Patent ID: 9022205
Filing Date: 2015-05-05
Classification: B65G

Abstract:
1. An article carrier apparatus in which a plurality of rotating wheels, each having a plurality of grippers provided at equal intervals in a circumferential direction to grip an article, are arranged and an article is transferred from a gripper of a supply wheel on an upstream side to a gripper of a receiving wheel on a downstream side at a transfer position where the rotating wheels are located adjacent to each other, and the received article is transferred from the receiving wheel to a rotating wheel adjacent to the receiving wheel on a downstream side, comprising: a first supply wheel adjacent to the receiving wheel and a second supply wheel provided on an upstream side in a rotating direction of the receiving wheel from the first supply wheel, as the supply wheel, and switching means for switching a gripper of the first supply wheel between a use state so as to transfer the article to the gripper of the receiving wheel and a retracted state so as not to interfere with the article held by the gripper of the receiving wheel, wherein when a first carrier path for transferring the article from the first supply wheel to the receiving wheel and the received article is transferred from the receiving wheel to the rotating wheel adjacent to the receiving wheel on a downstream side is used, the switching means brings the gripper of the first supply wheel into the use state and when a second carrier path for transferring the article from the second supply wheel to the receiving wheel and the received article is transferred from the receiving wheel to the rotating wheel adjacent to the receiving wheel on a downstream side is used, the switching means brings the gripper of the first supply wheel into the retracted state, to thereby prevent the gripper of the first supply wheel from interfering with the article held by the gripper of the receiving wheel from the second supply wheel.