Vehicle and system incorporating said vehicle

Claim 2

A vehicle comprising a base mounted on wheels, means supported by said base for cooperation with a guide path along which the base will follow, first and second selector pins on said base, said first selector pin having an operative position for cooperation with a means for changing the destination of the base while the base is moving along said path, control means for retaining said second selector pin in an inoperative position without interfering with the first selector pin which is biased to an operative position, said control means retaining said first selector pin in an inoperative position in response to movement of said first selector pin beyond a predetermined elevation while simultaneously allowing said second selector pin to be biased from its inoperative position to an operative position.

Claim 3

A vehicle in accordance with claim 1 wherein said control means is a spring-biased retainer, a projection on each selector pin, said retainer engaging one of said projections, the projection on said first pin being larger than the projection on the second pin.

Claim 4

A vehicle in accordance with claim 2 wherein said retainer has a central portion perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of said pins.

Claim 5

A vehicle in accordance with claim 2 wherein the projections on said pins are annular tapered flanges adjacent the upper end of said pins.

Claim 6

A vehicle comprising a base mounted on wheels, a tow pin supported by said base, said tow pin being mounted so that in one position it extends downwardly below the wheels so that it may enter a guide slot, first and second selector pins supported by said base at different distances from said tow pin, selector pin control means on said base, said control means retaining said second pin in an inoperative position wherein its lower end is above the lower end of said first pin when the latter is in an operative position, said control means being constructed and arranged to allow the second pin to descend from its inoperative position in response to upward movement of said first pin beyond a predetermined elevation.

Claim 7

A vehicle comprising a base mounted on wheels, a tow pin supported by said base, said tow pin being mounted so that in one position it extends downwardly below the wheels so that it may enter a guide slot, first and second selector pins supported by said base at different distances from said tow pin, selector pin control means on said base, said control means retaining said second pin in an inoperative position wherein its lower end is above the lower end of said first pin when the latter is in an operative position, said control means being constructed and arranged to allow the second pin to descend from its inoperative position in response to upward movement of said first pin beyond a predetermined elevation.

Claim 8

A vehicle in accordance with claim 5 wherein said control means is spring-biased in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of said pins, each pin having a projection adjacent its upper end with the projection on the first pin being larger than the projection on the second pin, said retainer cooperating with the projection on one of said pins to retain the pin in an inoperative position.

Claim 9

A vehicle in accordance with claim 6 wherein said retainer has a central portion extending parallel to but at an elevation above a rack, said rack supporting said pins in their operative position, and said retainer being made of spring metal.

Claim 10

A vehicle in accordance with claim 6 wherein the projections on said pins are annular and have their upper surface tapered downwardly and outwardly, each projection having a shoulder on its bottom surface under which the retainer may extend.

Claim 11

A tow vehicle system comprising a reference surface having a main guide slot intersected therealong by discrete shunt slots, switch means controlling the intersections of said main guide slot with said shunt slots, a discrete actuator device for controlling each switch means, a vehicle having a tow pin extending into said main guide slot, said vehicle having first and second selector pins at different distances from said guide slot, each selector pin when in an operative position being adapted to control a different one of said actuator means, selector pin control means on said vehicle retaining said second pin in an inoperative Position without interfering with the first pin biased to an operative position, said control means retaining said first pin in an inoperative position in response to movement of said first pin beyond a predetermined elevation while simultaneously allowing the second pin to be biased from said inoperative position to an operative position, and a diverter means supported by said reference surface along said main guide slot for moving said first pin from its operative position to its inoperative position.

Claim 12

A tow vehicle system comprising a reference surface having a main guide slot intersected therealong by discrete shunt slots, switch means controlling the intersections of said main guide slot with said shunt slots, a discrete actuator device for controlling each switch means, a vehicle having a tow pin extending into said main guide slot, said vehicle having first and second selector pins at different distances from said guide slot, each selector pin when in an operative position being adapted to control a different one of said actuator means, selector pin control means on said vehicle retaining said second pin in an inoperative Position without interfering with the first pin biased to an operative position, said control means retaining said first pin in an inoperative position in response to movement of said first pin beyond a predetermined elevation while simultaneously allowing the second pin to be biased from said inoperative position to an operative position, and a diverter means supported by said reference surface along said main guide slot for moving said first pin from its operative position to its inoperative position.

Claim 13

A system in accordance with claim 9 wherein said diverter means is a movable cam surface spaced from the main guide slot by a distance corresponding to the distance from the main guide slot to the first pin.

Claim 14

A system in accordance with claim 10 wherein said cam surface is mounted for up and down movement.

Claim 15

A system in accordance with claim 10 wherein said cam surface is pivotably supported by said reference surface for pivotable movement about an axis perpendicular to the main guide slot.

Claim 16

A system in accordance with claim 12 wherein said diverter means includes a pivotably mounted arm, a wheel engaging projection on one end of said arm, and said cam surface being on the other end of said arm, the distance between said wheel engaging projection and said cam surface corresponding to the distance between the axis of a front wheel on said vehicle and the first selector pin.