JP2518678B2 - Load transfer equipment - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a load carrying facility adopted to carry a load, for example, between rooms or in a factory.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of load carrying facility, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open
The structure found in 61-155075 is provided. That is, an electric traveling carriage that is supported and guided by a guide rail via wheels and rollers and is capable of traveling on a fixed path is provided, a rack gear is provided on the guide rail side, and a drive pinion gear that meshes with the rack gear is provided as an electric traveling carriage. It is provided.

According to this conventional structure, the drive pinion gear meshing with the rack gear is driven and rotated to allow the electric traveling carriage to travel on a fixed route, and the driving circuit is stopped to bring the electric traveling carriage to a desired location. Can be stopped.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the above-mentioned conventional type, the rack gear is formed by connecting a large number of linear gears or arc-shaped gears. Therefore, when the constant path has a loop shape, the shape of the peaks and valleys of the rack gear is disturbed, for example, at the final connection portion due to the manufacturing accuracy and the arrangement accuracy. When such a disturbance occurs, the peaks (tooth) of the rack gear and pinion gear
The product is crushed (tooth spills). It is necessary to improve the accuracy, but it is not easy. In addition, a gap or the like will be generated in the connection portion along with the usage route.

An object of the present invention is to provide a load carrying facility in which the shape of the peaks and valleys at the connection portion is not disturbed and can be constantly kept constant.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, a load carrying facility of the present invention is a rail, and a self-propelled body that is supported and guided by a plurality of wheels on the rail and can travel on a fixed path. A rack disposed on the rail side and a drive pinion provided on the self-propelled body so as to mesh with the rack, and a rack cutout portion is formed at a part of the fixed path. In the part, a dividing rack shorter than the length of the cutout portion is provided movably in the rack length direction, and an operating device for movement is provided, and the self-propelled body is temporarily stopped with the drive pinion meshing with the dividing rack. It is configured accordingly.

Action According to the configuration of the present invention, the traveling of the self-propelled body is performed on the fixed route by rotating the drive pinion in mesh with the rack. Before the self-propelled body reaches the rack lacking portion, the divided rack is moved to the side where the self-propelled body travels and connected to the rack. Then, the drive pinion meshes and rotates from the rack to the divided rack, and the traveling body moves to the rack lacking section. Next, after stopping the traveling body, the dividing rack is moved to the other side and connected to the other rack end portion. After that, when the traveling body is re-traveled, the drive pinion is engaged and rotated from the divided rack to the rack, and the traveling body is traveled downward. The change in the length of the cutout portion based on the manufacturing accuracy and the arrangement accuracy can be absorbed by the change in the movement amount of the dividing rack by the operating device.

Embodiment One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a self-propelled body, which is composed of a traveling drive unit 3 supported and guided by a rail 2 and an object storage unit 4 attached to the traveling drive unit 3. The traveling drive unit 3 includes an axle 6 on the machine frame 5.
And a pair of left and right first wheels (wheel bodies) 7 which are freely rotatably attached via a wheel, and at a position further away from them in either direction of a fixed path 8 A pair of left and right second wheels (wheels) 10 that are freely attached and both wheels 6, 9
Roller (wheel) for lateral movement attached to the outer edge of the wheel 11,12
And a traveling drive motor 13 swingably mounted on the machine frame 5, a speed reducer 14 linked to the motor 13, and a drive shaft 15 which is an output shaft from the speed reducer 14. It is composed of a pinion 16, a current collector 17 attached to the machine frame 5 side, a signal brush 18, and the like. The drive pinion 16 is located near the first wheel 7 and is biased by a spring (not shown) provided between the machine frame 5 and the motor 13 to engage with a rack (described later).

The rail 2 is a first wheel that contacts the first wheel 7 from above.
The traveling guide surface 21, the second traveling guide surface 22 that contacts the second wheel 10 from below, and the third traveling guide surface 23 that contacts the lateral movement regulating rollers 11 and 12 from the outside, 2 Driving guide surface
22 is provided with a power supply rail 24 with which the current collector 17 slides, a signal rail 25 with which the signal brush 18 slides, and a rack 26 with which the drive pinion 16 meshes.

A fixed path 8 of the self-propelled body 1 supported and guided by the rail 2.
Are formed in a loop shape in plan view as shown in FIG. 6, for example. Then, the rack notch portion 30 is formed at a part (one place or a plurality of places) on the fixed path 8. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a dividing rack 27 having a length l shorter than the length L of the removing portion is movably provided in the rack removing portion 30 in the longitudinal direction. That is, in the rack removing portion 30, a long hole 31 is formed in a portion corresponding to a rack, which is a part of a bottom plate portion forming the second traveling guide surface 22 of the rail 2. A shaped support frame 32 is attached to the bottom surface of the rail 2 so as to cover the bottom of the long hole 31. A guide rail 33 is arranged along the fixed path 8 at the center of the support frame 32 in the width direction, and the dividing rack 27 is supported and guided by the guide rail 33 via a plurality of slide bodies 34. To be done. The actuating device for moving the dividing rack 27 is composed of, for example, a cylinder device 35, the cylinder body 36 is attached to the support frame 32, and the piston rod 37 is connected to the bracket 38 from the dividing rack 27 side. The cylinder device 35 is provided on one side with the guide rail 33 in the middle, and a movement amount regulating device 39 is provided on the other side. The restricting device 39 includes a base plate 40 mounted on the support frame 32, and receiving members 41A mounted on the base plate 40 at two positions separated in the direction of the fixed path 8.
41A, and the stoppers 43A, 43B arranged through a plurality of shims 42A, 42B on the opposite surface sides of these receiving members 41A, 41B,
Fixers 44A and 44B, which consist of bolts and nuts, for fixing the stoppers 43A and 43B to the receiving members 41A and 41B, and are attached to the dividing rack 27 side via the bracket 45 so as to be located between the stoppers 43A and 43B. And a stopper body 46. The support frame 32 is formed with a notch 47 for operating the fixtures 44A and 44B. The peaks 26a and valleys 26b of the rack 26 and the peaks 27a and valleys 27b of the dividing rack 27 have the same shape, and smoothly mesh with the peaks 16a and valleys 16b of the drive pinion 16. Then, between the ends of the rack 26 and the dividing rack 27, when the dividing rack 27 is connected and moved, for example, normal connecting valleys (may be mountains) 28A, 28B are formed. is there.

The rail 2 is arranged at a desired position, and the rack
26 is provided in the entire length except for the rack cutout portion 30 by a plug-in type or the like. At this time, the length L of the cutout portion is not always constant due to manufacturing precision and arrangement precision. Therefore, for example, when one end of the dividing rack 27 is moved to connect to the rack 26, the shim 42A is adjusted so that the stopper 43A on the one end side contacts the to-be-stopped member 46. The shim 42B is adjusted so that the gap A ₁ generated between the end and the rack 26 is equalized and the gap A ₂ is formed between the stopper 43B on the other end side and the to-be-stopped body 46.

When the self-propelled body 1 travels, the rotational force of the motor 13 is reduced by the speed reducer 14,
It can be performed by transmitting to the drive pinion 16 via the drive shaft 15 and rotating the drive pinion 16 in mesh with the rack 26. At that time, the rolling of the second wheel 10 with respect to the second traveling guide surface 22,
Due to the rolling of the first wheel 7 with respect to the first traveling guide surface 21 and the rolling of the lateral movement regulating rollers 11, 12 with respect to the third traveling guide surface 23, there is no runout or rattling on the fixed path 8. It is performed stably. Then, the self-propelled body 1 is stopped at the target station according to an instruction or the like via the signal rail 25, and the load is unloaded from the storage section 4 here. Before the self-propelled body 1 reaches the rack lacking portion 30, the dividing rack 27 moves to one end side and is connected to the rack 26 as shown by the solid line in FIGS. 1 and 2. At this time, the mountain 26 at the end
A normal connection valley 28A is formed between a and 27a. Therefore, the traveling of the self-propelled body 1 by the meshing rotation of the drive pinion 16 is performed without any trouble. Then, as shown by the phantom line in FIG. 1, with the self-propelled body 1 completely transferred to the rack lacking section 30, the self-propelled body 1 is temporarily stopped by an instruction or the like via the signal rail 25 described above. Next, the cylinder device 35 is extended, the dividing rack 27 is moved to the other end side, and the other end is connected to the rack 26 as shown by the phantom line in FIG. At this time, the self-propelled vehicle 1 moves integrally because the drive pinion 16 meshes with the dividing rack 27. When connected as described above, a normal connection valley 28B is formed between the peaks 26a, 27a on the right end. Therefore, when the self-propelled body 1 is re-traveled, the traveling of the self-propelled body 1 by the meshing rotation of the drive pinion 16 is performed without any trouble.

In the above-described embodiment, the form in which only the dividing rack 27 is moved is shown, but this may be a form in which the rail 2 is divided and the dividing rack 27 is integrated and moved together with the dividing rack.

The form of the self-propelled body 1 and the rail 2 may be, for example, a form such as that of the conventional example, and the fixed route 8 is not only the planar loop route shown in the embodiment, but also a vertical loop route,
Alternatively, a combination of these may be used.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, the self-propelled vehicle body can travel on a fixed route by rotating the drive pinion in mesh with the rack. And by moving the dividing rack to the side where the self-propelled body is traveling and connecting it to the rack,
The drive pinion meshes and rotates from the rack to the split rack,
Therefore, the traveling body can be stopped after traveling to the rack removing section. Then, the dividing rack is moved to the other side and connected to the other rack end portion, whereby the drive pinion can be mesh-rotated from the dividing rack to the rack and the traveling body can be run downward. In addition, dimensional errors due to the manufacturing system, placement system, and usage route can be absorbed by the change in the length of the absent part. Therefore, manufacturing and placement can be done easily without much concern for the system. It can be carried out. Then, the change in the length of the cutout portion can be absorbed by the change in the movement amount of the dividing rack by the actuator.
At the connecting portion between the rack and the divided rack due to the movement, the shape of the ridges and valleys can be constantly made constant, and the drive pinion and the ridges (tooth) of both racks can be minimized.

[Brief description of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a side view of the rack notched portion with a part thereof being cut away, Fig. 2 is a transverse plan view of the same, Fig. 3 is a rear view of the same, and Fig. 4 is a traveling view. FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway side view showing the body and the rail, FIG. 5 is a rear view of the same, and FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing a route. 1 ... Self-propelled body, 2 ... Rail, 3 ... Traveling drive unit, 7 ...
... 1st wheel (wheel), 8 ... constant path, 10 ... 2nd wheel (wheel), 11, 12 ... lateral movement regulating rollers (wheel), 13
...... Motor, 15 …… Drive shaft, 16 …… Drive pinion, 16a
...... Mountain, 16b ...... valley, 18 …… Signal brush, 25 …… Signal rail, 26 …… Luck, 26a …… Mountain, 26b …… Valley, 27 ……
Dividing rack, 27a ... Mountain, 27b ... Valley, 28A, 28B ... Connecting valley, 30 ... Lack lacking part, 33 ... Guide rail, 35 ...
… Cylinder device (actuator), 39 …… Regulator, 42A, 42
B: Shim, 46: Stopper body, L: Length of notched part,
l: The length of the divided rack.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A rail, a self-propelled body which is supported and guided by a plurality of wheels on the rail and can travel on a fixed route, a rack arranged on the rail side, and a rack for meshing with the rack. It has a drive pinion provided on the self-propelled body, and a rack cutout portion is formed in a part on the constant path, and in this rack cutout portion, a divided rack shorter than the cutout portion length is provided in the rack length direction. The load carrying equipment is characterized in that the self-propelled body is temporarily stopped in a state in which a drive pinion is meshed with the dividing rack, while being provided so as to be freely movable.