ARTICLE ACCUMULATION METHOD AND APPARATUS
First Claim
1. A method of accumulating articles, comprising:
- providing a conveying surface adapted to convey articles from an upstream direction toward a downstream direction, said conveying surface divided into a plurality of tandem zones, actuating individual zones to convey articles and deactuating individual zones to accumulate articles;
sensing articles in said zones and actuating said zones as a function of said sensing;
wherein said actuating zones includes actuating a particular zone if no article is sensed in that particular zone and an article is sensed in an adjacent upstream zone.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for accumulating articles includes providing a conveying surface adapted to convey articles from an upstream direction towards the downstream direction. The conveying surface is divided into a plurality of tandem zones. Individual zones are activated to convey articles and deactivated to accumulate articles. A particular zone is actuated if no article is sensed in that particular zone and an article is sensed in an adjacent upstream zone. The particular zone and adjacent upstream zone are actuated sufficiently to position a first article at an upstream portion of the particular zone and re-actuated in response to sensing a second article at the adjacent upstream zone and deactuated with the first and second articles in the particular zone.
-
Citations
23 Claims
-
1. A method of accumulating articles, comprising:
-
providing a conveying surface adapted to convey articles from an upstream direction toward a downstream direction, said conveying surface divided into a plurality of tandem zones, actuating individual zones to convey articles and deactuating individual zones to accumulate articles;
sensing articles in said zones and actuating said zones as a function of said sensing;
wherein said actuating zones includes actuating a particular zone if no article is sensed in that particular zone and an article is sensed in an adjacent upstream zone. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. A method of accumulating articles, comprising:
-
providing a conveying surface adapted to convey articles from an upstream direction toward a downstream direction, said conveying surface divided into a plurality of tandem zones, actuating individual zones to convey articles and deactuating individual zones to accumulate articles;
sensing articles in said zones and actuating said zones as a function of said sensing;
wherein said actuating zones includes momentarily actuating a particular zone and an adjacent upstream zone sufficiently to position a first article at an upstream portion of said particular zone, re-actuating said particular zone in response to sensing a second article at said adjacent upstream zone and deactuating said particular zone with said first and second articles in said particular zone. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. A method of accumulating articles, comprising:
-
providing a conveying surface adapted to convey articles from an upstream direction toward a downstream direction, said conveying surface divided into a plurality of tandem zones, actuating individual zones to convey articles and deactuating individual zones to accumulate articles;
wherein said actuating zones includes deactuating at least one downstream zone with articles accumulated on said at least one downstream zone;
wherein said actuating zones further includes deactuating a buffer zone that is an adjacent upstream zone to said at least one downstream zone; and
wherein said actuating ones further includes momentarily actuating said buffer zone to receive a first article and deactuating said buffer zone with the first article accumulated on said buffer zone. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
-
Specification