JPH0214795B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a conveyance device used for automatic conveyance of articles, such as automatically conveying workpieces stored in a magazine or the like to the next process.

For example, in the process of manufacturing electronic circuit boards, a suitable number of boards are placed in a magazine and handled, and when the boards in the magazine are sequentially sent to multiple stations for the next process, the boards are moved from the magazine position to each position. A dolly that automatically moves along a guide such as a rail is used, and the dolly is equipped with a pair of claws that can be opened and closed. leads to the station, where the claws are opened to release the board,
However, in conventional transport devices, the cart is equipped with a drive unit, and the claws are opened and closed electrically or by pneumatic pressure from an air cylinder, etc. Therefore, the power source and the cart are connected to electric wires or piping. It was connected. Therefore, the trolley must always be moved by dragging electric wires or piping, and such wires and piping are not desirable from a safety standpoint, and furthermore, it is difficult to move the trolley over long distances.
In some cases, there were drawbacks that made it impossible.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and therefore, to provide a conveyance device that is preferable in terms of safety and can be easily conveyed over long distances.

The conveying device according to the present invention is characterized by including a guide such as a rail, a cart that is moved along the guide, and stations provided at a plurality of predetermined positions along the guide. A pair of claws that can be opened and closed mutually and are movable up and down to hold the station are provided, and each station is provided with an operating section that opens and closes the claws and moves them up and down by mechanical operation. It includes a control device that gives commands to the operating part, and this configuration makes it possible to operate the claws of the trolley without using electric wires or flexible piping that connect the trolley to the power source. .

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows the entire conveying device according to the present invention, and in the figure, A,
B, C, and D are stations where articles such as workpieces are handled, and the articles are moved from one station to another. In the illustrated example, articles placed on the support base of station A are sequentially moved from magazine 1 to stations B, C, and D. Reference numeral 2 denotes a guide such as a rail, along which the cart 10 is moved. Each station is installed at a predetermined position along the guide, and each station is provided with an actuating section 3 that mechanically operates the carriage 10. These operating units 3 are connected to a control device 4 and receive commands from there. Further, each station is provided with a support stand 5 on which articles are placed. In this example, the guide 2 is linear, but it goes without saying that it may be curved.

FIG. 2 illustrates the relationship between the guide 2 and the truck 10. Preferably, the guide is provided with grooves along the longitudinal direction, and the wheels attached to the running section 11 of the truck 10 fit into these grooves. It is designed to be engaged and moved while maintaining a certain posture. The carriage 10 is moved by, for example, a wire 6 stretched in a loop shape, and one pulley on which the wire 6 is hung is driven by a motor according to a command from the control device 4. The wires are connected to the carriage 10 at appropriate points.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, this trolley 10 includes a pair of claws 12 and 13 that can be opened and closed, that is, approached or separated from each other, in order to hold an article therebetween, and these claws are arranged above and below. It is movably installed. The opening/closing and vertical movement of the pair of claws is performed by mechanical operation of the operating section 3 in the station, and therefore it is preferable that each operating section is provided with a pusher 7. In this example, the pusher 7 is composed of three air cylinders 7a, 7b, and 7c. 8 is the support stand 5 of station A
This is a sensor that detects that an article is placed on top of a.

The side of the truck 10 includes a pair of racks 14 and 15 arranged parallel to each other, and a pinion 16 that is located between them and meshes with the racks.
The rack 15 can be pushed by the air cylinder 7b and the rack 15 by the other air cylinder 7c when it reaches its station. The pair of pawls 12 and 13 are mutually opened and closed by rotation of a pinion shaft 17 that supports this pinion 16 via a pawl opening/closing mechanism 20. 18 is a guide bar.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the pawl opening/closing mechanism includes a pair of racks 21 and 22 arranged at an angle to the racks 14 and 15, and a pair of racks 21 and 22 that are attached to the pinion shaft 17 and connected to the racks 14 and 15. It may also be constituted by a pinion 23 interposed therebetween and meshing with them. In this case, the rotation of the pinion 23 moves the racks 21 and 22 by the same amount in opposite directions, and the pawls 12 and 13 fixed to one end of each rack are moved by the same amount.
It is clear that they open and close each other. Note that it is obvious that other mechanisms can be used as the pawl opening/closing mechanism; for example, as shown in FIG. , 26 may be brought into contact with each other. Furthermore, it can also be configured with a link mechanism or the like.

It is preferable to add a locking device to keep the pawls 12, 13 in the open or closed position, such as on the back of each rack or on the mounting plate 2 of the rack, as shown in FIG.
A pair of V grooves 29 are provided at predetermined positions of 7 and 28, and the grooves 29 are pressed against the mounting plate by a spring 30.
It is also possible to use a ball 31 that can be partially inserted into the tube.

Furthermore, the frame 10a supporting these pawl and rack-pinion mechanisms is capable of lowering relative to the frame 10b above it and is drawn upwardly by a suitable spring 32, so that a follower 33 fixed to the frame 10a is connected to the cam 34. , and when the end of the cam 34 is pushed by the air cylinder 7a of the actuating part, the frame 10a together with the follower 33, and therefore each pawl 12,
13 is lowered by a predetermined distance.

Next, the operation will be explained. The articles stored in the magazine 1 are placed on the support stand 5a of the station A by an appropriate robot. Trolley 10
is moved to station A, and the article on the support stand 5a is held between the claws 12 and 13. In that case, first, one end of the cam 34 is pushed and held in that state by the air cylinder 7a of the operating section at that position, and the pair of claws are lowered via the follower 33.
In this case, the claws 12, 13 are in the open position. Next, by operating the air cylinder 7c, one rack 15 is pushed and the pinion shaft 1 is pushed through the pinion 16.
7 to move the claws 12, 13 closer to each other, ie, to the closed position, to hold the article S therebetween as shown in FIG. At this time, the ball 31 and one groove 29a
Locks when engaged. Next, air cylinder 7
c can be retracted, but even if the air cylinder 7c is retracted, the article remains held between the claws. Then, when the air cylinder 7a is retracted, the claws 12 and 13 are raised together with the frame 10a by the spring 32, and the cam 34 returns to its original retracted position. When the article is held between the claws and raised to a certain extent, the cart 10 is moved to the station B, and the air cylinder 7a of the operating section 3c at that position similarly pushes the cam 34 to remove the claws and the article. is lowered onto the support stand 5b at that position, and the air cylinder 7b is operated to push the other rack 14, and the pinion shaft 1
7 in the opposite direction to open the pair of claws and release the item. When the claw opens, the ball 31 is in the groove 29a.
The claw moves out of engagement with the other groove 29b and engages with the other groove 29b, and the open position of the claw is locked. Then, when the air cylinder 7b retreats, the air cylinder 7a also retreats, and the claws rise in an open state.

While the trolley 10 is loading the article on station B, the robot takes out the next article from the magazine 1 and places it on the support stand 5a of station A, and then the trolley 10 returns to station A and moves to the front. After picking up the article in the same manner as above, it moves to station C and places the article there. Next, the article is similarly transported to station D, and the same operation is repeated thereafter. These operations are automatically performed based on commands from the control device 4.

In the above embodiment, a case is shown in which articles are sequentially conveyed from station A to stations B, C, and D. In this case, it is sufficient that station A has air cylinders 7a and 7c in its operating section, and other It is sufficient to have the air cylinders 7a and 7b in the operating section of each station, but if the three air cylinders 7a, 7b, and 7c are arranged in the operating section of each station, articles can be transferred from any station to another station. Can be transported. In the above example, the number of stations is four, but it is clear that the number of stations can be any number.
Further, it is preferable that the pusher of each operating section 3 be an air cylinder because the mechanism is simple, but it goes without saying that it may be another unit or device.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to hold an article between the claws of a trolley at a certain station, and while maintaining this state, the claws of the trolley can be moved by mechanical action from the operating section of another station. Since it can be opened to release the goods, there is no need to connect the trolley and the power source with electric wires or flexible piping, and therefore only the trolley needs to be moved, increasing safety. This has the remarkable effect of allowing appropriate transportation even if the distance between stations is large.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the entirety of an example of a conveyance device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a part thereof, FIG. Figure 4 is the front view of the trolley, Figure 5
The figure is a view taken from line A-A in Fig. 3, Fig. 6 is a partial elevational view taken from the direction of arrow C in Fig. 3, and Fig. 7 is a view taken from line B-B in Fig. 6. The sectional view, FIG. 8, is a sectional view similar to FIG. 7 showing another embodiment. In the figure, 2... Guide, 3... Station operating section, 4... Control device, 7... Pusher, 10
...Dolly, 12,13...Claw, 32...Spring, 3
3...Fuoroa, 34...Cam.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A guide including a rail or the like, a cart that is moved along the guide, and stations provided at a plurality of predetermined positions along the guide, and the cart holds an object to be transported. In order to do this, a pair of claws that can be opened and closed mutually and are movable up and down is provided, and each station is provided with an operating section that opens and closes the claws and moves them up and down by mechanical operation. A transport device including a control device that gives commands to each of the station actuators to open/close and move up and down. 2. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the operating section includes a plurality of pushers. 3. The conveying device according to claim 2, wherein the pusher is an air cylinder. 4. The conveyance device according to claim 1, wherein the pawl is biased upward by a spring and lowered by a cam and a follower. 5. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the pawls are opened and closed via a common pinion and a pair of racks that mesh with the common pinion and are operated by the operating section. 6. The conveying device according to claim 1, further comprising a locking device for maintaining the claw in the open position or the closed position.