# US 10,500,613 B2 · Induction conveyor > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,500,613 B2 - Document ID: US10500613B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/356,048 - Filed: 2019-03-18 - Published: 2019-07-11 - Granted: 2019-12-10 - Earliest claimed: 2014-01-27 - Assignees: Laitram, L.L.C. - Applicants: Laitram, L.L.C. - Inventors: Stephen G. Wargo - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10500613B2 ## CPC - B07C 7/00: Sorting by hand only {e.g. of mail} - B65G 17/24: comprising a series of rollers which are moved {, e.g. over a supporting surface, by the traction element to effect conveyance of loads or load-carriers} - B65G 43/10: Sequence control of conveyors operating in combination - B65G 47/082: {grouping articles in rows} - B65G 47/1492: {the articles being fed from a feeding conveyor} - B65G 47/261: {Accumulating articles} - B65G 47/30: during transit by a series of conveyors - B65G 47/682: {from a single conveyor lane consisting of one conveyor or several adjacent conveyors} - B65G 47/69: the articles being accumulated temporarily {(accumulating articles during transit B65G47/261)} - B65G 2201/0285: Postal items, e.g. letters, parcels - B65G 2203/044: Optical - 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) - 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) ## 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. ## Claims ### Claim 1 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. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The induction conveyor system of claim 1, further comprising a buffer empty sensor for sensing that the buffer conveyor is low of product, wherein the controller increases a speed of an upstream conveyor to fill the buffer conveyor with product. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The induction conveyor system of claim 1, further comprising a buffer full sensor for sensing that the buffer conveyor is full of product, wherein the controller decreases a speed of an upstream conveyor to reduce the flow of product to the buffer conveyor. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The induction conveyor system of claim 1, wherein the buffer conveyor comprises twelve roller zones in series, each zone comprising five consecutive rollers. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The induction conveyor system of claim 1, 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. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The induction conveyor system of claim 5, wherein a second set of roller zones operates at a second speed reduced from the first speed. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The induction conveyor system of claim 6, wherein a third set of roller zones operates at a third speed increased from the second speed. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The induction conveyor system of claim 7, wherein a fourth set of roller zones operates at a fourth speed increased from the third speed. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The induction conveyor system of claim 8, wherein a fifth set of roller zones operates at a fifth speed, reduced from the fourth speed and releases the product to the cull belt at the selected paced rate. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The induction conveyor system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of upstream conveyors comprises: a destacking conveyor for destacking products, the destacker operating at a destacking speed; a singulating conveyor receiving product from the destacking conveyor for singulating the product, the singulating conveyor operating at a singulating speed; and an aligning conveyor for receiving singulated product from the singulating conveyor and aligning the product, the aligning conveyor operating at an aligning speed. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The induction conveyor system of claim 1, wherein the cull belt includes sensors that detect the discharge of multiple products onto the cull belt. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The induction conveyor system of claim 11, wherein the controller signals the buffer conveyor to pause from releasing a product until one of the cull belt sensors is unblocked for at least a set amount of time. ### Claim 13 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. ### Claim 14 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. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The induction conveyor system of claim 14, wherein a second set of roller zones operates at a second speed reduced from the first speed. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The induction conveyor system of claim 15, wherein a third set of roller zones operates at a third speed increased from the second speed. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The induction conveyor system of claim 16, wherein a fourth set of roller zones operates at a fourth speed increased from the third speed and a fifth set of roller zones operates at a fifth speed, reduced from the fourth speed and releases the product to the cull belt at the selected paced rate. ### Claim 18 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. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The induction conveyor system of claim 18, wherein the controller signals the buffer conveyor to pause from releasing a product until one of the cull belt sensors is unblocked for at least a set amount of time.