Induction conveyor
AssigneeLaitram, L.L.C.
InventorStephen G. Wargo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An article induction system for preparing a stream of articles, such as mail parcels, for processing employs a series of conveyors operating under control of a controller for feeding articles to an operator at a cull belt at an optimal paced rate. The article induction system includes a destacking section, a separation and alignment section, a buffer section and a culling section manned by an operator. A controller controls the speed of each component based on measurements provided by sensors so as to feed articles to the operator at a desired paced rate.
Claims19
An induction conveyor system for preparing a product for processing, comprising:
- a plurality of upstream conveyors for converting a bulk flow of products into a series of products;
- a buffer conveyor for receiving the series of products, buffering the series of products and releasing the product to a cull belt, the buffer conveyor comprising
- a plurality of roller zones, each roller zone comprising a plurality of rollers controlled together and including a powered roller and a zone sensor for sensing product in the roller zone;
- an array of sensors at a discharge of the buffer conveyor for monitoring the product;
- a cull belt for conveying product from the buffer past an operator at a selected paced rate;
- and
- a controller for modulating conditions in the induction conveyor system to keep the buffer conveyor at least substantially full of product, based on measurements of the product by a plurality of sensors, wherein the controller delays releasing a product at the discharge of the buffer conveyor if more than one sensor in the array of sensors is blocked.
An induction conveyor system for preparing a product for processing, comprising:
- a plurality of upstream conveyors for converting a bulk flow of products into a series of products;
- a buffer conveyor for receiving the series of products, buffering the series of products and releasing the product to a cull belt, the buffer conveyor comprising
- a plurality of roller zones, each roller zone comprising a plurality of rollers controlled together and including a powered roller and a zone sensor for sensing product in the roller zone;
- an array of sensors at a discharge of the buffer conveyor for monitoring the product;
- a cull belt for conveying product from the buffer past an operator at a selected paced rate;
- and
- a controller for modulating conditions in the induction conveyor system to keep the buffer conveyor at least substantially full of product, based on measurements of the product by a plurality of sensors, wherein the controller delays releasing a product at the discharge of the buffer conveyor if a sensor in the array of sensors is blocked for more than a selected period of time.
An induction conveyor system for preparing a product for processing, comprising:
- a plurality of upstream conveyors for converting a bulk flow of products into a series of products;
- a buffer conveyor for receiving the series of products, buffering the series of products and releasing the product to a cull belt, the buffer conveyor comprising
- a plurality of roller zones, each roller zone comprising a plurality of rollers controlled together and including a powered roller and a zone sensor for sensing product in the roller zone, wherein a first set of roller zones operates at a first speed higher than a speed of an adjacent upstream conveyor to pull the product away from the adjacent upstream conveyor;
- a cull belt for conveying product from the buffer past an operator at a selected paced rate;
- and
- a controller for modulating conditions in the induction conveyor system to keep the buffer conveyor at least substantially full of product, based on measurements of the product by a plurality of sensors.
An induction conveyor system for preparing a product for processing, comprising:
- a plurality of upstream conveyors for converting a bulk flow of products into a series of products;
- a buffer conveyor for receiving the series of products, buffering the series of products and releasing the product to a cull belt, the buffer conveyor comprising
- a plurality of roller zones, each roller zone comprising a plurality of rollers controlled together and including a powered roller and a zone sensor for sensing product in the roller zone;
- a cull belt for conveying product from the buffer past an operator at a selected paced rate;
- sensors associated with the cull belt for detecting the discharge of multiple products onto the cull belt;
- and
- a controller for modulating conditions in the induction conveyor system to keep the buffer conveyor at least substantially full of product.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.