WO2017145315A1

WO2017145315A1 - Transport conveyor

Info

Publication number: WO2017145315A1
Application number: PCT/JP2016/055577
Authority: WO
Inventors: 山本　格万; 有孝山本
Original assignee: 株式会社アルス
Priority date: 2016-02-25
Filing date: 2016-02-25
Publication date: 2017-08-31
Also published as: WO2017145666A1; JPWO2017145666A1

Abstract

Provided is a transport conveyor configured such that: deck pieces (13) constituting deck modules (12) are adapted to serve also as chain links; auxiliary sprockets (8) meshing with the deck pieces (13) are provided between a pair of conveyor chains (4, 4); front connection links (14) and rear connection links (15), the front and rear connection links (14, 15) being included in the deck modules (12), are connected to the attachments (4b) of the conveyor chains by inserting removable connection pins into pin holes which are formed in the front connection links (14) and the rear connection links (15) and which are long in the transport direction; and the front connection links (14) and the rear connection links (15) have extension sections extending forward and rearward in the transport direction and overlapping each other.

Description

Conveyor

This invention is a conveyance conveyor suitable as a conveyance line when continuously performing processing such as washing, sterilization, heating, and cooling of vegetables, meat, seafood, dairy products, bread, confectionery, etc. in a flow operation. The present invention relates to a transport conveyor that can easily remove members constituting a transport surface for the purpose of cleaning the entire area of the conveyor and the peripheral area without hindrance.

For example, a conveyor disclosed in Patent Document 1 below is known as a conveyor used for cleaning vegetables while transporting them.

The conveyance conveyor described in the same document was proposed by the applicant of the present invention, and the deck module constituting the conveyance surface is mounted on a plurality of conveyor chains arranged in parallel between the drive sprocket and the driven sprocket. The deck modules are connected to the conveyor chains on both sides so that they can be easily removed using connecting pins that can be inserted and removed.

Conveyors used for transporting food products are required to be kept clean at all times, and in order to meet the demand, cleaning including peripheral equipment is periodically performed. The conveyance conveyor of the above-mentioned patent document 1 can clean the back surface etc. without any leakage by removing the deck module.

Also, when the deck module on the conveyor chain is removed, the conveyor drive system is exposed, so the parts other than the conveyor deck module can be cleaned without any leaks, and there are no dead spots for cleaning work. Therefore, it is possible to clean not only the entire area of the conveyor but also the peripheral part without hindrance.

Japanese Patent No. 5661440

In the transfer conveyor described in Patent Document 1, the deck modules constituting the transfer surface are connected to the conveyor chains arranged on both sides of the conveyor, and the deck modules are pulled only by the conveyor chain.

For this reason, especially when the deck module is made of resin or the strength of the hinge pin for connecting the deck piece is small, it is restricted to increase the width of the transport surface.

If the width of the transport surface increases, the transmission of the traction force to the part where the separation distance from the conveyor chain of the deck module is large becomes insufficient, so that the center part of the deck module is shifted backward in the transport direction with respect to both sides. Deform.

Because of this, smooth and stable running of the endless transport surface composed of the deck module cannot be expected, and the deck module made of resin may be damaged.

In addition, the deck module of the transport conveyor of Patent Document 1 is configured so that it can be bent together with the conveyor chain at the beginning and end of the conveyor. However, the bending affects the influence of the connecting portion that attaches the deck module to the conveyor chain. In the connecting portion provided with simple play, smooth bending is hindered, which hinders the running of the deck module at the start and end of the conveyor.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a transport conveyor of a type in which the deck module is detachably mounted on the conveyor chain, and even if the width is increased, the bias of the traction force applied to each part of the deck module is suppressed. It is an object to make the module bend smoothly and operate without trouble.

In order to solve the above-described problems, in the present invention, a plurality of deck pieces that also serve as chain links are sequentially hinged and connected in one direction, and further, a front side that is horizontally long with respect to the front and rearmost deck pieces. The joint link and the rear joint link each have a deck module hinged, and the deck module is detachably mounted at a predetermined pitch on a pair of parallel conveyor chains spanned between the driving sprocket and the driven sprocket. A transport conveyor configured with an endless transport surface,
An auxiliary sprocket meshing with the deck piece is provided between the pair of conveyor chains, and the auxiliary sprocket is fixed to a driving shaft to which the driving sprocket is attached and a driven shaft to which the driven sprocket is attached, respectively.
The chain link of the conveyor chain has two pairs of attachments that sandwich a part of each of the front joint link and the rear joint link in the width direction of the conveyor,
The front joint link and the rear joint link have a notch for allowing the auxiliary sprocket to pass therethrough and a connecting portion for the attachment, and the front joint link and the rear joint link are more connected to the conveyor than the auxiliary sprocket. A detachable connecting pin arranged at a position biased to the side is removably inserted into a pin hole of a connecting portion formed on the opposite side to the deck piece connecting side of each joint link and connected to the attachment. Furthermore, the front joint link and the rear joint link provide a transport conveyor having extending portions in the transport direction that overlap each other.

Before and after saying here, the front of the conveyor direction is considered to be the front, and the rear of the conveyor direction is considered to be the rear.

The pin hole is a long hole in the conveying direction having a length in consideration of the circumferential length difference in order to absorb the circumferential length difference between the conveyor chain and the endless transport surface (the endlessly connected deck module).

Also, at least one auxiliary sprocket is installed between a pair of driving sprockets and a pair of driven sprockets, and a plurality of auxiliary sprockets are installed depending on the width of the conveyor.

The transport conveyor according to the present invention includes a front edge in the vicinity of both ends of the front joint link and a slit that enters the transport direction of the conveyor at a rear edge in the vicinity of both ends of the rear joint link, and the chain link in the slit. It is preferable to have a structure in which one of the pair of attachments enters and the other of the pair of attachments is disposed at a position along the end face of each joint link.

The deck module is preferably a combination of a resin deck piece, a resin front joint link, and a resin rear joint link, although it depends on the type of transported object. The deck piece can be provided with a drain hole as required.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the deck piece constituting the deck module is divided into a plurality of parts in the width direction of the conveyor. The divided deck pieces are connected to the deck pieces in the front and rear direction, the front joint link, and the rear joint link by connecting them in a horizontal row using one hinge pin.

In addition to this, depending on the width of the conveyor, it is also preferable to install guide rails on the outward path and the return path to receive and support the deck module and the conveyor chain from below.

∙ Either one of the front joint link and the rear joint link can be provided with an upright horizontal rail on the upper surface that pushes the conveyed item as necessary.

The conveying conveyor of the present invention includes an auxiliary sprocket that rotates integrally with the driving sprocket and the driven sprocket, and the deck module is pulled by the auxiliary sprocket.

This makes it possible to apply a stable traction force to each part of the deck module in the width direction and suppress deformation of the deck module.

If the bias of the traction force is small, the deck module will not be tightly deformed and the endless transport surface will run smoothly and stably. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a transfer conveyor that operates smoothly even when the width of the transfer surface is increased.

Further, in the transport conveyor of the present invention, the deck modules constituting the transport surface are detachably connected to the chain links of the conveyor chain using connection pins.

This makes it possible to remove the deck module and clean not only the entire conveyor but also the surrounding area without any problems.

Further, since the deck module is connected to the attachment provided on the chain link of the conveyor chain through the connecting pin through the pin hole long in the conveying direction provided on the front and rear joint links, the deck module is connected at the start and end of the conveyor. When turning (direction reversal), the connecting pin passed through the pin hole and the joint link move relative to each other without any trouble.

Therefore, absorption of the difference in circumference between the conveyor chain and the deck module at the start and end turn portions of the conveyor and the bending of the deck module are performed smoothly.

The front splice link and the rear splice link are notched at a portion passing through the position of the auxiliary sprocket, and a connecting pin for connecting the front splice link and the rear splice link to the conveyor chain is an auxiliary sprocket. Rather than the side of the conveyor.

For this reason, interference with the front splice link, the rear splice link, and the auxiliary sprocket of the connecting pin is avoided, and the movement restraint of the deck module at the turn portion due to the interference is prevented, and the transport surface (deck module) is smooth. The conveyor can be operated without problems.

In addition, since the extending portions provided on the front joint link and the rear joint link are overlapped with each other, there is a gap that may be generated between the deck modules before and after the conveyance direction at the turn end portion of the conveyor. Even if the design condition such as the diameter of the sprocket fluctuates due to being blocked by the extending portion, it does not hinder the conveyance of the article.

In addition, since a deck module is configured by sequentially connecting a plurality of deck pieces, the number of deck pieces added can be increased to increase the area of the conveyance surface created by one deck module, thereby forming a conveyor. By reducing the total number of deck modules, it is possible to reduce the trouble of connecting and removing the deck modules with respect to the conveyor chain.

In addition, if the front joint link and the rear joint link are provided with slits and the chain link attachment is inserted into the slit, the connecting pin is placed in the center of each joint link in the thickness direction to suppress an increase in the thickness of the deck module. can do.

In addition, if a deck module is configured by combining multiple deck pieces divided in the width direction of the conveyor, it is possible to cope with fluctuations in the width of the conveyor by increasing or decreasing the divided deck pieces. When damaged, the deck deck module can be regenerated by replacing only the damaged divided deck piece.

Furthermore, the guide rails installed on the forward path and the return path to support the deck module and conveyor chain from below suppress the slackness of the transport surface due to the weight of the transported object, and can transport a heavy transported object. .

In addition, those having the crosspieces on the upper surface of the front joint link and the rear joint link can stably convey a material that is easy to roll, and can also constitute an inclined conveyance path.

It is a perspective view which shows the outline | summary of an example of the conveyance conveyor of this invention. It is a partially broken top view which shows the outline | summary of an example of the conveyance conveyor of this invention. FIG. 3 is a partially broken plan view showing a part of FIG. 2 in an enlarged manner. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 3. It is a perspective view which shows the surface side of the deck piece which comprises a deck module. It is a perspective view which shows the back surface side of the deck piece which comprises a deck module. It is a perspective view which shows an example of a deck module. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a rear joint link provided at the rearmost part of the deck module of FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a front joint link provided at the foremost part of the deck module of FIG. 8. FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. 11. It is a perspective view of the attachment installation part with respect to the conveyor chain of the conveyance conveyor of FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the conveyor according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 13 of the accompanying drawings.

The conveyor 1 supports the drive sprocket 2, the driven sprocket 3 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the conveyor chain 4 spanning between these sprockets, and the forward conveyor chain 4. A guide rail 5 (see FIG. 4), a drive shaft 6 and a driven shaft 7 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) for supporting each of the drive sprocket 2 and the driven sprocket 3, and an auxiliary sprocket attached to the drive shaft 6 and the driven shaft 7. 8. A side frame 11 (also shown in FIG. 1) having a drive source 9 for rotating the drive shaft 6 (see FIG. 1, a motor with a speed reducer), and a bearing 10 (see FIG. 1) for supporting the drive shaft 6 and the driven shaft 7. 1) and a deck module 12 in which a plurality of deck pieces 13 are combined.

A large number of the deck modules 12 are detachably attached to the conveyor chain 4 at a constant pitch to constitute an endless transport surface.

If necessary, guide rails (not shown) for supporting the deck module 12 from below in the forward path and the return path can be provided at appropriate intervals in the width direction of the conveyor.

The drive sprocket 2 rotates the drive shaft 6 by driving it with a drive source 9. Two sets of the drive sprocket 2 and the driven sprocket 3 fixed to the driven shaft 7 are provided symmetrically, and an endless conveyor chain 4 is placed in parallel between each set of the drive sprocket 2 and the driven sprocket 3. Yes.

The illustrated conveyor chain 4 is a roller chain that combines an outer link and an inner link. Since the outer link of the roller chain and the chain link provided with the attachment described later are required to be strong, they are made of metal. Other chain links can also be formed of metal, but considering the weight reduction of the conveyor chain and corrosion countermeasures, it is advantageous that the other chain links are formed of resin.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the chain links 4a _-1 and 4a _-1 that are part of the conveyor chain 4 are formed with attachments 4b that are vertically erected. The deck module 12 is connected to the attachment 4b.

The installation pitch P1 (see FIG. 4) of the attachment 4b that connects the rear part of the preceding deck module 12 and the front part of the subsequent deck module 12 is the chain pitch P of the conveyor chain 4 except for one place in the illustrated conveyor. (See FIG. 4) is set to about twice, and the remaining one place is set to about three times the chain pitch P.

The installation pitch P1 may be set to 2 · P or 3 · P depending on the conveyor design.

The illustrated chain link 4a- ₁ is an outer link, but the attachment 4b can be provided only on the inner link (chain link 4a- ₂ ), or can be provided on the inner link and the outer link, respectively. is there.

The illustrated transfer conveyor 1 includes a deck module 12 whose front and rear portions are connected to the attachment 4b, and is sequentially hinged in the transfer direction of the conveyor (hereinafter simply referred to as the transfer direction). Is configured.

The auxiliary sprocket 8 is fixed at a corresponding position (position aligned on a straight line parallel to the conveyor chain 4) of the drive shaft 6 and the driven shaft 7. The teeth of the auxiliary sprocket 8 mesh with the tooth groove on the back surface of the deck piece 13 and apply a traction force to the deck module 12. Note that the deck module 12 and the auxiliary sprocket 8 of the illustrated conveyor are both made of resin.

In the illustrated conveyor 1, two auxiliary sprockets 8 are attached to the drive shaft 6 and the driven shaft 7, respectively, but the number of auxiliary sprockets 8 attached to the drive shaft 6 and the driven shaft 7 can be arbitrarily increased or decreased. The minimum number of auxiliary sprockets 8 installed on the drive shaft 6 and the driven shaft 7 is one.

The deck module 12 of the illustrated transfer conveyor includes deck portions as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, that is, connecting

portions

13b and 13c that are hingedly connected to the front and rear deck modules before and after the flat horizontally long main body portion 13a. The formed deck piece 13, the front joint link 14 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, and the rear joint link 15 as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 are combined.

The deck piece 13 is a piece that also serves as a chain link, and has a tooth groove 13d with which the teeth of the auxiliary sprocket 8 mesh with each other as shown in FIG.

A plurality of deck pieces 13 are sequentially hinged at the same pitch as the chain pitch P using hinge pins 16 (see FIGS. 4 and 5), and the front joint link 14 is connected to the frontmost deck piece 13 at the rearmost part. A rear joint link 15 is connected to the deck piece 13 using a single hinge pin 16 having a length approximately equal to the width of the conveyor.

The deck piece 13, the front joint link 14, and the rear joint link 15 are all made of a resin that is lighter in weight and more resistant to chemicals and corrosion than metals, but is made of a metal such as stainless steel or aluminum. It may be formed by.

As the deck piece 13, a piece (divided piece) divided into a plurality of pieces in the width direction is used by adding a necessary number of pieces using the hinge pin 16 as a connecting material. The connecting

portions

13b and 13c of the deck piece 13 are displaced from each other so that one connecting portion enters a recess between the other connecting portions.

It is preferable that the connecting

portions

13b and 13c are provided in the entire area between both side surfaces of the deck piece 13 as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 because the stability of the connection with the deck piece before and after the conveying direction is improved.

The deck piece 13 may be provided with a drain hole (18 in FIG. 6) penetrating the top and bottom surfaces as necessary. The shape of the drain hole can be set arbitrarily.

Both the front joint link 14 and the rear joint link 15 are a series of members extending in the width direction over the entire width of the conveyor.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the front joint link 14 is connected to the main body portion 14 a and a rear portion of the main body portion 14 a to be hinged to the connecting portion 13 c of the deck piece 12 at the end of the deck module 12. 14b and a notch 14c for allowing the auxiliary sprocket 8 to pass through without interference.

Further, a slit 14d formed so as to enter the conveying direction at the front edge near both ends, a connecting portion 14e between the slit 14d and the end face in the width direction of the deck piece, and slits on both sides Between 14d and 14d, it has the extension part 14f extended in the conveyance direction back from the rear edge of the main-body part 14a.

In the connecting portion 14e, a long pin hole 14g is formed in the transport direction passing through the connecting portion 14e in the width direction of the conveyor.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the rear joint link 15 is formed at the front portion of the main body portion 15a so as to be hinged to the main body portion 15a and the connecting portion 13b of the foremost deck piece of the deck module 12. The coupling portion 15b and the auxiliary sprocket 8 have a notch 15c (this is a non-penetrating groove on the upper surface) for allowing the auxiliary sprocket 8 to pass through without interference.

Also, a slit 15d formed to enter the conveying direction at the front edge near both ends, a connecting portion 15e between the slit 15d and the end face in the width direction of the deck piece, and slits on both sides Between 15d and 15d, it has the extension part 15f extended to the conveyance direction front from the front edge of the main-body part 15a.

The connecting portion 15e is formed with a pin hole 15g having a long hole in the transport direction passing through the connecting portion 15e in the width direction of the conveyor.

The pin holes 14g and 15g have a length capable of absorbing the circumferential length difference in consideration of the circumferential length difference between the turn part of the conveyor chain 4 and the endless transport surface. The pin holes 14g and 15g and their The relative displacement between the front joint link 14 and the rear joint link 15 due to the difference in the circumferential length is caused by the interchange generated between the connecting pins 17 (see FIGS. 4, 8, and 13) passed through the pin holes. It is allowed.

This allows the deck module to move smoothly in the turn section, and the design restrictions on the conveyor chain 4 and the endless transport surface due to the difference in circumferential length are eased.

The extending

portions

14f and 15f have a shape in which one of the lower half is removed in the thickness direction and the other is removed from the upper half in the thickness direction, and the extending

portions

14f and 15f of the front and rear deck modules overlap each other. I am doing it.

Therefore, the endless transport surface is not interrupted in the transport direction, and the transported object does not fall or get caught between the deck modules before and after the transport direction.

Moreover, since the

extension parts

14f and 15f are simply piled up, they do not restrain each other.

The deck module 12 is connected to the conveyor chain 4 by making one of the

attachments

4b and 4b forming a pair of conveyor chains enter the

slits

14d and 15d of the front joint link 14 and the rear joint link 15 to form a pair. The other side of the attachment 4b is disposed at a position along the end surfaces of the front and rear

joint links

14 and 15, and the connecting pins 17 are passed through the pin holes 14g and 15g and the pin holes 4c provided in the attachment 4b. Has been done.

According to this structure, since the connecting pin 17 can be arranged at the center in the thickness direction of each joint link on the front side and the rear side, the thickness of the deck module is not increased.

The connection of the deck module 12 to the conveyor chain 4 by the connection pin 17 is performed at a position biased to the side of the conveyor with respect to the installation point of the auxiliary sprocket 8 in order to avoid interference of the connection pin 17 with the auxiliary sprocket 8. It has been broken.

As shown in FIG. 13, the connecting pin 17 used here has a protrusion 17a on the outer periphery on the front end side and a 90 ° bent portion 17b on the rear side, and the bayonet is inserted into and engaged with the attachment 4b. This is done by a combination method.

The pin hole 4c provided in the attachment 4b allows the projection 17a to pass when the connecting pin 17 is in a certain posture. When the hand holding the connecting pin 17 is released after passing through the pin hole 4c of the attachment 4b and the pin holes 14g and 15g of the joint link, the 90 ° bent portion 17b at the rear of the connecting pin hangs down. Always maintains a posture that does not naturally come out of the pin hole 4c.

Numeral 19 in FIG. 9 is a horizontal rail provided upright on the upper surface of the front joint link 14 and the rear joint link 15 as necessary. This horizontal rail is a rail for pushing and moving the conveyed product. When this horizontal rail 19 is present, an inclined conveyance path can be formed.

In addition, the conveyance conveyor which has the horizontal rail 19 can support the deck module 12 with a rail also in a return path by notching the site | part which interferes with the support rail of a horizontal rail.

As described above, in the conveyor according to the present invention, the deck module is pulled not only by the conveyor chain but also by the auxiliary sprocket, so that the deformation of the deck module due to the bias of the traction force is suppressed and stable operation is expected. it can.

Also, the deck module can be removed from the conveyor chain, and the entire conveyor as well as the periphery can be cleaned without any problem. Mounting and removing the deck module is very simple because it is only necessary to insert and remove the connecting pin 17.

1 Conveyor 2 Drive sprocket 3 Drive sprocket 4 Conveyor chain 4a- ₁ , 4a- ₂

Chain link 4b Attachment

4c Pin hole 5 Guide rail 6 Drive shaft 7 Drive shaft 8 Auxiliary sprocket 9 Drive source 10 Bearing 11 Side frame 12 Deck module 13 Deck piece 13a

Main body part

13b, 13c Connection part 13d Tooth groove 14 Front

joint link

14a, 15a

Main body part

14b,

15b Connection part

14c,

15c Notch part

14d,

15d Slit

14e,

15e Connection part

14f, 15f with chain

conveyor Protruding parts

14g, 15g Pin hole 15 Rear joint link 16 Hinge pin 17 Connecting pin 17a Projection 17b 90 ° bent part 18 Drain hole 19 Horizontal beam P Chain pin P1 attachment of the installation pitch

Claims

A plurality of deck pieces (13) that also serve as chain links are sequentially hinged and connected in one direction, and further, the front joint link (14) that is horizontally long with respect to the front and rear deck pieces (13) and the rear The side link link (15) includes a deck module (12) hinged to each other, and the deck module (12) is spanned between a drive sprocket (2) and a driven sprocket (3). A transport conveyor (1) having an endless transport surface that is detachably mounted on a conveyor chain (4) at a predetermined pitch,
An auxiliary sprocket (8) meshing with the deck piece (13) is provided between the pair of conveyor chains (4, 4),
The auxiliary sprocket (8) is fixed to a drive shaft (6) to which the drive sprocket (2) is attached and a driven shaft (7) to which the driven sprocket (3) is attached, respectively.
The chain link of the conveyor chain (4) has a pair of attachments (4b), two of which sandwich a part of each of the front joint link (14) and the rear joint link (15) in the width direction of the conveyor,
The front splice link (14) and the rear splice link (15) have notches (14c, 15c) through which the auxiliary sprocket (8) passes and connecting portions (14b, 15b) to the attachment (4b). The front joint link (14) and the rear joint link (15) are provided with a detachable connection pin (17) arranged at a position biased to the side of the conveyor with respect to the auxiliary sprocket (8). The connecting portions (14b, 15b) formed on the opposite side to the deck piece connecting side of each joint link are removably inserted into pin holes (14g, 15g) that are long in the transport direction and inserted into the attachment (4b). Further, the front splice link (14) and the rear splice link (15) are connected to each other at a position excluding the start and end turn portions of the conveyor. Extending portion (14f, 15f) with which conveyor which has to post.
The front joint link (14) has slits (14d, 15d) that enter the conveying direction of the conveyor at the front edge near both ends of the front joint link (14) and the rear edge near both ends of the rear joint link (15), respectively. 15d), one of the attachments (4b) of the pair of conveyor chains enters, and the other of the attachments (4b) of the pair is arranged at a position along the end face of each joint link. Conveyor.
The said deck module (12) is comprised combining the resin-made deck piece (13), the resin front joint link (14), and the resin rear joint link (15). Transport conveyor.
The conveyor according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the deck piece (13) has a drain hole (18) penetrating the upper and lower surfaces.
The deck piece (13) constituting the deck module (12) is divided into a plurality of parts in the width direction of the conveyor, and the divided deck pieces are arranged in a horizontal row via one hinge pin (16) before and after the conveying direction. The conveyor according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the conveyor is connected to the deck piece (13), the front joint link (14), and the rear joint link (15).
The guide rail (5) for supporting the conveyor chain (4) or the deck module (12) or the conveyor chain (4) and the deck module (12), respectively, at least in a forward path of the conveyor. Crab conveyor.
The conveyor according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein one of the front joint link (14) and the rear joint link (15) is provided with an upright horizontal rail (19) for pushing a conveyed product on an upper surface. .