Apparatus and method for controlling segmented conveyor system
First Claim
1. A conveyor system comprising:
- a plurality of conveyors arranged end-to-end for transporting articles along the length thereof, including a plurality of transit conveyors, each transit conveyor being disposed between adjacent conveyors;
at least some of the transit conveyors further comprising a controller, the controller controlling the operation of each such transit conveyor to receive conveyed articles from a preceding conveyor and convey the articles to a succeeding conveyor according to a predetermined logic scheme;
each controller maintaining selected spacing between articles conveyed from the transit conveyor to the succeeding conveyor, the controller delaying transfer of articles to regenerate the spacing between articles which are spaced less than a predetermined distance apart in accordance with the logic scheme.
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Abstract
A conveyor system includes a plurality of transit conveyors having a controller utilizing a logic scheme to selectively implement a time delay before authorizing transport of an article from an adjacent preceding conveyor to the transit conveyor, thereby maintaining and adjusting the gap between objects conveyed by the system. The invention includes a method of spacing the articles including (1) receiving an input signal with a controller associated with an individual transit conveyor indicating an article ready for transit from the preceding conveyor to the transit conveyor, (2) determining whether an object is present on the transit conveyor (3) generating a time delay when an article is present on the transit conveyor, and (4) transmitting an authorization signal to the preceding conveyor authorizing the transfer of an article from the preceding conveyor to the transit conveyor after the time delay has elapsed.
20 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A conveyor system comprising:
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a plurality of conveyors arranged end-to-end for transporting articles along the length thereof, including a plurality of transit conveyors, each transit conveyor being disposed between adjacent conveyors;
at least some of the transit conveyors further comprising a controller, the controller controlling the operation of each such transit conveyor to receive conveyed articles from a preceding conveyor and convey the articles to a succeeding conveyor according to a predetermined logic scheme;
each controller maintaining selected spacing between articles conveyed from the transit conveyor to the succeeding conveyor, the controller delaying transfer of articles to regenerate the spacing between articles which are spaced less than a predetermined distance apart in accordance with the logic scheme. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of controlling the spacing of articles conveyed on a conveyor system including a plurality of transit conveyors, each transit conveyor arranged in an end to end fashion between adjacent preceding and succeeding conveyors, the method comprising:
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receiving an input signal with a transit conveyor controller associated with an individual transit conveyor, the signal indicating the presence of an article ready for transit from the preceding conveyor to the transit conveyor;
determining whether an object is present on the transit conveyor;
generating a time delay when an article is present on the transit conveyor; and
transmitting an authorization signal to the preceding conveyor, the signal authorizing the transfer of an article from the preceding conveyor to the transit conveyor after the time delay has elapsed. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification