US 12,441,554 B2Granted

Hangar guide

AssigneeWalmart Apollo, LLC

InventorsJack Magliocco, Jason Bigler, Kevin Behr

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Abstract

Examples provide a hanger guide for diverting items having a hanger hook away from dividers on a sloped surface of a sorting machine as the hooked items move through a channel defined by one or more of the dividers. The hanger guide includes a diameter greater than the diameter of a hook on the hooked items preventing the hook from catching on the hanger guide. The hanger guide substantially covers a leading edge of a divider on which the hanger guide is attached preventing a hook from catching on any uncovered portion of the leading edge. The hanger guide is removably attached to the divider via one or more fasteners. When a hook comes into contact with the hanger guide, the hook slides off the hanger guide and proceeds through the channel to the end of the sloped surface unimpeded.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A system for hanger guides on a sorting device, the system comprising:

a plurality of hangers, wherein each hanger of the plurality of hangers includes a hanger hook;
a plurality of dividers associated with a sloping surface of the sorting device, the plurality of dividers defining at least one channel through which the hanger hook is able to slide down the sloping surface, the plurality of dividers including a first divider;
and
a plurality of hanger guides associated with the plurality of dividers, the plurality of hanger guides comprising a first hanger guide attached to a first leading edge of an end of the first divider, wherein the first hanger guide comprises a main body configured to enable passage of the hanger hook past the first leading edge of the first divider associated with the sloping surface of the sorting device into a receptacle at a bottom of the sloping surface, wherein the first hanger guide further comprises:
a diameter of the main body of the first hanger guide that is greater than a diameter of a hook on a hangar associated with an item moving down the sloping surface through the at least one channel.

2 more elements

A hanger guide device for use on a divider of a sorting device, the hanger guide device comprising:

a main body;
a vertical length of the main body sufficient to substantially cover a first leading edge of the divider on a sloping surface associated with the sorting device, wherein the main body substantially covers the first leading edge of the divider nearest a top of the sloping surface;
a diameter of the main body that is greater than a diameter of a garment hanger hook;
and
a set of fasteners removably securing the hanger guide device over the first leading edge of an end of the divider, wherein the main body of the hanger guide device is configured to enable passage of a hanger hook past the first leading edge of the divider associated with the sloping surface of the sorting device and prevent hanger hooks moving down the sloping surface through a channel at least partially defined by the divider from becoming hooked over the first leading edge of the end of the divider as items enter the channel near the top of the sloping surface.

2 more elements

A hanger guide apparatus comprising:

a main body having a flat top member and a rounded base member configured to wrap around a first leading edge of an end of a first divider associated with a sorting device;
a vertical length of the main body sufficient to substantially cover at least a portion of the first leading edge at the end of the first divider associated with a sloping surface of the sorting device, the first divider and a second divider defining a channel through which items having at least one hanger associated with the items slide down the sloping surface, wherein the main body is configured to enable passage of a hanger hook past the first leading edge of the first divider associated with the sloping surface of the sorting device into a receptacle at a bottom of the sloping surface;
and
a diameter of the main body greater than a diameter of a garment hanger hook in a folded configuration where the main body is wrapped around the first leading edge of the first divider and prevents the hanger hook associated with an item entering the channel from becoming caught on the first leading edge of the end of the first divider on the sorting device.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.