Conveying device drivable by rack gear

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9909656-B2
Application number	US-201615360638-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 23, 2016
Priority date	Dec 1, 2015
Publication date	Mar 6, 2018
Grant date	Mar 6, 2018

Abstract

A conveying device drivable by rack gear has a towed hook further forward than a front end of a rack gear mounted to a conveying traveling body. A driving pinion gear, disposed at an entrance of a rack gear drive section, has a drawing-in claw that engages the towed hook and draws in the conveying traveling body to a position where the front end of the rack gear meshes with the driving pinion gear. The towed hook has, at a position at a rear side of a hook portion at a distal end thereof and further forward than the front end of the rack gear, an advance preventing claw portion disposed continuous thereto that, together with the hook portion, sandwiches the drawing-in claw, and the hook portion has a length such that it enters more deeply inside a rotation locus of the drawing-in claw than the advance preventing claw portion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A conveying device drivable by rack gear, comprising:
a conveying traveling body capable of traveling on a fixed traveling route, the conveying traveling body having a rack gear attached in parallel to a travel direction thereof, and having a towed hook disposed at a position further forward than a front end of the rack gear,
driving pinion gears disposed in a rack gear drive section, the driving pinion gears being operable to mesh with the rack gear and to propel the conveying traveling body
a leading driving pinion gear disposed at an entrance of the rack gear drive section, the leading driving pinion gear having a drawing-in claw operable to engage with the towed hook and to draw in the conveying traveling body to a position at which the front end of the rack gear meshes with the leading driving pinion gear,
the towed hook having a hook portion at a distal end thereof and further forward than the front end of the rack gear, and having an advance preventing claw portion disposed to a rear of the hook portion, and the advance preventing claw portion together with the hook portion being operable to sandwich the drawing-in claw, and
the hook portion having a length such that it enters more deeply inside a rotation locus of the drawing-in claw than the advance preventing claw portion.

2. The conveying device drivable by rack gear according to claim 1 , wherein:
the towed hook has a rearwardly extending base end portion pivotally supported by a front end portion of the rack gear,
the towed hook is vertically swingable relative to the rack gear within a fixed range and the towed hook has lower limit action position into which the towed hook is urged by a downwardly urging force, and
the towed hook is configured so that when the towed hook is disposed at the lower limit action position, the towed hook is operable to be thrusted up by the drawing-in claw at a leading driving pinion gear side to allow passing of the drawing-in claw.

3. The conveying device drivable by rack gear according to claim 1 , wherein the advance preventing claw portion has a non-return structure configured to prevent the advance preventing claw portion from riding over and passing the drawing-in claw from a rear of the drawing-in claw but to allow passing of the drawing-in claw from a rear of the advance preventing claw portion.

4. The conveying device drivable by rack gear according to claim 2 , wherein the towed hook is pivotally supported to the front end portion of the rack gear by a pivotal support, and a position of the pivotal support is set lower than a height of contact of the hook portion of the towed hook and the drawing-in claw.

5. The conveying device drivable by rack gear according to claim 2 , wherein:
the towed hook has a first forced return operated portion,
a second forced return operating portion is disposed in the traveling route of the conveying traveling body, and the second forced return operating portion is operable to act on the first forced return operated portion to forcibly return the towed hook to the lower limit action position, when the towed hook portion is not in the lower limit action position, and
the second forced return operating potion being operable to act on the first forced return operated portion not later than when the towed hook enters inside the rotation locus of the drawing-in claw.

6. The conveying device drivable by rack gear according to claim 5 , wherein the first forced return operated portion has a cam positioned at a lateral side of and further to a rear of the towed hook than the pivotal support of the towed hook with respect to the rack gear, and the second forced return operating portion has a roller operable to push up the cam.

Assignees

• Daifuku Kk

Inventors

• Suzuki Takaharu
• Hirokari Yoshikazu

Classifications

• F16H19/04 Primary

  comprising a rack · CPC title

• F16H2019/046

  Facilitating the engagement or stopping of racks · CPC title

• B65G17/005

  comprising individual load carriers which are movably mounted (B65G17/16 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B65G19/02 Primary

  for articles, e.g. for containers · CPC title

• B65G17/12

  comprising a series of individual load-carriers fixed, or normally fixed, relative to traction element · CPC title