Roller Conveyor

Abstract

To improve easiness of attachment work of a motor roller and work for setting the motor roller at a level higher than that of a free roller.SOLUTION: A roller conveyor includes: multiple rollers; support shaft receivers 1 each of which supports a support shaft of the roller; and a frame 100 which supports the support shaft receivers. The support shaft receiver includes: a supported part 10 supported by the frame; and a shaft support part 11 which pivotally supports the support shaft of the roller. The frame includes multiple support parts each of which supports the supported part. The support part has multiple support positions each of which defines a support position of the supported part. The supported part is supported at one arbitrary position of the multiple support positions in a manner that enables change of the support position. The multiple support positions are set at positions which make a height difference between a position of the shaft support part when the supported part is in one support position and a position of the shaft support part when the supported part is in the other support position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a roller conveyor having free rollers and motorized rollers. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art As described in Patent Document 1 below, a roller conveyor is known in which a motor roller is disposed between free rollers. In this roller conveyor, the free rollers and the motor rollers have a support shaft and rollers that rotate around the support shaft, and the support shaft is fixed to a frame so that the free rollers and the motor rollers rotate. Furthermore, the motor roller has a motor built in the roller, and this motor drives and rotates the roller, and this drive rotation is used as a conveying force to convey the conveyed object. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4175491 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The number of motor rollers mentioned above is calculated based on the required tangential force needed to transport a certain mass of goods depending on the material, but depending on the shape of the goods, the goods may not come into contact with the required number of motor rollers, preventing normal transport. For this reason, the number of motor rollers is increased so that the transported object is brought into contact with more than the calculated number of rollers, thereby enabling normal transport to be performed. Furthermore, if the item being transported is light, the resistance of the free rollers may cause the item to slip, preventing normal transport; in such cases, the level of the motor rollers is set higher than that of the free rollers to ensure that the motor rollers come into contact with the item, thereby enabling normal transport.

[0005] However, the work of increasing the number of motor rollers and the work of setting the level of the motor rollers higher than that of the free rollers takes a considerable amount of time. In particular, when setting the level of the motor roller higher than that of the free roller, there is a problem in that the positions of the shaft holes of the free roller and the motor roller must be designed. For this reason, there is a demand for an improvement in the ease of the installation work of the motor roller and the work of setting the level of the motor roller higher than that of the free roller. By reducing the resistance of the free rollers, normal transport is possible. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve such problems, the roller conveyor according to claim 1 comprises a plurality of rollers, a bearing supporting the roller axles, and a frame supporting the bearing, the bearing comprising a supported part supported by the frame and a support part supporting the roller axle, the frame having a plurality of support parts supporting the supported parts, the support parts having a plurality of support positions which define the support positions of the supported parts, the supported parts being supported at any one of the plurality of support positions and being supported in such a way that the support position can be freely changed, and the plurality of support positions are set at positions where there is a difference in height between the position of the support part when the supported part is at one support position and the position of the support part when the supported part is at another support position.

[0007] The rollers are characterized as being motorized rollers and / or free rollers.

[0008] The supported portion has a plurality of supported portions, and one of the plurality of supported portions is supported at any one of the plurality of support positions.

[0009] The supported part has a plurality of supported portions, and the plurality of supported portions are characterized in that the supported portions of the supported part are changed to any one of the plurality of support positions by rotation of the supported part about the axis of the support part.

[0010] The bearing according to claim 5 comprises a supported part supported by a support part of the frame and a support part which supports the roller's support shaft, and the supported part has supported portions which are supported at each of a plurality of support positions in the support part.

[0011] The present invention is characterized in that a plurality of supported portions are provided, and the plurality of supported portions are adapted to be changed from one support position to another by rotation of the supported portions about the axis of the support portion.

[0012] The supported portion is characterized by being provided with a holding means for holding the supported state on the supporting portion of the frame of the roller conveyor.

[0013] The retaining means is an engaging portion provided on the outer peripheral surface of the supported portion, and the engaging portion is adapted to engage with the supporting portion when the supported portion is supported by the supporting portion of the frame.

[0014] The engaging portion is provided on an elastic piece having elasticity, and the elastic piece is characterized in that it is elastically deformable in the radial direction of the supported portion.

[0015] The engaging portion is characterized by having a plurality of portions that engage with the frame in accordance with the thickness of the frame. Effect of the Invention

[0016] With the above-mentioned configuration, the present invention can improve the ease of the roller installation work and the work of setting the level of the motor roller higher than that of the free roller. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view of a roller conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 4 is an enlarged schematic front view of a support structure of the support bearing relative to the support portion. FIG. [Diagram 3] 1 shows the separated state of the support part and the support bearing, where (a) shows the shape of the supported part with the support part and the apex facing upward, and (b) shows the shape of the supported part with the support part and the apex facing downward. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line (4)-(4) in FIG. 2. [Diagram 5] 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line (5)-(5) in FIG. 2. [Figure 6] 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line (6)-(6) in FIG. 2. [Figure 7] 13 is a schematic front view showing a first modified example of the support structure of the support bearing with respect to the support portion. FIG. [Figure 8] 8A is a cross-sectional view taken along line (8)-(8) in FIG. 7, and (b) is a cross-sectional view showing the engaging operation of the engaging portion. [Figure 9] 4 shows the state where the second contact surface is engaged. [Figure 10] 13 is a schematic front view showing a second modified example of the support structure of the support bearing with respect to the support portion. FIG. [Figure 11] 13 is a schematic front view showing a third modified example of the support structure of the support bearing relative to the support portion. FIG. [Figure 12] 13A is a schematic front view showing a fourth modified example of the support structure of the bearing relative to the support portion, and FIG. 13B is a schematic front view showing a fifth modified example of the support structure of the bearing relative to the support portion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Hereinafter, a roller conveyor A and a support bearing 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. In the following description, the same reference numerals in different drawings indicate parts having the same functions, and duplicated descriptions in each drawing will be omitted as appropriate.

[0019] In addition, in FIG. 1, the upstream side of the conveying direction b indicated by the arrow is defined as the "right" side, and the downstream side is defined as the "left" side. In addition, the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction b in the height direction of the roller conveyor A is defined as "up and down". Moreover, the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction b in the planar direction is defined as the "front-rear direction".

[0020] [Roller conveyor configuration] As shown in FIG. 1, roller conveyor A has a frame 100 fixed on a stand 101, on which multiple motor rollers (rollers) 20 (shown with parallel diagonal lines) and multiple free rollers (rollers) 30 are supported, and the driven rotation of the motor rollers 20 is used as a conveying force to convey an object (not shown). As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the frames 100 are disposed on both end sides of the motor roller 20 and the free rollers 30. As shown in FIG. The motor roller 20 and the free roller 30 are disposed along the front-rear direction with their respective shaft centers c1, c2 parallel to each other, and are supported by a support bearing 1 attached to a frame 100.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 4, the motor roller 20 comprises a roller body 201, two front and rear support shafts 202 which support the roller body 201 so as to be freely rotatable, and a motor 203 built into the roller body 201, with the rear support shaft 202 being supported by a support shaft bearing 1 and the front support shaft 202 being supported by the frame 100 via a mounting bracket 200. The roller body 201 and the support shaft 202 have the same axis c1. The mounting bracket 200 has an electric circuit (not shown) built in for driving the motor described above, and by electrically wiring this electric circuit it is possible to supply the power required to drive the motor. In FIG. 1, one motor roller 20 is arranged for every two free rollers 30, but the arrangement positions and number of motor rollers 20 are adjusted according to the transported goods.

[0022] As shown in Figure 5, the free roller 30 comprises a roller body 301 having the same diameter as the roller body 201 of the motor roller 20, and a support shaft 302 that supports the roller body 301 so that it can rotate freely, and the support shaft 302 on both ends is supported by support bearings 1. The roller body 301 and the support shaft 302 have the same axis c2. As shown in FIG. 4, the motor roller 20 comprises a roller body 201, a support shaft 202 that supports the roller body 201 so as to be freely rotatable, and a motor (not shown) built into the roller body 201, with the support shaft 202 on one end supported by a support shaft bearing 1 and the support shaft 202 on the other end supported by a frame 100 via a mounting bracket 200. The roller body 201 and the support shaft 202 have the same axis c1. The mounting bracket 200 has an electric circuit (not shown) built in for driving the motor described above, and by electrically wiring this electric circuit it is possible to supply the power required to drive the motor. In FIG. 1, one motor roller 20 is arranged for every two free rollers 30, but the arrangement positions and number of motor rollers 20 are adjusted according to the transported goods.

[0023] As shown in Figure 5, the free roller 30 comprises a roller body 301 having the same diameter as the roller body 201 of the motor roller 20, and a support shaft 302 that supports the roller body 201 so that it can rotate freely, and the support shaft 302 on both ends is supported by support bearings 1. The roller body 301 and the support shaft 302 have the same axis c2.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 1, the frame 100 is provided with support portions 4 for supporting the bearings 1, the number of which corresponds to the number of the motor rollers 20 and the free rollers 30. In addition, the frame 100 has bolt holes 102 for attaching the mounting bracket 200 on the lower side of all of the supports 4, so that the mounting bracket 200 can be attached to the same position on all of the supports 4 via bolts and nuts 103, as shown in Figure 2.

[0025] As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the support portions 4 are all of the same shape and size, and are recesses formed in the frame 100 with the upper part open. The recess shape of the support part 4 is formed by connecting a triangular part 41 with its apex t facing downward to the lower end of a straight line part 40 extending downward from the upper end of the frame 100, and the shape is symmetrical with respect to the vertical center line c3 that passes through the apex t of the triangular part. All the support parts 4 are arranged so that their vertices t are at the same height in the left-right direction.

[0026] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the support portion 4 is provided with a plurality of support positions p1, p2 that define the support positions of a supported portion 10 (described later) of the bearing 1. The multiple support positions p1, p2 are a first support position p1 and a second support position p2. The first support position p1 is set at the lower end of the straight portion 40 where it intersects with the upper end of the triangular portion 41, and the second support position p2 is set on the inclined surface of the triangular portion 41, so that the two positions p1, p2 are at different height positions along the vertical center line c3 that passes through the vertex t of the triangular portion in the left-right direction.

[0027] [Structure of bearing] As shown in Figures 2 to 6, the support bearing 1 includes a supported part 10 supported by a support part 4 of a frame 100, a support part 11 that supports the support shaft 202 of the motor roller 20 and the support shaft 302 of the free roller 30, and a contact plate 12 provided on the outer periphery of the supported part 10.

[0028] [Configuration of supported part] As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the supported portion 10 is formed in a triangular shape that fits the triangular portion 41 of the supporting portion 4 when viewed from the front. Such a supported portion 10 has a plurality of supported regions p10, p20. The multiple supported portions p10, p20 are a first supported portion p10 supported at a first supporting position p1 on the support portion 4, and a second supported portion p20 supported at a second supported position p2 on the support portion 4. The first supported portion p10 is set at a corner corresponding to the first support position p1, and the second supported portion p20 is installed on an inclined surface corresponding to the second supported portion p2, so that the two portions p10, p20 are at different height positions in the direction perpendicular to the left-right direction with the support portion 11 as the boundary. As shown in FIG. 6, the left and right side surfaces of the portion of the supported portion 10 that protrudes outward in the front and rear directions are provided with insertion holes 500 for inserting the anti-slip pin 400 into the support shaft 302 supported by the support portion 11.

[0029] When attaching such a supported part 10 to the support part 4, if the spindle 201 of the motor roller 20 is positioned higher than the spindle 301 of the free roller 30, as shown in Figures 2 and 3(a), the first supported portion p10 is placed at the first support position p1 with the apex t1 of the triangle of the supported part 10 on the motor roller 20 side facing upward. On the other hand, on the free roller 30 side, the second supported portion p20 is placed on the second support position p2 with the apex t1 of the triangle of the supported portion 10 facing downward. This allows the height position h1 of the shaft center c1 of the support shaft 201 of the motor roller 20 to be higher than the height position h2 of the shaft center c2 of the support shaft 301 of the free roller 30, resulting in a height difference h12. Corresponding to the height difference h12, a height difference h120 can be provided in which the height position h10 of the roller body 202 of the motor roller 20 is higher than the height position h20 of the roller body 302 of the free roller 30.

[0030] According to this supported part 10, in other words, by inverting the apex t1 of the triangular shape of the supported part 10 upside down, the support position of the supported part 10 can be changed to a first support position p1 and a second support position p2.

[0031] [Configuration of the pivot support] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the support portion 11 has an axis c6 coaxial with the axis c5 of the outer periphery of the supported portion 10 from the end side facing the motor roller 20 and the free roller 30, and is recessed toward the front and rear outward of the frame 100 so as to form the inner circumference of the supported portion 10. The axis C6 of the shaft support portion 11 is coaxial with the axis c1 of the front and rear support shafts 202 of the motor roller 20 and the axis c2 of the support shaft 302 of the free roller 30, as shown in FIGS. The shaft support portion 11 is formed in a shape that allows the anti-rotation portions 2011 , 3011 formed on the tip sides of the shafts 202 and 302 to be fitted therewith, thereby preventing the shafts 202 , 302 from rotating relative to the shaft support portion 11 .

[0032] The mounting bracket 200 has a support hole formed therein that is shaped to fit over the anti-rotation portion 2011 of the front spindle 202 of the motor roller 20, and the spindle 202 on the other end of the motor roller 20 is supported through this support hole, thereby preventing the spindle 202 from rotating.

[0033] [Construction of the contact plate] The abutment plate 12 is a retaining means for fixing the bearing 1 to the frame 100, and as shown in Figures 2 and 6, it protrudes radially from the left and right outer peripheral surfaces of the supported part 10 so as to face the outer surfaces of the front and rear frames 100. The abutment plate 12 has two screw holes 120 arranged vertically on each of the left and right sides, and as shown in Figure 6, the support bearing 1 can be held on the frame 100 by aligning these screw holes 120 with screw holes 104 provided in the frame 100 and fastening them with screws. As shown in FIG. 2, the frame 100 has four screw holes 104, one above the other, in positions where the screw holes 120 in the abutment plate 12 are coaxial with each other regardless of whether the vertex t1 of the supported portion 10 faces upward or downward.

[0034] By using this retaining means utilizing the abutment plate 12, as shown in FIG. 6, while the supported part 10 is supported by the supporting part 4, it abuts against the outer surfaces of the front and rear frames 100, and by fastening the abutment plate 12 to the frame 100 with screws, the amount of penetration of the supported part 10 can be regulated and the support bearing 1 can be set in the correct position. By clamping the edge of the support portion 4 between the contact plate 12 and the engagement portion 5, the support bearing 1 is prevented from coming off, is immobilized, and rattling can be prevented. Therefore, the support shaft bearing 1 can be attached to the frame 100 in an immovable and prevented from coming off, so that the support state of the support shaft 202 of the motor roller 20 and the support shaft 302 of the free roller 30 can be reliably maintained.

[0035] [Support structure of the shaft by the bearing] Next, a support structure for the shaft 202 of the motor roller 20 and the shaft 302 of the free roller 30 by the shaft bearing 1 having the above-mentioned structure will be described. In this embodiment, a support configuration in which the height h10 of the roller body 201 of the motor roller 20 is set at a position higher than the height h20 of the roller body 301 of the free rollers 30 will be described.

[0036] First, when attaching the bearing 1 to the support part 4 on the motor roller 20 side, as shown in Figures 2 and 3(a), the apex t1 of the supported part 10 is faced upward, the first supported portion p10 is placed at the first set position p1, the support shaft 201 of the motor roller 20 is inserted into the support part 11, and the abutment plate 12 is screwed to the frame 100. On the other hand, when attaching the bearing 1 to the support part 4 on the free roller 30 side, as shown in Figures 2 and 3(b), the apex t1 of the supported part 10 is faced downward, the second supported portion p20 is placed at the second set position p2, the support shaft 301 of the free roller 30 is inserted into the support part 11, and the abutment plate 12 is screwed to the frame 100. By doing this, a height difference h12 is created between the height h1 of the axis c1 of the support shaft 201 of the motor roller 20 and the height h2 of the axis c2 of the support shaft 301 of the free roller 30, thereby making the height h10 of the roller body 201 of the motor roller 20 higher than the height h20 of the roller body 301 of the free roller 30.

[0037] The height h10 of the roller body 201 of the motor roller 20 and the height h20 of the roller body 301 of the free roller 30 may be the same height, in which case the apexes of all the support bearings 1 may be aligned either up or down.

[0038] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the support bearing 1 with the above-mentioned configuration can provide a height difference h12 between the height h1 of the axis c1 of the support shaft 202 of the motor roller 20 and the height h2 of the axis c2 of the support shaft 302 of the free roller 30 by the simple method of inverting the supported part 10 so that the direction of the apex t1 of the supported part 10 on the motor roller 20 side and the free roller 30 side is reversed upside down. By providing a height difference h12 between the height h1 of the shaft core c1 and the height h2 of the shaft core c2, a height difference h120 equal to the height difference h12 can be provided between the height h10 of the roller body 201 of the motor roller 20 and the height h20 of the roller body 301 of the free roller 30.

[0039] Roller conveyor A equipped with this support bearing 1 can easily provide a height difference h120 between the height h10 of the roller body 201 of the motor roller 20 described above and the height h20 of the roller body 301 of the free roller 30, making it possible to easily and quickly adjust the position and number of the motor roller 20 and free rollers depending on the transported goods. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, the support bearing 1 holds the abutment plate 12 with screws, making it easy to install and remove, thereby facilitating the easy and quick work of changing the position and number of the motor roller 20 and free rollers 30.

[0040] [Variation 1 of the support structure for the bearing] Next, a first modified example of the support structure of the bearing 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 8, the supported portion 10 is provided on the left and right linear surface portions 110 with holding means (hereinafter, engaging portions) 5 for holding the supported portion 10 supported by the supporting portion 4 in a supported state. As shown in FIG. 8(a), this engagement portion 5 engages around the edge of the support portion 4, so that the support bearing 1 can be attached to the frame 100 in a state in which it is prevented from coming loose from the support portion 4.

[0041] [Engagement part configuration] As shown in Figure 8, the engagement portions 5 are arranged on the left and right linear surface portions 110 of the supported portion 10, and are configured to engage with the support portions 4 on the inner surfaces of the front and rear frames 100 when the supported portion 10 is supported by the support portions 4, as shown in Figure 8(a). As shown in Figures 8(a) and (b), the engagement portion 5 has an abutment surface portion 501 that abuts against the left and right edges of the support portion 4, and an inclined surface portion 502 that extends from the end of the abutment surface portion 501 to the straight surface portion 110 of the supported portion 10, and is provided on an elastic piece portion 50 provided on the straight surface portion 110 of the supported portion 10. The elastic piece portion 50 has a base end 51 at the end portion of the inclined surface portion 502 on the straight surface portion 110 side, and is formed by securing a slit in the wall surface of the supported portion 10 except for this base end 51, and is freely elastically deformable in the left and right radial directions of the supported portion 10 with the base end 51 as a fulcrum. The contact surface portion 501 faces the contact plate 12, and when the engagement portion 5 is engaged with the support bearing 1 of the frame 100, the contact surface portion 501 and the contact plate 12 sandwich the frame 100.

[0042] As shown in Figure 8 (b) , in this type of engagement portion 5, the inclination direction of the inclined surface portion 502 extends from the straight surface portion 110 of the supported portion 10 toward the abutment surface portion 501, so that when the supported portion 10 is inserted into the supporting portion 4, the inclined surface portion 502 abuts against the edge of the supporting portion 4. The insertion force when the inclined surface portion 502 abuts against the edge of the support portion 4 acts as a force in the direction of expanding the support portion 4 due to the inclination of the inclined surface portion 502, but this force reacts as a force pushing against the inclined surface portion 502 at the edge of the support portion 4, and this pushing force elastically deforms the elastic piece portion 50 in the direction of the axis c6 of the support portion 11. Then, the elastic piece portion 50 is elastically deformed in the direction of the axis c6 of the pivot support portion 11, so that the engagement portion 5 passes through the support portion 4. After the engagement portion 5 has passed, as shown in FIG. 8(a), the elastic piece portion 502 returns from its elastic deformation, and the abutment surface portion 501 abuts against the left and right edges of the support portion 4, thereby engaging the engagement portion 5 with the support portion 4. That is, by inserting the supported portion 10 into the supporting portion 4, the support bearing 1 can be easily attached to the frame 100 in a locked state.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 9, the engagement portion 5 includes a second contact surface portion 503. The second abutment surface portion 503 is a surface parallel to the abutment surface portion 501 at the front end of the elastic piece portion 50, and the distance between the second abutment surface portion 503 and the abutment plate 12 is shorter than the distance between the abutment surface portion 501 and the abutment plate 12. That is, since this engagement portion 5 has multiple (two) portions for clamping the frame 100, depending on the thickness of the frame 100, the portion of the engagement portion 5 for clamping the frame 100 can be the abutment surface portion 501 shown in Figure 8(a) or the second abutment surface portion 503 shown in Figure 9. In the present invention, the engagement portion 5 may be configured to have one or more further abutment surfaces in addition to the second abutment surface portion 503, or the engagement portion 5 may not have the second abutment surface portion 503.

[0044] The bearing 1 can be removed by pushing the engaging portion 5 toward the axis c6 of the bearing portion 11 (not shown). That is, when the engaging portion 5 is pressed toward the axis c6 of the pivot support portion 11, the elastic piece portion 50 is elastically deformed in the same direction by the pushing force, and the engaging portion 5 moves toward the axis c6 of the pivot support portion 11 due to this elastic deformation. As the engagement portion 5 moves, the entire abutment surface portion 501 moves into the hole of the support portion 4, thereby disengaging the engagement portion 5. With the engagement portion 5 in the disengaged state, the support bearing 1 can be easily removed by pulling it out of the support portion 4.

[0045] [Variation 2 of the support structure for the bearing] Next, a second modified example of the support structure of the bearing 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The support portion 4 is formed in a downwardly convex shape when viewed from the front, with a step portion defining a first support position p1 and a lower end defining a second support position p2. The bearing 1 has a supported portion 10 formed in a convex shape when viewed from the front, and this shape fits the supporting portion 4 when made into a downward convex shape. When the support bearing 1 is in an upward convex shape, its lower end is a first supported portion p10 that is supported at a first support position p1, and when the support bearing 1 is in a downward convex shape, its lower end is a second supported portion p20 that is supported at a second support position p2. The support structure of the bearing 1 of the modified example 2 allows the support position of the supported portion 10 to be changed to a first support position p1 or a second support position p2 by rotating the supported portion 10 upside down. Therefore, by the simple method of inverting the supported portion 10 on the motor roller 20 side and the free roller 30 side so that they are upside down, it is possible to create a height difference h12 between the height h1 of the axis c1 of the support shaft 202 of the motor roller 20 and the height h2 of the axis c2 of the support shaft 302 of the free roller 30.

[0046] [Variation 3 of the support structure for the bearing] Next, a third modified example of the support structure of the bearing 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The support portion 4 has a protrusion 43 that protrudes from both side edges 42 of a recess formed in a vertically elongated rectangular shape toward the inner center, and the upper surface of this protrusion 43 is defined as a first support position p1, and the lower end of the support portion 4 is defined as a second support position p2. The bearing 1 has a supported portion 10 formed in a horizontally long rectangular shape when viewed from the front, and this shape fits the upper supporting portion 4a and the lower supporting portion 4b that are divided by the protrusion 43 as a boundary. The lower and upper ends of the supported portion 10 are supported portions p30 that are supported at a first support position p1 and a second support position p2. When the supported portion 10 is inserted into the upper support portion 4a, the supported portion p30 is supported at the first support position p1, and when the supported portion 10 is inserted into the lower support portion 4b, the supported portion p30 is supported at the second support position p2. In the support structure of the bearing 1 of the third modified example, by switching the bearing 1 up and down with respect to the supporting portion 4, the support position of the supported portion 10 can be changed to the first support position p1 or the second support position p2. Therefore, by the simple method of swapping the supported portion 10 up and down on the motor roller 20 side and the free roller 30 side, a height difference h12 can be created between the height h1 of the axis c1 of the support shaft 202 of the motor roller 20 and the height h2 of the axis c2 of the support shaft 302 of the free roller 30. The supported portion 10 according to variant example 3 has supported portions p30 set at the lower and upper ends, so that even if the supported portion 10 itself is inverted and turned upside down, the supported portion p30 is supported at the first support position p1 or the second support position p2.

[0047] [Modification 4 of the support structure for the bearing] Next, a fourth modified example of the support structure of the bearing 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In the description of this modified example, only the motor roller side is illustrated. The support part 4 has approximately the same shape as the support part 4 of variant example 3, and has a first support position p1 secured on the upper surface of the protrusion 43, a second support position p2 secured at the lower end of the support part 4, and a third support position p3 secured between the lower end of the support part 4 and the ends of both protrusions 43. The lower end of the support portion 4 at the third support position p3 is on the same plane as the second support position p2. The distance between the ends of both protrusions 43 at the third support position p3 is a distance that fits the width of the vertically elongated support bearing 1 when the support bearing 1 is supported at the third support position p3 as shown in the figure.

[0048] The bearing 1 has substantially the same shape as the bearing 1 of the third modified example, and is provided with engagement portions 5 on the four sides. In this support bearing 1, in the horizontally elongated rectangular state, the lower end or the upper end of the supported portion 10 is a first supported portion p10. When the bearing 1 is in a vertically elongated rectangular state, the lower and upper ends of the supported portion 10 become the left and right ends of the supported portion 10, and these left and right ends become second supported positions p20. The second supported portion p20 is also located at the upper end or the lower end of the supported portion 10 when the support bearing 1 is in a vertically elongated rectangular state.

[0049] In the support structure of variant example 4, when the support bearing 1 is supported at the first support position p1 or the second support position p2, the support bearing 1 is in a horizontally elongated rectangular state as shown by the virtual lines, and the first supported portion p10 is positioned at the first support position p1 or the second support position p2. This is the same as the support structure of variant example 3 shown in Figure 11, and a height difference h12 can be created between the height h1 of the axis c1 of the support shaft 202 of the motor roller 20 and the height h2 of the axis c2 of the support shaft 302 of the free roller 30. Moreover, when the height difference h12 is to be reduced, the bearing 1 is rotated about the axis c5 of the bearing portion 11 to assume a vertically elongated rectangular shape. In this state, when the second supported portion p20 at the lower end of the supported portion 10 is positioned at the third support position p3 at the lower end of the supporting portion 4, the second supported portion p20 at the left and right ends of the supported portion 10 is positioned between the ends of both protrusions 43 of the supporting portion 4. When the second supported portion p20 of the supported part 10 is positioned at the third support position p3 of the support part 4, the height position of the axis c5 of the bearing 1 is intermediate between the height position of the axis c5 when the bearing 1 is supported at the first support position p1 and the height position of the axis c5 when the bearing 1 is supported at the second support position p2. In other words, since the support structure of variant example 4 has three support positions for the bearing 1: the first support position p1, the second support position p2, and the third support position p3, the height position of the axis c5 of the bearing 1 can be finely changed, thereby enabling the height difference h12 to be finely adjusted.

[0050] [Modification 5 of the support structure for the bearing] Next, a fifth modified example of the support structure of the bearing 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In the description of this modified example, only the motor roller side is illustrated. The support structure of variant 5 is the support structure of variant 4, in which recesses are provided at the left and right ends of the vertically elongated rectangular support bearing 1 into which the two protrusions 43 fit, and these recesses serve as the second supported portion p20. In the support structure of variant example 5, when the bearing 1 is supported at the third support position p3, both protrusions 43 fit into the second supported portion p20 which is recessed, thereby preventing the bearing 1 from moving upward. This makes it possible to prevent the bearing 1 from coming loose upward when supported by the support portion 4.

[0051] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and the present invention also includes design changes and the like that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention. Furthermore, the embodiments can be combined by utilizing each other's technologies, so long as there are no particular contradictions or problems in the purpose, configuration, and the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] A: Roller conveyor 100: Frame 1: Support bearing 10: Supported part 11: Axis branch 12: Contact plate (holding means) b: Transport direction 20: Motor roller 202: Support shaft 30: Free roller 302: Support shaft c1: Axis core c2: shaft center c3: Axis core c6: Axis core 4: Support part 5: Engagement part (holding means) 50: Elastic piece p1: first support position p2: second support position p3: third support position p10: First supported part p20: second supported part p30:Supported part

Claims

1. The roller bearing includes a plurality of rollers, a bearing for supporting the roller shafts, and a frame for supporting the bearing, The bearing includes a supported portion supported by the frame and a supporting portion that supports the roller shaft. The frame has a plurality of supporting parts that support the supported parts, the supporting portion has a plurality of supporting positions that define supporting positions of the supported portion, the supported portion is supported at any one of the plurality of support positions, and the support position is supported so as to be freely changeable; the plurality of support positions are set at positions where there is a height difference between a position of the pivot support part when the supported part is at one support position and a position of the pivot support part when the supported part is at another support position; A roller conveyor characterized in that the supported portion has a plurality of supported locations, and the plurality of supported locations are configured so that the supported locations of the supported portion can be changed to any one of the plurality of support positions by rotation of the supported portion about the axis of the support portion.

2. 2. A roller conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that the rollers are motorized rollers and / or free rollers.

3. 3. A bearing provided in a roller conveyor according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a supported part supported by a support part of a frame and a support part that supports a shaft of the roller, the supported part having supported portions supported at each of a plurality of support positions in the support part.

4. The bearing according to claim 3, characterized in that a plurality of supported portions are provided, and the plurality of supported portions are adapted to be changed from one support position to another support position by rotation of the supported portions about the axis of the support portion.

5. 5. A bearing according to claim 3, wherein the supported portion is provided with a retaining means for retaining a state in which the supported portion is supported by the supporting portion of the frame of the roller conveyor.

6. The bearing according to claim 5, characterized in that the retaining means is an engaging portion provided on the outer peripheral surface of the supported portion, and the engaging portion is adapted to engage with the supporting portion when the supported portion is supported by the supporting portion of the frame.

7. 7. The bearing according to claim 6, wherein the engaging portion is provided on an elastic piece having elasticity, the elastic piece being elastically deformable in the radial direction of the supported portion.

8. 8. The bearing according to claim 6, wherein the engaging portion has a plurality of portions that engage with the frame in accordance with a thickness of the frame.

Images