Switch for monorail track with rotary drive shaft

Claim 2

Apparatus comprising: a. a main conveyor line and an auxiliary conveyor line, a junction between said lines, b. each conveyor line having only one track and a horizontally disposed drive shaft, said shafts being rotatable about their longitudinal axes and being disposed below the elevation of said track, c. at least one vehicle for movement along said lines, said vehicle having a wheel for rolling contact with a horizontal surface of said tracks and a drive wheel for frictional contact with said shafts, means biasing said drive wheel so that its axis of rotation is angled with respect to the longitudinal axis of one of said shafts, d. a transfer means at said junction for transferring the vehicle between said lines in a manner so that said drive wheel is transferred from driving contact with one shaft to driving contact with the other shaft, and e. means associated with the auxiliary conveyor line adjacent the junction for changing the speed of the vehicle.

Claim 3

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein the drive shaft associated with the main conveyor line and the auxiliary conveyor line are at the same elevation, and said transfer device including a drive shaft at said same elevation.

Claim 4

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said transfer means includes a pivotably mounted section of the track and drive shaft of said main conveyor line mounted to alternatively interconnect the auxiliary line and a portion of the main conveyor line.

Claim 5

Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 wherein said means for changing the speed of a vehicle includes an inclined surface below the elevation of said transfer means when the transfer means is positioned to transfer a vehicle between said lines.

Claim 6

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein a vertical plane containing the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft of the main conveyor line is between said one track and the center of gravity of the vehicle so that the weight of the vehicle maintains the drive wheel in contact with said drive shaft of the main conveyor line.

Claim 7

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said track is comprised of a generally horizontal member interconnected with a generally vertical member.

Claim 8

Apparatus in accordance with claim 6 wherein said vehicle includes a first wheel for rolling contact with an upper horizontal surface of said vertical member and a second wheel for rolling contact with a vertical surface of said vertical member.

Claim 9

Apparatus in accordance with claim 7 wherein said first and second wheels are rotatable about a single vertical axis.

Claim 10

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said transfer means is a single track and a horizontally disposed drive shaft supported for movement as a unit, said last-mentioned drive shaft being disposed below said last-mentioned track and being rotatable about its longitudinal axis.

Claim 11

Apparatus comprising a main conveyor line having two ends and an auxiliary conveyor line, a junction between said lines, each conveyor line having only a single track and a horizontally disposed drive shaft disposed below the elevation of said track, said shafts being rotatable about their longitudinal axes and being at substantially the same elevation, a transfer means at a junction between said conveyor lines for transferring vehicles between said lines in a manner so that a drive wheel on the vehicle is transferred from driving contact with one shaft to driving contact with the other shaft, said transfer means having only a single track and a horizontally disposed drive shaft supported for movement as a unit, the drive shaft of said transfer means being disposed below the elevation of the track of said transfer means and being rotatable about its longitudinal axis, one end of said transfer means being mounted for pivotable movement adjacent one end of said main conveyor line, the other end of said transfer means being movable between a position in alignment with an end of said auxiliary conveyor line and a position in alignment with an end of said main conveyor line, means for pivoting said other end of said transfer means between said positions.

Claim 12

Apparatus comprising a main conveyor line having two ends and an auxiliary conveyor line, a junction between said lines, each conveyor line having only a single track and a horizontally disposed drive shaft disposed below the elevation of said track, said shafts being rotatable about their longitudinal axes and being at substantially the same elevation, a transfer means at a junction between said conveyor lines for transferring vehicles between said lines in a manner so that a drive wheel on the vehicle is transferred from driving contact with one shaft to driving contact with the other shaft, said transfer means having only a single track and a horizontally disposed drive shaft supported for movement as a unit, the drive shaft of said transfer means being disposed below the elevation of the track of said transfer means and being rotatable about its longitudinal axis, one end of said transfer means being mounted for pivotable movement adjacent one end of said main conveyor line, the other end of said transfer means being movable between a position in alignment with an end of said auxiliary conveyor line and a position in alignment with an end of said main conveyor line, means for pivoting said other end of said transfer means between said positions.

Claim 13

Apparatus in accordance with claim 10 wherein the single track of each of said lines is disposed to one side of the longitudinal axis of the respective drive shaft of said lines and the single track of said transfer means is disposed to one side of the longtidinal axis of the drive shaft of said transfer means.

Claim 14

Apparatus in accordance with claim 6 including a means associated with the auxiliary conveyor line adjacent the junction for changing the speed of the vehicle.

Claim 15

Apparatus in accordance with claim 12 wherein said speed changing means includes an inclined surface adjacent an end of said auxiliary conveyor line.

Claim 16

Apparatus in accordance with claim 10 including a member for supporting both said transfer means drive shaft and track, said support member supporting said transfer means drive shaft below said transfer means track.