Slat conveyor

Abstract

A slat conveyor (1) is provided with a guide rail (30) for guiding the moving direction of a slat plate (20), a conveyor chain (10) for moving the slat plate (20), a sprocket (40) for driving the conveyor chain (10), and conversion parts (50) for converting the moving direction of the slat plate (20). The slat plate (20) has guide rollers (21), and the conversion parts (50) each have a rotating body (51), and a support portion (52) disposed so as to protrude from the outer periphery of the rotating body (51). The interval in the moving direction of the guide rollers (21) disposed on the slat plate (20) is an integer multiple of a chain pitch CP of the conveyor chain (10). The number of the support portions (52) is a number corresponding to the denominator obtained by reducing a fraction in which the numerator is the number of chain links of the conveyor chain (10) per slat plate (20) and the denominator is the number of teeth (41) of the sprocket (40).

Description

Slat Conveyor

[0001] The present invention relates to a slat conveyor in which a slat body moves in a circular motion with the surface on which an object to be conveyed placed always facing upward.

[0002] A known type of conveyor, called a slat conveyor, transports objects by placing them on plate-like slat bodies and moving the slat bodies. Known types of slat conveyors include those that move the slat bodies horizontally while maintaining a load-supporting position such that the loading surface of the slat bodies is always vertically upward (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0003] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2015-074517 Japanese Special Publication No. 2007-510601

[0004] In a circulating slat conveyor, it is necessary to change the direction of movement of the slats at the end. In this case, the slat conveyor is equipped with a drive unit that drives the slats and a change unit that changes the direction of movement of the slats at the end. If the drive unit and the change unit can be driven synchronously, a slat conveyor can be realized with a small number of parts and a simple configuration, which is advantageous.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to easily realize a structure in a slat conveyor that allows the drive unit and the switching unit to rotate synchronously.

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a slat conveyor according to one aspect of the present invention is a slat conveyor that includes a plurality of slats and rotates the plurality of slats in a circulating manner while maintaining the placement surfaces of the plurality of slats facing vertically upward, and includes a guide rail that guides the movement direction of the slats, a conveyor chain that moves the slats, a sprocket that drives the conveyor chain, and a changeover unit that changes the movement direction of the slats, and the slats have guide rollers that are supported by the guide rails so as to be freely rollable, thereby allowing the slats to move along the guide rails. The guide rollers move along the conveyor chain, and the conversion section has a rotating body and a support section protruding from the outer periphery of the rotating body. By rotating the rotating body while supporting the guide rollers with the support section, the direction of movement of the slats is converted while maintaining the posture of the slats. The spacing in the direction of movement of the guide rollers arranged on the slats is an integer multiple of the chain pitch of the conveyor chain, and the number of support sections is a number that corresponds to the denominator when the numerator is the number of chain links of the conveyor chain per slat and the denominator is the number of teeth of the sprocket.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, the number of rotations of the sprocket required to move one slat can be made to match the number of rotations of the rotor required to position the support portion of the converting section so that it can support the guide rollers 21. This allows the sprocket and the rotor of the converting section to rotate in synchronization. This allows the motors and other components for driving the sprocket and the converting section to be shared, resulting in a slat conveyor with a simple and compact configuration.

[0008] Fig. 1 is a plan view schematically showing an overview of a slat conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the relationship between slat plates, a conveyor chain, a sprocket, and a converting section in a slat conveyor. Fig. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the relationship between slat plates, a conveyor chain, a sprocket, and a converting section in a slat conveyor. Fig. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the relationship between slat plates, a conveyor chain, a sprocket, and a converting section in a slat conveyor. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of guide rollers arranged on the slat plates.

[0009] [Outline of Slat Conveyor 1] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. An outline of the slat conveyor 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a plan view schematically showing the outline of the slat conveyor 1.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, the slat conveyor 1 has a circular structure in which a conveying path in which slats 20 move in a conveying direction and a return path in which slats move in a return direction are separated vertically. Hereinafter, the conveying direction and the return direction will be collectively referred to as the moving direction. The slat conveyor 1 includes a plurality of slats 20 arranged in a line in the moving direction. The slats 20 move in the conveying direction and the return direction by being driven by the conveyor chain 10. The conveyor chain 10 has a circular structure that makes U-turns at the ends of the conveying path and the return path, and the slats 20 also move in the conveying direction and the return direction according to the circular structure of the conveyor chain 10. The conveyor chain 10 is driven by the rotation of the sprocket 40.

[0011] The slat plates 20 move while maintaining a position in which the placement surface P on which the transported object T is placed is always facing vertically upward. In the slat conveyor 1, the transported object T is placed on the slat plates 20, and the transported object T is transported in the transport direction. In addition, guide rollers 21 are arranged on the side of the slat plates 20 opposite the placement surface P. The guide rollers 21 are supported by guide rails 30 so as to be able to roll freely. The guide rails 30 are arranged along the transport direction and return direction of the slat conveyor 1, and as the slat plates 20 move along the guide rails 30, the slat plates 20 move in the transport direction and return direction.

[0012] A transfer section 50 is located at the end of the conveying path of the slat conveyor 1. The transfer section 50 includes a rotor 51 and a support section 52. The support section 52 is a convex portion protruding from the outer periphery of the rotor 51, and supports the guide rollers 21 of the slats 20 on a surface parallel to the radial direction of the rotor 51. When the slats 20 reach the end of the conveying path, they are supported by the support section 52 of the transfer section 50 and transported to the return path by the rotation of the rotor 51, and move along the return path. The transfer section 50 can transfer the slats 20 from the conveying path to the return path by rotating half a turn. That is, when the slats 20 are transported from the conveying path to the return path, the support section 52, which is located at the highest point corresponding to the conveying path, first supports the guide rollers 21 of the slats 20. With the guide roller 21 supported by the support part 52, the rotating body 51 rotates, and when the support part 52 reaches the lowest point, which is the position corresponding to the return path, the slat board 20 can be advanced to the return path.

[0013] A plurality of rotating bodies 51 of the conversion section 50 are provided to correspond to at least two pairs of guide rollers 21 at the front and rear of the moving direction of the slats 20. For example, if a pair of guide rollers 21 is provided at the front and rear of the moving direction of the slats 20, two rotating bodies 51 are also provided to correspond to the pair of guide rollers 21.

[0014] As will be described later, one or more support parts 52 may be provided for the rotating body 51. When more than one support part 52 is provided, the support parts 52 may be provided on the outer periphery of the rotating body 51 in rotational symmetry with respect to the rotation axis of the rotating body 51.

[0015] In addition, the sprocket 40 and the rotating body 51 of the conversion unit 50 are rotated in the same rotational direction by the drive mechanism 60.

[0016] [Details of the Slat Conveyor 1] The details of the slat conveyor 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 2 to 4. Figures 2 to 4 are diagrams that schematically show the relationship between the slat plates 20, the conveyor chain 10, the sprockets 40, and the switching section 50 in the slat conveyor 1.

[0017] In the slat conveyor 1, the distance between the guide rollers 21 of the slat plates 20 in the moving direction, in other words, the wheelbase WB of the guide rollers 21, is an integer multiple of the chain pitch CP of the conveyor chain 10. The chain pitch CP is the distance between the axes of the pins connecting the chain links 11 of the conveyor chain 10. In the example shown in Figure 2, the wheelbase WB of the guide rollers 21 is 12 times the chain pitch CP of the conveyor chain 10.

[0018] In addition, the number of support portions 52 of the conversion portion 50 is the number obtained by reducing the number of chain links 11 of the conveyor chain 10 per slat plate 20 as the numerator and the number of teeth 41 of the sprocket 40 as the denominator.

[0019] In the example shown in Figure 2, the number of chain links 11 of the conveyor chain 10 per slat 20 is 12, and the number of teeth 41 of the sprocket 40 is 8, so the number of support portions 52 of the changeover section 50 is 2, as 12 / 8 = 3 / 2. Note that this is just one example, and the relationship between the number of chain links 11 of the conveyor chain 10 per slat 20, the number of teeth 41 of the sprocket 40, and the number of support portions 52 of the changeover section 50 is, for example, as shown in Table 1 below. Note that Table 1 shows the case where the number of chain links 11 is 12.

[0020] Therefore, for example, if the number of chain links 11 of the conveyor chain 10 per slat plate 20 is 12 and the number of teeth 41A of the sprocket 40A is 4, the number of support portions 52A of the conversion portion 50A will be 1, as shown in Figure 3.

[0021] Furthermore, if the number of chain links 11 of the conveyor chain 10 per slat plate 20 is 12 and the number of teeth 41B of the sprocket 40B is 9, the number of support portions 52B of the conversion portion 50B will be three, as shown in Figure 4.

[0022] By setting the number of chain links 11 of the conveyor chain 10 per slat plate 20, the number of teeth 41 of the sprocket 40, and the number of support sections 52 of the conversion section 50 in the above relationship, the rotation of the sprocket 40 that drives the conveyor chain 10 and the rotation of the rotating body 51 of the conversion section 50 can be rotated in synchronization.

[0023] A more detailed explanation is as follows. The number of chain links 11 per slat 20 indicates that the slat 20 moves one slat when the chain links 11 advance by that number. Therefore, (number of chain links 11) / (number of teeth 41) indicates the number of rotations of the sprocket 40 required for the slat 20 to move one slat. Therefore, when the sprocket 40 rotates the number of times required for the slat 20 to move one slat, if the support portions 52 are provided rotationally symmetrically on the outer periphery of the rotating body 51 for the number of rotations equal to the denominator mentioned above, the support portions 52 will always be located at the highest point.

[0024] For example, as shown in the first row of Table 1, if there are 12 chain links 11 and 12 teeth 41, the slats 20 will move by one slat for each rotation of the sprocket 40. In this case, if there is one support portion 52, this support portion 52 will return to the highest point for each rotation of the rotating body 51, and the timing at which the slats 20 move by one slat and the next slat 20 arrives will coincide with the timing at which the support portion 52 reaches its highest point.

[0025] Furthermore, as shown in the second row of Table 1, if the number of chain links 11 is 12 and the number of teeth 41 is 10, the slats 20 move by one slat every 6 / 5 rotations of the sprocket 40. In this case, if five support portions 52 are provided rotationally symmetrically on the outer periphery of the rotating body 51, the support portions 52 reach their highest point every 6 / 5 rotations of the rotating body 51. Therefore, in this case as well, the timing at which the slats 20 move by one slat and the next slat 20 arrives coincides with the timing at which the support portions 52 reach their highest points.

[0026] In this way, by specifying the number of chain links 11 of the conveyor chain 10, the number of teeth 41 of the sprocket 40, and the number of support parts 52 of the changeover part 50 per slat 20 of the slat conveyor 1 according to this embodiment, it is possible to synchronize the rotation of the sprocket 40 with the rotation of the rotor 51, so that when one slat 20 moves, the timing of the next slat 20 coincides with the timing when the support parts 52 reach their highest points. This allows the drive mechanism for rotating the sprocket 40 and the rotor 51 to be shared, allowing the slat conveyor 1 to have a simple and compact configuration.

[0027] Although Table 1 above shows an example in which the number of chain links 11 is 12, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if the number of chain links 11 is 24, the relationship shown in Table 2 below will be established.

[0028] [Example of arrangement of guide rollers 21] The guide rollers 21 may be arranged in pairs at the front and rear of the slats 20 in the direction of movement. There may be one guide roller 21 at the front and one at the rear of the slats 20 in the direction of movement, or as shown in Fig. 5, there may be four guide rollers, two at the front and two at the rear of the slats 20. In this case, for example, if the two front rollers are guide rollers 21FA and 21FB and the two rear rollers are guide rollers 21RA and 21RB, guide roller 21FA and guide roller 21RA may be supported by a common guide rail 30A (not shown), and guide roller 21FB and guide roller 21RB may be supported by a common guide rail 30B (not shown).

[0029] As described above, the slat conveyor 1 according to this embodiment includes a plurality of slats 20, and rotates the plurality of slats 20 in a circulating manner while maintaining the placement surface P of the plurality of slats 20 facing vertically upward. The slat conveyor 1 also includes a guide rail 30 that guides the movement direction of the slats 20, a conveyor chain 10 that moves the slats 20, a sprocket 40 that drives the conveyor chain 10, and a changeover unit 50 that changes the movement direction of the slats 20.

[0030] The slats 20 also have guide rollers 21 , which are supported by the guide rails 30 so as to be freely rollable, thereby allowing the slats 20 to move along the guide rails 30 .

[0031] The conversion unit 50 has a rotating body 51 and a support portion 52 provided to protrude from the outer periphery of the rotating body 51. The conversion unit 50 converts the moving direction of the slats 20 while maintaining the posture of the slats 20 by rotating the rotating body 51 while supporting the guide rollers 21 with the support portion 52.

[0032] The wheelbase WB, which is the distance in the moving direction between the guide rollers 21 arranged on the slats 20, is an integer multiple of the chain pitch CP of the conveyor chain 10. The number of support parts 52 is the number obtained by reducing the number of chain links 11 of the conveyor chain 10 per slat 20 and the number of teeth 41 of the sprocket 40.

[0033] With the above configuration, the number of rotations of the sprocket 40 for moving one slat 20 can be matched with the number of rotations of the rotor 51 for positioning the support part 52 of the converting section 50 at the highest point. This allows the sprocket 40 and the rotor 51 of the converting section 50 to rotate synchronously. Therefore, the motors and the like for driving the sprocket 40 and the converting section 50 can be shared, and a slat conveyor 1 with a simple configuration can be realized.

[0034] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of 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. Furthermore, new technical features can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in each embodiment.

[0035] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 slat conveyor 10 conveyor chain 11 chain link 20 slat plate 21 guide roller 30 guide rail 40 sprocket 41 teeth 50 conversion portion 51 rotating body 52 support portion

Claims

1. A slat conveyor having a plurality of slats, which rotates and circulates the plurality of slats while maintaining the placement surface of the plurality of slats facing vertically upward, comprising: a guide rail that guides the movement direction of the slats; a conveyor chain that moves the slats; a sprocket that drives the conveyor chain; and a changeover unit that changes the movement direction of the slats, wherein the slats have guide rollers that are supported by the guide rails so as to be able to roll freely, thereby allowing the slats to move along the guide rails, and the changeover unit has a rotor and a support unit that protrudes from the outer periphery of the rotor, and changes the movement direction of the slats while maintaining the posture of the slats by rotating the rotor while supporting the guide rollers with the support unit, and the interval in the movement direction of the guide rollers arranged on the slats is an integer multiple of the chain pitch of the conveyor chain, and the number of support units is A slat conveyor in which the numerator is the number of chain links of the conveyor chain per slat plate, the denominator is the number of teeth of the sprocket, and the number is the denominator when the above formula is reduced.

2. A slat conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the support portions are plural.

3. A slat conveyor according to claim 2, wherein the support portions are provided on the outer periphery of the rotating body in rotational symmetry with respect to the rotation axis of the rotating body.

4. A slat conveyor according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rotation directions of the sprocket and the rotating body of the converting section are the same.

5. A slat conveyor as described in claim 1, wherein the slat plate has at least two of the guide rollers paired at the front and rear in the direction of movement, and the converting section has a rotating body corresponding to each of the guide rollers paired at the front and rear in the direction of movement.

Images