Conveying system
AssigneeEvana Automation
InventorsCharles Roberts, Donald Swallow, Randall Wire
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A conveying system is provided for moving a pallet along straight and curved paths. The conveying system includes a track on which the pallet is mounted for movement by a motor driven roller which engages a stationary shaft mounted on the track. The drive roller is urged into contact with the shaft and is capable of clockwise and counterclockwise rotation in order to effectuate forward or reverse motion of the pallet. A control device is provided for controlling the speed and stopping and starting the pallet. The control device may include object detectors and/or switches for stopping the pallet in response to objects on the track or for stopping the pallet at predetermined locations.
Claims13
A conveying system for moving an object along a path which may be straight or curvilinear, said conveying system comprising:
- a pallet on which the object is conveyed;
- a track by which said object is conveyed in a straight line or in curvilinear movement along said track;
- mounting means attached to said pallet for mounting said pallet on said track;
- bus bar guides mounted on said track;
- a drive rail mounted on said track by securing means;
- a drive motor;
- drive roller mounted on a shaft of said drive motor and rotatable about an axis;
- control means for controlling said drive motor,
- said control means, said drive roller and said drive motor being attached to said mounting meads such that a radial face of said drive roller contacts said drive rail to drive said pallet along said track by the rotation of said drive roller, said drive motor being mounted to said mounting means via a pivot, whereby said driver roller may be disengaged from said drive rail;
- and
- bus bars mounted on said mounting means in slidable engagement with said bus bar guides and electrically connected to said drive motor for providing electrical energy from said bus bar guides to said drive motor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.