JP2008179430A - Conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce costs by reducing the number of sensors for detecting a workpiece holding member, and by simplifying control software, in a conveying device for moving a plurality of workpiece holding members for holding workpieces along a conveying passage. <P>SOLUTION: The conveying device 1 is provided with a plurality of pallets P for holding the workpiece, a plurality of moving mechanisms 10-13 for moving the pallets P along the conveying passage, and a motor 14 for supplying power to the movement mechanisms 10-13. Rotation force of the motor 14 is transmitted to the movement mechanisms 10-13 through gear boxes 34-37. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a transfer device used when transferring a workpiece, for example, at various manufacturing sites.

Conventionally, as this type of transport device, a plurality of work holding members made of pallets that hold a work are moved along an annular transport path to transport the work held by the work holding member. Is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The conveyance device of Patent Literature 1 includes a substantially rectangular frame type guide in plan view. A substantially rectangular conveyance path having four side portions is configured in the guide. Further, in the guide, four cylinders serving as a power source for moving the work holding member and sensors for detecting the presence of the work holding member are provided in correspondence with the four sides of the transport path. Is provided. When moving the workpiece holding member, the four sensors are used to confirm that no workpiece holding member exists at the conveyance destination on each side of the conveyance path, and then the four cylinders are operated to operate the workpiece. The holding member is moved. Thereby, the workpiece | work hold | maintained at the workpiece holding member is conveyed along a cyclic | annular conveyance path | route.
JP-A-5-306015

  However, when the conveyance path is composed of four side portions as in Patent Document 1, if a cylinder is provided on each side portion, the sensors as many as the number of side portions are electrically connected as described above. And a control device for controlling the operation is required, which increases the cost. Furthermore, when four cylinders are provided, if the movements do not match, for example, only a part of the workpiece holding members will move within the transport path, which causes the workpiece holding members to collide with each other. there's a possibility that. In order to prevent this, it is determined whether there is a risk of collision between the workpiece holding members based on the four sensors, and when there is a risk of collision, the four cylinders are surely stopped. Safety control is required. Such control software for ensuring safety is required to have a high level of certainty of operation. Therefore, the control software becomes complicated and requires a lot of development man-hours and control verification man-hours, resulting in high costs.

  The present invention has been made in view of such points, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the number of sensors by devising a structure of a power source for moving a workpiece holding member, and to control software. Is to reduce costs.

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, the power generated by the power generation unit is transmitted to a plurality of moving means for moving the work holding member.
I did it.

  Specifically, in the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of work holding members that hold the work, and a plurality of moving means that are arranged so as to constitute a transfer path and move the work holding member along the transfer path; A moving power supply means for supplying power to the moving means, and the work holding member is moved by the moving means so that the work held by the work holding member is transferred along the transfer path. In the transport apparatus configured as described above, the power supply unit for movement includes a power generation unit and a transmission unit that transmits the power generated by the power generation unit to each of the movement units.

  According to this configuration, since the power generated in the power generation unit is transmitted to each moving unit by the transmission unit, the plurality of moving units are similarly driven by the single power generation unit. Thereby, since it becomes possible to move all the workpiece holding members similarly along a conveyance path | route, workpiece holding members do not collide.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the moving means includes a screw shaft having a screw groove on the outer peripheral surface, and a screw shaft that supports the screw shaft in a state in which movement in the axial direction is blocked by the bearing. A supporting member and a nut that is screwed into the thread groove are provided, a work holding member is engaged with the nut, and the power generation unit of the power supply means for movement is a motor.

  According to this configuration, when the rotational force of the motor is transmitted to the screw shaft by the transmission portion, the screw shaft rotates while being supported by the screw shaft support member. By the rotation of the screw shaft, the nut moves in the axial direction of the screw shaft, and the workpiece holding member moves in conjunction with the nut.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the plurality of mounting tables that are provided in the conveyance path and on which the work holding member is mounted, and the work holding member are separated upward from the mounting table. And a raising / lowering means for switching between the raised position and the lowered position placed on the placing table.

  According to this configuration, when the work holding member is moved to the lowered position by the elevating means and placed on the placing table, the work is stabilized. In this state, it becomes possible to perform processing and assembly of parts on the workpiece. The workpiece holding member placed on the placing table is switched to the raised position by the lifting / lowering means and can be moved by the moving means.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the invention, there is provided a lifting power supply means for supplying power to the lifting means, and a plurality of lifting means are provided for each moving means. It is set as the structure provided with the generating part and the transmission part which transmits the motive power which generate | occur | produced in this motive power generation part to each said raising / lowering means.

  According to this configuration, the power generated in the lifting power generation unit is transmitted to each lifting means by the transmission unit. Thereby, it becomes possible to drive a plurality of lifting means by a single power generation unit to lift and lower the workpiece holding member.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the third or fourth aspect of the present invention, the elevating means includes a cam shaft having an eccentric portion and a cam shaft that supports the cam shaft arranged so that the axis is horizontal through a bearing. A support member and a movable member that comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the eccentric portion from above are engaged. A workpiece holding member is engaged with the movable member, and the power generating portion of the lifting power supply means is a motor. .

  According to this configuration, when the rotational force of the motor is transmitted to the camshaft by the transmission portion, the camshaft rotates while being supported by the camshaft support member. The movable member moves up and down by the rotation of the cam shaft, and the work holding member moves up and down in conjunction with this movement.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the power of the power generation unit is transmitted to each of the plurality of moving means arranged so as to constitute the conveyance path, all the work holding members are moved in the same manner. Thus, it is possible to reliably convey the work by avoiding the collision between the work holding members. Thereby, the number of sensors for detecting the work holding member in the transport path can be reduced, the control software can be simplified, and the cost can be reduced.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the work holding member is engaged with the nut that is screwed to the screw shaft of the moving means, and the power generation unit is a motor. Therefore, the rotational force of the motor is directly applied to the screw shaft of each moving means. The workpiece holding member can be transported only by transmitting, and the structure of the transmitting portion can be simplified.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the mounting table on which the workpiece holding member is mounted is provided in the transport path, it is possible to perform high-precision processing and assembly of parts while the workpiece is stabilized by the mounting table. . In this case, the work holding member can be smoothly moved by providing the lifting means.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the power of the lifting power generation unit is transmitted to the plurality of lifting means, the number of power sources can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the work holding member is engaged with the movable member that contacts the eccentric portion of the cam shaft of the lifting / lowering means, and the power generating portion for the lifting / lowering means is used as a motor. The workpiece holding member can be lifted and lowered simply by transmitting to each lifting means, and the structure of the transmitting portion for the lifting means can be simplified.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the following description of the preferred embodiment is merely illustrative in nature, and is not intended to limit the present invention, its application, or its use.

  FIG. 1 shows a transport apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The conveying device 1 is installed in a production line for an automobile engine, and is configured to convey a cylinder head H (shown only in FIG. 9) as a work along an annular conveying path R. A plurality of pallets P, P,... (Work holding members) for holding the head H, a plurality of pallet mounting tables 2, 2,... Installed in the transport path R on the horizontal plane, and the pallets P, P,. A circulating movement device 3 (shown in FIG. 1) for movement and a lifting device 4 for lifting and lowering the pallets P, P,. In this transport device 1, the pallets P, P,... Placed on the pallet placement tables 2, 2,... Are raised by the elevating device 4, and then the next pallet placement tables 2, 2,. Is moved down to the pallet mounting table 2, 2,... By repeatedly performing this operation, the pallets P, P,... Are horizontally circulated through the transport path R so that the cylinder head H is transported. In addition, a station for assembling a knock pin for attaching a cam cap to the cylinder head H, a station for assembling a cam cap to the knock pin, and the like are provided around the transport device 1 in order. Are placed on the pallet placing tables 2, 2,.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the transport path R of the transport apparatus 1 has a substantially rectangular shape having two long side portions and two short side portions in plan view. As shown in FIG. 2, the circular movement device 3 includes first and second long-side moving mechanisms 10 and 11 arranged to form two long side portions of the transport path R, and two short side portions. The first and second short-side moving mechanisms 12 and 13 arranged so as to constitute the moving mechanism, and a moving motor 14 (power generating unit) that generates power to be supplied to the moving mechanisms 10 to 13 are provided. . A rectangular frame similar to the transport path R is formed by the first and second long side moving mechanisms 10 and 11 and the first and second short side moving mechanisms 12 and 13. In addition, each said moving mechanism 10-13 is a moving means of this invention.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first long side moving mechanism 10 includes a guide base 20 that guides the pallets P, P,..., A screw shaft 21 that is rotatably supported by the guide base 20, and a screw shaft. And a nut 22 that is screwed into the nut 21. The guide base 20 constitutes the screw shaft support member of the present invention, extends substantially horizontally in the long side direction of the transport path R, and has a plurality of legs 25 at the lower edge. A rail 26 extending substantially horizontally is attached to the surface of the guide table 20 on the inner side of the transfer device 1. Bearings 27 are respectively attached to both sides of the guide table 20 in the longitudinal direction above the rails 26. The rotation center lines of the bearings 27 and 27 are set to be substantially the same as the direction in which the rail 26 extends. The screw shaft 21 is a component of a ball screw that converts rotational motion into linear motion, has a thread groove on the outer peripheral surface, and extends substantially linearly. The screw shaft 21 is disposed along the rail 26 and is supported in a state where both end sides are inserted into bearings 27 and 27, respectively. The screw shaft 12 is allowed to rotate around the axis, but is prevented from moving in the axial direction. The nut 22 is a component of the ball screw and has a slider 28 that slides on the rail 26. The slider 28 and the rail 26 are ball-circulating linear guides (linear motion bearings) configured to circulate balls (not shown) through sliding portions of both the sliders 28 and 26.

  Further, a protruding plate 29 protruding upward and extending in the longitudinal direction of the rail 26 is fixed to the nut 22. A pair of rollers 30, 30 are provided on the surface of the protruding plate 29 on the inside of the conveying device 1 so as to be separated from each other in the longitudinal direction of the rail 26. These rollers 30, 30 rotate around a support shaft that is orthogonal to the screw shaft 21 and extends substantially horizontally.

  The moving motor 14 is a well-known servo motor and is arranged away from the first long side moving mechanism 10 in the direction of the extension of the screw shaft 21 so that the output shaft 14a is located concentrically with the screw shaft 21. It is fixed on the base 31. The moving motor 14 may be an inverter-controlled motor.

  On the base 31, a first movement gear box 34 is disposed and fixed between the movement motor 14 and the screw shaft 21. The moving first gear box 34 includes an input shaft 34 a that protrudes toward the moving motor 14, an output shaft 34 b that protrudes toward the first long-side moving mechanism 10, and a second short-side moving mechanism 13. A projecting output shaft 34c is provided. The input shaft 34a of the first moving gear box 34 is positioned concentrically with the output shaft 14a of the moving motor 14, and is connected to the output shaft 14a. The output shaft 34 b protruding from the first moving gear box 34 to the first long side moving mechanism 10 side is positioned concentrically with the screw shaft 21 and is connected to the screw shaft 21. The rotational force of the moving motor 14 is transmitted to the screw shaft 21 via a gear (not shown) disposed inside the moving first gear box 34. In addition, a bevel gear (not shown) is provided inside the first moving gear box 34, whereby the rotational force input from the input shaft 34a is converted by 90 ° to generate the second short gear. It is also output simultaneously from the output shaft 34c protruding to the side-side moving mechanism 13 side.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the first short side moving mechanism 12 includes a guide base 20, a screw shaft 21, and a nut 22, similar to the first long side moving mechanism 10. The guide table 20 and the screw shaft 21 are shorter than those of the first long side moving mechanism 10. A rail 26 extending substantially horizontally and a pair of bearings 27 and 27 are attached to the inner surface of the guide table 20 on the conveying device 1. Further, a slider 28 is fixed to the nut 22, and a protruding plate 29 having a pair of rollers 30, 30 is fixed.

  Between the first long side moving mechanism 10 and the first short side moving mechanism 12, the moving second gear box 35 is disposed on the base 31. The moving second gear box 35 is provided with an input shaft 35a that protrudes toward the first long-side moving mechanism 10 and an output shaft 35b that protrudes toward the first short-side moving mechanism 12. A bevel gear (not shown) is provided inside the moving second gear box 35 in the same manner as the moving first gear box 34, so that the rotational force input from the input shaft 35a is 90 °. The direction is changed and output from the output shaft 35b.

  The input shaft 35 a of the second moving gear box 35 is positioned concentrically with the screw shaft 21 of the first long side moving mechanism 10 and is connected to the screw shaft 21. The output shaft 35 b is positioned concentrically with the screw shaft 21 of the first short side moving mechanism 12 and is connected to the screw shaft 21.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the second long side moving mechanism 11 has the same configuration as the first long side moving mechanism 10, and the rails 26 and 26 are substantially parallel so that the rails 26 face each other. It is arranged to become. Between the first short side moving mechanism 12 and the second long side moving mechanism 11, there is a moving third gear box 36 (shown in FIG. 4) configured similarly to the moving second gear box 35. It is arranged in a fixed state on the base 31. The input shaft 36 a of the moving third gear box 36 is positioned concentrically with the screw shaft 21 of the first short side moving mechanism 12 and is connected to the screw shaft 21. The output shaft 36 b is positioned concentrically with the screw shaft 21 of the second long side moving mechanism 11 and is connected to the screw shaft 21.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the second short side moving mechanism 13 has the same configuration as the first short side moving mechanism 12, and the rails 26 and 26 are substantially arranged so that the rails 26 face each other. They are arranged in parallel. Between the second long side moving mechanism 11 and the second short side moving mechanism 13, a moving fourth gear box 37 configured in the same manner as the moving second gear box 35 is a base (not shown). ) It is arranged in a fixed state on the top. The input shaft 37 a of the moving fourth gear box 37 is positioned concentrically with the screw shaft 21 of the second long side moving mechanism 11 and is connected to the screw shaft 21. The output shaft 37 b is positioned concentrically with the screw shaft 21 of the second short side moving mechanism 13 and is connected to the screw shaft 21. The output shaft 34 c that protrudes toward the second short side moving mechanism 13 of the first moving gear box 34 is connected to the screw shaft 21 of the second short side moving mechanism 13.

  Due to the above configuration, the rotational force of the moving motor 14 is transmitted to the screw shaft 21 of the first long side moving mechanism 10 connected to the output shaft 34b of the moving first gear box 34. At the same time, it is also transmitted to the screw shaft 21 of the second short side moving mechanism 13 connected to the output shaft 34c. The rotational force transmitted to the screw shaft 21 of the first long side moving mechanism 10 is input to the input shaft 35 a of the second moving gear box 35. The rotational force input to the input shaft 35a of the second gear box 35 for movement is transmitted to the screw shaft 21 of the first short side moving mechanism 12 and input to the input shaft 36a of the third gear box 36 for movement. The The rotational force input to the input shaft 36 a of the third moving gear box 36 is transmitted to the screw shaft 21 of the second long side moving mechanism 11 and input to the input shaft 37 a of the moving fourth gear box 37. , And input to the screw shaft 21 of the second short side moving mechanism 13. In this way, the rotational force of the moving motor 14 is simultaneously transmitted to the screw shafts 21, 21,... Of the four moving mechanisms 10-13. As a result, the four screw shafts 21, 21,... Start to rotate simultaneously, and the four projecting plates 29, 29,... Move along the rails 26, 26,. The first to fourth gear boxes 34 to 37 and the moving motor 14 constitute a moving power supply unit according to the present invention. Among these, the first to fourth gear boxes 34 to 37 transmit a transmission unit. Is configured.

  As described above, the rotational force of the moving motor 14 is simultaneously transmitted to the screw shaft 21 of the first long-side moving mechanism 10 and the screw shaft 21 of the second short-side moving mechanism 13. The torsion bar effect of the screw shaft 21 can be reduced, and the four screw shafts 21 can be rotated or stopped at substantially the same timing.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the elevating device 4 includes a first elevating mechanism 40 disposed on the rail 26 side of the first long side moving mechanism 10 and a rail 26 of the first short side moving mechanism 12. The second elevating mechanism 41 arranged on the side, the third elevating mechanism 42 arranged on the rail 26 side of the second long side moving mechanism 11, and the rail 26 side of the second short side moving mechanism 13. The fourth elevating mechanism 43 and the elevating motor 44 (power generation unit) are provided. The elevating mechanisms 40 to 43 are arranged so as to form a frame shape substantially similar to the transport path R as a whole, and are connected to each other. In addition, each said raising / lowering mechanism 40-43 is the raising / lowering means of this invention.

  The first elevating device 40 includes a pair of elevating parts 50 and 50 that are arranged and fixed at intervals in the direction in which the rail 26 of the first long side moving mechanism 11 extends. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, each lifting unit 50 includes a cam housing member 51 as a cam shaft support member, a cam shaft 52, and a movable member 53. The cam shaft 52 has an eccentric portion 52 a and a cam surface 52 b formed by the outer peripheral surface of the eccentric portion 52 a, and the axis is substantially parallel to the screw shaft 21 of the first long side moving mechanism 10. Thus, the cam accommodating part 51 is supported via the bearing in the state arrange | positioned horizontally. The cam shafts 52, 52 of both the lifting parts 50, 50 are connected and integrated by a connecting shaft 49.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a cylindrical member 54 extending in the vertical direction is provided on the upper portion of the cam housing member 51 so as to correspond directly above the cam surface 52 b. The movable member 53 has a bar shape extending in the vertical direction, and is guided in the vertical direction by the cylindrical member 54 while being inserted through the cylindrical member 54. The lower end portion of the movable member 53 is composed of a roller 55 that rolls on the cam surface 52b. Further, a sliding portion 56 is provided at the upper end portion of the movable member 53, and a pallet connecting member 60 to which the pallets P, P,... Are connected slides on the sliding portion 56.

  The cam surface 52b is provided with a descending end surface portion 52c having the movable member 53 as the descending end position (FIG. 7A). The descending end surface portion 52c is formed so that the distance from the axis of the cam shaft 52 becomes equal over a predetermined length in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the movable member 53 does not move in the vertical direction while the roller 55 rolls on the descending end surface portion 52c. Similarly, the cam surface 52b is provided with a rising end surface portion 52d having a movable member 53 as a rising end position (FIG. 7B) over a predetermined length in the circumferential direction, and a roller 55 is provided. While the rising end surface portion 52d is rolling, the movable member 53 does not move in the vertical direction. The formation range of the descending end surface portion 52c and the ascending end surface portion 52d is set to a range of about 20 ° in the circumferential direction, but this range can be arbitrarily set.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the pallet connecting member 60 includes a bar 61 extending in the axial direction of the cam shaft 52, three horizontal plates 62, 62, 62 fixed to the bar 61, and each horizontal plate 62. And a connecting pin 63 protruding upward. The bar 61 is slidably disposed on the sliding portion 56 of the movable member 53. Further, the interval between the horizontal plates 62, 62, 62 is the same as the interval between the pallets P, P,..., That is, the interval between the pallet mounting tables 2, 2,.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the pallet mounting tables 2, 2,... Are installed in the same ten as the pallets P, P,. The interval between the pallet mounting tables 2, 2,... Is set to be substantially the same. On the upper surface of the pallet mounting tables 2, 2,..., Positioning pins (not shown) are provided so as to protrude upward, and the positioning pins are inserted into the mounted pallets P, P,. It is like that.

  The pallets P, P, P are arranged on the upper surfaces of the horizontal plates 62, 62, 62. In this state, the connecting pin 63 is inserted into the pallets P, P, P from below, and the pallets P, P, P are connected to the pallet connecting member 60. That is, three pallets P, P, and P are connected to the pallet connecting member 60. The pallets P, P, and P are connected to the pallet connecting member 60 and are movable together with the pallet connecting member 60 in the axial direction of the screw shaft 21 that is the sliding direction of the sliding portion 56.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, a protrusion 65 that protrudes toward the first long side moving mechanism 10 and extends in the vertical direction is provided at the center in the longitudinal direction of the pallet connecting member 60. As shown in FIG. 11, the protrusion 65 is positioned between the pair of rollers 30 and 30 of the protruding plate 29 of the first long side moving mechanism 11 and is engaged with the rollers 30 and 30. Yes. When the protrusion 65 is engaged with the rollers 30, 30, since the protrusion 65 has a shape extending in the vertical direction, the protrusion 65 is allowed to move up and down with respect to the rollers 30, 30, while , Move together.

  Similar to the first lifting mechanism 40, the second lifting mechanism 41 includes a pair of lifting parts 50 and 50, and the distance between them is narrower than that of the first lifting mechanism 40. Further, the pallet connecting member 80 installed in the second elevating mechanism 41 is similar to the pallet connecting member 60 of the first elevating mechanism 40, and includes a bar 81, two horizontal plates 82 and 82, and a connecting pin 83. It has. The pallet connecting member 80 is provided with a protrusion 85 that engages with the rollers 30 of the first short side moving mechanism 12. The third lifting mechanism 42 is configured similarly to the first lifting mechanism 40, and the fourth lifting mechanism 43 is configured similar to the second lifting mechanism 41. The third elevating mechanism 42 is provided with a pallet connecting member 60, and the fourth elevating mechanism 43 is provided with a pallet connecting member 80.

  The raising / lowering motor 44 is of a known inverter control type, and is disposed and fixed below the moving motor 14. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a first elevating gear box 74 that is the same as the first moving gear box 34 is disposed and fixed between the elevating motor 44 and the first elevating mechanism 40. .

  The input shaft 74a of the first lifting / lowering gear box 74 is positioned concentrically with the output shaft 44a of the lifting / lowering motor 44, and is connected to the output shaft 44a. The output shaft 74 b that protrudes from the first lifting / lowering gear box 74 toward the first lifting / lowering mechanism 40 is positioned concentrically with the cam shaft 52 and connected to the cam shaft 52. The rotational force of the elevating motor 44 is transmitted to the camshaft 52 via the elevating first gear box 74.

  Between the 1st raising / lowering mechanism 40 and the 2nd raising / lowering mechanism 41, the 2nd raising / lowering gear box 75 comprised similarly to the said 2nd moving gear box 35 is arrange | positioned and fixed. The input shaft 75 a of the second elevating gear box 75 is positioned concentrically with the cam shaft 52 of the first elevating mechanism 40 and is connected to the cam shaft 52. The output shaft 75 b is positioned concentrically with the cam shaft 52 of the second elevating mechanism 41 and is connected to the cam shaft 52.

  Between the second elevating mechanism 41 and the third elevating mechanism 42, an elevating third gear box 76 configured similarly to the moving second gear box 35 is disposed and fixed. The input shaft 76 a of the third elevating gear box 76 is positioned concentrically with the cam shaft 52 of the second elevating mechanism 41 and is connected to the cam shaft 52. The output shaft 76 b is positioned concentrically with the cam shaft 52 of the third elevating mechanism 42 and is connected to the cam shaft 52.

  A fourth elevating gear box 77 configured similarly to the second moving gear box 35 is disposed and fixed between the third elevating mechanism 42 and the fourth elevating mechanism 43. The input shaft 77 a of the fourth lifting / lowering gear box 77 is positioned concentrically with the cam shaft 52 of the third lifting mechanism 42 and is connected to the cam shaft 52. The output shaft 77 b is positioned concentrically with the cam shaft 52 of the fourth elevating mechanism 43 and is connected to the cam shaft 52. The output shaft 74 c that protrudes toward the fourth lifting mechanism 77 side of the first lifting gear box 74 is connected to the cam shaft 52 of the fourth lifting mechanism 43.

  The rotational force of the elevating motor 44 is transmitted to the cam shaft 52 of the first elevating mechanism 40 connected to the output shaft 74 b of the first elevating gear box 74 and applied to the input shaft 75 a of the second elevating gear box 75. Entered. The rotational force input to the input shaft 75a of the second lifting / lowering gear box 75 is transmitted to the cam shaft 52 of the second lifting / lowering mechanism 41 and input to the input shaft 76a of the third lifting / lowering gear box 76. The rotational force input to the input shaft 76a of the third lifting / lowering gear box 76 is transmitted to the cam shaft 52 of the third lifting / lowering mechanism 42 and input to the input shaft 77a of the fourth lifting / lowering gear box 77. It is transmitted to the cam shaft 52 of the lifting mechanism 43. Thereby, all the cam shafts 52, 52,... Of the first to fourth elevating mechanisms 40 to 43 start to rotate simultaneously. As shown in FIG. 7, the four movable members 53 and 53 that are in contact with the cam surface 52 b of each camshaft 52 move in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 7 to rotate the pallet connecting members 60, 60, and 80. , 80 and pallets P, P,... That is, the four pallet connecting members 60, 60, 80, 80 are moved up and down simultaneously. The first and second gear boxes 74 to 77 and the lifting motor 44 constitute lifting power supply means of the present invention. Among these, the first to fourth gear boxes 74 to 77 constitute a transmission portion. It is configured.

  At this time, the protrusions 65 and 85 of the pallet connecting members 60 and 80 move up and down between the rollers 30 and 30 while being engaged with the rollers 30 and 30 of the moving mechanisms 10 to 13. Also, the shape of the cam surface 52b is such that the pallets P, P,... Are raised until they are released from the positioning pins of the pallet mounting tables 2, 2,. The pins are formed so as to move between the lowered positions (shown in FIG. 7 (a)) completely inserted in the pallets P, P,.

  Next, the case where the cylinder head H of an engine is conveyed using the conveying apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described. Here, the case where the pallets P, P,... Are conveyed counterclockwise (in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 9) in plan view will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 2, the nut 22 of the first long side moving mechanism 10 is moved to the motor 14 side. Accordingly, the nut 22 of the first short side moving mechanism 12 is positioned on the first long side moving mechanism 10 side, and the nut 22 of the second long side moving mechanism 11 is positioned on the first short side moving mechanism 12. The nut 22 of the second short side moving mechanism 13 is positioned on the second long side moving mechanism 11 side. This is the initial position of the nut 22. Further, the pallet connecting members 60 and 80 are set at the lowered position.

  And the raising / lowering motor 44 is rotated and the pallet connection members 60 and 80 are made into a raise position. As a result, all the pallets P, P,... Are lifted from the pallet mounting tables 2, 2,..., And the positioning pins of the pallet mounting tables 2, 2,. After the pallet connecting members 60 and 80 are in the raised position, the moving motor 14 is rotated. As a result, the nut 22 of the first long side moving mechanism 10 moves to the first short side moving mechanism 12 side, and the nut 22 of the first short side moving mechanism 12 moves to the second long side moving mechanism 11 side. The nut 22 of the second long side moving mechanism 11 moves to the second short side moving mechanism 13 side, and the nut 22 of the second short side moving mechanism 13 moves to the first long side moving mechanism 10 side. Moving. The amount of movement of these nuts 22 is set equal to the interval between adjacent pallet mounting tables 2 and 2. When the nut 22 moves, since the protrusions 65 and 85 of the pallet connecting members 60 and 80 are engaged with the rollers 30 and 30 of the moving mechanisms 10 to 13, the pallet connecting members 60 and 80 are moved by the amount of movement of the nut 22. As a result, the cylinder head H moves.

  When the movement of the pallets P, P,... Is completed, the elevating motor 44 is rotated to place the pallet connecting members 60, 80 in the lowered position, and the pallets P, P,. . Thereafter, with the pallet connecting members 60 and 80 in the lowered position, the moving motor 14 is rotated in the reverse direction to return the nut 22 to the initial position shown in FIG.

  By repeating the above operation, the cylinder head H is transported counterclockwise along the transport path R, and parts are assembled at each station.

  As described above, according to the transfer apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, the power of the single moving motor 14 is transmitted to each of the moving mechanisms 10 to 13 arranged to form the annular transfer path R. Thus, all the pallets P, P,... Can be similarly moved along the transport path R, and the cylinder head H can be reliably transported while avoiding the collision between the pallets P. Thereby, the number of sensors for detecting the pallets P, P,... In the transport path R can be reduced as compared with the conventional one, the control software can be simplified, and the cost can be reduced.

  Further, since the pallets P, P,... Are engaged with the nuts 22 that are screwed into the screw shafts 21 of the moving mechanisms 10 to 13, the rotational force of the moving motor 14 is directly used as the screws of the moving mechanisms 10 to 13. The pallets P, P,... Can be transported simply by transmitting to the shaft 22, and the structure of the transport device 1 can be simplified.

  Moreover, since the pallet mounting tables 2, 2,... For mounting the pallets P, P,... Are provided in the transport path R, the cylinder head H is firmly positioned and stabilized by the pallet mounting tables 2, 2,. In this state, it is possible to assemble parts with high accuracy. In this case, by providing the lifting device 4, the pallets P, P,... Can be moved smoothly.

  Moreover, since the rotational force of the raising / lowering motor 44 is transmitted to the cam shaft 52 of the raising / lowering mechanisms 40-43, the number of the motors 44 can be made into one, and cost can be reduced.

  Further, since the pallets P, P,... Are engaged with the movable member 53 that contacts the cam surface 52b of the cam shaft 52 of the lifting mechanisms 40 to 43, the rotational force of the lifting motor 44 is used as it is. ... Can be moved up and down only by transmitting to .about.43.

  Further, since the screw shafts 21, 21,... Of the moving mechanisms 10 to 13 are mechanically connected via the first to fourth gear boxes 34 to 37, malfunctions are unlikely to occur. When these screw shafts 21, 21,... Are mechanically connected, a joint may be used.

  In addition, the conveying apparatus 1 which concerns on this invention can be used when conveying various components other than the case where the cylinder head H is conveyed.

  In this embodiment, the pallet connecting members 60 and 80 are moved up and down using a cam mechanism. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the pallet connecting members 60 and 80 may be moved up and down using a cylinder device that expands and contracts by fluid pressure. Good. Moreover, you may make it raise / lower the pallet connection members 60 and 80 by a rack and pinion. In this case, the rack may be arranged so as to extend in the vertical direction and fixed to the pallet coupling members 60 and 80, and the pinion may be arranged to mesh with the rack and rotated by the lifting motor 44.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the four moving mechanisms 10-13 are arrange | positioned at rectangular annular shape, it is not restricted to this, For example, a moving mechanism is arrange | positioned at L shape, U shape, and uneven | corrugated shape. Also good.

  In the above embodiment, the pallet P is lifted and then transported. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the pallet P may be slid and transported without lifting the pallet P. In this case, a roller base is installed along the conveyance path R, and the engagement pins that engage with the pallet P are moved up and down by the lifting mechanisms 40 to 43. Then, the engaging pins are engaged with the pallet P while being raised by the elevating mechanisms 40 to 43, and in this state, the engaging pins are moved along the transport path R by the moving mechanisms 10 to 13. After the movement, the engaging pin is lowered by the elevating mechanisms 40-43. The pallet P after being moved is held by a lock claw or the like that is operated by an actuator so as not to move unexpectedly on the roller table.

  Further, when the pallet P is slid and conveyed on a roller stand or the like, for example, a swing member that swings so as to be engaged with and disengaged from the pallet P is provided, and the swing member is engaged with the pallet P. Thus, the moving mechanism 10-13 may be moved along the transport path R. Thereby, the pallet P can be moved. The swing member is swung so as to be detached from the pallet P after the movement.

  As described above, the transport apparatus according to the present invention is suitable for installation at a manufacturing site where various parts are assembled to a cylinder head of an automobile engine, for example.

It is a top view of the conveying apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of a circulating movement apparatus. It is sectional drawing in the III-III line of FIG. It is sectional drawing in the IV-IV line of FIG. It is a top view of the raising / lowering apparatus of the state which removed the pallet connection member and the movable member. It is sectional drawing in the VI-VI line of FIG. It is sectional drawing in the VII-VII line of FIG. 6, (a) has shown the state which has a pallet connection member in a lowered position, (b) has shown the state in which a pallet connection member exists in a raise position. It is sectional drawing in the VIII-VIII line of FIG. It is a figure explaining the conveyance path | route of a conveying apparatus. It is a top view of the raising / lowering apparatus of the state which attached the pallet connection member.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transfer apparatus 2 Pallet mounting base 3 Circulation movement apparatus 4 Lifting apparatuses 10-13 Movement mechanism (movement means)
14 Motor for movement (power generator)
20 Guide stand (screw shaft support member)
21 Screw shaft 22 Nut 34-37 Gear box for movement (transmission part)
40-43 Lifting mechanism (lifting means)
44 Lifting motor (power generator)
52 Cam shaft 51 Cam housing member (cam shaft support member)
51a Eccentric part 52b Cam surface 53 Movable members 74 to 77 Elevating gear box (transmission part)
H Cylinder head (work)
P pallet (work holding member)
R Transport route

Claims (5)

A plurality of work holding members for holding the work;
A plurality of moving means arranged so as to constitute a conveyance path and moving the work holding member along the conveyance path;
A moving power supply means for supplying power to the moving means,
A transport device configured to transport the work held by the work holding member by moving the work holding member along the transport path;
The moving power supply means includes a power generation unit and a transmission unit that transmits power generated by the power generation unit to each of the movement units. In the conveyance apparatus of Claim 1,
The moving means includes a screw shaft having a screw groove on the outer peripheral surface, a screw shaft support member that supports the screw shaft in a state in which movement in the axial direction is blocked by the bearing, and a nut that is screwed into the screw groove. A work holding member is engaged with the nut,
The conveying device characterized in that the power generation part of the power supply means for movement is a motor. In the conveyance apparatus of Claim 1 or 2,
A plurality of mounting tables provided in the transport path and on which the work holding member is mounted;
A transport apparatus comprising: a lifting means for switching the work holding member between a raised position separated upward from the mounting table and a lowered position mounted on the mounting table. In the conveyance apparatus of Claim 3,
Elevating power supply means for supplying power to the lifting means,
A plurality of lifting means are provided for each moving means,
The lifting power supply means includes a power generation section and a transmission section for transmitting power generated by the power generation section to the lifting means. In the conveyance apparatus of Claim 3 or 4,
The elevating means includes a camshaft having an eccentric portion, a camshaft support member that supports the camshaft disposed so that the axis is horizontal via a bearing, and a movable member that comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the eccentric portion from above. A workpiece holding member is engaged with the movable member,
The conveying device characterized in that the power generating part of the lifting power supply means is a motor.

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