| 摘要 |
A closed loop conveyor provides a simple arrangement of tracks on which roll a plurality of cargo carrying devices which are connected to each other by means of a drive chain adjacent one of the tracks and which chain is driven by a sprocket wheel. The chain is of a type having horizontally and vertically pivotal links so that flexibility is provided whereby the tracks can have horizontal bends and vertical slope, the cargo carrying devices thus being enabled to follow a track system which may extend circuitously on the floor of a warehouse and then rise to another floor and ultimately return to the first-mentioned floor. The system is provided with at least one loading station and a plurality of discharge stations at predetermined places along the track circuit. Each cargo carrying device has a normally level load carrying member which can be tilted at any selected station so that cargo can slide gravitationally into a chute or other conveyor means at the selected station, on either side of the track. The drive chain is retained in such a manner that it maintains all of the cargo carrying devices, such units properly disposed on the tracks without any need for additional guide members or specially shaped tracks. The invention is susceptible to use in systems having load carrying members which are trays of sufficient area to support a large cargo load, for example, a postal sack, or where the load carrying members can be relatively narrow slats such that a plurality of slats support an elongated loading. For example, the U.S. Pat. to Atanasoff et al. No. 3,233,720, issued Feb. 8, 1966, and owned by the assignee of the present application, shows a basic arrangement of a plurality of relatively narrow slats wherein several slats can carry a large elongated load, such slats being sequentially tilted at any selected station for discharge.
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