Patent US1444653A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
Patent US3699896A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3699896A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Transportation installation with a plurality of stations
Assignee: LTV Aerospace Corp
•
Filing: 1971-06-23
•
Granted: 1972-10-24
•
Expires: 1991-06-23
Abstract
Abstract A transportation installation having a lower substantially horizontal conveyor and a guide rail extending parallel to and spaced above the conveyor and a car transportable by the conveyor having a shoe frictionally engageable with the conveyor at its bottom, a guide wheel vertically movably mounted on its upper top end and means for moving the guide wheel upwardly into engagement with the guiderail during movement of the car by the conveyor. The installation includes at least one station to which the car may be switched from the conveyor, each of the stations including a carrier rail having an upstream portion parallel to and spaced below the guide rail, an intermediate portion which is spaced laterally and upwardly from the guide rail, a downstream portion which is parallel to and spaced below the guide rail, and connector portions extending convergently laterally outwardly and upwardly from the upstream and downstream portions to the upstream and downstream ends of the intermediate portions.
Inventors
- 👤 Francois L Giraud
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 22:39
CPC Classifications
B; B61; B61B; B61B15/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
197 words
Transportation installation, particularly for passengers, characterized in that it comprises a main track, which is formed essentially by a conveyor placed on the ground, and by a guide rail supported at a distance D, which is generally constant, above the said conveyor, secondary or side tracks, each one of which serves a station and is formed essentially by a carrier rail, passing below the guide rail of the main track, in an incoming switching or shunting zone and an outgoing shunting zone, where the carrier rail is supported at a distance d, less than D, above the conveyor, while the other sections of each side track, the carrier rail is supported at a distance greater than d above the ground, as well as passive vehicles which can rest by means of at least one lower shoe on the conveyor of the main track, and each of which is equipped, at the top, with at least one wheel of radius R less than (D-d)/2, and with means for varying, in a shunting zone, the distance from the axle of this wheel of the vehicle to the shoe, between the two values (D - R) and (d + R).
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
197 words
Transportation installation, particularly for passengers, characterized in that it comprises a main track, which is formed essentially by a conveyor placed on the ground, and by a guide rail supported at a distance D, which is generally constant, above the said conveyor, secondary or side tracks, each one of which serves a station and is formed essentially by a carrier rail, passing below the guide rail of the main track, in an incoming switching or shunting zone and an outgoing shunting zone, where the carrier rail is supported at a distance d, less than D, above the conveyor, while the other sections of each side track, the carrier rail is supported at a distance greater than d above the ground, as well as passive vehicles which can rest by means of at least one lower shoe on the conveyor of the main track, and each of which is equipped, at the top, with at least one wheel of radius R less than (D-d)/2, and with means for varying, in a shunting zone, the distance from the axle of this wheel of the vehicle to the shoe, between the two values (D - R) and (d + R).
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
31 words
Transportation installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the conveyor of the main track is of a known type, using belt, cable or chain, or of a suitable different type.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
85 words
Transportation installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the means with which each vehicle is equipped for varying the distance from the axle of its upper wheel to its lower shoe, include at least one set of communicating, elastic bellows, by means of which the said axle is suspended from a bracket, solid with the upper part of the vehicle, as well as means for varying the expansion of the said elastic bellows, in particular their degree of filling by a fluid under pressure.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
61 words
Installation according to claim 3, characterized in that each vehicle comprises at least one variable chamber in controllable communication with the set of suspension bellows, and subjected to an action of compression by an elastic means, as well as means for temporarily opening, in a shunting zone, the communication between the said variable chamber and the said set of suspension bellows.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
35 words
Installation according to claim 4, characterized in that the variable chamber is constituted essentially by an auxiliary bellows, mounted on a fixed part of the vehicle, and subjected to the action of a compression spring.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
63 words
Installation according to claim 4, characterized in that the variable cHamber is connected to the set of suspension bellows by two pipes in which there are inserted, respectively, two control valves and two check valves having mutually opposing direction of flow, and in that means are provided to open one of the two control valves, and close the other, in a shunting zone.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
41 words
Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the carrier rail of each side track forms a rising ramp somewhat before the outlet of the incoming shunting zone, and a descending ramp somewhat beyond the entrance to the outgoing shunting zone.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
56 words
Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the carrier rail of the side track is equipped, at the entrance to the incoming shunting zone, with lateral guide parts, facing upward, while the guide rail of the main track is equipped, somewhat beyond the outlet of the outgoing shunting zone, with lateral guide parts facing downward.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
39 words
Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that each vehicle is equipped with a device for braking its wheel, in particular on the carrier rail of a side track, in order to stop the vehicle at the corresponding station.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
55 words
Installation according to claims 3 and 9, characterized in that the braking device of each vehicle, of the hydraulic or pneumatic type, is fed from the set of suspension bellows where, during the braking on the carrying rail of a side track, a maximum pressure prevails, substantially proportional to the loaded weight of the vehicle.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
52 words
Installation according to to one of claims 1 and 7, characterized in that at least one of the side tracks comprises, before the corresponding station, means to brake the wheel of the vehicle to be stopped at the said station, these means comprising, for example, a rising ramp and/or a track brake.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
44 words
Installation according to one of claims 1 and 7, characterized in that each of the side tracks comprises, beyond the corresponding station, means, for example, a descending ramp, to accelerate the vehicle, stopped at the said station, up to the speed of the conveyor.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
123 words
Installation according to claim 12, characterized in that the means with which each of the side tracks is equipped in order to accelerate a vehicle up to the speed of the conveyor, comprise a departure conveyor belt, moving at the speed of the conveyor, from the corresponding station to the outgoing shunting zone, and that each vehicle comprises, at the level of the lower shoe, controlled-friction clutch means, for gradually varying the relative speed of the vehicle with respect to the said conveyor belt, between a maximum value, at which the vehicle is stopped in the corresponding station, and a zero value at which the vehicle is entrained by the conveyor belt at the speed of the conveyor, toward the outgoing shunting zone.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
63 words
Installation according to claim 13, characterized in that the controlled-friction clutch consists, essentially of an endless belt, guided to pass between the lower shoe of the vehicle and the departure conveyor belt, or the conveyor in which the said vehicle is resting, as well as a device for gradually braking the movement communicated to the said endless belt, by the departure conveyor belt.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
171 words
A transportation installation including: a lower substantially horizontal conveyor; a guide rail extending parallel to and spaced above the conveyor; and at least one station comprising a carrier rail having an upstream portion parallel to and spaced below the guide rail, an intermediate portion spaced laterally and upwardly from the guide rail, a downstream portion extending parallel to and spaced below the guide rail, and connector portions extending convergently upwardly and outwardly from the upstream and downstream portions of the carrier rail to the upstream and downstream ends of the intermediate portion; and a car transportable by said conveyor, said car having support means at its bottom engageable with said conveyor, a guide wheel vertically movably mounted at the upper end of the car, and means for moving the guide wheel upwardly into engagement with the guide rail during movement of the car by the conveyor and downwardly into position engaging said carrier rail for raising the car out of engagement with the conveyor and for movement on the carrier rail.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
171 words
A transportation installation including: a lower substantially horizontal conveyor; a guide rail extending parallel to and spaced above the conveyor; and at least one station comprising a carrier rail having an upstream portion parallel to and spaced below the guide rail, an intermediate portion spaced laterally and upwardly from the guide rail, a downstream portion extending parallel to and spaced below the guide rail, and connector portions extending convergently upwardly and outwardly from the upstream and downstream portions of the carrier rail to the upstream and downstream ends of the intermediate portion; and a car transportable by said conveyor, said car having support means at its bottom engageable with said conveyor, a guide wheel vertically movably mounted at the upper end of the car, and means for moving the guide wheel upwardly into engagement with the guide rail during movement of the car by the conveyor and downwardly into position engaging said carrier rail for raising the car out of engagement with the conveyor and for movement on the carrier rail.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
76 words
The transportation installation of claim 15, wherein said means for movably mounting said guide wheel on said car includes a bellows means, and said third means includes a source of fluid under pressure, conduit means connecting said source of fluid under pressure with said bellows, and valve means connected to said conduit means for selectively permitting flow of fluid under pressure to said bellows from said source of fluid and from said bellows to said source.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
29 words
The installation of claim 16, wherein said source of fluid under pressure comprises means providing a variable capacity chamber and means yieldably biasing said chamber toward a contracted position.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
121 words
A car for use in a transportation installation having a lower substantially horizontal conveyor, a guide rail extending parallel to and spaced above the conveyor and a carrier rail spaced below said guide rail, said car including: a support means at its bottom engageable with a lower horizontal conveyor of a transportation installation, a guide wheel vertically movably mounted on the upper end of the car, and means for moving the guide wheel upwardly to a position wherein it is engageable with the guide rail during movement of the car by the lower horizontal conveyor and downwardly into position engageable with said carrier rail for raising the car out of engagement with the carrier and for movement on the carrier rail.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
121 words
A car for use in a transportation installation having a lower substantially horizontal conveyor, a guide rail extending parallel to and spaced above the conveyor and a carrier rail spaced below said guide rail, said car including: a support means at its bottom engageable with a lower horizontal conveyor of a transportation installation, a guide wheel vertically movably mounted on the upper end of the car, and means for moving the guide wheel upwardly to a position wherein it is engageable with the guide rail during movement of the car by the lower horizontal conveyor and downwardly into position engageable with said carrier rail for raising the car out of engagement with the carrier and for movement on the carrier rail.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
76 words
The car of claim 18, wherein said means for movably mounting said guide wheel on said car includes a bellows means, and said third means includes a source of fluid under pressure, conduit means connecting said source of fluid under pressure with said bellows means, and valve means connected to said conduit means for selectively permitting flow of fluid under pressure to said bellows from said source of fluid and from said bellows to said source.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
29 words
The installation of claim 19, wherein said source of fluid under pressure comprises means providing a variable capacity chamber and means yieldably biasing said chamber towards a contracted position.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-10-24 | 1976-04-24 | 1976-10-24 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-10-24 | 1980-04-24 | 1980-10-24 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-10-24 | 1984-04-24 | 1984-10-24 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |