Patent ID: 7798068

Claim:
A friction drive trolley conveyor configured to include conveying traveling bodies and object supports suspended on the conveying traveling bodies, each conveying traveling body composed of a load trolley which supports an object, a free trolley which is located at least at either one of the front or rear of the load trolley and a load bar with both ends suspended by the trolleys and joins the trolleys together, the both ends of the load bar provided with traction purpose engaging means are engagably and disengagably engaged with each other in a state where front and rear end portions of load bars of conveying traveling bodies are close to each other; and a traveling route provided with a friction drive means including a friction drive wheel which pressure-contacts with a side surface of the load bar and is rotation-driven, whereby a conveying traveling body propelled by the friction drive means can traction-drive a following conveying traveling body joined via the traction purpose engaging means of each conveying traveling body, wherein the traction purpose engaging means comprises a vertical notched portion formed on one end of the load bar, an engaged shaft arranged in a horizontal direction to the notched portion so as to locate at an intermediate position in vertical height of the load bar, a hook member vertically swingably pivotally supported at the other end of the load bar at the intermediate position in vertical height of the load bar and being engagable and disengagable relative to the engaged shaft of the load bar of an adjacent conveying traveling body, and a holding means holding the hook member in an engaged posture or a disengaged posture in an alternative way; and the traveling route is provided with a first switching means switching the hook member from the engaged posture to the disengaged posture, and a second switching means switching the hook member from the disengaged posture to the engaged posture.