Conveying device

Abstract

To provide a conveying device having a structure whose height is low.SOLUTION: There are provided drive side members 6, 7 and driven side members 22 operated by directly or indirectly receiving power transmission from the drive side members 6, 7. The driven side members 22 each comprises an energization member (roller) 25, and a driven side power transmission member 26 provided at a lower portion to drive the energization member 25. The drive side members 6, 7 each comprise a drive source 50 and a drive side power transmission member 52. The drive side power transmission member 52 and the driven side power transmission member 26 are directly or indirectly engaged with each other. A part or all of each of the driven side members 22, and a part or all of each of the drive side members 6, 7 are located on a lower side of a conveyance surface. A drive axis 51 of the drive side power transmission member 52 is provided in a direction crossing the conveyance surface. A part or all of a portion provided on a lower side than the conveyance surface of the drive side members 6, 7 and the driven side members 22 are present in the same area with respect to the conveyance surface in a height direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a conveying device, which is suitable for use in a section where the conveying direction changes, such as a curved section or a branching section. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conveyor systems that transport objects to a predetermined location may be installed at delivery points or collection points. These conveyor systems often have curved paths or branching sections. The present applicant proposed a conveying element suitable for a branching section in Patent Document 1 (referred to as a conveying device in Patent Document 1). The conveying element disclosed in Patent Document 1 has rollers that urge the object to be conveyed, a transmission shaft that is vertically arranged below the rollers, and a gear (driven-side power transmission member) that rotates integrally with the transmission shaft. Furthermore, the conveying element disclosed in Patent Document 1 allows the orientation of the rollers to be changed as desired. A plurality of conveying elements disclosed in Patent Document 1 are installed in a plane and used as a set of conveying devices. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-113127 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The conveying device using the conveying element of Patent Document 1 can greatly change the conveying direction of the object. However, on the other hand, there is a dissatisfaction with the overall height of the conveying device using the conveying element of Patent Document 1. The present invention focuses on the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and provides a conveying device with a low height structure that is suitable for use in locations where the conveying direction of the transported item is changed, such as at curved paths or branching sections. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] An aspect for solving the above-mentioned problem is a conveying device having a conveying surface and conveying an object placed on the conveying surface, the conveying device having a drive side member and a driven side member that operates by receiving power transmission directly or indirectly from the drive side member, the driven side member having a biasing member that comes into contact with the object to be conveyed and biases the object to be conveyed, and a driven side power transmission member provided below the biasing member, the biasing member being driven by the rotational force of the driven side power transmission member, the drive side member having a drive source and a drive side power transmission member, the drive side power transmission member and the driven side power transmission member being directly or indirectly engaged, part or all of the driven side member being located below the conveying surface, part or all of the drive side member being located below the conveying surface, the drive shaft of the drive side power transmission member being arranged in a direction intersecting the conveying surface, and part or all of the parts of the drive side member and the driven side member that are arranged below the conveying surface being in the same vertical area relative to the conveying surface.

[0006] The conveying device of this aspect has a driving side member and a driven side member. In the conveying device of this aspect, the driven side member has a biasing member that comes into contact with the object to bias the object. The driven side member is driven by power supplied from the driving side member. That is, the driving side member has a drive source and a driving side power transmission member, and the driven side member has a driven side power transmission member and a biasing member. The driven power transmission member is engaged directly or indirectly with the driving power transmission member, and the power of the driving member is transmitted to the biasing member via the driven power transmission member. In the conveying device of this aspect, part or all of the driven-side members and part or all of the drive-side members are located below the conveying surface. The drive shaft of the drive-side power transmission member is arranged in a direction intersecting the conveying surface. Part or all of the drive-side members and the driven-side members located below the conveying surface are in the same height region relative to the conveying surface. In other words, in the conveying device of this aspect, the driven-side members, which have the function of moving the objects to be conveyed, and the drive side that drives them are arranged side by side. Therefore, the overall height of the drive device of this embodiment is low.

[0007] In the above-described aspect, it is preferable that a plurality of driven members are provided, and the plurality of driven members are arranged in parallel.

[0008] According to this aspect, the transported object can be moved smoothly.

[0009] In each of the above-described aspects, it is desirable that the driving member and the driven member are arranged in parallel.

[0010] According to this aspect, the overall height is low.

[0011] In each of the above-described embodiments, it is desirable that the drive shaft of the drive-side power transmission member be located below the drive source.

[0012] In each of the above aspects, it is desirable that the conveying surface forms a curved path.

[0013] According to this aspect, the moving direction of the transported object can be bent.

[0014] In each of the above-mentioned aspects, it is desirable that a group of driven members is formed by a plurality of driven members, that the group of driven members is driven by power transmitted from a single driving member, and that the group of driven members is arranged on the inner and outer sides of the curved path, respectively.

[0015] The transport device of this embodiment is easy to manufacture.

[0016] In each of the above-described aspects, it is desirable that a driving side member that drives the inner peripheral side group of driven members and a driving side member that drives the outer peripheral side group of driven members are arranged next to the inner peripheral side group of driven members.

[0017] According to this aspect, the traveling direction of the transported object can be smoothly turned.

[0018] In each of the above aspects, it is desirable that the biasing speed of the biasing member of the driven member group arranged on the outside is faster than the biasing speed of the biasing member of the driven member group arranged on the inside.

[0019] According to this aspect, the traveling direction of the transported object can be smoothly turned.

[0020] In each of the above-described aspects, it is desirable that the driven power transmission member be capable of changing the attitude of the biasing member and of changing the conveying direction of the conveyed object as required.

[0021] According to this aspect, the conveying direction of the object can be changed as desired.

[0022] The transport device may have a branching section or a junction section.

[0023] According to this aspect, the traveling direction of the transported article can be changed smoothly. [Effects of the Invention]

[0024] The conveying device of the present invention is suitable for use in locations where the conveying direction of an object to be conveyed is changed, such as at curved paths or branching sections, and is low in height and does not take up much space. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the transport device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a plan view showing the attitude, rotation speed, and direction of rollers in the conveying device of FIG. 1 with arrows. FIG. [Figure 3]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the conveying device of FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a transport unit (follower-side member group). [Figure 5] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1. [Figure 6] 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a winding path of a belt of the conveying device of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 7] 2A is a perspective view of a driven member used in the conveying device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a front view thereof. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the driven-side member of FIG. 7. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a plan view of a transport device according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 10(a) is a perspective view of a driven member used in the conveying device of FIG. 9, and FIG. 10(b) is a front view thereof. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the driven-side member of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The conveying device 1 of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is a curved conveyor device, which changes the conveying direction of an object at a right angle. The conveying device 1 has an arc-shaped frame 2, on which conveying units (follower-side member group) 3, 5, driving-side members 6, 7, and a plurality of freely rotating rollers 8 are installed. The frame 2 has a large arc-shaped frame piece 10 and a small arc-shaped frame piece 11, which are arranged concentrically. The two frame pieces 10, 11 are integrally connected by a top plate 13 and a bottom plate 15, as shown in Figure 3.

[0027] The transport units 3 and 5 are groups of driven members in which a plurality of driven members 22 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 are installed in cases 20 and 21, respectively. The driven member 22 employed in this embodiment has a roller (biasing member) 25 that rotates by power, and a pulley (driven power transmission member) 26, and the roller 25 rotates when the pulley 26 rotates. 7 and 8, the driven member 22 has a housing 30, and a roller 25 is rotatably supported on the upper part of the housing 30. The roller 25 is held in a horizontal position and rotates around a rotation shaft 28 extending horizontally. An opening 31 is formed on the upper surface of the housing 30, and a portion of the roller 25 is exposed through the opening 31 of the housing 30. The roller 25 is divided into a main rotating portion 35 and a sub rotating portion 36. The main rotating portion 35 has a large diameter and a large overall length, while the sub rotating portion 36 has a small diameter and a small overall length. As described above, a portion of the roller 25 is exposed from the opening 31 of the housing 30, but since the diameter of the main rotating portion 35 is larger than that of the sub-rotating portion 36, the transported object comes into contact only with the main rotating portion 35. The main rotating part 35 and the sub rotating part 36 are rotatable independently of each other.

[0028] The pulley (driven power transmission member) 26 is disposed on the lower side of the housing 30, and its rotation shaft 40 is disposed vertically as shown in FIG. A dish-shaped friction transmission member 41 is attached to the tip of the rotating shaft 40. The friction transmission member 41 is located below the roller 25 and is in contact with both the main rotating portion 35 and the sub-rotating portion 36. Therefore, when the pulley 26 rotates around the rotating shaft 40, which is a vertical axis, the friction transmission member 41 rotates around the rotating shaft 40, which is also a vertical axis. Then, the roller 25, which is in contact with the friction transmission member 41, rotates around the rotating shaft 28, which is a horizontal axis. Although the main rotating part 35 and the sub-rotating part 36 rotate in opposite directions, the diameter of the main rotating part 35 is larger than that of the sub-rotating part 36, so the transported object comes into contact only with the main rotating part 35, and moves while receiving a biasing force only from the main rotating part 35.

[0029] The cases 20 and 21 are both rectangular parallelepiped boxes. The transport unit 3 has 15 driven members 22 attached to the case 20. In this embodiment, the driven members 22 are arranged in parallel in the cases 20 and 21. The transport unit 3 has 15 driven members 22 arranged in two rows. With reference to Figures 1 to 3, the transport unit 3 has eight driven members 22 arranged linearly in the outer row and seven driven members 22 arranged linearly in the inner row. The transport unit 5 has seven driven members 22 arranged in two rows. With reference to Figures 1 to 3, in the transport unit 5, four driven members 22 are arranged linearly in the outer row, and three driven members 22 are arranged linearly in the inner row.

[0030] The drive side members 6 and 7 are each formed by attaching a pulley (drive side power transmission member) 52 to an output shaft (drive shaft) 51 of a geared motor (drive source) 50.

[0031] Next, the positional relationship of each component will be explained. The transport units 3 and 5 mentioned above are attached to the upper plate 13 side of the frame 2. The drive side components 6 and 7 are attached to the bottom plate 15 via support components 55. The drive side components 6 and 7 face downward, with the output shaft 51 protruding below the main body. When the driven-side members 22 and the driving-side members 6 and 7 arranged in the transport units 3 and 5 are observed from the side as shown in Figure 5, most of the parts of both are in the same height region H. In other words, all of the driven-side members 22 and the driving-side members 6 and 7 are in the same region in the height direction relative to the transport surface.

[0032] In this embodiment, the driven member 22 constitutes two driven member groups grouped into the transport units 3 and 5. The larger transport unit 3 is arranged on the large arc-shaped frame piece 10 side, and the smaller transport unit 5 is arranged on the small arc-shaped frame piece 11 side. The driving side members 6 and 7 are arranged on both sides of the smaller transport unit 5. The driving side members 6 and 7 and the driven side member 22 are arranged on the same plane and are arranged side by side. As described above, the transport units 3 and 5 are each configured by arranging the driven side members 22 in parallel with the cases 20 and 21, and therefore the drive side members 6 and 7 are arranged in parallel with the driven side members 22.

[0033] The driven side members 22 attached to the conveying units 3 and 5 each have a pulley (driven side power transmission member) 26 on the lower side, and the pulley 26 is installed in a horizontal position and rotates around a vertical axis (rotation axis 40). Similarly, the drive-side members 6 and 7 have a pulley (drive-side power transmission member) 52 on the lower side, which is installed in a horizontal position and rotates around a vertical axis (output shaft 51). That is, the output shaft 51 of the drive-side members 6 and 7 extends downward in a direction perpendicular to the conveying surface. In this embodiment, all of the pulleys (driven power transmission members) 26 and pulleys (drive power transmission members) 52 are on the same plane, and a belt 60 is wound between them. In this embodiment, the pulleys (drive power transmission members) 52 and the pulleys (driven power transmission members) 26 are engaged with each other via the belt 60.

[0034] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 6, the driving member 6 arranged on the left side of the smaller transport unit 5 in the drawing transmits power to the smaller transport unit 5, and the driving member 7 arranged on the right side of the smaller transport unit 5 in the drawing transmits power to the larger transport unit 3. All of the driven members 22 belonging to the smaller transport unit 5 receive power transmitted from the driving member 6 and are driven. That is, when the geared motor 50 serving as the drive source is driven, the pulleys (driving power transmission members) 52 of the output shaft (drive shaft) 51 facing vertically downward rotate. Then, via the belt 60, the pulleys (driven power transmission members) 26 of all of the driven members 22 belonging to the transport unit 5 rotate, and all of the rollers (biasing members) 25 rotate. The same applies to the larger transport unit 3, and all of the rollers (biasing members) 25 rotate due to the power of the drive-side member .

[0035] The winding path of the belt 60 in this embodiment is, but is not limited to, as shown in Fig. 6. In this embodiment, the belt 60 is wound between the driven members 22 that are positioned in a diagonal direction in principle. That is, in the smaller transport unit 5, a belt 60 is wound between the pulley 52 of the drive-side member 6 arranged on the left side of the transport unit 5 in the drawing and the pulley 26 of the driven-side member 22 at the left end of the outer row of the transport unit 5. Within the transport unit 5, the belt 60 is wound between the pulleys 26 of the driven-side members 22 that are arranged in a diagonal direction. As a result, the driving force of the drive-side member 6 is transmitted to all of the driven-side members 22 in the transport unit 5. The same applies to the power transmission of the larger transport unit 3. In the transport unit 3, for layout reasons, the belt 60 is wound around the pulleys 26 in the same row at only one location.

[0036] The rotational speeds of the drive members 6, 7 are different, with the drive member 7 powering the larger outer transport unit 3 rotating faster than the other drive member 6. Therefore, the rollers 25 of the driven members 22 belonging to the outer transport unit 3 rotate faster than the rollers 25 of the driven members 22 belonging to the inner transport unit 5. In addition, the postures of the rollers 25 of each driven member 22 are slightly different. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the rotation axes 28 of the rollers 25 of each driven member 22 all face the center of the arc-shaped frame 2. Therefore, the biasing direction of the rollers 25 faces the tangential direction.

[0037] The free-rotating rollers 8 are arranged between the transport unit 3 arranged on the outside and the large arc-shaped frame piece 10. In the conveying device 1 of this embodiment, the upper surfaces of the rollers 25 of each driven member 22 function as a conveying surface that comes into contact with the object to be conveyed. In the conveying device 1 of this embodiment, all of the driven members 22 are located below the conveying surface. Also, in the conveying device 1 of this embodiment, all of the driving members 6 and 7 are located below the conveying surface, and the drive shaft (output shaft 51) of the pulley (drive side power transmission member) 52 is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveying surface. The drive-side members 6, 7 and the driven-side member 22 are arranged side by side on the same plane, with most of their portions occupying the same height region relative to the conveying surface. That is, as described above, all of the pulleys (driven-side power transmission members) 26 and pulleys (drive-side power transmission members) 52 are on the same plane, and all of the pulleys 26, 52 are positioned at the same height region. The main body of the driven-side member 22 is above the pulley (driven-side power transmission member) 26, and the main body of the drive-side member 6 is above the pulley (drive-side power transmission member) 52. Therefore, when limited to the region below the upper plate 13, as shown in Figure 5, the drive-side members 6, 7 and the driven-side member 22 are observed from the side, and 80 percent or more, preferably 90 percent or more, of the larger of the driven-side member 22 and the drive-side member 6, 7 are located at the same height region. Therefore, the conveying device 1 of this embodiment has a low overall height.

[0038] The conveying device 1 constitutes a part of a series of conveying lines, and moves the conveyed object in a curved line to change the conveying direction. For example, when a sensor (not shown) detects that an object has reached the conveying device 1, the driving members 6 and 7 are driven, causing the rollers 25 of all driven members 22 to rotate. Each roller 25 urges the object in the tangential direction of the frame 2. The rollers 25 located on the outside rotate faster than the rollers 25 located on the inside. Therefore, the movement trajectory of the object describes a beautiful arc, and the object is sent downstream. In addition, the conveying device 1 of this embodiment urges the transported object using rollers (urging members) 25 arranged in a plane, and moves the transported object along a curved trajectory by varying the orientation of each roller 25, so the curvature is small.

[0039] The conveying device 1 described above is a curved conveyor, but the conveying device of the present invention may also have a branching portion or a merging portion. The conveying device 80 shown in Fig. 9 has a branching portion. In the conveying device 80 shown in Fig. 9, a short conveying device 80 is provided at the branching portion to form a continuous conveying line. The conveying device 80 arranged at the branching section corresponds to an embodiment of the present invention, and comprises a rectangular case 71, in which one driving side member 72 and multiple driven side members 75 are arranged. The driven-side member 75 employed in this embodiment can also change the attitude (orientation) of the rollers 25. That is, as shown in Figures 10 and 11, the driven-side member 75 has an upper housing 76 and a lower housing 77, which are capable of relative rotation. In the driven-side member 75, the rollers 25 are journaled in the upper housing 76, and a pulley (driven-side power transmission member) 26 is attached to the lower housing 77. A power transmission member 78 such as a gear is provided in the upper housing 76, and rotates upon receiving power transmission from a drive device (not shown).

[0040] In the conveying device 80 of this embodiment, the upper surfaces of the rollers 25 of each driven member 75 also function as a conveying surface that comes into contact with the object to be conveyed. In the conveying device 80 of this embodiment, the driven members 75 are all located below the conveying surface. In addition, in the conveying device 80 of this embodiment, the driving members 72 are all located below the conveying surface, and the drive shaft (output shaft 51) of the pulley (drive side power transmission member) 52 is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveying surface. The driving side member 72 and the driven side member 75 are arranged side by side on the same plane, and most of their portions are in the same area in the height direction relative to the conveying surface. Therefore, the conveying device 80 of this embodiment has a low overall height.

[0041] 9 is divided into a right conveying path 81 and a straight path 82 on the downstream side. When an object to be sent to the straight path 82 reaches the branching point, the rollers 25 of the conveying device 80 maintain a posture facing the straight path 82 and send the object to the straight path 82. That is, the rollers 25 maintain a posture in which the rotation axes 40 are perpendicular to the straight path 82, and send the object to the straight path 82. When an object to be sent to the right conveying path 81 reaches the branching point, the rollers 25 of the conveying device 80 change their position so that they all face the right conveying path 81. That is, the upper housing 76 rotates, the orientation of the rotation shaft 40 changes, and the rollers 25 face the right conveying path 81. As a result, the object is sent out to the right conveying path 81.

[0042] The driven-side member 22 employed in the conveying device 1 of the first embodiment has rollers 25 and a pulley (driven-side power transmission member) 26 attached to a single housing 30, and the orientation of the rollers 25 cannot be changed. In contrast, the driven-side member 75 employed in the conveying device 80 of the second embodiment has a housing divided into an upper housing 76 and a lower housing 77, and the orientation of the rollers 25 can be changed. The present invention does not exclude the use of a driven member 75 having a structure that allows the direction of the rollers 25 to be changed in a curved conveyor (transportation device 1). When using a driven member 75 with a structure that allows the direction of the rollers 25 to be changed on a curved conveyor, it is desirable to fix the position of the rollers 25 with some kind of auxiliary member. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1: conveying device, 2: frame, 3: conveying unit (follower side member group), 5: conveying unit (follower side member group), 6: driving side member, 7: driving side member, 22: driven member, 25: roller (biasing member), 26: pulley (driven power transmission member), 50: geared motor (drive source), 51: output shaft (drive shaft), 52: pulley (driving side power transmission member), 60: belt, 70: conveying device, 72: Driving member, 75: Driven member, 80: Conveying device

Claims

1. A conveying device having a conveying surface and conveying an object placed on the conveying surface, The drive mechanism has a drive-side member and a driven-side member that operates by receiving power transmitted directly or indirectly from the drive-side member, the driven member has a biasing member that contacts the transported object and biases the transported object, and a driven power transmission member that is provided below the biasing member, and the biasing member is driven by the rotational force of the driven power transmission member; the drive-side member has a drive source and a drive-side power transmission member, the driving power transmission member and the driven power transmission member are directly or indirectly engaged with each other, a part or the whole of the driven member is located below the conveying surface; a part or all of the driving-side member is located below the conveying surface, and a drive shaft of the driving-side power transmission member is disposed in a direction intersecting the conveying surface; A conveying device characterized in that a part or all of the portions of the driving side member and the driven side member that are arranged below the conveying surface are in the same area in the height direction relative to the conveying surface.

2. 2. The conveying device according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of driven members, the driven members being arranged in parallel.

3. 2. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the driving member and the driven member are arranged in parallel.

4. 2. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the drive shaft of the drive-side power transmission member is located below the drive source.

5. 2. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the conveying surface forms a curved path.

6. A driven member group is formed by a plurality of driven members, and the driven member group is driven by power transmitted from one driving member, 6. The conveying apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the driven member groups are arranged on both the inner and outer peripheries of the curved path.

7. 7. The conveying device according to claim 6, wherein a driving side member for driving the driven side member group on the inner periphery and a driving side member for driving the driven side member group on the outer periphery are arranged next to the driven side member group on the inner periphery.

8. 8. The conveying device according to claim 7, wherein the biasing speed of the biasing members of the driven member group arranged on the outside is faster than the biasing speed of the biasing members of the driven member group arranged on the inside.

9. 2. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the driven power transmission member is capable of changing the attitude of the biasing member, and is capable of changing the conveying direction of the conveyed object according to demand.

10. 2. The conveying device according to claim 1, further comprising a branching portion or a junction portion.

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