Trolley conveyor system with magnetically actuated reading means
AssigneeRedman Fisher Engineering Limited
InventorCharles Thomas Holberry
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A conveyor comprising a trolley movable along a track and having at least one elongate member of ferromagnetic material which is settable in a position selected according to a code to convey information concerning the destination of the trolley. At a reading station on the track, there is a row of magnetically-operated switches with magnetic shields between them. With each switch there is associated a pair of magnets disposed on opposite sides of the switch with one magnet of the pair between the switch and the path followed by the elongate member through the reading station. When aligned with the magnets of a switch, the elongate member operates the switch as the member passes through the reading station.
Claims2
In a conveyor system comprising a track, a trolley which runs along the track, information-carrying means on the trolley and reading means at a reading station on the track for reading information from the information-carrying means as the trolley passes through the reading station, the improvement wherein the reading means comprises a switch and two magnets associated therewith, said switch being adapted to be actuated by changes in the field of said magnets, said magnets being arranged on opposite sides of the switch;
- one magnet being situated between the switch and the path followed by the information-carrying means when the trolley moves through the reading station;
- both of said magnets being arranged with their respective poles spaced apart in a direction substantially parallel to said path, one of said magnets being off-set in the direction of its length from the other of said magnets;
- said switch and said magnets being disposed in a space;
- and
- screens of ferro-magnetic material arranged on opposite sides of said space, each screen extending from a position adjacent one of said magnets to a position adjacent the other of said magnets.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.