Patent ID: 7448489

Claim:
An apparatus for transporting workpieces through processing stages of a transfer press, said apparatus comprising: two supporting rails arranged parallel to one another, each having a longitudinal axis and opposing outer ends located along the longitudinal axis, the supporting rails facilitating the execution of, for workpiece-transporting purposes, a horizontal movement along the longitudinal axis in and counter to the workpiece-transporting direction; at least one linear drive provided for each supporting-rail, each linear drive being located at one of the outer ends of each respective supporting-rail and each linear drive having a secondary part that is connected to at least one of two supporting-rail endpieces that engage the outer ends of each supporting-rail, the secondary part being divided into one part that is arranged on the supporting-rail endpiece and another part that is arranged on the supporting-rail, such that these parts form a unit when a supporting-rail lock is clamped in position, the two supporting-rail end pieces of each respective supporting-rail being movable apart from one another by a defined clearance to allow the supporting-rails to be changed during tool-changing operations; and supporting-rail locks provided to connect each supporting-rail and respective supporting-rail end pieces.