Conveyance device utilizing coupled wagons

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10005476-B2
Application number	US-201615006854-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 26, 2016
Priority date	Sep 9, 2013
Publication date	Jun 26, 2018
Grant date	Jun 26, 2018

Abstract

A conveyance device utilizing coupled wagons includes front and rear adjacent wagons and a pair of left and right coupling units coupling left and right side portions of the adjacent wagons. The coupling units are switchable between a coupled state in which the left and right side portions of the adjacent wagons are respectively allowed for relative horizontal rotations about vertical shafts and an uncoupled state. A first coupling control mechanism operating at least one of the coupling units is provided at a horizontal turn path section in a travel path. By the operation of the first coupling control mechanism, the conveying traveling body can enter the horizontal turn path section while the coupling unit on the inner side of the horizontal turn path section is in the coupled state and the coupling unit on the outer side of the horizontal turn path section is in the uncoupled state.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A conveyance device utilizing coupled wagons, the conveyance device comprising:
a conveying traveling body having a plurality of wagons disposed in series in a traveling direction;
a traveling drive means operable to make the conveying traveling body travel along a travel path;
a wagon-to-wagon coupling means having a pair of left and right coupling units respectively coupling left and right side portions of front and rear adjacent wagons, and the coupling units being operable to switch between a coupled state and an uncoupled state;
a first coupling control means disposed at an entrance side of a horizontal turn path section in the travel path and the first coupling control means is operable to switch at least one of the pair of left and right coupling units between the respective wagons of the conveying traveling body entering the horizontal turn path section from the coupled state to the uncoupled state; and
the conveying traveling body being configured to enter into the horizontal turn path section with the coupling unit which becomes the inner side in a curving direction of the horizontal turn path section in the coupled state and the coupling unit which becomes the outer side in the curving direction of the horizontal turn path section in the uncoupled state.

2. The conveyance device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the conveying traveling body is configured to travel with all of the coupling units being in the coupled state on a straight-ahead path section in the travel path, and the first coupling control means is operable to switch one coupling unit on a side opposite to a curving direction of the horizontal turn path section, from the coupled state to the uncoupled state, and
the conveyance device includes a second coupling control means at an exit side of the horizontal turn path section operable to return the one coupling unit to the coupled state.

3. The conveyance device utilizing coupled wagons according to claim 2 , wherein:
each of the coupling units comprises a vertical shaft positionally fixed to one of the front and rear adjacent wagons,
a vertically movable bearing member is provided to the other of the front and rear adjacent wagons so as to be fittable and detachable with respect to the vertical shaft,
a cam follower portion is provided to the movable bearing member, and
the first and second coupling control means includes a cam rail operable to act upon the cam follower portion and to hold, for a fixed zone, the movable bearing member in a coupling released posture, detached upward from the vertical shaft.

4. The conveyance device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the conveying traveling body has left and right two guide roller rows, and each of the guide roller rows comprises an intermediate-position roller provided rotatably about an axial center of the vertical shaft of a coupling unit at a position immediately below the vertical shaft, and end-position rollers provided rotatably about vertical axial centers at front and rear ends of the conveying traveling body,
on the straight-ahead path section of the travel path, a straight-ahead guide rail is laid which is operable to guide the conveying traveling body via the respective rollers of at least one of the left and right guide roller rows, and
on the horizontal turn path section of the travel path, a circular guide rail is laid which is operable to guide the conveying traveling body only via the respective rollers of a guide roller row located on the inner side in the curving direction of the path section.

5. The conveyance device according to claim 4 , wherein the first coupling control means is operable to control one of the left and right coupling units and is juxtaposed with a guide rail controlling moving paths of the respective rollers of the guide roller row on a side where the coupling unit controlled by the coupling control means is located.

6. The conveyance device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the traveling drive means comprises a friction drive load bar attached to the conveying traveling body and a friction drive unit having a friction drive wheel disposed on the travel path and rotating in pressure contact with the load bar,
the load bar extends across the entire length of the conveying traveling body and has a plurality of load bar units on at least one of left and right side faces of the respective wagons, and the load bar units are disposed in series in the traveling direction, and the respective load bar units are horizontally turnably coupled together by the vertical shaft of the coupling unit.

7. The conveyance device according to claim 6 , wherein:
the conveying traveling body is configured to travel with all of the coupling units in the coupled state on the straight-ahead path section in the travel path, and the first coupling control means is operable to switch one coupling unit of the pair of left and right coupling units on a side opposite to the curving direction of the horizontal turn path section, from the coupled state to the uncoupled state,
a second coupling control means for returning the one coupling unit to the coupled state is provided at an exit side of the horizontal turn path section, and
the second coupling control means is juxtaposed with a guide roller pair sandwiching, from left and right sides, the load bar units on a side of the one coupling unit controlled by the second coupling control means, and the guide roller pair is operable to control moving paths of the load bar units.

8. The conveyance device according to claim 6 , wherein a friction drive load bar is disposed on the left and right side faces of the conveying traveling body.

9. The conveyance device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the coupling units of the wagon-to-wagon coupling means include coupling units at a left row and coupling units at a right row and the coupling units are configured to be switchable between the coupled state and the uncoupled state in a way such that only the coupling units at either one of the left or right rows are operable to be in the coupled state, and
the first coupling control means is operable to switch the coupling units of a row on a side of the curving direction of the horizontal turn path section, into the coupled state, when the coupling units of a row on a side opposite to the curving direction of the horizontal turn path section is in the coupled state passes.

10. The conveyance device according to claim 9 , wherein:
each of the coupling units comprises a vertical shaft connected to one of the front and rear adjacent wagons and a hook-shaped coupling tool connected to the other one of the wagons so as to be laterally fittable and detachable with respect to the associated vertical shaft,
the respective hook-shaped coupling tools of the pair of left and right coupling units are disposed such that lateral positions with respect to the associated vertical shafts are reverse to each other, and the vertical shafts and hook-shaped coupling tools of the coupling units of one of the left and right rows are fitted to each other and the vertical shafts and hook-shaped coupling tools of the respective coupling units of the other row are detached from each other by laterally and relatively moving the vertical shafts and hook-shaped coupling tools of the respective coupling units.

11. The conveyance device according to claim 10 , wherein:
the vertical shafts and the hook-shaped coupling tools are respectively positionally fixed to the respective wagons, and when the wagon provided with the vertical shafts and the wagon provided with the hook-shaped coupling tools are laterally and relatively moved into a coupled position, the hook-shaped coupling

Assignees

• Ooe Masahiro
• Daifuku Kk

Inventors

• Ooe Masahiro

Classifications

• B61B13/00

  Other railway systems · CPC title

• B61B10/04 Primary

  with vehicles rolling trackless on the ground · CPC title