JPH05319516A - Pallet carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] It is possible to easily change the direction of pallet supply / discharge to / from the pallet conveyor. [Structure] Guides 69a, 69b, 71a, 71b for restricting the mounting / dismounting direction of the pallet 77 are provided on the sub pallet 65, and the sub pallet 65 is replaced with a sub pallet 65 having the guides on different sides. It is possible to easily change the mounting / dismounting direction of the pallet 77 to / from the pallet transport device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for loading articles such as workpieces on pallets and transporting them to a processing station.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a device for mounting an article such as a workpiece on a pallet and conveying it to a processing station, there is a work supply device as described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 64-1387.

In this work supply apparatus, a gate-shaped support frame is erected on a base, and a pallet frame that fixes a pallet is supported by the support frame so that the pallet frame can be moved up and down. Sprockets are provided above and below this support frame, and an endless chain is engaged with these sprockets,
When the sprocket is rotated by the drive device provided on the base, the endless chain moves up along one side of the sprocket above and below the support frame, and moves down along the other side to move along the sprocket. Change direction. The pallet frame can be moved up and down with the movement of an endless chain arranged along the support frame, and a plurality of pallets are fixed horizontally at regular intervals. Further, the pallet holds a plurality of works by means of a work mounting portion provided on the upper surface thereof. This work attachment part is decided at the time of manufacturing the device so that it is easy for an operator or the like to supply the work to the work supply device, and the work supply to the work supply device is uniformly performed from this direction. There is.

Further, in the above work supply device,
The pallet was fixed and the work was directly attached to the pallet to supply the work to the work supply device.However, the pallet that can be attached to and detached from the pallet frame is attached to the pallet frame, and the work is supplied to the work supply device. Although it may be possible to supply the pallet, the direction in which the pallet is fixed to the pallet frame is also determined when the device is manufactured, and therefore the pallet is supplied from the determined direction throughout. On the other hand, the emptied pallet is also discharged from the direction determined when the device was manufactured. Further, in the above-described work supply device, only the work is supplied to the work processing station, but when the work mounted on the pallet is processed, the work may be returned to the pallet again. Even when the work is returned to this pallet, the direction in which the processed work is discharged from the work supply device is determined at the time of manufacturing the device and is the same as the direction at the time of replenishing the work. It has been held from beginning to end.

[0005]

However, when the arrangement of various devices is changed at the work site due to the diversification of work efficiency and processes, the replenishment and discharge directions of the work and pallet decided at the time of device production. Does not necessarily suit the work after the rearrangement, which may make the work difficult. Further, in order to change the supply and discharge directions determined when the device is manufactured, it is necessary to replace not only the pallet frame to which the pallet is fixed or the pallet but also the support frame. Therefore, there is a problem in that the degree of freedom in the layout of the device is small.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a pallet transporting device capable of easily changing the supply and discharge directions of articles such as a workpiece and pallets. To aim.

[0007]

In order to achieve this object, a pallet conveying apparatus according to the present invention according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a pallet on which articles can be mounted, a sub-pallet on which the pallet is detachably mounted, and a pallet. The sub-pallet includes a restricting member that restricts a direction in and out of the sub-pallet, and a support member that detachably supports the sub-pallet.

Further, in the pallet transporting apparatus of the present invention according to claim 2, the supporting member is provided with a regulating member so that the direction of putting the pallet in and out of the sub pallet can be freely changed by exchanging the sub pallet. It has multiple sub-palettes.

[0009]

In the pallet conveyor according to the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, the supporting member supports the sub-pallet, and the regulating member regulates the direction in which the pallet is taken in and out, and the article. Install the pallet with the installed on the sub-pallet.

Further, in the pallet conveying device of the present invention according to claim 2, the sub-pallet supported by the supporting member is replaced with a sub-pallet provided with a restricting member so that the pallet may be taken in and out in different directions. This makes it possible to freely change the direction in which the pallet is put in and taken out of the sub-pallet.

[0011]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to a preferred embodiment.

As outlined in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pallet transfer device 1 is installed adjacent to a robot 3 which supplies a work 79 to a machine tool (not shown).

At the lowermost part of the pallet conveying device 1, legs 11 for supporting the device are provided. A pedestal 1 on the leg 11
3 are connected. As shown in FIG. 2, casters 15 used when moving the pallet transfer device 1 are attached to the lower surface of the pedestal 13.

A motor 17 having a sprocket 17a is fixed on the pedestal 13. The motor 17 is connected to a power source (not shown) and operates by receiving power from the power source. Further, the supply of the electric power is interrupted via a control unit (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 2, the pedestal 13 has a pair of columns 19a and 19b and columns 21a and 2a.
1b is fixed. Bearings 23a and 23b are installed at the upper ends of the columns 19a and 19b.

A main shaft 25 is rotatably inserted through the bearings 23a and 23b. Sprockets 27a and 27b are rotatably attached to both ends of the main shaft 25 together with the main shaft 25. The sprocket 2 is located near the center of the main shaft 25.
9 is rotatably provided together with the main shaft 25.

The sprocket 29 is installed so as to have a common rotation surface with the sprocket 17a provided on the motor 17, and the drive chain 31 is mounted across the sprocket 29 and the sprocket 17a. As a result, the rotation of the motor 17 is transmitted to the main shaft 25 via the sprocket 17a, the drive chain 31, and the sprocket 29, and the main shaft 25 rotates according to the rotation of the motor 17.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
Rodless cylinders 33 are arranged on the a and 21b so as to straddle the main shaft 25. A floating member 35 is slidably fitted on the rodless cylinder 33. An L-shaped hook 35 is provided on the upper surface of the floating member 35.
a is provided.

The working gas is supplied to the rodless cylinder 33 via a path not shown. Rodless cylinder 3
The floating member 35 can reciprocate according to the supply of the working gas. The rodless cylinder 33 and the floating member 35 constitute the lower horizontal moving means of the present invention.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, side posts 37a and 37b are fixed to both ends of the pedestal 13 in the longitudinal direction.
Sprockets 41a and 41b are rotatably attached to the upper ends of the side columns 37a and 37b via bearings (not shown).

The sprockets 41a and 41b have a common rotation surface with the sprockets 27a and 27b, respectively.
Main chains 43a, 43 as the vertical moving means of the present invention across the sprocket 41a and the sprocket 27a and the sprocket 41b and the sprocket 27b.
b is attached. The main chains 43a and 43b are rotatable according to the rotations of the sprockets 27a and 27b. Further, the sprockets 41a and 41b are rotatable according to the rotation of the main chains 43a and 43b.

The main chains 43a and 43b sandwich the main shaft 25, and one side thereof serves as an ascending portion and the other side serves as a descending portion. In this embodiment, the right side is the rising portion and the left side is the lowering portion in FIG.

The main chains 43a, 43b are provided with a plurality of pairs of support frames 45a, 45b as the pallet supporting means of the present invention which moves up and down according to the rotation of the main chains 43a, 43b. It is attached so as to project substantially orthogonally.

Here, referring to FIG. 3, the supporting frame 45
The specific structure of a and 45b will be described in detail.

The support frame 45a is attached to the main chain 43a via a connecting member 47. As a result, the support frame 45a is raised, lowered, and inverted in accordance with the vertical rotation of the main chain 43a.

The connecting member 47 has a shape in which a plate-like protrusion 47b is provided on the rectangular parallelepiped part 47a, and a mounting member 49 is fixed to a surface continuous from the rectangular parallelepiped part 47a to the protrusion 47b. The mounting member 49 is a rectangular plate material, and has a front surface 49a and a back surface 49 that are substantially horizontal when the ascending and descending.
b. Further, the front surface 49a and the back surface 49 thereof
In b, the relative positions are switched up and down according to the reversal.
Further, plate-shaped side regulating members 51a and 51b are provided on the outer edge of the mounting member 49 on the connecting member 47 side. An end regulating member 53 is provided on the outer edge of the tip of the mounting member 49.

Then, the connecting member 47 and the side regulating member 51.
The mounting surfaces of the a and 51b and the end regulating member 53 with the mounting member 49 are the front surface 49a and the back surface 49b of the mounting member 49.
Is almost orthogonal to. Further, the connecting member 47 and the side regulating member 5
The 1a, 51b and the end regulating member 53 project substantially equally on the front surface 49a side and the back surface 49b side. Therefore, the support frame 45a includes the front surface 49a side and the back surface 49b.
The sides are almost the same.

The support frame 45b is the support frame 45.
Like a, it includes a connecting member 57, a mounting member 59, side regulating members 61a and 61b, and an end regulating member 63, and its shape is a mirror image of the support frame 45a.

The support frames 45a, 45b are respectively connected members 47, 57, mounting members 49, 59, side regulating members 51a, 51b, 61a, 61b and end regulating member 5.
The outer surfaces 3 and 63 are opposed to each other with a predetermined space therebetween. In addition, the surfaces 49a and 59a of the mounting members 49 and 59
Are located on a substantially common plane. However, when inverted, the back surfaces 49b and 59b are located on a substantially common plane.

Then, the plurality of pairs of support frames 45
a and 45b are attached to the main chains 43a and 43b at a predetermined pitch. This mounting pitch can be arbitrarily set according to the purpose of use of the pallet transport apparatus 1 and the like. However, since it is necessary to make it a positive multiple of the pitch of the main chains 43a, 43b, the support frames 45a, 4b
The mounting pitch of 5b is the main chain 43a, 43b
Regulated by the pitch of.

Further, the support frames 45a and 45b are supported at their longitudinal ends by mounting members 49 and 59,
A sub pallet 65 is placed. However, as shown in FIG. 2, the support frames 45a located at the lowermost stage and the uppermost stage of the descending portions of the main chains 43a and 43b,
The sub pallet 65 is not placed on 45b.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the sub-pallet 65 is provided with plate-shaped guides 69a and 69b along two long sides of a rectangular pallet mounting plate 67, and plate-shaped along one short side. The guides 71a and 71b are provided. further,
A pair of engaging pieces 75a and 75b each having an L-shaped cross-sectional shape are provided along the cross section at substantially the center of the back side. The engaging piece 75a is provided on the rear surface of the sub pallet 65,
It projects slightly downward along the longitudinal direction. Also,
Since the horizontal movement from the uppermost stage of the ascending portion to the uppermost stage of the descending portion moves straight in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
Between 75b, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a guide 75c is arranged so as to slightly project downward. A guide 75d is arranged so as to project downward toward the sprocket 29b side of the lower surface of the mounting plate 67 in parallel with the engagement pieces 75a, 75b and the guide 75c.

The sub-pallet 65 has a support frame 45.
a, 45b side regulating members 51a, 51b, 61a, 61
The movement in the axial direction is regulated by b, and the movement in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction is regulated by the end regulating members 53 and 63. Therefore, the sub pallet 65 is on the support frames 45a and 45b in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
It can be horizontally moved only in the direction crossing the vertical movement surfaces of a and 43b.

As shown in FIG. 4, a rectangular pallet 77, which is slightly smaller than the sub-pallet 65, is mounted on the sub-pallet 65 in the direction of arrow B.

The pallet 77 is attached to and detached from the sub pallet 65 by the guides 69a and 69b and the guides 71a and 71b.
Since the guides 69a to 71b are not provided, the side from which the guides 69a to 71b are not provided is as shown in FIG. Since the attachment / detachment direction of the pallet 77 is determined according to the three sides of the sub-pallet 65 where the guides 69a to 71b are provided, the attachment / detachment direction of the pallet 77 can be easily changed by changing the three sides.

For example, when the guides 71a and 71b provided on the short side of the sub-pallet 65 shown in FIG. 4 are transferred to the short side on the opposite side, the pallet 77 can be seen from the side of the short side on the opposite side of the pallet carrier 1. It can be supplied and discharged as shown in 14 (b). In addition, as shown in FIG.
If the guides 71a and 71b are provided on both short sides of the sub-pallet 65 without providing the guides 69a on the long sides of the robot 3,
On the other hand, the pallet 77 can be supplied and discharged from the side of the long side of the pallet carrier 1 on the opposite side as shown in FIG. Further, if the long-side guide 69a of the sub-pallet 65 is not provided, the pallet 77 can be seen from the long-side surface and the short-side surface of the pallet conveyor 1 on the side opposite to the side where the robot 3 is arranged. It is possible to supply and discharge as shown in).

The guides for attaching and detaching the pallet 77 may be provided only on two sides of the sub-pallet 65 instead of on three sides. If the guides 71a and 71b are not provided on both short sides of the sub-pallet 65 as shown in FIG.
7 can be supplied and discharged as shown in FIG. 14 (e). 14 (d) and 14 (e), the direction of supply / discharge of the pallet 77 may be opposite to the arrow direction. still,
The guides 69a, 69b, 71a, 71b do not need to be directly fixed to the sub-pallet 65 by welding or the like, and the pallet 7
It may be detachably fixed with a screw or the like according to the change of the attaching / detaching direction of 7.

Therefore, the attachment / detachment direction of the pallet 77 to / from the sub-pallet 65, that is, the attachment / detachment direction of the pallet 77 to / from the pallet transfer device 1 can be easily changed. For this reason, the degree of freedom in the installation direction of the pallet transfer device 1 and the layout when combining with the pallet transfer device is increased.

A work 79 is placed on the pallet 77, and a positioning jig 81 corresponding to the shape of the work 79 to be placed is provided to regulate the movement of the work 79.

On the other hand, below the bearings at the upper ends of the side pillars 37a and 37b, as shown in FIG. 2, the sub-pallet 65 is attached to the main chains 43a and 43b via a suspension member 83.
An upper horizontal movement mechanism 85 of the present invention is suspended for horizontal movement in a direction traversing. The upper horizontal movement mechanism 85 includes a motor 87, a pair of sprockets 89a,
89b and sprocket 89a, 89b is equipped with an endless chain 91.

Next, the upper horizontal moving mechanism 85 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

The sprocket 89a is connected to the motor 87 and can rotate according to the rotation of the motor 87.
Further, the sprocket 89b is transmitted with the rotation of the sprocket 89a through the endless chain 91, rotates in synchronization with the sprocket 89a, and at the same time, the endless chain 91b.
Is configured to rotate according to the rotation of the sprockets 89a and 89b.

Hooks 93a, 93b having an L-shaped cross section are attached to the endless chain 91 with their axes substantially orthogonal to the turning surface of the endless chain 91 and with their upper ends protruding from the turning surface. There is. The distance between the hooks 93a and 93b is set according to the distance between the engaging pieces 75a and 75b of the sub pallet 65. The hooks 93a and 93b move along the outer circumference of the endless chain 91 according to the rotation of the endless chain 91. Further, the sensor 95 that can detect the positions of the hooks 93a and 93b is installed at a position that does not hinder the movement of the hooks 93a and 93b.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper horizontal moving mechanism 85 is suspended while being displaced from the center of the suspension member 83 toward the main chain 43a side, and is shown in FIG. 10 when the endless chain 91 rotates. As described above, the engaging piece 75a of the sub-pallet 65 placed on the uppermost supporting frames 45a and 45b of the ascending section and the hook 93a engage with each other, and then the engaging piece 75
b and the hook 93b are engaged with each other. As a result, the sub pallet 6 is inserted through the engagement pieces 75a and 75b.
5 is pulled and pushed to support the uppermost support frame 45 of the ascending section.
a, 45b from the lowermost uppermost support frame 45a, 4b
The sub pallet 65 can be horizontally moved to 5b.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, rollers 97a and 97b are attached to both ends of the suspension member 83 at positions slightly separated from the rotating spaces of the main chains 43a and 43b. These rollers 97a and 97b are
The sub-pallet 65 can be supported between the uppermost supporting frames 45a and 45b of the ascending section and the uppermost supporting frames 45a and 45b of the descending section. Therefore, when the sub pallet 65 is moved horizontally,
Is prevented from falling off, and the horizontal movement is smoothly performed. On the upper surface of the suspension member 83, a guide rail 96 that is engaged with between the guides 75c and 75d provided on the lower surface of the sub pallet 65 is arranged parallel to the rollers 97a and 97b.

The guide rail 96 is not limited to a mere square bar, but may be a pair of rails having a constant width or may be formed by bending down a plate-shaped rail. Guides 75c, 75d
The installation position may be provided at the end of the sub-pallet 65 if the horizontal transfer mechanism 85 or the like does not come in contact with the horizontal transfer mechanism 85 and the like, and the position of the guide rail 96 may be variously changed.
The sliding surface of the guide rail 96 with respect to the guides 75c and 75d and the sub pallet 65 is surface-treated so as to be sufficiently smooth. Also, by replacing 93a, 93b provided on the endless chain 91 or engaging pieces 75a, 75b provided on the lower surface of the sub-pallet, the pallet 7 from the uppermost stage of the descending part of the vertical moving means to the uppermost stage of the ascending part.
It is also possible to move 7 horizontally.

Therefore, by providing the upper horizontal moving means 85 of the pallet 77 between the ascending part and the descending part of the vertical moving means, the pallet carrying device 1 can be downsized, and the ascending and descending parts of the vertical moving means. Since the space above and to the side of the robot is vacant, the work size of the robot 3 for loading and unloading the work 79 and the restriction on the size of the article to be loaded on the pallet during horizontal movement are eliminated. .. Further, since the pitch at which the support frames 45a and 45b are attached to the vertical movement means can be narrowed, a larger number of support frames 45a and
45b is attached and many works 79 can be mounted.

The side pillars 37a and 37b are provided at positions corresponding to the uppermost support frames 45a and 45b of the ascending section.
The positioning mechanism 99 shown in FIG. 12 is attached.
The positioning mechanism 99 includes support frames 45a and 45b.
The position sensor 101 is composed of a limit switch capable of detecting the position, and the clamp cylinders 105a and 105b that reciprocally drive the clamps 103a and 103b that hold the support frames 45a and 45b at predetermined positions. Although the position sensor 101 is composed of a limit switch or the like, the position sensor 101 is not limited to the limit switch associated with contact, and may be composed of a photocoupler that operates in a non-contact manner or a device that detects magnetic displacement.

The position sensor 101 is connected to a control unit (not shown). When the position sensor 101 detects that the support frames 45a, 45b have reached the set working position, the main chains 43a, 43b are rotated. The movement is paused.

The clamp 103a and the clamp cylinder 105a and the clamp 103b and the clamp cylinder 105b, which make a pair, are respectively placed on opposite sides of the support frames 45a and 45b, and the reciprocating directions of the clamps 103a and 103b are the same as those of the support frames 45a and 45b. It is arranged so as to be substantially orthogonal.

When the rotation of the main chains 43a and 43b is stopped and the support frames 45a and 45b are at the set working positions, the clamp cylinders 105a and 105b.
When b moves the clamps 103a and 103b forward, the clamps 103a and 103b move to the support frames 45a and 45b.
Can be held and fixed. When the clamps 103a and 103b are retracted in the opposite direction to the above, the clamps 103a and 103b are detached from the support frames 45a and 45b.

When the sub-pallet 65 is placed on the support frames 45a and 45b, the clamp 103
a and 103b are support frames 45a and 45b when moving forward.
Along with b, the end of the sub pallet 65 in the longitudinal direction is held and fixed, and is detached when retracted.

Next, the case of using the pallet carrying device 1 having the above-mentioned structure will be described.

In advance, a set number of pallets 77 are placed on each of the sub-pallets 65 placed on the support frames 45a and 45b. A work 79 is placed on each pallet 77. The number of works 79 to be placed on the pallet 77 may be an appropriate number depending on the shape of the works 79 such as size.

It is not necessary to mount the pallets 77 on all the sub-pallets 65. Further, at the start of the work, the sub-pallet 65 is not arranged on the support frames 45a and 45b located at the uppermost stage of the ascending section, the lowermost stage of the descending section and the reversing section. Furthermore, when starting the work, the pallet 77 on which the unworked work 79 is mounted is moved to the sub-pallet 6
Place the same number on top of 5.

Subsequently, when the pallet conveying device 1 is operated, the main shaft 25 is rotated according to the operation of the motor 17. The rotation is transmitted to the main chains 43a and 43b via the sprockets 27a and 27b, and the main chains 43a and 43b rotate vertically. The support frames 45a and 45b are connected to the main chains 43a and 43
Depending on the rotation of b, it rises, descends, and reverses. The sub-pallet 65 on which the work 79 and the pallet 77 are placed moves up and down according to the movement of the support frames 45a and 45b. Since the pallet 77 is provided with a jig 81 for positioning and moving the work 79,
The placement position of the work 79 does not shift during the vertical movement.

As shown in FIG. 1, the main chain 43
Support frames 45a and 45b for supporting the sub-pallet 65 on which the pallet 77 is placed according to the rotation of the a and 43b.
However, when the work position set at the uppermost stage of the ascending section is reached, the position sensor 101 detects this and temporarily stops the rotation of the main chains 43a and 43b via the control unit. Next, the clamp cylinders 105a and 105b advance the clamps 103a and 103b. The advanced clamps 103a and 103b hold the sub-pallet 65 together with the support frames 45a and 45b which have come to the working position,
Fix at the set work position. From this, the pallet 77 placed on the sub pallet 65 is also positioned.

When the support frames 45a, 45b, the sub pallet 65 and the pallet 77 are positioned as described above, the robot 3 places the work 79 on the pallet 77 one by one.
After the individual pieces are removed and the work 79 is processed by a machine tool (not shown) such as a machining center, the work 79 is returned to the set jig 81 on the pallet 77 again. Robot 3
Then, the same work is performed on the second work 79. The robot 3 repeats this, and the work 7 on the pallet 77 is repeated.
When all 9 work is done, the clamp cylinder 105
a, 105b retracts the clamps 103a, 103b to support frames 45a, 45b and sub-pallet 6
Release the retention of 5. Thereby, the support frame 45
The a, 45b and the placed sub-pallet 65 can be moved according to the rotation of the main chains 43a, 43b.

During the operation by the robot 3, the rodless cylinder 33 is driven to move the floating member 35 along the rodless cylinder 33 from the descending portion side to the ascending portion side. At this time, the hook 35a of the floating member 35 comes into contact with the long side of the sub pallet 65 located at the lowermost stage of the descending portion and presses the sub pallet 65. As a result, the sub-pallet 65 moves horizontally with the floating member 35 toward the rising portion side, and reaches the support frames 45a and 45b at the lowermost stage of the rising portion. As a result, the lowermost support frame 45a of the descending section,
45b becomes "empty". Further, the floating member 35 is moved in the opposite direction by the rodless cylinder 33 and returns to the initial position.

When the work by the robot 3 is completed,
The upper horizontal movement mechanism 85 operates to horizontally move the sub-pallet 65 in the working position, together with the pallet 77 and the work 79 placed thereon, toward the descending portion.

Here, the horizontal movement of the sub-pallet 65 by the upper horizontal movement mechanism 85 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11.

When the motor 87 of the upper horizontal moving mechanism 85 operates, the sprockets 89a and 89b rotate and the endless chain 91 rotates in the arrow direction of FIG. 9 together with the hooks 93a and 93b.

The hooks 93a and 93b are endless chains 91.
As it moves together, the hook 93a first engages with the engagement piece 75a of the sub-pallet 65. This state is shown in Figure 1.
It is shown in 0 (a) and FIG. 11 (2). When the endless chain 91 continues to rotate, the hook 93a moves in a state of pulling the engagement piece 75a [see FIG. 11 (3)].

The moving direction of the endless chain 91 is reversed by the sprocket 89a, and the hook 93a is disengaged from the engaging piece 75a with this reversal. Also,
Immediately before the hook 93a disengages from the engagement piece 75a, the hook 93b engages with the engagement piece 75b [see FIG. 10 (b)].

When the endless chain 91 further rotates, the hook 93b moves while pushing the engaging piece 75b. [See FIG. 11 (4)].

When the rotation of the endless chain 91 is continued and the hook 93b reaches the reversing portion of the endless chain 91, the hook 93b is disengaged from the engaging piece 75b [see FIGS. 10 (c) and 11 (5)]. ]. Then, when the hook 93b is disengaged from the engaging piece 75b, the sub-pallet 65 ends the horizontal movement, and the support frames 45a, 4 at the uppermost stage of the descending portion are moved.
5b is mounted.

As described above, the main chains 43a, 4
When the rotation and the suspension of 3b, the work by the robot 3, and the horizontal movement of the sub-pallet 65 at the lower and upper portions are performed, the motor 17 is activated again and the main chain 43
a and 43b rotate again.

The support frames 45a and 45b move as the main chains 43a and 43b rotate. When the support frames 45a and 45b on which the work 79 and the pallet 77 are placed together with the support pallets 45a and 45b reach the work position of the robot 3, the position sensor 101 detects this.
Then, the rotation of the main chains 43a and 43b is temporarily stopped. Then, the above-mentioned operation is performed again.

The above-described rotation and temporary stop of the main chains 43a and 43b, the work by the robot 3, and the horizontal movement of the sub-pallet 65 at the lower and upper portions are repeated,
When the robot 3 operates on all the pallets 77 mounted on the pallet transport apparatus 1, the operation of the pallet transport apparatus 1 is stopped. The pallet 77 on which the work 79 is placed is taken out from the pallet transfer device 1, and the work 79 is transferred to the next step.

The pallet carrier 1 is loaded on an unmanned automatic carrier, and the unmanned carrier reciprocates between a machine tool (not shown) and a setup site where a work 79 is mounted on the pallet 77, and a finished product. May be transported to a position where the robot of the machine tool in the next process can take out the workpiece, or the pallet transporter 1 can be used as a stocker for simply storing and placing the articles.

[0071]

As described above, in the pallet carrier of the present invention, the pallet supply / discharge direction can be easily changed. Therefore, the installation direction of the pallet transfer device is not restricted by the pallet supply / discharge direction, and the degree of freedom in layout when combined with other devices is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a pallet transfer device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a pallet transfer device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of relative positions of a pair of support frames of the pallet transport device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a sub-pallet of the pallet carrier of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view seen from a side surface of a sub-pallet of the pallet carrier of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view seen from the back surface of a sub-pallet of the pallet carrier of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a sub-pallet having a different pallet mounting / removing direction from the sub-pallet of the pallet carrier according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a sub-pallet having a different pallet mounting / removing direction from the sub-pallet of the pallet carrier according to the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of an upper horizontal movement mechanism of the pallet transfer device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of relative positions of an upper horizontal movement mechanism and a sub pallet of the pallet transport device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of relative positions of an upper horizontal movement mechanism and a sub pallet of the pallet transfer device according to the embodiment.

12A and 12B are explanatory views of a positioning mechanism of the pallet carrying device according to the embodiment, FIG. 12A is a top view, and FIG.
It is a C sectional view.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a lower horizontal movement mechanism of the pallet transfer device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing a pallet loading / unloading direction with respect to a sub pallet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Pallet Conveyor 3 Robot 43a Main Chain 43b Main Chain 45a Support Frame 45b Support Frame 51a Side Regulation Member 51b Side Regulation Member 61a Side Regulation Member 61b Side Regulation Member 65 Sub Pallet 69a Guide 69b Guide 71a Guide 71b Guide 77 Pallet

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Reference number within the agency FI Technical display location B65G 47/74 Z 8010-3F 47/84 E 8010-3F // B65G 47/57 B 8010-3F

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pallet on which an article can be mounted, a sub-pallet on which the pallet is removably mounted, a regulating member which regulates the direction in which the pallet is taken in and out of the sub-pallet, and the sub-pallet is detachably supported. And a supporting member for controlling the pallet. 2. The restricting member is provided on the sub-pallet, and the supporting member allows the direction of loading and unloading the pallet to and from the sub-pallet to be freely changeable by exchanging the sub-pallet. The pallet conveyor according to claim 1, which is characterized in that.