Article accumulation table for a conveyor installation

A method of using a control system of a plane item accumulation table for a conveyor installation configured to be installed on a frame, wherein the table comprises:

• two parallel plane conveyors disposed side by side and configured to be driven in opposite directions to cause said articles to circulate longitudinally, one of the conveyors is an article entry conveyor and the other conveyor is an article exit conveyor, both conveyors forming, as a function of requirements, a transit area for accumulation of said articles the receiving area of which is variable;
• a deflector member that is mobile longitudinally and that transfers said articles disposed on said entry conveyor toward said exit conveyor, wherein said deflector member takes the form of a curved wall that extends over substantially all of the width of the entry conveyor, between a lateral slide serving as a guide for the articles disposed on said entry conveyor and a structure disposed between said two conveyors, which wall is carried by a carriage that is fastened to said structure which is mobile longitudinally;
• and an introduction area for introduction of articles onto said exit conveyor, said introduction area being disposed outside said transit area;
• a control system for means for moving said deflector member, said control system including:
• means for detecting the presence or the absence of articles in place in the vicinity of a surveillance area that is situated at the downstream end of the deflector member on the exit conveyor, and means for analyzing information on the occupancy of said surveillance area, which information is supplied by said detection means to the analysis means, said analysis means being associated with a computer that controls the means for moving the deflector member to modify the position of said deflector member in one of said directions or the other, according to the occupancy of said surveillance area and depending on whether the detection means reach or overshoot a first or a second position, said first and second positions being situated on respective opposite sides of a reference position and being included within said surveillance area, wherein the detection means are mobile between two extreme positions delimiting said surveillance area, by a pressure or by an absence of pressure exerted by the articles passing from the entry conveyor toward the exit conveyor, wherein the detection means comprise a feeler in the form of an arm articulated to the deflector member, said feeler being positioned so as to be in contact with the conveyed articles and to be mobile as a result of the pressure of said conveyed articles passing from the entry conveyor to the exit conveyor in the surveillance area, comprising:
• a first sensor determining the position of the deflector member on the table, a second sensor determining the position of said feeler on the table, and a computer connected to the first and second position sensors, said computer being adapted to compare data supplied by said first and second sensors to control the means for moving the deflector member, said method comprising the steps of:
• the first position sensor sending the computer first information concerning the position of the deflector member on the table,
• the second position sensor sending the computer second information concerning the position of the feeler on the table,
• the computer comparing said first and second information to obtain a result,
• analyzing said result, and
• the computer sending the means for moving the deflector member an instruction for movement of said deflector member in one direction or another if the result indicates that the feeler has reached either of said triggering positions on one side or the other of said reference position.