WO2004020317A2

WO2004020317A2 - Conveyor device for transporting goods which are to be conveyed, especially in a suspensory manner

Info

Publication number: WO2004020317A2
Application number: PCT/EP2003/008718
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rolf Peter Beyer
Original assignee: Wf Logistik Gmbh
Priority date: 2002-08-08
Filing date: 2003-08-06
Publication date: 2004-03-11
Also published as: WO2004020317A3; DE10236449A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a conveyor device, especially a suspensory conveyor device, for transporting goods which are to be conveyed to conveyor devices which can be driven along a conveyor system by means of a drive device (30). The drive system (30) comprises at least one rotational push element (32) system comprising a plurality of push elements (34) which rotate in a continuous manner one after the other. Said push elements are driven by means of at least one propulsion unit in a rotational direction such that the thrust of one push element is transmitted to another push element and such that the conveyor can be detachably engaged with the drive thereof along at least one part of the conveyor system. The push elements (34) may be formed by rollers which roll in onto each other in an opposite direction between two guiding paths (36) and are alternatively guided in a rolling manner on respectively one of the guiding paths (36).

Description

Conveyor device for in particular hanging transport of conveyed goods

description

According to a first aspect, the invention relates to a conveying device, in particular a suspended conveying device, for transporting conveyed goods on conveying means which can be driven along a conveying path system by means of a drive device.

Various concepts are known for driving conveying means in a conveying device, for example those on which clothes hangers hung with garments can be hung. Endlessly rotating chains, ropes, belts or belts are very often used to drive the conveying means, to which the conveying means can be coupled by positive or frictional engagement, but also magnetically, electromagnetically or by means of negative pressure. Occasionally, instead of such flexible traction means, drive screws are used to drive the conveying means. In addition, funding is known that is equipped with its own electric drive.

In contrast, the invention proposes that in a conveying device of the type described in the introduction, the drive device comprises at least one thrust element circulation with a multiplicity of endlessly rotating ones, by means of at least one propulsion unit in the circumferential direction, of one thrust element driven to transmit the next thrust, with which the conveying means drive it can be brought into releasable entrainment connection along at least part of the conveyor path system.

In the solution according to the invention, the conveying means are driven by thrust elements. Thrust element here means an element that - based on the direction of rotation of the thrust elements - propels itself experiences a force from behind, i.e. a thrust or pressure forwards from the thrust element following it. This differs from tension elements, which experience their propulsion from the front through a pulling force, such as the individual links of a chain. The term push element expressly does not contain any restriction to the effect that the push elements slide or slide as a result of the action of force from behind. It is of course not excluded within the scope of the invention that the thrust elements are formed by sliding bodies which move forward in a sliding or sliding manner. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the thrust elements are, however, formed by rolling elements which are guided on a guideway arrangement so that they can roll in the circumferential direction. So there is no sliding movement here, but rather a rolling movement, but still with the proviso that this rolling movement is initiated by the introduction of force from behind in the circumferential direction and therefore a thrust is exerted on the rolling elements.

It has been shown that the drive concept according to the invention, which is based on thrust elements, can offer advantages over the known drive concepts with regard to sensitivity to moisture, sensitivity to dust and dirt, functional reliability, wear resistance, maintenance expenditure and with regard to the production costs. The latter point in particular has proven to be a significant advantage, for example, over chain drive concepts; the elimination of the high acquisition costs that have to be expended for drive chains allows a significant cost reduction of the entire conveyor system. It is also advantageous that, particularly when using rolling elements as thrust elements, it can be unnecessary to lubricate them, that is to say the rolling elements can run dry, also in contrast to chain solutions, in which a high amount of lubrication has to be carried out regularly. Depending on the thrust load, the thrust elements can experience a more or less strong pressure against each other. A high load on the thrust elements can occur, for example, on inclines or when the weight of the funding to be funded is high. It must therefore be expected that the thrust elements in the conveyor device will have varying shear loads. Temperature fluctuations must also be taken into account, which can lead to a different linear expansion of the thrust elements during operation of the conveyor. The push element solution according to the invention is advantageous in that it enables length compensation without complex measures, by means of which such changes in the shear load or the temperature can be compensated. This length compensation can in fact be carried out simply by means of a free space between individual push elements. Such free space can form for the purpose of length compensation or - if it already exists - change in size. The free space does not have a disruptive effect on the movement of the conveying means, since the propulsion unit ensures that the push elements are permanently circulated. In particular, the pusher element circulation can be deliberately designed such that there is always a free space between the pusher elements at at least one desired location along the pusher element circulation, the size of which can then vary depending on the thrust loading of the pusher elements and on the temperature.

The push elements can be disjoint. If necessary, this can make maintenance work easier because it is then possible to replace individual thrust elements. It is of course not excluded that the thrust elements are connected. For example, it is conceivable that the thrust elements are held together loosely by means of a cord or by means of a thread. In principle, any rolling bodies are conceivable as thrust elements, for example spherical or barrel bodies. In a preferred embodiment, however, the rolling bodies are designed as rollers. These can have a cylindrical, but also a convexly curved tread. In curved sections of the thrust element circulation, a curved running surface can be favorable for an efficient thrust transmission of the rollers among one another.

The guideway arrangement preferably has two mutually opposite, mutually parallel guideways whose spacing from one another is greater than the roller diameter of the rollers, the rollers between these guideways rolling in opposite directions to one another and alternately rolling on each of the guideways. The mutual rolling of the rollers against each other creates very little friction. All rollers can serve as conveyor rollers, i.e. the funding can be brought into driving connection with each of the rollers. In this case in particular, the rollers can all have the same roller diameter. However, the rollers can alternately have a larger and a smaller roller diameter, for example if only every second roller is to serve as a conveyor roller and the remaining rollers merely form intermediate rollers.

The two guideways can be formed on the mutually facing inner surfaces of two mutually opposite housing walls of a profile housing receiving the rollers, the driving connection of the conveying means with the rollers being able to be established through a longitudinal opening of the profile housing which is continuous in the longitudinal direction of the profile. By horizontally and / or vertically bending the profile housing, the conveying device can be easily moved. In particular for the realization of stitch paths, a running row of rollers and a returning row of rollers of the thrust element circulation can roll past one another either with facing axial end faces or with facing running surfaces of the rollers at least over part of their length.

In addition, the rollers with their roller axes can run approximately parallel to a horizontal plane, but also approximately parallel to a vertical plane.

The castors can be manufactured inexpensively from plastic, in particular by injection molding.

The propulsion unit preferably comprises an arrangement of a plurality of drive elements which are driven one after the other along a closed circulation path and act on a thrust element in each case over a part of their circulation path. In the sense of a favorable distribution of the total force available for introduction into the thrust elements, it is recommended that two or more of the drive elements act on one thrust element at a time.

The propulsion unit can comprise a flexible traction means which is driven to circulate in an endless loop and on which the drive elements are arranged uniformly distributed in the circumferential direction. Alternatively, it can comprise a drive actuator which is driven to rotate about its plate axis and on which the drive elements are arranged uniformly distributed in the plate circumferential direction.

In the case of the use of rollers as thrust elements, the drive elements are advantageously designed as drive rollers which are held rotatably about their respective roller axis and which each have thrust-exerting forces Rolling engagement with an outer circumferential surface of a roller of the thrust element circulation can be brought.

It can be advantageous to pretension the thrust elements slightly against one another, in particular in order to ensure a constant flow of thrust elements to the propulsion unit. For this purpose, the drive device can comprise at least one clamping unit with an arrangement of a plurality of spreading elements which can be moved one behind the other along a closed circulation path and can be carried by the thrust elements for movement along this circulation path, each of which over a part of its circulation path by spring force transversely to the direction of rotation of the thrust elements between two one another the following thrust elements can be pressed onto these thrust elements while exerting a spreading effect. The spreading elements are, so to speak, passive elements that are carried by the pushing elements and are thus driven to rotate. They spread two adjacent thrust elements apart, so that the thrust elements in other parts of the thrust element circulation are pressed against each other. Because the expansion elements are pressed resiliently between the push elements, compensation is readily possible if changes in length occur in the push element circulation due to changes in load or temperature.

The tensioning unit is preferably connected upstream of the propulsion unit in the circumferential direction of the thrust elements in order to enable the thrust elements to enter the propulsion unit in a closed or adjacent manner.

When using rollers as thrust elements, the spreading elements are expediently designed as spreading rollers which can be rotated about their respective roller axis and which can each be brought into rolling engagement with outer circumferential surfaces of the two rollers of the thrust element circulation that are spread apart by them. At least one conveying means can have at least one driving roller rotatable about its roller axis, which can be brought into thrust-transmitting rolling engagement with an outer peripheral surface of a roller of the thrust element circulation with its roller peripheral surface for establishing the driving connection between the conveying means and the push element circulation. The roller diameter of the driving roller can be smaller, preferably substantially smaller than the roller diameter of the roller. When the rolling engagement between the driving roller and the roller is produced, the roller axis of the driving roller and the roller axis of the roller can be offset from one another transversely to the direction of rotation.

The roller can carry at least one axially protruding, central driver pin, with the pin peripheral surface of which the driver roller can be brought into rolling engagement. However, it can also be possible to bring the driving roller into rolling engagement with a running surface of the running roller with which the relevant running roller is guided on the guideway arrangement.

In order to avoid possible jamming and to ensure a secure establishment of the entrainment connection, a free axial front end of the entrainment roller and / or the entrainment pin can be designed with a conically tapering deflecting surface.

The driving roller can be arranged on an actuating member which is adjustable on the conveying means between an engagement position in which the driving roller is in a thrust-transmitting rolling engagement with a roller of the thrust element circulation and an disengaged position in which the driving roller is released from the thrust-transmitting engagement. The actuating member is preferably biased into its engagement position by spring force. The actuating member can have an actuating surface which can be brought into engagement with a button arranged on this front conveying means by approaching the conveying means to a similar further conveying means leading in the conveying direction, this engagement of the actuating surface of the actuating member with the button of the front conveying means transferring the Actuator from its engaged position in the disengaged position. In this way, it is possible to build up several funds running in succession.

A high level of functional reliability is provided by a solution in which the actuating member is designed as an actuating lever which can be tilted about a tilting axis and which carries the driving roller in the region of one of its lever ends and has the actuating surface in the region of its other lever end.

In the case of branched conveyor path systems, several thrust element circulations will be required, each of which is responsible for driving the conveying means along part of the conveyor path system. It is recommended that the thrust element revolutions of adjoining parts of the conveyor path system then overlap in a transition area. In this way, the conveying means can be brought into engagement with a next push element circulation while they are still in driving connection with a previous push element circulation, so that the conveying means are simultaneously engaged with both push element circulations for a short time. In this way, a trouble-free change from one push element circulation to another is achieved.

It is conceivable that occasionally the driving force of a thrust element circulation is not sufficient to drive the conveying means forward, for example when an incline has to be overcome. Therefore, at least one conveyor section, in particular a slope section, of the conveyor path system can have two sections running on both sides of this conveyor section Thrust element circulations can be assigned, which together serve to drive the conveying means along the relevant conveying path.

In the case of very steep incline sections, such as one that leads from a lower floor of a floor conveyor to a higher floor, it may even be the case that the force of even two thrust element revolutions is not sufficient to drive the conveying means up this slope section. Therefore, at least one conveyor section, in particular an incline section of the conveyor system, can be assigned at least one flexible drive traction means driven to circulate in an endless loop, with which the conveyor means can be brought into releasable entrainment connection for driving it along the relevant conveyor section.

Stop driver elements for the conveying means can be attached to the drive traction means in a manner known per se at regular intervals. With some types of conveying means, for example so-called conveying trolleys, which have two drives arranged at a distance from one another and a support rod connecting the drives, to which hanging carriers for the conveyed goods can be hung, when passing through curved sections of the conveying path system, in particular when entering and exiting or from inclines and descents, tensions within the funding must be feared. In order to avoid such tension, the stop driver elements can be deflected from a normal position in the direction of rotation of the drive traction means forwards and backwards against the spring restoring force. This deflectability makes it possible to compensate for changes in distance occurring within the funding. The above idea of the resilient deflectability of stop driver elements which are arranged on a flexible drive traction means is, moreover, given independent importance irrespective of the drive concept with push elements. The drive traction means can in particular be formed by a chain if other traction devices such as belts and bands are of course not excluded.

According to a second aspect, the invention further relates to a conveying device for transporting conveyed goods on conveying means, in particular a conveying device of the type explained above, wherein each conveying means comprises at least one roller drive with a basic drive body and an arrangement of rollers which are rotatably held on the basic drive body and with which the Funding means can be supported hanging on a track arrangement and can be moved along this track arrangement in a rolling manner, the roller arrangement of the roller drive comprising at least a pair of rollers arranged symmetrically to a vertical longitudinal center plane of the roller drive, which each roll on one track of the track arrangement.

According to the invention, in the case of such a conveying device it is provided that the roller arrangement of the roller drive comprises two pairs of rollers arranged one behind the other in the direction of travel, the rollers of which are arranged one behind the other and roll together on one of the two tracks of the track arrangement. The two pairs of rollers make the drives more resilient than previous drives with a single pair of rollers. In addition, the solution with two pairs of rollers arranged one behind the other ensures greater tilting stability of the drives.

When viewed in a section orthogonal to the direction of travel, the two raceways are preferably oriented essentially horizontally. Considered in a section orthogonal to the direction of travel, a free space can be formed between the two raceways, through which the roller drive extends with its drive body downward. In terms of production technology, the two raceways can be formed on the inner surface of a hollow profile strip, which on its profile side lying in the installed position has a free space that is continuous in the longitudinal direction of the profile has longitudinal opening for the passage of the drive body. When viewed in a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the profile, the hollow profile strip can have an approximately rectangular outline, the longitudinal opening being formed approximately centrally in a lower rectangle side of the hollow profile strip.

According to a third aspect, the invention finally relates to a set for providing a conveying means for transporting conveyed goods suspended on hanging carriers in a conveying device, in particular a conveying device according to one or both of the types explained above, the conveying means being supported at least one along a track arrangement and supporting it Carriage arrangement includes a roller drive that can be moved with a roller and a hook receiving unit connected to the roller drive, on which at least one of the hanging carriers can be suspended with an upper support hook.

According to the invention, the set comprises hook receiving units of at least two different types, the roller drive and the hook receiving units being designed as separate units prefabricated from one another and any type of hook receiving unit being selectively attachable to the roller drive. Such a set allows a modular design of the funding and the manufacture of the drives as standard components. The purchaser of the set can then change the funding of the conveyor if necessary with little effort, the modularity of the funding can offer the possibility to carry out this conversion while the drives are still attached to the track arrangement, i.e. without having to completely remove the funding.

In particular, one of the different types of hook receiving units can be a single hook receiving unit designed and designed for hanging in only a single hanging carrier, while another type of hook receiving unit is one for hanging in a plurality of hanging brackets designed and certain multi-hook receiving unit.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. This exemplary embodiment shows a modular, center-hung, rail-bound and space-permitting universal overhead conveyor system, in which runners (conveyors) can be driven to accumulate by means of a roller drive device. The system can be used manually or automatically. The runners can be adapted to different types and / or quantities of the goods to be transported by attaching different attachments to a base element. Due to the center suspension of the runners, one-sided or both sides, if necessary alternately, a positive engagement of the runners with the roller drive device can be realized, which allows the conveyor system to be constructed with a wide variety of routes.

In detail, the drawings show:

Fig. 1 the drive of a as a basic element of a funding of the

Conveyor system serving drive by push rollers,

2 a conveyor designed as a single bracket support,

Fig. 3 a conveyor designed as a trolley runner,

4 a propulsion unit for the push rollers,

5 shows a variant of such a propulsion unit,

6 shows an arrangement of profiles for implementing the conveyor system, 7 shows the accumulation of several conveying means by means of a separator,

8 is a slope of the conveyor system,

Fig. 9-1 8 different route variants of the conveyor system.

The in Fig. 1 shown, designated 10 has a drive base body 1 2, on which two pairs of rollers 1 6 are rotatably mounted about their respective roller axis 18 in the running direction 14 of the drive 10. The rollers 16 of each pair are arranged coaxially with one another and symmetrically with respect to a vertical longitudinal center plane of the same in the installed position of the carriage 10. The running gear 10 is supported with its running rollers 16 in the installed position on a running track arrangement, generally designated 20, which has two parallel running tracks 22 running parallel to each other along the running direction 14. At each of these raceways 22, one of the rollers 1 6 of each pair of rollers is guided such that it can roll.

The carriage 10 extends with its base body 1 2 down through a gap formed between the two raceways 22 and designated by 24. There, a shift lever 26 is mounted on the base body 1 2 so as to be tiltable about a tilt axis 28. The shift lever 26 serves to produce and to release the coupling of the drive 10 with a drive device, generally designated 30. The drive device 30 comprises at least one, normally a plurality of push roller rotations 32 distributed over the conveyor system, each of which is made up of a plurality of push rollers 34 arranged one behind the other along a closed circulation path and driven for circulation along this circulation path. The thrust rollers 34, which are cylindrical here, are arranged between two mutually spaced, facing guide tracks 36 in the direction of rotation. movement guided by rollers. The distance between the guideways 36 is greater than the diameter of the push rollers 34, which all have the same roller diameter here. A propulsion unit, not shown in FIG. 1, of the drive device 30 exerts on the push rollers 34 a thrust force directed in the direction of rotation of the same, which drives the push rollers 34 forward. This thrust force continues along the entire roller circulation 32, so that each thrust roller 34 experiences a force directed forwards in the circumferential direction from the thrust roller lying behind it in the circumferential direction and transmits this force to the push roller 34 lying in front of it in the circumferential direction. Each push roller 34 thus drives the next one. The push rollers 34 align themselves independently between the guideways 36 in such a way that they alternately roll on one of the guideways 36 and also roll on each other in opposite directions. In the example of FIG. 1, the thrust roller 34 shown there on the right rolls counterclockwise on the lower guideway 36, as shown by an arrow 38, while the middle thrust roller 34 rotates clockwise on the upper guideway 36 and at the same time on the right Push roller 34 rolls, as indicated by an arrow 40. The left push roller 34, on the other hand, rolls counterclockwise on the lower guide track 36 and at the same time on the middle push roller 34, as indicated by an arrow 42. The rolling of the push rollers 34 against one another and on the guideways 36 effectively prevents slipping effects and thus ensures low friction.

The shift lever 26 has two lever arms, one of which protrudes from the tilt axis 28 in relation to the direction of travel 14 and the other of which protrudes forward. At the end of the rear lever arm, the switching lever 26 carries two driver rollers 44 arranged symmetrically to the vertical longitudinal center plane of the drive 10, which are each rotatable about their roller axis 46 relative to the main drive body 12. The shift lever 26 can be pivoted about the tilt axis 28 between two pivoting end positions, namely an engagement position and a disengagement position. In the Engagement position one of the driver rollers 44 cuts the path of driver pins 48, which are formed on some or all of the push rollers 34, here on every second push roller 34. In the disengaged position, the driver roller 44 in question is pivoted upward out of the path of the driver pin 48. A schematically indicated spring arrangement 50 built into the main body of the drive 1 2 biases the shift lever 26 into its engagement position. By exerting pressure on an actuating surface 52 formed on the front lever arm and directed upwards, the shift lever 26 can be moved from the engagement position into its disengaged position. The pressure on the actuating surface 52 can be applied with the fingers of one hand, but it can also be generated by the running of the drive 12 on an obstacle in front of it in the running direction 14. Such an obstacle can be a stopper or a stationary further drive 10. Each drive 10 has an oblique button 54 in the area of the rear end of its drive base body 1 2. If a rear drive 10 runs onto a front drive 10, the control lever 26 of the rear drive 10 moves its actuating surface 52 under the button 54 of the front drive 10, whereby the control lever 26 of the rear drive 10 lifts out of its engaged position and into the Disengaged position is transferred. In this way, the rear drive 10 is decoupled from the drive device 30 and stops.

The driver pins 48 are each arranged centrally to the roller axis designated 56 of the respective push roller 34 and project axially from the respective push roller 34. If the shift lever 26 of the drive 10 is in its engaged position, the driver pin 48 of one of the push rollers 34 comes into engagement with that of the two driver rollers 44 of the drive 10, which lies on the side of the roller circulation 32. The entraining roller 44 rolls with its circumferential surface on the circumferential surface of the entraining pin 48 and experiences from the entraining pin 48 a thrust directed forward in the direction of travel 14. This thrust drives the drive 10 in the direction of travel 14. The positive drive connection of the drive 10 with the roller circulation 32 thus produced is released when the shift lever 26 is actuated and transferred into its disengaged position.

In the example of FIG. 1, the thrust rollers 34 - at least on the part of the roller circulation 32 shown - are essentially horizontal with their roller axes 56. Accordingly, the driver rollers 44 with their roller axes 46 are essentially parallel to the horizontal. It is of course conceivable to choose a different orientation of the driver rollers 44 and the push rollers 34, for example a substantially vertical orientation. In order to establish the driving connection between the drive 10 and the roller circulation 32, the driving pins 48 can also be dispensed with. The driving roller 44 of the drive 10 adjacent to the roller circulation 32 can instead be brought into thrust-transmitting engagement with another peripheral surface of one of the push rollers 34 of the roller circulation 32, in particular with the running surface of one of the push rollers 34.

When a driving connection is established between the drive 10 and the roller circulation 32, in the example of FIG. 1 there is a vertical offset between the axis 46 of the driving roller 44 in question and the axis 56 of the push roller 34 with the driving pin 48 of which the driving roller 44 is engaged. In particular, the axis 46 of the driving roller 44 has a higher vertical position than the axis 56 of the push roller 34 concerned. This constellation of the axes 46, 56 could create the danger that the carriage 10 will be lifted up out of the track arrangement 20. This danger, if it is not already excluded by the weight of the drive 10, can be countered by moving the rollers 16 of the drive 10 at a short distance under a boundary wall preventing such lifting. For example, the rollers 1 6 in a hollow profile strip closed at the top, as will be explained later.

The drive 10 is a prefabricated unit as a standard component. Depending on the intended use, it can be combined with various attachments that can be specific for different types and / or quantities of material to be conveyed. The single bracket support shown in FIG. 2, designated 58, is formed by attaching a single hook receiving unit 60, which is also prefabricated as a separate structural unit, to a drive 10. The single hook receiving unit 60 is provided for receiving an individual hanging bracket 62, which can be hung with an upper carrying hook 64 into a receiving recess 66 of the single hook receiving unit 60. The hanging bracket 62 can be, for example, a hanger on which one or more items of clothing are hung.

The in Fig. 3, shown there and designated by 68, on the other hand, is formed by assembling two drives 10 arranged one behind the other with a multi-hook receiving unit 70 prefabricated as a separate structural unit. The multi-hook receiving unit 70 has, in a manner known per se, a support rod 72 which extends between the two drives 10 and into which a multiplicity of receiving recesses 74 for receiving a respective coat hanger or the like hanging rack can be incorporated. The two drives 10 can each be rotated relative to the multi-hook receiving unit 70 about a vertical and about a horizontal axis of rotation in order to enable compensatory movements when climbing and cornering. For coupling several trolley runners 68 to one another, a coupling hook 76 is formed in the area of one of the support rod ends, here the front support rod end, and in the area of the other support rod end, here the rear support rod end, a hook counterpart 78 is formed on the multi-hook receiving unit 70. If both drives 10 are equipped with a shift lever 26, the Trolley runner 68 is driven by simultaneously coupling both drives 10 to a roller conveyor 32. In order to be able to couple both drives 10 synchronously into and out of the roller circulation 32, the shift levers 26 of the two drives 10 can be connected to one another by means of a cord, for example, which is passed through the support rod 72, or another flexible traction means. Furthermore, it is not excluded that one of the drives 10, in particular the rear one, lacks the shift lever 26 with the driver rollers 44 and accordingly the trolley runner 68 is driven only via one of the drives 10.

FIG. 4 shows a propulsion unit 80 which can be used in particular for driving along branch paths and which comprises a drive plate 84 which is coupled directly or via a gear to the output shaft of an electric drive motor 82 and on which a plurality of the push rollers 34 are distributed substantially uniformly in the plate circumferential direction axially parallel drive rollers 86 are arranged. The drive rollers 86 are smaller in diameter than the push rollers 34 and are each rotatably held on the drive actuator 84 about their roller axis designated 88. The roller conveyor 32 is guided around the drive actuator 84 with an arc row 90, which connects an incoming roller row 92 with a return roller row 94 of the roller conveyor 32. The drive rollers 86 act in a thrust-transmitting manner on the running surface of one push roller 34 of the row of sheets 90. The drive actuator 84 is set in rotation by the drive motor 82 about its plate axis, designated 96. This rotation of the drive actuator 84 leads to a push initiation from the drive rollers 86 into the push rollers 34, so that the push rollers 34 are driven in their direction of rotation. The push rollers 34 and the drive rollers 86 roll against each other.

The arrangement of the drive rollers 86 on the drive actuator 84 can be such that the drive rollers 86 each successive push roller 34 or only drive every other push roller 34. In the former case, which is shown in FIG. 4, all the thrust rollers 34 experience a rotation with the same direction of rotation in the area in which they are gripped and driven by the propulsion unit 80. Since the push rollers 34 roll in opposite directions to one another outside of this drive area, the drive rollers 86 are designed and arranged such that a gap 98 is formed in each case between the adjacent push elements 34 in this drive area. If only every second push roller 34 is driven, there is no need to force such gaps 98, since the push rollers 34 can then also roll through the drive area in opposite directions.

Expediently, a plurality of drive rollers 86 will always be in drive engagement with a thrust roller 34, which enables a favorable distribution of the drive force provided by the drive motor 82 to the thrust elements 34.

A continuous feed of push rollers 34 into the drive area of the roller circulation 32 should be ensured. For this purpose, a clamping unit 100 can be arranged at a short distance in front of the inlet side of the propulsion unit 80, which comprises a carrier disc 104 which is rotatably mounted about its disc axis 1 02 and on which a plurality of spreading rollers 106 are held rotatably distributed about its respective roller axis 108 in the disc circumference direction. The spreading rollers 106 are arranged essentially axially parallel to the push rollers 34. The spreading rollers 106 are each pressed between two adjacent push rollers 34 by the action of a spring arrangement 110 engaging on the carrier disk 104. The thrust rollers 34 in question are hereby spread apart, so that a free space 1 1 2 is created between the thrust rollers 34 and the thrust rollers 34 lying in the circumferential direction run into the propulsion unit 80 without any gaps and with slight prestress. With the orbital movement of the thrust rollers 34, the carrier disk 104 leads automatically a rotational movement about its disk axis 102. The spring arrangement 1 1 0 enables compensating movements of the tensioning unit 1 00 directed transversely to the direction of rotation of the thrust rollers 34 if the length ratios within the roller circulation 32 change due to load changes or temperature fluctuations. In the case of spreading engagement, the spreading rollers 106 and the push rollers 34 which are spread apart from each other roll with their roller circumferential surfaces against one another.

A further possibility of ensuring that the push rollers 34 enter the propulsion unit 80 without gaps is to allow the push rollers 34 coming from the returning roller row 94 to run down a slope from gravity into the propulsion unit 80. In this case, at least one thrust roller 34 should always be present as a buffer on the inlet side of the propulsion unit 80. The free space formed along the slope can be used to compensate for changes in length within the roller circulation 32.

4 also shows that the push rollers 34 are accommodated in a hollow profile housing 1 1 4, the inner surfaces of which form the guideways 36. In the example shown, this profile housing 1 14 has two housing chambers 1 1 8, 120 separated from one another by an intermediate wall 1 1 6, one of which receives the push rollers 34 of the incoming roller row 92 and the other of which holds the push rollers 34 of the returning roller row 94. The two housing chambers 1 18, 1 20 are arranged next to one another in such a way that the running row of rollers 92 and the returning row of rollers 94 - with respect to the roller axes 56 of the push rollers 34 - run axially next to one another. Alternatively, the housing chambers 1 1 8, 1 20 could be arranged one above the other. Of course, separate profile housings can also be used for the incoming roller row 92 and the return roller row 94. Each of the housing chambers 1 1 8, 1 20 is open to the outside through a longitudinal opening 1 22, which is formed in one of the walls of the profile housing 1 14. The Driver pins 48 of the push rollers 34 protrude through this longitudinal opening 1 22.

The profile housing 1 14 can be bent both horizontally and vertically for a space-consuming conveyor path system. Since the profile housing 114 can also be exposed to thermal changes in length, the profile housing 114 can be composed of two or more housing sections arranged one behind the other, which are separated from one another at least at one point by a length compensation gap. Such a gap is indicated schematically at 1 24 in FIG. 4. So that the push rollers 34 can roll over the gap 1 24 without interference, the gap 124 should run obliquely to the longitudinal direction of the profile housing 114.

In FIG. 5, components which are the same or have the same effect are provided with the same reference symbols as in the previous figures, but supplemented by a lower case letter. To avoid repetition, reference is made to the previous explanations, unless otherwise stated below.

5 shows a propulsion unit 80a, which can be used in particular for gyroscopic sections. The propulsion unit 80a has a drive chain 1 28a driven by a drive motor 82a via a drive pinion 1 26a for circulation in a closed loop, which is only schematically indicated in FIG. 5 by a dash-dotted line. A plurality of drive rollers 86a are held at regular intervals on the drive chain 1 28a. The push rollers 34a are driven via the drive rollers 86a in a corresponding manner, as previously explained in connection with FIG. 4. However, the distance along which the drive rollers 86a are in driving force-transmitting engagement with the push rollers 34a can be longer than in the variant of FIG. 4. It can be clearly seen that in the driving unit 80a, too, the force is introduced into the push rollers 34a simultaneously via a plurality of drive rollers 86a. It can also be seen that in the example of FIG. 5 only every second push roller 34a is driven by a drive roller 86a. If the drive rollers 86a only come into rolling engagement with the front of the two adjacent push rollers 34a, between which they extend, there is no need for a forced gap between the successive push rollers 34a within the drive area, so that the push rollers 34a also remain in the drive area their opposite sense of rotation can roll against each other, as indicated in Fig. 5 by the rotary arrows shown on the push rollers 34a.

In the solution shown in FIG. 5, the double-chamber housing 114a can also be used for receiving and guiding the push rollers 34a. It goes without saying that, depending on the application, one of the two housing chambers 1 1 8a, 1 20a can remain free, for example if the roller circulation 32a is intended for driving the conveying means along a conveying gyroscope.

In order to achieve a smooth entry of the push rollers 34a into the propulsion unit 80a, it is again recommended to pretension the push rollers 34a of the roller circulation 32a. The clamping unit 100 shown in FIG. 4 can be used for this purpose, for example. As an alternative, a clamping unit can be used, as shown in FIG. 5 and designated 100a there. This tensioning unit 100a has a sliding part 1 30a which is preloaded towards it by means of a spring arrangement 1 10a transversely to the direction of rotation of the roller circulation 32a and in which an endless roller circulation 1 32a of spreading rollers 1 06a arranged loosely one behind the other is accommodated. As with the tensioning unit 100 in FIG. 4, the tensioning rollers 106a in the tensioning unit 100a in FIG. 5 are each pressed radially between two adjacent push rollers 34a and spread them apart. nander, so that a free space 1 1 2a is created between the two relevant thrust rollers 34a and the thrust rollers 34a emerging from the tensioning unit 100a run gently into the propulsion unit 80a with slight pre-tensioning. The spreading rollers 106a automatically move with them in the course of the orbital movement of the push rollers 34a, that is to say they are driven by the push rollers 34a. In doing so, they roll on the running surfaces of the two thrust rollers 34a that are spread apart, which means that in the area where the thrust rollers 34a are spread by the tensioning unit 100a, the thrust rollers 34a have the same sense of rotation as in FIG. 5 show the arrows shown on the push rollers 34a.

Depending on how deep the spreading rollers 106a are pressed between adjacent pushing rollers 34a, the length of the circumferential path of the spreading rollers 106a in the sliding part 1 30a can change. In order to compensate for such changes in length of the circumferential path of the spreading rollers 106a, in the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 5, an outer deflection path 1 34a arranged in an arc region of the spreading roller circulation 1 32a for the spreading rollers 106a is formed on a further sliding part 136a, which in relation to the sliding part 1 30a in the circumferential direction the push rollers 34a is displaceable and is biased by a spring arrangement 1 38 to the spreading roller circulation 1 32a. An advantage of the variant in FIG. 5 is that a plurality, here two, of spreading rollers 106a can be in spreading engagement with a pair of adjacent pushing rollers 34a at the same time, so that at the same time several gaps 1 1 2a can be created between the pushing rollers 34a and thus greater linear expansion compensation is possible during operation.

The propulsion unit and the tensioning unit can both in the variant of FIG. 4 and in the variant of FIG. 5 in a common

Housing can be housed, which can be made of aluminum in a casting process, for example. It goes without saying that the propulsion unit and the tensioning unit can also be manufactured as structurally separate module components.

It is to be added to FIG. 1 that the free end faces of the driving pins 48a can taper conically, so that a conical deflecting surface 1 40 is formed, on which the driving roller 44 of the drive 10 facing the roller circulation 32 can slide before these driving rollers 44 and the driver pin 48 may jam each other. In this way, it can be ensured that the engagement of the driving roller 44 with the driving pin 48 is produced without problems.

6 shows a hollow profile strip 142 which, viewed in a section orthogonal to its strip longitudinal direction, has an approximately rectangular outline. The profile bar 142 serves to receive the rollers 1 6 of the drive 10 of a conveying means, here a single bracket support 58. In its lower rectangular side in the installed position, it has an opening 1 44 which is continuous in the longitudinal direction of the strip and through which the drive 1 0 with its basic drive body 1 2 protrudes below. On both sides of this opening 144, the two raceways 22 for the rollers 1 6 of the drive 1 0 are formed on the inner surface of the lower rectangular side of the profile bar 1 42. The profile bar 142 absorbs vertical forces that act on the drive 10. At the same time, it serves with its side walls and its upper cover wall for the protected accommodation of the rollers 1 6. Again, the profile strip can be bent horizontally as well as vertically to allow the conveyor system to move freely, as is shown by way of example in FIG. 6. Similar to the profile housing 114, the profile strip 142 can also be composed of a plurality of strip parts arranged one behind the other, between which at least one compensation gap, not shown here, can be formed to compensate for thermally induced changes in length. The profile strip 142 can be fastened to a support frame 148 by means of connecting claws 146 or other fastening elements, which is constructed from interconnected hollow profile strips 150. The support structure 148 absorbs the vertical forces of the conveyor system. Due to the central dependency of the funds, there are hardly any lateral forces on the individual profile strips 1 50 of the supporting structure 148.

In FIG. 6 it can also be seen that the profile housing 114 receiving the thrust rollers 34 can be mounted on the profile strip 142 by means of cooperating retaining grooves 152 and retaining ribs 54. This can be done either on each side of the opening 144 of the profile bar 142, so that the conveying means can be driven either from the "right" or from the "left" side. For this purpose, each drive 10 has the two symmetrically arranged driver rollers 44. In particular, it is conceivable to drive the conveying means simultaneously by means of two roller revolutions 32 by attaching two profile housings 114 on both sides of the opening 114. This two-sided drive of the conveying means can be limited to a transition area if the drive is to be changed from one roller circulation 32 to another. However, it is also possible to drive the conveying means on both sides over a longer distance, for example if a slope is to be overcome.

7 shows the build-up of a plurality of conveying means running one behind the other, here single-bracket supports 58. A separator 1 56 is used to store the single-bracket supports 58, which is pushed into the path of the drives 10 of the single-bracket supports 58 through an opening (not shown in detail) in one of the side walls of the profile bar 142 can be. The separator 1 56 can be formed in a simple manner, for example by a sliding block. It has an oblique button 1 58 on its underside, with which the actuating surface 52 of the shift lever 26 of a drive 10 comes into engagement when it approaches the separator 1 56. The slope the button 1 58 causes the shift lever 26 to be transferred from its engaged to the disengaged position and the drive 10 in question is thus decoupled from the roller circulation 32 in terms of drive. The drives 10 of the subsequent single bracket supports 58 jam each other by the switch lever 26 of a rear drive running onto the button 54 of a front drive, as has already been explained in connection with FIG. 1. The separator 1 56 can be switched manually. In an automated conveyor system, however, it can also be switchable by means of an electric motor drive, for example.

In the case of comparatively steep incline sections, it may be the case that one roller circuit 32 or even two roller circuits 32 connected in parallel cannot apply sufficient driving force to drive the conveying means up the incline section. In this case, a chain drive, as shown in FIG. 8, can be used instead of the roller drive. The drive device 30 of the conveyor path system has a drive chain 1 60 driven by means of a drive motor (not shown) for circulation in a closed loop, on which stop driver elements 1 62 are arranged at regular intervals. The stop driver elements 1 62 can run inside the profile bar 142 or below it. Spring means (not shown in detail) enable the stop driver elements 1 62 to deflect from their rest position shown in FIG. 8 against the restoring force of said spring means in the chain circulation direction to the front and to the rear, as indicated by arrows 1 64, 1 66. The deflection of the stop driver elements 1 62 can be linear, but it can also be a swivel deflection. The fact that the stop driver elements 162 can be deflected has the advantage that the trolley runners 68 can run through the arc sections occurring at the beginning and at the end of an incline without tension because changes in the distance between the two drives 10 of a trolley runners 68 occur can be compensated by deflecting the stop driver elements 1 62.

The individual modules of the conveyor system described so far with reference to the figures can be designed as module components. Due to the center dependency of the funding and the possibility of the drive device 30 attacking the drives 10 on both sides, different combinations of the module modules with one another and thus a large number of module arrangement variants can be realized. Figures 9 to 18 show some such module arrangement variants. The thick double lines represent conveyor lines of the conveyor system, while the thin double lines each represent a roller conveyor 32. In particular, the possibility of overlapping two roller revolutions can be seen, for example in FIG. 9.

The conveyor system described so far with reference to the figures enables considerable cost savings compared to previous conveyor systems. It can be assembled in a modular arrangement. Module elements can be designed, for example, as a gyroscope or as a branch line. The possibility of realizing a branch line allows a considerable reduction in the space requirement of the entire conveyor system compared to previous conveyor systems with other drive concepts. It has been shown that the conveyor system also allows shorter assembly times.

The conveyor system can be operated manually, partially automated or fully automated. Since the same type of funding can be used both in a manually and in an automated conveyor system, depending on the application, it may not be necessary to transfer the transported goods from one type of funding to another. In addition, it is easily possible to convert a conveyor system initially designed for manual operation to partially or fully automatic operation at any time, even at a later point in time. It has been shown that the conveyor system allows transport speeds of around 0.7 m / s without further notice. Mixed driving with different types of funding, for example with single bracket supports and trolley runners, is possible.

The form-fitting roller drive and the relatively simple structure of the conveyor system ensure a very high level of functionality and functional reliability. The rollers of the roller drive can be mass-produced using the plastic injection molding process and are therefore significantly less expensive than other known power transmission means, e.g. Roller chains, timing belts u. The like. No special guide elements for the push rollers are necessary since the push rollers can run directly in a profile housing. No complex deflection and tensioning stations are required for either a gyro or a branch line arrangement. If a roller tensioning device is used, it can be arranged very inexpensively close to or even together with the jacking unit.

The conveyor system is very low-maintenance. The push rollers do not require lubrication. For this reason, the conveyor system is extremely insensitive to moisture, dirt and dust, because there is essentially no oil or fat that could bind free dirt or dust. The push rollers essentially only produce a rolling resistance, which is why a high wear resistance and a relatively high efficiency of the roller drive is achieved.

Through the use of hollow profile strips, the drives of the conveying means can be guided precisely without executing pendulum movements or running the risk of falling sideways from the tracks. The load to be transported is transferred symmetrically to the drives so that no lateral moment acts on the drives. Due to the fact that the drives are equipped with two pairs of rollers, there is one better load distribution on the raceways, which ultimately enables higher loads.

When driving, the funds can always run at a constant distance from each other. This makes it possible to reliably read bar codes which can be attached to the conveying means for their identification, with the result that the sensor system reading the bar codes always delivers a clean signal and the separator can reliably intervene on the conveying means.

Claims

Expectations

1 . Conveying device, in particular overhead conveyor device, for transporting conveyed goods on conveying means (58, 68) which can be driven along a conveyor path system by means of a drive device (30), characterized in that the drive device (30) has at least one thrust element circulation (32) with a plurality of endlessly in succession encircling, by means of at least one propulsion unit (80) in the circumferential direction of one to the next thrust-transmitting thrust elements (34), with which the conveying means (58, 68) can be brought to their drive along at least part of the conveyor system in releasable entrainment connection.

2. Conveyor device according to claim 1, characterized in that the thrust elements (34) are not connected.

3. Conveyor device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the thrust elements (34) are formed by rolling elements which are guided on a guideway arrangement (36) so as to be movable in the circumferential direction.

4. Conveyor device according to claim 3, characterized in that the rolling bodies (34) are designed as rollers.

5. Conveyor device according to claim 4, characterized in that the rollers (34) have a cylindrical tread.

6. Conveyor device according to claim 4, characterized in that the rollers have a convexly curved tread.

7. Conveying device according to one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the guideway arrangement (36) has two mutually opposite, mutually parallel guideways, the distance from one another is greater than the roller diameter of the rollers (34), and that the rollers (34 ) rolling against each other in opposite directions between these guideways (36) and rolling alternately on each of the guideways (36).

8. Conveying device according to claim 7, characterized in that the rollers (34) all have the same roller diameter.

9. Conveyor device according to claim 7, characterized in that the rollers alternately have a larger and a smaller roller diameter.

1 0. Conveyor device according to one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the two guide tracks (36) are formed on the mutually facing inner surfaces of two mutually opposite housing walls of a profile housing (1 14) receiving the rollers (34), the driving connection of the Conveying means (58, 68) with the rollers (34) can be produced through a longitudinal opening (1 1 2) of the profile housing (1 14) which is continuous in the longitudinal direction of the profile.

1 1. Conveying device according to one of claims 4 to 1 0, characterized in that an incoming row of rollers (92) and a return row of rollers (94) of the push elements Circulation (32) at least over part of its length with axial end faces of the rollers (34) facing each other.

1 2. Conveyor device according to one of claims 4 to 10, characterized in that a running row of rollers and a returning row of rollers of the thrust element circulation run past each other at least over part of their length with facing running surfaces of the rollers.

1 3. Conveyor device according to one of claims 4 to 1 2, characterized in that the rollers (34) are made of plastic, in particular by injection molding.

14. Conveyor device according to one of claims 4 to 1 3, characterized in that the rollers (34) with their roller axes (56) run approximately parallel to a horizontal plane.

1 5. Conveyor device according to one of claims 4 to 1 3, characterized in that the rollers run with their roller axes approximately parallel to a vertical plane.

1 6. Conveying device according to one of claims 1 to 1 5, characterized in that the propulsion unit (80) comprises an arrangement of a plurality of drive elements (86) which are driven in rotation one behind the other along a closed circulation path and which exert thrust on each part of their circulation path a thrust element (34) act.

1 7. Conveyor device according to claim 1 6, characterized in that two or more of the drive elements (86) act simultaneously on a thrust element (34).

1 8. Conveying device according to claim 1 6 or 1 7, characterized in that the propulsion unit (80a) comprises a flexible traction means (1 28a) driven to circulate in an endless loop, on which the drive elements (86a) are arranged evenly distributed in the circumferential direction ,

1 9. Conveyor device according to claim 1 6 or 1 7, characterized in that the propulsion unit (80) comprises a drive plate (84) driven for rotation about its plate axis (96), on which the drive elements (86) are arranged evenly distributed in the plate circumferential direction ,

20. Conveyor device according to one of claims 1 6 to 1 9 in connection with the characterizing part of claim 4, characterized in that the drive elements (86) are designed as drive rollers rotatably held about their respective roller axis (88), each in a thrust-exerting rolling engagement can be brought with an outer circumferential surface of a roller (34) of the thrust element circulation (32).

21. Conveying device according to one of claims 1 to 20, characterized in that the drive device (30) has at least one clamping unit (100) with an arrangement of a plurality of spreading elements which can be moved one behind the other along a closed circulation path and can be carried by the thrust elements (34) for movement along this circulation path ( 106), which can be pressed on part of their circumferential path by spring force transversely to the circumferential direction of the thrust elements (34) between two successive thrust elements (34) while exerting a spreading effect on these thrust elements (34).

22. Conveyor device according to claim 21, characterized in that the tensioning unit (1 00) is connected upstream in the direction of rotation of the thrust elements (34) of the propulsion unit (80).

23. Conveyor device according to claim 21 or 22 in conjunction with the characterizing part of claim 4, characterized in that the spreading elements (106) are designed as spreading rollers which can be rotated about their respective roller axis (108) and each in rolling engagement with outer peripheral surfaces of the two of them Spreading rollers (34) of the thrust element circulation (32) can be brought apart.

24. Conveying device according to one of claims 4 to 23, characterized in that at least one conveying means (58, 68) at least one driving roller rotatable about its roller axis (46)

(44), which can be brought into thrust-transmitting rolling engagement with its outer circumferential surface of a roller (34) of the thrust element circulation (32) with its circumferential roller surface for establishing the driving connection between the conveying means (58, 68) and the thrust element circulation (32).

25. Conveying device according to claim 24, characterized in that the roller diameter of the driving roller (44) is smaller, preferably substantially smaller than the roller diameter of the roller (34).

26. Conveyor device according to claim 24 or 25, characterized in that when the rolling engagement between the driving roller (44) and the roller (34) is established, the roller axis (46) of the driving roller (44) and the roller axis (56) of the roller (34) transversely to the direction of rotation are offset from one another.

27. Conveying device according to one of claims 24 to 26, characterized in that the roller (34) carries at least one axially protruding from this, central driver pin (48), with the pin peripheral surface of the driver roller (44) can be brought into rolling engagement.

28. Conveyor device according to one of claims 24 to 26, characterized in that the driving roller can be brought into rolling engagement with a running surface of the running roller, with which the running roller is guided on the guideway arrangement.

29. Conveying device according to one of claims 24 to 28, characterized in that a free axial end face of the driving roller and / or the driving pin (48) is designed with a conically tapering deflecting surface (140).

30. Conveying device according to one of claims 24 to 29, characterized in that the driving roller (44) is arranged on an actuating member (26) which on the conveyor (58, 68) between an Eirrgriffsposition in which the driving roller

(44) is in a thrust-transmitting unrolling engagement with a roller (34) of the thrust element circulation (32), and is adjustable in a disengaged position in which the driving roller (44) is released from the thrust-transmitting engagement.

31 Conveying device according to claim 30, characterized in that the actuating member (26) is biased into its engagement position by spring force.

32. Conveying device according to claim 31, characterized in that the actuating member (26) has an actuating surface (52) which by approaching the conveyor can be brought into engagement with a button (54) arranged on this front conveying means (58, 68) by means of (58, 68) on a similar further conveying means (58, 68) leading in the conveying direction, this engagement of the actuating surface (52) of the Actuating member (26) with the button (54) of the front conveying means (58, 68) brings about the transfer of the actuating member (26) from its engaged position to the disengaged position.

33. Conveying device according to claim 32, characterized in that the actuating member (26) is designed as an actuating lever which can be tilted about a tilting axis (28) and which carries the driving roller (44) in the region of one of its lever ends and the actuating surface (52 ) having.

34. Conveyor device according to one of claims 1 to 33, characterized in that the drive device (30) comprises a plurality of thrust element circulations (32) for driving the conveying means (58, 68) along each part of the conveyor path system, and that the thrust element circulations (32) adjoin one another Parts of the

Conveyor path system overlap in a transition area.

35. Conveyor device according to one of claims 1 to 34, characterized in that at least one conveyor section, in particular an incline section, of the conveyor path system is assigned two thrust element circulations (32) which run on both sides of this conveyor section and which together drive the conveying means (58, 68) along the serve relevant conveyor line.

36. Conveying device according to one of claims 1 to 35, characterized in that at least one conveying section, in particular an ascending section, of the conveying path system At least one flexible drive traction means (1 60) driven to circulate in an endless loop is assigned, with which the conveying means (58, 68) can be brought into releasable entrainment connection for their drive along the relevant conveying path.

37. Conveying device according to claim 36 or according to the preamble of claim 1 in conjunction with the characterizing part of claim 36, wherein stop driver elements (1 62) for the conveying means (58, 68) are attached to the drive pulling means (1 60) at regular intervals, characterized in that the stop driver elements (1 62) can be deflected from a normal position in the direction of rotation of the drive traction means (1 60) towards the front and towards the back against spring restoring force.

38. Conveyor device according to claim 36 or 37, characterized in that the drive traction means (1 60) is formed by a chain.

39. Conveyor device, in particular according to one of claims 1 to 38, for transporting conveyed material on conveying means (58, 68), each conveying means (58, 68) having at least one roller drive (10) with a basic drive body (1 2) and an arrangement rotatable comprises rollers (1 6) held on the drive body (1 2), with which the conveying means (58, 68) can be supported hanging on a track arrangement (20) and can be moved along this track arrangement (20) in a rolling manner, the roller arrangement of the roller drive (10 ) comprises at least one pair of rollers (16) which are arranged symmetrically to a vertical longitudinal center plane of the roller drive (10) and which each roll on one track (22) of the track arrangement (20), characterized in that the roller arrangement (1 6) of the roller drive (10) comprises two pairs of rollers (1 6) arranged one behind the other in the direction of travel, the rollers (1 6) of which are arranged one behind the other on one of the two tracks (22) Unroll the track arrangement (20).

40. Conveyor device according to claim 39, characterized in that the two raceways (22) are oriented substantially horizontally when viewed in a section orthogonal to the direction of travel.

41. Conveyor device according to claim 40, characterized in that between the two raceways (22), viewed in a section orthogonal to the direction of travel, a free space (24) is formed through which the roller drive (1 0) with its

Drive base body (1 2) reaches downwards.

42. Conveying device according to claim 41, characterized in that the two raceways (22) are formed on the inner surface of a hollow profile strip (142) which, on its profile side lying in the installed position, has a longitudinal opening (1 44) which is continuous in the longitudinal direction of the profile and forms the free space (24) ) for the passage of the drive body (1 2).

43. Conveying device according to claim 42, characterized in that the hollow profile strip (1 42) has an approximately rectangular outline when viewed in a cross section orthogonal to the profile longitudinal direction and that the longitudinal opening (144) is formed approximately centrally in a lower rectangular side of the hollow profile strip.

44. Set for providing a conveying means (58, 68) for transporting conveyed goods suspended on hanging carriers (62) in a conveying device, in particular according to one of claims 1 to 43, the conveying means (58, 68) hanging at least on a track arrangement ( 20) of the conveying device which can be supported and can be moved along this track arrangement (20) with roller movement (10) and a hook receiving unit (60, 70) connected to the roller drive (10), on which at least one of the hanging supports (62) has an upper support hook (64 ) can be hooked in, characterized in that the set of hook receiving units (60, 70) comprises at least two different types, that the roller drive (1 0) and the hook receiving units (60, 70) are designed as separately prefabricated units and that Roller drive optionally any type of hook receiving unit (60, 70) can be attached.

45. Set according to claim 44, characterized in that the different types of hook receiving units (60, 70) are designed for hanging only a single hanging bracket (62) and determined single hook receiving unit (60) and for hanging a plurality of hanging brackets (62 ) trained and determined multi-hook receiving unit (70).