BAYRAM, Ozturk (Tofas Turk Otomobil Fabrikasi, Anonim SirketiYeni Yalova Yolu Caddesi No: 574, Bursa, 16369, TR)
| CLAIMS 1. An automatic equipment carrying cart (1) which comprises - at least one body (3) which moves on the guide (2) and which is shaped as a table containing the tools and equipments to be used, - more than one wheels (4) which are fixed to the bottom surface of the body (3) and which enable movement of the body (3), - at least one shaft (5) between the wheels (4) fixed to at least two of the wheels (4), - at least one belt (8) which is made of an elastic material, characterized by - at least one gear (51) on the shaft (5) which is concentric with the shaft (51), at least one hook (6) fixed to the body (3) and attached to the work part (P) which enables the body (3) to follow the work part (P), and at least one balancer (7) which comprises at least one spiral spring that applies force to the belt (8) by being compressed during following the work part (P); which is fixed to the body (3); and which ensures that the body (3) returns to its initial position where it starts its movement. 2. An automatic equipment carrying cart (1) characterized by a belt (8) of which one end is fixed to the gear (51) and the other end to the balancer (7); which turns the gear (51), the shaft (5) and the connected wheels (4) by the force applied to it by the balancer (7). |
AUTOMATIC EQUIPMENT CARRYING CART Field of the invention
This invention is related to an automatic equipment carrying cart which carries tools and equipments used on production and assembly lines.
Background of the invention
On production and assembly lines which are used for every kind of product, workers perform various procedures on the work part by using some tools. On these lines, the part usually advances from the beginning to the end of the line at a certain speed. On these lines, there are some procedures for which each worker is responsible and there are stations where the workers perform these procedures. There is a time limit determined previously for the procedures which the workers are responsible for, the workers perform the procedures in this duration and the part is transferred to the next station for the subsequent procedure.
The workers move parallel to the line with the part while performing the procedures. When the workers need to change a tool or pick up equipment, they need to walk to the equipment cart which contains the equipments and tools and come back to the assembly line. This walking process is usually not more than a couple of steps. However, making hundreds of productions on these lines and each time taking the same couple of steps increases the physical tiredness of the workers. For example, a worker working on a car assembly line where 400 vehicles are produced a day takes approximately four steps each time when he needs to change a tool or pick up an equipment. These four steps come up to 1600 steps at the end of the day and this distance corresponds to about a kilometer. Moreover, there is a substantial amount of lost time during this walk. In the known state of the art there is no equipment cart that reduces this walking distance and time. British patent no GB 2386587 discloses a carrying cart which contains the working tools used by a worker working under a vehicle. The cart comprises two racks and it can carry any kind of needed equipment and tool. The height of the carrier can be adjusted by using the hydraulic system contained in it. The carrier cart mentioned in the document works manually and does not automatically move on a line.
Brief description of the invention
The object of this invention is to provide an automatic equipment carrying cart which moves with the work part along the production line and which returns to its initial position after the procedure.
Brief description of the figures
The automatic equipment carrying cart provided for achieving the object of the invention is shown in the amended figures.
Figure 1 is a schematic view of automatic equipment carrying cart of the invention. The parts in the figure are given reference numbers and these numbers refers to:
1- Equipment carrying cart
2- Guide
3- Body
4- Wheel
5- Shaft
51- Gear
6- Hook
7- Balancer
8- Belt
9- Reel
P: Work part Detailed description of the invention
The equipment carrying cart (1) in its basic form comprises;
- at least one guide (2) which is fixed into the ground,
- at least one body (3) which contains the tools and equipments to be used and which moves on the guide (2),
- more than one wheels (4) which are fixed to the bottom surface of the body (3) and which enable the body (3) to move,
at least one shaft (5) which has at least one gear (51) on it,
at least one hook (6) fixed to the body (3),
- at least one balancer (7) which enables the equipment carrying cart (1) to return to its initial position, and
at least one belt (8) of which one end is fixed to the gear (51) and the other end is fixed to the balancer (7). The guide (2) enables the equipment carrying cart (1) to move on a certain line and follow the production and assembly line. The guide (2) is placed parallel to the production and assembly line where the equipment carrying cart (1) is used. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the guide (2) is formed as a pipe. The body (3) is shaped as a table where the tools and equipments to be used are placed. There are drawers, shelves and closets on the body (3) in order to distinguish different tools and equipments.
There are more than one, preferably four wheels (4) (two at the front and two at the back) on the bottom surface of the body (3) in order to enable movement of the body (3). The shaft (5) is located in the middle of the front or back wheel pairs
(4) and these wheels (4) turn together. There is at least one gear (51) on the shaft
(5) which is concentric with the shaft (5). The shaft (5) and the connected wheels (4) turn with the movement of the gear (51) and thus the body (3) moves. One end of the hook (6) is fixed to the body (3) and the other and is attached to the work part (P) moving on the line. After this end is attached to the part (P), the hook (6) enables that the body (3) moves at the same and constant speed with the work part (P) by movement of the work part (P).
The balancer (7) is fixed onto the body (3). One end of the belt (8) is fixed to the balancer (7). When the belt (8) moves, the balancer (7) applies a force to the belt
(8) opposite to the direction of the movement of the belt (8). One end of the belt (8) is fixed to the balancer (7) and the other to the gear (51). The belt (8) is made of an elastic material and the length of the belt (8) is at least more than the distance between the shaft and the gear (51) plus the distance which the equipment carrying cart (1) will cover. The belt (8) is wrapped around the balancer (7) in the first position where the spring is free. As the equipment carrying cart (1) moves, the wheels (4) and gear (51) turn and the belt (8) starts to wrap around the gear (51) as the gear (51) turns. Meanwhile the spring in the balancer (7) is tensioned. Thus the balancer (7) pulls the belt (8) to itself.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one reel (9) is used to ensure tension of the belt (8) between the gear (51) and the balancer (7). This reel
(9) is fixed to the body (3). The reel (9) also ensures that the pulling force applied by the balancer (7) is divided on the body (3) and thus the equipment carrying cart (1) moves in a more balanced manner. When the work part (P) reaches to the station where the procedures are performed, the hook (6) is attached to the work part (P). Then the equipment carrying cart (1) is pulled by the work part (P) and the balancer (7) is tensioned by wrapping of the belt (8) to the gear (51). At the same time, as the equipment carrying cart (1) follows the work part (P), the need for the worker to walk for picking up the equipment or the tool is eliminated. When the procedures to be performed on the work part (P) is finished and the worker detaches the hook (6) from the work part (P), the balancer (7) pulls the belt (8) and the equipment carrying cart (1) returns to the initial position by the force applied by the balancer (7). No energy is consumed for the movement of the equipment carrying cart (1) along the working station and the time and work force is used more efficiently.
Around these fundamental concepts, it is possible to develop various applications of the "Automatic equipment carrying cart (1)" of the invention, the invention can not be limited to the examples described here and it is essentially as defined in the claims.
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