Automating the movement of joints of pipe

[tnteng]

I need to come up with a design for equipment that will automatically move joints of pipe down a set of pipe racks and stop at required positions. We have two pipe racks spaced 24' apart. The joints of pipe are anywhere between 30' to 40' long and are between 20" to 48" in diameter. They need to be rolled down the pipe racks (axis of joints is perpendicular to length of pipe racks).

What I intend to use is a hydraulic motor to supply power to a chain drive to move a "car" that will ride on a track that is positioned in the center of the 2 pipe racks. I will be designing a mechanism to be fixed or welded to the top of the car that will act with a scissor type action that will be actuated with a hydraulic cylinder. This scissor will have one leg that will come up on the leading edge of the joint and the other leg will come up on the trailing edge of the joint. After the scissor is actuated, the car will move the joint to the desired position then the scissor will be retracted.

Can anyone point me to any websites that may show some digital pics of mechanisms similar to what I am trying to design. Any other suggestions would also be helpful.

Thanks in advance for any input.

Tony Billeaud
Mechanical Engineer