Patent ID: 7237654

Claim:
A lifter device comprising a pair of work-piece lifting/lowering chains fed movably forward and backward by a pair of rotatable driving sprockets; each of said chains has a fed chain side and a drawing side; each of said chains includes a pitch; a pair of lifting/lowering bars; said pair of lifting/lowering bars include an arm-shaped work piece supporting member; flexing suppression members disposed generally oppositely to and in engagement with each other; said flexing suppression members engage said lifting/lowering bars raising and lowering said bars; each of said flexing suppression members comprises a number of blocks disposed at mounting intervals of one to two times said chain pitch on said drawing side of said chain; said lifting/lowering bars movable a distance vertically substantially corresponding to said chain's lifting/lowering length; and, said ann-shaped work piece supporting member supports a work piece for raising and lowering said work piece.