Shuttle and method of securing a shuttle to a forklift

Abstract

A shuttle configured to travel along rails and be transported on forklift tines, which shuttle comprises: a chassis; a body secured to the chassis; a battery disposed between the chassis and the body; at least four wheels arranged to facilitate rolling of the shuttle along rails; at least one motor for driving at least one wheel; and a first permanent magnet secured to the chassis.

Description

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Claims

AMENDED CLAIMS received by the International Bureau on 09 Apr 2025(09.04.2025) CLAIMS1 . A shuttle (10) configured to travel along rails (20) and be transported on forklift (22) tines (24), the shuttle (10) comprising: a chassis (12); a body (14) secured to the chassis (12); a battery (26) disposed between the chassis (12) and the body (14); at least four wheels (16) arranged to facilitate rolling of the shuttle (10) along rails (20); at least one motor (28) for driving at least one wheel (16); a first permanent magnet (18a) secured to the chassis (22); and a second permanent magnet (18b) secured to the chassis (22) and spaced from the first permanent magnet (18a), characterised in that the first and second permanent magnets (18a, 18b) are: disposed on the chassis (22), inwards of the wheels (16); and slidably secured to the chassis (22) to enable the first and second magnet (18a, 18b) spacing to be varied.

2. The shuttle (10) according to claim 1 , wherein the magnetic axes (B-B) of the first and second permanent magnets (18a, 18b) extend substantially orthogonal to a virtual plane that extends between the centre point of rotation of the wheels (16).

3. The shuttle (10) according to claim 2, wherein the first and second permanent magnets (18a, 18b) do not extend beyond the operative lower surface of the chassis (22).

4. The shuttle (10) according to claim 3, wherein the first and second magnets (18a, 18b) are spaced 500mm-600mm from each other (centre to centre).

5. A method of transporting a shuttle (10) on forklift (22) tines (24) including the steps of: providing a shuttle (10) according to claim 3 with the wheels (16) supported on spaced apart parallel rails (20); locating forklift (22) tines (24) underneath the shuttle (10), between the rails (20), such that the magnetic axis (B-B) of each permanent magnet (18a, 18b) extends towards a forklift (22) tine (24); raising the forklift (22) tines (24) to contact the shutle chassis (22) and lift the shuttle (10) from the rails (20); transporting the shuttle (10) to another location above spaced apart parallel rails (20) via the forklift (22) tines (24); lowering the forklift (22) tines (24) until the shuttle wheels (16) contact the rails (20); and further lowering the forklift (22) tines (24) to space the forklift (22) tines (24) from the permanent magnets (18a, 18b) and reduce the magnetic attraction between the permanent magnets (18a, 18b) and the forklift (22) tines (24).

6. The method according to claim 5, further including the additional step of:inhibiting rotation of the shuttle wheels (16) while simultaneously removing the forklift (22) tines (24) from underneath the shuttle (10), between the rails (20).

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