Mechanism for Assuring Registration and Contact Between Multiple Traveling Collectors and Parallel Conductors

1. Technical Field

This invention relates to an overhead multiple conductor trolley rail and vehicle mounted collector units having particular utility in storage and retrieval systems.

2. Prior Art

Heretofore, others have provided combinations of overhead conductors and traveling collectors wherein an overhead conductor housing mounts as many as four conductors in the upper portions of downwardly opening slots and wherein collectors are mounted on arms or parallel links which are biased upwardly to insure electrical contact. One such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,603. The beforementioned patent also includes guide means for aligning the collectors with the conductors when a vehicle with the collectors is moved so as to bring the collectors into engagement with the overhead conductors. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,142,368, a funnel-shaped entrance is provided for each of two horizontally-biased collectors so as to guide the latter as they are brought into position for contacting conductors. U.S. Pat. No. 3,142,368, 3,439,132, 3,303,294, 3,405,240, 3,124,226, 3,114,441 and 2,700,705 show collectors mounted on spring biased arms or parallel linkages wherein the collectors are engagable with overhead conductor rails. In these last mentioned patents, the collector support arms and parallel linkages are pivotable relative to their transporting vehicle about a vertical pivot axis and the collectors are pivotally mounted on their support arms or supporting parallel linkages.

The present invention is an improved combination of traveling collectors and overhead conductors which provides improved registration and contact between the collectors and conductors. An inclined entrance funnel or chute is mounted on one end of the overhead conductor housing which is engageable by a guide member in the form of a roller so as to properly align the collectors as the material handling vehicle is moved to bring the collectors into engagement with the conductors. During an entrance operation, the collectors engage the top wall of the inclined chute and are thereby cammed downwardly and the guide roller engages converging side walls of the chute to properly align the collectors with the conductor bars. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, two collectors are mounted on a single biased linkage and are provided with an equalizer bar support so that vertical movement may occur between each pair of collectors.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved entrance guide for aligning the collectors with the conductors of an overhead conductor rail at the entrance to the conductor rail housing so that the collectors can properly enter the current carrying conductor rail at a walking speed without manual assistance.

It is a further object of this invention to provide the mechanism hereinbefore outlined wherein the entrance guide includes a downwardly open chute on the conductor rail with side walls diverging outwardly from the entrance of the rail housing and a horizontally disposed guide roller traveling with the collectors and engageable with the side walls during an entrance operation.

It is a further object to this invention to provide an improved mounting for a pair of collectors utilizing an equalizer mechanism permitting relative vertical movement between the two collectors to assure contact between the collectors and the conductors.

One embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a combination of an overhead multiple conductor rail and traveling collectors;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 with parts broken away for illustration purposes;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line III--III in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line IV--IV in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a view taken along the line V--V in FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, a fixed overhead current carrying conductor rail 10 includes an extruded plastic housing 11 which is mounted near the top of a storage facility (not shown) by a suitable bracket 12. The bracket 12 is secured to the plastic housing 11 by a purality of cap screws 13 which are in threaded engagement with threaded openings 14 in a longitudinally extending metal plate 15 inserted into a lipped recess 16 of the housing 11. In the portion of the housing 11 adjacent the entrance, plastic insulating strips 17 are inserted into the upper enlarged width portions of the conductor slots 18, 19, 21, 22 of the housing 11. A short distance from the entrance regular copper conductor bars 21' are utilized in each of the four slots 18, 19, 21, 22.

The entrance to the conductor housing 11 includes a fabricated downwardly open chute or funnel structure 26 made up of a downwardly open channel-shaped portion 27 having a pair of parallel vertical side walls 28, 29 and a top wall 31 and an inclined portion 33 having a top wall 34 and outwardly diverging vertical side walls 36, 37. The vertical side walls 28, 29 of the channel-shaped portion 27 extend below the conductor housing 11 and have portions extending longitudinally beyond the top wall 31 in overlapping relation to the entrance end 39 of the housing 11. The ends of the walls 28, 29 remote from the housing 11 are secured, as by welding, to the laterally spaced vertical walls 36, 37 which diverge from one another in the longitudinal direction away from the entrance end of the conductor housing 11. The vertical walls 36, 37 also incline upwardly in the direction away from the housing 11 and their upper ends are integral with lateral ends of the top wall 34. The top wall 34 inclines upwardly in the direction away from the conductor housing 11 from its integral connection with the upper wall 31 of the channel portion 27. The channel portion 27 of the chute 26 is rigidly secured, as by welding, to the bracket 12.

A collector unit 41 includes a pair of collector subassemblies 42, 43 having clamping brackets 46, 47 rigidly, but releasably, secured to transverse square section bar 48, 49 by bolts 51, extending through aligned openings in clamp parts 53, 54 and brackets 46, 47, and nuts 56. The transverse, parallel bars 48, 49 are secured at corresponding ends to an upper frame member 57 of a material handling vehicle, not otherwise shown. The collection unit subassemblies 42, 43 are identical in construction except for the positioning of the guide rollers 61, 62 which is required because the subassemblies are secured to their support in the form of bars 48, 49 in laterally offset relation to one another so that the collectors 63, 64 on the subassembly 42 will enter first and third laterally positioned conductor slots 18 and 21 and the collectors 66, 67 on the subassembly 43 will enter second and fourth laterally positioned conductor slots 19 and 22. In view of the similarity between the collector unit subassemblies 42, 43, only subassembly 42 will be described in detail.

The vertically spaced longitudinally extending arms of the clamping bracket 46 pivotally support a pivot post 71 on a vertical pivot axis 72 and the post 71 pivotally supports corresponding ends of upper and lower parallel arms or links 73, 74, 76, 77 on vertically spaced parallel transverse axes 78, 79 by pivot pins 81, 82. Pivot pins 83, 84 similarly connect the other corresponding ends of parallel links 73, 74 and 76, 77 to a pivot post 86 on transverse parallel axes 87, 88. A tension spring 89 connected at its opposite ends to pins 90, 90' on link 74 and link 77, respectively, biases the parallel linkage, 73, 74, 76, 77 to swing upwardly about pins 78, 79. Upward swinging movement of the links is limited by a diagonally positioned restraining link 95 pivotally connected at its lower end to pin 79 and having a slot 100 at its upper end which provides a lost motion connection with the pin 83.

The guide roller 61 is rotatably mounted on an upright cylindrical stub shaft 91 integral with clamp part 92. The clamp part 92 and a clamp part 93 are rigidly clamped to a reduced diameter portion 94 of the post 86 by a pair of cap screws 96 which extend through parallel transvese holes drilled in part 93 and have threaded ends in threaded engagement with drilled and taped holes in part 92. A collector support or mounting structure in the form of a U-shaped bracket 97 has its longitudinally extending upper and lower legs 98, 99 pivotally connected to the post 86. The bracket 97 is free to swing through a predetermined arc relative to the post 86 as limited by engagement of abutment pins 104, 106 press fit in appropriate openings in the lower leg 99 with an arm 101 rigidly secured to the lower end of the post 86 by a cap screw 102. Referring also to FIG. 4, horizontal swinging movement of the parallel links and post 71 relative to the support bracket 46 is resiliently resisted by biasing means in the form of a coil spring device 111 having a coil on the lower end of the post 71 and longitudinally extending ends 113, 114 which engage laterally opposite sides of spools 116, 117 fixed to and extending vertically from the bracket 46 and a plate 118 nonrotatably secured to the lower end of the post 71 by a cap screw 119.

As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the longitudinally elongated collectors 63, 64 are secured to insulator blocks 121, 122 which in turn are pivotally mounted on upstanding legs of pivot blocks 123, 124 by transverse pins 126, 127. The U-shaped pivot blocks are secured by cap screws 128 to horizontal legs of inverted L-shaped support members 131, 132 which in turn are connected to the bracket 97 by an equalizer mechanism permitting relative vertical movement of the support members 131, 132 and the collectors 63, 64 mounted thereon. The equalizer mechanism includes a pair of vertically spaced, parallel equalizer beams 134, 136 which are centrally pivoted to the bracket 97 by pivot bolts 137, 138 for rocking movement about parallel longitudinal axes 139, 141. The laterally outer ends of the equalizer bars 134, 136 are pivotally connected to the collector support members 131, 132 by parallel pivot bolts 142, 143, 144, 146 so that the support members 131, 132 and equalizer bars 134, 136 act as a parallel linkage.

When it is desired to engage the collectors with the current carrying conductor bars, the vehicle carrying the collector unit is moved to a position of general alignment with the overhead conductor rail. As the collector unit approaches the conductor rail entrance, the collectors 63, 64 of the collector subassembly 42 will engage the underside of the inclined top wall 34 and lateral misalignment is corrected by the roller 61 engaging the outwardly diverging side walls 36, 37. The collectors 63, 64 will follow a slide path parallel to the path of the roller 61 as they move through the channel portion 27 of the entrance chute 26. As the collectors enter slots 18 and 21 of the collector housing, the roller 61 will move out of the channel 27 and cease its guiding function, such condition being shown in FIG. 1. After the vehicle has moved a sufficient distance in a path beneath and generally parallel to the conductor rail 10 to bring the collectors 66, 67 into the slots, all four collectors will be in engagement with the plastic filler strips 17 in the slots 18, 19, 21, 22. Further movement of the vehicle will cause the collectors to come into engagement with the copper bars 21' in the four slots. The use of plastic insulating strips 17 prevents possible electrical shorting which would occur if the collectors 63, 64 contacted the copper conductor bars 21' before the collectors 66, 67 disengage from the upper wall of the metallic chute 26. When the vehicle is traveling in the opposite direction all collectors will be disengaged from the copper conductor bars 21' before collectors 66, 67 engage the upper metallic wall 31 of the channel portion 27 of the entrance chute 26. The rollers 61, 62 will keep the collectors in proper position as they travel a reverse path out of the entrance chute 26. The tension spring 89 serves to urge the collectors 63, 64 into proper current conducting contact with the copper conductor bars 21'. The equalizer mechanism in the form of parallel equalizer beams 134, 136 insure that proper upward contacting force is applied to each of the collectors 63, 64 during operation of the vehicle. The use of two parallel equalizer beams causes the equalizing movement of the collectors to be substantially vertical.