Multiple position, conveyor mountable workpiece carrier

A device for conveying a workpiece along a conveyor path having spaced therealong at least two workstations to present said workpiece in seriatim to said workstations in at least two positional orientations as required for each particular workstation, said device comprising:

• (a) base for being transported along said path from a first workstation to a next successive workstation along said path;
• (b) means mounted on said base for removably holding said workpiece, said holding means being characterized by a nesting plane defining the angular orientation of said workpiece nested therein, said nesting plane forming an orientation angle with a substantially horizontal plane with respect to which said workstations are oriented to each of said workstations, said holding means being repositionable relative to said base for changing said positionable relative to said base for changing said positional orientation, said holding means being rotatably mounted on said base about a substantially horizontal axis, said holding means having at least a first position characterized by a first angular displacement about said axis and a second position characterized by a second angular displacement about said axis;
• and
• (c) at least one means for repositioning said holding means from one position to at least a second position, said repositioning means includes at least one camming surface associated with said holding means for causing said holding means to rotate through an arc between said first and second positions in response to a force applied to said camming surface, means for each said workstation for activating said repositioning means by applying said force to said camming surface, said orientation angle being adjustable between said first and second positions under the influence of said force, said camming surface being shaped to be engaged by plunger means, and said activating means includes said plunger means, said plunger means being extendable for applying said force in a direction substantially parallel to said axis for pushing against said camming surface to rotate said holding means from one position to the other,
• whereby said workpiece can be successively presented to each of said workstations in a plurality of positional orientations as required by each of said workstations.

A part carrier for transporting a part to be machined on first and second surfaces thereof, each of said surfaces lying in first and second surfaces thereof, each of said surfaces lying in first and second planes respectively, said planes lying at an angle with respect to each other, said carrier for transporting said part along a conveyor path to at least two machining workstations aligned with said path, one such workstation for machining each of said surfaces, said part carrier comprising:

• (a) a base for mounting onto said conveyor;
• (b) means for nesting said part, said nesting means being rotatably mounted on said base about an axis substantially parallel to said base, said nesting means forming at least one camming surface for rotating said nesting means about said axis from a first position to a second position, said nesting means for holding said part in a fixed orientation with respect to said nesting means, said part for being presented to said workstations in at least two angular orientations corresponding to said two surfaces;
• and
• (c) plunger means for acting upon said camming surface, one said plunger means associated with each said workstation for rotating said part to the proper position for machining.