Claims
- 1. A conveyance system comprising an endless flexible belt which circulates through at least two arcs, a first of said arcs having a greater radius than a second of said arcs; at least one structurally rigid gripping member attached to the belt, the gripping member having a free end and an anchoring end disposed at opposite ends of the gripping member; a biasing means which biases the gripping member in a closed position; and a pivot attachment located at a medial point on the gripping member between the anchoring end and the free end, wherein the configuration of the biasing means causes the gripping member to be opened as it traverses an arced path and closed against the belt as it traverses a straight path, without interruption in the movement of the path, and wherein a workpiece is loaded as the gripping member traverses the first arc, and offloaded as the gripping member traverses the second arc.
- 2. A conveyance system comprising an endless flexible belt which circulates through at least two arcs; at least one structurally rigid gripping member attached to the belt, the gripping member having a free end and an anchoring end disposed at opposite ends of the gripping member; a first biasing means which biases the gripping member in a closed position; a second biasing means which biases the free end of the gripping member away from the surface of the conveyor belt; and a pivot attachment located at a medial point on the gripping member between the anchoring end and the free end, wherein the configuration of the first and second biasing means causes the gripping member to be opened as it traverses an arced path and closed against the belt as it traverses a straight path, without interruption in the movement of the path.
- 3. A conveyance system comprising an endless flexible belt which circulates through at least two arcs; at least one structurally rigid gripping member attached to the belt, the gripping member having a free end and an anchoring end disposed at opposite ends of the gripping member wherein a surface of the gripping member is adapted to grip a workpiece and comprises a foam pad or a serrated edge; a biasing means which biases the gripping member in a closed position, and a pivot attachment located at a medial point on the gripping member between the anchoring end and the free end, wherein the configuration of the biasing means causes the gripping member to be opened as it traverses an arced path and closed against the belt as it traverses a straight path, without interruption in the movement of the path.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/066,047, now abandoned, filed May 25, 1993, which is the national phase application of PCT/US92/00163, Jan. 10, 1992, published as WO92/12918, Aug. 6, 1992, which is a continuation in part of application Ser. Nos. 07/641,416 filed Jan. 15, 1991 and 07/641,374 filed Jan. 15, 1991, both abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (17)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (4)
Entry |
IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin vol. 32, No. 5B, Oct. 1989, pp. 73-74 as cited in the European Search Report for European Application No. 92904427.9. |
Raychem, "Model 16" Publication. |
Raychem "IR-1038/IR-1046/IR-1146 Process Belt Heaters for Heatshrinkable Tubings and Terminating Devices" Publication. |
Raychem "Operating and Maintenence Manual for IR-1038, IR-1046 Mark II, IR-1146" publication. |
Related Publications (1)
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Number |
Date |
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341416 |
Jan 1991 |
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Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
66047 |
May 1993 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
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641374 |
Jan 1991 |
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