Dual rail track system for industrial control

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10723232-B2
Application number	US-201815891516-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 8, 2018
Priority date	Feb 8, 2018
Publication date	Jul 28, 2020
Grant date	Jul 28, 2020

Abstract

The present invention provides a dual rail track system for independently moveable carts in an industrial control environment in which upper and lower rails of a track are substantially “L” shaped to allow upper and lower groups of rollers of a cart to orthogonally contact the upper and lower rails, respectively, to provide vertical and horizontal control of the cart while in motion along the track. The shape of the rails and arrangement of the rollers, orthogonal with respect to the rails in vertical and horizontal planes, provides an efficient support system allowing high speed movement of carts, including through turns, with only two rails and with symmetric weight distribution of the cart. Flexible members provided with respect to each roller also provide resiliency to allow the rollers to adapt to variations in the track.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An industrial control system for moving objects, comprising:
a track having first and second rails, the first and second rails each including first and second extension portions projecting perpendicular to one another along first and second axes, respectively, each extension portion having first and second surfaces on opposing sides of one another; and
a mover having a plurality of rollers configured to engage only the first and second rails, the plurality of rollers including first and second groups of rollers engaging the first and second rails, respectively, wherein each group of rollers includes at least two rollers engaging a first extension portion on the opposing sides of the first extension portion and at least one roller engaging a second extension portion in parallel to the first axis on a single side of the opposing sides of the second extension portion.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first extension portions of the first and second rails are axially aligned.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the first extension portions of the first and second rails are arranged vertically with respect to the track to control horizontal motion of the mover.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second extension portions of the first and second rails are parallel to one another.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the second extension portions of the first and second rails are arranged horizontally with respect to the track to control vertical motion of the mover.

6. The system of claim 4 , wherein the mover includes a plurality of flexible members, wherein each flexible member is configured to maintain contact between a roller and an extension portion with resiliency.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein each group of rollers includes two rollers engaging the first extension portion on a first side, two rollers engaging the first extension portion on a second side opposing the first side, and two rollers engaging the second extension portion on a common side.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the track has curved and linear sections.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mover includes a propulsion magnet for propelling the mover along the track, and wherein the propulsion magnet is symmetrically arranged between the first and second groups of rollers.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mover includes a position magnet for determining positions of the mover along the track, wherein the position magnet is arranged to face locating sensors disposed along the track across an air gap.

11. A method for moving objects in an industrial control system, comprising:
providing a track having first and second rails, the first and second rails each including first and second extension portions projecting perpendicular to one another along first and second axes, respectively, each extension portion having first and second surfaces on opposing sides of one another, and
supporting an object on a mover, the mover having a plurality of rollers engaging only the first and second rails, the plurality of rollers including first and second groups of rollers engaging the first and second rails, respectively, wherein each group of rollers includes at least two rollers engaging a first extension portion on the opposing sides of the first extension portion and at least one roller engaging a second extension portion in parallel to the first axis on a single side of the opposing sides of the second extension portion.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first extension portions of the first and second rails are axially aligned.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first extension portions of the first and second rails are arranged vertically with respect to the track to control horizontal motion of the mover.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the second extension portions of the first and second rails are parallel to one another.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the second extension portions of the first and second rails are arranged horizontally with respect to the track to control vertical motion of the mover.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the mover includes a plurality of flexible members, and further comprising each flexible member maintaining contact between a roller and an extension portion with resiliency.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein each group of rollers includes two rollers engaging the first extension portion on a first side, two rollers engaging the first extension portion on a second side opposing the first side, and two rollers engaging the second extension portion on a common side.

18. The method of claim 11 , wherein the track has curved and linear sections.

19. The method of claim 11 , wherein the mover includes a propulsion magnet for propelling the mover along the track, and wherein the propulsion magnet is symmetrically arranged between the first and second groups of rollers.

20. The method of claim 11 , wherein the mover includes a position magnet for determining positions of the mover along the track, wherein the position magnet is arranged to face locating sensors disposed along the track across an air gap.

Assignees

• Rockwell Automation Tech Inc

Inventors

• Gurevich Ilya
• Grosskreuz Paul J
• Fernandez Juan A
• Zhou Rui

Classifications

• B65G54/02 Primary

  electrostatic, electric, or magnetic · CPC title

• B65G2203/043

  Magnetic · CPC title

• B65G2203/0283

  Position of the load carrier · CPC title

• B60L13/06 Primary

  Means to sense or control vehicle position or attitude with respect to railway · CPC title

• B61C13/04

  for elevated railways with rigid rails (B61C13/08 takes precedence) · CPC title