HK1170463B - Conveying apparatus and support device - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to the field of conveyor technology and relates to a conveyor and a support device for a conveyor according to the general concept of the corresponding independent claims.

The Technical Standards

Conveyor belts are known to be used to transport bulk cargoes, such as goods, people or animals, or as bulk cargoes in conveyor facilities with flat-drawn conveyors. Such conveyors are either conveyor belts or have chained, typically rigid, elements that are moveable relative to each other to travel curves. The elements form a essentially flat surface on which the conveyor is carried. These chained conveyors are known as mat chains, chain belts, plate belt chains (flex belts, chain belts, carrier chains).

Depending on the type of conveyor, they are stored differently: mat chains are flat supported and slide on slide rails or slide surfaces. This leads, depending on the load from the conveyor, to high friction forces and corresponding drive forces for the movement of the mat chain, as well as to wear. Other embodiments of mat chains have, as part of the mat chain itself, co-chained rollers that roll on a surface. Conveyor belts, on the other hand, usually roll on fixed, i.e. locally rotatable rollers.

FR 2 309 433 also describes a conveyor system for conveying bulk goods. The conveyor system contains a chain conveyor made of movable chain links, which is driven and on which goods are transported. The chain conveyor is supported by a support device. The support device consists of circular rollers connected to each other by chains arranged sideways on the rollers. The rollers are held on the side chains by axle shafts that can be rotated.

DE 26 124 68 describes a conveyor belt supported by a roller chain. The roller chain consists of two parallel running roller chains, which together carry transverse cylindrical cross-rods. The roller chains contain rolls which are rotatably stored on sliding bearings, over which the roller rolls.

The device contains a conveyor belt which is securely fixed between the sledge and the roller belt.

WO 2005/113391 reveals a rolling stock (Figure 31) as defined in the general concept of claim 15.

All known devices have the disadvantage of being complex in construction and of being made up of many individual parts, which makes them expensive to manufacture and maintain. Many devices also have mechanical bearings with waves, rolling bearings, etc., which makes the device susceptible to failure and wear.

The following shall be considered as a single product:

The object of the invention is to create a conveyor system of the type described at the outset, which has a high load capacity, especially in the vertical direction, and at the same time a light, i.e. low friction, stroke. Another object is to reduce the tensile force for the propulsion of the conveyors. Another object of the invention is to make such a conveyor system possible in a lightweight design, i.e. with simple, uncomplicated and unprecised parts made of low-cost and light materials. Another object of the invention is to create a support device which, with simple means, allows the support of conceived flying and high-loading conveyors in such a conveyor system, and also prevents the imposition of a load by means of a means of prevention.

This task is solved by a conveyor, a support device and a rolling stock with the characteristics of the corresponding independent claims.

The conveyor may be used for the transport of bulk or piece goods, such as stationary goods or self-moving goods, in particular persons or other living things, such as animals. The term "commodity" therefore covers both goods and living things, such as persons, animals and plants. The conveyor may, for example, be a conveyor belt for the transport of stationary or self-moving goods, in particular animals or persons with and without luggage, as they are met at airports. The conveyor belts may run in the plane or slightly inclined. Conveyor belts for the transport of persons for the purpose of overcoming long distances may also be called riding or roller chains. The conveyor belt may be a belt or a mat or a roller-like means of transport, especially with a super-high inclination, also used in mountains.

Err1:Expecting ',' delimiter: line 1 column 1014 (char 1013)

The conveyor system consists of a moving, flat-bed conveyor to convey bulk or bulk materials, such as goods or living creatures, such as persons or animals, in front of the conveyor, and one or more supporting devices, each containing a roller body with a number of rollers, placed under the conveyor. The roller body rolls on one side with the rollers along a non-circular track on the supporting body and supports the conveyor on the other side in a supporting area by rolling the rollers on the conveyor itself or on a band running along the conveyor (considered to be part of the conveyor). The rollers are connected to a flexible connector and are connected to each other in a central direction. The supporting body contains a central supporting structure, which is located on each side of the conveyor, and a belt running along the two sides of the conveyor.

The conveyor is preferably a mat chain (respective hinge chain, plate chain, etc.) or a conveyor belt. The bearings or support points of the rollers, through which the rollers are connected and guided with the connecting body, do not absorb forces to support the conveyor and the conveyor belt. This makes it possible to support the conveyor with very low losses of friction. The connecting body is used to support and distance the rollers in the unloaded areas of the orbit around the support bodies or along the support body.

The rolls are preferably arranged in a circular manner around the support, in particular in a closed loop, also called an orbit, in which the rolls are arranged in a circular manner. In other embodiments of the invention, there is no closed loop, but, for example, a straight track. A support area in which the conveyor rolls off the roll body is preferably flat, i.e. not curved. The support area can be horizontal or oblique, i.e. to carry the conveyor up or down.

In preferred embodiments, a support area is only present at individual points along the conveyor, preferably at points with increased load, such as places where the conveyor is stowed.

The material is then placed on a flat surface of essentially any length and supported by a rolling stock and supporting body of the same length, which preferably extends essentially over the entire width of the conveyor, i.e. over more than 3/4 or 4/5 of the width, which makes it possible to support the conveyor at most points (as seen in the cross section) and to construct it relatively easily.

In another embodiment of the invention, several roller bearings are used to support the conveyor jointly. The multiple roller bearings are separate (except for coupling via the conveyor) and separate. Each has its own support body or one or more common support bodies for several or all of the roller bearings. The roller bearings are arranged in a conveyor direction, one behind the other and/or side by side, to support the conveyor. The support devices may be directly adjacent to each other and/or proportionally behind and/or side by side. The support devices may be arranged in parallel or in parallel rows. All the different support devices may be arranged in parallel or in parallel rows. When these support devices are arranged in parallel or in parallel rows, they may be arranged in such a way that they are in direct or indirect directions that the conveyor can be moved in the opposite direction from one to the other. When these support devices are arranged in parallel or in parallel rows, they can be arranged in such a way that they can be moved in opposite directions from one to the other.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the roller body has a band which covers and encloses the rollers so that the conveyor rolls over the band onto the rollers. The conveyor rolls on the band lying on the rollers. This is particularly useful in combination with a mat chain: unlike a conveyor belt, a mat chain has openings which allow its mobility but also allow a drop of dirt into the roller body.

In another embodiment of the invention, the conveyor is in a curve around a curved axis that is essentially perpendicular to the surface of the conveyor. The conveyor is supported in the area of the curve by at least one roller body with a connecting body, with the connecting body being adjustable around the curve axis. The conveyor rolls off in the area of the curve on the section of the body that also runs around the curve. A circuit around the roller body that runs around the support body is therefore curved around the roller axes that run perpendicular to the axes of the rollers. In other words, the track runs from the plane that normally runs to the roller axes at a certain point.

In another embodiment of the invention, the conveyor has a transverse section of a kind of tub, with a horizontal floor area and two lateral sloping side areas adjacent to the floor area. The conveyor is supported on the side areas by additional rolls according to the invention. This allows a low friction support to be formed for a conveyor system for bulk cargo. For example, the conveyor is a conveyor belt. Preferably, the side areas are each angled at an angle between 30° and 60° with respect to the floor area.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one guide element with a roller body is placed above the conveyor to guide and divert the conveyor sideways. This guide element allows for low friction conveyor diversion. Such a guide element can also be used on differently supported conveyors, such as conventional conveyor belts or mat chains, regardless of the other aspects of the invention. Preferably, the guide element's roller body has a circular belt to protect the conveyor body from damage or contamination.

In another embodiment of the invention, the roller bodies do not form a closed loop. This also allows the conveyor to be trained to perform back and forth movements. For example, a flat roller body can be placed on a flat support that serves as a support, thus forming a movable rolling mat for a flat plate that serves as a conveyor. Of course, it must be taken into account that when rolling the plate of the rolling mat moves only about half the distance. Thus, for a linear movement, a maximum of a certain distance must be the length of the rolling mat and the conveyor device must be adjusted accordingly.

The roller body can be a plane-shaped assembly of rollers held in a plane-shaped connecting body, which are arranged side by side and behind each other. The rollers can be displaced or each coaxially arranged in rows next to each other. Furthermore, the rollers can be displaced or equally arranged in columns behind each other. Any combination of arrangements of the rollers side by side and behind each other is conceivable.

In accordance with a particular embodiment of the invention, the support device for a conveyor system has the rollers in the roller body or in the connecting body arranged in a number of successive rows with several coaxially arranged rollers per row. This allows a supportive movable storage of a wide conveyor. This arrangement of the rollers may also be called a movable rolling mat. It may also be used independently of a conveyor system as described above to allow a large-scale rolling of objects on top of each other.

The rolls in a row are preferably positioned in an axial direction opposite to the rolls in a previous or subsequent row (the axis is the same as the geometric axis around which the coaxial rolls are rotating). This allows for a particularly uniform support.

Preferably, the rolls in the rolling stock are arranged in at least two parallel columns, which may be arranged in rows opposite each other.

The roller body has a flexible and flat connecting body. The surface normals of the flat connecting body are conveniently perpendicular to the respective axes of rotation of the rollers. The rollers are inserted into the openings of the connecting body. Preferably, the connecting body is made of a flexible, preferably also elastic flat material, in particular by cutting (i.e. punching, waterjet cutting, laser cutting, etc.).

The flat material may be or contain a textile surface, such as a fabric. The flat material may also be or contain a composite of textile surface, thin sheets and/or films. Preferably the surface is a plastic-tissue composite. The flat material is, for example, a plastic-soaked fabric with one or more layers, or a thin plate or film of plastic. The connecting body can also be formed in a batch process or a continuous process with the openings.

The above-mentioned support points on the connecting body together with the corresponding reception points on the rolls form a functional unit with a bearing-like function. In this case, material projections on the connecting body extend into front-side, groove-shaped recesses or recesses on the rolls, the recesses being conveniently centred axially. Such a support is similar in function to a tip or grain, whereby the material projections on the connecting body would correspond to the bearing pinches and the front-side recesses on the rolls to the bearing surfaces.

According to a special design of the invention, the protrusions, which serve as bearings, guides and support points for the rollers, are cut or formed from the flat material of the connecting body and therefore have the same thickness as the rest of the parts of the connecting body. This means, for example, that rounded spools of the rollers are stored or held on non-rounded protrusions. This creates several quasi-point-shaped contact points between the rollers and the connecting body, and thus a loosening, low-friction storage or support is preferable. The protrusions and protrusions form axially, i.e. parallel to the outer edge of the rolls, the elements arranged for laying or rotating the rollers. The rollers run loosely without being able to play with the holder and therefore can be inserted into this position.

The rolls are preferably only stored or held in the connecting body, i.e. the storage or holder is used to guide the rolls when they roll off on the supporting body. However, the storage or holder is not used for the fixed rotatable storage of the rolls, because the rolls in the support area are on the supporting body and therefore not at all free to rotate.

The connecting body may also be formed from several layers of parallel to each other arranged single-piece materials. These several layers, for example of thin film material, may be connected to each other, in particular to be flatly connected, (for example by glue or welding) or loosely overlapped. In the manufacture of the connecting body, the individual layers may be placed on top of each other and then connected to each other.This is to say, overlapping areas are formed at which the individual layers are connected to each other to form a longer piece. The connection can be made, for example, by gluing, nipping or welding. Alternatively, layers can also be connected or held together by the rollers by means of a bearing or holding spring of two or more of the overlapping layers, i.e. overlapping layers, which is used for each roll. This allows the formation of any length of connecting bodies from limited lengths of parts, with the transition points of the individual layers being moved in the direction of the connecting body to each other, i.e. the parts are overlapping and are held together or held together in the overlapping area by the rollers in the same way.The method of analysis is based on the following principles: the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of a single layer of material, the use of two or more layers of material, the use of which is to create a single layer of material, the use of material, the use of which is to create a single layer of material, and the use of which, together with the rolls as a rolls as a rolls, forms an orbit around the supporting body, the supporting body, forms an orbit around the supporting body.

The rolls and their casing surfaces are preferably cylindrical in shape. However, the casing surface of the rolls can also be lightly or moderately bombarded, i.e. the rolls are formed, for example, in the shape of a barrel. Furthermore, it can also be provided that the rolls have one or more grooves or nuts that circle around in a concentric manner to the axis of rotation. The nuts can be guide nuts running in corresponding guide steps or guide backs on the support body.

Other preferred embodiments are derived from the dependent patent claims.

The following is a brief description of the drawings:

The following illustrations give a detailed description of the subject-matter of the invention by means of preferred examples of embodiments, each showing schematically: Figure 1a conveyor with integrated support device and conveyor belt;Figure 2a section of a conveyor with integrated support device and mat chain;Figure 3a section of a conveyor with integrated support device and mat chain and belt;Figure 4a section of a conveyor with a support body and a rolling stock;Figure 5a section of a conveyor body;Figure 6a section of a conveyor body;Figure 7a section of a conveyor body;Figure 8a section of a conveyor body for a curved track;Figure 9a section of a conveyor body for a curved track;Figure 9a section of a conveyor body for a straight track;Figure 10a section of a conveyor body for a straight track;Figure 15a section of a conveyor body (Figure 20A;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18a;Figure 18A;Figure 18A;Figure 18A;Figure 18A;Figure 18A;Figure 18A;Figure 18A;Figure 18A;Figure 18A;Figure 18A;Figure 18A;Figure 18A;Figure 18A;Figure 18A;Figure 18A;Figure 18A;F

The reference marks used in the drawings and their meanings are summarised in the reference list.

The method of application of the invention

Figure 1 shows a conveyor system 1 with a conveyor belt as conveyor 2 for conveyor 10, shown here as an example of a piece of goods. The conveyor belt is carried around rolls 21 of which, for example, one is driven by a drive 22. In a support area, a support device 12 is arranged, with a rolling body 5 which revolves around a support body 7. The rolling body 5 has rotating rolls 3 which are spaced apart by means of a connecting body 4. The conveyor 2 moves in a conveyor direction relative to the conveyor 12. The rolls 3 roll off the conveyor 2 and the support body 7. Thus, the conveyor 12 provides a high-power conveyor and is a symbolic means of conveying the load.

In another embodiment of the invention (not illustrated), the roller body 5 also runs around the rolls 21 and to drive the conveyor 2 a drive may be placed in the rear (i.e. in the lower part of the conveyor 2) and attack only the conveyor belt or a mat chain 2. The roller body 5 runs in an area between the drive and the supporting body 7. In another embodiment of the invention, the roller body 5 is multi-divided and has several adjacent connecting bodies 4 with rollers 3. The connecting bodies 4 are spaced apart so that the drive can attack the conveyor 2 by moving the rolls 21 through the spaces between them.

Preferably, the rolling stock 5 is not driven itself but is only moved when the conveyor 2 moves, i.e. the rolling stock or rolls or the connecting bodies of the rolling stock are exclusively passive and not actively driven.

Figure 2 shows a section of conveyor 1 with a mat chain as conveyor 2. Figure 3 shows a section of conveyor 1 with a mat chain and an additional belt 6.

Figure 4 shows a support 7 with a rolling body 5 in a side view and, according to Figure 5, a cross section through Figure 4. In addition to the elements already described, a guide nut 71 to guide the connecting body 4 is shown in the support 7.

Figure 6 shows a section of a roll 5 with a longitudinal section through a roll 3. The connecting body of the connecting body 4 has openings 41 at which bearings or support points 42 are formed, by means of which the rolls 3 are stored or held and guided. The bearings or support points 42 may, as shown, be bulges of the connecting body 4 which intervene in correspondingly shaped indentations or bulges of the rolls 3. The bulges of the rolls 3 may be formed as shown as passing through holes 31, i.e. the rolls 3 are formed as inner casings or tube pieces. Alternatively, the bulges may be shaped as purely rotational symmetrical bulges which are deeply formed into the final material.

Figure 7 shows a view of a curved area of a conveyor 1 with a mat chain as conveyor 2. Below the conveyor 2 a straight running roller 5a and a curved roller 5b are shown in dashed lines. Figure 8 shows a view of a rolling roller 5 for a curve without the supporting body 7. The connecting body 4 points to bearings or supporting areas 45 in which the rollers 3 are used and connecting points 46 which connect the bearing or supporting areas 45 directly. In the example shown, the connecting points 46 are in the middle of the connecting bodies 4 but they can also be asymmetrically arranged or on opposite sides of the main bearing (for example, Figure 5 shows a bearing or supporting body 45 in which the rollers 5 and 7 are arranged in alternate directions, not parallel to each other, but opposite each other, because of the curvature of the rolls 5 and 7 respectively).

Figure 10 shows several concentric supporting bodies 7b for a curve, the clarity due to the absence of rolling bodies 5 and without guide-lines 71 and the like.

Figure 11 shows a cross-section of a conveyor 1 with side-angled supporting areas, each with its own supporting devices 12 with supporting bodies 7 and rolling bodies 5, in addition to a supporting device 12 in a horizontal floor area.

Figure 12 shows a variant of a rolling stock 5 with several rows 51 of axis-opposed rolls 3 (cut-out). The rolling stock 5 forms a movable rolling stock which can be moved around a supporting body 7 or rolled out on a plane serving as a supporting body 7.

Figure 13 shows another variant of a rolling stock 5 in which the rolls 3 are arranged in at least two or more parallel columns 52 not opposite each other; in the rear rows of the connecting bodies 4 of Figures 12 and 13, for better illustration, openings 41 and bulges 42 are shown without rolls 3; Figure 14 shows another variant of a rolling stock 5 similar to Figure 12 but with rows 51 not opposite each other.

Figure 15 shows a roll body 5 with a connecting body 4 made up of several layers 44. The individual layers 44 are opposite each other in the longitudinal direction of the connecting body. Three layers 44 are shown, but there may be only two, or four or more layers 44. For better representation, layers 44 are drawn separately, in reality they are loosely overlapping or connected.

Figure 16 shows a rolling body 5 with a connecting body 4 made of a coiled part.

Figure 17 shows a conveyor 1 with lateral guides 8. The guides 8 have a roller body 5 and a support body 7, with the orbits of the roller bodies 5 in a mainly horizontal or inclined plane to guide or deflect conveyor 10 laterally. Optional bands around the whole of the rollers 3 as part of the rolls 5 are not shown here. In the embodiment shown, the conveyor 1 is used to join several conveyors 9 placed side by side, respectively to join conveyors 10, which are transported on conveyor 9 conveyor rails. A conveyor rail is therefore reduced to a narrower conveyor rail in total. The individual conveyors 9 can run at different speeds and rotate on individual conveyor rails.

Figure 18a shows another embodiment of a roll 103, which is here cylindrically formed and has a centrally arranged, fully circular, ring-shaped circumference knot 109, i.e. the nut is concentrically arranged with the axis of rotation of the roll.

Figure 18b shows another embodiment of a roller 133, which differs from the embodiment shown in Figure 18a in that the shell surface 161 is slightly bombarded. The concentric, ring-shaped circumference knots 109, 110 of the two embodiments are guide knots, which are used to guide the rollers 103, 133 along their orbit around the supporting body.

Figure 19 shows a supporting device 112 with a rolling stock 105 in perspective, the difference with the supporting device 12 shown in Figure 4-6 being that the rolling stock 105 of the supporting device 112 shown here is equipped with rolls 133 as shown in Figure 18b.

Figure 20a shows a side view of a supporting device 112 as shown in Figure 19.

Figure 20b shows a cross-section of the supporting device 112 as shown in Figure 20a along a line A-A. The supporting body 107 has a guide step 162 which revolves in the direction of movement of the rollers 133 and intervenes in the guide notes of the rollers 133. The shape, in particular the width and height of the guide step 162, is adjusted according to the cross-sectional dimensions of the nut. That is, the roller guided through the guide nut 110 has no lateral play at all. The guide step 162 can be formed continuously or with interruptions. The rolls 133 are held over a flat, flexible connection 104 and the supporting body 107 can be guided or reversed, respectively.

The additional guidance assistance provided by the above-described nut-step guidance is preferred for arc-shaped guide rails, where the axes of successive rollers are not parallel to each other, as in the straight-running guide rails, but essentially oriented on a curved axis.

1	Fördereinrichtung	45	Lager- bzw. Halterungsbereich
2	Fördermittel	46	Verbindungsstelle
3	Rolle	47	alternativer Ort für
4	Verbindungskörper	Verbindungsstelle
5	Rollenkörper	51	Reihe
6	Band	52	Kolonne
7	Stützkörper	71	Führungsnut
8	Führungselement	100	Mantelfläche
9	Förderbahn	103	Rolle
10	Fördergut	104	Verbindungskörper
11	Kurvenachse	105	Rollenkörper
12	Abstützvorrichtung	107	Stützkörper
21	Umlenkrolle	109	Umfangsnut
22	Antrieb	110	Umfangsnut
31	Aussparung	112	Abstützvorrichtung
41	Öffnung	133	Rolle
42	Ausbuchtung	161	Mantelfläche
44	Schicht	162	Führungsgrat

Claims (15)

1. A conveying apparatus (1) comprising a moving, planar conveying means (2) for conveying bulk material or individual entities, for example material or entities which is/are at rest or which can move of their own accord, in particular people or other living things, or for people or animals to walk or run on, wherein the conveying means (2) has arranged beneath it a supporting device (12), which comprises a roller body (5) with a multiplicity of rollers (3), wherein the roller body, on one side, has the rollers (3) rolling along a non-circular path on the supporting body (7) and, on the other side, supports the conveying means (2) by the rollers (3) rolling on the conveying means (2) itself or on a belt (6) which runs along between the conveying means (2) and rollers (3), characterized in that the rollers (3) are connected to one another, and spaced apart from one another, by a flexible connecting body (4), wherein the connecting body (4) is planar, and the rollers (3) are inserted in openings (41) of the connecting body (4).
2. The conveying apparatus (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conveying means (2) is a mat-top chain or a belt, and a supporting region, in which the conveying means (2) is supported by the roller body (5), is planar, and wherein preferably the roller body (5) extends essentially over the entire width of the conveying means (2).
3. The conveying apparatus (1) as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein a plurality of roller bodies (5) are arranged one beside the other and/or one behind the other, as seen in the conveying direction, supporting the conveying means (2).
4. The conveying apparatus (1) as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the roller body (5) comprises a belt (6), which runs between the rollers (3) and conveying means (2), and therefore the conveying means (2) is supported by the belt (6).
5. The conveying apparatus (1) as claimed in one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the conveying means (2) runs in a curve about a curve axis located essentially perpendicularly to the surface of the conveying means (2), and the conveying means (2) is supported in the region of the curve by at least one roller body (5) with a connecting body (4), which connecting body (4) is arranged in a flexible manner around the curve axis and, in the region of the curve, the conveying means (2), supported by the roller body (5) rolling on the supporting body (7), moves around the curve.
6. The conveying apparatus (1) as claimed in claim 5, wherein a plurality of roller bodies (5) are present in a concentric arrangement, and the circulatory paths of the plurality of roller bodies (5) are curved around the curve axis.
7. The conveying apparatus (1) as claimed in one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the conveying means (2) comprises a trough-like cross section, with a horizontal base region and two lateral, oblique side regions adjoining the base region, and wherein the conveying means (2) is supported on the side regions by in each case further roller bodies (5) according to the invention.
8. The conveying apparatus (1) as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the conveying means (2) has arranged above it at least one guide element (8) with a roller body (5) for the lateral guidance and deflection of conveying material (10).
9. The conveying apparatus (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rollers (3) do not form a closed circuit, and the conveying means (2) is designed for executing back and forth movements.
10. A supporting device (12) for a conveying apparatus as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the rollers (3) in the roller body (5) are arranged in a multiplicity of successive rows (51) with a plurality of coaxially arranged rollers per row, and wherein the roller body (5) comprises a flexible, planar connecting body (4), and the rollers are inserted in openings (41) of the connecting body (4).
11. The supporting device (12) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the rollers (3) in any row are offset in their axial direction in each case in relation to the rollers (3) of a preceding, or of a following, row (51).
12. The supporting device (12) as claimed in claim 10 or 11, wherein the connecting body (4) is cut out of a flexible flat material.
13. The supporting device (12) as claimed in one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the connecting body (4) is of single-piece design over a plurality of the rows (51) or over all of the rows or comprises a plurality of single-piece layers (44) and each of the layers extends in the movement direction and over a plurality of rows (51) or over all of the rows.
14. The supporting device (12) as claimed in one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the connecting body (4) comprises a plurality of layers (44) arranged parallel to one another preferably by the layers (44) being formed by a loop being formed in a single-piece strip and by the strip being laid over on itself.
15. A roller body (5) for a conveying apparatus as claimed in one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the roller body (5) comprises a flexible, planar connecting body (4), and the rollers are inserted in openings (41) of the connecting body (4), characterized in that the rollers (3) in the roller body (5) are arranged in a multiplicity of successive rows (51) with just one roller per row or a plurality of coaxially arranged rollers per row.