CPC B65G 47/24 (2013.01) [B65G 47/31 (2013.01); B65C 9/04 (2013.01); B65G 54/02 (2013.01); B65G 2203/0225 (2013.01)] | 18 Claims |
1. A conveying system comprising:
a track,
a plurality of carriages to be conveyed on the track, each carriage comprising: a main body which is held along the track; and a receptacle rotatably supported by the main body and configured for receiving a product, and
a receptacle-rotating member which is configured to advance, at a defined advancing speed, along a region provided at at least a portion of the track and to control a rotational orientation of the receptacle of each carriage, wherein
each carriage can be in engagement, via its receptacle, with the receptacle-rotating member, wherein said engagement is conditional on the respective carriage being in the region, and
the rotational orientation of the receptacle of each carriage relative to the carriage's main body is dependent on a relationship between said carriage's conveyance speed in the region and the advancing speed, wherein
the conveying system is configured to control the rotational orientation of the receptacle of each carriage relative to the carriage's main body by controlling each carriage's conveyance speed in the region independently of the conveyance speeds of the other carriages, wherein
at least one carriage has a restricting mechanism configured to restrict rotation of the receptacle relative to the main body in dependence on a position or positions of the carriage on the track, and preferably
the restricting mechanism is released at least when said carriage is in the region.
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