U.S. patent application number 11/818765 was filed with the patent office on 2007-10-25 for transverse car body conveying system.
This patent application is currently assigned to Tsubakimoto Chain Co.. Invention is credited to Toshihiro Matsushita, Manabu Osawa, Kazuo Toba, Ichiro Ueno, Nobuhiko Yoshimura.
Application Number | 20070245922 11/818765 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34879740 |
Filed Date | 2007-10-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070245922 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ueno; Ichiro ; et
al. |
October 25, 2007 |
Transverse car body conveying system
Abstract
A skid-type car body carrier carries a transversely oriented car
body along a conveying path. The carrier is driven by a drive
roller which is biased upwardly and frictionally engages the bottom
of a centrally located friction bar mounted underneath the
carrier.
Inventors: |
Ueno; Ichiro; (Osaka,
JP) ; Osawa; Manabu; (Osaka, JP) ; Matsushita;
Toshihiro; (Osaka, JP) ; Yoshimura; Nobuhiko;
(Osaka, JP) ; Toba; Kazuo; (Osaka, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HOWSON AND HOWSON
SUITE 210
501 OFFICE CENTER DRIVE
FT WASHINGTON
PA
19034
US
|
Assignee: |
Tsubakimoto Chain Co.
Osaka
JP
|
Family ID: |
34879740 |
Appl. No.: |
11/818765 |
Filed: |
June 15, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11018879 |
Dec 21, 2004 |
|
|
|
11818765 |
Jun 15, 2007 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
104/168 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B61B 13/127 20130101;
B62D 65/18 20130101; Y02T 30/00 20130101; Y02T 30/30 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
104/168 |
International
Class: |
B61B 9/00 20060101
B61B009/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 27, 2004 |
JP |
2004-054318 |
Claims
1. A car body conveying system comprising: a pair of rails
extending in spaced, parallel relation to each other along a
conveying path; a skid-type carrier supported on said rails for
travel along said conveying path; brackets on said skid-type
carrier arranged to support an elongated car body on said carrier;
a friction bar supported by said carrier and extending along the
direction of travel of the carrier along said conveying path, said
friction bar having a downwardly facing bottom surface and
extending along a direction to which the direction of elongation of
the car body is transverse; and a drive roller disposed on said
conveying path and positioned to engage the bottom surface of said
friction bar frictionally and thereby impart a frictional driving
force to said friction bar.
2. A transverse car body conveying system according to claim 1,
further comprising a biasing device for urging the drive roller
upwardly against the friction bar.
3. A transverse car body conveying system according to claim 1,
further comprising an air bellows arranged to urge the drive roller
upwardly against the friction bar.
4. A transverse car body conveying system according to claim 1, in
which the brackets on said skid-type carrier are arranged to
support an elongated car body on said carrier with the direction of
elongation of said car body, as the carrier moves along said rails,
extending transverse to the direction of travel of the carrier
along said conveying path.
5. A transverse car body conveying system according to claim 4,
further comprising a biasing device for urging the drive roller
upwardly against the friction bar.
6. A transverse car body conveying system according to claim 4,
further comprising an air bellows arranged to urge the drive roller
upwardly against the friction bar.
7. A transverse car body conveying system according to claim 1,
including an elongated car body supported on said brackets with the
direction of elongation of the car body, as the carrier moves along
said rails, extending transverse to the direction of travel of the
carrier along said conveying path.
8. A transverse car body conveying system according to claim 7,
further comprising a biasing device for urging the drive roller
upwardly against the friction bar.
9. A transverse car body conveying system according to claim 7,
further comprising an air bellows arranged to urge the drive roller
upwardly against the friction bar.
10. A transverse car body conveying system according to claim 7, in
which the length of said friction bar is greater than the maximum
width of the car body but less than the length of said car
body.
11. A transverse car body conveying system according to claim 10,
further comprising a biasing device for urging the drive roller
upwardly against the friction bar.
12. A transverse car body conveying system according to claim 10,
further comprising an air bellows arranged to urge the drive roller
upwardly against the friction bar.
13. A transverse car body conveying system according to claim 1, in
which said friction bar and said drive roller are located midway
between said rails.
14. A transverse car body conveying system according to claim 13,
further comprising a biasing device for urging the drive roller
upwardly against the friction bar.
15. A transverse car body conveying system according to claim 13,
further comprising an air bellows arranged to urge the drive roller
upwardly against the friction bar.
16. A transverse car body conveying system according to claim 1, in
which plural drive rollers are disposed on said conveying path,
each of said plural drive rollers being positioned to engage the
bottom surface of said friction bar frictionally and thereby impart
a frictional driving force to said friction bar.
17. A transverse car body conveying system according to claim 16,
further comprising a biasing device connected to each said drive
roller for urging its connected drive roller upwardly against the
friction bar.
18. A transverse car body conveying system according to claim 16,
further comprising an air bellows associated with each said drive
roller, each air bellows being arranged to urge its associated
drive roller upwardly against the friction bar.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No.
11/018,879, filed Dec. 21, 2004, and claims priority on the basis
of Japanese patent application 2004-054318, filed Feb. 27,
2004.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to a transfer system for conveying
car bodies in a factory, and more specifically to a transverse car
body conveying system, in which a skid-type carrier travels
passively on rails, and on which a car body mounted on the carrier
is oriented in a direction transverse to the direction of carrier
movement.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Known car body conveying systems include systems having a
number of conveyor units, in which a large number of hybrid
conveying carriers travel. Each conveying carrier is provided with
left and right conveying skids, left and right front wheels, and
left and right rear wheels. The hybrid type carriers are propelled
by driving rollers and controlled by a large number of
carrier-detecting sensors.
[0004] As shown in FIG. 8, a conventional hybrid-type storage
conveyor system, disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication
2001-63555, is arranged in a C-shaped configuration, and comprises
two conveyor tracks 200 connected by a traverser mechanism T for
transferring car bodies W from one of the two conveyor tracks to
the other. On the conveyor tracks, the car bodies are conveyed in
the longitudinal direction of the bodies. The lengths of the
conveyor tracks 200 need to be sufficiently large to accommodate
the car body lengths w1, and consequently storage efficiency is
low. Moreover, the carrier size is necessarily large, resulting in
high carrier weight and a high conveying power requirement.
[0005] In a conveyor system in which all of the carriers are
identical, in order to accommodate various car bodies of different
lengths, the length L2 of each of the carriers must correspond to
the length of the longest car body with which the conveyor system
is to be used. Consequently, the lengths of the carriers impose a
limit on the number of carriers that can be provided along each
track 200. Furthermore, in some cases, it has been necessary to
replace carriers on the conveyor system with new carriers in order
to accommodate different car bodies.
[0006] In the conventional hybrid type storage conveyor of FIG. 8,
a door of a car body W can open unexpectedly as a result of
vibration, or impact such as may occur when carriers come into
contact with each other. Opening of a car door during operation of
the conveyor can cause damage to objects adjacent to the conveying
path, as well as injury to personnel. To prevent damage and injury,
ropes R were provided along both sides of the conveyor to limit
opening of the doors. However, these ropes take up space, and
become an obstacle to various operations, impairing
productivity.
[0007] Accordingly, objects of this invention are to overcome the
above-mentioned problems of a conventional conveying system; to
reduce the size and weight of a skid-type carrier; to make a
skid-type carrier adaptable to various types of car bodies, thereby
improving its versatility; and to prevent accidental opening of the
doors of the cars being conveyed without requiring additional
space, and without impairing productivity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The car body conveying system in accordance with the
invention comprises a pair of rails extending in spaced, parallel
relation to each other along a conveying path. A skid-type carrier
is supported on the rails for travel along the conveying path.
Brackets mounted on the carrier are arranged to support an
elongated car body on the carrier, with the direction of elongation
of the car body extending transverse to the direction of travel of
the carrier along the conveying path. A friction bar, supported by
said carrier, extends along the direction of travel of the carrier
along the conveying path, and a drive roller disposed on the
conveying path is positioned to engage, and impart a frictional
driving force to, the friction bar.
[0009] Preferably, the length of the friction bar is greater than
the maximum width of the car body mounted on the carrier, but less
than the length of the car body, and the friction bar and drive
roller are preferably located along a center line midway between
the rails. Door opening-prevention barriers, provided at front and
rear positions on the carrier, are positioned to engage doors of
the car body supported on the carrier in order to limit opening
thereof.
[0010] The car body conveying path to which the transverse car body
conveying system of the invention is adapted can be a conveying
line for conveying car bodies in an assembly step, a painting step,
a drying step, or the like in a car factory, for example. The term
"car body" should be understood to refer either to a fully
assembled car, or a partial assembly comprising at least the car's
body shell, or its chassis.
[0011] The skid-type carrier has a car body mounted thereon in
transverse orientation with respect to the direction of carrier
travel along the conveyor path, and is passively propelled along a
pair of rails by a frictional driving force imparted by a drive
roller. The friction bar, which extends along the direction of
carrier travel, can be much shorter than the front-to-rear
dimension of the car being transported. The size of the skid-type
carrier can be relatively small compared to the conventional
carrier, and consequently a high storage efficiency can be
realized. Moreover, the power required to propel the carrier along
the conveying path is substantially lower than the power required
in a conventional conveyor. Moreover, since different types of car
bodies generally do not differ greatly in their widths, the carrier
can be compatible with a wide variety of car bodies.
[0012] Because the friction bar and the driving roller are provided
on the center line of the car body conveying path, stable travel of
the carrier can be attained, and the frame of the skid-type carrier
can be structurally very simple.
[0013] Furthermore, because door opening-preventing barriers are
provided at front and rear positions along the conveying direction
of the carrier frame, it is unnecessary to provide conventional
door opening-prevention ropes on both sides of the car body
conveying path. Consequently, more spaces is provided along both
sides of the conveying path for various operations, such as
painting, assembly, etc.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic layout of a transverse car body
conveying system in accordance with a first embodiment of the
invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing details of the transverse car
body conveying system of FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the transverse car body
conveying system as shown in FIG. 2;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a side view of the transverse car body conveying
system of FIG. 1;
[0018] FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view showing a skid-type carrier
used in the conveying system of FIG. 1;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a side view of a friction roller type drive used
in the conveying system;
[0020] FIG. 7 is a side view of a modified friction roller drive;
and
[0021] FIG. 8 is a schematic layout view of a conventional car body
conveying system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] In the transverse car body conveying system shown in FIG. 1,
car bodies may be transported along conveying path X1 in a painting
step, and along conveying path X2 in a drying step. The car bodies
are transferred along a conveying path X3 from passage X1 to
passage X2 by a traverser mechanism T. Each of the car bodies is
arranged so that its direction of elongation, i.e., its long
dimension, is in transverse relationship to its direction of travel
along passages X1 and X2, and the entire conveying system of FIG. 1
is generally C-shaped in plan view.
[0023] Skid-type carriers 110 for mounting the transversely
oriented car bodies W, travel passively on a pair of left and right
rails 130 provided along conveying paths X1 and X2. The carriers
are propelled by driving forces imparted by friction drive rollers
located along each of the car body conveying paths X1 and X2. The
drive roller mechanism 120 for conveying path X1 is shown in FIG.
1.
[0024] The skid-type carrier 110 as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 includes
a rectangular carrier frame 111 for mounting the car body in a
transversely oriented condition relative to the rails 130, and
support brackets 112, which are located on the top of the carrier
frame 111 adjacent the left front, right front, left rear and right
rear corners of the frame, and which secure and support the car
body W on the frame. Wheels 113 which are also mounted rotatably on
the frame adjacent the corners of the frame, travel on rails 130
and support the frame and the car body mounted thereon. A transfer
lifter Z, shown in FIG. 4 is used to transfer the skid-type carrier
110.
[0025] A friction bar 114, which comes into contact with the drive
roller, is also mounted on the underside of the frame. The friction
bar 114 is positioned on the center lines CL of the car body
conveying paths X1 and X2. Consequently it can come into contact
with the drive roller mechanism 120. The skid-type carriers 110 can
travel in a stable manner, the structure of the carrier 110 is
simple, and the number of drive roller mechanisms 120 required
along conveying paths X1 and X2 is comparatively small.
[0026] The length of the friction bar need only be slightly greater
than the width w2 of the car body, and can be much shorter than the
car body length w1. Because the widths of the carriers is reduced,
more of them can fit along a conveyor passage of a given length.
Consequently, improved storage efficiency can be realized.
Additionally, even in the case of car bodies W having differing
widths w2, the differences between the body widths is generally
very small. Therefore, a given skid-type carrier 110 configured to
carry a car body in transverse orientation, can be easily adapted
to a variety of car bodies, and consequently a high degree of
compatibility and versatility in the skid-type carrier 110 can be
realized.
[0027] As shown in FIG. 5, door opening-prevention barriers 115 are
respectively provided on the skid-type carrier 110 at positions
near the front and rear doors on both sides of the car body W
mounted on the carrier frame 111. It not necessary to provide a
door opening-prevention rope on both sides of the conveying paths
as in the conventional conveyor system depicted in FIG. 8. The
absence of ropes provides interference with operating space on both
sides of the conveying paths X1 and X2.
[0028] As shown in FIG. 6, the friction roller drive mechanism 120,
includes a polyurethane friction roller 121, which contacts the
friction bar 114 of the skid-type carrier 110, and a support frame
122 attached to a frame of a car body conveying path X1 or X2. A
biasing device 123 presses the roller 121 upward against the bar
114. In a modified drive mechanism as shown in FIG. 7, a friction
roller drive 120 includes a polyurethane roller 121, which is
pressed upwardly by an air bellows 124 into abutting relationship
with bar 114 on a carrier 110.
[0029] In summary, because the skid-type carrier 110 is arranged to
carry car bodies oriented in a direction transverse to their
direction of travel on the conveyor path, the size of the carrier
can be reduced, and less power is required to move the carriers.
The lengths of the friction bars 114 can be reduced to a length
which corresponds to the car body width w2, and which is shorter
than the car body length w1, and consequently a larger number of
car bodies can be accommodated in a conveyor of a given length.
Additionally, different types of car bodies can be accommodated by
a given skid-type carrier 110, and therefore the conveyor has a
greater versatility than that of a conventional car body conveyor.
Furthermore the centrally located friction bars 114 and roller
drive ensure stable travel of the carrier frames 111 and enable the
construction of the skid-type carrier 110 to be simplified. Thus,
it is not necessary to provide door opening-prevention ropes on the
sides of the car body conveying paths X1 and X2, and therefore
operating space is provided on both sides of the conveying paths X1
and X2.
* * * * *