Carrier transport system, transport system and carrier transport method

Abstract

A carrier conveying system, a conveying system and a carrier conveying method are disclosed. The carrier conveying system comprises a slide rail extending along a conveying direction of a carrier to be conveyed and adapted to be slidably fitted with the carrier to guide the carrier to move along the slide rail; a rack extending along the conveying direction and connected to or integrally formed on the carrier; and a pair of gears spaced apart by a predetermined distance in the conveying direction for engaging with the rack. When the gears engage with the rack, the gears are capable of driving the carrier to move on the slide rail in the conveying direction. In the present invention, the precise and high-speed conveying of the carrier is achieved by the engagement of the gears with the rack, thereby greatly improving the conveying speed and efficiency of the product components loaded on the carrier and also greatly improving the position accuracy of the product components during the conveying process.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a carrier conveying system, a conveying system including the same, and a carrier conveying method. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the prior art, the carrier conveying process is now mainly driven by air cylinders, and for some simple automation solutions, the carrier conveying is performed by one servo module, which cannot adapt to the conveying of multiple carriers and is low in conveying efficiency. In order to improve the speed and efficiency, some applications use double servo modules together with special tooling to sequentially convey multiple carriers as a group, but in this case, the conveying speed and positioning accuracy are insufficient due to the limitations of mechanical structure, accumulated tolerances or tooling design, etc. In recent years, some new carrier conveying systems have appeared on the market, but the effective payload of these carrier conveying systems is small and cannot meet the effective payload requirements of specific processes such as welding and crimping. SUMMARY

[0003] The present application aims to solve at least one of the above problems and defects in the prior art.

[0004] According to one aspect of the present application, there is provided a carrier conveying system, comprising: a slide rail extending in a conveying direction of a carrier to be conveyed and adapted to slidingly engage with the carrier to guide the carrier to move along the slide rail; a rack extending in the conveying direction and connected to or integrally formed on the carrier; and a pair of gears spaced apart by a predetermined distance in the conveying direction for engaging with the rack. When the gears engage with the rack, the gears are capable of driving the carrier to move on the slide rail in the conveying direction.

[0005] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present application, the carrier conveying system further comprises: a blocking device for frictionally contacting the rack to apply a frictional resistance to the rack in a direction opposite to the conveying direction, such that the gap between the teeth of the rack and the teeth of the gears engaging therewith is zero.

[0006] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present application, the blocking device comprises an elastic member in frictional contact with the rack to apply the frictional resistance to the rack.

[0007] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present application, the length of the rack is greater than the distance between the pair of gears in the conveying direction, so that the pair of gears can simultaneously engage with the same rack.

[0008] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present application, the carrier conveying system further comprises: a pair of driving devices for driving the pair of gears to rotate, respectively.

[0009] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present application, the driving device comprises a servo motor and a transmission mechanism connected between an output shaft of the servo motor and the gear, the rotation speed of the servo motor and / or the transmission ratio of the transmission mechanism being adjustable, so that the rotation speed of the gear can be adjusted by adjusting the rotation speed of the servo motor and / or the transmission ratio of the transmission mechanism.

[0010] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present application, when the pair of gears are engaged with the rack on the same carrier at the same time, the pair of driving devices drive the pair of gears to rotate synchronously to drive the carrier to move.

[0011] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present application, when the pair of gears are engaged with the racks on two carriers respectively, the pair of driving devices drive the pair of gears to rotate synchronously to drive the two carriers to move synchronously respectively.

[0012] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present application, when a corresponding one of the pair of gears is engaged with the rack, a corresponding one of the pair of driving devices drives the one gear to rotate.

[0013] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present application, when a corresponding one of the pair of gears is disengaged from the rack, a corresponding one of the pair of driving devices drives the one gear to reset to an initial position and stop at the initial position to wait for the next carrier.

[0014] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present application, the carrier transportation system further comprises a support frame. The slide rail and the blocking device are fixed on the support frame, the pair of gears are rotatably installed on the support frame, and the pair of driving devices are installed on the support frame.

[0015] According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a transportation system, comprising: the aforementioned carrier transportation system and a carrier. The carrier is used to load product components and is adapted to be in sliding fit with the slide rail of the carrier transportation system to be able to move along the slide rail.

[0016] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present application, product component fixing devices adapted to fix the product components are provided on or integrally formed on the carrier.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a carrier transportation method, comprising the following steps:

[0018] S10: providing the aforementioned carrier transportation system;

[0019] S20: delivering one carrier to a predetermined position on the slide rail so that a rack on the one carrier engages with one gear;

[0020] S30: driving the one gear to rotate so as to drive the one carrier to move on the slide rail in a conveying direction;

[0021] S40: driving another gear to rotate synchronously with the one gear when the rack on which the one carrier moves engages with the another gear;

[0022] S50: driving the one gear to reset to and stop at an initial position when the rack on which the one carrier moves disengages from the one gear;

[0023] S60: delivering another carrier to a predetermined position on the slide rail so that a rack on the another carrier engages with the one gear;

[0024] S70: driving the one gear to rotate so as to drive the another carrier to move on the slide rail in a conveying direction;

[0025] S80: driving the another gear to reset to and stop at an initial position when the rack on which the one carrier moves disengages from the another gear;

[0026] S90: driving the another gear to rotate synchronously with the one gear when the rack on which the another carrier moves engages with the another gear;

[0027] S100: repeating the foregoing steps S20 to S90.

[0028] In the foregoing various exemplary embodiments according to the present application, the precise and high-speed conveying of the carriers is achieved through the engagement of the gears and the racks, thereby greatly improving the conveying speed and efficiency of the product components loaded on the carriers and greatly improving the position precision of the product components during the conveying.

[0029] Other objects and advantages of the present application will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the application, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 shows a top view of a carrier conveying system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 2 shows a front view of a carrier conveying system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 3Aa schematic view showing a rack on a carrier being transported to be engaged with the first gear;

[0033] Figure 3B a schematic view showing a rack on a carrier being transported to be engaged with both the first and second gears;

[0034] Figure 3C a schematic view showing a rack on a carrier being transported to be disengaged from the first gear;

[0035] Figure 3D a schematic view showing a rack on a carrier being transported to be engaged with the first gear while another carrier is being continuously transported;

[0036] Figure 3E a schematic view showing a rack on a carrier being transported to be disengaged from the second gear while another carrier is being continuously transported;

[0037] Figure 3F a schematic view showing a rack on a carrier being transported to be engaged with both the first and second gears after the carrier is transported away from the second gear. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The technical solutions of the present application will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the description, identical or similar reference numerals indicate identical or similar components. The following description of the embodiments of the present application with reference to the drawings is intended to explain the general inventive concept of the present application, and should not be construed as a limitation of the present application.

[0039] In addition, in the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that one or more embodiments can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the accompanying drawings.

[0040] According to one general inventive concept, there is provided a carrier transportation system, comprising: a slide rail extending in a transportation direction of a carrier to be transported and adapted to be slidably engaged with the carrier to guide the carrier to move along the slide rail; a rack extending in the transportation direction and connected to or integrally formed on the carrier; and a pair of gears spaced apart by a predetermined distance in the transportation direction for engaging with the rack. When the gears engage with the rack, the gears are capable of driving the carrier to move along the slide rail in the transportation direction.

[0041] Figure 1 a top view showing a carrier transportation system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application; Figure 2A front view of a carrier transport system according to an example embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0042] As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 In the illustrated embodiment, the carrier transport system mainly comprises a slide rail 20, a rack 12 and a pair of gears 21, 22. The carrier 10 is used to load product components 1, such as electronic components. The slide rail 20 extends along the transport direction X of the carrier 10. The carrier 10 can be slidingly fitted with the slide rail 20 to be able to move along the slide rail 20. The rack 12 extends along the transport direction X and is connected to or integrally formed on the carrier 10. The pair of gears 21, 22 are used to engage with the rack 12 and are spaced apart by a predetermined distance in the transport direction X.

[0043] Figures 3A to 3F The working process of the carrier transport system is shown. Among them, Figure 3A A schematic view showing the rack 12 on one carrier 10A being transported to just engage with the first gear 21 is shown; Figure 3B A schematic view showing the rack 12 on one carrier 10A being transported to engage with both the first and second gears 21, 22 is shown; Figure 3C A schematic view showing the rack 12 on one carrier 10A being transported to be about to disengage from the first gear 21 is shown; Figure 3D A schematic view showing the rack 12 on another carrier 10B being transported to engage with the first gear 21 while the carrier 10A is being continuously transported is shown; Figure 3E A schematic view showing the rack 12 on one carrier 10A being transported to be about to disengage from the second gear 22 while the other carrier 10B is being continuously transported is shown; Figure 3F A schematic view showing the rack 12 on another carrier 10B being transported to engage with both the first and second gears 21, 22 after the carrier 10A is transported away from the second gear 22 is shown.

[0044] As shown in Figures 1-2 and Figures 3A-3F In the illustrated embodiment, when the gears 21, 22 engage with the rack 12, the carrier 10 can be driven to move along the transport direction X on the slide rail 20 by rotating the gears 21, 22.

[0045] As shown in Figures 1-2 and Figures 3A-3F In the illustrated embodiment, the carrier transport system further comprises a blocking device 30. The blocking device 30 is used to be in frictional contact with the rack 12 to exert a frictional resistance on the rack 12 in the opposite direction of the transport direction X, so that the gap between the teeth of the rack 12 and the teeth of the gear 21 engaged therewith is zero, which can eliminate the gap between the teeth of the rack 12 and the teeth of the gear 21 engaged therewith, and improve the positional accuracy of the carrier 10 during transport.

[0046] like Figures 1-2 and Figures 3A-3F As shown, in the illustrated embodiment, the blocking device 30 includes an elastic element 31. The elastic element 31 is in frictional contact with the rack 12 to apply frictional resistance to the rack 12.

[0047] like Figures 1-2 and Figures 3A-3F As shown in the illustrated embodiment, the length of the rack 12 is greater than the distance between the pair of gears 21 and 22 in the transmission direction X, so that the pair of gears 21 and 22 can mesh with the same rack 12 simultaneously.

[0048] like Figures 1-2 and Figures 3A-3F As shown in the illustrated embodiment, the vehicle transport system further includes a pair of drive devices 210 and 220, which are used to drive a pair of gears 21 and 22 to rotate respectively.

[0049] like Figures 1-2 and Figures 3A-3F As shown in the illustrated embodiment, the drive devices 210 and 220 include a servo motor (not shown) and a transmission mechanism (not shown). The transmission mechanism is connected between the output shaft of the servo motor and gears 21 and 22. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the rotational speed of the servo motor and / or the transmission ratio of the transmission mechanism can be adjusted, thereby allowing the rotational speeds of gears 21 and 22 to be adjusted by adjusting the rotational speed of the servo motor and / or the transmission ratio of the transmission mechanism.

[0050] like Figures 1-2 and Figures 3A-3F As shown in the illustrated embodiment, when a pair of gears 21 and 22 mesh with the rack 12 on the same carrier 10 at the same time, a pair of drive devices 210 and 220 drive the pair of gears 21 and 22 to rotate synchronously, thereby driving the carrier 10 to move.

[0051] like Figures 1-2 and Figures 3A-3F As shown in the illustrated embodiment, when a pair of gears 21 and 22 mesh with racks 12 on the two carriers 10 respectively, a pair of drive devices 210 and 220 drive the pair of gears 21 and 22 to rotate synchronously, so as to drive the two carriers 10 to move synchronously respectively.

[0052] like Figures 1-2 and Figures 3A-3F As shown in the illustrated embodiment, when the first gear 21 of a pair of gears 21 and 22 meshes with the rack 12, the first drive device 210 of a pair of drive devices 210 and 220 drives the first gear 21 to rotate.

[0053] like Figures 1-2 and Figures 3A-3FAs shown in the illustrated embodiment, when the first gear 21 of a pair of gears 21, 22 disengages from the rack 12, the first drive device 210 of a pair of drive devices 210, 220 drives the first gear 21 to reset to the initial position and stop at that initial position to wait for the next vehicle 10.

[0054] like Figures 1-2 and Figures 3A-3F As shown in the illustrated embodiment, the vehicle transport system further includes a support frame 100. A slide rail 20 and a stop device 30 are fixed to the support frame 100, a pair of gears 21 and 22 are rotatably mounted on the support frame 100, and a pair of drive devices 210 and 220 are mounted on the support frame 100.

[0055] like Figures 1-2 and Figures 3A-3F As shown in the illustrated embodiment, a transmission system is also disclosed, comprising the aforementioned carrier transmission system and a carrier 10. The carrier 10 is used to load the product component 1 and is adapted to slide in engagement with a slide rail 20 of the carrier transmission system so as to be able to move along the slide rail 20.

[0056] like Figures 1-2 and Figures 3A-3F As shown in the illustrated embodiment, a product component fixing device 11 suitable for fixing product component 1 is provided or integrally formed on the carrier 10, for example, a product component fixing clamp.

[0057] The following will refer to Figures 3A to 3F The main steps of the vehicle transport method of the present invention are described below. The vehicle transport method mainly includes the following steps:

[0058] S10: Provide the aforementioned vehicle transport system;

[0059] S20: Transport a carrier 10A to a predetermined position on the slide rail 20, such that the rack 12 on the carrier 10A meshes with the first gear 21;

[0060] S30: Drive the first gear 21 to rotate, so as to drive a carrier 10A to move along the transmission direction X on the slide rail 20;

[0061] S40: When a rack 12 on a carrier 10A moves onto it and meshes with the second gear 22, the second gear 22 is driven to rotate synchronously with the first gear 21.

[0062] S50: When a rack 12 on a carrier 10A disengages from the first gear 21, drive the first gear 21 to reset to the initial position and stop at that initial position;

[0063] S60: another carrier 10B is transported to a predetermined position on the slide rail 20 so that the rack 12 on the other carrier 10B engages with the first gear 21;

[0064] S70: the first gear 21 is driven to rotate so as to drive the other carrier 10B to move on the slide rail 20 in the transport direction X;

[0065] S80: when the rack 12 on which the one carrier 10A moves disengages from the second gear 22, the second gear 22 is driven to reset to and stop at the initial position;

[0066] S90: when the rack 12 on which the other carrier 10B moves engages with the second gear 22, the second gear 22 is driven to rotate synchronously with the first gear 21;

[0067] S100: the foregoing steps S20 to S90 are repeated.

[0068] Those skilled in the art can understand that the above-described embodiments are exemplary, and those skilled in the art can make improvements on them, and the structures described in various embodiments can be freely combined without structural or principle conflicts, and these changes shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0069] Although the present application is illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, the embodiments disclosed in the drawings are intended to exemplarily illustrate the preferred embodiments of the present application, and cannot be understood as a limitation of the present application.

[0070] Although some embodiments of the general concept of the present application have been shown and described, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that changes can be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the general concept of the present application, and the scope of the present application is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

[0071] It should be noted that the wording "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the wording "a" or "one" does not exclude a plurality. In addition, any element reference of the claims shall not be understood as limiting the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A vehicle transport system, characterized in that, include: A slide rail (20) extends along the transmission direction (X) of the vehicle (10) to be transmitted and is adapted to slide with the vehicle (10) to guide the vehicle (10) to move along the slide rail (20); A rack (12) extends along the transmission direction (X) and is connected to or integrally formed on the carrier (10); A pair of gears (21, 22), spaced apart by a predetermined distance in the transmission direction (X), are used to mesh with the rack (12); and The elastic element (31) makes frictional contact with the rack (12) to apply a frictional resistance on the rack (12) opposite to the transmission direction (X), such that the gap between the teeth of the rack (12) and the teeth of the gear (21) meshing with it is zero. When the gears (21, 22) mesh with the rack (12), the gears (21, 22) can drive the carrier (10) to move along the transmission direction (X) on the slide rail (20).

2. The vehicle transmission system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The length of the rack (12) is greater than the spacing between the pair of gears (21, 22) in the transmission direction (X), so that the pair of gears (21, 22) can mesh with the same rack (12) at the same time.

3. The vehicle transmission system according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: A pair of drive devices (210, 220) are used to drive the pair of gears (21, 22) to rotate respectively.

4. The vehicle transmission system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The drive unit (210, 220) includes: Servo motors; and The transmission mechanism is connected between the output shaft of the servo motor and the gears (21, 22). The rotational speed of the servo motor and / or the transmission ratio of the transmission mechanism can be adjusted, thereby adjusting the rotational speed of the gears (21, 22) by adjusting the rotational speed of the servo motor and / or the transmission ratio of the transmission mechanism.

5. The vehicle transmission system according to claim 3, characterized in that: When the pair of gears (21, 22) meshes with the rack (12) on the same vehicle (10) at the same time, the pair of drive devices (210, 220) drive the pair of gears (21, 22) to rotate synchronously, so as to drive the vehicle (10) to move.

6. The vehicle transmission system according to claim 3, characterized in that: When the pair of gears (21, 22) mesh with the racks (12) on the two vehicles (10) respectively, the pair of drive devices (210, 220) drive the pair of gears (21, 22) to rotate synchronously, so as to drive the two vehicles (10) to move synchronously respectively.

7. The vehicle transmission system according to claim 3, characterized in that: When one of the corresponding gears (21) in the pair of gears (21, 22) meshes with the rack (12), one of the corresponding drive devices (210) in the pair of drive devices (210, 220) drives the gear (21) to rotate.

8. The vehicle transmission system according to claim 3, characterized in that: When one of the corresponding gears (21) in the pair of gears (21, 22) disengages from the rack (12), one of the corresponding drive devices (210) in the pair of drive devices (210, 220) drives the gear (21) to reset to the initial position and stop at the initial position to wait for the next vehicle (10).

9. The vehicle transmission system according to claim 3, characterized in that, Also includes: Support frame (100) The slide rail (20) and the elastic element (31) are fixed on the support frame (100), the pair of gears (21, 22) are rotatably mounted on the support frame (100), and the pair of drive devices (210, 220) are mounted on the support frame (100).

10. A transmission system, characterized in that, include: The vehicle transport system according to any one of claims 1-9; and A carrier (10) for loading product components (1) and adapted to slide in engagement with a slide rail (20) of the carrier transport system so as to be able to move along the slide rail (20).

11. The transmission system according to claim 10, characterized in that: The carrier (10) is provided with or integrally formed with a product component fixing device (11) suitable for fixing the product component (1).

12. A vehicle transmission method, comprising the following steps: S10: Provide a vehicle transport system according to any one of claims 1-10; S20: A carrier (10A) is transported to a predetermined position on a slide rail (20) such that a rack (12) on the carrier (10A) meshes with a gear (21); S30: Drive the gear (21) to rotate so as to drive the carrier (10A) to move along the transmission direction (X) on the slide rail (20); S40: When the rack (12) on which the one vehicle (10A) moves engages with another gear (22), the other gear (22) is driven to rotate synchronously with the one gear (21); S50: When the rack (12) on which the vehicle (10A) moves disengages from the gear (21), the gear (21) is driven to return to its initial position and stop at that initial position; S60: Transport another carrier (10B) to a predetermined position on the slide rail (20) such that the rack (12) on the other carrier (10B) meshes with the gear (21); S70: Drive one gear (21) to rotate, thereby driving the other vehicle (10B) to move along the transmission direction (X) on the slide rail (20); S80: When the rack (12) on which the one carrier (10A) moves disengages from the other gear (22), drive the other gear (22) back to its initial position and stop at that initial position; S90: When the rack (12) on the other vehicle (10B) engages with the other gear (22), the other gear (22) is driven to rotate synchronously with the first gear (21); S100: Repeat steps S20 to S90.

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