Apparatus and methods for high speed conveyor switching
First Claim
1. A conveyor comprising:
- a conveyor belt including a plurality of cavities, a plurality of first diverting rollers, and a plurality of second diverting rollers, each diverting roller being disposed in a cavity;
at least one first transverse roller having an axis that extends in a direction of travel of the conveyor belt and that can couple to the plurality of first diverting rollers to cause the first diverting rollers to rotate as they travel along the at least one first transverse roller;
at least one second transverse roller having an axis that extends in the direction of travel of the conveyor belt and that can couple to the plurality of second diverting rollers to cause the second diverting rollers to rotate as they travel along the at least one second transverse roller; and
wherein each of the plurality of first diverting rollers is oriented at a first angle relative to the direction of travel of the conveyor belt and each of the plurality of second diverting rollers is oriented at a second angle relative to the direction of travel of the conveyor belt.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed are conveyors and methods for making and using a conveyor. In some embodiments, the conveyor comprises a modular conveyor belt that includes at least one mat-top chain having at least one cavity and at least one first roller disposed in the cavity of the mat-top chain. The conveyor further includes a longitudinal second roller that operatively couples to the first roller such that the longitudinal second roller and the first roller are rotating as the conveyor belt travels along the longitudinal second roller. In another embodiment, the method for making a conveyor may comprise the steps of linking a plurality of mat-top chains together to form a modular conveyor belt; disposing a first roller into a cavity of the mat-top chain; and placing a longitudinal second roller underneath the conveyor belt such that as the conveyor belt travels along the longitudinal second roller, the first roller operatively couples to the longitudinal second roller causing the second roller and the first roller to rotate. In another embodiment, the conveyor includes rollers in alternating directions for selectively switching conveyor objects in a plurality of directions. In another embodiment, a plurality of modular conveyor belts is configured such that individual conveyor belts divert objects in different directions.
85 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A conveyor comprising:
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a conveyor belt including a plurality of cavities, a plurality of first diverting rollers, and a plurality of second diverting rollers, each diverting roller being disposed in a cavity; at least one first transverse roller having an axis that extends in a direction of travel of the conveyor belt and that can couple to the plurality of first diverting rollers to cause the first diverting rollers to rotate as they travel along the at least one first transverse roller; at least one second transverse roller having an axis that extends in the direction of travel of the conveyor belt and that can couple to the plurality of second diverting rollers to cause the second diverting rollers to rotate as they travel along the at least one second transverse roller; and wherein each of the plurality of first diverting rollers is oriented at a first angle relative to the direction of travel of the conveyor belt and each of the plurality of second diverting rollers is oriented at a second angle relative to the direction of travel of the conveyor belt. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A conveyor comprising:
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a first conveyor belt that travels in a direction of belt travel; a second conveyor belt that travels in the direction of belt travel; a plurality of cavities disposed in the first conveyor and the second conveyor; a plurality of first diverting rollers, each first diverting roller disposed in a cavity in the first conveyor; a plurality of second diverting rollers, each second diverting roller disposed in a cavity in the second conveyor; and a plurality of transverse rollers having axes that extend along the direction of belt travel, the transverse rollers being adapted to couple to the plurality of first diverting rollers and the plurality of second diverting rollers. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for conveying objects, the method comprising:
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driving a conveyor belt in a first direction; coupling first diverting rollers disposed in the conveyor belt with a first transverse roller that is free to rotate in a direction that is transverse to the first direction; coupling second diverting rollers disposed in the conveyor belt with a second transverse roller that is free to rotate in a direction that is transverse to the first direction; selectively diverting objects from the conveyor belt in a second direction using the first diverting rollers; and selectively diverting objects from the conveyor belt in a third direction using the second diverting rollers. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification