Claims
- 1. A conveyor system comprising:a plurality of conveyance members for supporting a respective plurality of articles to be conveyed, each conveyor member having laterally opposed flanges and mounted for sliding translation upon laterally opposed guide rails, each conveyor member being connected to a common drive mechanism operative to translate the conveyor members along the guide rails, each conveyor member having a common length dimension defining a conveyor pitch wherein the conveyor members are in end-to-end abutment. wherein the common drive mechanism is a sprocket-driven chain, and an indexer for maintaining tension on the chain to achieve spacing of the conveyor members at distances greater than a length dimension of the conveyor members; and an article engagement device attached to one or more conveyor members.
- 2. A conveyor system comprising:a plurality of conveyance members for supporting a respective plurality of articles to be conveyed, each conveyor member having laterally opposed flanges and mounted for sliding translation upon laterally opposed guide rails, each conveyor member being connected to a common drive mechanism operative to translate the conveyor members along the guide rails, each conveyor member having a common length dimension defining a conveyor pitch wherein the conveyor members are in end-to-end abutment; and an article engagement device attached to one or more conveyor members; and a brake mechanism operative to brake one or more conveyor members on the guide rails, wherein the brake mechanism comprises a linear actuator operative to engage a conveyor member.
- 3. A conveyor system comprising:a plurality of conveyance members for supporting a respective plurality of articles to be conveyed, each conveyor member having laterally opposed flanges and mounted for sliding translation upon laterally opposed guide rails, each conveyor member being connected to a common drive mechanism operative to translate the conveyor members along the guide rails, each conveyor member having a common length dimension defining a conveyor pitch wherein the conveyor members are in end-to-end abutment; and an article engagement device attached to one or more conveyor members, the article engagement device comprising a spring-biased assembly which bears against an article engaged by the article engagement device; and a hinge-mounted plate which is spring biased against the article engagement device to bear against an article engaged by the article engagement device.
- 4. The conveyor system of claim 3 further comprising a frictional surface on the hinge-mounted plate.
- 5. The conveyor system of claim 3 wherein a spring extends from a surface of the conveyor member to the in-mounted plate.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/723,668, filed Nov. 28, 2000, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/151,872, filed Sep. 11, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,310.
US Referenced Citations (6)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2069442 |
Aug 1981 |
GB |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
International Search Report. |
Continuation in Parts (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/723668 |
Nov 2000 |
US |
Child |
09/966284 |
|
US |
Parent |
09/151872 |
Sep 1998 |
US |
Child |
09/723668 |
|
US |