JP2011105254A - Traveling carriage in article carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a traveling carriage in an article carrying device capable of restraining electric power consumption required for driving a driving means, when the traveling carriage travels on a curved passage of a rail. <P>SOLUTION: This traveling carriage 6 in the article carrying device 1 includes the traveling rail 3 having the curved passage 3c in at least a part arranged along a carrying passage and a carriage unit 4 having at least one traveling carriage 6 capable of traveling on the traveling rail 3 in a state of suspending a carrying object support member 5, and carries an article 2 along the carrying passage by loading the article 2 on the carrying object support member 5. The traveling carriage 6 includes a driving means 7 for making the traveling carriage 6 travel on the traveling rail 3, and the traveling carriage 6 includes a plurality of wheels 8 for traveling on the traveling rail 3, and the plurality of wheel 8 are constituted of a driven wheel 8c and a driving wheel 8b of one wheel independently rotatable by being connected to the driving means 7. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention includes a traveling rail having a curved path at least partially disposed along the transportation path, and at least one traveling carriage capable of traveling on the traveling rail in a state where the transported object supporting member is suspended. And a carriage unit, and relates to a traveling carriage in an article conveyance device that loads an article on a conveyance support member and conveys the article along a conveyance path.

  Conventionally, two traveling rails installed in parallel, a traveling carriage capable of traveling on both rails, a transported object supporting member that holds a workpiece (article) while being suspended from the traveling carriage, and both traveling rails There is an article conveying device provided with a drive shaft (driving means) arranged in parallel with these traveling rails above, and this article conveying device has two traveling carts as the drive shaft rotates in the circumferential direction. It can run on the running rail of the book. The traveling cart in such an article transporting device includes four traveling wheels (wheels) for traveling on both rails, and the drive shaft rotates in the circumferential direction to propel the traveling cart forward. A force is applied, and each traveling wheel is rotated by this propulsive force (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-308052 (Page 4, FIG. 1)

  However, in the article conveying apparatus described in Patent Document 1, when two traveling rails form a curved road, when the traveling carriage travels on the curved road, the traveling wheel (wheels) can move between the traveling wheels (wheels). Since the inner wheel difference occurs, the traveling wheel slides on the upper surface of the traveling rail, the traveling resistance generated in the traveling carriage increases, and the power consumption required to rotate the drive shaft (driving means) increases. There is.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a problem. When the traveling carriage travels on the curved road of the rail, the travel resistance generated due to the difference between the inner wheels is reduced, and the consumption required for driving the driving means. It is an object of the present invention to provide a traveling carriage in an article conveyance device that can suppress electric power.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a traveling carriage in the article transporting apparatus of the present invention
A travel rail having a curved path at least partially disposed along the transport path, and a cart unit having at least one travel cart capable of traveling on the travel rail in a state where the transport object support member is suspended. In the traveling carriage in the article conveying apparatus that loads the article on the conveyed product support member and conveys the article along the conveying path,
The traveling carriage has driving means for causing the traveling carriage to travel on the traveling rail, and the traveling carriage has a plurality of wheels for traveling on the traveling rail, and the plurality of wheels are subordinate. It is characterized by comprising a driving wheel and one driving wheel that can be rotated independently by being connected to the driving means.
According to this feature, when the traveling carriage travels on the curved road of the traveling rail, the driven wheel can rotate at a rotational speed corresponding to the trajectory regardless of the rotational speed of the driving wheel rotated by the driving means. It is possible to absorb the difference in rotational speed between the driving wheel and the driven wheel without requiring a specific means, and to easily reduce the power consumption when the traveling carriage travels on the curved road of the traveling rail.

The traveling carriage in the article conveying device of the present invention is
The drive wheel is made of a material having a higher coefficient of friction than the driven wheel, and the drive wheel is in contact with the traveling rail over substantially the entire outer peripheral surface thereof.
According to this feature, it is possible to secure a large frictional force of the driving wheel with respect to the traveling rail, and it is possible to make the frictional force of the driven wheel with respect to the traveling rail smaller than the frictional force of the driving wheel with respect to the traveling rail. Can maintain the driving force for moving the carriage unit when traveling on the curved road of the traveling rail.

The traveling carriage in the article conveying device of the present invention is
The drive wheel is characterized in that at least the outer peripheral surface is made of a material having a high friction coefficient.
According to this feature, the outer peripheral surface of the drive wheel is made of a material having a high friction coefficient, and the frictional force generated between the drive wheel and the traveling rail can be increased.

The traveling carriage in the article conveying device of the present invention is
A contact area between the driven wheel and the traveling rail is formed to be smaller than a contact area between the driving wheel and the traveling rail.
According to this feature, even if an inner wheel difference occurs while the traveling carriage is traveling on the curved road of the traveling rail, the driven wheel is likely to slide on the traveling rail, and the driven wheel is less likely to receive frictional force from the traveling rail. can do.

It is a top view which shows the whole image of the articles | goods conveying apparatus in an Example. It is a side view which shows a trolley | bogie unit. It is a rear view which shows a trolley | bogie unit. (A) is a top view which shows a traveling cart, (b) is AA sectional drawing of the traveling cart in Fig.4 (a). (A) is a partially enlarged front view showing a drive wheel, (b) is a partially enlarged front view showing a driven wheel. It is a top view which shows the traveling trolley | bogie which drive | works on the curved road of a traveling rail.

  EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION The form for implementing the traveling trolley | bogie in the article conveyance apparatus which concerns on this invention is demonstrated below based on an Example.

  A traveling carriage in the article transporting apparatus according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Hereinafter, the left side of FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 is the front side (front side) of the cart unit, the lower side of FIG. 4 is the left side of the cart unit, and the left side of FIG. 5 is the left side of the cart unit. explain.

  Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 denotes an article to which the present invention is applied for transporting a container 2 (see FIG. 2) as an article in the present invention in which automobile parts are housed, for example, in a factory that manufactures automobiles and the like. It is a transport device.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the article transporting apparatus 1 is mainly composed of two traveling rails 3 and a plurality of cart units 4 that can travel these traveling rails 3 clockwise in plan view. The container 2 storing the manufactured automobile parts is transported along a transport path toward a next process line (not shown). Although not particularly shown, each carriage unit 4 includes a control device and a wireless communication transmitter / receiver such as a wireless LAN, and is controlled to run and stop by receiving commands from an operator via the transmitter / receiver. The

  As shown in FIG. 3, the two traveling rails 3 are pipes made of a metal material such as aluminum or steel, the upper surface 3 a of which is formed in a horizontal plane, along the transport path of the container 2 in the factory. And suspended from the ceiling in the factory. As shown in FIG. 1, as an example of these two traveling rails 3, a plurality of straight roads 3b and a curved road 3c formed in a right turn are combined to form an endless shape.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the cart unit 4 includes a front and rear traveling carts 6, and a carrier as a transported object supporting member in the present invention that holds the container 2 while being suspended from each traveling cart 6. 5. These two traveling carts 6 will be described with respect to the same configuration. In this embodiment, the cart unit 4 is described as having two running carts 6. However, the cart unit 4 has three or more or only one running cart 6 depending on the weight of the article to be conveyed. You may comprise so that it may be provided.

  The traveling carriage 6 has a substantially U-shape when viewed from the front, and a main body portion 6a formed so as to form an H-shape when seen in plan view, and driving means in the present invention for traveling the traveling carriage 6. The motor 7 is mainly composed of a plurality of (four in this embodiment) wheels 8 that rotate in contact with the upper surface 3a of the traveling rail 3 by driving the motor 7.

  The motor 7 is supplied with electric power by being connected to a battery 15 to be described later, and the carriage unit 4 is temporarily stopped at a predetermined position on the traveling rail 3 to charge the battery 15. C is provided (see FIG. 1). The cart unit 4 that has been stopped at the charging station C is driven along the running rail 3 again by driving the motor 7 when the charging of the battery 15 is completed.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the main body 6a is made of a resin material, a metal material, or the like, and the motor 7 is accommodated in the main body 6a. The motor 7 is disposed in the main body 6 a so that the shaft 7 a faces the back side of the traveling carriage 6. A bevel gear 9a is attached to the tip of the shaft 7a.

  Furthermore, each wheel 8 is pivotally supported by the shaft 8a at the left and right end portions of the front portion and the rear portion of the main body portion 6a. Among these wheels 8, the tip end portion of the shaft 8a of the wheel 8 that is pivotally supported by the right end of the rear portion of the traveling carriage 6 that is inside when the traveling carriage 6 travels along the curved path 3c projects into the main body 6a. (See FIG. 6).

  A bevel gear 9b that engages with the bevel gear 9a is attached to the tip of the shaft 8a. That is, the wheel 8 pivotally supported on the right end portion of the rear portion of the traveling carriage 6 constitutes the drive wheel 8b in the present invention that is driven to rotate independently of the other wheels 8 when the motor 7 is driven. Yes. Furthermore, the other wheels 8 constitute a driven wheel 8c.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the drive wheel 8b is rotated by driving of the motor 7 so as to come into contact with the upper surface 3a of the traveling rail 3 over substantially the entire outer peripheral surface 8d, and is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in front view. ing. The driving wheel 8b is made of urethane having a higher friction coefficient than a driven wheel 8c described later. Therefore, when the motor 7 is driven, a strong frictional force is generated between the outer peripheral surface 8d of the driving wheel 8b and the upper surface 3a of the traveling rail 3, and the torque of the motor 7 is efficiently transmitted through the driving wheel 8b. 4 can be converted into a driving force for driving the vehicle 4. In this embodiment, as described above, the drive wheel 8b is made of urethane. However, if at least the outer peripheral surface 8d of the drive wheel 8b is made of urethane, the other parts (inside, etc.) of the drive wheel 8b are urethane. Different materials may be used.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, the outer peripheral surface 8e of the driven wheel 8c is formed in a bulging portion 8f that bulges in the diameter increasing direction from the left and right end portions toward the substantially central portion in the left and right direction when viewed from the front. The upper surface 3a of the traveling rail 3 is in contact with the substantially central portion of the bulging portion 8f. For this reason, the contact area between the driven wheel 8 c and the upper surface 3 a of the traveling rail 3 is smaller than the contact area between the drive wheel 8 b and the upper surface 3 a of the traveling rail 3.

  Furthermore, since the driven wheel 8c is made of nylon having a lower friction coefficient than urethane, the frictional force of the driven wheel 8c against the upper surface 3a of the running rail 3 is smaller than that of the driving wheel 8b.

  As shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 4, two guide rollers 10 are juxtaposed in the left and right direction at the lower end of the main body 6 a at the front and rear. These guide rollers 10 are pivotally supported so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction. When the traveling carriage 6 is placed on the traveling rail 3, the guide rollers 10 are arranged in the gap 11 between the traveling rails 3. ing. For this reason, each guide roller 10 is in contact with the side end portions of the two traveling rails 3 while the traveling carriage 6 is traveling, and guides the traveling carriage 6 so as not to be detached from the traveling rail 3.

  Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 2-4, the hanging rod 12 which faces the downward direction is attached to the approximate center of the horizontal direction of the lower end part of the main-body part 6a. An intermediate member 13 formed in a U-shape facing downward in a front view is further attached to the lower end portion of the hanging rod 12 (see FIG. 3). Although not specifically shown, the suspension bar 12 is attached to the intermediate member 13 so as to be relatively rotatable in the horizontal direction.

  And between the front-and-rear intermediate members 13, a connecting rod member 14 facing in the front-rear direction is attached. The front and rear traveling carts 6 are connected to each other through the connecting rod 14, the intermediate members 13, and the suspension rod 12. Furthermore, the upper end portion of the carrier 5 is attached to the lower end portions of these intermediate members 13.

  Specifically, the carrier 5 includes an upper saddle member 5a facing in the front-rear direction, a vertical saddle member 5b extending downward from a front end portion and a rear end portion of the upper saddle member 5a, It is comprised from the mounting plates 5c and 5d for mounting the container 2 attached to the upper part and lower end part between the eaves 5b, and the upper eaves 5a is attached to both the intermediate members 13. It is suspended from the front and rear traveling carts 6. In the present embodiment, the container 2 is placed only on the placing plate 5d attached to the lower end between the vertical saddle members 5b. However, depending on the size of the container 2, the container is placed on the placing plate 5c. 2 may be placed.

  A battery 15 for driving the motor 7 of the traveling carriage 6 is attached to the lower end portion of the mounting plate 5d attached to the lower end portion between the vertical saddle members 5b, and each motor 7 and the battery 15 are illustrated. Do not connect with wiring. Furthermore, a connection socket 16 connected to the battery by a wiring (not shown) is attached to the side end portion of the connecting rod 14. The connection socket 16 is a terminal connected to a charging device (not shown) at the charging station C described above, and the battery 15 is charged by connecting the connection socket 16 and the charging device. It has become.

  Next, the operation | movement at the time of driving | running | working with the straight path 3b of the driving rail 3 of the driving | running | working carriage 6 and the curved path 3c is demonstrated. First, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the traveling carriage 6 travels on the straight road 3b, the traveling carriage 6 rotates the drive wheels 8b by driving the motor 7, whereby the carriage unit 4 obtains a driving force. Travel along the traveling rail 3.

  At this time, since the traveling carriage 6 travels only by rotation of the drive wheel 8b pivotally supported at the rear right end portion, the driving force is biased to the left, but the guide roller 10 is connected to the left traveling rail 3. By abutting on the side end portion, it is possible to travel on the traveling rail 3 along a trajectory substantially the same as the transport path.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6, when the traveling carriage 6 travels on the curved road 3c, the guide roller 10 abuts on the side end portion of the left traveling rail 3, so that the traveling carriage 6 has the driving wheels 8b and each driven wheel. The vehicle travels while sliding on 8c with respect to the curved road 3c. At this time, an inner ring difference occurs between the driving wheel 8b and each driven wheel 8c, and the driving wheel 8b and the driven wheel 8c draw different trajectories.

  However, since each driven wheel 8c is only pivotally supported by the main body 6a, each driven wheel 8c rotates at a different rotational speed while sliding on the curved path 3c, and the inner ring difference is absorbed. Further, the driven wheel 8c is made of nylon having a smaller friction coefficient than the urethane constituting the drive wheel 8b, and is in contact with the traveling rail 3 only at the substantially central portion in the left-right direction of the bulging portion 8f. When sliding along the road 3c, it slides smoothly on the curved road 3c. For this reason, since the motor 7 does not receive the resistance which arises when an inner ring | wheel difference generate | occur | produces from the drive wheel 8b, it can avoid consuming extra electric power.

  Further, when the traveling carriage 6 travels on the curved road 3c, centrifugal force acts on the carrier 5 toward the outside of the curved road 3c (in the present embodiment, the left side with respect to the traveling direction of the traveling carriage 6). Since the driving wheel 8b pivotally supported on the right end of the main body 6a is pressed against the traveling rail 3 by this centrifugal force, the frictional force between the driving wheel 8b and the traveling rail 3 on the curved road 3c is large. Thus, the rotation of the driving wheel 8b can be converted into driving force for driving the traveling carriage 6 more efficiently than when traveling on the straight road 3b.

  As described above, in the traveling carriage 6 in the article transporting apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the traveling carriage 6 has the motor 7 that causes the traveling carriage 6 to travel on the traveling rail 3, and the traveling carriage 6 is on the traveling rail 3. The plurality of wheels 8 includes a driven wheel 8 c and a single drive wheel 8 b that can rotate independently by being connected to the motor 7. As a result, when the traveling carriage 6 travels on the curved road 3c of the traveling rail 3, the driven wheel 8c rotates at a rotational speed corresponding to the trajectory regardless of the rotational speed of the driving wheel 8b rotated by the motor 7. It is possible to absorb the rotational speed difference between the driving wheel 8b and the driven wheel 8c without requiring any specific means, and to easily reduce the power consumption when the traveling carriage 6 travels on the curved road 3c of the traveling rail 3. Can be made.

  Further, the drive wheel 8b is made of a material having a higher friction coefficient than the driven wheel 8c, and the drive wheel 8b is in contact with the traveling rail 3 over substantially the entire outer peripheral surface 8d thereof. A large frictional force with respect to the traveling rail 3 can be ensured, and a frictional force with respect to the traveling rail 3 of the driven wheel 8c can be made smaller than a frictional force with respect to the traveling rail 3 of the driving wheel 8b. When traveling on the curved road 3c of the rail 3, the driving force for moving the carriage unit 4 can be maintained.

  In addition, since at least the outer peripheral surface 8d of the driving wheel 8b is made of a material having a high friction coefficient, the outer peripheral surface of the driving wheel 8b is made of a material having a high friction coefficient so that the driving wheel 8b and the traveling rail 3 The frictional force generated between them can be increased.

  Further, since the contact area between the driven wheel 8c and the traveling rail 3 is formed to be smaller than the contact area between the drive wheel 8b and the traveling rail 3, the traveling carriage 6 moves along the curved path 3c of the traveling rail 3. Even if an inner wheel difference occurs during traveling, the driven wheel 8 c can easily slide on the traveling rail 3, and the driven wheel 8 c can be made difficult to receive frictional force from the traveling rail 3.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and modifications and additions within the scope of the present invention are included in the present invention. It is.

  For example, in the above embodiment, each traveling carriage 6 constituting the carriage unit 4 has the motor 7 that rotates the driving wheel 8b. However, only one traveling carriage 6 has the motor 7, and this motor 7 may be transmitted to the drive wheels 8b of the other traveling carts 6 through a shaft or the like provided between the traveling carts 6.

  Moreover, although the said Example has illustrated the traveling rail 3 comprised as an example of the two traveling rails 3 by combining several straight roads 3b and the curved road 3c of the right turn, it was endless. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be a traveling rail 3 having an S shape in a plan view including a plurality of straight roads 3b, a curved road 3c on the right turn, and a curved road on the left turn. The traveling carriage 6 of the present invention absorbs the rotational speed difference between the driving wheel 8b and the driven wheel 8c, and the traveling carriage 6 moves along the curved path 3c of the traveling rail 3. It is possible to easily reduce power consumption when traveling.

  Moreover, in the said Example, although the wheel 8 pivotally supported by the main-body part 6a was comprised by the one driving wheel 8b and the three driven wheels 8c, if the driving wheel 8b is one wheel, the driven wheel 8c The number is not particularly limited.

  Moreover, in the said Example, although the material with a high friction coefficient is made into urethane and the material with a low friction coefficient is made into nylon as a material used for the driving wheel 8b and the driven wheel 8c, the material used for the driving wheel 8b and the driven wheel 8c is As long as the material used for the drive wheel 8b is a material having a relatively higher friction coefficient than that of the driven wheel 8c, the material is not limited to urethane or nylon, and may be other synthetic resin materials or metal materials. .

1 article transport device 2 container (article)
3 Traveling Rail 3c Curved Road 4 Dolly Unit 5 Carrier (Transported Object Support Member)
6 Traveling cart 7 Motor (drive means)
8 wheel 8b driving wheel 8c driven wheel 8d, 8e outer peripheral surface 8f bulging portion C charging station

Claims (4)

A travel rail having a curved path at least partially disposed along the transport path, and a cart unit having at least one travel cart capable of traveling on the travel rail in a state where the transport object support member is suspended. In the traveling carriage in the article conveying apparatus that loads the article on the conveyed product support member and conveys the article along the conveying path,
The traveling carriage has driving means for causing the traveling carriage to travel on the traveling rail, and the traveling carriage has a plurality of wheels for traveling on the traveling rail, and the plurality of wheels are subordinate. A traveling carriage in an article transporting apparatus, comprising: a driving wheel; and a single driving wheel that is connected to the driving means and is independently rotatable.   The drive wheel is made of a material having a higher coefficient of friction than the driven wheel, and the drive wheel is brought into contact with the traveling rail over substantially the entire outer peripheral surface thereof. A traveling carriage in the article transporting apparatus.   3. The traveling carriage in the article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least an outer peripheral surface of the driving wheel is made of a material having a high friction coefficient.   The contact area between the driven wheel and the traveling rail is formed to be smaller than the contact area between the driving wheel and the traveling rail. A traveling carriage in the article conveying apparatus.

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