Patent ID: 9688484
Date: 2017-06-27
CPC Classifications: B65G

Claim:
1. An apparatus for use in a conveying system that comprises a plurality of carriages guided on a guide of a first conveying segment, each of said carriages comprising a wheel catcher, said apparatus comprising a first conveying wheel that rotates in a rotation direction about a wheel axis, wherein said first conveying wheel comprises carriage catching areas, each of which is associated with one of a plurality of first entrainers, wherein said first entrainers are disposed along a periphery of said first conveying wheel, wherein said first entrainers comprise a first first-entrainer, wherein said first first-entrainer comprises a carriage-catching surface that faces said rotation direction and that cooperates with a wheel catcher on a carriage, wherein each of said first first-entrainer is controllable independently of other first entrainers, and wherein said first first-entrainer is configured to move a catch surface thereof in a direction opposite said rotation direction, said apparatus further comprising a plurality of second entrainers, wherein each of said second entrainers is associated with a corresponding one of said first entrainers, wherein said plurality of second entrainers comprises a first second-entrainer, wherein said first second-entrainer is pivotable in synchrony with said first first-entrainer.