Conveyor system with a computer controlled first sort conveyor
First Claim
1. A sorting conveyor system comprising:
- an initial conveyor for receiving unsorted articles;
at least one loader coupled to the initial conveyor;
a first sort conveyor coupled to the at least one loader;
a plurality of holding rails coupled to the first sort conveyor;
a transfer conveyor coupled to the plurality of holding rails; and
at least one final sort conveyor coupled to the transfer conveyor,wherein;
the unsorted articles on the initial conveyor are identified and loaded onto the first sort conveyor by the at least one loader;
the first sort conveyor sorts the unsorted articles into a plurality of groups of articles and routes the groups of articles to the holding rails;
the transfer conveyor transfers the groups of articles from the holding rails to the at least one final sort conveyor; and
identification information for each article transferred to the final sort conveyor is transferred from the at least one loader to the at least one final sort conveyor.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A sorting conveyor system is disclosed having a computer controlled first sort conveyor stage and a final sort conveyor stage. Articles to be sorted are identified and loaded onto a first sort conveyor which sorts the articles into groups and routes each group to one or more holding rails coupled via a transfer rail to one or more final sort conveyors. As a complete group of articles is assembled on one or more holding rails, the group of articles is transferred to a final sort conveyor. Identification information for each article transferred to the final sort conveyor is also transferred to the final sort conveyor. The final sort conveyor then performs a final sort on each group of articles transferred thereto.
118 Citations
8 Claims
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1. A sorting conveyor system comprising:
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an initial conveyor for receiving unsorted articles; at least one loader coupled to the initial conveyor; a first sort conveyor coupled to the at least one loader; a plurality of holding rails coupled to the first sort conveyor; a transfer conveyor coupled to the plurality of holding rails; and at least one final sort conveyor coupled to the transfer conveyor, wherein; the unsorted articles on the initial conveyor are identified and loaded onto the first sort conveyor by the at least one loader; the first sort conveyor sorts the unsorted articles into a plurality of groups of articles and routes the groups of articles to the holding rails; the transfer conveyor transfers the groups of articles from the holding rails to the at least one final sort conveyor; and identification information for each article transferred to the final sort conveyor is transferred from the at least one loader to the at least one final sort conveyor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method for sorting articles, comprising the steps of:
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creating a lookup table which defines groups the articles are to be divided into; loading the articles to be sorted onto a first sort conveyor; scanning and storing identification information for each of the articles to be sorted; determining the group to which each article belongs; routing each article to a holding rail with other articles belonging to the same group; transferring a group of articles to a final sort conveyor; and transferring the identification information to the final sort conveyor for each article transferred to the final sort conveyor. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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Specification