CN216642994U - Chain transmission device and conveying equipment comprising same - Google Patents

Abstract

A chain drive (300) includes a plurality of axle pins (312) and rollers (314), each pair of adjacent axle pins being connected by an inner link plate, one of each pair of axle pins being connected to an adjacent one of the adjacent pair of axle pins by an outer link plate (318). The support beam (130) includes a middle portion (132) that supports each roller, and side portions (134) on both sides of the middle portion. The plurality of pins includes a load bearing pin that extends beyond the outer link plate on a first side to form an extended shaft segment (340) on which a reinforcement roller (140) supported in contact by the respective side is nested, the extended shaft segment further extending beyond the reinforcement roller to form a protrusion (350). The application also relates to a conveying apparatus comprising a chain drive (300).

Description

Chain transmission device and conveying equipment comprising same

Technical Field

The utility model relates to the field of conveying or lifting equipment, in particular to a chain transmission device and conveying equipment comprising the same.

Background

In industrial production lines, various conveying or lifting devices are widely used to perform lifting (in the vertical direction) or conveying (in the horizontal direction) of articles, so as to realize the transfer of the articles between different stations at different heights. The current conventional conveying equipment mainly achieves the above functions through a chain transmission device.

The conveyor apparatus generally includes a frame and a lift platform including a lift frame for supporting an item (or a tray containing an item) and a slide assembly slidably attached to the lift frame. The slide assembly of the lift platform is fixedly attached to a chain of a chain drive of the conveyor apparatus, for example, to an extension shaft segment extending outwardly from a shaft pin of the chain to an outside of the outer link plate, such that the slide assembly translates with the chain. For example, the chain drives the sliding assembly and then drives the whole lifting platform and the supported object to move together in the vertical direction, so as to lift or lower the object, or the chain drives the sliding assembly and the object to move together in the horizontal direction, so as to horizontally convey the object.

The chain is typically supported on a stationary support beam as it moves in a horizontal direction to carry the load (the slide assembly and the articles to be conveyed). Since the slide assemblies are attached to one side of the chain, particularly to the extension shaft segments, e.g., one or two, of a few pin axles, most, or even all, of the load carried by the chain is supported by contact between the inner and outer link plates and the support beam associated with the pin axles of the extension shaft segments on that side. At this time, the support beam made of plastic is easily deformed or even crushed by pressure.

The same problem exists for sprockets that tension a chain, where the sprocket, and no longer the support beam, is below each roller of the chain as the chain moves past the sprocket (the teeth of the sprocket enter the gaps between the rollers), and where the above-mentioned loads are supported even more only by the contact between the inner and outer link plates and the sprocket side plates on that side of the chain. The chain wheel side plate is easily crushed.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The object of the utility model is to increase the rigid support between the chain drive and the support beam, thereby increasing the load-bearing capacity of the chain drive and the conveying apparatus comprising the chain drive.

To this end, the utility model provides a chain drive and a conveying apparatus comprising a chain drive.

The chain transmission of the present application comprises a chain strand comprising a plurality of axle pins arranged side by side in a first direction and in pairs when placed or moved in a horizontal first direction, each axle pin extending in a horizontal second direction perpendicular to the first direction and being externally sleeved with a roller rotatable relative to the axle pin, each pair of axle pins being connected by inner link plates arranged on opposite sides in the second direction, one axle pin of each pair of axle pins being connected with an adjacent one of the pair of axle pins by an outer link plate laterally outside the inner link plate associated with the respective axle pin, wherein the chain transmission further comprises a support beam extending in the first direction, the support beam comprising a middle portion configured to contact and support the respective roller of the chain strand and side portions on each side of the middle portion in the second direction, and the plurality of pins including a load-bearing pin extending beyond the associated outer link plate on a first side in the second direction forming an extended shaft segment over which is nested a reinforcement roller sized to be contactingly supported by the respective side portion, the extended shaft segment further extending beyond the reinforcement roller forming a protrusion.

In one embodiment, the load bearing pin comprises one load bearing pin; or the bearing shaft pin comprises two or more bearing shaft pins which are arranged adjacently or at intervals, and each bearing shaft pin and the shaft pin between the adjacent bearing shaft pins which are arranged at intervals are provided with the expanding shaft segment and the reinforcing roller.

In one embodiment, an expansion shaft segment and a reinforcing roller are also provided for one or more shaft pins adjacent to the load-bearing shaft pin on one or both sides in the first direction.

In one embodiment, an equal number of reinforcing rollers are symmetrically arranged on a second side opposite to the first side in the second direction.

In one embodiment, the middle portion is convex relative to the side portions; and/or the extension shaft segments are integrally formed with the corresponding shaft pins or are separately formed and fixedly attached together.

In one embodiment, the chain drive further comprises a sprocket engageable with the chain strand and sprocket side plates on either side of the sprocket in the second direction, respectively, the sprocket side plates being sized to contact and support the reinforcing rollers of the chain strand.

In one embodiment, the chain drive includes first and second sprockets arranged spaced apart in the first direction, and the support beam is a first support beam located between the first and second sprockets.

In one embodiment, the chain drive further comprises: third and fourth sprockets spaced apart from the first and second sprockets in a vertical direction perpendicular to both the first and second directions and arranged spaced apart in the first direction, and a second support beam between the third and fourth sprockets, the second support beam being identical to the first support beam.

The transfer apparatus of the present application includes: a frame; the chain transmission device; and a lift platform attached to the frame, including a lift frame for supporting an item and a slide assembly slidably engaged with the lift frame to slide relative thereto in a first direction, wherein the support beam is fixed to the frame, and wherein the slide assembly is fixedly attached to the projection of the chain drive.

In one embodiment, the lifting frame of the lifting platform is slidably attached to the frame, enabling the lifting platform to move in a vertical direction relative to the frame.

The chain transmission device is at least arranged on the axle pin for bearing the load and at least arranged on one side of the chain on which the load is positioned, and the reinforcing rollers replace the inner chain plate and the outer chain plate to be in contact with and support the supporting beam or the chain wheel side plate, so that the contact and support area between the chain and the supporting beam or the chain wheel side plate is increased, the contact support between the chain and the supporting beam or the chain wheel side plate is enhanced, the possibility of the supporting beam being pressed and deformed is reduced to at least a certain extent, and the bearing capacity is improved.

Drawings

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and further explain the present invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a transfer apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a chain strand of the chain drive used in the conveyor apparatus of FIG. 1 showing the reinforcement rollers;

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of region R of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the sprocket of FIG. 6 with the sprocket side plates partially removed.

Detailed Description

The present application is directed to providing an enhanced support chain drive, particularly in chain side load bearing applications. Fig. 1-7 illustrate one exemplary application of the chain drive of the present application, a conveyor apparatus for lifting and/or conveying or transferring articles or trays (hereinafter referred to collectively as "articles") containing articles. The principles of the present application are described below with reference first to an illustrated application of a transmission apparatus.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of a conveying apparatus comprising the chain drive of the present application. As shown, the transfer apparatus includes a frame 100, a lifting platform 200, and a chain drive 300. The transfer device may be manually actuated and thus not comprise a drive means. Optionally, the conveying apparatus may further comprise a driving means (not shown in the drawings) for driving the chain transmission 300, for example, the driving means may comprise a motor.

The frame 100 is a space-type frame structure made up of a plurality (e.g., at least two) of cross beams 102 extending in the transverse direction a, a plurality (e.g., at least two) of longitudinal beams 104 extending in the longitudinal direction L, and a plurality (e.g., at least four) of vertical beams 106 extending in the vertical direction T. The rack 100 may or may not include a roof panel 108 as shown in fig. 1, for example, by being replaced with a generally quadrilateral horizontal frame of cross-members and longitudinal members. The beams are fastened to each other by any available means, such as screws, mortises, welds, etc. to form a rigid frame 100. Herein, the directional terms "lateral direction a", "longitudinal direction L", and "vertical direction T" are all understood with reference to the rack 100 and in conjunction with the directional indications of fig. 1.

The conveyor apparatus of the present application is configured to effect lifting or lowering of an article in a vertical direction T as well as horizontal movement in either horizontal direction, e.g., from one side of the lift platform 200 to the opposite side. In the following, the present conveying device is realized to move the articles vertically in the vertical direction T and horizontally in the longitudinal direction L, as an example.

The lift platform 200 includes a lift frame 210 and a slide assembly (not shown) attached to the lift frame 210. During operation of the conveyor, the slide assemblies are used to load articles onto the lift platform 200, move articles on the lift platform 200 from one side to an opposite side in the longitudinal direction L, and unload or remove articles from the lift platform 200. It should be noted that the slide assembly is not the focus of the present application, so the slide assembly is not shown in the assembled view of fig. 1, but only the lifting frame 210 is shown.

The lifting frame 210 is configured as a horizontal frame formed by two lifting stringers 214 extending in the longitudinal direction L and two lifting cross beams 212 extending in the transverse direction a, alternatively an additional stiffening cross beam may be arranged between the two lifting stringers 214 or an additional stiffening stringer may be arranged between the two lifting cross beams 212. The lifting platform 200 is configured such that the lifting frame 210 is slidably engaged with the frame 100 in the vertical direction T so that the lifting platform 200 and the article supported thereby as a whole can move in the vertical direction with respect to the frame 100, and such that the sliding assembly is slidably coupled with the lifting frame 210 in the longitudinal direction L so that the sliding assembly, along with the article supported by the lifting frame 210, can move in the longitudinal direction L with respect to the lifting frame 210.

The sliding engagement between the lifting frame 210 and the frame 100 and the sliding engagement between the lifting frame 210 and the sliding assembly not shown in the drawings can be achieved by a slider and rail structure, although the structure for achieving the sliding engagement is not limited thereto, and any structure capable of achieving the sliding engagement known to those skilled in the art can be adopted.

In the illustrated embodiment, the lifting frame 210 is provided with slide blocks having slide grooves at both ends in the longitudinal direction L on one side in the transverse direction a (on the side on which the chain drive 300 is located in fig. 1), respectively, and the frame 100 includes vertical guide rails 116 configured to engage with the slide grooves. The vertical guide 116 may be provided near the vertical beams 106 of the rack 100, e.g. attached to the vertical beams 106 or directly provided by the vertical beams 106, alternatively the vertical guide 116 may also be provided by additional beams extending in the vertical direction T that are fixed to the rack 100. Two additional beams 112 (only one indicated in the figure) are fixed to the frame 100, configured for cooperating with stops of the lifting platform 200 to constrain the upper and lower limit positions of the lifting platform 200 to move in the vertical direction T.

Similarly, the lifting frame 210 includes horizontal rails (not shown) extending in the longitudinal direction L, while the sliding assembly includes slides that provide sliding channels that can engage the horizontal rails. The guide rail may be provided by or attached to the one of the lift stringers 214 of the lift frame 210 that is close to the chain drive 300, or may be provided by an additional beam extending in the longitudinal direction L that is fixed to the lift frame 210.

In this way, an article loaded onto the lifting frame 210 by means of the slide assembly can be moved with the slide assembly from one side to the other side in the longitudinal direction L relative to (the horizontal rails on) the lifting frame 210 and can be moved with the lifting platform 200 in the vertical direction T relative to the machine frame 100, effecting lifting or lowering of the article.

The chain drive 300 driving the lifting frame 210 to move in the vertical direction T with respect to the frame 100 and the slide assembly to move in the longitudinal direction L with respect to the lifting frame 210 will be described in detail below.

In the embodiment of fig. 1, the chain drive 300 is configured to be tensioned by four sprockets into a substantially square closed chain loop. The chain loop is substantially located in a vertical plane defined by a vertical direction T and a longitudinal direction L, and four sprockets are provided at four corners of the square shape, such that the chain loop is tensioned and supported to include two opposing horizontal chain extensions 302 substantially elongated along the longitudinal direction L and two opposing vertical chain extensions 304 substantially elongated along the vertical direction T, each horizontal chain extension 302 and vertical chain extension 304 being interconnected to form the entire loop length. The four sprockets typically include a drive sprocket and three driven sprockets 360 (the drive sprocket can be a sprocket diagonally disposed from the driven sprocket 360 as shown in the figures and thus hidden from view), and optionally can include more than one drive sprocket. Thus, the entire chain loop is driven to rotate by the drive sprocket.

The sliding assembly of the lifting platform 200 is fixedly attached to one or more connecting parts or connecting parts of the closed chain loop of the chain transmission 300, such as, but not necessarily, in the illustrated embodiment to two adjacent axle pins 312b of the chain loop, in particular to their protruding portions 350 protruding to one side in the transverse direction a, i.e. the connecting parts are protruding portions 350 of the two axle pins 312b (clearly shown in fig. 2-6). On the one hand, during the movement of the closed chain loop driven, the lifting platform 200 as a whole, and the article it supports, is moved in the vertical direction T by the relative sliding of the lifting frame 210 and the vertical guide rail 116, when the connection is moved into the vertical chain extension 304, effecting a displacement (lifting or lowering) of the article in the vertical direction T. On the other hand, when the connecting portion is displaced into the horizontal chain extension 302, the sliding assembly takes the item (e.g., by hooking the item) to move horizontally in the longitudinal direction L relative to the horizontal guide rail on the lifting frame 210 of the lifting platform 200.

Here, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the closed chain loop formed by the chain drive 300 being supported by the sprockets does not necessarily assume the regular shape shown, for example, due to the design of the position of the sprockets or the chain drive 300 additionally comprising a fifth sprocket arranged on the chain extension 304 for providing an additional tensioning of the chain loop, in which case the chain extension 304 does not extend exactly along the vertical direction T but comprises components in both the longitudinal direction L and the vertical direction T. Then, when said connecting portion is displaced into the chain extension 304, the sliding assembly, together with the article, is displaced horizontally in the longitudinal direction L relative to the horizontal guide rail of the lifting platform 200, in addition to the above-described displacement of the lifting platform 200 and the article in the vertical direction T, to adapt to the direction of extension of the chain extension 304.

Referring to fig. 2-5, along the length of the chain loop, the chain loop includes a plurality of axle pins 312 arranged side-by-side, each axle pin 312 extending in a transverse direction a and being sleeved outwardly with a roller 314, each roller 314 being rotatable about its respective axle pin 312, adjacent rollers 314 defining a meshing gap 315 therebetween that allows entry of the sprocket teeth (fig. 7). The shaft pins 312 of the chain loops are arranged in pairs, with each pair of adjacent shaft pins 312a (fig. 2 and 4) being connected by an inner link plate 316 on opposite sides in the transverse direction a. One of the shaft pins 312a of each pair is connected to an adjacent one of the shaft pins 312a of an adjacent pair by outer link plates 318 respectively located on opposite sides in the transverse direction a. By "outer link plate" is meant that the link plate is located laterally outboard of the inner link plate 316 associated with the axle pin 312 in the axial extent (lateral direction a) of each axle pin 312, and "laterally outboard" is meant the side of the link plate that is spaced from the axle pin 312 and rollers 314 in the lateral direction a, as shown in fig. 2-5.

Referring to fig. 3 and 5, the chain drive 300 further comprises a support beam 130 arranged below the chain over a horizontal chain extension 302, the support beam 130 extending in a longitudinal direction L, comprising a middle portion 132 arranged to contact and support each roller 314 of the chain loop, and side portions 134 on opposite sides of the middle portion 132 in a transverse direction a. In the case where the chain drive 300 is applied to the illustrated conveying apparatus, the support beam 130 is fixedly attached to the frame 100. In the prior art configuration, the side portions 134 of the support beam 130 are adapted to contact and support the inner link plates 316 and the outer link plates 318 of the chain loop.

With further reference to fig. 4 and 5, the two pairs of pivot pins 312 connected by the outer link plates 318 extend beyond the outer link plates 318 toward the lateral first side to form extended shaft segments 340, and each extended shaft segment 340 has a reinforcing roller 140 disposed thereon. The extended shaft segment 340 of the centered one of the two pairs of pins 312 further extends beyond the reinforcement roller 140 forming a protrusion 350. The projections 350 engage or attach together in a fixed, relatively motionless manner as the aforementioned connection with the corresponding features of the sliding assembly of the lift platform 200 so that the sliding assembly follows the chain loop. In other words, the sliding assembly is fixed to the protruding portion 350 of the pair of shaft pins 312b, the chain transmission 300 via the protruding portion 350 carries the load (including the entire lifting platform 200 and the supported article) to move in the vertical direction T when the chain strand including the shaft pins 312b moves into the chain extension 304, and the chain transmission 300 via the protruding portion 350 carries the load (the sliding assembly and the article supported by the lifting platform 200) to move in the horizontal direction L relative to the horizontal guide rail of the lifting platform 200 when the chain strand including the shaft pins 312b moves into the horizontal chain extension 302.

The load is carried (or carried) by the two protruding parts 350 as the connecting parts, and herein, the shaft pins 312b corresponding to the two protruding parts 350 are referred to as carrying shaft pins, the part where the carrying shaft pins 312b are located is a carrying part of the chain transmission 300, and the side where the protruding parts 350 are located is a carrying side of the chain transmission 300. The present application provides the reinforcing rollers 140 on the load-bearing side, and the contact support between the reinforcing rollers 140 and the support beam 130 at the position of the support beam 130 corresponding to the load-bearing portion when the load-bearing portion of the chain drive 300 is moved into the horizontal chain extension 302 increases the support area between the load-bearing portion of the chain drive 300 and the corresponding position of the support beam 130 as compared to the prior art structure in which the inner and outer link plates 316 and 318 contact the support beam 130, thereby reducing the deformation of the load-bearing portion or the pressure concentration portion of the support beam 130, particularly when the support beam 130 is made of a plastic material which is relatively low in cost compared to metal but not very high in rigidity.

The reinforcement rollers 140 are sized to contact and provide support to the side portions 134 of the support beam 130. preferably, the reinforcement rollers 140 are also sized such that the inner link plates 316 and the outer link plates 318, which are laterally inboard of the reinforcement rollers 140, do not contact the support beam 130. In other words, the outer peripheral dimension or outer diameter of the reinforcement rollers 140 is designed to be greater than or slightly greater than the dimension (or width) of the inner and outer link plates 316, 318 in the vertical direction T. The reinforcing roller 140 is designed in its axial length so as not to protrude beyond the side portion 134 of the reinforcing roller 140, thereby making it possible to maintain the structure of the original chain drive 300, particularly the support beam 130. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in order to enhance support, it is possible to widen the side portions 134 of the support beam 130 if necessary, i.e., to increase the dimension of the side portions 134 of the support beam 130 in the transverse direction a, and correspondingly to lengthen the length of the reinforcing rollers 140, to further enhance contact and support between the side portions 134 of the support beam 130 and the reinforcing rollers 140.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of region R of FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the sprocket portion of FIG. 6 with one of the sprocket side plates removed. The protruding portion 350 as a connecting portion and the load are shown to be moved to the sprocket 360 in fig. 6 and 7. At the sprocket 360, no support beam 130 is present anymore, and therefore the load is supported only by the contact between the reinforcement rollers 140 on the load-bearing side of the chain drive 300 and the sprocket side plates 362 of the corresponding lateral side of the sprocket 360. The structure of the present application is particularly advantageous in reducing the likelihood of crushing of the sprocket side plates 362, as compared to a situation where the reinforcement rollers 140 are not provided, and thus only a number of the inner and outer link plates on only one side of the load bearing portion are supported in contact with the sprocket side plates 362.

In the illustrated embodiment, the chain drive 300 includes not only the reinforcement roller 140 that fits over the extended shaft segment 340 of the load-bearing shaft pin 312b, but also the reinforcement roller 140 that fits over the shaft pin adjacent the load-bearing shaft pin 312b, i.e., shaft pin 312c (FIG. 4) in the illustration. It will be appreciated that the reinforcement rollers 140 may be provided only on the expanded shaft segment 340 of the pin 312b, if the strength is sufficient, or the number of reinforcement rollers 140 may be increased along the chain length if the strength is insufficient.

Alternatively, the chain drive 300 may also be provided with the reinforcing rollers 140 symmetrically on the other lateral side, depending on the actual load situation.

In some embodiments, the protruding part 350 as the connection part may be a part separately provided from the corresponding shaft pin 312 b. The protruding part 350 as the connecting part may have only one or more than two as shown. The protruding part 350 as the connecting portion may be provided by two shaft pins connected by the outer link plate 318 or by two shaft pins connected by the inner link plate 316. The shaft pins 312b corresponding to the protruding part 350 as the coupling part may be two or more shaft pins adjacently disposed, and may optionally include shaft pins spaced apart, in which case the reinforcement roller 140 is preferably provided on all the shaft pins 312b corresponding to the protruding part 350 and the shaft pins therebetween.

While the chain drive 300 of the present application has been described above with reference to the application of a conveying apparatus with reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the chain drive 300 of the present application does not apply only to the illustrated conveying apparatus (sometimes also referred to as a lifting apparatus), but can be applied to any possible apparatus in the field of article lifting, conveying or transferring. Nor does the principles of the present application apply to situations where only one lateral side is load bearing.

To this end, the improved chain transmission of the present application comprises a chain strand comprising a plurality of axle pins arranged side by side and in pairs in a first direction (longitudinal direction L in the illustrated embodiment) when placed or moved in a horizontal first direction (transverse direction a in the illustrated embodiment) each extending in a horizontal second direction (transverse direction a in the illustrated embodiment) perpendicular to said first direction and being externally sleeved with a roller rotatable relative to the axle pins, each pair of axle pins being connected by an inner link plate arranged on opposite sides in the second direction, one axle pin of each pair of axle pins being connected to an adjacent one of the pair of axle pins by an outer link plate laterally outside the inner link plate associated with the respective axle pin, a support beam extending in said first direction, said support beam comprising an intermediate portion configured to contact and support the respective roller of said chain strand and a side link plate located on each side in the intermediate portion in the second direction And the plurality of pins including a load-bearing pin, the load-bearing pin extending beyond the associated outer link plate on a first side in the second direction to form an extended shaft segment on which is nested a reinforcement roller sized to be contactingly supported by the respective side portion, the extended shaft segment further extending beyond the reinforcement roller to form a protrusion or load-bearing portion. The present application also aims to protect a conveying apparatus comprising such a chain drive.

The present invention has been described in detail with reference to the specific embodiments. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive. Various changes or modifications may be made to the illustrated structure without departing from the spirit of the utility model.

Claims (10)

1. A chain transmission (300) comprising a chain strand, which, when placed or moved in a horizontal first direction, comprises a plurality of pin shafts (312) arranged side by side in the first direction and in pairs, each pin shaft (312) extending in a horizontal second direction perpendicular to the first direction and being externally fitted with a roller (314) rotatable relative to the pin shaft (312), each pair of pin shafts being connected by an inner link plate (316) arranged on opposite sides in the second direction, one pin shaft of each pair being connected to an adjacent one pin shaft of an adjacent pair by an outer link plate (318) laterally outside the inner link plate (316) associated with the respective pin shaft, characterized in that,

the chain drive (300) further comprises a support beam (130) extending in the first direction, the support beam (130) comprising a middle portion (132) configured to contact and support the rollers of the chain strand and side portions (134) on either side of the middle portion (132) in the second direction, and

the plurality of pins (312) includes a load-bearing pin that extends beyond an associated outer link plate (318) on a first side in a second direction to form an extended shaft segment (340), the extended shaft segment (340) having a reinforcement roller (140) nested thereon, the reinforcement roller (140) sized to be contactingly supported by a respective side portion (134), the extended shaft segment (340) extending further beyond the reinforcement roller (140) to form a protruding portion (350).

2. Chain transmission (300) according to claim 1,

the bearing shaft pin comprises a bearing shaft pin; or

The bearing pin comprises two or more adjacently arranged or spaced bearing pins, each bearing pin and the pin between the adjacently spaced bearing pins are provided with an expanding shaft segment (340) and a reinforcing roller (140).

3. A chain transmission (300) according to claim 2, characterized in that also for one or more axle pins adjacent to the carrying axle pin on one or on opposite sides in the first direction an expansion axle segment (340) and a reinforcement roller (140) are provided.

4. A chain transmission (300) according to claim 3, characterized in that an equal number of reinforcement rollers are symmetrically arranged on a second side opposite to the first side in the second direction.

5. Chain transmission (300) according to any of claims 1-4, characterized in that:

the middle portion (132) is convex with respect to the side portions (134); and/or

The extended shaft segments (340) are integrally formed with the corresponding shaft pins (312) or are separately formed and fixedly attached together.

6. The chain drive (300) as set forth in any of claims 1-4, further comprising a sprocket (360) engageable with said chain strand and sprocket side plates (362) on either side of said sprocket (360) in the second direction, said sprocket side plates (362) being sized to contact and support a reinforcement roller of said chain strand.

7. The chain drive (300) as claimed in any one of claims 1-4, wherein said chain drive (300) comprises first and second sprockets arranged spaced apart in a first direction, said support beam (130) being a first support beam located between the first and second sprockets.

8. The chain drive (300) as set forth in claim 7, wherein said chain drive (300) further comprises: third and fourth sprockets spaced apart from the first and second sprockets in a vertical direction (T) perpendicular to both the first and second directions and arranged spaced apart in the first direction, and a second support beam between the third and fourth sprockets, the second support beam being identical to the first support beam.

9. A transfer apparatus, comprising:

a frame (100);

a chain drive (300) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8; and

a lifting platform (200) attached to a machine frame (100) comprising a lifting frame (210) for supporting an item and a sliding assembly slidably engaged with the lifting frame (210) to slide in a first direction relative thereto, wherein the support beam (130) is fixed to the machine frame (100), and wherein the sliding assembly is fixedly attached to the protruding portion (350) of the chain drive (300).

10. A conveyor device as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the lifting frame (210) of the lifting platform (200) is slidably attached to the frame (100) such that the lifting platform (200) is movable in a vertical direction (T) relative to the frame (100).

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