Positive displacement shoe and slat sorter apparatus and method
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A positive displacement sorter apparatus, comprising:
- means for defining a plurality of slats, said slats being interconnected thereby defining an endless web, an upper run of said web defining a conveying surface;
means for defining a plurality of pusher shoes, said pusher shoes gliding along at least some of said slats to laterally displace articles on said conveying surface;
secondary means for defining a plurality of linear motor secondaries at said slats;
primary means for producing thrust in said secondaries and thereby propelling said web; and
control means for controlling said primary means.
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Abstract
A positive displacement sorter apparatus and method includes providing a plurality of slats being interconnected in an endless web, an upper run of the web defining a conveying surface, and a plurality of pusher shoes gliding along at least some of the slats to laterally displace articles on the conveying surface. A linear motor system is provided to propel the web and includes a plurality of linear motor secondaries at the slats and at least one primary for propelling the secondaries. A control system controls the primaries.
91 Citations
102 Claims
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1. A positive displacement sorter apparatus, comprising:
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means for defining a plurality of slats, said slats being interconnected thereby defining an endless web, an upper run of said web defining a conveying surface;
means for defining a plurality of pusher shoes, said pusher shoes gliding along at least some of said slats to laterally displace articles on said conveying surface;
secondary means for defining a plurality of linear motor secondaries at said slats;
primary means for producing thrust in said secondaries and thereby propelling said web; and
control means for controlling said primary means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A positive displacement sorter apparatus, comprising:
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a plurality of interconnected slats defining an endless web having upper and lower portions and transition portions between said upper and lower portions, said upper portion of said web defining a conveying surface, pusher shoes gliding along at least some of said plurality of slats to laterally displace articles on said conveying surface;
a support track network having upper and lower track portions and transition track portions between said upper and lower track portions;
a wheel assembly moveably supporting said endless web for movement on said support track network; and
at least one of said support track network having top and bottom portions and a transition track portion between said top and bottom portions, said transition track portion having a support surface that is a non-circular curve in side elevation. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A positive displacement sorter apparatus, comprising:
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a plurality of interconnected slats defining an endless web having upper and lower portions and transition portions between said upper and lower portions, said upper portion of said web defining a conveying surface;
pusher shoes gliding along at least some of said plurality of slats to laterally displace articles on said conveying surface;
a support track network;
a wheel assembly moveably supporting said endless web for movement on said support track network;
a plurality of diverters and associated diverter rails for selectively displacing ones of said pusher shoes laterally of said conveying surface to displace articles on said conveying surface; and
a frame for supporting said support track network, said diverters and diverter rails, said frame comprising at least two longitudinal horizontal members, said horizontal members defining fastener channels along said horizontal members wherein said diverters and diverter rails can be selectively mounted at chosen positions along said frame by fasteners engaging said fastener channels. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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36. A positive displacement sorter apparatus, comprising:
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a plurality of interconnected slats defining an endless web, an upper portion of said web defining a conveying surface;
pusher shoes gliding along at least some of said plurality of slats to laterally displace articles on said conveying surface; and
a closed-loop propulsion system for said endless web, said propulsion system comprising at least one motor, a web sensor for sensing movement of said web and a control that is responsive to said web sensor to excite said at least one motor in a manner that reduces speed fluctuations resulting from variations in article loading of said endless web.
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47. The sorter apparatus of claim wherein said linear motor propulsion system is chosen from one of a synchronous linear motor system and a non-synchronous linear motor system.
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53. A positive displacement sorter apparatus, comprising:
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a plurality of interconnected slats defining an endless web having upper and lower runs and transition portions between said upper and lower runs, said upper run of said web defining a conveying surface;
pusher shoes gliding along at least some of said plurality of slats to laterally displace articles on said conveying surface; and
a linear motor propulsion system for propelling said web, said propulsion system comprising at least one motor primary adjacent said web and a plurality of motor secondaries with said slats, said at least one motor primary propelling slats in said lower run from above, said linear motor propulsion system configured to produce sufficient thrust to propel said web without substantially elevating said slats in said lower run. - View Dependent Claims (54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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60. A positive displacement sorter apparatus, comprising:
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a plurality of interconnected slats defining an endless web, an upper run of said web defining a conveying surface;
pusher shoes gliding along at least some of said plurality of slats to laterally displace articles on said conveying surface;
a linear motor propulsion system for propelling said web, said linear motor propulsion system comprising at least one motor primary and a plurality of motor secondaries, including magnet plates in said slats; and
wherein said magnet plates are retained in the associated slats by being fixed from within the associated slats. - View Dependent Claims (61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71)
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72. A method of sorting articles, comprising:
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providing a plurality of interconnected slats defining an endless web, an upper portion of said web defining a conveying surface;
providing pusher shoes gliding along at least some of said plurality of slats to laterally displace articles on said conveying surface;
providing a web sensor and sensing movement of said web with said web sensor;
providing a propulsion system comprising at least one motor; and
exciting said at least one motor at least as a function of an output of said web sensor, thereby reducing speed fluctuations resulting from variations in article loading of said endless web. - View Dependent Claims (73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86)
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87. A method of sorting articles, comprising:
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providing a plurality of interconnected slats defining an endless web having upper and lower runs and transition portions between said upper and lower runs, said upper run of said web defining a conveying surface;
providing pusher shoes gliding along at least some of said plurality of slats;
providing a linear motor propulsion system for propelling said web, said propulsion system comprising at least one motor primary adjacent said web and a plurality of motor secondaries with said slats;
propelling slats in said lower run from above with said at least one motor primary, including producing sufficient thrust to propel said web without substantially elevating said slats in said lower run; and
laterally displacing articles on said conveying surface with said pusher shoes. - View Dependent Claims (88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93)
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94. A method of sorting articles, comprising:
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providing a plurality of interconnected slats defining an endless web having upper and lower runs and transition portions between said upper and lower runs, said upper run of said web defining a conveying surface;
providing pusher shoes gliding along at least some of said plurality of slats;
providing a linear motor propulsion system and propelling said web with said propulsion system, said linear motor propulsion system comprising at least one motor primary and a plurality of motor secondaries at said slats;
positioning said at least one motor primary being between said upper and lower runs and said plurality of motor secondaries at said slats; and
laterally displacing articles on said conveying surface with said pusher shoes. - View Dependent Claims (95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102)
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Specification