Conveying apparatus

• US 7,383,936 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2007
• Issued: 06/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daifuku Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Daifuku Company Limited
• Inventors: Enomoto, Masahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Bidwell; James R
• Application Number:
  US11/716,903
• Publication Number:
  US 20070215436A1
• Time in Patent Office: 456 Days
• Field of Search: 198/370.01, 198/370.02, 198/370.07
• US Class Current: 198/370.02
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 17/42 Attaching load carriers to traction elements
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/844 the article-engaging elements being pushers transversally movable on the supporting surface, e.g. pusher-shoes

Abstract

When a pulling force acts on an insertion joint in a conveying apparatus used for transferring an article conveyed on a main conveying path to a branch conveying path, an endless chain separates from an article support body and the joint state is disrupted. By contrast, when a collar section abuts against an outer end surface on the side of a moving member, an outward concave section inwardly separates from an inclined expanding surface and a tongue piece section can be withdrawn against the elasticity thereof. When the collar section separates from the outer end surface, the outward convex section abuts against the inclined expanding surface and the withdrawal movement of the tongue piece section against the elasticity thereof is prevented. As a result, a strong joint state can be maintained at all time, while ensuring that the endless rotary body and moving member are easily linked and disengaged.

Claims

1. A conveying apparatus, configured to comprise an insertion hole section in the direction perpendicular to the rotation direction of an endless rotary body is formed at a side of a moving member linked to the endless rotary body, an inclined expanding surface that has a diameter increasing inwardly is formed at the inner side of the insertion hole section in the insertion direction thereof, a tubular linking body that can be inserted into said insertion hole section is provided, a collar section that can abut against an outer end surface of said moving member side is formed at the outer end of a tubular section of the tubular linking body, an inner end forming portion of the tubular section is formed as a plurality of tongue piece sections split in the circumferential direction, a protruding section that protrudes from said endless rotary body side is configured to be freely inserted from the outside into the tubular section of said tubular linking body, an annular concave section is formed at the inner end portion of the protruding section, the inner side of the annular concave section is formed as an inclined surface that has a diameter increasing inwardly, an outward convex section that can be set opposite said inclined expanding surface from the inside and an inward convex section that can be elastically engaged with said annular concave section are formed at said tongue piece section, when the collar section is abutted against the outer end surface on the side of said moving member the outward convex section is inwardly separated from the inclined expanding surface and the tongue piece section can be withdrawn against elasticity thereof, and when the collar section is separated from the outer end surface the outward convex section is abutted against the inclined expanding surface, thereby preventing the withdrawal motion of the tongue piece section against the elasticity thereof.

2. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the endless rotary bodies are installed as a pair of left and right bodies along a main conveying path, and a large number of the moving members, for which a direction perpendicular to the main conveying path is taken as a lengthwise direction, are attached between these endless rotary bodies.

3. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the moving members are article support bodies.

4. The conveying apparatus according to claim 3, comprising article sidewise push bodies that are fitted externally on the article support bodies and guided in the lengthwise direction.

5. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

a side bracket is provided on the side of the moving member, and a tubular body having the insertion hole section formed therein is provided at the side bracket.

6. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the endless rotary body is formed of an endless chain, and the protruding section is configured by an elongated linking pin that is formed by causing a predetermined linking pin, from amongst a group of linking pins that perform linking between links, to protrude inwardly.

7. A conveying apparatus comprising a pair of left and right endless rotary bodies installed along a main conveying path and a large number of article support bodies that are attached between the endless rotary bodies and have a direction perpendicular to the main conveying path as a lengthwise direction thereof, both ends of the article support body are linked to the endless rotary body via respective side brackets, a linking section for linking to the endless rotary body is provided protruding outwardly at one of front and rear sections at the outer surface side of these side brackets, a mated body is externally fitted on the linking section so that the mated body can rotate thereon, a mating section in the form of a recess that is open on both inner and outer sides and outwardly on the other side is formed at the other side bracket, this mating section is configured to be freely fitted externally on the mated body in the adjacent side bracket, and said mated body and mating section are mated to slide freely with respect to each other in the rotation direction of the endless rotary body due to surface contact.

8. The conveying apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

the outer periphery of the mated body is formed as a regular polygon with an even number of sides, a pair of parallel mating surfaces are formed in the mating section, and a pair of polygonal surfaces displaced by 180 degrees are set opposite these mating surfaces.

9. The conveying apparatus according to claim 7, comprising article sidewise push bodies that are fitted externally on the article support bodies and guided in the lengthwise direction.

10. The conveying apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

an insertion hole section in the lengthwise direction is formed in the linking section, and a protruding section that protrudes from the side of the endless rotary body is configured to be freely inserted from the outside into this insertion hole section.

11. The conveying apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

the endless rotary body is formed of an endless chain, and an elongated linking pin that is formed by causing a predetermined linking pin, from amongst a group of linking pins that perform linking between links, to protrude inwardly is linked to the linking section of the side bracket.

12. The conveying apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

a guide rail section that supports and guides the article support body is provided along the main conveying path, and a guided member that is positioned outside the mated body and guided by said guide rail section is fitted externally on the linking sections.

13. A conveying apparatus comprising a pair of left and right endless rotary bodies installed along a main conveying path, a large number of article support bodies that are attached between the endless rotary bodies and have a direction perpendicular to the main conveying path as a lengthwise direction thereof, and an article sidewise push body that is fit externally on the article support body and guided thereby, wherein the article sidewise push body is provided with a sidewise push action section in the upper section thereof, sidewise push abutment members are provided on both side surfaces of the sidewise action section, and the rear end portions of these sidewise push abutment members are protruded rearward with respect to the rear end of the sidewise push action section.

14. The conveying apparatus according to claim 13, wherein

the rear end portion of the sidewise push abutment member is formed to be elastically deformed in the left-right direction.

15. The conveying apparatus according to claim 13, wherein

both side surfaces of the sidewise push action section are formed as sidewise inclined surfaces in which the rear section is inclined with respect to the front section toward the other side surface, and the sidewise push abutment members are provided in portions of these sidewise inclined surfaces.

16. The conveying apparatus according to claim 13, wherein

the article sidewise push body is configured of a lower rectangular tubular portion and an upper sidewise action section, the sidewise action section that is provided on an upper surface side of an upper plate member of the rectangular tubular portion has a top plate member that covers from above the remaining section excluding a front end section of the upper plate member, and a front end section of the upper plate member is formed at a start-end upper surface that has a concave circular arc shape and rises gradually with small inclination.

17. The conveying apparatus according to claim 13, wherein

a gap is present between the rear end of the sidewise push abutment member provided at the article sidewise push body that is positioned in front and a front end of the sidewise push abutment member provided at the article sidewise push body that is positioned behind.