Method and apparatus for transporting tubular articles

Claim 1

AN APPARATUS FOR TILTING PIPES AND SIMILAR ELONGATED TUBULAR ARTICLES, COMPRISING A CONVEYOR INCLUDING A PAIR OF ENDLESS FLEXIBLE ELEMENTS DISPOSED IN PARALLEL VERTICAL PLANES AND HAVING UPPER AND LOWER STRINGERS, FIRST AND SECOND DEFLECTING MEMBERS PROVIDED AT THE ENDS OF SAID STRINGERS AND ROTATABLE ABOUT PARALLEL HORIZONTAL AXES, DRIVE MEANS FOR DRIVING AT LEAST SOME OF SAID DEFLECTING MEMBERS SO AS TO ADVANCE SAID UPPER STRINGERS IN A DIRECTION FROM SAID FIRST DEFLECTING MEMBERS TOWARD SAID SECOND DEFLECTING MEMBERS, GUIDE MEANS PROVIDED INTERMEDIATE SAID FIRST AND SECOND DEFLECTING MEMBERS AND ENGAGING SAID UPPER STRINGERS SO AS TO MAINTAIN A MEDIAN PORTION OF ONE UPPER STRINGER AT A LEVEL ABOVE THE CORRESPONDING PORTION OF THE OTHER UPPER STRINGER, AND MOTION TRANSMITTING ELEMENTS PROVIDED ON SAID FLEXIBLE ELEMENTS IN SUCH DISTRIBUTION THAT EACH MOTION TRANSMITTING ELEMENT ON ONE OF SAID FLEXIBLE ELEMENTS IS ALIGNED TRANSVERSELY WITH A MOTION TRANSMITTING ELEMENT ON THE OTHER FLEXIBLE ELEMENT WHEREBY THE ARTICLES WHICH ARE FED INTO THE PATH OF SUCH MOTION TRANSMITTING ELEMENTS ADJACENT TO SAID FIRST DEFLECTING MEMBERS ARE TILTED FROM HORIZONTAL POSITIONS WHILE THE CORRESPONDING MOTION TRANSMITTING ELEMENTS ADVANCE WITH THE MEDIAN PORTIONS OF SAID UPPER STRINGERS AND THE ARTICLES RETURN TO HORIZONTAL POSITIONS AT THE TIME THEY REACH SAID SECOND DEFLECTING MEMBERS; AND RETAINING MEANS FOR HOLDING THE ARTICLES AGAINST MOVEMENT WITH REFERENCE TO THE CORRESPONDING MOTION TRANSMITTING ELEMENTS DURING TILTING SAID RETAINING MEMBERS AUTOMATICALLY INITIATING HOLDING OF SAID ELONGATED TUBULAR ARTICLES LATEST AT THE MOMENT WHEN THE SAME START TO BE TILTED FROM THEIR HORIZONTAL POSITIONS AND AUTOMATICALLY RELEASING SAID ELONGAED TUBULAR ARTICLES AFTER SAID ELONGATED TUBULAR ARTICLES HAVE RETURNED TO THEIR HORIZONTAL POSITIONS.