JP2007062995A - Article conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an article conveying apparatus capable of performing both the conveyance for turning only the conveyance direction without changing the direction of the article in the carrying-in direction and the conveyance for turning the article together with the conveyance direction.
An article transporting apparatus includes a plurality of rotating shafts that are arranged substantially in parallel on the same horizontal plane, and a plurality of rotating bodies that rotate concentrically with the rotating shaft. A conveyance path 10, a rotation drive motor 15 that rotationally drives the rotary shaft 11, a turning drive motor 25 that turns the conveyance path 10 around a substantially vertical turning shaft 21, and a perforation formed with a circular hole. The plate 3 is provided with a plate driving cylinder 5 for displacing the perforated plate 3 to the insertion position and the separation position, and a control means having a CPU.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an article conveying apparatus, and more particularly to an article conveying apparatus that conveys an article by rotational driving of a roller.

  Conventionally, in the process of assembling, processing, sorting, and receiving / shipping inspection of articles, articles that convey articles by rotating a plurality of rollers that rotate around a substantially horizontal axis in parallel and rotating the rollers in the same direction. A transport device is used. In an assembly process or a machining process composed of a number of various processes, the transport direction may be changed when transporting from one process to the next. In that case, the direction of the rotation axis of the roller is changed little by little and the fan is arranged in a fan shape, and the conveyance device in which the conveyance path is curved, or the conveyance device in which the conveyance path itself is turned to turn the conveyance direction are arranged in the conveyance direction. It is performed to interpose between two different linearly traveling devices.

  The above prior art is publicly implemented, and the applicant has not found a document describing this prior art at the time of filing this application.

  However, in the conventional conveyance device using the conveyance roller, the direction of the article to be conveyed is inevitably changed with the change of the conveyance direction. For example, when the conveyance direction is turned 90 degrees clockwise, the front surface of the article to be conveyed is inevitably changed 90 degrees clockwise. On the other hand, at the site where goods are actually transported, there are cases where it is not only necessary to change the direction of the article itself together with the transport direction, but there is a case where it is desired to transport the article without changing the direction of the article itself even if the transport direction is changed. did. For example, in a printed circuit board manufacturing process, when a pattern is directly drawn on a copper foil with a laser, the direction in which laser processing efficiency is good may vary depending on the pattern. Then, there has been a demand for loading printed boards having different patterns to be formed into the laser processing step in accordance with the direction in which the processing efficiency is good. That is, for an article conveyed on the same line, conveyance that changes the direction of the article itself along with the conveyance direction and conveyance that changes only the conveyance direction without changing the direction of the article itself can be performed by one unit. A device was desired.

  Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, the present invention is an article conveying apparatus capable of performing both of the conveyance for turning only the conveyance direction without changing the direction of the article in the carrying-in direction and the conveyance for turning the article together with the conveyance direction. It is a problem to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the article transporting apparatus according to the present invention includes: “a plurality of rotating shafts arranged substantially in parallel on the same horizontal plane, and the rotating shaft protruding from the peripheral surface of the rotating shaft, A conveyance path having a plurality of rotating bodies that rotate concentrically with the axis, a rotation drive unit that rotationally drives the rotation axis, and a turn that turns the conveyance path at a predetermined angle about a substantially vertical turning axis Means, a hole portion through which a part of the rotating body can be inserted, a perforated plate on which an article can be placed at a portion other than the hole portion, and the perforated plate, Along with an insertion position for inserting the part from below, a plate displacing means for displacing to a separation position separated from the conveyance path, maintenance conveyance for rotating only the conveyance direction while maintaining the direction of the article in the conveyance direction, and the conveyance direction Revolving carrying for revolving the article In addition, the rotation driving means, the turning means, and the plate displacing means are controlled. In the case of the maintenance conveyance, the perforation plate is displaced to the insertion position and is partially inserted into the hole. Further, the rotation of the rotating body causes the article to be carried into the conveyance path from the outside of the conveyance path, the conveyance path and the perforation plate are separated, and the article is placed on the upper surface of the perforation plate. The conveying path is swung, a part of the rotating body is reinserted from below into the hole, and the article is transported out of the conveying path by the rotation of the rotating body. Is moved to a separation position, and the rotation of the rotating body causes the article to be carried from the outside of the conveyance path onto the conveyance path, and the conveyance path is swung while the article is placed, and the rotation is performed. It is constructed the and control means for unloading to the conveying path out of the article "by including the rotation of.

  The rotating body is formed so as to protrude from the peripheral surface of the rotating shaft, supports the article with the protruding portion, and conveys the article along with the rotation of the rotating shaft. It can be formed integrally with the rotating shaft or can be formed separately from the rotating shaft. In the case of a separate body, for example, it can be formed in a circular plate having a hole portion through which the rotation shaft is inserted, or an annular body. Further, an O-ring can be sandwiched between a pair of discs or annular bodies, and the article can be supported by the O-ring. As described above, since the rotating body protrudes from the peripheral surface of the rotating shaft, it is possible to partially insert the rotating body into a hole of a perforated plate described later.

  The conveyance path forms a conveyance surface by a rotating body that rotates in the same direction around the rotation axis. For example, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which a plurality of rotating shafts provided with a plurality of rotating bodies are arranged in parallel. Moreover, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a plurality of rotating shafts each provided with a single rotating body are arranged side by side in the transport direction and in a direction perpendicular thereto.

  The rotation drive means can be exemplified by a drive motor that applies a rotational force to the rotation shaft. In addition, a connecting member such as a chain and a sprocket or a belt and a pulley can be provided, and a plurality of rotating shafts can be driven in conjunction with one drive motor.

  The turning means is means for turning the conveyance path at a predetermined angle in a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction, that is, an arbitrary angle between 0 degrees and 360 degrees, and a drive motor that rotates a turning shaft that is the center of the turning. It can be illustrated. In addition, it is possible to provide an indexing device that outputs the constant-speed rotation motion given to the input shaft by the drive motor to the output shaft as a predetermined angle of rotation, and a sensor for detecting the turning position.

  The hole portion of the perforated plate is not particularly limited in shape and size as long as a part of the rotating body can be inserted before and after the turning of the conveyance path, and the shape and size of the rotating body, The thickness can be appropriately set according to the thickness of the perforated plate, how much the rotating body is inserted into the hole, and the like. For example, it can be formed in a shape such as a circle, a square, or a rectangle. Moreover, when the angle which turns a conveyance path is limited, it can also be set as the shape corresponding to the setting of the angle. For example, when the turning direction of the conveyance path is limited to 90 degrees and the shape of the rotating body is a disk shape or a ring shape, the hole can be formed in a cross shape. In addition, since the perforated plate is for placing an article on the upper surface thereof, it is desirable that the perforated plate has an area where the article can be stably placed at a portion other than the hole. Further, the position where the hole is formed in the perforation plate is set so as to correspond to the position where the rotating body is disposed with respect to the conveyance path.

  The insertion position is a position where the distance from the top surface of the perforation plate to the peripheral surface of the rotation shaft is smaller than the height at which the perforation plate is located above the conveyance path and the rotating body protrudes from the peripheral surface of the rotation shaft. On the other hand, the separation position is a position where the perforation plate is farther from the conveyance path than when it is in the insertion position, and can be appropriately set at a position where the perforation plate does not interfere with other configurations of the conveyance device. For example, a position where the perforated plate is vertically raised from the insertion position can be set as the separation position. Alternatively, the perforated plate can be slid in the horizontal direction from the insertion position, and the position deviated from above the conveyance path can be set as the separation position. The plate displacing means is not particularly limited as long as it is a means for displacing the perforated plate between the insertion position and the separation position, and a drive motor or a drive cylinder that moves in a piston motion by feeding compressed air is used. It can be illustrated.

  The control means includes a central processing unit (CPU) and a storage device such as a ROM and a RAM, and controls each component based on the stored program and input information. For example, the rotation driving unit is controlled to rotate or stop the rotating body. At this time, the rotational speed of the rotary shaft can be controlled so as to match the operations of the upstream side transport device that transports the article to the transport path and the downstream side transport device that transports the article unloaded from the transport path. . In addition, after the article is carried on the conveyance path, until the conveyance path finishes turning, the rotation of the rotary shaft is stopped so that the article to be conveyed does not come off the conveyance path, and the article is stopped on the conveyance path, or It is possible to control the rotating shaft to rotate at a very low speed. Further, the control means controls the turning means to turn the conveyance path around the turning axis by a predetermined angle. At this time, if the upstream and downstream transport devices are moved up and down or retreat, interference with the rotating transport path is avoided, but this interference is avoided on the article transport device side of the present invention. You can also. For example, it is possible to provide a means for raising and lowering the conveyance path, and to control to turn the conveyance path after raising or lowering it rather than the height of the upstream and downstream devices.

  In addition, the control means is switched to either the maintenance conveyance or the turning conveyance, and the plate displacement means, the rotation driving means, and the turning means are controlled, so that the maintenance conveyance or the turning conveyance is performed. This switching can be performed, for example, when the control unit determines whether the article is to be maintained or swiveled based on an input signal from a sensor that detects the article. Moreover, it can also be programmed in advance to repeat the turning conveyance and the maintenance conveyance every predetermined time or every predetermined number of turns. Furthermore, the switching can be performed in response to manual input by an operator or the like.

  In addition, the control means controls the article to be separated from the perforation plate after the article is carried onto the conveyance path by the rotating body partially inserted into the hole of the perforation plate during the maintenance conveyance. At that time, the plate displacement means can be controlled to displace the perforated plate to the separated position. Alternatively, the perforation plate is not displaced, and can be separated by controlling and lowering the conveyance path side. Alternatively, the plate displacing means and the conveying path are controlled to displace both the perforated plate and the conveying path, thereby separating them.

  Therefore, according to the article transporting apparatus of the present invention, with the perforated plate positioned at the insertion position and the upper part of the rotating body inserted through the hole of the perforated plate from below, the article is placed on the transport path by the rotation of the rotating body. By carrying in, and separating the conveyance path and the perforation plate after that, the article is placed on the upper surface of the perforation plate, and the article can be once removed from the conveyance path. Then, in this state, the conveyance path is swung by a predetermined angle, and thereafter, the upper part of the rotating body is inserted through the hole of the perforated plate again from below to support the article on the rotating body, and the article is conveyed by the rotation of the rotating body. Take it out. Thereby, it can be conveyed by turning only the conveying direction to an arbitrary angle while maintaining the direction of the article with respect to the carrying-in direction. In addition, with the perforated plate positioned at the separation position, the rotating body rotates to carry the article onto the conveyance path, and with the article placed on the conveyance path, the conveyance path is turned by a predetermined angle, and then rotated. By carrying the article out of the conveyance path by rotating the body, it is possible to convey the article while turning the direction of the article to an arbitrary angle together with the conveyance direction. That is, it is possible to perform both the maintenance conveyance for turning only the conveyance direction without changing the direction with respect to the carry-in direction of the article and the turning conveyance for turning the article together with the conveyance direction, while being a single conveyance device. .

  Next, the article conveying apparatus according to the present invention includes: "a detection unit that detects a type of the article carried into the conveyance path; an inlet path that carries the article into the conveyance path; and the conveyance rotated by a predetermined angle. An exit path for carrying the article out of the path, an entrance path driving means for driving the entrance path, an exit path driving means for driving the exit path, and an elevating means for raising and lowering the transport path, The control means switches between the maintenance conveyance and the swivel conveyance based on the detection by the detection means, controls the inlet path driving means and the outlet path driving means, and controls the inlet path and the outlet path. While cooperating with the conveyance path, the lifting means is controlled, and when turning, the conveyance path is lowered to a height different from the height of any of the inlet path and the outlet path, and the article is loaded and unloaded. Respectively, the entrance road To the same height as the fine the outlet passage can be assumed that "raising the conveying path.

  The detection means is means for detecting information relating to the type of the article, and based on this information, the control means determines whether the article to be conveyed is to be maintained or turned. Examples of the detecting means include a sensor for detecting the size and weight of the article, a CCD camera for detecting the color, shape, identification mark, etc. of the article.

  Similarly to the conveyance path, the inlet path and the outlet path can be configured to convey articles by rotation of a rotating body concentric with the rotation shaft. Alternatively, the rotating body is not provided, and the article can be transported on the peripheral surface of the rotating shaft. Or it can also be set as the structure of the belt conveyor type which conveys articles | goods with the belt wound around a pair of rotating shaft. The inlet path and the outlet path have a transport direction and a height, respectively, on the upstream transport apparatus that transports the article to the article transport apparatus of the present invention and the downstream transport apparatus that receives the article unloaded from the article transport apparatus. It can provide so that it may correspond substantially. In addition, the angle of the exit path with respect to the entrance path can be set to an arbitrary angle. For example, the transport direction of the exit path is 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to the transport direction of the entrance path. Can be set.

  As long as the raising / lowering means raises / lowers the conveyance path, the configuration thereof is not particularly limited. For example, the structure which raises / lowers the table which supports the rotating shaft of a conveyance path using the drive cylinder which piston-moves by sending in compressed air can be mentioned. Or it can be set as the structure which converts the rotational force of a drive motor into linear motion with a rack and a pinion mechanism, and raises / lowers said table.

  Therefore, according to the article conveying apparatus of the present invention, the apparatus itself can determine whether the article is to be maintained or rotated by providing the detection means. As a result, even if articles to be maintained or swirl transported are transported in the same line, they are automatically switched to maintenance transport or swirl transport and transported. In addition, it has an entrance path and an exit path, and controls the speed, operation, stop, etc. of these by the control means, so that articles conveyed from the upstream transport device are transported into the transport path and swiveled in the transport direction. Then, a series of operations of unloading articles to the downstream transport device can be controlled by the same device, and the timing of each operation can be synchronized. For example, when receiving an article from an upstream transport device, the transport speed of the inlet path is the same as the speed of the upstream transport apparatus, and when carrying an article into the transport path, the entrance path and the transport path are the same speed. And can be controlled. As a result, the conveyance path for turning and the apparatus for carrying in and out the articles respectively to the conveyance path are controlled by separate control means as separate apparatuses, and the timing of each operation is adjusted by adjusting the setting of the control. Control of each operation becomes easier and the article can be smoothly conveyed as compared with the case of matching.

  Moreover, when turning a conveyance path, it can avoid that a conveyance path interferes with an entrance path and an exit path by descending to a height different from an entrance path and an exit path. Accordingly, the upstream and downstream transport devices need not take any measures, and the transport path can turn without interfering with the surroundings. Here, even if the conveyance path rises when turning, interference with the entrance path and the exit path can be avoided. However, it is possible to increase the conveyance efficiency of the article by adopting a configuration in which it descends and turns. For example, while the conveyance path is descending and turning, an article to be carried into the conveyance path next can enter the conveyance path to some extent from the entrance path. Alternatively, while the article is not completely carried out from the conveyance path to the exit path, and the rear end of the article is still partially left on the conveyance path, the conveyance path is lowered and a turn is performed to return to the original position. be able to. That is, when the conveyance path rises during turning, if a part of the article exists on the boundary between the conveyance path and the entrance path or the conveyance path and the exit path, Although it will collide with an article | item, it becomes possible to aim at the improvement of conveyance efficiency avoiding such a problem by setting it as the structure which descend | falls and turns. In addition, when the transport path is raised and turned, the perforation plate itself needs to be displaced in order to separate the perforated plate from the transport path during the maintenance transport, but the transport path is lowered and turned. By doing so, it is possible to separate the perforated plates by simply lowering the transport path without being displaced. As a result, it is possible to efficiently perform the maintenance and conveyance with a small number of operations.

  Moreover, the article conveying apparatus according to the present invention may be "the hole is circular".

  Therefore, according to the article conveying apparatus of the present invention, the hole is formed in a circular shape so that the conveying path is set to rotate at any angle. A part can be inserted. In addition, the perforated plate can be manufactured easily and inexpensively by using a very simple shape such as a circle.

  As described above, as an effect of the present invention, a single article conveyance device can perform maintenance conveyance for turning only the conveyance direction without changing the direction with respect to the carry-in direction of the article, and turning conveyance for turning the article together with the conveyance direction. Can be done.

  Hereinafter, an article conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. In the present embodiment, the article transporting device carries in an article transported by the upstream linear transporting device, turns the transporting direction by 90 degrees counterclockwise, and then moves to the downstream straight transporting device. An example of the case of using for carrying out an article will be described. Here, FIG. 1 is a side view showing the configuration of the article transporting apparatus of the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of the main part of the article transporting apparatus, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing the main part of the article transporting apparatus. 4 to 6 are explanatory views showing the operation of the article conveying apparatus, FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the article conveying apparatus, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are flowcharts showing the flow of processing in the article conveying apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the article conveying apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of rotating shafts 11 arranged in parallel on the same horizontal plane, and a plurality of rotating bodies 12 that rotate concentrically with the rotating shaft 11. A rotation path motor 15 for rotating the rotation shaft 11, a turning drive motor 25 for turning the conveyance path 10 about a substantially vertical turning axis 21, and a circular shape. The piercing plate 3 in which the hole 2 is formed, the plate driving cylinder 5 for displacing the piercing plate 3 to the insertion position and the separation position, and the control means 9 for controlling each component are mainly provided.

  More specifically, a plurality of rotating bodies 12 are attached to the rotating shaft 11 of the conveyance path 10 at predetermined intervals. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the rotating body 12 includes a pair of annular bodies 12a and an O-ring 12b sandwiched therebetween, and conveys the article W. At this time, the article W is supported by the portion of the O-ring 12b. The O-ring 12b can be appropriately replaced according to wear or the like. In addition, materials according to the properties of articles to be transported and the processing applied in the transport process, such as those made of heat-resistant silicone rubber, chemical-resistant fluorine-based rubber, oil-resistant nitrile rubber, etc. It can be selected appropriately. Each rotary shaft 11 is connected by a sprocket 16 and a chain 17 and rotates in the same direction by driving of a rotary drive motor 15 on which the chain 17 is hooked. The rotation drive motor 15, the sprocket 16, and the chain 17 correspond to the rotation drive means of the present invention.

  The rotating shaft 11 and the rotation drive motor 15 are supported by the turning table 22 by being fixed to the side plate of the turning table 22. The turntable 22 is turned by driving the turning drive motor 25, so that the conveyance path 10 is turned. Here, an index 27 is attached to the turning drive motor 25. This index 27 outputs the constant speed rotational motion of the turning drive motor 25 given to the input shaft as turning or stopping at a predetermined angle, and the output shaft of the index 27 turns as the turning center of the turning table 22. It becomes the shaft 21. The turning shaft 21 is provided substantially vertically in the approximate center of the turning table 22. In addition, an index sensor 67 for detecting the turning position is attached to the index 27. The turning drive motor 25 and the index 27 correspond to the turning means of the present invention.

  In this embodiment, the perforated plate 3 is configured to be displaced to the insertion position and the separation position by moving up and down in the vertical direction above the conveyance path 10. That is, the perforated plate 3 is supported from above by a plate support plate 4 having side pillars, and this plate support plate 4 is attached to the end of a piston rod 6 that moves in a piston motion by driving a plate drive cylinder 5. The plate drive cylinder 5 is attached so that the piston movement of the piston rod 6 is in the vertical direction from the ceiling of the casing 70 of the article conveying device 1 downward. Further, a plate drive cylinder solenoid valve 5b (see FIG. 7) for opening and closing the passage is attached to an air passage (not shown) communicating with a pair of air insertion holes 5a provided in the plate drive cylinder 5. Therefore, the perforated plate 3 is moved up and down while maintaining the horizontal state by sending compressed air to the plate drive cylinder 5 by opening and closing the plate drive cylinder electromagnetic valve 5b. The plate driving cylinder 5 and the piston rod 6 correspond to the plate displacement means of the present invention. A circular hole 2 is formed in the perforation plate 3 at a position corresponding to the arrangement of the rotating body 12 in the conveyance path 10. Therefore, when the perforated plate 3 is lowered toward the conveyance path 10 and is in the insertion position, the rotating body 12 faces the hole 2 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A. In this state, as shown in the end view of AA of FIG. 3A in FIG. 3B, the rotating body 12 is inserted into the hole 2 from below, and the rotating body is opened from the upper surface of the perforated plate 3. The upper part of 12 will protrude.

  Further, in addition to the above configuration, the article transport apparatus 1 of the present embodiment has an article from the entrance path 40 for carrying the article W into the transport path 10 and the transport path 10 rotated by a predetermined angle, as shown in FIGS. It further includes an exit path 50 for unloading W, a drive cylinder 35 for raising and lowering the transport path 10, and a pair of work width sensors 60 for detecting the width of the article W loaded into the transport path 10.

  More specifically, the drive cylinder 35 is attached to a cross girder member 72 that is horizontally mounted on the inner surface of the casing 70. As in the case of the plate drive cylinder 5 described above, the compressed air is fed into the air feed hole 35a of the drive cylinder 35 by opening and closing the drive cylinder solenoid valve 35b (see FIG. 7) attached to the air passage. As a result, the piston rod 36 moves up and down. The piston rod 36 is attached to the lower surface of the lifting table 32, and the swing table 22, the swing drive motor 25, and the index 27 are placed on the lift table 32. Furthermore, the turning table 22 supports the conveyance path 10 and the rotational drive motor 15 as described above. That is, the conveyance path 10 can be moved up and down by driving the drive cylinder 35. The drive cylinder 35 and the piston rod 36 correspond to the lifting means of the present invention. A pair of guide shafts 37 are attached to the lower surface of the lifting table 32, and a pair of guide sleeves 38 through which the guide shafts 37 can be inserted in the vertical direction are provided on the cross beam 72. That is, when the elevating table 32 moves up and down, the vertical movement of the elevating table 32 is stabilized by moving the guide shaft 37 up and down with the guide sleeve 38 inserted. Although not shown, a similar guide sleeve is also provided on the ceiling portion of the casing 70, and a guide shaft attached to the upper surface of the plate support plate 4 is inserted and moved up and down to move the plate support plate. It is the structure which raises / lowers 4 stably.

  Similarly to the transport path 10, the inlet path 40 includes a plurality of second rotary shafts 41 arranged in parallel on the same horizontal plane, and a plurality of second rotary bodies that rotate concentrically with the second rotary shaft 41. The second rotary shaft 41 is rotationally driven in conjunction with a second drive motor 45 (see FIG. 7), a sprocket 46, and a chain (not shown). Similarly, the outlet passage 50 has a plurality of third rotating shafts 51 arranged in parallel on the same horizontal plane, and a plurality of third rotating bodies 52 that rotate concentrically with the third rotating shaft 51. The third rotary shaft 51 is rotationally driven in conjunction with a third drive motor 55, a sprocket 56, and a chain 57. The exit path 50 is provided so that the transport path 10 is interposed between the exit path 50 and the transport direction is a direction rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise with respect to the entrance path 40. The rotary shafts 41 and 51 of the inlet passage 40 and the outlet passage 50 are fixed to the inner side surface of the casing 70, and are set so that the conveying surfaces have the same height. The second drive motor 45, the sprocket 46, and the chain correspond to the inlet path driving means of the present invention, and the third drive motor 55, the sprocket 56, and the chain 57 correspond to the outlet path driving means of the present invention. .

  A pair of workpiece width sensors 60 for detecting the width of the article are attached to the entrance path 40 on the most rotating shaft 41 where the article W to be conveyed first arrives. Further, the entrance passage 40 is provided with a first entrance sensor 61 and a second entrance sensor 62 for detecting the passage of the article W on the front and last rotary shafts 41, respectively. Also in the outlet path 50, a first outlet sensor 65 and a second outlet sensor 66 that detect the passage of the article W are attached to the front and last rotating shafts 51, respectively.

  Next, a functional configuration in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the main configuration of the functional configuration of the article conveying apparatus 1 is a central processing unit (CPU) that performs calculation and control, and a control unit 9 that includes a storage device such as a ROM and a RAM. And the control means 9 is based on the output of the workpiece width detection sensor 60, the switching means 7 which switches to maintenance conveyance and turning conveyance, and the conveyance path 10, the inlet path 40, and the outlet path based on the switching by the switching means 7. The conveyance control means 8 which controls conveyance operation by 50 is provided. The transport control means 8 is configured to detect the electromagnetic force of the plate driving cylinder 5 based on outputs from the first inlet sensor 61, the second inlet sensor 62, the first outlet sensor 65, the second outlet sensor 66, and the index 67 sensor. Control of opening / closing of the valve 5b, rotation / stop of the rotation drive motor 15, rotation drive motor 25, second drive motor 45, third drive motor 55, and opening / closing of the drive cylinder electromagnetic valve 35b is performed.

  Next, the outline of the operation of the article conveying apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in the case of performing the maintenance conveyance in which the conveyance direction is turned while maintaining the direction of the article W with respect to the carry-in direction, the perforation plate 3 is placed at the insertion position. Therefore, when the perforated plate 3 is in the separated position as shown in FIG. 4A, prior to the delivery of the article W from the inlet path 40 to the transport path 10, as shown in FIG. 3 is lowered and displaced to the insertion position. Thereby, the rotator 12 is inserted into the hole 2 of the perforated plate 3 from below. Thereafter, when the article W is carried into the conveyance path 10 from the inlet path 40, the article W is supported and conveyed by the rotating body 12 partially protruding from the upper surface of the perforated plate 3, as shown in FIG. Is done. Note that the depth direction from the front of the paper surface in FIG. 4 corresponds to the transport direction from the entrance path 40 to the transport path 10. In this state, when the perforation plate 3 is lowered in the transport path 10 in its position, the transport path 10 and the perforation plate 3 are separated from each other, and the article W is placed on the upper surface of the perforation plate 3 as shown in FIG. Placed on. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5E, when the conveyance path 10 is turned 90 degrees, the article W is in a state removed from the conveyance path 10, and the article W itself does not turn. Thereafter, when the conveyance path 10 that has finished turning is raised, the article W is again supported by the rotating body 12 that partially protrudes from the upper surface of the perforated plate 3 as shown in FIG. Then, by rotating the respective rotators 12 and 52 of the transport path 10 and the exit path 50, the article W is transported from the transport path 10 to the exit path 50 as shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, the perforating plate 3 is not used in the case of the swivel conveyance in which the article W itself is swung together with the conveyance direction. That is, as shown in FIG. 6A, the article W is carried into the conveyance path 10 from the inlet path 40 while the perforated plate 3 is located at the separation position. Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C, when the transport path 10 is lowered and swiveled, the article W is also lowered and swiveled together with the transport path 10 while being supported by the rotating body 12. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6D, the transport path 10 is raised, and the article W is transported from the transport path 10 to the exit path 50.

  Next, the flow of processing in the article transport apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described mainly based on FIGS. First, after the article conveying apparatus 1 is operated, when the article W conveyed by the upstream conveying apparatus reaches the boundary with the inlet path 40, the article W is detected by the first inlet sensor 61 (YES in step S1). ), It is confirmed whether or not a carry-in permission signal is transmitted (step S2). This carry-in permission signal is a signal that is sent when the conveyance of the previously conveyed article W has been completed or has progressed to a predetermined stage and the next article W is ready to be carried into the article conveyance apparatus 1. is there. If the carry-in permission signal is not sent (NO in step S2), the process waits until it is sent. On the other hand, if the carry-in permission signal has already been sent (YES in step S2), this signal is erased (step S3), the second rotary shaft 41 of the inlet path 40 is rotated, and the upstream side apparatus enters the inlet path. The delivery of the article W to 40 is started (step S4). At this time, the rotational speed of the second rotating shaft 41 can be matched with the transport speed of the upstream device. When the article W enters the entrance path 40 by the rotation of the second rotation shaft 41, the width of the article W is detected by the pair of workpiece width sensors 60. In the present embodiment, the maintenance conveyance and the swivel conveyance are switched according to the width of the article W, and the maintenance conveyance is performed when the width of the article W is smaller than the reference value, and the revolution conveyance is performed when the width of the article W is larger than the reference value. Illustrate. When the workpiece width is detected by workpiece width sensor 60 (YES in step S5), a comparison with a reference value is performed (step S6). When the width of article W is smaller than the reference value (YES in step S6), it is confirmed whether or not perforated plate 3 is in the insertion position (step S7), and when not in the insertion position (NO in step S7). Then, the plate driving cylinder 5 is driven to lower the perforated plate 3 (step S8). On the other hand, when the width of the article W is larger than the reference value (NO in step S6), it is confirmed whether or not the perforated plate 3 is in the separation position (step S9), and when it is not in the separation position (in step S9). NO), the perforated plate 3 is raised (step S10).

  After that, in the case of maintenance conveyance, the perforation plate 3 is in the insertion position, and in the case of swivel conveyance, the rotary shaft 11 of the conveyance path 10 is rotated and the article W is conveyed from the inlet path 40 with the separation plate 3 in the separated position. It carries in on the path | route 10 (step S11). At this time, it is possible to control so that the rotation speeds of the second rotating shaft 41 of the inlet path 40 and the rotating shaft 11 of the transport path 10 coincide. Then, until the article W has passed through the entrance path 40, that is, until the rear end of the article W is not detected by the entrance second sensor 62 (NO in step S12), the transport by the entrance path 40 and the transport path 10 is performed. Is called.

  When the rear end of article W is detected by inlet second sensor 62 (YES in step S12), rotation shaft 41 of inlet passage 40 is stopped (step S13). Moreover, the timing which stops the rotating shaft 11 of the conveyance path 10 is calculated (step S14). That is, the length of the article W is calculated by measuring the rotation of the motor from when the front end of the article W is detected by the entrance second sensor 62 to when the rear end is detected, so that the article W is conveyed along the conveyance path 10. The timing is calculated so that the rotating shaft 11 is rotated and then stopped until it further moves from the center position by a distance corresponding to ½ of its length. At this time, an error from when the stop signal is issued until the rotating shaft 11 actually stops is taken into consideration. When the rotating shaft 11 is stopped based on the calculation result (step S15), the article W stops at the center of the conveyance path 10. In this way, positioning the article W in the center of the transport path 10 is more important in the case of maintenance transport than in the case of swivel transport. This is because, in the case of swivel conveyance, even if the article W carried into the conveyance path 10 goes too far from the central position or stops before the central position, the width direction on the downstream conveyance path (perpendicular to the conveyance direction). The position in the direction in which it is performed does not change from the position on the upstream conveyance path. On the other hand, in the case of maintenance conveyance, even if the article W is conveyed on the center line of the conveyance path on the upstream side, if the article W deviates from the center position in the conveyance path 10, the conveyance path on the downstream side. This is because there is a possibility that the conveyance becomes unstable due to being biased to the right end or the left end of the image.

  As described above, after the rotating shaft 11 of the transport path 10 is stopped in a state where the article W is located at the center, the transport path 10 is set to avoid interference with the entrance path 40 and the exit path 50 during the turning. Lower (step S16). At this time, the article W is placed on the perforation plate 3 in the case of maintenance conveyance, and the article W is placed on the conveyance path 10 in the case of swivel conveyance. Then, the conveyance path 10 is turned 90 degrees counterclockwise (step S17), and further raised to the same height as the exit path 50 (step S18). Thereby, if it is a maintenance conveyance, the article | item W will be again supported by the rotary body 12 penetrated by the hole part 2. FIG.

  Next, the articles W are transported from the transport path 10 to the exit path 50 by rotating the respective rotary shafts 11 and 51 of the transport path 10 and the exit path 50 (step S19). That is, the article W that has been maintained and conveyed is conveyed in the direction of 90 degrees counterclockwise while maintaining the orientation with respect to the carry-in direction. On the other hand, the article W that has been swirled and transported is swung 90 degrees counterclockwise along with the transport direction. Thereafter, until the article W is carried out of the conveyance path 10, that is, until the rear end of the article W is not detected by the outlet first sensor 65 (NO in step S20), the rotation shaft 11 of the conveyance path 10 and the outlet path 50 is detected. , 51 is continued. When the rear end of the article W is detected by the outlet first sensor 65 (YES in step S20), the rotary shaft 11 of the transport path 10 is stopped (step S21), the transport path 10 is lowered (step S22), and the original In order to return to the position, it is turned 90 degrees clockwise (step S23), and further raised to the same height as the inlet path 40 (step S24). As a result, since the next article W can be carried into the conveyance path 10, a carry-in permission signal is sent out (step S25). Further, it is confirmed whether or not the article W has passed through the exit path 50, that is, whether the outlet second sensor 66 has detected the rear end of the article W, and if it has passed (YES in step S26), the exit path. The 50 rotation shafts 51 are stopped (step S27). Thereafter, if there is no stop command for ending the series of conveyance (NO in step S28), the process returns to step S1, and the conveyance of the article W is continued by the above-described processing flow. On the other hand, when a stop command is received by manual operation or the like (YES in step S28), the conveying operation is terminated accordingly.

  The above processing flow is an example, and each operation such as rotation and stop of the rotation shafts 41, 11, 51 of the entrance path 40, the transport path 10, and the exit path 50, turning and lifting of the transport path 10, etc. It can also be controlled to the timing. For example, in the present embodiment, since the transport path 10 descends when turning, it is allowed that a part of the article W exists on the boundary between the transport path 10, the entrance path 40, and the exit path 10. Therefore, for example, even if the article W is not completely unloaded from the conveyance path 10, the conveyance path 10 is lowered when the exit first sensor detects that the article W has passed a predetermined length. It can also be controlled. In addition, a setting is made so that a carry-in permission signal is sent before the conveyance path 10 returns to its original position and finishes turning, and an article to be carried into the conveyance path next enters the conveyance path 10 to some extent. It can also be controlled. And by making it the flow of such a process, conveyance efficiency can be improved.

  As described above, according to the article transporting apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the maintenance transport that rotates only the transport direction without changing the orientation of the article W with respect to the carry-in direction, and the transport is a single apparatus. It is possible to perform both the swivel conveyance for swiveling the article W together with the direction.

  Further, even if the article W to be maintained and the article W to be swiveled are mixed and conveyed on the same line, the maintenance and swirl conveyance are automatically performed based on the detection of the article W by the work width sensor 60. It can be switched to either one and transported.

  Furthermore, by providing the inlet path 40 and the outlet path 50 having different transport directions, the article W transported from the upstream transport apparatus is transported into the transport path 10 and swung in the transport direction. It becomes easy to synchronize the timing of a series of operations of carrying out to the carrying device, and the article W can be smoothly carried.

  Moreover, it can avoid that the conveyance path 10 interferes with the entrance path 40 and the exit path 50 by making it the structure which descend | falls when turning the conveyance path 10. FIG. Further, while the conveyance path 10 is descending and turning, an article W to be carried into the conveyance path 10 next enters the conveyance path 10 to some extent from the entrance path 40 or exits from the conveyance path 10. Since the setting such as turning the conveyance path 10 before the article W is completely carried out to the path 50 becomes possible, the conveyance efficiency of the article W can be improved. In addition, since the transport path 10 can be lowered by moving down the transport path 10 without displacing the perforation plate 3 in the insertion position during the maintenance transport, the transport path 10 and the perforation plate 3 can be separated from each other. It is possible to perform maintenance and transport well.

  The present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various improvements can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as described below. And design changes are possible.

  For example, in this embodiment, the case where the conveyance direction is turned 90 degrees counterclockwise is illustrated, but the turning angle is not limited to this. For example, by setting the turning angle to 180 degrees, it is possible to reverse the direction of an article that is conveyed on the same line, and to carry the article straightly while maintaining the orientation. Further, in the present embodiment, the case where one entrance path and one exit path are provided is illustrated, but a configuration including a plurality of entrance paths and exit paths may be employed. For example, a 90-degree exit path clockwise with respect to the entrance path and a 90-degree exit path counterclockwise can be provided, and can be maintained or swiveled in each direction. In addition, it is possible to provide a plurality of inlet passages and outlet passages, and it can be used as a terminal-like device in the article transporting process.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the case where it is determined by the width of the article whether the article is to be maintained or swiveled is exemplified, but the determination target is not limited to the size of the article. For example, the weight, shape, color, and identification mark on the article can be detected as the judgment material.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the perforated plate is moved up and down to be displaced between the insertion position and the separation position is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the perforated plate in the insertion position can be displaced to the separation position by sliding in the horizontal direction. Alternatively, as in the present embodiment, when a configuration is adopted in which the conveyance path is lowered and swiveled, the perforation plate does not need to be displaced in a state where the article is placed, and does not place the article. Since it is only necessary to displace and take a separation position only at the time of conveyance, it can also be configured to be displaced to the separation position by rotating around a horizontal axis along one side of the perforation plate.

It is a side view which shows the structure of the article conveyance apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the structure of the principal part of the article conveyance apparatus of FIG. It is an enlarged view which shows the principal part of the article conveyance apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the article conveyance apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the article conveyance apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the article conveyance apparatus of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the article conveyance apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process in the article conveyance apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process in the article conveyance apparatus of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Article conveying apparatus 2 Hole part 3 Perforated plate 5 Plate drive cylinder (plate displacement means)
6 Piston rod (plate displacement means)
9 Control means 10 Transport path 11 Rotating shaft 12 Rotating body 12a Annular body (rotating body)
12b O-ring (Rotating body)
15 Rotation drive motor (Rotation drive means)
16 Sprocket (Rotary drive means)
17 Chain (Rotary drive means)
21 Rotating shaft 25 Rotating drive motor (swivel means)
27 Index (turning means)
35 Drive cylinder (lifting means)
36 Piston rod (lifting means)
40 Inlet passage 45 Second drive motor (inlet passage drive means)
46 Sprocket (inlet path drive means)
50 exit passage 55 third drive motor (exit passage drive means)
56 Sprocket (exit path drive means)
57 Chain (exit path drive means)
60 Work width sensor (detection means)
W goods

Claims (3)

A plurality of rotating shafts arranged in parallel on the same horizontal plane, and a plurality of rotating bodies that protrude from the peripheral surface of the rotating shaft and rotate concentrically with the rotating shaft. Road,
A rotation drive means for rotating the rotation shaft;
Turning means for turning the transport path by a predetermined angle around a substantially vertical turning axis;
A hole part through which a part of the rotating body can be inserted is formed, and a perforated plate on which an article can be placed at a part other than the hole part;
A plate displacing means for displacing the perforated plate to the insertion position where a part of the rotating body is inserted into the hole portion from below and the separation position separated from the transport path;
While maintaining the direction with respect to the carry-in direction of the article, switching to one of maintenance conveyance that turns only the conveyance direction, and turning conveyance that turns the article together with the conveyance direction,
Controlling the rotation driving means, the turning means, and the plate displacement means;
In the case of the maintenance conveyance, the perforation plate is displaced to the insertion position, and the article is carried from the outside of the conveyance path onto the conveyance path by the rotation of the rotating body partially inserted through the hole, and the conveyance The path and the perforation plate are separated from each other, the conveyance path is swung in a state where the article is placed on the upper surface of the perforation plate, and a part of the rotating body is reinserted into the hole portion from below, and the rotation is performed. Transporting the article out of the transport path by rotating the body,
In the case of the swivel conveyance, the perforation plate is displaced to a separation position, and the article is carried from the outside of the conveyance path onto the conveyance path by the rotation of the rotating body, and the conveyance path is in a state where the article is placed. And a control means for carrying out the article out of the conveyance path by the rotation of the rotating body. Detecting means for detecting the type of the article carried into the transport path;
An entrance path for carrying the article into the transport path;
An exit path for unloading the article from the transport path rotated by a predetermined angle;
An inlet path driving means for driving the inlet path;
Exit path driving means for driving the exit path;
Elevating means for elevating and lowering the conveyance path;
The control means includes
Based on the detection of the detection means, switching to either the maintenance transport and the swivel transport,
Controlling the inlet path driving means and the outlet path driving means so that the inlet path and the outlet path cooperate with the transport path;
Controlling the elevating means, and lowering the conveying path to a height different from any of the inlet path and the outlet path when turning, and when carrying the article in and out, respectively the inlet path and the The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveying path is raised to the same height as the exit path.   The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hole is circular.

Images