JPH0435384B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a carrier-independent conveyor that moves a carrier along a fixed path by a drive means such as a conveyor chain with a pusher, and a conveyor that uses a self-propelled train. The present invention relates to a conveyance device that combines the following.

(Prior art and its problems) The carrier-independent type conveyor allows the carrier to be separated from the drive means at a predetermined position and stopped, while the drive means is continuously operated, or to store several balls in a chain. Because of this, it is used in various assembly lines, painting lines, etc., but it is not possible to change the speed for each carrier. Therefore, it cannot be used for high-speed conveyance that requires acceleration and deceleration.

On the other hand, the self-propelled train used as the transportation means is
Since the speed of each train can be controlled individually, it can be used for high-speed transportation.

Conventionally, in one product manufacturing process, there were two conveyor lines using the carrier-independent conveyor.
If the system is not connected, install one continuous carrier-independent conveyor between both transport lines, even if there is a considerable distance between the two transport lines, or install another transport means between both transport lines. However, this conveyance means is configured to convey the object sent out from one conveyance line to the other conveyance line.

In the former method, although it is only necessary to transport the object from one side to the other between the two transport lines, it must be transported at low speed by a carrier-independent conveyor, so the manufacturing cycle of one product is reduced. Time becomes longer. Moreover, in the latter method, even if the intermediate conveyance means is capable of high-speed conveyance, there is no need for transferring the conveyed object between the carrier of the carrier-independent conveyor and the conveyed object support part of the intermediate conveyance means. Since this requires a lot of work time, it is not possible to significantly shorten the time required to transfer objects between the two transport lines. Furthermore, in terms of equipment, there is a drawback that means for transferring the transported object is required.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention proposes a conveying device capable of solving the conventional problems as described above. It consists of a combination of a conveyor using a carrier that is separable from a driving means that moves along a rail, and a conveyance means that uses a train that runs on its own along a guide rail, and the carrier can be transferred to the train. A carrier conveyance rail may be provided parallel to the running direction of the train, and at the connection between the conveyor and the conveyance means, the carrier conveyance rail of the electric train may be arranged in a straight line in series with an end of the carrier guide rail of the conveyor. When the electric train guide rail of the conveying means is disposed so that the end of the carrier guide rail at this connection portion and the end of the electric train carrier conveying rail are butted against each other, they are aligned with each other in the rail length direction. The point is that a rail positioning means that fits into the rail is provided.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described below based on the attached illustrative drawings.

In FIG. 1, 1 to 4 are carrier-independent conveyors, and 5 is a conveyance means using a self-propelled train. This conveying means 5 includes a real carrier conveying outgoing path 6 connecting the terminal end of the conveyor 1 for conveying the real carrier and the starting end of the conveyor 2, and a conveyor 4 connecting the terminal end of the conveyor 3 and the conveyor 4 for conveying the empty carrier. A return route 7 for empty carrier conveyance connects the start end of the return route 7, a lateral movement route 8 connects the end of the return route 6 and the start end of the return route 7, and a lateral movement route 8 connects the end of the return route 7 to the start end of the return route 7. It has a continuous circulation path consisting of a lateral movement path 9 that connects the starting end of the row path 6.

Each of the carrier independent conveyors 1 to 4 has a second
As shown in the figure, there is a carrier 13 for supporting and transporting objects movably supported on a carrier guide rail 10 by front and rear trolleys 11 and 12, and a pusher constructed along the carrier guide rail 10. The carrier 13 is a conventionally known system consisting of a drive chain 16 movably supported on a guide rail 14 via a trolley and equipped with pushers 15 at appropriate intervals.
, there is a dog 1 which can be freely engaged and detached from the pusher 15.
7 and a trailing trolley 18 with
A fourth trolley 20 is connected to a fourth trolley 20 having an operating piece 19 for stopping the succeeding carrier which disengages the dog 17 of No. 3 from the pusher 15 and releases the drive.
1 and 22, and the drive chain 16 is rotated along the pusher guide rail 14 by a drive means (not shown).
The pusher 15 engages with the dog 17 of the leading trolley 18 in the carrier 13, and the carrier 1
3 is propelled along the carrier guide rail 10. The dog 17 is at the carrier stop position;
For example, the conveyors 1 and 3 shown in FIG. 1 can be forcibly separated from the pusher 15 by a movable stopper 23 provided near their terminal ends. When the carrier 13 is stopped by the stopper 23 in this manner, the operation piece 19 for stopping the subsequent carrier on the stopped carrier 13 releases the dog 17 of the subsequent carrier 13 from the pusher 15, so that the following Each of the carriers 13 automatically stops and stores a number of balls in sequence.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the transport means 5 includes a self-propelled train 25 supported by a pair of left and right guide rails 24. This self-driving train 2
5 is an idling wheel 26 that rolls on the pair of left and right guide rails 24, a vertical axis roller 27 for steady rest that sandwiches one of the guide rails 24 from both left and right sides,
Rack gear 2 arranged between both guide rails 24
8, a motor 30 that drives this drive gear 29, and both guide rails 24.
Rail 3 for power supply and control signal transfer arranged between
The guide rail 24 is equipped with a current collector unit 32 that is in sliding contact with the guide rail 24, and the motor 30 is operated by the electric power and control signal supplied from the power supply and control signal exchange rail 31 to rotate the drive gear 29. This is a conventionally well-known vehicle that can run at high speed along the road. Reference numeral 33 denotes a continuous cover having a gate-shaped vertical cross section that covers the upper side of both guide rails 24. In order to support this cover 33, the support members 34 that are erected at appropriate intervals between both guide rails 24 are attached to the support members 34. A rack gear 28 and a rail 31 for power supply and control signal transmission and reception are supported, and idle wheels 26 of the self-propelled train 25, a drive gear 29, and a motor 3 are supported.
0, the current collecting unit 32, etc. are configured to move within the cover 33.

As shown in FIG. 3, on the self-propelled train 25,
A carrier conveying rail 35 having a length capable of supporting the first trolley 18 to the fourth trolley 20 of the carrier 13 is supported. This rail 35
is the same as the carrier guide rail 10 of the carrier independent conveyors 1 to 4 shown in FIG.
is attached to this carrier conveyance rail 35, and one of the engaged portions 38 provided downwardly protruding at four locations on the front, rear, left, and right of the carrier 13 as shown in FIGS. Carrier 1 has been transferred to the carrier transport rail 35, sandwiched between
carrier locking means 39 for fixing 3 in place;
and is provided. Reference numeral 40 denotes an actuator that opens and closes a pair of front and rear holding pieces 39a and 39b of the carrier locking means 39 via a rack and pinion gear mechanism 41.

The lateral movement paths 8 and 9 in the conveyance means 5 include
As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, lateral movement rails 42 are provided which are selectively connected to the train guide rails 24 on the outbound route 6 and the inbound route 7. This lateral movement rail 42 is the same as the electric train guide rail 24, and also includes a rack gear 28, a rail 31 for power supply and control signal transfer, and a cover 33. It is laid on the upper side of a lateral movable truck 45 that is supported by a guide rail 44 so as to be movable laterally. Said horizontal moving truck 4
5 is equipped with a pinion gear 47 that meshes with a rack gear 46 installed on the fixed machine frame 43 and a motor 48 that drives the gear in forward and reverse directions. The horizontal movement rail 42
is alternatively connected to the train guide rail 24 on the outbound route 6 or to the train guide rail 24 on the inbound route 7.

Further, at the ends of the carrier guide rails 10 of the carrier independent conveyors 1 to 4, that is, the ends adjacent to the lateral movement paths 8 and 9 in the conveying means 5,
As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, it fits into the pin hole 49 of the positioning member 36 or 37 provided at the end of the carrier conveyance rail 35 of the electric train 25 moving on the lateral movement rail 42. A pin 50 for positioning the carrier transport rail 35 at a connection position with respect to the carrier guide rail 10 is provided in a protruding manner.

As shown in FIG. 1, adjacent portions of the conveyors 1 to 4 and the lateral movement paths 8 and 9 of the conveyance means 5 are provided with carrier conveyance lines for the self-propelled train 25 that is stopped on the lateral movement rail 42. A carrier transfer feeder 51 for transferring the carrier 13 between the rail 35 and the carrier guide rail 10 of each conveyor 1 to 4.
54 are arranged in parallel. These carrier transfer feeders 51 to 54 are composed of a non-return pusher 55 for pushing one of the engaged parts 38 of the carrier 13, a drive means for driving this pusher 55, etc., as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. You can.
In addition, in the illustrated example, dedicated feeders 51 to 54 are provided, respectively.
Although the carrier transfer feeder is installed in a fixed position, depending on the structure of the feeder, it is also possible to mount the carrier transfer feeder on the transverse moving truck 45 or on the self-propelled train 25.

Next, to explain how to use the above conveyance device, in the conveyor 1 shown in FIG. 1, the actual carrier 13 supporting the conveyed object W is moved along the carrier guide rail 10 by the pusher 15 as shown in FIG. It is being promoted. This real carrier 13 is
The dog 17 is removed from the pusher 15 by the stopper 23 projecting into the working position and stops at the end position of the conveyor 1. On the other hand, the conveyor 1
In the lateral movement route 9 adjacent to the lateral movement route 9, the lateral movement rail 42 is switched to a position where it connects to the train guide rail 24 on the outgoing route 6 due to the lateral movement of the lateral movement bogie 45. Train 2
5 in the direction approaching the conveyor 1, the carrier conveyance rail 3 of the electric train 25 is
A hole 49 in the positioning member 37 on the carrier conveyance rail 35 side, with one end of the carrier guide rail 10 of the conveyor 1 being brought close to the free end of the carrier guide rail 10.
By fitting the pin 50 on the carrier guide rail 10 side to the carrier guide rail 10, one end of the carrier conveyance rail 35 and the free end of the carrier guide rail 10 can be connected without any lateral displacement.

In such a state, the stopper 23 is released and the feeder 51 for carrier transfer is activated, and the non-return pusher 55 causes the train 25 to wait for the actual carrier 13 stopped at the end of the conveyor 1.
transfer to the carrier conveyance rail 35. When the actual carrier 13 has been transferred to a predetermined position on the carrier transport rail 35, the actuator 40 of the carrier locking means 39 is actuated to lock the engaged portion 38 of the carrier 13 by the pair of front and rear clamping pieces 39a, 39b. The actual carrier 13 is fixed at a fixed position on the carrier transport rail 35 by sandwiching the two.

Next, the train 25 is made to travel forward, and the lateral movement rail 42
The positioning member 37 on the carrier transport rail 35 side and the pin 50 on the carrier guide rail 10 side of the conveyor 1 are used to transfer the carrier from the train 25 to the guide rail 24 on the outgoing route 6. When the transport rail 35 moves forward, it is automatically detached. The train 25 traveling forward is
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the guide rail 24 of the outbound route 6 transfers to the lateral movement rail 42 of the lateral movement path 8, which is waiting at a position connected to the guide rail 24 of the outbound path 6. let Then, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the carrier conveyance rail 35
In the pin hole 49 in the side positioning member 36,
The electric train 25 is run on the lateral movement rail 42 to a position where the pin 50 on the conveyor 2 side is fitted and then stopped. After that, the actuator 40 of the carrier locking means 39 is operated to lock the pair of clamping pieces 39a, 3.
9b is opened to release the lock of the actual carrier 13, and at the same time operate the carrier transfer feeder 52, and the non-return pusher 55 moves the actual carrier 13 on the carrier conveying rail 35 to the carrier guide rail 10 of the conveyor 2. If you transfer it to
The actual carrier 13 is the pusher 1 of the conveyor 2.
5 along the carrier guide rail 10.

As described above, the real carrier 13 is transported from the conveyor 1 to the conveyor 2, but the electric train 25 used to transport the real carrier 13 is used to transport the empty carrier 13 from the conveyor 3 to the conveyor 4. Ru. That is, once the actual carrier 13 has been transferred from the carrier transport rail 35 to the carrier guide rail 10 of the conveyor 2 as described above, the electric train 25 is moved slightly backward on the lateral movement rail 42, and then the carrier transport rail 35 is transferred to the carrier guide rail 10 of the conveyor 2. After separating the positioning member 36 on the rail 35 side and the pin 50 on the conveyor 2 side, the lateral movement rail 42 is laterally moved to a position where it connects to the guide rail 24 on the going-back path 7. Then, the train 25 on the lateral movement rail 42 is moved slightly forward again, and the positioning member 36 on the carrier conveyance rail 35 side is fitted with the pin 50 on the conveyor 3 side. The subsequent work procedure is the same as that for transporting the actual carrier 13 from the conveyor 1 to the conveyor 2, so the explanation will be omitted.

Incidentally, the present invention can also be applied to an overhead type carrier-independent trolley conveyor. It is also possible to use a self-propelled train that uses a linear motor as a driving source.

(Operations and Effects of the Invention) As described above, the conveyance device of the present invention is suitable for low-speed conveyance in conveyance lines where assembly, painting, etc. are performed, where objects to be conveyed can be stopped or stored at predetermined positions. In the relay line, which transports the objects using a carrier-independent conveyor, the objects are transported from this line to the next carrier-independent conveyor. This allows the overall product manufacturing cycle time to be shortened and efficiency to be increased.

Moreover, since the carrier of the carrier-independent conveyor is directly transferred to the carrier conveyance rail of the self-propelled cart, the objects to be conveyed can be handled while being supported by the carrier during the entire conveyance process. There will be no damage to the transported objects. Since the carrier can be transferred by transferring between guide rails, the transfer work is extremely simple compared to the case where the carried object is transferred between the carrier and the carried object support section of the self-propelled train. It can be carried out easily and in a short time, and the means required for transfer are extremely simple, so it is highly effective in terms of cost.

Furthermore, the carrier guide rail on the conveyor side and the carrier conveyance rail on the self-propelled train side are provided with rail positioning means (in the embodiment, a positioning member 3 having pin holes 49) which are fitted and disengaged as the train runs.
6, 37 and the pin 50), it is possible to reliably connect both rails without lateral positional deviation when transferring carriers, and it is possible to transfer carriers safely. . Furthermore, there is no need for a special actuator or moving parts for rail positioning, and it can be implemented at low cost.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a plan view showing an example of the layout, Figure 2 is a plan view showing an example of the layout.
The figure shows a side view of a carrier-independent conveyor.
The figure is a side view showing the self-propelled train carrying an actual carrier, Figure 4 is a vertical front view showing details of the self-propelled train, and Figure 5 is a side view showing the self-propelled train and the carrier on the transverse rail. The front view shown in Fig. 6 is the same plan view, and Fig. 7 is the same plan view.
This figure is a side view of the same, and FIG. 8 is a partially cross-sectional plan view showing the positioning means for the carrier conveyance rail. 1, 2... Real carrier conveyor, 3, 4
. . . Conveyor for transporting empty carriers, 5 .
... Lateral movement path, 10... Carrier guide rail in conveyors 1 to 4, 11, 12, 18, 20...
... Trolley, 13 ... Carrier, 15 ... Pusher (carrier drive means), 17 ... Releasable dog, 24 ... Train guide rail, 25 ... Self-propelled train, 28 ... Rack gear, 29 ... Drive Gear, 30... Motor, 35... Carrier conveyance rail, 36, 37... Positioning member, 38...
Engaged portion, 39...Carrier locking means, 42...
... Lateral moving rail, 45... Lateral moving truck, 50... Pin for rail positioning, 51 to 54... Feeder for carrier transfer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Consists of a combination of a conveyor using a carrier movably supported on a guide rail and detachable from a drive means that moves along the guide rail, and a conveying means using a self-propelled electric train along the guide rail. , the train is provided with a carrier conveyance rail parallel to the running direction of the train, on which the carrier can transfer, and at the connection between the conveyor and the conveyance means, the carrier guide rail end of the conveyor is provided with a carrier conveyance rail on which the carrier can transfer. The electric train guide rail of the conveying means is arranged so that the carrier conveying rails on the electric train can be arranged in series in a straight line, and at this connection point, when the electric train runs, the ends of the carrier conveying rails on the electric train are connected to the conveyor. A conveyance device comprising rail positioning means that fit into each other in the length direction of the rails when the ends of the carrier guide rails are approached.