JP2010189094A - Temporary storage device of carrying article - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a temporary storage device of a carrying article capable of reducing a space in an installation place, capable of reducing equipment cost, and capable of desirably enhancing safety. <P>SOLUTION: This temporary storage device has a storage part 10 having vertically a plurality of shelves 20 provided with a carrying means 27 of an article A, and a lifting means 15 capable of lifting this storage part 10 and positioning a selected predetermined shelf 20 among the storage part 10 in the same height as a carrying passage 1. By synchronizing carrying means 5, 6 and 7 of the carrying passage 1 with the carrying means 27 of the predetermined shelf 20, the article A carried from the carrying passage 1 is carried in upward onto the predetermined shelf 20, or the article on the predetermined shelf 20 is carried out upward onto the carrying passage 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a temporary storage device for transported articles used in the middle of a transport path for transporting plate-shaped articles such as large glass substrates on which liquid crystals and solar cells are deposited.

Conventionally, as a temporary storage device for transported articles arranged in the middle of a transport path, a storage unit provided with a plurality of fixed shelves in the vertical direction is set so that one of the fixed shelves is at the same height as the transport path of the articles. In addition, a storage means that can be moved up and down along the vertical direction is provided on the upstream side of the storage unit, and the goods transported from the upstream side of the transport path by this storage means are selected by the storage unit. Temporary storage is possible so that it can be carried toward the fixed shelf of the storage unit, while articles stored in each fixed shelf of the storage unit can be moved up and down along the vertical direction of the storage unit, similar to the storage means. It is known that an article stored on a predetermined fixed shelf selected in a storage unit can be carried out to the downstream side of the transport path by the unloading means (see Patent Document 1).
In addition, a fork-like robot hand is also known in which articles conveyed from the conveyance path can be carried into the cassette apparatus and articles stored in the cassette apparatus can be carried out to the conveyance path. (See Patent Documents 2 and 3)

However, in the temporary storage device described in Patent Document 1, the storage unit and the storage unit and the storage unit installed on the upstream side and the downstream side of the storage unit are arranged in a straight line along the conveyance direction of the article. Therefore, not only a large occupied space is required at the installation location of the apparatus, but also each of the storage means and the storage means includes a drive motor, a wire, a pulley, and a lifting and lowering shelf for loading or unloading. Since it is necessary to provide an elevating mechanism composed of support columns, the structure becomes complicated and the equipment cost increases.
Further, in the cassette device and the buffer device described in Patent Documents 2 and 3, an extra space is occupied for the installation of the robot hand, and the cost of the equipment increases because the robot hand itself is expensive. There was a problem.

Japanese Patent No. 4078969 JP 2005-142480 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-129342

  In view of the above-described present situation, the present invention has an object to provide a temporary storage device for a transported article that can save installation space, reduce equipment costs, and preferably increase safety. Yes.

  The above-described problems are solved by the invention having the following configuration, as described in each claim in the section “Claims”.

(1) A temporary storage device for a transported article arranged in the middle of a transport path of an article, a storage unit having a plurality of shelves provided with article transport means up and down, and the storage unit can be moved up and down. And elevating means for positioning the selected predetermined shelf of the storage unit at the same height as the transport path, and by synchronizing the transport means of the transport path and the predetermined shelf to each other, The article conveyed from the conveyance path is carried in toward the predetermined shelf, or the article on the predetermined shelf can be carried out toward the conveyance path.

(2) In the above item (1), the conveying means in the upper and lower shelves is constituted by a conveying belt, and the driving motor is driven with respect to the driving shaft of the conveying belt in the selected predetermined shelf. Force can be transmitted selectively through the driving force transmitting means.

(3) In the above item (2), the driving force transmitting means is provided on the driving motor side and the conveying belt side so as to face each other, and a pair of magnets having different magnetism arranged alternately along the circumferential direction. It shall consist of a magnetic body.

(4) In the above item (3), the magnetic bodies provided as the magnetic bodies facing each other on the drive motor side and the conveyor belt side, which constitute the driving force transmission means, are arranged between the magnetic bodies facing each other. It is assumed that the distance can be adjusted.

(5) In any one of the above items (2) to (4), the drive motor is disposed at substantially the same height as the conveyance path and the selected predetermined shelf and is moved toward the drive shaft of the conveyance roller. enable.
The specific contents of the invention are as follows.

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the storage unit having a plurality of shelves provided with article conveying means can be moved up and down, and the selected predetermined shelf among the storage units can be moved along the conveyance path. The articles transported from the transport path are carried in on the predetermined shelf or synchronized with the transport means of the transport path synchronized with the transport means of the predetermined shelf. Since the articles on the shelves can be carried out toward the transport path, it is only necessary to provide an installation place for the storage unit, space can be saved, and equipment costs can be reduced. .

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the conveying means in each of the upper and lower shelves is constituted by the conveying belt, and the driving force of one driving motor with respect to the driving shaft of the conveying belt in the selected predetermined shelf. Can be selectively transmitted via the driving force transmitting means, so that the conveyor belts in a plurality of shelves can be selectively driven by a single driving motor, respectively, and the equipment cost can be reduced. it can.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the driving force transmitting means is provided on the driving motor side and the conveying belt side so as to face each other, and a pair of magnets having different magnetism arranged alternately along the circumferential direction. Since it is made of a magnetic material, driving force transmission between the drive motor side and the conveyor belt side can be easily cut off, and safety can be improved.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the magnetic bodies that constitute the driving force transmission means and are provided as magnetic bodies facing each other on the drive motor side and the conveyor belt side are arranged between the magnetic bodies facing each other. Since the distance can be adjusted, the magnitude of the driving force transmitted to the conveying means of each shelf can be easily adjusted according to the weight of the article to be conveyed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the drive motor is disposed at substantially the same height as the conveyance path and the selected predetermined shelf, the driving force can be transmitted smoothly.
Further, since the drive motor is movable toward the drive shaft side of the conveyor belt, the distance between the magnetic bodies facing each other can be easily adjusted.

It is a perspective view showing the whole article transportation system composition provided with the temporary storage device of one embodiment in the present invention. (Example) Similarly, it is a top view of an article conveyance system. It is an enlarged plan view of a temporary storage device. Similarly, it is an enlarged front view. Similarly, it is an enlarged right side view. It is a principal part expansion perspective view which shows the driving force transmission state to the conveyance belt of each shelf in a storage part. It is an expanded sectional view in the VII-VII line of FIG. FIG. 8A is a main part enlarged rear view and FIG. 8B is a main part enlarged plan view showing a driving force transmission state with respect to the driving shaft in the uppermost shelf when the temporary storage device is viewed from the back. . Similarly, the driving force cutting state with respect to the driving shaft in the uppermost shelf is shown, FIG. 9A is an enlarged rear view of the main part, and FIG. 9B is an enlarged plan view of the main part. It is a disassembled perspective view of a pair of magnetic body in a driving force transmission part.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to typical embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of an article transport system including a temporary storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the article transport system.
In FIG. 1, “upper left” to “lower right” on the page is referred to as “left / right direction”, and “lower left” to “upper right” is referred to as “front / rear direction”.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conveyance path 1 of the article conveyance system is supplied from an article supply source (not shown), for example, a plate-like article such as a large glass substrate on which liquid crystals or thin film solar cells are deposited. A is transported horizontally in one direction in the left-right direction (in the illustrated embodiment, from right to left), and A is branched into a T-shape in plan view in the middle of the first transport path 2. The connected second conveyance path 3 that horizontally conveys the plate-like article A in the front-rear direction, and the upstream side 2A and the downstream side 2B of the first conveyance path 2 branched by the second conveyance path 3 And a turnable turntable 4 that can be rotated horizontally is installed at a predetermined height H from the floor surface F.
The conveying means in the first conveying path 2, the second conveying path 3 and the direction changing swivel 4 are respectively constituted by conveyors 5, 6 and 7 each composed of a plurality of conveying rollers driven by a drive motor (not shown).

A temporary storage device 8 for temporarily storing the plate-like article A is disposed behind the second conveyance path 3 in the middle of the first conveyance path 2 with a direction changing swivel 4 interposed therebetween. Yes.

The direction changing swivel 4 controls the rotation of the plate-like article A in the conveyance direction and the horizontal direction appropriately by synchronizing the conveyor 7 with the conveyor 5 of the first conveyance path 2 or the conveyor 6 of the second conveyance path 3. It has become possible.
As a result, the plate-like article A conveyed from the upstream side 2A of the first conveyance path 2 is changed in direction toward the second conveyance path 3 and conveyed, or the plate-shaped article A conveyed from the second conveyance path 3 The article A is transported by changing its direction toward the downstream side 2B of the first transport path 2, or transported so as to be able to be loaded into the temporary storage device 8, or unloaded from the temporary storage device 8. The plate-like article A can be transported by changing its direction toward the downstream side 2B of the first transport path 2 or can be transported as it is toward the second transport path 3 as desired. It is like that.

3 is an enlarged plan view of the temporary storage device, FIG. 4 is also an enlarged front view, FIG. 5 is an enlarged right side view, and FIG. 6 is a driving force transmission to the conveyor belt of each shelf in the storage unit. The principal part expansion perspective view which shows a state, FIG. 7 is an expanded sectional view in the VII-VII line of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the temporary storage device 8 includes a storage unit 10 in which the plate-shaped article A is stored on a base 9, and the storage unit 10 includes a pair of left and right facing units. The side walls 11, 11 and the rear wall 12 are formed by pillars 9 </ b> A formed by block-shaped bodies that are U-shaped in a plan view and open forward toward the direction changing swivel 4, and are erected at the four corners of the base 9. It is provided so that it can be moved up and down through a guide rail 13 and a guide member 14 by a lifting device 15 described later.

The lifting / lowering device 15 applies the rotational driving force of one driving motor 16 installed on the base 9 to the outside of the left and right side walls 11, 11 via the rotating shaft 17 and the shaft rotation direction converter 18. It transmits to the bar screws 19, 19 that are provided in the center of the side in the front-rear direction and are screwed to each other, and the rod screws 19 are rotated in the forward and reverse directions in synchronism with the drive of the drive motor 16. Thus, the storage unit 10 can be moved up and down.

The storage unit 10 has a plurality of shelves 20 at the top and bottom, and the shelves 20 at each of the upper and lower tiers are disposed on the inner side so as to be opposed to the inner side surfaces of the left and right side walls 11, 11 spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction. It is formed by arranging a plurality of pairs of support rods 21, 21 projecting in a horizontal state toward the front and rear direction, and the plate-like article A is carried between the left and right support rods 21. In this way, the plate-like article A can be stored.
As shown in FIG. 6, driven pulleys 23 rotatably supported via support shafts 22 are provided at the inner ends of the left and right support rods 21 facing in the left-right direction. A conveyor belt 27 that is driven by a driving force transmission device 24, which will be described later, is looped over each of the driven pulleys 23 that are arranged.

That is, the driving force transmission device 24 is pivotally supported on the inner surface in the front-rear direction of the rear wall 12 of the storage unit 10 and arranged in the left-right direction corresponding to the rear of the upper and lower shelves 20, respectively. A plurality of drive shafts 25 extending, a pair of left and right drive pulleys 26, 26 provided on the drive shafts 25 in correspondence with the driven pulleys 23 of the left and right support rods 21, and the left and right drive pulleys 26, A pair of left and right endless transport belts 27, 27 spanned between the driven pulleys 23 of the left and right support rods 21 are provided.
Under these conveyor belts 27, that is, between the upper and lower shelves 20, as shown in FIG. 7, a U-shaped cross-section receiving plate 28 is disposed along the front-rear direction. When the conveyor belt 27 of the shelf 20 is bent, it does not hang down on the lower shelf 20.

One end of each drive shaft 25 in the axial direction is provided with a conveyor belt side transmission unit 29 that protrudes toward one end in the left-right direction of the rear wall 12 of the storage unit 10, and one of these is provided. That is, by raising and lowering the storage unit 10 by the lifting device 15, it can stop at a predetermined position corresponding to the height H (see FIGS. 4 and 5) substantially the same as the transport surface of the direction changing swivel 4. The conveyor belt side transmission unit 29 of the selected predetermined shelf 20 can be opposed to a drive motor side transmission unit 38 of the driving force transmission unit 30 described later.

FIG. 8 shows a driving force transmission state with respect to the drive shaft in the uppermost shelf when the temporary storage device is viewed from the back side, FIG. 8A is an enlarged rear view of the main part, and FIG. 8B is an enlarged plan view of the main part. FIGS. 9A and 9B also show a driving force cutting state with respect to the drive shaft in the uppermost shelf, FIG. 9A is an enlarged rear view of the main part, FIG. 9B is an enlarged plan view of the main part, FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a pair of magnetic bodies in a driving force transmission unit.

As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B and FIGS. 9A and 9B, the driving force transmission unit 30 is substantially the same height as the conveyance surface (conveyance path) of the direction changing swivel 4. A drive motor 31 disposed on a support base 9B attached to a substantially middle position of the support column 9A of the base 9 so as to be positioned at H, and a guide provided on the support base 9B to which the drive motor 31 is attached A movable plate 33 movable in the left-right direction along the rail 32, a rotation transmission shaft 35 provided in parallel with the rotation drive shaft 34 of the drive motor 31 on the movement plate 33, and the rotation transmission shaft 35 and the drive An endless timing belt 36 that spans between the rotation drive shaft 34 of the motor 31 via pulleys 34 a and 35 a and transmits the rotational force of the drive motor 31 to the rotation transmission shaft 35 is provided.
The moving plate 33 is configured such that the rotation transmission shaft 35 can move in the left-right direction together with the driving motor 31 by the driving force of the air cylinder 37 attached to the lower surface of the support base 9B.

At one end of the rotation transmission shaft 35, a drive motor side transmission portion 38 is provided so as to face the conveyance belt side transmission portion 29.
As shown in FIG. 10, the conveyor belt side transmission unit 29 and the drive motor side transmission unit 38 are a pair of magnetic bodies 29A in which different magnetism N and S are alternately arranged along the circumferential direction of the opposing surfaces. , 38A, and by adjusting the expansion / contraction length of the air cylinder 37, the distance between the magnetic bodies 29A, 38A facing each other can be adjusted.
In this case, the weight of the plate-shaped article A to be conveyed is adjusted by adjusting the distance between the conveyance belt side transmission unit 29 and the drive motor side transmission unit 38 when the driving shaft 25 transmits power to the conveyance belt 27. Accordingly, the magnitude of the driving force transmitted to the conveyor belt 27 of each shelf 20 can be easily adjusted.

The drive motor side transmission unit 38 is driven by the air cylinder 37 to move the rotation transmission shaft 35 toward the conveyance belt side transmission unit 29 so as to approach or come into contact therewith, and by the magnetic force generated between the magnetic bodies 29A and 38A. The driving force of the driving motor 31 is transmitted to the driving shaft 25 by the suction force, and the conveying belt 27 of each shelf 20 is driven (see FIGS. 8A and 8B).
On the other hand, the direction in which the rotation transmission shaft 35 is separated from the conveyance belt side transmission unit 29 by driving the air cylinder 37 in the transmission state of the driving force due to the proximity or contact between the conveyance belt side transmission unit 29 and the drive motor side transmission unit 38. To the distance where the magnetic force of the magnetic bodies 29A and 38A is not effective, the drive shaft 25, that is, the drive of the conveyor belt 27 on the shelf 20 is disconnected from the drive motor 31 (see FIG. 9 (A), (B)).

Next, the storage and carrying-out process by carrying in the plate-shaped article A to the temporary storage device 8 according to the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, in order to temporarily store the plate-like article A conveyed from the upstream side 2A of the first conveyance path 2 in the conveyance path 1 in the storage unit 10 of the temporary storage device 8, the first conveyance path 2 The conveyor 7 of the direction changing swivel base 4 is synchronized with the conveyor 5 in the same conveying direction, and when the plate-shaped article A is conveyed on the direction changing swivel stage 4, the conveyor 7 is temporarily stopped. Let
In this state, the direction change turntable 4 is rotated horizontally to change the conveying direction of the plate-like article A so that the plate-like article A on the direction change turntable 4 faces the front side of the storage unit 10.

Next, by driving the lifting device 15 to raise and lower the storage unit 10, the transport surface of the predetermined shelf 20 selected from each shelf 20 of the storage unit 10 is changed to the transport surface of the direction changing swivel 4. After the storage unit 10 is stopped so as to be in the same position as the height of, the conveyor 7 of the direction changing swivel 4 and the conveyor belt 27 of the selected predetermined shelf 20 are synchronized in the same conveyance direction, The plate-like article A on the turntable 4 is stored by being carried toward the selected predetermined shelf 20.

On the other hand, in order to carry the plate-shaped article A stored in the storage unit 10 onto the transfer path 1, the direction so that the transfer direction of the conveyor 7 of the direction changing swivel 4 is directed to the front side of the storage unit 10. After horizontally turning the turntable 4, the lifting device 15 is driven to raise and lower the storage unit 10, so that the transport surface of the predetermined shelf 20 selected from each shelf 20 of the storage unit 10 is changed. The storage unit 10 is stopped so as to be at the same position as the height of the conveying surface of the direction changing swivel 4.
Next, the conveyor 7 of the direction changing swivel 4 and the conveyor belt 27 of the selected predetermined shelf 20 are synchronized in the same conveying direction, so that the plate-like article A on the selected predetermined shelf 20 is changed in direction. It can be easily carried out toward the table 4.

Further, the plate-like article A carried out on the direction changing swivel 4 is not changed in direction by the direction changing swivel 4, and the conveyor 6 of the second transport path 3 is the same as the conveyor 7 of the direction changing swivel 4. By synchronizing with the transport direction, the second transport path 3 is transported forward.
On the other hand, when the plate-like article A carried out on the direction changing swivel 4 is conveyed to the downstream side 2B of the first conveying path 2, the direction changing swivel 4 is rotated horizontally, and the first conveying path 2 is moved. What is necessary is just to synchronize the conveyor 5 of the downstream 2B in the same conveyance direction as the conveyor 7 of the direction change swivel 4.

In this case, in order to synchronize the transport belt 27 of the selected predetermined shelf 20 in the same transport direction as the conveyor 7 of the direction changing swivel base 4, in the power cut state shown in FIGS. 9 (A) and 9 (B), The rotation transmission shaft 35 of the drive motor side transmission unit 38 is moved toward the conveyance belt side transmission unit 29 of the predetermined shelf 20 by driving the air cylinder 37 and the magnetic bodies 29A and 38A are conveyed. What is necessary is just to make it adjoin or contact according to the magnitude | size of the driving force resulting from the weight of the shaped article A (refer FIG. 8 (A), (B)).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyance path 2 1st conveyance path 2A Upstream side 2B Downstream side 3 2nd conveyance path 4 Direction change swivel 5, 6, 7 Conveyor (conveyance means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 8 Temporary storage apparatus 9 Base 9A Support | pillar 9B Support base 10 Storage part 11 Side wall 12 Rear wall 13 Guide rail 14 Guide member 15 Lifting device (lifting means)
Reference Signs List 16 drive motor 17 rotary shaft 18 shaft rotation direction converter 19 bar screw 20 shelf 21 support rod 22 support shaft 23 driven pulley 24 drive force transmission device (drive force transmission means)
25 Driving shaft 26 Driving pulley 27 Conveying belt (conveying means)
28 Receiving plate 29 Conveying belt side transmitting portion 29A Magnetic body 30 Driving force transmitting portion 31 Driving motor 32 Guide rail 33 Moving plate 34 Rotating driving shaft 34a Pulley 35 Rotating transmitting shaft 35a Pulley 36 Timing belt 37 Air air cylinder 38 Driving motor side transmitting portion 38A Magnetic body A Plate-shaped article F Floor surface H Height from the floor surface

Claims (5)

A temporary storage device for transported articles arranged in the middle of the transport path of the articles,
A storage unit having a plurality of shelves provided with article conveying means above and below, the storage unit can be moved up and down, and a predetermined shelf selected from the storage unit is positioned at the same height as the conveyance path And moving the article conveyed from the conveyance path toward the predetermined shelf by synchronizing the conveyance means of the conveyance path and the predetermined shelf with each other, or A temporary storage device for transported articles, wherein articles on a predetermined shelf can be transported toward the transport path. The conveying means in each of the upper and lower shelves is constituted by a conveying belt, and the driving force of one driving motor is applied to the driving shaft of the conveying belt in the selected predetermined shelf via the driving force transmitting means. The temporary storage device for a transported article according to claim 1, which can be selectively transmitted. 3. The driving force transmitting means is provided on the driving motor side and the conveyor belt side so as to be opposed to each other, and comprises a pair of magnetic bodies in which different magnetisms are alternately arranged along the circumferential direction. The temporary storage apparatus of the conveyance article as described. A magnetic body provided as a magnetic body facing each other on the drive motor side and the conveyor belt side, which constitutes the driving force transmission means, is configured such that the distance between the magnetic bodies facing each other can be adjusted. 3. A temporary storage device for transported articles according to item 3. The transport article according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the drive motor is disposed at substantially the same height as the transport path and the selected predetermined shelf, and is movable toward the drive shaft side of the transport roller. Temporary storage device.

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