Abstract: A conveyor system for use in transporting cargo from a loading station to at least one selected location in the system including a track extending along a loading station and selected locations. A plurality of cars are provided and driven along the track for moving cargo. Each car has a tray and a tray support structure mounted pivotally below the tray for transverse angular movement between an upright position for carrying cargo on the tray and a tilted position for dumping the cargo at a selected location. An unloader has at least one stationary portion attached to the track at a selected location and mobile portions attached one to each of the cars. The stationary portion is movable between a disengaged position in which the stationary portions and mobile portions do not interact as the cars travel on the track, and an engaged position in which the stationary portion and mobile portion interact to tilt the tray and dump the cargo at a selected location.

Abstract: There is described a loading system, for use with a conveyor transfer system, which comprises a conveyor and a pusher assembly. The conveyor is located adjacent and parallel to a portion of a conveyor transfer system and is driven to travel at the same velocity as the adjacent conveyor transfer system. The pusher assembly comprises: a pusher member located adjacent an upper surface of the conveyor; a mounting member, the pusher member being rotatably mounted on an end portion thereof; a planetary gear fixed to the mounting member and rotatably mounted on a driven mounting which is rotated around a central axis; a restrained member rotatably mounted on the driven mounting and connected through links located on common parallel chords to the pusher member; and, a driven ring gear sharing said central axis and driven in the same direction as, but at a different speed to, the driven mounting.

Abstract: This invention provides a drive system for moving wheeled structures longitudinally along a supporting track. The drive system includes an element extending longitudinally below the track and having an upwardly inclined ramp portion, a main portion extending in parallel with the track and leading from the ramp portion, and a downwardly extending portion leading from the main portion. A drive system is adapted to drive the element such that the main portion moves at a speed equal to that at which the wheeled structure is intended to move and a gripper mechanism is provided for attachment to the wheeled structure to engage with the element.

Abstract: In connection with a feeding conveyor for feeding articles laterally onto a sorter conveyor is mounted a retractable V-shaped stop for the articles as conveyed on the feeding conveyor, whereby these articles are temporarily stopped and concurrently centered towards the top point of the V-stop. Hereby it is achieved that the remaining article transfer distance is well defined such that the transfer of the article to the sorter conveyor, upon retraction of the V-stop, may take place in a well defined manner. When the respective edges or sides of the V-stop are orientated parallelly with and orthogonally to the moving direction of the sorter conveyor, it is achieved, additionally, that a rectangular article as fed to the feeding conveyor with any arbitrary orientation, will be orientated so as to take up a minimum space on the sorter conveyor, whereby the capacity of the latter may kept at a maximum.