Sorting System using a roller-top conveyor belt
First Claim
1. A conveyor system comprising:
- a main conveyor conveying articles on an outer conveying surface along a main conveying path;
at least one cross conveyor disposed along the main conveying path and intersecting the main conveyor, the cross conveyor including;
a roller-top belt having a plurality of rollers extending outward of an outer article-supporting surface and having axles for rotation of the rollers about axes generally perpendicular to the main conveying path, and a drive engaging the roller-top belt to advance the belt along a discharge path generally perpendicular to the main conveying path.
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Abstract
A sorting conveyor system in which a main conveyor is intersected by one or more cross conveyors forming sorting stations at one or more gaps along a main conveying path. The cross conveyor includes a roller-top belt having rollers extending outward of a top article-supporting side and arranged to rotate about axes perpendicular to the main conveying path. The cross conveyor includes a bidirectional drive to selectively advance the roller-top belt in one of two opposite directions to discharge articles transferred onto the cross conveyor in the gap off the side of the main conveying path. The cross conveyor also serves as a low-friction roller-top bridge when the roller-top belt is stopped. The bridge allows articles to cross the gap from an upstream portion of the main conveyor to a downstream portion.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A conveyor system comprising:
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a main conveyor conveying articles on an outer conveying surface along a main conveying path;
at least one cross conveyor disposed along the main conveying path and intersecting the main conveyor, the cross conveyor including;
a roller-top belt having a plurality of rollers extending outward of an outer article-supporting surface and having axles for rotation of the rollers about axes generally perpendicular to the main conveying path, and a drive engaging the roller-top belt to advance the belt along a discharge path generally perpendicular to the main conveying path. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A conveyor system comprising:
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an upstream conveyor conveying articles along a main conveying path;
a downstream article receiver aligned with the upstream conveyor and spaced apart from the upstream conveyor across a gap to receive articles from the upstream conveyor across the gap;
a cross conveyor disposed in the gap between the upstream conveyor and the downstream article receiver, the cross conveyor including;
a roller-top belt having a plurality of rollers having axles for rotation of the rollers about axes generally perpendicular to the main conveying path, and a drive engaging the roller-top belt to selectively stop and drive the roller-top belt bidirectionally. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A conveyor system comprising:
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a downstream conveying surface;
an upstream conveying surface conveying articles toward the downstream conveying surface along a main conveying path and being separated from the downstream conveying surface across a gap;
a cross conveyor disposed in the gap and including a roller-top belt having rollers with salient portions extending above a top side of the belt to contact conveyed articles received form the upstream conveying surface, the rollers having axles for rotation of the rollers about axes generally perpendicular to the main conveying path. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A conveyor system for selectively discharging articles comprising:
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a main conveyor conveying articles along a main conveying path and interrupted by one or more gaps along the main conveying path;
one or more cross conveyors intersecting the main conveying path at the one or more gaps, each cross conveyor including;
a roller-top belt having a plurality of rollers arranged to rotate freely to roll articles received from the main conveyor across the gap in the direction of the main conveying path, and a drive engaging the roller-top belt to advance the roller-top belt across the main conveying path to divert articles from the main conveying path. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31)
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32. A conveyor system comprising:
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a main conveyor conveying articles along a main conveying path and interrupted by one or more gaps along the main conveying path;
one or more cross conveyors intersecting the main conveying path at the one or more gaps, each cross conveyor including;
a roller-top belt capable of advancing in at least one direction across the main conveying path and having a plurality of rollers arranged to receive conveyed articles in the gap from the main conveyor, and means for raising and lowering the roller-top belt between a first position wherein a conveyed article is supported by both the roller-top belt and the main conveyor and a second higher position lifting a conveyed article supported on the roller-top belt out of contact with the main conveyor. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A conveyor system comprising:
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a main conveyor conveying articles along a main conveying path and interrupted by at least one gap along the main conveying path;
at least one cross conveyor intersecting the main conveying path at a gap, each cross conveyor including;
a roller-top belt having a plurality of rollers arranged to rotate freely to roll articles received from the main conveyor across the upstream end of the gap in the direction of the main conveying path, and a drive engaging the roller-top belt to selectively stop the roller-top belt to allow a conveyed article to ride across the roller-top belt on the rollers past the gap along the main conveying path, advance the belt in a first cross direction along a discharge path diverting a conveyed article from the main conveying path to a first side of the conveying path, and advance the belt in an opposite second cross direction along the discharge path diverting a conveyed article from the main conveying path to an opposite second side of the conveying path. - View Dependent Claims (38)
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Specification