Track-and-trolley conveyor guidance system

A track-and-trolley conveyor serving a plurality of bins, comprising:

• a conveyor guidance apparatus located in proximity to said bins,
• said conveyor guidance apparatus including a lower guide assembly and an upper guide assembly,
• a conveying device mounted on to said upper guide assembly for moving linearly, said conveying device having at least one incoming end and at least one discharge end,
• said lower guide assembly comprising at least one track and at least three first trolley assemblies, said first trolley assembly comprising at least two wheels, and at least two wheel rods, and at least one load bar, each said wheel connecting to one of said rods and said load bar supporting said rods, each of said wheels having an outer radial periphery being tangent to said track, each of said wheel peripheries and wheel rods within said first trolley assembly oriented in an arc at least 30 degrees apart, said track and said first trolley assemblies mounted together and being arranged to move thereon,
• said upper guide assembly comprising at least two linear tracks and four second trolley assemblies, said second trolley assembly comprising at least one wheel connecting to at least one rod, and at least one load bar supporting said rod, said wheel being tangent to said linear track, a pair of said second trolley assemblies and one of said linear tracks being mounted together and being arranged to move along said upper guide assembly, and
• said upper guide assembly mounted on to said lower guide assembly and being arranged to move thereon, said first trolley assemblies being movable along said track of said lower guide assembly, said upper guide assemblies being movable along said tracks of said second trolley assembly, and said conveying device being mounted on to said upper guide assembly, said conveying device being movable linearly along said upper guide assembly,
• whereby by moving at least one of said lower guide assembly and said upper guide assembly, said incoming end and said discharging end of said conveying device can be guided to a location that can serve a plurality of bins.

A method of conveying material for a plurality of bins, comprising:

• (a) providing a lower guide assembly, located in proximity to said plurality of bins said lower guide assembly comprising at least one track and at least three first trolleys, said first trolleys and said track being mounted together and guided by each other, each of said first trolley assemblies comprising at least two wheels, at least one load bar supporting at least two rods, each of said rods supporting a wheel in one to one correspondence one of said rods at least a 30° angle from another of said rods of said first trolley, and each of said wheels having an outer radial periphery tangent to said track,
• (c) providing a conveying device, said conveying device having a conveying surface for conveying material being mounted on said lower guide assembly, said conveying device comprising a discharge end and an incoming end, said conveying device can move material from incoming end to discharging end, and
• (d) moving said conveying device along said lower guide assembly, so as to position said incoming and discharging ends of said conveying device in a position relative to said bins to fulfill conveying material handling requirements of said bins,
• whereby the material conveying requirements can be fulfilled with minimal conveying surface of said conveying device.