Conveying apparatus

Claim 1

A CONVEYING APPARATUS OF THE TYPE REFERRED TO, COMPRISING AN INTERMEDIATE PLATFORM ADAPTED TO RECEIVE CARTONS IN SUCCESSION FROM THE CLOSING AND SEALING APPARATUS, AN ELEVATOR CONSISTING OF A PAIR OF PARALLEL ENDLESS CHAINS WITH THEIR DRIVING AND SUPPORTING SPROCKETS IN LATERAL ALIGNMENT, THE CHAINS BEING ARRANGED ONE ON EACH SIDE OF THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF THE CARTONS AND ARRANGED TRANSVERSELY TO THE PLANE OF THE INTERMEDIATE PLATFORM, A SPACED SERIES OF CARRIER MEMBERS MOUNTED ON THE ELEVATOR AND ADAPTED ON THE UPWARD RUN OF THE ELEVATOR TO MOVE IN SUCCESSION THROUGH THE PLANE OF THE INTERMEDIATE PLATFORM INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE BASES OF SUCCESSIVE CARTONS RECEIVED BY THAT PLATFORM SO AS TO LIFT THE SUCCESSIVE CARTONS FROM THAT PLATFORM, THE CARRIER MEMBERS EACH CONSISTING OF OPPOSED PLATES EXTENDING INWARDLY FROM THE CHAINS, AND BEING PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON THE CHAINS AND PROVIDED WITH PARALLEL MOTION MECHANISM, A STOP MEMBER ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE SUCCESSIVE CARTONS ON THE PLATFORM TO POSITION THEM IN READINESS FOR THE SUCCESSIVE ONCOMING CARRIERS ON THE ELEVATOR, AN INTERMEDIATE CONVEYOR ARRANGED ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE INTERMEDIATE PLATFORM AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE SUCCESSIVE CARTONS FROM THE CARRIER MEMBERS ON THE DOWNWARD RUN OF THE ELEVATOR AND TO GUIDE THEM INTO A PRESSURE CONVEYOR, A SERIES OF ROLLERS CARRIED BY PIVOTED ARMS ARRANGED ALONG THE UPPER RUN OF THE ELEVATOR, THE ROLLERS ENGAGING THE UPPER SURFACE OF SUCCESSIVE CARTONS AS THEY MOVE UPWARDLY AND EACH BEING ARRANGED TO ROLL ALONG THE UPPER SURFACE AND DOWN THE SIDE OF EACH SUCCESSIVE CARTON AS THE LATTER IS ELEVATED, AND AN AUXILIARY PRESSURE CONVEYOR ARRANGED ABOVE THE INTERMEDIATE CONVEYOR AND ADAPTED TO BE ENGAGED BY THE UPPER SURFACE OF EACH CARTON IN TURN AS IT MOVES AROUND THE AXIS OF THE UPPER ELEVATOR SPROCKETS TO BE DEPOSITED ON TO THE INTERMEDIATE CONVEYOR.