Conveying system having endless drive medium and method for delivering/receiving article therein

A transport system comprising:

• an endless driving medium configured to rotate in a circulating manner;
• a plurality of carriers attached to the endless driving medium and configured to hold articles for transportation;
• a plurality of stations provided along the endless driving medium;
• and
• a moving distance sensor configured to measure a moving distance of the endless driving medium;
• wherein
• each of the plurality of stations includes:
• a hand configured to load articles to or unload articles from the carriers;
• a driver configured to move the hand in a rotation direction of the endless driving medium and to move the hand in a vertical direction;
• a first carrier sensor configured to detect the carrier at a predetermined position upstream of the hand along the rotation direction of the endless driving medium;
• and
• a signal processor configured to activate the hand via the driver based on a moving distance measured by the moving distance sensor, from a time point of detection of the carrier by the first carrier sensor;
• wherein
• the signal processor activates the hand via the driver at a first acceleration to load an article from the hand to the carrier when the moving distance measured by the moving distance sensor reaches a first moving distance, and the signal processor activates the hand via the driver at a second acceleration larger than the first acceleration to unload an article from the carrier to the hand when the moving distance measured by the moving distance sensor reaches a second moving distance larger than the first moving distance.

A method for loading and unloading articles in a transport system, the method comprising the steps of:

• attaching a plurality of carriers to an endless driving medium configured to rotate in a circulating manner, the carriers being configured to hold articles for transportation;
• providing a moving distance sensor configured to measure a moving distance of the endless driving medium;
• and
• providing at each of a plurality of stations along the endless driving medium:
• a hand configured to load articles to or unload articles from the carriers;
• a driver configured to move the hand in a rotation direction of the endless driving medium, and move the hand in a vertical direction;
• a first carrier sensor configured to detect the carrier at a predetermined position upstream of the hand along the rotation direction of the endless driving medium;
• and
• a signal processor configured to operate the hand based on a signal from the first carrier sensor;
• wherein
• the signal processor activates the hand via the driver at a first acceleration to load an article from the hand to the carrier when the moving distance measured by the moving distance sensor reaches a first moving distance, and the signal processor activates the hand via the driver at a second acceleration larger than the first acceleration to unload an article from the carrier to the hand when the moving distance measured by the moving distance sensor reaches a second moving distance larger than the first moving distance.