JPS5916348Y2 - Capsule coupling device for capsule transportation - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a capsule coupling device for capsule transportation.

As is well known, capsule transportation is a method of transporting cargo by running a capsule (called a capsule) in a pipeline using air or water pressure.

In the above-mentioned capsule transportation, it is considered desirable to perform a coupling or uncoupling operation without temporarily stopping the capsule during cargo handling in order to improve transportation efficiency.

However, in the capsule coupling devices that have been proposed so far, the capsules are temporarily stopped before the coupling or uncoupling operation is performed.

For this reason, there has been a demand for the development of a connecting device that can connect or disconnect capsules from each other while running the capsules without stopping them.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a capsule coupling device for capsule transportation, which allows capsules to be coupled or separated while traveling.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, 1a is one capsule, and 1b is the other capsule. Hydraulic buffer cylinders 2a and 2b are provided at the connecting ends of these capsules 1a and 1b, respectively.

Piston rods 3 of these hydraulic buffer cylinders 2a, 2b
The connecting device 5 of the present invention is provided at the mutually opposing tip ends of a and 3b.

This will be explained in detail with reference to FIG. 2. A connecting protrusion 6 is provided at the tip of one piston rod 3a.

The connecting projection 6 is composed of a mounting portion 7 fixed to the tip of the piston rod 3a, and a disc-shaped locking portion 9 connected to the tip of the mounting portion 7 via a locking step 8. has been done.

The front surface 9a of the locking portion 9 is formed into a substantially hemispherical shape.

Further, a connecting base 10 is provided at the tip of the other piston rod 3b so as to face the locking part 9 of the connecting projection 6.

This connecting stand 10 is formed into a disk shape with approximately the same diameter as the locking portion 9, and the front surface thereof is formed into an approximately hemispherical shape.

A U-shaped mounting bracket 11 is fixed to the center of the upper surface of the connecting base 10 by means such as welding. 13
It is rotatably attached via the

A locking pawl 14 is integrally formed at the distal end of the locking member 12 to lock onto the locking step 8 to maintain the mutually connected state of the capsules la and lb.

The bottom surface of the distal end of this locking pawl 14 is obliquely notched 14a, and when this notch 14a collides with the front surface 9a of the locking portion 9 before starting the connecting operation, this causes the locking member 1
2 can be lifted upwards once using a pin 13 as a fulcrum.

In addition, a through hole 15 is formed in the center of the connecting table 10 in the vertical direction, and a disconnecting rod 16 is movable in the vertical direction, that is, in a direction perpendicular to the advancing direction of the capsule, within this through hole 15. is inserted into.

The upper part of the through hole 15 is formed to have a large diameter through a stepped portion 15a, and a pressing portion 17 provided at the upper end of the disconnecting rod 16 is engaged with this stepped portion 15a.

This prevents the connection release rod 16 from coming off from the through hole 15 and falling.

Moreover, the pressing part 17 at the upper end of the connection release rod 16 protrudes from the top surface of the connection base 10 during the connection release operation, and the pressing part 17 is pressed against the locking member 1.
It is adapted to press the lower surface near the proximal end of 2.

Furthermore, a ball 18 is loosely fitted to the lower end of the disconnecting rod 16, so that a pressing force that moves the disconnecting rod 16 upward during the disconnecting operation is applied through the ball 18.

The hydraulic shock absorbing cylinders 2a and 2b are respectively equipped with hollow wheel mounting shafts 22a and 22b on which wheels 21a and 21b are mounted via supports 20a and 20b.

Further, the piston rods 3a and 3b are provided with restoring springs 23a and 23b, respectively.

Furthermore, as is clear from Figures 1 and 2, capsule 1
There is a connecting protrusion 6 between the outer end surface of the wheel mounting shaft 22 a of a and the locking pawl 14 of the locking member 12 of the other capsule 1b that is locked to the locking step 8 of the connecting protrusion 6. A floating gap G larger than the movable width is provided.

Next, the connection operation and connection release operation of the above device will be explained.

First, to explain the connection operation, for example, the capsule 1b is running in the pipeline 25 first, followed by the capsule 1a, and when the capsule 1b comes to a position in front of the unloading device (not shown), The capsule 1b is decelerated and travels at a slow speed, but at this time, the following capsule 1a rear-ends it.

Then, the front surface 9a of the locking portion 9 meets the notch 14 of the locking pawl 14.
By pressing a, the locking member 12 lifts upward using the pin 13 as a fulcrum and collides with the front surface of the connecting table 10.

When the front surface 9a of the locking portion 9 collides with the front surface of the connecting base 10, the locking member 12 simultaneously returns due to its own weight, and the locking pawl 14 at the tip locks onto the locking stepped portion 8.

Thereby, capsule 1a and capsule 1b are connected.

This connected state is maintained by the weight of the locking member 12 and the friction between the locking pawl 14 and the locking step 8, and thereafter the capsules 1a and 1b travel in a connected state.

Note that the speed at which the capsule 1a collides with the capsule 1b is not so high, so the impact at the time of the rear collision is slight, and this impact is absorbed by the hydraulic shock absorbers 2a, 2b and the restoring springs 23a, 23b, and the impact is substantially reduced. No problems arise.

When the capsules la and lb move in a connected state, the connecting base 10 of the capsule 1b in FIG.
It may be pushed to the left against the
Since a floating gap G that is larger than the movable width of the connecting projection 6 is formed between the wheel attachment shaft 22a of the capsule 1a and the locking pawl 14 of the locking member 12 in the locked state, the locking pawl 14
The capsule 1a will not come off the locking step 8 or break by hitting the outer end surface of the wheel mounting shaft 22a of the capsule 1a.

Next, the uncoupling operation will be explained. As shown in FIG. 3, the capsules 1a and 1b are transferred in a connected state by a conveying device (not shown) to the exit side of an unloading device (not shown). When the connection release device 2 is placed in that position,
The release cam member 27 of No. 6 is run in the same direction and at the same speed as the capsules 1a and 1b.

When the release cam member 27 reaches the release position, the release cam member 27 rides on the release dog 28, and as shown in FIG. An upward pressing force acts on 16.

Then, the pressing part 17 protrudes from the upper surface of the connecting base 10 and pushes up the locking member 12.

As a result, the locking member 12 rotates upward about the pin 13, and the locking pawl 14 is disengaged from the locking step 8.

At this time, use a suction blower (not shown) to remove the stuck capsule. Pull away from a.

Thereby, the connection between capsule 1a and capsule 1b is released.

According to the embodiment described above, a pressing force is applied from the pressing plate 30 at the upper end of the release cam member 27 to move the connection release rod 16 upward through the ball 18 loosely fitted to the lower end of the connection release rod 16. I'm letting you do it.

Therefore, even if a pressing force that lifts the connection release rod 16 upward is applied when the pressing plate 30 is not in a horizontal state but in a slightly inclined state, the horizontal component of the pressing force is used to rotate the ball 18. Therefore, there is no possibility of tilting the disconnecting rod 16.

Therefore, a part of the connection release rod 16 does not come into pressure contact with the inner wall surface of the through hole 15, and can smoothly move upward.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the invention.

In FIG. 5, the same components as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 are given the same numbers, and their explanations will be omitted.

In this second embodiment, the locking member 12 and the connecting base 10
A coil spring 31 is provided between the locking claw 14 and the locking stepped portion 8, and the elastic force of the coil spring 31 acts to maintain the locking of the locking pawl 14 and the locking step portion 8.

Therefore, even if the capsule is subjected to vibrations while traveling, there is no fear that the locking pawl 14 and the locking step 8 will be disengaged, and the capsules are reliably connected to each other.

In addition, if the coil spring 31 is provided as in this embodiment, the locking member 12 can also be attached to the side surface and the bottom surface of the connecting base 10.

This is convenient in cases where the disconnection device 26 cannot be installed at the bottom of the pipeline 25.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the connecting operation and the uncoupling operation can be smoothly performed while the capsule is traveling.

Therefore, by using the coupling device of the present invention, there is no need to temporarily stop the capsule during cargo handling, and transportation efficiency can be improved.

Furthermore, since the connecting operation is performed by colliding the capsules, no human effort is required; all that is required is to control the running speed of the capsules to be connected to create conditions for collision.

On the other hand, the uncoupling operation only requires pressing the uncoupling rod from the outside and moving it in the axial direction, and therefore the configuration of the external device (uncoupling device) for performing the uncoupling operation is also simple.

Furthermore, the uncoupling rod is configured to be moved in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel of the capsule to disengage the locking pawl from the locking step so that the solid transport loaded thereon from the capsule is Even if something spills into the pipeline for some reason and hits the uncoupling rod due to the capsule running, the uncoupling rod will move and the locking pawl will be removed from the locking step. Moreover, unlike the case where the uncoupling rod is inclined with respect to the direction of movement of the capsule,
Regardless of the direction in which the capsule moves to the right or to the left in FIG. 1, it always functions correctly and the locking pawl can be removed from the locking step.

In addition, since a floating gap larger than the movable width of the connecting protrusion is provided between the outer end surface of the wheel mounting shaft of one capsule and the locking pawl of the locking member of the other capsule in the locked state. Even if the connecting protrusion is pushed while the capsule is moving, the locking pawl of the locking member will not hit the wheel mounting shaft and come off the locking step or be broken.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention,
Fig. 1 is a side view, Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the main part, Figs. 3 and 4 are explanatory diagrams explaining the uncoupling operation, and Fig. 5 is the main part showing the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A connecting protrusion 6 having a locking step 8 is provided at the connecting end of one of the capsules 1a, and a locking pawl 14 locks into the locking step 8 of the connecting protrusion 6 at the connecting end of the other capsule 1b. In a capsule connecting device for capsule transportation, which is provided with a connecting table 10 having a locking member 12, the connecting table 10
, a connection release rod 16 is moved by an external pressing force to rotate the locking member 12 about its base end and detach the locking pawl 14 from the locking step 8 of the connecting projection 6. capsule 1
It is attached movably in a direction almost perpendicular to the direction of movement of capsules 1a and 1b, and is locked to the outer end surface of the wheel attachment shaft 22a of one of the capsules 1a and the locking step 8 of the connecting projection 6. Connection of capsules in transporting capsules, characterized in that a floating gap G larger than the movable width of the connecting protrusion 6 is provided between the locking claw 14 of the locking member 12 of the other capsule 1b. Device.