Side-By-Side Reducer Conveyor
AssigneeIntelligrated Headquarters, LLC
InventorsJ. Bryan Boyce, Justin Brouk, Walter Bates Hammond
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A side-by-side reducer (SSR) conveyor has one lateral side of driven rollers operating at a different longitudinal running speed than another lateral side of driven rollers. The one lateral has an input section of driven rollers skewed away from the other lateral side followed by a converging zone of driven rollers skewed toward the other lateral side. The separation prevents frictional contact between side-by-side cartons so that one can be longitudinally moved a different velocity than the other to converge in a tandem arrangement.
Claims13
A side-by-side reducer (SSR) conveyor comprising:
- an elongate bed of rollers supported between left and right side frames and comprising a separating section and a combining section;
- the separating section comprising a first zone and a second zone of rollers, the first zone occupying a lateral portion of the separating section than the second zone that is laterally adjacent such that a first carton received side by side with a second carton is received on the first zone and the second carton is substantially received on the second zone, the first zone having rollers skewed away from the second zone to laterally separate the first carton from the second carton;
- the combining section comprising a third zone and fourth zone of rollers that respectively receive the first and second carton from the first and second zones of rollers, the third zone skewed toward the fourth zone to laterally converge the first carton into longitudinal alignment with the second carton;
- and
- one or more roller driving components that operate the third zone of rollers at a different speed than the fourth zone to further longitudinally separate the first and second cartons prior to the first carton being laterally moved into longitudinal alignment with the second carton.
A side-by-side reducer (SSR) conveyor comprising:
- an elongate bed of rollers supported between left and right side frames and comprising a first path and a second path that are laterally adjacent during at least a portion of the elongate bed wherein an inducted first carton is received in the first path with any laterally adjacent carton being received in the second path;
- the first path comprising a first arrangement of rollers having a respective skew and respective roller speeds that maintains the first carton in the first path and that conveys the first carton down the first path in a first time interval;
- and
- the second path comprising a second arrangement of rollers laterally adjacent to the first arrangement of rollers and having an initial skew away from the first path to separate and a downstream skew toward the first path to consolidate, the rollers having respective roller speeds that conveys any adjacent carton in a second time interval that is different from the first time interval.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.