A floor transport system with a rail guided floor transport vehicle and a guide rail system is recessed in the floor or ground plane and has a slotted track channel for guiding the vehicle along a travel path and at least two current conductors. At least two running wheels and at least one drive wheel as well as guide elements sliding in the track channel and current collector shoes are secured to the frame of the vehicle and operatively connected to at least one drive unit which is secured to the vehicle frame and includes the drive wheel. The front guide elements and preferably also the current collector shoes are combined in particular subassemblies which can rotate about respective vertical axes, wherein at least one of the subassemblies is mechanically and electrically linked to a respective drive unit for steering the vehicle.

An accumulator mechanism for stopping a carrier on an inverted power and free conveyor system when it approaches a stopped preceding carrier. A pivot arm on a leading trolley for each carrier has a retractable trolley dog which is normally driven by a chain dog projecting from a drive chain. The accumulator mechanism includes an actuator lever which is pivoted to mounting plates and carriers a cam roller that acts in a cam slot formed in a pivot plate. When the actuating lever is pivoted due to contacting a preceding carrier, the cam roller acts within the contour of the slot to pivotally displace the pivot plate. The pivot plate then pulls a lift link upwardly to pull on the pivot arm and retract the trolley dog from the chain dog. The slot is arranged to effect lost motion of the cam roller in the slot to accommodate over travel.

Conveyor assemblies adapted for use in painting booths, embodying conveyor units having upper and lower frames spaced apart by post portions aligned in the direction of travel. A dust cover encloses the drive mechanism and has a top wall between the upper and lower frames. A slot is provided to permit passage of the aligned post portions, and the slot is covered by a resilient flexible flap which can be displaced by the post portions as they travel through the slot. The drive mechanism includes alternative drive chains, one of which has a pusher for effecting advance of the units, the other of which has a bifurcated coupling which may effect both advance and retraction of the units along their path of travel. The lower frame has swivelable wheels which may ride in the elevated wheel-guide tracks in the painting booth to provide stabilization of the frame against lateral sway.

A storage conveyor for a hybrid carrying truck is disclosed wherein construction of a carrying line at a site can be achieved simply and at a low cost without precise construction and smooth carrying and easy transfer between adjacent carrying apparatus of different types from each other can be achieved. The storage conveyor for a hybrid carrying truck carries a hybrid carrying truck which includes a pair of left and right skid members and two pairs of traveling wheels disposed at front and rear positions on the left and right sides thereof, and includes a plurality of conveyor units connected to each other in a carrying direction. Each conveyor unit includes a pair of rails for contacting with the traveling wheels of the hybrid carrying truck, a standard-length connection beam member for connecting the pair of rails to each other in a spaced relationship by a predetermined distance from each other, and a drive roller apparatus securely mounted on the standard-length connection beam member for contacting with one or both of the skid members to transmit propelling force to the hybrid carrying truck.

An automatic stabilizing unit for a free trolley and a load carriage in an inverted power and free conveyor system is connected to the free trolley. The stabilizing unit includes a stabilizer actuator which extends above a free track containing the free trolley from beneath the floor of a building which houses the conveyor, and a stabilizing gear mounted on the load carriage. At locations in an assembly plant, such as robotic welders or riveting stations where load shifting tolerances are critical, there must be additional stabilization of the load carriage. At these locations, stabilizing rails are positioned on top of the free track in line with stabilizing trucks on the stabilizing actuator. When the stabilizing trucks contact the rails, the trucks are urged upward, pushing an attached piston upward against a spring which causes a pair of stabilizing wheels on the stabilizing gear to rotate downward into contact with the factory floor, thus stabilizing the carriage only when needed.