JP3346722B2 - Trough structure of air levitation conveyor - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a trough structure of an air levitated conveyor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional air levitation conveyor is disclosed in
As shown in Japanese Patent No. 64405, the intermediate portion of the conveyor has a double-cylinder structure in which an inner cylindrical shell is further inserted into an outer cylindrical shell, and the inner shell supports a carrier-side belt that carries a conveyed object. The outer shell supports the return belt.

However, in the above-described conventional double-cylinder structure, partial replacement cannot be performed at the time of corrosion and wear, and the width of the belt cannot be increased in spite of the large shell outer diameter. The carrier trough 11 and the return trough 1 are arranged in two upper and lower stages in a single cylindrical shell 1 shown in FIG.
2 has been proposed, and an air-floating conveyor has been proposed in which the belt 4 is supported and run with an air film interposed on the upper surfaces of the trough-shaped troughs 11 and 12.

The above-mentioned troughs 11 and 12 are formed so that the cross section in the width direction is a concave upper arc, and the belt 4 is provided with a width rigidity which is easy to follow the concave arc, but the belt rigidity is too low (the belt thickness is small). ) And the life is shortened, so that the balance is made so that the radius of curvature of the concave arc and the width rigidity of the belt are compromised by their balance.

[0005] Various types of belts 4 are used according to the objects to be transported.
Further, from the viewpoint of economy, the front cover rubber (the surface on which the cargo is placed) is made thicker, and the back cover rubber (the opposite side to the transport side) is made thinner (for example, the front 5 mm, the back 3 mm). However, when the belt is manufactured, the end of the belt tends to warp in the thickness direction of the cover rubber.

[0006] Therefore, in the carrier trough 11, since the transported material W is placed on the belt 4, the belt end also follows the trough 11, but on the return side, the central portion of the belt tends to rise, and as a result, the radius of curvature is increased. Becomes large, the edge of the belt 4 hits the surface of the trough 12 at an inclined angle, and strong friction occurs. In this case, the driving load increases due to friction, the edges of the belt 4 are worn, and furthermore, the air for lifting the belt does not escape from the width direction of the belt 4, so that the central portion of the belt is more and more lifted, so that the return side. The movement of the belt becomes unstable.

[0007]

In view of the foregoing, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and even if the belt specifications are different on the return side belt, the end of the belt does not strongly contact the trough.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a trough structure of an air-floating conveyor capable of suppressing a reduction in belt life due to wear and preventing a reduction in power performance.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the trough structure of the air-floating conveyor is provided inside a circular cylindrical shell.
The gutter-shaped carrier trough and return trough, whose cross-section in the width direction is curved into a concave arc, are vertically separated from each other.
With the concave surface facing upward, the carrier trough and
And with intervening air film supporting the carrier side belt and the return side belt onto the return trough, an air floating type conveyor for running the belt, the width direction of the return troughs for supporting the return-side belt At both ends, a portion extending from the inside to the outer edge slightly from the position where the edge of the belt comes into contact is curved into a straight or convex arc.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since both ends of the return trough are curved in a straight or convex arc, the central portion tends to lift in a belt having a high rigidity or in an empty state. Even in the case of a belt, the edge of the return side belt runs parallel to the both ends of the trough, and does not contact at an angle, so there is no strong friction. Therefore, wear of the belt can be prevented, power is not wasted, and unstable movement of the return belt can be eliminated.

[0010]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a trough structure according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a trough structure according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an overall air-floating conveyor to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 4 is a side view, and FIG.
FIG. 5 is a plan view of the trough 11, and FIG.

First, an overall configuration of an air-floating conveyor according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Reference numeral 1 denotes a circular cylindrical shell of a conveyor, and a plurality of the cylindrical shells 1 are connected to form an intermediate portion. In the figure, three cylindrical shells 1
Is shown, but may be two or less or four or more. 2 is a head pulley, 3 is a tail pulley, around which an endless belt 4 is wound. 5 is a fan for lifting the belt, and 6 is an air pipe.

The cylindrical shell 1 is composed of an upper shell 1a and a lower shell 1b which are cut along the axial direction and bisected in the diameter direction. The lower shell 1
From both sides of the inner wall at the upper end of b, and from both sides of the inner wall of the middle section, a plurality of brackets 8 each having two stages of left, right, upper and lower protruding inward are attached at intervals in the axial direction,
Each bracket 8 is fixed to right and left and up and down two stages of support frames 9 using an angle material. Of these support frames 9, the carrier trough 11 is detachably attached to the upper left and right support frames 9, and the return trough 12 is detachably attached to the lower left and right support frames 9.

Each of the troughs 11 and 12 has a width.
Countercurrent section is tub-shaped member that is curved in a concave circular arc, a concave surface
It is arranged upward. And each trough 11,
The both side edges of 12 are horizontal flange portions 13, and the flange portions 13 are placed on the support frame 9 and are connected by bolts.

In the center of the lower surface of each of the troughs 11 and 12, a plurality of air outlets 14 are formed at intervals in the longitudinal direction, and an air duct 15 for supplying air to the air outlets 14 is attached. ing. The air duct 15 is connected to the fan 5 via the air pipe 6 (see FIG. 3). The air supplied from the air duct 15 is ejected upward from the air blowing holes 14 and enters between the belt 4 running on the upper surfaces of the troughs 11 and 12 to form an air film. Is reduced.

Therefore, in the above-mentioned conveyor, when the head pulley 2 is driven and the belt 4 is circulated to supply air to the lower surface of the belt through the air pipe 6,
The belt 4 runs on an air film formed between the belt 4 and the troughs 11 and 12, and can convey articles on the belt with extremely low resistance.

Next, the trough structure of this embodiment is shown in FIGS.
2 will be described. In the embodiment of FIG.
A central portion a on which the belt 4 is in contact with the majority of the belts 1 and 12 is concavely curved with a desired radius of curvature R. The return trough 12 is slightly inside the position b where the edge of the belt 4 contacts, for example, 100 mm as the dimension c.
Outer end portion e from inner position d to outer edge of trough 12
Are linearly configured. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the outer end portion e of the trough 12 is
Conversely, it is convexly curved with a radius of curvature Re. According to the trough structure of the above-described two embodiments, if the central portion of the return side belt 4 is lifted up or the width rigidity of the belt 4 is strong, the edge of the belt is inclined to contact the trough 12. Also, since the end of the trough 12 is curved linearly or convexly, the end of the belt 4 hits the trough 12 almost in parallel. Therefore,
Since the belt 4 does not strongly rub against the trough 12, wear of the belt 4 is prevented, the power load is not unnecessarily increased, and transport is not unstable.

[0017]

According to the trough structure of the air-floating conveyor according to the first aspect, since both end edges of the return trough are curved in a straight or convex arc, the belt has a high rigidity in width or is not loaded. Even if the belt has a tendency to lift at the center, the edge of the return side belt runs parallel to both ends of the trough and does not come into inclining contact with each other, so there is no strong friction. Therefore, even if the belt is on the return side and the specifications of the belt are variously different, the belt can be prevented from being worn, power is not wasted, and unstable transportation can be solved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a trough structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a trough structure according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an overall side view of an air-floating conveyor to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the tubular shell 1 and troughs 11 and 12;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the trough 11. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a single cylindrical shell provided with upper and lower two-stage troughs.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a problem in the trough of FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cylindrical shell 4 Belt 11 Carrier trough 12 Return trough

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65G 15/00-15/28 B65G 15/60-15/64

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A gutter-shaped carrier trough and return trough each having a cross section curved in a concave arc are vertically separated inside a circular cylindrical shell , and the concave surface is formed.
The carrier trough and the
With intervening air film supporting the carrier side belt and the return side belt onto chromatography down a trough, an air floating type conveyor for running the belt, the width direction of the return troughs for supporting the return-side belt A trough structure for an air-floating conveyor, characterized in that, at both end portions, a portion extending from the inner side to the outer edge slightly from the position where the edge of the belt comes into contact is curved into a linear or convex arc.