Conveyor

A conveyor configured to successively convey a predetermined number of objects lined in a row direction perpendicular to a conveyance direction into a heat treatment furnace in a state where the objects are arranged at a predetermined interval from one another in the conveyance direction, and convey the objects heat-treated in the heat treatment furnace out of the heat treatment furnace, the conveyor comprising:

• a first conveyor roller device configured to convey the objects conveyed out of the heat treatment furnace in the conveyance direction at a speed higher than an exiting speed at which the objects exit from the heat treatment furnace;
• a second conveyor roller device disposed downstream of the first conveyor roller device;
• and
• a stopper disposed downstream of the first conveyor roller device and upstream of the second conveyor roller device and configured to prohibit a movement of the objects in the conveyance direction,
• wherein
• the first conveyor roller device is configured to convey the objects lined in the row direction at a same speed and increase the interval between the objects in the conveyance direction to be wider than the interval between the objects in the conveyance direction when the objects exit from the heat treatment furnace so that the objects are separated into object groups each including less than the predetermined number of objects, and
• the stopper is configured to be disposed between the object groups separated by the first conveyor roller device and adjacent to each other in the conveyance direction.