JP4686851B2 - Vertical transfer device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus that circulates an endless chain having a vertical traveling portion and vertically transports a transport table that is rotatably connected to the endless chain while maintaining its posture.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Recently, hospital operations are becoming more complicated due to diversification of medical care, heavy labor of nursing and assistance, infectious problems, and the like. As one of the above-mentioned in-hospital operations, there are medical charts, X-ray films, various slips / forms, medicines, specimens, surgical equipment, meals for inpatients, and linen transportation work. It is desired to efficiently transport these articles.
[0003]
In order to solve the above problems, various conveying devices have been developed. For example, in the vertical conveyance device A ′ shown in FIG. 14, four chains 52 are respectively hung on two pairs of chain gears 51 arranged at a predetermined interval in the horizontal direction. The four chains 52 are made to circulate in synchronism so as to circulate the conveyance platform 53 supported by the chains 52. For this reason, the connection structure between the chain 52 and the carriage 53 is complicated, and the manufacturing cost is also expensive. Therefore, the present applicant has come up with the idea of holding the carriage by a pair of chains. However, in this case, it is difficult to keep the posture of the transport table horizontally as it is, and the load K may fall.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
This invention makes it a subject to enable it to convey the attitude | position of a conveyance stand with the endless chain apparatus provided with a pair of endless chains in view of the above-mentioned malfunction.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention of claim 1 for solving the above-mentioned problem is an apparatus for running an endless chain having a vertical running section and vertically carrying a carriage that is connected to the endless chain while maintaining its posture. An endless chain device having a pair of endless chains arranged in parallel at an interval corresponding to the width of the carriage along the horizontal direction, and an arrangement shape of the pair of endless chains, And an annular guide body disposed at a position where the endless chain is three-dimensionally translated, and the carrier is disposed between the pair of endless chains, and the pair of endless chains via a rotation support shaft. And is integrally attached to a guide member that is circulated and guided by the annular guide body via an arm, and the tangential direction of the plurality of corner portions of the annular guide body , the guide member around the rotation support shaft The corners and the acting direction of the torque acting on the guide member for rotation has a portion having the same, the return prevention member for preventing the guide member from returning by the rotational force acting on the conveying table A state in which the guide member is prevented from returning by the return preventing member and the pair of endless chains are circulated and driven by the endless chain device, and the posture is maintained by the annular guide body and the guide member. Thus, the transport table is vertically transported.
[0006]
The invention according to claim 1 is an endless chain device including a pair of endless chains arranged in parallel at intervals corresponding to the width of the carriage along the horizontal direction, and an arrangement shape of the pair of endless chains, And an annular guide body that has the same shape and is arranged at a position where the endless chain is three-dimensionally translated. And the guide member is integrally attached to the said conveyance stand via the arm. The guide member is transported while being guided by the annular guide body when the transport table is transported by a pair of endless chains constituting the endless chain device. For this reason, a conveyance stand is conveyed in the state with the attitude | position maintained, and there is no possibility that the load loaded into this conveyance stand may fall.
[0007]
Of the plurality of corner portions of the annular guide body, the tangential direction thereof is the same as the direction of the rotational force acting on the guide member so that the guide member rotates about the rotation support shaft. Since the return prevention member for preventing the guide member from returning due to the rotational force acting on the transport table is attached to the corner portion having the portion to be, the transport table is also in the corner portion of the annular guide body, It is transported smoothly.
[0008]
The invention according to claim 2 is based on the invention according to claim 1, and the annular guide body is constituted by a pair of guide bodies having three corner portions, and the rotation fulcrum and guide of the transport table In the two corner portions that intersect the diagonal direction of the endless chain that faces the direction of the line segment that connects to the center of the member, the corner portions of the pair of guide bodies alone overlap each other at a predetermined interval. For this reason, the length of each guide body can be shortened, and the configuration of the annular guide body can be made compact.
[0009]
The invention described in claim 3 is based on the invention described in claim 1 or 2, and the transport base is provided with a plurality of arms extending, and a guide member is attached to each arm. For this reason, the attitude | position of this conveyance stand is maintained more reliably.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples. 1 is a front view of a vertical transfer device A _{1 according to} a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a transfer stand B ₁ , FIG. 3 is a front view of the transfer stand B _{1 at} a corner portion 12a, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a left side view of the state of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the state of FIG. 4, with the fulcrum pin 8 of the base B ₁ passing through the dividing portion 15 of the first guide rail 12. FIG. 7 is a front sectional view showing the configuration of the return prevention device D. As shown in FIG. The vertical transfer device A ₁ of the first embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the vertical transfer device A ₁ includes an endless chain device C having a pair of chains 1 arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction at a predetermined interval, and an arrangement shape of the pair of chains 1. An annular guide body G ₁ having the same shape and disposed at a position where the chain 1 is three-dimensionally translated is provided. First, the endless chain device C will be described. Four chain gears 3 are arranged on the upper and lower portions of the frame 2 so as to be rotatable at predetermined intervals in the horizontal direction, and a pair of chains 1 are endlessly attached to each chain gear 3. Has been. Then, on both sides in the width direction of the frame 2, first and second vertical running portions V ₁ and V ₂ for vertically conveying each conveying table B ₁ are formed by upper and lower chain gears 3. At the top and bottom of the frame 2 in the height direction, first and second horizontal running portions H ₁ and H ₂ for horizontally transporting the transport bases B ₁ are formed by the left and right chain gears 3. Has been. The pair of chains 1 run around in synchronism by operating the drive motor 4. In the case of the present embodiment, the pair of chains 1 run around in the clockwise direction. In addition, each chain 1, at regular intervals along its length, connecting member 1a for coupling with the transfer table B ₁ is being secured.
[0011]
Between the pair of chains 1, a plurality of transport tables B ₁ are attached at regular intervals in the length direction of the chains 1. The conveyance platform B ₁ will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of frame members 5a constituting the transfer table B _1, among 5b, one side of the frame member 5a is being bent in an L-shape, a plurality of its horizontal portion cargo The mounting rod 6 is attached in a comb shape. Therefore, by placing a comb-like load lifting rod (not shown) between the plurality of load placing rods 6 from the lower side of the other frame member 5b side, the load placing is performed. The load K (see FIG. 1) placed on the rod 6 can be lifted and loaded or discharged.
[0012]
Brackets 7 are attached to the upper ends of the vertical portions of the pair of frame members 5a and 5b, and fulcrum pins 8 are disposed on the brackets 7, respectively. Each fulcrum pin 8 is rotatably attached to a connecting member 1 a fixed to the chain 1. For this reason, each transport base B ₁ is rotatable about the axis 8 a of each fulcrum pin 8. When each transport base B ₁ is transported in the clockwise direction by the circular travel of the pair of chains 1, the axis 8 a of each fulcrum pin 8 travels at a position away from the chain 1 by a certain distance. In FIG. 1, the locus (pin travel path W) is indicated by a one-dot chain line.
[0013]
Frame member 5a constituting the transport stand B _1, obliquely upward from 5b, the support arm 9 is not extended, the first quadrant R ₁ at its distal end, the guide roller 11 is rotatably supported Yes. Here, the “first quadrant R ₁ ” will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, a coordinate axis (X axis, Y axis) having the origin at the axis 8a of each fulcrum pin 8 of the carriage B ₁ in the front view is considered. At this time, a region formed by the positive portion of the X axis and the positive portion of the Y axis is referred to as “first quadrant R ₁ ”, and hereinafter, “second quadrant R ₂ ”, “ The third quadrant R ₃ ”and the“ fourth quadrant R ₄ ”are described. That is, the guide roller 11 is disposed in the first quadrant R ₁ in the transport table B ₁ that constitutes the vertical transport device A ₁ of the first embodiment.
[0014]
Next, a description will be given annular guide member G _1. As shown in FIG. 1, the annular guide body G ₁ is a transport base that attempts to rotate around the axis 8 a of each fulcrum pin 8 by guiding the guide rollers 11 to contact each other. This is to keep the posture of B ₁ horizontal. For this reason, the arrangement shape of the annular guide body G _{1 is the same as} the arrangement shape of the pair of chains 1. That is, the shape of the pin travel path W formed by the traveling locus of the axis 8a of the fulcrum pin 8 constituting the transfer table B _1, the travel locus of the axis 11a of the guide roller 11 (i.e., annular guide body G ₁ ) Is the same. In the case of the vertical transfer device A ₁ of the first embodiment, the annular guide body G ₁ is composed of first and second guide rails 12 and 13 formed in a substantially L shape in a front view. The first guide rail 12 extends from the upper first horizontal traveling unit H ₁ in the front view of the vertical conveying apparatus A ₁ to the first vertical traveling unit V ₁ on the left side in the drawing (transport table B ₁ vertically upward). It is attached to the transport side). Similarly, the second guide rail 13 is attached from the second vertical traveling portion V ₂ on the right side in the drawing view (the side on which the transportation platform B ₁ is vertically transported downward) to the lower second horizontal traveling portion H _2. ing.
[0015]
In each of the first and second guide rails 12 and 13, the portions corresponding to the four corners of the frame 2 are bent in an arc shape with a predetermined curvature to form the respective corner portions 12 a and 13 a. That is, each guide rail 12, 13 has three corner portions 12a, 13a. 1 in the upper right portion and the lower left portion in the drawing view, that is, a chain 1 facing the direction of a line segment L (described later) connecting the shaft center 8a of the fulcrum pin 8 and the shaft center 11a of the guide roller 11. In the two corner portions 12a and 13a intersecting with the diagonal direction, connecting portions 14a and 14b for connecting the guide rails 12 and 13 are formed. The first and second guide rails 12 and 13 are disposed in the connection portions 14a and 14b at intervals slightly wider than the outer diameter of the guide roller 11 and in an overlapping state. The upper right connecting portion 14a is provided with a return prevention device D (described later) for preventing the guide roller 11 from returning.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 2, the first and second guide rails 12 and 13 constituting the annular guide body G ₁ are connected to the frame member 5 a on one side in the front view and the chain 1. It is arrange | positioned between the members 1a. When the annular guide body G ₁ is arranged in this way, a fulcrum pin that travels on the pin travel path W when each carrier B ₁ is moved from the first vertical travel unit V ₁ to the first horizontal travel unit H _1. 8 may interfere with the first guide rail 12. However, in the case of the vertical transport device A ₁ of the present embodiment, the position where the fulcrum pin 8 intersects the pin travel path W is divided in the first and second guide rails 12 and 13, and the fulcrum pin 8 can pass. That is, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, in the first guide rail 12, the portion through which the fulcrum pin 8 passes is divided in the height direction, and the guide plate 16 is attached to the dividing portion 15. Yes. A fulcrum pin 17 is inserted in the upper end portion of the guide plate 16 along the width direction thereof, and is rotatable with respect to the upper first guide rail 12. Similarly, the lower end portion is provided with a stopper portion 16a for preventing the guide plate 16 from rotating beyond the left side surface portion of the first guide rail 12 in the drawing. Further, the bracket 18 extending from the first guide rail 12 and the guide plate 16 are connected by a tension spring 19.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 4, when the guide roller 11 attached to the carriage B ₁ passes through the dividing portion 15, the dividing portion 15 is blocked by a guide plate 16, and thus the guide roller 11. There is no hindrance to driving. Then, after the guide roller 11 has passed through the dividing portion 15, the fulcrum pin 8 of the transport base B ₁ rotates by passing the guide plate 16 of the dividing portion 15. That is, when the fulcrum pin 8 of the carriage B ₁ passes through the dividing portion 15, the fulcrum pin 8 is moved while rotating the guide plate 16 upward against the elastic restoring force of the tension spring 19. The When the fulcrum pin 8 passes, the guide plate 16 returns to its original position by its own weight and the elastic restoring force of the tension spring 19. In this way, the fulcrum pin 8 and the guide roller 11 pass through the dividing portion 15 in the first guide rail 12.
[0018]
Next, the return prevention device D will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the first guide rail 12 and the second guide rail 13 in the corner portion 12a overlap each other. That is, when the transport table B ₁ is transported through the first horizontal travel unit H ₁ , the guide roller 11 attached to the transport table B ₁ is the lower surface of the first guide rail 12 in the first horizontal travel unit H ₁ . , The posture of the carrier B ₁ is maintained horizontally against the rotational force M acting on the axis 8a of the fulcrum pin 8. However, when the transport table B ₁ passes through the connecting portions 14 a and 14 b, the contact portion of the guide roller 11 changes from the first guide rail 12 to the second guide rail 13. This change position (critical position P) is a position where the pressing force of the guide roller 11 does not act on any of the guide rails 12 and 13 in each connection portion 14a and 14b, and the guide in each connection portion 14a and 14b. The tangential direction of the roller 11 is a specific position that is perpendicular to the line segment L connecting the axis 8a of the fulcrum pin 8 and the axis 11a of the guide roller 11. At this time, the guide roller 11, since either of the first and the second guide rails 12, 13 are not abutting, sliding may occur and the carrier table B ₁ are not conveyed smoothly. In the vertical transfer device A ₁ of this embodiment, in order to prevent this, the corner portions 12a and 13a of the guide rails 12 and 13 before and after the critical position P are provided so as to overlap with each other and the upper right connecting portion is provided. 14a is provided with an anti-return device D for the guide roller 11.
[0019]
That is, as shown in FIG. 7, a support bracket 21 is attached to the upper surface portion of the first guide rail 12, and is rotatable with respect to the support bracket 21. Is installed. In the first guide rail 12, an opening 23 for rotating the return prevention plate 22 is formed in a portion corresponding to the return prevention plate 22. The thickness of the return prevention plate 22 is smaller than the thickness of the guide roller 11 so that the guide roller 11 does not fall into the opening hole 23. When the guide roller 11 is disposed at the critical position P, the contact end portion 22 a is in contact with the guide roller 11.
[0020]
The operation of the return prevention device D will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 8, when the guide roller 11 of the transport table B ₁ transported through the first horizontal traveling portion H ₁ of the first guide rail 12 enters the connecting portion 14a while rolling, the guide roller 11 Travels while rotating the return prevention plate 22 upward. When the guide roller 11 lifts the return prevention plate 22 to the maximum height (see FIG. 9), the return prevention plate 22 is dropped by its own weight while contacting the guide roller 11 (see FIG. 10). For this reason, even if the guide roller 11 is arranged at the critical position P, the guide roller 11 does not return because the guide roller 11 and the contact end 22a of the return preventing plate 22 are in contact. This state is indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Thereafter, the guide roller 11 is pressed against the second guide rail 13 while being rolled. As a result of the above, the transport base B ₁ is transported smoothly also at the connecting portion 14a.
[0021]
The operation of the vertical transfer device A ₁ of the first embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, when the transport base B ₁ transports the first vertical traveling portion V ₁ on the first guide rail 12 in the clockwise direction, the transport base B ₁ has a fulcrum pin 8. A rotational force M is applied to rotate the carrier B ₁ in the counterclockwise direction around the axis 8a. At this time, the guide roller 11 supported by the support arm 9 of the transport table B ₁ is brought into contact with the inner surface side of the first guide rail 12. Therefore, the posture of the conveying table B ₁ represents is maintained in a horizontal state.
[0022]
When the transport table B ₁ is transported vertically and reaches the vicinity of the upper end portion of the first guide rail 12, the guide roller 11 is in contact with the inner surface side of the first guide rail 12 and the first horizontal of the first guide rail 12. entering the travel section H _1. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the fulcrum pin 8 of the carriage B ₁ travels as it is while rotating the guide plate 16 attached to the dividing portion 15 of the first guide rail 12. The transport table B ₁ is transported through the first horizontal traveling portion H ₁ in the first guide rail 12 while maintaining its posture horizontal.
[0023]
When the transport table B ₁ enters the connecting portion 14 a of the first and second guide rails 12 and 13, the guide roller 11 is transported while lifting the return preventing plate 22. At this time, since the protection device D returns to the corner portion 12a is provided, the guide roller 11 is prevented from returning, transport board B ₁ represents is conveyed smoothly. When the guide roller 11 exceeds the critical position P, the contact portion of the guide roller 11 changes from the inner surface side of the first guide rail 12 to the outer surface side of the second guide rail 13.
[0024]
The transport table B ₁ is transported as it is in the second vertical traveling portion V ₂ in the second guide rail 13. That is, the transport table B ₁ is vertically transported downward. Then, enter the second horizontal running portion of H ₂ the second guide rail 13, it is conveyed horizontally. In this case, since the guide roller 11 is in contact with the outer surface of the second guide rail 13, the horizontal orientation of the carrying table B ₁ is maintained. Then, it again enters the first vertical traveling portion V ₁ of the first guide rail 12. The above-described effect is repeated at each transfer table B _1.
[0025]
The vertical transfer device A ₁ of the first embodiment is a case where the guide roller 11 is disposed in the first quadrant R ₁ of the transfer table B ₁ constituting the device A ₁ . However, this guide roller 11 may be arranged other than the first quadrant R ₁ . FIG. 11 shows a vertical transfer device A ₂ of the embodiment (second embodiment). The carriage B ₂ constituting the apparatus A ₂ is a case where the guide roller 11 is arranged in the third quadrant R ₃ . Therefore, each of the first and second guide rails 24, 25 of the annular guide member G ₂ constituting the vertical transfer apparatus A ₂ is of the annular guide body G ₁ constituting the vertical transfer apparatus A ₁ of the first embodiment Compared to the case, the inner and outer surfaces thereof are arranged in reverse.
[0026]
Furthermore, a plurality of guide rollers 11 may be arranged in a plurality of quadrants R _{1 to} R ₄ . The conveyance bases B ₃ and B ₄ of the embodiments (third and fourth embodiments) are shown in FIGS. Conveying table B ₃ of the third embodiment, two in the first quadrant R _1, a case in which the fourth quadrant R ₄ is one of the guide rollers 11 are arranged, the conveying table B ₄ of the fourth embodiment In this case, two guide rollers 11 are arranged in the third quadrant R ₃ and one guide roller 11 is arranged in the fourth quadrant R ₄ . Since the carriages B ₃ and B ₄ of these embodiments are supported by the plurality of guide rollers 11 in their own posture, there is an advantage that the posture is more reliably maintained.
[0027]
The guide member attached to the transport bases B _{1 to} B ₄ constituting the vertical transport devices A _{1 to} A ₄ of each embodiment in the present specification is a guide roller 11. However, the guide member may not be in a roller shape but may be in a ball shape, for example.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
A vertical transport device according to the present invention is a device that circulates an endless chain having a vertical traveling unit and vertically transports a transport table that is rotatably connected to the endless chain while maintaining its posture. An endless chain device having a pair of endless chains arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals in the horizontal direction, and the same shape as the arrangement of the pair of endless chains, the endless chains being translated in three dimensions And an annular guide body arranged at a position, and the annular guide body vertically conveys the carrier while maintaining the posture of the carriage. For this reason, compared with the conventional vertical conveyance apparatus, the number of endless chains can be reduced, and the structure can be simplified.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view of a vertical transfer device A _{1 according to} a first embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view of a conveying table B _1.
FIG. 3 is a front view of a transport table B _{1 at} a corner portion 12a.
4 is an enlarged front view of a state in which a fulcrum pin 8 of the carriage B ₁ passes through a dividing portion 15 of a first guide rail 12. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a left side view of the state of FIG.
6 is a perspective view of the state of FIG.
7 is a front cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a return prevention device D. FIG.
FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory view showing a state in which the guide roller 11 lifts the return preventing plate 22;
FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory view showing a state in which the guide roller 11 lifts the return prevention plate 22 to the maximum height.
10 is a view showing a state in which the guide roller 11 is in contact with the contact end portion 22a of the return prevention plate 22 to prevent return. FIG.
FIG. 11 is a front view of a vertical transfer device A _{2 according to} a second embodiment.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a transport table B ₃ constituting a vertical transport device A ₃ according to a _third embodiment.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a transport table B ₄ constituting a vertical transport device A ₄ according to a _fourth embodiment.
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a conventional vertical transfer device A ′.
[Explanation of symbols]
A _{1 to} A ₄ : Vertical transfer device B _{1 to} B ₄ : Transfer table
C: Endless chain device
D: Anti-return device G ₁ , G ₂ : Annular guide body
L: Line segment
M: rotational force V ₁ , V ₂ : vertical travel part
1: Chain
8: fulcrum pin (rotating support shaft)
9: Support arm (arm)
11: Guide roller
12, 13, 24, 25: Guide rail (guide body alone)
12a, 13a: Corner part 14a, 14b: Connection part (corner part)
22: Return prevention plate

Claims (3)

A device that travels an endless chain having a vertical traveling unit and vertically transports a transport table connected to the endless chain while maintaining its posture,
An endless chain device comprising a pair of endless chains arranged in parallel at an interval corresponding to the width of the carriage along the horizontal direction;
An annular guide body that has the same shape as the pair of endless chains and is disposed at a position where the endless chains are three-dimensionally translated,
The transport table is disposed between the pair of endless chains, is rotatably supported by the pair of endless chains via a rotation support shaft, and is guided by the annular guide body so as to circulate. It is attached integrally to the member via the arm,
Of the plurality of corner portions of the annular guide body, the tangential direction thereof is the same as the direction of the rotational force acting on the guide member so that the guide member rotates about the rotation support shaft. The corner portion having a portion is attached with a return preventing member for preventing the guide member from returning due to the rotational force acting on the transport table,
In the state where the guide member is prevented from returning by the return preventing member, and the endless chain device is driven to circulate the pair of endless chains, and the posture is maintained by the annular guide body and the guide member. A vertical conveying apparatus characterized in that the conveying table is vertically conveyed.   The annular guide body is composed of a pair of guide bodies having three corner portions, and intersects the diagonal direction of the endless chain facing the direction of the line segment connecting the rotation fulcrum of the transport table and the center of the guide member. 2. The vertical transfer device according to claim 1, wherein in each of the two corner portions, the corner portions of the pair of guide bodies are overlapped with each other at a predetermined interval.   The vertical conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of arms are extended on the conveying table, and a guide member is attached to each arm.

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