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US 5,685,227 AGranted
Brake assembly for overhead trolley
AssigneePremark FEG L.L.C.
InventorsJoseph M. Gaccetta, Karl S. Schroeder
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention relates to a brake assembly, for overhead conveyers of the type which are suspended from and move along a rail and more particularly, a leaf spring brake or wedge assembly for an overhead trolley which wedges two pairs of wheels in a track for a secure braking system to stabilize the suspended system against movement.
Claims18
A trolley assembly comprising:
- a trolley having at least one pair of wheels, said wheels being laterally spaced apart;
- a track having a lower flange and an upper surface such that said wheels of said trolley ride along the track between said upper surface and said lower flange;
- a space between said wheels and said upper surface;
- a wedging member spring-biased in a direction parallel to said track and having a thickness greater than said space and being deployable between an extended and a retracted position, wherein said wedging member is in braking engagement with said wheel and said upper surface or said lower flange when said wedging member is in said extended position and said wedging member is displaced from braking engagement and said trolley is freely movable along said track when said wedging member is retracted;
- and
- means for retracting said wedging member from said braking engagement, such that when said retracting means is pulled, said wheels rotate freely and when said retracting means is released, said trolley automatically brakes such that said trolley may be maneuvered in said track by pulling said retracting means.
3 more elements
A trolley/assembly comprising:
- a trolley having two pairs of wheels, each of said pairs being laterally spaced apart;
- a track having a lower flange and an upper surface such that said wheels of said trolley ride along the track between said upper surface and said lower flange;
- a space between said wheels and said upper surface;
- and
- a pair of leaf springs each having a thickness greater than said space and being deformable between an extended and a retracted position, wherein said leaf springs are in braking engagement with said pairs of said wheels and said underside of said upper surface of said track when said leaf springs are in said extended position and leaf springs are displaced from braking engagement and said trolley is freely movable along said track when said springs are in a retracted position;
- and
- means for retracting said leaf springs such that pulling said retracting means deforms said spring and unwedges said wheels so that they rotate freely in said track.
4 more elements
A trolley assembly comprising:
- a trolley having four wheels;
- a track having a lower flange and an upper surface such that said wheels of said trolley ride along the track between said upper surface and said lower flange;
- a space between said wheels and said upper surface;
- and
- a pair of wedge brakes being deployable between an extended and a retracted position, wherein said wedge brakes each include a compression spring having a pair of wedge segments connected to said compression spring such that said compression spring urges said wedge into a braking engagement between said wheel and said underside of said upper surface when said wedge brakes are displaced from braking engagement and are freely movable along said track when said wedge brakes are in a retracted position, and
- means for retracting said compression springs, such that when said retracting means is pulled, said wedge brakes are retracted and said wheels rotate freely.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.