Material or article handling – Load-transporting type vehicle to be loaded or unloaded – or... – Means comprises device or member for moving or causing...
Patent
1993-02-24
1994-09-06
Oberleitner, Robert J.
Material or article handling
Load-transporting type vehicle to be loaded or unloaded, or...
Means comprises device or member for moving or causing...
104 88R, B65G 3506
Patent
active
053442768
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The increasingly extensive automation of production means inspires one to consider the automation of means for handling products between the manufacturing stations, and in particular to automate the handling trolleys transporting machined components between scattered machines, or between the manufacturing means and an assembly, storage or packaging site.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Trolleys of this type are necessarily autonomous, they carry batteries to power them and are associated with driving means, such as guide by wire, optoelectronic guidance, trigonometric direction finding using laser or other means, reacting on the means for controlling their drive means.
In general, the displacement of an autonomous trolley is accomplished at a stable speed (of the order of 30 to 120 meters per minute), and stopping is preceded by a deceleration phase to a slow final positioning speed. This technique, associated with correct mastery, on the one hand, of the means for detecting the longitudinal position of the trolley and, on the other hand, of the drive means acting on the means for driving this trolley in translation, makes it possible to obtain a longitudinal precision of the order of plus or minus one, which is satisfactory or at least sufficient so as not to disturb a subsequent precision positioning. The transverse precision, measured perpendicularly to the direction of displacement, is clearly less accurate because it depends not only on surface imperfections of the ground, but also on the flatness of the latter. The result is that, even with a trolley having excellent constructional and functional qualities, imperfections of the ground alone bring about a transverse displacement of the trajectory of the trolley with respect to its theoretical trajectory. This displacement, called a deviation, may be of the order of several centimeters for a journey of several meters. A deviation of this value is unacceptable and must be corrected, otherwise with each change of direction, even with a precise angular rotation, it modifies the heading of the trolley and increases the imprecision of this positioning, that is to say the deviation between its actual transverse positioning and its theoretical positioning.
One solution includes acting on the guiding wheels of the trolley in order to accomplish heading corrections, subsequently checked by a positioning detector, but that leads to a continuous succession of correction and detection operations and cannot be applied to trolleys which do not comprise guiding wheels, but comprise other means allowing them to pivot in situ.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a positioning device for a handling trolley, autonomous or otherwise, allowing it, at particular points of its trajectory, to be brought rapidly into its theoretical position or into the theoretical position for transferring the component or load which it carries.
This device, which can be applied to a trolley comprising a chassis fitted with means for receiving a load and with means for driving at least in longitudinal translation, comprises at least one centering finger which, in the form of a pyramid of polygonal cross section, of vertical axis and having downwardly converging ridges, is carried by means wedging it rotationally with respect to the chassis and is connected to means able to displace it between a transport position in which it is above the ground, and a positioning position in which it is engaged in a recess having the same shapes and dimensions as itself and made in a ring arranged in the ground, this recess being positioned in the ground so that its vertical axis passes through the intersection of the longitudinal and transverse axes of a point of reference of the theoretical trajectory of the trolley and so that at least one of its faces is perpendicular to this theoretical trajectory.
Thus, when the trolley is stopped in a zone necessitating repositioning, the centering finger is lowered in the direction of the recess arranged in the zone. Its sloped
REFERENCES:
patent: 3918366 (1975-11-01), Noah
patent: 4538950 (1985-09-01), Shiomi et al.
patent: 4597709 (1986-07-01), Yonezawa
patent: 4655667 (1987-04-01), Plumb et al.
patent: 4773811 (1988-09-01), Wasner
patent: 4818171 (1989-04-01), Burkholder
patent: 4846073 (1989-07-01), Boyer et al.
patent: 4950119 (1990-07-01), Nord et al.
Morano S. Joseph
Oberleitner Robert J.
LandOfFree
Stationary positioning device for a handling trolley having exte does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Stationary positioning device for a handling trolley having exte, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Stationary positioning device for a handling trolley having exte will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1325888