# US 11,077,899 B2 · Conveying apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,077,899 B2 - Document ID: US11077899B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/202,354 - Filed: 2018-11-28 - Published: 2019-06-13 - Granted: 2021-08-03 - Earliest claimed: 2017-12-13 - Assignees: Mazda Motor Corporation - Applicants: Mazda Motor Corporation - Inventors: Manabu Tashiro - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11077899B2 ## CPC - B62D 65/18: Transportation, conveyor or haulage systems specially adapted for motor vehicle or trailer assembly lines {(conveyors and haulage in general B65G)} - B61B 3/00: Elevated railway systems with suspended vehicles (with suspended flexible tracks B61B7/00; saddle or like balanced type with monorail B61B13/06; with propelling cables and for transporting materials B65G; tracks therefor E01B25/00) - B61C 13/04: for elevated railways with rigid rails (B61C13/08 takes precedence) - B65G 19/025: {for suspended articles} - B65G 35/06: comprising a load-carrier moving along a path, e.g. a closed path, and adapted to be engaged by any one of a series of traction elements spaced along the path (effecting drive at two or more points spaced along the length of an endless conveyor B65G23/32) - B65G 9/002: {Load-carriers, rollers therefor} - B65G 17/20: comprising load-carriers suspended from overhead traction chains - B62D: MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS (steering, or guiding on a desired track, of agricultural machines or implements A01B69/00; wheels, castors, axles, increasing wheel adhesion B60B; vehicle tyres, tyre inflation or tyre changing B60C; connections between vehicles of a train or the like B60D; vehicles for use on rail and road, amphibious or convertible vehicles B60F; suspension arrangements B60G; heating, cooling, ventilating or other air treating devices B60H; windows, windscreens, non-fixed roofs, doors or similar devices, protective coverings for vehicles not in use B60J; propulsion plant arrangements, auxiliary drives, transmissions, controls, instrumentation or dashboards B60K; electric equipment or propulsion of electrically-propelled vehicles B60L; power supply for electrically-propelled vehicles B60M; passenger accommodation not otherwise provided for B60N; adaptations for load transportation or to carry special loads or objects B60P; arrangement of signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor, for vehicles in general B60Q; vehicles, vehicle fittings or vehicle parts not otherwise provided for B60R; servicing, cleaning, repairing, supporting, lifting, or manoeuvring, not otherwise provided for, B60S; brake arrangements, brake control systems or parts thereof B60T; air-cushion vehicles B60V; motor-cycles, accessories therefor B62J, B62K; testing of vehicles G01M) - B61B: RAILWAY SYSTEMS; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (lifts or hoists, elevators, escalators, moving walkways B66B) - B61C: LOCOMOTIVES; MOTOR RAILCARS (vehicles in general B60; frames or bogies B61F; special railroad equipment for locomotives B61J, B61K) - B65G: TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS (packaging B65B; handling thin or filamentary materials, e.g. paper sheets or thread, B65H; cranes B66C; portable mobile or lifting or hauling appliances, e.g. hoists, B66D; devices for lifting or lowering goods for loading or unloading purposes, e.g. fork-lift trucks, B66F9/00; emptying bottles, jars, casks, barrels or similar containers, not otherwise provided for, B67C9/00; delivering or transferring liquids B67D; filling or discharging vessels for liquefied, solidified or compressed gases F17C; pipe-line systems for fluids F17D) ## Abstract The conveying apparatus includes support body for supporting object to be conveyed; linear moving member extended at predetermined height position and configured to move in predetermined conveying direction; first guide rail including first slope section inclined in conveying direction from predetermined first height position to second height position different from first height position, and configured to support the support body which moves in first slope section; and transmission mechanism configured to transmit driving force of linear moving member to support body when linear moving member moves in conveying direction. Transmission mechanism vertically extends and contracts in response to change in vertical distance between first guide rail and linear moving member extended at predetermined height position while support body moves on first slope section in conveying direction with being supported by first guide rail. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A conveying apparatus comprising: a support body configured to support a conveyed object; a linear moving member extended at a predetermined height position and configured to move in a predetermined conveying direction; a first guide rail including a first slope section inclined in the conveying direction from a predetermined first height position to a second height position different from the first height position, and configured to support the support body which moves in the first slope section; a second guide rail configured to form a second slope section at a position away from the first slope section by a predetermined horizontal distance which is set in the conveying direction, the second slope section being inclined in the conveying direction by a difference in height between the first and second height positions, and a transmission mechanism configured to transmit a driving force of the linear moving member to the support body when the linear moving member moves in the conveying direction, wherein the support body includes: a first moving body configured to move along the first guide rail; a second moving body situated at a position away from the first moving body by the predetermined horizontal distance, and configured to move along the second guide rail; and a placement portion connected to the first and second moving bodies, the conveyed object being placed on the placement portion, wherein an inclination angle of the second slope section is set so that a posture of the placement portion remains unchanged while the first moving body moves in the first slope section, wherein the transmission mechanism includes: a base portion configured to receive the driving force of the linear moving member; a first arm configured to form a first hinged joint in cooperation with the base portion, and extend obliquely downward from the first hinged joint; and a second arm configured to form a second hinged joint as a connection point with the first arm and extend obliquely downward from the second hinged joint in a direction, in which the second arm is bent from the first arm, the second arm forming a third hinged joint in cooperation with the support body, a slot member in which a slot is formed so as to determine a moving path of the second hinged joint while the first and second moving bodies move along the first and second slope sections respectively, and an inserting portion inserted in the slot at the second hinged joint, the transmission mechanism being configured to vertically extend and contract with changing an angle defined by the first and second arms at the second hinged joint in response to a change in vertical distance between the first guide rail and the linear moving member extended at the predetermined height position while the support body moves on the first slope section in the conveying direction with being supported by the first guide rail, wherein each of the first and second arms is longer than the predetermined horizontal distance, and wherein the first moving body or the second moving body is attached to the third hinged joint. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and third hinged joints are situated upstream or downstream with respect to an imaginary vertical plane orthogonal to the linear moving member at an intermediate position between the first moving body and the second moving body, and wherein the second hinged joint is situated downstream or upstream with respect to the imaginary vertical plane. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first guide rail and the second guide rail are unified over a predetermined extension section to form a rail unit. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first moving body rolls along the first guide rail. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the linear moving member is extended above the first guide rail. ### Claim 6 A conveying apparatus comprising: a support body configured to support a conveyed object, the support body including a first roller; a linear moving member extended at a predetermined height position and configured to move in a predetermined conveying direction; a first guide rail including a first slope section inclined in the conveying direction from a predetermined first height position to a second height position different from the first height position, and configured to support the support body which moves in the first slope section, the first roller being configured to move along the first guide rail; and a transmission mechanism configured to transmit a driving force of the linear moving member to the support body when the linear moving member moves in the conveying direction, wherein the transmission mechanism vertically extends and contracts in response to a change in vertical distance between the first guide rail and the linear moving member extended at the predetermined height position while the support body moves on the first slope section in the conveying direction with being supported by the first guide rail, the transmission mechanism including a base portion configured to receive the driving force of the linear moving member; a first arm configured to form a first hinged joint in cooperation with the base portion, and extend obliquely downward from the first hinged joint; and a second arm configured to form a second hinged joint as a connection point with the first arm and extend obliquely downward from the second hinged joint in a direction, in which the second arm is bent from the first arm, the second arm forming a third hinged joint in cooperation with the support body, wherein the first roller is attached to the third hinged joint. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The conveying apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: a second guide rail configured to form a second slope section at a position away from the first slope section by a predetermined horizontal distance which is set in the conveying direction, the second slope section being inclined in the conveying direction by a difference in height between the first and second height positions, wherein the support body includes a second roller situated at a position away from the first roller by the predetermined horizontal distance, the second roller being configured to move along the second guide rail; and a placement portion connected to the first and second moving bodies, the conveyed object being placed on the placement portion, and wherein an inclination angle of the second slope section is set so that a posture of the placement portion remains unchanged while the first roller moves in the first slope section. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The conveying apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the transmission mechanism is configured to vertically extend and contract with changing an angle defined by the first and second arms at the second hinged joint, and wherein each of the first and second arms is longer than the predetermined horizontal distance. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The conveying apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the first and third hinged joints are situated upstream or downstream with respect to an imaginary vertical plane orthogonal to the linear moving member at an intermediate position between the first and second rollers, and wherein the second hinged joint is situated downstream or upstream with respect to the imaginary vertical plane. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The conveying apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the first and second guide rails are unified over a predetermined extension section to form a rail unit. ### Claim 11 (depends on 6) The conveying apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the linear moving member is extended above the first guide rail. ### Claim 12 (depends on 6) The conveying apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first roller rolls along the first guide rail.