TRANSPORT DEVICE COMPRISING CARRIAGES GUIDED SUCH THAT THEY CAN MOVE ON A RAIL

Abstract

The present invention relates to a transport device for transporting objects along a transport track having a rail defining the transport track; at least one slide that is travelably guided at the rail; a coupling element which is provided at the slide and via which the slide can be driven; a first drive unit having a first drive means for driving the slid along a first transport section of the transport track; and a second drive having a second drive means for driving the slide along a second transport section of the transport track. The coupling element is configured to be in engagement in a shape fitting manner with the first drive means and to be in engagement in a force-fitting manner with the second drive means in the region of the second transport section.

Claims

1.-11. (canceled)

12. A transport device for transporting objects along a transport track, the transport device comprising a rail that defines the transport track; at least one slide that is travelably guided at the rail and that is configured to receive at least one object to be transported; a coupling element which is provided at the slide and via which the slide can be driven; at least one first drive unit having a first drive means for driving the slide along a first transport section of the transport track; and a second drive unit having a second drive means for driving the slide along a second transport section of the transport track, wherein the coupling element is configured to be in engagement in a force-fitting manner with the first drive means in the region of the first transport section, and wherein the coupling element is further configured to be in engagement in a shape fitting manner or in a shape fitting/force-fitting manner with the second drive means in the region of the second transport section.

13. The transport device in accordance with claim 12, wherein the first drive unit is configured as a belt drive having a revolving belt as the first drive means.

14. The transport device in accordance with claim 12, wherein the second drive unit is configured as a toothed drive having a revolving toothed belt or a toothed wheel as the second drive means.

15. The transport device in accordance with claim 12, wherein the rail is curved in the region of the second transport section of the transport track, with the second drive means following the rail.

16. The transport device in accordance with claim 15, wherein the rail is arcuately curved in the region of the second transport section of the transport track.

17. The transport device in accordance with claim 14, wherein the toothed belt undergoes a deflection by a circular disk in the region of the second transport section of the transport track.

18. The transport device in accordance with claim 15, wherein the toothed belt undergoes a deflection by a circular disk in the region of the second transport section of the transport track.

19. The transport device in accordance with claim 12, wherein the two drive means revolve in a common plane that is in parallel with a plane in which the transport track extends.

20. The transport device in accordance with claim 12, wherein the first drive means and the second drive means are oriented such that the engagement with the coupling element takes place from the same side in each case.

21. The transport device in accordance with claim 20, wherein the first drive means and the second drive means are oriented such that the engagement with the coupling element takes place from the same side in each case for which purpose the coupling element has an engagement surface for the engagement with the first drive means and the second drive means.

22. The transport device in accordance with claim 21, wherein the coupling element has a single engagement surface for the engagement with the first drive means and the second drive means.

23. The transport device in accordance with claim 20, wherein the engagement surface of the coupling element forms a splined shaft profile, with the second drive means forming a splined shaft profile formed in a complementary manner to the splined shaft profile of the coupling element for the engagement with the coupling element.

24. The transport device in accordance with claim 23, wherein the engagement surface of the coupling element forms a splined shaft profile of the AT5 type.

25. The transport device in accordance with claim 12, wherein the coupling element is resiliently supported at the slide.

26. The transport device in accordance with claim 25, wherein the coupling element is preloaded perpendicular to its engagement surface.

27. The transport device in accordance with claim 12, wherein the coupling element is supported by means of at least one first spring and by means of at least one second spring at the slide, with the at least one first spring being seated upstream of the at least one second spring in a first transport direction of the slide.

28. The transport device in accordance with claim 27, wherein two first springs are provided of which one is seated upstream of the at least one second spring in the first travel direction and the other is seated downstream of the at least one second spring in the first travel direction.

29. The transport device in accordance with claim 27, wherein the at least one second spring is stiffer than the at least one first spring.

30. The transport device in accordance with claim 27, wherein the coupling element has a free travel with respect to the at least one second spring such that on a deflection of the first spring, the at least one second spring does not develop any effect until the overcoming of the free travel.

Description

[0026] The invention will now be described in the following purely by way of example with reference to the enclosed drawings, wherein:

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a transport device in accordance with the invention;

[0028] FIGS. 2 and 3 show a plan view of a transport device in accordance with the invention in a corner deflection region in accordance with a first embodiment;

[0029] FIG. 4 shows a plan view of a transport device in accordance with the invention in a corner deflection region in accordance with a second embodiment; and

[0030] FIG. 5 shows a partly sectioned plan view of the slide of a transport device in accordance with the invention.

[0031] FIG. 1 shows a transport device 10 in accordance with the invention in a perspective representation. The transport device 10 has a rail 14 that forms a transport track 16 that revolves or is closed in itself in a horizontal plane, for which purpose this rail 14 is supported by a multi-part base rack 12. The transport track 16 here has two first linear transport sections 18 that extend in parallel with one another and that are each connected to one another at their two ends via a second arcuately curved transport section 20.

[0032] A plurality of machining and/or assembly stations along the transport track 16 can be arranged (not shown) along the first transport sections 18 by means of which machining and/or assembly stations workpieces can be machined and/or assembled that are located on slides 22 that are travelably guided along the rail 14. The drive of the slides 14 here takes place along the two first transport sections 18, in particular in the region of the assembly stations, by means of barrel cams 24 in whose drive grooves 26 entrainers (not recognizable) that project from the individual slides 22 engage so that the slides 22 can be traveled along the rail 14 due to a rotary movement of the barrel cams 24. In general, other drives such as linear motors and/or belt drives can, however, also be used in the region of the first transport sections 18. The two first transport sections 18, however, each have a drive unit, in particular a respective belt drive by means of which the individual slides 22 are driven via force fitting or friction locking, at the start or at the end at least to transfer or takeover the individual slides 22 to or from the second arcuately curved transport section 20 as will be explained in more detail in the following.

[0033] To be able to transport or transfer the slides 22 from the first transport section 18 at the front in FIG. 1 to the rear first transport section 18, the two transport sections 18 or their rail sections are connected to one another via a semicircularly curved rail piece 15. This semicircularly curved rail piece 15 here defines the second transport section 16, see also FIG. 2 in this respect.

[0034] As can furthermore be seen from FIG. 2, the drive of the slides 22 at the start or at the end of the linear first transport sections 18 respectively takes place via a first drive means in the form of a belt drive 32 having a revolving strap, band, or belt 34 as the drive means. The belt 34 can here, for example, be an internally toothed belt that is deflected via a plurality of deflection rollers 36 to form a planar engagement surface 38 that extends at a certain distance in parallel with the rail 14. A coupling element 40 provided at the respective slide 22 can thus move into engagement with the engagement surface 38 formed by the belt 34 via force fitting or friction locking so that the slide 22 can be traveled by means of the belt drive 32 at the rail 14 at the start or end of the first transport sections 18.

[0035] In the region of the second transport section 20 the drive of the slide 22 takes place via a second drive unit 42 in the form of a toothed drive whose drive means is formed in the embodiment in accordance with FIGS. 2 and 3 by a toothed wheel 44, with the axis of rotation of the toothed wheel 44 coinciding with the center of the arcuately curved rail piece 15. The engagement surface in the form of the toothed arrangement 45 of the toothed wheel 44 here follows the rail piece 15 at a certain equidistant distance. The toothed wheel 44 here preferably has a splined shaft profile and in particular a splined shaft profile of the AT5 type to be able to move into engagement in a shape fitting manner with the coupling element 40 of the respective slide 22. For this purpose, the coupling element 40 has an engagement surface 48 that forms a splined shaft profile complementary to the splined shaft profile of the toothed wheel 44. In this manner, a shape fitting or a combined force fitting/shape fitting can be achieved in the region of the second transport section 20 via the coupling element 40 of the slide 22 via which coupling element 40 a force-fitting connection to the band drive 32 is achieved in the region of the first transport sections 18, whereby, on the one hand, an exact positioning can be achieved in the region of the corner deflection. On the other hand, a shape fitting or a combined force fitting/shape fitting achieved in this manner between the coupling element 40 and the drive unit 42 in the region of the corner deflection makes it possible that the total transport track 16 can be vertically oriented such that the two linearly extending first transport sections 18 come to lie vertically above one another. An unwanted slip between the coupling element 40 and the toothed drive 42 can thus not occur due to the shape fitting that could otherwise result in a sagging of the slides 22 in the region of the corner deflection with a vertical orientation of the transport track 16.

[0036] As can furthermore be seen from FIG. 2, the belt 34 of the belt drive 32 revolves in the same plane as the toothed wheel 44 of the second drive unit 42, with this plane being in parallel with that plane in which the transport track 16 extends. Since the toothed wheel 44 and the belt 34 revolve in the same plane, the engagement with the coupling element 40 thus takes place from the same side in each case. This engagement surface 48 of the coupling element 40 here forms a splined shaft profile, in particular a splined shaft profile of the AT5 type, in the already described manner that is complementary to the splined shaft profile of the toothed wheel 40 for the shape fitting engagement with the toothed wheel 44.

[0037] In accordance with the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the drive means of the second drive unit 42 can, alternatively to a toothed wheel, be a toothed belt 46 that undergoes a deflection in the region of the second transport section 20 via a circular disk 49 over which the toothed belt 46 runs and whose center coincides with the center of the arcuately curved rail piece 15. The toothed belt 46 here has an outwardly disposed splined shaft profile as a toothed arrangement 45 that here is in turn also formed complementary to the splined tooth profile of the engagement surface 48 of the coupling element 40 in order thus to be able to cause a shape fitting in the desired manner between the coupling element 40 and the drive means in the form of the toothed belt 46.

[0038] For reasons of completeness, it must be noted at this point that for reasons of clarity the two belt drives 32 in the region of the first transport sections 18 are not shown. The drive in the form of a motor for driving the toothed belt 46 is equally not shown in FIG. 4.

[0039] As can be seen from FIG. 5, the coupling element 40 is supported at the slide 22 by means of a plurality of springs 52, 54. The support of the coupling element 40 at the slide 22 takes place here by means of two first springs 52 and a second spring 54 that is arranged between the two first springs 52 and that preferably has a greater spring constant than the two first springs 52. The second spring 54 is here compressed and thus preloaded by means of a threaded bolt 56 so that the coupling element 40 has a free travel 58 such that on the deflection of the first springs 52, the second spring 54 does not develop any effect until the overcoming of the free travel 58.

[0040] If therefore in accordance with the transition from FIG. 2 to FIG. 3, the side 22 is transferred from the end of the first transport section 18 to the second transport section 20, this has the result that first only the first spring 52 lying at the front in the transport direction is deflected and thus develops an effect. Only when the slide 22 is then completely transferred to the second transport section 20 is the second spring 54 then also active, for which purpose the engagement surface 38 of the belt 34 has a somewhat smaller distance from the rail 14 than the outer peripheral surface or the engagement surface of the toothed wheel 44.

[0041] Since the drive of the slides 22 between the barrel cams 24 (see FIG. 1) and the corner deflection 24 takes place via a belt drive 32 in the region of the second transport section 20, not only a synchronized transfer of the individual slides 22 to the second drive unit 42 can be achieved in the region of the second transport section 20 that is based on a shape fitting between the coupling element 40 of the slide 22 and the toothed drive 42; the belt drive 23 rather equally serves as a kind of buffering path in the region of which individual slides 22 can be temporarily parked as required until they can be transferred to the second drive unit 42.

[0042] Since the relative position between the slide 22 and the toothed wheel 44 or the toothed belt 46 can be exactly determined on the basis of the shape fitting between the coupling element 40 and the toothed drive 42 in the region of the second transport section 20, a cyclic operation can furthermore be implemented in the region of the second transport section 20 so that one or more assembly stations can also be set up there as required.

[0043] Finally, due to the shape fitting achievable between the coupling element 40 and the toothed belt drive 42 in the region of the second transport section 20, the total transport track 16 can be arranged, unlike the horizontal orientation by 90 shown in FIG. 1, tilted by 90 so that the two linearly oriented first transport sections 18 come to lie substantially vertical above one another without a slipping through of the individual slides 22 due to gravity being able to occur in the region of the corner deflection.

REFERENCE NUMERAL LIST

[0044] 10 transport device

[0045] 12 base frame

[0046] 14 rail

[0047] 15 rail piece, arcuately bent

[0048] 16 conveyor track

[0049] 18 first transport section

[0050] 20 second transport section

[0051] 22 slide

[0052] 24 barrel cam

[0053] 26 drive groove

[0054] 32 first drive unit/belt drive

[0055] 34 belt

[0056] 36 deflection roller

[0057] 38 engagement surface

[0058] 40 coupling element

[0059] 42 second drive unit/toothed drive

[0060] 44 toothed wheel

[0061] 45 toothed arrangement

[0062] 46 toothed belt

[0063] 48 engagement surface

[0064] 49 circular disk

[0065] 52 first spring

[0066] 54 second spring

[0067] 56 threaded bolt

[0068] 58 free travel