Railways – Car-carried propulsion system – Pneumatic
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-09
2003-05-20
Morano, S. Joseph (Department: 3617)
Railways
Car-carried propulsion system
Pneumatic
C104S106000, C104S107000, C104S130030
Reexamination Certificate
active
06564722
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a transport system which performs a linear driving using a pressure medium such as gas, liquid or the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventionally, in transporting documents or articles using air at hospitals, tower buildings, warehouses, plants or the like, a pneumatic tube facility where a delivery point and a destination are connected by means of a pneumatic tube and a pneumatic element which accommodates an article to be transported is inserted in the pneumatic tube and is transported with air has been widely used. Further, a transport system which mounts magnets to a pneumatic transport element and a transport body and moves the transport body outside the pneumatic transport tube corresponding to the movement of the pneumatic element has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 81718/1989.
However, with respect to the pneumatic tube facility, since a document or an article is transported while being accommodated in the pneumatic tube, a restriction is imposed on the size and the shape of the article to be transported. Further, to transport the large article to be transported, the diameter of the pneumatic tube and the diameter of the pneumatic transport tube must be made large and hence, a pneumatic facility such as a blower or the like must become large-sized. Further, in the transport system which mounts the magnets to the pneumatic tube and the transport body and moves the transport body outside the pneumatic tube in response to the movement of the pneumatic tube, since a restriction may be imposed on the transportation weight depending on the intensity of the magnets or the transport body is slid on the pipe, the transport body cannot follow the pneumatic tube. Further, since the transport body is slid on the pipe by only making use of the attraction of the magnets, there exists a possibility that the transport body may fall at the time of the vertical traveling.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a transport system which can easily and rapidly transport a document, an article or the like to be transported even at a long distance without receiving a large restriction on the size, the weight and the shape of the document, article or the like to be transported.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a transport body for a transport system which can smoothly travel on a horizontally or vertically curved traveling rail.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a transport system which can simultaneously make a plurality of transport bodies travel on a traveling rail.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rail device of a transport system which can simultaneously satisfy the hardness characteristics of drive tubes which ensures the easiness of mounting of drive tubes on a traveling rail and the removal of drive tubes and the hardness characteristics of the drive tubes which performs the travel drive of a transport body by making use of the pressure of a pressure medium and yet can be easily manufactured.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a drive tube mounting device of the transport system which is capable of mounting drive tubes on a traveling rail while moving on the traveling rail.
It is an additional further object of the present invention to provide a traveling route changeover switch of a transport system which can diverge or converge traveling routes of a transport body in a transport system.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, there is provided a transport system which comprises a traveling rail which forms a transport route, flexible drive tubes which are mounted on side surfaces of the traveling rail along the traveling rail, drive wheels which are formed such that the drive wheels depress the drive tubes and travel on the drive tubes due to the pressure of pressurized air supplied to the drive tubes, traveling wheels which are mounted such that the traveling wheels are engaged with protruding portions formed on the side surfaces of the traveling rail, and a transport body which is supported by shaft bodies of the drive wheels and the traveling wheels.
In the transport system having the above-mentioned constitution, with air supplied to the inside of the drive tubes mounted on the traveling rails and further by making use of the pressure difference between front and rear drive wheels, the drive wheels move on the drive tubes while rotating. Here, the transport body connected to the drive wheels moves on the rails. The transport body which carries a material to be transported travels on the traveling rails due to the traveling wheels mounted on the transport body. Depending on the shape of the traveling rails, the transport body is capable of moving along curves or in the vertical direction and hence is capable of moving to any sites led by the traveling rails.
In the above-mentioned constitution, the traveling rail is preferably comprised of a plurality of rail bodies which are contiguously connected in the longitudinal direction. The drive tube is mounted on the side surface of each rail body at every section and flexible transfer drive tubes are mounted on the side surfaces of neighboring rail bodies in the vicinity of end portions of the rail bodies. The transport body is further provided with transfer drive wheels which travel on the transfer drive tubes by making use of the pressure of pressurized air supplied to the transfer drive tubes.
In the transport system having the above-mentioned constitution, when the transport body moves on respective rail bodies by transferring, although the drive wheels are once removed from the drive tubes at the end portion of the rail body, the transfer drive wheels move on while rotating by making use of the pressure inside the transfer tubes. Accordingly, even when the drive wheels are moved away from the drive tube at the end portion of the rail body, it becomes possible to relay the transport body to the next rail body without hindrance.
In the above-mentioned constitution, a hollow portion which is communicated with the drive tube or the transfer drive tube is preferably formed in the rail body of the traveling rail.
Due to such a constitution, a pressurized air supply route which supplies pressurized air to the drive tube or the transfer drive tube can be established making use of the rail body and hence, the number of parts can be reduced.
Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a transport system which is characterized by comprising a traveling rail, a transport body having traveling wheels which travel on the traveling rails, flexible drive tubes arranged on the traveling rail, and drive wheels which are mounted on the transport body such that the drive wheels depress the drive tubes and travel on the drive tubes by making use of the pressure of a pressurized fluid supplied to the drive tubes.
In the transport system having the above-mentioned constitution, drive wheels are mounted on the transport body which has traveling wheels which travel on the traveling rails and these drive wheels depress the flexible drive tubes which are arranged on the traveling rails and hence, by selectively supplying a pressurized fluid into the inside of the drive tubes in front of or behind the drive wheels, it becomes possible to generate the pressure difference in the inside of the drive tubes in front of or behind the drive wheels. Accordingly, by making use of this pressure difference, the drive wheels are rotated so that the drive wheels are moved on the drive tubes together with the transport body.
It is preferable that the traveling rail includes main wall surfaces which extend horizontally in a horizontal transporting and side wall surfaces which extend vertically in a horizontal transporting and the drive tubes are arranged on the main wall surfaces of the traveling rail.
As modes for arranging the traveling rails, the horizontal arrangement which performs only the horizontal transporting
Higuchi Shizuo
Ito Hideki
Kiriyama Shigeru
Koga Bunichiro
Kurosawa Kanji
Morano S. Joseph
Nippon Shooter Ltd.
Olson Lars A.
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