Can be obtained at
[0008]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a wire holding the transfer body is wound around a pulley that is rotationally driven by a spring member, and the stroke amount of the transfer body is larger than when the spring member is simply extended. it can.
The technical means according to claim 5 is that the main body housing is provided with an inner wall formed of an elastic material in accordance with the opening on the back side of the transfer body in which the work from the entrance gate is stored. The stored work hits the elastic material, so that work damage and noise can be prevented.
[0009]
The technical means according to claim 6 uses a main body housing having an acute angle or an obtuse angle between the entrance gate and the exit gate as viewed from the moving direction of the transfer body. The transfer body is curved in accordance with the acute angle or the obtuse angle. Accordingly, the power for storing the work in the transfer body, the power for lowering the work, and the power for removing the work from the transfer body can all be obtained by the gravity of the work, and the direction of the entrance gate and the exit gate can be selected according to the layout. . In addition, the workpiece can be taken out from a free direction set with respect to the direction of the entrance gate without adopting a structure such as lowering the transfer body while turning.
[0010]
As a preferred embodiment, the entrance gate may be configured to be opened by the transfer body when the transfer body is located at the entrance gate. According to this, the structure which opens an entrance gate can be comprised easily.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The transfer apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention has an upper entrance gate and a lower exit gate facing the direction of the entrance gate by 180 degrees, and is formed of an elastic material at a position substantially facing the entrance gate. A body housing with an inner wall, and a cylinder having an inlet opening that is movable between the inlet gate and the outlet gate and coincides with the inlet gate when in the position of the inlet gate and a rear opening that coincides with the inner wall And a transfer body having a floor surface that is inclined to the entrance gate side and is inclined to the exit gate side, and the workpiece is accommodated in the transfer body by the gravity stored in the transfer body. A balance spring means comprising a pulley, a wire, and a spring member, which is lowered to an exit gate and pulls up the transfer body from which the workpiece has been removed from the exit gate to the entrance gate. The operation of the transfer apparatus of the first embodiment is performed as follows. When the transfer body is at the position of the entrance gate, the work rolls or slides on the inclined floor surface by gravity through the entrance-side opening of the transfer body from the entrance gate opened by a predetermined opening and closing means. to go into. At this time, the workpiece hits the inner wall of the main body housing by the elastic material and is silently stored. When the gravity of the work is applied to the transfer body, the spring of the balance spring means extends, the pulley rotates to feed out the wire, and the transfer body storing the work descends to the position of the exit gate. Since the exit gate is always open and the floor surface of the transfer body is inclined downward toward the exit gate, the work rolls or slides on the floor surface and is taken out downward. When the workpiece is removed from the transfer body, the spring member contracts and the pulley rotates backward to wind up the wire and pull up the empty transfer body to the position of the entrance gate.
[0012]
The transfer apparatus according to the second embodiment has an upper entrance gate and an exit gate facing in a direction that forms an acute angle or an obtuse angle with the direction of the entrance gate, and an inner wall formed of an elastic material at a position substantially facing the entrance gate. A main body housing having a cylindrical shape curved to the acute angle or obtuse angle, movable between the inlet gate and the outlet gate and coincident with the inlet gate when in the position of the inlet gate A transfer body having a side opening and a back opening that coincides with the inner wall, and having a floor surface that is high on the entrance gate side and low on the exit gate side, and the gravity is stored in the work piece. Balance spring means for lowering the workpiece from the entrance gate to the exit gate and pulling up the transfer body from which the workpiece has been removed from the exit gate to the entrance gate is provided.
[0013]
The transfer body according to the second embodiment can be lowered from the position of the entrance gate to the position of the exit gate by simply descending the inside of the main body housing and take out the workpiece from an acute angle or an obtuse angle direction with respect to the direction of the entrance gate. it can.
Also, as a desirable form, the entrance gate can be opened by the transfer body when the transfer body is at the position of the entrance gate. According to this configuration, when the entrance gate is configured to be openable / closable, the entrance gate can be opened with a simple configuration, for example, by pushing the sliding door upward by the transfer body rising to the position of the entrance gate.
[0014]
Further, a hard flat bar having a smooth surface, for example, a burned surface may be provided on the inner wall of the main body housing corresponding to the movement trajectory of the back side opening when the transfer body descends. According to this configuration, even if the workpiece end protrudes slightly from the back side opening, the workpiece end can only be slidably contacted with the flat bar, and the generation of scratches can be avoided.
[0015]
【Example】
Hereinafter, a transport device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body housing installed in a substantially vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the main body housing 1 has a rectangular tube shape supported by a column 8 having a stand portion 7. The opening 3 is formed and matched with the chute portion of the upper position carrying path 2 and the opening 5 matched with the hopper portion of the lower position carrying path 4.
[0016]
The body housing 1 can move between the position of the opening 3 on the upper position carrying path side (upper side) and the position of the opening 5 on the lower position carrying path side (lower side), and matches the opening 3 on the upper side. The inlet-side opening 9a is opened, and a cylindrical bowl-shaped transfer body 9 as shown in FIG. 3 in which a lower-side opening 9b that matches the opening 5 is opened at the lower side is accommodated.
[0017]
The transfer body 9 is provided with an elastic plate 14 such as rubber on the floor surface and both inner side surfaces, a hook 15 is fixed to the upper plate member, and a buffer plate 16 such as rubber on the upper surface of the upper plate member. Similarly, a shock-absorbing plate 17 such as rubber is also attached to the bottom surface of the floor plate. The floor surface of the transfer body 9 is inclined so that the entrance-side opening 9a is high and the back-side opening 9b is low in the state of being accommodated in the main body housing 1.
[0018]
The transfer body 9 is suspended by balance spring means 13 attached to the upper end side of the column 8. That is, the balance spring means 13 includes a wire 11 having one end tied to the hook 15, a pulley 12 around which the wire 11 is wound, and a spring member (not shown) installed inside the pulley 12.
In addition, the transfer body 9 is configured to push up a lid plate 6c of the sliding door mechanism 6 provided above the opening 3 at the upper side. The opening 3 and the sliding door mechanism 6 constitute an entrance gate. The sliding door mechanism 6 has a cover plate 6c that is locked to a grooved plate 6a by a stopper 6b so as to be movable up and down. The opening 5 is always open.
[0019]
Further, the transfer body 9 is guided by a guide 10 attached to the support column 8. Here, the guide 10 uses a rail member having a quadrangular cross section, and is fitted to the slider 18 fixed to the side plate on the back side in FIG.
Furthermore, the transfer body 9 is stopped by a stopper mechanism 19 attached to the support column 8 in the upper part and stopped by a stopper mechanism 20 similarly attached to the support element 8 in the lower part. The stopper mechanisms 19 and 20 pass through bolts 19b and 20b through base plates 19a and 20a inclined along the floor surface of the transfer body 9, and are cushion members such as rubber attached to the ends of the bolts 19b and 20b. 19c, 20c hits the upper buffer plate 16 and the lower buffer plate 17 of the transfer body 9.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 1, the main body housing 1 is made of an elastic material such as rubber that cushions the workpiece W that rolls or slides on the inclined floor corresponding to the rear opening 9b of the transfer body 9 positioned above. The formed buffer plate 23 is attached. Further, the main housing 1 is provided with a hard flat bar 25 having a smooth surface such as a burned surface on the inner wall corresponding to the movement locus of the back opening 9b when the transfer body 9 is lowered. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the main body housing 1 is provided with a work window member 21 for repairing and adjusting the balance spring means 13 on the upper side of the front surface and observing the intermediate passage of the transfer body 9. Opening and closing plates 22 and 22 with stitches are provided. Further, an oil pan 26 is disposed facing the lower opening of the main body housing 1 and collecting oil liquid and facets adhering to the workpiece W.
[0021]
Next, the operation of the transport apparatus having the above configuration will be described. The workpiece W is transferred on the upper position conveyance path 2. In the drawing, the upper position carrying path 2 is described so that the workpiece W rolls or slides by gravity, but it may be sent in the form of a belt conveyor. The chute portion of the upper position conveyance path 2 communicates with the opening 3 by the cover plate 6c pushed up by the empty transfer body 9 located above, and the workpiece W enters the transfer body 9 through the opening 3. Since the floor surface of the transfer body 9 is lowered toward the back side opening 9b, it is accommodated in the transfer body 9 without requiring a special drive source. At this time, the workpiece W is stopped by the buffer plate 23 facing the back side opening 9b, and the quietness at the time of storage is achieved.
[0022]
When the workpiece W is stored in the transfer body 9, the spring member of the balance spring means 13 is extended by the gravity of the workpiece W, and the pulley 12 rotates. As a result, the wire 11 is lowered and the transfer body 9 is guided by the guide 10 and descends downward. The descending speed can be moderately braked by setting the constants of the spring members, and is a slow speed that does not generate noise. Further, when descending downward, the end portion of the workpiece W is slidably contacted with the flat bar 25, so that it is protected silently and without being damaged.
[0023]
When the transfer body 9 descends downward, the buffer plate 17 on the bottom surface abuts against the buffer member 20c of the stopper mechanism 20 and elastically stops. At the same time, the workpiece W rolls or slides on the floor surface of the transfer body 9, passes through the opening 5, and is discharged to the lower position conveyance path 4. When the workpiece W is discharged, the transfer body 9 is pulled upward by the spring member of the balance spring means 13. The transfer body 9 pulled upward stops elastically in the same manner as when the buffer plate 16 on the upper surface hits the buffer member 19c in the upper stopper mechanism 19 and descends. Then, the cover plate 6c is opened by the transfer body 9 positioned above, and the next workpiece W can be conveyed.
[0024]
Thus, since the balance spring means 13 suspends the conveyance body 9 in the conveyance apparatus of the first embodiment, the conveyance body 9 storing the workpiece W can be slowly lowered and the conveyance body 9 can be lowered. Since the buffer plate 23 is provided in accordance with the rear opening 9b, the impact sound during storage and the rattling sound during lowering are reduced. At the same time, since a drive source is not required, hydraulic equipment and electric equipment are not required, and labor, waste liquid, etc. required for maintenance are not generated, and the working environment is greatly improved.
[0025]
Further, since the floor surface of the transfer body 9 is inclined so that the rear opening side is lowered, it is only necessary to simply move the transfer body 9 up and down in the main body housing 1 without changing the posture. The structure of the body 9 is simple, and the power for storing the work W in the transfer body 9, the power for lowering it, and the power for removing it from the transfer body can all be obtained by the gravity of the work W.
[0026]
As a modification of the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, an inclined main body housing 31 can be provided. In FIG. 4, the main body housing 31 is fixedly installed on an oil pan 32 so as to be inclined, and an internal transfer body 33 is suspended by a balance spring means 35 serving as a device at the upper end of a column 34 and a guide 36. Is held via a slider 37. The entrance gate opening 38 and the exit gate opening 39 are always open, and the workpiece W is accommodated in the transfer body 33 whose floor surface is inclined from the upper position shooter 40 and discharged to the lower position hopper 41 by its gravity. . Also in this embodiment, the buffer plate 42 is disposed on the inner wall of the main body housing facing the rear side opening 33a, and the flat bar 43 is disposed on the inner wall of the main body housing corresponding to the movement locus of the transfer body 33. The hopper 41 is also provided with a buffer plate 44 (flooring and contact surface).
[0027]
Even with such a configuration, similarly to the first embodiment, the transfer body 33 storing the workpiece W can be lowered without noise. In particular, since the main body housing 31 is inclined, the transfer body 33 and the inner wall of the main body housing And the force in the weight direction and the force in the weight direction are decomposed in the inclination direction and become slower.
By the way, although the first embodiment has a lower outlet gate in a direction opposite to the direction of the upper inlet gate by 180 degrees, as another embodiment, the opening 3 and the opening viewed around the moving direction of the transfer body are provided. A main body housing in which the included angle in the direction of 5 is an acute angle or an obtuse angle can be used. In accordance with this, the transfer body processes a curved shape, that is, plate materials used for the upper surface, the floor surface, and both side surfaces according to the acute angle or the obtuse angle. As a result, a working environment similar to that of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the layout of the entrance gate and the exit gate can be selected in accordance with the layout, for example, when installing on a corner wall. In addition, the workpiece can be taken out from a free direction set with respect to the direction of the entrance gate without adopting a structure such as lowering the transfer body while turning.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the work can be transported from the upper side to the lower side only by the gravity of the work without the need for hydraulic equipment or electrical equipment, and the work that is a gravitational object can be handled silently. The environment can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a carrier according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure in which a main body housing is supported in the transfer apparatus according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a transfer body used in the first embodiment.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a modification of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference numeral 1 denotes a main body housing, 3 denotes an opening, and 6 denotes a sliding door mechanism, which constitute an entrance gate. Reference numeral 5 denotes an opening, which constitutes an exit gate. Reference numeral 8 is a support, 9 is a transfer body, 13 is a balance spring means, 9a is an entrance side opening, 9a is a back side opening, 9b is a guide, and 12 is a pulley.

Claims (6)

A transfer device that shifts an upper workpiece downward, a body housing having the upper inlet gate and the lower outlet gate, a transfer body movable between the inlet gate and the outlet gate, and Balance spring means for lowering the transfer body from the entrance gate to the exit gate by gravity containing a work and pulling up the transfer body from which the work has been removed from the exit gate to the entrance gate. Characteristic transport device. The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the main body housing includes a cover plate that opens the entrance gate when the transfer body is raised and closes the entrance gate when the transfer body is lowered. The transfer body is formed in a cylindrical shape whose floor surface is inclined to be higher on the inlet gate side and lower on the outlet gate side, and when the inlet is located at the inlet gate, the cylindrical inlet side opening is formed on the inlet gate. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cylindrical rear opening coincides with the exit gate when they coincide with each other and are at the position of the exit gate. The balance spring means includes a pulley provided at an upper end of the main body housing, a wire that suspends the transfer body and can be wound around a peripheral surface of the pulley, and a direction in which the transfer body moves up the pulley. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a spring member that is rotationally driven. The said main body housing is provided with the inner wall formed with the elastic material according to the said back side opening of the said transfer body in which the workpiece | work from the said entrance gate is accommodated. The conveying apparatus as described. In the main body housing, an angle between the direction of the inlet gate and the outlet gate with respect to the moving direction of the transfer body is set to an acute angle or an obtuse angle, and the transfer body is curved according to the acute angle or the obtuse angle. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

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