JPH0687439A - Article transporting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow a traveling vehicle to travel smoothly at any part of the straight line part and curved part of a monorail. CONSTITUTION:In the traveling on the straight line part of a monorail 1, a traveling vehicle 3 travels smoothly free from chattering, by pushing the left and right side rollers 10 to the monorail 1 by utilizing the springy force of an elastic spacer 12. In the traveling on the curved part of the monorail 1, a wheel unit 6 turns along the monorail 1 by the steering action of the left and right side rollers 10, and the increase of the interval between the left and right side rollers 10 layer than the thickness of the monorail 1 is absorbed by utilizing the deflection of an elastic spacer 12, and the left and right side rollers 10 can be set along the monorail 1 in reasonable manner, and the traveling vehicle 3 travels smoothly.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article conveying device.

[0002]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to make a traveling vehicle run smoothly on both straight and curved portions of a monorail.

[0003]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following means. According to the present invention, a traveling vehicle that can travel on a monorail has a wheel unit that can horizontally swivel, and the wheel unit includes a bracket, wheels mounted on the monorail provided on the bracket, and left, right, front, and rear portions of the bracket. It has front and rear left and right side rollers that are urged toward the monorail by elastic spacers provided in the.

[0004]

The present invention has the following functions. When the monorail is running in a straight line, the elastic vehicle's resilience is used to press the left and right side rollers against the sides of the monorail, so that the running vehicle runs smoothly without rattling. When the monorail runs on curved sections, the wheel unit turns along the monorail by the steering action of the left and right side rollers, and the imaginary line connecting the axis of the left and right side rollers is no longer orthogonal to the centerline of the monorail (in other words, (For example, the left and right side rollers are displaced back and forth) and the left and right side roller spacing is wider than the width of the monorail. This is absorbed by using the flexure of the elastic spacers so that the left and right side rollers follow the monorail comfortably. As a result, the traveling vehicle runs smoothly.

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on two embodiments shown in the drawings. The same members are designated by the same reference numerals in the two embodiments.

First Embodiment (see FIGS. 1 to 4) In the first embodiment, the front means the right side of FIG. 1, the rear means the left side of FIG. 1, the left means the upper side of FIG. 1, and the right means the same figure. The lower side. A monorail 1 is laid on the floor surface, and a traveling vehicle 3 can travel along the monorail 1 in any of front and rear directions. The traveling vehicle 3 has a pair of front and rear wheel units 6 provided on a vehicle body 4 so as to be rotatable by a turning shaft 7. The turning shaft 7 is fitted to the vehicle body 4 so as to be located on the center line of the vehicle body 4 in the left-right direction. The wheel unit 6 includes a bracket 8 and a monorail 1 rotatably provided on the bracket 8.
Wheels 9 mounted on the bracket 8 and the left and right hanging walls 8a of the bracket 8
Bracket pieces 13 attached to the front and rear parts of the bracket via elastic spacers 12, and the bracket pieces 13 are rotatably provided on the bracket pieces 13 so as to be separated by an equal distance in the front and rear sides with respect to the center of the pivot shaft 7. , And has two upper and lower left and right side rollers 10 with their axes being vertical.
The elastic spacer 12 is made of an elastic material such as rubber or urethane resin, which has vibration damping properties as compared with springs. That is, the elastic spacer 12 has less vibration unlike the spring. The left and right side rollers 10 are pressed against the side surface of the monorail 1 by the elastic force of the elastic spacer 12. The rotation axis of the wheel 9 is orthogonal to the center line of the turning shaft 7. One of the wheels 9 is rotated by a motor (not shown) which is rotatable in forward and reverse directions.

[0007] When the monorail 1 is running on a straight portion, the elastic force of the elastic spacer 12 is utilized to make the left and right side rollers 1
By pressing 0 on the side surface of the monorail 1, the traveling vehicle 3 travels smoothly without rattling. When the monorail 1 travels on a curved portion, the wheel units 6 are moved by the steering action of the left and right side rollers 10.
While turning along, the virtual line connecting the axes of the left and right side rollers 10 is no longer orthogonal to the center line of the monorail 1 (in other words, the left and right side rollers 10 are displaced back and forth), and the left and right side rollers The fact that 10 intervals are wider than the width of the monorail 1 can be absorbed by utilizing the bending of the elastic spacer 12 so that the left and right side rollers 10 can easily follow the monorail 1, so that the traveling vehicle 3 Run smoothly.

The monorail 1 may be provided on the ceiling side.

Embodiment 2 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) FIGS. 5 and 6 show a modification of this embodiment. In the second embodiment, the front means the right side in FIG. 5, the rear means the left side in FIG. 5, the left means the upper side in FIG. 5, and the right means the lower side in FIG.
A supporting member 16 is attached to the hanging wall 8a, and a bracket piece 17 is swingably provided on the front and rear portions of the supporting member 16 via a pivot shaft 18. Each of the bracket pieces 17 has two upper and lower left and right side portions. The roller 10 is rotatably provided with its axis oriented vertically. In addition, the front and rear left and right side rollers 10 are arranged so as to be separated from each other by an equal distance in the front and rear with respect to the center of the turning shaft 7. In the recesses 16a in the front and rear of the support member 16,
The elastic spacers 12 that come into contact with the inner and outer sides of the bracket piece 17 are housed therein.
2 receives the force that the free end of the bracket piece 17 faces the monorail 1, and thus the left and right side rollers 10 contact the side surface of the monorail 1, and, on the other hand,
The inner elastic spacer 12 adjusts the force. The operation of the second embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment.

[0010]

The present invention has the following effects due to the above-mentioned configuration. By using the elastic force of the elastic spacers and the bending of the elastic spacers, the left and right side rollers can be pressed against the monorail at all times without difficulty, so the straight and curved portions of the monorail can travel smoothly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially crushed plan view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG.

4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a main part plan view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 monorail 3 traveling vehicle 6 wheel unit 7 turning shaft 8 bracket 9 wheel 10 left and right side roller 12 elastic spacer 13 bracket piece 16 support member 17 bracket piece 18 pivot

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle that can travel on a monorail has a wheel unit that can turn horizontally, and the wheel unit includes a bracket, wheels mounted on the monorail provided on the bracket, and left, right, front and rear of the bracket. An article conveying device having front and rear left and right side rollers that are urged toward the monorail by elastic spacers provided in the section.