The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 04, 2006
Filed:
Nov. 13, 2003
Thomas P. Hartness, Greenville, SC (US);
William R. Hartness, Iii, Greenville, SC (US);
Mark W. Davidson, Greer, SC (US);
Frank Brennan, Greenville, SC (US);
Robert C. Beesley, Greenville, SC (US);
Thomas P. Hartness, Greenville, SC (US);
William R. Hartness, III, Greenville, SC (US);
Mark W. Davidson, Greer, SC (US);
Frank Brennan, Greenville, SC (US);
Robert C. Beesley, Greenville, SC (US);
Hartness International, Inc., Greenville, SC (US);
Abstract
Various conveyor designs are disclosed, along with related link designs, suitable for conveying objects along a transport direction. The conveyor may include a plurality of connected links. Each link may have a length extending across the direction of transport and a width extending along the direction of transport. Each link may have a body, a slider, at least one gripping member, and a gear drive mechanism interconnecting the slider and gripping member. The slider is slidable along the length of the body to selectively move the gripping member between a first position and a second position via the gear drive mechanism. The gripping member when in first position is disposed in an open position, and the gripping member when in the second position is disposed in a gripping position for contacting one of the objects to hold the object during transport. The gear drive mechanism may be a rack and pinion mechanism, the gripping member may have one or more gripping arms, and the gripping arms may or may not be offset from the gear drive mechanism.