Dual entry-double helix spiral chute

A material handling system including a pair of sorting machines carrying items from one or more sources for delivery to a pair of receiving stations, comprising:

• two nested curved dual entry delivery chutes having a common vertical axis and located one above the other in relatively close proximity to the pair of sorting machines for selectively delivering items from either of said pair of sorting machines to either of said pair of receiving stations, each of said chutes including a first and a second entry port and a common output port, said first entry port being oriented toward one sorting machine of said pair of sorting machines and said second entry port being oriented toward the other sorting machine of said pair of sorting machines and wherein items diverted from both of said sorting machines can be selectively delivered to the same said output port, and wherein said output port of one of said chutes is located at a discharge end thereof adjacent one receiving station of said pair of receiving stations and said output port of the other of said chutes is located at a discharge end thereof at the other receiving station of said pair of receiving stations, whereby a requirement for presorting and rehandling of items being carried via the sorting machines is eliminated while at the same time providing redundancy in the event one of the sorting machines is not in service.