Abstract: A bucket conveyor with a pair of parallel draw elements between which the buckets are supported on spindles about which they rotate pendulum fashion. Forward rollers are mounted on the ends of the spindles and rear rollers are mounted at the opposite edge of the bucket. Each bucket has a flange or lip which overlaps the top edge of an adjacent bucket. The rollers on the buckets engage guide rails to properly orient the buckets as they pass over return gears and from the loading area to the dumping area and back again. By maintaining proper orientation of the buckets, the load level of each bucket and thus the capacity of the conveyor is increased. The bucket conveyor is of simple design, has low wear and high conveying capacity.

Abstract: A conveyance system which adjusts the quantitative rate at which items are conveyed independently of the linear velocity at which items are conveyed while the conveyance operation is on-going, is disclosed. The conveyance system includes a roller section that receives the items being conveyed at a first conveyance velocity, a positioning device that moves the items lateral to the direction of conveyance, a control device that controls the rate of operation of the positioning device, and a second roller section that includes a gear box which adjusts the linear conveyance velocity of and the spacing between the items being conveyed.