JPH0438642B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a transfer device suitable for use when transferring an object in two opposite directions from a conveyance device such as an elevator.

(b) Prior Art Conventionally, this type of transfer device has an independent drive mechanism for each direction in which the transfer is to be carried out. The transfer operation is performed by engaging the object to be transferred and, in this state, moving the engaging means into a storage space such as a shelf to which the object is to be transferred.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, this requires independent drive mechanisms for the two contradictory directions of transfer, which not only increases the size and complexity of the device, but also causes problems with the drive mechanism. Since the engaging means enters the storage location of the object, it is necessary to secure extra space in the storage location so that interference does not occur when the engaging means enters the storage location, This had the disadvantage of increasing the size of the device.

Furthermore, in JP-A-51-143270, a pair of chains are stretched in the direction to be transferred, and an L-shaped hook is provided, and the chain is rotated to engage the hook with the object to be transferred. A transfer device has been disclosed that transfers between a shelf and a loading platform by moving the chain horizontally. However, since the chain is stretched horizontally, it is necessary to It is necessary to secure a travel area, and the width of the transfer device inevitably becomes larger than the width of the object to be transferred.
This has the disadvantage of increasing the size of the device.

Furthermore, when transferring an object to a shelf, in order to reliably push the object into the shelf, it is necessary to use an L-shaped hook, etc., in which the hook is offset outward by an amount corresponding to the amount of push against the sprocket. If the need arises, an extra space for the offset of the hooks must be provided between the transfer device and a storage location such as a shelf, or when the transfer device is moved vertically, the hooks must be placed within the storage location. It is necessary to move the hook to a position where it does not interfere with other objects, which increases the size of the device and makes control of the hook position complicated.

In order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention is capable of transferring an object in two contradictory directions with one driving means.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a transfer device in which the engaging means on the transfer device side does not enter the storage area of the object.

Furthermore, the present invention eliminates the risk of interference between the engaging means such as a hook and the object to be transferred, allowing the device to be made more compact, and the space corresponding to the amount of pushing of the object can be reduced between the main body and the object. The object of the present invention is to provide a transfer device that does not need to be secured between a storage location and a complicated hook position control.

(d) Means for solving the problem That is, the present invention has a main body, and a movable plate is placed below the object transfer position of the main body, parallel to the direction in which the object is to be transferred with respect to the neutral position. The movable plate is provided so as to be able to be reciprocated in a direction such that the moving plate is wound around the moving plate, and the intermediate section is stretched in the direction in which the object is to be transferred, and is set in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the object is to be transferred. The winding medium is stretched so as to have a height difference between a high position and a low position, and a driving means capable of driving the winding medium in forward and reverse directions is connected to the winding medium, and the winding medium is At a high position of the intermediate joint, the engaging means and the object to be transferred engage with each other, and at a low position, the engaging means and the object to be transferred engage with each other below the object transfer position. It is provided so that it can freely pass through so that it cannot engage with an object.

(e) Effect With the above-described configuration, the present invention can appropriately move and drive the winding intermediate node in the forward and reverse directions.
Engagement means located above engages with the object to selectively move and transfer the object in two opposing directions.

Further, in the present invention, by reciprocating the moving plate, the object is forcibly moved in the direction to be transferred by an amount corresponding to the amount of movement of the moving plate, and furthermore, the engaging means located at a low position It acts so that the transferred object passes below the transfer position without interfering with the transferred object.

(f) Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the transfer device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the moving plate portion,
FIG. 3 is a front view showing an example of a work storage position where the transfer device according to the present invention is used, and FIGS.
The figure is an operational diagram showing the state of pallet transfer.

As shown in FIG. 3, the workpiece storage device 1 has a frame 2, and in the center of the frame 2 is a workpiece transport elevator 3 that is movable in the vertical direction in the figure, that is, in the directions of arrows A and B. It is provided. Five work storage stations 5 are provided on the frame 2 on both sides of the elevator 3, and further work storage stations 5, 5 on the right side of the elevator 3 are provided.
A loading station 6 for loading and unloading workpieces into and out of the workpiece storage device 1 is provided between them. In addition, each workpiece storage station 5, loading station 6, and elevator 3 are provided with guide rails 5a, 6a, and 3c on both sides for moving pallets 23, which will be described later, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. ing.

In addition, the elevator 3 has a square box-like frame 3.
One end of a hoisting chain 3b is fixed to the frame 3a, and the hoisting chain 3b is connected to an appropriate drive means such as a motor or a hydraulic cylinder via a sprocket 7 provided at the top of the frame 2. has been done. In frame 3a,
As shown in FIG. 1, a transfer device 9 according to the present invention is provided, and the transfer device 9 has a first It has a movable plate 12 supported so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the drawing plane, that is, in the directions of arrows C and D in FIGS. 2 and 3. The moving plate 12, as shown in FIG.
The movable plate 12 is provided below the mounting position of the pallet 23, and furthermore, the movable plate 12 has an angle α with respect to the frame 3a in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the movable plate 3a, and therefore the transfer direction of the pallet 23, which will be described later.
The movable plate 12 is also provided with a bracket 12a.
A hydraulic cylinder 13 provided on the frame 3a is attached to the bracket 12a, and as shown in FIG.
It is connected via a.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, four sprockets 15 are rotatably supported on the moving plate 12, and among the four sprockets 15,
The axis of one sprocket 15 _A is the moving plate 1
2, and a bevel gear 16 is fitted to the end thereof. The bevel gear 16 has a hydraulic motor 1 supported in a hole 12b drilled in the moving plate 12.
A bevel gear 19 attached to the output shaft 17a of the moving plate 12 meshes therewith, and three chain guides 22 are provided between the four sprockets 15 of the moving plate 12. Furthermore, a chain 20 is guided by a chain guide 22 on the four sprockets 15 at an angle α in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the moving plate 12, that is, the transferring direction of the pallet 23, with respect to the frame 3a. The chain 20 is stretched in a square shape, and two hooks 21 are fixed to the chain 20 in opposite positions. In addition, the chain 20 is stretched in the directions of arrows C and D, which are the transfer directions of the pallet 23, and in the direction perpendicular thereto, so that its planar shape is approximately quadrangular, and the moving plate 12 is also Since it is tilted diagonally in the transfer direction, the chain 20 between the sprockets 15 _A and 15 _D on the right side of Figure 1 is similar to the sprocket 15 on the left side of Figure 1.
It maintains a higher running position than the chain 20 between _C and _15B .

Note that the pallet 2 transferred by the transfer device 9
As shown in FIG. 3, L-shaped brackets 23a are bent on both sides of the pallet 23, and workpieces to be supplied to the machine tool are naturally mounted on the pallet 23.

Since the workpiece storage device 1 has the above-described configuration, when the pallet 23 stored in the workpiece storage station 5 and the workpieces mounted on the pallet 23 are transported to the loading station 6, the third As shown in the figure, elevator 3
The loading station 6
The pallet 23 loaded with the workpieces to be transported is positioned opposite the workpiece storage station 5 storing the pallet 23. Now, to explain the case where the pallet 23 is transported from the work storage station 5 provided on the right side of FIG. 3 to the loading station 6, first, the elevator 3 positioned at a predetermined work storage station 5 is
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the hydraulic cylinder 13 is driven to project the ram 13a in the direction of arrow D. Then, the movable plate 12 is guided by the guide roller 10 of the bracket 11 and moves to D.
direction, that is, from the neutral position toward the work storage station 5 where the pallet 23 to be transported is stored. As shown in FIG.
When it moves to the work storage station 5 side, the hydraulic motor 17 on the moving plate 12 is driven to rotate, and the sprocket _15A is rotated via the output shaft 17a, the bevel gear 19, and the bevel gear 16.
Then, the chain 20 stretched on the sprocket 15 also starts moving in the direction of arrow E, and the chain 20
The two hooks 21 attached to are also moved in the E direction. When the hook 21 moves in the E direction, as shown in FIG.
The hook 21 _A located at a lower position in the figure 2, that is, on the left side of the figure, is attached to the sprocket 1 as shown in Figure 2.
Move from 5 _C towards sprocket 15 _D while gradually raising the position. While hook _21A passes between sprockets _15C and _15D ,
As shown in FIG. 5, the hook _21A is fitted into and engaged with the bracket 23a of the pallet 23 in the work storage station 5 from the opening on its side.
When the hook _21A further moves in the E direction together with the chain 20, the hook _21A and the wing portion 23b of the bracket 23a come into contact with each other and pull the bracket 23a in the direction of the arrow C. Then, palette 23 is also C
Pallet 2 is pulled in the direction by hook 21 _A.
The elevator 3 moves on the guide rail 6 via a roller 23d rotatably mounted on the pallet 23.
The workpiece is transferred from the workpiece storage station 5 onto the elevator 3 by moving onto the guide rail _3c . Hook 21 _A connects sprocket 15 _D to 15 _A
While the pallet 23 is being pulled in the C direction, the hydraulic cylinder 13 is driven and the movable plate 12 is moved back a predetermined distance in the C direction, and the movable plate 12 is brought to a neutral position in the center of the elevator 3. return. In this way, when the hook _21A reaches the sprocket _15A , the pallet 23 is transferred to the center of the elevator 3, but the hook _21A is then reversed from the direction of the sprocket _15A to the sprocket _15B .
The pallet 23 is no longer pulled in the C direction. Hook 21 _A connects sprocket 15 _A to 1
5 When moving over _B , as shown in Figure 1,
Hook 21 _A gradually lowers its position,
As shown in FIG. 4, the bracket 23a is disengaged from the side opening of the bracket 23a and moves upward in the figure. Hook 21 _A
stops when it reaches the intermediate position between sprockets _15A and _15B and prepares for the next transfer operation, but the hook _21A is located above the moving plate 12, that is, between the sprockets _15D and _15A on the right side of Fig. 2. While the pallet 23 is being towed and moved, the other hook 21 _B is placed at a low traveling position below the moving plate 12.
That is, since the pallet 23 moves in the direction E while being retracted downward from the pallet ₂₃ on the left side of FIG. It does not interfere with operation.

In this way, when the pallet 23 is transferred to the elevator 3, the elevator 3 is moved to A and B in FIG.
The elevator 3 and the loading station 6 are aligned and positioned by moving the elevator 3 and the loading station 6 up and down appropriately. Next, the hydraulic motor 17 is driven in the opposite direction to move the chain 20 in the direction of arrow F via the sprocket _15A . Then, hook 21
As shown in FIG. 4, _A fits into and engages the bracket 23a of the pallet 23 through the side opening, and further comes into contact with the side surface 23c of the pallet 23 to press the pallet 23 in the direction of arrow D. As a result, the pallet 23 starts moving in the direction D on the guide rail 3c, and the hook _21A moves above the movable plate 12, that is, between the sprockets _15A and _15D , thereby guiding the loading station 6. It is transferred onto the rail 6a. While the hook _21A moves between the sprockets _15A and _15D , the hydraulic cylinder 13 is driven and the movable plate 12 moves in the direction D. By the time the hook _21A passes the sprocket _15D , the pallet 23 teeth,
As shown in FIG. 5, the load is transferred from the elevator 3 to the loading station 6.

When the transfer of the pallet 23 is completed, the hydraulic cylinder 13 is driven to move the moving plate 12 to C.
The pallet 23 is then moved back to its neutral position in order to prepare for the next conveyance operation of the pallet 23. Note that when the elevator 3 moves up and down in the directions of arrows A and B, the moving plate 12 is located at the neutral position N at the center of the frame 3a, so the chain 20 and the like on the moving plate 12 are connected to the workpiece storage station 5 and the rotor. Palette 23 in ding station 6
There is no interference with the elevator 3, etc., and the elevator 3 can move up and down smoothly.

In the above embodiment, the pallet 23 was conveyed from the workpiece storage station 5 on the right side of FIG. The same applies to the case of transporting the pallet 23. In that case, the hydraulic cylinder 13 is driven to move the moving plate 12 from its neutral position N to the direction C, that is, to the pallet 2 to be transferred.
The chain 20 is moved to the side of the work storage station 5 where No. 3 is stored, and in that state, the chain 20 is moved in the direction F in Fig. 2, and the hook 21 _A and the pallet 23 are removed.
The pallet 23 is transferred onto the elevator 3 by engaging the bracket 23a, pulling the pallet 23 in the D direction, and returning the movable plate 12 to the neutral position N by the hydraulic cylinder 13.

Furthermore, the transfer operation from the elevator 5 to the loading station 6 is performed by moving the chain 20 again in the F direction and moving the hook _21B from the sprocket _15B to the sprocket _15A , thereby moving it upward (at this time). , pallet 23 to elevator 5
The hook _21A that has been transferred to is retracted downward through the sprocket _15C . ), engage the hook 21 _B and the pallet 23, and move the pallet 23 further in the D direction.
That is, it is pressed and moved toward the loading station 6 side. Note that the hydraulic cylinder 13 is also driven at the same time to move the moving plate 12 in the D direction, but a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted here as it has already been explained.

Incidentally, when the pallet 23 is to be transported from the loading station 6 to each work storage station 5, the transfer operation is performed in the reverse order to the above-described procedure.

Further, in the above embodiment, the transfer device 9 according to the present invention is used in the workpiece storage device 1, but the transfer device 9 according to the present invention is not limited to the workpiece storage device 1. The present invention may be applied to any device as long as the object is transferred in a moving manner by engaging an engaging means such as a hook 21 with an engaging means such as a bracket 23a provided on the object. Of course. Further, the transfer device 9 does not necessarily need to be mounted on the elevator 3 as in this embodiment, but can also be mounted on a moving conveyance means such as a conveyance cart that is driven to move in the horizontal direction.

Furthermore, as a winding medium to which the hook 21 is attached, it is of course possible to use a timing belt or the like in addition to the chain 20 as in this embodiment.

(g) Effect of the Invention As explained above, according to the present invention, the present invention has a main body, and a movable plate is placed below the object transfer position of the main body, and the moving plate is moved in the direction in which the object is to be transferred based on the neutral position. The movable plate is provided with a winding medium such as a chain 20 on the movable plate so as to be freely reciprocally driven in a direction parallel to the
The object is stretched in the direction in which the object is to be transferred, such as the direction of arrows C and D, and there is a height difference between a high position and a low position set in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the object is to be transferred. A driving means capable of driving the winding intermediate node in forward and reverse directions is connected to the winding intermediate node, and an engaging means such as a hook 21 is connected to the winding intermediate node. The engaging means and the object to be transferred engage with each other at a high position of the wrapping intermediate node, and the engaging means and the object cannot engage with the object below the object transferring position at a low position. By moving the winding medium joint together with the engaging means in a predetermined direction,
The engaging means located at a high position above engages with the object and pulls or presses the object to move the object between two positions such as between the workpiece storage station 5 and the elevator 3, between the loading station 6 and the elevator 3, etc. Transfer operations can be performed. Furthermore, at a low position, the engaging means can pass below the object transfer position without engaging the engaging means and the object, so that objects can be transferred in two mutual directions. By moving one winding intermediate node in the forward and reverse directions, the movement can be performed freely without interfering with the object to be transferred. In addition, since the engaging means that does not engage with the object to be transferred passes below the object at the loading position, a special space is created on the side of the object to prevent interference between the engaging means and the object. There is no need to provide the device on both sides, the width of the device can be made approximately equal to the width of the object to be transferred, and the overall configuration can be miniaturized. In addition, the winding intermediate joint that performs the transfer operation and the engagement means attached to the winding intermediate joint do not enter the storage area for objects such as the workpiece storage station 5 and the loading station 6, so that the workpiece can be There is no need to provide an extra space for the engagement means to enter into the storage side of the object such as the storage station 5, and it is possible to contribute to downsizing of the device in which the transfer device 9 is installed, such as the work storage device 1. .

Furthermore, a movable plate is provided below the object transfer position of the main body so as to be freely reciprocally driven in a direction parallel to the direction in which the object is to be transferred based on the neutral position, and a hook provided with an engaging means is provided on the movable plate. Since the intermediary joint is provided, by reciprocating the moving plate from the neutral position in the transfer direction, it is possible to push the object to be transferred into the storage location by driving the moving plate. There is no need to create a large offset, and there is no need to provide a space corresponding to the offset between the transfer device and the storage location, which not only makes it possible to downsize the entire device, but also allows the transfer device to be moved vertically. Even when the moving plate is moved to the neutral position, the risk of interference between the engaging means and the object stored in the storage area is avoided by simply returning the moving plate to the neutral position, and the engaging means is retracted to a position where it will not interfere with the object. This eliminates the need for complicated position control.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the transfer device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the moving plate portion,
FIG. 3 is a front view showing an example of a work storage device in which the transfer device according to the present invention is used, and FIGS.
The figure is an operational diagram showing the state of pallet transfer. 9...Transfer device, 20...Wrap medium link (chain), 21...Engagement means (hook), 23...
Object (palette).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A main body, and a movable plate is provided below the object transfer position of the main body so as to be freely reciprocating in a direction parallel to the direction in which the object is to be transferred, with reference to the neutral position, A mediating node that is wrapped around the moving plate is stretched in the direction in which the object is to be transferred, and between a high position and a low position set in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the object is to be transferred. The winding intermediate node is stretched with a difference in height, a driving means capable of driving the winding intermediate node to move in forward and reverse directions is connected to the winding intermediate node, and the engaging means is connected to the winding intermediate node. The engaging means and the object to be transferred engage with each other at a high position of the intermediate joint, and the engaging means and the object cannot engage with the object below the object transferring position at a low position. A transfer device configured to allow free passage.