A Ferris wheel-type circulating conveyor device

Abstract

This invention belongs to the field of conveying equipment, specifically relating to a Ferris wheel-type circulating conveyor device, including a pallet, a conveying mechanism, and / or an loading and unloading mechanism. The conveying mechanism includes a fixed base, a support assembly, a wheel assembly, a pallet frame assembly, and a power assembly. The wheel assembly includes a driving wheel and a driven wheel. The support assembly includes a driving side support and a driven side support, with the driving and driven side supports staggered. The pallet frame assembly includes multiple pallet frames in a circular array. Two diagonally opposite corners of the cuboid pallet frames are rotatably connected to the driving and driven wheels, respectively. The driving and driven wheel axles are connected by a flexible coupling. The power assembly drives a motor connected to the driving wheel axle through a transmission assembly. The loading and unloading mechanism includes a frame, a platform, and a slide that is telescopically mounted above the platform. The pallet is movably placed above the platform. This conveyor device achieves three-dimensional circulating material conveying, saves floor space, and enables automatic loading and unloading, reducing labor costs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of conveying equipment, and specifically relates to a Ferris wheel-type circulating conveyor device. Background Technology

[0002] In industrial production, conveyors are often used to transport and transfer materials. Common types of conveyors include belt conveyors, chain conveyors, roller conveyors, screw conveyors, and bucket elevators. However, these conveyors generally transport materials from the feed end to the discharge end and cannot achieve material circulation.

[0003] However, in actual production processes, it is sometimes necessary to circulate and transfer materials. For example, the camshaft production process includes multiple machining operations, requiring the camshaft workpieces to be processed sequentially in a specific order. Different machining processes require different equipment due to varying processing techniques. To improve the efficiency of the production line, workshops typically arrange lathes, milling machines, drilling machines, and other machining equipment at regular intervals, requiring workpieces to be circulated and transferred between machine stations. Since the machining speeds of different processes are not completely synchronized, if ordinary conveyors (such as belt conveyors) are used to transport camshaft workpieces, the conveyors would need to be frequently started and stopped, resulting in low equipment utilization and a large footprint. Furthermore, workpieces need to be removed from the conveyor promptly during operation, otherwise they may fall off the conveyor's discharge end. The loading and unloading of materials during conveyor operation is inconvenient. Therefore, in current camshaft machining, workpiece transfer is mainly done manually using transfer trolleys, which requires additional manpower, increasing labor intensity and labor costs.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need to design a new type of conveying device that facilitates material loading and unloading operations and enables the cyclical transport of materials. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In response to the above situation, the present invention designs a Ferris wheel-type circulating conveyor device, which can well meet the material conveying requirements that need to be circulated and transferred in processes similar to camshaft processing, and the material loading and unloading operations are very convenient.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0007] A Ferris wheel-type circulating conveyor includes a pallet for placing materials and a conveying mechanism for conveying the pallet. The conveying mechanism includes a fixed base, a support assembly, a wheel assembly, a pallet frame assembly, and a power assembly. The wheel assembly includes a driving wheel and a driven wheel. The support assembly includes a driving side support and a driven side support. According to the material conveying direction, both the driving side support and the driven side support are vertically fixed above the fixed base, and the two supports are staggered, i.e., the driving and driven side supports are located on the left and right sides above the fixed base, respectively, and are not aligned horizontally. The driving wheel and the driven wheel are rotatably mounted longitudinally on the driving side support and the driven side support, respectively. On the inner side of the top of the moving side support, both the driving and driven wheel disks are circular disks with equal diameters. The tray frame assembly includes multiple tray frames for accommodating storage trays, which are movably placed inside the tray frames. Multiple tray frames are arranged in a circular array between the driving and driven wheel disks. Each tray frame is a horizontally positioned cuboid container. The two diagonally opposite corners of the top of the tray frame are rotatably connected to the driving and driven wheel disks, respectively. The driving and driven wheel disks are coaxially fixed with driving and driven wheel shafts, respectively. The inner ends of the driving and driven wheel shafts are connected via a flexible coupling. The power assembly includes a drive motor and a transmission assembly. The drive motor is connected to the driving wheel shaft via the transmission assembly.

[0008] Furthermore, both the driving wheel and the driven wheel are circular frame structures, and the outer ends of the driving wheel shaft and the driven wheel shaft are rotatably connected to the driving side support and the driven side support respectively through bearing seats.

[0009] Furthermore, the tray frame is a cuboid frame with open front, back and bottom sides, and the bottom edges of its left and right side walls are each bent inward at right angles to form horizontal support edges. The front and rear ends of the two support edges are each provided with a conical protrusion. The tray can be pulled out and placed above the two support edges. The conical protrusions have a guiding function and reduce the contact area and reduce sliding friction.

[0010] Furthermore, the two diagonally opposite corners of the top of the pallet frame are rotatably connected to the edges of the driving and driven discs respectively via bearings. The driving and driven discs rotate synchronously in the same direction. Since the connection support points of the pallet frame are on the two diagonally opposite corners, each pallet frame can remain horizontal and stable without tipping over when the two discs rotate, and at the same time follow the two discs in a cyclical rotation.

[0011] Furthermore, the flexible coupling is a multi-link structure, including an active link, a driven link, and two intermediate links. The four links are rotatably connected end to end in a parallelogram. The active link and the driven link are respectively provided with a first connection hole and a second connection hole in the middle. The active wheel shaft and the driven wheel shaft are respectively fixedly connected to the first connection hole and the second connection hole.

[0012] Furthermore, the active connecting rod, the driven connecting rod, and the two intermediate connecting rods are all rotatably connected by bearing two, and the active wheel shaft and the driven wheel shaft are fixedly connected to the connecting hole one and the connecting hole two by a flat key connection.

[0013] Furthermore, the drive motor is a stepper motor, and the circulating conveying device can be externally controlled by a control cabinet. The control cabinet is equipped with a stepper driver and a programmable controller, so that each pallet frame steps a specific angle each time and stops at a specific position in turn. The stepper motor can also be equipped with an encoder, and a position sensor can also be installed at the specific position. The transmission component includes a drive wheel, a driven wheel, and a synchronous belt. The drive wheel is connected to the drive motor, the driven wheel is connected to the drive wheel shaft, and the drive wheel and the driven wheel are connected by synchronous belt transmission.

[0014] Preferably, a feeding mechanism can be provided in front of the conveying mechanism to facilitate automatic feeding by replacing manual insertion of the pallet into the pallet frame. The feeding mechanism includes a feeding frame, a feeding platform, and a feeding slide. The feeding platform is fixedly connected above the feeding frame. The feeding slide is telescopically positioned above the feeding platform. The pallet is movably placed above the feeding platform. A slide rail is provided on the left and right sides below the feeding slide, running in the front-to-back direction. Multiple sets of sliders are provided above the feeding platform, each corresponding to one of the two slide rails. A feeding cylinder is provided inside the feeding platform to drive the feeding slide to slide back and forth. A conical protrusion is provided between the top of the feeding slide and the pallet. A pallet baffle is also provided above the feeding slide to limit the position of the pallet.

[0015] Preferably, a feeding mechanism can be provided behind the conveying mechanism to facilitate automatic feeding by automatically pulling the storage tray into the pallet frame instead of manually. The feeding mechanism includes a feeding frame, a feeding platform, and a feeding slide. The feeding platform is fixedly connected above the feeding frame. The feeding slide is telescopically positioned above the feeding platform. The storage tray is movably placed above the feeding platform. A slide rail II is provided on the left and right sides below the feeding slide, running in the front-to-back direction. Multiple sets of sliders II are provided above the feeding platform and are slidably connected to the two slide rails II respectively. A feeding cylinder is provided inside the feeding platform to drive the feeding slide to slide back and forth. A conical protrusion III is provided between the top of the feeding slide and the storage tray. A tray baffle II is also provided above the feeding slide to limit the position of the storage tray.

[0016] Preferably, loading and unloading mechanisms can be respectively provided at the front and rear of the conveying mechanism to facilitate automatic loading and unloading of the pallet by replacing manual insertion and removal of the pallet into the pallet frame. During loading and unloading, the loading and unloading slides can be extended and retracted to the bottom of the pallet frame. The top of the second protrusion of the loading slide is slightly lower than the first protrusion of the pallet frame, and the top of the third protrusion of the unloading slide is slightly higher than the first protrusion of the pallet frame. In addition, the guiding effect of the conical protrusions can ensure that the loading and unloading slides can smoothly insert or pull out the pallet from the pallet frame.

[0017] The present invention also includes other components that enable its normal use, all of which are conventional means in the art. In addition, devices or components not limited in the present invention, such as bearings, bearing housings, synchronous belt drive structures, stepper motors and their cooperating stepper drivers, encoders, sensor automatic control circuits, etc., all adopt the prior art in the art.

[0018] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows:

[0019] The Ferris wheel-type circulating conveyor provided by this invention can overcome the technical problem that existing conveyors can only convey in one direction, and realize the circulating conveying of materials to meet the material transfer needs similar to camshaft processing. At the same time, the three-dimensional material circulating conveying method is more conducive to saving equipment floor space and improving the space utilization of the work site compared with the traditional planar conveying method. In addition, it can also realize the automatic loading and unloading of conveyed materials, reducing labor costs and labor intensity. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the Ferris wheel-type circulating conveyor device in Example 1.

[0021] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A three-dimensional structural diagram of the main and driven wheel shafts and the flexible coupling.

[0022] Figure 3 for Figure 1 A three-dimensional structural diagram of the middle pallet rack.

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the Ferris wheel-type circulating conveyor device in Example 2.

[0024] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the Ferris wheel-type circulating conveyor device in Example 3.

[0025] Figure 6 This is a front view structural diagram of the Ferris wheel-type circulating conveyor device in Example 4.

[0026] Figure 7 for Figure 6A top-view structural diagram.

[0027] Figure 8 for Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the left-side view structure. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The technical solution of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to specific embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments.

[0029] It should be noted that the terms "upper," "lower," "front," "back," "left," "right," "inner," and "outer" indicate directions or positional relationships based on the attached drawings and are used solely for ease of description.

[0030] Example 1

[0031] like Figure 1 As shown, a Ferris wheel-type circulating conveyor device includes a storage tray 1 for placing materials and a conveying mechanism 2 for conveying the storage tray. The conveying mechanism includes a fixed base 201, a support assembly, a wheel assembly, a tray frame assembly, and a power assembly. The wheel assembly includes a driving wheel 202 and a driven wheel 203. The support assembly includes a driving side bracket 204 and a driven side bracket 205. According to the material conveying direction, both the driving side bracket and the driven side bracket are vertically fixed above the fixed base, and the two brackets are staggered, i.e., the driving and driven side brackets are located on the left and right sides above the fixed base, respectively. Furthermore, the two supports are not aligned horizontally and are asymmetrical. The active and driven discs are rotatably mounted longitudinally on the inner sides of the tops of the active and driven side supports, respectively. Both the active and driven discs are circular discs with equal diameters. The tray frame assembly includes multiple tray frames 206 for accommodating storage trays. The storage trays are movably placed inside the tray frames. The multiple tray frames are arranged in a circular array between the active and driven discs, resembling a Ferris wheel, but with some differences because the supports and circular discs on both sides of the circulating conveyor device in this application are asymmetrical in the horizontal direction. Figure 3 As shown, each pallet frame is a horizontally arranged cuboid container. The two diagonally opposite corners of the top of each pallet frame are rotatably connected to a driving wheel and a driven wheel, respectively. In a typical Ferris wheel, the container compartments, which function similarly to the pallet frames, are suspended from a rotating support axis that is symmetrically aligned on both sides. However, the supporting points of the pallet frames in this application are diagonally positioned to prevent them from tipping over. Figure 2As shown, the driving wheel and the driven wheel are coaxially fixed with the driving wheel shaft 207 and the driven wheel shaft 208, respectively. The inner ends of the driving wheel shaft and the driven wheel shaft are connected by a flexible coupling. This is also determined by the fact that the driving wheel shaft and the driven wheel shaft on both sides are not coaxially arranged. The power component includes a drive motor 209 and a transmission component. The drive motor is connected to the driving wheel shaft through the transmission component.

[0032] Both the driving and driven wheel discs are circular frame structures made of square steel frames to reduce the weight of the discs. The outer ends of the driving and driven wheel axles are rotatably connected to the driving and driven side supports respectively via bearing seats 210.

[0033] The tray frame is a cuboid frame with open front, back and bottom sides, and the bottom edges of its left and right side walls are bent inward at right angles to form horizontal support edges 211. The front and rear ends of the two support edges are each provided with a conical protrusion 212. The storage tray can be pulled out and placed above the two support edges.

[0034] The two diagonally opposite corners of the top of the pallet frame are rotatably connected to the edges of the driving and driven discs respectively via bearing 213. The driving and driven discs rotate synchronously in the same direction. Since the connection support points of the pallet frame are on the two diagonally opposite corners, each pallet frame can remain horizontal and stable without tipping over when the two discs rotate, and at the same time follow the two discs in a cyclical rotation.

[0035] The flexible coupling is a multi-link structure, including an active link 214, a driven link 215, and two intermediate links 216. The four links are connected in a parallelogram shape, which can be rotated from end to end. The active link and the driven link are respectively provided with a first connection hole and a second connection hole 217 in the middle. The active wheel shaft and the driven wheel shaft are respectively fixedly connected to the first connection hole and the second connection hole.

[0036] The active link, driven link, and two intermediate links are all rotatably connected by bearing 218, meaning the shape of the parallelogram formed by the four links can be changed. The active wheel shaft and driven wheel shaft are fixedly connected to connecting hole 1 and connecting hole 2 by a flat key connection.

[0037] The drive motor is a stepper motor. The circulating conveyor is equipped with an external control cabinet, which contains a stepper driver and a programmable controller. Each pallet rack moves a specific angle each time and stops at a specific position in turn. An encoder is installed on the stepper motor, and a position sensor is installed at the specific stopping position of the pallet rack to form a closed-loop control of the pallet rack position. This ensures the precise positioning of the drive motor, so as to accurately pull the pallet rack in and out to realize loading and unloading.

[0038] The transmission assembly includes a drive wheel, a driven wheel 219, and a synchronous belt 220. The drive wheel is connected to a drive motor, the driven wheel is connected to the drive wheel shaft, and the drive wheel and the driven wheel are connected by a synchronous belt drive.

[0039] Example 2

[0040] like Figure 4 As shown, a Ferris wheel-type circulating conveyor device includes a storage tray 1 for placing materials and a conveying mechanism 2 identical to that in Embodiment 1. A feeding mechanism 3 is also provided in front of the conveying mechanism according to the material conveying direction, to facilitate automatic feeding by replacing manual insertion of the storage tray into the tray frame. The feeding mechanism includes a feeding frame 301, a feeding platform 302, and a feeding slide 303. The feeding platform is fixedly connected above the feeding frame, and the feeding slide is telescopically mounted above the feeding platform. The storage tray is movably placed above the loading platform. A slide rail 304 along the front-to-back direction is provided on the left and right sides below the loading slide. Two sets of sliders 305 are provided above the loading platform and are slidably connected to the two slide rails respectively. A loading cylinder 306 is provided inside the loading platform to drive the loading slide to slide back and forth. A conical protrusion 307 is provided between the top of the loading slide and the storage tray. A tray baffle 308 is also provided above the loading slide to limit the position of the storage tray.

[0041] The material placed on the tray is a camshaft 101. The tray is equipped with a positioning bracket 102 for supporting the camshaft. The tray slides in and out of the tray frame along the conical protrusions. The tray is placed on the protrusions. The conical protrusions guide the tray's sliding motion and also help reduce the sliding friction of the tray.

[0042] Example 3

[0043] like Figure 5As shown, a Ferris wheel-type circulating conveyor device includes a storage tray 1 for placing materials and a conveying mechanism 2 identical to that in Embodiment 1. Following the material conveying direction, a feeding mechanism 4 is provided behind the conveying mechanism to automatically feed materials, replacing manual labor in pulling the storage tray into the tray frame. The feeding mechanism includes a feeding frame 401, a feeding platform 402, and a feeding slide 403. The feeding platform is fixedly connected above the feeding frame, and the feeding slide is extendable and retractable above the feeding platform. The storage tray is movably placed above the unloading platform. A slide rail 404 along the front-to-back direction is provided on the left and right sides below the unloading slide. Two sets of sliders 405 are provided above the unloading platform and are slidably connected to the two slide rails respectively. An unloading cylinder 406 is provided inside the unloading platform to drive the unloading slide to slide back and forth. A conical protrusion 407 is provided between the top of the unloading slide and the storage tray. A tray baffle 408 for limiting the position of the storage tray is also provided above the unloading slide.

[0044] Example 4

[0045] like Figure 6-8 As shown, a Ferris wheel-type circulating conveyor device includes a storage tray 1 for placing materials, a conveying mechanism 2 (same as in Embodiment 1), a feeding mechanism 3 (same as in Embodiment 2), and a discharging mechanism 4 (same as in Embodiment 3). According to the material conveying direction, feeding and discharging mechanisms are respectively arranged at the front and rear of the conveying mechanism to facilitate automatic feeding and discharging, replacing manual insertion and removal of the storage tray into the tray frame. During feeding and discharging, the feeding and discharging slides can extend and retract to below the tray frame 206. The top of the second protrusion 307 of the feeding slide is slightly lower than the first protrusion 212 of the tray frame, and the top of the third protrusion 407 of the discharging slide is slightly higher than the first protrusion of the tray frame, ensuring that the feeding and discharging slides can smoothly insert or pull out the storage tray from the tray frame.

[0046] The technical solutions of the present invention are not limited to the specific embodiments described above. Without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments, many modifications and changes will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Any technical modifications made within the spirit and principles of the present invention will fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A Ferris wheel type endless conveyor characterized by: The utility model provides a conveying mechanism for conveying the material, the conveying mechanism comprises a fixed base, a support assembly, a wheel disc assembly, a tray frame assembly and a power assembly, the wheel disc assembly comprises a driving wheel disc and a driven wheel disc, the support assembly comprises a driving side support and a driven side support, the driving side support and the driven side support are vertically fixed above the fixed base according to the conveying direction of the material, and the two supports are arranged in front of and behind each other, the driving wheel disc and the driven wheel disc are rotatably longitudinally installed on the inner side of the top of the driving side support and the driven side support respectively, the driving wheel disc and the driven wheel disc are circular wheel discs, and the diameters of the two wheel discs are equal, the tray frame assembly comprises a plurality of tray frames for accommodating the material placing tray, the material placing tray is movably placed in the tray frame, a plurality of tray frames are arranged in an annular array between the driving wheel disc and the driven wheel disc, each tray frame is a horizontally arranged cuboid container, the top of the tray frame is rotatably connected with the driving wheel disc and the driven wheel disc at two opposite corners, the driving wheel shaft and the driven wheel shaft are coaxially fixed on the driving wheel disc and the driven wheel disc respectively, and the inner ends of the driving wheel shaft and the driven wheel shaft are drivingly connected through a flexible coupling; The tray frame is a cuboid frame with the front, rear and bottom three sides open, and the bottom edges of the left and right side walls are each bent inward at right angles to form a horizontal supporting edge, and the front and rear ends of the two supporting edges are each provided with a conical protrusion one, and the material placing tray is pullably placed above the two supporting edges; The flexible coupling is a multi-link structure, comprising a driving link, a driven link and two intermediate links, the four links are sequentially rotatably connected in a parallelogram, and the driving link and the driven link are respectively provided with a connecting hole one and a connecting hole two in the middle, and the driving wheel shaft and the driven wheel shaft are respectively fixedly connected with the connecting hole one and the connecting hole two; The conveying mechanism is provided with a feeding mechanism in front, the feeding mechanism comprises a feeding rack, a feeding platform and a feeding sliding table, the feeding platform is fixedly connected above the feeding rack, the feeding sliding table is telescopically arranged above the feeding platform, the material placing tray is movably placed above the feeding platform, a slide rail one along the front and back direction is arranged on the left and right sides below the feeding sliding table, a plurality of slide blocks one corresponding to the two slide rail ones are arranged on the feeding platform, a feeding cylinder for driving the feeding sliding table to slide forward and backward is arranged in the feeding platform, a conical protrusion two is arranged between the top of the feeding sliding table and the material placing tray, and a tray baffle one for limiting the material placing tray is further arranged above the feeding sliding table; The conveying mechanism is provided with a discharging mechanism behind it, the discharging mechanism comprises a discharging rack, a discharging platform and a discharging sliding table, the discharging platform is fixedly connected above the discharging rack, the discharging sliding table is telescopically arranged above the discharging platform, the storage tray is movably arranged above the discharging platform, a slide rail two is arranged on the left side and the right side below the discharging sliding table respectively along the front-rear direction, a plurality of slide blocks two corresponding to the two slide rails two are arranged above the discharging platform, a discharging cylinder for driving the discharging sliding table to slide forward and backward is arranged inside the discharging platform, a conical protrusion three is arranged between the top of the discharging sliding table and the storage tray, and a tray baffle two for limiting the storage tray is further arranged above the discharging sliding table. The driving motor is a stepping motor, the transmission assembly comprises a driving wheel, a driven wheel and a synchronous belt, the driving wheel is connected with the driving motor, the driven wheel is connected with the driving wheel shaft, and the driving wheel and the driven wheel are drivingly connected through the synchronous belt; the circulating conveying device is externally provided with a control cabinet, a stepping driver and a programmable controller are arranged in the control cabinet in cooperation, so that each tray frame is stopped at a specific position in turn by stepping a specific angle each time, an encoder is additionally arranged on the stepping motor, and a position sensor is additionally arranged on the specific stopping position of the tray frame, so that closed-loop control of the position of the tray frame is formed, accurate positioning of the driving motor is ensured, and the storage tray is accurately pulled in and out of the tray frame to realize feeding and discharging; when feeding and discharging, the feeding and discharging sliding tables are telescopically moved below the tray frame, the top of the protrusion two of the feeding sliding table is slightly lower than the protrusion one of the tray frame, the top of the protrusion three of the discharging sliding table is slightly higher than the protrusion one of the tray frame, and in addition, the conical protrusion has a guiding effect and a function of reducing contact area and sliding friction, so that the feeding and discharging sliding tables can be smoothly inserted into or pulled out of the storage tray from the tray frame.

2. A Ferris wheel type endless conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving wheel disc and the driven wheel disc are both circular frame structures, and the outer ends of the driving wheel shaft and the driven wheel shaft are respectively rotatably connected with the driving side support and the driven side support through bearing seats.

3. A Ferris wheel type endless conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that: The two corners on the top of the tray frame are respectively rotatably connected with the edges of the driving wheel disc and the driven wheel disc through bearing one.

4. A Ferris wheel type endless conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving link, the driven link and the two intermediate links are rotatably connected through bearing two.

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