AU2014202171B2 - A mobile shelving system provided with a moving device using a belt - Google Patents

Abstract

A drive mechanism for a body where the body has a plurality of load bearing and track engaging wheels that allow the body to move back and forth along the track that comprises an actuator attached to the body that is manually or 5 mechanically driven, a low-load bearing drive wheel that is attached with respect to the body adjacent to the track defining a gap therebetween, a belt thicker than or equal to the gap extending around the actuator and the drive wheel, wherein as the belt is driven by the actuator the belt engages the track and moves the body along the track

Description

1 A mobile shelving system provided with a moving device using a belt This invention relates to a drive mechanism for a track mounted body and in particular to a mechanism that enables movement of the body along the tracks without the drive wheel taking all of the load. 5 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION An example of where the invention will find application are track mounted shelving or cabinet units. Such shelving units are designed to provide compact storage by having the shelving units abut against one another with only one access opening being provided within which the shelves can be accessed. The shelves can 10 be separated by moving them along the track to open up access at different points along the assembled shelves. In many instances, shelves are moved manually although it is common to provide a manual crank mechanism or electric drive means to move the shelves. This is particularly necessary when each shelving unit carries a heavy load. 15 The conventional means of providing a drive to each of the shelves is to connect the track mounted wheels to some form of drive means. This means that an axle extends across the base of each shelf to which the wheels are mounted. The shaft is then connected to some form of independent drive means which may be a manually rotated handle or an electric motor driven through a reduction gear box. 20 The need to mount a shaft within the base of the shelf unit results in added cost and complexity to the shelving unit. It would be desirable to have a drive mechanism that could be easily fitted to shelving units that were designed to be manually moved. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide such an arrangement that meets this objective and overcomes the above mentioned 25 problems. Other means of providing a drive to each of the shelves is to use a low-load bearing wheel that frictionally engages the track as it is rotated by an appropriate drive means. Whilst this works well it does include a number of components 2 including a biasing means that needs to ensure that the low-load bearing wheel engages the track surface without slipping. It is an object of the present invention to overcome at least some of the above mentioned problems or provide the public with a useful alternative. 5 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one form, the invention is a drive mechanism for a body, wherein said body has a plurality of load bearing track engaging wheels that allow said body to move back and forth along a track, that comprises, an actuator attached to said body that is manually or mechanically driven, 10 a wheel that is attached with respect to said body and positioned adjacent one of the load bearing tracks defining a gap thereinbetween; a belt driven by the actuator and extending around the actuator and wheel, said belt being of a thickness equal to or greater than the gap and having a toothed inner surface and a flat outer surface. 15 Thus the reader will appreciate that the belt as it is driven by the actuator engages the track and thus moved the body, such as mobile shelving. The actuator preferably is a manually rotated wheel or a crank but the drive wheel could equally be driven by an electric motor via a reduction gear box. The belt moves the body by pushing against the track on which the body is 20 mounted. Preferably, the belt comprises a high friction material at least on its outside surface that engages the track. Preferably, the actuator includes a wheel of a smaller diameter then the drivewheel causing a gearing between the rotation of the actuator and the 25 drivewheel. It should be noted that any one of the aspects mentioned above may include any of the features of any of the other aspects mentioned above and may include any of the features of any of the embodiments described below as appropriate.

3 In order to fully understand the invention, a preferred embodiment will be described. However, it should be realised that the invention is not necessarily restricted to the precise details of this embodiment. In particular, the embodiment is described in relation to application of the invention to a shelving system. However, 5 there may be other applications to which the invention could be equally suited. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate various implementations of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the advantages and principles of the invention. 10 In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mobile shelving system with belt drive systems fitted to the shelving bays; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a belt drive system fitted to the end of a shelving bay with its cover removed; 15 Figure 3 is an exploded view of a belt drive system; Figure 4 is a detailed front view of a belt drive system; Figure 5 is perspective view of a drive wheel of a belt drive system; and Figure 6 is partial side view of a belt of a belt drive system. LIST OF COMPONENTS 20 10 mobile shelving 12 shelving bay 13 side wall 14, 15 tracks 16 support wheels 25 17 guide channels 18 drive surface 20 belt drive system 4 22 cover 23 pillar 24 U-shaped channel 25 flanges 5 26 handwheel 27 belt 28 drive wheel 30 top plate 31 (top plate) screws 10 32 (top plate) nuts 33 handwheel pin 34 (wheel) first side flange segments 35 (wheel) second side flange segments 36 (wheel) bottom land 15 37 (wheel) tooth 38 (tooth) first land face 39 (tooth) second land face 40 toothed hub 41 (hub) bushes 20 42 (hub) circlips 44 handwheel cap 45 belt tooth 47 belt inner 48 belt backing 25 50 tensioner 51 tensioner spring 52 tensioner arms 53 tensioner pins 54 (tensioner) bushes 30 55 (tensioner) washers 56 (tensioner) circlips 57 (tensioner) spacer washers 60 bottom plate 5 61 hinge pin 62 (bottom plate) screws 63 (bottom plate) nuts 70 pivot plate 5 71 (pivot plate) bush 72 (pivot plate) nut 74 pivot plate slot 75 (pivot plate) attachment screw 76 (pivot plate) attachment nuts 10 80 dnivewheel pin 81 (drivewheel) bush 82 (drivewheel) washer 83 (drivewheel) nut 84 hub 15 85 rim 86 step 87 spokes 88 disc 89 blind holes 20 90 load adjustment bracket 91 (bracket) screws 92 (bracket) nuts 93 threaded hole 94 adjustment screw 25 95 limiting washers 96 locking nut DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout 30 the drawings and the following description to refer to the same and like parts.

6 Dimensions of certain parts shown in the drawings may have been modified and/or exaggerated for the purposes of clarity or illustration. Figure 1 shows mobile shelving 10 incorporating a belt drive system 20 of the present invention. The mobile shelving 10 consists of a series of shelving bays 12 5 that move along parallel tracks 14 and 15 to allow access to the content of the shelving bays. Attached to a side wall 13 of each shelving bay 12 is a belt drive system 20. The belt drive system has a handwheel 26 which is turned in order to move a shelving bay 12 along the tracks 14 and 15. The inner workings of the belt drive system 20 are protected by a cover 22 as a safety measure and also to make 10 the system aesthetically pleasing. Figure 2 shows a belt drive system 20 in situ with the cover removed so as to reveal its inner workings. The major components of the belt drive system are a pillar or backing plate 23, handwheel 26, belt 27 and drive wheel 28. The pillar 23 comprises a U-shaped channel 24 on which other components are mounted and 15 flanges 25 for mounting the channel onto the side wall 13 of shelving bay 12. The handwheel 26 is mounted close to the top of the pillar and when turned drives the belt 27 via toothed hub 40 (seen in Fig. 3). The belt 27 passes over (engages) and turns the drive wheel 28 which is mounted towards the bottom of the pillar 23. The drive wheel 28 is mounted close to the drive surface 18 of the track 15 leaving a gap 20 that is of a size such that the belt 27 is compressed between the drive wheel and the drive surface. The belt 27 acts as a tyre on the drive wheel 28. As the belt 27 rotates, so does the drive wheel 28 and since the belt is compressed to the track to the degree that there is no slippage, the shelving bay 12 is driven along the tracks 14 and 15. The weight of the shelving bay 12 is supported by the support wheels 16 25 which roll in the guide channels 17 of the tracks 14 and 15. Figure 3 shows an exploded view of the belt drive system 20 and Figure 4 shows a detailed frontal view of the system. A top plate 30 is mounted towards the top of the pillar 23 by means of screws 31 and nuts 32. The top plate 30 has attached a handwheel pin 33 which protrudes 30 through the pillar 23 and upon which the tensioner 50 and the toothed hub 40 are mounted.

7 The tensioner 50 comprises two tensioner arms 52 with holes at a proximal end for mounting on the handwheel pin 33. The tensioner arms 52 are kept clear of other components by washers 57 and held in place by circlip 42. At the distal end of the tensioner arms 52, tensioner pins 53 are attached onto which bushes 54 and 5 adjacent washers 55 are held in place by circlips 56. The tensioner arms 52 are free to pivot about the handwheel pin 33. The distal ends of the tensioner arms 52 are pulled together by a tensioner spring 51. In operation the tensioner bushes 54 are positioned on the outside of the belt 27 such that as the tensioner arms 52 are pulled together the bushes 54 will pull two portions of the belt 27 together, providing a 10 tensioning mechanism for the belt. Keeping the belt 27 in tension prevents it from slipping over the toothed hub 40 as it is rotated. The handwheel pin 33 has a further two bushes 41 fitted upon which the toothed hub 40 sits. A circlip 42 keeps the bushes 41 and toothed hub 40 in place. The toothed hub 40 engages the belt 27 and handwheel 26. The handwheel 26 15 accepts a handwheel cap to cover various components. The bushes 41 allow the toothed hub 40 to rotate on the handwheel pin 33 when driven by the handwheel 26 and in turn the toothed hub drives the belt 27. At the bottom of the pillar 23 a bottom plate 60 is attached by means of screws 62 and nuts 63. The bottom plate 60 incorporates a hinge pin 61 on which a pivot 20 plate 70 is mounted via bush 71 and held in place by nut 72. The pivot plate 70 incorporates a drivewheel pin 80 on which the drivewheel 28 is mounted via bush 81, washer 82 and nut 83. The bush 81 allows the drivewheel 28 to rotate on the drivewheel pin 80. The pivot plate 70 pivots on the hinge pin 61 providing a vertical adjustment 25 means for the drivewheel 28. The drivewheel 28 is adjusted downwards in order to compress the belt 27 between the drivewheel and the drive surface 18 thus allowing the belt to drive along the drive surface as it is rotated. Pivot plate 70 is restrained by screw 75 which passes through pivot plate slot 74. The slot 74 limits the pivotal movement of the pivot plate 70 as well as 30 undesired lateral movement. The screw 75 is attached to the pillar 23 by nuts 76.

8 The rotational force for pivot plate 70 is provided via adjustment screw 94 as it engages threaded hole 93 of load adjustment bracket 90 and pushes down against the top of the pivot plate. The bracket 90 is attached to the pillar 23 by screws 91 and nuts 92. Locking nut 96 keeps adjustment screw 94 in place when tightened. 5 Limiting washers 95 restrict the range of adjustment provided by adjustment screw 94 and may be removed to allow further adjustment if needed to cater for different installation situations or wear or deformation of various system components over time. The drive wheel 28 is shown in detail in Figure 5 and is in essence a toothed 10 pulley wheel. The wheel 28 has been designed so that it can be easily and cheaply made by common manufacturing techniques by eliminating any undercuts. The flanges of a pulley wheel are usually continuous thus presenting a large undercut. In the present invention the undercut has been eliminated by segmenting the 15 flanges and offsetting them with respect to each other. A first side of the wheel 28 has first side flange segments 34 and a second side of the wheel has second side flange segments 35. The teeth 37 of the wheel 28 are positioned between adjacent first side flange segments 34 and second side flange segments 35. The top land of the teeth are 20 divided into a first land face 38 and a second land face 39 to provide the top land with a draft to both sides of the wheel 28 to facilitate molding. The bottom land 36 also has a draft to the side of the wheel 28. The first land face 38 and the second land face 39 present a single level surface. The rim 85 and the hub 84 of the wheel 28 are joined by a disc 88 located 25 centrally with respect to both sides of the wheel. On either side of the disc 88 are spokes 87 also joining the rim 85 to the hub 84. The spokes 87 align with the bottom lands 36 with adjacent spokes being positioned on either side of the disc 88. This general arrangement minimizes the amount of material required to manufacture the wheel 28 as well as making the walls of the wheel a more uniform thickness to 30 minimize sinking. The disc 88 also facilitates the flow of material during molding.

9 The hub 84 has a ring of blind holes 89 on both sides which also aid in minimizing the amount of material required and making the walls of the wheel 28 a more uniform thickness. The hub 84 also has a step 86 to aid in coaxial location of components such as washers and nuts used to retain the wheel 28 on an axle or to 5 provide a mounting means for accessories such as hub caps. In order to simplify Figures 2 through 5 the belt 27 has been shown with a flat inner surface. The belt 27 is in fact a toothed belt as shown in the partial side view of figure 6. The belt 27 comprises a belt backing 48 and a belt inner 47 with molded teeth 46. The belt backing 48 is made from a rubber compound chosen to 10 provide extremely high friction. It is to be understood that it is not the intention to limit the present invention to the particular embodiment described herein. The important aspect of the invention is that it is the outer surface of the belt that engages a surface of a track causing the mobile shelving to be moved. This is achieved by having the gap between the 15 wheel 28 and track 15 being of such a size to compress the belt and cause it to frictionally engage the track thereby moving the shelving. The shape of the wheel, belt or indeed the track can be varied provided that the same functional advantage is achieved. This also applies to the embodiment above describing the tensioning of the belt; again that can be achieved by different means. 20 Further advantages and improvements may very well be made to the present invention without deviating from its scope. Although the invention has been shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope and spirit of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed 25 herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus. Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in this field. In the summary of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise 30 due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprising" is used in 10 the sense of "including", i.e. the features specified may be associated with further features in various embodiments of the invention.

Claims (7)

1. A drive mechanism for a body, wherein said body has a plurality of load bearing track engaging wheels that allow said body to move back and forth along a track, the drive mechanism comprising: 5 an actuator attached to said body that is manually or mechanically driven; a drive wheel that is attached with respect to said body and positioned adjacent one of the load bearing tracks defining a gap thereinbetween; and 10 a belt driven by the actuator and extending around the actuator and the drive wheel, said belt being of a thickness equal to or greater than the gap and having a toothed inner surface and a flat outer surface, wherein as the belt is driven by the actuator said belt engages the track and moves the body along the track. 15

2. The drive mechanism of claim 1 wherein the actuator is a manually rotated wheel.

3. The drive mechanism of claim 1 wherein the actuator is a manually rotated crank.

4. The drive mechanism of claim 1 wherein the actuator is an electric motor in 20 conjunction with a reduction gear box.

5. A drive mechanism as in any of the preceding claims wherein the belt comprises a high friction material at least on its outside surface that engages the track.

6. A drive mechanism as in any of the preceding claims wherein the actuator 25 includes a second wheel of a smaller diameter than the drive wheel causing a gearing between the rotation of the actuator and the drive wheel.

7. A drive mechanism as in any of the preceding claims wherein the body comprises mobile shelving.