Fixed track transportation device

Abstract

The present invention relates to two parallel rails (2a, 2b) separated from each other by a rail gap (5), and a carriage (1) capable of traveling along the rails (2a, 2b), the carriage (1) having at least two wheel sets having wheels (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) that are independently supported on a common rotating shaft (12a, 12b) attached to the rails (2a, 2b), at least one branch (E) including additional rails (2c, 2d) being incorporated into the pair of rails (2a, 2b), the rotating shafts (12a, 12b) being connected to each other by a support (13) having a fixed console (8), at least two guide rollers (6a, 6b) arranged in the rail gap (5) being rotatably connected along the length of the support (13), at least one wheel (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) of the wheel sets of the carriage (1) being equipped with an independent drive device (14a, 14b) with adjustable output, and the transport device being provided with an output control device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a fixed rail transport device having two parallel rails separated from each other by a rail gap, a carriage capable of traveling along the rails, the carriage having at least two wheel sets having wheels independently bearing on a common rotating shaft attached to the rails, and at least one branch incorporated into a pair of rails and including an additional rail, the rotating shafts being connected to each other by a support having a fixed console.

[0002] Fixed, usually suspended track transport means is a solution that moves between two stations without branching, such as a ski lift. In the case of an elevated railway, it is rare to see a solution where the vehicle can change direction, but if so, this is also done through a switching system, and when the track intervenes as an active element in the vehicle's traffic, the vehicle cannot decide to change direction on its own. A solution of the type where the direction can be freely selected, rather than a fixed track, is superior because the vehicle can proceed in the direction it has chosen regardless of the roads at intersections. However, as a price for this freedom, various traffic situations may occur, so it cannot be automated in today's systems. This problem can occur in both the transportation of passengers and goods, and in the latter case, it often occurs in warehousing.

[0003] In the case of a fixed-rail transport system such as a railway track or a suspended transport system for goods, the direction change of a train is determined by the position of switches. The switches can be adjusted independently of the vehicle, but in some systems, the switches can be optionally adjusted using electrical or mechanical control devices arranged on the vehicle, whereby the vehicle can select the direction of travel. Thus, in the case of such a fixed-rail system, the switches used can mechanically convert the configuration of the rails within the area of the switches into all possible incorporated travel directions, i.e., by arranging rail elements between the selected track sections before and after the switches, forming a single route in each case. The design, installation, operation, and maintenance of the switches are quite expensive compared to other sections of the rail due to the presence of movable parts that are subject to a significant load. Therefore, experts have tried to create a system that can achieve a direction change without using movable parts incorporated into the rail.

[0004] Such a system is disclosed, for example, in KR20210055292 B1, which describes a suspended transport device in which guide rails branching in different directions are arranged on a branch track section to control the moving direction of a vehicle. The vehicle is equipped with guide rollers that travel between the rails and further with adjustable direction-changing rollers that can be vertically raised to the height of the guide rail on the side of the guide rail corresponding to the selected direction. As a result, the vehicle continues to travel along a forced track corresponding to the direction of the guide rail while being held on the track by the guide rollers placed at the ends of the gap formed in the center line of the track between the rails. The suspension elements of the goods attached to the vehicle are also arranged in this gap. The drawback of this solution is that, on the one hand, additional track elements, i.e., guide rails separated from the track, are required to change the moving direction of the vehicle, and on the other hand, it is necessary to equip the vehicle with direction-selecting rollers that can be attached to the guide rail and a mechanism for moving the rollers.

[0005] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a fixed track transport device that does not require a guide rail separated from the track, i.e., an additional track element, and thus a direction selection roller that can be attached to the additional track element, and a complex structure for moving it, in order to change the moving direction of a vehicle.

[0006] When the torque acting on the drive wheels of a vehicle traveling on two rails of a track is changed so that the torque values are different, the guide roller traveling in the gap formed in the center line of the track is pushed into the gap of the branch element of the track in the direction of the drive wheels with a small torque by the force acting on it, and it has been found that the vehicle continues to travel on the corresponding pair of rails.

[0007] The inventors have a fixed track transport device having two parallel rails separated from each other by a rail gap and a carriage capable of traveling along the rails, the carriage having at least two wheel sets having wheels independently bearing on a common rotating shaft attached to the rails, at least one branch including an additional rail being incorporated into a pair of rails, the rotating shafts being connected to each other by a support having a fixed console, at least two guide rollers arranged in the rail gap being rotatably connected along the length of the support, each wheel of at least one of the wheel sets of the carriage being equipped with an independent drive device with adjustable output (power), and the transport device being provided with an output control unit, thereby achieving the object of the present invention.

[0008] The wheels, each having an independent drive device with adjustable power, form an additional pair of wheels biased towards the rails and are connected by bearings on a fixed console.

[0009] The wheels forming the additional pair of wheels are attached to a crank arm by bearings, and biasing means are arranged between the crank arm and the fixed console.

[0010] The driving device is arranged on the crank arm.

[0011] The biasing means is a spring.

[0012] Hereinafter, the fixed-rail transport device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

[0014] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing one advantageous embodiment of a fixed-rail transport device according to the present invention. The transport device has two parallel rails 2a, 2b separated by a rail gap 5. One carriage with at least two wheel sets, each having two wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d bearing independently on common rotation axes 12a, 12b, is attached to the rails 2a, 2b. The transport device is also provided with at least one branch E including additional rails 2c, 2d. The two axles 12a, 12b are connected by a support 13 with a cargo fixation console 8 (bracket eye 8 in this embodiment) of any design and arrangement, to which, for example, a container suitable for transporting an object can be attached or suspended. Along the length of the support 13, at least two running guide rollers 6a, 6b arranged in the rail gap 5 are rotatably attached to the support 13 successively, and during the movement of the carriage 1, the guide rollers 6a, 6b contact the rails 2a, 2b, preventing the carriage from deviating from the track formed by the rails 2a, 2b. The wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, for example, the wheels 4c, 4d forming one of the wheel sets of the carriage 1, are equipped with independent drive devices 14a, 14b with individually adjustable power for each wheel 4c, 4d, and these drive devices are, for example, motors directly attached to the rotation axis 12b. The power supply for the drive devices 14a, 14b is provided in a manner known per se and can be solved, for example, by using a battery arranged on the carriage 1 (not shown in the figure) or an overhead line. The transport device is also suitable for controlling the performance of the motors 14a, 14b, and for example, since it is equipped with an electronic control unit, the torque acting on the wheels 4c, 4d can be changed.

[0015] In the illustrated branch E, when the planned path of the carriage 1 travels in the E1 direction, the control unit increases the torque of the drive device 14b of the wheel 4c before the tip C of the branch E and presses the guide roller 6b against the rail 2a. Therefore, while the carriage 1 is moving, the roller 6b moves in the E1 direction along the rail 2a and enters between the rails 2a and 2d, guiding the wheels 4a and 4b on the corresponding rails 2a and 2d. On the other hand, when the guide roller 6a approaches the tip C of the branch E, the control unit increases the torque of the drive device 14a of the wheel 4d and presses the guide roller 6a against the rail 2a. As a result, the guide roller 6a is surely pressed in the E1 direction, and the direction change is completed.

[0016] Figure 2 shows a top view of a more advantageous embodiment of the carriage 1 of the fixed-rail transport device according to the present invention. The carriage 1 is placed on the upper surface Ff of a pair of rails 3 consisting of two parallel rails 2a and 2b, and two wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d are attached to each of the rails 2a and 2b. There is a gap 5 with a width S between the rails 2a and 2b, and the free-running guide rollers 6a and 6b of the carriage 1 are arranged therein. Since the diameters Dv of the guide rollers 6a and 6b are smaller than the width S of the rail gap 5, the guide rollers 6a and 6b always contact only one end of the rail strands 2a and 2b. The difference between the diameter Dv and the width S is ideally 0.1% or more and 2% or less of the width S. Different from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, it is preferable that the carriage 1 is equipped with one drive wheel 7a and 7b biased to the lower surfaces Fa of the rails 2a and 2b for each of the rails 2a and 2b. The drive wheels 7a and 7b, the guide rollers 6a and 6b, and the suspension wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d are attached to the carriage 1. In the illustrated embodiment, the rotation axis of the guide roller 6a intersects the rotation axis f of the drive wheels 7a and 7b, and the guide roller 6b is arranged near the suspension wheels 4a and 4b at an arbitrary distance T from the rotation axis f of the drive wheels 7a and 7b in the traveling direction I.

[0017] FIG. 3 shows a more preferred embodiment of the carriage 1 shown in FIG. 2 in a side view. In the figure, it can be seen that the drive wheel 7b is rotatably arranged around the pivot point 81 on the crank arm 9b supported by the suspension console 8 at the pivot point 81. The console 8 and the crank arm 9b are connected by a tension spring 10b, and the tension spring 10b tightens the drive wheel 7b attached to the bracket 9b against the lower surface Fa of the rail 2b. Although not shown, a similar arrangement is formed on the side corresponding to the drive wheel 7a. The console 8 is connected by at least one suspension rod 11 to the support 13 that connects the suspension wheels 4b, 4c to each other. The drive wheel 7b is connected to a drive device 14b fixed to the console 8 via a belt. A similar arrangement is provided on the side corresponding to the drive wheel 7a, and the drive wheel 7a is driven by a motor 14a, that is, independent drive devices 14a, 14b are provided for the drive wheels 7a, 7b of the carriage 1. The torque of the individual motor drive devices 14a, 14b can be controlled by a known built-in control device not shown in the figure.

[0018] FIG. 4 shows a top view of the carriage 1 before the direction change. At the branch E of the pair of rails 3, the rails 2c, 2d start from the same common peak between the rails 2a, 2b that branch in a curve. The rail 2c runs parallel to the rail 2b, and the rail 2d runs parallel to the rail 2a. The width S of the rail gap 5 between the rails 2b, 2c and the rails 2a, 2d is the same as the width of the rail gap 5 between the rails 2a, 2b. Since the drive wheels 7a, 7b of the carriage 1 are equipped with independent drive devices, the motors 14a, 14b shown in FIG. 3 but not shown here can be controlled independently of each other in a manner known to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the torques acting on the drive wheels 7a, 7b can be different. When the carriage 1 at the branch E has to continue running on the pair of rails formed by the rails 2a, 2d, the ratio of the torque by the motor 14a acting on the drive wheel 7a to the torque by the motor 14b acting on the drive wheel 7b is adjusted so that the torque acting on the drive wheel 7b becomes larger. As a result, the guide roller 6b located near the suspension wheel 4 rotates about the rotation axis of the guide roller 6b and is pressed against the rail 2a, enters the rail gap 5 between the rails 2a, 2d at the branch E, and the guide roller 6a that has reached the branch E follows this rail gap 5, that is, the direction of the carriage 1 changes. To ensure a safe track, that is, to prevent the guide roller 6a from accidentally colliding with the rail gap 5 formed by the rail fibers 2b, 2c, it is desirable to shift the position of the guide roller 6a in the moving direction I from the common rotation axis of the drive wheels 7a, 7b towards the guide roller 6b. In this case, due to the torque difference acting on the drive wheels 7a, 7b, the roller 6a is also pressed against the rail 2a. The position of the carriage 1 after the direction change is shown in FIG. 5.

[0019] Briefly, the fixed-rail transport device 1 according to the present invention comprises two parallel rails 2a, 2b separated from each other by a rail gap 5, the carriage 1 can travel along the rails 2a, 2b, and the carriage 1 has at least two wheel sets each having wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d that are independently supported on common rotating shafts 12a, 12b attached to the rails 2a, 2b. Furthermore, it comprises at least one branch E including additional rails 2c, 2d incorporated into the pair of rails 2a, 2b. The rotating shafts 12a, 12b are connected to each other by a support 13 having a fixed console 8. At least two guide rollers 6a, 6b arranged in the rail gap 5 are rotatably connected to the support 13 along its length, and each of at least one of the wheel sets of the carriage 1 is equipped with independent drive devices 14a, 14b with adjustable output. The transport device is provided with an output control device. It comprises independent drive devices (14a, 14b) with adjustable power. Each of the wheels 7a, 7b forming an additional pair of wheels biased against the rails (2a, 2b) is connected by a bearing 91 on the fixed console 8. The wheels 7a, 7b forming the additional pair of wheels are attached to crank arms 9a, 9b by bearings, and biasing means are arranged between the crank arms 9a, 9b and the fixed console 8. The drive devices 14a, 14b are preferably arranged on the crank arms 9a, 9b. The biasing means are springs 10a, 10b.

[0020] The advantage of the fixed-rail transport device according to the present invention compared to state-of-the-art devices is that there is no need for a guide rail separated from the track, i.e., an additional track element, and thus a direction selection roller attached to the additional track element, and a complex and expensive structure for moving it, in order to change the travel direction of the vehicle traveling inside the device. The transport device according to the present invention can be used particularly without limitation in high-speed railways, freight and passenger rails, transport and storage systems for articles in warehouses, etc.

Claims

1. Two parallel rails (2a, 2b) separated from each other by a rail gap (5), and a carriage (1) capable of traveling along the rails (2a, 2b), the carriage (1) having at least two wheel sets having wheels (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) independently bearing on a common rotating shaft (12a, 12b) attached to the rails (2a, 2b), At least one branch (E) including additional rails (2c, 2d) is incorporated into a pair of rails (2a, 2b), The rotating shafts (12a, 12b) are connected to each other by a support (13) having a fixed console (8), and is a fixed track transport device, At least two guide rollers (6a, 6b) arranged in the rail gap (5) are rotatably connected along the length of the support (13), Each of at least one wheel (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) of the wheel set of the carriage (1) is equipped with an independent drive device (14a, 14b) with adjustable output, The fixed track transport device is characterized in that it is provided with an output control device, Fixed track transport device.

2. Wheels (7a, 7b) each having an independent drive device (14a, 14b) with adjustable power and forming an additional pair of wheels (7a, 7b) biased against the rails (2a, 2b) are connected by bearings (91) on the fixed console (8), characterized in that, The fixed track transport device according to Claim 1.

3. The wheels (7a, 7b) forming the additional pair of wheels (7a, 7b) are attached to crank arms (9a, 9b) by bearings, and biasing means are arranged between the crank arms (9a, 9b) and the fixed console (8), characterized in that, The fixed track transport device according to Claim 2.

4. The drive device (14a, 14b) is arranged on the crank arms (9a, 9b), characterized in that, The fixed track transport device according to Claim 3.

5. The biasing means are springs (10a, 10b), characterized in that, The fixed track transport device according to Claim 4.

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