Conveying apparatus

Claim 1

IN A CONVEYING MACHINE, THE COMBINATION INCLUDING A FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD GROUP, EACH COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF WORK STATIONS; FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD RAIL MEANS EXTENDING ALONG SAID FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD GROUP OF WORK STATIONS, RESPECTIVELY, FOR MOVABLY SUPPORTING WORKPIECES DISPOSED AT SPACED INTERVALS THEREALONG; MEANS FOR MOVING SAID FIRST AND SAID THIRD RAIL MEANS UP AND DOWN ABOVE THE WORK STATIONS, MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY MOVING SAID SECOND RAIL MEANS UP AND DOWN ABOVE THE WORK STATIONS INDEPENDENTLY OF SAID FIRST AND SAID THIRD RAIL MEANS, THE SEVERAL SAID RAIL MEANS WHEN IN A RAISED POSITION DISPOSED WITH SAID SECOND RAIL MEANS IN POSITION TO RECEIVE WORKPIECES FROM SAID FIRST RAIL MEANS AND WITH SAID THIRD RAIL MEANS IN POSITION TO RECEIVE WORKPIECES FROM SAID SECOND RAIL MEANS, FIRST TRANSFER MEANS FOR TRANSFERRING WORKPIECES IN ONE STATION INCREMENTS ALONG SAID FIRST AND SAID THIRD RAIL MEANS, SECOND TRANSFER MEANS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY TRANSFERRING A FIRST PLURALITY OF WORKPIECES THROUGH A MULTIPLE-STATION INCREMENT FROM SAID FIRST RAIL MEANS TO SAID SECOND RAIL MEANS AND FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY TRANSFERRING A SECOND PLURALITY OF WORKPIECES THROUGH THE SAME MULTIPLESTATION INCREMENT FROM SAID SECOND RAIL MEANS TO SAID THIRD RAIL MEANS WHEN SAID SEVERAL RAIL MEANS ARE IN SAID RAISED POSITION, SAID SECOND TRANSFER MEANS OPERABLE AT AN INTERVAL OF ONCE FOR EACH PLURALITY OF OPERATIONS OF SAID FIRST TRANSFER MEANS EQUIVALENT TO THE NUMBER OF WORKPIECES IN SAID FIRST PLURALITY.