Track guided carriage unit
OwnerMilo M. Kensrue, Donald L. Martininventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A track guided carriage unit for selectively supporting a variety of work performing devices, tools and the like for movement along a predetermined working path, in which a supporting platform has spring loaded wheels that are releasably clamped by a manually operable handle into and out of engagement with opposed surfaces of a guide track, and wherein a motor driven pinion has adjustable meshing relation with a linear rack extending along the track, the pinion being operative to advance the platform at a predetermined rate of guided movement along the work path.
Claims23
A track guided carriage unit capable of selectively mounting and transporting a variety of work performing devices along a predetermined work path, comprising:
- (a) an elongated guide track having V-surfaces extending along its opposite sides and a longitudinally extending rack extending along the V-surfaces on one side of said track;
- (b) a main mounting platform transversely spanning said track and having a generally flat surface for the mounting of a work performing device thereon;
- (c) a plurality of platform supporting wheels carried by said platform, said wheels having V-surfaces for engaging the V-surfaces along the opposite sides of the track, the wheels for engaging the V-surfaces on said one side of the track comprising a pair of wheels having fixed axes of rotation, and the wheels for engaging the V-surfaces on the opposite side of the track comprising a pair of wheels supported for unitary movements towards and away from the track into clamped and non-clamped positions with respect to said track, and in the non-clamped position enabling separation of said platform from said track;
- (d) power driving means mounted on said platform including a driving pinion, positioned between said pair of wheels having the fixed axes of rotation, for operative engagement with said rack when the platform wheels are moved into clamped position with the track, and in which position the V-surfaces of the track and wheels coact to support the platform with respect to two axes, and the driving pinion coacts with said rack to control the position of the platform with respect to a third axis;
- and
- (e) loading spring means for urging said wheels towards their clamped positions with respect to said track.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.