JPH0741292A - Air lifter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an air lifter for taking the safest countermeasure for preventing dead weight downfall of a lift member at stopping supply of pressurized air. CONSTITUTION:A flexible hose 4 and a stopper rod 18 are arranged along a guide 3 for elevatably moving a lift member. The lift member is provided with hose pinching rollers 13 elevatably moving the lift member by controlling supply of pressure air to the hose 4, a stopper member 19 being locked on the outer face of the stopper rod 18 accompanying the rotational movement, a stopper operating member 20 being moved accompanying expansion of the hose 4 bore due to air supply and holding the stopper member 19 to be in the non-stopper state X, and an energization means energizing the stopper member 19 so as to change into the stopper state Y accompanying contraction of the hose 4 bore.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air lifter configured to raise and lower a lift member for raising and lowering a work by controlling the supply of pressurized air.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The above-mentioned air lifter was developed as a means for smoothly raising and lowering a work by simply controlling the supply of pressurized air without causing mechanical vibration or noise. A flexible hose with a supply means for pressurized air is connected to the lower side of the work up and down position along the up-and-down elevating guide, and it can be moved up and down along the elevating guide. There is one in which a roller for holding a hose is rotatably provided on a lift member for raising and lowering a work.

According to the above construction, when pressurized air is supplied at a high pressure to the lower side of the hose and the flexible hose is inflated, the hose portion crushed by the hose holding roller is sequentially squeezed. The diameter of the hose is expanded, and the hose clamping roller rolls along with the expansion of the hose portion, so that the lift member including the roller is lifted along the elevating guide.

On the other hand, if the supply pressure of the pressurized air to the hose is switched to a low pressure so that the lifting force of the lift member due to the pressurized air is weak enough to be overwhelmed by the weight of the lift member, the lift member moves up and down. The lift member descends by its own weight along the guide, and the lift member can be smoothly moved up and down between the workpiece supply position and the workpiece extraction position by simply switching the supply pressure of the pressurized air.

[0005]

However, in the lifter having the above structure, the hoses for lifting and lowering the lift member are perforated or ruptured, and the supply of the pressurized air to the hoses is substantially stopped. Alternatively, if the supply of pressurized air is stopped due to a failure of the air supply source, etc., there is no safety measure to detect such an abnormal situation and stop the lift member urgently. There was a problem that a very dangerous situation where it fell due to its own weight occurred.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it takes advantage of the fact that the hose is reduced in diameter when the supply of the pressurized air is stopped, so that the pressurized air can be supplied. The purpose is to provide a complete air lifter with safety measures that lead to an emergency stop of the lift member when an abnormal situation occurs.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an air lifter of the above construction in which a lift member is raised and lowered by controlling the supply of pressurized air. While providing a stopper rod, a stopper member that locks on the outer surface of the stopper rod as it rotates and a stopper member that is driven by the expansion of the hose due to the supply of pressurized air and that holds the stopper member in a non-stopper state The lift member is characterized in that a stopper actuating member and an urging means for urging the stopper member to switch to the stopper state in accordance with the diameter reduction of the hose are energized.

[0008]

According to the above characteristic construction, the stopper member is held in the non-stopper state by the stopper operating member in the state where the pressurized air is normally supplied and the diameter of the hose is expanded. On the other hand, when the supply of pressurized air is stopped and the diameter of the hose is reduced, the stopper actuating member, which had held the stopper member in the non-stopper state until then, releases the holding of the non-stopper state, and at the same time, the urging means. By applying an urging force for switching to the stopper state by the stopper member, the stopper member is switched to the stopper state in which the stopper member is locked to the outer surface of the stopper rod, and the lift member connecting the stopper members continuously. The self-weight fall is urgently stopped.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the whole of an air lifter seen through the inside. Reference numeral 1 in the drawing denotes a base fixedly placed on a floor, which is provided with screw type level adjusting means 2 ... Reference numerals 3 and 3 denote elevating guides which are erected on the base 1 with a predetermined space therebetween, and 4 is a flexible hose to which a supply means 5 of pressurized air is connected to the lower side and the upper side is open to the atmosphere. The lifting guide 3
Work supply position A on the lower side (or upper side) along the
And the work extraction position B on the upper side (or the lower side).

Reference numeral 7 is a lift member for raising and lowering a work which can be raised and lowered along the raising and lowering guides 3 and 3, as shown in FIGS.
Brackets 10 are provided on the upper and lower sides and left and right sides of the face plate 9 in which the supporting members 8 of the work W are connected in series so as to face the elevation guides 3 and 3, respectively.
The free end sides of 0 and 10 are connected to each other by a tie rod 11, and each bracket 10 is provided with a group of three guide rollers 12 for the three surfaces of the elevating guide 3.

Numerals 13 and 13 are a pair of hose pinching rollers for pinching the flexible hose 4 so as to be crushed. The hose pinching rollers 13 and 13 are provided so as to be rollable over the left and right intermediate brackets 14 and 14 connected to the face plate 9. Has been. Reference numeral 15 is a hose guide roller that prevents the hose pinching rollers 13 and 13 from biting the hose 4 at their ends.
It is arranged on both upper and lower sides of 3,13.

Returning to FIG. 1, reference numeral 16 is a cover that encloses the entire lifting guide 3 including the lift member 7. The cover 16 is provided at a portion that is located between the workpiece supply position A and the workpiece removal position B, respectively. And a work take-out port b are formed.

FIG. 2 shows the above-mentioned pressurized air supply means 5.
The pressurized air supply means 5 is provided in the pressurized air supply source 6.
A switching valve V1 for intermittently supplying the pressurized air and a first adjusting valve V2 for setting the pressurized air to a high pressure are connected in series, and the first adjusting valve V2 sets the pressurized air to a low pressure. The two pressure regulating valve V3 is branched and connected, and the switching valve V4 for switching and supplying the pressurized air of high pressure and low pressure is connected to the downstream side of the first and second regulating valves V2, V3, and further this switching valve. A switching valve V5 that connects and disconnects the supply of pressurized air is connected to the downstream side of V4.

The switching valve V4 is switched to a state (state shown) for supplying high-pressure pressurized air on the basis of the input of the lift member lifting signal. Then, the lift member 7 reaches the work take-out position B and the work W is taken out,
In addition, when a signal for lowering the lift member 7 is issued, it is switched to a state of supplying low-pressure pressurized air.

On the other hand, the switching valve V5 shuts off the flow path on the basis of the detection result that the lift member 7 has descended and has reached the workpiece supply position A on the lower side, and a signal for lifting the lift member is input. Then, the flow path communication state (state shown in the figure) is switched to.

In the air lifter having the above structure, when high-pressure pressurized air is supplied to the lower side of the hose 4 to inflate the flexible hose 4, a part of the pressurized air is transferred to the rollers 13,
Although it is released from the upper part of the hose to the atmosphere through the space 13, the hose portion crushed by the rollers 13 and 13 is successively expanded in diameter by the supply of high-pressure pressurized air. As the hose clamping rollers 13, 13 roll along with the expansion of the diameter of the portion, the lift member 7 including the rollers 13, 13 is lifted along the elevating guides 3, 3.

At this time, the first switching is performed so that the lifting force of the lift member 7 by the pressurized air becomes a strong force that overcomes the sum of the weight of the lift member 7 and the workpiece W having the maximum weight to be lifted and lowered. The pressure of the pressurized air is set to a high pressure by the valve V2. On the other hand, the pressure setting of the pressurized air by the second switching valve V3 is set to a low pressure so that the lifting force of the lift member 7 by the pressurized air becomes a weak force that is slightly overwhelmed by the weight of the lift member 7. There is.

Therefore, when the switching valve V4 is operated to switch to the state in which the low pressure air is supplied to the hose 4, the lift member 7 is supported by the lift member 7 by its own weight regardless of whether the work W is supported. Descend along 3. That is,
By simply switching the supply pressure of the pressurized air to the hose 4, the lift member 7 can be smoothly moved up and down between the work supply position A and the work extraction position B.

Here, in the upper and lower parts of the elevating guide 3,
When the lift member 7 reaches the work take-out position B or the work supply position A, there is provided a stopper member that comes into relative contact with the lift member 7 and mechanically stops the lift member 7 at a predetermined position. I am trying.

When the lift member 7 reaches the work taking-out position B, a part of the pressurized air is transferred to the rollers 13,
Although it is discharged from the upper part of the hose to the atmosphere through the space 13, the lift member 7 can be held at the work take-out position B because the high-pressure pressurized air is always supplied to the hose 4.

On the other hand, when the lift member 7 reaches the work supply position A, the lowering of the lift member 7 is mechanically stopped, so that the supply of pressurized air to the hose 4 is useless. For this reason, the switching valve V5 is provided in the pressurized air supply means 5 to stop the unnecessary supply of pressurized air.

In the air lifter having the above-mentioned structure, when the supply of the pressurized air is stopped due to a failure of the air supply source 6, or when the hoses 4 for lifting the lift members are perforated or ruptured, When the supply of pressurized air to the hose 4 is substantially stopped, a very dangerous situation occurs in which the lift member 7 falls due to its own weight.

In consideration of the occurrence of such a situation, in the present invention, the air lifter is equipped with a mechanical lock device 17 for making an emergency stop of the lift member 7 when the supply of pressurized air is stopped. This mechanical lock device 17 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 7, a stopper rod 18 is provided along the elevating guide 3, while the stopper member 19 is locked to the outer surface of the stopper rod 18 in accordance with the rotation, and the hose 4 is expanded by supplying pressurized air. A stopper actuating member 20 that is driven according to the diameter and holds the stopper member 19 in a non-stopper state, and a biasing means 21 that biases the stopper member 19 to switch to the stopper state according to the diameter reduction of the hose 4. Is provided on the lift member 7.

More specifically, a stopper rod 18 having a quadrangular cross section is provided on one side of the elevating guides 3, 3 along the elevating guide 3, while lower brackets 22, 22 are provided on both left and right sides of the face plate 9. 22 are provided in series, and an arm 24 is provided on a lower bracket 22 on the side facing the stopper rod 18 so as to be rotatable around a support shaft 23 parallel to the roller 13, and the arm 24 is provided with
A U-shaped stopper member 19 having an inner width slightly wider than the stopper rod 18 and sandwiching the stopper rod 18 is provided, and the stopper member 19 is in a non-stopper state in which the stopper rod 18 is sandwiched loosely (Fig. 8) X and a stopper state (see FIG. 9) Y in which the arm 24 is locked to the outer surface of the stopper rod 18 as the arm 24 rotates.

At the free ends of the lower brackets 22 and 22, links 25 and 26, in which the stopper member 19 side is bent, are swingable around shafts 27 parallel to the support shafts 23, respectively. A rolling roller 29 is also provided on the face plate 9 so as to pivotally support the rolling roller 28 over the free ends of the links 25 and 26 and to sandwich the hose 4 with the roller 28. Further, while providing the bending link 25 with a locking member 30 in which a groove c is formed in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the support shaft 23,
A roller pin 31 is continuously provided on the free end side of the arm 24,
The pin 31 is locked in the groove c of the locking member 30.

That is, the links 25 and 26 are swung in accordance with the expansion of the diameter of the hose 4 by the supply of the pressurized air, and the locking member 3 is swung in accordance with the swinging of the bent link 25 therein.
0 and the roller pin 31, the stopper member 1
9 is held in the non-stopper state X,
These components, namely the roller 28 and the links 25, 2
6 and the locking member 30 and the roller pin 31 constitute a stopper operating member 20 that holds the stopper member 19 in the non-stopper state X when pressurized air is supplied to the hose 4.

The biasing means 21 for switching and biasing the stopper member 19 to the stopper state Y comprises a spring extending between the upper side bracket 10 of the lift member 7 and the bending link 25. According to the above, in the state where the pressurized air is supplied to the hose 4 to raise and lower the lift member 7, the hose pinching roller 1
Since the diameter of the hose 4 is constantly expanded on the lower side of the members 3 and 13, the stopper member 19 is provided with the urging means 2 described above.
1 and is held in the non-stopper state X by the stopper actuating member 20.

However, when the supply of pressurized air is stopped due to a failure of the air supply source 6, or the hose 4
When the supply of the pressurized air to the hose 4 is substantially stopped due to a hole or burst in the hole, the biasing means 21
The hose 4 pressed by the roller 28 receives a biasing force from the diameter of the hose 4 and the diameter of the hose 4 is reduced, and the stopper operating member 2 that has kept the stopper member 19 in the non-stopper state X until then.
0 releases the non-stopper state X, and at the same time,
By applying the urging force for switching to the stopper state by the urging means 21, the stopper member 19 is switched all at once to the stopper state Y in which the stopper member 19 bites and locks on the outer surface of the stopper rod.

The lift member 7, which is connected to the stopper member 19, stops its own weight drop urgently. When the supply of pressurized air is stopped, the hose for lifting the lift member 7 is lifted. With the rational technique of making good use of the diameter reduction of 4, it is possible to prevent a very dangerous situation where the lift member 7 falls by its own weight.

By the way, in order to avoid wasteful supply of the pressurized air, when the lift member 7 reaches the work supply position A, the switching valve V5 shuts off the flow path, so that the lift member 7 works. When the supply position A is reached,
The hose 4 is contracted due to air leakage between the rollers 13 and 13, and the stopper actuating member 20 releases the non-stopper state X from holding the hose 4, so that the stopper member 19 is switched to the stopper state Y. Become.

However, this is only temporary, and when the pressurized air is supplied to the hose 4 to lift the lift member, the hose 4 is expanded by the supply of the pressurized air, whereby the stopper is stopped. The member 19 is immediately switched to the non-stopper state X, so that the lift member 7 can be lifted as required.

In the above embodiment, the mechanical lock device 1 is used.
Although 7 is provided only on one side of the lift member 7 in the width direction, the mechanical lock device 17 may be provided on both sides of the lift member 7 in the width direction in order to double the safety.

[0033]

As described above, the present invention makes good use of the fact that the diameter of the hose for raising and lowering the lift member is reduced when the supply of the pressurized air is stopped, and thus the stopper actuating member for holding the stopper member in the non-stopper state. It has a sensor function to detect the reduced diameter of the hose, and based on the detection of the reduced diameter of the hose by this stopper operating member, the stopper member is switched to the stopper state and urged. A simple and rational improvement that skillfully utilizes the diameter reduction phenomenon of the member lifting hose makes it possible to provide an air lifter with a safety measure in which the drop of the lift member due to its weight is urgently stopped when the supply of pressurized air is stopped. It has arrived.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air lifter with an internal perspective seen through.

FIG. 2 is a system diagram of a pressurized air supply unit.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view of a lift member equipped with a mechanical lock device.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view of a lift member equipped with a mechanical lock device.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a lift member.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the mechanical lock device in a non-stopper state.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of various rollers and a main part of a mechanical lock device.

FIG. 8 is a detailed view of the mechanical lock device in a non-stopper state.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of switching the stopper state of the mechanical lock device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Base, 3 ... Lifting guide, 4 ... Flexible hose, 5
... pressurized air supply means, 7 ... lift member, 13 ... hose pinching roller, 18 ... stopper rod, 19 ... stopper member, 20 ... stopper operating member, 21 ... biasing means, A
... Work supply position, B ... Work take-out position, W ... Work,
X ... Non-stopper state, Y ... Stopper state.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A flexible hose, to which a means for supplying pressurized air is connected, is arranged on the lower side of a base between a work supply position and a work extraction position along an up-and-down guide installed vertically. An air lifter configured such that a roller for sandwiching a hose is rotatably provided on a lift member for raising and lowering a work which can be raised and lowered along an elevation guide, and the lift member is raised and lowered by controlling supply of pressurized air to the hose. , A stopper rod is provided along the elevating guide, and a stopper member that locks on the outer surface of the stopper rod as it rotates, and a stopper member that is driven as the hose diameter increases by the supply of pressurized air. With a stopper actuating member that holds the member in the non-stopper state, and with the diameter of the hose reduced, switch the stopper member to the stopper state An air lifter, characterized in that the lift member is provided with a biasing means for biasing.