Transport conveyor and transport apparatus equipped with transport conveyor

A transport conveyor to transport an object to be transported in a transport direction, comprising:

• two support legs spaced apart from each other in the transport direction;
• a frame supported by the two support legs and extending in the transport direction;
• two guide bodies spaced apart from each other in the transport direction and supported by the frame;
• a tensioner spaced below one of the two guide bodies and supported by the frame;
• and
• an endless member wound around the two guide bodies and the tensioner, the endless member configured to circulate along a predetermined endless path,
• wherein the endless path comprises:
• a first region extending linearly in the transport direction and constituting a transport surface on which the object to be transported is placeable;
• turn-back regions in which the endless path is turned back downward from respective end portions of the first region in the transport direction;
• and
• a second region continuous with the turn-back regions and extending in the transport direction below the first region, and
• wherein the second region has, between the two support legs in the transport direction, a specific zone that is parallel with the first region and in which a spacing from the first region in an up-down direction is smaller than a smallest turn-back dimension corresponding to twice a smallest bending radius of the endless member,
• wherein the frame includes a specific region, which is a region in the transport direction corresponding to the specific zone, and outer regions, which are regions on respective outer sides of the specific region in the transport direction, and
• the frame has, in the specific region, a dimension in the up-down direction that is smaller than a dimension of the frame in the up-down direction in the outer regions,
• wherein a transport vehicle, which is configured to transport the object to be transported, is allowed to pass in a width direction perpendicular to the transport direction as viewed in the up-down direction, along a width-direction passage located below the endless path between the two support legs in the transport direction, and
• wherein the specific region is above the transport vehicle, and a lower end of the outer region is below an upper end of a carrier body of the transport vehicle, and
• the outer region of the frame and the transport vehicle partially overlap in the up-down direction as viewed in the transport direction when the transport vehicle is under the specific region of the frame.