A conveyable-article carrier for transporting conveyable articles along a conveying section in a conveying apparatus has running rails for guiding conveyable-article carriers and also has a drive belt guided along the running rails, and carries along the conveyable-article carriers along the conveying section. Each conveyable-article carrier has a carrier body and a coupling element located on the carrier body and is brought into drive connection with the drive belt. The conveyable-article carriers can also be accumulated in at least one build-up region of the conveying apparatus, as the drive belt continues running, and each have a separating device which can be activated under the action of the build-up pressure and for temporarily releasing the drive connection. The coupling element is designed as a part of the separating device which can be moved relative to the carrier body between a drive position, for coupling to the drive belt, and a neutral position, for disengaging from the drive belt.

A conveyor device for conveying suspended items inside a factory includes a conveyor capable of traveling on at least one runner on a track. The conveyor device includes a drive element for the conveyor. A drive catch arranged on the conveyor is adapted to be moved to a position of engagement with the drive element for entraining the conveyor. In order to modify this conveyor device in a structurally simple way so as to create greater scope for conveying tasks, in particular in automated operation, a separator device should be provided for effecting controlled movement of the drive catch from its position of engagement with the drive element at a predetermined point in the track.

A power and free conveyor system comprising a power track, a power conveyor movable along the track, the conveyor having a plurality of depending pusher dogs thereon, a free track extending along the power track, and a plurality of carriers movable along the free track. Each carrier has at least one trolley with a pusher normally in the path of the depending pusher and holdback dogs. Each pusher and holdback dog is deflectable laterally into and out of the path of the pushers on the trolleys. A combined cam and stop member is provided with means for moving the cam and stop into the path of the pusher on the carrier. The cam and stop member includes a cam portion operable to depress the pusher dog and a cam portion operable to deflect the depending pusher and holdback dogs out of the normal path of the pusher. Stops are provided in advance of and to the rear of the carrier and are operable to maintain the carrier in stopped position.

A shock absorbing apparatus that absorbs a shock produced by an abutment of a traveler on a stop member when the traveler is brought to a stop at a predetermined position includes a leaf spring arranged adjacent the stop member in a substantially face-to-face relationship with a guideway. A free end of the leaf spring abuts slightly with the guideway or with a slight clearance from the guideway. A mid portion of the leaf spring is curved gradually from the guideway. The traveler is provided with a contact portion that passes over the free end of the leaf spring to contact with the curved mid portion before the traveler abuts with the stop member at the predetermined position.

An apparatus and method for reducing the noise generated by colliding conveyor carriers is disclosed which comprises urethane bumpers and a method of attaching same to portions of the carriers that do not make contact with other carriers when the carriers are accumulated. The bumpers extend from the carriers a sufficient distance to contact a similar bumper on an adjacent carrier when one carrier rolls up against another. The bumpers do not prevent the normally contacting portions of the carriers from coming into contact, but merely absorb a portion of the kinetic energy of the moving carrier to reduce the noise generated when the contacting portions of the trolleys do meet, and the presence of these bumpers does not adversely affect the spacing of the carriers in the accumulation line.