JP4810675B2 - Transport device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a shuttle type that moves a workpiece sequentially by repeating reciprocation between the steps when moving a painting process or a pretreatment process of an automotive part (workpiece) such as an automobile door panel or body panel. The present invention relates to a transport device.

Conventionally, this type of conveying apparatus 1 is provided with a rail 3 along the upper side of the processing step 2 in which a plurality of processing tanks 2A, 2B, 2C... Are arranged in series as shown in FIG. A plurality of transport trolleys 1A, 1B, 1C,... Are movably supported, and each transport trolley 1A, 1B, 1C,. Alternatively, a configuration in which a plurality of units (two in the figure) are mounted is provided.
In the case of this transport apparatus 1, all the transport carts 1A, 1B, 1C... Are simultaneously (integrated) in the post-process side with the workpiece W suspended and held on the hangers 5 of the transport carts 1A, 1B, 1C. The workpiece W is moved to the upper side of the processing tank on the subsequent process side (2A → 2B, 2B → 2C, 2C → 2D,...), And then each hanger 5 is lowered. Then, each workpiece W is put into the treatment tank. After the work is loaded, each hanger 5 is empty and returned upward, and then all the transport carriages 1A, 1B, 1C... Are simultaneously retracted to the previous process side (left side in FIG. 8) to return to the original processing tank (after the process progress direction). Back to the upper side). After that, the hanger 5 is lowered and gripped after the next workpiece W is gripped, and then the carriages 1A, 1B, 1C... Are simultaneously moved to the subsequent process as described above, whereby each workpiece W is supplied to the subsequent process. The

In this way, the plurality of transport carriages 1A, 1B, 1C,... Reciprocate simultaneously between the respective processes 2A, 2B, 2C, etc., so that the plurality of workpieces W to W are sequentially sent to the subsequent process side.
In the case of such a shuttle type transport apparatus 1, the plurality of transport carts 1A, 1B, 1C,... Are connected to each other and moved by a common drive unit P. An outline of a conventional drive unit P is shown in FIG. The conventional drive unit P includes a drive motor 6, a pinion gear 7 attached to the output shaft thereof, and a long rack 8 in which the pinion gear 7 is meshed with each other. 1C... Are directly coupled with a certain interval. For this reason, by rotating the pinion 7 by starting the drive motor 6 and moving the common rack 8 in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction in FIG. 9), the transport carriages 1A, 1B, 1C,. . The drive motor 6 is rotated in the forward and reverse directions, whereby the rack 8 and thus the transport carts 1A, 1B, 1C,... Are reciprocated between the previous process and the subsequent process with a stroke of, for example, about 2 meters.
In the case of the conventional drive unit P mainly composed of such a rack and pinion mechanism, the rack 8 is controlled to prevent the rack 8 from being displaced with respect to the pinion gear 7 and to ensure a reliable meshing state (meshing depth) of both the racks 8 and 8. A rack pressing roller 9 is disposed on the back side of the rack 8 (opposite to the pinion gear 7) to restrict displacement of the rack 8 in the width direction (direction away from the pinion gear 7).
Japanese Patent No. 3308190 JP 2005-280582 A JP-A-5-105077

However, the conventional driving unit P has the following problems. That is, in order to couple and reciprocate the plurality of transport carts 1A, 1b, 1C,... In an integrated manner, the transport carts 1A, 1b, 1C,. A rattling (motion blur) is accumulated, or the rails 3 and 3 meander, and a load in the conveyance width direction is repeatedly applied to the pinion gear 7 and the rack pressing roller 9 via the rack 8. For this reason, the pinion gear 7 and the rack pressing roller 9 are easily damaged, and it is necessary to further improve the durability of the drive unit P in this respect.
The present invention has been made in view of this problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a shuttle type transport device including a highly durable drive unit.

Said subject is solved by each following invention.
A first invention is a shuttle type transport device that reciprocates a transport carriage along a transport direction, and a drive unit for reciprocating the transport carriage includes a drive body that reciprocates along the transport direction. On the other hand, the transport carriage is provided with a drive transmission portion at two locations in the front and rear of the transport direction, and a drive body is interposed between the drive transmission portions in a state that can be relatively displaced in the transport width direction orthogonal to the transport direction. The transport device is configured to reciprocate the transport carriage in the transport direction by the movement of the driving body.
According to the first aspect, the driving body is reciprocated along the transport direction by the driving unit. The drive body is interposed between the drive transmission portions of the transport carriage, and reciprocates along the transport direction when the drive body moves. The drive body is interposed between the two drive transmission units in a state in which the drive body can be relatively displaced in a direction (conveyance width direction) orthogonal to the conveyance direction. For this reason, rattling or the like (motion blur) in the conveyance width direction on the conveyance carriage side is absorbed by the relative displacement of the drive body with respect to the drive transmission unit, and thus is not transmitted to the drive unit. The durability of the drive unit can be increased.
According to a second invention, in the first invention, the drive unit includes a rack and pinion mechanism using an electric motor as a drive source, and the rack is fixed to the drive body so that the drive body reciprocates in the transport direction. This is a transfer device.
According to the second aspect of the invention , the rack is moved by the activation of the electric motor, whereby the drive body reciprocates along the transport direction. As described above, the motion blur of the transport carriage is blocked between the drive transmission unit and the drive body and is not transmitted to the rack. For this reason, the meshing depth of the pinion gear with respect to the rack can be maintained constant, thereby enhancing the durability of the drive unit.
A third invention is the transport apparatus according to the first invention, wherein the driving body is supported on the main frame via a linear motion mechanism.
According to the third invention , by supporting the driving body with respect to the main frame via the linear motion mechanism, it is possible to support the driving body without rattling, and thereby to the meshing portion of the pinion gear and the rack. On the other hand, it is possible to reduce the excessive external force (load) mainly in the conveyance width direction and maintain the meshing state (meshing depth) of the meshing portion even better, and thereby improve the durability of the drive unit and the transporting device. It can be further enhanced.
4th invention is the conveying apparatus which inserted | pinched the oil impregnation board between the drive body and the said drive transmission part in 1st invention .
According to the fourth invention , the driving force is transmitted from the drive body to the transport carriage with the oil retaining plate sandwiched between the drive body and the drive transmission section. Relative displacement in the surface direction of the oil-impregnated plate can be smoothly performed in a state with less resistance, thereby more reliably absorbing shakiness of the transport carriage and enhancing the durability of the transport apparatus.
A fifth invention is the transfer device according to the fourth invention, wherein the oil-containing plate is attached to one or both of the end face of the drive body and the end face of the drive transmission portion with an elastic member interposed.
According to the fifth invention , the oil-impregnated plate is attached to one or both of the end face of the driving body and the end face of the drive transmitting portion in a state in which the oil-impregnated plate can be elastically displaced in the plate thickness direction. It is possible to more reliably absorb and enhance the durability of the drive unit and thus the transport device.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 show a shuttle type transport device 10 according to the present embodiment. The transport device 10 constitutes a shuttle-type transport device that reciprocates a plurality of transport carts 11 to 11 connected to each other along the transport direction, and this point is the conventional transport described above. It is the same as the device. Accordingly, the plurality of transport carts 11 to 11 are connected to each other and reciprocate along the transport direction (the left-right direction in FIGS. 1 and 2, the direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 3, the same applies hereinafter), One or a plurality of conventionally known hangers (not shown in FIGS. 1 to 3) that can hold and lift W in a suspended state (two in FIG. 5) are provided.
Guide rails 13 and 13 are fixed to the main frame 12 of the transport device 10 in parallel to each other. Each transport carriage 11 is suspended between the guide rails 13 and 13 by engaging the wheels 11a to 11a across the guide rails 13 and 13, and in this suspended state, the transport cart 11 extends along the transport direction. It is supported so that it can move forward and backward. This is also the same as in the prior art.
The conveyance device 10 according to the present embodiment described below is characterized by a drive unit 20 that reciprocates the conveyance carriages 11 to 11. The drive unit 20 includes a drive body 21 provided on the main frame 12 side and drive transmission units 14 and 15 provided on the transport carriage 11 side.

A driver frame 23 is integrally provided on the upper surface of the main frame 12. The drive body frame 23 is provided with a drive body through two sets of linear motion mechanisms 24 and 24 mainly composed of a long rail 24a and a slide block 24b that is slidably assembled with the long rail 24a. 21 is supported so that it can reciprocate along the longitudinal direction (conveyance direction). As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the drive body 21 is mainly composed of a rectangular steel material having a rectangular cross section, and has a length straddling between two transport carriages 11 and 11 adjacent to each other in the transport direction.
A rack 25 is attached to the side of the drive body 21. The rack 25 is attached along the longitudinal direction of the driving body 21. The rack 25 has substantially the same length as the driving body 21. A driving gear (pinion gear) 30 is engaged with the rack 25. The drive gear 30 is attached to the output shaft of the drive motor 31.
The drive motor 31 is supported on the drive body frame 23 via the rotating disk 32. The turntable 32 is an assembly in which an inner ring 32a and an outer ring 32b are assembled concentrically and rotatably. In the present embodiment, the outer ring 32b is fixed to the drive body frame 23. A motor base 33 is attached to the inner ring 32a. The function of the turntable 32 will be described later.
A drive motor 31 is attached to the center of the motor base 33. The output shaft of the drive motor 31 is coincident with the rotation center of the rotating disk 32. When the drive motor 31 is activated to the forward rotation side and the drive gear 30 rotates, the drive body 21 moves to the forward side in the transport direction (rightward in FIG. 1) through meshing between the drive gear 30 and the rack 25. When the drive motor 31 rotates in the reverse direction, the drive body 21 moves backward in the transport direction (leftward in FIG. 1). The activation, stop, rotation direction, rotation speed, and the like of the drive motor 31 are controlled by the control device C.

Drive transmission portions 14 and 15 are in contact with the front and rear end portions of the drive body 21, respectively. That is, the drive body 21 is sandwiched between the two drive transmission parts 14 and 15 at the front and rear. The two drive transmission portions 14 and 15 are provided on the upper surfaces of one and the other of the transport carriages 11 and 11 adjacent to each other so as to face each other. Both the drive transmission parts 14 and 15 are firmly fixed to the upper surface of the transport carriage 11 via transmission brackets 14a and 15a fixed to the upper surface of the transport carriage 11, respectively. FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show details of the drive transmission unit 14 on the right process progress side in FIG. An oil retaining plate 14c is attached to the rear surface (left side surface in FIGS. 6 and 7) of the transmission bracket 14a fixed to the upper surface of the transport carriage 11 with an elastic member 14b made of urethane rubber interposed therebetween. For this reason, the oil-impregnated plate 14c is attached to the transmission portion bracket 14a so as to be displaceable in the plate thickness direction. In this embodiment, a conventionally known sliding plate commonly called an oilless plate is used for the oil-containing plate 14c.
In FIG. 1, the drive transmission unit 15 on the left side of the process backward side is configured to be the target of the drive transmission unit 14 on the process progression side. An oil retaining plate 15c is also attached to the front surface (right side surface in FIGS. 1 and 5) of the transmission bracket 15a with an elastic member 15b made of urethane rubber interposed therebetween. For this reason, the oil-impregnated plate 15c is also attached to the transmission bracket 15a so as to be displaceable in the plate thickness direction. A conventionally known sliding plate called an oilless plate is also used for the oil-containing plate 15c.

The distance between the drive transmission portions 14 and 15 is set appropriately with respect to the length of the drive body 21. The oil-impregnated plate 14c of the drive transmission unit 14 on the process progress side is brought into contact with the front end surface of the drive body 21 on the process progress side, and the oil-impregnated plate 15c of the drive transmission unit 15 on the process backward side is It is in contact with the rear end face. For this reason, the drive transmission parts 14 and 15 at two front and rear positions with respect to both front and rear end faces of the drive body 21 can be relatively displaced along a plane (surface direction of the oil retaining plates 14c and 15c) orthogonal to the transport direction. Yes. That is, the two front and rear drive transmission portions 14 and 15 with respect to the front and rear end faces of the drive body 21 are in the vertical direction in FIG. 6 (left and right direction with respect to the transport direction) and in FIG. (Vertical direction) and their combined directions are displaceably contacted.
Accordingly, the transport carriages 11 to 11 are integrated with respect to the drive body 21 in the transport direction, and are connected in a displaceable manner in a plane direction orthogonal to the transport direction. For this reason, rattling (operation blur) in directions other than the conveyance direction of the conveyance carriages 11 to 11 is blocked by the drive transmission units 14 and 15 and is not transmitted to the drive body 21 side.

Next, the drive unit 20 includes a power shut-off mechanism 40 having a function as a torque limiter that stops when a torque larger than a preset torque is applied to the drive motor 31. Details of the power shut-off mechanism 40 are shown in FIGS.
The drive motor 31 is attached to the drive body frame 23 via a rotating disk 32. The drive motor 31 is attached to a motor base 33 that is fixed to the inner ring 32 a side of the rotating disk 32. Further, as described above, the rotation axis J (output shaft axis) of the drive motor 31 coincides with the rotation center of the inner ring 32a with respect to the outer ring 32b. For this reason, the drive motor 31 is supported so as to be displaceable about the rotation axis J with respect to the drive body frame 23.
Two operating arms 41 and 41 are attached to the motor base 33 to which the drive motor 31 is attached. Both operating arms 41, 41 extend substantially horizontally to the outside of the outer ring 32b. A detection arm 45 is attached between the distal ends of the operating arms 41 and 41.
Further, the leading ends of the detection rods 43 urged by the compression springs 42 are abutted on the opposite sides (rear side) of the mutually opposing surfaces of the distal ends of the operating arms 41, 41. Both detection rods 43, 43 are supported on the side of the drive body frame 23 via brackets 44, respectively. Both detection rods 43 and 43 are attached to the bracket 44 so that the position thereof can be adjusted. By adjusting the positions of the detection rods 43, 43 with respect to the brackets 44, 44, the respective spring urging forces can be adjusted, whereby the abutting force of the detection rods 43, 43 against the operating arms 41, 41 can be adjusted. Can be adjusted.

The displacement of the drive motor 31 around the rotational axis J is regulated by the abutting force of the detection rods 43, 43 against the operating arms 41, 41 (the urging force of the compression springs 42, 42), thereby driving the drive motor in a normal drive state. 31 is fixed so as not to be displaced around the axis J (clockwise and counterclockwise in FIG. 2) with respect to the driver frame 23.
Sensors (limit switches in the present embodiment) 46 and 46 are arranged on both sides of the tip of the detection arm 45. Both sensors 46, 46 are mounted on the driver frame 23. When the drive motor 31 is displaced around the rotation axis J by a certain angle or more, the detection arm 45 is integrally displaced along with this, and this is detected by one sensor 46. When one sensor 46 detects the detection arm 45, the output signal is input to the control device C, and based on this, the power supply to the drive motor 31 is shut off.
According to the power shut-off mechanism 40, an excessive external force is applied to the meshing portion between the drive gear 30 and the rack 25 mainly due to motion blur in the transport width direction of the transport carriages 11 to 11, and as a result, a large external force is applied to the drive motor 31. When torque is applied, this overcomes the spring urging force of the detection rods 43 and 43 and the drive motor 31 is displaced around the rotation axis J, so that the external torque is released and the drive motor 31 is damaged. Avoided. The magnitude of the external torque at which the drive motor 31 starts to be displaced around the rotation axis J is appropriately set by adjusting the urging forces of the detection rods 43 and 43 in advance.
When the movement movement of the transport carriages 11 to 11 is large and as a result, the displacement around the rotation axis J of the drive motor 31 is more than a predetermined angle, the detection arm 45 is greatly displaced along with this, and the one sensor 46 is displaced. Turn on. When the sensor 46 is turned on, the power supply to the drive motor 31 is cut off via the control device C, and this also prevents the drive motor 31 from being damaged.

According to the transport apparatus 10 of the present embodiment configured as described above, the rack 25 in which the drive gear 30 rotated by the drive motor 31 in the drive unit 20 is meshed is directly attached to the transport carriage 11 side as in the past. Instead, it is attached to a driving body 21 that is displaceable in the conveyance width direction with respect to the conveyance carriage 11.
Moreover, the drive body 21 abuts both end portions (front end portion and rear end portion in the transport direction) of the drive body 21 in a state displaceable in the transport width direction with respect to the power transmission units 14 and 15 provided on the transport carriage 11 side. Thus, only the driving force in the transport direction is transmitted to the transport cart 11 side, while the motion blur in the transport width direction of the transport cart 11 is blocked and is not transmitted to the drive body 21 side and thus to the drive unit 20 side. It has become. For this reason, the meshing state (meshing depth) of the drive gear 30 with respect to the rack 25 can always be maintained in an appropriate state even when the above-described motion blur or the like occurs, thereby omitting the conventional pressing roller 9. As a result, the durability of the drive unit 20 and thus the transport device 10 can be improved.
In addition, the illustrated transfer apparatus 10 includes a power cut-off mechanism 40. According to the power shut-off mechanism 40, for example, when the transport carriage 11 interferes with other parts such as the main frame 12, the transport is such that the drive transmission units 14 and 15 cannot absorb the drive body 21. When a large external force in the width direction is applied or the movement of the driving body 21 in the conveying direction is hindered, the driving motor 31 can be stopped instantaneously, thereby preventing the driving unit 20 from being damaged beforehand. be able to.

Various modifications can be made to the embodiment described above. For example, the configuration in which the oil retaining plates 14 c and 15 c are attached only to the drive body frame 23 side is illustrated, but the configuration in which similar oil retaining plates are attached to both end faces of the drive body 21, or the oil impregnation plate only on the end face side of the drive body 21. The oil retaining plates 14c and 15c on the side of the drive body frame 23 may be omitted.
Although the case where the elastic members 14b and 15b that support the oil-impregnated plates 14c and 15c so as to be elastically displaceable is made of urethane rubber, a configuration using a compression spring may be used instead.
Further, the elastic members 14b and 15b and the oil retaining plate 15c may be omitted, and the end face of the driving body 21 may be brought into direct contact with the side surfaces of the transmission brackets 14a and 15a in a state that can be relatively displaced in the transport width direction.
Although the configuration in which the drive body is moved through the engagement of the rack 25 and the drive gear 30 (rack and pinion mechanism) is exemplified, the drive body may be moved using a screw shaft mechanism instead. In this case, a configuration may be adopted in which the nut engaged with the screw shaft rotated by the drive motor is coupled to the drive body and the drive body is moved.

Although the drive transmission parts 14 and 15 were provided in the separate conveyance trolleys 11 and 11 adjacent to a conveyance direction, and the structure which interposed the drive body 21 between both the conveyance trolleys 11 and 11 was illustrated, one conveyance trolley was shown. It is good also as a structure which sets the drive transmission part of two places before and behind the conveyance direction on the upper surface side of 11, and arrange | positions a drive body on the one conveyance trolley 11 by this.
The power shut-off mechanism 40 may be omitted. In this case, it is sufficient to omit the rotating disk 32 and directly fix the drive motor 32 to the drive body frame 23. When the power cut-off mechanism 40 is omitted, the operation arms 41 and 41, the detection arm 45, the detection rods 42 and 42, the sensors 46 and 46, and the like can be omitted.
The conveying device according to the present invention is not limited to a coating treatment process for automobile parts, but can be applied to various treatment processes for other articles. Therefore, the same effect can be obtained not only when reciprocating the plurality of transport carriages 11 to 11 but also when applied to a transport apparatus configured to reciprocate with a constant stroke of one transport carriage.

It is a side view of the drive unit periphery in the shuttle type conveying apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a side view of the drive unit periphery in the shuttle type conveying apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which looked at the drive part periphery of the conveying apparatus from the arrow (3) direction in FIG. It is the figure which looked at the drive part periphery of the conveying apparatus from the arrow (4) direction in FIG. It is a top view of a drive body. It is a top view of the drive transmission part of the conveyance direction front side. It is the side view which looked at the drive transmission part of the conveyance direction front side from the arrow (7) direction in FIG. It is a side view which shows the structure of the outline of a shuttle type conveying apparatus. It is a top view which shows the schematic structure of the drive part periphery of the conventional shuttle type conveying apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Conventional shuttle type conveying apparatus 1A, 1B, 1C ... Conveying cart 2A, 2B, 2C ... Processing tank 5 ... Hanger 6 ... Drive motor 7 ... Pinion gear 8 ... Rack 9 ... Pressing roller 10 ... Shuttle type conveying apparatus 11 ... Conveyance Dolly, 11a ... Wheel 12 ... Main frame 13 ... Guide rail 14 ... Drive transmission part (front side in transport direction)
14b ... elastic member (urethane rubber), 14c ... oil-containing plate (oilless plate)
15 ... Drive transmission part (rear side in conveyance direction)
15b ... elastic member (urethane rubber), 15c ... oil-containing plate (oilless plate)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Drive part 21 ... Drive body 24 ... Linear motion mechanism 25 ... Rack 30 ... Drive gear (pinion gear)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 31 ... Drive motor 32 ... Turntable 40 ... Power interruption mechanism 42 ... Compression spring 43 ... Detection rod 45 ... Detection arm 46 ... Sensor (limit switch)

Claims (3)

A shuttle-type transport device that reciprocally moves a plurality of transport carts connected to each other along a transport direction,
The drive unit for reciprocating the transport carriage has a rack and pinion mechanism using an electric motor as a drive source, and a long member straddling the plurality of transport carriages along the longitudinal direction. A pair of driving bodies supported on the main frame so as to be able to reciprocate along the transport direction, and a pair of two front and rear surfaces in the transport direction facing each other of the two transport carts adjacent to each other. Drive transmission part,
With the movement of the drive body, the drive transmission portions are respectively brought into contact with the front and rear end portions of the drive body so as to be relatively displaceable in the transport width direction perpendicular to the transport direction with the oil impregnated plate interposed therebetween. A transport apparatus configured to reciprocate the transport carriage in the transport direction. The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving body is supported on the main frame via a linear motion mechanism having a slide block that is slidably assembled to a long rail. The transport apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the oil-containing plate is attached to one or both of the end face of the drive body and the end face of the drive transmission unit with an elastic member interposed therebetween.

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