Conveyor device

Abstract

To provide a conveyance device that suppresses collision of front and rear workpieces.SOLUTION: A conveyance device (1) includes: a plurality of trolleys (30) performing intermittent conveyance; a suspending mechanism (50) including a rod-shaped member (51) for suspending a workpiece (100); and a guide rail (60) provided to come into contact with the rod-shaped member (51). The rod-shaped member (51) is swingably attached to the trolley (30). In the guide rail (60), a side that comes into contact with the rod-shaped member (51) during conveying has a wave shape formed by repeating convex portions and concave portions along a conveyance direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a conveying device for suspending and conveying a workpiece.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a suspension conveying device for suspending and conveying a workpiece is known. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a suspension conveying device provided with a trolley device guided by a trolley guide rail and a trolley driving device guided by a trolley driving device rail disposed above the trolley guide rail.

[0003] Further, Patent Document 2 describes an electrodeposition coating device that conveys a workpiece in a state where the workpiece is suspended and held, immerses the workpiece as an object to be coated in the electrodeposition coating stored in an electrodeposition tank, and performs electrodeposition coating on the workpiece.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the case of a suspension conveying device as described in the prior art, when intermittent conveyance is performed in which conveyance and stop are repeated during conveyance of the workpiece, the workpiece may swing, and there is a possibility that collisions may occur between the front and rear workpieces. Collisions between workpieces are not preferable from the viewpoints of maintaining the quality of the workpiece and safety in the factory.

[0006] One aspect of the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to realize a conveying device that can suppress collisions between front and rear workpieces even when intermittent conveyance is performed in a suspension conveying device.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, a conveying device according to an aspect of the present invention is a conveying device that suspends and conveys a workpiece, and includes a plurality of carriers that perform intermittent conveyance in which conveyance and stop are repeated, a suspension mechanism that is attached to the carrier and includes a rod-shaped member that suspends the workpiece, and a guide rail that is provided so as to contact the rod-shaped member along the conveyance direction of the carrier. The rod-shaped member is swingably attached to the carrier, and the workpiece can be suspended at one end. The side of the guide rail that contacts the rod-shaped member during conveyance has a wave shape in which peaks and valleys are repeated along the conveyance direction.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to an aspect of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the rod-shaped member from swinging and the workpieces from contacting and colliding with each other.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. The conveying device 1 according to this embodiment is a suspension conveying device that suspends and conveys the workpiece 100 on a fixed path on the ceiling side. FIG. 1 shows the main configuration of the conveying device 1. In FIG. 1, the conveying direction of the conveying device 1 is the direction from the back to the front of the drawing. In this embodiment, the conveying direction of the conveying device 1 is the y direction, the suspension direction of the workpiece 100, that is, the opposite direction of the vertical direction is the z direction, and the direction perpendicular to the y direction and the z direction is the x direction.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the conveying device 1 includes a drive chain 10, a chain rail 20, a trolley 30, a trolley rail 40, a suspension mechanism 50, and a guide rail 60.

[0012] The drive chain 10 is a driving body that is supported and guided by the chain rail 20 to move the trolley 30.

[0013] The trolley 30 is a conveying body that is supported and guided by the trolley rail 40 and conveys the workpiece 100 by moving. The trolley 30 and the drive chain 10 are configured to be connectable. When the trolley 30 is connected to the drive chain 10, it moves along with the drive of the drive chain 10. On the other hand, when it is not connected to the drive chain 10, it stops. This is a so-called power-and-free system. Thereby, the trolley 30 can repeat moving (conveying) and stopping. Repeatedly conveying by repeating this conveying and stopping is called intermittent conveying.

[0014] Further, the trolley 30 may be configured to disconnect from the drive chain 10 and stop when the distance from the previous trolley 30 becomes within a predetermined distance during conveyance. Further, a plurality of trolleys 30 may be connectable, and may be configured to move integrally as a plurality of trolleys 30.

[0015] The suspension mechanism 50 is connected to the trolley 30 and includes a rod-shaped member 51. The rod-shaped member 51 is swingably attached to the trolley 30 within the suspension mechanism 50. By suspending the workpiece 100 at one end of the rod-shaped member 51, the conveying device 1 can suspend and convey the workpiece 100. Further, the rod-shaped member 51 is a cylinder having a circular cross section perpendicular to the axis.

[0016] The guide rail 60 is a guide provided along the conveyance direction of the conveyance device 1 so as to contact the rod-shaped member 51 of the suspension mechanism 50 during conveyance of the workpiece 100. Details of the guide rail 60 will be described later.

[0017] The guide rail 60 does not need to be provided throughout the conveyance path of the conveyance device 1, and may be configured to be provided in a part of the conveyance path.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a view of the conveying device 1 as viewed from the +x direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the conveying device 1 includes a plurality of trolleys 30, and the workpiece 100 is suspended and conveyed by the suspension mechanism 50 connected to each trolley 30. Therefore, when the trolley 30 performs intermittent conveyance in which conveyance and stop are repeated, the workpiece 100 suspended from the trolley 30 may swing and contact the adjacent workpiece 100. Therefore, in the conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment, the guide rail 60 is provided at a position where it contacts the rod-shaped member 51 that suspends the workpiece 100. Hereinafter, details of the guide rail 60 will be described.

[0019] 〔Guide Rail〕 Next, details of the guide rail 60 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the guide rail 60.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 3, the guide rail 60 has a shape in which two plates (60A, 60B) are overlapped, where the side that contacts the rod-shaped member 51 during conveyance has a corrugated shape in which ridges 611 and valleys 612 are repeated along the conveyance direction. These two plates (60A, 60B) are overlapped in a state where the positions of the corrugated ridges 611 and valleys 612 are shifted. When the two plates (60A, 60B) are overlapped, the ridge 611 remains a ridge as it is, but the valley 612 overlaps with the ridge 611 of the other plate and is no longer a valley. Therefore, in this case, the portion that becomes a valley when the two plates (60A, 60B) are overlapped is called the valley portion 613.

[0021] By forming the guide rail 60 by overlapping two plates, it can be easily processed even if the number of ridge portions and valley portions forming the corrugated shape increases.

[0022] Also, the ridge 611 of the guide rail 60 may be formed as an arc.

[0023] Note that the guide rail 60 may be formed of only one plate, for example, plate 60A or plate 60B. Therefore, each of plate 60A and plate 60B can also be called a guide rail. It is preferable that the guide rail 60 is formed of metal. By forming the guide rail 60 of metal, it is possible to suppress the rod-shaped member 51 from contacting and wearing, and to reduce the frequency of repair and replacement of the guide rail 60.

[0024] FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the guide rail 60. 401 in FIG. 4 is a front view of the guide rail 60, 402 is a plan view, 403 is a bottom view, 404 is a left side view, 405 is a right side view, and 406 is a rear view.

[0025] Fig. 5 shows the relationship between the guide rail 60 and the rod-shaped member 51. As shown in Fig. 5, when the workpiece 100 is conveyed, the rod-shaped member 51 will move forward while contacting the wavy side of the guide rail 60. As a result, the rod-shaped member 51 will move forward while contacting the peaks 611 and valleys 613 of the guide rail 60.

[0026] The inventors of the present application have discovered that by arranging the guide rail 60 having such a wavy side at the position where it contacts the rod-shaped member 51, the swinging of the rod-shaped member 511 becomes irregular, and as a result, the swing width in the conveying direction of the workpiece 100 becomes smaller, and the contact between the workpieces 100 can be suppressed.

[0027] A pair of guide rails 60 may be provided facing each other so as to sandwich the rod-shaped member 51. An example where a pair of guide rails 60 are provided facing each other is shown in Figs. 6 to 8. Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the appearance when a pair of guide rails 60 are provided facing each other. As shown in Fig. 6, when a pair of guide rails 60 are provided facing each other, the peaks 611 and valleys 612 are arranged to face each other.

[0028] Fig. 7 is an orthographic projection view when a pair of guide rails 60 are provided facing each other. 701 in Fig. 7 is a front view of the guide rail 60, 702 is a plan view, 703 is a bottom view, 704 is a left side view, 705 is a right side view, and 706 is a rear view.

[0029] Also, 801 in Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view when the guide rail 60 is cut along A-A shown in 701 of Fig. 7, and 802 is a cross-sectional view when the guide rail 60 is cut along B-B shown in 701 of Fig. 7.

[0030] Fig. 9 shows the relationship between the guide rails 60 and the rod-shaped member 51 when a pair of opposing guide rails 60 are provided. As shown in Fig. 9, when the workpiece 100 is being conveyed, the rod-shaped member 51 will move between the guide rails 60 while contacting the corrugated sides of each of the guide rails 60. As a result, the rod-shaped member 51 will move while contacting the peaks 611 and valleys 613 of the guide rails 60.

[0031] When a pair of opposing guide rails 60 are provided, even if the rod-shaped member 51 swings in a direction away from one of the guide rails 60, it will contact the other guide rail 60. Therefore, compared with the case where the above-described guide rail 60 is arranged only on one side, the swing of the rod-shaped member 51 can be more effectively suppressed.

[0032] Also, for example, when the rod-shaped member 51 can swing left and right in the conveyance direction, depending on the suspended state of the workpiece 100, the rod-shaped member 51 may be conveyed while tilted to either the left or the right. Even in such a case, if a pair of opposing guide rails 60 are provided, the rod-shaped member 51 will contact one of the pair of guide rails 60, and the above-described effect can be achieved.

[0033] The distance between the opposing guide rails 60 may be, for example, 1.2 to 1.5 times the diameter of the rod-shaped member 51. Thereby, the rod-shaped member 51 smoothly moves between the guide rails 60, and the swing is suppressed by the corrugated shape of the guide rails 60.

[0034] As described above, the transfer device 1 according to the present embodiment is a transfer device that suspends and transfers the workpiece 100, and includes a plurality of trolleys 30 that perform intermittent transfer in which transfer and stop are repeated, a suspension mechanism 50 that is attached to the trolley 30 and includes a rod-shaped member 51 that suspends the workpiece 100, and a guide rail 60 provided along the transfer direction of the trolley 30 so as to contact the rod-shaped member 51. The rod-shaped member 51 is swingably attached to the trolley 30, and the workpiece 100 can be suspended at one end. Further, the side of the guide rail 60 that contacts the rod-shaped member 51 during transfer has a wave shape in which peaks and valleys are repeated along the transfer direction.

[0035] 〔Modification Example 1〕 The shape of the entrance side of the rod-shaped member 51 between a pair of opposing guide rails 60 may be open. That is, a notch 61 may be provided on the entrance side of the rod-shaped member 51 of the guide rail 60 so that the distance from the other guide rail 60 increases as it goes toward the entrance side of the rod-shaped member 51.

[0036] FIG. 10 shows a guide rail 60X provided with a notch 61. By providing the notch 61, the rod-shaped member 51 can be easily inserted between the opposing guide rails 60.

[0037] 〔Modification Example 2〕 With reference to FIG. 11, a modification example of the suspension mechanism 50 will be described. In this modification example, when the suspension mechanism 50 is configured to swing in the transfer direction, a swing prevention plate 70 is provided to suppress the swing. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, the swing prevention plate 70 is provided before and after the transfer direction of the transfer device 1 so that the swing of the suspension mechanism 50 is restricted. By providing the swing prevention plate 70, even if the suspension mechanism 50 swings back and forth in the transfer direction, the swing prevention plate 70 abuts against the bottom 52 of the suspension mechanism 50, and the suspension mechanism 50 can no longer swing.

[0038] Incidentally, in the above description, an example in which the crest portion 611 of the guide rail 60 is formed in an arc has been described. However, the crest portion 611 is not limited to an arc. For example, as shown in 1201 of FIG. 12, the crest portion 611A may be formed as a straight line instead of an arc. Further, as shown in 1202 of FIG. 12, the slopes of the straight lines sandwiching the apex of the crest portion 611B may be different. That is, it may be serrated such that one straight line is gentle and the other straight line is steep with the apex therebetween, like a saw blade. Also, in the serrated shape, the gently formed side may be arranged in front of the conveyance direction.

[0039] 〔Summary〕 The conveying device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is a conveying device that suspends and conveys a workpiece, and includes a plurality of conveyors that perform intermittent conveyance in which conveyance and stop are repeated, and a hanging mechanism that is attached to the conveyor and includes a rod-shaped member that suspends the workpiece. And a guide rail provided so as to contact the rod-shaped member along the conveyance direction of the conveyor, the rod-shaped member is swingably attached to the conveyor, and the workpiece can be suspended at one end, and the guide rail is When conveying, the side that contacts the rod-shaped member has a wave shape in which a crest portion and a trough portion are repeated along the conveyance direction.

[0040] The inventors of the present application have provided a guide rail in which the side that contacts the rod-shaped member during conveyance has a wave shape in which a crest portion and a trough portion are repeated along the conveyance direction, so that the swing of the rod-shaped member becomes irregular, and as a result, the swing width of the workpiece in the conveyance direction is reduced. It has been found that contact and collision between workpieces can be suppressed. Therefore, according to the above configuration, it is possible to suppress the rod-shaped member from swinging and the workpieces from contacting and colliding with each other.

[0041] The conveying device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention is, in the above Embodiment 1, the guide rail is formed of two plates that are overlapped in a state where the positions of the wave-shaped crest portion and trough portion are shifted.

[0042] According to the above configuration, the crest portion of the guide rail can be formed in a state where it is displaced in the axial direction of the rod-shaped member, and it is possible to further suppress the rod-shaped member from swinging.

[0043] In the conveying device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, in the above Embodiment 1 or 2, the crest portion of the guide rail is formed in an arc shape.

[0044] According to the above configuration, the rod-shaped member can smoothly advance in the conveying direction.

[0045] In the conveying device according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention, in the above Embodiment 1 or 2, the side where the crest portion and the trough portion are repeated is formed in a straight line shape.

[0046] In the conveying device according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention, in the above Embodiment 4, the side where the crest portion and the trough portion are repeated is formed in a sawtooth shape.

[0047] In the conveying device according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention, in the above Embodiment 5, one side of the sawtooth shape is formed more gently than the other side with respect to the apex, and the gently formed side is arranged in front of the conveying direction.

[0048] In the conveying device according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention, in any of the above Embodiments 1 to 6, a pair of guide rails are provided facing each other so as to sandwich the rod-shaped member.

[0049] According to the above configuration, even if the rod-shaped member separates from one guide rail, it contacts the other guide rail, so that the swinging of the rod-shaped member can be further suppressed.

[0050] In the conveying device according to Embodiment 8 of the present invention, in any of the above Embodiments 1 to 7, the cross section of the rod-shaped member is circular.

[0051] According to the above configuration, since the rod-shaped member becomes a cylinder, it can smoothly advance in the conveying direction while contacting the guide rail.

[0052] The conveying device according to aspect 9 of the present invention is, in any one of aspects 1 to 8, wherein the guide rail is made of metal.

[0053] According to the above configuration, since the guide rail is made of metal, even if the rod-shaped member contacts it many times, the degree of wear can be small, and the frequency of repair and replacement can be reduced.

[0054] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0055] 1 Conveying device 10 Driving chain 20 Chain rail 30 Trolley (carrier) 40 Trolley rail 50 Suspension mechanism 51 Rod-shaped member 52 Bottom 60, 60A, 60B, 60X Guide rail (plate) 61 Notch 100 Workpiece

Claims

1. A conveying device for suspending and conveying a workpiece, comprising: a plurality of conveyors that perform intermittent conveying by repeating conveying and stopping; a suspension mechanism attached to the conveyor and including a rod-shaped member for suspending the workpiece; a guide rail provided along the conveying direction of the conveyor so as to contact the rod-shaped member; the rod-shaped member is swingably attached to the conveyor, and the workpiece can be suspended at one end; the guide rail is a conveying device in which the side that contacts the rod-shaped member during conveying has a wavy shape in which peaks and valleys are repeated along the conveying direction.

2. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the guide rail is formed of two plates that are overlapped in a state where the positions of the peaks and valleys of the wavy shape are shifted.

3. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the peak of the guide rail is formed as an arc.

4. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the side where the peaks and valleys are repeated is formed in a straight line.

5. The conveying device according to claim 4, wherein the side where the peaks and valleys are repeated is formed in a sawtooth shape.

6. In the sawtooth shape, one side with respect to the apex is formed more gently than the other side, and the gently formed side is arranged in front of the conveying direction. The conveying device according to claim 5.

7. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein a pair of guide rails are provided facing each other so as to sandwich the rod-shaped member.

8. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the cross section of the rod-shaped member is circular.

9. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the guide rail is made of metal.

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