JPH03121716A - Method and device for transport of work - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make high speed transport of a work on a support roller by furnishing a strat conveyor which rotatably bear a support roller in a certain range of an endless chain set around, and providing a roller hold device consisting of a backing plate of resilient substance as capable of contacting and separating from the undersurface of the support roller. CONSTITUTION:A work is transported by a transport device equipped interiorly with a lifter table and fitted with a work attracting device on one side. This transport device consists of a start conveyor 17 wherein a support roller 15 is rotatably borne in the specified range of an endless chain 11 set around. In transporting the work by this transport device, the circumferential speed of the support roller 15 when it rotates on a backing plate 53 of resilient material is added to the running speed of the start conveyor 17 by pressing the backing plate 53 to the undersurface of the support roller 15. Thus the work is transported at as high a speed as near double.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a workpiece conveyance method and apparatus capable of conveying a workpiece at high speed.

(Prior art) Conventionally, the methods used to transport a workpiece include transporting the workpiece using a slat conveyor, lifting the workpiece using a vacuum pad and transporting the workpiece, or transporting the workpiece by gripping it with gripping claws. Ta.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, among the conventional workpiece conveyance methods described above, when a slat conveyor is used to convey the workpiece, there is a limit to the conveyor speed, for example, a speed of 50 m/
Since the workpiece was being transported at a speed of a+ln ~60 m/win, high-speed transport was impossible. Furthermore, when transporting a workpiece by lifting it with a vacuum pad or by holding it between gripping claws, the transport speed is even lower than the above-mentioned method, and in either case, there is a problem that the equipment cost is high and high-speed transport is not possible. Ta.

The purpose of this invention is to improve the above-mentioned problems by nearly doubling the conveying speed compared to the conventional system to enable high-speed operation.
An object of the present invention is to provide a workpiece conveyance method and device that achieves cost reduction and space saving.

[Structure of the Invention (Means for Solving the Problems)] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention conveys a workpiece using a slat conveyor in which a support roller is rotatably supported in a predetermined range of an endless chain. In this workpiece conveyance method, the workpiece is conveyed by bringing an elastic backing plate into contact with the lower surface of the support roller.

In addition, a workpiece conveyance device using the workpiece conveyance method described above is equipped with a lifter table inside and a workpiece suction device above one side. A workpiece conveyance device was constructed by including a rotatably supported slat conveyor and a roller holding device consisting of an elastic backing plate that can come into contact with and separate from the lower surface of the support roller.

(Function) By employing the workpiece conveyance method and device of the present invention, the workpiece is conveyed by the conveyance device which is provided with a lifter table inside and a workpiece suction device provided above one side. This conveyance device is composed of a slat conveyor that rotatably supports support rollers in a predetermined range of an endless chain.

When conveying a workpiece with this conveyance device, by abutting and suppressing an elastic backing plate on the lower surface of the support roller, the support roller rotates on the backing plate at the running speed of the slat conveyor. The workpiece is transported at nearly twice the speed when the circumferential speed of . Then,
High-speed transport of workpieces is possible.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

First, the overall configuration of the transport device will be schematically explained.

Referring to FIGS. 6 to 8, the workpiece conveyance device 1 includes:
A lifter table 5 is provided within the pedestal 3, and a workpiece W is loaded on the lid table 5, which can be raised and lowered by a drive member (not shown). Note that an optical axis runs diagonally at the lower part of the upper frame 7 of the gantry 3 to regulate the rising surface of the workpiece W loaded on the lifter table 5.
A slight descent end sensor 9 is provided.

An endless chain 11 is wound around the frame 3 via sprockets 13 arranged at a plurality of locations, and a support roller 15 is rotatably supported in a predetermined range of the endless chain 11 to constitute a slat conveyor 17. ing. This slat conveyor 17 is rotated forward and backward by a motor 19 via a drive member (not shown).

A fixed work suction device 21 is erected on one side (right side in FIG. 6) of the upper frame 7 of the pedestal 3.
The work suction device 21 is provided with vacuum cups 23 arranged at a plurality of locations so as to be movable up and down. Vacuum generator 2 that suctions and releases this vacuum cup 23
5 is provided on the upper frame 7, and a magnetic floater 27 and a two-piece pick-up device 29 are provided near the workpiece suction device 21. Further, a roller holding device 31 that can come into contact with and separate from the lower surface of the support roller 15 of the slat conveyor 17 is provided on one side (on the right side in FIG. 8) of the upper frame 7 of the pedestal 3.

With the above configuration, the workpiece W loaded on the lifter table 5 is lifted and stopped until the slight lowering end sensor 9 detects it. Next, one end of the workpiece W is lifted by the vacuum cup 23 of the workpiece suction device 21. Then, the support roller 15 of the slat conveyor 17 enters between the lifted works W, the suction of the vacuum cup 23 is released, and the slat conveyor 17 is rotated.
The workpiece W is transported. Further, by reversing the above-mentioned operation, the work W can be loaded on the lifter table 5, and further, the work W can be passed by the rotating operation of the slat conveyor 17.

The slat conveyor 17 will be explained in more detail.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 together, a rail 33 is provided on the upper frame 7 of the pedestal 3, and the endless chain 11 runs on this rail 33.

A roller shaft 35 of a support roller 15 is rotatably connected to the endless chain 11 via a joint 37, and the support roller 15 is provided in a predetermined range of the endless chain 11. The support roller 15 has three roller shells rotatably provided on the roller shaft 35 via bearings (not shown).

With the above configuration, the motor 19 and the slat conveyor 1
7 runs on rails 33, supports and conveys work W on support rollers 15. Note that the range where there is only the endless chain 11 and no support roller 15 is in an open state.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C, the support roller 15 has three standby positions.

FIG. 5(A) shows the case where the support roller 15 is on the pass line indicated by the line X-X, and FIG. 5(B) shows the case where the support roller 15 is not on the pass line and the upper part is open.
Figure 5 (C) shows half the support roller 1 on the pass line.
This is the case when there is 5. By configuring three standby positions, it is possible to pass the workpiece W, to carry out the workpiece W loaded on the lifter table 5, and to accumulate the workpieces W on the lifter table 5.

Next, the roller holding device 31, which is the main part of this embodiment and can freely come into contact with and separate from the support roller 15, will be explained in more detail.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, on the outer surface of one side (the right side in FIG. 8) of the upper frame 7 of the pedestal 3, there are hydraulically actuated cylinders 41 arranged at a plurality of locations. A link 45 serving as a driving link structure is engaged with the piston rod 43 of this cylinder 41 via a pin 47, and the link 45 is rotated via a pin 51 to a bearing member 49 fixed to the lower surface of the upper frame 7. Supported for free movement.

The other end of the link 45 is a supporting member 5 to which a patch plate 53 made of an elastic material such as urethane rubber is fixed.
It is rotatably supported via a pin 59 by a bar 57 that is engaged with the bar 5 .

Further, between the bar 57 provided on the support member 55 and the bearing member 49, a link 61 is provided with pins 63A, 63B.
are connected via. The total length of the backing plate 53 and the support member 55 in the longitudinal direction is set to be similar to the length of the horizontal portion of the slat conveyor 17.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, as a driven link mechanism, a bearing member 49 having the same shape as the four bearing members disposed at a plurality of locations and a support member 5 supporting the backing plate 53 are provided.
Two links 61 are connected via pins 63A and 63B between the same bar 57 as the bar 57 provided at 5, and keep the backing plate 53 parallel to each other for smooth rotational movement.

With the above configuration, by operating the hydraulic cylinder 41 and protruding the piston rod 43, the link 4
5 and link 61 cooperate to move the support member 55 supporting the backing plate 53 to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. In addition, the position indicated by the chain line in FIG. 2 indicates the standby position.

The backing plate 53 moves and presses the lower surface of the support roller 15. When the endless chain 11 is driven in this state, the support roller 15 rotates due to the frictional force with the backing plate 53.

Thus, the circumferential speed of the support roller 15 is added to the transfer speed of the endless chain 11, and the workpiece W on the support roller 15 can be transported at nearly double the speed.

As described above, the work W is transported, and the support rollers 15 provided on the endless chain 11 are
There are three standby positions as shown in A) to (C). That is, when carrying out the work W loaded on the lifter table 5, the standby position of the support roller 15 is as shown in FIG.
It is located in the position shown in B). In this state, the lift table 5 shown in FIG. 6 is raised to a predetermined position. Then, the workpiece W is suctioned by the vacuum cup 23 of the workpiece suction device 21, and when a slight rise in the axis of the vacuum cup 23 is detected by, for example, a photoelectric switch (not shown), the lifter table 5 is lowered.

As the lifter table 5 descends, a gap is created between the sucked workpiece W and the second workpiece W. The support roller 17 of the slat conveyor 17 is inserted into this gap, and the backing plate 53 of the work holding device 31 is pressed against the lower surface of the support roller 17 to drive the slat conveyor 17 and carry out the work W at high speed.

When the workpiece W is passed over the workpiece conveyance device 1, the standby position of the support roller 15 is at the position shown in FIG. 5(C). After confirming the entry of the workpiece W using, for example, a photoelectric sensor, the slat conveyor 17 is driven, and the roller holding device 31
is operated to transport the workpiece W at high speed.

Also, when loading the workpiece W onto the lifter table 5,
The standby position of the support roller 15 is at the position shown in FIG. 5(A), and supports the workpiece W.

The end of the workpiece W is attached to the workpiece suction device 21 shown in FIG.
The slat conveyor 17 is driven to retract the support roller 15. When the support roller 15 is completely retracted, the suction of the vacuum cup 23 is released, and the workpiece W is loaded onto the lifter table 5.

By arranging an appropriate number of the above-mentioned workpiece conveyance devices 1, a free line configuration is possible, and - cost and space savings can be achieved without providing separate devices for sheet taking, stacking, etc. can.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in other embodiments by making appropriate changes.

[Effects of the Invention] As can be understood from the above description of the embodiments, according to the present invention, by bringing an elastic backing plate into contact with the support roller of the slat conveyor, the running speed of the slat conveyor can be supported. Due to the frictional force between the roller and the backing plate, the circumferential speed at which the support roller rotates is taken into account, and the workpiece on the support roller is transported at nearly twice the speed.

As a result, high-speed conveyance is possible, productivity is improved, and costs and space can be saved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 3 show the main parts of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an enlarged view of the section viewed from the ■ arrow in FIG. 8, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is an enlarged explanatory view of a support roller implementing the present invention, and FIGS.
(C) is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the slat conveyor, and FIGS. 6 to 8 show a conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 6 is a front view, Figure 7 is a plan view of Figure 6, and Figure 8 is a front view.
The figure is a side view seen from the right side in FIG. 6. 1... Work conveyance device 5... Lifter table 11... Endless chain 15... Support roller 17... Slat conveyor 21... Work suction device 31... Roller holding device 53... Abutment board

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) When a workpiece is conveyed by a slat conveyor in which a support roller is rotatably supported in a predetermined range of an endless chain, an elastic backing plate is brought into contact with the lower surface of the support roller to prevent the conveyance of the workpiece. A workpiece conveyance method characterized by: (2) In a workpiece conveyance device that is equipped with a lifter table inside and a workpiece suction device installed above one side, a slat conveyor rotatably supports a support roller in a predetermined range of an endless chain that is wound around, and a A workpiece conveyance device comprising: a roller holding device consisting of an elastic backing plate that can come into contact with and separate from the bottom surface.