Endless conveyor with locally varying speeds

Claim 1

An endless conveyor with locally varying speeds comprising: a linear endless assembly with a leading working side receiving the bodies to be transported, said assembly being composed of a succession of conveying elements, of variable spacings guided along a loop path; expanding-contracting means for varying the spacing of adjacent conveying elements over at least one controlled section of the path of the said linear assembly; and driving means for running the said linear assembly, wherein the said expanding-contracting means are distinct from the said endless linear assembly, and comprise at least a control device in a fixed position and formed by a succession of gripping elements guided over a loop path, of which a coincidence section coincides with the said controlled section of the path followed by the elements of the said linear assembly, each gripping element being capable of gripping a conveying element at the upstream end of said coincidence section, and of releasing this conveying element at the downstream end of said coincidence section; each gripping element, being connected to one of the adjacent preceding gripping elements, by a connecting device controlling, in accordance with a pre-established program, the spacing between these two gripping elements as a function of the position of the said first-mentioned gripping element along said coincidence section, so that the said spacing decreases progressively in a first zone of the coincidence section and increases progressively in a second zone of the said section, situated downstream of the first zone.