Cargo handling assistance device

Abstract

To provide a cargo handling assistance device that a guide roller to bend a suspension cable route is arranged in the middle part.SOLUTION: A cargo handling assistance device 1 to assist the lifting / lowering of a cargo 7 has a locking member 6, a suspension cable 5, a guide part 21, a lifting / lowering operation part 9, a weight detection part 18, and a control part 51. The locking member 6 is connected to the suspension cable 5 and locks the cargo 7. The guide part 21 includes a guide roller 13 to change the track of the suspension cable 5 extended vertically upward from the locking member 6 to a vertically crossing direction. The lifting / lowering operation part 9 winds the suspension cable 5 and raises / lowers the locking member 6 by driving of a motor. The weight detection part 18 detects the weight of the guide part 21 and the vertical load applied to the guide part, and transmits weight signals. The control part 51 receives the weight signals transmitted from the weight detection part 18, stores them, and generates the assistance to balance the cargo 7 locked with the locking member 6 in the lifting / lowering operating part 9.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a loading and unloading assistance device used in manufacturing assembly, transportation, and the like in the manufacturing field, and relates to a loading and unloading assistance device that balances the weight of loading objects with the assistance of a motor when lifting or lowering the objects, and moves them up and down with only a small operating force. [Background technology]

[0002] In the past, in factories where industrial products are assembled, loading devices have been used to suspend and raise and lower heavy objects such as tools, work equipment, finished products, and semi-finished products. Among these loading devices, loading assistance devices that generate assisting force to create a balanced state for heavy objects and allow workers to move the objects up and down to any height with a light operating force are used. Such loading assistance devices generate assisting force by using a motor to create a balanced state. In this balanced state, the worker applies a small external force to the object to move it smoothly, so they are different from devices that simply use an electric motor to move the object up and down. In other words, the load of the object and the operating force applied thereto are detected and calculated by, for example, a load detector, and fine balance control is performed by an AC servo motor connected to a rotation angle detector.

[0003] There is a demand for using such cargo handling assistance devices to increase the lift height and to raise and lower cargo in narrow spaces. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 6-083689 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Therefore, if a guide part (guide roller or wheel) such as a pulley that bends the path of a sling such as a link chain is placed in the middle, the friction between the guide roller and the link chain may make it difficult for a load sensor installed in the lifting drive part of the loading assistance device to provide accurate assistance. Therefore, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, if a load sensor is installed in series in the middle of the sling that suspends the cargo, it becomes necessary to transmit a load signal from the load sensor that rises and falls together with the cargo to the control part of the loading assistance device by wire or wirelessly, which makes the configuration complicated. Naturally, it is also necessary to supply power to the load sensor, and if this is done by battery, work cannot be performed when the battery runs out, so there is room for improvement.

[0006] In view of such problems, the present invention aims to provide a loading and unloading assistance device in which a guide section that bends the path of the sling rope is disposed midway. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the loading and unloading assistance device of the present invention comprises: A loading assistance device that has a locking member, a sling, a guide unit, a lifting / lowering operating unit, a weight detection unit, and a control unit, and assists in lifting / lowering a loading object, The locking member is connected to the sling to lock the cargo, The guide portion includes a guide roller that changes the trajectory of the hanging rope extending vertically upward from the locking member to a direction intersecting the vertical direction, The lifting and lowering operation unit winds the sling and raises and lowers the locking member by being driven by a motor. the weight detection unit detects the weight of the guide unit and the vertical load applied to the guide unit and transmits a weight signal; The control unit is configured to receive and store the weight signal transmitted from the weight detection unit, and to cause the lifting operation unit to generate an assisting force for balancing the cargo held by the holding member.

[0008] The weight detection section is composed of a single-point load cell with a Roberval structure. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the loading and unloading assistance device of the present invention, even if a guide section that bends the path of the sling rope is disposed midway, the configuration does not become complicated, and a loading and unloading assistance device that enables good loading and unloading work can be provided. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a loading assistance device and a loading object according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a control block diagram of the loading assistance device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 3] 1 is a schematic diagram of a loading assistance device and a loading object according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic diagram of a loading assistance device and a loading object according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, a cargo handling assistance device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a cargo handling assistance device 1 and a cargo 7 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] The loading and unloading assistance device 1 is composed of a device main body 4, a guide unit 21, and an operation command unit 41. The support pillar 3 is in the shape of a square pillar or a cylinder and is fixed to a floor 2 of a building or the like with bolts or the like. The device main body 4 is attached to the support pillar 3, which is a structural member, and the frame and housing of the device main body 4 also function as structural members. The operation command unit 41 is for operating the loading and unloading assistance device 1 wirelessly.

[0013] The following describes the members that raise and lower the cargo 7. The locking member 6 is a member that locks and suspends the cargo 7. In order to move the cargo 7, which may be a rectangular parallelepiped with a brim on its top surface, for example, the locking member 6 is composed of a member that locks onto the brim of the cargo 7 and a hook for suspension. The link chain 5 is an example of a sling, and in this embodiment, it is made up of oval rings, each of which is made up of a semicircular arc portion and a straight portion connected to the semicircular arc portion, which are crossed and alternately connected. The end of the link chain 5 is connected to the locking member 6.

[0014] The guide section 21 has a guide roller B13, a rotating shaft 14, a guide bracket 15, and an arm 16. The guide roller B13 changes the direction of the link chain 5 extending vertically upward to the horizontal direction. The guide roller B13 is a so-called pulley. The guide bracket 15 is a pair of approximately L-shaped metal members, and the rotating shaft 14 is inserted through it. The guide roller B13 is supported by the rotating shaft 14 so as to be freely rotatable. The guide bracket 15 is also provided to regulate the passage path of the link chain 5 in the XY directions, so as to prevent the link chain 5 from falling off the guide roller B13.

[0015] The guide bracket 15 is connected and fixed to the arm 16, and is fixed to the movable side 18b of the weight detection unit 18. The fixed side 18a of the weight detection unit 18 is fixed to the beam 17. The beam 17 is fixed to the frame of the device main body 4 or the like. The beam 17 may be attached and fixed directly to a structure such as the support 3. Although the guide bracket 15 and the arm 16 are configured as separate bodies in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and they may be integrated.

[0016] The weight detection unit 18 is, for example, a single-point load cell of Roberval structure. The weight detection unit 18 has an elastically deforming strain body that deforms when a load is applied in the vertical direction (Z direction), and a strain gauge is attached to the strain body. The strain gauge is incorporated in a Wheatstone bridge circuit that converts the strain generated in the strain body according to the load into an electric signal, and the weight signal output from the weight detection unit 18 is output to the amplifier 53.

[0017] The weight detection unit 18 detects the weight of the locking member 6, the link chain 5, and the guide unit 21, the weight of the cargo 7 applied to the locking member 6, and the external force applied thereto. It is preferable to use a single-point load cell with a Roberval structure in which the part receiving the load is concentrated in one place for the weight detection unit 18, and this makes it possible to reduce the moment load component applied to the weight detection unit 18. It is also preferable to use a compression type single-point load cell. The arm 16 has a relatively long shape in the x direction. This is to protect the weight detection unit 18 from damage even if a large load is accidentally applied to the guide unit 21.

[0018] The link chain 5, whose direction has been changed in the x direction by the guide unit 21, is then directed again in the z direction by the guide roller A12. The link chain 5, whose direction has been changed in the z direction by the guide roller A12, passes through a guide block 11 and is wound around the load sheave 10 of the lifting operation unit 9. The guide block 11 regulates the link chain 5 in the X and Y directions so that the link chain 5 does not fall off the load sheave 10.

[0019] The lifting operation unit 9 includes a load sheave 10 and a lifting motor unit 20. The lifting motor unit 20 includes a reducer, a motor, a brake, and a lifting position detection unit 22.

[0020] The load sheave 10 has a pocket groove into which the link chain 5 is fitted to match the shape of the link chain 5. The load sheave 10 has large diameter flanges on both sides to sandwich the pocket groove and prevent the link chain 5 from falling off. The load sheave 10 is fixed to a rotating shaft 19 on the output side of the reducer and is capable of forward and reverse rotation.

[0021] The reducer reduces the rotational speed of the motor to a predetermined speed and increases the torque. The reducer is, for example, a strain wave gear reducer. The strain wave gear reducer is composed of a wave generator with an elliptical outer periphery, an elastically deformable flexspline with many external teeth formed on the outer periphery and fitted around the wave generator so that the position of the flex in the circumferential direction changes with the rotation of the wave generator, and a circular spline on the outer periphery of the flexspline with internal teeth that engage with the external teeth of the flexspline. Power is taken out and transmitted to a rotating shaft 19 connected to the flexspline as a rotation output. By using a reducer with a small backlash, such as a strain wave gear reducer, for example, for the reducer of this device, it is possible to eliminate uncontrollable areas during switching when the motor is frequently switched between forward and reverse rotation to perform balancing and move up and down, and to achieve a smooth operation feel.

[0022] The motor is, for example, an AC servo motor. A brake is provided on the anti-load side of the motor to lock the motor's rotating shaft when necessary. Furthermore, a lifting position detector 22 connected to the motor's rotating shaft is connected to the anti-load side of the motor. The lifting position detector 22 is, for example, a so-called absolute encoder that detects the rotation angle position of the motor, and detects the rotation angle position optically and transmits the position value to the control unit 51 as a position signal. Therefore, the lifting position detector 22 can detect the payout position of the locking member 6, i.e., the lifting position. The lifting position detector 22 is not limited to an optical type, and may be a magnetic type, a capacitive type, or the like.

[0023] The link chain 5 is wound approximately 180 degrees around the load sheave 10 and extends vertically downward. An end of the link chain 5 is stored in a chain storage box 8. The end of the link chain 5 on the chain storage box 8 side is a free end.

[0024] In this embodiment, the suspending rope is a link chain 5, but is not limited to this and may be a wire rope. When the suspending rope is a wire rope, the load sheave 10 is drum-shaped and winds the wire rope around it, and the end of the wire rope is fixed to the cylindrical surface of the drum.

[0025] 2 is a control block diagram of the loading / unloading assistance device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The loading / unloading assistance device 1 has an operation command unit 41 and an apparatus main body unit 4. The apparatus main body unit 4 has a control unit 51, a weight detection unit 18, a lifting / lowering position detection unit 22, a lifting / lowering motor unit 20, a control transmission / reception unit 52, and an amplifier 53. The control unit 51 controls the lifting / lowering motor unit 20 based on various signals from the operation command unit 41, the weight detection unit 18, and the lifting / lowering position detection unit 22.

[0026] The control unit 51 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), other storage devices, and input / output devices, and controls the lift motor unit 20. The control unit 51 is installed, for example, in the enclosure of the device main body unit 4.

[0027] A control transmission / reception unit 52 is provided in the enclosure of the device main body 4 together with the control unit 51. The control transmission / reception unit 52 has an electronic circuit for communicating with the operation command unit 41 wirelessly.

[0028] The control unit 51 controls the entire loading and unloading assistance device 1. The control unit 51 includes a drive circuit that drives the lift motor unit 20. The control unit 51 receives the weight value applied to the weight detection unit 18 from the weight detection unit 18 as a weight signal, and receives the position value of the rotation angle of the lift motor from the lift position detection unit 22 as a position signal. Meanwhile, the control unit 51 transmits and receives signals to and from the control transmission / reception unit 52 in order to communicate with the operation command unit 41. The control unit 51 and the control transmission / reception unit 52 are connected by wire, and transmit and receive signals at high speed at extremely short time intervals.

[0029] The control transmission / reception unit 52 wirelessly communicates with the operation command transmission / reception unit 42 of the operation command unit 41. The control transmission / reception unit 52 and the operation command transmission / reception unit 42 are composed of electronic circuits that perform wireless communication, and may have a transmitter and receiver using radio waves, as well as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc.

[0030] The operation command unit 41 is for remotely operating the loading assistance device 1, and in this embodiment, communicates by radio waves. The operation command unit 41 is battery-powered. The operation command unit 41 has, as operation means, for example, a balance button 44, a hold button 45, a raise button 46, a lower button 47, and the like.

[0031] The operation command control unit 43 controls the entire operation command unit 41. Upon receiving an operation command from the operating means, the operation command control unit 43 transmits an operation command signal to the operation command transmitting / receiving unit 42. The operation command transmitting / receiving unit 42 then wirelessly transmits the operation command received from the operation command control unit 43 to the control transmitting / receiving unit 52. The signal including this command is provided with identification information of the operation command unit 41 in order to perform pairing between the operation command unit 41 and the control unit 51.

[0032] Next, the role of each operation button, which is an operation means provided on the operation command unit 41, will be described. Each operation button is, for example, a push switch. When the worker presses the balance button 44, a weight registration command is sent from the operation command unit 41, and the control unit 51 receives this and starts transition of the loading assistance device 1 to the balance mode. The control unit 51 stores the weight value output by the weight detection unit 18 after detecting the weight (load) applied to the weight detection unit 18 as a registered weight, performs calculations based on this, and controls the lifting motor unit 20 so as to cancel the weight applied to the weight detection unit 18 thereafter and achieve a balanced state. When the loading assistance device 1 is in a balanced state, the worker can raise or lower the locking member 6 or the loading object 7 by applying a slight external force to the locking member 6 or the loading object 7. In other words, if the worker presses the balance button 44 to register the load applied to the weight detection unit 18 when the cargo 7 is not engaged with the engaging member 6, the engaging member 6 will be in a balanced state and the worker will be able to move the engaging member 6 freely.

[0033] On the other hand, when the worker presses the hold button 45, a hold command is sent from the operation command unit 41, and the control unit 51 receives this and controls the lift motor unit 20 to hold the lift operating unit 9 in the current position, i.e., to fix the lift positions of the locking member 6 and the cargo 7.

[0034] When the worker presses the up button 46 or the down button 47, the control unit 51 receives this and controls the lift motor unit 20 to raise or lower the locking member 6. By continuously pressing the up button 46 or the down button 47, the worker can continuously raise and lower the locking member 6 and the cargo 7 by the lift motor unit 20. Whether the locking member 6 and the cargo 7 are in the held state or the balanced state, when the worker presses the up button 46 or the down button 47, they will rise or fall, and when the worker releases the pressed up button 46 or the down button 47, they will return to the held state.

[0035] 1, 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams showing a series of operations for moving an object 7 using the cargo handling assistance device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. An example of a series of operations for lifting the object 7 will be described below.

[0036] In FIG. 1, a cargo 7 is placed on the floor 2. The locking member 6 of the cargo handling assistance device 1 is in an arbitrary position. When the power is turned on, the control unit 51 enters a holding state and waits. When the worker presses the balance button 44 of the operation command unit 41 in this state, the weight detection unit 18 detects the currently applied weight and sends a weight signal to the control unit 51. The control unit 51 then receives and stores the weight signal from the weight detection unit 18, and controls the lifting motor unit 20 by performing calculations to cancel and balance the weights of the locking member 6 and the link chain 5. When the cargo handling assistance device 1 is in a balanced state, the worker can freely raise or lower it by grasping the locking member 6 and applying a slight external force.

[0037] In the state shown in FIG. 1, no balancing operation is performed using the weight of the cargo 7, so the worker registers the weight of the cargo 7 by following the procedure below. The worker places the locking member 6 in a balanced state and lowers it to a position where the cargo 7 can be locked (see FIG. 3). The worker then locks the cargo 7 into the locking member 6, and continues to press the lift button 46 to raise the cargo 7 to a height where it leaves the floor 2 (see FIG. 4). At this time, the control unit 51 winds up the link chain 5 using the lifting and lowering unit 9. Note that the height of the cargo 7 from the floor 2 is not predetermined, and it is sufficient if the worker can visually confirm that the cargo 7 has left the floor 2 and is hanging in mid-air.

[0038] When the worker stops pressing the lift button 46 after confirming that the cargo 7 has left the floor 2, the cargo 7 is held in that position. When the worker then presses the balance button 44, the weight detection unit 18 detects the currently applied weight and sends a weight signal to the control unit 51. The control unit 51 receives and stores the weight signal from the weight detection unit 18, and controls the lift motor unit 20 by calculating to cancel and balance the total weight of the guide unit 21, link chain 5, locking member 6 and cargo 7. When the cargo handling assistance device 1 is in a balanced state, the worker can freely raise and lower it by applying an external force having a slight vertical component to the locking member 6 or the cargo 7.

[0039] In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the position of the guide portion 21 in the z direction is fixed, but it is also possible to modify the same by providing a z direction movement mechanism on the frame of the device main body portion 4, etc., so that the position of the beam 17 in the z direction can be changed.

[0040] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a weight detection unit 18 is installed at a location supporting the guide portion 21, and balance control is performed using the weight detected by the weight detection unit 18, thereby making it possible to eliminate the effects of friction of the guide roller B13.

[0041] While the present invention has been described above based on the preferred embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0042] As an example of the application of the present invention, it can be applied to a loading assistance device that assists in the movement of loading objects. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1: Cargo handling assistance equipment 2: Floor 3: Strut 4: Device body 5: Link chain (hanging rope) 6: Locking member 7: Cargo handling 8: Chain storage box 9: Lifting actuator 10: Road sheave 11: Information block 12: Guide roller A 13: Guide roller B 14: Rotation axis 15: Guide bracket 16: Arm 17: Beam 18: Weight detection unit 18a: Fixed side 18b: Movable side 19: Rotation axis 20: Lifting motor section 21: Information department 22: Lifting position detection unit 41:Operation command section 51: Control section 52: Control transmission / reception unit 53: Amplifier

Claims

1. A loading assistance device that has a locking member, a sling, a guide unit, a lifting / lowering operating unit, a weight detection unit, and a control unit, and assists in lifting / lowering a loading object, The locking member is connected to the sling to lock the cargo, The guide portion includes a guide roller that changes the trajectory of the hanging rope extending vertically upward from the locking member to a direction intersecting the vertical direction, The lifting and lowering operating unit winds the sling and lifts and lowers the locking member by driving the motor, the weight detection unit detects a weight of the guide unit and a vertical load applied to the guide unit and transmits a weight signal; The control unit receives and stores the weight signal transmitted from the weight detection unit, and generates an assisting force to the lifting operating unit to balance the cargo held by the locking member.

2. 2. The cargo handling assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the weight detection unit is a single-point load cell of Roberval structure.

Images