AN APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING A TREATMENT OPERATION

摘要

An apparatus and method for performing a treatment operation comprises means for establishing an equidistant spacing between successive articles on the conveyor, a revolving holding device having a plurality of equidistant holders for an article and moving in synchronism with said conveyor for moving the holders through a substantially closed loop path, at least one treatment station through which said closed loop path passes, each holder being provided with actuable means for picking up an article from said conveyor and, after having moved through the closed loop path, replacing the article onto the conveyor. To avoid the necessity for providing additional auxiliary conveyors for feeding the objects to the auxiliary conveyor the apparatus is characterized in that the spacing of the articles on the conveyor is an integral multiple of the spacing of the holders on the revolving holding means, and the number of holders on the revolving holding means is not dividable by said multiple, whereby a full turn of said holding means will position a treated article into a gap between successive articles on the conveyor and will position an empty holder to coincide with an untreated article on the conveyor.