JPS6234904Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to a pallet exchange device suitable for exchanging a real pallet on a fork-type unmanned carrier vehicle with an empty pallet by the forward and backward movements of the fork-type unmanned carrier vehicle and the fork lifting and lowering operations.

Conventionally, when replacing a real pallet on a fork-type unmanned carrier vehicle with an empty pallet, as shown in FIG. The actual pallet 3 is unloaded onto the unloading platform 4 through a series of operations, ie, the lowering of the pallet 2 and the forward movement of the carrier 1.
It is necessary to move the empty pallet 5 to the left in the figure, and then load the empty pallet 5 onto the fork 2 through a series of operations in which the transport vehicle 1 moves backward and the fork 2 rises. In other words, the transport vehicle 1 requires two forward and backward movements and a horizontal movement before returning to its original position, which requires a long cycle time for pallet exchange, requires storage space for both real and empty pallets, and requires unmanned operation. In this case, a lateral movement device is required to perform the lateral movement, which has the drawback of being uneconomical in terms of floor space and equipment.

The purpose of this invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional method and provide a pallet exchange device for exchanging a real pallet on a fork-type transport vehicle with an empty pallet. This is a pallet exchange device that unloads a real pallet supported by the upper fork of a pair of forks and loads an empty pallet onto the lower fork, and the pallet exchange device is provided with fixing members provided on both sides of the approach path of the pallet supported by the fork, respectively. a pallet support member biased by a spring so as to move from a retracted position outside the approach path to a pallet support position; and a pallet support member located at a position higher than the pallet support member by a dimension smaller than the vertical spacing of the pair of forks; A lever that can move inward and retract and is urged to protrude is pivotally supported, and a connecting member having elongated holes through which the lever and the pallet supporting member respectively pass through the fixed member is guided and supported so as to be freely raised and lowered, and the connecting member When the lever engages with the empty pallet and rotates upward, it rises and moves the pallet support member to the retracted position, and is held in the raised position by being pressed against the pallet support member. The pallet changing device is characterized in that when the pallet supporting member is pushed down, the pallet supporting member is returned to the pallet supporting position.

Examples of the present invention will be described below. In FIG. 2, a pair of upper and lower forks 7 and 8 are provided at the rear of the fork-type transport vehicle 6, and the upper fork 7 supports and transports a real pallet 9. The pallet changing device 10 of the present invention is provided at the actual pallet unloading position, and has four square tubular fixing columns 12 for supporting both left and right sides of the empty pallet 11 at the front and back of the fork insertion direction.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, each support column 12
A lever 13, which can engage the empty pallet 11 when it rises, is pivotally connected to the upper part of the lever 13 so as to be movable up and down by a pin 14, and a pallet support member 15 is pivotally connected to the lower part of the lever 13 by a pin 16. Ru. Support member 1
5 has a horizontal upper surface 19 and a lower slope 20 that support the empty pallet 11 in the illustrated state in which it is pressed against the stopper 18 by a spring 17, and when the support member 15 rotates upward and the lower slope 20 becomes vertical. ,
The lower slope 20 is located at a position slightly recessed inward from the inner surface 21 of the column 12 (FIG. 4).

A guide member 21a is fixed to the inner surface of the support near the inner surface 21 of the support 12 (FIG. 4a) to guide and support the plate-shaped connection member 22 so as to freely move up and down. lever 13 respectively.
Then, the connecting member 22 is passed through the supporting member 15 and is hooked to and supported by the lever 13. A spring force is applied to the lever 13 or its own weight is applied so that the lever 13 is tilted approximately 30 degrees downward from the horizontal position in this hooked state. As will be described later, when the empty pallet 11 rises and pushes up the lever 13, the connecting member 22
is pulled upward, and the lower edge 25 of the elongated hole 24 rotates the support member 15 upward against the force of the spring 17.
When the lower slope 20 becomes substantially vertical due to this rotation, the lower part 26 of the connecting member 22 comes into contact with the lower slope 20, as shown in FIG. 4, and a pressing friction force is generated between the two by the spring 17. Therefore, next empty palette 11
Even after the connecting member 22 is lowered and separated from the lever 13, the connecting member 22 remains at the above-mentioned raised position, and the lever 13 returns to the intermediate angular position within the elongated hole 23.

To replace the real pallet 9 on the transport vehicle 6 with an empty pallet 11, place the empty pallet 11 on the support member 15 of the pallet exchange device 10, move the transport vehicle 6 backward, and move the lower fork 8 to the empty pallet. Insert into palette 11. At this time, the actual pallet 9 is above the lever 13. Next, when the forks 7 and 8 are raised, the empty pallet 11 engages with the lever 13 and tilts it upward, so that the empty pallet 11 is connected to the support member 15 via the connecting member 22.
Rotate upward. The lower slope 20 of the support member 15 is vertically connected to the lower part 26 of the connecting member.
When pressed, the forks 7 and 8 stop rising. Next, when the forks 7 and 8 are lowered and the empty pallet 11 is lowered below the support member 15, the actual pallet 9 engages with the lever 13 and tilts it downward, pushing down the connecting member 22 and lowering the lower part 2.
6 is removed from the lower slope 20. As a result, the support member 15 descends and comes into contact with the stopper 18, and supports the actual pallet 9 on the upper surface 19. Next, when the transport vehicle 6 is moved forward, the actual pallets 9 are separated from the forks 7 and remain on the pallet changing device 10, and the empty pallets 11 are supported by the forks 8 and carried out from the pallet changing device 10.

6 and 7 show the main parts of a modification of the present invention.
The empty pallet support member 15a is guided and supported so as to be horizontally movable by a guide block 27 fixed to the support column 12.
A pin 31 protrudes from the support member 15a into the lower long hole 30 of a pair of connecting rods 29 which are pivotally connected to the support member 15a by a pin 28.
The connecting rod 29 is brought into contact with one of the blocks 27 by the coil spring 32 attached to the support member 15a, and the support member 15a is urged to protrude to the supporting position of the empty pallet 11.

The lever 13a is bent at a right angle from the position of the pin 14, and a horizontal horizontal bar 33 fixed at its lower end connects to the connecting rod 29.
The inner surface 2 of the pillar is configured so as to come into contact with the upper end of the
An intermediate plate 34 is guided and supported between the guide block 1 and the guide block 27 so as to be freely raised and lowered. The middle plate 34 has a long hole 35 through which the support member 15a passes, and is normally stopped by a spring 36 at a position where the lower edge of the long hole 35 is in contact with the support member 15a. In this stopped state, the middle plate 34
The upper end of the lever 13a is in contact with the lower surface of the lever 13a.
Hold a horizontally.

As in the previous embodiment, when the empty pallet 11 is lifted by the fork 8 and the lever 13a is tilted upward, the horizontal bar 33 rotates the connecting rod 29 clockwise in the figure, against the force of the spring 32. , support member 15a
to retreat. When the tip of the support member 15a escapes from the elongated hole 35, the middle plate 34 slides upward by the spring 36, and its lower end 37 stops at a position where it locks the tip of the support member 15a, as shown in FIG. do. Then, when the forks 7 and 8 descend and the empty pallet 11 descends below the support member 15a, the actual pallet 9 pushes down the lever 13a and moves the middle plate 34.
is pushed down, and the lower part 37 is pulled down from the front surface of the support member 15a. At the same time, the horizontal bar 33 rises and releases the connecting rod 29, so that the support member 15a
2 supports the actual pallet 9 that protrudes and descends. That is, in this example, the connecting rod 29 and the middle plate 34 work together to perform the same function as the connecting member 22 in the previous example.

Since the present invention has the above configuration, when exchanging an actual pallet on the transport vehicle with an empty pallet at the pallet exchange position, the transport vehicle only needs to move forward and backward, eliminating the need for a lateral movement device or the space required for this. effective. This effect is particularly noticeable when an unmanned carrier is operated by a guidance device to automatically exchange pallets, and is extremely beneficial for labor saving and unmanned factories.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a conventional pallet exchange method, Figs. 2 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic elevational view of the whole, and Fig. 3 is an empty pallet support. Fig. 4 is an enlarged side view of the main part showing the condition, Fig. 4 is an enlarged side view of the main part showing one state when replacing the pallet, Fig. 4a is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line a-a in Fig. 4, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged side view of the main part showing the state when replacing the pallet. Elevation, Figure 6, Figure 7, Figure 8
The figure shows a modified example of the main proposal, and the third
It is a figure similar to FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6... Transport vehicle, 7... Upper fork, 8... Lower fork, 9... Actual pallet, 10... Pallet exchange device, 11... Empty pallet, 12... Fixing member, 13... Lever, 15... ... Pallet support member, 22 ... Connection member, 23, 24 ... Long hole.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A pallet exchange device that unloads a real pallet supported by the upper fork of a pair of upper and lower forks that are simultaneously raised and lowered on a transport vehicle and loads an empty pallet onto the lower fork, and is an approach path for pallets supported by the forks. Each of the fixing members provided on both sides of the pallet support member has a pallet support member biased by a spring so as to move from the retracted position outside the approach path to the pallet support position, and a pallet support member having a vertical spacing smaller than the vertical spacing of the pair of forks. a connecting member having an elongated hole in which the lever and the pallet supporting member respectively pass through the fixing member; The connecting member moves the pallet supporting member to the retracted position by being raised by the upward tilting action caused by the engagement of the lever with the empty pallet, and the connecting member is pressed against the pallet supporting member to return to the raised position. 1. A pallet changing device characterized in that the pallet supporting member is returned to the pallet supporting position by tilting the lever downward by the actual pallet.