JP4324714B2 - Trolley conveyor - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a trolley conveyor that is used, for example, in an automobile factory to carry a vehicle body on a carriage along a fixed path.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as this type of conveyor, for example, as shown in FIG. 15, a trolley traveling rail 101 and a plurality of trolleys 102 (one in the figure) traveling along the rail 101 are adjacent to each other. Among the trolleys 102, a rear end portion of a preceding trolley (not shown) and a front end portion of the subsequent trolley 102 are passed so as to freely swing these horizontal directions, and a pair of driving feed rollers 103 (not shown) And a plate-like or rod-like connected member 104 sandwiched in the horizontal direction and receiving propulsive force, and the rail 101 extends along the longitudinal direction of the rail 101 at a predetermined interval in the horizontal direction. Each of the trolleys 102 has a horizontal leading roller 106 and a trailing roller 107 sandwiched between the two guide members 105, respectively, and swings at the front end of the trolley. Center C1 , Which are separated by a predetermined distance L from the rotation center C2 of the preceding roller 106 forward has been known.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the conveyor, when the succeeding trolley 102 passes the feed roller 103, the front end of the trolley 102 is pushed outward by the feed roller 103, and the preceding roller 106 contacts the outer guide member 105. Then, according to the lever principle, the trolley 102 is swung clockwise as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 15 with the contact portion of the preceding roller 102 as a fulcrum, and as a result, the succeeding roller 107 is pushed inward. As a result, it collides with the inner guide member 105 and generates noise. This means that the smooth running of the trolley 102 is hindered.
[0004]
An object of the present invention is to provide a trolley conveyor that solves the above-described problems and enables smooth running of the trolley.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The trolley conveyor according to the present invention includes a trolley traveling rail, a front trolley and a rear trolley that travel along the rail, and a horizontal swing of each of the front trolley and the rear trolley at a front-rear intermediate portion of each of the front trolley and the rear trolley. The front body is connected to the rear end of the front trolley so as to freely swing the front trolley in the horizontal direction, and the rear end is connected to the rear trolley. A plate-like or rod-like connected member that is connected to the front end portion so as to freely swing the rear trolley and receives a propulsive force sandwiched from a horizontal direction by a pair of driving feed rollers, and the rail, It has a pair of guide members that extend in the length direction and are opposed to each other at a predetermined interval in the horizontal direction , a horizontal front roller at the front end of both trolleys, a rear roller at the rear end, Both The center of rotation of the rear end of the front trolley and the front end connecting portion of the connected member 38 and the center of rotation of the rear roller of the front trolley are aligned with each other. The swing center of the front end portion of the trolley and the rear end connecting portion of the connected member is aligned with the rotation center of the front roller of the rear trolley .
[0006]
In the trolley conveyor according to the present invention, when the trolley passes the feed roller, the front end of the trolley is pushed outward by the feed roller, and the front roller comes into contact with the outer guide member. Since this principle does not work, the trolley will not swing. Therefore, the rear roller does not contact the guide member. Therefore, smooth running of the trolley is possible.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0008]
In the following description, front and rear refers to the forward direction of the carriage (indicated by arrow A in FIG. 1), the opposite side refers to the rear, and left and right refers to the left and right sides when viewed from the front. And
[0009]
Referring to FIG. 1, a cart traveling rail 11, a cart 12 mounted on the rail 11, and a cart driving device 13 that moves the cart 12 along the rail 11 are shown. In FIG. 1, only one carriage drive device 13 is shown, but a plurality of carriage drive devices 13 are arranged at intervals slightly smaller than the entire length of the carriage 12 along the carriage movement path.
[0010]
As shown in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5, the carriage running rail 11 is composed of a pair of rail members 21 having a U-shaped cross section. Both rail members 21 are arranged to face each other with a predetermined distance from each other. An upward bent edge 22 is provided on the upper flange facing edge of both rail members 21.
[0011]
Referring to FIG. 1 again, the carriage 12 is passed to the first to fourth trolleys 31 to 34 and the second and third trolleys 32 and 33 arranged along the carriage travel rail 11 from the front to the rear. A trolley body 35, a first connecting rod 36 passed to the first and second trolleys 31, 32, and a second connecting rod 37 passed to the third and fourth trolleys 33, 34. ing. Furthermore, a driven rod 38 is passed to the second and third trolleys 32 and 33 so as to be positioned below the cart body 35.
[0012]
The first trolley 31 and the fourth trolley 34 have the same structure, and the second trolley 32 and the third trolley 33 have the same structure. The first trolley 31 and the fourth trolley 34 will be described later, and the second trolley 32 shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 will be described as representative of the second and third trolleys 32 and 33.
[0013]
The second trolley 32 has a pair of left and right vertical side plates 41 and a horizontal top plate 43 that are arranged to face each other at a predetermined interval.
[0014]
A vertical guide cylinder 42 is clamped at the center in the front-rear direction at the top of both side plates 41. Front and rear yokes 45 that are U-shaped in side view are fitted in the middle of the height of both front and rear edges of both side plates 41. The front and rear vertical roller shafts 44 are provided so as to penetrate both the front and rear edges of the top plate 43 and the front and rear yoke 45 upper and lower flanges. A front / rear connecting member 71 is attached to the upper part of both vertical roller shafts 44, and a front / rear horizontal guide roller 46 is attached to the lower part of both vertical roller shafts 44.
[0015]
As shown in detail in FIG. 6, the connecting member 71 includes a vertical cylindrical portion 73 having vertical holes 72 sandwiched between the front and rear edges of the top plate 43 and the front and rear yokes 45 and penetrating the vertical roller shaft 44. It consists of a vertical partition wall 75 that is connected to the outer surface of the portion 73 and protrudes outward and has a horizontal hole 74. The horizontal guide roller 46 is sandwiched between the upper and lower flanges of the yoke 45 and is sandwiched between the bent edges 22 of both rail members 21.
[0016]
The front and rear horizontal roller shafts 47 are passed through the both side plates 41 so as to be perpendicular to the front and rear vertical roller shafts 44 so as to project both ends. Vertical support rollers 48 are attached to the protruding ends of the front and rear rollers 47, respectively. The support roller 48 is received by the lower flanges of both rail members 21.
[0017]
The outer surface of the side plates 41 is smooth over the entire surface. A portion of the outer side surface 41 above the yoke 45 forms a roller receiving surface 32a.
[0018]
A first trolley 31 is shown in FIGS. The first trolley 31 is obtained by removing the guide cylinder 42 from the second trolley 32, and further having a leading member 76 attached to the front vertical roller shaft in place of the front connecting member 71. It has the same structure as 32. The portion from the front surface to both side surfaces of the leading member 76 is formed in a substantially U shape when viewed from the plane. Like the second trolley 32, the first trolley 31 has a roller receiving surface 31a. The fourth trolley 34 has the same structure as the first trolley 31, although the front and rear directions are different.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 9, the cart body 35 includes a horizontal front horizontal member 52 extending in the left-right direction supported by the second trolley 32 via a front trunnion joint member 51, and a rear trunnion joint member 53 attached to the third trolley 32. A horizontal rear crosspiece 54 extending in the left-right direction supported by the front horizontal member 54, a pair of horizontal vertical members 55 extending parallel to each other in the front-rear direction, which are secured to the front crosspiece 52 and the rear crosspiece 54, and the front crosspiece An upper structure 56 is provided so as to straddle the material 52 and the rear cross member 54.
[0020]
The front trunnion joint member 51 and the rear trunnion joint member 53 have the same structure. The front trunnion joint member 51 will be described. This mainly includes a vertical shaft portion 61 and a horizontal cylindrical portion 62 provided orthogonal to the upper end portion of the vertical shaft portion 61 with reference to FIG. The vertical shaft portion 61 is slidably fitted in the guide cylinder 42 of the second trolley 32. The horizontal cylindrical portion 62 is attached to the middle of the length of the front cross member 52 via a horizontal pin 63 and a bracket 64 which are slidably fitted in the horizontal cylindrical portion 62 and extend in the left-right direction. As described above, the second trolley 32 and the third trolley 33 are connected to the carriage main body 35 so as to be swingable in the vertical and horizontal directions.
[0021]
Referring to FIG. 1, the conveyed product W is placed on the upper structure 56, but the upper structure 56 will not be described in detail.
[0022]
The first connecting rod 36 and the second connecting rod 37 have the same structure and are formed of square tubes. The first connecting rod 36 has a roller receiving surface 36a connected to the roller receiving surface 31a of the first trolley 31 and the roller receiving surface 32a of the second trolley 32 on both sides (FIG. 10).
[0023]
Referring to FIG. 6, a vertical plate-like ear 77 is provided at the rear end of the first connecting rod 36. The ear 77 is provided with a horizontal hole 78. The ear 77 is fitted between the partition walls 75 of the connecting member 71 of the second trolley 32, and the horizontal pin 79 is inserted into the horizontal holes 74, 78 of the ear 77 and the partition wall 75, whereby the first connecting rod 36. The rear end portion and the front end portion of the second trolley 32 are swingable in the vertical direction about the horizontal axis C1, and are swingable in the left-right direction about the vertical axis C2. Here, the vertical axis C2 is made to coincide with the roller rotation center C3.
[0024]
7 and 8, the front end portion of the first connecting rod 36 is connected to the rear end portion of the first trolley 31 by the connecting member 71 in the same manner as the rear end portion. Although not shown in detail, the front end portion of the second connecting rod 37 is connected to the third trolley 32 and the rear end portion thereof is connected to the fourth trolley 32 in the same manner. Similar to the first connecting rod 36, the second connecting rod 37 has a roller receiving surface 37a (FIG. 10).
[0025]
9 and 10, the entire driven rod 38 is preferably shown. The driven rod 38 has a roller receiving surface 38a connected to the roller receiving surfaces 36a and 37a of the first and second connecting rods 36 and 37, and is arranged in a straight line at a predetermined interval in the front and rear direction. The pipe 81 and the rear outer pipe 82, and the inner pipe 83 fitted into the front outer pipe 81 and the rear outer pipe 82 so as to pass through them. The front outer pipe 81 and the rear outer pipe 82 are formed of square tubes having the same size as the first and second connecting rods 36 and 37. The inner pipe 83 is fixed to the front / outer pipe 81 side and is in sliding contact with the rear / outer pipe 82 side. Thereby, the driven rod 38 can be contracted in the length direction. Although not described in detail, the front end portion of the front outer pipe 81 is the second trolley 32, the rear end portion of the rear outer pipe 82 is the third trolley 33, and the same as the first and second connecting rods 36 and 37, respectively. They are connected via a connecting member 71.
[0026]
FIG. 10 shows the part shown in FIG. 9 as viewed from above. However, the cart body 35 is omitted from FIG. According to this, both roller receiving surfaces 36a of the first connecting rod 36, roller receiving surfaces 32a of the second trolley 32, both roller receiving surfaces 38a of the driven rod 38, roller receiving surface 33a of the third trolley 33, and second connection. Both roller receiving surfaces 37a of the rod 37 are substantially flush. Although not shown in FIG. 10, the roller receiving surfaces of the first trolley 31 and the fourth trolley 34 are also substantially flush.
[0027]
Next, the cart drive device 13 will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0028]
The cart drive device 13 includes a vertical support shaft 81 disposed on the right side of the cart travel rail 11 and fixed by appropriate means, a forward main swing arm 82 supported by the support shaft 81 so as to be horizontally swingable, The main swing arm 82 so as to swing together with the main swing arm 82 and the motor 83 mounted upward on the tip of the swing arm 82, the horizontal drive roller 84 attached to the rotating shaft of the motor 83, and the main swing arm 82. The support arm 85 is fixed to the base of the main swing arm 82 and extends under the carriage travel rail 11 to the left side thereof, and can swing horizontally with respect to the support arm 85 near the tip of the support arm 85. And a horizontal presser roller 87 attached to the tip of the follower swing arm 86 so as to face the drive roller 84.
[0029]
The upper part of the support shaft 81 protrudes upward from the base part of the main swing arm 82. An inner angle pipe 91 is fixed to the upward projecting portion of the support shaft 81. An inner angle pipe 91 is covered with an outer angle pipe 92. The diagonal directions of the inner angle pipe 91 and the outer angle pipe 92 are shifted by 45 degrees. Therefore, four gaps of a horizontal cross-sectional contour triangle are formed between the inner angle pipe 91 and the outer angle pipe 92. The gap is filled with a round bar-shaped cushion material 93 made of an elastic material. One end of the compression coil spring 94 is hooked near the tip of the sub-swing arm 86. The other end of the compression coil spring 94 is hooked on the tip of the support arm 85 beyond the fulcrum of the slave swing arm 86.
[0030]
A first ear 86a and a second ear 86b projecting in the direction opposite to the tip of the arm are provided in a bifurcated shape at the base of the slave swing arm 86. On the other hand, a stopper roller 88 is attached to the distal end portion of the support arm 85 to abut the first ear 86a so as to restrict the counterclockwise swing of the slave swing arm 86. Further, a limit switch 90 is attached to the tip of the support arm 85. In the state where the first ear 86a is in contact with the stopper roller 88, the limit switch 90 has its operating element in contact with the second ear 86a. While the first ear 86a is in contact with the stopper roller 88 and the actuator of the limit switch 90 is in contact with the second ear 86a, the two rollers of the driven rod 38 are interposed between the driving roller 84 and the pressing roller 87. A gap narrower than the distance between the receiving surfaces 38a is maintained.
[0031]
When the first trolley 31 enters between the drive roller 84 and the presser roller 87 when the carriage 12 is transported, the gap between the drive roller 84 and the presser roller 87 is widened. The second ear 86b presses the actuator of the limit switch 90, and the limit switch 90 is turned on. In accordance with this, the motor 83 is started. When the carriage 12 has passed the drive roller 84 and the presser roller 87 and the limit switch 90 is turned off, the motor 83 is stopped.
[0032]
When the first trolley 31 enters between the drive roller 84 and the presser roller 87, the leading member 76 gradually widens the gap between the drive roller 84 and the presser roller 87. You can enter without impact. Further, even if the leading member 76 is pushed sideways by the drive roller 84, the first trolley 31 is not swung by the lever principle as in the conventional example described at the beginning. The first trolley 31 passes quietly between them. Further, even when the first connecting rod 36 has passed between the driving roller 84 and the pressing roller 87 and the second trolley 32 passes between them, the second trolley 32 is not swung. Pass quietly. The same applies to the third trolley 33 and the fourth trolley 34.
[0033]
FIG. 14 shows a case where the carriage 12 reaches a curved path and the second trolley 32 tries to pass the drive roller 84 and the presser roller 87. In this case, the first trolley 31, the first connecting rod 36, the second connecting rod 37, and the fourth trolley 34 are not shown.
[0034]
The second trolley 32 and the driven rod 38 are bent at a vertical roller shaft 44 connecting the rear end portion of the second trolley 32 and the front end portion of the driven rod 38 so that the second trolley 32 and the driven rod 38 have a square shape in plan view. The driven rod 38 and the third trolley 33 are similarly bent at the vertical roller shaft 44 connecting the rear end portion of the drive rod 38 and the front end portion of the third trolley 33. The distance between the second trolley 32 and the third trolley 33 is not changed because it is regulated by the carriage body 35 (not shown in FIG. 14), but the second trolley 32 and the third trolley 33 are bent with respect to the driven rod 38. Compared with the case where the carriage 12 moves along the straight path, the driven rod 38 is extended by the amount of the movement.
[0035]
In this case, an angle formed by the second trolley center line L and the driven rod center line M is α. If the rear end portion of the connecting rod is directly connected to the front end portion of the driven rod 38 as in the prior art described at the beginning, the driven rod center line M and the connecting rod center line N form. If the angle is β, α> β. The large angle α formed between the second trolley center line L and the driven rod center line M means that the carriage 12 can smoothly pass through the driving roller 84 and the pressing roller 87.
[0036]
The case where the trolley swings in the horizontal direction has been described above, but the present invention is also effective when the trolley swings in the vertical direction.
[0037]
Moreover, although the above is demonstrated about the floor conveyor, this invention is applicable also to an overhead conveyor.
[0038]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the carriage can smoothly run without causing the trolley to collide with the rail.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view of a trolley conveyor according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view of a second trolley of the apparatus and its peripheral part.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same.
4 is a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the line IV-IV in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the line V-V in FIG.
6 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the part shown in FIG. 2 in an enlarged manner. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a side view of the first trolley of the apparatus and its peripheral part.
FIG. 8 is a plan view of the same.
FIG. 9 is a side view mainly showing a driven rod of the apparatus.
10 is a plan view of the portion shown in FIG. 9. FIG.
FIG. 11 is a front view of the cart driving device of the apparatus.
FIG. 12 is a side view of the cart driving device.
FIG. 13 is a plan view of the cart driving device.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a state where the carriage moves along a curved moving path.
FIG. 15 is an operation explanatory diagram showing a conventional example.
[Explanation of symbols]
12 carts
31-34 Trolley
36, 37 Connecting rod
38 Driven rod
84 Drive roller
87 Presser roller C2 Oscillation center C3 Roller rotation center

Claims (2)

The trolley traveling rail 11, the front trolley 32 and the rear trolley 33 that travel along the rail 11, and the horizontal swing of each of the front trolley 32 and the rear trolley 33 in the middle of the front trolley 32 and the rear trolley 33, respectively. The carriage main body 35 is passed so as to freely move, and the front end is connected to the rear end of the front trolley 32 so as to freely swing the front trolley 32 in the horizontal direction, and the rear end Is connected to the front end of the rear trolley 33 so as to freely swing the rear trolley 33, and is sandwiched from a horizontal direction by a pair of driving feed rollers 84 and 87 to receive a propulsive force. The rail 11 has a pair of guide members 22 extending in the length direction of the rail 11 and opposed to each other at a predetermined interval in the horizontal direction, and the front end portions of the trolleys 32 and 33. A horizontal front roller 46 and a rear roller 46 at the rear end thereof. It is attached so as to be sandwiched between the guide members 22, respectively, and the center of swing of the rear end portion of the front trolley 32 and the front end connecting portion of the connected member 38 is aligned with the center of rotation of the rear roller 46 of the front trolley 32. In addition, the trolley conveyor in which the swing center of the front end portion of the rear trolley 33 and the rear end connection portion of the connected member 38 is aligned with the rotation center of the front roller 46 of the rear trolley 33 .   The front end of the front trolley 32 is connected to the front trolley 31 preceding the front trolley 32, and the rear end of the plate-like or rod-like preceding connected member 36 is free to swing the front trolley 32 in the horizontal direction. The front end of a plate-like or rod-like subsequent connected member 37 having a rear end connected to the rear trolley 34 following the rear trolley 33 is connected to the rear end of the rear trolley 33 in the horizontal direction of the rear trolley 33. It is connected so as to freely swing, the swing center of the front end portion of the front trolley 32 and the rear end connection portion of the preceding connected member 36 and the rotation center of the front roller 46 of the front trolley 32 are made to coincide with each other, The swing center of the rear end portion of the rear trolley 33 and the front end connection portion of the subsequent connected member 37 is aligned with the rotation center of the rear roller 46 of the rear trolley 33, so that the preceding connected member 36 and the subsequent connected member 37 The both side surfaces are connected so as to form a series with both side surfaces of the member to be coupled 38. Trolley conveyor described.

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