Daifuku Co., Ltd.

Taikisha Ltd.

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Hisashi Kyotani

Izuru Matsubara

Kazuki Ogawa

Takaharu Suzuki

Kenichi Furuta

Takashi Okamura

Teruaki Nabeta

Kenichiro Kawato

Kazutaka Nagasaka

Takashi Uehara

Kiyoshi Hamano

Koichi Ookada

A container raising/lowering conveyance apparatus including four gripping raising/lowering bodies capable of being respectively horizontally fitted to and detached from four corners of an article-conveyance container is configured such that, in a planar view, central raising/lowering link members capable of being raised and lowered are disposed at central positions of respective edges of a right-angled parallelogram surrounded by the four gripping raising/lowering bodies, and each of the central raising/lowering link members and the gripping raising/lowering bodies at both sides thereof are coupled to each other by at least one pair of upper and lower rocking parallel links capable of rocking in the vertical direction.

Container raising/lowering conveyance apparatus

A container raising/lowering conveyance apparatus is provided with: rod-shaped gripping raising/lowering bodies which are long in a raising/lowering direction, and which are supported so as to be capable of being horizontally fitted to and detached from corners of a container; and lifting raising/lowering bodies in which supporting implements protruding towards two parallel side surfaces of the container are provided to rod-shaped main bodies which are long in the raising/lowering direction and are capable of being moved closer to and away from the two parallel side surfaces of the container. When the supporting implements are moved closer to the two parallel side surfaces of the container, the supporting implements are inserted underneath a flange portion at the two parallel side surfaces of the container, and when the rod-shaped main bodies are raised, the supporting implements lift the container via the flange portion.

A container raising/lowering conveyance apparatus has a supporting structure (a secondary traveling body) which supports four gripping raising/lowering bodies capable of being raised and lowered, and has an X-direction drive means by which the four gripping raising/lowering bodies are moved closer to and away from each other synchronously and symmetrically with respect to a Y-direction center line and a Y-direction drive means by which the four gripping raising/lowering bodies are moved closer to and away from each other synchronously and symmetrically with respect to an X-direction center line. Both the X-direction drive means and the Y-direction drive means are used to enlarge and shrink a right-angled parallelogram surrounded by the four gripping raising/lowering bodies, without changing the center position and the orientation of the right-angled parallelogram.

A container raising/lowering conveyance apparatus has a pair of main movable bases relatively movable in the X direction, and on each main movable base, a pair of secondary movable bases relatively movable in the Y direction. Four gripping raising/lowering bodies are supported by the four secondary movable bases so as to be capable of being raised and lowered. Vertical rod-shaped main bodies supported by the main movable bases are raised and lowered by a raising/lowering drive and are disposed at intermediate positions between the Y-direction pairs of the gripping raising/lowering bodies. Upper end portions of the vertical rod-shaped main bodies and gripping raising/lowering bodies at both sides of the vertical rod-shaped main bodies in the Y direction are coupled, allowing the gripping raising/lowering bodies to be relatively movable in the Y direction.

A container raising/lowering conveyance apparatus has at least two lifting raising/lowering bodies corresponding respectively to two parallel side surfaces of an article-conveyance container are capable of being raised and lowered, and moved closer to and away from each other. Support units are attached to each of the lifting raising/lowering bodies and pairs of pin-shaped supporting implements in the support units protrude towards the container side at symmetrical positions at both sides of a vertical center line of each of the two parallel side surfaces of the container are arranged and supported at suitable intervals in a vertical direction. Each pin-shaped supporting implement is capable of extending and retracting, and is impelled into and held in a protruded position by a spring. Pairs of pin-shaped supporting implements having a narrow interval therebetween and pairs of pin-shaped supporting implements having a broad interval therebetween are arranged alternately in the vertical direction.

A conveying device has interlockingly coupled, rectilinear screw shafts which are driven by a motor. The screw shafts are juxtaposed to an inclined rectilinear portion of a gradient portion in a traveling route of a conveying traveling body and to at least fixed regions adjacent to the gradient portion of respective upper and lower horizontal route portions connected to respective ends of the gradient portion. The conveying traveling body has a pair of front and rear driven rollers engaging with the screw shafts, and an interval between the pair of front and rear driven rollers is set to a length not shorter than a rectilinear distance between end portions of the screw shafts positioned at respective sides of each of arcuate portions at respective upper and lower ends of the gradient portion to make the conveying traveling body travel continuously between the respective upper and lower horizontal route portions.

Conveying device

A suspension conveying device according to the present invention includes screw shafts of two suspension line pulling-up/feeding mechanisms in a conveying traveling body. The screw shafts have low-speed drive regions, in which feed pitches for driven bodies are small, and high-speed drive regions, in which feed pitches for the driven bodies are large. The screw shafts are installed so that the low-speed drive regions and the high-speed drive regions are disposed mutually oppositely as viewed from the driven bodies when a conveyed object supporter is at one end of an elevation/lowering stroke, and the conveyed object supporter is tilted in a middle of the elevation/lowering stroke when the screw shafts are driven to undergo forward/reverse rotation at a fixed speed by a motor.

Suspension conveying device

An elevating conveyance device with improved versatility which can be utilized for transferring an automobile body in an automobile assembly line, etc., and according to a first aspect of the invention, the elevating conveyance device includes a multistage extensible column, a transfer means, and an extending and contracting drive mechanism, where the multistage extensible column includes a fixed column portion, one or more mid-stage elevating column portions, and a final-stage elevating portion, the transfer means is provided on the final-stage elevating portion, and the extending and contracting drive mechanism includes a counter weight supported on the fixed column portion movably vertically in a range of the height of the fixed column portion, a winding transmission tool which applies the gravity of the counter weight upward to the next mid-stage elevating column portion, an elevating drive means which drives and elevates the next mid-stage elevating column portion with respect to the fixed column portion, and winding transmission tools which convert an upward movement of the mid-stage elevating column portion into an upward movement of the next mid-stage elevating column portion or final-stage elevating portion.

Elevating conveyance device

The present invention proposes an elevating conveyance device with improved versatility which can be utilized for transferring an automobile body in an automobile assembly line, etc., and according to a first aspect of the invention, the elevating conveyance device includes a multistage extensible column, a transfer means, and an extending and contracting drive mechanism, where the multistage extensible column includes a fixed column portion, one or more mid-stage elevating column portions, and a final-stage elevating portion, the transfer means is provided on the final-stage elevating portion, and the extending and contracting drive mechanism includes a counter weight supported on the fixed column portion movably vertically in a range of the height of the fixed column portion, a winding transmission tool which applies the gravity of the counter weight upward to the next mid-stage elevating column portion, an elevating drive means which drives and elevates the next mid-stage elevating column portion with respect to the fixed column portion, and winding transmission tools which convert an upward movement of the mid-stage elevating column portion into an upward movement of the next mid-stage elevating column portion or final-stage elevating portion.

A conveyor system including a crank arm having a base end portion rotatably supported by a second support axle and a free end portion rotatably supporting a suspended supporting apparatus, and a swinging arm having a base end portion fixed to a first support axle and a front end portion coupled to an intermediate position of the crank arm. A movable bearing stand supporting the second support axle is provided to be movable toward and away from a fixed bearing stand supporting the first support axle. Further, a suspended section parallel link mechanism of a suspended supporting apparatus is so configured that a free end support axle is located above a line connecting suspension pins at both ends of an upper frame.

Conveyor system for processing line

An elevating transport apparatus for elevating and transporting a body to be transported, with an elevating section connecting a transport path and a transport path positioned at different heights. A first support shaft in the horizontal direction and a second support shaft are disposed parallel to each other on a stand. The second support shaft can be freely moved to approach or separate from the first support shaft, with guide apparatuses. A crank arm is supported by the second support shaft, and a distal end portion of a swing arm supported by the first support shaft is linked via a linking shaft to an intermediate position of the crank arm. A transport body support apparatus is provided via a free end support shaft on the free end section of the crank arm and can hold the body via a transport machine. Further, an arm drive apparatus is provided to cause the crank arm to rotate around the second support shaft, and a posture adjustment apparatus is provided to rotate the transport body support apparatus around the free end support shaft and maintain the horizontal posture thereof.

Elevating transport apparatus

A conveyance truck movable along travel rails includes a suspended supporting device for supporting a vehicle body, a raising and lowering device for raising and lowering the suspended supporting device, and a posture adjusting device for adjusting the posture of the vehicle body. The raising and lowering device includes a first supporting axle disposed in the front section in the travel direction, a second supporting axle provided in the rear section movable towards and away from the first supporting axle, a crank arm supported rotatably on the second supporting axle and having the suspended supporting device supported rotatably at its free end portion, a swinging arm fixed to the first supporting axle and having a free end portion coupled to an intermediate position of the crank arm, and an arm drive mechanism for causing the crank arm to rotate about the second supporting axle.

Conveyance apparatus for processing step

A swinging link mechanism, provided on a conveyance truck, for raising and lowering a vehicle body held on a supporting member includes a first arm having a fixed end section which is attached to the conveyance truck in a vertically rotatable manner by means of a horizontally oriented support axle, a second arm having a fixed end section supported rotatably on the free end section of the first arm and having a supporting member provided on the free end section thereof, and a third arm coupled rotatably between the conveyance truck and a prescribed position on the second arm. Third arm is caused to rotate the second arm in the opposite direction to the first arm in response to rotation of the first arm, thereby to make the lower movement path of the supporting member to extend substantially vertically. Hence, the vehicle body can be raised or lowered in a substantially vertical movement path, and the position and attitude of the vehicle body can be controlled readily, by adopting a link mechanism of a simple configuration.

Conveyance method and apparatus for processing step

An operating arm () supported on a movable body () is operated to move downwards, and a supporting body () located on the front end section of the operating arm () is rotated about an axis in the lateral direction of a processing line (L), whereby a conveyance object (M) supported on the supporting body () is immersed in a processing liquid in a processing liquid tank () and processed by the same. Furthermore, the conveyance object (M) is removed from the processing liquid, during which operation the supporting member () is rotated in accordance with the shape of the conveyance object (M), thereby controlling the angle of the conveyance object (M) upon introduction into the processing liquid, the angle of the conveyance object (M) during immersion in the processing liquid, and the angle of the conveyance object (M) upon removal from the processing liquid.

Growing community of inventors

Shiga, Japan

Hisashi Kyotani