Methods for singulating abutting articles
First Claim
1. A method for singulating laterally abutting conveyed articles in a conveyor, comprising:
- feeding laterally abutting articles onto an upstream portion of a first conveyor segment divided across its width into a first conveyor section having article-supporting rollers rotating to push supported articles downstream in a first direction and a second conveyor section having article-supporting rollers rotating to push supported articles in a second direction downstream and away from the first conveyor section toward a first side of the conveyor;
rotating the rollers in the first conveying section at a first velocity having a downstream component of velocity in a general conveying direction and rotating the rollers in the second conveying section at a second velocity having a downstream component of velocity, wherein the first direction diverges from the second direction.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods for singulating laterally abutting conveyed articles in a conveyor (60). The method includes separating laterally abutting articles by means of a first conveyor section (62) having in-line rollers (64) or oblique rollers rotating at a first speed in a conveying direction (70) and a second laterally adjacent conveyor section (63) having oblique rollers (65) rotating at a second speed in a direction causing articles atop the oblique rollers (65) in the second section (63) to diverge from articles atop the rollers in the first section. Differing the roller speeds helps the abutting articles to increase their separation in the conveying direction.
36 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for singulating laterally abutting conveyed articles in a conveyor, comprising:
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feeding laterally abutting articles onto an upstream portion of a first conveyor segment divided across its width into a first conveyor section having article-supporting rollers rotating to push supported articles downstream in a first direction and a second conveyor section having article-supporting rollers rotating to push supported articles in a second direction downstream and away from the first conveyor section toward a first side of the conveyor; rotating the rollers in the first conveying section at a first velocity having a downstream component of velocity in a general conveying direction and rotating the rollers in the second conveying section at a second velocity having a downstream component of velocity, wherein the first direction diverges from the second direction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for singulating laterally abutting conveyed articles advancing in a general conveying direction along a conveyor, comprising:
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feeding laterally abutting articles onto an upstream portion of a first conveyor segment divided across its width into a first conveyor section having article-supporting rollers arranged to rotate to push conveyed articles in a first direction and a second conveyor section having article-supporting rollers arranged to rotate to push conveyed articles in a second direction oblique to the first direction, downstream and away from the first conveyor section toward a first side of the conveyor; separating laterally abutting articles by pushing those articles on the second conveyor section toward the first side of the conveyor and with a downstream speed less than the downstream speed of those articles on the first conveyor section. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for singulating laterally abutting articles conveyed downstream along a conveyor, comprising:
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conveying articles in a general conveying direction on a first diverging roller conveyor segment having article-supporting rollers arranged to push some of the articles toward the first side of the conveyor and away from the other articles; conveying the articles on a centering roller conveyor segment downstream of the first diverging roller conveyor segment having article-supporting rollers arranged to push the articles to merge along an axis between the first and second sides of the conveyor. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification