Dog Organization

Abstract

To provide a dog mechanism that prevents disengagement during transport and reduces the load when disengaging. [Solution] A dog mechanism 100 is provided with a hook lever 120 that is rotatably mounted on a main body 110 that is movable in the transport direction and has an engaging portion 122 that can engage with and disengage from a transported object W, wherein a lock lever 130 capable of restricting the rotation of the hook lever 120 is rotatably mounted on the main body 110, the engaging portion 122 of the hook lever 120 is positioned behind the center of the pivot axis 112 in the transport direction, the lock lever 130 has a lock portion 131 that maintains the engagement of the hook lever 120 with the transported object W and a release portion 132 that releases the engagement of the hook lever 120 with the transported object W, and the lock portion 131 of the lock lever 130 is positioned in front of the center of the pivot axis 113 in the transport direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a dog mechanism provided with a main body portion movable in the conveying direction and a hook lever rotatably provided on the main body portion and capable of engaging with and disengaging from a conveyed object.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in order to convey a conveyed object, a dog mechanism provided with a hook lever capable of engaging with and disengaging from the conveyed object on a chain or the like is known. For example, in the dog mechanism described in Patent Document 1, a hook lever (dog 4) is provided on a chain 2 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis (pin 6), and the hook lever (dog 4) is biased in a direction to be in a posture of engaging with a conveyed object by the gravity of a weight portion 7. When passing through the installation location of a guide plate (guide rail), the weight portion 7 is pushed up by the guide plate (guide rail), and the hook lever (dog 4) rotates in a direction to release the engagement with the conveyed object.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a known dog mechanism, by installing a guide plate (guide rail) at an appropriate position, it is possible to engage or disengage a hook lever (dog 4) with a conveyed object with a simple structure. However, when conveying with the hook lever (dog 4) and the conveyed object engaged, due to the influence of load fluctuations during the movement of the conveyed object, vibrations of the chain or the like, etc., the load applied to the hook lever (dog 4) fluctuates, and the hook lever (dog 4) and the conveyed object are slightly disengaged. At this time, the hook lever (dog 4) would also rotate slightly due to vibrations, and occasionally the engagement between the hook lever (dog 4) and the transported object would be released. Furthermore, when disengaging the hook lever (dog 4) from the transported object after passing the location where the guide plate (guide rail) is installed, the rotation of the hook lever (dog 4) causes the engagement part to move forward in the transport direction, pushing the transported object forward as it is released. This requires more driving force than during transport, and also places a large load on the hook lever (dog 4) and guide plate (guide rail), so it was necessary to design them to withstand this load.

[0005] The present invention aims to solve these problems and provide a dog mechanism that can prevent engagement and disengagement during transport and reduce the load when disengaging. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention provides a dog mechanism comprising a main body movable in the conveying direction and a hook lever rotatably provided on the main body and having an engagement portion that can engage with and disengage from a conveyed object, wherein a lock lever capable of restricting the rotation of the hook lever is rotatably provided on the main body, the engagement portion of the hook lever is positioned behind the pivot axis center of the hook lever in the conveying direction, the lock lever has a lock portion that contacts the pressed portion of the hook lever to maintain the engagement of the hook lever with the conveyed object, and a release portion that presses the pressed portion of the hook lever to release the engagement of the hook lever with the conveyed object, the lock lever is biased in a direction that maintains the engagement of the hook lever with the conveyed object, and the lock portion of the lock lever is positioned in front of the pivot axis center of the lock lever in the conveying direction, thereby solving the above problem. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the invention of claim 1, a lock lever capable of restricting the rotation of the hook lever is rotatably provided on the main body, and the lock lever has a locking portion that contacts the pressed portion of the hook lever to maintain the engagement of the hook lever with the conveyed object. As a result, the rotation of the hook lever is reliably prevented by the lock lever without being affected by load fluctuations or vibrations of chains, etc., when the conveyed object is moving, and disengagement during conveyance can be prevented. Furthermore, because the engagement portion of the hook lever is positioned behind the center of the hook lever's pivot axis in the direction of transport, it is possible to configure the hook lever so that the engagement portion does not move forward in the direction of transport when the hook lever rotates, preventing the transported object from being pushed forward. This also means that when releasing the hook lever, no more driving force than that used during transport is required, and the load on the hook lever can be kept small.

[0008] According to the configuration described in claim 2, the lock lever has a release part that presses the pressed part of the hook lever to release the engagement of the hook lever with the conveyed object, so that the engagement of the hook lever with the conveyed object can be easily and reliably rotated in the release direction by rotating the lock lever. According to the configuration described in claim 3, since the locking portion is positioned on the side of the conveyed object side of the line connecting the pivot axis center of the hook lever and the pivot axis center of the lock lever, further rotation is reliably prevented when the pressed portion of the hook lever and the locking portion of the lock lever come into contact, there is no need to provide a separate mechanism for maintaining the lock. According to the configuration described in claim 4, the lock lever has an extension that presses the hook lever in the direction of engagement from a state in which the hook lever is disengaged from the conveyed object, thereby biasing the lock lever by gravity or spring force, and the rotation of the lock lever can press the hook lever in the engagement direction.

[0009] According to the configuration described in claim 5, the locking portion is formed in such a shape that it does not come into contact with the pressed portion of the hook lever when the release portion of the lock lever rotates toward the pressed portion of the hook lever. As a result, it can be rotated in the release direction with only a light load to resist the biasing force on the lock lever, and the load on the lock lever can be reduced when disengaging the hook lever from the conveyed object. According to the configuration described in claim 6, the lock lever has an interlocking member for rotating the lock lever in a direction in which the release part presses the pressed part of the hook lever, so that a tag mechanism arranged on a chain or the like can rotate the lock lever by the driving force of the chain alone, as the interlocking member moves along a guide rail provided on the fixed part. According to the configuration described in claims 7 and 8, by biasing with an elastic member, the shape and weight balance of the hook lever and lock lever, the engagement direction of the hook lever, etc., can be arbitrarily set without considering these factors, thereby improving the freedom of design and usage. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] A side view of a dog mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] A top view of a dog mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] A front view of a dog mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention, with the hook lever omitted. [Figure 4] A rear view of a dog mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention, with the lock lever omitted. [Figure 5] An explanatory diagram of the dog mechanism in engagement according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] An explanatory diagram of the dog mechanism in the process of being released according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] An explanatory diagram showing the release of the dog mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. A dog mechanism 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body portion 110 that is attached to a chain or the like and is movable in the conveying direction, a hook lever 120 that is rotatably provided on the main body portion 110 via a rotation shaft 112 and has an engaging portion 122 that can be engaged with and disengaged from a conveyed object W, and a lock lever 130 that is rotatably provided on the main body portion 110 via a rotation shaft 113 and can regulate the rotation of the hook lever 120. The engaging portion 122 of the hook lever 120 is disposed behind the conveying direction from the center of the rotation shaft 112 of the hook lever 120. In the present embodiment, the hook lever 120 is biased in a direction to assume a posture of engaging with the conveyed object W by a hook lever biasing spring 114.

[0012] The lock lever 130 has a lock portion 131 that abuts against a pressed portion 121 of the hook lever 120 to maintain the engagement of the hook lever 120 with the conveyed object W, and a release portion 132 that presses the pressed portion 121 of the hook lever 120 to release the engagement of the hook lever 120 with the conveyed object W. Further, the lock lever 130 is biased in a direction to assume a posture of maintaining the engagement of the hook lever 120 with the conveyed object W by a lock lever biasing spring 115. The lock portion 131 of the lock lever 130 is disposed in front of the conveying direction from the center of the rotation shaft 113 of the lock lever 130, and is disposed on the conveyed object W side from a line connecting the center of the rotation shaft 112 of the hook lever 120 and the center of the rotation shaft 113 of the lock lever 130. Further, the lock lever 130 has an extension portion 134 that presses the hook lever 120 in a direction of engaging with the conveyed object W from a state where the hook lever 120 has released the engagement with the conveyed object W.

[0013] The lock portion 131 of the lock lever 130 is formed in a shape that does not abut against the pressed portion 121 of the hook lever 120 when the release portion 132 of the lock lever 130 rotates in a direction approaching the pressed portion 121 of the hook lever 120. Further, the lock lever 130 has a follower roller 133 which is an interlocking member for rotating the lock lever 130 by contacting the guide plate 101 as it moves in the conveying direction.

[0014] In the present embodiment, the main body portion 110 is composed of two plate-like members provided in the width direction, a hook lever 120 composed of two plate-like members is disposed inside thereof, and a lock lever 130 composed of one plate-like member is disposed inside thereof. The two plate-like members in the width direction of the main body portion 110 are integrally fixed at a predetermined interval by a spring support member 116 that fixes the interval support member 117 provided before and after and the hook lever biasing spring 114. Further, the interval support member 117 contacts and defines the rotation limit when the lock lever 130 rotates in the engagement direction with the conveyed object W and the hook lever 120 rotates in the direction of locking the lock lever 130. Also, the lock lever biasing spring 115 is locked to the interval support member 117 provided on the lock lever 130 side.

[0015] Note that in the present embodiment, the hook lever 120 and the lock lever 130 are biased by the hook lever biasing spring 114 and the lock lever biasing spring 115, respectively, but may be biased by gravity by devising the shape or adding a weight. Further, since the hook lever 120 can be moved in the engagement direction and the release direction by the lock lever 130, the hook lever biasing spring 114 may be omitted. Also, in the present embodiment, the hook lever 120 has a follower roller 133 as an interlocking member for rotating the lock lever 130 by contacting the guide plate 101, but the hook lever 120 itself may be in a shape that directly contacts the guide plate 101.

[0016] The operation of the dog mechanism 100 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7. When the hook lever 120 is engaged with the conveyed object W, the pressed portion 121 of the hook lever 120 and the locking portion 131 of the lock lever 130 are in contact at the contact point P, and the contact point P is located on the side of the conveyed object W from the line connecting the center of the pivot axis 112 of the hook lever 120 and the center of the pivot axis 113 of the lock lever 130. Then, if we consider the rotation radius r1 of the contact point P in the pressed portion 121, the rotation radius r2 of the contact point P in the lock portion 131, and the distance R between the center of the rotation axis 112 of the hook lever 120 and the center of the rotation axis 113 of the lock lever 130, r1+r2>R Because of this relationship, the hook lever 120 will not rotate in the direction that would disengage the engagement.

[0017] Furthermore, in order to ensure smooth operation, the hook lever 120 and the lock lever 130 are designed to have a slight gap or light contact at the contact point P when they are rotated to their rotation ends. While friction at the contact point P alone might not cause the lock lever 130 to rotate in conjunction with the hook lever 120, the lock lever 130 is provided with an extension 134 that presses the hook lever 120 in the direction of engagement from the state in which the hook lever 120 has released its engagement with the conveyed object W. Therefore, when the hook lever 120 rotates even slightly, the lock lever 130 also rotates in conjunction and makes firm contact at the contact point P. This prevents both the hook lever 120 and the lock lever 130 from rotating any further, and the rotation of the hook lever 120 is reliably prevented by the lock lever 130 without being affected by load fluctuations or vibrations of the chain during the movement of the conveyed object W, thereby preventing disengagement during conveyance.

[0018] As the follower roller 133 moves, it comes into contact with the guide plate 101, which is positioned along the movement path of the dog mechanism 100. This causes the lock lever 130 to rotate, releasing the lock on the hook lever 120. At the same time, the lock lever 130 presses the hook lever 120 in the release direction, disengaging the hook lever 120 from the conveyed object W. The upper shape of the lock portion 131 of the lock lever 130 is such that when the release portion 132 of the lock lever 130 rotates toward the pressed portion 121 of the hook lever 120, it does not come into contact with the pressed portion 121 of the hook lever 121. In other words, it is formed to be smaller than the rotation radius r2 of the contact point P shown in Figure 5. As shown in Figure 6, when the follower roller 133 is pushed up by the inclined portion of the guide plate 101, the lock lever 130 rotates independently until the release portion 132 comes into contact with the pressed portion 121.

[0019] Then, as shown in Figure 7, when the follower roller 133 is further pushed up and the lock lever 130 rotates, the release portion 132 of the lock lever 130 presses against the pressed portion 121 of the hook lever 120, causing the hook lever 120 to rotate to a position where it disengages from the conveyed object W. When the hook lever 120 returns to a state where it engages with the conveyed object W, the push-up of the follower roller 133 by the guide plate 101 is released, causing the lock lever 130 to rotate due to the lock lever biasing spring 115, and the extension 134 of the lock lever 130 presses the hook lever 120 in the engagement direction. Additionally, the hook lever biasing spring 114 also presses the hook lever 120 in the engagement direction, returning the hook lever 120 to the position shown in Figure 5 where it can engage with the conveyed object W and the lock lever 130 locks the rotation of the hook lever 120. Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above configuration. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0020] 100... Dog mechanism 101 ··· Guide Plate 110 ··· Main body 112 ··· Hook lever pivot axis 113... Lock lever pivot axis 114 ··· Hook lever biasing spring (elastic component) 115... Lock lever biasing spring (elastic component) 116 ··· Spring support member 117 ··· Spacing support member 120 ··· Hook lever 121 ··· Pressed part 122 ··· Engaging part 130... Lock lever 131 ··· Lock section 132 ··· Release section 133 ··· Follower roller (interlocking component) 134... Extension W ··· Transported items P Contact point

Claims

1. A dog mechanism comprising a main body that is movable in the transport direction, and a hook lever that is rotatably mounted on the main body and has an engaging portion that can engage with and disengage from the transported object, The main body is rotatably provided with a lock lever capable of restricting the rotation of the hook lever. The engaging portion of the hook lever is positioned behind the pivot axis of the hook lever in the conveying direction. The lock lever has a locking portion that contacts the pressed portion of the hook lever to maintain the engagement of the hook lever with the conveyed object. The lock lever is biased in a direction that maintains the engagement of the hook lever with the conveyed object. The dog mechanism is characterized in that the locking portion of the lock lever is positioned forward in the transport direction from the pivot axis center of the lock lever.

2. The dog mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the lock lever has a release portion that presses the pressed portion of the hook lever to release the engagement of the hook lever with the conveyed object.

3. The dog mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the locking portion is positioned on the side of the conveyed object side of the line connecting the pivot axis center of the hook lever and the pivot axis center of the lock lever.

4. The dog mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the lock lever has an extension that presses the hook lever in the direction of engaging from a state in which the hook lever has disengaged from the conveyed object.

5. The dog mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the locking portion is formed in such a shape that it does not come into contact with the pressed portion of the hook lever when the release portion of the lock lever rotates in a direction that approaches the pressed portion of the hook lever.

6. The dog mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the lock lever has an interlocking member for rotating the lock lever in a direction in which the release part presses the pressed part of the hook lever.

7. The dog mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the hook lever is biased by an elastic member in a direction that engages with the conveyed object.

8. The dog mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the lock lever is biased by an elastic member in a direction that maintains the engagement of the hook lever with the conveyed object.

Images