Litton Systems, Inc.

Cincinnati Incorporated

Litton Industrial Automation Systems, Inc.

Randall P Coons

Weston R Loomer

John J Wilkins

Martin A Heit

Jeffrey David Wintring

Michael Anthony Halley

Raymond J Graf

Dale C Smyth, Jr

Robert C Hertlein

Timothy A Koeninger

Jeffrey E Farmer

Jeff J Mills

John E O'Brien

A gantry assembly and appurtenances therefor for a linear motor driven laser cutting machine. The gantry box is made of honey comb construction characterized by high strength, light weigh, high stiffness to weight ratio and vibration absorption. The gantry box is supported at each of its ends on a linear motor driven carriage by a torsion plate. The torsion plates are exteriorly flanked by protective panels which support a light weight cover for the upper part of the gantry assembly. The beam end of the gantry box is additionally attached to its gantry carriage by a snubber pin-snubber bushing assembly and by a gantry pin-carriage pin-link assembly. These last two assemblies, together with the torsion plates and gantry carriages, limit or restrain certain movements of the gantry box. The laser cutting machine is controlled by a high performance multi-axis motion controller. Each gantry carriage is provided with a wiper-seal assembly and bellows mounting assembly at each of its ends to prevent accumulation of foreign material between each gantry mounted linear motor and its respective magnet track.

Linear motor driven laser cutting machine

A linear actuator divert switch, a limited angle motor driven divert switch and a limited angle motor driven cross-over switch are provided for sortation conveyors. In addition conveying members of inverted substantially 'U' shaped having spaced relatively hollow legs spanned by a bridge that is either hollow or not are also provided for sortation conveyors. A package diverter is formed with a cavity extending therethrough to surround the conveying member and so as to carry a divert/guide pin and cam follower part of which is disposed in the space between the conveying member legs to provide a relatively high positioning for divert/guide pin and cam follower with respect to the conveying members. Special lands extend out from the walls of the cavity to cock each package diverter on its conveying members in the direction of conveyor movement. The divert/guide pins are formed with a generally football shaped cross-sectional configuration to facilitate passage thereof through the various switches.

Sortation conveyor and devices

A guided vehicle, which follows a guidepath into and out from a work station, is provided with an article carrying table that includes a plurality of cone shaped mounting plates each disposed upon a ball transport unit to provide for relative movement between the article carrier, any article carried thereby, and the body of the vehicle. Each side, of two opposed sides, of the article carrier mounts a number of guide wheels; including entry guide wheels larger in diameter than side guide wheels, with the entry wheels disposed proximate carriers of the carrier and side wheels disposed therebetween. Guide rails disposed at the work station cooperate with the guide wheels to effect relative movement between the article carrier and vehicle body if the vehicle enters the work station out of a centered alignment therewith. A number of position limit rods extend up from the vehicle body through openings in the article carrier so that the sides of the rods cooperate with the walls of the openings to limit side to side and front to back relative movement. Caps are provided on top of the rods for cooperation with the article carrier to limit vertical movement thereof relative to the vehicle body. The mounting of the carrier on the vehicle body is such that the effect of gravity returns the article carrier to a vehicle centered position when the vehicle leaves the work station.

Floating table for article transport vehicle

A stacker-retriever lift carriage is disposed to be raised, lowered and positioned, in selected positions with respect to a pair of spaced support masts, by a flexible wire cable one end of which is connected to a lift carriage drive and the other end of which is connected to the lift carriage through a pair of four bar linkages pivotally connected together in spaced parallel relationship to form a safety brake operating mechanism. The upward pull by the cable upon the brake operating mechanism retracts a pair of opposed brake arms, pivotally carried by the brake operating mechanism, to a brake deactivated position with the back ends of each brake arm abutting each other. Loss of the pull of the cable on the lift carriage, as would occur if the cable severed or if the lift carriage hung up, permits a spring housed between the brake arms to move the brake operating mechanism and the brake arms to a braking position with brake pads carried by the brake arms in friction engagement with the support masts.

Safety brake for vertical lift

Growing community of inventors

Crescent Springs, KY, United States of America

Randall P Coons