Patent ID: 7815038

Claim:
A conveying device ( 1 ) for transporting piece goods ( 3 ) in a forward direction between horizontally and vertically spaced apart feed and delivery conveyors ( 15 , 17 ), wherein said conveying device ( 1 ) comprises: a receiving region ( 14 ) adjacent the feed conveyor, a discharge region ( 16 ) adjacent the delivery conveyor, and a lift region ( 12 ) between the receiving region and the discharge region, whereby the piece goods are conveyed in the forward direction and vertically lifted from the receiving region to an upper end of the lift region ( 12 ) before entering the discharge region; two respective inner and outer conveying means ( 4 , 5 ) and associated driver ( 19 - 23 ) that synchronously drives the conveying means on endlessly circulating transport paths, wherein the paths of the inner and outer conveying means ( 4 , 5 ) are partially congruent but have spaced apart vertical strands in the lift region ( 12 ), and said paths have lower deflection regions ( 6 . 1 , 7 . 1 ) at a transition between the receiving region and the lift region ( 12 ) and upper deflection regions ( 6 . 2 , 7 . 2 ) at the upper end of the lift region; a plurality of platforms ( 11 ) having opposite ends in the forward direction, with one end coupled to the inner conveying means ( 4 ) and the other end coupled to the outer conveying means ( 5 ) at the same mutual distance (T) from one another, wherein said platforms (a) are flexible in a first, inwardly oriented direction transverse to the forward direction and laterally stable in a second, oppositely outward oriented direction, (b) move with the conveying means cyclically through the receiving region, lower deflection region, upper deflection region and discharge regions, (c) lie horizontally in the lift region ( 12 ), (d) receive said piece goods horizontally from said feed conveyor ( 15 ) in the receiving region ( 14 ), and (e) discharge the piece goods ( 3 ) horizontally to said delivery conveyor ( 17 ) in the discharge region ( 16 ); wherein said driver drives the conveying means with a continuously forward but varying transport speed (F), whereby the platforms ( 11 ) pass through at least the upper deflecting regions ( 6 . 2 , 7 . 2 ) with a relatively slower transport speed (F n ) while the platforms ( 11 ) move with a relatively faster transport speed (F h ) before and after they pass through said upper deflecting regions.