US3834513A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Guide rail means
Assignee: Hitachi Ltd
•
Filing: 1972-12-13
•
Granted: 1974-09-10
•
Expires: 1992-12-13
Abstract
Abstract Guide rail means on which wheels travel, characterized by the provision of elastic members for absorbing impact forces occurring in contact engagement of said wheels with the cooperating guide rails, said elastic members being disposed along the respective surfaces of the guide rails as projecting slightly beyond said surfaces of the guide rails, so that only after the impact forces of the wheels having been absorbed by said elastic members, the wheels are adapted for direct contact engagement with the cooperating guide rails to finally be conducted substantially by the guide rails.
Inventors
- 👤 M Miura
- 👤 K Ichiryu
- 👤 H Nakazawa
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 14:31
CPC Classifications
B; B66; B66B; B66B23/00; B66B23/14; B66B23/145
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 31
Claim 1
Independent Claim
103 words
Guide rail means for guiding rotary traveling wheels, characterized by the provision of shock absorbing members which are positioned along respective tracks of said traveling wheels with the extremities thereof slightly projecting beyond the surfaces of the respectively associated guide rails, said shock absorbing members being adapted to assume positions flush with or below the surfaces of said associated guide rails upon completion of absorbing impact forces exerted by said wheels when said wheels are passing thereat, and said wheels being guided by said rails when said absorbing members assume said positions flush with or below the surfaces of said associated guide rails.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
103 words
Guide rail means for guiding rotary traveling wheels, characterized by the provision of shock absorbing members which are positioned along respective tracks of said traveling wheels with the extremities thereof slightly projecting beyond the surfaces of the respectively associated guide rails, said shock absorbing members being adapted to assume positions flush with or below the surfaces of said associated guide rails upon completion of absorbing impact forces exerted by said wheels when said wheels are passing thereat, and said wheels being guided by said rails when said absorbing members assume said positions flush with or below the surfaces of said associated guide rails.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 1, characterized by that the amount of projection provided in each of said shock absorbing members is 1mm to 3mm.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 1, characterized by that the spring constant of each shock absorbing member is 100 Kg/cm to 300 Kb/cm.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 1, characterized by that a substantially wear resisting member is provided on the side of said each shock absorbing member in contact with the associated wheel.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
68 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 4, characterized by that said substantially wear resisting member is greater in width than the associated shock absorbing member so that upon completion of absorbing impact forces exerted by the associated wheel, said substantially wear resisting member is caused to be positioned flush with said guide rail whereby allowing said associated wheel to travel on said substantially wear resisting member.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
40 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 1, characterized by that said each shock absorbing member is made of rubber, its thickness being preferably 10 to 15 times said amount of projection beyond the surface of the associated rail.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
42 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 1, characterized by that said each shock absorbing member is provided in juxtaposition with the associated guide rail, the width of said shock absorbing member being less than half that of said associated wheel.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
52 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 7, characterized by that at least one supporting frame is provided for supporting said guide rails, said shock absorbing members being held in position by said supporting frame, while said supporting frame provides a guide plate to prevent zigzag motion of the travelling wheels.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
87 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 1, characterized by that said each guide rail on which the associated wheel travel is provided with a longitudinal groove, said shock absorbing member being provided as inserted into said groove with the exposed end thereof projecting slightly beyond the surface of said rail so as to engage said associated wheel, said shock absorbing member being adapted to be positioned flush with or below said surface of the rail after having absorbed impact forces exerted by the associated wheel.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
133 words
Guide rail means, in an escalacalator or an electrically driven moving sidewalk of the type which comprises a plurality of stair elements each carried by front wheels and rear wheels travelling along respective rails, said stair elements being interconnected through an endless chain trained around an upper sprocket and a lower sprocket for drive engagement therewith, so that said stair elements be driven for circulatory movement cycles in an endless looped track, characterized by the provision of shock absorbing members which are positioned along the tracks of said travelling wheels with the exposed extremities thereof projecting slightly beyond the surfaces of said rails, said shock absorbing members being adapted to be positioned flush with or below said surfaces of the associated raIls only after having absorbed impact forces exerted by said travelling wheels.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
133 words
Guide rail means, in an escalacalator or an electrically driven moving sidewalk of the type which comprises a plurality of stair elements each carried by front wheels and rear wheels travelling along respective rails, said stair elements being interconnected through an endless chain trained around an upper sprocket and a lower sprocket for drive engagement therewith, so that said stair elements be driven for circulatory movement cycles in an endless looped track, characterized by the provision of shock absorbing members which are positioned along the tracks of said travelling wheels with the exposed extremities thereof projecting slightly beyond the surfaces of said rails, said shock absorbing members being adapted to be positioned flush with or below said surfaces of the associated raIls only after having absorbed impact forces exerted by said travelling wheels.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
34 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 10, characterized by that said shock absorbing members are provided at least in the region where said wheels move from said sprockets to the guide rails.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
45 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 10, which consists of horizontal portions and inclination portions, characterized by that said shock absorbing members are provided in the transit regions of the guide rails from said horizontal portions to said inclination portions, and vice versa.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
44 words
Guide rail means as set fother in claim 10, characterized by that said shock absorbing members are provided in each terminal region of the escalator length where said rear wheels shift from the upper guide rails to the lower guide rails, and vice versa.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
25 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 10, characterized by that the amount of projection in each shock absorbing member is 1mm to 3mm.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
27 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 10, characterized by that the spring constant of each said shock absorbing member is 100 Kg/cm to 300 Kg/cm.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
36 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 10, characterized by that a substantially wear resisting member is provided at the side of said each shock absorbing member to be in contact with the associated wheel.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
70 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 10, characterized by that said substantially wear resisting member is greater in width than the associated shock absorbing member while said wear resisting member being adapted to be positioned flush with the surface of the associated guide rail after impacts of the wheel having been absorbed by said shock absorbing member, thereby allowing said wheel to travel upon said wear resisting member.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
40 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 10, characterized by that said shock absorbing members are made of rubber, and each has a thickness preferably 10 to 15 times the amount of projection beyond the surface of the rail.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
42 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 10, characterized by that said shock absorbing members are provided in juxtaposition with said associated rails while the width of each shock absorbing member being less than half the width of said associated wheel.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
54 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 10, characterized by the provision of at least one supporting frame for supporting said guide rails, said supporting frame retaining said shock absorbing members in position while guide plates for preventing the wheels from zigzag motion along the guide rails are provided on said supporting frame.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
116 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 10, characterized by that in the region where the guide rails on which the respective front and rear wheels in each of said stair elements travel are arrangEd flush with each other, a common rail for both of the front and rear wheels is disposed on and centrally of a U-shaped supporting frame, shock absorbing members each having a width less than half the width of said respective wheel being provided between said common rail and the side walls of said U-shaped supporting frame, while holding plates serving to retain said respective shock absorbing members in position being provided on the inner side walls of said supporting frame.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
76 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 10, characterized by that said each guide rail is formed with a groove into which the shock absorbing member is inserted as projecting slightly beyond the surface of said rail to engage said associated wheel, said shock absorbing member being adapted to absorb impact forces exerted by said wheel in contact engagement with the rail and thereafter be positioned flush with or below the surface of said rail.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
74 words
Guide rail means as set forth in claim 22, characterized by that said groove is countersunk to form a recess wider than said groove while said shock absorbing member provides on the upper surface thereof a rigid member of substantial wear-resistance wider than said shock absorbing member, said rigid member being adapted, during the travelling of the wheel, for snug engagement in said recess to be positioned flush with the surface of said rail.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
136 words
A conveyor arrangement comprising: a conveying means, a plurality of roller means connected to said conveying means for movable supporting the same, guide rail means for receiving and guiding the movement of said roller means, means provided along at least selected portions of said guide rail means for absorbing impact forces of said roller means, said impact absorbing means including a plurality of shock absorbing members, said shock absorbing members including surface portions projecting above the surfaces of the guiding rail means to permit said roller means to engage said surface portions prior to engaging said guide rail means, said shock absorbing members being deformable upon engagement with said roller means to assume a position at least flush with said guide rail means to permit said roller means to be guided by said guide rail means.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
136 words
A conveyor arrangement comprising: a conveying means, a plurality of roller means connected to said conveying means for movable supporting the same, guide rail means for receiving and guiding the movement of said roller means, means provided along at least selected portions of said guide rail means for absorbing impact forces of said roller means, said impact absorbing means including a plurality of shock absorbing members, said shock absorbing members including surface portions projecting above the surfaces of the guiding rail means to permit said roller means to engage said surface portions prior to engaging said guide rail means, said shock absorbing members being deformable upon engagement with said roller means to assume a position at least flush with said guide rail means to permit said roller means to be guided by said guide rail means.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
59 words
An arrangement according to claim 24, wherein said roller means are disposed on respective lateral sides of said conveying means, said guiding rail means including a pair of spaced tracks disposed on respective sides of said conveying means for receiving said roller means therebetween, each of said tracks being provided with a shock absorbing member disposed substantially centrally thereof.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
29 words
An arrangement according to claim 25, wherein each of said tracks is provided with a longitudinally extending groove, and wherein said shock absorbing members are disposed within said groove.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
59 words
An arrangement according to claim 25, wherein said projecting surface portions of said shock absorbing members are provided with a wear resistant member, said guide tracks being provided with means for receiving said last-mentioned member to permit said member to assume a flush position with said guide tracks upon deformation of said shock absorbing members by said roller means.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
61 words
An arrangement according to claim 25, wherein a substantially U-shaped support frame is provided for maintaining the respective pair of guide tracks in spaced relationship, each guide track of a respective pair being disposed on a respective leg of said U-shaped support frame with a shock absorbing member being disposed adjacent to and in abutting relationship with a respective guide track.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US2455175A
Cited
US2813613A
Cited
US2906390A
Cited
US3032377A
Cited
US3237756A
Cited
US3491873A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-09-09 | 1978-03-11 | 1978-09-10 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-09-09 | 1982-03-11 | 1982-09-10 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-09-09 | 1986-03-11 | 1986-09-10 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |