Flats bundle collator

A collection device for items moving along a transport conveyor comprising:

• at least two collection assemblies for selectively extracting items from the conveyor, each collection assembly including a pop-up conveyor section movable between a first position operatively aligned with the transport conveyor for receiving items exiting the transport conveyor and moving the items along the pop-up conveyor section to bypass an associated container, and a second position for diverting the items exiting the transport conveyor into the associated container, said collection assemblies being disposed in tandem at an output end of the transport conveyor;
• an actuator for each pop-up conveyor for moving the section between the first and second positions;
• and
• a collection controller for selectively energizing the actuators;
• wherein the associated containers are rectangular tubs with five closed sides and one open side, and there is further provided a movable platform for supporting the tub with the open side tilted at an angle with respect to horizontal, an inclined chute for feeding items diverted by the pop-up conveyor section into a selected one of the tubs and an indexing device for moving a selected tub and associated platform down relative to an output end of the inclined chute as the tub is being filled with items at an indexing rate related to the rate of flow of the items into the tub.