JP5972631B2 - Expansion / contraction conveyor - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an enlargement / reduction conveyor that enlarges or reduces the interval in the width direction of the articles while conveying the articles (conveyed objects) arranged at a predetermined interval in the direction (width direction) orthogonal to the conveyance direction.

A conveyor has been proposed in which goods (conveyed objects) are arranged and conveyed at a predetermined interval in a direction (width direction) perpendicular to the conveying direction, and the distance between the articles in the width direction is increased or reduced while conveying the articles. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
In the conveyor described in Patent Document 1, a pair of movable pieces are slidably attached to a plurality of connecting rods attached to a pair of endless chains, and a spring is passed through the connecting rods to connect to the movable pieces. The trochanter attached to the lower part of the movable piece is brought into contact with a trochanter guide having an expanded portion and a reduced portion of the conveying surface width. The spring is expanded or contracted by being expanded or contracted by the guide, and accordingly, the interval in the width direction (the axial direction of the connecting rod) between the transported objects placed on the spring is increased or decreased. It can be done.

  However, since both ends of the connecting rod with the movable piece and the spring are attached to the endless chain, when the movable piece or the spring needs maintenance, the connecting rod must be removed from the endless chain. However, there was no structure corresponding to them, and there were many problems in assembly productivity.

JP 2001-3229 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide an expansion / contraction conveyor capable of easily performing maintenance such as assembly productivity and replacement of constituent members.

In order to achieve the above object, the expansion / contraction conveyor of the present invention spans a pair of left and right rotating belts provided on a pedestal, and rotates the guide pipes at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction of the rotating belts via pipe mounting members. The two guide pipes are set as a pair, and a pair of left and right sliders are slidably attached between the two guide pipes, and the shaft of the guide pipe is interposed between the pair of left and right sliders. The both sides of the support member that can extend and contract in the direction and can support the object to be conveyed are engaged, and guide pins are provided on the lower surface of the slider so that the guide pins are endlessly rotated. The guide pipe is in contact with the side surface of the expansion / contraction guide disposed between the forward path side and the return path side of the moving guide pipe, and the pipe mounting member is mounted at regular intervals in the circumferential direction of the rotation band, Mating guide pipe Is composed of a pipe mounting block with receiving cylinder unit for lifting the pipe mounting block is characterized in that is connected detachably to the upper surface of the joint holder.
The rotation band may be any of a non-stretchable timing belt (toothed belt), a chain, and the like, and a guide pipe is installed on the pair of left and right rotation bands via a pipe mounting member.
The support member described above may be any member that can expand and contract in the width direction of the conveyor and can support and convey the object to be conveyed. For example, a coil spring (tensile, compression), a stretchable rubber flat Any of a strip, a strip having a substantially U-shaped cross-section that can be placed on the guide pipe, and a semi-circular cross-sectional shape may be used. In short, it is only necessary that the distance in the width direction between the objects to be conveyed supported on the mounting member is changed by the expansion and contraction of the mounting member.

  The pipe attachment member may have a one-piece structure, but is composed of a joint holder attached at regular intervals in the circumferential direction of the rotation band, and a pipe attachment block provided with a receiving tube portion that fits and supports the guide pipe. The pipe mounting block may have a two-piece structure detachably connected to the upper surface of the joint holder. In the case of a two-piece structure, assembly productivity can be improved and maintenance can be easily performed.

  The slider includes a slide block that is inserted between two guide pipes and is slidably supported, and a spring mounting block that is slidably fitted to the two guide pipes sandwiching the slide block. The guide block is attached to the slide block, and the end portion in the width direction of the support member is attached to the spring mounting block. The structure is to be engaged.

  Further, the spring mounting block constituting the slider is a tapered portion whose diameter increases from the side end facing the end portion of the support member to the opposite end, so that the taper portion of the support member has the taper portion. By screwing and engaging the end of the coil spring, the coil spring of the mounting member can be easily engaged with the slider.

  Further, a drawer for collecting fallen objects falling from the gap between the guide pipes may be detachably attached between the forward path side and the return path side of the endlessly rotating guide pipe.

  The expansion / contraction conveyor of this invention can provide the expansion / contraction conveyor which can perform maintenance, such as assembly productivity and replacement | exchange of a structural member, easily.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is an external view which shows an example of embodiment of the expansion / contraction conveyor which concerns on this invention, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a side view. (A) is an enlarged plan view of a state where the slider is moved to the maximum width, and (b) is an enlarged plan view of a state where the slider is moved to a position where the slider changes from the maximum width to the narrow direction. (A) is sectional drawing which follows the (X)-(X) line of Fig.2 (a), (b) is sectional drawing which follows the (Y)-(Y) line | wire of FIG.2 (b). (A) is an expanded side view which shows the attachment structure of a rotation zone and a pipe attachment member, (b) is an expanded sectional view which follows the (Z)-(Z) line | wire of Fig.2 (a). The enlarged plan view which shows the engagement state of the guide pin of a slider and the expansion / contraction guide. An example of mounting a coil spring (mounting member) to a slider is shown, (a) is an example of mounting the end of the coil spring into the spring mounting block of the slider, and (b) is a spring mounting of the end of the coil spring. Example of mounting on a block. The partial expanded sectional view which shows the attachment structure of a drawer. The top view which shows the conveyance state of a to-be-conveyed object.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of an expansion and contraction conveyor according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an external view of an expansion / contraction conveyor, and the expansion / contraction conveyor A includes a pair of rotation bands 2 and 2 ′ that rotate endlessly on a gantry 1, and the rotation bands 2 and 2 across the rotation bands 2 and 2 ′ on the left and right. A guide pipe 4 attached at equal intervals through the pipe attachment member 3 along the circumferential direction of 'and a pair of left and right sliders 5 that are slidably fitted to the guide pipe 4 and have a guide pin 6 suspended from below. , 5 'and a mounting member 7 disposed between the left and right sliders 5, 5' and fitted to the guide pipe 4 to engage the end portions in the axial direction with the sliders 5, 5 '. The left and right sliders 5 and 5 'are constituted by an expansion / contraction guide 8 for guiding and guiding the sliders 5 and 5' in the width direction along the axial direction of the guide pipe.

The gantry 1 is composed of a leg portion 1a having a predetermined height and a pair of conveyor frames 1b and 1b ′ arranged to face each other at a predetermined interval above the leg portion 1a. A drive shaft 9 having a drive sprocket 9a is provided on one side in the longitudinal direction of the pair of conveyor frames 1b and 1b ', and a driven shaft 9' having a driven sprocket 9b is rotatably mounted on the other side. The drive shaft 9 is supported and rotated by a drive mechanism 10. Further, endless rotating bands 2 and 2 'are wound around the drive sprocket 9a and the driven sprocket 9b.
The drive mechanism 10 includes an electric motor and a known power transmission mechanism (gear train, belt transmission, chain transmission, etc.) that transmits the rotation of the electric motor to the drive shaft 9.

  The rotating belts 2 and 2 'are composed of a synthetic resin timing belt (single toothed belt), and guide pipes 4 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction via pipe mounting members 3 on the left and right timing belts. Are installed in parallel.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (a), the pipe mounting member 3 includes a joint holder 3a that is mounted at a constant pitch (tooth formation position) in the circumferential direction of the rotating belts (timing belts) 2 and 2 ′. It is comprised by the two members of the pipe attachment block 3b bolted on the joint holder 3a.
As shown in FIG. 3, the joint holder 3a is formed of a synthetic resin material in a plate shape having a length straddling the width direction of the rotation bands 2 and 2 ′, and the rotation is provided on both sides in the length direction of one side surface thereof. Protrusions 11a and 11b constituting the insertion groove 12 into which the bands 2 and 2 'are inserted are formed to protrude. And since the convex parts 11a and 11b which comprise the insertion groove | channel 12 attach and detach this joint holder 3a with respect to the rotation bands 2 and 2 ', the groove | channel of one convex part 11a is the abbreviation of the groove | channel of the other convex part 11b. It is formed twice as deep. Thereby, in a state where the rotation bands 2 and 2 ′ are sandwiched between the convex portions 11a and 11b, the rotation bands 2 and 2 ′ and the joint holder 3a can move relative to each other in the width direction of the rotation bands 2 and 2 ′. It becomes. Therefore, in order to fix and hold the joint holder 3a so as not to move with respect to the rotary bands 2 and 2 ′, the joint holder 3a is inserted after the rotary bands 2 and 2 ′ are inserted into the convex portion 11a forming a deep groove. A fixed bracket is inserted from the outside of 3a so as to fill an extra space. The method for fixing the joint holder 3a so as not to move with respect to the rotary bands 2 and 2 ′ is not limited to the insertion method of the fixed bracket, and for example, the same material as the joint holder 3a is used in the extra space. A resin material may be inserted and ultrasonic welding may be performed.

  Further, the insertion groove formed by the convex portions 11a and 11b is a groove into which a tooth portion of the rotation bands 2 and 2 ′ is inserted, whereby the joint holder 3a is circumferentially arranged with respect to the rotation bands 2 and 2 ′. It is configured not to move to. The convex portions 11a and 11b have widths that do not hinder the rotation of the rotation bands 2 and 2 'with respect to the drive sprocket 9a and the driven sprocket 9b. Engagement with the edge prevents the rotation bands 2 and 2 'from being detached from the drive sprocket 9a and the driven sprocket 9b.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the pipe mounting block 3b has a flat plate shape made of a synthetic resin material that is longer than the lateral width of the joint holder 3a. The cylinder part 13 is comprised integrally. The pipe mounting block 3b is joined and mounted on the upper surface of the joint holder 3a, and is connected and fixed with bolts to be integrated.

The guide pipe 4 is composed of a metal (stainless steel) pipe, and a receiving tube portion formed on a pipe mounting block 3b of a pipe mounting member 3 mounted on the pair of left and right rotating bands 2, 2 ′ at a constant pitch. 13 is supported by fitting.
And, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 (b), the guide pipe 4 laid in parallel at a constant pitch across the pair of left and right rotating bands 2, 2 ′ that rotate endlessly is a set of two. A pair of left and right sliders 5, 5 ′ are slidably mounted between the two guide pipes, and can be extended and retracted between the left and right sliders 5, 5 ′. A support member 7 is disposed, and an end portion of the support member 7 is engaged with the sliders 5 and 5 '.
The guide pipe 4 slides and guides the pair of left and right sliders 5 and 5 ′ in the width direction, and the mounting member 7 attached between the left and right sliders 5 and 5 ′ hangs down under its own weight. The support member 7 has a function of supporting the mounting member 7 substantially horizontally.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sliders 5 and 5 ′ include a slide block 5a inserted between two guide pipes 4 and 4 and supported so as to be slidable, and the slide block 5a. A spring mounting block 5b slidably fitted to the two guide pipes 4 and 4 sandwiched therebetween, and a connecting metal fitting 5c for connecting and integrating the slide block 5a and the two spring mounting blocks 5b. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the slide block 5a is formed in a rectangular shape by a synthetic resin material, and the surface of the outer peripheral surface facing the peripheral surface of the pair of guide pipes 4, 4 is A concave curved surface that matches the curved surface of the guide pipes 4 and 4 is formed. As a result, when inserted between the two guide pipes 4, 4, the slide block 5 a is prevented from rotating by the curved surface engagement with the guide pipes 4, 4. It is slidably supported. And the guide pin 6 engaged with the expansion / contraction guide 8 mentioned later is droopingly projected by the lower surface center of this slide block 5a.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the spring mounting block 5b is formed in a short pipe shape that can be fitted to the guide pipe 4 by a synthetic resin material, and a mounting member 7 described later on one side portion in the axial direction thereof. A taper portion 14 is formed to engage the end portion of the coil spring. Further, an annular groove 15 is formed on the other side portion in the axial direction so that a connecting fitting 5c connected to the slide block 5a described later can be hooked and engaged. A spiral groove for facilitating the screwing engagement of the coil spring (mounting member) 7 may be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the tapered portion 14.

  The connecting metal fitting 5c is formed by bending a rectangular metal plate in a plan view into a substantially L shape to form a horizontal piece 16 and a vertical piece 17, and the horizontal piece 16 is placed on the upper surface of the slide block 5a. The tip of the vertical piece 17 that is bolted and bends substantially perpendicularly downward from the tip of the horizontal piece 16 is formed in a shape that can be fitted and engaged with the annular groove 15 of the spring mounting block 5b. . As a result, the spring mounting block 5b fitted to the slide block 5a and the set of two guide pipes 4 and 4 is connected by the connecting fitting 5c, and is slidable along the guide pipe.

The support member 7 described above is composed of an expandable / contractible tension coil spring having an inner diameter that can be slidably fitted to the outside of the guide pipe 4 installed over the pair of left and right rotation bands 2 and 2 '. Both end portions of the tension coil spring are engaged with spring mounting blocks 5b in the pair of left and right sliders 5 and 5 '. Thereby, the tension coil spring constituting the mounting member 7 expands and contracts in the axial direction by sliding the pair of left and right sliders 5 and 5 ′ inward and outward along the guide pipe 4, and as a result. The distance in the lateral direction between the objects to be conveyed W mounted on the tension coil spring can be varied. The tension coil spring used as the mounting member 7 has a tension, length, etc. so that when a tensile force (or an opposite contraction force) acts on both side ends, the entire tension coil spring expands and contracts substantially uniformly. Is selected.
Further, when the mounting member 7 is constituted by a tension coil spring, the sliders 5 and 5 'are biased in a direction in which the guide pin 6 comes into contact with an outer surface of the expansion / contraction guide 8 described later by the tension of the tension coil spring, Sliding along the expansion / contraction guide is performed stably.
The structure in which the end of the tension coil spring (mounting member) 7 is engaged with the spring mounting block 5b is fixed to the peripheral surface of the spring mounting block 5b as shown in FIG. 6B. In addition, the end of the tension coil spring 7 may be hooked on the pin 19.
The bearing member described above is not limited to a tension coil spring, and a compression coil spring can be used. In this case, a guide for a pair of left and right sliders 5 and 5 ′ biased by the tension (compression force) of the compression coil spring. The pin 6 is brought into contact with the inner surface of the expansion / contraction guide 8 described later.

  The pair of left and right sliders 5, 5 ′ are moved from the start side to the end side in the transport direction between the pair of left and right rotation bands 2, 2 ′ (specifically, between the left and right pipe mounting members 3, 3). As shown in FIG. 5, the expansion / contraction guide 8 that guides and guides the outer side in the width direction (or the inner side in the width direction) of the guide pipe 4 that rotates a rod-like object such as a square or an L-shaped member endlessly, as shown in FIG. Between the forward path side and the return path side, it is located closer to the forward path side and is arranged in a substantially eight shape (left-right symmetric shape) in plan view. The guide pins 6 of the sliders 5, 5 ′ are in contact with and engaged with the outer surface of the expansion / contraction guide 8. When a compression coil spring is used as the mounting member 7 attached between the pair of left and right sliders 5 and 5 ′, the guide pins 6 of the sliders 5 and 5 ′ are brought into contact with the inner surface of the expansion / contraction guide 8. The expansion / contraction guide 8 needs to be arranged in consideration of that amount.

Further, a drawer 18 for collecting fallen objects falling from a gap between the guide pipes 4 is positioned below the expansion / contraction guide 8 between the forward path side and the return path side of the guide pipe 4 that rotates endlessly. It is provided in the side surface of the frames 1b and 1b 'so that it can be taken in and out.
The drawer 18 is approximately half the machine length of the conveyor frame 1b, is formed to be approximately half the width of the conveyor, and is attached to the left and right side surfaces of the conveyor frame 1b so that it can be inserted and removed in parallel. .
In the figure, 20 is a carry-in conveyor connected to the carry-in side of the expansion / contraction conveyor A, and 20 'is a discharge conveyor connected to the discharge side.

  In the expansion / contraction conveyor A shown in the above embodiment, by driving the drive mechanism 10, the pair of left and right rotation bands 2, 2 'rotate endlessly, and thereby the pipe attachment member 3 is attached to the rotation bands 2, 2'. Accordingly, the guide pipe 4 installed at a constant pitch in the circumferential direction is also rotated endlessly. A pair of left and right sliders 5 and 5 'slidably inserted between each pair of guide pipes 4 as a set of two guide pipes 4 are provided so as to project below the sliders 5 and 5'. Since the pin 6 is in contact with the outer surface of the expansion / contraction guide 8, the pair of left and right sliders 5 and 5 'are slid in the width direction of the conveyor. The tension coil spring of the attached mounting member 7 is expanded or contracted. Accordingly, the object to be conveyed W placed in a horizontal row on the tension coil spring of the above-described bearing member 7 has an increased interval between the objects to be conveyed due to the extension of the above-mentioned bearing member (tensile coil spring) 7. Due to the contraction of the (tensile coil spring) 7, the interval between the articles W to be conveyed becomes narrow.

  Then, a pair of left and right sliders 5 and 5 ′ are arranged on a set of two guide pipes 4, and mounting members (tensions) respectively attached to the two guide pipes 4 of the same set by the left and right sliders. In order to expand and contract the coil spring 7), the two mounting members 7 of the same group expand and contract synchronously. Therefore, when the size of the object to be transported is a size that can only be placed on a pair of guide pipes, the two support members (tensile coil springs) 7 constituting the set are expanded and contracted in synchronization. The instability of the expansion / contraction operation due to the variation of the expansion / contraction operation when the support member (tensile coil spring) 7 expands / contracts can be eliminated. Therefore, a stable expansion / contraction operation can be obtained in a small area.

  In addition, since two guide pipes 4 are used as one set, and a pair of left and right sliders are arranged between the guide pipes, parts and mechanisms for preventing rotation and linearly guiding in the axial direction when a slider is attached to each guide pipe. This eliminates the need for cost reduction, and the structure can be simplified, greatly contributing to maintenance and cleaning.

The expansion / contraction conveyor of the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
(1) In the embodiment, the pipe attachment member for attaching the guide pipe to the pair of left and right rotating belts is composed of two members (joint holder and pipe attachment block). It is good also as a structure which integrated the block.
(2) In the embodiment, the coil spring is used as the mounting member, and the coil spring is fitted to the guide pipe. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Belt), and the flat belt (belt) is arranged on a slider line disposed between a pair of guide pipes, or a belt having a semicircular cross section that can be stretched over the guide pipe (belt). ) Etc.
(3) In the embodiment, as a method for engaging the coil spring of the mounting member to the slider, an example is shown in which a spring mounting block is provided on the slider and screwed into the spring mounting block. For example, the end of the coil spring may be hooked on a bolt or the like attached to the slider.
(4) In the embodiment, an example in which two drawers are attached to the left and right conveyor frames has been shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, one drawer having substantially the same length as the captain is provided on the left and right conveyor frames. The size and number of drawers are arbitrary, such as mounting.
(5) In the embodiment, an example in which the pair of left and right sliders are brought into contact with the expansion / contraction guide by the tensile force generated by the expansion and contraction of the mounting member is not limited to this. For example, the pipe attachment member and the slider A compression spring or the like may be mounted between the sliders, and the slider may be urged in a direction in contact with the expansion / contraction guide by the elastic force of the compression spring.
(6) In the embodiment, a rod-shaped example is shown as the expansion / contraction guide, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a structure including a groove for guiding a guide pin provided on the slider may be used.

A ... Expansion / contraction conveyor 1 ... Base 2, 2 '... Rotating belt 3 ... Pipe mounting member 3a ... Joint holder 3b ... Pipe mounting block 4 ... Guide pipe 5,5' ... Slider 5a ... Slide block 5b ... Spring mounting block 5c ... Link Metal fitting 6 ... Guide pin 7 ... Bearing member 8 ... Expansion / contraction guide 18 ... Drawer W ... Conveyed object

Claims (5)

A guide pipe is laid in parallel with a predetermined interval along the circumferential direction of the rotation band through a pipe mounting member over a pair of left and right rotation bands provided on the pedestal and rotating endlessly. A pair of left and right sliders is slidably mounted between the two guide pipes as a set, and can be extended and contracted in the axial direction of the guide pipes between the pair of left and right sliders, and supports the object to be conveyed. And a guide pin projectingly provided on the lower surface of the slider between the forward path side and the return path side of the guide pipe rotating endlessly. A pipe that is in contact with the side surface of the arranged expansion / contraction guide, and wherein the pipe attachment member includes a joint holder attached at a constant interval in the circumferential direction of the rotation band, and a receiving cylinder portion that fits and supports the guide pipe It consists of a mounting block. Is the scaling conveyor pipe mounting block is characterized in that it is connected detachably to the upper surface of the joint holder. 2. The expansion / contraction conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the support member is a coil spring having an inner diameter that can be fitted to the guide pipe. The slider includes a slide block that is inserted between two guide pipes and is slidably supported; a spring mounting block that is slidably fitted to the two guide pipes sandwiching the slide block; The guide block is attached to the slide block, and the end portion in the width direction of the support member is related to the spring attachment block. 3. The expansion / contraction conveyor according to claim 2, wherein the expansion / contraction conveyor is worn. The spring mounting block constituting the slider includes a taper portion whose diameter increases from a side end facing the end portion of the support member to the opposite end, and the end of the coil spring of the support member is provided on the taper portion. 4. The expansion / contraction conveyor according to claim 3, wherein the portion is screwed and engaged. 5. The drawer for collecting fallen objects falling from the gap between the guide pipes is detachably attached between the forward path side and the return path side of the guide pipe that rotates endlessly. The expansion / contraction conveyor of Claim 1.

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