Patent Description:
Conveyor apparatuses are used in some facilities where a plurality of articles need to be conveyed from an origin to destinations, for example, in the case of an airport where passenger's baggage is conveyed from an airport check-in area to an area for loading the baggage into an airplane that is scheduled to board passengers. Such a conveyor apparatus conveys articles on trays (article supports) traveling on a conveying path and inclines the trays at positions for the placed articles (inclines the trays laterally with respect to the conveying direction), so that the articles are discharged into chutes disposed along the conveying path and connected to the destinations.

In such a conveyor apparatus, a clearance is left between the adjacent article supports, that is, between the trays, so that part (e.g., the shoulder strap of a bag) of baggage (article) may be dropped or caught in the clearance. In order to solve the problem, as described in Patent Literature <NUM>, a cover member for covering a clearance (gap) may be prepared.

A cover member described in Patent Literature <NUM> is directly connected to the bottom of an article support member (tray) via a pivot or a pin and thus the cover member is inclined with the article support member being inclined.

In this configuration, the cover member described in Patent Literature <NUM> is directly connected to the article support member at the center of the cover member in the width direction (a direction crossing the conveying direction). Thus, the weight of the cover member is supported only at the center of the cover member in the width direction. In other words, the weight of one end of the cover member in the width direction is not supported and thus after an extended period of use in this state, one end of the cover member may curve downward because of the weight of the cover member. This leaves a vertical clearance between the end of the cover member in the width direction and the article support member, so that baggage may be partially dropped or caught in the clearance. Moreover, when the article support member inclines, one end of the cover member in the width direction is pressed from the article support member. This press also may curve downward one end of the cover member in the width direction.

Patent Literature <NUM> also describes a method of supporting the cover member by means of a support element reinforced with a rib, as a supporting method of the cover member. However, this method also requires the support element in addition to the cover member, as a structure for filling a clearance between the article support members. This increases the number of components and the cost of constructing conveyor equipment. If a rib is additionally mounted on the cover member by welding in the absence of the support element, heat for welding may warp the cover member toward the mounting surface of the rib, that is, the underside of the cover member, causing a difference in shape between the cover member and the article support member. This leaves a clearance between the cover member and the article support member. <CIT> also discloses a conveyor apparatus for conveying articles with a plurality of travelling units of the same kind.

An object of the present invention is to provide a conveyor apparatus that prevents a clearance from being vertically left between an article support and one end of an infilling member in the width direction while suppressing the cost of constructing conveyor equipment without the need for a support element, the infilling member filling a gap between the article supports arranged on a conveying path.

In order to solve the problem, a conveyor apparatus is proposed according to claim <NUM>. The conveyor apparatus for conveying articles, includes: a plurality of traveling units that travel in series along a conveying path for the articles; and a plurality of article supports that have article support surfaces for supporting the articles and that are caused to travel on the conveying path by the respective traveling units, the conveyor apparatus further including infilling members provided for the respective article ' supports, the infilling member filling a clearance between the article supports longitudinally adjacent to each other in the conveying path, in which the article support has a support contact part on the rear end along the conveying path, the infilling member has an infilling contact part on the front end along the conveying path, the infilling contact part being in contact with the support contact part, and the infilling contact part has a larger curvature than the support contact part.

According to the invention, with this configuration, a difference in curvature between the infilling contact part and the support contact part allows the infilling contact portion of the infilling member to securely come into contact with the support contact part of the article support, vertically leaving no clearance on one end of the infilling member in the width direction. Furthermore, even if one end of the infilling member in the width direction curves downward (the curvature decreases), the curvature of the infilling contact part is brought closer to that of the support contact part. Thus, the infilling contact part is more securely brought into contact with the support contact part, vertically leaving no clearance. Similarly, even if a rib is additionally attached to the infilling contact part of the infilling member by welding and thus the infilling contact part is slightly warped downward (the curvature decreases), the curvature of the infilling contact part is brought closer to that of the support contact part, vertically leaving no clearance.

In addition, according to the invention, the conveyor apparatus according to the present invention may further include an urging member that urges the infilling contact part of the infilling member to the support contact part of the article support, in which the infilling contact part is made of a flexible material, and the infilling contact part may be urged to the support contact part by the urging member so as to come into contact with the support contact part while being bent along the shape of the support contact part.

According to the invention, with this configuration, even if the infilling contact part and the support contact part have different shapes because of a difference in curvature between the infilling contact part and the support contact part, the urging member urges the infilling contact part to the support contact part so as to shape the infilling contact part along the support contact part, thereby completely filling a clearance between the infilling contact part and the support contact part.

In addition to the configuration, in the conveyor apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the infilling member may be formed such that the curvature of the infilling contact part of the infilling member increases toward one end of the infilling member.

With this configuration, the curvature of the infilling contact part increases toward the vicinity of one end of the infilling member that is likely to curve downward. Thus, even if a part around the center of the infilling contact part does not considerably curve downward while the vicinity of one end of the infilling contact part curves downward to a somewhat high degree, a clearance between the infilling contact part and the support contact part is kept closed. Moreover, for example, when the article support travels on a curve in the conveying path, one end of the infilling contact part may receive a larger load than a part around the center. Also in this case, a curvature on one end is larger than that of a part around the center, thereby keeping the infilling contact part and the support contact part in close contact with each other.

According to the conveyor apparatus of the present invention, a clearance between the article supports is filled with the infilling member and a clearance is prevented from being left between the infilling member and the article support even if both ends of the infilling member in the width direction are curved downward by the weight of the infilling member after an extended period of use of the infilling member. This eliminates the need for changing the infilling members over an extended period. Thus, the number of spare infilling members can be reduced, thereby suppressing the cost of resource acquisition for operating the conveyor apparatus. Moreover, the need for a support element can be eliminated unlike in the related art, thereby inexpensively constructing the conveyor apparatus.

<FIG> shows a part of a conveyor apparatus <NUM> as an example of an embodiment of the present invention. In the conveyor apparatus <NUM>, an article <NUM> to be conveyed is placed on a tray <NUM> serving as an article support and is conveyed in a conveying direction W. In this configuration, a direction along the conveying direction W is referred to as a longitudinal direction and a direction crossing the conveying direction W is referred to as a lateral direction or a width direction. The longitudinal and lateral directions are determined as indicated by arrows in <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, the trays <NUM> are arranged in series along the conveying direction W. Each of the trays <NUM> can support the article <NUM> on an article support surface 14a. As shown in <FIG>, the top surface of the tray <NUM> is curved slightly upward. Thus, when the article <NUM> is placed on the top surface of the tray <NUM>, the article <NUM> is moved by the weight of the article <NUM> to the center of the tray <NUM> in the width direction along the curve of the top surface of the tray <NUM>. This prevents the article <NUM> from laterally falling in the width direction of the tray <NUM>, thereby stably supporting the article <NUM> at the center of the tray <NUM> in the width direction.

As indicated by a virtual line in <FIG>, the tray <NUM> can be laterally inclined with respect to the conveying direction W (<FIG> only shows a tray <NUM> inclined to the left). Thus, the article support surface 14a of the tray <NUM> can be inclined from a horizontal plane so as to discharge the article <NUM> into one of a plurality of chutes <NUM> placed along the conveying direction W. The chutes <NUM> are connected to the respective destinations. The operation of the conveyor apparatus <NUM> is controlled so as to discharge the article <NUM> on the tray <NUM> into the chute <NUM> connected to the destination of the article <NUM>.

Moreover, an infill plate <NUM> serving as an infilling member is provided for each of the trays <NUM> so as to fill a clearance between the two trays <NUM> longitudinally arranged (adjacent to each other) along the conveying direction W. This configuration prevents a part or the whole of the article <NUM> from falling into a clearance between the trays <NUM>. The infill plate <NUM> is inclined with the corresponding tray <NUM> when the tray <NUM> is inclined.

<FIG> is a side view of the conveyor apparatus <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the tray <NUM> is supported by a traveling unit <NUM>. The traveling unit <NUM> travels along a rail (not shown in <FIG>) laid along a conveying path. The entire traveling unit <NUM> is substantially shaped like a rectangular plate longitudinally extended along the conveying direction W. The traveling units <NUM> longitudinally arranged (adjacent to each other) along the conveying direction W are connected to each other via a coupler <NUM>. The coupler <NUM> is not specifically illustrated. The bodies of the connected traveling units <NUM> can vertically and horizontally pivot about the coupler <NUM>. Thus, even if the traveling units <NUM> travel along curves or ups and downs in the conveying path, the line of traveling units <NUM> can travel along the shape of the conveying path.

Moreover, the traveling unit <NUM> supports the tray <NUM> via an inclining part <NUM>. The inclining part <NUM> rotates a tray support member <NUM>, which vertically extends so as to support the tray <NUM>, by a driving force of a motor <NUM> and the like around an inclination axis P parallel to the conveying direction W, thereby inclining the tray <NUM> so as to incline the article support surface 14a of the tray <NUM> from the horizontal plane.

Furthermore, a plate support part <NUM> supporting the infill plate <NUM> is provided at the front of the traveling unit <NUM> with respect to the conveying direction W. The plate support part <NUM> includes a plate inclining shaft <NUM> (infilling member inclining shaft) supported by the traveling unit <NUM> and a plate support <NUM> connected to the plate inclining shaft <NUM>.

The plate inclining shaft <NUM> is a long member axially extended along the conveying direction W. The plate inclining shaft <NUM> is extended coaxially with the inclination axis P of the tray <NUM>. Moreover, the plate inclining shaft <NUM> can rotate about the axial direction. If the infill plate <NUM> is inclined, the plate support <NUM> and the plate inclining shaft <NUM> both rotate along the axial direction of the plate inclining shaft <NUM> according to the inclination.

The plate support <NUM> includes a vertical part 34a that is connected to the plate inclining shaft <NUM> and is vertically extended upward, and front extending parts 34b that extend forward from the vertical part 34a in the conveying direction W. Moreover, a swing bar <NUM> is supported on the upper end of the vertical part 34a and the rear ends of the front extending parts 34b so as to form a swinging shaft laterally extending with respect to the conveying direction W. Furthermore, springs <NUM> vertically extending upward are respectively supported on the front sides of the front extending parts 34b. The infill plate <NUM> is supported from below by the swing bar <NUM> and the springs <NUM>.

The infill plate <NUM> can be made of, for example, injection-molded synthetic resin. As indicated by broken lines in the plan view of <FIG>, the infill plate <NUM> supported by the plate support part <NUM> is as large as the tray <NUM> in the width direction (a direction crossing the conveying direction W) and is longer than a clearance between the trays <NUM> in the longitudinal direction along the conveying direction W. The infill plate <NUM> is longer than the clearance in the longitudinal direction and thus extends from the front end of the rear tray <NUM> (the tray <NUM> indicated by a solid line on the right side in <FIG>) to the bottom of the rear of the front tray <NUM> (the tray <NUM> indicated by a virtual line on the left side in <FIG>), thereby completely filling the clearance in the longitudinal direction. As will be discussed below, a part of the infill plate <NUM> is disposed under the rear of the front tray <NUM> (a part overlapping the tray <NUM> in plan view) and the part will be called a plate contact part 16a (infilling contact part). Moreover, a part of the tray <NUM> overlaps the plate contact part 16a (the rear end extended along the conveying path or the conveying direction W) and the part will be called a tray contact part 14b (support contact part).

When the trays <NUM> travel on a curve, the traveling directions of the tray <NUM> and the infill plate <NUM> intersect each other as indicated on the right end of <FIG>, so that the vertically overlapping area of the tray <NUM> and the infill plate <NUM> is small on one of the right and left sides (the right side in <FIG>) and is large on the other side (the left side in <FIG>) unlike when traveling on a linear part. Also in this case, in order to completely close the clearance, the right and left parts of the infill plate <NUM> in the width direction have larger longitudinal dimensions than the center of the infill plate <NUM> in the width direction.

As shown in a perspective view in <FIG>, the bottom of the front side (plate contact part 16a) of the infill plate <NUM> is supported from below by the springs <NUM>. Moreover, a bar fitting part 38a, e.g., a groove or a hole sized to be fit to the swing bar <NUM> is provided below the rear side of the infill plate <NUM> (in this configuration, the bar fitting part 38a is a hole). As has been discussed, the swing bar <NUM> fit into the bar fitting part 38a is supported by the plate support part <NUM>. The infill plate <NUM> can vertically swing around the axis of the swing bar <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, when the infill plate <NUM> is viewed in a direction along line A-A of <FIG> (the front side along the conveying direction W), the plate contact part 16a located at the front of the infill plate <NUM> has a higher degree of upward curving (curvature) than the tray contact part 14b located at the rear of the tray <NUM>. In other words, the top surface of the plate contact part 16a has a smaller curvature radius than the bottom of the tray contact part 14b. Thus, in the absence of urging by the springs <NUM>, the ends (right and left ends) of the top surface of the plate contact part 16a in the width direction are in contact with the underside of the tray contact part 14b as shown in <FIG>; whereas the center of the plate contact part 16a in the width direction is not in contact with the tray contact part 14b. As will be discussed later, as shown in <FIG>, the plate contact part 16a in the width direction is entirely brought into contact with the tray contact part 14b by being urged with the springs <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the front extending parts 34b of the plate support <NUM> are branches extending forward to the right and left. The two branch front extending parts 34b support the respective springs <NUM> on the front ends. Thus, the two springs <NUM> are respectively disposed at two points separated in the width direction under the plate contact part 16a and support the plate contact part 16a.

When the spring <NUM> acting as an urging member is extended or compressed (displaced) from a length in a state of equilibrium (an external force is not applied), the spring <NUM> generates a force for restoration to the state of equilibrium, that is, a restoring force by the elasticity of the spring <NUM>. The spring <NUM> in the state of equilibrium is designed to be longer than a distance from a position where the plate support part <NUM> in <FIG>, <FIG> supports the spring <NUM> (specifically, the top surface of the front extending part 34b of the plate support <NUM>) to the bottom of the tray contact part 14b. Thus, as shown in <FIG>, the springs <NUM> are compressed from a state of equilibrium in a state in which the center of the plate contact part 16a in the width direction is separated from the tray contact part 14b and the upper ends of the springs <NUM> are in contact with the underside of the central part of the plate contact part 16a in the width direction. Thus, the plate contact part 16a is likely to extend upward to the tray contact part 14b. The springs <NUM> extending upward press upward the central part of the plate contact part 16a in the width direction while the upper ends of the springs <NUM> are in contact with the plate contact part 16a. At this point, if the infill plate <NUM> is made of a flexible material (e.g., injection-molded synthetic resin), when the plate contact part 16a of the infill plate <NUM> is pressed to the tray contact part 14b by the springs <NUM>, the plate contact part 16a is bent along the shape of the underside of the tray contact part 14b by the flexibility of the plate contact part 16a. Finally, as shown in <FIG>, the top surface of the plate contact part 16a is in contact with the underside of the tray contact part 14b, so that the plate contact part 16a and the tray contact part 14b are in contact with each other over the width direction.

As has been discussed, the plate contact part 16a of the infill plate <NUM> is in contact with the tray contact part 14b of the tray <NUM>, allowing the infill plate <NUM> to follow the movement of the tray <NUM>. For example, when the tray <NUM> laterally inclines, the infill plate <NUM> is inclined with the tray <NUM> while being kept in contact with the tray <NUM>.

In the conveyor apparatus <NUM> of the present embodiment, the plate contact part 16a serving as the infilling contact part has a larger curvature than the tray contact part 14b serving as the support contact part (the infill plate <NUM> has a smaller curvature radius than the tray <NUM>). Thus, the ends of the plate contact part 16a in the width direction come into contact with the underside of the tray contact part 14b, vertically leaving no clearance on the ends in the width direction.

Moreover, the tray contact part 14b is urged to the plate contact part 16a by the springs <NUM> and the tray contact part 14b is in contact with the plate contact part 16a while being bent along the shape of the plate contact part 16a. Thus, the plate contact part 16a is brought into close contact with the plate contact part 16a at the center of the plate contact part 16a in the width direction as well as on the ends of the plate contact part 16a in the width direction, vertically leaving no clearance over the width direction.

Furthermore, before the contact part is bent by urging, the upward curvature of the plate contact part 16a is larger than that of the tray contact part 14b (the plate contact part 16a has a smaller curvature radius than the tray contact part 14b). Thus, even if the ends of the infill plate <NUM> in the width direction are slightly curved downward by the weight of the infill plate <NUM> as a result of using the infill plate <NUM> over an extended period, the curving affects the shape of the plate contact part 16a so as to slightly reduce the upward curvature (increase the curvature radius), thereby bringing the curvature of the plate contact part 16a close to that of the tray contact part 14b. In other words, even if the ends in the width direction are curved downward, the curving does not separate the plate contact part 16a from the tray contact part 14b but brings the shape of the plate contact part 16a close to that of the tray contact part 14b. Thus, even if the ends of the plate contact part 16a in the width direction are slightly curved downward, a clearance is not left between the plate contact part 16a and the tray contact part 14b. Similarly, even if the ends of the plate contact part 16a in the width direction are slightly curved downward as a result of laterally inclining the tray <NUM> many times so as to press down the ends of the plate contact part 16a in the lateral direction (width direction) many times, a clearance is not left between the plate contact part 16a and the tray contact part 14b. Thus, even if the infill plate <NUM> is made of a material, e.g., resin that is likely to be deformed over an extended period of use, a clearance is not left between the infill plate <NUM> and the tray <NUM> by some deformation, thereby keeping normal functions for a long time.

The infill plate <NUM> may curve downward to the front in the traveling direction (to the front end along the conveying path) as well as to the right and left in the width direction. In order to prevent a clearance from being vertically left between the tray <NUM> and the infill plate <NUM> even if the infill plate <NUM> curves downward to the front, as schematically illustrated in the balloon of <FIG>, the curvature of the front side of the plate contact part 16a is preferably somewhat larger than that of the tray contact part 14b (For understanding, the curvature of the plate contact part 16a is larger than an actual curvature in the balloon of <FIG>). In other words, the curvature of the plate contact part 16a is desirably larger than that of the tray contact part 14b when viewed not only in the traveling direction (line A-A of <FIG>) as shown in <FIG> but also from the side (in a direction crossing the traveling direction) as indicated in the balloon of <FIG>. If the infill plate <NUM> is made of injection-molded resin, the infill plate <NUM> can be formed with curvatures in the width direction and longitudinal direction (bent in various directions) because of quite a high degree of flexibility in shape.

As shown in <FIG>, and <FIG>, ribs <NUM> may be provided on the underside of the infill plate <NUM> so as to increase the strength of the infill plate <NUM>. If the ribs <NUM> are additionally provided after the infill plate <NUM> is fabricated without the ribs <NUM>, for example, the ribs <NUM> formed as separate plate members for the infill plate <NUM> are attached to the underside of the infill plate <NUM> by welding. When the ribs <NUM> are welded to the underside of the infill plate <NUM>, the infill plate <NUM> is slightly warped downward by heat of welding, and the downward warping affects the plate contact part 16a so as to slightly reduce the upward curvature. Thus, the warping does not separate the plate contact part 16a from the tray contact part 14b but brings the shape of the plate contact part 16a close to the shape of the tray contact part 14b. Thus, even if the plate contact part 16a is slightly warped by welding the ribs <NUM>, a clearance is not left between the plate contact part 16a and the tray contact part 14b.

As has been discussed, according to the conveyor apparatus <NUM> of the present embodiment, a clearance between the trays <NUM> is filled with the infill plate <NUM> and a clearance between the infill plate <NUM> and the tray <NUM> is prevented from being left even if both ends of the infill plate <NUM> in the width direction are curved downward as a result of using the infill plate <NUM> for an extended period or repeatedly inclining the tray <NUM> in the lateral direction. This eliminates the need for exchanging the infill plate <NUM> each time the infill plate <NUM> is deformed, thereby suppressing the cost of resource acquisition for operating the conveyor apparatus <NUM>. Moreover, even if the ribs <NUM> are welded to the infill plate <NUM> later, a clearance is not left between the infill plate <NUM> and the tray <NUM> by the warp of the infill plate <NUM>, thereby increasing the strength of the infill plate <NUM> later. For example, another method may be used as follows: a load to the infill plate <NUM> is first checked by a test run on the conveyor apparatus <NUM> with the infill plate <NUM> not provided with the ribs <NUM>, and then the ribs <NUM> are welded later according to desired strength.

In the present embodiment, the infill plate <NUM> is made of a flexible material, e.g., synthetic resin and the plate contact part 16a of the infill plate <NUM> is urged by the springs <NUM> as shown in <FIG>, so that the plate contact part 16a is bent along the shape of the tray contact part 14b. The plate contact part 16a may be made of a material such as wood that is not so flexible, so that the plate contact part 16a is not bent along the shape of the tray contact part 14b. In this case, the plate contact part 16a is not bent and thus as shown in <FIG>, the center of the plate contact part 16a in the width direction is separated from the tray contact part 14b. If the plate contact part 16a of the infill plate <NUM> has a different shape from the other part (rear part) of the infill plate <NUM>, the article <NUM> is prevented from partially falling between the tray contact part 14b and the center of the plate contact part 16a in the width direction. For example, if a step is provided between the plate contact part 16a of the infill plate <NUM> and the other rear part of the infill plate <NUM> and the rear end of the tray <NUM> is brought into contact with the perpendicular face of the step, a clearance is not left between the rear end of the tray <NUM> and the infill plate <NUM>. Thus, the article <NUM> does not partially fall into a clearance between the tray contact part 14b and the center of the plate contact part 16a in the width direction. Needless to say, if the infill plate <NUM> is made of a flexible material, a step is not necessary between the plate contact part 16a and the other part and thus the top surface of the infill plate <NUM> may be entirely smoothed.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the entire infill plate <NUM> is made of a flexible material (e.g., injection-molded synthetic resin). Only the plate contact part 16a of the infill plate <NUM> may be flexible. For example, if the infill plate <NUM> is made of synthetic resin, the plate contact part 16a may have a small thickness and the other part may have a large thickness, so that the plate contact part 16a is likely to be bent while the other part is not easily bent.

In the present embodiment, as shown in <FIG>, the two springs <NUM> are provided in the width direction. Three or more springs may be provided according to the sizes and shapes of the tray <NUM> and the infill plate <NUM>. If the tray <NUM> and the infill plate <NUM> are extremely large in size, a load may be unevenly applied to the overall infill plate <NUM> by the elastic force of the two springs <NUM>. The load can be evenly applied to the overall infill plate <NUM> by increasing the number of springs <NUM>. If the tray <NUM> and the infill plate <NUM> are small in size, a load applied to the overall infill plate <NUM> is not so uneven even in the case of the single spring <NUM>. Thus, the number of components may be reduced by placing the single spring <NUM>, for example, under the center of the plate contact part 16a of the infill plate <NUM> in the width direction.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the springs <NUM> shown in <FIG> are used as urging members for urging the plate contact part 16a to the tray contact part 14b. Any member may be used as long as the plate contact part 16a is always pressed to the tray contact part 14b. For example, the spring <NUM> may be replaced with a restoring force member, e.g., a rubber cylinder or an air cylinder. The restoring force member generates a restoring force for restoration to a state of equilibrium according to a displacement from a state where an external force is not applied (a state of equilibrium). Even if a restoring force member other than the springs <NUM> is used, the restoring force member may be disposed so as to apply a restoring force in a direction that presses the plate contact part 16a to the tray contact part 14b, so that the infill plate <NUM> moves according to a movement of the tray <NUM> and the plate contact part 16a bends along the shape of the tray contact part 14b.

In the present embodiment, as shown in <FIG>, the springs <NUM> are disposed under the plate contact part 16a so as to urge the plate contact part 16a to the tray contact part 14b. The springs <NUM> may be replaced with the infill plate <NUM> (particularly the plate contact part 16a) made of an elastic material, e.g., rubber, so that the plate contact part 16a is urged to the tray contact part 14b by the elasticity of the plate contact part 16a and is brought into contact with the tray contact part 14b while being bent along the shape of the tray contact part 14b. With this configuration, the plate contact part 16a can be urged to the tray contact part 14b without the springs <NUM>. This eliminates the need for preparing the springs <NUM> and reduces the number of kinds of components constituting the conveyor apparatus <NUM>. Thus, the cost of component acquisition can be lowered and the number of spare parts to be kept for maintenance can be reduced. Moreover, the springs <NUM> do not need to be disposed and thus the process of assembly of the conveyor apparatus <NUM> can be simplified. This can reduce the initial cost of constructing the conveyor apparatus <NUM> and the maintenance cost.

Claim 1:
A conveyor apparatus (<NUM>) for conveying articles (<NUM>), comprising: a plurality of traveling units (<NUM>) that travel in series along a conveying path for the articles (<NUM>); and a plurality of article supports (<NUM>) that have article support surfaces (14a) for supporting the articles (<NUM>) and that are caused to travel on the conveying path by the respective traveling units (<NUM>),
the conveyor apparatus (<NUM>) further comprising infilling members (<NUM>) provided for the respective article supports (<NUM>), the infilling member (<NUM>) filling a clearance between the article supports (<NUM>) longitudinally adjacent to each other in the conveying path,
the article support (<NUM>) including a support contact part (14b) on a rear end of the article support (<NUM>) along the conveying path,
the infilling member (<NUM>) including an infilling contact part (16a) on a front end of the infilling member (<NUM>) along the conveying path, the infilling contact part (16a) being in contact with the support contact part (14b),
characterized in that
the infilling contact part (16a) has a larger curvature than the support contact part (14b) so the ends of the plate contact part (16a) in the width direction come into contact with the underside of the support contact part (14b), vertically leaving no clearance on the ends in the width direction, and
the conveyor apparatus (<NUM>) comprises an urging member (<NUM>) that urges the infilling contact part (16a) of the infilling member (<NUM>) to the support contact part (14b) of the article support (<NUM>),
wherein
the infilling contact part (16a) is made of a flexible material, and
the infilling contact part (16a) is urged to the support contact part (14b) by the urging member (<NUM>) so as to come into contact with the support contact part (14b) while being bent along a shape of the support contact part (14b), so that even if the infilling contact part (16a) and the support contact part (14b) have different shapes because of the difference in curvature between the infilling contact part (16a) and the support contact part (14b), the urging member (<NUM>) urges the infilling contact part (16a) to the support contact part (14b) so as to shape the infilling contact part (16a) along the support contact part (14b), thereby completely filling a clearance between the infilling contact part and the support contact part.