Conveyor system with diverting track network
First Claim
1. A conveyor sorter, comprising:
- a conveying surface movable in a longiudinal direction;
a plurality of pusher shoes capable of traveling laterally of said conveying surface;
at least one diverting rail configured to selectively guide at least one of said pusher shoes laterally of said conveying surface; and
at least one diverter associated with said at least one diverting rail, said at least one diverter adapted to selectively transfer the at least one of said pusher shoes to said at least one diverting rail;
wherein said at least one diverting rail having at least a first portion adjacent said at least one diverter and a second portion extending from an end of said first portion away from said at least one diverter, said first portion having a first angle with respect to said longitudinal direction and said second portion having a second angle with respect to said longitudinal direction that is different from said first angle, wherein the at least one of said pusher shoes guided by said at least one diverting rail initially contacts an article on said conveying surface at said first portion, wherein said first angle configured to produce a first lateral force of the at least one of said pusher shoes contacting an article, said second angle configured to produce a second lateral force of the at least one pusher shoe wherein said second lateral force is higher than said first lateral force.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A conveyor sorter and method of laterally displacing articles for diverting articles from a conveying surface includes providing a plurality of movable pushers that are associated with the conveying surface and adapted to move transversely across the conveying surface. A plurality of diverting rails are configured to guide selected ones of the movable pushers across the conveying surface. A plurality of diverters are adapted to selectively divert at least one movable pusher to the diverting tracks when activated into a diverting state. The diverting tracks may include segments that are oriented at different angles with respect to the direction of movement of the conveying surface. This causes selected pusher shoes to be laterally displaced at a first rate during an initial portion of the travel and at a second rate during a subsequent portion of the travel.
-
Citations
29 Claims
-
1. A conveyor sorter, comprising:
-
a conveying surface movable in a longiudinal direction; a plurality of pusher shoes capable of traveling laterally of said conveying surface; at least one diverting rail configured to selectively guide at least one of said pusher shoes laterally of said conveying surface; and at least one diverter associated with said at least one diverting rail, said at least one diverter adapted to selectively transfer the at least one of said pusher shoes to said at least one diverting rail; wherein said at least one diverting rail having at least a first portion adjacent said at least one diverter and a second portion extending from an end of said first portion away from said at least one diverter, said first portion having a first angle with respect to said longitudinal direction and said second portion having a second angle with respect to said longitudinal direction that is different from said first angle, wherein the at least one of said pusher shoes guided by said at least one diverting rail initially contacts an article on said conveying surface at said first portion, wherein said first angle configured to produce a first lateral force of the at least one of said pusher shoes contacting an article, said second angle configured to produce a second lateral force of the at least one pusher shoe wherein said second lateral force is higher than said first lateral force. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A method of laterally displacing articles, said method comprising:
-
providing a conveying surface traveling in a longitudinal direction; providing a plurality of pusher shoes; selecting particular ones of said pusher shoes to laterally displace an article on said conveying surface; and laterally displacing the particular ones of said pusher shoes including initially impacting an article with the particular ones of said pusher shoes and subsequently displacing the article after said impacting with the particular ones of said pusher shoes, said impacting comprising laterally displacing the particular ones of said pusher shoes at a first lateral rate, said subsequently displacing comprising laterally displacing the particular ones of said pusher shoes at a second lateral rate, said second lateral rate being higher than said first lateral rate. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. A method of laterally displacing articles, said method comprising:
-
providing a conveying surface traveling in a longitudinal direction and a plurality of pusher shoes capable of traveling laterally of said conveying surface; providing at least one diverting rail and selectively guiding at least one of said pusher shoes laterally of said conveying surface with said at least one diverting rail; providing at least one diverter associated with said at least one diverting rail and selectively transferring the at least one of said pusher shoes to said at least one diverting rail with said at least one diverter; wherein said at least one diverting rail having at least a first portion adjacent said at least one diverter and a second portion extending from an end of said first portion away from said at least one diverter; said selectively guiding including initially impacting an article with the at least one of said pusher shoes and subsequently displacing the article after said impacting with the at least one of said pusher shoes, said impacting comprising laterally displacing the at least one of said pusher shoes at a first lateral rate, said subsequently displacing comprising laterally displacing the at least one of said pusher shoes at a second lateral rate, said first lateral rate causing the at least one of said pusher shoes to apply an impact force to the article, said second lateral rate causing the at least one of said pusher shoes to apply a subsequent force to the article, said subsequent force being higher than said impact force. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
-
Specification