Direction changer for workpiece carrier on conveyor system

摘要

To move a workpiece carrier from a first conveyor (12) to a second one (16) travelling in a different direction, the diverting station has drive rollers (22, 24) all with rotational axes parallel to the transport plane. The drive rollers are in pref. three or four functional groups (20) each of pref. three rollers. Each functional group is independently supported and driven and can be independently orientated to achieve the desired travel direction of the workpiece. For 90 deg. diversion there are pref. three groups, two being on the outer curve with their axes radial to a curved outer guide (44) for the workpiece. This guide is lowerable, allowing workpieces optionally to be transferred straight onwards to a third conveyor (14) with the help of a second, straight guide (40).