The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 07, 2001
Filed:
Mar. 09, 1998
Applicant:
Inventors:
Cornell W. Alofs, Petoskey, MI (US);
Ronald R. Drenth, Petoskey, MI (US);
Assignee:
Jervis B. Webb Company, Farmington Hills, MI (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B62D 6/500 ; B62D 1/24 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
B62D 6/500 ; B62D 1/24 ;
Abstract
A guidance system for guiding an automated guided vehicle along a pathway is disclosed which includes rails for holding the AGV to the generally straight portions of the pathway and a non-rail guidance system for directing the AGV from the end of a first rail segment to the beginning of another. The rails provide the necessary level of control to allow an unmanned vehicle to move at high speeds while the non-rail guidance system eliminates the need for the rail switches that would otherwise be needed to shift a rail guided vehicle from one rail portion to another.