JP5247084B2 - Sprocket for conveyor chain - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a structure of a sprocket used for a transport chain such as a flat top chain, and more particularly to a technique for reinforcing a resin sprocket used in a high temperature environment.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a can beverage production line or the like, a conveyor device referred to as a so-called transport chain is known in which aluminum cans are placed and transported while being continuously arranged.

  This transport chain has a predetermined width in the conveyor width direction in order to place an aluminum can or the like, and this width is appropriately set in each manufacturing process. For example, when aluminum cans need to be transported one by one in a manufacturing process, a transport chain having a width substantially equal to the diameter of the aluminum cans is used to transport a row of aluminum cans. Will be. Moreover, in a heating process (process which gives heat to a can), it is necessary to apply heat slowly, such as sprinkling high temperature hot water on an aluminum can. For this reason, a wide conveyance chain capable of arranging a large number of aluminum cans in the conveyor width direction is used, and the conveyance chain is conveyed slowly to ensure the conveyance speed required for the entire line.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6, in the heating step, a large number of aluminum cans 31, 31... Filled with a low-temperature beverage product are conveyed by the conveyance chain 32. Further, at a plurality of locations in the transport direction F, hot water spraying devices 33, 33,... Are provided above the transport chain 32, and the hot water sprayed from the spraying devices 33, 33,. (For example, 45 ° C to 50 ° C), the temperature of the can as a whole is gradually increased to approach normal temperature. The transport chain 32 is driven by sprockets 34 and 34 disposed at end positions in the transport direction F.

  Here, in the configuration of FIG. 6, a large number of can products are placed on the transport chain 32. Therefore, a large driving force is required to drive the transport chain 32. In order to reliably transmit the sprockets 34 and 34 to the transport chain 32, the sprockets 34 and 34 and the transport chain 32 need to be reliably engaged. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the teeth 34a and 34a of the sprocket 34 and the engagement teeth 32a and 32a of the transport chain 32 must be reliably meshed so that tooth skipping does not occur.

  However, in the configuration of FIGS. 6 and 7, when the material of the sprockets 34 and 34 is made of resin corresponding to the transport chain 32, the sprockets 34 and 34 are used due to long-term use in a high temperature environment. Has been confirmed to undergo thermal expansion. In such a case, if the operation is continued for a long time, the risk of tooth skipping becomes extremely high. The possibility of the occurrence of tooth skipping is considered to increase when a large driving force is applied between the sprockets 34 and 34 and the transport chain 32 as described above.

  When such tooth skipping occurs once, the driving of the transport chain 32 becomes unstable. And since a large number of can products are transported at the same time, so-called jams (clogging) of the can products occur in the upstream and downstream processes of this heating process, which greatly affects other manufacturing processes. . In addition, it takes a lot of time to replace and restore the sprockets 34 and 34, resulting in a significant reduction in production efficiency.

In addition, although patent document 1 has the indication about the reinforcement structure of a synthetic resin pinion, it is set as the structure provided with the metal disk for reinforcement, and the weight as a whole becomes large, or engagement. There is no description or suggestion of a problem related to thermal expansion of a tooth (gear) part.
No. 7-39622

  In view of the above-described problems, the present invention proposes a novel structure for a sprocket for a transport chain that suppresses thermal deformation associated with thermal expansion and prevents occurrence of problems caused by the thermal deformation.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is as described above. Next, means for solving the problem will be described.

That is, as described in claim 1,
A sprocket for a transport chain placed in a high temperature environment where hot water is used,
The sprocket is
A resin gear member having engaging teeth for engaging with the engaging portion of the transport chain;
A reinforcing member made of a material having a smaller coefficient of thermal expansion than the material of the resin gear member, attached in a concentric arrangement to the resin gear member,
Comprising
The reinforcing member is configured in a ring shape,
A circumferential groove is formed on at least one side surface of the resin gear member,
The reinforcing member is accommodated in the circumferential groove,
The reinforcing member is integrated by being fixed to the resin gear member shaped in advance by a fixing bolt afterward,
This is a sprocket for a transport chain.

Moreover, as described in claim 2,
The reinforcing member comprises an engagement tooth reinforcing portion disposed on the tooth tip circle side of the root circle of the resin gear member,
In the circumferential groove, a tooth tip groove is formed toward each tooth tip of the engagement tooth of the resin gear member,
The engaging tooth reinforcing portion is accommodated in the tooth tip groove .

  As effects of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

That is, in the first aspect of the invention, since the thermal expansion coefficient as a whole of the sprocket is configured to be small, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems such as tooth skipping due to the thermal expansion of the sprocket. In addition, the weight balance of the sprocket is improved, and the stress balance acting on the resin gear member and the reinforcing member is improved (no stress concentration occurs). In addition, the contact area between the resin gear member and the reinforcing member can be improved, whereby the rigidity of the sprocket as a whole can be improved.

Further, in the invention described in claim 2 , it is possible to effectively prevent deformation due to thermal expansion even at the engaging tooth portion.

Next, embodiments of the invention will be described.
Embodiments of the present invention
A sprocket for a transport chain placed in a high temperature environment where hot water is used,
The sprocket is
A resin gear member having engaging teeth for engaging with the engaging portion of the transport chain;
A sprocket for a transport chain, comprising a reinforcing member made of a material having a smaller coefficient of thermal expansion than a material of the resin gear member, attached in a concentric arrangement to the resin gear member. .
In the present invention, “under high temperature environment” means that the resin gear member receives the ambient heat and expands compared to the design dimensions at room temperature (according to product standards), and can cause thermal expansion. The specific numerical value of temperature is defined according to the material and the like.
Hereinafter, each example will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the sprocket 1 of this embodiment is configured by integrally fixing a reinforcing member 10 to a resin gear member 2. In the present embodiment, the resin gear member 2 is made of polyamide nylon resin and has a thermal expansion coefficient of 5.1 × 10 ⁻⁵ / ° C.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the resin gear member 2 is provided with a shaft mounting hole 3 for penetrating the drive shaft at the center thereof, and has a predetermined circumferential direction on the outer peripheral surface thereof. A plurality of engaging teeth 4, 4... Are formed at intervals to form a gear shape as a whole.

As shown in FIG. 2, the reinforcing member 10 is formed in a ring shape having a rectangular cross section. In this embodiment, the material is stainless steel 304, and the thermal expansion coefficient is 17.3 × 10 ⁻⁶ / ° C. This coefficient of thermal expansion is set smaller than that of the resin gear member 2. Moreover, since it is in the environment where hot water is sprayed, the reinforcing member 10 is made of stainless steel so that rust does not occur. Moreover, by configuring in a ring shape, the weight balance in the sprocket 1 becomes good, and the stress balance acting on the resin gear member 2 and the reinforcing member 10 becomes good (stress concentration does not occur, etc.).

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the resin gear member 2, the two side surface constituent parts 5, 5 constituting a plane orthogonal to the central axis of the shaft mounting hole 3 are provided with the shaft mounting hole 3 and Circumferential grooves 6 and 6 are formed in concentric circumferential directions. Further, the groove width W (see FIG. 3) of the circumferential groove 6 is set corresponding to the dimension of the ring width D of the reinforcing member 10 so that the reinforcing member 10 is fitted to the circumferential groove 6. Is going to be. In addition, by forming the circumferential groove 6 to accommodate the reinforcing member 10, the contact area between the resin gear member 2 and the reinforcing member 10 can be improved. As a result, the rigidity of the sprocket 1 as a whole can be improved.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the circumferential groove 6 is provided with taps 7, 7... That are pruned in the axial direction of the shaft mounting hole 3 at a plurality of locations in the circumferential direction. Similarly, the reinforcing member 10 is provided with a plurality of through-holes 8, 8... At positions corresponding to the taps 7. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the reinforcing member 10 is fitted into the circumferential groove 6 while the through hole 8 is aligned with the position of the tap 7, and the fixing bolt 9 is attached to the tap 7 through the through hole 8. The reinforcing member 10 is fixed to the resin gear member 2 by screwing.

  In the sprocket 1 configured by fixing the reinforcing member 10 to the resin gear member 2 as described above, the presence of the reinforcing member 10 having a small coefficient of thermal expansion makes it possible to make the resin made of resin having a larger coefficient of thermal expansion. Compared with the case where the gear member 2 is configured as a single unit, the coefficient of thermal expansion is configured to be small as a whole. In this way, since the thermal expansion coefficient of the sprocket 1 as a whole is configured to be small, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems such as tooth skipping due to the thermal expansion of the sprocket 1.

  In addition, even when the sprocket 1 is applied in the heating process in which high-temperature hot water is sprayed or in the hot water sterilization process using high-temperature hot water, the deformation due to the thermal expansion is prevented, so that the teeth It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a malfunction such as a flying defect and a line stop or replacement work caused by the problem. In addition, since deformation due to thermal expansion is suppressed, it is possible to extend the life of components, and as a result, it is possible to reduce costs. Further, the present embodiment is not limited to hot water, but also when a liquid such as a chemical solution or a lubricating oil is used and the sprocket 1 is disposed in a high temperature environment or a high temperature atmosphere for sterilization. Is applicable and can exhibit the above-described effects.

  In the above configuration, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, for example, the entire sprocket 1 defined based on the distance from the center of the shaft mounting hole 3 to the engagement teeth 4 and the amount of deformation with respect to the temperature change. As for the thermal expansion coefficient, as shown in FIG. 3, the groove width W and ring width of the circumferential groove 6 can be designed by selecting the material of the resin gear member 2 and the reinforcing member 10. The design can also be performed by selecting D or by selecting the groove depth M and the ring thickness N of the circumferential groove 6. By appropriately selecting these elements, the desired thermal expansion coefficient of the sprocket 1 as a whole can be achieved. Can be designed. Further, the material of the resin gear member 2 and the reinforcing member 10 is not limited to the present embodiment, and the present invention is applied as long as the material exhibits characteristics that can be grasped from the description in the specification. It can be done.

In the present embodiment, in addition to the above-described first embodiment, the reinforcement is further improved at the engaging tooth portion of the resin gear member.
That is, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 (a) and 5 (b), the reinforcing member 10A is an engagement tooth reinforcing member disposed on the tooth tip circle R2 side of the root circle R1 of the resin gear member 2A. It is set as the structure which comprises the part 11,11 .... By means of the engaging tooth reinforcing portions 11, 11..., The overall coefficient of thermal expansion in the portion constituting the engaging tooth 4 is reduced, and deformation due to thermal expansion is prevented. .

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the reinforcing member 10 </ b> A includes a ring-shaped base portion 12 and radial directions at a plurality of locations corresponding to the arrangement of the engaging teeth 4, 4. Engagement tooth reinforcements 11, 11, which are provided in a form protruding outward and have a substantially tooth shape that fits within the contour of the engagement teeth 4 in a front view desired in the central axis direction of the resin gear member 2 A.・ ・ It is configured to have.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG.4 and FIG.5 (a) (b), the said engagement tooth reinforcement part 11,11 ... is supposed to be integrally provided with the base part 12 by cutting etc. As shown in FIG. In addition, each engaging tooth reinforcing portion 11 is configured to fit within the contour of the engaging tooth 4 in a front view, and the shape thereof is a tooth shape obtained by reducing the engaging tooth 4. Thereby, the reinforcing member 10A as a whole has a substantially gear shape.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, the engaging tooth reinforcing portion 11 has a tooth shape portion that has substantially the same thickness as the ring-shaped base portion 12 and fits within the contour of the engaging tooth 4 in a front view. 11a and the engaging convex part 11b which protrudes toward the thickness direction center of 2 A of resin gear members from this tooth-shaped part 11a. The engaging convex portion 11b may be provided at the same time when the engaging tooth reinforcing portion 11 is processed, and is constituted by fixing a separate structure to the engaging tooth reinforcing portion 11. Also good. In the example shown in FIG. 5 (b), the engagement convex portion 11b is formed by extending the engagement tooth reinforcing portion 11 in the thickness direction, and the tooth shape portion 11a and the engagement convex portion 11b are formed. It is designed to be integrated.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5B, in the resin gear member 2A, as in the first embodiment, a circumferential groove 6A for accommodating and fitting the ring-shaped base portion 12 is formed. In addition, tooth tip grooves 6B, 6B... Are formed from the circumferential groove 6A toward the tooth tips. Further, a tooth tip deep groove 6C (FIG. 5B) is formed from each tooth tip groove 6B in the thickness direction of the resin gear member 2. Here, the tooth tip groove 6B is configured to fit the tooth-shaped portion 11a of the engaging tooth reinforcing portion 11, and the tooth tip deep groove 6C is engaged with the engaging tooth reinforcing portion 11. It is comprised so that the joint convex part 11b may be fitted.

  By configuring as described above, as shown in FIG. 5A, the engaging tooth reinforcing portion 11 exists in the portion of the engaging tooth 4 of the sprocket 1. As a result, the coefficient of thermal expansion can be reduced (this is a combination of the engaging tooth 4 and the engaging tooth reinforcing portion 11). Can be prevented.

  Further, by suppressing deformation due to thermal expansion at the site of the engaging teeth 4, it is possible to maintain the pitch P between the engaging teeth 4 and 4 at a specified value. This makes it possible to more effectively suppress flying.

  The present invention is particularly applicable to a sprocket made of resin used in a high temperature environment where hot water is distributed. For example, the present invention can be applied to a sprocket for a transport chain that performs a heating process in transporting cans (aluminum cans, steel cans, etc.), bottles, PET bottles and the like in a production line for beverages.

The perspective view shown about the structure of the sprocket which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. The front view similarly shown about the structure of a resin gear member and a reinforcement member. Front sectional drawing similarly shown about the structure of a resin gear member and a reinforcement member. The figure shown about the structure of the resin-made gear members and reinforcement member which comprise the sprocket which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. (A) is a partially enlarged front view of the tooth tip part. (B) is a partially enlarged front view of the front surface of the tooth tip portion. The figure shown about conveyance of the can product by the conventional conveyance chain. The figure shown about the relationship between the engagement tooth of the conventional conveyance chain, and the engagement tooth of a sprocket.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sprocket 2 Resin gear member 3 Shaft mounting hole 4 Engagement tooth 5 Side surface component 6 Circumferential groove 7 Tap 8 Through-hole 9 Fixing bolt 10 Reinforcement member

Claims (2)

A sprocket for a transport chain placed in a high temperature environment where hot water is used,
The sprocket is
A resin gear member having engaging teeth for engaging with the engaging portion of the transport chain;
A reinforcing member made of a material having a smaller coefficient of thermal expansion than the material of the resin gear member, attached in a concentric arrangement to the resin gear member,
Comprising
The reinforcing member is configured in a ring shape,
A circumferential groove is formed on at least one side surface of the resin gear member,
The reinforcing member is accommodated in the circumferential groove,
The reinforcing member is integrated by being fixed to the resin gear member shaped in advance by a fixing bolt afterward,
A sprocket for a transport chain, characterized in that The reinforcing member comprises an engagement tooth reinforcing portion disposed on the tooth tip circle side of the root circle of the resin gear member,
In the circumferential groove, a tooth tip groove is formed toward each tooth tip of the engagement tooth of the resin gear member,
The engagement tooth reinforcing portion is accommodated in the tooth tip groove,
The sprocket for a transport chain according to claim 1.

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