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Visual indicator with aligning ridges for indicating the status of a carriage lock for a mobile storage system having a rotatable lock actuator knob

  • US 5,133,265 A
  • Filed: 04/08/1991
  • Issued: 07/28/1992
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/08/1991
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A mobile storage system comprising:

  • a. a plurality of rails embedded in a building floor;

    b. at least one mobile carriage that spans the rails;

    c. wheel means for rollingly supporting the mobile carriage on the rails;

    d. drive means mounted to the mobile carriage and connected to the wheel means for moving the mobile carriage along the rails in response to manual actuation of the drive means, wherein the drive means comprises;

    i. a shaft fixed to the mobile carriage and having a longitudinal axis;

    ii. handwheel means for rotating on the shaft; and

    iii. chain and sprocket means connected between the wheel means and the handwheel means for transferring rotation of the handwheel means to the wheel means to move the mobile carriage along the rails in response to rotation of the handwheel means;

    e. lock means received within the drive means for being selectively operable to a locked status whereat the drive means is locked against rotation to thereby prevent moving the mobile carriage along the rails and to an unlocked status whereat the drive means is unlocked for rotation to thereby enable moving the mobile carriage, wherein the lock means comprises;

    i. a lock plate held stationarily to the shaft;

    ii. pin means for sliding within the handwheel means between a first position whereat the pin means is disengaged from the lock plate to enable rotation of the handwheel means and a second position whereat the pin means is in engagement with the lock plate to prevent rotation of the handwheel means; and

    iii. knob means rotatably received within the handwheel means for sliding the pin means between the first and second positions thereof in response to rotation of the knob means between first and second angularly spaced end positions, respectively; and

    f. indicator means in operative association with the drive means and the lock means for providing visual information regarding the locked or unlocked status of the lock means, wherein the indicator means comprises;

    i. at least one ridge on the handwheel means; and

    ii. at least one ridge on the knob means, the ridge on the knob means being in alignment with the ridge on the handwheel means when the knob means is in a selected one of the first and second end position thereof and the ridge on the knob means being misaligned with the ridge on the handwheel means when the knob means is in the other of the selected first and second end positions thereof relative to the handwheel means.

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