US3829175A

US3829175A - Rail-suspended carriage

Info

Publication number: US3829175A
Application number: US00334954A
Authority: US
Inventors: E Vogeli
Original assignee: POLIO ETS
Current assignee: POLIO ESTABLISHMENT FL; POLIO ETS
Priority date: 1972-02-23
Filing date: 1973-02-22
Publication date: 1974-08-13
Anticipated expiration: 1991-08-13
Also published as: DE2308273A1; FR2173630A5; CH533227A

Abstract

A rail-suspended carriage for movable partition walls has a carriage body provided with an axle on which a pair of wheels are mounted which can engage a rail along which the carriage is to travel. Turnable guide rollers are provided, each being adapted to roll along a rail in lateral engagement therewith and each being turnable about a first vertical axis and the latter in turn being pivotable about a second vertical axis paralleling it. A track roller is turnable about another vertical axis laterally offset from and paralleling the first and second axis, and a motion-transmitting arrangement is provided which enforces pivotal movement of the first axis of one guide roller about the second axis thereof in one direction, if the first axis of the other guide roller is pivoted about its second axis in an opposite direction, and vice versa.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Vogeli Assignee:

Filed:

Appl. No.:

RAIL-SUSPENDED CARRIAGE Inventor: Ernat Vogeli, Zurich, Switzerland Polio Establishment, Vaduz,

Liechtenstein Feb. 22, 1973 Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 23, 1972 Switzerland 2579/72 US. Cl 308/6 R, 104/172 S, 105/155,

Int. Cl. Fl6c 21/00 Field of Search 308/6 R; 16/87 R, 87.2,

References Cited 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS Moshu 105/155 Francis... 198/177 R Devonshire [98/177 X Gotsch 104/172 S Pettu 105/156 1111 3,829,175 1451 Aug. 15,1974

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 929,867 6/1963 Great Britain 105/155 Primary Examiner-Charles J. Myhre Assistant Examiner-R. H. Lazarus Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Michael S. Striker 57] ABSTRACT A rail-suspended carriage for movable partition walls has a carriage body provided with an axle on which a pair of wheels are mounted which can engage a rail along which the carriage is to travel. Turnable guide rollers are provided, each being adapted to roll along a rail in lateral engagement therewith and each being turnable about a first vertical axis and the latter in turn being pivotable about a second vertical axis paralleling it. A track roller is turnable about another vertical axis laterally offset from and paralleling the first and second axis, and a motion-transmitting arrangement is provided which enforces pivotal movement of the first axis of one guide roller about the second axis thereof in one direction, if the first axis of the other guide roller is pivoted about its second axis in an opposite direction, and vice versa.

8 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PAIENIED mm 3 m4 SHEET 2 [IF 3 PATENTEU we] 31914 SHEET 3 [IF 3 RAIL-SUSPENDED CARRIAGE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

Such rail-suspended carriages, using a single axle on which their travelling wheels are mounted, are already known. Heretofore they use either a special guide arrangement or else must be guided in a groove in order to be able to properly follow the curvature of the rails on which they travel. In either case it is difficult for them to move over the rail junctures.

For this reason it is a frequent practice to use a twoaxled carriage which can readily move over rail junctures. This type of carriage however has its own disadvantage, namely the provision of two axles means that such a carriage can move only through rail curves of relatively large radius; hence, the use of this type of carriage is quite limited. In particular, if right-angled or nearly right-angled curves in the rail are provided, and if the radius of curvature at the change in the rail direction is very small, this type of carriage cannot be used.

Clearly, this particular art is in need of further improvements which, however, have not thusfar been forthcoming.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved rail-suspended carriage which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art.

More particularly it is an object of the invention to provide an improved rail-suspended carriage which is especially (but not exclusively) suitable for suspending movable partition walls.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a rail-suspended carriage which has a single axle and is specially suitable for passing through and around curvatures of minimum radii, without requiring special guides or guide arrangements.

In keeping with these objects, and others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the invention resides in a rail-suspended carriage, particularly suitable for movable partition walls, which briefly stated comprises a carriage body having an axle, and a pair of wheels mounted on this axle and adapted to engage a rail along which the carriage is to travel. A pair of turnable guide rollers are provided on the carriage body and each adapted to roll along a rail in lateral engagement therewith. The guide rollers are each turnable about a first vertical axis and the latter is in turn pivotable about a second vertical axis paralleling the respective first axis. A track roller is turnable about another vertical axis which is laterally offset from an parallels the first and second axis, and means is provided for pivotal movement of the first axis of one guide roller about the second axis thereof in one direction, in response to pivotal movement of the first axis of the other guide roller about the second axis thereof in an opposite direction, and vice versa.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however,

both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

FIG. 1 is a side-elevational view of a carriage according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. I but showing the carriage from the opposite side thereof;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the carriage;

FIG. 4 is a top-plan view of the carriage;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the carriage; and

FIGS. 6-10 are respective diagrammatic illustrations showing the carriage in different positions as it passes through a small-radius curve of a guide rail.

DESCRIPTION OF THE-PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:

Discussing the drawing in detail, and firstly FIGS. 1-5 which illustrate structural features of the novel carriage, it will be seen that reference numeral 1 identifies the carriage body which is provided with a guide roller 2 located centrally thereof and at the lower end, the guide roller 2 being turnable about a vertical axis. An axle 3 passes through the body I and carries the

wheels

4 and 5, and of course it will be understood that instead of a single axle 3 it will be possible to use two stub axles.

In front of and behind the

wheels

4 and 5, as seen in the direction of movement of the carriage body I, two

vertical axes

6 and 7 pass through the body I, carrying two

pivotal brackets

8 and 9, respectively. On the underside of these brackets, arranged eccentrically with reference to the

axes

6 and 7, are

guide rollers

10 and 11, respectively.

At one side of the body I there is provided a projection 12 in which there is journalled a track roller I3 for turnable movement about a vertical axis 14 which is spaced at such a distance from the rollers 10 and II that between the latter and the track roller 113 a rail 15 illustrated in chain lines in FIG. 3 can be accommodated with some play. The rail 15 has the wheel 4 rolling on it, but serves only as a support rail for the wheel 5. The track roller 13 is offset on a different level with respect to the

rollers

10 and 11, so that it not only engates the guide rail 16 (also shown in chain lines in FIG. 3) but is capable of maintaining the carriage body 1 in proper position, in conjunction with the roller 2, at those locations (e.g., at rail junctions) at which the rail 16 is omitted. Two

gears

17 and 18 which mesh with one another are mounted on the

brackets

8 and 9, or on the

axes

6 and 7 thereof. This means that the pivotal movement of one of the brackets 8 or 9 (and thus the

respective rollers

10 and 11 associated therewith) will automatically and necessarily result in a pivotal movement of the other of the

brackets

9 or 8, but in opposite direction to the movement of the first-mentioned bracket. In addition, the illustrated embodiment provides two

springs

19 and 20 which may advantageously be mounted on the

axes

6 and 7 and which permanently tend to pivot the

brackets

8 and 9 in the direction of the arrows x and y, respectively, towards the track roller 13 (see FIG. 5), thereby urging the rollers 10 and II against the rail I5.

At the lower end of the body 1 there is provided a mounting member, here configured as a carrying rod 21, by means of which a component (for instance a movable partition wall) can be mounted on the carriage body 1.

Referring now to FIGS. 6-10, the movement of the carriage when passing through a tight 90-degree rail curve will be explained.

As seen in FIG. 6, the carriage (of which the

rollers

10 and 11, the roller 2, the roller 3 and the diagrammatically illustrated wheels 4 and with their axle 3 have been shown) moves in the direction of the arrow 2 on a straight portion of the two

rails

15 and 16 towards the 90-degree curve.

FIG. 6 shows the roller 11 entering the curve, as a result of which the roller 11 and the roller are slightly pivoted towards the left out of the direction of advancement, as a result of which a slight inclination of the axle 3 for the

wheels

4 and 5 relative to the rails and I6 is obtained at this point.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show that as the carriage increasingly moves into the curve, this inclination of the axle 3 and the

wheels

4 and 5 becomes more pronounced, and FIG. 10 shows that the carriage has passed through half of the curve and that due to the cooperation of the

rollers

10 and 11 and the track roller 3 the inclination of the axle 3 for the wheels .4 and 5 coincides with the 45-degree radius of the curve.

It will be appreciated that as the carriage begins to move out of the curve from the point shown in FIG. 10, the behavior of the wheels, the axle 3 and the guide rollers l0 and 11 is exactly reverse to that which is shown in FIGS. 6-10 where the carriage moves into the curve. In other words, the positions of the various components in question will, beginning with further movement beyond the point shown in FIG. 10, resemble those shown in FIGS. 9, 8 and 7 until the carriage moves into the next straight portion of the

rails

15 and 16, when the position of its various components will be again that shown in FIG. 6.

The steering geometry obtained by the cooperation of the

rollers

10, 11 and 13, and the pivotal mounting of the

rollers

10 and 11 and which has been explained with reference to FIGS. 610, assures that the

wheels

4 and 5 will always be in contact with the

rails

15 and 16 over their entire width while they pass through a curve, so that an optimum load distribution is obtained. Furthermore, the fact that the inclination of the

wheels

4 and 5 is initiated before they completely enter the curve, assures that a sudden directional change of the carriage is prevented. This is advantageous, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

It has already been indicated above that in the rail junctions the rail 16 may be absent over a short distance, this means that the wheel 5 will have no support. At such times the one-sided load resulting from this is taken up by the track roller 13 in conjunction with the guide roller 2, in that the roller 13 is offset vertically with reference to the roller 2 and can laterally engage the rail 5. In addition, the lateral support of the track roller 13 prevents the carriage from jumping its rails.

It is evident that with the construction according to the present invention the carriage can move through curves of minimum radius. Furthermore, the carriage is so well guided that rather high loads can be supported from it without having to make the carriage undesirably large. The carriage is also capable of moving over and through rail junctions without having to fear that the carriage might tilt or become jammed due to the fact that only one of its

wheels

4, 5 is in contact with a rail sometimes. Moreover, wear of the components of the novel carriage is low, the turning of the axle 3 begins before the carriage itself has reached the curve, and the inclination of the axle automatically follows the curve as the carriage moves therethrough.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a rail-suspended carriage, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. A rail-suspended carriage, particularly for movable partition walls, comprising a carriage body having an axle; a pair of wheels mounted on said axle and adapted to engage a rail along which said carriage is to travel; a pair of turnable guide rollers on said carriage body and each adapted to roll along a rail in lateral engagement therewith, said guide rollers each being turnable about a first vertical axis which is in turn being pivotable about a second vertical axis paralleling the respective first axis; a track roller turnable about another vertical axis which is laterally offset from and parallels said first and second axes; and means for causing pivotal movement of the first axis of one guide roller about the second axis thereof in one direction, in response to pivotal movement of the first axis of the other guide roller about the second axis thereof in an opposite direction, and vice versa.

2. A carriage as defined in claim I; and further comprising a carrying member extending downwardly from said carriage body.

3. A carriage as defined in claim 1; and further comprising an additional guide roller also mounted on said carriage body, said additional guide roller and said track roller being located on different levels.

4. A carriage as defined in claim 1; and further comprising biasing means for biasing said guide rollers in direction towards said track roller.

5. A carriage as defined in claim 4, wherein said biasing means comprises at least one spring.

6. A carriage as defined in claim I; further comprising bracket members mounting said guide rollers on said carriage body.

7. A carriage as defined in claim 1, wherein said means comprises meshing gears connecting said second axes with one another.

8. A carriage as defined in claim I; further comprising an additional guide roller mounted on said carriage body and laterally spaced from said track roller by a distance sufficient to accommodate a rail between them.

Claims

2. A carriage as defined in claim 1; and further comprising a carrying member extending downwardly from said carriage body.

6. A carriage as defined in claim 1; further comprising bracket members mounting said guide rollers on said carriage body.

8. A carriage as defined in claim 1; further comprising an additional guide roller mounted on said carriage body and laterally spaced from said track roller by a distance sufficient to accommodate a rail between them.