US 12,485,932 B2
Traveling rail and article transport facility
Masashige Iwata, Hinocho (JP); and Hiroaki Nakamura, Hinocho (JP)
Assigned to Daifuku Co., Ltd., Osaka (JP)
Appl. No. 17/781,607
Filed by Daifuku Co., Ltd., Osaka (JP)
PCT Filed Jul. 30, 2020, PCT No. PCT/JP2020/029311
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 1, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/111674, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 10, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 2019-217857 (JP), filed on Dec. 2, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0001959 A1, Jan. 5, 2023
Int. Cl. B61B 13/12 (2006.01); B60M 1/30 (2006.01); B61B 13/02 (2006.01); B65G 1/04 (2006.01)
CPC B61B 13/12 (2013.01) [B60M 1/30 (2013.01); B61B 13/02 (2013.01); B65G 1/0492 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A traveling rail defining a traveling path for an article transport vehicle for transporting an article, the traveling rail comprising:
a rail unit extending in a traveling path direction in which the traveling path extends; and
a power feeder configured to feed power to a power receiver in the article transport vehicle through contact with the power receiver;
wherein:
the rail unit comprises an upper plate segment extending continuously in the traveling path direction and extending in a width direction, a lower plate segment extending continuously in the traveling path direction and extending in the width direction, and located at a position in a downward direction from the upper plate segment, and an intermediate plate segment extending continuously in the traveling path direction and extending in a vertical direction, and joining an edge of the upper plate segment in a first width direction and an edge of the lower plate segment in the first width direction, where the width direction is a direction orthogonal to the traveling path direction as viewed in the vertical direction, and the width direction includes the first width direction and a second width direction opposite to each other,
the power feeder is located in a space defined by the upper plate segment, the intermediate plate segment, and the lower plate segment in the rail unit and extends continuously in the traveling path direction,
the upper plate segment includes a traveling surface facing in an upward direction to allow a wheel in the article transport vehicle to roll on the traveling surface, and
the lower plate segment comprises a lower flat portion formed as a flat plate extending in the traveling path direction and the width direction, and a groove extending in the second width direction from the lower flat portion and protruding in the downward direction from the lower flat portion and extending continuously in the traveling path direction, the groove spaced below a contact point of the power feeder and the power receiver and configured to receive friction dust generated by contact between the power feeder and the power receiver.