Railways – Suspended – Double inner rail
Patent
1995-07-03
1997-04-01
Morano, S. Joseph
Railways
Suspended
Double inner rail
104 93, 104139, 105150, B61B 302
Patent
active
056156170
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a wheel head and rail assembly and to a corresponding drive system provided thereby, whether including a corresponding source of torque such as a motor or otherwise provided with means for moving the wheel head lengthwise of the rail assembly.
In this application, references to "drive" refer to the transmission of torque from a source thereof, for example an electric motor, to wheels, or an equivalent thereof, for effecting movement of he wheels, and for example a structure mounted thereon, lengthwise of a surface engaged by the wheels for drive purposes.
An application of the invention is to a mounting and/or drive system for a carriage to be used in an agricultural or horticultural sprayer to provide a mounting for spray heads to be moved lengthwise of a sprayer boom. In such an application, the drive will usually be effected by means of wheels engaging a track.
The invention may also find application to related carriage and/or drive systems including industrial applications generally, particularly those where the carriage or drive have to operate in a hostile environment, and there is required a self-propelled carriage for transportation purposes.
Shortcomings of presently available or published carriage systems for use in the above-mentioned type of situations include limitations on the distance in which the carriage can move, these being imposed by such factors as cable length, in the case of cable drives. Other shortcomings include a lack of stability and susceptibility to hostile environments, general complexity, and a lack of reliability.
Accordingly, we have identified a need for a wheel head and rail assembly offering improvements in relation to one or more of the matters mentioned above, or improvements generally.
According to the invention there is provided a wheel head and rail assembly as hereinafter defined.
In an embodiment, the wheel head and rail assembly provide a single axis carriage and/or drive system, or a system having more than one axis, but these axes being closely spaced, as explained below. The wheels are mounted between spaced rails. The rails may be of a variety of forms, according to the form of the wheel head, and being complementary thereto.
Also in an embodiment, a rail assembly is provided for a contra-rotatable wheel assembly, the rails having dispositions to enable each rail to co-operate with one of the contra-rotatable wheels. In accordance with the invention, a carriage and associated optional drive comprises a single or dual axis contra-rotatable wheel assembly. In a preferred embodiment, a motor drive is arranged co-axially with the axes or with one of the axes of the wheel assembly. The motor drive may be mounted directly on the wheel assembly. The assembly of motor and rails may be enclosed in a housing providing protection from above and/or below in relation to a hostile operating environment.
In the embodiment, the wheel assembly comprises a minimum of two contra-rotating wheels. Successive wheels arranged each below the other make contact with the spaced rails alternately on one rail, and then the other.
By the provision of a contra-rotatable wheel assembly in accordance with certain aspects of the invention, there is provided a mounting and an optional drive which is particularly compact and stable. The carriage and drive is able to traverse the full length of any rail system provided for it. Where a drive is not required, the wheel head enables position adjustment of the carriage, or even of just the wheel head lengthwise of the rails. Means may be provided to control movement of the wheel head along the rails. Such means may comprise a braking assembly whereby the wheel head can move when a pre-determined force or torque is applied thereto, whereby, in use, a structure mounted on the, carriage is provided with operating characteristics enabling it to move under certain conditions encountered during use.
Manufacturing costs are relatively low due to the simplicity of the structure. In one embodiment, the wheels and rails are both in
REFERENCES:
patent: 3044820 (1962-07-01), Cox
patent: 3091189 (1963-05-01), Becker
patent: 3238894 (1966-03-01), Maksim, Jr.
patent: 3791308 (1974-02-01), Hartz
patent: 3879799 (1975-04-01), Williams
patent: 3916798 (1975-11-01), Ishii et al.
patent: 4401033 (1983-08-01), Gerkin
patent: 5181296 (1993-01-01), Williams
LandOfFree
Wheel head and rail assembly does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Wheel head and rail assembly, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Wheel head and rail assembly will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-531840