JPH1035873A - Carrying equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To unload a cargo in the transverse direction to the moving direction of an endless loop onto a chassis member by providing the endless loop to which the chassis member having wheels is connected. SOLUTION: In a carrying equipment having an endless loop to which a plurality of chassis member 15 having wheels and traveling on a guide track are connected, each chassis member is of U-shape, and a wheel 20 of each member is mounted on each end of a T-shaped transverse member. A carrier 14 is mounted on each chassis member 15 in a removable manner, and the power is generated by a generator 30 with a hub mounted on at least one wheel 20 of each chassis member 15. The carrier 14 is preferably a cross-belt device to be driven by a motor provided on the carrier, and and article loaded on the device is unloaded in the transverse direction to the moving direction of the carrying equipment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transfer device suitable for moving an object from one place to another, and more particularly to a transfer / reception device used in a selection / classification device, which receives an object at a certain place and selects one of several subsequent places. It relates to a transport device, which distributes it into one. Transport devices used in the selection / sorting device are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,231,068 discloses a transport device provided with a lateral transport device for unloading an object transported by the transport device in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the transport device. The unloading is performed by operating an endless belt at the position of the unloading platform. Several methods of mechanically driving the endless belt are disclosed.

There is also a method of simply tilting a carrier for carrying an object and sliding the object down to an unloading platform beside a carrier by the action of gravity. Furthermore, GB-A-2,140,371 and EP
-A-0393733 proposes using an electric motor to drive an endless belt on a carrier forming part of a transport device. In GB-A-2,140,371, the power of the electric motor is obtained from a bus bar extending along the side of the conveying device.
P-A-0393773 proposes that each carrier is provided with a generator driven by relative movement between the carrier and the support frame of the carrier when the carrier is driven.

GB-A-2,140,371 discloses the use of a permanent magnet dc motor, and EP-A-0393733 conveyors using permanent magnet dc motors have been made. Considering that the output of the motor is proportional to the applied voltage and that anyone can easily control the applied voltage, the permanent magnet d.
c. The motor appears to be suitable for such use at first glance, but is actually expensive and requires maintenance.
Furthermore, the entire structure of the transfer device in GB-A-2140371 and EP-A-0393773 does not require quick repair, and is different from the transfer device, that is, the transfer device using an unloading device other than moving the endless belt. I can not cope.

[0004] The present invention relates to a carrier having an endless loop formed by connecting a plurality of wheeled chassis members to which a carrier for unloading a load in a direction transverse to the moving direction of the endless loop is removably mounted. Related to the device. Preferably, at least one of the wheels of the chassis member is provided with a generator for supplying power as the wheels rotate.

In a preferred embodiment, each carrier is provided with an endless belt driven by an electric motor for unloading. The electric motor is in the form of an ac motor. Each carrier is provided with an electric circuit for controlling the electric motor. In addition, a battery is provided for each carrier. In order to make the present invention easier to understand, embodiments are described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0006] The present invention is directed to a transporter that conveys items on separate platforms to a selected one of a number of unloaders on one or both sides of the transporter's path.
In the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the individual platforms are in the form of cross-belt devices, but the platforms may be in other forms, such as inclined trays or the like. Hereinafter, the type of the cross belt of the present invention will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transport device has a rail structure 10 which forms a track of the transport device. The truck forms a closed loop and the conveyor has a loading platform at one point of the loop and a number of unloaders at different points on the loop. Since the mounting table and the unloading table are conventional, the description is omitted. The rail structure 10 is provided with a horizontal guide surface 11 and a vertical guide surface 12 for a cross-belt device 14 (only two of which are shown). Each cross belt device 14 is shown in FIG.
Is mounted on a chassis member 15 which is more clearly shown. Details will be described later.

If a problem occurs and a new cross belt device needs to be replaced, the cross belt device 14 is mounted so that it can be immediately removed from the chassis member 15. The chassis members 15 are connected in any suitable manner so as to be continuously connected in a chain, and are driven in a convenient manner according to the use mode of the transfer device. In this embodiment, it is desirable to drive the linked chassis member 15 using a linear motor (not shown).

In the present embodiment, the chassis member 15 is
It is linked by a ball and socket device that provides a limited amount of travel in two dimensions so that the transport device can turn corners and go up and down the slope. In FIG. 2, the chassis member 15 is shown in more detail,
It comprises a longitudinal member 17 whose one end is fixed to the central part of a transverse member 18. At both ends of the lateral member 18, main wheels, which support the weight of the cross belt device 14, are provided.
9 and 20 are provided. The cross member 18 is also provided with guide wheels 22, 23 arranged to rotate along the vertical guide surface 12 of the truck, thereby providing lateral stability.

At the center of the horizontal member 18, there is provided a ball portion 25 of a joint consisting of a ball and a socket.
The socket part of the joint is provided with an attachment 27 of a support member 26 fixed to another end of the longitudinal member 17.
Provided by The attachment 27 receives and holds the ball portion of the next chassis member. The cross belt device 14 is fixed to the chassis member 15 by a T-shaped head bolt (not shown) which receives a head portion in a groove 28 formed along the longitudinal member 17. The bolt shank is received by a hole 29 in the frame at the end of the cross-belt device 14. The cross belt device 14 can be easily removed from the chassis member 15 by loosening the bolt and rotating the bolt 90 degrees so that the head of the bolt is aligned with the slot (elongated hole) in the groove 28.

As long as the basic structure of the transfer device is as described above, any platform may be attached to the connected chassis member 15. If the individual platforms are shown as electric motors 31
If it is required that the cross belt device 14 is driven by a power supply, or if it is required to mount electronic components on each platform, it is necessary to supply electric power. This is achieved by installing one or both of 19 and 20. In FIG. 2, wheel 2
Only 0 shows an example in which the generator 30 is provided.

The configuration of the generator 30 is such that the outer cylindrical case is fixed to the wheels and rotates together with the wheels, while the central rotating shaft is fixed. This is the opposite of inside and outside compared to a conventional generator. In addition, the small diameter of the generator has traditionally required the use of the latest high performance permanent magnets to make the generator. Since this construction does not require any transmission of the generator, it has fewer parts and less wear.

As described above, each cross belt device 14
Includes an electric motor 31 that drives an endless belt 33 via a belt 32 and a drive roller. Further, a driven roller is provided, and the belt 33 is stretched between the driving roller and the driven roller. As the electric motor, for example, an AC induction type motor operating at 220V is preferable. If there is a suitable motor from various manufacturers on the market,
Such a motor is a standard type. But they are d.
c. Requires more complex controls than motors. This will be described with reference to FIG.

The generator 30 is of the AC type and is used to charge the battery 40 via a conventionally designed charging circuit 39. Battery 40 can be of any suitable size, but a readily available 12V rechargeable battery is preferred. This battery has 12
Power a voltage boost circuit in the form of a V-360V converter 41, which is formed by a series of capacitors 36
Power is supplied to the 0 V accumulator (storage battery) 42.

The switch type AC inverter circuit 43 controlled by the CPU 44 is used for supplying electric power from the accumulator 42 to the motor 31. Motor 3
The operation of 1 is monitored by the inverter circuit 43 and the CPU 44 by monitoring the slip angle between the rotor and the magnetic field generated by the stator and comparing this with a desired value. This allows the system to control the cross-belt device 14, with one and several cross-belt devices 14 handling both very light and heavy objects.

In practice, the batteries are stored in a unit 50 mounted below the cross belt device 14,
On the other hand, the electronic circuit is stored in a unit 51 installed alongside the unit 50. In this apparatus, the generator 30 is disconnected from the electronic circuit unit 51, and the cross belt apparatus 14 and the chassis member 15 are disconnected from each other, so that the entire cross belt apparatus is processed by a motor, a battery, and an electronic device. All you have to do is lift it off with the circuit. This is very advantageous when considering the downtime of the transport device to be minimized. In this manner, another platform can be fixed to the chassis member 15.

A communication circuit 45 is connected to the CPU 44 so that information is transmitted and received between the CPU 44 and the central controller. This is achieved using a remote, contactless link, such as an LED-based system. CPU44
May be used to monitor the operation of various parts of the system, including the generator 30 and motor 31, and to notify the central controller of these or potential defects.

Various modifications of the present invention are conceivable. For example, the generator 30 on the wheels 20 of the chassis 15 may be used to power adjacent cross-belt devices rather than to its own cross-belt device. However, this may be changed. CPU 44 may also be used to monitor the presence of an object on the platform.
Also, every other one of the chassis members 15 in a chain, two generators, one for each wheel 19, 20, to supply power to its own platform and adjacent platforms May be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a part of a transport device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a part of the transport device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a circuit used in the transfer device shown in FIG. 1;

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An endless loop formed by connecting a chassis member with wheels, the chassis member includes:
A transfer device, wherein a carrier for unloading a load in a direction transverse to a moving direction of the endless loop is detachably mounted. 2. At least one wheel of each of the plurality of connected wheeled chassis members is provided with a generator for supplying power as the wheels rotate.
The transfer device according to claim 1. 3. The transfer device according to claim 2, wherein each generator has a cylindrical case mounted on wheels and rotating with the wheels about a central rotation axis. 4. The transport device according to claim 3, wherein the diameter of the cylindrical case is not larger than the diameter of the wheel to which it is attached. 5. The transport device according to claim 3, wherein each generator is an AC generator, and a rectifying charging circuit is provided for charging the battery from the AC generator. 6. The chassis member is T-shaped,
The transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein wheels are provided at both ends of the T-shaped horizontal member, and one end in a longitudinal direction of the chassis member is connected to a horizontal member of an adjacent chassis member. 7. The plurality of T-shaped members are connected to each other so as to allow relative movement in both horizontal and vertical directions.
The transfer device according to claim 6. 8. The transfer device according to claim 2, wherein the carrier includes an endless belt that is driven in a direction transverse to a moving direction of the endless loop. 9. The endless belt is driven by an electric motor provided on the carrier.
The transfer device as described in the above. 10. The electric motor is driven through a control device provided on the carrier. The transport device according to claim 9, which is a c-motor.