Conveyor systems

A conveyor system comprising:

• a merge subsystem adapted to merge articles from a plurality of feed conveyors onto a merge conveyor;
• a sortation conveyor downstream of said merge subsystem, said sortation conveyor adapted to transport articles that have passed through said merge subsystem to selected ones of a plurality of takeaway conveyors;
• a sensor adapted to detect a usage level of said merge subsystem;
• and
• a controller adapted to adjust a speed of said sortation conveyor based upon a value of the usage level of said merge subsystem, wherein said controller repetitively determines the value of the usage level of said merge subsystem and calculates a first average of said value over a first time period and a second average of said value over a second time period, said first and second time periods partially overlapping each other, and said controller adjusts the speed of said sortation conveyor based upon whichever one of said first and second averages is greater.

A conveyor system comprising:

• a merge subsystem adapted to merge articles from a plurality of feed conveyors onto a merge conveyor;
• a sortation conveyor downstream of said merge subsystem, said sortation conveyor adapted to transport articles that have passed through said merge subsystem to selected ones of a plurality of takeaway conveyors;
• a sensor adapted to detect a usage level of said merge subsystem;
• and
• a controller adapted to adjust a speed of said sortation conveyor based upon a value of the usage level of said merge subsystem, wherein the value of the usage level is based at least partially on calculations of whether slugs of articles on said feed conveyors can be transported onto said merge conveyor such that leading articles of said slugs can be positioned on said merge conveyor within a desired distance from an adjacent downstream article on said merge conveyor.

In a conveyor system having merge subsystem adapted to merge articles from a plurality of feed conveyors onto a merge conveyor, and a sortation conveyor downstream of the merge subsystem wherein the sortation conveyor is adapted to transport articles that have passed through the merge subsystem to selected ones of a plurality of takeaway conveyors, a method of controlling the sortation conveyor comprising:

• repetitively determining a value of a usage level of the merge subsystem using a plurality of sensors;
• calculating an average of said repetitive determinations of said value;
• and
• adjusting a speed of the sortation conveyor based upon said average.

In a conveyor system having a merge subsystem adapted to merge articles from a plurality of feed conveyors onto a merge conveyor, and a sortation conveyor downstream of the merge subsystem wherein the sortation conveyor is adapted to transport articles that have passed through the merge subsystem to selected ones of a plurality of takeaway conveyors, a method of controlling the sortation conveyor comprising:

• repetitively determining a value of a usage level of the merge subsystem using a plurality of sensors;
• calculating a first average of said repetitive determination of said value over a first time period;
• calculating a second average of said repetitive determinations of said value over a second time period wherein said first and second time periods partially overlap each other;
• and adjusting a speed of the sortation conveyor based upon the greater of the first and second averages.

A method of merging articles from a plurality of feed conveyors onto a merge conveyor comprising:

• accumulating articles on said plurality of said feed conveyors;
• releasing a first slug of articles from a selected one of said feed conveyors onto said merge conveyor, said first slug of articles including a leading article and a trailing article;
• determining a set of feed conveyors, that include another slug of articles able to be delivered to said merge conveyor such that a leading article in said another slug is able to be positioned on said merge conveyor at a specified distance behind the trailing article of said first slug;
• releasing, from one of said feed conveyors in said set, said another slug of articles onto said merge conveyor such that a leading article in said another slug of articles is positioned on said merge conveyor at a specified distance behind the trailing article of said first slug;
• and
• transporting said first slug and said another slug to a sortation conveyor adapted to sort the articles.

A conveyor system comprising:

• a plurality of feed conveyors, each said feed conveyor having an upstream end and a downstream end, and each said feed conveyor adapted to transport articles from said upstream end to said downstream end;
• a merge conveyor positioned within a vicinity of said downstream ends of said plurality of feed conveyors such that articles exiting said feed conveyors are delivered to said merge conveyor;
• a plurality of sensors adapted to determine locations of articles on said feed conveyors and on said merge conveyor;
• a sortation conveyor downstream of the merge conveyor, said sortation conveyor adapted to sort the articles;
• and
• a controller adapted to control said feed conveyors such that slugs of articles tend to accumulate on said feed conveyors, said controller also adapted to use said plurality of sensors to determine a set of feed conveyors having a slug that is able to be positioned on said merge conveyor at a specified distance behind a particular article on said merge conveyor, and said controller further adapted to select from said set of feed conveyors a particular conveyor to release its slug based upon a priority level assigned to each of said feed conveyors in said set.

A method of merging articles from a plurality of feed conveyors onto a merge conveyor comprising:

• accumulating slugs of articles on said plurality of said feed conveyors;
• releasing a slug of articles from a selected one of said feed conveyors onto said merge conveyor, said slug of articles including a leading article and a trailing article;
• controlling a speed of the selected one of said feed conveyors during the release of the slug of articles in order to position said leading article on said merge conveyor at a target location on said merge conveyor;
• determining an actual location of the leading article on the merge conveyor;
• comparing said actual location to said target location and using the comparison to adjust an aspect of a subsequent release of the selected one of said feed conveyors;
• and
• transporting said slug of articles to a sortation conveyor positioned downstream of said merge conveyor, said sortation conveyor adapted to sort the articles.

A method of merging a slug of articles from a feed conveyor onto a merge conveyor wherein said slug includes a leading article and a trailing article, said method comprising:

• determining a leading target position for said leading article on said merge conveyor;
• controlling said feed conveyor such that said leading article moves toward said merge conveyor;
• determining an estimated position for said leading article on said merge conveyor;
• comparing said leading target position to said estimated position;
• adjusting the speed of said feed conveyor in a manner in which any differences between said estimated position and said leading target position are reduced;
• and
• transporting the slug of articles to a sortation conveyor downstream of said merge conveyor, said sortation conveyor adapted to sort the articles.

A conveyor system comprising:

• an accumulation conveyor;
• a transport conveyor upstream of said accumulation conveyor;
• a second transport conveyor upstream of said transport conveyor;
• a merge subsystem downstream of said accumulation and transport conveyors, said merge subsystem merging a plurality of feed conveyors into a merge conveyor;
• a sortation conveyor downstream of said merge subsystem;
• and
• a controller adapted to accumulate articles on said accumulation conveyor until articles have accumulated to a first threshold level on said accumulation conveyor, said first threshold level being less than an entirety of said accumulation conveyor, said controller further adapted to commence accumulating articles on said transport conveyor after articles have accumulated to said first threshold level on said accumulation conveyor;
• wherein said controller is further adapted to commence accumulation of articles on said second transport conveyor when articles have accumulated to a second threshold level on said transport conveyor, said second threshold level being less than an entirety of said transport conveyor;
• and
• wherein said controller is further adapted to transport a downstream article at a downstream end of said transport conveyor to said accumulation conveyor if the accumulation conveyor has not yet accumulated articles to a higher threshold level, said higher threshold level being higher than said first threshold level.