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US 5,971,132 AGranted
High speed automated cog sorter
AssigneeUnited Parcel Service of America, Inc.
InventorHenri Bonnet
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A conveyor sorter includes diverter stations having a plurality of spaced apart powered rollers mounted to carry the articles in the direction of the conveyor; a plurality of laterally movable post carriers, preferably endless belts, positioned alternately with the rollers. At least one post is mounted on each of the post carriers and extends upwardly therefrom. A controller is operative to move each of the post carriers to position the posts for engagement with articles traveling along the conveyor into the diverter station. The posts can be moved either to push articles off the conveyor or to form a stationary array to guide the articles off the conveyor.
Claims30
An article transferring apparatus, comprising:
- a conveyor positioned to carry articles in the direction of a longitudinal axis of said conveyor;
- said conveyor including a diverter station, comprising:
- a plurality of spaced apart rollers mounted for rotation about roller axes oriented such that said rollers carry said articles in the direction of said longitudinal axis;
- a plurality of laterally movable post carriers positioned alternately with said rollers;
- at least one post mounted on each of said post carriers and extending upwardly therefrom;
- said posts comprising rollers mounted on axes extending upward from said post carriers;
- and,
- a controller operative to move each of said post carriers to position said posts for engagement with articles traveling along said conveyor into said diverter station.
5 more elements
An article transferring apparatus, comprising:
- a plurality of spaced apart rollers mounted for rotation about horizontal roller axes oriented such that said rollers carry said articles in a longitudinal direction;
- a plurality of laterally movable post carriers positioned alternately with said rollers, said post carriers including reversibly powered continuous loop belts;
- at least one post mounted on each of said continuous loop belts, said posts comprising rollers mounted on axes extending outward from said post carriers;
- an optical reader positioned to read destination information affixed to said articles;
- and,
- a controller, in communication with said optical reader, configured to operate said post carriers at variable speeds responsive to said destination information, and selectively operative to either move each of said posts to form a stationary diverting array which directs said articles off said diverter station or to move each of said posts in a programmed sequence so as to engage and push said articles off said diverter station in a controlled manner.
3 more elements
An article transferring apparatus, comprising:
- a conveyor positioned to carry articles in the direction of a longitudinal axis of said conveyor;
- said conveyor including a diverter mechanism, comprising:
- a plurality of spaced apart rollers mounted for rotation about roller axes oriented such that said rollers carry said articles in the direction of said longitudinal axis;
- a plurality of laterally movable post carriers positioned alternately with said rollers;
- at least one post mounted on each of said post carriers, said posts comprising rollers mounted on axes extending outward from said post carriers;
- and,
- a controller selectively operative to drive said post carriers such that said posts form one of a plurality of diverting arrays that direct said articles laterally off a selected side of said diverter mechanism.
4 more elements
A method of sorting articles, comprising the steps of:
- directing said articles in a longitudinal direction along a conveyor into at least one diverting mechanism;
- capturing a characteristic of said articles;
- conveying said articles in said diverting mechanism, with a plurality of spaced apart rollers, in said longitudinal direction;
- in response to said characteristic, determining one of a plurality of diverting modes and one of a plurality of operative configurations for a plurality of upwardly extending posts mounted to a plurality of respective post carriers located within the spaces between said rollers, each of said post carriers being separately moveable to position said respective posts along a lateral path extending across the entire width of said conveyor;
- and
- diverting an article to be discharged off one side or the other of said conveyor by moving each of said posts along its respective path in accordance with said diverting mode and said operative configuration.
3 more elements
An article transferring apparatus, comprising:
- a conveyor positioned to carry articles in a longitudinal direction into at least one diverting mechanism;
- said diverting mechanism, comprising:
- a plurality of spaced apart rollers mounted for rotation about horizontal roller axes oriented such that said rollers carry said articles in said longitudinal direction;
- a plurality of laterally moveable post carriers positioned alternately with said rollers, wherein said post carriers are individually driven;
- and,
- at least one upwardly extending post is mounted on each of said post carriers;
- and,
- a controller configured to selectively operate said post carriers in the following modes:
- to form one of a plurality of stationary diverting arrays from said posts that directs articles to be discharged off a selected side of said diverting mechanism;
- and
- to operate said post carriers to move said posts across an entire width of said conveyor so as to engage and push said articles off said diverter station in a controller manner.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.