# US 8,770,385 B2 · Device and method for transferring goods between conveyors > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,770,385 B2 - Document ID: US8770385B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/146,632 - Filed: 2010-03-08 - Published: 2012-02-23 - Granted: 2014-07-08 - Earliest claimed: 2009-03-06 - Assignees: Nedpack Patenten B.V. - Applicants: Pieter Gerrit Hannessen - Inventors: Pieter Gerrit Hannessen - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8770385B2 ## CPC - B65G 17/123: {arranged to keep the load-carriers horizontally during at least a part of the conveyor run} - B65G 47/57: for articles - G01N 35/04: Details of the conveyor system {(G01N35/021 - G01N35/028 take precedence)} - B65G: TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS (packaging B65B; handling thin or filamentary materials, e.g. paper sheets or thread, B65H; cranes B66C; portable mobile or lifting or hauling appliances, e.g. hoists, B66D; devices for lifting or lowering goods for loading or unloading purposes, e.g. fork-lift trucks, B66F9/00; emptying bottles, jars, casks, barrels or similar containers, not otherwise provided for, B67C9/00; delivering or transferring liquids B67D; filling or discharging vessels for liquefied, solidified or compressed gases F17C; pipe-line systems for fluids F17D) - G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q) ## Abstract The present invention relates to a device and a method for transferring goods (6) from a first (2) to a second conveyor (4), comprising a substantially upright extending frame (8), —an endless drive arranged on the frame (8) and • drivable by a motor; at least one support member which is connected to the endless drive (24) and which is drivable in a circuit by means of the endless drive (24), —at least one product carrier (28) connected to the support member, wherein the product carrier (28) is connected to the support member for rotation about a lying shaft extending transversely of the frame, wherein the product carrier (28) is connected drivably to no more than one endless drive. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A device for transferring goods from a first to a second conveyor, the device comprising: a substantially upright extending frame; an endless drive arranged on the frame and drivable by a motor; at least one support member which is connected to the endless drive and which is drivable in a circuit by means of the endless drive; and at least one product carrier connected to the support member, wherein the product carrier is connected to the support member for rotation about a lying shaft extending transversely of the frame; wherein the product carrier is connected drivably to no more than one endless drive; wherein the support member comprises a first wheel configured to roll along a first side of the frame, and a second wheel configured to roll along a second side of the frame which is opposite the first side, and wherein the support member at least partially encloses the frame between the first wheel and the second wheel; and wherein the support member at least partially encloses the frame, a running wheel of the endless drive, or a combination thereof, in order to thus obtain the coupling between the support member and the frame, the running wheel, or a combination thereof such that the degree of freedom of the support member transversely of the plane of the frame is substantially fixed, while the support member is movable substantially freely along a predetermined path in the plane of the frame by the endless drive. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a single endless drive is applied. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of endless drives movable independently of each other are applied. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The device as claimed in claim 3, wherein at least two product carriers are drivably connected to one common endless drive. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the endless drive is tensioned between at least an upper running wheel and a lower running wheel, wherein at least one of the two running wheels is drivable by the motor. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the support member can be coupled to one or more running wheels of the endless drive such that the degree of freedom of the support member transversely of the plane of the frame is substantially fixed, while the support member is substantially freely movable in the plane of the frame by the endless drive. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the frame comprises close to the running wheels a guide wall for guiding thereover at least the side of the support member remote from the running wheel. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support member is provided with wheels with a friction coefficient below 0.1. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the wheels of the support member are manufactured from nylon. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising guide means adapted to hold the product carrier substantially in a horizontal position, the guide means comprising at least four guide wheels which come into contact pairwise with a guide track. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The device as claimed in claim 1, comprising a plurality of support members with product carrier coupled thereto and distributed at some distance from each other over the endless drive. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first conveyor is a rope conveyor or roller conveyor, and wherein the product carrier comprises fingers, arranged roughly parallel and at some distance from each other, for dropping between the ropes of the rope conveyor or between the rollers of the roller conveyor. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the distance between the ropes of the rope conveyor and/or between the rollers of the roller conveyor is at least greater than the width of the fingers. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the endless drive comprises a rope, chain, belt or cable. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second conveyor is a rope conveyor or roller conveyor, and wherein the product carrier comprises fingers, arranged roughly parallel and at some distance from each other, for dropping between the ropes of the rope conveyor or between the rollers of the roller conveyor. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and the second conveyors are rope conveyors or roller conveyors, and wherein the product carrier comprises fingers, arranged roughly parallel and at some distance from each other, for dropping between the ropes of the rope conveyors or between the rollers of the roller conveyors. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support member comprises a first wheel on a first side of a portion of the frame and a second wheel on a second side of the portion of the frame opposite the first side. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the support member further comprises a front plate on the first side of a portion of the frame and a rear plate on the second side of a portion of the frame, and wherein the first wheel is mounted on the front plate, and the second wheel is mounted on the rear plate. ### Claim 19 A method for transferring goods from a first to a second conveyor, the method comprising the steps of: moving a support member with product carrier connected thereto upward along a substantially upright extending frame by means of a motor-driven endless drive until the product carrier is at a higher position than the first conveyor, wherein the product carrier takes a product from the first conveyor, wherein the product carrier is connected drivably to no more than one endless drive, wherein the support member comprises a first wheel configured to roll along a first side of the frame, and a second wheel configured to roll along a second side of the frame which is opposite the first side, wherein the support member at least partially encloses the frame between the first wheel and the second wheel, and wherein the support member at least partially encloses the frame, a running wheel of the endless drive, or a combination thereof, in order to thus obtain the coupling between the support member and the frame, the running wheel, or a combination thereof; moving the product carrier downward to a position lower than the second conveyor, wherein the product remains on the second conveyor; and substantially fixing a degree of freedom of the support member through the coupling of the support member to the frame, wherein this substantially fixed degree of freedom is oriented transversely of the plane of the frame, while the support member can be moved substantially freely in the plane of the frame by the endless drive. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein a device for transferring goods from a first to a second conveyor is applied, wherein the device comprises: a substantially upright extending frame; an endless drive arranged on the frame and drivable by a motor; at least one support member which is connected to the endless drive and which is drivable in a circuit by means of the endless drive; and at least one product carrier connected to the support member, wherein the product carrier is connected to the support member for rotation about a lying shaft extending transversely of the frame; wherein the product carrier is connected drivably to no more than one endless drive; and wherein the support member at least partially encloses the frame, a running wheel of the endless drive, or a combination thereof, in order to thus obtain the coupling between the support member and the frame, the running wheel, or a combination thereof such that the degree of freedom of the support member transversely of the plane of the frame is substantially fixed, while the support member is movable substantially freely along a predetermined path in the plane of the frame by the endless drive.