Goods transportation system

Abstract

A transport system (6) for an article (1), the transport system (6) being a mobile unit (7) with at least one seat (8) designed to contain the article (1) and partitioned by a first wall (11) and a second wall (12) facing each other and opposite each other, so that the article (1) can be accommodated between the first wall (11) and the second wall (12), and having an elastic element (13) pressing the two walls (11, 12) against each other. The apparatus comprises a moving unit (7), a conveyor (9) designed to move the moving unit (7) along a path (P), and an operating device (15) outside and independent of the moving unit (7), arranged along the path (P) and designed to act on the first wall (11) to move it away from the second wall (12) against the force generated by the elastic element (13). The first wall (11) is attached to the moving unit (7) in a sliding manner such that it slides linearly relative to the moving unit (7). The movable unit (7) has an additional control (14) which is rigidly connected to the first wall (11) and which is designed to be moved relative to the rest of the movable unit (7) by an operating device (15) to vary the distance of the first wall (11) to the second wall (12).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] (CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS) This patent application claims priority to Italian Patent Application No. 102021000031904, filed on December 21, 2021, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to a system for transporting goods.

[0003] The present invention finds advantageous application in the production of e-cigarette cartridges (which may be at least partially finished, i.e. completely finished or missing one or more components), to which the following disclosure makes explicit reference without loss of generality. [Background technology]

[0004] A machine for manufacturing cartridges for electronic cigarettes comprises a transport system designed to move the cartridge along a working path through a series of working stations where processing on the cartridge is carried out (e.g. adding elements, welding, weighing, optical or electrical control, bending...).

[0005] The transport system must be able to hold the somewhat completed cartridge in a delicate manner (so as not to damage it) and at the same time in a manner that is sufficiently robust to ensure that the cartridge is not lost (or in any way subjected to undesired movement) during transport. In particular, to enable manufacturing machines to achieve high hourly productivity (e.g., on the order of hundreds of cartridges per minute), it is necessary to impart significant accelerations and decelerations to the cartridges, and therefore it is necessary to robustly and safely control the position of the cartridge within the transport system.

[0006] Patent application WO 2020 / 250196 discloses a transport system for cartridges of electronic cigarettes, comprising a mobile unit with a seat, the seat designed to contain the cartridge and partitioned by a first wall and a second wall facing each other and opposite each other, such that the cartridge can be accommodated between the first wall and the second wall. The transport system further comprises a conveyor designed to move the mobile unit along a path, and an operating device, outside and independent of the mobile unit and arranged along said path. The first wall is attached to the mobile unit in a rotating manner and moves (by rotation) away from / towards the second wall between a gripping position, in which the distance between the first wall and the second wall is minimal, and a release position, in which the distance between the first wall and the second wall is maximal. The mobile unit has an elastic element that pushes the first wall towards the second wall and thus towards the gripping position. The movable unit has an additional control that is mechanically connected to the first wall and is movable to move the first wall away from the second wall and thus to move the first wall towards the released position, and is designed to be moved by the operating device when the movable unit is within the range of the operating device.

[0007] The patent application US 2005 / 103604 and the patent US 10404027 describe a transport system for objects, comprising a mobile unit with at least one seat, designed to contain objects and partitioned by a first wall (mounted in a movable manner) and a second wall facing each other and opposite each other, such that the objects can be accommodated between the first and second walls, and the mobile unit has an elastic element that presses the two walls against each other. The transport system further comprises a conveyor designed to move the mobile unit along a path, and an operating device, which is outside and independent of the mobile unit, is arranged along the path and is designed to act on the first wall to move it away from the second wall against the force generated by the elastic element. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2020 / 250196 [Patent Document 2] US Patent Application No. 2005 / 103604 [Patent Document 3] U.S. Pat. No. 10,404,027 Summary of the Invention

[0009] It is an object of the present invention to provide an article transport system which is capable of holding articles of a particular shape in a stable and precise manner, while at the same time being easy and cheap to produce.

[0010] According to the present invention there is provided a system for transporting goods as claimed in the accompanying claims.

[0011] The claims describe embodiments of the invention which form an integral part of the present description.

[0012] The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate non-limiting embodiments of the invention. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic cigarette cartridge. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cartridge of FIG. 1 with the removable cap removed. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of a manufacturing machine for producing the cartridge of FIG. 1, including a transport system made in accordance with the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 illustrates an operational sequence for a portion of the transportation system of FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 illustrates an operational sequence of a portion of the transportation system of FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 illustrates an operational sequence for a portion of the transportation system of FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 illustrates an operational sequence for a portion of the transportation system of FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 illustrates an operational sequence for a portion of the transportation system of FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 illustrates an operational sequence for a portion of the transportation system of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] The numeral 1 in Figures 1 and 2 generally refers to a single-use (i.e. disposable and therefore used only once and then replaced) cartridge of an electronic cigarette of known type.

[0015] The electronic cigarette comprises a reusable, parallelepiped-shaped part for multiple uses, which contains, among other things, an electric battery (which provides the energy required for the functioning of the electronic cigarette) and an electronic processor which oversees the functioning of the electronic cigarette. A new disposable cartridge 1 is coupled to the reusable part and used (i.e. "smoked"), after which it is discarded and replaced by a new disposable cartridge 1.

[0016] The cartridge 1 comprises a substantially parallelepiped main body 2 which, in use, is coupled to an electronic cigarette. The electronic cigarette receives power from the main body 2 by means of two electrical contact points located at a small base of the main body. The cartridge 1 further comprises a cap 3 which slides down on the main body 2 and covers the area where the two electrical contact points are located.

[0017] The numeral 4 in FIG. 3 generally refers to a manufacturing machine for producing the cartridge 1 described above.

[0018] The manufacturing machine 4 comprises an assembly section where the materials for forming the cartridge 1 are gathered and the cartridge 1 is manufactured, and a supply section where the materials for forming the cartridge 1 are received and arranged to be delivered to the assembly section.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 3, the assembly section of the manufacturing machine 4 includes an initial section A, an intermediate section B, and a final section C.

[0020] The manufacturing machine 4 comprises a support member 5 (i.e. a frame), which rests on the floor by means of legs and has a vertical wall at the front on which the three parts A, B and C of the operating members are attached. The middle part B of the manufacturing machine comprises a transport system 6, which moves the partially completed cartridges 1 (i.e. not yet equipped with certain elements) along a working path P (shown in figures 4-9) extending between an entrance station S1 and an exit station S2. The transport system 6 comprises a number of mobile units 7, each of which is provided with (at least) one seat 8 (shown in figures 4-9), which is designed to accommodate the partially completed cartridges 1 in a stable and precise position. According to other embodiments not shown, the mobile units 7 each have a different number of seats 8 (generally at least one seat 8 and at most 6 / 8 seats 8).

[0021] The transport system 6 comprises a conveyor 9 for cyclically moving the mobile units 7 with intermittent movements (in a stepped manner) along a circular working path P. Said intermittent movements are such that the conveyor 9 cyclically alternates between moving steps, during which the conveyor 9 moves the mobile units 7, and stopping steps, during which the conveyor 9 keeps the mobile units 7 stationary.

[0022] The working path P comprises a linear operating section, extending from an entrance station S1 (defining the end of the initial part A and the beginning of the intermediate part B), where a partially completed cartridge 1 is periodically fed to the seat 8 of the mobile unit 7, to an exit station S2 (defining the end of the intermediate part B and the beginning of the final part C), where the partially completed cartridge 1 (to which elements have been added while passing through the intermediate part B) leaves the seat 8 of the mobile unit 7. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, the working path P comprises a linear return section parallel to this linear operating section but running in the opposite direction, and two semicircular connecting sections connecting said operating section and said return section to each other.

[0023] According to a preferred embodiment, the conveyor 9 comprises an annular guide 10 (i.e. closed in a loop on itself) arranged at a fixed position along the working path P, in particular the annular guide 10 being formed by a single fixed (i.e. immovable) track arranged along the working path P. Furthermore, the conveyor 9 comprises a number of slides, each of which supports a corresponding mobile unit 7 and is coupled to the guide 10 so as to slide freely along the guide 10. Finally, the conveyor 9 comprises a linear electric motor for moving the slide carrying the mobile unit 7 along the working path P. This linear electric motor comprises an annular stator (i.e. fixed primary part) arranged at a fixed position along the guide 10 and a number of movable sliders (i.e. movable secondary parts) each electromagnetically coupled to the stator and receiving a driving force from the same stator, and further rigidly connected to the corresponding slide.

[0024] According to a different embodiment, not shown, the conveyor 9 is a belt conveyor and comprises (at least) a flexible belt which supports the mobile unit 7 and closes in a loop around two end pulleys, at least one of which is monitored.

[0025] As shown in Figure 3, along the working path P (i.e. between the entrance station S1 and the exit station S2) the working stations S3 are arranged in succession (i.e. one after the other), in which processing (e.g. addition of elements, welding, weighing, optical or electrical control, bending...) is carried out on the partially completed cartridge 1, carried by the seat 8 of the mobile unit 7.

[0026] As shown in Figs. 4-9, the seats 8 are each partitioned by a movable wall 11 and a fixed wall 12 facing each other and opposing each other, so that the cartridge 1 can be stored between the movable wall 11 and the fixed wall 12. That is, when the cartridge 1 is inserted into the corresponding seat 8, the cartridge 1 is disposed between the movable wall 11 and the fixed wall 12, and the movable wall 11 and the fixed wall 12 press the cartridge 1 between them against each other. The fixed wall 12 is rigidly bound to the movable unit 7, and therefore does not cause any kind of relative movement with respect to the movable unit 7. Meanwhile, the movable wall 11 is attached to the movable unit 7 in a sliding manner, and linearly slides along a release direction D1 parallel to the working path P (preferably, but not necessarily, horizontal) or along a gripping direction D2 parallel to but opposite to the release direction D1.

[0027] In other words, in each of the movable units 7, the movable wall 11 is attached to the movable unit 7 in a sliding manner such that it only slides linearly relative to the movable unit 7 along directions D1 and D2 parallel to the path P.

[0028] The movable wall 11 of each sheet 8 is attached to the movable unit 7 in a sliding manner and moves away from / towards the fixed wall 12 (by sliding linearly along the gripping direction D2 and the releasing direction D1) between a gripping position (shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9) in which the movable wall 11 is at a minimum distance from the fixed wall 12 (thus lightly pressing the cartridge 1 against the fixed wall 12) and a releasing position (shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6) in which the movable wall 11 is at a maximum distance from the fixed wall 12 (thus allowing the cartridge 1 to enter and leave the sheet 8 without any effort and without having to slide against the walls 11 and 12). In other words, the walls 11 and 12 of each sheet 8 form two jaws of a gripper designed to close around the cartridge 1, clamping and storing it.

[0029] According to a different embodiment, not shown, in each seat 8 both walls 11 and 12 are movable, i.e. mounted in a movable manner on the corresponding mobile unit 7 .

[0030] 4-9, the movable unit 7 comprises an elastic element 13 which presses the movable wall 11 towards the fixed wall 12 and thus towards the gripping position with a predefined calibrated elastic force so as to hold the cartridge 1 firmly inside the seat 8 while at the same time not damaging the cartridge 1. That is to say, the combination of the wall 11 and the elastic element 13 forms an elastic gripper designed to hold the cartridge 1 with a constant elastically generated gripping force.

[0031] As shown in Figures 4 to 9, the movable unit 7 is provided with an additional control unit 14 which is mechanically (rigidly) connected to the movable wall 11 and which is movable and designed to be moved (according to the method described below) from outside the movable unit 7 (i.e. from outside the conveyor 9) in order to move the movable wall 11 away from the fixed wall 12 and thus towards the release position.

[0032] In other words, in each movable unit 7, the elastic element 13 is configured to press the additional control part 14 against the rest of the movable unit 7, and the additional control part 14 is arranged behind the movable unit 7 with respect to the movement direction of the working path P.

[0033] Advantageously, the fact that the conveyor 9 is provided with a linear electric motor that moves the slide that carries the units 7 makes it possible to move a single unit 7 in the two feed directions D1 and D2 independently of the other. This operation is therefore facilitated compared to the use of different transport systems (e.g. belts or conveyor belts), where the movements in the two directions are inevitably associated with all the units 7 that are connected to one another. In this way, the system 6 is particularly flexible.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 3, the transport system 6 has (at least) two operating devices 15 (shown diagrammatically), which are located at an entrance station S1 (where all seats 8 of the movable unit 7 must be "opened" to allow the cartridge 1 to be inserted inside the seats 8) and an exit station S2 (where all seats 8 of the movable unit 7 must be "opened" to allow the cartridge 1 to be withdrawn from the seats 8), respectively.

[0035] The operating devices 15 are each outside and independent of the mobile units 7, arranged at a fixed position along the working path P and designed to act on the additional control 14 of the mobile unit 7 to (temporarily) move the corresponding mobile wall 11 from the gripping position to the release position by stretching the corresponding elastic element 13. That is, the operating devices 15 are each outside and independent of the mobile units 7, arranged along the working path P and designed to act on the mobile wall 11 of each mobile unit 7 to move the mobile wall 11 in a direction away from the fixed wall 12 against the force generated by the elastic element 13. The additional control 14 of each mobile unit 7 is rigidly connected to the mobile wall 11 and designed to be moved by the operating device 15 relative to the rest of the mobile unit 7 in order to change the distance of the mobile wall 11 to the fixed wall 12.

[0036] As shown in Figures 4-9, the operating devices 15 each comprise a counter member 16, which is adapted to engage (i.e., to come into contact with) the additional control 14 of the movable wall 11 of each movable unit 7 and which is mounted in a movable manner so as to move along a counter direction D3 (preferably, but not necessarily, vertical) perpendicular to the working path P (i.e., perpendicular to the releasing direction D1 and the gripping direction D2). The counter members 16 each move along the counter direction D3 between an operating position (shown in Figures 4-8) and a seating position (shown in Figure 9). In said operating position, the counter member 16 is arranged along the path followed by the additional control 14 (while the movable unit 7 moves along the working path P), thus preventing the additional control 14 from moving past the counter member 16. In said seated position, the counter member 16 is arranged outside (in a lower position) of the path followed by the additional control 14 (while the movable unit 7 moves along the working path P) and therefore does not interfere in any way with the movement of the additional control 14. The operating devices 15 each comprise a linear actuator 17, which moves the counter member 16 along the counter direction D3 between the operating position (shown in Figures 4-8) and the seated position (shown in Figure 9).

[0037] The operation of the transport system 6 when a mobile unit 7 with an empty seat 8 needs to receive a cartridge 1 at the entrance station S1 is described below.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 4, while the movable unit 7 moves forward along the working path P towards the entrance station S1, at the entrance station S1, the linear actuator 17 actuates the counter member 16 to move towards the operating position.

[0039] As shown in Fig. 5, with the counter member 16 in the operating position, by continuing its forward stroke along the working path P, the mobile unit 7 ends up with its additional control 14 against the counter member 16, which prevents the additional control 14 from moving past its stroke. As a result, the elastic element 13 deforms in such a way that the mobile wall 11 can move relative to the remaining part of the mobile unit 7 (carrying the fixed wall 12) which is still moving somewhat forward along the working path P (while being held by the counter member 16 abutting the additional control 14). In particular, when the additional control 14 abuts against the counter member 16, the mobile unit 7 moves forward along the working path P by a difference corresponding to the distance between the two walls 11 and 12 between the gripping position (in this position the walls 11 and 12 are at the closest distance to each other) and the release position (in this position the walls 11 and 12 are at the greatest distance from each other). The seat 8 therefore moves from the gripping position to the release position due to this mutual spacing of the two walls 11 and 12.

[0040] 6, when the seat 8 moves from the gripping position to the release position by the mutual spacing of the two walls 11 and 12, the movable unit 7 is stopped (i.e. the movable unit 7 stops its forward movement along the working path P). At this point, the cartridge 1 can be easily inserted into the seat 8 in the gripping position.

[0041] 7, when the cartridge 1 is inserted into the seat 8 in the gripping position, the mobile unit 7 moves backwards along the working path P and brings the two walls 11 and 12 together. This is because, as the mobile unit 7 moves backwards along its working path P, under the effect of the elastic force created by the elastic element 13, the mobile wall 11 moves along the gripping direction D2 and approaches the fixed wall 12 until the fixed wall 12 abuts against the cartridge 1.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 8, simultaneously with the rearward movement of the unit 7 along the working path P, the counter members 16 are moved back towards their respective seating positions, which have been determined by the actuation of the linear actuators 17 .

[0043] 9, when the counter members 16 are placed (i.e., reach) in their respective seating positions, the additional control parts 14 are moved away from the counter members 16 (disengaged, i.e., no longer in contact), and the movable wall 11 moves into contact with the cartridge 1 and pinches the cartridge 1 together with the fixed wall 12. At this point, the movable unit 7 can again move forward along the working path P to leave the entrance station S1 and then continue to the working station S3.

[0044] At the exit station S2 for releasing the cartridge 1 held between the two walls 11 and 12 of the seat 8, the seat 8 is first opened (i.e. moved from the gripping position to the release position) as described above with reference to Figures 4 and 5, then the cartridge 1 is removed from the seat 8 in the release position and the mobile unit 7 is moved backwards along the working path P to return the seat 8 (empty) to the gripping position (as shown in Figure 7), after which the counter member 16 is brought by the linear actuator 17 to a seated position (as shown in Figure 8) disengaging the additional control 14 from that same counter member 16. When the additional control 14 and the counter member 16 are no longer in contact, the mobile unit 7 can again move forwards along the working path P to leave the exit station S2.

[0045] In other words, to open the seat 8, the counter member 16 is placed in the operating position (i.e., along the path followed by the additional control unit 14), the movable unit 7 is moved forward along the working path P until the additional control unit 14 is brought into contact with the counter member 16, and when the additional control unit 14 is brought into contact with the counter member 16, the movable unit 7 is moved further forward along the working path P, moving the movable wall 11 in a direction away from the fixed wall 12, and thus the seat 8 is opened. Furthermore, to close the seat 8, the movable unit 7 is moved backward along the working path P, bringing the movable wall 11 closer to the fixed wall 12, and thus the seat 8 is closed. Thereafter, the movable unit 7 detaches the additional control unit 14 from the counter member 16, and finally, the counter member 16 is placed in the seating position (outside the path followed by the additional control unit 14).

[0046] According to a preferred embodiment, the mobile units 7 each have a stroke end element 18 which limits the approach stroke of the mobile wall 11 relative to the fixed wall 12 when the seat 8 is empty. The stroke end element 18 is dimensioned such that when the cartridge 1 is placed in the seat 8 (as shown in Figures 7, 8 and 9), the stroke end element 18 does not abut against the mobile wall 11 (especially in the condition where the additional control 14 is integrated in the mobile wall 11).

[0047] The invention may find application in the production of any type of disposable cartridge, not necessarily for electronic cigarettes, such as, for example, disposable cartridges for medical devices (i.e. disposable cartridges containing medicines etc.) Furthermore, the invention may find application in the production of any other type of article other than disposable cartridges.

[0048] The embodiments described herein may be combined with each other without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0049] The above described transport system 6 has many advantages.

[0050] Firstly, said transport system 6 is able to achieve a high time productivity (i.e. many pieces produced within a unit of time) while guaranteeing a high quality standard of the cartridge 1. This result is obtained due to the fact that the transport system 6 is designed to hold the somewhat completed cartridge 1 in a delicate manner (so as not to damage it) and at the same time in a sufficiently robust manner, i.e. so as to ensure that the somewhat completed cartridge 1 is not lost during the movement, even in cases where the movement imparts significant accelerations and decelerations to the somewhat completed cartridge 1.

[0051] In particular, said transport system 6 makes it possible to hold in a precise manner even cartridges 1 having a complex shape, and this result is obtained due to the fact that the seats 8 each have a linear mobility (i.e. the movable wall 11 of each seat 8 moves in a linear movement) parallel to the movement direction of the mobile unit 7 (i.e. parallel to the working path P). In other words, said transport system 6 makes it possible to obtain a high coupling precision between the walls 11 and 12 of each seat 8 and the respective cartridge 1 in the holding area found on the cartridge 1.

[0052] Moreover, the above-described transport system 6 is also easy and cheap to produce, since it is formed by structurally simple elements, the movements which it performs being few in number and easy to perform. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 1 Cartridge 2 Main body 3 Cap 4 Manufacturing machinery 5 Supporting member 6. Transportation System 7 Mobile Unit 8 sheets 9 Conveyor 10 Circular guide 11 Movable wall 12 Fixed wall 13 Elastic elements 14 Additional control section 15 Operating device 16 Counter parts 17 Linear Actuator 18 Stroke End Elements A initial part B Middle part C final part P Work path S1 Entrance Station S2 Exit Station S3 Work Station D1 Release direction D2 Gripping direction D3 Counter Direction

Claims

1. A transport system (6) for an item (1), said transport system (6) comprising: a mobile unit (7) comprising at least one seat (8) designed to contain said item (1) and partitioned by a first wall (11) and a second wall (12) facing each other and opposite each other, such that said item (1) can be accommodated between said first wall (11) and said second wall (12), and comprising an elastic element (13) pressing the two walls (11, 12) against each other; a conveyor (9) designed to move said mobile unit (7) along a path (P); at least one operating device (15), said operating device (15) being arranged at a station (S1, S2), said operating device (15) being outside and independent of said mobile unit (7), said operating device (15) being arranged along said path (P) and said operating device (15) being designed to act on said first wall (11) so as to move said first wall (11) in a direction away from said second wall (12) against the force generated by said elastic element (13), the first wall (11) is attached to the movable unit (7) in a movable manner such that it moves relative to the movable unit (7); and A transport system (6), wherein the mobile unit (7) comprises an additional control (14), the additional control (14) being rigidly connected to the first wall (11) and designed to be moved by the operating device (15) relative to the rest of the mobile unit (7) to vary the distance of the first wall (11) to the second wall (12), said first wall (11) is mounted in a sliding manner such that it only slides linearly relative to said mobile unit (7) such that the relative movement of said first wall (11) with respect to said second wall (12) occurs exclusively by linear translation, A transport system (6).

2. 2. The transportation system (6) according to claim 1, wherein the first wall (11) is attached to the movable unit (7) in a sliding manner such that it only slides relative to the movable unit (7) along a direction (D1, D2) parallel to the path (P).

3. 3. The transport system (6) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second wall (12) is attached to the mobile unit (7) in a fixed position.

4. 4. The transport system (6) according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the operating device (15) comprises a counter member (16) movable between an operating position, in which the counter member (16) is arranged along the path followed by the additional control (14) and thus prevents the additional control (14) from moving past the stations (S1, S2), and a seating position, in which the counter member (16) is outside the path followed by the additional control (14) and thus does not interfere in any way with the movement of the additional control (14) but allows the mobile unit (7) to move past the stations (S1, S2).

5. 5. The transport system (6) of claim 4, wherein the operating device (15) comprises a linear actuator (17) configured to translate the counter member (16) between the operating position and the seating position.

6. The operating device (15) is to position said counter member (16) along the path followed by said additional control (14) before said mobile unit (7) arrives at said station (S1, S2); and to position said counter member (16) outside the path followed by said additional control (14) so ​​as to enable said mobile unit (7) to move through said stations (S1, S2), 6. A transportation system (6) according to claim 4 or 5, configured as follows:

7. The transport system (6) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the elastic element (13) is configured to press the additional control (14) against the remaining part of the mobile unit (7).

8. 8. The transport system (6) according to claim 1, wherein the additional control (14) is arranged behind the mobile unit (7) in relation to a direction encompassing the path (P).

9. 9. A transport system (6) according to one of the claims 1 to 8, wherein the article (1) is an at least partially completed cartridge, in particular for an electronic cigarette.

10. 10. The transport system (6) according to claim 1, wherein the movable unit (7) is provided with a stroke end element (18) which limits the approach stroke of the first wall (11) towards the second wall (12) when the seat (8) is empty.

11. 11. A transport system (6) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the stroke end element (18) is dimensioned such that when the article (1) is placed on the seat (8), it does not abut against the first wall (11).

12. 12. A method for controlling a transport system (6) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, comprising the steps of: positioning a counter member (16) along a path to be followed by said additional control (14); moving the movable unit (7) forward along the path (P) in the station (S1, S2) until the additional control (14) comes into contact with the counter member (16); and when the additional control portion (14) comes into contact with the counter member (16), moving the movable unit (7) further forward along the path (P) to move the first wall (11) in a direction away from the second wall (12), thereby opening the seat (8).

13. The control method includes the steps of: moving the movable unit (7) backward along the path (P) to move the first wall (11) closer to the second wall (12) in order to detach the additional control portion (14) from the counter member (16) from each other, and thus closing the seat (8); and positioning the counter member (16) outside the path followed by the additional control (14) so ​​as to allow the mobile unit (7) to move past the stations (S1, S2).

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