CONVEYOR DIVERTER
First Claim
1. A diverter for a transport conveyor, said diverter comprising:
- a transport conveying surface adapted to convey articles in a longitudinal direction;
a base frame;
a diverter support frame movably supported at said base frame;
a diverter surface at said diverter support frame in juxtaposition with said transport conveying surface, said diverter surface adapted to laterally divert articles traveling on said transport conveying surface, said diverter surface having a downstream portion with respect to movement of articles on said transport conveying surface;
a lift assembly at said base frame, said lift assembly adapted to raise said downstream portion of said diverter surface to divert an article from said transport conveying surface; and
a control, said control adapted to selectively actuate said lift assembly.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A conveyor diverter and method provides a device for diverting articles from a transport conveyor at increased throughput by urging a subsequent article onto the diverter before a prior article has been directed off of the diverter. The diverter raises a downstream portion of diverter surface while leaving upstream portions of the diverter surface in a lowered position, thereby permitting articles entering the diverter in a first direction to be diverted in a second direction. The diverter includes a transport conveying surface for conveying articles in the first direction and a lift assembly for raising and lowering the upstream portions and downstream portions of the diverter surface. The diverter may be configured to provide turn, cross-transfer, cross-transfer with increased throughput, and transport functions. Thus, a method is provided for achieving increased throughput and/or multiple divert functions.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A diverter for a transport conveyor, said diverter comprising:
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a transport conveying surface adapted to convey articles in a longitudinal direction; a base frame; a diverter support frame movably supported at said base frame; a diverter surface at said diverter support frame in juxtaposition with said transport conveying surface, said diverter surface adapted to laterally divert articles traveling on said transport conveying surface, said diverter surface having a downstream portion with respect to movement of articles on said transport conveying surface; a lift assembly at said base frame, said lift assembly adapted to raise said downstream portion of said diverter surface to divert an article from said transport conveying surface; and a control, said control adapted to selectively actuate said lift assembly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A diverter for a transport conveyor, said diverter comprising:
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a base frame; a roller support frame movably supported at said base frame; a sheave support frame supported at said base frame; a plurality of spaced rollers rotatably supported at said roller support frame, said spaced rollers adapted to convey articles in a lateral direction; a plurality of sheaves rotatably supported at said sheave support frame and arranged between said spaced rollers, said sheaves adapted to convey articles in a longitudinal direction; and a lift assembly at said base frame, said lift assembly adapted to raise a downstream portion of said roller support frame, with respect to movement of articles on said sheaves, when said lift assembly is actuated; a control, said control adapted to selectively actuate said lift assembly; and wherein downstream portions of said spaced rollers are positionable above said sheaves in response to actuation of said lift assembly by said control. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of diverting articles on a transport conveyor, said method comprising:
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directing an article onto a diverter surface at an upstream portion of the diverter; transporting the article at least partially longitudinally along a transport conveying surface of the diverter with transporter members positioned above the diverter surface; driving the diverter surface in a lateral direction; raising downstream portions of the diverter surface above the transport conveying surface with a lift assembly while leaving upstream portions of the diverter surface positioned below the transport conveying surface; and urging the article off of a side of the diverter with the diverter surface. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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29. A method of diverting articles on a transport conveyor, said method comprising:
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directing a first article onto a diverter at an upstream portion of the diverter; transporting the first article at least partially longitudinally along the diverter with a transport conveying surface positioned above the diverter surface; driving the diverter surface in a lateral direction; raising upstream portions and downstream portions of the diverter surface above the transport conveying surface with a lift assembly; urging the first article toward a side of the diverter with the diverter surface; lowering the upstream portions of the diverter surface with the lift assembly while the first article is at least partially supported by the diverter surface; and directing a second article longitudinally onto the diverter at the upstream portion. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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Specification