Sorting conveyer with a tilting mechanism
First Claim
1. A sorter comprisinga stationary track, movable conveyor means arranged for moving along the track, conveyor drive means for driving the conveyor means along the track, a plurality of tilting mechanisms arranged on the conveyor means, each comprising a frame part being stationary with respect to the conveyor means, a tilting part for supporting an article-supporting part of the sorter, the article-supporting part having an article-supporting surface, tilt drive means for tilting the tilting part of the mechanism in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the sorter, at least one induction station for loading articles onto the article-supporting surfaces, and at least one discharge station for receiving articles being discharged from the article-supporting parts, the sorter further comprising a plurality of control units being arranged on the conveyor means, each control unit controlling the operation of the tilt drive means of at least one of said tilting mechanisms so that each tilt drive means is controlled by one of said control units, the control units being adapted to move the tilting parts to an inclined position of the article-supporting surfaces when passing curves in the horizontal plane of the track so as to prevent articles supported on the article-supporting parts of the tilting parts from sliding off the article-supporting surface in a direction perpendicularly to the direction of movement of the conveyor means, the control units further being adapted to move said article-supporting parts to a substantially horizontal position of the article-supporting surface when passing straight sections of the track.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A tilting mechanism comprising an article-supporting member, such as a tray or a conveyor belt for a sorter for transporting and sorting various articles is disclosed. The article-supporting member may be held tilted about two parallel axes each being fixed with respect to the tilting part or the stationary part and being movable along a predetermined path with respect to the other part. Further is disclosed a sorter comprising article-supporting members arranged on tilting mechanisms to tilt the members when passing curves and during induction of articles from the side of the sorter so as to prevent articles from sliding off the members and thus enable the sorter to operate at much higher conveying speeds than known sorters.
20 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A sorter comprising
a stationary track, movable conveyor means arranged for moving along the track, conveyor drive means for driving the conveyor means along the track, a plurality of tilting mechanisms arranged on the conveyor means, each comprising a frame part being stationary with respect to the conveyor means, a tilting part for supporting an article-supporting part of the sorter, the article-supporting part having an article-supporting surface, tilt drive means for tilting the tilting part of the mechanism in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the sorter, at least one induction station for loading articles onto the article-supporting surfaces, and at least one discharge station for receiving articles being discharged from the article-supporting parts, the sorter further comprising a plurality of control units being arranged on the conveyor means, each control unit controlling the operation of the tilt drive means of at least one of said tilting mechanisms so that each tilt drive means is controlled by one of said control units, the control units being adapted to move the tilting parts to an inclined position of the article-supporting surfaces when passing curves in the horizontal plane of the track so as to prevent articles supported on the article-supporting parts of the tilting parts from sliding off the article-supporting surface in a direction perpendicularly to the direction of movement of the conveyor means, the control units further being adapted to move said article-supporting parts to a substantially horizontal position of the article-supporting surface when passing straight sections of the track.
Specification