Proportional spacing mechanism with assisted drive

An improved proportional spacing mechanism for proportionally spacing rollers from a reference position on a fixed support frame of a roller conveyor bed, said proportional spacing mechanism having a plurality of coupling elements coupled respectively to the rollers, each coupling element comprising at least one internally threaded receiver secured to the coupling element in fixed relationship to the coupling element, a plurality of elongate externally threaded bolt spacers extending the coupling elements and threaded receivers, said externally threaded bolt spacers being mounted for rotation relative to the coupling elements, said plurality of coupling elements being coupled together by the threaded bolt spacers to form a multielement axle, said bolt spacers being formed with a longitudinal internal channel of noncircular cross section, and a shaft of complementary noncircular cross section extending through the bolt spacers for engaging and rotating the bolt spacers relative to the receivers, for spacing the coupling elements and respective rollers proportionally from said reference position on the fixed support frame, the improvement comprising:

• at least one supplemental drive mechanism to assist the proportional spacing mechanism in moving the coupling elements and respective rollers relative to each other for proportional spacing from the reference position, said supplemental drive mechanism comprising a first portion coupled to a coupling element spaced from said reference position and a second portion coupled to the fixed support frame, said drive mechanism comprising a drive element for extending and retracting the distance between said first and second portions for assisting motion of the coupling elements and respective rollers during rotation of the shaft of said proportional spacing mechanism.

An improved proportional spacing mechanism for proportionally spacing objects from a reference position on a fixed support frame, said proportional spacing mechanism having a plurality of coupling elements coupled respectively to the objects, each coupling element comprising at least one internally threaded receiver secured in fixed relationship to the coupling element, and a plurality of elongate externally threaded bolts extending between the coupling elements and internally threaded receivers, said externally threaded bolts being mounted for rotation relative to the coupling elements, said plurality of coupling elements being coupled together by the externally threaded bolts to form a multielement axle, said bolts being formed with a longitudinal internal channel of noncircular cross section, and a shaft of complementary noncircular cross section extending through the bolts for engaging and rotating the bolts relative to the receivers and for spacing the coupling elements and respective objects proportionally from said reference position on the fixed support frame, the improvement comprising:

• at least one supplemental drive mechanism to assist the proportional spacing mechanism in moving the coupling elements and respective objects relative to each other for proportional spacing from the reference position, said supplemental drive mechanism comprising a first portion coupled to a coupling element spaced from said reference position and a second portion coupled to the fixed support frame, said supplemental drive mechanism extending and retracting the distance between said first and second portions for assisting motion of the coupling elements and respective objects during rotation of the shaft of said proportional spacing mechanism.