Spacing-adjustable telescopic pallet fork mechanism

Abstract

The invention belongs to the field of mechanical structure design, and particularly relates to a space-adjustable telescopic pallet fork mechanism which mainly comprises a bearing platform, a first-stage telescopic linear guide rail, a space adjusting platform, a flexible pallet fork and a driving motor. The bearing platform serves as a bearing part of the whole telescopic pallet fork, the first-stage telescopic linear guide rail is arranged on the bearing platform, the distance adjusting platform is arranged on the first-stage telescopic linear guide rail, and the flexible pallet fork is arranged on the distance adjusting platform. The distance adjusting platform can slide along the guide rail and can adjust the distance between the flexible pallet forks. The flexible pallet fork is further driven by a chain to achieve two-stage telescopic adjustment of the flexible pallet fork. The driving motor is used for providing power in the adjusting process of the first-stage telescopic linear guide rail, the distance adjusting platform and the flexible pallet fork. According to the flexible pallet fork capable of adjusting the spacing, various forklifts are integrated on the same mechanism, and the forklift which is more complete in function and higher in automation degree is formed. Therefore, the automation process of heat treatment is greatly improved, the uniformity of the whole process is normalized, the heat treatment quality can be uniformly managed, the overall production progress of heat treatment parts is further accelerated, and more positive influences are brought to delivery production of airplanes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of mechanical structure design, and more specifically, relates to a fork mechanism which can adjust the distance between two forks and perform telescopic forking during transportation. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the rapid development of the Internet and the extensive application of e-commerce, cargo orders have shown the characteristics of a wide variety of products, small batches, and short delivery periods. This has led to an increasing density of shelf storage in the supplier's logistics distribution center, and the frequency of material entry and exit has also increased, and the frequency of forklift use has also increased. At the same time, in many factories, forks are needed to transport materials in and out of the furnaces, and the types of furnaces are gradually increasing. The size of the furnace door and the length of the material required to be fed are also very different. Therefore, in actual use, a type of furnace usually needs to be equipped with a forklift to cooperate with the entry and exit of the furnace.

[0003] Therefore, in the busy work process, the use of forklifts has become more and more frequent, and the types of forklifts have also increased with the variety of goods and materials, and more and more forklifts will be needed in the factory. As a typical material collection and feeding mechanism, telescopic forks are widely used in major thermal surface treatment plants, stereoscopic warehouses, etc. In the process of feeding and discharging the furnace, telescopic forks can greatly improve the efficiency of feeding and discharging, but because there are many types of furnaces, too many forklifts are needed, which occupies too much space and increases the manpower and material resources. Summary of the invention

[0004] Purpose of the invention: In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention proposes a design concept of a telescopic fork mechanism with adjustable spacing. On the basis of the telescopic fork, the ability of one level of telescopic extension is added, and the spacing between the two forks can be adjusted to adapt to material transportation in different situations.

[0005] Technical solution: The present invention provides a design of a telescopic fork mechanism with adjustable spacing, which mainly includes the following parts: a bearing platform, a primary telescopic linear guide rail, a spacing adjustment platform, a flexible fork, and a driving motor; the bearing platform serves as a bearing component of the entire telescopic fork, the primary telescopic linear guide rail is arranged on the bearing platform, the spacing adjustment platform is arranged on the primary telescopic linear guide rail, and the flexible fork is arranged on the spacing adjustment platform; the spacing adjustment platform can slide along the guide rail and adjust the spacing of the flexible forks at the same time;

[0006] The flexible fork also realizes secondary telescopic adjustment of the flexible fork through chain drive; the drive motor is used to provide power during the adjustment process of the primary telescopic linear guide rail, the spacing adjustment platform, and the flexible fork.

[0007] Furthermore, the load-bearing platform is the load-bearing platform of the entire telescopic fork, and other parts are mounted on this load-bearing platform; the load-bearing platform as a whole adopts a concave design to ensure that the overall height of the material handling vehicle is minimized to the greatest extent.

[0008] Furthermore, the first-stage telescopic linear guide rail consists of two guide rails mounted on the load-bearing platform, and the fork mechanism is connected by a slider. The first-stage telescopic movement of the entire flexible fork mechanism is completed on this guide rail.

[0009] Furthermore, a spacing adjustment platform is mounted on the slider of the first-level telescopic linear guide rail. This platform consists of a fixed plate and two transverse guide rails. The guide rails are transversely fixed on the plate and are connected to the fork mechanism through slide rails at the top. A bidirectional trapezoidal lead screw passes through the two forks respectively. The lead screw is driven by a driving motor to rotate so that the two forks move on the lead screw, thereby adjusting the distance between the two forks to meet the insertion and removal distance between different devices.

[0010] Furthermore, two flexible forks are placed longitudinally on the slider of the horizontal guide rail of the spacing adjustment platform. The two forks are respectively composed of an upper and lower fork plate and a secondary telescopic linear guide rail. The upper fork plate adopts a concave design, and is connected by a slider to the concave part and the protruding direct guide rail on the bottom fork. The upper fork is moved and extended on the bottom fork by the movement of the slider to complete the secondary telescopic extension. A bidirectional trapezoidal screw for adjusting the spacing is connected to the tail of the fork, which is used to adjust the spacing between the two forks.

[0011] Furthermore, the driving motor is composed of a motor for a primary telescopic linear guide, a motor for a secondary telescopic linear guide, and a lead screw driving motor, and the linear telescopic motor is driven by a chain. The position of the fork is fixed by the motor stopping and self-locking.

[0012] Technical effect: The present invention proposes a design of a telescopic fork mechanism with adjustable spacing, which is divided into five parts: a load-bearing platform, a primary linear telescopic guide rail, a spacing adjustment platform, a flexible fork, and a drive motor. Each part has its corresponding function, so that the flexible fork can move freely and be fixed in a three-dimensional space. In the process of loading and unloading materials in a heat meter factory, three forklifts of different specifications and models need to be configured due to the structural differences of the furnace. The present invention can adapt to the material transfer of different models through the adjustable spacing and secondary telescopic function of the fork structure, which can meet the fork-picking and transportation of materials in most cases, greatly reducing the cost and floor space. In addition, the present invention adopts a chain and screw drive, which is stable and reliable, not prone to failure, and reduces maintenance costs. The present invention replaces multiple forklifts with a fork mechanism, which not only helps aircraft manufacturers reduce their heavy reliance on customized forklifts, reduces the cost of forklift manufacturing or procurement and the energy of later maintenance management, but also improves the efficiency of material transfer, which has a positive impact on the overall production progress of heat treatment.

[0013] The realization of a simplified transfer process for aircraft parts of multiple varieties and small batches brings the possibility of automated production. At present, the transfer operation of materials in heat treatment plants is completed manually. Different workers have different forklift forking technical capabilities, and it is difficult to fix the time of each forklift transfer, resulting in unstable temperature drop when the furnace door is opened. These situations ultimately lead to low product qualification rate and uneven product quality. The adjustable spacing flexible fork mentioned in the present invention integrates various types of forklifts into the same mechanism to form a forklift with more complete functions and a higher degree of automation. This will greatly enhance the automation process of heat treatment, standardize the uniformity of the entire process, and can also make unified management of heat treatment quality, further accelerate the overall production progress of heat treatment parts, and bring more positive impacts on the delivery and production of aircraft. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 2 It is the side view of the flexible fork shaft;

[0016] Figure 3 Axial view of the spacing adjustment platform;

[0017] Figure 4 It is a side view of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 5 A top view of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 6 Isometric view of the invention.

[0020] Among them, there are a spline shaft 1, a bidirectional trapezoidal screw 2, a screw drive motor 3, a secondary telescopic motor 4, a primary telescopic motor 5, a sprocket 6, a pulley 7, a secondary telescopic linear guide 8, an upper fork plate 9, a lower fork plate 10, a spacing adjustment guide 11, a fixed plate 12, and a slide rail 13. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is described in detail below in conjunction with the drawings or specific implementation cases of the specification. It should be noted that some (but not all) of the disclosed examples are shown in the drawings. In fact, many different examples can be described and these examples should not be understood as being limited to the examples set forth herein. On the contrary, these examples are described so that the positive effects of the present invention are more reflected, and any parts not detailed in the text are regarded as known techniques or conventional technical means in the art.

[0022] In view of the characteristics of aircraft manufacturing enterprises' heat treatment plants with a variety of parts, small batches, and a variety of furnaces, the present invention proposes a design concept of a telescopic fork mechanism with adjustable spacing, which is used to realize the loading and unloading of materials between various vacuum furnaces. The present invention adapts to the material transfer of different models through the adjustable spacing and two-stage telescopic function of the fork structure, which can meet the fork-picking and transportation of materials in most cases, greatly reducing costs and floor space. In addition, the present invention adopts chain and screw drive, which is stable and reliable, not prone to failure, and reduces maintenance costs. More importantly, the telescopic fork mechanism with adjustable spacing of the invention can integrate multiple forklifts into one, providing a unified material loading and unloading system, which greatly facilitates the subsequent automation process, improves the efficiency and completion rate of parts heating treatment, improves the overall quality, and has a positive impact on the production and delivery of aircraft. The specific implementation method is as follows: See attached Figures 1 to 6, a telescopic fork mechanism with adjustable spacing is specifically designed, including a spline shaft 1, a bidirectional trapezoidal screw 2, a screw drive motor 3, a secondary telescopic motor 4, a primary telescopic motor 5, a sprocket 6, and a pulley 7; when facing different materials entering and exiting the vacuum furnace, the material basket is placed on the fork, the mechanism is first placed directly opposite the furnace door, and then the position is adjusted, as shown in the figure, the chain on the sprocket 6 is driven by the primary telescopic motor 5 to drive the first-level fork mechanism to extend and retract, and preliminary fork length adjustment is performed. Observe the width of the furnace door, the screw drive motor 3 drives the pulley 7 to rotate clockwise to make the bidirectional trapezoidal screw 2 rotate clockwise, thereby driving the slider mechanism on the screw to move closer to adjust the spacing. After adjusting the position, the fork needs to be extended into the furnace. At this time, the primary telescopic motor 5 and the secondary telescopic motor 4 are started as needed to drive the sprocket 6, and the fork is driven to extend and retract to the corresponding position through the chain to complete the position adjustment. After putting down the material, the first-stage telescopic motor 5 and the second-stage telescopic motor 4 reverse, drive the chain through the sprocket 6, retract the fork mechanism to its original position, and then reverse the motor 3 through the screw rod, drive the pulley 7 to make the bidirectional trapezoidal screw rotate counterclockwise, increase the spacing and return to its original position, and thus complete the entry of the material into the furnace door.

[0023] See attached Figure 2 The flexible fork specifically designed in the present invention has two flexible forks placed longitudinally on the slider of the horizontal guide rail of the spacing adjustment platform. The two forks are respectively composed of an upper fork plate 9, a lower fork plate 10 and a secondary telescopic linear guide rail 8. The upper fork plate 9 adopts a concave design, and is connected by a slider to the concave part and the protruding direct guide rail on the bottom fork. The sprocket is driven by the secondary telescopic linear guide motor. The slider moves to make the upper fork move and extend on the bottom fork to complete the secondary telescopic. A bidirectional trapezoidal screw for adjusting the spacing is connected to the tail of the fork to adjust the spacing between the two forks.

[0024] See attached Figure 3 The spacing adjustment platform specifically designed by the present invention is equipped with a spacing adjustment platform on the slider of the primary telescopic linear guide rail. The platform consists of a fixed plate 12 and two lateral spacing adjustment guide rails 11. The guide rails are laterally fixed on the plate, and are connected to the fork mechanism through a slide rail 13 at the top. A bidirectional trapezoidal lead screw passes through the two forks respectively, and the lead screw is driven by a driving motor to rotate so that the two forks move on the lead screw, thereby adjusting the spacing between the two forks to meet the insertion and removal spacing between different devices.

[0025] The feeding process is: when facing the materials entering and exiting different vacuum furnaces, place the material basket on the fork, first face the mechanism to the furnace door, and then adjust the position, drive the chain on the sprocket by the first-level telescopic motor, thereby driving the first-level fork mechanism to extend and retract, and make preliminary fork length adjustment; observe the width of the furnace door, the screw drive motor drives the pulley to rotate the bidirectional trapezoidal screw clockwise, thereby driving the slider mechanism on the screw to move closer to adjust the spacing; after adjusting the position, the fork needs to be extended into the furnace, at this time, the first-level telescopic motor and the second-level telescopic motor are started according to the needs to drive the sprocket, and the fork is extended and retracted to the corresponding position through the chain to complete the position adjustment; after putting down the material, the first-level telescopic motor and the second-level telescopic motor are reversed, and the chain is driven by the sprocket to retract the fork mechanism to its original position, and then the screw drive motor is reversed to drive the pulley to rotate the bidirectional trapezoidal screw counterclockwise, and the spacing is increased to return to its original position, so that the material enters the furnace door.

[0026] When the material is out of the furnace door, first position the fork mechanism roughly aligned with the furnace door, adjust the height of the fork by forklift, use the first telescopic motor 5 to drive the chain in forward rotation, thereby driving the first-level fork mechanism to extend and retract, and make preliminary fork length adjustment. Observe the width of the furnace door, the screw drive motor 3 drives the pulley in forward rotation to make the bidirectional trapezoidal screw 2 rotate clockwise, thereby driving the slider mechanism on the screw to move closer to adjust the spacing, and finally adjust the second telescopic motor 4, extend the fork under the material, lift the material upward by forklift, then the first telescopic motor 5 and the second telescopic motor 4 reverse, drive the chain through the sprocket 6, and retract the fork mechanism to its original position, so that the material is out of the furnace door.

[0027] The above specific implementation methods or implementation cases are only used to explain the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present application. Any parts not described in detail are deemed to be conventional technical means or common knowledge in the field. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that based on the design concept of the present application, the technical solutions recorded in the aforementioned implementation methods can also be adaptively modified, or some or all of the features therein can be replaced by equivalents. These modifications or replacements do not cause the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A telescopic fork mechanism with adjustable spacing, characterized in that: The fork mechanism mainly includes the following parts: a bearing platform, a primary telescopic linear guide rail, a spacing adjustment platform, a flexible fork, and a driving motor; the bearing platform is used as a bearing component of the entire telescopic fork, the primary telescopic linear guide rail is arranged on the bearing platform, the spacing adjustment platform is arranged on the primary telescopic linear guide rail, and the flexible fork is arranged on the spacing adjustment platform; the spacing adjustment platform can slide along the guide rail and adjust the spacing of the flexible forks at the same time; The flexible fork also realizes secondary telescopic adjustment of the flexible fork through chain drive; the drive motor is used to provide power during the adjustment process of the primary telescopic linear guide rail, the spacing adjustment platform, and the flexible fork.

2. A telescopic fork mechanism with adjustable spacing as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The load-bearing platform is the load-bearing platform for the entire telescopic fork, and other parts are mounted on this load-bearing platform; the load-bearing platform as a whole adopts a concave design.

3. The telescopic fork mechanism with adjustable spacing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first-level telescopic linear guide rail consists of two guide rails mounted on the load-bearing platform and connected to the fork mechanism through a slider. The first-level telescopic operation of the entire flexible fork mechanism is completed on this guide rail.

4. The telescopic fork mechanism with adjustable spacing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The spacing adjustment platform is mounted on the slider of the primary telescopic linear guide. This platform consists of a fixed plate and two transverse guides. The guides are transversely fixed on the plate, and are connected to the fork mechanism through slide rails. A bidirectional trapezoidal lead screw passes through the two forks respectively. The lead screw is driven by a driving motor to rotate so that the two forks move on the lead screw, thereby adjusting the spacing between the two forks to meet the insertion and removal spacing between different devices.

5. The telescopic fork mechanism with adjustable spacing according to claim 1, characterized in that: Flexible forks, two flexible forks are placed longitudinally on the slider of the horizontal guide rail of the spacing adjustment platform. The two forks are composed of a secondary telescopic linear guide rail and an upper and lower fork plate. The upper fork plate adopts a concave design, which is connected by a slider to the concave part and the protruding direct guide rail on the bottom fork. The upper fork moves and extends on the bottom fork through the movement of the slider to complete the secondary telescopic. A bidirectional trapezoidal screw for adjusting the spacing is connected to the tail of the fork to adjust the spacing between the two forks.

6. The telescopic fork mechanism with adjustable spacing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving motor consists of a motor for a primary telescopic linear guide, a motor for a secondary telescopic linear guide, and a lead screw driving motor. The motor for the linear telescopic part is driven by a chain; the position of the fork is fixed by the motor stopping and self-locking.

7. The telescopic fork mechanism with adjustable spacing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The feeding process is: when facing the materials entering and exiting different vacuum furnaces, place the material basket on the fork, first face the mechanism to the furnace door, and then adjust the position, and drive the chain on the sprocket through the first-stage telescopic motor to drive the first-stage fork mechanism to extend and retract, and perform preliminary fork length adjustment; Observe the width of the furnace door, and the screw drive motor rotates forward to drive the pulley to make the two-way trapezoidal screw rotate clockwise, thereby driving the slider mechanism on the screw to move closer to adjust the spacing; after adjusting the position, the fork needs to be extended into the furnace. At this time, the first-level telescopic motor and the second-level telescopic motor are started as needed to drive the sprocket, and the fork is driven to extend and retract to the corresponding position through the chain to complete the position adjustment; after putting down the material, the first-level telescopic motor and the second-level telescopic motor are reversed, and the chain is driven by the sprocket to retract the fork mechanism to its original position, and then the screw drive motor is reversed to drive the pulley to make the two-way trapezoidal screw rotate counterclockwise, and the spacing is increased back to its original position, so that the material enters the furnace door.

8. The telescopic fork mechanism with adjustable spacing according to claim 7, characterized in that: When the material is out of the furnace door, first position the fork mechanism roughly aligned with the furnace door, adjust the height of the fork by forklift, use the first-stage telescopic motor to drive the chain forward, thereby driving the first-stage fork mechanism to extend and retract, and make preliminary fork length adjustment; Observe the width of the furnace door, and the screw drive motor rotates forward to drive the pulley to make the bidirectional trapezoidal screw rotate clockwise, thereby driving the slider mechanism on the screw to move closer to adjust the spacing, and finally adjust the secondary telescopic motor, extend the fork under the material, and lift the material upward with a forklift. Then the primary telescopic motor and the secondary telescopic motor reverse, and drive the chain through the sprocket to retract the fork mechanism to its original position, thus completing the material's exit from the furnace door.

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