Package-culling conveyor system and method
First Claim
1. A culling conveyor comprising:
- a roller conveyor belt advancing in a travel direction, the roller conveyor belt having package-supporting belt rollers arranged and actuated to push packages supported on the tops of the belt rollers toward a first side of the roller conveyor belt; and
a first culling element having a bottom extending above and along the length of the roller conveyor belt and forming a vertical gap between the bottom of the first culling element and the level of the tops of the belt rollers in the roller conveyor belt, wherein the belt rollers push flat packages under the culling element and through the gap and wherein non-flat packages taller than the gap are blocked by the first culling element from passing through the gap.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A package-culling conveyor system and a method for culling flat packages from a bulk flow of flat and non-flat packages. The conveyor system includes a tilted conveyor belt that conveys flat packages along its length while non-flat packages tumble off its lower side edge to initially cull flat packages from a bulk flow of packages. Retention means, such as a high-friction outer conveying surface or a raised barrier along the length of the outer conveying surface of the tilted conveyor belt, holds flat packages on the tilted conveyor belt. The initially separated packages are more fully culled in a conveyor comprising a roller conveyor belt with package-supporting belt rollers rotated in a direction to push packages sidewise toward a culling element that extends along the length of the roller conveyor belt. Examples of culling elements include powered rollers and vertical walls forming side guards. The powered roller lifts the contact side of non-flat packages to free flat packages underneath. The belt rollers push the flat packages under the culling elements and off the side of the roller belt. The culling elements block the non-flat packages from exiting laterally off the side of the roller belt so that they are conveyed off the exit end of the roller belt separate from the flat packages.
21 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A culling conveyor comprising:
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a roller conveyor belt advancing in a travel direction, the roller conveyor belt having package-supporting belt rollers arranged and actuated to push packages supported on the tops of the belt rollers toward a first side of the roller conveyor belt; and a first culling element having a bottom extending above and along the length of the roller conveyor belt and forming a vertical gap between the bottom of the first culling element and the level of the tops of the belt rollers in the roller conveyor belt, wherein the belt rollers push flat packages under the culling element and through the gap and wherein non-flat packages taller than the gap are blocked by the first culling element from passing through the gap. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for culling flat packages from a bulk flow of flat and non-flat packages, comprising:
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actuating rollers in a roller conveyor belt conveying a bulk flow of flat and non-flat packages to push packages atop the rollers toward a first side of the roller conveyor belt; blocking non-flat packages from being pushed off the first side of the roller conveyor belt with a culling element extending above and along the length of the roller conveyor belt and having a bottom above the level of the rollers; and passing flat packages off the first side of the roller conveyor belt atop the actuated rollers through a vertical gap formed between the bottom of the culling element and the level of the rollers. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification