US-12623851-B2 - Motorized conveyor roller and conveyor device

Abstract

A motorized conveyor roller according to the present invention includes: a pair of support shafts that rotatably support a roller tube; a motor and a drive circuit therefor each located in the roller tube; and a heat conducting part that conducts heat from the drive circuit to one of the pair of support shafts. A conveyor device according to the present invention includes one or more of the motorized conveyor rollers.

Inventors

• Shinya Yamamoto
• Yusuke SAEGUSA

Assignees

• KYOWA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20230424

Priority Date

20221025

Claims (10)

1. 1 . A motorized conveyor roller, comprising: a roller tube; a pair of support shafts located opposite to each other for rotatably supporting the roller tube; a motor located in the roller tube for generating a drive force to rotate the roller tube; a drive circuit located in the roller tube for driving the motor; a heat conducting part that conducts heat from the drive circuit to one of the pair of support shafts; and an impact absorber that absorbs an impact which occurs in at least one of a start and a stop of the motor, the impact absorber being provided in the heat conducting part and having a thermal conductivity.
2. 2 . The motorized conveyor roller according to claim 1 , wherein the heat conducting part includes a heatsink that is in direct contact with one or more elements constituting the drive circuit.
3. 3 . The motorized conveyor roller according to claim 1 , wherein the impact absorber is made of rubber containing graphite.
4. 4 . A conveyor device, comprising: a roller conveyor device including a plurality of rollers juxtaposed in a direction to transfer a target object on a transfer passage defined by the rollers, the rollers including one or more of the motorized conveyor rollers according to claim 1 .
5. 5 . A conveyor device, comprising: a belt conveyor device including a plurality of rollers juxtaposed in a direction and a conveyance belt resting on the rollers to transfer a target object on a transfer passage defined by the conveyance belt, the rollers including one or more of the motorized conveyor rollers according to claim 1 .
6. 6 . The motorized conveyor roller according to claim 1 , wherein the heat conducting part includes a heatsink that is in contact with one or more elements via a heat conducting sheet.
7. 7 . A conveyor device, comprising: a roller conveyor device including a plurality of rollers juxtaposed in a direction to transfer a target object on a transfer passage defined by the rollers, the rollers including one or more of the motorized conveyor rollers according to claim 2 .
8. 8 . A conveyor device, comprising: a roller conveyor device including a plurality of rollers juxtaposed in a direction to transfer a target object on a transfer passage defined by the rollers, the rollers including one or more of the motorized conveyor rollers according to claim 3 .
9. 9 . A conveyor device, comprising: a belt conveyor device including a plurality of rollers juxtaposed in a direction and a conveyance belt resting on the rollers to transfer a target object on a transfer passage defined by the conveyance belt, the rollers including one or more of the motorized conveyor rollers according to claim 2 .
10. 10 . A conveyor device, comprising: a belt conveyor device including a plurality of rollers juxtaposed in a direction and a conveyance belt resting on the rollers to transfer a target object on a transfer passage defined by the conveyance belt, the rollers including one or more of the motorized conveyor rollers according to claim 3 .

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a motorized conveyor roller for use in a conveyor device, and a conveyor device using the motorized conveyor roller. BACKGROUND ART Conveyor devices have been widely used to transfer target objects on, for example, production sites and distribution sites. The conveyor devices are broadly classified into roller conveyor devices and belt conveyor devices. Such a roller conveyor device includes a plurality of rollers juxtaposed in a direction to transfer or convey a target object or conveyed object on a transfer passage or conveyance passage defined by the rollers. Such a belt conveyor device includes a plurality of rollers juxtaposed in a direction and a conveyance belt resting on the rollers to transfer a target object on a transfer passage defined by the conveyance belt. Each of the rollers in each of the roller conveyor device and the belt conveyor device is provided with a motor therein, and the rollers include a motorized roller (driving roller) that rotates with a drive force generated by the motor and a roller (driven roller) that rotates along with the rotation of the motorized roller via, for example, the resting belt and the target object. The motor in the motorized roller is driven by a motor driving device (motor control device) attached to an external part of the motorized roller, e.g., a conveyor frame member (see Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2). Incorporation of the motor driving device (motor control device) into the motorized roller simplifies the conveyor device. However, the temperature of the motorized roller increases along with an increase in the temperature of coils in the motor due to drive by the roller. The incorporation of the motor driving device causes a further temperature increase accompanied by an increase in a temperature of an element, e.g., a MOSFET, constituting the motor driving device. In a case where the motor driving device includes a protection circuit against such a temperature increase, the protection circuit may be activated, and the activation may hinder the motor driving device from driving the motor. Besides, the temperature increase is unpreferable in the roller conveyor device for a target object to be placed on the roller. CITATION LIST Patent Literature Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-068501Patent Literature 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-177441 SUMMARY OF INVENTION The present invention has been accomplished in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and has an object of providing a motorized conveyor roller and a conveyor device each for a reduction in a temperature increase. A motorized conveyor roller according to the present invention includes: a pair of support shafts that rotatably support a roller tube; a motor and a drive circuit therefor each located in the roller tube; and a heat conducting part that conducts heat from the drive circuit to one of the pair of support shafts. The conveyor device according to the present invention includes one or more of the motorized conveyor rollers. The foregoing, and the object, features, and advantages of the present invention will be further clarified by the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conveyor device in an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an inner configuration of a roller tube of a motorized conveyor roller for use in the conveyor device. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of an inner configuration of the motorized conveyor roller. FIG. 4 includes explanatory views of main components of the motorized conveyor roller. FIG. 5 includes graphs for explaining a temperature increase reduction effect in the motorized conveyor roller. FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of an inner configuration of a motorized conveyor roller in a first modified embodiment. FIG. 7 is a plan view of a conveyor device in a second modified embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, one or more embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention should not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. Elements denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings have the same configuration and, therefore, repeated descriptions will be appropriately omitted. In the present specification, elements are denoted by a same reference numeral when being referred to collectively, and are denoted by a same reference numeral accompanied by a different respective reference character when being referred to individually. A conveyor device in an embodiment is a roller conveyor device including a plurality of rollers juxtaposed in a direction to transfer a target object or conveyed object on a transfer passage or conveyance passage defined by the rollers, or a belt conveyor device including: a plurality of rollers juxtaposed in a d