JP6213919B2 - 3D transport device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a conveyance body capable of moving an article in an arbitrary three-dimensional manner and an arbitrary three-dimensional conveyance device using the same.

  For example, in the process of manufacturing factory products ranging from canned juice, confectionery, foods such as milk, vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens, household appliances such as washing machines, passenger cars, trucks, etc. The need to move to a place is high. In general, a device is used such as a belt conveyor that rotates a ring-shaped belt with a motor and carries items and luggage on the belt.

  There is means for moving an article using a roller. It is necessary to always support both ends of the roller, and it is necessary to rotate at least one roller by a motor as in the belt conveyor. Since the belt conveyor and the rollers are two-dimensional horizontal and vertical two-dimensional conveyance systems, it is necessary to combine them in the conveyance system in order to convey the article.

  In Patent Document 1, horizontal belt conveyors are lined up to move an article in an oblique lateral direction. Guides and spacers are provided for smooth movement. In Patent Document 2, an article is moved three-dimensionally by combining a vertical belt conveyor and a horizontal belt conveyor. Their arrangement is devised so that articles can move smoothly from a vertical belt conveyor to a horizontal belt conveyor.

  In patent document 3, the example which conveys articles | goods using a roller conveyor is shown. The articles are moved in the horizontal direction by using a plurality of roller conveyors and continuously changing the dimensions of the rollers.

  In patent document 4, the example of a hanger conveyor is shown. By hanging an article from a continuous rail and suspended from a transport body, three-dimensional transport is possible. In a hanger conveyor, it is limited to the conveyance of a small lightweight article.

  Patent Document 5 shows an example of rail-type linear conveyance. Three-dimensional conveyance is possible by placing an article on a conveyance body connected to a continuous rail.

  In patent document 6, although it is a roller conveyor fundamentally, arrangement | positioning on the horizontal surface or vertical surface of a roller is devised, and the three-dimensional conveyance line is formed.

  JP-A-61-188321   Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-016888   Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-31816   Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-018221   JP 2002-046848 A   Registered Utility Model No. 3058596

Problems to be solved by the invention

  As can be said with all cited patent documents, even a three-dimensional transport line is only a combination of a plurality of transport systems, and a horizontal two-dimensional and a vertical two-dimensional transport system are combined in one system construction. A function is required. For example, a horizontal material transfer system cannot be used for vertical conveyance, and a current situation is that a vertical conveyance system having a completely different motion system must be inserted or combined. Also, these individual transport system connections may require additional functions, such as sensors, as well as mechanical systems that ensure smooth transfer of materials.

  At present, there are many restrictions on the transfer line, and the transfer line itself becomes large-scale. For example, it occupies the floor of the factory, and the transfer line design is governed by the shape of the factory site. If a transfer line can be installed in any direction in three dimensions, products can be transported from the start point to the end point in the shortest possible distance, and multiple floors can be combined with a single transfer line. Therefore, it is possible to design a high-rise building type transfer line.

  In the current transport body, the rail, belt, and roller functions also carry the load burden and the transport system guide function. Therefore, even in the system for transporting lightweight goods, the rails, belts, and rollers are included in all transport lines. Is arranged. If these are placed on the entire transport line, the dead load will be increased accordingly, and the supporting columns and foundations will become large. By minimizing the guide function of the transport body, such as where the transport line changes horizontally or vertically, and eliminating rails, belts, and rollers that support articles etc., the cost of transport body equipment can be greatly reduced. .

  In a transportation system using a belt or a roller that occupies most of the current transportation system, about half of the entire transportation line is used only for closing, and cannot be used for transportation and is in a no-load state. If the transfer line can be designed only with the line for actually loading the load, a significant cost reduction of the transfer facility can be expected.

Means for solving the problem

In order to achieve the above object, the article transport apparatus according to the present invention has a plurality of transport bodies on which the object to be transported is placed and a state in which the plurality of transport bodies have a single closed three- dimensional chain structure. In an article conveying apparatus including a metal fitting for connecting the conveyance bodies and a driving device for supplying power to the conveyance bodies, the metal fittings arranged between the adjacent conveyance bodies are respectively adjacent to the conveyance bodies. A pair of connection fittings each having a through-hole having an axial direction in the vertical direction and a rod-shaped body having an axial direction in the vertical direction and inserted into the through-hole to connect the pair of connection fittings The pair of connecting fittings are rotatably arranged around the axial direction of the directional fitting, and the directional fitting is swiveled around the extending direction of the plurality of transport bodies connected to each other. The metal fitting is made possible Characterized in that it comprises.

Effect of the invention

  According to the present invention, there is provided a three-dimensional article conveying apparatus that supports a conveying system with a minimum number of support points, forms a single closed arbitrary three-dimensional chain structure, and can be advanced in an arbitrary direction. be able to.

  1 shows a basic structure of a three-dimensional transport device and a driving device according to the present invention.   The structure which connects conveyance bodies is shown.   The other example of the structure which connects conveyance bodies is shown.   The example of a conveyance body and a support rail is shown.   The conveyance line shows a state of turning left in the horizontal plane and a preparation state of falling in the vertical plane.   A state in which the conveyance line is lowered in the vertical plane and is shifted to a horizontal straight line is shown.   The guide rail with a groove | channel which is one method when changing a conveyance line up and down in a vertical surface is shown.   1 shows a general belt conveyor having a conventional transport structure.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the three-dimensional transport apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The following are examples for realizing the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention to the following embodiments.
The three-dimensional transport apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “transport apparatus 1”) according to the present embodiment is configured by joining the transport bodies 3 on which the objects to be transported 2 are mounted with metal fittings 4 as shown in FIG. One closed loop 5 is formed. By supporting this loop with the minimum support point 7 and moving it at a constant speed via the driving device 6, the object to be conveyed 2 can be moved from one point to another. The feature of the present invention is that the conveyance line is one closed loop. Therefore, when considering a simple loop that reciprocates in a two-dimensional plane, it is necessary to change the traveling direction to at least two places on the left and right. It is sufficient if there is a support point at the position.

  The drive device, for example, attaches a speed reducer to the motor 61 to drive the shaft to which the gear 62 is attached, and meshes with the gear 63 of the axle of the transport body 3 so that the transport body 3 continues in the horizontal direction at a constant speed. Can move.

  The present invention is characterized in that a minimum number of support points that can support the loop 5 and the object to be conveyed are sufficient, and the number of support points is determined by the weight of the loop and the object to be conveyed, and is moved left and right and raised and lowered. The number of movements affects.

  The connection between the conveyance bodies 3 before and after the traveling direction will be described with reference to FIG. Connecting metal fittings 41 and 42 and a directional metal fitting 43 are joined together as a pair of transport bodies 3 positioned in front and rear. The directional fitting 43 has a structure in which the head 431 is fitted into the groove of the guide 9 shown in FIG. 7 when moving up and down. In order for the head 431 to smoothly move along the guide 9, wheels 432 are installed on the head 431 on the surface in contact with the guide 9. When traveling straight in the horizontal direction, the directional bracket 43 faces the vertical direction.

  As can be seen from FIG. 1, in the present invention, straight travel is important, and the portion through which the directional fitting 43 penetrates the connecting fittings 41 and 42 in FIG. 44 is attached. Since the swinging can be prevented when the conveyance body goes straight, the straightness of the conveyance body can be improved.

  In FIG. 2, in order to connect the two transport bodies 3 positioned at the front and rear, the side plates of the transport body 3 are perforated and the connection fittings 41 and 42 are attached, but the connection fittings 41 and 42 are around the holes in the side plates. In order to rotate smoothly, a radial bearing (not shown) may be attached around the hole of the carrier 3 and a rotary damper or a disk damper (not shown) may be attached as necessary to prevent the carrier from swinging.

  In FIG. 3, another proposal of the metal fitting which connects the conveyance bodies 3 is shown. When the contact portions of the connection fittings 45 and 46 are viewed from the side, they are fitted into a wedge shape. As a measure for improving the straight running stability of the transport body 3, a fixing bracket 47 incorporating a spring spring 472 is attached to the directional bracket 48 in a portion where the connecting brackets 45, 46 are overlapped and the directional bracket 48 is penetrated. Is sandwiched between. The mainspring spring 472 has an effect of returning to the straight traveling direction when the fittings 45 and 46 are displaced in the two-dimensional plane, such as the horizontal direction change section shown in FIG.

  When the connection fittings 45 and 46 are misaligned in the two-dimensional plane, the wedge-shaped portion where the connection fittings meet is raised. It is necessary to hold it up and down with the fixture 47. It is preferable to attach a ball bearing (not shown) on the side of the fixing bracket 47 between the fixing bracket 47 and the connection brackets 45 and 46 in order to reduce friction. In this method, the connection fittings 45 and 46 are changed from surface contact to point contact during left-right movement, and a bending force is generated on both shafts 45 and 46. One method for eliminating this is shown on the right side of FIG.

  A leaf spring is attached to the center of each of the connection fittings 45 and 46, and the connection fittings 45 and 46 have rigidity capable of maintaining a straight line when the transport body 3 travels in a straight line. As described in [0026], when a bending force is generated on both the shafts 45 and 46, the leaf spring 49 is bent so that the bending force does not reach the connecting portion between the both shafts 45 and 46 and the transport body 3. doing.

  In FIG. 4, the detail of the conveyance body 3 and a support rail is shown. The transported body 2 is suspended or placed, depending on the transport mode. The suspension mold is 31 and the placement mold is 3. As described above, the support point 7 is installed to support the weight of the transport body and the transported object. For general parts, horizontal plates and short rails are sufficient. In the plane curve portion and the vertical change section shown in FIG. 5, rails for supporting the carrier are used. A hanging type 71 and a floor-mounted type 72 are illustrated. These support points may be installed so as not to interfere with the direction fitting 43.

  A mechanism for changing the traveling direction of the carrier 3 will be described with reference to FIG. In the transport apparatus of the present invention, the transport line itself can change the traveling direction left and right or up and down. First, a case where the traveling direction is changed left and right in the two-dimensional plane will be described.

  When the directional bracket 43 shown in FIG. 2 is vertically oriented, the left and right movements of the transport body are free. Therefore, by installing a rail including the support point 7 on the transport line as shown in FIG. The traveling direction of the succeeding transport body 3 can be changed in a plane by the wheels 8 of the transport body 3 being restrained by the rails or by the movement of the preceding transport body.

  Next, the case where the traveling direction is changed up and down will be described with reference to FIGS. In order to change the traveling direction up and down, it is necessary to orient the directional bracket 43 in the horizontal direction. Using the rain gutter-shaped guide 9 having a quarter cross section shown in FIG. The guide 9 is installed in the upper part of the conveyance body 3 in the vertical direction change preparation section of FIG. 5, and a recess is formed so that the head of the directional fitting 43 can be fitted. Since the position of the dent gradually changes from the upper part to the horizontal position, the directional fitting 43 moves in the horizontal direction as the conveyance body advances.

  When the directional fitting 43 is oriented completely in the horizontal direction, the change in the vertical direction of the transport body 3 can be started. In the vertical direction change section of FIG. 6, an example of a downward direction change is shown. By installing a rail 72 in the direction change section and adjusting the height of the support point, a downward force is always applied to the transport body 3 by its own weight, so that the transport body 3 is lowered to a predetermined height. be able to. On the other hand, in order to raise the position of the transport body 3, the height of the support point may be gradually increased.

  After the position of the transport body 3 is lowered, the direction fitting 43 needs to be directed in the vertical direction in order to move straight in the horizontal plane. This will be described with reference to FIG. In the direction metal fitting changing section of FIG. 6, the direction metal fitting 43 can be directed from the horizontal direction to the vertical direction using the guide 91 in the reverse manner as described in [0032].

  When the vertical direction change section is short, it is sufficient to change the direction in the vertical plane as described in [0032] to [0034]. However, when the vertical direction change section is long, it is linearly moved diagonally upward or downward. In this case, by directing the directional metal fitting 43 in the vertical direction as described in [0033], it is not necessary to install the rail that supports the straight section of the inclined portion and the support body 72 that supports the rail. However, it is necessary to install twice the direction bracket change section. Which method should be selected may be determined from the movement distance in the vertical plane.

  By combining the changes in the left and right direction and the change in the vertical direction that have been described so far as needed, a three-dimensional transfer device can be configured, and the object to be transferred can be freely moved to the desired position. It becomes.

  When it is necessary to transport all products from one position to another, the transfer line can be freely formed with the minimum equipment, so that the transfer cost can be minimized. For example, by bringing the raw material carry-in port and the finished product carry-out port close to each other, it is possible to place the object to be carried on the carrying body located on the entire loop. In addition, since all the floors of a multi-story building can be connected with a single loop, it is easy to design a high-rise factory and a high-rise distribution system, and the site area can be greatly saved. Since the installation of the transport system is not governed by the site shape, it is easy to install a large-scale transport system even in a metropolitan area.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Three-dimensional conveying apparatus 2 To-be-conveyed object 3 Overlay type conveyance body 31 Hanging type conveyance body 4 Metal fittings 41 and 42 Connection metal fitting 43 Direction metal fitting 431 Head of direction metal fitting 432 Wheel of direction metal fitting part 44 Plate spring 45 and 46 Connection metal fitting (Another plan)
47 Fixing bracket 472 Mainspring spring 48 Directional bracket (another plan)
481 Directional bracket head (another plan)
482 Directional bracket wheel (another plan)
49 Leaf spring 5 Three-dimensional loop 6 Drive device 61 Motor 62 Gear 7 Support body 71 Support body (suspended type)
72 Support (mounted type)
8 Carriage wheel 9 Guide (For moving direction brackets, vertical to horizontal)
91 Guide (For moving direction brackets, horizontal to vertical)

Claims (4)

A plurality of transport bodies on which a transported object is placed, a metal fitting that connects the transport bodies in a state where the plurality of transport bodies have a single closed three- dimensional chain structure, and power to the transport bodies In an article conveying device comprising a driving device for supplying,
The metal fittings disposed between the adjacent conveyance bodies are installed on each of the adjacent conveyance bodies and have a pair of connecting metal fittings each having a through hole whose axial direction is the vertical direction, and the vertical direction is the axial direction. It has a directional fitting that is composed of a rod-shaped body and is inserted into the through-hole to connect the pair of connecting fittings,
A pair of the connection fittings is rotatably arranged around the axial direction of the directional fitting, and the fitting is configured to be able to turn the directional fitting about the extending direction of the plurality of transport bodies to be connected. article carrying apparatus, characterized in that it comprises. The article conveyance device according to claim 1, further comprising a guide that extends along an extending direction of the plurality of the conveyance bodies and guides an end portion of the direction metal fitting to turn the direction metal fitting . An article carrying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 is supported lifting a plurality of said carrier at least at two or more points of support of the state to be the 3-dimensional chain structure. In the state where the axial direction of the directional fitting is set to the up-down direction, the plurality of transfer bodies are caused to perform either a left movement or a right movement, and in a state where the axial direction of the directional fitting is set to the horizontal direction , The article conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the article conveying apparatus is configured to perform either ascending or descending.