JPH11157646A - Transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] The present invention releases the stopper at the end of the transport path regardless of whether the pallet loaded lifter returns to the pallet loading position when the pallet is loaded into the lifter. A transport device to be operated is provided. A transfer device according to the present invention includes a release roller provided on a pallet, and a swing lever arranged obliquely to a direction in which the release roller moves from a pallet carry-in position toward a lifter. 57 is transmitted to the stopper 51 by the link mechanism 68 and the stopper 51
Is changed from the standing posture, which is the regulating posture, to the horizontal posture, in which the regulation is released, so that even when the pallet 30 is carried into the lifter 41 from the lateral direction, the lifter 41 on which the pallet 30 is placed is loaded from the vertical direction. At any time when returning to the position B, the swing lever 57 is swung so that the stopper 51 switches from the entry prohibition state to the entry release state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transport device for placing a pallet member on a lifter and transporting a conveyed object placed on the pallet member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a factory for assembling automobiles (vehicles), various lines are hierarchically installed inside the factory to effectively utilize the space in the factory. In such an assembly line, for example, a transport device that transports a vehicle body being assembled from a lower floor line to an upper floor line is required.

Therefore, in a factory, a pallet member and a lifter for circulating the pallet member are used to relay the line end on the upper floor and the line end on the lower floor of the factory,
Carriage is being carried.

Specifically, a structure is adopted in which a pallet carry-in position and a car body transfer position are installed on the upper / lower floors, and a lifter that moves up and down between the pallet carry-in / car body transfer position is installed to circulate the pallet members. At the pallet loading position, the vehicle body from the assembly line is pulled in from the lateral direction by a transporter (transport mechanism) and placed on the pallet member placed on the lifter at this pallet loading position,
A pallet member and a vehicle body are carried to a vehicle body transfer position side by lifting and lowering a lifter.

By the way, when moving the vehicle body to the lifter,
The lifter must be at the pallet loading position and the pallet member must be present at the lifter.

For this reason, a transport device using a pallet member employs an entry prevention structure for inhibiting entry of the vehicle body to the lifter side when the pallet member is not prepared at the pallet carry-in position.

Therefore, in a transfer device using a lifter,
A roller member is installed so as to protrude below an end portion of the pallet member conveyed toward the end of the transporter, and a columnar member is rotatable at the end of the transporter in a direction in which the pallet member enters with a central portion as a fulcrum. Is installed, and the stopper is kept in an upright posture by the weight of the weight.

Specifically, the stopper prohibits the vehicle body from approaching the lifter in a posture in which the stopper stands upright with the weight,
When the step of pulling the pallet member into the elevating portion of the lifter is performed, the stopper is turned down by the roller member attached to the pallet member, and the vehicle body is allowed to enter. In addition, when the pallet member on which the vehicle body is mounted rises from the pallet loading position on the lower floor toward the vehicle transfer position on the upper floor, the roller member that restrains the stopper laterally moves away, and the stopper is in its original standing position (depending on the weight weight). Back to
The vehicle is prohibited from entering again.

[0009]

By the way, in a transfer apparatus using a lifter, in order to perform maintenance of the lifter and further a transfer system including the lifter, each mechanism including the lifter is manually operated to operate. Operations such as returning the lifter on which the raised pallet is placed to the pallet carry-in position and adjusting the approach of the vehicle body at the returned position are performed.

For this reason, when the lifter on which the pallet is loaded reaches the pallet carry-in position, it is required that the stopper be switched to the approach release state. However, in the structure in which the stopper is directly turned over by the roller member, the stopper operates only when the stopper is carried into the lifter from the lateral direction.

That is, when the lifter carrying the pallet member returns to the pallet carry-in position together with the emptied pallet, the roller member descends near the standing stopper in order to enter not from the lateral direction but from the vertical direction. The stopper cannot be moved to the release side.

[0012] For this reason, every time maintenance is performed, it is necessary to manually switch the stopper from the entry-prohibited state to the released state, that is, to perform a troublesome operation of turning the standing stopper sideways.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. An object of the present invention is to perform a work of lowering a lifter on which a pallet member is placed for maintenance or the like in a process of loading a normal pallet member. It is an object of the present invention to provide a transport device that can automatically cancel the entry of a transported object.

[0014]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transfer device, comprising:
A pallet member provided with an intrusion prevention mechanism for restricting the progress of the conveyed object and releasing the restriction of the conveyed object when the pallet member enters the lifter and when the lifter on which the pallet member is placed returns to the pallet carry-in position; When the pallet is loaded into the lifter and the lifter on which the pallet member is placed returns to the pallet loading position, the entry prohibition of the conveyed product is released.

This makes it possible to automatically release the entry restriction of the conveyed article both in the process of loading the normal pallet member and in the operation of lowering the lifter on which the pallet member is placed for maintenance or the like. become.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above object, the entrance preventing mechanism is provided with a stopper positioned on the conveying path of the conveyed object so that the entrance control without any malfunction is surely released. A trigger member provided on the pallet member, and a trigger member when the pallet member placed on the lifter from the pallet loading position is returned to the pallet loading position when the pallet member emptied at the transfer position is returned to the pallet loading position. A lever member which is pressed and swings by a lever, and a transmission mechanism which transmits the swing displacement of the lever member to a stopper and moves the stopper from a regulation position to a position where the regulation is released. The restriction on entry of conveyed goods can be released only by the switching structure.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above object, the lever member is further provided with a simpler structure and at a lower cost so that the stopper member can be released following the movement of the pallet member from two different directions. A pallet member is mounted on a lifter, and a link mechanism operable in two directions, that is, when the lifter on which the pallet member is mounted is returned to a pallet carry-in position.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to one embodiment shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a part of an assembly line installed in, for example, a factory for assembling an automobile.
A pair of parallel running belts 2 continuing from the assembly line extending in the front-rear direction are a pair of conveyor running rails installed in pits (not shown) sandwiched between the running belts 1. The traveling zone 1 and the transporter traveling rail 2 continue to the vehicle body unloading position A (position for unloading the conveyed object).

On a rail 2 for transporting the transporter, a transporter 13 having two pairs of arms 12 for sandwiching a front wheel 11 from the front and rear, for example, a tire attached to a vehicle body 10 (corresponding to a transported object) mounted on the traveling belt 1. Is designed to travel, and the transporter 13
Has a structure in which the front / rear wheels are rolled over the traveling belt 1 to convey the vehicle body 10 to the vehicle body unloading position A by traveling with the front wheel 11 sandwiched from front and rear (corresponding to a conveyance mechanism).

On the lower floor of the factory, a pallet carry-in position B is set at a position different from the vehicle carry-out position A, for example, a position in the left-right direction shifted by 90 °. Further, on the lower floor, a pair of empty pallet feed rails 20 are installed toward the pallet carry-in position B.

The empty pallet feed rail 20 continues from an empty pallet storage section (not shown), and moves an empty pallet member, for example, an electric bogie 30 stored in the empty pallet storage section to a pallet loading position B. I can guide you.

More specifically, the carriage 30 includes a pair of receiving stands 31 extending in the same direction as the traveling belt 1, and a traveling roller 32 that rolls on the empty pallet feed rail 20 is assembled to a lower portion of the receiving table 31. A train structure that is driven to rotate by a motor (a combination of a motor and a speed reducer) is adopted, and empty trucks 30 are sequentially conveyed to a pallet loading position B by driving a motor unit 33.

The cradle 3 disposed at the lower side of the end of the cradle 31 facing the vehicle unloading position A, specifically, on the front side in the traveling direction.
A trigger member, for example, a release roller 35 (roller member) is rotatably protruded below an end of one (one side).
More specifically, the release roller 35 is attached to the tip of the support rod 36 projecting downward from the end of the receiving base 31 facing the vehicle body unloading position A, for example, with the axis thereof substantially perpendicular to the transport direction of the carriage 30. It is attached rotatably in the facing horizontal position.

A pair of receiving rails 34 are installed between the receiving stands 31 in accordance with the arrangement of the rails 2 for transporting the transporting machine. On the upper floor (for example, the second floor) of the factory above the pallet carry-in position B, a car body transfer position C (conveyance transfer position) is defined. From the vehicle body transfer position C, for example, a pair of actual pallet feed rails 21 extend in the same direction as the empty pallet feed rail 20 toward an assembly line (not shown). The actual pallet feed rail 21 has the same rails as the empty pallet feed rail 20 installed at the same intervals.

[0025] A pair of relay travel rails 40 that ascend and descend in the same section are connected between the lower body floor carry-out position A / pallet carry-in position B and the upper floor body transfer position C. More specifically, the relay travel rail 40 is installed on a lifting frame 42 of a lifter 41 constituted by, for example, a pantograph-type lifting mechanism, and when the lifter 41 descends, the relay travel rail 40 becomes an empty pallet feed rail. At the same time as being positioned at the end of the carriage 20, the cradle 31 / reception rail 34 of the trolley 30 is positioned at the end of the traveling belt 1 and the end of the conveyor traveling rail 2, and the relay traveling rail 40 is raised by the ascending operation. It is designed to be positioned at the end of the actual pallet feed rail 21.

Thus, the carriage 30 is used to transfer the vehicle body 10 from the lower assembly line to the next upper assembly line by using the carriage 30. In addition, an entry prevention mechanism 50 that prohibits the vehicle body 10 from entering the useless lifter 41 using a release roller 35 attached to each carriage 30 is provided at the vehicle body unloading position A (point at the end of the transport mechanism). It is installed. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the same part.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the entry prevention mechanism 50. Describing the structure of the entry prevention mechanism 50, reference numeral 51 in the figure denotes a stopper positioned on the conveyance path of the vehicle body 10. Specifically, the stopper 51 is installed at the center between the ends of the rails for traveling the transporter so as to be rotatable in a direction in which the rails are arranged (a direction perpendicular to the vehicle body transport direction).

The stopper 51 is composed of, for example, a columnar member having a plate portion 52 for restricting entry at one end and a weight 53 for return at the other end. An intermediate portion of the columnar member is, for example, a bearing portion 56 attached to a gantry member 55 that supports the traveling belt 1, the conveyor traveling rail 2, and the like.
And the entire stopper is erected by the urging force of the weight of the return weight 53. By this standing posture, the plate portion 52 is disposed at the end of the passage through which the transporter 13 enters and exits, and the
0 is not carried into the lifter side, that is, does not enter.

A rocking lever 57 (corresponding to a lever member) that receives the release roller 35 of the bogie 30 heading toward the unloading position A on the front side of the pallet in the pallet feed direction with the stopper 51 interposed therebetween.
Is arranged.

The swing lever 57 is, for example, a lifter 4
It is composed of a link mechanism 68 disposed obliquely so as to block the advancement of the release roller 35 toward 1, ie, two roller receiving links 58a and 58b.

More specifically, the roller receiving links 58a, 58
8b are connected in series via pins 59 to bend freely. Among them, the lower roller receiving link end is rotatably supported by the gantry member 55 at a position lower than the release roller position, and the elongated hole 60 formed at the upper roller receiving link end is It is slidably inserted into a guide pin 61 protruding from the gantry member 55, and is disposed forward of the release roller 35 in the traveling direction of the roller receiving link 58a,
58b are arranged in a substantially rectangular shape. The upper / lower roller receiving links 58a and 58b receive the release roller 35 entering from the pallet carry-in position B toward the lifter 41 from the lateral direction, and the upper roller receiving link 58b raises the lifted truck 30. Is the vehicle unloading position A,
When returning to the pallet carry-in position B, the release roller 35 entering from above is received. Reference numeral 62 denotes a bearing for rotatably supporting the roller receiving link 58a on the gantry member 55, and reference numeral 63 denotes a bracket for supporting the guide pin 61.

A roller receiving surface 64 is formed on the side surface of each of the roller receiving links 58a and 58b facing the releasing roller 35. When the releasing roller 35 enters from the lateral direction or the upper direction, that is, the carriage 30 is lifted by the lifter 41. When the lifter 41 on which the trolley 30 is placed is returned to the vehicle body unloading position A / pallet loading position B, the swing lever 57 has a release roller 35 at the center as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. , And swings so as to draw an inverted character.

Further, a relay link 66 protruding diagonally downward in the traveling direction of the release roller 35 is connected to the shaft 65 connecting the roller receiving link 58a. A link between the end of the relay link and a portion below the rotation fulcrum of the stopper 51 is rotatably connected by a transmission link 67 so that the swing displacement of the swing lever 57 is transmitted to the stopper 51. I have.

With this transmission mechanism, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4, when the release roller 35 enters from the horizontal direction or the vertical direction and the swing lever 57 swings and displaces, Give external force
The stopper 51 is turned over. That is, the posture of the vehicle body 10 is prohibited from entering (restriction position), and the posture is released from the entry prohibition (restriction release position).

Reference numeral 69 denotes a return spring (for example, the relay link 6) which cooperates with the return weight 53 to return the stopper 51 to an upright posture in which the vehicle body 10 is prohibited from entering.
6 that urges 6 in a counterclockwise direction).

Next, the switching operation of the stopper 51 will be described together with the operation of the transfer device on the assembly line.
Now, as shown in FIG. 1, the relay traveling rail 40 of the lifter 41 is waiting at the pallet carry-in position B, and the empty cart 30 waiting at the pallet carry-in position B is directed toward the relay traveling rail 40. Let's start running.

At this time, the stopper 51 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle body 10 is moved from the vehicle body discharge position A to the lifter 41 side by the plate portion 52 which is maintained in the upright position by the return weight 53 and the return spring 68 and blocks entry and exit of the transporter 13. It is regulated not to enter.

The bogie 30 that has started traveling moves from the empty pallet feed rail 20 to the relay running rail 40 and stands on the lifting frame 42 of the lifter 41 while the vehicle body 10 is waiting at the vehicle body unloading position A.

When the carriage 30 moves onto the lift frame 42, the release rollers 35 projecting downward from the carriage 30
Presses, while rolling, the roller receiving surfaces 64 of the roller receiving links 58a and 58b which are arranged in the shape of a square as shown in FIG. 4, and is indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. The roller receiving links 58a and 58b are displaced in an inverted letter shape as described above. That is, the swing lever 57 swings and displaces.

Then, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4, the relay link 66 is rotated clockwise, and the swing lever 5
7 is transferred to the stopper 51 through the transmission link 67.
Conveyed to.

Upon receiving this transmission force, the stopper 51 is driven in a clockwise direction, and is laid down as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Thus, following the completion of the transfer of the carriage 30, a step of moving the carrier 13 from the carrier traveling rail 2 to the receiving rail 34 of the carriage 30 is performed, and the vehicle body 10 is pulled into the carriage 30, and the carriage 30 is received. Put on the table 31.

When the transfer of the vehicle body 10 is completed, the lifter 41
Rises, guides the bogie 30 and the vehicle body 10 to the vehicle body transfer position C on the upper floor, and is delivered to the vehicle body transfer position C of the bogie 30 on which the vehicle body 10 is mounted.

When the release roller 35 separates from the swing lever 57 with the upward movement of the lifter 41, the stopper 5
1 and the roller receiving links 58a and 58b receive the original standing roller and the original release roller 35 by the weight of the return weight 53 and the elastic force accumulated in the return spring 69 to prevent the entrance and exit of the original transporter 23. It returns to the posture and waits for the next carriage 30 to be carried in.

On the other hand, in order to perform maintenance of the transporting device, for example, in order to check the approaching state of the vehicle body 10 at the lower floor position, the lifter 41 on which the carriage 30 is manually placed as shown by the dashed line arrow in FIG. To the lower floor.

At this time, the release roller 35 of the carriage 30
Moves downward toward the swing lever 57 disposed obliquely, specifically, the roller receiving link 58b disposed obliquely as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

At this time, since the swinging lever 57 is disposed in a substantially rectangular shape immediately below the release roller 35, as the bogie 30 reaches the vehicle body unloading position / pallet loading position, the traversing lever 57 moves forward. Similarly to when the release roller 35 enters from the direction, the release roller 35 is pressed by the release roller 35 to be displaced from an inverted shape to an inverted shape.

As a result, the stopper 51 is laid down in the same manner as when the release roller 35 enters from the previous lateral direction, and the passage of the transporter 13 that has been closed is opened. Thus, even in the process of carrying in the normal truck 30 (pallet member), or in the case where the lifter 41 is lowered while the truck 30 is mounted for maintenance or the like, the entry control of the stopper 51 is released, That is, the entry restriction of the vehicle body 10 can be automatically released, and work such as maintenance of the transport device can be easily performed.

In addition, since the mechanical structure is such that the stopper 51 is directly driven by the swinging lever 57 which is displaced by the entry of the release roller 35, there is no malfunction such as electronic control, and the entry control of the vehicle body 10 is surely restricted. Release can be promised.

In addition, a stopper 51 is used as a columnar member to which a restoring force (biasing force) is applied, and a link mechanism 68 having a substantially F shape is used for the swing lever 51, and the swing displacement of the link mechanism 68 is reduced. Since the structure is such that it is transmitted to the stopper 51, a simple structure that does not require a drive source separately, and at a low cost, the release of the stopper 51 that easily follows the movement of the bogie 30 in two different directions (lateral and vertical directions). Operation can be gained.

In the embodiment, an example is described in which the swing lever is configured by combining two links. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the structure of another swing lever, and further, only one link may be used. The swing lever may be configured. In addition, the example in which the electric trolley is used as the pallet member has been described, but the invention is not limited thereto, and a pallet member that moves by another method may be used. Further, the example in which the release roller is used as the trigger member has been described, but the trigger member may be formed of another member. Further, the present invention is applied to a transport device that transports a vehicle body of an automobile, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention may be applied to a transport device that transports another transported object.

[0051]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the pallet member is carried into the lifter, and when the lifter on which the pallet member is placed returns to the pallet carrying position, Prohibition of the entry of conveyed goods can be released, and both in the process of loading a normal pallet member and in the work of lowering the lifter on which the pallet member is loaded, the entry restriction of conveyed goods can be automatically released, which is troublesome. Work such as maintenance can be easily performed in the transfer device.

According to the invention described in claim 2, according to claim 1
In addition to the effect of the above, the stopper is directly moved by the movement of the trigger member when the pallet member is mounted on the lifter, and the movement of the trigger member when the lifter on which the pallet member is mounted is returned to the pallet loading position. Since the entry prevention mechanism of the mechanical switching structure that is driven is employed, there is no malfunction, and it is assured that the entry restriction of the conveyed product is surely released.

According to the invention described in claim 3, according to claim 2
In addition to the above effects, when the pallet member is placed on the lifter, the lever member is configured with a link mechanism that can be operated in two directions when the lifter on which the pallet member is placed returns to the pallet loading position. The stopper can be released at a low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of an intrusion prevention mechanism indicated by X in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining the structure of the entry prevention mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the movement of a stopper when the release roller enters from a vertical direction when the release roller enters from a lateral direction;

[Description of Signs] 1, 2, 13: running belt, rail for transporting the transporter, transporter (transportation mechanism) 10 ... vehicle body (transported object) 30 ... trolley (pallet member) 35 ... release roller (trigger member) 41 ... Lifter 51 ... Stopper 57 ... Swing lever (lever member) 66,67 ... Relay link, transmission link (transmission mechanism) 68 ... Link mechanism A ... Vehicle carry-out position B ... Pallet carry-in position C ... Vehicle transfer position (conveyance transfer position) ).

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A transfer device for loading and transporting a load on a pallet member, wherein the lifter loads the pallet member entering from one direction at a pallet loading position and transports the pallet member to a transporting position, and receives the pallet at the pallet loading position. A transport mechanism for placing a transported object to be transported from another direction on the pallet member, and a transport mechanism provided at the end of the transport mechanism for restricting the progress of the transported object and loading the pallet member when the pallet member enters. A transport device comprising: an intrusion prevention mechanism that releases restriction on the progress of the transported object when the lifter returns to the pallet loading position. 2. The intrusion prevention mechanism includes: a stopper positioned on a conveyance path of the conveyed object; a trigger member provided on the pallet member; and a case where the pallet member is loaded on the lifter from the pallet loading position. A lever member that is pressed by the trigger member and swings when the lifter on which the pallet member emptied at the transfer position is loaded returns to the pallet loading position; The transfer device according to claim 1, further comprising: a transmission mechanism that transmits a dynamic displacement to the stopper and moves the stopper from a restriction position to a position where the restriction is released. 3. A link mechanism operable in two directions: when the pallet member is loaded on the lifter, and when the lifter on which the pallet member is loaded is returned to a pallet loading position. The transport device according to claim 2, comprising: