Conveyor system for use in automobile assembly line

Claim 1

A conveyor system for use in an automobile assembly line comprising: a body-carrying tact conveyor arranged in an endless form and passing an engine mounting position, said tact conveyor having an inlet section and an outlet section and being switchable between a running mode and a stopping mode; a body-carrying main conveyor arranged in an endless form for running in a continuous mode and having a carry-in section and a carry-out section aligned, respectively, with said inlet section and said outlet section of said tact conveyor, said engine mounting position being between said inlet section and said outlet section of said tact conveyor; a pair of feeders for delivery an automobile body from the carry-in section of said main conveyor to the inlet section of said tact conveyor and from the outlet section of said tact conveyor to the carry-out section of said main conveyor; an engine transferring conveyor arranged in an endless form and passing a delivery position near said mounting position and capable of making a stop at said delivery position; and an engine shifting conveyor having an engine shifting jig said engine shifting conveyor extending between said delivery position and said mounting position and being capable of making a reciprocating movement at a comparatively high speed between the delivery position and the mounting position; said engine shifting jig including a lifting means provided at its upper end with a slide plate and carried by said shifting conveyor, a mounting plate for mounting said engine and mounted on said slide plate with a rolling member interposed therebetween for movement in all horizontal directions on said slide plate within a limited region when said lifting means has been operated upwardly, and a locking means provided on said mounting plate and adapted to be brought into and out of engagement with said engine.