WO2009113127A1

WO2009113127A1 - Carrier roller and carrier device using the same

Info

Publication number: WO2009113127A1
Application number: PCT/JP2008/000536
Authority: WO
Inventors: 田中敏治
Original assignee: 平田機工株式会社
Priority date: 2008-03-11
Filing date: 2008-03-11
Publication date: 2009-09-17
Also published as: TWI363731B; KR101227356B1; JPWO2009113127A1; KR20100103887A; JP5240950B2; TW200951049A

Abstract

A carrier roller wherein an elastic portion installed on the outer periphery of the main body of the carrier roller can be easily replaced. The carrier roller comprises the main body rotatably supported by a rotary shaft with its both ends supported, and a deformable annular ring member removably mounted on the main body. The main body of the carrier roller has a catching portion to put the ring member on. A mounting path for the ring member mounted on the main body of the carrier roller has an external path existing in an outer peripheral portion of the main body of the carrier roller.

Description

Conveying roller and conveying apparatus using the same

The present invention relates to a transport device such as a roller conveyor, and more particularly to a transport roller used in the transport device.

A roller conveyor may be used as a transport mechanism in a transport device that transports a material to be transported in the lateral direction. The roller conveyor is generally composed of a plurality of rotating shaft bodies arranged in parallel and a plurality of conveying rollers provided on each rotating shaft body. The object to be conveyed is conveyed in the rotation direction of the conveying roller while being supported by a large number of conveying rollers of the rotating shaft body.

Examples of the transport roller include a metal roller and an elastic roller on which an elastic member such as rubber is mounted on the outer periphery of the roller. Among these, the elastic roller is excellent in performance for preventing the transported object such as a glass substrate from being damaged. However, in the elastic roller, the elastic member on the outer peripheral portion is likely to deteriorate. Therefore, when using an elastic roller, it is important to check or replace the transport roller.

As a transport device using a roller conveyor, for example, the following transport device is available as a transport device for a liquid crystal panel substrate or the like. The conveying device includes a rotating roller that is integrally attached to a rotating shaft, and a string-like member wound around the outer periphery of the roller, and the string-like member is used as the elastic member. The roller includes a main body portion and a clamp member that is detachably screwed to the main body portion, and a mating surface between the main body portion and the clamp member is located at a position where the string-like member is wound. Yes. Further, a groove for mounting the string-like member is formed at the position of the mating surface, and the string-like member is wound around the groove. And if a clamp member is fixed to a main-body part in the state which wound the string-like member in the groove | channel, a string-like member will be fixed to a roller in the state clamped by the main-body part and the clamp member (patent document) 1).

Further, as another transfer device using a roller conveyor, there is the following transfer device. The conveying device includes a rotating roller that is integrally attached to the rotating shaft and a ring member that is attached to the outer periphery of the roller, and the ring member is used as the elastic member. The ring member is provided with a dividing portion that divides the annular ring in the middle, and is a string-like member. Therefore, the ring member can be attached so as to be wound around the roller. The roller includes a pair of fixing plates for sandwiching and fixing the ring member. Therefore, when the pair of fixing plates are screwed to the roller while the ring member is wound around the roller, the ring member is fixed to the roller while being sandwiched between the pair of fixing plates (see Patent Document 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-244946 JP 2003-327320 A

By the way, as described above, in a roller conveyor device in which the conveyance roller is an elastic roller, a plurality of roller conveyor devices are connected to form a conveyance path in order to convey a conveyance object to a destination. In such roller conveyor devices, an enormous number of conveying rollers are configured, and in order to stably convey an object to be conveyed by these enormous number of conveying rollers, inspection and replacement of the conveying rollers are regularly performed. Need to be done. Therefore, it is preferable that the conveying device is easier to carry out inspection work and mounting work (replacement work).

However, as described above, when replacing the string-like member, which is an elastic member, in the former transport device, first, the screws used for attaching the clamp member are loosened using a dedicated tool (driver or the like). Therefore, it is necessary to separate the clamp member from the main body. In this state, it is necessary to remove the old string member and attach a new string member. After that, it is necessary to tighten the screw using a dedicated tool, attach the clamp member to the main body, and sandwich the string-like member between the main body and the clamp member. Thus, in order to replace the string-like member, a troublesome operation of preparing a dedicated tool and attaching / detaching the clamp member is required.

In addition, when replacing the ring member in the latter transport device, it is necessary to first remove the pair of fixing plates from the rollers by loosening the screws used to attach the pair of fixing plates using a dedicated tool. is there. In this state, it is necessary to remove the old ring member and install a new ring member. After that, it is necessary to clamp the ring member by screwing the pair of fixing plates to the roller using a dedicated tool, thereby fixing the ring member to the roller. As described above, in order to replace the ring member, a troublesome work of attaching and detaching the pair of fixing plates using a dedicated tool is required.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and is a transport apparatus using a roller conveyor having an elastic member on the outer periphery of the transport roller, and the mounting operation and the replacement work of the elastic member of the transport roller are performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide an easy carrying roller and its carrying device.

The above-mentioned problem is solved by the following invention described in each claim of the present application.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transport roller body rotatably supported by a rotating shaft body supported at both ends, and a deformable annular ring member that is detachably attached to the transport roller body. The conveyance roller body includes a hook portion on which the ring member is hooked, and the mounting path of the ring member mounted on the conveyance roller body is at least an outer periphery existing on the outer peripheral portion of the conveyance roller body. A conveyance roller having a path.

In the transport roller of the present invention having such a configuration, the annular ring member is attached to and detached from the transport roller body in a state where both ends of the rotating shaft body that supports the transport roller are supported on the transport device body side. Can do. The ring member is mounted in a state of being hooked on the hook portion of the transport roller body. The mounting operation is easy and quick because the ring member is only hooked on the hook portion. After the ring member is mounted, a portion of the ring member that is mounted on the outer path of the transport roller body functions as an elastic portion that comes into contact with the transported body that is transported by the transport roller. Unlike the string-like member, the ring-shaped ring member does not generate a connecting portion (non-continuous portion) in the mounted state, so there is no possibility that a step or a gap is generated in the connecting portion. Therefore, the ring member can be easily, quickly and surely attached without worrying about the occurrence of steps or gaps. In addition, a dedicated tool for fastening is necessary for attaching the string-like member, but such a dedicated tool is unnecessary for attaching the ring member. In other words, the mounting of the ring member is an extremely easy operation for attaching a rubber band.

The annular ring member has elasticity, and is attached to the transport roller body in an extended state by being hooked by the hook portion. That is, the ring member is mounted on the transport roller main body in a state in which tension is generated therein. By producing tension, the following effects can be obtained. First, the ring member can be reliably hooked on the hook portion, and the ring member can be more reliably prevented from falling off the transport roller body. Further, the ring member can be brought into close contact with the conveying roller body by using tension. Moreover, it can prevent easily that a ring member is mounted | worn in a wavy state. This effect is particularly effective in the elastic part (the part located in the outer path) of the ring member. That is, when the wavy state is prevented, the ring member is mounted in a state of being smoothly curved along the outer path. As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of vertical vibrations of the object to be conveyed while being in contact with the conveying roller. Further, when the wavy state is prevented, it is easily prevented that the ring member that is the elastic portion is mounted in a meandering state. This stabilizes the direction of the frictional force generated between the ring member and the object to be conveyed during the conveyance operation, and prevents the occurrence of lateral vibration of the object to be conveyed while being in contact with the conveyance roller. Can do.

The invention described in claim 2 is the conveyance roller according to claim 1, wherein at least two of the hooking portions are provided corresponding to one ring member to be mounted.

In the transport roller of the present invention having such a configuration, since there are a plurality of hook portions, when the ring member is mounted by hooking on the hook portion, the ring member is more reliably prevented from falling off the transport roller body. .

The invention described in claim 3 is the transport roller according to claim 2, wherein the ring member is plural, and the plurality of mounting paths for mounting the plurality of ring members is one mounting path. Between the outer path and the outer path of another mounting path adjacent to the outer path, the outer peripheral portion is disposed so as to overlap in the circumferential direction.

The conveying roller needs an elastic part over the entire circumference. It is also possible to provide an elastic portion over the entire circumference of the outer periphery of the transport roller by mounting one ring member on the transport roller body. However, when there is one ring member, it is necessary to mount the ring member so as to be wound around the entire circumference of the transport roller body. In this regard, since the transport roller of the present invention has a plurality of ring members, it is not necessary to wind around the entire circumference, and can be mounted more easily and quickly. When there is one ring member, the extending direction of the ring member (elastic portion) in the outer path is inclined with respect to the rotation direction (conveying direction) of the outer periphery of the conveying roller. In this regard, if there are a plurality of ring members, the extending direction of the elastic portion can be reliably matched with the transport direction, and the straightness of the transported object can be improved.

The invention described in claim 4 is the transport roller according to claim 3, wherein the number of the ring members is two and the number of the mounting paths is two.

Since the transport roller of the present invention having such a configuration has two ring members, the above-described advantages such as easy mounting compared to the case of one ring member are provided. On the other hand, in the case where the number of ring members is an odd number of three or more, in order to arrange the outer path so that the circumferential overlapping portion of the outer peripheral part is generated between the outer paths of the adjacent mounting paths, The path needs to be inclined with respect to the circumferential direction (rotation direction), or the conveyance roller body needs to be wide. Further, when the number of ring members is four or more, even if the number is even, the number of operations for attaching and detaching the ring members increases. In this respect, if there are two ring members, these problems do not occur, and the ring members can be attached easily, quickly and reliably.

The invention described in claim 5 is the transport roller according to claim 4, wherein the mounting path is composed only of the outer path.

In the transport roller of the present invention having such a configuration, the mounting path is formed only on the outer peripheral portion of the transport roller main body, and the hooking portion of the ring member is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the transport roller main body. Therefore, when attaching and detaching the ring member, it is only necessary to hook or remove the ring member with respect to the hook portion of the outer peripheral portion of the transport roller body, and the ring member can be easily, quickly and reliably attached. And all the ring members can be used effectively as the elastic part of the transport roller. Further, since the configuration such as the mounting path and the hooking portion only needs to be formed on the outer peripheral portion of the conveyance roller body, the shape of the conveyance roller body can be simplified, and the manufacture can be facilitated. Furthermore, when the conveyance roller main body or another member is adjacent to the side of the conveyance roller main body, if there is a mounting path on the side surface side of the conveyance roller main body, the workability of attaching / detaching the ring member is lowered. In this regard, as in the present invention, if there is a mounting path only on the outer peripheral portion of the transport roller body, the mounting workability is excellent even in such a case.

The invention described in claim 6 is the transport roller according to claim 5, wherein each hooking portion is provided with a convex arc-shaped portion on which the ring member is hooked at the tip thereof. .

In the transport roller of the present invention having such a configuration, the ring member mounted on the transport roller body can be smoothly bent at the hooked portion, so that the mounted ring member bends. There is nothing.

The invention described in claim 7 is the transport roller according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the outer path is a groove formed in an outer peripheral portion of the transport roller body. Is. If the outer path is a groove shape, the mounting state of the ring member mounted in the groove is more stable, and the ring member is more reliably prevented from falling off.

The invention described in claim 8 is the transport roller according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the ring member has a circular cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the ring extending direction. . If the cross-sectional shape of the ring member is circular, the cross-sectional shape of the portion of the elastic portion of the conveyance roller that contacts the object to be conveyed becomes an arc shape regardless of the state in which the ring member is mounted on the conveyance roller body. As a result, the occurrence of irregularities on the surface of the elastic portion is more reliably prevented.

The invention described in claim 9 is the transport roller according to claim 8, wherein the ring member has a hollow tube shape. The hollow tubular ring member has not only elastic performance based on the material but also elastic performance based on deformation of the ring member. The elasticity based on this deformation is the elasticity in the direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the ring member. And the direction of the force (gravity) applied to the ring member which is an elastic part in the state in which the to-be-conveyed object was mounted on the conveyance roller is a direction orthogonal to the extending | stretching direction of a ring member. Therefore, the hollow and tubular ring member can exhibit more excellent elastic performance with respect to the object to be conveyed on the conveying roller. If a transport roller using such a ring member is used, the transported object can be transported in a state where vibration in the vertical direction is further suppressed, and the transported object is elastically deformed by the weight of the transported object. The area that comes into contact with the ring increases and the frictional force generated between the object to be conveyed and the ring member increases, and the object to be conveyed can be conveyed more stably.

The invention described in claim 10 is a transport apparatus using the transport roller according to any one of claims 1 to 9. In such a transport apparatus, the annular ring member can be attached to and detached from the transport roller body in a state where both ends of the rotating shaft body that supports the transport roller are supported on the transport apparatus body side, and it is easy and quick. A ring member can be attached to the. Further, in the mounting work of the ring member, the fastening work using a dedicated tool necessary for attaching the string-like member is also unnecessary. That is, the attaching operation of the ring member can be performed by an extremely easy operation such as attaching a rubber band.

According to the transport roller of the present invention, the annular ring member can be attached to and detached from the transport roller body in a state where both ends of the rotating shaft that supports the transport roller are supported on the transport device body side. The ring member is mounted in a state of being hooked on the hook portion of the transport roller body. The mounting operation is easy and quick because the ring member is only hooked on the hook portion. After the ring member is mounted, a portion of the ring member that is mounted on the outer path of the transport roller body functions as an elastic portion that comes into contact with the transported body that is transported by the transport roller. Unlike the string-like member, the ring-shaped ring member does not generate a connecting portion (non-continuous portion) in the mounted state, so there is no possibility that a step or a gap is generated in the connecting portion. Therefore, the ring member can be easily, quickly and surely attached without worrying about the occurrence of steps or gaps. In addition, a dedicated tool for fastening is necessary for attaching the string-like member, but such a dedicated tool is unnecessary for attaching the ring member. In other words, the mounting of the ring member is an extremely easy operation for attaching a rubber band.

It is a perspective view which shows the conveying apparatus using the conveyance roller of an Example. (A) is a disassembled perspective view which shows the conveyance roller of an Example, (B) is a perspective view which shows the conveyance roller of a ring member mounting state. (A) is the side view from the one side which shows the conveyance roller of an Example, (B) is a front view, (C) is a side view from the other side. It is sectional drawing which shows the Va-Va cross section of FIG.3 (C). (A) is a side view which shows the conveyance roller of 2nd Example, (B) is sectional drawing which shows the Vb-Vb cross section of FIG. 5 (A). (A) is the perspective view from the front which shows the conveyance roller of 3rd Example, (B) is the perspective view half-rotated. (A) is the perspective view from the front which shows the conveyance roller main body of 3rd Example, (B) is the perspective view half-rotated. (A) is a perspective view from the front which shows the conveyance roller of 4th Example, (B) is a perspective view from the back.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Conveying device, 10 ... Conveying device main body, 11 ... Rotating shaft, 12, 12a, 12b, 12c ... Conveying roller, 20, ... Conveying roller main body, 20a ... Shaft hole, 21 ... Hub (axial support position), 22 ... Side, 23 ... Outer peripheral surface, 24 ... Groove structure, 24a ... Outer groove, 24b ... Inner groove, 24w ... Overlapping part, 25 ... Intra-path area, 26 ... Out-path area, 31 ... First curved groove part, 31a ... Inner Side surface, 32, 54 ... 1st hook part, 33 ... 2nd curved groove part, 33a ... Outer side surface, 34 ... 2nd hook part, 40 ... Ring member, 50 ... Conveyance roller main body, 51 ... Outer peripheral surface, 52 ... Groove structure 52a ... outer groove, 53 ... side surface, 53a ... high side surface, 53b ... low side surface, 55 ... step surface, 55a ... guide surface, 56 ... bolt hole, 57 ... bolt, 58 ... nut, 59 ... engaging member ( (Second hooking portion), 59a ... outer peripheral surface, 60 ... conveying roller body, 61 ... outer peripheral surface, 62 ... groove structure, 62a ... long groove portion, 62b ... curved portion, 63 ... side surface, 63 ... side surface, 64 ... area in path , 65 ... Hook, 70 ... Conveyor roller body, 71 ... Outer peripheral surface, 71a ... gap, 72 ... groove structure, 72a ... long groove part, 72b ... curved part, 72w ... overlapping part, 73 ... side face, 74 ... intra-path area, A ... conveying direction, O ... center position

The conveyance roller of the present invention includes a conveyance roller main body rotatably supported by a rotating shaft body supported at both ends, and a deformable annular ring member that is detachably attached to the conveyance roller main body. The transport roller body includes a hook portion on which the ring member is hooked, and the mounting path of the ring member mounted on the transport roller body is at least an outer path existing on the outer periphery of the transport roller body. It shall be provided.

Suppose that at least two hooks are provided corresponding to one ring member to be mounted.

There are a plurality of ring members, and a plurality of mounting paths for mounting the plurality of ring members are between an outer path of one mounting path and an outer path of another mounting path adjacent to the outer path. Suppose that it arrange | positions so that the duplication part of the circumferential direction of an outer peripheral part may arise. And it is preferable that there are two ring members and two mounting paths. Further, the mounting route may consist only of the outer route.

Moreover, each hook part may be provided with a convex arc-shaped part on which the ring member is hooked at the tip, and the outer path may be a groove formed in the outer peripheral part of the transport roller body. . The ring member may have a circular cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the ring extending direction or a hollow tube shape.

Moreover, the conveyance apparatus of the invention of the present application uses the conveyance roller according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, embodiments of a transport roller and a transport apparatus using the transport roller according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The transport device of the present embodiment is a device for transporting a glass substrate (conveyed object) of a liquid crystal panel.

FIG. 1 shows a part of the transport apparatus 1 of this embodiment. The transport apparatus 1 is also called a roller conveyor, and is formed by continuously arranging a transport apparatus body 10 as shown in the direction of arrow A. The transport apparatus body 10 includes a large number of rotating shafts 11 installed on the upper part thereof. The large number of rotating shaft bodies 11 are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, and are installed in a state in which the rotating shaft bodies 11 can rotate with respect to the transport apparatus body 10. Rotational power is transmitted to each rotating shaft body 11 via a power transmission mechanism (not shown), and when the rotating power is input to each rotating shaft body 11, each rotating shaft body 11 rotates.

Each rotary shaft 11 is provided with a large number of conveying rollers 12 at a predetermined interval. Therefore, when a glass substrate (not shown), which is an object to be transported, is placed on a large number of transport rollers 12 in a state where each rotating shaft 11 rotates, the glass substrate depends on the rotational direction of the rotating shaft 11. Is conveyed in any direction of the conveyance direction A. Since the installation structure of the rotating shaft 11 and the power transmission mechanism are well-known structures, a detailed description thereof is omitted here.

Next, the transport roller 12 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 2, the transport roller 12 includes a resin-made transport roller main body 20 and a silicon rubber ring member 40 attached to the transport roller main body 20.

The transport roller main body 20 is generally a disk-shaped member, and a shaft hole 20a (see FIG. 2B) used for attachment to the rotary shaft body 11 is provided at a position corresponding to the center of the circle. I have. A hub 21 that holds the rotary shaft 11 is formed around the shaft hole 20a. Further, the shaft hole 20a passes through both side surfaces 22 and 22 (see FIG. 3B) of the transport roller body 20. The transport roller body 20 is pivotally supported in a state where the rotary shaft 11 is passed through the shaft hole 20a. The transport roller body 20 is integrally attached to the rotating shaft body 11, and rotates together with the rotating shaft body 11 when the rotating shaft body 11 rotates.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, both side surfaces 22 and 22 of the transport roller body 20 have a substantially circular shape in plan view. The width of the outer peripheral surface (outer peripheral portion) 23 of the transport roller body 20 corresponds to the thickness of the transport roller body 20.

Two outer grooves (outer paths) 24 a extending in the circumferential direction are formed on the outer peripheral surface 23 of the transport roller body 20. The outer groove 24a constitutes a part of a groove structure (mounting path) 24 described later. Each of the outer grooves 24a has a circular arc shape (see FIG. 3B) in a cross section orthogonal to the circumferential direction (external groove extending direction). Note that the structure of the transport roller 12 and the arrangement of the

outer grooves

24a, 24a in the transport roller body 20 are point-symmetric about the center position O (see FIG. 3) of the transport roller 12. Therefore, here, only the structure of one outer groove 24a will be described, and the description of the other side will be omitted. Note that the center position O (see FIG. 3B) of the transport roller body 20 is an imaginary axis that passes through the rotational axis of the transport roller body 20 and the intermediate position between both sides of the transport roller body. This is the position of the intersection with the plane.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, inner grooves 24 b are provided on both side surfaces 22, 22 of the transport roller body 20. The outer groove 24a and the inner groove 24b are communicated with each other at both ends, and constitute a groove structure 24 having a circulation path shape (in other words, an endless or closed path shape). The inner groove 24b is U-shaped so that an intermediate portion thereof is located between the outer groove 24a and the hub 21 (in FIG. 3C, the inner groove 24b is recessed toward the outer groove 24a located on the lower side). It is formed in a curved state. In this way, the groove is formed so that the hub 21 (or the shaft hole 20a) is not located in the route inner region (the region indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 3C) surrounded by the circular groove structure 24. The structure 24 is arranged. That is, the shaft hole 20a through which the rotating shaft body 11 is passed is located in the out-of-path area 26 that is outside the circulation path-like groove structure 24. The cross-sectional shape of the inner groove 24b (the cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the extending direction of the inner groove 24b) is an arc shape (see FIG. 4).

As described above, the outer groove 24a is formed on the outer peripheral surface 23, and the inner groove 24b is formed on one side surface 22. That is, the annular groove structure 24 composed of the outer groove 24a and the inner groove 24b faces the outer surface of the transport roller body 20 over the entire path. Further, the groove structure 24 composed of the outer groove 24a and the inner groove 24b intersects with a substantially circular outer peripheral edge which is a boundary between the outer peripheral surface 23 and the one side surface 22 at two locations. That is, the outer peripheral edge of the transport roller body 20 is cut by the groove structure 24 at the intersection of these two locations.

As shown in FIG. 3C, the inner groove 24b bulges from the path inner area 25 side toward the outer path area 26 side at a position near the intersection with the outer peripheral edge (FIG. 3C). 1 is provided with a first curved groove 31 protruding upward. That is, the first curved portion 31 is provided at a position near each end of the inner groove 24. Note that the radius of curvature of the inner side surface 31a (see FIG. 4) of the first curved groove portion 31 is smaller than the radius of curvature of the outer peripheral surface 23 of the conveying roller body 20, as shown in FIG. Yes. The convex portion adjacent to the first curved groove portion 31 is used as the first hook portion 32 (see FIG. 2) when the ring member is mounted.

2A, the inner groove 24b includes a second curved groove portion 33 that is curved in a U shape at a position between the first

curved groove portions

31 and 31. As shown in FIG. In addition, the curvature radius of the outer side surface 33a (surface on the out-of-path region 26 side) of the second curved groove portion 33 is smaller than the curvature radius of the outer peripheral surface 23 of the transport roller body 20 as shown in FIG. It is a radius. The convex portion adjacent to the outer side surface 33a of the second curved groove portion 33 is used as the second hook portion 34 when the ring member is mounted.

Further, the outer groove 24a has a central angle (outer groove forming angle) θ formed by a two-dot chain line extending in the radial direction from the center O of the transport roller body 20 toward both end positions of the outer groove 24a so as to be larger than 180 °. The circumferential length is set. That is, the outer groove forming angle θ is larger than 180 °. Specifically, the outer groove forming angle θ of this embodiment is 210 °.

The groove structure 24 corresponds to the mounting path of the ring member 40. That is, the mounting path is a circular path-like path including an outer path extending along the outer groove 24a of the groove structure 24 and an inner path extending along the inner groove 24b of the groove structure 24. In other words, the outer path extends along the outer peripheral surface 23 of the transport roller body 20, and the inner path is formed on both side surfaces 22 and 22 of the transport roller body 20, and the other path extends from one end of the outer path. It extends between the outer path and the shaft hole (shaft support position) 20a to the end. The ring member 40 is attached to the attachment path formed of such a groove structure 24 (see FIG. 2). In addition, of the ring member 40 mounted in the groove structure 24 of the transport roller body 20, a portion disposed in the outer groove (outer path) 24a is used as an elastic portion.

The ring member 40 is an annular member made of silicon rubber having elasticity. The cross-sectional shape of the ring member 40 is circular and has a solid structure. The cross section referred to here is a cross section perpendicular to the extending direction of the rubber material constituting the ring member 40. The cross-sectional shape of the ring member 40 may be circular and a hollow structure.

The circumferential length (unloaded state) of the ring member 40 is slightly shorter than the overall length of the groove structure 24. Since the ring member 40 has elasticity, it can be extended and can be mounted in the groove structure 24 even if it has the above length. Further, when the ring member 40 having such a length is used, the ring member 40 is mounted in a state where tension is applied (tension is applied), and thus is mounted in close contact with the groove structure 24. Thus, it can be said that the ring member 40 having a length shorter than the entire length of the groove structure 24 is sized to be mounted in the groove structure 24 in an extended state.

Further, as described above, the hub 21 of the transport roller body 20 is disposed so as to be located in the path outside region (ring outside) 26 of the annular groove structure 24. Therefore, the rotating shaft 11 passed through the hub 21 is positioned outside the annular groove structure 24 (that is, the annular mounting path) 24. With such a structure, when the ring member 40 is mounted in the groove structure (mounting path) 24 of the transport roller body 20, it is not necessary to pass the rotating shaft body 11 into the ring of the ring member 40. That is, the ring member 40 can be attached to and detached from the transport roller body 20 without removing the rotary shaft body 11 from the transport device 1 while the transport shaft 1 is supported by the transport device 1.

So far, the groove structure 24 formed on the side surface 22 side of the transport roller body 20 and the ring member 40 attached to the groove structure 24 have been described. As described above, the structure on the side of the other side surface 22 of the transport roller body 20 is the same as that of the side surface 22 side, and is configured to be symmetrical with respect to the center position O of the transport roller body 20. . Therefore, a detailed description of the configuration on the other side surface is omitted here.

Incidentally, as described above, the outer groove forming angle θ is larger than 180 °. Therefore, when the both groove structures 24 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center position O, both outer grooves are formed on the outer peripheral surface 23 of the transport roller body 20. A portion where 24a overlaps, that is, an overlapping portion 24w of both outer grooves 24a is generated (see FIG. 2B). Therefore, when the ring member 40 is attached to both the

groove structures

24, 24, one end of the one ring member 40 overlaps one end of the other ring member 40 on the outer periphery of the conveyance roller body 20, and the one ring member 40 The other end and the other end of the other ring member 40 overlap. In other words, the elastic portion made of the ring member 40 is arranged on the outer periphery of the transport roller body 20 without interruption. Of course, both outer grooves 24a are formed in the conveying roller body 20 so that the parallel portions 24w of both ring members 40 are flush with each other and the outer path portions of both ring members 40 are perfectly circular with respect to the center position O. Is done. Therefore, the object to be conveyed can be conveyed in a stable state.

Next, the replacement work of the ring member 40 in the transport roller 12 having such a configuration will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the transport roller body 20 is attached to the rotating shaft body 11. The rotating shaft body 11 is pivotally supported by the transport device body 10 in a rotatable state (see FIG. 1). The ring member 40 attached to the transport roller body 20 in such a state is removed from the transport roller body 20. For example, a portion of the annular ring member 40 located in the outer groove 24a is pulled and removed, and then the entire ring member 40 is removed from the conveying roller body 20.

As shown in the figure, the ring member 40 in the mounted state is mounted along the groove structure 24. At this time, the ring member 40 is mounted in a state where the rotating shaft 11 is not passed through the ring. Therefore, when the ring member 40 is removed from the transport roller main body 20, it is not necessary to remove the rotary shaft body 11 from the transport device main body 10. That is, when the ring member 40 is removed from the transport roller body 20, it is removed from the transport device 1 at the same time. By such an operation, the two ring members 40 are removed from the transport roller body 20. Thus, in the transport roller 12 of the present embodiment, it is very easy to remove the ring member 40.

Subsequently, a new ring member 40 is attached to the transport roller body 20. When the ring member 40 is mounted on the groove structure 24, for example, the ring member 40 is first hooked on the outer groove 24a of the transport roller body 20, and then the two first hook portions 32 are placed on the opposite side of the ring member 40. Hang on. Finally, the portion between the first hook portions 32 of the ring member 40 is hooked on the second hook portion 34. As a result, the ring member 40 is attached to the transport roller body 20 in a state where tension is generated. Similarly, another ring member 40 is attached to the other groove structure 24. The ring member 40 in a state where tension is generated is in close contact with the transport roller body 20 and is attached to the transport roller body 20 in a stable state. Further, the outer groove 24a, the first hook portion 32, and the second hook portion 34 function as a structure that prevents the ring member 40 from falling off. As described above, when the ring member 40 is mounted on the transport roller main body 20, it is not necessary to remove the rotating shaft body 11 from the transport apparatus main body 10 as in the operation of removing the ring member 40. Therefore, in the transport roller 12 of this embodiment, the mounting operation of the ring member 40 is extremely easy.

And since the ring member 40 is an annular member and has an endless structure, there is no seam generated when a string-like member is used. If there is no seam, it is possible to easily and quickly attach the ring member 40 to the transport roller body 20 without the need to prevent the generation of steps or gaps in the seam during the installation operation. In addition, the attachment of the string member requires a fastening operation using a dedicated tool. However, since the attachment of the ring member 40 is not necessary, the ring member 40 can be attached easily and quickly. Further, since the ring member 40 is mounted in a state where tension is generated, it is easily prevented that the ring member 40 is mounted in a wavy state (or a twisted state). Accordingly, it is possible to reliably prevent the surface of the ring member 40 from being uneven and the ring member 40 being mounted in a meandering state. If the meandering and the unevenness are prevented, the occurrence of vibration during the conveyance of the glass substrate is prevented.

Further, since the tip portions of the

hook portions

32 and 34 have an arc shape, the ring member 40 mounted in the groove structure 24 is mounted in a smoothly curved state at any position. If the ring member 40 can be attached in such a state, the ring member 40 can be prevented from being biased in the magnitude of the tension. Even if the ring member 40 is mounted in a state where the tension is biased, if the hook portion has a smoothly curved shape, the bias is gradually corrected as time passes. Is done.

By the way, in recent years, glass substrates have become large with the increase in size of liquid crystal displays. Under such circumstances, in order to increase the throughput of the liquid crystal display manufacturing process, high-speed conveyance of the glass substrate is effective. However, since the substrate is a delicate material, the vibration received by the substrate during transportation may adversely affect the product quality. In this respect, if the transport roller of this embodiment is used, vibration during substrate transport is suppressed, so that the glass substrate can be transported at a higher speed, and the throughput of the manufacturing process can be improved.

(Second embodiment)
Next, the conveyance roller 12a of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The structure of both side surfaces of the transport roller 12a is a point-symmetrical structure with the center position O of the transport roller 12a as the center, like the transport roller 12 of the first embodiment. Therefore, here, only one side of the point-symmetric structure will be described, and description of the other side will be omitted. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the same structure as 1st Example, The description is abbreviate | omitted.

The transport roller 12a of the present embodiment is different from the transport roller 12 of the first embodiment in the structure of the transport roller body 50. More specifically, the transport roller main body 50 is different from the transport roller 12 of the first embodiment in the structure of the portion constituting the inner path in the mounting path (groove structure) on which the ring member 40 is mounted. Yes. Therefore, the conveyance roller 12a of the second embodiment will be described focusing on this different structure. FIG. 5 shows the transport roller main body 50 in which the ring member 40 is attached only to the front side surface of FIG. 5A and the ring member is not attached to the rear side surface.

As shown in FIG. 5, the transport roller main body 50 includes an outer groove 52a formed on the outer peripheral surface 51 as a part of the groove structure 52, like the transport roller 12 of the first embodiment. The outer groove 52a has a V-shaped cross section. The outer groove 52a corresponds to the outer path of the mounting path of the ring member 40. The transport roller body 50 includes both side surfaces 53, 53, and the outer peripheral surface 51 and the side surface 53 are orthogonal to each other. Both side surfaces 53, 53 are configured by a high side surface 53a in which an outer groove 52a is formed and a low side surface 53b other than that. Among these, the portion of the high portion side surface 53a is located in the route inner region. On the other hand, most of the lower side surface 53b is located in the out-of-path area. There is a step at the boundary between the high side surface 53a and the low side surface 53b, and a step surface 55 is formed. The step surface 55 is also a surface orthogonal to the side surface 53 of the transport roller body 50. Reference numeral “20a” indicates a shaft hole, and reference numeral “21” indicates a hub.

Of the step surface 55, both end portions communicating with the outer peripheral surface 51 of the transport roller body 50 are used as guide surfaces 55 a of the ring member 40. More specifically, the guide surface 55a has a bulge shape and an arc shape, and is curved with a radius of curvature smaller than the radius of curvature of the outer peripheral surface 51. The guide surface 55a constitutes a part of the mounting path (particularly the inner path) of the ring member 40, and the convex part (curved bulging part) having the guide surface 55a as the outer surface is the inner path. It functions as the first hook portion 54.

The hub 21 is formed on the lower side surface 53b of the side surface 53 of the transport roller body 50. A step surface 55 is formed so as to surround the hub 21 from the outside. That is, the lower side surface 53b exists between the hub 21 and the step surface 55, and a gap is formed between the hub 21 and the step surface 55. The gap dimension between the step surface 55 and the outer peripheral surface 21a of the hub 21 is larger than the diameter of the ring member 40 even at the narrowest position. Therefore, the inner path of the ring member 40 can be secured between the step surface 55 and the hub 21.

A bolt hole 56 penetrating the transport roller body 50 is formed at the position of the lower side surface 53b surrounded by the step surface 55. The bolt hole 56 is located between the hub 21 and the step surface 55 (in other words, between the hub 21 and the outer groove 52a). A disc-shaped engaging member (second hook) 59 is attached by a bolt 57 and a nut 58 passed through the bolt hole 56. The engaging member 59 is installed on the lower side surface 53 b, and the outer peripheral surface 59 a of the engaging member 59 is orthogonal to the side surface 53 of the transport roller main body 50. The curvature radius of the outer peripheral surface 59a is smaller than the curvature radius of the outer peripheral surface of the conveyance roller body 50. Further, the outer peripheral surface 59a of the engaging member 59 constitutes a part of the inner path that is the mounting path of the ring member 40, and the engaging member 59 is a second hook portion of the inner path.

Since the bolt hole 56 is a long hole, the attachment position of the engagement member 59 can be adjusted by adjusting the position of the bolt 57 in the bolt hole 56. The mounting path length of the ring member 40 can be adjusted by adjusting the position of the engaging member 59 that is the second hook portion. Further, the lower side surface 53b exists between the step surface 55 and the engaging member 59, and a gap is formed. The gap between the step surface 55 and the outer peripheral surface 59a of the engaging member 59 is larger than the diameter of the ring member 40 even at the narrowest position.

In such a conveying roller 12a, the mounting path of the ring member 40 is a path as shown in FIG. That is, the outer path extends along the outer groove 52a. The inner path is determined by the position of the guide surface 55a and the position of the outer peripheral surface 59a of the engaging member 59. The ring member 40 is mounted in a state where tension is generated, and the mounting path from the guide surface 55a to the outer surface 59a of the engaging member 59 is the path having the shortest distance.

So far, the structure on the side surface 53 side of the conveyance roller body 50 has been described. As described above, the structure on the other side surface 53 side of the transport roller main body 50 is the same as that on the one side surface 53 side, and is a point-symmetrical arrangement with respect to the center position O of the transport roller main body 50. Yes. Therefore, a detailed description of the configuration on the other side surface is omitted here.

Also in the transport roller 12a of this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the arrangement of the hub 21 and the shaft hole 20a is outside the region in the path surrounded by the annular mounting path, and the shaft hole to which the rotating shaft body 11 is attached. 20a is located outside the mounting path. Therefore, in the case of the transport roller 12a of this embodiment, the ring member 40 can be easily attached and detached as in the case of the first embodiment. In addition, the first hook portion 54 and the second hook portion 59 of the transport roller 12a of the present embodiment do not use a groove structure, and are formed of a protruding member provided in a state of protruding from the lower side surface 53b. is there. Such a protruding structure is a structure in which the ring member 40 can be easily hooked. Therefore, in the transport roller 12a of the present embodiment, it is easier to attach and detach the ring member. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the contact area between the transport roller main body 50 and the ring member 40 in the inner path is smaller than that in the first embodiment. Therefore, when the ring member 40 is mounted, the tension is less likely to be biased, and even if the tension is biased, the bias can be corrected more easily.

(Third embodiment)
Next, the 3rd conveyance roller 12b of 3rd Example is demonstrated, referring FIG. 6 and FIG. The third transport roller 12b is different from the

transport rollers

12, 12a in the structure of the transport roller body 60. More specifically, the conveying roller body 60 is different from the conveying

rollers

12 and 12a of the above-described embodiment in the arrangement of the groove structure (mounting path) in which the ring member 40 is mounted. Therefore, the conveyance roller 12b of the third embodiment will be described focusing on this different structure.

As shown in FIG. 7, the transport roller body 60 has two groove structures (mounting paths) 62 on its outer peripheral surface 61. Reference numeral “63” indicates a side surface of the transport roller body 60, reference numeral “20a” indicates a shaft hole, and reference numeral “21” indicates a hub.

Both

groove structures

62, 62 have the same shape and are arranged in parallel on the annular outer peripheral surface 61 of the transport roller body 60. Further, the both

groove structures

62, 62 are formed only on the outer peripheral surface 61 of the transport roller body 60, and are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center position of the third transport roller 12b. Therefore, here, the structure of only one groove structure 62 will be described, and the description of the other side will be omitted. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the same structure as 1st Example, The description is abbreviate | omitted.

The groove structure 62 includes a pair of

long groove portions

62a and 62a extending along the circumferential direction of the conveying roller body 60 (the extending direction of the outer peripheral surface 61). Both

long groove portions

62a and 62a are arranged in parallel, and are communicated with each other via

curved portions

62b and 62b at both ends thereof. That is, the groove structure 62 is a circulation path-like groove formed only by a groove (outer path) extending along the outer peripheral surface 61. In the groove structure 62, the groove shape of the cross section orthogonal to the groove extending direction is an arc shape.

The groove structure 62 is used as a mounting path for the ring member 40. If the groove structure 62 is formed only on the outer peripheral surface 61, the ring member 40 is mounted only on the outer peripheral surface 61 of the conveying roller body 60, so the entire ring member 40 is effective as an elastic part of the conveying roller 12b. Can be used for For example, the chance of contact with the object to be conveyed and the contact area increase, which contributes to more stable conveyance.

As shown in FIG. 6, the in-path area 64 surrounded by the mounting path exists along the outer peripheral surface 61, and the shaft hole through which the rotary shaft body 11 is passed outside the in-path area 64. The arrangement is such that 20a and the hub 21 are located. Accordingly, also in the third transport roller 12b of the present embodiment, the ring member 40 can be easily attached and detached without removing the rotating shaft body 11 from the transport apparatus body 10 as in the case of the

transport rollers

12 and 12a of the above-described embodiment. It can be carried out. Further, since the mounting path exists only on the outer peripheral surface 61, the ring member 40 can be easily attached and detached even when some member (for example, an adjacent transport roller) is approaching the transport roller 12b.

At both end positions of the in-path region 64, that is, at the positions of the

curved portions

62b and 62b,

hook portions

65 and 65 to which the ring member 40 attached to the groove structure 62 is hooked are provided. Each hook portion 65 has an arc shape. Therefore, when the ring member 40 is attached to the groove structure 62, the ring member 40 can be smoothly bent at the bending

portions

62b and 62b. Note that the radius of curvature of the arc shape is smaller than the radius of curvature of the outer peripheral surface 61 of the transport roller body 62.

Also, the two

groove structures

62, 62 are formed so that the outer groove forming angle is 345 °. In this embodiment, the outer groove forming angle is a central angle formed by two imaginary lines extending in the radial direction from the center O of the conveying roller body 20 toward the tips of the

curved portions

62b and 62b at both ends of the groove structure 62. That's it. When the outer groove forming angle is larger than 180 °, each groove structure 62 is overlapped with another groove structure adjacent to the groove structure 62 in the circumferential direction. That is, the elastic part made of the ring member 40 is arranged on the outer peripheral surface 61 of the transport roller body 60 without interruption. Therefore, the object to be conveyed can be conveyed in a stable state.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, the 4th conveyance roller 12c of 4th Example is demonstrated, referring FIG. The fourth transport roller 12c differs from the transport roller 12b of the third embodiment in the number of groove structures 72 formed on the outer peripheral surface 71 of the transport roller body 70 and the number of ring members 40 to be mounted. More specifically, the fourth transport roller 12c has one groove structure 72 and one ring member 40 to be mounted. Therefore, the conveyance roller 12c of the fourth embodiment will be described focusing on this different structure.

As shown in FIG. 8, the transport roller body 70 has a single groove structure (mounting path) 72 on the outer peripheral surface 71. Reference numeral “73” indicates a side surface of the conveyance roller body 70, reference numeral “20a” indicates a shaft hole, and reference numeral “21” indicates a hub.

The groove structure 72 is the same structure as the groove structure 62 of the third embodiment, and a pair of long groove portions 72a arranged in parallel in a state extending in the circumferential direction of the conveying roller body 70 (extending direction of the outer peripheral surface 71), 72a and

curved portions

72b, 72b located at both ends thereof. That is, the groove structure 72 is a circulation path-like groove formed only by a groove (outer path) extending along the outer peripheral surface 71. In the groove structure 72, the groove shape of the cross section orthogonal to the groove extending direction is an arc shape. This groove structure 72 is used as a mounting path on which the ring member 40 is mounted.

However, the groove structure 72 of the conveying roller 12c of this embodiment has a structure in which the

curved portions

72b and 72b at both ends thereof overlap each other. With such a structure, when the ring member 40 is mounted along the groove structure 72, the elastic portion is arranged on the outer circumference of the arrangement conveying roller body 70 without being interrupted over the entire circumference. If it is such a structure, a to-be-conveyed object can be conveyed in the stable state.

More specifically, the

long groove portions

72a and 72a of the groove structure 72 are formed in a state of being inclined (spiral) with respect to the circumferential direction of the conveying roller 12c. Further, by arranging in a spiral manner in this way, a circumferential overlap portion 72w is secured at both ends of the groove structure 72 while securing a gap 71a between the long groove portions 72a. The shaft hole 20a and the hub 21 through which the rotating shaft body 11 is passed are positioned outside the path inner region 74 surrounded by the mounting path (groove structure). Therefore, in the fourth transport roller 12c of this embodiment, the ring member 40 can be easily attached and detached as in the case of the

transport rollers

12, 12a, and 12b of the above embodiment. Further, since the mounting path exists only on the outer peripheral surface 71, the ring member 40 can be easily attached and detached even when some member (for example, an adjacent transport roller) approaches the side of the transport roller 12c. Further, since the number of the ring members 40 is the smallest one, the number of times of attaching / detaching the ring members 40 can be minimized, and in this respect, the attaching / detaching work is easy.

Note that the conveyance roller according to the present invention is not limited to the conveyance roller of the above-described embodiment. The transport roller according to the present invention includes various modifications of the transport roller of the above-described embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the number of mounting paths provided in the transport roller

main bodies

20 and 50 is two, but the number of mounting paths may be more than two such as four or six. Also, the number of mounting paths may be one. Since the ring member 40 is mounted on each mounting path, the number of ring members 40 corresponding to the number of mounting paths is required for each conveyance roller

main body

20 and 50.

The length of the mounting path can be made equal to the outer peripheral length of the transport roller

main bodies

20 and 50. This is suitable when two transport paths are formed in the transport roller

main bodies

20 and 50. With such a structure, by selecting a ring member 40 suitable for mounting on the outer circumference of the conveyance roller

main bodies

20 and 50 over the entire circumference, the symmetrical conveyance roller 20 can be easily, easily, and surely symmetric. , 50 can be selected.

The cross-sectional shape of the material constituting the ring member 40 can take various shapes such as a circle, an ellipse, and a semicircle. And as a structure of the material which comprises the ring member 40, a solid structure or a hollow structure can be taken. The ring member 40 is preferably made of rubber such as silicon rubber or urethane.

In the above embodiment, the

grooves

24a and 52a formed at the position of the outer path have an arc shape or a V shape in the groove cross section, but may be grooves having other cross sections. Further, the conveyance roller body may have a structure in which no groove is formed at the position of the outer path. That is, the outer peripheral surface at the position of the outer path may be a flat surface, or a convex part extending along the direction of the outer path may be formed. For example, when the outer peripheral surface at the position of the outer path is a flat surface, a ring member whose surface is in contact with the outer peripheral surface at the position of the outer path, such as a ring member made of a material having a semicircular cross-sectional shape, is preferable.

In the above embodiment, the first hooking portion is formed at the position of the inner groove, but the position of the first hooking portion may be a communication position between the outer groove and the inner groove.

In the above embodiment, the transport roller body is integrally attached to the rotating shaft body. However, the transport roller body of the present invention may be attached to the rotating shaft body so as to be rotatable.

The transport roller according to the present invention is useful as a part used in a transport device for a transported object such as a glass substrate, and the transport device using the transport roller is useful as a device for transporting a transported object such as a glass substrate. .

Claims

A conveyance roller comprising a conveyance roller body rotatably supported by a rotating shaft body supported at both ends, and a deformable annular ring member that is detachably attached to the conveyance roller body,
The transport roller body includes a hook portion on which the ring member is hooked,
The transporting roller according to claim 1, wherein a mounting path of the ring member mounted on the transporting roller main body includes at least an outer path existing on an outer peripheral portion of the transporting roller main body.
The conveying roller according to claim 1, wherein at least two hooking portions are provided corresponding to one ring member to be mounted.
The ring member is a plurality, and a plurality of mounting paths for mounting the plurality of ring members is between an outer path of one mounting path and an outer path of another mounting path adjacent to the outer path, The conveying roller according to claim 2, wherein the outer peripheral portion is arranged so as to have an overlapping portion in a circumferential direction.
The conveyance roller according to claim 3, wherein the number of the ring members is two and the number of the mounting paths is two.
The conveyance roller according to claim 4, wherein the mounting path includes only the outer path.
Each conveyance part is a conveyance roller of Claim 5 provided with the convex circular arc-shaped part by which the said ring member is hooked in the front-end | tip.
The conveyance roller according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the outer path is a groove formed in an outer peripheral portion of the conveyance roller main body.
The conveying roller according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the ring member has a circular cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the ring extending direction.
The transporting roller according to claim 8, wherein the ring member has a hollow tube shape.
A transport device using the transport roller according to any one of claims 1 to 9.