Feeder reader subsystem
First Claim
1. An apparatus for feeding a stream of articles to a sorter comprising;
- an infeed conveyor;
a detection system configured to determine the spacing and number of articles on the infeed conveyor, the detection system controlling the rate at which articles are loaded onto the infeed conveyor, the detection system comprising a vision system which monitors the number of articles present in each of a plurality of areas of the infeed conveyor;
a singulator, the singulator receiving a disordered stream of non-flat, three dimensional articles from the infeed conveyor and spacing the articles for transfer from the singulator one at a time;
a scanner, the scanner receiving articles from the singulator and scanning a plurality of sides of the article for destination indica, the scanner generating a signal corresponding to the scanned indica; and
a diverter, the diverter directing selected articles in response to the signal generated by the scanner.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In one embodiment, an article sorting system includes successive coarse and fine singulators and a recirculating loop for processing a disordered stream of items including three-dimensional non-flat articles. A coarse singulator includes cascaded ramped conveyors, preferably operating at progressively greater speeds. A detection system, such as a vision system, for monitoring the stream of articles and identifying and/or tracking individual items passing through the system is used in conjunction with a fine singulator such as a chevron, hold-and-release or strip conveyor downstream from the coarse singulator. A control system is utilized in connection with the vision system to regulate the flow of articles through the system by, for example, diverting doubles or clusters for separations. A method of sorting articles includes steps of singulating a disordered stream of items with multiple singulating steps including a coarse singulating step for mechanically increasing the spacing between items in the stream, and a fine singulating step in which individual items are monitored and/or identified and tracked as they traverse the system. A divert apparatus which can be provided for diverting oversize/overweight articles or unwanted clusters of unsingulated articles includes an angled roller conveyor and a gate for discharging articles from the stream of articles to be processed.
127 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An apparatus for feeding a stream of articles to a sorter comprising;
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an infeed conveyor;
a detection system configured to determine the spacing and number of articles on the infeed conveyor, the detection system controlling the rate at which articles are loaded onto the infeed conveyor, the detection system comprising a vision system which monitors the number of articles present in each of a plurality of areas of the infeed conveyor;
a singulator, the singulator receiving a disordered stream of non-flat, three dimensional articles from the infeed conveyor and spacing the articles for transfer from the singulator one at a time;
a scanner, the scanner receiving articles from the singulator and scanning a plurality of sides of the article for destination indica, the scanner generating a signal corresponding to the scanned indica; and
a diverter, the diverter directing selected articles in response to the signal generated by the scanner. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of feeding a stream of articles to a sorter comprising:
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directing a disordered stream of non-flat, three dimensional articles onto an infeed conveyor;
utilizing a vision system to determine the spacing and number of individual articles in each of a plurality of areas on the infeed conveyor as the stream of articles is conveyed with the infeed conveyor;
controlling the rate at which articles are loaded onto the infeed conveyor based upon the number and spacing of articles present in less than all of the areas monitored by the vision system;
conveying the disordered stream of non-flat, three dimensional articles from the infeed conveyor to a singulator, singulating the stream and directing the singulated stream of articles from the singulator to a scanner;
scanning a plurality of sides of articles comprising the stream for destination indica;
generating a signal corresponding to scanned indicia; and
diverting selected articles in response to the signal generated by the scanner. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification