Stabilized lightweight equipment transport system
US5974978A · kind A · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 14, 1998 |
| Grant date | Nov 2, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 14, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF16M11/425
- WIPO fieldMechanical elements
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A lightweight, remote-controlled, self-propelled equipment support and transport system is stabilized against unwanted angular deviation in each of three perpendicular axes and adapted for motion at high speed along a simple tubular monorail. The system can be quickly and efficiently ground-mounted on stands, suspended horizontally from brackets or from a variety of overhead supports, or vertically mounted alongside a mast or wall. The system includes an elongated drive car running on and partly surrounding a rail, and an equipment support associated with the drive car and configured so that the supported equipment is transversely and longitudinally spaced and balanced about a point just below the center of the rail. The equipment support is mounted in angular isolation relative to the drive car by a system of damped pivots about pitch and yaw axes. The drive car includes a steering adjustment adapted to counteract slight variations in wheel alignment that might tend to drive the transport off-level when in motion along the rail.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.