Truck apparatus for conveying parts

A truck apparatus for conveying parts includes supply rails laid to reach a delivering position for the parts, rails for a shift car laid perpendicularly to the supply rails, rails for two trucks to be coincided with the supply rails mounted at an interval on the shift car, and bearers for the parts each having a cradle roller placed on the rails for the truck. Each of the trucks includes lifters to vertically displace the bearers on the trucks. When one of the rails for the trucks on the shift car are disposed at a position to be coincided with the supply rails, the positions of right and left sides of the supply rails corresponding to the positions occupied by the other of the rails for the trucks are positions to be placed with the parts on the two bearers for the parts. Thus, the receiving and delivering preparation times of the parts and the transferring time of the truck between the rails can be shortened by simultaneously conducting the transferring work of the trucks between the supply rails and the rails on the shift car, thereby improving the working efficiency.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a truck apparatus for conveying parts or the like 
such as coils and, more particularly, to an improvement in a truck 
apparatus used for conveying parts such as coil holders or the like from 
their receiving position to their take-up position and delivering the 
parts. 
A conventional truck apparatus for conveying parts has a composite facility 
including in combination a truck with a lifter which travels to a position 
for delivering parts and a truck with a cradle roller capable of 
transferring perpendicularly from the truck, and loads the parts on the 
truck and delivers the parts to a part holder or the like. This 
conventional apparatus has such drawbacks and disadvantages that, in case 
that parts can be loaded on the truck with the cradle roller when the 
truck is disposed at its standby position, it cannot adjust, when the 
truck is operating, the position to the height of delivering the parts, 
causing wasteful time for preparation of adjusting the part delivering 
height, part transferring work of next truck with a cradle roller cannot 
be started after the truck with the cradle roller placed on the truck with 
the lifter is unloaded from the truck with the lifter, and there are 
losses in the loading and unloading times of the truck with the cradle 
roller because the loading and unloading of the trucks with the cradle 
rollers cannot be simultaneously conducted. Further, a power cable of the 
truck with the cradle roller is moved along a complicated route, and thus 
accidental breakage of the cable tends to occur. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a truck apparatus 
for conveying parts which can shorten the receiving and delivering 
preparation times of parts and the transferring time of a truck between 
rails by simultaneously conducting the transferring work of the trucks 
between supply rails and rails on a shift car, thereby improving the 
working efficiency. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a truck apparatus for 
conveying parts which can remarkably reduce the cause of an accident such 
as breakage of a cable and a hose by transferring the shift car and the 
truck in a simple linear motion, thereby displacing a drive cable bearer 
in a simple motion. 
Still another object of this invention is to provide a truck apparatus for 
conveying parts which can complete the preparation work of receiving and 
loading the parts while a truck is disposed at its standby position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in more detail 
with respect to the case of supplying a coil as one of parts to a coil 
holder with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
Supply rails 4 are laid to permit a coil 1 (as shown by a chain line in 
FIG. 2) to be moved to a position X so as to deliver the coil 1 to coil 
holders 2 and 3. As shown in FIG. 1 supply rails 4 are laid so as to form 
a crossing with rails 5 for a shift car 6, the purpose of which will be 
described in greater detail later. 
The rails 5 are laid perpendicularly to the rails 4. In the embodiment 
shown in the drawings, the rails 5 are laid on a surface L.sub.1 which is 
lower in a depth l than the surface L on which the rails 4 are laid. 
The shift car 6 is placed on the rails 5 so as to be moved toward both 
rightward and leftward directions of the rails 4. Reference numeral 7 
denotes wheels. 
Two sets of rails 8 and 9 occupy positions which alternately coincide with 
the rails 4 and are mounted at an interval W on the shift car 6. Trucks 10 
and 11 are placed via wheels 12 and 13 on the rails 8 and 9. 
Bearers 16 and 17 for the coils 1 of parts respectively having cradle 
rollers 14 and 15 are respectively mounted via lifters 18 and 19 on the 
trucks 10 and 11. 
The lifters 18 and 19 respectively operate to lift the coils 1 of parts 
placed on the cradle rollers 14 and 15 on the bearers 16 and 17 of the 
trucks 10 and 11 until the coils 1 coincide with the positions of the coil 
holders 2 and 3, as shown by chain lines 1 in FIG. 2. 
The abovementioned shift car 6 can be moved on the rails 5 so that two sets 
of rails 8 and 9 alternately coincide with the rails 4. As shown in FIG. 
1, when the one set of rails 9 for the one truck coincide with the 
position of the rails 4, and the truck 11 travels onto the rails 4 the 
coil 2 of parts is disposed in a state to be delivered to the coil holder 
3, whereas the position of the rails 8, and hence the truck 10 on the 
rails 8, is in a position to be placed with a new coil 1 of parts on the 
cradle roller 14 on the lowered bearer 16. 
On the other hand, when the rails 8 are brought into a position so as to be 
coincident with the rails 4, the rails 9 for the other truck (and hence 
the truck 11 on the rails 9) occupy a position wherein a new coil 1 can be 
placed on the cradle roller 15 of the lowered bearer 17. Reference numeral 
20 in FIG. 2 depicts a cable bearer for moving a drive cable, or the like. 
When truck 11 is moved on the rails 4 in a direction as designated by an 
arrow a, a coil 1 can be placed on the bearer 16 of the truck 10 at its 
standby position Y (e.g. as shown in FIG. 1), truck 11 can then load its 
coil 1 into position on the coil holder 2 by the lifter 18. Thereafter the 
truck 11 is transferred from the rails 4 to the rails 9 on the shift car 
6, and is stopped at a predetermined position. Then, the shift car 6 is 
moved in a direction as designated by an arrow b, the rails 9 are removed 
from the rails 4, while the rails 8 are brought into the position where 
they coincide with the rails 4. 
After the shift car 6 is stopped, the truck 10 immediately starts moving, 
transfers from the rails 8 to the rails 4, moves to the delivering 
position X in a direction reverse to the arrow a, and stops so as to 
deliver the coil 1 to the coil holder 2. In the meantime, the rails 9 and 
accordingly the truck 11 is brought to the standby position designated by 
the position Z (see FIG. 2). Therefore, a new coil 1 is placed on the 
bearer 17 at that place, the coil 1 is then loaded to the position of the 
coil holder 3, and the preparation work is thus completed. 
When the delivery of the coil 1 on the truck 10 is completed, the truck 10 
is moved similarly in a direction of the arrow a as described above, the 
truck 10 transfers to the rails 8 for the shift car 6, and stops. Then the 
shift car 6 moves in a direction of the arrow c, and the rails 9 are again 
brought to the position 0 where they again coincide with the rails 4. 
According to the present invention as described above with respect to the 
structure and the operation of the truck apparatus, the prepatory work for 
receiving and loading parts can be completed while the truck is disposed 
at a standby position, the transfer work of the two trucks between the 
supply rails and the rails for the truck on the shift car can be 
simultaneously loaded and unloaded to thereby shorten the loading and 
unloading time of the trucks, and the preparation time and the loading and 
unloading time of the trucks can be remarkably shortened, thereby 
improving the working efficiency. 
Further, the shift car and the trucks move merely in a simple linear 
motion. Therefore, the drive cable bearer 20 shown in FIG. 2 is displaced 
merely in a simple linear motion. Thus, accidental breakage of cable and 
the like can be remarkably reduced.