Networked Motorized Drive Roller Conveyor
First Claim
1. A networked motorized drive roller conveyor comprising:
- a plurality of motorized drive roller assemblies, each assembly comprising a zone;
a plurality of networked cards, each card controlling a pair of adjacent zones;
a plurality of sensors for detecting items on the conveyor, each sensor corresponding to a zone;
wherein for a pair of adjacent zones, the corresponding networked card measures a gap between consecutive items on the conveyor by beginning a counter when a trailing edge of a first item passes the sensor of an upstream zone within the pair of zones, and stopping the counter when a leading edge of the second item passes the sensor of the upstream zone within the pair of zones to generate a counter value.
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Abstract
A motorized drive roller conveyor includes an upstream zone and a downstream zone, with each zone having a drive roller, an idler roller that is driven by the drive roller, and a sensor. The upstream zone and the downstream zone are controlled by a card, which measures a gap between a first item on the conveyor and a second item on the conveyor by beginning a counter when a trailing edge of the first item passes the sensor of the upstream zone and stopping the counter when a leading edge of the second item passes the sensor of the upstream zone to generate a counter value. If the first item is stopped in the downstream zone, the card of the upstream zone causes the drive roller of the upstream zone to advance the second item into the downstream zone for a distance derived from the counter value before stopping the transportation of the second item.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A networked motorized drive roller conveyor comprising:
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a plurality of motorized drive roller assemblies, each assembly comprising a zone; a plurality of networked cards, each card controlling a pair of adjacent zones; a plurality of sensors for detecting items on the conveyor, each sensor corresponding to a zone; wherein for a pair of adjacent zones, the corresponding networked card measures a gap between consecutive items on the conveyor by beginning a counter when a trailing edge of a first item passes the sensor of an upstream zone within the pair of zones, and stopping the counter when a leading edge of the second item passes the sensor of the upstream zone within the pair of zones to generate a counter value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A motorized drive roller conveyor comprising :
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an upstream zone and a downstream zone, each zone including a drive roller, an idler roller that is driven by the drive roller, and a sensor; and a card that controls the upstream zone and the downstream zone; wherein the card measures a gap between a first item on the conveyor and a second item on the conveyor by beginning a counter when a trailing edge of the first item passes the sensor of the upstream zone and stopping the counter when a leading edge of the second item passes the sensor of the upstream zone to generate a counter value; and wherein if the first item is stopped in the downstream zone, the card of the upstream zone causes the drive roller of the upstream zone to advance the second item into the downstream zone for a distance derived from the counter value before stopping movement of the second item. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for controlling a gap between items on a motorized drive roller conveyor comprising the steps of:
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detecting a trailing edge of a first item at a predetermined location in a first zone on a conveyor system; beginning a counter once the trailing edge of the first item passes the predetermined location; stopping the counter upon the first occurrence of the following; (i) a leading edge of a second item is detected at the predetermined location;
or(ii) the first item is stopped in a downstream zone adjacent the first zone; and generating a counter value. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification