Conveyor system

Claim 1

A transportation system comprising upper and lower rails forming upper and lower passes for the system, racks carried in line on the rails and lying in juxtaposed relationship, an upper sproket located at a downstream end of said upper pass, a lower sprocket, first vertically operating endless conveying means mounted on said upper and lower sprockets so that said endless conveying means is movable along a path, first abutment members on said first conveying means, each first abutment member being U-shaped with arms of the U-shape being of different length, the shorter arms forming a ledge to support elements on successive racks and to carry the racks from the upper pass to the lower pass and the longer arms forming a projection which, as the first abutment member goes around said lower sprocket, impels the rack carried by the abutment members against the line of the racks on the lower rails and toward the downstream end of the lower pass, said endless conveying means moving said first abutment members along an upwardly inclined portion of said path into engagement with elements on successive racks positioned at said downstream end of said upper pass, said upwardly inclined path portion being spaced from said downstream end of said upper pass so that as each first abutment member moves along said path portion, said shorter arm passes by said element on the successive rack without engaging said element and said longer arm engages said element, second vertically operating endless conveying means located at the downstream end of the lower pass, and second abutment members on said second conveying means, said second abutment members forming a projecting ledge to support elements on successive racks to carry the racks from the lower pass to the upper pass and impel each such rack against the line of racks on the upper rails and toward the downstream end of the upper pass.