Vertical conveyor

Abstract

We provide a vertical conveyor with a novel configuration. [Solution] The vertical conveyor 1 comprises a vertically extending frame-shaped frame 10, a conveyor table 12 that is guided up and down by guide rails 16 provided on the frame 10, a pantograph mechanism 20 having a movable link 21 that supports the conveyor table 12, an electric actuator 25 that drives the pantograph mechanism 20, a counterweight 30 that is arranged to be able to move up and down along the frame 10 and connected to the conveyor table 12 via a roller chain 32, and a slide guide 22 on the lower surface of the conveyor table 12 that supports the upper end of the pantograph mechanism 20 so that it can slide along the lower surface of the conveyor table.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vertical conveyor. Background Art

[0002] A vertical conveyor used in distribution centers and the like is an apparatus that conveys articles placed on a conveying carriage between a lower level and an upper level. One example of a conventional vertical conveyor is described in Patent Document 1. Prior Art Literature Patent Literature

[0003] Patent Document 1 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-290804 Summary of the Invention Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] As seen in Patent Document 1, in a conventional vertical conveyor, a box-shaped conveying carriage ("carriage" in Patent Document 1) is held by a strip body inside a frame provided to penetrate from the lower floor to the upper floor, and has a configuration in which the conveying carriage is raised and lowered by driving a motor.

[0005] The inventor of the present invention has found that when lifting and lowering long workpieces, it is difficult for conventional vertical conveyors to keep the conveying carriage horizontal. This problem also applies, to varying degrees, when the conveyed article is not a long workpiece.

[0006] In view of the above background, an object of the present invention is to provide a vertical conveyor with a novel configuration. Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The vertical conveyor of the present invention comprises a vertically extending frame-shaped frame, guide rails provided on the frame, a conveying platform equipped with guides that slidably engage with the guide rails and arranged to be vertically movable along the frame, a conveyor provided on the conveying platform for moving conveyed objects on the conveying platform, or a tray on which conveyed objects are placed and which slides outward from the frame-shaped frame at each level, a pantograph mechanism having a movable link that supports the conveying platform, an electric actuator that drives the pantograph mechanism, a counterweight arranged to be vertically movable along the frame and connected to the conveying platform via a wire or chain, and a slide guide on the lower surface of the conveying platform that slidably supports the upper end of the pantograph mechanism along the lower surface of the conveying platform.

[0008] By using a pantograph mechanism in this way, the transport platform can be raised and lowered while maintaining balance. Furthermore, the combination of the pantograph mechanism and counterweights reduces the load on the pantograph mechanism, allowing it to maintain or improve its operating speed, which in turn leads to improved transport efficiency.

[0009] In the vertical conveying machine of the present invention, the lower part of the pantograph mechanism may be fixed to the frame. This configuration prevents the pantograph mechanism from being lifted up by the counterweight. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is an elevation view of a vertical conveyor machine seen from the side. [Figure 2] This is an elevation view of a vertical conveyor machine seen from the side. [Figure 3] This is a top-down plan view of a vertical conveyor. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The vertical conveyor of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the following description is merely an example of a preferred embodiment and is not intended to limit the invention as described in the claims.

[0012] Figures 1 and 2 are elevation views of the vertical conveyor 1 seen from the side, and Figure 3 is a plan view of the vertical conveyor 1 seen from above. Figure 1 is a view of the vertical conveyor 1 shown in Figure 3 from direction II, and Figure 2 is a view of the vertical conveyor 1 shown in Figure 3 from direction II-II.

[0013] The vertical conveyor 1 comprises a vertically extending frame-shaped frame 10 and a conveyor platform 12 that can be raised and lowered by guide rails 16 provided on the frame 10. The frame 10 penetrates the floor between the lower and upper levels, and the vertical conveyor 1 conveys objects between the lower and upper levels. The conveyor platform 12 has a table 13 on which the conveyed objects are placed and an enclosure 14 erected around the table 13. The enclosure 14 serves to prevent the conveyed objects from falling out of the table 13 during transport. The conveyor platform 12 has guides 17 that slidably engage with the guide rails 16. By guiding the guides 17 to the guide rails 16, swaying in all directions is suppressed so that the conveyor platform 12 does not rotate or tilt when it is raised and lowered. With this configuration, the conveyor platform 12 can be raised and lowered while maintaining a horizontal posture.

[0014] The transport platform may be equipped with a conveyor that allows the transported items to move on the platform. By arranging a conveyor on each floor corresponding to the outlet of the vertical transporter and configuring it so that this conveyor can be connected to the conveyor on the transport platform, the transported items can be moved on these conveyors, making it easy to load and unload the transported items. The transport platform may also be equipped with a tray on each floor on which the transported items can be placed and which can slide outward from a frame-like structure. This allows for smooth loading and unloading of transported items, even if they are like cage trolleys.

[0015] In this embodiment, the transport platform 12 is supported by a pantograph mechanism 20. The pantograph mechanism 20 is composed of a plurality of movable links 21. The transport platform 12 is connected to the upper end of the pantograph mechanism 20 via a slide guide 22. A slider 24 provided on the movable link 21 is inserted into an elongated hole 23 of the slide guide 22 and is configured to slide freely along the elongated hole 23.

[0016] The lower end of the pantograph mechanism 20 is rotatably fixed to the base 11 of the frame 10. The pantograph mechanism 20 is equipped with an electric actuator 25 that connects the base 11 of the frame 10 to the movable link 21, and the height of the pantograph mechanism 20 changes as the electric actuator 25 extends and retracts. Although Figure 1 shows an example in which the pantograph mechanism 20 is equipped with four movable links 21, the number of movable links 21 is not limited to four and may be appropriately determined according to the amount of movement of the transport platform 12 and the load weight.

[0017] The conveyor table 12 and the counterweight 30 are connected by a roller chain 32. The vertical conveyor 1 is equipped with a guide 31 that guides the vertical movement of the counterweight 30. This suppresses irregular swaying and displacement of the counterweight 30 during movement. In this embodiment, the conveyor table 12 and the counterweight 30 are connected by a roller chain 32, but wires or other configurations may be used to connect the conveyor table 12 and the counterweight 30.

[0018] One end of the roller chain 32 is attached to the mounting part 15 of the conveyor table 12, and the other end is attached to the counterweight 30 via a suspension bolt 33. The roller chain 32 is stretched across a sprocket 34 located on the upper part of the vertical conveyor 1, and the conveyor table 12 and the counterweight 30 move up and down in conjunction via the sprocket 34.

[0019] The vertical conveyor 1 of the present embodiment is provided with a pantograph mechanism 20, thereby improving the stability of the horizontal posture of the carriage 12 during conveyance. Furthermore, in combination with the guide mechanism of the guide rail 16, it is possible to stably maintain the posture of the carriage 12 even when a long object is placed on the carriage 12. In addition, installation work of a vertical conveyor provided with a carriage 12 for placing long objects has sometimes been difficult depending on site conditions, but the configuration in which the carriage 12 is supported by the pantograph mechanism 20 allows the installation work to be performed easily.

[0020] Furthermore, the carriage 12 attached to the pantograph mechanism 20 has the effect that the bottom plate is less likely to bend when a conveyed article is placed thereon. In particular, in the case of a carriage for long objects, the bottom plate is long, which may cause bending, but according to the configuration of the present embodiment, bending of the bottom plate can be reduced.

[0021] The vertical conveyor 1 of the present embodiment includes a counterweight 30, which reduces the load supported by the pantograph mechanism 20, and improves responsiveness and lifting speed during the lifting operation of the carriage 12. In the present embodiment, the pantograph mechanism 20 provided with an electric actuator 25 and the counterweight 30 are combined, and even when no workpiece is placed on the carriage 12, it is possible to lower the carriage 12 against the tensile force from the counterweight 30.

[0022] It should be noted that hydraulic actuators are generally sometimes used for lifting heavy objects. However, since a hydraulic actuator has a structure in which the piston descends due to its own weight, when no workpiece is placed on the carriage 12, there is a risk that the carriage 12 is pulled up by the tensile force of the counterweight 30. In contrast, in the present embodiment, driving the movable link 21 in the folding direction by means of the electric actuator 25 enables the carriage 12 to be stably lowered even when no conveyed article is placed thereon.

[0023] Further, in the present embodiment, in order to pull down the carrier table 12 against the tensile force exerted by the counterweight 30, the lower end of the pantograph mechanism 20 of the vertical conveyor 1 is fixed to the frame 10, and the upper end of the pantograph mechanism 20 is connected to the lower surface of the carrier table 12 via a slide guide 22. This suppresses the lifting of the pantograph mechanism 20 and the carrier table 12. [Description of Reference Numerals]

[0024] 1 Vertical conveyor 10 Frame 11 Frame base 12 Carrier table 13 Table 14 Enclosure 15 Mounting portion 16 Guide rail 17 Guide 20 Pantograph mechanism 21 Movable link 22 Slide guide 23 Elongated hole 24 Slider 25 Electric actuator 30 Counterweight 31 Guide 32 Roller chain 33 Suspension bolt 34 Sprocket

Claims

1. A frame-like structure extending vertically, Guide rails provided on the frame, A transport platform is provided with a guide that slidably engages with the guide rail and is arranged to be vertically movable along the frame, A conveyor provided on the transport platform that allows the transported object to move on the transport platform, or a tray on which the transported object is placed and which slides outward from the frame-shaped frame on each floor, A pantograph mechanism having a movable link that supports the transport platform, An electric actuator that drives the pantograph mechanism, A counterweight is positioned to be vertically movable along the frame and connected to the transport platform via a wire or chain, A slide guide is provided on the lower surface of the transport table to support the upper end of the pantograph mechanism so that it can slide along the lower surface of the transport table. A vertical conveyor equipped with the following features.

2. The vertical conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the lower part of the pantograph mechanism is fixed to the frame.

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