Patent ID: 7905304

Claim:
An automatic guided vehicle drive device comprising: a top plate member configured and arranged to be attached to a cart body of a vehicle; a drive unit having a left wheel axle attached to a left wheel and a right wheel axle attached to a right wheel with the left and right wheel axles being coaxially arranged and spaced apart from each other in an axial direction, and a drive mechanism operatively coupled to the left and right wheel axles to rotate the left and right wheels; a holding plate member operatively coupled between the top plate member and the drive unit to pivotally hold the drive unit with respect to a movement direction of the vehicle; and a turning shaft mechanism operatively coupled between the top plate member and the holding plate member to turnably support the drive unit with respect to the top plate member via the holding plate member about a vertical line passing through an intersection point between an axial centerline of the left and right wheel axles and a middle line that is oriented in the movement direction and passes through an approximate middle position between the left and right wheel axles, the turning shaft mechanism exerting a biasing force along the vertical line in a direction of separating the drive unit from the top plate member via the holding plate member.