Conveying apparatus

Claim 2

A conveying system comprising drive means for moving articles to a plurality of delivery stations, coupling means connected to said drive means for engaging the articles, a plurality of elongated guides extending toward said delivery stations and defining a plurality of longitudinally extending control paths, each control path of said plurality of control paths terminating adjacent one of said delivery stations, control means connected to said coupling means and including a follower positionable to extend into a selected control path terminating adjacent a selected delivery station, said follower being movable along said selected control path upon movement of said coupling means by said drive means to detect when an article is adjacent to said selected delivery station, and means for disengaging an article from said coupling means and releasing the same at said selected delivery station.

Claim 3

A conveying system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said elongated guides have end portions which are movable relative to each other to position said follower for movement along a selected control path.

Claim 4

A conveying system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said elongated guides comprise flexible strips having longitudinally extending surfaces which define said control paths, and said follower is moved between said surfaces of said strips by said drive means.

Claim 5

A conveying system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said coupling means includes a pivotally mounted hook for engaging an article, and said follower is movable relative to said hook for effecting pivoting movement of said hook to disengage the article from said hook when the article is adjacent to the selected delivery station.

Claim 6

A conveying system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said coupling means includes a plurality of coupling units, each of said coupling units having a pivotally mounted hook and a coacting slide to which a follower is connected for movement relative to said hook, the slides and followers being movable to effect release of associated hooks for pivoting movement to disengage articles from the hooks when the articles are adjacent to selected delivery stations.

Claim 7

A conveying system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said coupling means is adjustable to position and hold said follower for coaction with a selected one of said plurality of control paths.

Claim 8

A conveying system as set forth in claim 1, further including support means mounted at said delivery stations for receiving articles released from said coupling means, said coupling means being moved by said drive means to engage and slide the articles on said support means.

Claim 9

A conveying system as set forth in claim 7, wherein said support means extends into at least partial alignment with said coupling means when said coupling means is adjacent to a selected delivery station to support the articles before they are disengaged from said coupling means.

Claim 10

A conveyor system as set forth in claim 1, further including cam means mounted at each of said delivery stations adjacent to end portions of said guides for engaging and moving said follower relative to said coupling means to effect release of an article at a selected delivery station.

Claim 11

A conveying system as set forth in claim 1, further including a pickup frame mounted adjacent to said drive means for supporting the articles before they are engaged by said coupling means, said coupling means being moved into alignment with said pickup frame by said drive means to engage an article supported by said pickup frame.

Claim 12

A conveying system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said coupling means includes a plurality of coupling units, each of said coupling units being associated with a plurality of followers, and wherein said elongated guides arE divided into a plurality of groups, each of said followers being associated with a particular group of guides of said plurality of groups of guides.

Claim 13

A conveying system as set forth in claim 11, wherein one group of guides is located on a first side of said coupling means and a second group of guides is located on a second side of said coupling means.

Claim 14

A conveying system as set forth in claim 1, further including a rail means extending substantially parallel to the control paths for supporting said articles, said coupling means being driven by said drive means to push said articles along said rail means to delivery stations.

Claim 15

A conveying system as set forth in claim 1, further including sensor assemblies having actuators extending between said elongated guides and into said control paths, said sensor assemblies being actuated by said follower at said selected delivery stations to effect release of said articles.

Claim 16

A conveying system as set forth in claim 1, further including separator means mounted adjacent to end portions of said elongated guides for separating the end portions of guides defining a selected control path thereby to facilitate positioning said follower for movement along the selected control path.

Claim 17

Apparatus for use in a conveyor assembly, said apparatus comprising a carrier adapted to be connected to a drive assembly to transport an article to a delivery station, said carrier being movable between a first position for supporting said article and a second position for disengaging said article, a latch slide mounted adjacent to said carrier and slidable between a locking position and a release position, means coacting between said latch slide and said carrier for holding said carrier against movement from said first position to said second position when said latch slide is in said locking position, said latch slide in said release position being located relative to said carrier to enable said carrier to move to said second position to release said article, and an actuator slide mounted for sliding movement parallel to said latch slide, said actuator slide having an outwardly projecting arm engageable with cam means at the delivery station for moving said arm and said actuator slide, said actuator slide being mounted adjacent to and having an operating connection with said latch slide for moving said latch slide between said locking and release positions, whereby when said outwardly projecting arm on said actuator slide is moved at said delivery station, said latch slide is thereby moved from said locking position to said release position to disengage said article from said carrier when said article is adjacent to said delivery station.

Claim 18

Apparatus for use in a conveyor assembly, said apparatus comprising a carrier adapted to be connected to a drive assembly to transport an article to a delivery station, said carrier being movable between a first position for supporting said article and a second position for disengaging said article, a latch slide mounted adjacent to said carrier and slidable between a locking position and a release position, means coacting between said latch slide and said carrier for holding said carrier against movement from said first position to said second position when said latch slide is in said locking position, said latch slide in said release position being located relative to said carrier to enable said carrier to move to said second position to release said article, and an actuator slide mounted for sliding movement parallel to said latch slide, said actuator slide having an outwardly projecting arm engageable with cam means at the delivery station for moving said arm and said actuator slide, said actuator slide being mounted adjacent to and having an operating connection with said latch slide for moving said latch slide between said locking and release positions, whereby when said outwardly projecting arm on said actuator slide is moved at said delivery station, said latch slide is thereby moved from said locking position to said release position to disengage said article from said carrier when said article is adjacent to said delivery station.

Claim 19

Apparatus as set forth in claim 16, further including detent means cooperable with said actuator slide for releasably holding said actuator slide in a selected one of a plurality of positions to locate said outwardly projecting arm in a predetermined position for engagement by said cam means at said delivery station.

Claim 20

Apparatus as set forth in claim 16, wherein said latch slide includes a cam slot, and said carrier includes a follower section, said follower section being releasably engaged by said cam slot to hold said carrier against movement from said first position to said second position, said latch slide being adapted to be moved by said actuator slide when said carrier is adjacent to said delivery station to free said carrier for movement from said first position to said second position.

Claim 21

Apparatus as set forth in claim 16, wherein said carrier is a hook which is mounted for pivoting movement between said first position and said second position, and a spring is connected to said hook to resiliently bias said hook toward said second position.

Claim 22

Apparatus as set forth in claim 16, in combination with a plurality of elongated guide members defining a plurality of longitudinally extending control paths terminating at a plurality of delivery stations, each control path of tHe plurality of control paths being associated with a different delivery station, said actuator slide being adjustable relative to said latch slide for positioning said outwardly projecting arm of said actuator slide so as to extend into and move along a control path associated with a selected delivery station.

Claim 23

Apparatus as set forth in claim 20, wherein said elongated guide members comprise flexible strips having longitudinally extending surfaces which define said control paths, and said outwardly projecting arm of said actuator slide is movable between said surfaces of the said strips.

Claim 24

Apparatus as set forth in claim 21, further including separator means mounted adjacent to end portions of said flexible strips for moving said surfaces into a spaced apart relationship to facilitate positioning said outwardly projecting arm between said surfaces.

Claim 25

A conveying system comprising a drive means for moving articles from a loading station to a plurality of delivery stations, a plurality of flexible strips located adjacent to said drive means and associated with said plurality of delivery stations, a plurality of couplings connected to said drive means for engaging said articles, said couplings having outwardly projecting followers each extending between an adjacent pair of strips and slidable therebetween, and separator means at said loading station for selectively moving apart end portions of said strips to enable said followers to be positioned between said strips for movement to selected delivery stations.

Claim 26

A conveying system comprising a drive means for moving articles from a loading station to a plurality of delivery stations, a plurality of flexible strips located adjacent to said drive means and associated with said plurality of delivery stations, a plurality of couplings connected to said drive means for engaging said articles, said couplings having outwardly projecting followers each extending between an adjacent pair of strips and slidable therebetween, and separator means at said loading station for selectively moving apart end portions of said strips to enable said followers to be positioned between said strips for movement to selected delivery stations.

Claim 27

A conveyor system as set forth in claim 23, wherein said separator means includes a strip-engaging means for moving certain of said end portions of said strips, which are associated with delivery stations located further from the loading station than a selected delivery station, apart from others of said end portions of said strips, which are associated with delivery stations located closer to the loading station than said selected delivery station.

Claim 28

A conveying system as set forth in claim 23, wherein said separator means includes a plurality of interlocked elements, each element of said plurality of elements coacting with a single strip of said plurality of strips, and said elements being interlocked in such a manner that movement of an element and strip associated with a selected delivery station also effects movement of elements and strips associated with other delivery stations.

Claim 29

A conveying system as set forth in claim 23, wherein said separator means includes a plurality of latch assemblies mounted adjacent to support sections, each of said latch assemblies including a wedge section and being movable from a retracted position to an extended position in which said wedge section engages said support section to hold apart said end portions of at least two of said strips to facilitate inserting at least one of said followers between the held-apart strips.

Claim 30

A conveying system as set forth in claim 26, wherein said latch assemblies are released for movement from said extended position to said retracted position by engagement of a follower with said wedge section as the follower is positioned between the held-apart strips.

Claim 31

A conveying apparatus comprising a plurality of elongated guides grouped together in generally parallel relationship and extending between a common loading station at one end and a plurality of individual delivery stations at opposite ends of the respective guides, a carrier means for engaging an article at the loading station and moving the article to a selected delivery station, and a follower connected to said carrier means and selectively positionable between a pair of adjacent guides for sliding movement therealong to a selected delivery station, said follower being movable relative to said carrier means at the selected delivery station to effect release of the transported articles from said carrier means.

Claim 32

A conveying apparatus comprising a plurality of elongated guides grouped together in generally parallel relationship and extending between a common loading station at one end and a plurality of individual delivery stations at opposite ends of the respective guides, a carrier means for engaging an article at the loading station and moving the article to a selected delivery station, and a follower connected to said carrier means and selectively positionable between a pair of adjacent guides for sliding movement therealong to a selected delivery station, said follower being movable relative to said carrier means at the selected delivery station to effect release of the transported articles from said carrier means.

Claim 33

A conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 28, wherein said follower is moved into spaceD-apart relationship from said guides at the selected delivery station for return movement with said carrier means to the loading station.

Claim 34

A conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 28, wherein said guides are selectively movable into a spaced-apart relationship at the loading station to facilitate positioning said follower between adjacent guides.

Claim 35

A conveying apparatus for transporting an article from a loading station to a selected delivery station of a plurality of delivery stations, said conveying apparatus comprising a drive assembly for moving said article to said selected delivery station, a plurality of elongated guides defining a plurality of guide paths between adjacent pairs of guides and extending from said loading station to said delivery stations, and a control assembly connected to said drive assembly and having a follower extending between an adjacent pair of said guides and movable along one of said guide paths to said selected delivery station to thereby detect when said article is at said selected delivery station.

Claim 36

A conveying apparatus for transporting an article from a loading station to a selected delivery station of a plurality of delivery stations, said conveying apparatus comprising a drive assembly for moving said article to said selected delivery station, a plurality of elongated guides defining a plurality of guide paths between adjacent pairs of guides and extending from said loading station to said delivery stations, and a control assembly connected to said drive assembly and having a follower extending between an adjacent pair of said guides and movable along one of said guide paths to said selected delivery station to thereby detect when said article is at said selected delivery station.

Claim 37

A conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 31, wherein said drive assembly includes a carrier means movable from a support position for engaging said article to a release position for releasing said article, said follower being positioned to hold said carrier means in the support position by a guide which at least partially defines the guide path extending to said selected delivery station, said follower being moved out of the guide path at said selected delivery station to enable said carrier means to move from said support position to said release position to release said article at said selected delivery station.

Claim 38

A conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 31, further including a rail mounted adjacent to said drive assembly for supporting said article as said article is moved along said rail from said loading station to said selected delivery station.

Claim 39

A conveying apparatus for transporting an article from a loading station to a selected one of a plurality of delivery stations, said apparatus comprising a support means for supporting said article while it is being transported by said apparatus, a drive means associated with said support means for moving said article to said selected delivery station, a first group of elongated guides defining a first group of guide paths extending from said loading station to groups of said delivery stations, a second group of elongated guides defining a second group of guide paths extending to said delivery stations and generally parallel to said first group of guide paths, a first control assembly connected to said drive means and having a first follower movable along a guide path of said first group of guide paths to detect when said article is adjacent to a group of delivery stations including said selected delivery station, a second control assembly connected to said drive means and having a second follower movable along a guide path of said second group of guide paths to detect when said article is adjacent to said selected delivery station, said second control assembly being connected to said first control assembly to release said article when said first control assembly detects that said article is adjacent to a group of delivery stations including said selected delivery station and said second control assembly detects that said article is adjacent to said selected delivery station.

Claim 40

A conveying apparatus for transporting an article from a loading station to a selected one of a plurality of delivery stations, said apparatus comprising a support means for supporting said article while it is being transported by said apparatus, a drive means associated with said support means for moving said article to said selected delivery station, a first group of elongated guides defining a first group of guide paths extending from said loading station to groups of said delivery stations, a second group of elongated guides defining a second group of guide paths extending to said delivery stations and generally parallel to said first group of guide paths, a first control assembly connected to said drive means and having a first follower movable along a guide path of said first group of guide paths to detect when said article is adjacent to a group of delivery stations including said selected delivery station, a second control assembly connected to said drive means and having a second follower movable along a guide path of said second group of guide paths to detect when said article is adjacent to said selected delivery station, said second control assembly being connected to said first control assembly to release said article when said first control assembly detects that said article is adjacent to a group of delivery stations including said selected delivery station and said second control assembly detects that said article is adjacent to said selected delivery station.

Claim 41

A conveying apparatus as set froth in claim 34, wherein said support means includes a rail assembly having a selectively movable section at each of said delivery stations and an operator connected to said sections for moving said sections to release articles at said delivery stations, said first control assembly includes a first series of switches located adjacent to said first group of guide paths and actuatable by said first follower, and said second control assembly includes a second series of switches located adjacent to said second group of guide paths and actuated by said seCond follower, said first and second series of switches being actuated by said first and second followers respectively when said article is adjacent to said selected delivery station to energize the operator associated with said selected delivery station to release said article at said selected delivery station.

Claim 42

A conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 34, wherein said second control assembly includes a latch means for releasably holding said second follower in a predetermined relationship with said second group of guide paths, and said first control assembly includes a control member connected to said latch means and actuated by said first follower when said first follower detects that said article is adjacent to the group of delivery stations including said selected delivery station, said latch means being operated by the actuation of said control member by said first follower to release said second follower for movement relative to said second group of guide paths to thereby detect when said article is adjacent to said selected delivery station.

Claim 43

A conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 34, wherein said support means is movable from a first position for supporting said article to a second position for releasing said article at said selected delivery station, said support means being held in said first position by said second control assembly until said second follower detects that said article is adjacent to said selected delivery station, said support means being released by said second control assembly for movement from said first position to said second position when said follower detects that said article is adjacent to said selected delivery station.

Claim 44

A conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 34, wherein said first group of guides and said first control assembly are mounted on one side of said support means, and said second group of guides and second control assembly are mounted on a second side of said support means.

Claim 45

A conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 34, wherein said first group of guides is formed by a plurality of flexible strips which are movable relative to each other and said first follower is received between said flexible strips for movement along a guide path of said first group of guide paths.

Claim 46

A conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 39, wherein said second group of guides is formed by a plurality of strips which are mounted in a spaced-apart relationship relative to each other and said second follower is received between said strips for movement along a guide path of said second group of guide paths.

Claim 47

A conveying system comprising a drive means for moving articles from a loading station to a plurality of delivery stations, a plurality of strips located adjacent to said drive means and extending from said loading station to said plurality of delivery stations, a plurality of couplings connected to said drive means for engaging said articles, said couplings having outwardly projecting followers adapted to extend between said strips, and selector means at said loading station for inserting said followers between selected pairs of adjacent strips for movement to selected delivery stations.

Claim 48

A conveying system comprising a drive means for moving articles from a loading station to a plurality of delivery stations, a plurality of strips located adjacent to said drive means and extending from said loading station to said plurality of delivery stations, a plurality of couplings connected to said drive means for engaging said articles, said couplings having outwardly projecting followers adapted to extend between said strips, and selector means at said loading station for inserting said followers between selected pairs of adjacent strips for movement to selected delivery stations.

Claim 49

The system of claim 41, further characterized in that said selector means comprises a movable actuating member disposed adjacent terminal portions of said strips, said followers being movable along said actuating member, and control means for effecting movement of said actuating member toward said strips at predetermined times whereby to cause said followers to be projected between selected strips.

Claim 50

The system of claim 42, further characterized in that said strips have downturned terminal portions arranged in longitudinally spaced relation and said actuating member comprises a pivotal member adapted to be pivoted upwardly for inserting a follower between adjacent downturned terminal portions of said strips.

Claim 51

The system of claim 42, further characterized in that said control means comprises A plurality of first switch elements adapted to be manually operated, a plurality of second switch elements operable by engagement with the moving couplings, and means connected in circuit with said switch elements for moving said actuating member whenever a predetermined pair of said first and second switch elements are closed.