Patent ID: 8272496

Claim:
A transfer device comprising: a conveying part having a plurality of rollers for conveying articles; and a lifting part for lifting up and down the conveying part between an upper position and a lower position below the upper position, the rollers consisting of a first group of rollers and a second group of rollers, the first group of rollers being configured to convey articles in a first direction and the second group of rollers being configured to convey articles in a second direction intersecting with the first direction, so that the first and second groups of rollers are aligned in rows and columns to form a latticework, the rollers each being supported on shafts by its both ends at lattice points of the latticework, wherein the lifting part comprises a power source for lifting up and down, rectilinearly-movable members each performing a reciprocating rectilinear motion powered by the power source, and converting members arranged at the respective lattice points, the converting members each being configured to convert the rectilinear motion of the rectilinearly-movable member to a rotational motion and to convert the rotational motion to a lifting motion so as to transmit the lifting motion to the rollers, and the converting members being configured to lift up and down the first group of rollers concurrently between the upper position and the lower position and to lift up and down the second group of rollers concurrently between the upper position and the lower position, so that the first group of rollers forms a flat surface when being positioned at the upper position and the second group of rollers form another flat surface when being positioned at the upper position.