# US 10,479,611 B2 · Very high-speed linear sortation conveyor with dynamic recirculation capacity

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- Number: US 10,479,611 B2
- Document ID: US10479611B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/134,522
- Filed: 2018-09-18
- Published: 2019-01-17
- Granted: 2019-11-19
- Earliest claimed: 2013-06-07
- Assignees: Intelligrated Headquarters, LLC
- Applicants: Intelligrated Headquarters, LLC
- Inventors: Christopher G. Maines; Justin J. Zimmer; Jason Robert Meta; Ryan Artz; Brett Alan Hedges; Adam Stutz; Raymond R. Neiser
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10479611B2

## CPC

- B65G 43/00: Control devices, e.g. for safety, warning or fault-correcting
- B07C 5/36: Sorting apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution {(sorting according to destination B07C3/003, B07C3/02)}
- B65G 47/46: and distributing, e.g. automatically, to desired points (in tube mail systems B65G51/36)
- B65G 47/684: {with recirculation of articles forming a buffer}
- B65G 47/766: {Adjustable ploughs or transverse scrapers}
- B65G 47/844: {the article-engaging elements being pushers transversally movable on the supporting surface, e.g. pusher-shoes}
- B65G: TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS (packaging B65B; handling thin or filamentary materials, e.g. paper sheets or thread, B65H; cranes B66C; portable mobile or lifting or hauling appliances, e.g. hoists, B66D; devices for lifting or lowering goods for loading or unloading purposes, e.g. fork-lift trucks, B66F9/00; emptying bottles, jars, casks, barrels or similar containers, not otherwise provided for, B67C9/00; delivering or transferring liquids B67D; filling or discharging vessels for liquefied, solidified or compressed gases F17C; pipe-line systems for fluids F17D)
- B07C: POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING (specially adapted for a specific purpose covered by another class, see the relevant place, e.g. A43D33/06, B23Q7/12)

## Abstract

A material handling system includes a very high speed linear sortation conveyor that receives articles at an operating speed of 650 to 700 feet per second (fps) and up to 100 fps with gapping as small as one inch. In one or more embodiments, a recirculation sortation conveyor receives articles that are not diverted by the linear sortation conveyor with dynamic capacity sufficient to handle a high speed shutdown of the linear sortation conveyor. The recirculation sortation conveyor is itself a very high speed linear sortation conveyor having a pusher pre-sort feature that can distribute received articles at different lateral positions on an endless conveyor to align with more than one recirculation sortation conveyors that may be operating at a slower operating speed. In an exemplary embodiment, the recirculation sortation conveyor has a divert section for diverting articles to a divert target on a lateral side.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A sortation controller of a material handling system, the sortation controller comprising:
a processor subsystem in communication with a device interface and a pin guide assembly of a recirculation sortation conveyor, the processor subsystem is configured to:
determine a predicted induction position of an undiverted article on an endless apron of the recirculation sortation conveyor;
determine a capacity of two recirculation conveyors that receive articles from a respective lateral side of the recirculation sortation conveyor;
wherein, in response to determining that at least one of the two recirculation conveyors has available capacity, the processor subsystem is configured to:
select at least one of the two recirculation conveyors, wherein the selected at least one of the two recirculation conveyors has available capacity; and
assign a pre-sort section of the pin guide assembly to position the undiverted article on a selected lateral side of the endless apron corresponding to a selected one of the two recirculation conveyors; and
wherein, in response to determining that neither of two recirculation conveyors has available capacity, the processor subsystem is configured to:
assign a divert section of the pin guide assembly to laterally divert to a divert location on a selected lateral side of the recirculation sortation conveyor, wherein the divert section comprises more than one divert guide path, each respective divert guide path comprising an arcuate portion having a continuously increasing slope without a breakpoint to laterally accelerate the diverted article without an abrupt initial force being applied; and
assign the pre-sort section to position the undiverted article on the selected lateral side having one or more pushers that are configured to flank the undiverted article such that it is diverted by the divert section.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The sortation controller of claim 1, wherein the processor subsystem performs a round robin assignment of available recirculation targets comprising the two recirculation conveyors and the divert location.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The sortation controller of claim 1, wherein a diverted set of pushers, when contacted with articles, travels through the arcuate portion of the divert guide path from a first speed to a second speed to deliver the articles to their divert destination.

### Claim 4

A method of dynamic recirculation control for a linear sortation conveyor of a material handling system, the method comprising:
receiving divert destination assignments for a train of articles conveyed onto a linear sortation conveyor that has a primary recirculation path and a secondary recirculation path, wherein at least one of the primary and secondary recirculation paths are reachable by a particular article of the train of articles by lateral repositioning on an endless apron of the linear sortation conveyor, and wherein the divert destinations are associated with a divert conveyor comprising divert sections with more than one divert guide path, each respective divert guide path comprising an arcuate portion having a continuously increasing slope without a breakpoint to laterally accelerate the diverted article without an abrupt initial force being applied;
determining whether the particular article conveyed on the linear sortation conveyor has an impending recirculation status; and
in response to determining that the particular article has the impending recirculation status, assigning the particular article to one of primary and secondary recirculation paths.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, wherein determining whether the particular article conveyed on the linear sortation conveyor has the impending recirculation status further comprises:
determining whether a warehouse execution system fails to timely assign the particular article to divert destination.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, wherein determining whether the particular article conveyed on the linear sortation conveyor has the impending recirculation status further comprises:
receiving an image of the linear sortation conveyor, and
recognizing the particular article in the image at a position on the linear sortation conveyor downstream of an assigned destination location.

### Claim 7 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, wherein the
determining whether a sensor indicates headroom on the primary recirculation conveyor to receive the particular article; and
in response to determining that the primary recirculation conveyor does not have headroom, assigning the particular article to the secondary recirculation path.

### Claim 8 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, wherein assigning the particular article to one of primary and secondary recirculation paths comprises round robin assignment any articles in the train of articles having the status of impending recirculation.

### Claim 9 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, wherein a diverted set of pushers when contacted with articles travels through the arcuate portion of the divert guide path from a first speed to a second speed to deliver the articles to their divert destination.