AU725686B2 - Carriage improvements - Google Patents

Description

46977 HKS:PFB P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE

SPECIFICATION

FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

S SName of Applicant: LANCE MALCOLM VATER S* Name of inventor: LANCE MALCOLM VATER o. Address for Service: COLLISON CO., 117 King William Street, Adelaide, S.A. 5000 Invention Title: CARRIAGE IMPROVEMENTS Details of Associated Provisional Applications: PO3144 dated 22nd October 1996 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: This invention relates to carriage improvements particularly of a type where carriages are used in conveyor track to provide rolling support for whatever is supported by the carriage or carriages but can be typically doors or partitions.

Conventionally such carriages are arranged to have either one or two sets of wheels, and we are dealing here with the case of two sets of wheels with one set of wheels at each end of the carriage. There are means to support a load from somewhat midway between the two ends of the carriage.

Typically, a carriage of this type is arranged to run within a conveyor track in which there are two spaced apart tracks so that the wheels on one side of the 1 0 carriage run on one of the tracks, and the wheels of the other side of the carriage run on the other track.

The problem to which this invention is directed relates to the use of such carriages in track which follows a curved path.

Carriages of current design are used in curved track but it has been a i 5 discovery that by modifying a carriage, a better action can be achieved when a carriage is used on curved track.

"..The problem to which this invention is directed then is to provide for improvement of carriages of the type used in conveyor tracks so that they perform better on curved tracks. Another object is to enable such improvement 2 0 so that it can be achieved economically and still provide for a better performance.

A further object is to simply provide the public with a useful alternative.

According to this invention, there is provided a carriage for use in a conveyor track having a body with two sets of two wheels with a first set with one wheel being located at each side of a first end of the body, and the second set of two wheels being with one wheel to each side at an opposite end of the body, and load support means with the body and positioned between the respective ends of the body, characterised in that the wheels are each supported with respect to the body so as to enable the wheels to be self steering.

In preference each of the two sets of wheels are supported with respect to the remainder of the carriage so that each set of wheels is supported by its own axle so that each set of wheels can assume a steering orientation which is different from a steering orientation of the other set of wheels.

In preference the invention in another way can be said to reside in a carriage for use in a conveyor track including a body to which a first set of wheels is attached at one end of the body with a wheel on each side of the body, and a second set of wheels is attached at the other end of the body with a wheel on each side of the body, each set of wheels in each case comprising two wheels of the same diameter which are rotatably supported at each end of an axle with a bearing by which it is attached to the axle to allow for rolling rotation, each sets of wheels being respectively held together for steering purposes by an axle which is supported by the body so as to allow for steering rotation relative to the body.

It has been discovered that the provision of a steerable option in respect of the 15 sets of wheels can be accomplished and that when such a carriage is used in an appropriately curved track that is to say a track of the appropriate conveyor track type with curved tracks having an axis to a side of the track.

In the case of curved track then, having self steerable wheels, a carriage will progress along such track with a substantial degree of smoothness and very little increased rolling resistance as compared to rolling resistance of the same carriage when in a straight conveyor track.

The way in which the wheels and sets of wheels of a carriage can be supported to allow for this steering option can vary, and indeed it is a surprising discovery that •there can be at least two different arrangements which would appear at this stage to provide economic, and commercially satisfactorily useable carriages while providing for such carriages to follow curved conveyor track with ease.

One significant advantage of the arrangement described is that, by having such modified carriages, conveyor track can be made with curves having a quite small radius so that applications that have hitherto not been considered feasible can now be considered.

For instance, where the conveyors are used to support door segments that are attached one with respect to the other by hinges, this then allows such segmented doors to be conveyed from a distributed position to a compact position which can, for instance, be around the side of an otherwise blocking wall.

For a better understanding of this invention it will now be described with reference to three embodiments which shall be described with the assistance of drawings: FIG 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment; are plan views of the same first embodiment; FIGS 2 3

S.

S. S FIGS4, 5 6 FIG 7 FIG 8 FIG 9 FIG 10 are side elevations of the same first embodiment; is a perspective view of a second embodiment; is a skeletal view of the same embodiment as in FIG 7; is a plan view of the body portion of a carriage according to the second embodiment; is a side view of the same parts as shown in FIG 9 and applying to the second embodiment; FIGS 11 12 FIGS 13,14 15 FIGS 16&17 FIG 18 FIG 19 FIG 20 are plan views of the second embodiment; are side elevations from one end of the second embodiment; are a plan view of a third embodiment; is a perspective view of the same third embodiment; is a cross section of a track of the type for which the invention is applicable; and is a perspective view of this track following a curved path of the type for which the invention is intended.

Now referring to the drawings in detail and in particular to the first embodiment illustrated by FIGS 1 through 6, the carriage 1 includes a body 2 to which a set of wheels 3 are attached at one end of the body 2 with a wheel at each side, and a set of wheels 4 are attached at the other end with a wheel at each side.

The set of wheels 3 comprise two wheels of the same size which are supported at each end of an axle 5 each wheel having an appropriate bearing by which it is attached to the axle 5 to allow for relative rolling rotation with respect to the body 2.

The same position applies to wheels 4 where there is an axle 6, and by which 1 0 each of the wheels 4, through a bearing, are enabled to provide for relatively low friction rolling freedom.

The wheels are of a diameter and shape so that they will fit within respective tracks of a conveyor track, and to assist in the interpretation of this description, :two further drawings are referred to these being FIGS 19 and 20 wherein FIG 15 19 is a cross-sectional view of a typical conveyor track and FIG 20 is a perspective view of a curved track typical of the type that might be expected to be used in conjunction with the carriage of this invention.

As will now be seen, the sets of wheels respectively 3 and 4 are held together for self steering purposes by an axle 5 in the case of wheels 3 and 6 in the 20 case of wheels 4 so that they will independently self steer subject to the orientation of the respective axles relative to the body 2.

In accord with this, the body 2 has a projecting arm 7 which passes through an aperture in the axle 5 and a pin 8 projects jointly through the arm 7 and the axle The arm 7 is of cylindrical shape and likewise and of a similar but larger diameter, is the aperture through which the arm 7 passes through the axle This allows for relative freedom within the limits imposed upon the difference in relative sizes and also by reason of limitation of the aperture 9 containing the pin 8.

3 0 In use then, the axle 5 is allowed two degrees of freedom that is one of which is to rotate about the central axis of the body 2 this axis being an axis aligned along a forward to rearward direction as shown for instance at 10 in FIG 2, and the second degree of freedom being approximately about an axis defined by the axis of the pin 8.

It is this degree of freedom which provides for the axle 5 to allow the wheels 3 to orientate themselves and therefore self steer with respect to a curved direction in respect of the tracks of a curved conveyor.

The same position applies to the wheels 4 at the other end of the carriage, namely the axle 6 has an aperture 11 which is of cylindrical shape but of somewhat greater diameter than the arm 12 and the axle 6 is captured but allowed 2 degrees of freedom by reason of pin 13 engaging through aperture 14 in the axle 6.

°oo Such an arrangement allows for the respective sets of wheels 3 and 4 to assume an appropriate mutually relative steering direction as is more 15 specifically shown in the following FIGS 2 through 6.

The body 2 further includes a central aperture through which a load S: supporting pin 15 is supported.

Referring then briefly to FIGS 2 through 6, in FIG 2, there is shown the extent to which the wheels 3 and 4 can in this embodiment mutually steer governed by their location within the tracks of a conveyor track the extent of steering rotation shown by reference to 16.

FIG 3 illustrates how this steering action can also be combined with the other degree of freedom so that the wheels can compensate their orientation about a forward to rearward orientation as well as having a steering effect.

This same effect is shown also through FIGS 4, 5 and 6 where FIG corresponds to the position shown in FIG 2, and FIG 6 corresponds to the position shown in FIG 3.

Now referring to the second embodiment which is illustrated in FIGS 7 through this differs from the first embodiment in that the sets of wheels are held so 3 0 that they are provided with 2 degrees of freedom but such that the mating elements providing the degrees of freedom are engineered to have close tolerances rather than achieve the degree of freedom by allowing for large tolerances between interlocking elements.

Further however, there is provided in this second embodiment, a side thrust wheel to assist the carriage in the event that there are provided substantial side thrusts where upon the fifth wheel arranged to be supported and rotatable about a transverse axis to the body and in the event that the carriage is used in a horizontal track, about a vertical orientation axis.

The carriage 20 includes two sets of wheels at 21 in the first case and 22 in 1 0 the other and these are supported by a body 23 which is comprised of two parts shown more specifically at FIGS 9 and 10 these being referred to as a first part 24 and a second part The two parts 24 and 25 have interleaving fingers at 26 which in turn are held to be able to be rotated by having an axle 27 passing mutually therethrough.

1 5 This then leaves the axles at 28 and 29 to be able to be movable about the axis provided by pin 27 and by reason of the sets of wheels 21 and 22 being attached through their own respective axles at 30 and 31 this then effects again a steering freedom for the wheels 21 and 22 to follow particularly the tracks of a curved conveyor track.

oo I Each of the axles 30 and 31 of the sets of wheels 21 and 22 are also able to rotate about the elongate axis direction of the axles 28 and 29 so that the sets of wheels 21 and 22 will be able to rotate with 2 degrees of freedom the one of specific interest in this embodiment being the one allowing for steering and so that the wheels can assume a different steering direction compatible with a following within a curved track. The extra wheel is shown at 32 and there again a pin 33 provides for a load support for the carriage FIG 11 for instance now shows the wheels in a relatively turned position allowing for steering only, FIG 12 shows additional side ways orientation, and the end views reinforce these views in that FIG 14 is the end view of the 3 0 position as shown in FIG 11, FIG 15 is the end view of the orientation shown in FIG 12.

8 The third embodiment is a modification of the arrangement as shown in the first embodiment in that again by having a fixed body at 34 which provides two oppositely directed axles at 35 and 36, then the axles 37 and 38 can each be supported with a relative degree of tolerance and by having an end of the axle swaged outwardly, this holds the respective axles 37 and 38 in position but by reason of the relative size of the axle within an aperture within the axle, there is sufficient freedom to allow for both degrees of freedom previously discussed.

The sets of wheels 39 and 40 therefore are free to steer and provide thereby appropriate support for load carrying pin 41.

FIGS 19 and 20 illustrate a standard conveyor track including legs 42 and 43 and a central gap 44 which is the type of track to which the invention previously described is applicable.

a a

Claims (13)

1. A carriage for use in a conveyor track having a body with two sets of two wheels with a first set with one wheel being located at each side of a first end of the body, and the second set of two wheels being with one wheel to each side at an opposite end of the body, and load support means with the body and positioned between the respective ends of the body, characterised in that the wheels are each supported with respect to the body so as to enable the wheels to be self steering.

2. A carriage as in the preceding claim further characterised in that each of the two sets of wheels are supported with respect to the remainder of the carriage so that each set of wheels is supported by its own axle so that each set of wheels can assume a steering orientation which is different from a steering orientation of the other set of wheels.

3. A carriage for use in a conveyor track including a body to which a first set 1 5 of wheels is attached at one end of the body with a wheel on each side of the body, and a second set of wheels is attached at the other end of the body with a i wheel on each side of the body, each set of wheels in each case comprising two wheels of the same diameter which are rotatably supported at each end of an axle with a bearing by which it is attached to the axle to allow for rolling rotation, each .20 sets of wheels being respectively held together for steering purposes by an axle which is supported by the body so as to allow for steering rotation relative to the body.

4. A carriage as in the immediately preceding claim further characterised in 2 that the body has, at each end, a projecting arm which passes through an aperture in the axle of a respective set of wheels, and there projects jointly through the arm and the axle, a pin.

A carriage as in the immediately preceding claim further characterised in that the arm is of cylindrical shape and likewise and of a similar but larger diameter, is the aperture through which the arm passes through the axle whereby to allow for relative steerable freedom.

6. A carriage as in the immediately preceding claim further characterised in that the axle has two degrees of freedom, one of which is freedom to rotate about central axis of the body which axis is an axis aligned along a forward to rearward direction and the other is freedom to rotate about an axis of the pin.

7. A carriage as in any one of the preceding claims further characterised in that the carriage further includes a side thrust wheel supported by the body so as to be rotatable about a substantially vertical axis and having an outer periphery positioned to effect a first side engagement 1 0 against a side wall of a track.

8. A carriage as in any one of the preceding claims wherein the body is articulated and the self steering effect is achieved by the set of wheels being supported by the separate articulated parts of the body.

9. A carriage as in the immediately preceding claim further 1 5 characterised in that the body is articulated by having two parts with interleaving fingers which are rotatable one part with respect to the other part by having an axle passing mutually therethrough.

A carriage as in any one of the preceding claims 1 to 7 further characterised in that the body has two oppositely directed axles one at each end and for each set of wheels an axle supported with a substantial tolerance to provide for self steerable freedom.

11. A carriage substantially as described in the specification with reference to and as illustrated by FIGS 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.

12. A carriage substantially as described in the specification with reference to and as illustrated by FIGS 7 to 15 of the accompanying drawings.

13. A carriage substantially as described in the specification with reference to and as illustrated by FIGS 16 to 18 of the accompanying drawings. Dated this 22nd day of October 1997 LANCE MALCOLM VATER By his Patent Attorneys COLLISON CO. S* o f S e* 4. f