Assembly shop transport system - uses battery powered trolley guided by wheels running on rectangular guide and controlled by HF signals and proximity detectors

摘要

The transport system uses a single small rectangular rail laid in a closed path on an assembly shop floor to guide a trolley which is driven by battery powered electric motors. The guidance of the trolley is by two V shaped wheels (32), at ninety degrees to each other and both at forty-five degrees to the vertical, which run along the rectangular track (2). The guide wheels (332) are mounted at the end of a vertical pillar (330) free to rotate in a hole (331) in the frame (31) of the trolley. Front mounted buffers pivot and close a switch to remove the drive if an obstacle is in the path of the trolley. The movement of the trolley is controlled by an electronic logic circuit actuated by a high frequency radio signal and by proximity detectors embedded in the shop floor, which gives precise stopping positions at work stations. A hoist is provided at each work station to allow the pallette of materials to be removed.