Transfer device of a transport system

Abstract

Transfer device for self-propelled workpiece carriages (6) of a transport system (2), in which the ends (16, 21, 26, 31) of one or more track sections (15, 20, 25, 30) can be connected continuously or discontinuously, wherein one track section (15) is a lower track section (15) and another track section (20) is an upper track section (20), wherein either the ends (16, 21, 26, 31) of the track sections (15, 20, 25, 30) are connected via rigid, at least partially curved transfer sections (35) – in the form of a rail bent into a semicircle, to which a straight section is attached at each end – and the curved transfer section (35) is connected at at least one end to one of the track sections (15, 20, 25) is arranged to pivot, wherein the pivot axis (46) is arranged at least parallel to one of the track sections (15, 20, 25), or wherein in front of the ends (16, 21, 26, 31) of the track sections (15, 20, 25,30) a transfer section (36, 37) which is movable along a curved path (79, 89) and carries one or more workpiece carriages (6), is temporarily arranged, wherein this transfer section (36, 37) is pivotably mounted on a lifting frame (71) via a cantilever arm (77) by means of a parallelogram drive (72, 73) and is movable back and forth between the ends (16, 21, 26, 31) via the driven parallelogram drive (72, 73), or wherein this transfer section (36, 37) is arranged on a turntable (82, 92) and is rotatably or pivotably mounted on it.

Description

The invention relates to a transfer device for self-propelled workpiece carriages of a transport system, in which the ends of one or more travel path sections can be connected continuously or discontinuously. German patent application DE 10 2017 012 077 A1 discloses a transport system with self-propelled workpiece carriages for transporting plate- and / or board-like workpieces to the processing machines in a machining station. In addition to the workpiece carriages, the transport system comprises two parallel transport rails, each terminating at one end in front of horizontally positioned turntables. The workpiece carriages are transferred from one transport rail to the other by means of the turntables. US Patent 2019 004 77 99 A1 also describes a horizontally arranged transport system with self-propelled workpiece carriages. In one variant, the transport rail can guide the individual carriages either from above, below, or laterally. A section of the transport rail is mounted to rotate around its longitudinal axis, allowing, for example, a single carriage mounted at the top to pivot downwards or to the side, for instance, to return to its original position. In a second variant, the transport rail is designed as a closed rectangle whose corners are provided with four small radii. German patent application DE 10 2014 106 400 A1 discloses various versions of a rail system lying in a horizontal plane. This document emphasizes that the rail system disclosed therein has no moving parts whatsoever. DE 60 2006 000 932 T2 discloses, in one embodiment, an automatic production line with transfer units that perform a translation in a horizontal plane. In two further embodiments, two coupled transfer units are moved in a horizontal plane. EP 3 260 397 A1 discloses a pallet transport system with a pallet lifting mechanism driven in a vertical direction by means of a threaded spindle nut drive. The present invention is based on the problem of developing at least one transfer device for a transport and / or processing system with which the workpiece carriages can be transferred from one section of the travel path to another. This problem is solved by the features of the main claim. In this claim, one track section is a lower track section and another track section is an upper track section.The ends of the track sections are either connected via rigid, at least partially curved transfer sections – in the form of a rail bent into a semicircle, to which a straight section is attached at each end – and the curved transfer section is pivotably arranged at at least one end on one of the track sections, the pivot axis being arranged at least parallel to one of the track sections, or a transfer section – movable along a curved track – carrying one or more workpiece carriages can be temporarily arranged in front of the ends of the track sections, wherein this transfer section is pivotably mounted on a lifting frame via a cantilever arm by means of a parallelogram drive and can be moved back and forth between the ends via the driven parallelogram drive, or wherein this transfer section is arranged on a turntable and is rotatably or pivotably mounted on it. Travel and transfer sections are used, among other things, in the transport systems of unit load sorting systems or machining stations. One such machining station is, for example, a universal machine for machining furniture components, both with and without machining. Here, the typically large furniture components are fed to the core of the machine via a dedicated transport system and provided with holes, recesses, countersinks, grooves, notches, chamfers, or similar features. Simultaneously, the machine can, for example, insert dowels and handle and mount fittings. The workpieces, i.e., furniture components or their semi-finished products, can also be inspected or measured before and / or after machining, for example, with regard to their geometry. The machining station is designed to process a wide variety of workpieces sequentially without retooling. For this purpose, the plate- and / or board-like workpieces are transported along an elongated, e.g., straight, workpiece support gate to a robot or group of robots. Each robot carries a multifunctional unit. Each multifunctional unit is a carrier for a multitude of driven tools, some of which extend from the machining side of the unit. To machine the workpieces, the robot(s) move their multifunctional units toward the respective workpiece, and then swivel them away again after machining. If several robots are operating simultaneously, the tools of multiple multifunctional units machine the workpiece, with the multifunctional units moving independently of one another.The processing station is therefore a robot cell. The invention presents several transfer devices for connecting two or more track sections to form a closed track. These transfer devices include transfer sections that are attached to the ends of the track sections to transport workpiece carriages – individually or in groups – from one track section to another. Some of the transfer sections are moved or repositioned between the track sections along predetermined paths using lever mechanisms, screw drives, or similar devices. The transfer sections can also be specifically moved to form switches. Of course, the transfer devices can also be used in a transport system on which special tool trolleys are moved actively or passively instead of workpiece trolleys. Further details of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims and the following description of at least one schematically illustrated embodiment. Fig. 1: End view of a workpiece transport system; Fig. 2: Perspective view of a workpiece carriage from a rear oblique angle; Fig. 3: Partial side view of a track with a semi-oval transfer unit; Fig. 4: End view of the semi-oval transfer unit from Fig. 3, looking outwards; Fig. 5: Top view of Fig. 3; Fig. 6: Partial side view of a track with a semi-oval switch; Fig. 7: End view of the semi-oval switch from Fig. 6, looking outwards; Fig. 8: Top view of Fig. 6; Fig. 9: Partial side view of a track with a linear transfer unit; Fig. 10: End view of a linear transfer unit from Fig. 9, looking outwards; Fig. 11: Top view of Fig. 9; Fig. 12: Top view of Fig. 9, but with a linear stroke converter arranged at the front on straight travel sections; Fig.Fig. 13: Partial side view of a track with three straight track sections, the middle one being controlled; Fig. 14: Front view of the switch unit from Fig. 13 looking outwards; Fig. 15: as Fig. 13, except the upper track section is controlled; Fig. 16: Front view of the switch unit from Fig. 15 looking outwards; Fig. 17: Top view of Figs. 13 and 15; Fig. 18: Top view of Figs. 13 and 15, but with switch units arranged at the ends of straight track sections; Fig. 19: Partial side view of a track with a wagon group switch with a long transfer section; Fig. 20: Front view of the wagon group switch from Fig. 19 looking outwards; Fig. 21: Top view of Fig. 19; Fig. 22: Partial side view of a double-track track with a double-track transfer unit; Fig. 23: Front view of the double-track transfer unit from Fig. 22 looking outwards; Fig. 24: Top view of Fig.22; Fig. 25: Top view of Fig. 22, but with a double-track lifting transfer unit arranged at the end of straight track sections; Fig. 26: Partial side view of a track with a parallelogram transfer unit; Fig. 27: End view of the parallelogram transfer unit from Fig. 26 looking outwards; Fig. 28: Top view of Fig. 26; Fig. 29: Partial side view of a track with a front turntable transfer unit; Fig. 30: End view of the front turntable transfer unit from Fig. 29 looking outwards; Fig. 31: End view of the front turntable transfer unit from Fig. 29 looking inwards; Fig. 32: Top view of Fig. 29; Fig. 33: Partial side view of a track with a lifting turntable transfer unit; Fig. 34: Front view of the rotary table transfer unit from Fig. 33 during workpiece carriage transfer, looking outwards; Fig. 35: as Fig. 34, but after the workpiece carriage has been transferred and before the transfer; Fig. 36: Top view of Fig. 33. The embodiments shown in Figs. 9-25 are not part of the invention. Fig. 1 shows part of the front view of a machining station for processing plate- and / or board-like workpieces (9). The machining station has, for example, a straight, elongated machine bed (1) on which a workpiece support frame (210) is mounted. A workpiece transport system (2) is arranged along the workpiece support frame (210). The latter consists, among other things, of two, for example, parallel travel sections or transport rails (221), each terminating at the end faces of the workpiece support frame (210). On the travel sections located in front of the workpiece support frame (210), self-propelled workpiece carriages (6), possibly grouped together, move and transport the workpieces (9) forward along the workpiece support frame (210). On a travel section located behind, above, or below the workpiece support frame (210), the workpiece carriages (6) travel backward.The entire travel path is, for example, a rail system encircling the workpiece support gate (210). The rail system is mounted on a machine bed (1). A transport rail is attached to the front and rear of the machine bed as a straight travel section. The rear transport rail is not shown here. Each transport rail (221) consists of a rigid support bracket (223), a support rail (227), and a rack (231). The support rail (227) sits on the support bracket (223), while the rack (231) is attached to the lower part of the support bracket (223). A multi-conductor power and signal rail (235) is mounted on the machine bed (1) below the rack (231). The upper part of the rail is covered by a busbar cover (237). Along the machine bed (1), the support bracket (223), the transport rail (221), the rack (231), and the multi-conductor power and signal rail (235) can be assembled from many individual components on each side. In this embodiment, both transport rails are the same length and oriented parallel to each other. Their upper edges also lie in a common horizontal plane. Two transport rails terminate at the same height at each end of the machine bed. The workpiece support gate (210) is used, for example, to position plate- or board-shaped workpieces made of materials such as wood, particleboard, plasterboard, fiber cement, or the like. These materials also include composite materials and aluminum alloys. Fig. 2 shows the rear view of a workpiece carriage (6). The central component of the workpiece carriage (6) is the angled base body (261). A guide carriage (262) is arranged below the overhang of the base body (261). The guide carriage (262) is, for example, a recirculating ball bearing that engages the support rails (227) in the vertical and lateral directions via rolling bearings. Below the guide carriage (262) is a countershaft (271) that carries the helical gear (273). The countershaft (271), which is mounted in a bearing block (267) via rolling bearings, has a drive gear (272) – shown in dashed lines – which is enclosed on the outside by a gear housing (266) integrally formed on the base body (261). Below the gearbox housing (266) is a downwardly projecting servomotor (264) with a gearbox that may be integrated.On the shaft of the servomotor (264) sits a straight-toothed pinion gear - not shown here - which meshes with the drive gear (272) of the countershaft (271). On the underside of the base body (261), next to the servo motor (264), a downward-projecting pickup arm (285), a sheet metal component, is arranged. The current and signal pickups (286) are spring-mounted to this arm. In this case, seven pickups (286) are used. The uppermost pickup is connected to ground, for example. The next two current pickups (286) carry +48 V and -48 V at, for example, 10 A. The fourth and fifth pickups are each current pickups (286) for +24 V and -24 V at 5 A. The two lower pickups (286) are signal pickups for, for example, the CAN bus used here. As shown in Fig. 2, a collet chuck (290), which can be actuated electromechanically, for example, is mounted on the base body (261) of the workpiece carriage (6). A slide with two cam recesses is arranged in the collet chuck housing (291). The slide – not shown here – is moved by an electrically driven cam drive – with the servo motor (297) – to open and close the collet chuck (290). Each cam recess has a different pitch. Above the slide, two carriages are positioned transversely to the guide carriage (262) in the gripper housing (291), one behind the other. Only the rear carriage (294) is visible here. Each carriage is connected to one of the slide's cam recesses via a pin. Each carriage also carries a gripping element (295, 296) on its upper surface. The gripping element (296), located at the front in Fig. 2, engages the rear of the plate-shaped workpiece (9) with only a short stroke. For this purpose, the cam recess located below the carriage (294) has only a shallow pitch. The gripping element (295), located at the rear, is responsible not only for gripping a workpiece (9) placed on the workpiece carriage (6) but also for pulling it against the workpiece support gate (210) and the gripping element (296). This requires a long stroke. Therefore, the cam recess in the carriage has a steep pitch. The collet (290) has a bearing block (310) below each of the lateral projections of the gripping elements (295, 296). Each bearing block (310) has, for example, two adjacent rollers. These rollers bear the workpiece load. Since the individual workpiece carriages (6) within the workpiece transport system (2) are to travel in a near circle around the workpiece support gate (210), the workpiece carriages (6) must be transferred both from the front transport rail (221) to the rear transport rail and vice versa. For this purpose, for example, two turntables are used, cf. the cited prior art, which are arranged on the end faces of the workpiece support gate (210) at the level of the transport rails. During each transfer operation, the turntable – acting as a horizontal turntable transfer unit – rotates 180 degrees about its pivot axis, which is vertical in this case. In contrast, Figs. 3, 4 to 5 show a semi-oval transfer unit (40) that rigidly connects two straight travel sections (15, 20) in the area of ​​the rear end of the workpiece support gate (210). In Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 to 36, the track known from Figure 1 is shown – in the form of a profiled support rail (227) - shown in cross-section as a rectangle. The workpiece carriage (6) from Figs. 1 and 2 is shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 9, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 2 ...8, 29, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 28, 29, 28, 29, 21,29 , Fig. 30 , Fig. 31 , Fig. 32 , Fig. 33 , Fig. 34 , Fig. 35 to Fig. 36 the shape of an elongated cuboid which has a circumferential recess (7) above its vertical center for support on the roadway (10). The lower, ground-level travel path section (15), see Fig. 6, is the forward travel path, along which the workpiece carriages (6) guide the workpieces (9) along the front of the workpiece support gate (210). Vertically above it is the travel path section (20), which, as the reverse travel path, guides the unloaded transport carriages (6) to, for example, the area of ​​the front end of the workpiece support gate (210). The profile of the upper travel path section (20) is rotated by 180 degrees relative to the lower travel path section (15), so that the reversing transport carriages (6) – shown as dashed lines – are upside down. The end faces of the two ends (16, 21) of the travel path sections (15, 20) lie, for example, in the same plane. The semi-oval transfer section (40) can, for example, be a transfer section (35) in the form of a rail bent into a semicircle. In the present case, however, it is a rail with a straight section attached to each end of its semicircle, which, for example, has a length corresponding to one to two times the width of the transport carriage (6). Due to the straight section in front of the return track section (20), the rail joint – i.e., the transition between the transfer section (35) and the track section (20) – is not subjected to centrifugal acceleration of the transport carriage (6). The front view, according to Fig. 4, shows the transfer section (35) located behind the workpiece support gate (210). Fig. 5 shows the top view, with the travel sections (15, 20) located in front of the workpiece support gate (210). The transfer section (35) lies outside the front face of the workpiece support gate (210). This variant enables a closed travel path (10) in a small installation space, on which the workpiece carriages (6) can move continuously. A transfer drive is not required here. Figures 6 and 7 show a semi-oval switch (45) as the reversing device. The entire track (10) consists – as in the variant according to Figures 3, 4 to 5 – of two, for example, straight track sections (15, 20), two semi-oval reversing sections (35), and one further, for example, straight, track section (25). The four sections (15, 20, 35) form an oval, for example, lying in a vertical plane. In the new variant, see Figs. 6 and 7, the added track section (25) is located behind the front, lower track section (15). The new track section (25) and the upper track section (20) are equidistant from track section (15). Track sections (15) and (25) lie, for example, in a plane parallel to the base (3). Furthermore, each of the two semi-oval transfer sections (35) is pivotally mounted about a pivot axis (46) at one of the two ends of the front, lower track section (15). This pivot axis (46) is, for example, parallel to or congruent with the center line of the straight track section (15). The workpiece carriages (6) traveling forward on track section (15) can now be redirected by pivoting the rear transfer section (35) either onto the upper track section (20) or onto the rear track section (25). If both transfer sections (35) are pivoted upwards, the resulting track is as shown in Figures 3, 4 to 5. If the two transfer sections (35) are pivoted downwards so that their center lines are parallel to the base (3), the workpiece carriages (6) travel – without being upside down – on a horizontal oval. Here, for example, one of the track sections (20) or (25) can be used as a siding, storage track, or derailment track. Maintenance work on the workpiece carriages (6) can be carried out there if necessary. Here, a closed travel path (10) with at least one branch is shown in a small installation space, on which the workpiece carriages can move continuously – at least when both transfer sections (35) lie in the same plane. Each transfer drive pivots one transfer section (35) for this purpose. Figures 9, 10, 11 to 12 show a transfer device in the form of a linear linear actuator (50). According to Figures 9, 10 to 11, a lifting frame (51) is arranged in the region of the ends (16, 21) of the travel sections (15, 20), in which a threaded spindle (52) moves a lifting carriage (53) with an integrated spindle nut up and down or back and forth between two positions. The lifting carriage (53) carries a short, straight transfer section (36) as part of the travel path (10). During the transfer process, the transfer section (36) and the lifting carriage (53) move along a straight path (54). The transfer section (36) is arranged in the extension of the travel section (15) in front of the end (16) of the travel section (15), as shown in Fig. 9. As shown in Fig. 11, the lifting frame (51), in which the drive for the threaded spindle (52) or the screw drive is housed, is arranged behind the workpiece support gate (210) and next to the lower travel section (15) in the forward direction (8) of the workpiece carrier (6). As shown in Fig. 12, the lifting frame (51) is alternatively positioned directly in front of the ends (16, 27) of the travel sections (15, 20). This allows for shorter travel sections (15, 20). Figures 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 to 18 show a stroke switch converter (55). It differs from the linear stroke converter (50) by having at least one intermediate stop position between two end positions of the stroke of the threaded spindle (52). The stroke switch converter (55) acts like a switch. A workpiece carriage arriving on the travel section (15) is diverted either to the travel section (20) or the travel section (30). In the exemplary embodiment shown in Figures 13, 14, 15 to 16, a further travel section (30) is located, for example, midway between travel sections (15) and (20). According to Figures 13 and 14, the workpiece carriage (6) – parked on the transfer section (36) – is located in front of the end of travel section (31). From there, the workpiece carriage (6) can easily move onto travel section (30). According to Figures 15 and 16, the lifting carriage (53) has been moved into the upper holding position by means of the threaded spindle (52), so that the workpiece carriage (6) is located directly in front of travel section (20). Fig. 17 shows the top view of the variant according to Fig. 13. According to Fig. 18, the lifting frame (51) is alternatively positioned in front of the ends (16, 21, 31) of the travel sections (15, 20, 30). Figures 19, 20 to 21 show a trolley group transfer unit (60) in which, unlike the linear stroke transfer unit (50) shown in Figures 9, 10, 11 to 12, the straight, short transfer section (36) is replaced by a straight, long transfer section (37). Two or more workpiece trolleys (6) can be arranged one behind the other on the transfer section (37) so that they can be moved together by means of the lifting carriage (53), e.g., from the travel section (15) to the travel section (20). In the exemplary embodiment, the transfer section (37) provides space for three workpiece trolleys (6). Figure 19 shows a partial side view of the trolley group transfer unit (60), Figure 20 its front view, and Figure 21 its top view. A double-track lifting transfer unit (65) can be seen in Figures 22, 23, 24 to 25. In this variant, the workpiece carriage (66), which is shown here only in outline, rests on a double-track section (17, 22) to ensure a more stable support base for carrying larger loads. On such sections (17, 22), the workpiece carriages (66) are also intended to carry loads with an off-center center of gravity. Each track section (17, 22) has two adjacent profile rails, the distance between which is at least as large as the width of the profile rails themselves. Both profile rails lie in a plane that is, for example, parallel to the support surface (3). The workpiece carriage (66) has a gripping recess (67) with which it grips the supporting travel path section (17, 22) e.g. in a c-shape, cf. Fig. 23. A carriage is arranged in the gripping recess (67) with which the workpiece carriage (66) is stably supported on the two profiles of the respective travel path section (17, 22) in all directions transverse to the direction of travel of the workpiece carriage (66). In the lifting frame (51), the threaded spindle (52) carries a lifting carriage (68) on which two parallel, straight, short transfer sections (36) are arranged. The transfer sections (36) are spaced the same distance apart as the two profiles of the respective travel sections (17, 22). Fig. 24 shows a top view of the double-track lifting transfer unit (65). According to Fig. 25, the lifting frame (51) is alternatively positioned in front of the ends (18) and (23) of the track sections (17) and (22). Figures 26, 27 to 28 depict a parallelogram transfer unit (70). The latter moves a cantilever arm (77), on which, for example, the transfer section (36) is arranged, along an elliptical path (79) from the area of ​​the travel section (15) to the area of ​​the travel section (20) or vice versa. For this purpose, as shown in Figure 28, a lifting frame (71) is attached to the base (3) behind the workpiece support gate (210). At the upper end of the lifting frame (71), two pivot points are located several centimeters or decimeters apart, each of which pivotably supports, for example, a trapezoidal rocker arm (72, 73). The rocker arms (72, 73) jointly support the cantilever arm (77) at their narrower end in this embodiment. Both rocker arms are aligned parallel to each other as parts of a lever or parallelogram mechanism. The pivot axes of all joint points are oriented parallel to the contact surface (3), for example. To move the cantilever arm (77) with the transfer section (36) back and forth between the ends (16) and (21) of the travel sections (15) and (20), a drive (74) with an eccentric or a crank is positioned below the rocker arm (72). A connecting rod (75) is pivotally attached to the eccentric or the crank and is directly connected to the underside of the rocker arm (72). To move the transfer section (36) – with the workpiece carriage (6) parked on it – up or down between the ends (16) and (21), the drive (74) with its eccentric or crank mechanism requires, for example, only one direction of rotation. A front rotary transfer unit (80) is shown in Figures 31 to 32. This transfer unit (80) has a front rotary unit (82) which is arranged in front of the end faces (16, 21) of the travel sections (15, 20). The front rotary unit (82) has a center line which is positioned, for example, midway between the center lines of the travel sections (15, 20). All three center lines thus lie in one plane. The distance between the front rotary unit (82) and the end faces (16, 21) is a few millimeters greater than the length of the transfer section (36) that carries a workpiece carriage (6). The end-face rotary disk (82) is mounted in a lifting frame (81) via a disc shaft (83), which also houses the drive for the disc shaft (83). The front surface of the lifting frame (81), which, according to Figs. 29 and 32, is the right side of the lifting frame (81), lies, for example, in the same plane as the end faces of the ends (16, 21). The conversion sections (36), positioned with minimal play in front of the ends (16, 21), are rotatably mounted in the end-face turntable (82) via a bearing journal (84). The latter projects beyond the rear of the end-face turntable (82) to rigidly mount a control lever (85) to the bearing journal (84). The control lever (85) of each bearing journal (84) terminates in a control bolt (86), which in turn engages in a stationary guide cam (87). The bearing journal (84) and the control bolt (86) have parallel center lines. The guide cam (87) is a control ring with an annular groove into which the free end of the control bolt (86) engages with minimal play. In the exemplary embodiment, the guide cam (87) is fixedly arranged on the lifting frame (81) such that the control levers (85) are aligned parallel to the base surface (3) according to Fig. 31 and Fig. 32. To reposition the workpiece carriages (6), the end turntable (82) is rotated, for example, by 180 degrees around its center line. To prevent the combination of repositioning section (36) and workpiece carriage (6) from oscillating, the repositioning section (36), which moves on a circular track (89), is supported in the guide track (87) via the bearing journal (84), the control lever (85) and its control bolt (86) in such a way that the workpiece carriage (6) maintains its orientation determined by the travel section (15). If the guide cam (87), as shown in Fig. 31, is arranged laterally offset by the control lever length parallel to the support surface (3) - or perpendicular to the plane defined by the center lines of the travel sections (15) and (20), the pendulum angle of the workpiece carriage (6) is minimal or, with minimal play, equal to zero. In a simplified sub-variant – not shown – the end turntable (82) can be replaced by a pivoting lever by omitting the cam guide (84-87). A transfer section (36) rigidly attached to the free end of the lever pivots the workpiece carriage (6), for example, from bottom to top, where it is then transferred in an upside-down position to a correspondingly adapted travel section (20) for an upside-down return journey. Figures 33, 34, 35 to 36 show a rotary transfer unit (90) with which the workpiece carriages (6) are also conveyed along a circular path (89) from one track section (15; 20) to another track section (20; 15). However, the rotary transfer unit (92) is located in a plane that is parallel to the plane defined by the center lines of the track sections (15) and (20). To enable the lifting turntable (92) to rotate in only one direction instead of oscillating, the lifting turntable (92) is mounted so as to be longitudinally displaceable on the, for example, hollow disc shaft (93). As shown in Fig. 34, the lifting turntable (92) has been moved so close to the lifting frame (91) that the transfer section (36) is aligned with the travel section (15). With the workpiece carriage (6) moving onto the transfer section (36), the lifting turntable (92) and the guide cam (87) are moved away from the travel sections (15) and (20) on the disc shaft (93) to such an extent that, when the lifting turntable (92) rotates, the workpiece carriage (6) does not contact the travel sections (15, 20), see Fig. 35. Now the lifting turntable (92) can lift the workpiece carriage (6) upwards in front of the travel section (20).After reaching the upper position, the lifting turntable (92) and the guide carriage (87) are moved again towards the lifting frame (91) until the transfer section (36) with the workpiece carriage (6) parked on it has arrived directly in front of the end (21) of the travel section (20). The workpiece carriage (6) can now move onto the travel section (20). To avoid an overhead movement here as well, the guide track (87), already known from the previous variant, is arranged behind the lifting turntable (92). The pivotable bearing of the transfer section (36) and the corresponding linkage using the control lever (85) are completely identical to the variant shown in Figs. 29, 30, 31 to 32. The guide cam (87) is, for example, attached to an axle mounted in the hollow disc shaft (93) so that it can be moved together with the lifting disc (92) by means of the drive that generates the stroke of the lifting disc (92). The connection of the guide cam and the shaft are not shown here. In the exemplary embodiments, the driving sections are arranged in pairs in a plane, with these planes being arranged either parallel to the contact surface (3) or perpendicular to it. Naturally, these planes can assume any angle relative to the contact surface (3). It is also possible to combine one or more transfer devices (40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 70, 80, 90) completely or partially within the transport system (2). Reference symbol list: 1 Machine bed 2 Workpiece transport system, monorail transport system 3 Base surface, floor 6 Workpiece carriage, transport carriage including simplified representation 7 Recess 8 Forward direction of travel from (6) 9 Workpiece, plate-like and / or board-like 10 Travel path, simplified representation 15 Travel path section, front, bottom; Travel path 16 Travel path section end, front, bottom 17 Travel path section, double track, front, bottom; Travel path 18 Travel path section end, double track, front, bottom 20 Travel path section, front, top; Travel path 21 Travel path section end, front, top 22 Travel path section, double track, front, top; Travel path 23 Travel path section end, double track, front, top 25 Travel path section, rear; Travel path 26 Travel path section end, rear 30 Travel path section, middle; Track 31 Track section end, center 35 Transfer section, curved; Track 36 Transfer section, straight, short; Track 37 Transfer section, straight, long; Track 40 Semi-oval transfer device;Travel path 45 Semi-oval turnout, transfer device; Travel path 46 Swivel axis of (35) 50 Linear lift transfer device, transfer device; Travel path 51 Lifting frame 52 Threaded spindle 53 Lifting carriage, short 54 Track curve, straight 55 Lifting turnout transfer device, transfer device; Travel path 60 Car group transfer device, transfer device; Travel path 65 Double track lifting transfer device, transfer device; Travel path 66 Workpiece carriage 67 Recess 68 Lifting carriage, long; for (17) and (22) 70 Parallelogram transfer device, transfer device; Travel path 71 Lifting frame 72 Swing arm, lower 73 Swing arm, upper 74 Drive 75 Connecting rod 77 Cantilever arm 79 Track curve, elliptical 80 End turntable transfer device, transfer device; Travel path 81 Lifting frame 82 Turntable 83 Disc shaft 84 Bearing pin 85 Control lever 86 Control bolt 87 Guide cam, control ring 89 Track curve, circular track 90 Lifting turntable transfer device;Travel path 91 Lifting frame 92 Lifting turntable, turntable 93 Disc shaft, hollow 210 Workpiece support gate 221 Transport rail, rail 223 Support bracket 227 Support rails 231 Rack and pinion 235 Multi-conductor power and multi-conductor signal rails 237 Power rail cover 261 Base body, angled 262 Guide carriage, recirculating ball shoe 264 Drive unit of (6), servo motor, possibly with integrated gearbox 266 Gearbox housing, plate-shaped 267 Bearing block with two roller bearings 271 Drive shaft, countershaft 272 Drive wheel, large, bottom 273 Output wheel, small, top 282 Lubrication wheel, felt wheel 285 Pickup arm, sheet metal component 286 Current and signal pickup, spring-loaded; Customer 290 Collet 291 Chuck housing 294 Slide 295, 296 Gripping elements 297 Drive unit, cam drive, servo motor, geared motor 310 Bearing blocks 311 Rollers;

Claims

Transfer device for self-propelled workpiece carriages (6) of a transport system (2), in which the ends (16, 21, 26, 31) of one or more track sections (15, 20, 25, 30) can be connected continuously or discontinuously, wherein one track section (15) is a lower track section (15) and another track section (20) is an upper track section (20), wherein either the ends (16, 21, 26, 31) of the track sections (15, 20, 25, 30) are connected via rigid, at least partially curved transfer sections (35) – in the form of a rail bent into a semicircle, to which a straight section is attached at each end – and the curved transfer section (35) is connected at at least one end to one of the track sections (15, 20, 25) is arranged to pivot, wherein the pivot axis (46) is arranged at least parallel to one of the track sections (15, 20, 25), or wherein in front of the ends (16, 21, 26, 31) of the track sections (15, 20, 25,30) a transfer section (36, 37) which is movable along a curved path (79, 89) and carries one or more workpiece carriages (6), can be temporarily arranged, wherein this transfer section (36, 37) is pivotably mounted on a lifting frame (71) via a cantilever arm (77) by means of a parallelogram drive (72, 73) and can be moved back and forth between the ends (16, 21, 26, 31) via the driven parallelogram drive (72, 73), or wherein this transfer section (36, 37) is arranged on a turntable (82, 92) and is rotatably or pivotably mounted on it. Transfer device according to claim 1, characterized in that its pairwise arrangement forms a closed rail system. Transfer device according to claim 1, characterized in that the travel path ends (16, 18, 21, 23, 26, 31) lie in a common plane which is intersected perpendicularly by the center lines of the travel paths (15, 20, 25, 30). Transfer device according to claim 1, characterized in that the trajectory (79, 89) is a curved curve in a plane or in space. Transfer device according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one transfer section (36, 37) is pivotably mounted on a turntable (82, 92), wherein the axis of rotation of the individual turntable (82, 92) is arranged parallel to the base surface (3) of the respective transfer device (80, 90). Transfer device according to claim 5, characterized in that the rotary disks (82, 92) can each only be driven in one direction of rotation. Transfer device according to claim 5, characterized in that the rotary disk (92) is not only rotatable but also linearly displaceable along its center line.

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