JP3309059B2 - Carriage connecting device of article transport device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article conveying apparatus in which a plurality of traveling carriages on which articles to be conveyed are connected are connected, and more particularly, a pallet on which a pallet for conveying articles to be tilted and controlled to the side is mounted. It is used as an article sorting / conveying means by a conveyor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 3, an article sorting / conveying apparatus in which a plurality of carriages each having a tray on which articles to be conveyed are mounted so as to be tiltable to the side and connected by a connecting rod is connected to a carriage C by a conveying path. The primary coil of a linear motor (see FIG. 1) is disposed along the transporting route, with wheels W running on a running rail arranged front and rear, side rollers R for rolling prevention running on the side rails being attached, and (Not shown), a reaction plate P receiving a traveling driving force in the transport direction is vertically provided at a lower portion, and a tray support B supported at an upper portion so as to be tiltable to the side and an index plate for tilting the support B to the side. A is attached by a known means.
The tray T on which the articles are placed is mounted on the tray support B.

[0003] The index plate A tilts the tray support B by controlling the operation of a well-known tilting operation member (not shown) fixed on the conveying path of the sorting apparatus at a desired article sorting position. In addition, the articles are sorted by releasing the articles on the tray T to a side chute provided at a desired sorting position.

A plurality of carriages C having the above-described structure are separated and connected by a connecting rod D, travel along a circulation path by driving the above-described linear motor, and constitute an article sorting and conveying device. When the article placed on the tray T is small, a guard plate G is provided so as to protrude forward and backward in the transport direction so as not to fall from the tray T and fall on the traveling rail and the side rail during the transport movement. The front end and the rear end of the guard plate G are provided at the rear end of a guard plate (reference numeral G 'is a guard plate provided on the front carriage) provided on each of the front and rear carriages separated from and adjacent to the carriage. And overlaps with the front end to cover the spacing between the carriages.

[0005]

In the above-described conventional article sorting and conveying apparatus, if a curved path that bends upward or downward is formed on the traveling path of the carriage, the preceding carriage and the succeeding carriage follow. There is a problem in that the overlapping portions of the front end and the rear end of the guard plate of the carriage interfere with each other, making it difficult to travel and travel on a curved path with a small radius of curvature.

[0006]

Therefore, according to the present invention, both ends of a connecting rod connecting the front and rear carriages are flexibly connected via universal joints to positions above the traveling wheels of the front and rear carriages. The above problem is solved by separating the space between the front and rear carriages and the both ends of the guard plate covering the connecting rod at the same position where both ends of the connecting rod are connected.

[0007]

When the front and rear carriages connected by the connecting rod travel along an upward or downward curved path, both ends of the connecting rod and both ends of the guard plate are connected to the same position of the front and rear carriages, respectively. Since the bending centers of the connecting rod and the guard plate with respect to the carriage are the same, the lengths of the curved connecting rod and the guard plate chord become substantially equal, and the front and rear carriages interfere with both ends of the guard plate. The vehicle travels along a curved path without being affected, and the ends of guard plates adjacent in the traveling direction do not interfere with each other.

[0008]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a main part showing a connection state of a carriage according to the present invention on a horizontal traveling path, and FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part showing a state of a connection part on a curved path of the carriage. Reference numeral 1 denotes front and rear running wheels 2 which roll on a rail (not shown) provided along the running route, and guide rollers 3 roll on guide rails (not shown) provided along the rail to move the carriage 1. A reaction plate P of a linear motor is horizontally mounted on the lower surface of the carriage 1 to prevent the roll from rolling. Note that the reaction plate P may be vertically suspended as shown in FIG. Further, on the upper portion of the carriage 1, a support B and an index plate A of the tray T similar to those described with reference to FIG.

At the position above the mounting position of the traveling wheel 2 of the carriage 1, both ends of the connecting rods 4, 4 of the front and rear carriages are connected via universal joints 5, 5, and the connecting rods 4, 4 are connected. Guard plates 6 and 6 which cover the connecting rods 4 and 4 and the space between the front and rear carriages
Ends 6 ', 6' are connected by a slot or the like so as to be freely rotatable in a horizontal rotation, an elevating rotation, and a forward and backward movement. Note that a guard plate 6A is also attached to the carriage 1 as needed. In FIG. 1, both ends of the guard plate 6A are connected to the same positions as the floating connection ends of the guard plates 6 and 6.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the front and rear carriages are connected by mounting both ends of the connecting rod and the space between the front and rear carriages and both ends of the guard plate covering the connecting rod at the same position. Both ends are freely bent via a universal joint, and the guard plate is freely movable and connected to the carriage, respectively, so that the separated front and rear carriages run on a curved path with an upward or downward gradient. Since both ends of the connecting rod and the guard plate can be bent and tilted about the same connecting position on the carriage, the lengths of the connecting rod and the guard plate in the curved portion are substantially equal, and the guard is provided. There is no possibility that the plate restricts or restricts the bending and tilting of the connecting rod via the universal joint, regardless of the radius of curvature of the curved path.
It enables a smooth curved route. In addition, since both ends of the connecting rod are mounted above the traveling wheel mounting position of the carriage and are covered by the guard plate, the guard plate extends on the traveling path of the carriage over the entire length of the space between the front and rear carriages. It is possible to cover and prevent the articles placed on the tray of the carriage from dropping in the track during transportation, thereby ensuring the safe traveling of the carriage.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an essential part showing a connected state of a carriage of the present invention on a horizontal path.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part showing a connected state of the carriage of the present invention on a curved path.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a main part of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Carriage 2 ... Running wheel 4 ... Connecting rod 5 ... Universal joint 6 ... Guard plate T ... Tray B ... Tray support A ... Tray tilting index plate P: Linear motor reaction plate

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Katsunori Kato 4-17-96, Tsurumi, Tsurumi-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Tsubakimoto Chain Co., Ltd. (72) Yusuke Haga 4--17, Tsurumi, Tsurumi-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka No. 96 Tsubakimoto Chain Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-5-32316 (JP, A) JP-A-63-295318 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65G 17/10 B65G 35/06 B65G 47/38

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An article conveying apparatus comprising a plurality of carriages having running wheels and carrying articles to be conveyed, the connecting rods being separated and connected in the conveying direction by connecting rods, wherein both ends of the connecting rods are above the running wheels of the front and rear carriages. At the same position where the both ends of the guard plate covering the connecting rod and the space between the front and rear carriages and the guard plate covering the connecting rod are freely connected to the same position. A carriage connecting device characterized in that: 2. An article sorting / conveying apparatus in which a number of carriages each having traveling wheels and having a loading tray for conveyed articles tiltably attached to a side are separated and connected in a conveying direction by a connecting rod, wherein both ends of the connecting rod are Each of the front and rear carriages is flexibly connected to a position above the traveling wheel of the front and rear carriages via a universal joint. A carriage connecting device, wherein both ends of a guard plate for preventing falling of the connecting rod are loosely connected to the same position where both ends of the connecting rod are connected.