JPS6142684B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a conveyor device that can change the direction of a loaded object and circulate it in a vertical plane without changing its attitude, and can also stop it at any predetermined position as necessary. Regarding.

It would be extremely advantageous if a large number of materials, parts, semi-finished products, finished products, etc. could be stored and circulated on the return path side of the conveyor where the conveyor chain circulates in a vertical plane, since this would allow effective use of space. especially,
As material handling equipment for machine tools,
For example, if this could be applied to the pallet conveyor of a robot-equipped NC lathe, that is, a conveyor for processing materials and processed parts, it would be compact and could be installed close to or incorporated into the NC lathe.
This will further promote automation of processing.

As a conveyor having such a function, a conveyor device as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has been used. In the gravity bucket type conveyor shown in Fig. 1, the loading platform 1 is suspended via pins 3 by the conveyor chain 2 that supports and guides it, so it is kept horizontal by gravity. Depending on the loading position, it tilts or swings, making it extremely unstable. In order to prevent this, a special guide is required and the structure becomes complicated.

On the other hand, in the planetary gear type conveyor shown in FIG. 2, the loading platform 5 is fixed to a planetary gear 7 that meshes with a rotating sun gear 6 at the center. utilizes a planetary gear mechanism rotatably meshing with a separately fixed internal gear 8. If the number of teeth of the sun gear 6, internal gear 8, and planetary gear 7 is appropriately selected, the loading platform 5 will circulate as the planetary gear 7 revolves without changing its attitude as the sun gear 6 rotates. . Therefore, unlike the above method, this method can reliably hold the load W horizontally, but it is expensive because it has a complicated gear mechanism, and there are restrictions on the number of planetary gears and the movement path. Because of this, there is a limit to the number of items that can be loaded.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, to change the direction of a large number of loaded objects W at all times without changing their posture, to be able to store the loaded objects even after the change, and to An object of the present invention is to provide a conveyor device that can circulate the conveyor belt in a stable state and stop it at any predetermined position.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail based on FIGS. 3 to 9.

Pallet 1 on which the load W is placed on the upper surface and transported
1 has an inverted U-shaped cross section consisting of an upper plate 11a and both side plates 11b, and the side plates 11b each have a rear (third
The first set of left and right
A support pin 12 and a pair of left and right second support pins 13 at the front (also on the right side) protrude rotatably. As clearly shown in FIG. 8, the first support pin 12 is connected to a pair of left and right endless conveyor chains 15 at a predetermined interval via an attachment 14.
This conveyance chain 15 is circulated by two sets of first chain wheels 16a and 16b on the left and right sides at both ends. This chain wheel 16a is pivotally supported by a bearing 18 fixed to a conveyor frame 17, and is connected to a drive chain 20, 21 and a chain wheel 22 from a reducer and an electric motor 19 with a brake.
It is driven via 23a etc.

The second support pin 13 has a long shaft with a pair of left and right flanges 13a formed in the middle, and is pivotally supported by the side plate 11b of the pallet 11 and a pin bearing case 11c provided in the center of the pallet 11, and expands and contracts in the axial direction. It is possible. Further, within this pin bearing case 11c, a dust resistance member is provided between the retracted pin and the pin so that the pin does not return freely.
This support pin 13 is attached to the conveyor frame 17 on the outward path (the upper rightward movement path in FIG. 3).
The second guide bar 24 is supported by the first guide bar 24 fixed to the
It is guided and supported by a guide bar 25.
(Note that since the first support pin 12 is held by the conveyor chain 15, it is not necessarily necessary to support it by a guide bar, but in this embodiment, since the length of the conveyor is long, it is necessary to maintain the pallet 11 horizontally.) (The structure is such that it is supported by a common guide bar.) In addition, the above-mentioned support pin
Two sets of second chain wheels 26a and 26b, each having teeth on the circumference that engage with the drive chains 21 and 28 and the chain wheel 23a, are pivotally supported by bearings 27 fixed to the conveyor frame 17. , 23b, etc., to rotate in synchronization with the first chain wheels 16a and 16b. Furthermore, the line connecting the centers of the first and second support pins 12, 13 is parallel to the direction of movement thereof, and the distance L between the centers of both support pins 12, 13 of the pallet 11 is as shown in FIG. , the center spacing L' of the first and second chain wheels 16a, 26a and 16b, 26b are equal, L=
L', and also the rotation radius R of the first support pin 12 and the pitch circle radius of the second chain wheels 26a, 26b.
Since it is configured to be equal to R′,
Both ends of this conveyor are equipped with a function to change the direction of the pallet 11 without changing its posture.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the first guide bar 24 has a length until its right end engages the roller pin 15a of the conveyance chain 15 with the first chain wheel 16b. The pin 13 is configured to be supported by an auxiliary third guide bar 29 until it engages with the second chain wheel 26b.

The reference numeral 30 used in FIGS. 4 and 8 is a plate for retracting the support pin 13, and is located near the lower side of the second chain wheel 26a, and is a connecting member 31 etc. that connects the lower chord member 17a of the conveyor frame 17. A pair of plates that are firmly fixed at a predetermined position and widen in the opposite direction to the traveling direction of the pallet 11, and are used to hold the pallet 1 traveling in the direction of the arrow.
1 below the flange 1 of the support pin 13
It comes into contact with the outside of 3a and serves to draw it inward. Note that 32 is an auxiliary fourth guide bar for supporting the second support pin 13 that is retracted and falls off from the second guide bar 25.

Further, the reference numeral 33 used in FIGS. 5 and 9 indicates the retracted support pin 1.
This is a plate for pulling out the support pin 13 that plays the role of pulling out the conveyor frame 1 and returning it to its original state.
It is firmly fixed at a predetermined position of a connecting member (not shown) that connects the upper chord members 17b of No.7.
It is located below the pallet 11 moving in the direction of the arrow and comes into contact with the inside of the flange 13a of the support pin 13 to pull it out to its original length. Note that the auxiliary fifth guide bar 34 is used for a while until the retracted support pin 13 is pulled out and placed on the first guide bar 24.
I'm starting to support this.

In addition, the pin shaft stiffness case 11 of the pallet 11
A compression spring is provided in c to always bias the second support pin 13 in the direction of pulling it out, and the support pin retraction plate 30 retracts the support pin 13 against this spring force. A semicircular guide is continuously provided on the support pin retraction plate 30 to guide the retracted flange 13a of the support pin 13 until the support pin 13 is placed on the fifth guide bar 34. The support pin extraction plate 33 described above becomes unnecessary.

In addition, each chain wheel 26 of each guide bar 25 and 32
An arcuate guide surface is formed at the lower outer peripheral end of b and 26a so that the support pin 13 is smoothly guided along each chain wheel without falling off.

In the above configuration, when the first chain wheel 16a is driven by the reduction gear and the electric motor 19 with a brake via the drive chains 20, 21, etc., the pallet 11 with the load W on the forward side placed on the upper surface The two sets of support pins 12 and 13 are connected to the first guide bar 24.
It moves in the direction of the arrow in Figure 3 while being supported by. When the second support pin 13 reaches near point C, the pin 13 that was supported by the first guide bar 24 comes to be supported by the third guide bar 29. Then, when the pin 13 advances further and reaches around point D, this pin 13 engages with the teeth of the second chain wheel 26b, and around point C, the conveyor chain connected to the first support pin 12 1
No. 5 roller pin 15a engages with the first chain wheel 16b. As mentioned above, since the first guide bar 24 ends near this point C, the first support pin 12 moves toward the first chain wheel without being hindered in its movement by the first guide bar 24. 16b. As mentioned above, this chain wheel 16b
together with a chain wheel 23b and a second chain wheel 26b which rotates in synchronization with the chain wheel 23b via the drive chain 28.
Since it has a function to change the direction of the load without changing the attitude of the load, the pallet 11 is moved to the return path side of the lower stage without changing its attitude, and the support pins 13 and 12 are moved near points E and F. They are each transferred to and supported by the second guide bar 25 in FIG.

Next, when the second support pin 13 of the pallet 11 reaches around the fourth point G, the outside of the flange 13a of this pin 13 comes into contact with the support pin retraction plate 30, so that the pallet 11 moves in the direction of the arrow The support pin 13 is retracted as it advances in the direction. Then, the support is transferred from the second guide bar 25 to the auxiliary fourth guide bar 32, and when it reaches near the H point, this pin 13 interferes with the conveyance chain 15 and the pair of upper first guide bars 24. The chain wheel 26a is retracted to a length that allows it to pass through the inside of the chain wheel 26a, and engages with the teeth of the second chain wheel 26a. At the same time, near point I, the roller pin 15a of the conveyor chain 15 to which the first support pin 12 is connected also connects to the first chain wheel 1.
6a. Therefore, the pallet 11 passes through the inside of the chain 15 without its second support pin 13 coming into contact with it, and as described above, without changing its attitude, the pallet 11 is turned around and returned to the upper path again.

The first support pin 12 of the pallet 11 returned to the forward path is near point J, and the second support pin 13 is near point K.
Near the point, each person leaves the chain wheel and moves to the first guide bar 2.
4 and an auxiliary fifth guide bar 34, the pallet 11 moves while being supported by these guide bars. At this time, the inner side of the flange 13a of the second support pin 13 that has been retracted comes into contact with the support pin pullout plate 33, so that the pallet 1
1 advances in the direction of the arrow, the support pin 13 is pulled out and returns to its original length, and comes to be supported by the common first guide bar 24. If the load W on the pallet 11 is a material for processing, for example, the pallet 11 is temporarily stopped at a point C-D on the forward path, and the material is gripped by the chuck of an NC lathe using another conveyance mechanism such as a robot shown in the figure. At the same time, the machined parts machined by the NC lathe are placed on the pallet 11, and then the conveyance chain is restarted to transport the machined parts to a take-out position, for example, point JK.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, the first
There is also a second chain wheel between the chain wheel 16b and the second chain wheel 26b.
Since a pair of third guide bars 29 are provided to support the support pins 13, both chain wheels 16
The second support pin 13 does not fall down between b and 26b, and the pallet 11 can be held horizontally.

Further, the width of the pair of third guide bars 29 described above is formed to be wider than the length of the first support pin 12 so as not to disturb the circulation of the first support pin 12. 13 is pulled out to match its width by the support pin pull-out plate 33 and supported by the third guide bar 29.
The second support pins 13 of the pallet 11 are retracted by the support pin retraction plate 30 as necessary during the circulation to avoid interference (contact) with the conveyance chain 15 and the guide bar 24. can be supported by an auxiliary guide bar,
In addition, the first support pin 12 has a structure in which interference with the guide bar can be avoided even at a direction change point by disposing the guide bar divided by an auxiliary guide bar, so that the pallet 11 is not interfered with by anything. You can circulate without changing your posture.

In addition, in the above description, if the support pin retraction plate 30 and the support pin withdrawal plate 33 are also given the function of an auxiliary guide bar that supports and guides the support pin 13, the fourth and The fifth auxiliary guide bars 32 and 34 are no longer necessary.

Next, although it is not an embodiment of the present invention, a conveyor device that can achieve the same purpose as the present invention will be described as a reference example with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12. This conveyor device differs from the previous embodiment in that, firstly, the second support pin 43 of the pallet 41 is shorter than the first support pin 42 and does not interfere with the endless conveyance chain 44; This point is set from the beginning to a length that allows the wire to pass through the inside of the chain 44 without coming into contact with it. Therefore, the second
The support pin 43 does not have an expansion/contraction mechanism as in the previous embodiment, and is not provided with a plate for retracting and pulling out the support pin 43. However, since the guide bar is based on the shorter second support pin 43, it is located inside the second chain wheels 53a, 53b, and the outward journey is from near point J to near point D in FIG. is provided from near point E to near point I. Therefore, in this conveyor device, the longer first support pins 42, which are connected to the endless conveyance chain 44 at predetermined intervals and driven in circulation, are prevented from interfering (abutting and becoming immobile) with the guide bar at the direction change section. Therefore, a guide bar retracting means is provided to release the guide bar from interference with the first support pin 42.

Secondly, the first support pin 42 is not connected to the conveyor chain via an attachment as in the previous embodiment, but this support pin 42 is extended and directly integrated with the roller pin of the conveyor chain 44. Therefore, each chain wheel 52a, 5
2b, 53a, and 53b are all the same. However, regarding this point, since there is no functional difference from the previous embodiment, this explanation will be omitted.
The first difference will be mainly explained. Also,
Components with the same reference numerals as those in the above embodiment have the same functions, and therefore, description thereof will also be omitted.

The sixth guide bar 45 on the outward path is supported by a support bracket 46 provided on the conveyor frame 17. Reference numeral 47 in FIG. 10 denotes a first swinging guide bar that is swingably supported by a guide bar support stand 48 and a bracket 49 provided on the conveyor frame 17 via a support shaft 50;
The guide bar 45 is located within the extended plane of the guide bar 45. As shown by the two-dot chain line, the left end portion 47b is normally connected to the sixth guide bar 4 by the compression spring 51.
It is connected to 5. Therefore, in this state, the second support pin 43 of the pallet 41 moves from the sixth guide bar 45 to the first swing guide bar 47.
When the pin 43 moves further while being supported by this and comes to the side of the compression spring 51, the compression spring 51 is compressed by the weight of the pallet 41.
The anti-compression spring side of the first swing guide bar 47 is structured to spring up as shown by the solid line. (Note that the protruding surface 48a of the swing guide bar support base 48
serves as a stopper for the first swing guide bar 47 at this time. ) and this first
Since a long arc-shaped guide surface 47a is formed at the end of the swinging guide bar 47 on the compression spring side,
The anti-compression spring side of the first swing guide bar 47 continues to spring up until the second support pin 43 passes through this guide surface. Therefore, the first support pin 42 that came later and engaged with the first chain wheel 52b is attached to the left end portion 47b of the swinging guide bar, which is formed by the upward movement of the first swinging guide bar 47.
and the end of the sixth guide bar 45, and can move without being interfered with by the sixth guide bar 45. Then, as in the previous embodiment, the pallet 41 is moved to the return path side without changing its attitude, and the support pins 42 and 43 are moved to the seventh guide bar 54. (The code is this seventh
5 is a bracket provided on the conveyor frame 17 for supporting the guide bar 54 of the conveyor frame 17.
Reference numeral 6 designates a first arc-shaped guide that guides the support pin 43 so that it does not fall off the teeth of the chain wheel 53b. )
The first swinging guide bar 47 that has sprung up returns to its original position before the second support pin of the next pallet arrives.

Next, the reference numeral 57 used in FIG.
is a second swinging guide bar that is swingably supported by a swinging guide bar support stand 58 and a bracket 59 provided on the conveyor frame 17 via a support shaft 60, and is located outside of the seventh guide bar 54. , i.e. the second
It is in the same vertical plane as the fixed second arcuate guide 61 that guides along the outer periphery of the chain wheel 53a.
(It is in the same relative position as the first arcuate guide 56 in FIG. 12.) The second arcuate guide 61 is normally in the inclined state shown by the solid line due to the compression spring 62, that is, the fixed second arcuate guide 61 is are in a separated state. (Note that the inclined protruding surface 58a of the singing guide bar support stand 58 serves as a stopper at this time.) Therefore, the seventh guide bar 54 is driven by the conveyance chain 44 and moves along the return path. The first support pin 42 of the pallet 41 that has moved above
passes through the space N formed between the end 57a of the swinging guide bar 57 and the arcuate guide 61 without being interfered with by the arc-shaped guide surface 57a formed on the swinging guide bar 57, and is compressed. It reaches the spring 62 side and comes to rest on the swing guide bar 57. Then, due to the weight of the pallet, the compression spring 6
2 is compressed, the swing guide bar 57 is connected to the fixed arc-shaped guide 61 and forms a continuous arc-shaped guide surface together with the guide surface 57a, as shown by the two-dot chain line. Therefore, the second support pin 43 that came later is guided by the arcuate guide surface 57a formed on the swing guide bar 57 and engages with the teeth of the chain wheel 53a, thereby starting to change direction. A long arc-shaped guide surface 57b is formed at the end of the swing guide bar 57 on the compression spring side, so that the guide surface 57a of the swing guide bar is connected to the fixed arc-shaped guide 6.
The fact that we are regulating the time we are connected to 1 is that
This is the same as in the case of the first swing guide bar 47 described above. Note that a fluid pressure actuated cylinder may be used instead of the compression spring as the element for swinging the swing guide bar, and the limit switch may be activated by detecting the arrival of the pallet 11.

Further, an arc-shaped guide surface 45a for the second support pin 43 is formed on the left end of the sixth guide bar 45 on the forward path side, and this guide surface 45a is formed between it and the guide bar on the first chain wheel 52a side. Since the space P through which the pin passes is provided, the guide bar on the outward path side is divided into the sixth guide bar 45 and the eighth guide bar 63.

As explained above, according to the conveyor device in this reference example, the swinging guide bars 47 and 57 are located at the location where the first support pin 42 interferes with the guide bar.
Since it is structured to avoid interference using
The pallets 41 can be circulated without being interfered with by anything.

For convenience of explanation, the above embodiments have only been described with respect to a horizontal conveyor, but even if the present invention is applied to a vertical or inclined conveyor, exactly the same operation and effect can be achieved. In other words, if the loading platform is vertical, the loading platform is formed into an L shape, and if the loading platform is inclined, the loading platform is formed into an open L shape that matches the inclination, so that the loaded material can be kept horizontal at all times and circulated. .

Further, although the embodiment has been described with respect to a simple circulating type conveyor for the sake of explanation, the present invention can also be applied to a meandering type conveyor as shown in FIG. 13, etc.

As described above, according to the present invention, the guide member for guiding the second support pin is also disposed between the first chain wheel and the second chain wheel. This prevents the second support pin from coming off a predetermined path between the two chain wheels and falling, for example, downward, causing the loading platform to tilt or otherwise changing its posture and causing the load on the loading platform to fall. This allows the loading platform to be kept in normal condition at all times.

In addition, it is possible to prevent an excessive load from being applied to the conveyance chain via the first support pin due to the second support pin falling downward between the first and second chain wheels and deviating from the predetermined path. , it is possible to prevent damage to the conveyor chain in the short term.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, a support pin retracting means for retracting the second support pin in order to avoid interference between the second support pin and at least one of the guide member or the conveyance chain; The length of the first support pin is greater than the length of the first support pin, or Even if the above-mentioned guide member is provided to support the second support pin with a small protrusion length, if the second support pin is retracted or pulled out as necessary, the conveyance chain or the guide member can be fixed. The second support pin can be easily supported by the above-mentioned guide member without interference.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the loading platform can change direction without changing its attitude at the traveling direction changing portion and without being interfered with by anything, and can always circulate in a stable state. Furthermore, since the load can be stored even after the direction of travel has been changed, space is saved and the entire device can be made more compact.

In addition, since the loading platform is transported using a transport chain and a chain wheel, the structure is relatively simple and positioning can be controlled accurately.
By changing the spacing between chain wheels and the length of the conveyor chain, the travel distance can be changed, and by changing the diameter of the chain wheels, the curvature of the direction of travel can be arbitrarily changed. The conveyor device can be adapted to the height of the object.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a gravity bucket type conveyor, Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a planetary gear type conveyor, Figs. 3 to 9 are an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a side view, and Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing only the chain wheel, chain, and guide bar as viewed from the - arrow in Figure 3, Figure 5 is a top view of Figure 3 and is an explanatory diagram corresponding to Figure 4, and Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram showing only the chain wheel, chain, and guide bar. Figure 3 is a view taken along the - line arrow, Figure 7 is a perspective view of the right end direction change section of the conveyor, Figure 8 is an explanatory perspective view of the support pin retraction plate, and Figure 9 is an explanatory view of the support pin pullout plate. Perspective view, 10th to 1st
Figure 2 shows a conveyor device that can achieve the same purpose as the present invention as a reference example, and Figure 10 is an explanatory side view of the conveyor's right end direction changing section, and Figure 11 is an explanatory side view of the conveyor's left end direction changing section. Figure, 12th
The figure is a sectional view taken along the line XII-XII in FIG. 10, and FIG. 13 is a side view of the meandering conveyor. 11, 41...Pallet (loading platform), 12, 4
2...First support pin, 13,43...Second support pin, 15,44...Transportation chain, 16a,
16b, 52a, 52b...first chain wheel, 26
a, 26b, 53a, 53b...second chain wheel, 2
4, 25, 29, 32, 34, 45, 54, 63
. . . guide bar, 30 . . . support pin retraction plate (retraction means), 47, 57 . . . rocking guide bar (retraction means).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A loading platform, first and second support pins protruding from the side surface of the loading platform in succession, and an endless support pin connected to the first support pin and circulating in a vertical plane. a conveyance chain, a first chain wheel that causes the endless conveyance chain to travel a predetermined route, and at least the second chain wheel.
a guide member that supports and guides a support pin; and a second chain wheel that engages with the second support pin at a position where the traveling direction of the loading platform is changed; In the conveyor device configured to change direction and circulate without changing direction, the guide member is configured to support the second support pin moving between the first and second chain wheels by the guide member. A member is also disposed between the first chain wheel and the second chain wheel, and a member is provided between the second chain wheel and the second chain wheel in order to avoid interference between the second support pin and at least one of the guide member or the conveyance chain. A conveyor device comprising: a support pin retracting means for retracting the support pin; and a pull-out means for pulling out the second support pin.