JPWO2010134223A1 - Conveyor device - Google Patents

Abstract

In order to suppress the pulsation of the horizontal traveling speed of the chain of the conveyor device, the conveyor device in which the chain is driven by a sprocket is provided with a guide for guiding the pin of the chain. Guide along the trajectory of the intersection of an arc whose radius is the distance between the first and second pins and a radial straight line passing through the center of the sprocket groove, and at the guide entrance portion, the pin is positioned on the pitch circle of the sprocket. Then, it is moved to the radially outer position of the pitch circle, and the pulsation of the chain is suppressed along with the swinging of the step. The pulsation of the conveyor apparatus using a chain can be suppressed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a conveyor device driven by a sprocket and a chain, and more particularly to a conveyor device such as a passenger conveyor or an escalator provided with a tread board for carrying passengers.

  In conveyor devices driven by sprockets and chains, such as escalators, treads are connected endlessly with chains and links, and driven along a circulation path by winding and pulling them with a sprocket having multiple teeth. Yes. In the reversal part of the circulation path, the link connecting the treads is wound around the sprocket and becomes a polygonal shape in which the circumference is equally divided by the number of teeth, the rotation radius varies depending on the phase of rotation of the sprocket, and the link and A fluctuation in speed called pulsation occurs in the speed of horizontal movement of the tread. This caused the ride comfort of the passenger conveyor to deteriorate.

  On the other hand, in the range where the tread board travels inside the structure from the passenger boarding range, measures are taken such that the guide rail on which the tread board runs is uneven and the horizontal speed is constant in the passenger boarding range. It has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, a countermeasure is also considered in which the sprocket to be pulled is rotated so as to cancel the speed fluctuation in the horizontal portion using a control technique, and the fluctuation in the traveling speed in the horizontal portion of the step is canceled (for example, patent) Reference 2).

JP 2003-252560 A (paragraphs 0006 to 0007 and FIG. 3) JP-T-2004-516208 (paragraphs 0008 to 0009 and FIG. 4)

  However, if the guide rail is uneven to suppress the speed fluctuation of the passenger conveyor, even if the speed fluctuation can be suppressed as a result, it is necessary to bend the guide rail into an irregular geometrically determined shape. The production was difficult and the cost was high.

  Also, in a conveyor device using drive control technology, means for feeding back information such as sprocket phase and step speed to the control system for a passenger conveyor drive source that satisfies the conditions if it is basically moved at a constant speed. In addition, a control circuit for controlling the speed of the driving machine from the information is necessary, which is a costly measure for manufacturing and maintenance inspection as a system.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and provides a conveyor device that suppresses speed fluctuations without requiring parts that require complicated machining processes or expensive control circuits. It is to be.

  A conveyor apparatus according to the present invention is a conveyor apparatus including a sprocket and a chain having a plurality of links which are driven by meshing with the sprocket and connected to each other by first and second pins provided for one link. A guide that guides the pin of the chain to suppress speed fluctuations of the chain, the guide extending the pin from a center of a first pin of a link to a center of a second pin. A guide surface is provided that guides along a trajectory of an intersection of an arc drawn with a radius as a radius and a radial straight line connecting the center of the sprocket and the position of the center of a certain groove of the sprocket.

  With this configuration, the horizontal speed pulsation of the step caused by the polygonal movement of the sprocket is eliminated, and passenger comfort can be improved.

It is a side view which shows the relationship between the sprocket of the conveyor apparatus by Example 1 of this invention, a chain, and a guide. Example 1 It is sectional drawing along line II-II of FIG. Example 1 It is a figure which shows the drawing method of the guide surface shape of the guide of the conveyor apparatus of FIG. Example 1 It is a side view which shows the attitude | position change of the step by the horizontal part path | route height regarding the step speed fluctuation suppression mechanism of the conveyor apparatus by Example 2 of this invention. (Example 2) It is a figure which shows the drawing method of the guide surface shape of the conveyor apparatus by Example 2 of this invention. (Example 2)

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

  1 to 3 show the conveyor device of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the relationship among sprockets, chains and guides in the reversing part of the conveyor device, and FIG. 2 is a cross section taken along line II-II in FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining how to draw a trajectory to which the pin of the chain link should move.

  The problem of fluctuations in the horizontal speed of the tread board or chain due to sprocket drive in the passenger conveyor is well known, but this speed fluctuation becomes larger as the fluctuation of the driving radius due to the rotation of the sprocket increases. The smaller the number of teeth and the greater the degree of polygonal movement, the larger the teeth.

  In a general passenger conveyor, the distance between the treads is about 410 mm and there is no large variation, and the housing dimensions are almost side by side, so there is no big difference in the size of the sprocket, and the sprocket that shows the size of the polygonal motion The number of teeth depends on the number of links between treads. That is, the polygonal movement becomes more remarkable as the number of links between the treads is smaller and the number of sprocket teeth is smaller. Therefore, here, the operation will be described by taking as an example a case where the treads are connected by one link so that the horizontal speed fluctuation of the treads appears most remarkably.

  Here, the principle of occurrence of speed fluctuations due to polygonal movement will be described. When the number of sprocket grooves (number of teeth) is 5, the meshing of the sprocket 1 proceeds one by one with a period of 72 °. That is, the driving radius that generates the horizontal speed of the tread by the rotation of the sprocket at a constant speed from when the pin 6 of the link of the chain is engaged at the 12 o'clock position until the next pin 6 comes to the 12 o'clock position. (The vertical component of the radius of the sprocket pitch circle of the chain shaft engaged with the groove of the sprocket) will vary within a range of r to r · cos 72 °, where r is the pitch circle radius of the sprocket 1. Since the rotational speed of the sprocket is constant, the fluctuation of the horizontal speed of the chain occurs with the fluctuation of the driving radius.

  In the case of a passenger conveyor, this appears as a fluctuation in the speed of the tread, which is a major factor that deteriorates the passenger comfort.

  By the way, the relationship between the meshing position of the sprocket chain and the position of the tread is determined uniquely geometrically if the horizontal path of the tread and the rotation center position of the sprocket are determined. It suppresses the speed fluctuation on the horizontal path of the chain and thus the tread.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided a conveyor apparatus including a sprocket and a chain having a plurality of links connected to each other by first and second pins provided for one link and driven by meshing with the sprocket. And a guide for guiding the chain pin to suppress the speed fluctuation of the chain, the guide having the radius from the center of the first pin of the certain link to the center of the second pin. It is guided along the locus of the intersection of the drawn arc and the radial straight line connecting the center of the sprocket and the position of the center of a certain groove of the sprocket.

  Also, the sprocket groove extends in the radial direction so that the pin can move along the locus.

  1 and 2, the conveyor device includes a sprocket 1 and a chain 2 that meshes with the sprocket 1 and is driven counterclockwise in the drawing. The sprocket 1 is supported on a main frame (not shown) so as to be rotatable around a rotation center 4 by a rotary shaft 3 and includes five grooves 5a to 5e spaced from each other at equal intervals on the periphery. The chain 2 includes a plurality of links 7 that are connected to each other by pins 6 in the front and rear directions in the traveling direction to form an annular shape.

  The chain 2 is supplied to the sprocket 1 while being guided by an upper guide rail 8 attached to a main frame (not shown), and the pin 6 at the front in the traveling direction is first the direction of the sprocket 1 in FIG. Engages with the first groove 5a. The first pin 6 engaged with the first groove 5a is driven to the left in FIG.

  The conveyor device also includes a guide 9 that guides the pin 6 of the chain 2 and suppresses the speed fluctuation of the chain 2. The guide 9 is a substantially semi-circular cam plate member that is coaxially arranged in parallel along the sprocket 1 and guides the pin 6 of the chain 2 along the deformed arc-shaped guide surface 10. is there. The pin 6 of the chain 2 guided along the guide surface 10 and turned around the sprocket 1 is separated from the groove of the sprocket 1 and is circulated while being received and guided by the lower guide rail 11. The grooves 5a to 5e of the sprocket 1 are elongated in the radial direction of the sprocket 1 so that the pin 6 can move along the guide surface 10 while being received in the grooves 5a to 5e.

  Although the guide surface 10 of the guide 9 has been described as a deformed arc shape in the above description, it is of a shape that guides the pin 6 of the chain 2 so as to draw a locus obtained by the drawing method shown in FIG. is there. As shown in FIG. 1, the guide surface 10 is located radially inward of the pitch circle 12 of the sprocket 1 at the 12 o'clock position of the sprocket 1 so that the pin 6 of the chain 2 is completely received in the groove 5a. In position. The guide surface 10 gradually approaches the pitch circle 12 while drawing a curved curve from the position, and the pin 6 is pushed out to a position where the pin 6 has almost escaped from the groove 5b at a position rotated 72 ° counterclockwise from the 12 o'clock position. In the right position. Further, at the position of the groove 5c rotated counterclockwise by 72 °, the guide surface 10 again enters the inside of the pitch circle 12 and guides the pin 6 to be received in the groove 5c. The guide surface 10 gradually extends outward in the radial direction from the guide surface 10 so that the pin 6 is substantially circumscribed by the pitch circle 12 at approximately 6 o'clock. It is supposed to be handed over.

  A drawing method for obtaining such a guide surface 10 is as apparent from FIG. 3, and among the plurality of links 7 of the chain 2, the link centering on the center of the pin 6 behind the certain link 7 in the traveling direction. 7 is an intersection of a circular arc drawn with a length L to the center of the pin 6 ahead in the traveling direction and a radial straight line connecting the rotation center 4 of the sprocket 1 and the position of the center of a certain groove of the sprocket 1. The curve obtained by smoothly connecting the pins 6 is the pin center movement curve to be moved by the pin 6, and the curve obtained by moving the pin center movement curve inward by the radius of the pin 6 is the guide surface 10.

  In the example shown in FIG. 3, first, among the plurality of links 7 of the chain 2, for example, the link 7 in which the forward pin 6 is received in the groove 5 a at the 12 o'clock position of the sprocket 1. The length L between pins from the center a0 of the pin 6 at the rear in the traveling direction to the center of the pin 6 at the front in the traveling direction is drawn as a radius. An intersection point b0 between the arc r0 and the radial straight line Rb0 connecting the rotation center 4 of the sprocket 1 and the center of the groove 5a at the 12 o'clock position of the sprocket 1 is obtained.

  Next, while the link 7 travels L, the sprocket needs to rotate 72 °, but in order to obtain the required accuracy, the link pin length L is divided into four equal parts, and the link 7 L / 4 each. The position which the pin 6 should occupy for every advancing position is calculated | required. Accordingly, the center a0 of the pin 6 at the rear in the traveling direction advances by L / 4 = Δx0 to the position a1, and the sprocket 1 rotates during this time by Δθ0 = 72 ° / 4 = 18 °. The center of 6 needs to be on the intersection b1 of the circular arc r1 drawn with the radius L about the center a1 at the rear in the traveling direction and the radial straight line Rb1 rotated counterclockwise by 18 ° from the 12 o'clock position. .

  Similarly, the center of the pin 6 at the front in the traveling direction is such that the center of the pin 6 at the rear in the traveling direction advances from a1 to a2, a3, a4 as the link 7 moves by L / 4, and the radius from these centers increases. It must be on the intersections b2, b3, and b4 of the arcs r2, r3, and r4 drawn by L and the radial straight lines Rb2, Rb3, and Rb4 advanced by 18 °. If such drawing work is continued in the same manner, as shown in FIG. 3, intersections c1, c2, c3, c4, d1, d2, and d3 are obtained, and a series of these intersections b0 (a0) to b4, c1 to c1. A curve smoothly connecting c4 and d1 to d3 is a pin center movement curve. The curve of the guide surface 10 of the guide 9 is a curve S that has moved inward by the radius of the pin 6 with respect to this pin center movement curve, and is also a curve that contacts the pin 6 from the inside.

  With this configuration, when the sprocket 1 rotates, the pin 6 of the link 7 of the chain 2 performs exactly the same movement as obtained in the geometrical examination performed when obtaining the shape of the guide surface 10 of the guide 9. The tread board connected to the pin 6 traveling on the upper guide rail 8 can move at a constant speed without generating any pulsation of the horizontal speed due to the polygonal movement of the link 7 on the sprocket 1.

  Here, consider the case where the fixed rail shape is actually determined using this method. As shown in FIG. 3, the path for suppressing the horizontal speed pulsation of the step at the 12 o'clock position on the sprocket 1 is lower than the original pitch circle 12. This is based on the assumption that the horizontal height according to the original pitch circle 12 is assumed when the route is obtained according to the design procedure described above, and the radius of the arc and the circle having a radius L centered at a1 at the first movement. This is because there is no intersection point with the line r1. This is because the arc distance associated with the rotation of the sprocket 1 is longer than the moving distance Δx0 of the horizontal portion. In order to solve this problem and obtain the intersection b1 for determining the path, As shown in FIG. 3, the horizontal portion height (positions a0 to a4) is lowered to shorten the arc length between b0 and b1 with the same rotation angle.

  However, in an actual passenger conveyor step, the posture of the step 13 is defined by the mounting position of the pin 6 attached to the step 13 and the rails 8 and 11 for guiding it as shown in FIG. Therefore, in order to suppress the speed pulsation of the horizontal portion as shown in FIG. 3, when the horizontal portion height is changed by lowering the position of the upper guide rail 8 without changing the height of the lower guide rail 14, If it is assumed that the shape of the step 13 and the pin 6 attachment position are not changed, the posture of the step 13 is changed as shown in FIG. This can be solved by changing the shape of the step 13 including the pin mounting position. However, when considering the purpose of improving the performance of the product, the change of the shape of the step is compatible with the conventional machine. Problems such as a significant increase in costs associated with structural changes occur.

  Therefore, in the conveyor apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 5, a drive mechanism that suppresses the pulsation of the step horizontal portion speed while minimizing the change in the step posture in the horizontal portion is proposed.

  As described above, in the route determination method starting from the 12 o'clock position, in the first step, the arc is determined with a radius L centered at a1 and the radius line Rb1 rotated Δθ from 12 o'clock does not have an intersection and the route is determined. Can not do it. However, when pulling with the sprocket 1, the sprocket 1 and the pin 6 do not necessarily mesh with each other at the 12 o'clock position, and any other pin 6 meshes with the groove of the sprocket 1 at that time. It is only necessary to generate a force to perform.

  In the pulsation suppression mechanism shown in FIG. 3, the pin 6 that meshes with the sprocket 1 at the initial position is the pin 6 (the pin 6 having the center b1) that is located one ahead of the pin 6 that is located at 12:00, and pulsates according to the procedure described above The suppression rail route is determined. As shown in FIG. 3, assuming that the position of the step distance L from the 12 o'clock position of the sprocket 1 on the same height line as the pitch circle 12 is the starting point a0 for route determination, the horizontal portion a1 advanced by Δx0 is the center. The intersection point is not obtained between the arc r1 to be rotated and the line segment Rb1 obtained by rotating the sprocket 1 by Δθ1.

  Therefore, in the conveyor apparatus according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the route determination start point a <b> 0 is set to a position shifted in the direction approaching the sprocket 1. Then, the position of the pin 6 positioned at 12:00 of the sprocket 1 at the initial position is obtained as an intersection slightly outside the pitch circle 12. This height increases as the amount by which the horizontal initial position a0 is approached from the original position in the direction of the sprocket 1 increases, and the inclination of the posture of the step immediately before entering the sprocket 1 increases. Therefore, it is necessary to set this value to be as small as possible.

  At this time, since the pin 6 (center b0) at the 12 o'clock position is located outside the pitch circle, the engagement with the groove 5a of the sprocket 1 does not occur at the 12 o'clock position. On the other hand, the pin 6 (center b4) that is one ahead of the pin 6 (center b0) located at 12:00 at this time is centered on this because the center b0 of the pin 6 located at 12:00 is outside the pitch circle 12. The point of intersection (b4) between the arc and the center line Rb4 of the next groove is located on the inner side with respect to the original pitch circle 12, and engagement with the sprocket 1 groove 5b occurs. Become. Therefore, in the initial position, the pin 6 at the center b0 located at 12:00 is not engaged, but the engagement is ensured at the pin 6 at the center b4, so that the towing operation by the sprocket 1 may be hindered. Absent.

  3, among the plurality of links 7 of the chain 2, the pin 6 in the forward direction of the link 7 around the center of the pin 6 in the forward direction of the link 7. A curve obtained by smoothly connecting the intersection of the arc drawn with the length L to the center of the radius as the radius and the radial straight line connecting the rotation center 4 of the sprocket 1 and the position of the center of a certain groove of the sprocket 1. The guide surface 10 is a curved surface S obtained by moving the pin 6 along the radius of the pin 6 from the pin center movement curve.

  Other configurations are the same as those described above. At this time, since each pin 6 and the sprocket 1 are generally designed with the strength assuming that the tension applied to the chain is singularly, new in terms of strength and life due to the change of the meshing position. No problems occur. With this configuration, it is possible to realize a drive mechanism that can suppress the horizontal portion speed pulsation while using the original pitch circle height 12 as a travel route.

  According to the second embodiment, since the guide 9 having the guide surface 10 based on the curve S uniquely determined geometrically from the distance between the treads and the number of teeth of the sprocket 1 (the number of grooves 5a to 5e) is used, Therefore, since it travels on a route that is uniquely determined geometrically, it is possible to reliably suppress step fluctuations as well as speed fluctuations. In particular, when the guide 9 is formed of a cam plate member manufactured by a general sheet metal cutting process, the structure is simple, the reliability is high, and the manufacture is easy.

  The conveyor apparatus illustrated and described above is merely an example, and various modifications can be made, and the features of each specific example can be used altogether or selectively combined.

  The present invention can be used in a conveyor device such as a passenger conveyor.

  1 sprocket, 2 chain, 3 rotation shaft, 4 rotation center, 5a to 5e groove, 6 pin, 7 link, 8 upper guide rail, 9 guide, 10 guide surface, 11 lower guide rail, 12 pitch circle, 13 steps, 14 Guide rail, a0 to a4 center, b0 to b4 intersection, c1 to c4 intersection, d1 to d3 intersection, L pin length, r0 to r4 arc, Rb0 to Rb4 radial straight line, S curve.

Claims (4)

In a conveyor apparatus comprising a sprocket and a chain having a plurality of links driven by meshing with the sprocket and connected to each other by first and second pins provided for one link,
A guide for guiding the pin of the chain to suppress speed fluctuation of the chain, wherein the guide has a length from the center of the first pin of the link to the center of the second pin; And a guide surface that guides along a trajectory of an intersection of a circular arc drawn as a radius and a radial straight line connecting the center of the sprocket and the position of the center of a certain groove of the sprocket. apparatus.   The guide surface receives the pin at a position where the center of the pin is on the pitch circle of the sprocket at the entrance portion of the guide surface, and then a position radially outward from the pitch circle of the sprocket. The conveyor device according to claim 1, wherein the conveyor device is a guide surface that is moved to   The conveyor apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the guide is a cam plate member disposed along the sprocket.   The groove of the sprocket extends in the radial direction of the sprocket, and the pin can be moved along the guide surface while being received in the groove. The conveyor apparatus as described in any one of.

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