Conveyor apparatus

Claim 1

A CONVEYOR APPARATUS INCLUDING: A SUPPORT FRAME HAVING REAR AND FRONT SUPPORT ASSEMBLIES; A DRIVE FRAME MOUNTED ON SAID REAR ASSEMBLY FOR ROTATION ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS; MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID DRIVE FRAME; A PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY SPACED SPROCKET MEANS RIGIDLY MOUNTED ON SAID DRIVE FRAME; A MOVABLE CARRIAGE MOUNTED ON SAID FRONT SUPPORT ASSEMBLY FOR LINEAR MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID DRIVE FRAME; SPROCKET MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID CARRIAGE FOR ROTATION ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS; AND A CONVEYOR ARRANGED IN A PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY SPACED LOOPS ABOUT SAID DRIVE FRAME AND CARRIAGE SPROCKET MEANS, SAID CONVEYOR INCLUDING AN ENDLESS DRAW MEMBER ARTICULATED AT LONGITUDINALLY SPACED LOCATIONS FOR MOVEMENT ABOUT MUTUALLY PERPENDICULAR AXES, SAID DRIVE FRAME SPROCKET MEANS ENGAGING SAID DRAW MEMBER AT EACH OF SAID LOOPS OF SAID CONVEYOR FOR MOVING SAID LOOPS OF SAID CONVEYOR, SAID DRAW MEMBER ENGAGING SAID CARRIAGE SPROCKET MEANS TO ROTATE SAID CARRIAGE SPROCKET MEANS, SAID SPROCKET MEANS HAVING A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED RADIALLY OUTWARDLY EXTENDING LUGS HAVING OUTWARDLY CONVERGENT SIDE SURFACES, SAID SIDE SURFACES OF ADJACENT SPROCKET LUGS DEFINING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED SLOTS OF SAID SPROCKET MEANS, SAID DRAW MEMBER HAVING LONGITUDINALLY SPACED LATERALLY OUTWARDLY EXTENDING DRIVE LUGS RECEIVABLE IN SAID SLOTS OF SAID SPROCKET MEANS, SAID DRIVE LUGS BEING OF LESSER WIDTH THAN SAID SLOTS OF SAID SPROCKET MEANS, THE SPACING OF SAID DRIVE LUGS OF SAID DRAW MEMBER RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER AND THE SPACING OF SAID SPROCKET LUGS RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER CAUSING ONLY ONE LUG OF SAID SPROCKET MEANS TO BE ENGAGED WITH A DRIVE LUG OF SAID DRAW MEMBER AT ANY ONE TIME, EACH OF SAID SPROCKET MEANS AND THE PORTION OF SAID DRAW MEMBER ENGAGED THEREBY MOVING RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER AS A DRIVE LUG ENGAGED BY A SPROCKET LUG MOVES OUT OF ENGAGEMENT THEREWITH TO CAUSE THE NEXT DRIVE LUG AND THE NEXT SPROCKET LUG TO ENGAGE TO CAUSE FURTHER SIMULTANEOUS MOVEMENT OF THE SPROCKET MEANS AND THE PORTION OF THE DRAW MEMBER ENGAGED THEREBY.