EP0488475B1 - Improved material conveyance system using powered trolleys on a suspended rail - Google Patents

Improved material conveyance system using powered trolleys on a suspended rail Download PDF

Info

Publication number: EP0488475B1
Authority: EP; European Patent Office
Prior art keywords: rail; trolley; rollers; wheel; sections
Prior art date: 1990-11-30
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.): Expired - Lifetime

Application number

EP19910203096

Other languages

German (de)

English (en)

French (fr)

Other versions

EP0488475A1 (en

Inventor

Gaetano Di Rosa

Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)

FATA Automation SpA

Original Assignee

FATA Automation SpA

Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)

1990-11-30

Filing date

1991-11-27

Publication date

1995-06-21

1991-11-27 Application filed by FATA Automation SpA filed Critical FATA Automation SpA

1992-06-03 Publication of EP0488475A1 publication Critical patent/EP0488475A1/en

1995-06-21 Application granted granted Critical

1995-06-21 Publication of EP0488475B1 publication Critical patent/EP0488475B1/en

2011-11-27 Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

Status Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B61—RAILWAYS
- B61C—LOCOMOTIVES; MOTOR RAILCARS
- B61C13/00—Locomotives or motor railcars characterised by their application to special systems or purposes
- B61C13/04—Locomotives or motor railcars characterised by their application to special systems or purposes for elevated railways with rigid rails

Definitions

the trolleys usually have a drive wheel placed above the rail and bucking rollers place below it. Adherence of the powered upper wheel on the monorail is generally sufficient for level movement and along slight rises.
the general object of the present invention is to obviate the above mentioned drawbacks by supplying a transportation system of the self-powered type which would allow ascending and descending ramps with relatively steep slopes with trolleys of limited size and complexity free from swinging and with thrust of the drive wheel on the rail substantially a function of the slope negotiated.
EP-A-0 151 965 discloses a suspended rail system for the transportation of loads hung on trolleys each having an upper drive wheel and a plurality of lower bucking rollers running on the upper surface and on the lower surface respectively of the rail, said rail having level sections and sloped sections, and characterized in that in combination the upper wheel and the lower rollers are rigidly connected to each other, the wheel, rollers and point of application of the load bearing on the trolley are mutually arranged so that, when running in sloping sections, the straight line of application of the total weight bearing on the trolley does not pass through the centre of the wheel, to produce a rotation moment opposed by at least one of said plurality of rollers.
the rail has uniform thickness substantially equal to the distance between the rollers and the wheel in the horizontal sections and in sloped straight sections, in curved sections with upward convexity decreasing in thickness in a filleted manner to maintain contact between the rollers and the wheel and the respective surfaces of the rail along said curved sections with minimal play and no interference.
FIG. 1 shows schematically a sloping section of a system provided in accordance with the innovative principles claimed herein and indicated generally by reference number 10 with independently powered trolleys running on a rail 11.
Each trolley comprises an upper wheel 13 for drive and support and kinematically connected to an electric motor 14 and a pair of lower bucking idling rollers 15 and 16.
the lower idling rollers and the upper wheel are supported on the trolley frame rigidly so as to be positioned at the angles of an imaginary, invariable and substantially isosceles triangle.
idling rollers 18 for guiding along the side profile of the rail.
the trolley 12 comprises articulated means of support 17 on which to hang transported loads, e.g. automobiles parts along an assembly line.
the point of application of the total load bearing on the trolley, the rollers 15, 16 and the wheel 13 are mutually arranged so that when running in the sloping sections the vertical straight line passing through the centre of gravity of the load does not pass through the centre of the wheel.
said straight line passes upstream of the upper wheel and of the lower wheel further downstream, with reference to the inclination of the rail and hence, in the case of the annexed figure, passes to the left of the wheel and the roller 16.
said centre of gravity is substantially arranged on the vertical of the upper wheel.
the rail has a uniform thickness "a" equal to the distance between the lower rollers and the upper wheel.
the rail decreases in thickness in a filleted manner so as to maintain contact between the rollers and the wheel with the respective surfaces of the rail with minimum play and without the interference which there would be otherwise, The reduced thickness can be obtained simply by milling a normal rail with uniform thickness.
the rail increases in thickness in a filleted manner so as to recover the play which there would otherwise be between the lower rollers and the rail.
the variation in thickness can be obtained starting with a rail with uniform thickness by fixing thereto appropriate shimming.
the figure shows in broken lines the development of a rail of the know art with uniform thickness.
the exact shape of the rail in accordance with the present invention is easily obtained with trajectories described by the rollers and by the wheel during movement of the trolley along a line representing its path.
trolleys Running on rises is thus assured with a very simple mechanical embodiment of the trolleys which is small and truly economical.
the trolleys are prevented from any swinging movement in the direction of travel, whether in level or rising travel, allowing processing of the objects transported at any point of the path even with the trolley moving.
the physical structure of the trolleys can be different from that shown by way of example, e.g. the rollers could be in a number different from that shown; it is sufficient that during ascending travel the straight vertical line passing through the centre of gravity of the total weight bearing on the trolley does not pass through the centre of the upper wheel and that at least one lower roller be in a position such as to oppose the moment thus generated in such a manner as to increase the thrust of the wheel on the rail.
the point of application of the load transported on the trolley must be selected to supply the arm "b" at least enough to produce the necessary adherence of the wheel according to the slope of the rail.
the joint to which the trolley load is hung could be placed at a greater distance downward from the lower rollers.
FIG. 2 shows a construction of the trolley in accordance with the invention which furnishes an arm b' greater than the arm b of FIG. 1 without substantially increasing the overall vertical dimension of the trolley.
the trolley 12' (otherwise similar to the trolley 12 of FIG. 1) is equipped at the bottom with two pins 23 24 respectively arranged in a plane parallel to the rail. On the pins 23 and 24 is rested a reticulated structure 25 bearing at the bottom a support 26 for the load to be transported. During level travel the plane containing the pins is horizontal and the reticulated structure rests on the pins 23 and 24 with the inside of the edges 27 and 28 respectively. In this position the vertical passing through the centre of gravity of the load is substantially on the centre line between the two pins.

Landscapes

Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
Transportation (AREA)
Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
Carriers, Traveling Bodies, And Overhead Traveling Cranes (AREA)
Chain Conveyers (AREA)

EP19910203096 1990-11-30 1991-11-27 Improved material conveyance system using powered trolleys on a suspended rail Expired - Lifetime EP0488475B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number	Priority Date	Filing Date	Title
IT2221190U		1990-11-30
IT2221190U IT220420Z2 (it)	1990-11-30	1990-11-30	Impianto perfezionato per il trasporto di materiale con carrelli motorizzati su rotaia sospesa

Publications (2)

Publication Number	Publication Date
EP0488475A1 EP0488475A1 (en)	1992-06-03
EP0488475B1 true EP0488475B1 (en)	1995-06-21

Family

ID=11193112

Family Applications (1)

Application Number	Title	Priority Date	Filing Date
EP19910203096 Expired - Lifetime EP0488475B1 (en)	1990-11-30	1991-11-27	Improved material conveyance system using powered trolleys on a suspended rail

Country Status (5)

Country	Link
EP (1)	EP0488475B1 (it)
DE (1)	DE69110628T2 (it)
ES (1)	ES2073668T3 (it)
IT (1)	IT220420Z2 (it)
PL (1)	PL167338B1 (it)

Families Citing this family (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number	Priority date	Publication date	Assignee	Title
GB2261863B (en) *	1991-11-29	1995-02-22	Fata Automation	Material conveyor system comprising powered trolleys on an overhead rail
ES2049157B1 (es) *	1991-12-10	1996-03-01	Fata Automation	Intalacion de transporte sobre carriles suspendidos.
BE1006167A3 (fr) *	1992-01-02	1994-05-31	Fata Automation	Ensemble transporteur a rail suspendu.
NZ265008A (en) *	1993-04-21	1996-07-26	Bishop Arthur E	Rail vehicle with additional set of wheels to grip underside of double sided running rail to improve adhesion
AU673257B2 (en) *	1993-04-21	1996-10-31	Arthur Ernest Bishop	Rail gripping vehicle
GB2484709B (en) *	2010-10-21	2014-06-04	Handicare Accessibility Ltd	Stairlift
MX366992B (es) *	2013-05-16	2019-08-02	Futran Ltd	Bogue de transporte ferroviario y sistema de transporte ferroviario.
CN110788829A (zh) *	2019-11-14	2020-02-14	云南电网有限责任公司电力科学研究院	适用于陡坡升降的隧道巡检机器人

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number	Priority date	Publication date	Assignee	Title
CH528430A (de) *	1970-08-11	1972-09-30	Stierlen Werke Ag	Fördereinrichtung mit Hängebahnfahrwerken
DE2343502A1 (de) *	1973-08-29	1975-04-03	Demag Ag	Auf einem traeger verfahrbare katze
DE3403460A1 (de) *	1984-02-01	1985-08-08	Georg 8200 Rosenheim Uttscheid	Elektrohaengebahn

1990
- 1990-11-30 IT IT2221190U patent/IT220420Z2/it active IP Right Grant
1991
- 1991-11-27 DE DE1991610628 patent/DE69110628T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1991-11-27 ES ES91203096T patent/ES2073668T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1991-11-27 EP EP19910203096 patent/EP0488475B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1991-11-29 PL PL29259291A patent/PL167338B1/pl unknown

Also Published As

Publication number	Publication date
DE69110628D1 (de)	1995-07-27
IT9022211V0 (it)	1990-11-30
DE69110628T2 (de)	1995-12-14
EP0488475A1 (en)	1992-06-03
PL292592A1 (en)	1992-06-15
IT220420Z2 (it)	1993-09-21
ES2073668T3 (es)	1995-08-16
IT9022211U1 (it)	1992-05-30
PL167338B1 (pl)	1995-08-31

Legal Events

Date	Code	Title	Description
1992-04-17	PUAI	Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase	Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012
1992-06-03	AK	Designated contracting states	Kind code of ref document: A1 Designated state(s): BE DE ES FR GB
1993-01-07	17P	Request for examination filed	Effective date: 19921109
1994-04-06	17Q	First examination report despatched	Effective date: 19940217
1995-05-04	GRAA	(expected) grant	Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009210
1995-06-21	AK	Designated contracting states	Kind code of ref document: B1 Designated state(s): BE DE ES FR GB
1995-07-27	REF	Corresponds to:	Ref document number: 69110628 Country of ref document: DE Date of ref document: 19950727
1995-08-04	ET	Fr: translation filed
1995-08-16	REG	Reference to a national code	Ref country code: ES Ref legal event code: FG2A Ref document number: 2073668 Country of ref document: ES Kind code of ref document: T3
1996-04-26	PLBE	No opposition filed within time limit	Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009261
1996-04-26	STAA	Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent	Free format text: STATUS: NO OPPOSITION FILED WITHIN TIME LIMIT
1996-06-12	26N	No opposition filed
2000-10-23	PGFP	Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]	Ref country code: ES Payment date: 20001023 Year of fee payment: 10
2000-10-26	PGFP	Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]	Ref country code: FR Payment date: 20001026 Year of fee payment: 10
2000-10-31	PGFP	Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]	Ref country code: DE Payment date: 20001031 Year of fee payment: 10
2000-11-08	PGFP	Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]	Ref country code: BE Payment date: 20001108 Year of fee payment: 10
2000-11-22	PGFP	Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]	Ref country code: GB Payment date: 20001122 Year of fee payment: 10
2001-11-27	PG25	Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]	Ref country code: GB Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES Effective date: 20011127
2001-11-28	PG25	Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]	Ref country code: ES Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES Effective date: 20011128
2001-11-30	PG25	Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]	Ref country code: BE Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES Effective date: 20011130
2002-01-01	REG	Reference to a national code	Ref country code: GB Ref legal event code: IF02
2002-05-31	BERE	Be: lapsed	Owner name: FATA AUTOMATION S.P.A. Effective date: 20011130
2002-07-02	PG25	Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]	Ref country code: DE Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES Effective date: 20020702
2002-07-17	GBPC	Gb: european patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee	Effective date: 20011127
2002-07-30	PG25	Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]	Ref country code: FR Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES Effective date: 20020730
2002-08-30	REG	Reference to a national code	Ref country code: FR Ref legal event code: ST
2002-09-06	REG	Reference to a national code	Ref country code: FR Ref legal event code: ST
2004-04-01	REG	Reference to a national code	Ref country code: ES Ref legal event code: FD2A Effective date: 20021213

Publication	Publication Date	Title
US3074356A (en)	1963-01-22	Conveyor trolley and track thereof
US6321899B1 (en)	2001-11-27	Device for transferring goods
EP0488475B1 (en)	1995-06-21	Improved material conveyance system using powered trolleys on a suspended rail
US6360671B1 (en)	2002-03-26	Friction drive system trolley conveyor
US5014625A (en)	1991-05-14	Linear motor driven trolley conveyor
GB2261863A (en)	1993-06-02	Conveyor system with powered trolleys on an overhead rail of varying thickness
US5222439A (en)	1993-06-29	Material conveyance system using powered trolleys on a suspended rail
RU2156216C2 (ru)	2000-09-20	Конвейер с подвесной лентой
CA2010459C (en)	1994-11-29	Electric overhead trolley system
CA2177120A1 (fr)	1996-11-24	Convoyeur a luges bichaine en porte-a-faux
JPH01139410A (ja)	1989-05-31	Ｌ形ハンガーを有する吊下げ搬送装置
JPS6122642B2 (it)	1986-06-02
US2609082A (en)	1952-09-02	Hook conveyer
JPH0680223A (ja)	1994-03-22	エンドレスベルトコンベヤ
US4317258A (en)	1982-03-02	Side suspension conveyor system for poultry
SU1039826A1 (ru)	1983-09-07	Конвейер дл цилиндрических изделий
EP0697005B1 (en)	1997-10-01	Transport device with load carriers for the transport of goods
US3011457A (en)	1961-12-05	Overhead conveyors
CA2152323C (en)	2000-05-30	Inverted conveyor with single point pendant
JP2753819B2 (ja)	1998-05-20	物品の仕分装置
JPH088938Y2 (ja)	1996-03-13	吊下搬送装置のハンガー揺れ止め機構
JPH0133586Y2 (it)	1989-10-12
JPS62152303A (ja)	1987-07-07	リニア誘導モ−タを用いた搬送装置
JPH02291381A (ja)	1990-12-03	搬送装置
JPH0442251Y2 (it)	1992-10-06