JP5494563B2 - Pallet transport device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport device, and more particularly to a pallet transport device that transports an inclined pallet provided with a load placement surface inclined with respect to a bottom surface.

In general, when a load placed on a pallet is placed on a conveyor, a logistics device such as a hand lift or a forklift is used (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Glass substrates (an example of luggage) used for solar cell panels, liquid crystal panels, plasma display panels, and the like are stacked on a pallet in a bundled state and delivered to a panel factory. In a panel factory, a glass substrate bundled with a pallet using a forklift is placed on an inclined pallet. The inclined pallet is placed on a roller conveyor. The inclined pallet has a bottom surface supported by the roller conveyor, a load placement surface provided to be inclined with respect to the bottom surface, and a load contact surface orthogonal to the load placement surface.
The roller conveyor is swingable between a first position where the bottom surface of the inclined pallet is horizontally arranged on the roller conveyor and a second position where the baggage placement surface is inclined so as to be horizontally arranged. When the glass substrate is transferred onto the inclined pallet on the conveyor by a forklift, the roller conveyor is disposed at the second position. In this state, the glass substrate is placed on the load placement surface of the inclined pallet together with the pallet.

JP 2009-102127 A

  When the glass substrate is transferred using the forklift, the inclined pallet may be displaced from a predetermined position on the roller conveyor by being pushed by the forklift. If the inclined pallet is displaced from the predetermined position, the glass substrate cannot be efficiently transferred to the inclined pallet.

  An object of the present invention is to suppress the displacement of an inclined pallet when a load is transferred to the inclined pallet with a simple configuration.

  Hereinafter, a plurality of modes will be described as means for solving the problems. These aspects can be arbitrarily combined as necessary.

  The pallet transport device according to the present invention is a pallet transport device that transports an inclined pallet provided with a load placement surface inclined with respect to the bottom surface. The pallet transport device includes a conveyor unit, a conveyor support unit, a swing drive unit, and a first regulating unit. A conveyor part has a 1st end, a 2nd end, and the conveyance surface which supports the bottom face of an inclination pallet, and conveys an inclination pallet. The conveyor support unit has a support shaft arranged along the direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the conveyor unit on the second end side from the first end, and supports the conveyor unit so as to be swingable around the support shaft. The swing drive unit swings the conveyor unit between a first position where the conveying surface is substantially horizontal and a second position where the second end side is raised to make the load placement surface substantially horizontal. Let The first restricting portion is provided separately from the conveyor portion on the first end side from the support shaft. The first restricting portion is arranged below the conveying surface of the conveyor portion when the conveyor portion is at the first position, and protrudes from the conveying surface when the conveyor portion is at the second position to the second end side of the inclined pallet. Restrict movement.

  In this pallet transport device, when transferring a load to an inclined pallet, the conveyor unit is arranged at the second position by the swing drive unit. As a result, the load placement surface becomes substantially horizontal, and it becomes easy to transfer the load to the load placement surface by a logistics device such as a forklift. When the conveyor unit swings to the second position, the first regulating unit protrudes from the conveyor surface of the conveyor unit. As a result, even if the inclined pallet is pushed by the forklift, the inclined pallet is not easily displaced to the second end side. On the other hand, when the transfer of the load to the inclined pallet is completed, the conveyor unit is returned to the first position. In the first position, the first restricting portion is disposed below the transport surface. For this reason, the movement of the inclined pallet is not hindered. Here, the first restricting portion is configured such that the conveyance surface protrudes from the conveyance surface at the inclined second position, and the conveyance surface is disposed below the conveyance surface at the horizontal first position. For this reason, the shift | offset | difference of an inclination pallet when transferring a load to an inclination pallet can be suppressed with a simple structure.

You may further provide the 2nd control part which is provided in a conveyor part by the 1st end side from a 1st control part, and controls the movement to the direction away from the 2nd end of an inclination pallet.
In this case, even if the inclined pallet is arranged at the second position and the inclined pallet moves to the first end side by its own weight, the inclined pallet does not fall off the conveyor unit.

The conveyor unit may convey the inclined pallet to the first end before the swing drive unit swings the conveyor unit to the second position and then returns to the first position.
In this case, even when the load is transferred by a physical distribution device such as a forklift, the inclined pallet can be separated from the first restricting portion even if the inclined pallet is caught on the first restricting portion. Thereby, damage to at least one of the inclined pallet and the first restricting portion can be prevented.

  According to the present invention, the first restricting portion is configured so that the conveyance surface protrudes from the conveyance surface at the inclined second position and is disposed below the conveyance surface at the horizontal first position. Yes. For this reason, the shift | offset | difference of an inclination pallet when transferring a load to an inclination pallet can be suppressed with a simple structure.

The top view of the pallet conveyance system by which one Embodiment of this invention was employ | adopted. The front view of the pallet conveying apparatus. The right view of a pallet conveying apparatus. The right view of a pallet conveying apparatus when rock | fluctuating to the 2nd position.

(1) Pallet Conveying System In FIG. 1, a pallet conveying system 10 in which an embodiment of the present invention is adopted is a substrate processing apparatus (not shown) that has an inclined pallet 16 on which a glass substrate 14 (see FIG. 2) is placed. It is a transport system. The pallet transport system 10 includes a pallet transport device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention and one or more pallet conveyors 22. The pallet transport device 20 is a device that receives a plurality of glass substrates 14 on the inclined pallet 16. The pallet conveyor 22 conveys the inclined pallet 16 that has received the glass substrate 14 by the pallet conveying device 20 to the substrate processing apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 2, the inclined pallet 16 has a bottom surface 16a, a load placement surface 16b provided to be inclined with respect to the bottom surface 16a, and a load contact surface 16c orthogonal to the load placement surface 16b. doing. The bottom surface 16 a of the inclined pallet 16 is supported by the pallet transport device 20 and the pallet conveyor 22. The pallet 12 is placed on the luggage placement surface 16b. A plurality of bundled glass substrates 14 are stacked vertically on the pallet 12. Under the inclined pallet 16, a frame member 16d that is assembled in a rectangular shape with a steel material such as a square pipe is provided. Therefore, the frame member 16d is exposed on the lower surface of the inclined pallet.

(2) Pallet Conveying Device As shown in FIG. 4, the pallet conveying device 20 receives the glass substrate 14 conveyed by the fork claws 80 a of the forklift 80 together with the pallet 12 on the inclined pallet 16. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the pallet transport device 20 swings the conveyor unit 30 that can transport the inclined pallet 16, the conveyor support unit 33 that supports the conveyor unit 30, and the conveyor unit 30. And a swing drive unit 34. Further, the pallet transport device 20 includes a first restricting portion 36 and a second restricting portion 38 that restrict the movement of the inclined pallet 16.

(2-1) Conveyor unit The conveyor unit 30 is, for example, a roller conveyor having a plurality of rollers 31 that can be individually rotated forward and backward. The plurality of rollers 31 are supported at both ends by a conveyor frame 32 disposed on both sides. One end of the roller 31 is provided with a motor 31a for rotation driving (see FIG. 3). The conveyor frame 32 has a pair of main frames 32a and a plurality of connecting members 32b. The main frame 32 a is disposed on both sides of the roller 31. The plurality of connecting members 32 b connect the pair of main frames 32 a between the plurality of rollers 31. The conveyor unit 30 has a first end 30 a far from the pallet conveyor 22, a second end 30 b close to the pallet conveyor 22, and a transport surface 30 c that supports the bottom surface 16 a of the inclined pallet 16. The conveyor unit 30 supports the bottom surface 16 a of the inclined pallet 16 by rollers 31. In this embodiment, a straight line connecting the upper parts of the rollers 31 constitutes the transport surface 30c. The conveyor unit 30 receives the empty inclined pallet 16 from the pallet conveyor 22 and conveys the inclined pallet 16 on which the glass substrate 14 is placed to the pallet conveyor 22.

(2-2) Conveyor Support Unit The conveyor support unit 33 includes a gantry 40 disposed below the conveyor unit 30, a swing support unit 42 disposed between the gantry 40 and the conveyor frame 32, and a pair of receiving members. 44. The gantry 40 is a rectangular frame-shaped member assembled from, for example, steel. The swing support portion 42 includes a support shaft 45, a pair of first bearing portions 46 that support both ends of the support shaft 45, and a pair of second bearing portions 47 that are rotatably attached to the support shaft 45. Have. The support shaft 45 is disposed on the second end 31b side from the first end 31a of the conveyor unit 30 along a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveyor unit 30 (left and right direction in FIG. 2). The first bearing portion 46 is fixed to the gantry 40 and fixes both ends of the support shaft 45. The second bearing portion 47 is fixed to the lower end of the conveyor frame 32. The conveyor support portion 33 supports the conveyor portion 30 so as to be swingable around the support shaft 45.
The receiving member 44 is positioned so as to be able to contact the lower surface of the second end of the conveyor unit 30 when the conveyor unit 30 is disposed at the first position. The receiving member 44 is provided to stabilize the conveyor unit 30 when the conveyor unit 30 is in the second position.

(2-3) Oscillation Drive Unit The oscillation drive unit 34 is disposed on the second end side of the conveyor unit 30. The swing drive unit 34 swings the conveyor unit 30 between a first position shown in FIG. 2 and a second position shown in FIG. The first position is a position where the transport surface 30c of the conveyor unit 30 is disposed substantially horizontally. The second position is a position where the load placement surface 16b of the inclined pallet 16 placed on the transport surface 30c is disposed substantially horizontally. In the second position, the second end 30b of the conveyor unit 30 rises from the first position. Further, at the first position, the first end 30a of the conveyor unit descends from the first position.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the swing drive unit 34 includes a reduction motor 50, a rotation shaft 52 that is rotated by the reduction motor 50, and a pair of lifting cams 54 that are fixed to both ends of the rotation shaft 52. And having. The reduction motor 50 is disposed below the roller 31. The rotation shaft 52 is disposed in parallel with the support shaft 45. The rotation shaft 52 is rotatably supported on the gantry 40 by a pair of bearings 56 fixed to the gantry 40 inside the elevating cam 54. The rotation shaft 52 is connected to the reduction motor 50 by an appropriate gear mechanism such as a worm gear and a worm wheel. The elevating cam 54 includes an elevating arm 54a whose base ends are fixed to both ends of the rotating shaft 52, and an elevating roller 54b rotatably attached to the distal end of the elevating arm 54a. The elevating roller 54 b is in contact with the lower surface of the conveyor frame 32.

(2-4) 1st control part The 1st control part 36 controls that the inclination pallet 16 moves toward a 2nd end side. The first restricting portion 36 is provided separately from the conveyor portion 30 on the first end 30 a side from the support shaft 45. In this embodiment, it is fixed to the gantry 40 and extends upward. The upper end 36a of the first restricting portion 36 is located below the transport surface 31c of the conveyor portion 30, that is, below the bottom surface 16a of the inclined pallet 16, when the conveyor portion 30 is in the first position shown in FIG. Moreover, when the conveyor part 30 exists in the 2nd position shown in FIG. 4, the upper end 36a of the 1st control part 36 is located above the conveyance surface 30c of the conveyor part 30. FIG. Specifically, when the distance between the first restricting portion 36 and the support shaft 45 is L, and the swing angle from the first position to the second position is θ, the portion where the first restricting portion 36 is disposed, The conveyor unit 30 moves up and down by a distance D of L × tan θ. For this reason, the upper end 36a of the 1st control part 36 is located below the conveyance surface 30c of the conveyor part 30 in a 1st position, and the position below the distance D from the conveyance surface 30c. That is, when the conveyor unit 30 is in the first position, the first end 30a is lowered when the conveyor unit 30 swings to the second position without contacting the inclined pallet 16, and the first regulating unit 36 is moved away from the transport surface 30c. Protruding. The protruding first restricting portion 36 can come into contact with the frame member 16 d of the inclined pallet 16. As a result, when the inner side surface 16e of the frame member 16d comes into contact with the first restricting portion 36, the inclined pallet 16 cannot move to the second end side.

(2-5) Second Restriction Part The second restriction part 38 is disposed on the first end 30a side from the first restriction part 36. The second restricting portion 38 restricts movement in a direction away from the second end of the inclined pallet 16. In this embodiment, the second restricting portion 38 is fixed to the first end 30 a of the conveyor portion 30. The second restricting portion 38 comes into contact with the outer surface 16 f of the frame member 16 d of the inclined pallet 16 and restricts the movement of the inclined pallet 16 in the direction away from the second end 30 b side. Therefore, when the outer surface 16f of the inclined pallet 16 comes into contact with the second restricting portion 38, the inclined pallet 16 cannot move, and the first end of the inclined pallet 16 does not move even if the conveyor unit 30 swings to the inclined second position. Omission from 30a can be prevented.

(3) Operation of Pallet Conveying Device When receiving the glass substrate 14 from the forklift, the conveyor unit 30 is swung from the first position to the second position. When the conveyor unit 30 is in the first position shown in FIG. 2, when the reduction motor 50 is rotated by a predetermined amount in one direction, the elevating arm 54a rotates, for example, 180 degrees clockwise in FIG. Thereby, the raising / lowering roller 54b raises the 2nd end 30b side of the conveyor frame 32, and the conveyor part 30 is arrange | positioned in the 2nd position shown in FIG.
In this state, the pallet 12 is hooked by the fork claws 80a of the forklift 80, and the glass substrate 14 is transferred to the load placement surface 16b of the inclined pallet 16. At this time, the fork claw 80 a may push the inclined pallet 16 toward the second end 30 b of the conveyor unit 30 via the pallet 12. At this time, if the inner side surface 16e of the frame member 16d of the inclined pallet 16 contacts the first restricting portion 36, it cannot move to the second end 30b side of the inclined pallet 16. For this reason, even if the glass substrate 14 is transferred to the inclined pallet 16 by the forklift 80, the inclined pallet 16 is not easily displaced.

  When the transfer of the glass substrate 14 to the inclined pallet 16 is completed, the forklift 80 is moved backward. When the reduction motor 50 is rotated by a predetermined amount in the other direction, the elevating arm 54a rotates, for example, 180 degrees counterclockwise in FIG. Thereby, the second end 30b side of the conveyor frame 32 riding on the lifting roller 54b is lowered by its own weight, and the conveyor unit 30 is disposed at the first position shown in FIG. In the middle of the lowering to the first position, the roller 31 is rotationally driven toward the first end 30a. That is, it is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. Thereby, the inclination pallet 16 is conveyed to the 1st end 30a side. For this reason, even if the inner surface 16e of the inclined pallet 16 is caught by the first restricting portion 36, the inner surface 16e can be separated from the first restricting portion 36. Thereby, at least any one of the 1st control part 36 and the inclination pallet 16 becomes difficult to damage.

  When the conveyor unit 30 returns to the first position, the first end 30a of the conveyor unit 30 rises, and the upper end 36a of the first regulating unit 36 is disposed below the transport surface 30c. For this reason, it does not interfere with the conveyance of the inclined pallet 16. In this state, the conveyor unit 30 conveys the inclined pallet 16 to the pallet conveyor 22 to complete the transfer operation.

(4) Features The above embodiment can be expressed as follows.
(A) The pallet conveyance device 20 is a pallet conveyance device 20 that conveys the inclined pallet 16 provided with the luggage placement surface 16b inclined with respect to the bottom surface 16a. The pallet transport device 20 includes a conveyor unit 30, a conveyor support unit 33, a swing drive unit 34, and a first regulating unit 36. The conveyor unit 30 has a first end 30 a, a second end 30 b, and a conveyance surface 30 c that supports the bottom surface 16 a of the inclined pallet 16, and conveys the inclined pallet 16. The conveyor support portion 33 has a support shaft 45 disposed along the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveyor portion 30 on the second end 30b side from the first end 30a, and swings the conveyor portion 30 about the support shaft 45. Support freely. The swing drive unit 34 is a conveyer between a first position where the conveyance surface 30c is substantially horizontal and a second position where the second end 30b is raised and the load placement surface 16b is substantially horizontal. The part 30 is swung. The first restricting portion 36 is provided separately from the conveyor portion 30 on the first end 30 a side from the support shaft 45. The first restricting portion 36 is disposed below the conveying surface 30c when the conveyor portion 30 is at the first position, and protrudes from the conveying surface 30c when the conveyor portion 30 is at the second position, so that the second end of the inclined pallet 16 is provided. The movement to the 30b side is regulated.

  In the pallet transport device 20, when the glass substrate 14 that is a load is transferred to the inclined pallet 16, the conveyor unit 30 is arranged at the second position by the swing driving unit 34. Thereby, the load placement surface 16b becomes substantially horizontal, and it becomes easy to transfer the glass substrate 14 to the load placement surface 16b by a physical distribution device such as a forklift 80. When the conveyor unit 30 swings to the second position, the first restricting unit 36 protrudes from the transport surface 30 c of the conveyor unit 30. As a result, even if the inclined pallet 16 is pushed by the forklift 80, the inclined pallet 16 is less likely to be displaced toward the second end 30b. On the other hand, when the transfer of the glass substrate 14 to the inclined pallet 16 is completed, the conveyor unit 30 is returned to the first position. In the first position, the first restricting portion 36 is disposed below the transport surface 30c. For this reason, the movement of the inclined pallet 16 is not hindered. Here, the first regulating portion 36 is configured such that the conveyance surface 30c protrudes from the conveyance surface 31c at the inclined second position and the conveyance surface 30c is disposed below the conveyance surface 31c at the horizontal first position. Has been. For this reason, the shift | offset | difference of the inclination pallet 16 when transferring the glass substrate 14 to the inclination pallet 16 can be suppressed with a simple structure.

(B) The 2nd control part 38 which is provided in the conveyor part 30 by the 1st end 30a side from the 1st control part 36, and controls the movement to the direction away from the 2nd end 30b of the inclination pallet 16 may be further provided. .
In this case, even if the inclined pallet 16 is arranged at the second position and the inclined pallet 16 moves to the first end 30a side by its own weight, the inclined pallet 16 does not fall off the conveyor unit 30.

(C) The conveyor unit 30 may convey the inclined pallet 16 to the first end 30a before the swing drive unit 34 swings the conveyor unit 30 to the second position and then returns to the first position. .
In this case, when the glass substrate 14 is transferred by a physical distribution device such as the forklift 80, the inclined pallet 16 can be separated from the first restricting portion 36 even if the inclined pallet 16 is caught on the first restricting portion 36. . Thereby, damage to at least one of the inclined pallet 16 and the first restricting portion 36 can be prevented.

(5) Other Embodiments Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, a plurality of embodiments and modifications described in this specification can be arbitrarily combined as necessary.
(A) In the said embodiment, although the conveyor part 30 was comprised with the roller conveyor, a conveyor part is not limited to a roller conveyor. The conveyor unit may be constituted by other conveyors such as a chain conveyor and a belt conveyor, for example.
(B) In the above-described embodiment, the swing drive unit 34 is configured by the reduction motor 50 and the lift cam 54, but the swing drive unit is not limited to this. For example, the swing drive unit may be configured by an actuator such as a hydraulic cylinder, a pneumatic cylinder, or an electric cylinder. Further, the swing drive unit may be configured by a combination of a ball screw and a ball screw.
(C) In the above embodiment, the pallet 12 is placed on the luggage placement surface 16b of the inclined pallet 16, but the present invention is not limited to this. When the side of the load is grabbed and transferred, the load may be placed directly on the load placement surface 16b without placing the pallet.

  The pallet conveying apparatus according to the present invention can be widely applied to a pallet conveying apparatus that transfers a load to an inclined pallet by, for example, a physical distribution device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Pallet conveying system 12 Pallet 14 Glass substrate 16 Inclined pallet 16a Bottom surface 16b Luggage placement surface 16c Luggage contact surface 16d Frame member 16e Inner side surface 16f Outer side surface 20 Pallet conveying device 22 Pallet conveyor 30 Conveyor part 30a First end 30b Second end 30c Conveying surface 31 Roller 32 Conveyor frame 32a Main frame 32b Connecting member 33 Conveyor support part 34 Swing drive part 36 First restriction part 36a Upper end 38 Second restriction part 40 Base 42 Swing support part 44 Receiving member 45 Support shaft 46 First 1 bearing portion 47 second bearing portion 50 reduction motor 52 rotating shaft 54 elevating cam 54a elevating arm 54b elevating roller 56 bearing

Claims (3)

A pallet transport device that transports an inclined pallet provided with a load placement surface inclined with respect to the bottom surface,
A conveyor section that has a first end, a second end, and a transport surface that supports the bottom surface of the tilted pallet, and transports the tilted pallet;
Conveyor support having a support shaft disposed along the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveyor unit on the second end side from the first end, and supporting the conveyor unit swingably around the support shaft And
A first position wherein the conveying surface is horizontal, and the swing drive unit for oscillating the conveyor unit between the second position to the luggage mounting surface by raising the second end side in the horizontal ,
Provided separately from the conveyor unit on the first end side from the support shaft, and when the conveyor unit is in the first position, the conveyor unit is disposed below the conveying surface and positioned below the bottom surface of the inclined pallet. When the conveyor portion is in the second position, it protrudes from the transport surface and can come into contact with the inner side surface of the frame member of the inclined pallet, thereby restricting the movement of the inclined pallet to the second end side. A first regulation unit;
A pallet carrying device comprising:   2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second restricting portion that is provided in the conveyor portion on the first end side from the first restricting portion and restricts movement of the inclined pallet in a direction away from the second end. Pallet transport device. The conveyor unit conveys the inclined pallet to the first end before the swing drive unit swings the conveyor unit to the second position and then returns to the first position. Or the pallet conveyance apparatus of 2.

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