JP5154117B2 - Belt conveyor device and conveying device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a belt conveyor device and a conveying device using a steel belt.

  Conventionally, in a belt conveyor used in a long-distance sorting line at a sorting center such as a post office or a courier company, in order to suppress the elongation of the belt due to the long distance (for example, 50 m) or the conveyance direction A belt conveyor device using a steel belt (for example, 1 mm thickness) is used from the viewpoint of the slipperiness of the workpiece in the case of paying out at right angles to (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Conventionally, an end pulley drive system for driving an end pulley has been adopted for driving a steel belt conveyor (see, for example, Patent Document 3).
JP 2006-248642 A JP 2000-2111729 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-25215

In conventional steel belt conveyors, extreme belt tension is required to suppress slippage between the drive pulley and the steel belt.
In addition, this end pulley is crowned to prevent meandering (the center of the belt contact surface is swollen in the longitudinal section of the pulley), and to prevent meandering by the crown, a steel belt that does not stretch smoothly is used as a belt. It is necessary to increase the tension of the arm. In order to prevent the crown effect and slip on the head (drive side) of the end pulley and transmit the drive, a large tensioning mechanism is required, and the tail pulley is also tension that can handle the reaction force of the head tension. An application mechanism is still necessary.

  Therefore, both the driving pulley and the driven pulley require a diameter of about 1000 times the thickness of the steel belt (for example, 1 mm thick), and the distance between the forward belt and the return belt is the same as the pulley diameter, for example, 1000 mm. It becomes the interval of. Since it becomes a pulley support part which also has a take-up mechanism in this dimension, a conveyor frame becomes large. The pulley shaft diameter, frame material dimensions, and bearings must be enlarged due to their tension. And, because a strong tension is applied to the steel belt, if the belt is damaged and breaks, the tension is released suddenly, and the belt fragments are scattered around at a very high speed, which is extremely dangerous. It is. Further, as a countermeasure against the meandering of the belt, the meandering may be corrected by tilting the roller shaft on the return side. In this case, however, a mechanism for returning the return belt to the meandering correction roller is required, which is further increased. Further, since the return belt is hung around, it is impossible to convey the work on the return side.

The present invention has been made to solve such conventional problems, and its purpose is to reduce the tension for driving, reduce the cost by downsizing the conveyor unit, and realize a stable traveling. It is in providing an apparatus and a conveying apparatus.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a belt conveyor device and a conveying device that can reliably prevent meandering.

The invention according to claim 1 is arranged at both side edges of the endless steel belt stretched between the head pulley and the tail pulley, which are both driven pulleys , and the endless steel belt perpendicular to the conveying direction, and is driven by friction. A belt conveyor device comprising at least a pair of belt drive devices for driving the endless steel belt by the endless belt stretched between the driving pulley and the driven pulley; and A motor that rotationally drives the endless belt via the driving pulley, and a plurality of friction rollers that are arranged on the lower surface side of the upper belt of the endless belt and are biased toward the upper belt of the endless belt; A pressing device that presses the plurality of friction rollers in a belt direction above the endless belt; and the plurality of friction rollers; A receiving roller that is disposed so as to sandwich the endless steel belt and that receives the plurality of friction rollers pressed by the pressing device via the upper belt and the endless steel belt. Each pair of meandering detectors on the upstream side of each of the pair of belt drive devices, arranged in a form sandwiched from above and below at predetermined intervals on both side edges of the endless steel belt in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, A detection signal is generated when the endless steel belt edge crosses the meandering detection unit, and the belt driving device on the side of the meandering detection unit that issued the detection signal is the driving pulley. The rotational speed of the motor that rotationally drives the endless belt through the belt is increased, and the bell on the opposite side of the pair of belt driving devices In the driving apparatus, the endless belt by making an operation to slow down the rotational speed of the motor to be driven to rotate, wherein said providing further a control unit for preventing meandering of the endless steel belt.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the belt conveyor apparatus according to the first aspect, the endless steel belt includes a conveyance path on an upper bed surface and a lower bed surface, and the pair of belt driving devices are the endless steel belts. It is arrange | positioned on the upper stage bed surface and / or the lower stage bed surface .

The invention according to claim 3 is a conveying device using the belt conveyor device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the conveying path of the upper bed surface of the belt conveyor device and the lower bed surface of the belt conveyor device. Each of the transport paths is provided with transported material input means and sorting means for discharging the transported material out of the belt conveyor device .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the conveyance apparatus according to the third aspect , wherein the conveyed product input means is a belt junction conveyor having a belt folded by upper and lower folding pulleys .

The invention according to claim 5 is the transfer apparatus according to claim 3 or 4 , wherein the sorting means is a diverter.

Since it is not necessary to apply a driving force to the head-and-tail pulley, the unit can be downsized. Regardless of the workpiece weight or the length of the machine, the force applied to the shaft of the head and tail pulley is the same, so it can be shared as an end unit.
Since the drive unit can be distributed to both sides of the endless steel belt, the drive unit can be installed on both the forward side and the return side, and the workpiece can be transported to the forward side and the return side.

Even if the workpiece weight or the length of the machine is changed, the number of drive units can be increased to cope with it, so the drive unit can be shared.
By adjusting the friction drive speed of the belt drive installed on both sides of the endless steel belt, meandering can be reliably prevented.
Since it is not necessary to apply a driving force to the head-and-tail pulley, the tension applied to the steel belt becomes weak, and the life of the steel belt can be extended. Moreover, the safety at the time of a belt fracture should improve.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments shown in the drawings.
1 to 15 show a belt conveyor device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the belt conveyor device 1 according to the present embodiment has an endless steel belt 10 stretched between a head pulley 11a and a tail pulley 11b, and belt driving devices 20A and 20B. The endless steel belt 10 is driven by friction drive by the driving devices 20C and 20D. The belt conveyor device 1 according to the present embodiment includes meandering detection units 40A and 40B for detecting meandering of the endless steel belt 10 driven by the belt driving devices 20A and 20B and the belt driving devices 20C and 20D. Parts 40C and 40D are installed.

  The endless steel belt 10 is publicly known, and for example, one having a thickness of about 0.1 to 1.5 mm is commercially available. The width and length of the endless steel belt 10 are appropriately determined according to the application, but those having a width of 3000 mm are commercially available, for example, about 800 mm to 2000 mm, and the length is several meters depending on the purpose and application. It will be about several hundred meters. However, the length of the endless steel belt 10 can be extended by providing the belt driving devices 20A and 20B and the belt driving devices 20C and 20D at a plurality of locations. The endless steel belt 10 can be conveyed by the upper bed surface 10a and the lower bed surface 10b.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the head pulley 11 a and the tail pulley 11 b are assembled to a machine frame 13 composed of a number of portal frames 14 and horizontal frame 15. Unlike the conventional belt conveyor apparatus, the head pulley 11a and the tail pulley 11b are not provided with a driving means. That is, the head pulley 11a and the tail pulley 11b are both driven pulleys. The head pulley 11a is provided with a known take-up 16 for applying a tension required for the endless steel belt 10. A roller 12 is attached to each frame 14 to support the upper bed surface 10 a and the lower bed surface 10 b of the endless steel belt 10. The machine frame 13 is installed on the floor 17.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 15, the belt driving devices 20A and 20B and the belt driving devices 20C and 20D are arranged on the head pulley 11a side of the upper bed surface 10a of the endless steel belt 10 and the tail pulley 11b side of the lower bed surface 10b. , The opposite side edge portions 10c and 10d of the endless steel belt 10 positioned in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the endless steel belt 10 are opposed to each other. Both side edges 10c and 10d of the endless steel belt 10 are set so as to ensure the width W of the transport path C.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 9, the belt driving devices 20 </ b> A and 20 </ b> B and the belt driving devices 20 </ b> C and 20 </ b> D include a friction belt 21 including an endless belt stretched between a driving pulley 22 and a driven pulley 23. , A motor 24 that rotationally drives the friction belt 21 via the drive pulley 22, and a plurality of belts disposed on the lower surface side of the belt 21 a on the upper side of the friction belt 21 and biased in the direction of the belt 21 a on the upper side of the friction belt 21. The friction roller 25, the pressing device 29 that presses the plurality of friction rollers 25 toward the belt 21 a on the upper side of the friction belt 21, and the plurality of frictions that are disposed facing the plurality of friction rollers 25 and pressed by the pressing device 29. A plurality of rollers 25 that receive the roller 25 via the upper belt 21a. And a receiving roller 33 arranged over la 34.

As the friction belt 21, for example, a high-performance belt (trade name: polyvan rope) having both the flexibility of a flat belt and the high transmission of a V-shaped belt is used. Polyvan rope has features such as high transmission horsepower, use of small pulley diameter, low elongation, and no belt vibration.
The driving pulley 22 is attached to the rotating shaft of the motor 24. The motor 24 is attached to a base unit 35 attached to the machine casing 13. The driven pulley 23 is attached to the base unit 35 so as to be moved by a take-up 36 for changing the tension on the friction belt 21. When the friction belt 21 is stretched, it can be easily corrected by operating the take-up 36.

  The friction roller 25 is provided at the tip of an arm 26 fixed to the shaft of the support cylinder 27 with a built-in torsion spring. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the friction roller 25 is pressed in a direction in which it is pressed against the belt 21 a on the upper side of the friction belt 21 by using the restoring force of the torsion spring of the torsion spring built-in support tube 27. The support cylinder 27 with a built-in torsion spring is attached to a support plate 28 attached to the base unit 35 so as to be movable up and down.

The pressing device 29 includes a nut 31 attached to the support plate 28, a bolt 30 having a head portion through which the nut 31 is inserted, and an end portion that receives a leg portion of the bolt 30 according to the movement of the bolt 30. The base unit 35 includes a support plate 28 whose movement is restricted by a rail or the like so as to move only in the direction.
10 to 12 show examples in which the belt driving devices 20A and 20B are provided on the upper belt surface 10a of the endless steel belt 10, and FIGS. 13 to 15 show the belt driving devices 20C and 20D in the lower stage of the endless steel belt 10. The example provided in the belt surface 10b is shown.

  The meandering detection units 40A and 40B and the meandering detection units 40C and 40D are separated by, for example, about 10 mm from the side edges 10c and 10d of the endless steel belt 10 located in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the endless steel belt 10 to the machine frame 13 side. Thus, the transmitting (light) portion 41 and the receiving (light) portion 42 are arranged so as to sandwich the belt from above and below. The meandering detection units 40A and 40B and the meandering detection units 40C and 40D are configured by sensors such as a photoelectric sensor, a transmission beam sensor, and a laser transmission sensor, for example. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the transmitting (light) unit 41 and the receiving (light) unit 42 are arranged to face each other with the belt sandwiched from above and below, and the transmitting (light) unit 40a and the receiving (light) ) When the endless steel belt 10 crosses the portion 40b, it is determined as meandering. When the endless steel belt 10 meanders, the meander detection units 40A and 40B and the meander detection units 40C and 40D displace the belt toward any one of the side edge portions 10c and 10d of the endless steel belt 10. Detected by the units 40A and 40B and the meander detection units 40C and 40D. The meandering detection units 40A and 40B and the meandering detection units 40C and 40D communicate with the belt drive devices 20A and 20B and the motors 24 of the belt drive devices 20C and 20D via a control device (not shown). In the control device, the belt drive devices 20A and 20B and the motors 24 of the belt drive devices 20C and 20D are detected based on the meander detection signal of the endless steel belt 10 detected by the meander detection units 40A and 40B and the meander detection units 40C and 40D. The rotation speed is controlled to prevent the endless steel belt 10 from meandering.

Next, the operation of the belt conveyor device 1 according to this embodiment configured as described above will be described.
First, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the pressing device 29 is configured to press the torsion springs of the torsion spring built-in support cylinder 27 of the four belt driving devices 20A and 20B and the belt driving devices 20C and 20D in a compressing direction. Thus, the support plate 28 is moved in the direction of the upper belt 21 a of the friction belt 21. As a result, the friction roller 25 is pressed so as to be inclined in the transport direction, and the torsion spring of the torsion spring built-in support cylinder 27 is compressed.

  Next, in this state, the power is turned on, and the motors 24 of the four belt driving devices 20A and 20B and the belt driving devices 20C and 20D are rotated. As a result, the friction belt 21 rotates along with the driving pulley 22 that rotates. At this time, the friction belt 21 is pressed in the direction of the receiving roller 34 by using the restoring force of the torsion spring of the torsion spring built-in support cylinder 27. Therefore, both side edges 10c and 10d of the endless steel belt 10 positioned between the friction belt 21 and the receiving roller 34 are pushed out in the moving direction of the friction belt 21 by the frictional force between the friction belt 21 and the endless steel belt 10. It is. By continuously receiving this pushing force, the endless steel belt 10 moves in the conveying direction and rotates between the head pulley 11a and the tail pulley 11b.

  The endless steel belt 10 that is rotationally driven in this manner has a conveyance path in which a region excluding the space between the side edge portions 10c and 10d held by the four belt driving devices 20A and 20B and the belt driving devices 20C and 20D conveys the conveyed product. C is formed. The transport path C is formed on the upper bed surface 10a and the lower bed surface 10c of the endless steel belt 10. Therefore, since the conveyed product can be conveyed by both the upper bed surface 10a and the lower bed surface 10c of the endless steel belt 10, the operator can process the conveyed product using the upper and lower conveyance paths C. it can.

  During this work, in the present embodiment, the presence or absence of meandering of the endless steel belt 10 is monitored based on the detection results of the meandering detection units 40A and 40B and the meandering detection units 40C and 40D. For example, when the meandering detection units 40A and 40B and the meandering detection units 40C and 40D are configured by a transmission (light) unit 41 and a reception (light) unit 42 of a photoelectric sensor, they are orthogonal to the conveyance direction with a belt width therebetween. In either of the meandering detection unit 40A or the meandering detection unit 40B and the meandering detection unit 40C or the meandering detection unit 40D that are arranged to face each other, the transmission (light) unit 41 and the reception (light) unit 42 of each photoelectric sensor. If the endless steel belt 10 does not cross any of the above, the transmitting (light) unit 41 and the receiving (light) unit 42 of the photoelectric sensor are not blocked, and a signal is sent to the control device assuming that there is no meandering. On the contrary, when the endless steel belt 10 crosses either the transmission (light) unit 41 or the reception (light) unit 42 of the photoelectric sensor in the meander detection unit 40A or the meander detection unit 40B, the photoelectric sensor receives and transmits light. Is interrupted, a signal is sent to the control device that there is meandering. In that case, the meandering detection unit 40A, that is, the transmission (light) unit 41 of the photoelectric sensor and the reception (light) unit 42, or the meandering unit 40B, that is, the transmission (light) unit 41 of the photoelectric sensor, is arranged. Since the endless steel belt 10 crosses between the receiving (light) unit 42 and the belt drive device 20A or the belt drive device 20B on the side of the meandering detection unit 40A or the meandering detection unit 40B crossed, The operation of increasing the speed and decreasing the rotational speed of the belt drive device 20B or the belt drive device 20A on the opposite side is performed. Even when the endless steel belt 10 crosses either the transmission (light) unit 41 or the reception (light) unit 42 of the photoelectric sensor in the meandering detection unit 40C or the meandering detection unit 40D, the belt driving device 20C and the belt driving device 20D are also used. The rotational speed is operated with the same control as above. For example, when the speed of the endless steel belt 10 is 100 m / min, the rotation of the crossed meandering detection unit 40A or 40B, the meandering detection unit 40C or 40D side belt driving device 20A or 20B, and the belt driving device 20C or 20D The speed is increased to 101 m / min, and the rotational speed of the belt drive device 20A or 20B, belt drive device 20C or 20D on the opposite side is decreased to 99 m / min. Since the meandering of the endless steel belt 10 is always monitored by the control device based on the detection results of the meandering detection units 40A and 40B and the meandering detection units 40C and 40D, the opposing belt driving device 20A or 20B, belt driving The rotation speed of the device 20C or 20D can be adjusted quickly to prevent the endless steel belt 10 from meandering.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the frictional force between the endless steel belt 10 and the belt driving devices 20A and 20B, the belt driving devices 20C and 20D disposed opposite to the both end edges 10c and 10d of the endless steel belt 10 is achieved. Since the endless steel belt 10 is rotationally driven, it is not necessary to apply a driving force to the head-and-tail pulleys 11a and 11b, and the size of the unit can be reduced. At the same time, the diameters of the head pulley 11a and the tail pulley 11b can be set to the minimum diameter (for example, 850 mm in the case of a 1 mm thick belt). Further, since the force applied to the pulley can be made regardless of the workpiece weight and the machine length, the head pulley 11a and the tail pulley 11b can be shared as end units.

Further, since the belt driving devices 20A and 20B and the belt driving devices 20C and 20D are distributed to both sides of the endless steel belt 10, the belt driving devices 20A and 20B and the belt driving devices 20C and 20D are installed on the forward side and the return side. The workpiece can be transported to both the outgoing side and the return side.
Furthermore, even if the workpiece weight or the machine length is changed, the number of installed belt driving devices 20A and 20B and belt driving devices 20C and 20D can be increased, so that the drive unit can be shared.

In the above embodiment, the case where the four belt driving devices 20A and 20B and the belt driving devices 20C and 20D are used has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of installations increases according to the work weight and the machine length. can do.
Further, according to the present invention, in the above-described embodiment, the conveyed product input means and the belt conveyor are respectively provided on the conveying path of the upper bed surface 10a of the belt conveyor device 1 and the conveying path of the lower bed surface 10b of the belt conveyor device 1. It is also possible to provide sorting means for delivering the conveyed product out of the apparatus 1. In that case, the conveyed product input means is, for example, a belt junction conveyor having a belt folded by upper and lower folding pulleys. The sorting means is, for example, a diverter.

It is a top view of the belt conveyor device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of FIG. It is an enlarged view by the side of the head pulley of FIG. It is a front view which shows the belt drive device of FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view of FIG. 4. FIG. 5 is a side view of FIG. 4. It is explanatory drawing of the friction roller of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the friction roller of FIG. 4, and an endless steel belt. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a relationship among the friction roller, the torsion spring built-in support cylinder and the arm of FIG. 4. It is a front view which shows the upper stage belt surface side of FIG. It is a top view of FIG. It is a side view of FIG. It is a front view which shows the lower stage belt surface side of FIG. FIG. 14 is a plan view of FIG. 13. FIG. 14 is a side view of FIG. 13.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Belt conveyor apparatus 10 Endless steel belt 10a Upper stage bed surface 10b Lower stage bed surface 10c, 10d Both-sides edge part 11a Endless steel belt 10 Head pulley 11b Tail pulley 12 Roller 13 Machine frame 16, 36 Take-up 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D Belt drive device 21 Friction belt 22 Drive pulley 23 Drive pulley 24 Motor 25 Friction roller 26 Arm 27 Torsion spring built-in support cylinder 29 Press device 33, 34 Roller 35 Base unit 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D Meander detection unit 41 Transmission (Light) part 42 Reception (light) part C Transport path W Width of transport path C

Claims (5)

Both endless steel belts stretched between the head pulley and tail pulley , which are driven pulleys,
A belt conveyor device that is disposed on both side edges of the endless steel belt perpendicular to the conveying direction and includes at least a pair of belt driving devices that drive the endless steel belt by friction drive ;
The pair of belt driving devices includes:
An endless belt stretched between the driving pulley and the driven pulley;
A motor that rotationally drives the endless belt via the driving pulley;
A plurality of friction rollers arranged on the lower surface side of the upper belt of the endless belt and urged toward the upper belt of the endless belt;
A pressing device that presses the plurality of friction rollers in an upper belt direction of the endless belt;
A plurality of rollers arranged to face the plurality of friction rollers so as to sandwich the endless steel belt, and to receive the plurality of friction rollers pressed by the pressing device via the upper belt and the endless steel belt. With a receiving roller arranged,
A pair of meandering detectors on the upstream side of each of the pair of belt drive devices is arranged in such a manner as to be sandwiched from above and below at predetermined intervals on both side edges of the endless steel belt in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. When the edge of the endless steel belt crosses the part, a detection signal is emitted,
Of the pair of belt driving devices, the belt driving device on the side of the meandering detection unit that has issued the detection signal increases the rotational speed of the motor that rotationally drives the endless belt via the driving pulley, and The belt drive device on the opposite side of the belt drive device further includes a control unit that prevents meandering of the endless steel belt by performing an operation to slow down the rotational speed of the motor that rotationally drives the endless belt. A belt conveyor device characterized by that. The belt conveyor device according to claim 1,
The endless steel belt is provided with a conveyance path between an upper bed surface and a lower bed surface ,
The pair of belt driving devices are arranged on an upper bed surface and / or a lower bed surface of the endless steel belt . A conveying device using the belt conveyor device according to claim 1 or 2,
Conveying material input means on each of the conveying path on the upper bed surface of the belt conveyor device and the conveying path on the lower bed surface of the belt conveyor device; and sorting means for discharging the conveyed material out of the belt conveyor device; conveying apparatus characterized by comprising a. In the conveyance apparatus of Claim 3 ,
The conveyed object dosing means includes a transport apparatus, characterized in that the belt junction conveyor having a belt folded by the upper and lower return pulley. In the conveyance apparatus of Claim 3 or Claim 4 ,
The transporting device , wherein the sorting means is a diverter .

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