Transverse-roller-belt sorter with automated guide
First Claim
1. A sorting conveyor comprising:
- a sorting station forming a segment of a conveying line conveying articles in a conveying direction, the sorting station comprising;
a roller-top conveyor belt extending in width laterally from a first side to a second side and traveling in the conveying direction, the roller-top conveyor belt including a plurality of rollers having salient portions protruding outward from an outer surface of the belt to support a conveyed article and capable of being rotated to enable conveyed articles atop the rollers to be diverted toward the first or second side of the belt,an elongated guide extending in length from a first end to a second end and suspended above the outer surface of the belt and selectively positionable in a first position traversing the width of the belt to intercept a conveyed article and guide it atop the rollers off the first or second side of the belt and in a second position not intercepting a conveyed article to allow it to continue to advance in the conveying direction,a linear drive disposed at a first location defining a lateral track above the roller-top conveyor belt and traversing the belt, the linear drive having a downwardly extending arm selectively driven along the track, andwherein the first end of the elongated guide is attached to the arm and the guide is in the first position when the arm is at the first side of the belt and in the second position when the arm is at the second side of the belt.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A bidirectional sorter using an automated guide to selectively divert articles off a transverse roller-top conveyor belt. A sorting station forms a segment of a conveying line conveying articles in a conveying direction. The sorting station includes a transverse roller-top belt having rollers protruding above an outer surface of the belt. The rollers are arranged to rotate about axes in the conveyor direction to provide a low-friction rolling surface to articles being pushed sidewise on the belt. A guide suspended above the belt is positionable over the belt at positions to intercept conveyed articles and guide them atop the rollers off one side of the belt or the other. The guide is also movable to a bypass position that allows conveyed articles to pass freely through the sorting station.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A sorting conveyor comprising:
a sorting station forming a segment of a conveying line conveying articles in a conveying direction, the sorting station comprising; a roller-top conveyor belt extending in width laterally from a first side to a second side and traveling in the conveying direction, the roller-top conveyor belt including a plurality of rollers having salient portions protruding outward from an outer surface of the belt to support a conveyed article and capable of being rotated to enable conveyed articles atop the rollers to be diverted toward the first or second side of the belt, an elongated guide extending in length from a first end to a second end and suspended above the outer surface of the belt and selectively positionable in a first position traversing the width of the belt to intercept a conveyed article and guide it atop the rollers off the first or second side of the belt and in a second position not intercepting a conveyed article to allow it to continue to advance in the conveying direction, a linear drive disposed at a first location defining a lateral track above the roller-top conveyor belt and traversing the belt, the linear drive having a downwardly extending arm selectively driven along the track, and wherein the first end of the elongated guide is attached to the arm and the guide is in the first position when the arm is at the first side of the belt and in the second position when the arm is at the second side of the belt. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A sorting conveyor comprising:
a sorting station forming a segment of a conveying line conveying articles in a conveying direction, the sorting station comprising; a roller-top conveyor belt extending in width laterally from a first side to a second side and traveling in the conveying direction, the roller-top conveyor belt including a plurality of rollers having salient portions protruding outward from an outer surface of the belt to support a conveyed article and capable of being rotated to enable a conveyed article atop the rollers to be diverted toward the first or second side of the belt, an elongated guide extending in length from a first end to a second end and suspended above the outer surface of the belt and selectively positionable in a first position traversing the width of the belt to intercept a conveyed article and guide it atop the rollers off the first or second side of the belt and in a second position not intercepting a conveyed article to allow it to continue to advance in the conveying direction, a rotational drive disposed above the roller-tap conveyor belt, the rotational drive having a downwardly extending rotatable pivot shaft defining a pivot axis intersecting the belt generally midway across the width of the belt, wherein the pivot shaft is attached to the elongated guide generally midway between the first end and the second end to selectively rotate the elongated guide between the first position at an angle relative to the conveying direction to divert a conveyed article off the first side of the belt and a third position at a different angle relative to the conveying direction to divert an article off the second side of the belt. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A sorting conveyor comprising:
a sorting station forming a segment of a conveying line conveying articles in a conveying direction, the sorting station comprising; a roller-top conveyor belt extending in width laterally from a first side to a second side and traveling in the conveying direction, the roller-top conveyor belt including a plurality of rollers protruding outward of a horizontal upper surface of the belt to support a conveyed article and arranged to rotate about axes generally in the conveying direction, an elongated guide forming a generally vertical wall extending in length from a first end to a second end and suspended above the upper surface of the belt and selectively positionable in one or more blocking orientations crossing the belt from the first side to the second side to intercept a conveyed article and guide it atop the rollers off the first or second side of the belt and in one or more non-blocking orientations not intercepting a conveyed article to allow it to continue to advance in the conveying direction, wherein the elongated guide includes roller wheels having low-friction surfaces extending from the wall and rotatable about vertical axes to engage a conveyed article in low-friction rolling contact; and a drive disposed above the conveyor belt and coupled to the elongated guide to position the wall across the upper surface of the belt at one or more angles relative to the conveying direction. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A sorting conveyor comprising:
a bidirectional sorting station forming a segment of a conveying line conveying articles in a conveying direction, the sorting station comprising; a roller-top conveyor belt extending in width laterally from a first side to a second side and traveling in the conveying direction, the roller-top conveyor belt including a plurality of rollers having salient portions protruding outward from an outer surface of the belt to support a conveyed article and mounted on axles retained in the conveyor belt generally in the conveying direction, enabling the rollers to be rotated to enable a conveyed article atop the rollers to be diverted toward the first or second side of the belt, first and second exit conveyors abutting the belt at the first and second sides, respectively, for receiving conveyed articles diverted off the first and second sides of the belt, a first linear drive disposed at a first location defining a first lateral track above the outer surface of the belt and generally perpendicularly traversing the belt and a second linear drive disposed at a second location spaced from the first location in the conveying direction and defining a parallel second lateral track above the outer surface of the belt, an elongated guide extending in length from a first end riding along the first track to a second end riding along the second track and disposed above the outer surface of the belt and selectively positioned by the first and second linear drives in; a first diverting position traversing the width of the belt with the first end of the guide at the first side of the belt and the second end of the guide at the second side of the belt and downstream of the first end to intercept a conveyed article and guide it atop the rollers off the second side of the belt onto the second exit conveyor, a second diverting position traversing the width of the belt with the first end of the guide at the second side of the belt and the second end of the guide at the first side of the belt and downstream of the first end to intercept a conveyed article and guide it atop the rollers off the first side of the belt onto the first exit conveyor, and a bypass position not intercepting a conveyed article to allow it to continue to advance in the conveying direction past the sorting station.
Specification