Conveyor apparatus for use with a container manufacturing apparatus

Claim 1

Conveyor means for incrementally advancing individual articles in a generally straight line movement to successive conveyor stations, comprising: support means; a longitudinal member carried by said support means and oriented generally parallel to the direction of said generally straight line movement and pivotally mounted at a plurality of points, at least two of which are drive points, along its length; means operably associated with said longitudinal member for moving each said drive point through a circuitous locus, each such locus being in a plane which is generally parallel to said generally parallel straight line movement, and such loci being of substantially equal shape; a plurality of transverse members, each rigidly affixed to said longitudinal member, spaced at substantially equal distances along said longitudinal member; a stationary surface underlying said transverse members for accommodating the sliding movement of articles thereon; and gripping means movably mounted on said support means and positioned adjacent said longitudinal member, said gripping means being operable for selectively engaging an article at one or more stations and preventing advancing movement and rotational movement of the article when said gripping means is in engagement therewith, said gripping means including two generally parallel gripping members, each said gripping member mating with the other to define jaw means for gripping an article with the thus gripped article being located at a respective one of said stations of said conveyor means, said jaw means being sized and shaped to engage a substantial portion of the periphery of the article therein; means for moving both said gripping members toward each other to grip the bottom of an article and for moving both said gripping members away from each other to release an article.