Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor system for moving a specific load as a separate unit – System includes a load supported by a conveyor portion which...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-10
2003-09-30
Bidwell, James R. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor system for moving a specific load as a separate unit
System includes a load supported by a conveyor portion which...
C198S580000, C198S795000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06626282
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a transfer system for carrying out assembling of parts, while circulating a pallet with a work placed thereon along a transfer line forming a closed loop.
BACKGROUND ART
Such a transfer system for carrying out the assembling of parts, while circulating a pallet with a work placed thereon along a transfer line forming a closed loop is conventionally known (see Japanese Patent Publication No.4-57555). In the above known transfer system, a pallet-shaped carriage on which a work can be placed is circulated on rails placed along a quadrilateral transfer line. In this case, the carriage is allowed to travel by connecting and disconnecting an endless chain, circulatively driven along the rails by a drive source, to or from the carriage, or the carriage is allowed to travel pitch by pitch by bringing the carriage into and out of engagement with a rack which is reciprocally driven through a predetermined distance along the rails by a drive source, and during this time, the assembling of parts to the work placed on the carriage is carried out.
However, the above known system suffers from a problem that when the length of the transfer line is to be changed, it is necessary to change the length of the endless chain or of the rack provided along the transfer line, and such replacing work becomes of a large scale, resulting in a great deal of cost required.
Moreover, the known system also suffers from another problem that it is necessary to supply parts to be assembled to a work from the outside, to the carriage in succession and for this reason, it is difficult to enhance the working efficiency. To carry out the operation of assembling the parts to the work, working air is required for enabling lifting and lowering of the work to a level which makes the operation easy, or for driving an air tool such as an impact wrench. However, there is a problem that if the working air is supplied from the outside of the moving carriage, the handling or the attachment and detachment of an air hose is troublesome.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above circumstances, and it is a first object of the present invention to provide a transfer system for carrying out the assembling of parts, while circulating a pallet having a work placed thereon along a transfer line forming a closed loop, wherein the length of the transfer line can be changed to any other one without modification of a pallet driving device.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a transfer system for carrying out the assembling of parts, while circulating a pallet having a work placed thereon along a transfer line forming a closed loop, wherein the operation of assembling parts to the work can be carried out efficiently.
To achieve the first object, according to a first aspect and feature of the present invention, there is provided a transfer system having transfer-in stations and transfer-out stations for assembling parts to a work on a pallet, while circulating the pallet along a transfer line forming a closed loop, the transfer system comprising a first conveyer and a second conveyer which are disposed in parallel to each other to transfer a plurality of pallets in an abutting state, a first traverser for transporting the pallets individually from a terminal end of the first conveyer to a start end of the second conveyer, and a second traverser for transporting the pallets individually from a terminal end of the second conveyer to a start end of the first conveyer, the first and second conveyers and the first and second traversers being disposed in the same horizontal plane to form the transfer line, the transfer-in stations and the transfer-out stations being disposed adjacent each other on or in the vicinity of the first and second traversers, the first and second conveyers being operable to drive the pallets by bringing friction rollers which are rotated by a drive source mounted at a fixed side, into abutment against the pallet.
With the above arrangement, the first conveyer, the first traverser, the second conveyer and the second traverser are disposed in the same horizontal plane to define the transfer line forming the closed loop for transferring the pallets, and the first and second conveyers drive the pallets by bringing the rotated friction rollers into abutment against the pallet. Therefore, the number of the pallets can be increased and decreased only by changing the lengths of the first and second conveyers without making any modification to the friction rollers, and thus it is extremely easy to change the length of the transfer system. Moreover, while keeping the structure simple and of a low cost, the generation of vibration and noises can be prevented to drive the pallet smoothly. In addition, the transfer-in stations and the transfer-out stations for carrying out the transfer of the work onto and out of the pallet are disposed adjacent each other on or in the vicinity of the first and second traversers. Therefore, most of the transfer line is used ensuring space and time for carrying out the assembling of the parts to the maximum, along which line the work can be transferred, whereby useless space and time required for returning of an empty pallet can be maintained to the minimum.
To achieve the first object, according to a second aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to the first feature, the transfer-in station for transferring the work onto the pallet and the transfer-out station for transferring the work from the pallet are disposed adjacent to each other on or in the vicinity of the first and second traversers.
With the above arrangement, the transfer-in and out stations for transferring the work onto and out of the pallet are disposed adjacent each other on or in the vicinity of the first and second traversers. Therefore, most of the transfer line is used ensuring space and time for carrying out the assembling of the parts to the maximum, along which line the work can be transferred, whereby useless space and time required for returning of an empty pallet can be maintained to the minimum.
To achieve the first object, according to a third aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to the first feature, the transfer-in station for transferring a part tray to the pallet and the transfer-out station for transferring the part tray from the pallet are disposed adjacent each other on or in the vicinity of the first and second traversers.
With the above arrangement, the transfer-in and out stations for transferring the part tray to and out of the pallet are disposed adjacent each other on or in the vicinity of the first and second traversers. Therefore, most of the transfer line is used ensuring space and time for carrying out the assembling of the parts to the maximum, along which line the part tray can be transferred, whereby useless space and time required for returning of an empty pallet can be maintained to the minimum.
To achieve the first object, according to a fourth aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to the first feature, the first and second traversers include transfer means for transporting the work at a terminal end of either one of the first and second conveyers to a start end of the other of the first and second conveyers.
With the above arrangement, the work at the terminal end of either one of the first and second conveyers can be transported to the start end of the other of the first and second conveyers by the transfer means provided on the traversers and hence, the smooth transporting of the pallet can be carried out.
To achieve the first object, according to a fifth aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to the fourth feature, the transfer means have transfer surfaces capable of being lifted and lowered relative to the bottom surface of the pallet on the first and second conveyers, between positions which are higher and lower respectively than the bottom surface of the pallet.
With the above arrangement,
Ikeda Kouichi
Kubota Keiichi
Mitsuhashi Masami
Murakami Hideo
Nishizawa Yoshihiro
Bidwell James R.
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
LandOfFree
Transfer system does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Transfer system, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Transfer system will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3104775