Conveyor for a transit warehouse for parcelled cargo to be stored, particularly for goods transported on pallets

Claim 1

Conveyor apparatus for parcelled goods, particularly for goods to be stored on pallets, with at least one conveyor path comprising a delivery station, a build-up stretch with a plurality of storage points to be passed in succession by the goods, and a pick-up station, comprising: a first conveyor at the delivery station; a second conveyor along the build-up stretch; a third conveyor at the pick-up station said second conveyor having a beginning adjacent said first conveyor and an end adjacent said third conveyor; driving means for moving said second conveyor independently of said other two conveyors in backward direction or together with either one of said other conveyors or both of them in forward direction; and switching means for controlling said driving means and actuated by the passing goods so that, in a delivery mode, said goods are delivered by said first conveyor to accumulate at the beginning of said build-up stretch and, in a pick-up mode, said accumulated goods are moved to the end of said build-up stretch to be picked up by said third conveyor, and so that, in an alternating delivery and pick-up mode with an incompletely occupied build-up stretch, the totality of goods accumulated at the end of said build-up stretch are shifted backward to the beginning of said build-up stretch when said delivery station is served with goods awaiting to be delivered to said second conveyor, while said totality of goods are shifted to said end of said build-up stretch when said pick-up station is ready to pick up goods from said second conveyor, the shift to the beginning having priority so long as goods are awaiting delivery at said delivery station to an available storage point on said second conveyor.