JPH0375453B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention is applicable to, for example, when transporting a coil made of a long thin steel plate in a steelworks, the coil placed on a conveyor truck is stored in front of the conveyor. This invention relates to a cart traction device for a shuttle conveyor that absorbs the imbalance in processing capacity between the front and rear equipment connected to the conveyor and smooths out the work.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, as a conveyor for transferring coils in a steelworks, there are two methods: one in which the coil is placed directly on a conveyor chain, and the other in which a cart carrying the coil is directly pulled by the chain. However, in both methods, the coil moves along with the chain, so if the coil is at the end of the conveyor, it will become inoperable and the equipment on the upstream side will have to stop. It has drawbacks such as requiring a large amount of driving force. Furthermore, the chain drive system generally has a problem in that the accuracy of stopping the truck is low due to elongation of the chain and back and forth play in the engagement and disengagement device provided between the chain and the truck.

Therefore, instead of using a conveyor chain, a drive frame is provided at each predetermined pitch on the transfer path so that only the pitches can be reciprocated in the transfer direction all at once.
A conveyor has also been proposed in which each drive frame is provided with an engagement pin that can be raised and lowered, and this is selectively engaged with an engagement hole provided in each carriage, but in that case, the carriages are fixed with a clamp device to improve stopping accuracy. Since the engagement pin is inserted into the engagement hole after correction, the fitting dimensions of the two are determined so that there is a gap between the engagement pin and the engagement hole that is larger than the corrected size of the bogie stopping accuracy. In addition, if a clamp device is not provided to correct the bogie stopping position, the stopping accuracy of the drive frame must be determined within the gap between the engaging pin and the engaging hole, so in any case, it is necessary to In order to ensure engagement with the engagement hole, it is necessary to restrict the dimensional relationship between the two, which causes high costs.

Furthermore, when the carriage starts to be towed due to the engagement between the engagement pin and the engagement hole, there is a problem in that a large impact force is applied to the drive device, the engagement pin, etc. when the carriage is loaded with a large weight.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems that occur when the engagement pin on the drive frame side is engaged with the engagement hole on the transfer truck side, and to pull the truck with a large load. To provide a truck traction device that eliminates the impact force that sometimes occurs.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides an arrangement in which an engaging pin provided on a reciprocating drive frame is connected to an engaging pin of a shuttle conveyor that engages and disengages from a transfer trolley to bring the transfer trolley forward. A structure of a trolley traction device in which a driving frame is provided with an actuating device for selectively engaging and disengaging by pressure, and a transporting trolley is provided with a smooth surface on which an engagement pin slides in the direction of transporting the trolley, and an engagement recess continuous to the smooth surface. The gist is:

Operation When the transfer cart is carried into the transfer path of the shuttle conveyor, it is not necessary for the cart to be at a precise stop position where the engagement pin of the drive frame correctly faces the engagement recess of the transfer cart, and it is not necessary for the cart to be at an accurate stop position where the engagement pin of the drive frame correctly faces the engagement recess, It is sufficient that the stop position is within a range where the engaging pin can hit a long smooth surface. In this state, the drive frame moves backwards and stops,
When the engagement pin on the drive frame side is pressed toward the engagement recess on the truck side by the selective operation of the actuating device, if the engagement recess and the stop position of the engagement pin do not match, the engagement pin will not move. It comes into elastic contact with the smooth surface and stops, and then when the drive frame moves forward, the engagement pin slides on the smooth surface and enters the engagement recess, hits the front of the engagement recess and pulls the cart. . The inertial force that is impulsively applied to the drive frame due to the large truck load at the start of traction is alleviated by the shock absorber.

Further, when the truck is stopped, the rear part of the engagement recess comes into contact with the engagement pin due to its inertia, but the inertia force at that time is also alleviated by the shock absorber.

Embodiment FIGS. 1 and 2 schematically show a transfer device using a shuttle conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention. , 2b to form a planar circulation path. A coil C made of a long thin steel plate is loaded onto a transfer trolley 3 running on the rail 1a from a transfer device 4 such as a walking beam provided at the starting end of the rail 1a, and a coil C wound with a long thin steel plate is loaded onto the transfer trolley 3 that runs on the rail 1a. I am forced to move forward. The coil C is unloaded from the cart 3 before the traverser 2b, and the empty cart 3a is moved toward the rail 1b by the traverser 2b. rail 1b
The drive chain 6 provided along the traverser 2b moves the empty cart 3a on the traverser 2b by means of an engagement device provided between the drive chain 6 and the cart 3. This empty truck 3a is stopped when the engagement of the engagement device is released by the operation of the stopper 7, and is again moved to the rail 1a by the traverser 2a.
It is moved to the side and used for coil transfer.

FIG. 3 shows a stepping drive device for the trolley 3. Trolley 3
Rollers 8, which are pivotally supported on both front and rear sides, ride on the rail 1a, and guide rollers 9 contact the inside of the rail 1a and run on the rail 1a without swaying from side to side. A rail 10 consisting of a pair of H-shaped beams parallel to the rail 1a is provided below the rail 1a, and a running roller 12 supported by each of a number of drive frames 11 is fitted into the rail 10 to guide the carriage 3 directly below it. These drive frames 11 are connected to each other by rods 13 with a constant pitch l (FIG. 1) dividing the traversers 2a and 2b at equal intervals to form one connected body 14. . Connector 14
The two front drive frames 11 are connected to a rack 16 via links 15. The rack 16 is guided and supported so as to be horizontally movable in a fixed guide groove parallel to the rail 10 below the rail 10, and meshes with a pinion (not shown) that is rotationally driven by a drive device 5 having a motor 17 and a speed reducer 18. It is driven back and forth with a stroke L that is larger than the pitch l. Figure 1 a, b, c...w shows the stopping position of the reciprocating end of the cart 3. Traverser 2a, 2
The center line of b is made to coincide with the stop positions of a and w, respectively.

4 to 6 show details of the drive frame 11. FIG. The drive frame 11 has a frame body 19 formed by welding channel material into a rectangular frame shape, and a roller shaft 21 is fitted into four boss metal fittings 20 welded to the lower part of the frame body 19, and is bolted to the inner surface of the boss metal fittings 20. The roller shaft 21 is bolted to the end plate 22.
A bush 23 and a washer 24 are attached to the outer protruding portion of the roller shaft 21 to form the flanged traveling roller 12.
is fitted loosely, and a stop plate 25 bolted to the tip of the roller shaft 21 prevents the traveling roller 12 from coming off.

A bearing fitting 28 is inserted with a surrounding flange 29 into a U-shaped recess 27 of a pair of support plates 26 (FIG. 7) welded to a longitudinal member 19a at a position that roughly divides the frame body 19 into three in the longitudinal direction. The flange 29 is tightly fitted, and the flange 29 is bolted to the support plate 26.

A rod 31 is screwed into and fixed to the front and rear of a pin support block 30 located at the center of the frame body 19, and the rod 31 penetrates a bush 32 provided on the bearing fitting 28 and protrudes back and forth. A buffer spring 33, which is made up of layers alternately stacked in opposite directions, is inserted and compressed by a nut 34 to give an appropriate preload. Instead of using the buffer spring 33, other known shock absorbers such as a coil spring or an air cylinder may be used. Also, the longitudinal member 19
The protrusions 37 on both sides of the pin support block 30 are guided and supported so as to be slidable back and forth by an angle-shaped holding member 35 bolted to the upper part of the pin support block 35 and a guide rail 36 welded to the inner surface of the member 19a. An engagement pin 39 is guided and supported in the center hole of the block via a bush 38 so as to be freely movable up and down. The upper end of a U-shaped member 40 is welded to the lower surface of the pin support block 30, and the U-shaped member 40 is used as a device for raising and lowering the engaging pin.
U on the rod of the air cylinder 41 installed at the bottom of the
Attach the connecting fittings 42 and connect both sides 43 of the
Guided by a vertical rail 44 provided inside the shaped member 40, claws 45 protruding inward from both upper ends of the U-shaped connecting fitting 42 are fitted into a groove 46 formed at the lower part of the engagement pin 39. The engagement pin 39 is raised and lowered by the air cylinder 41. Air cylinder 41
A compressed air supply hose 47 is connected to a compressed air source through a switching valve (not shown).

On the other hand, engagement fittings 4 protruding from the front and rear of the transport trolley 3
8 is formed with a smooth surface 49 slightly higher than the upper end of the engagement pin 39 in the lowered position, and engagement recesses 50 into which the engagement pin 39 in the raised position enters are formed in front and behind the smooth surface 49. The front and rear surfaces of the engagement recess 50 are vertical, the front and rear dimensions are sufficiently larger than the diameter of the engagement pin 39, and the front and rear dimensions of the smooth surface 49 are similar to those of the drive frame 11.
It is sufficient that the engagement pin 39 is of a size that allows the rising engagement pin 39 to come into contact with the engagement pin 39 when the engagement pin 39 is at the backward limit. Assuming that the drive frame 11 is at the forward limit in FIG. 5, the engagement pin 39 is at the chain line position at the backward limit by L-l rearward from the forward limit position.

Next, the transport truck 3 is connected to the rail 1 by the connecting body 14.
The operation of front-justifying storage on a will be explained. The empty truck 3a is moved to the rail 1 by the traverser 2a.
When the connecting body 14 retreats and stops while being moved to the a side, the engagement pin 3 of the rearmost drive frame 11
9 rises and comes into elastic contact with the smooth surface 49 of the empty truck 3a due to the air pressure of the air cylinder 41. When the connecting body 14 moves forward by the stroke L in this state, the upper end of the engagement pin 39 slides elastically against the smooth surface 49 during the forward movement, and enters the engagement recess 50 . When the engagement pin 39 further advances and comes into contact with the front surface of the engagement recess 50, the trolley 3 is pulled by the connecting body 14 and moves to position v.
Move to. Then, the engagement pin 39 descends to the chain line position, and the connecting body 14 retreats by L.

When the transfer device 4 places the coil C on the empty truck 3a at the v position and raises the engagement pin 39, the engagement pin comes into contact with the smooth surface 49 of the truck 3 by the pressure of the air cylinder 41. Then, the connecting body 14 moves forward by L, and the engagement pin 39 touches the smooth surface 4.
9 and enters the engagement recess 50, and when engaged with the front surface thereof, the carriage 3 is advanced by l. The impact force at the time of starting the truck is alleviated by the buffer spring 33. When the coupling body 14 decelerates near its forward limit, the truck 3 coasts, and the rear surface of the engagement recess 50 hits the engagement pin 39 and stops. The impact force at the time of stopping is also alleviated by the spring 33. In this way, the truck 3 is moved forward with a pitch of approximately l.

Thus, the truck 3 is stopped at the backward limit position of the drive frame 11, and the preceding stopped truck 3 is rear-ended.
If the air cylinder 41 is actuated by operating the switching valve to raise the engagement pin 39 on the condition that there is no coil C, the trolley 3 carrying the coil C is placed in front-end storage with the pitch l on the rail 1a. be able to. When the coil C is unloaded from the frontmost truck 3, the empty truck 3a is transferred to the traverser 2b and transported to the rail 1b side, and the following truck 3 is moved forward by one pitch.

Drive chain 6 provided on the outside of the going-back rail 1b
As shown in FIG. 1, the chain rollers extend over the passages of the traversers 2a and 2b and are applied to the drive sprocket 51 and the driven sprocket 52, and the chain rollers are supported on rails and continuously move horizontally. A well-known engagement/disengagement device is provided between the truck 3 and the drive chain 6. For example, a hook pivotally connected to the drive chain 6 engages with a pin on the truck 3 side and carries the empty truck 3a with it to the stopper. When the hook contacts 7 and tilts, it is disengaged from the pin and the empty truck 3a stops.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show other embodiments of the present invention.
In this embodiment, the protrusions 54 on both sides of the longitudinally elongated support frame 53 housed in the center of the drive frame 11A can be slid back and forth between upper and lower guide rails 55 and 56 fixed to both inner sides of the drive frame 11A. Rods 57 in the front and back direction are fixed to the front and rear of the support frame 53, and are supported with the same structure as the support plate 26 and the bearing fitting 28 in the previous embodiment, and the buffer spring 33A is fixed to the front and rear of the support frame 53. Compress to give appropriate preload.

A swinging rod 59 whose front end is pivotally supported by a horizontal pin 58 is provided within the frame of the support frame 53, an engagement pin 60 is fixed to the upper part of the rear end, and a link 6 is pivotally connected to the rear end.
1 and a link 63 pivotally attached to legs 62 fixed on both sides of the support frame 53 are connected by a pin 64, and the front end of the air cylinder 66 is pivotally supported on a bracket 65 protruding from the lower part of the front end of the support frame 53. pin 64
It is connected to links 61 and 63 at. When the air cylinder 66 is in the extended position shown, the links 61,
63 is a vertical straight line, the swinging rod 59 is horizontal, and the engagement pin 60 projects vertically above the drive frame 11A. When the air cylinder 66 is shortened, the links 61 and 63 are bent, and the swinging rod 59 and the engagement pin 60 are tilted downward.

The trolley 3 is formed with a smooth surface 49A and an engagement recess 50A similar to those described above, and when the drive frame 11A retreats, the air cylinder 66 is in the retracted position, the swinging rod 59 is tilted downward, and the engagement recess 50A is formed. The dowel pin 60 is lowered to the chain line position 60a. Next, drive frame 1
1A moves backward by L and stops at the bottom of the rear truck 3. Then, when the air cylinder 66 is expanded, the engagement pin 60 rises to the position 60b and contacts the smooth surface 49.
Press against A. When the connecting body 14 moves forward in this state, the engagement pin 60 slides on the smooth surface 49A, enters the engagement recess 50A, engages with the front surface thereof, and pulls the truck 3. The operating conditions of the air cylinder 66 and the action of the spring 33A are the same as in the previous embodiment.

Effects of the Invention The present invention has the above configuration, and the engagement pin on the drive frame side first comes into pressure contact with the smooth surface on the truck side when rising, and
As the drive frame moves forward, it enters the engagement recess and pulls the trolley, so there is no need for particular precision in the dimensions of the relationship between the engagement pin and the engagement recess, and therefore the loading and unloading of the trolley is easy. There is no need for a clamp device for correcting the bogie stop position, a bogie stop position detector, a control device for these, etc. in the stopping work section, etc., which has the effect of significantly reducing equipment costs. The spring has the effect of smoothing the transfer by alleviating the impact force caused by the truck load when entering the engagement recess and starting or stopping traction, but depending on the size of the truck load, the spring may be May be omitted. Furthermore, within the range of the front-rear dimension of the smooth surface, even if the connection pitch of the drive frame is different, or even if the connection pitch is changed, the carriage can be moved step by step, so the reciprocation of the drive frame is possible. This also has the effect of shortening the movement cycle time and improving transfer efficiency. Note that if smooth surfaces are provided before and after the engaging recess, forward and reverse transport of the cart can be easily performed.

Note that the present invention can be used for transporting automobile bodies and various other articles in automobile assembly plants.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a transfer device including a shuttle conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the same, Fig. 3 is an elevational view showing a cart drive structure, and Fig. 4 is an elevational view of a drive frame. A plan view of one embodiment, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a side view showing a cross-section taken along the line B-B in FIG. FIG. 8 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 5 of another embodiment of the drive frame;
FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 8. 3...transfer trolley, 11, 11A...drive frame, 39,60...engaging pin, 41,66...
Actuation device, 49, 49A...Smooth surface, 50, 50
A... Engagement recess.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An engagement pin of a shuttle conveyor in which an engagement pin provided on a reciprocating drive frame engages and disengages from a transfer carriage to bring the transfer carriage forward, and an actuation device that presses the engagement pin to selectively engage and disengage the engagement pin. A trolley traction device that is provided on a drive frame and has a smooth surface on which an engagement pin slides in contact with a transporting trolley in the direction of transporting the trolley, and an engagement recess that follows the smooth surface.