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US 12,152,660 B2Granted
Cogwheel
AssigneeOcado Innovation Limited
InventorsYongji Zhou, Joseph Zammit, Sean Clark, Ben Thomas, David Sharp, Sergey Zhelyabovskiy, Kris Turner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure provides an improved cogwheel permitting enhanced meshing of cogwheels when operating perpendicularly. Exemplary embodiments introduce a multi-cogwheel design with specific dimensions and tooth profiles to permit perpendicular engagement of cogwheels whilst permitting translation of such cogwheels.
Claims8
A cogwheel comprising:
- a first cogwheel part having a plurality of teeth;
- and
- a second cogwheel part having a same number of teeth as the first cogwheel part,
- wherein:
- the second cogwheel part is arranged axially spaced apart from the first cogwheel part,
- the second cogwheel part has substantially a same circular pitch as the first cogwheel part,
- each tooth of the second cogwheel part is offset in a rotational direction by half the circular pitch relative to the first cogwheel part, and
- a face width of the first cogwheel part and a face width of the second cogwheel part are substantially half the circular pitch to permit perpendicular engagement of two of the cogwheel.
5 more elements
A transporting device configured and arranged to cooperate with at least one other transporting device in a cluster with a reconfigurable physical topology, the transporting device comprising:
- an item receiving space;
- and
- a relocating unit arranged to permit relocation of the transporting device within the cluster by way of interaction with the at least one other transporting device,
- wherein the relocating unit is configured to include a cogwheel including:
- a first cogwheel part having a plurality of teeth;
- and
- a second cogwheel part having a same number of teeth as the first cogwheel part,
- wherein:
- the second cogwheel part is arranged axially spaced apart from the first cogwheel part,
- the second cogwheel part has a same circular pitch as the first cogwheel part,
- each tooth of the second cogwheel part is offset in a rotational direction by half the circular pitch relative to the first cogwheel part, and
- a face width of the first cogwheel part and a face width of the second cogwheel part are substantially half the circular pitch to permit perpendicular engagement of two of the cogwheel.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.