Conveyor system and method

A conveyor system for carrying a shingled stream of items along at least two possible transport paths, the items having a maximum bending angle above which a plastic deformation occurs on at least some of the items, the conveyor system including:

• a pair of juxtaposed outgoing endless-belt conveyor units, each defining a corresponding outgoing portion of the transport paths;
• an incoming endless-belt conveyor unit having a downstream end portion and defining an incoming portion of the transport paths, the downstream end portion of the incoming endless-belt conveyor unit including a first conveyor belt and a second conveyor belt forming juxtaposed first and second conveyor belt runs between which the items are frictionally engaged when carried along the incoming portion of the transport paths, the first and second conveyor belt runs being supported by a plurality of corresponding lengthwise-disposed first and second rollers, respectively;
• and
• a diverter provided within the downstream end portion of the incoming conveyor unit, the diverter being selectively movable between two angular positions, each angular position corresponding to one of the transport paths, the diverter being configured and sized to have a substantially minimal overall length by having the shingled stream of items curved substantially at the maximum bending angle in the incoming portion of at least one of the transport paths, the diverter including at least one diverter segment pivotable around a transversal pivot axis, each diverter segment supporting one of the first rollers for the first conveyor belt run and one of the second rollers for the second conveyor belt run, the first roller of each diverter segment being urged towards the second conveyor belt run using at least one biasing device carried by the corresponding diverter segment, each biasing device generating a biasing force that is independent of the angular position of the corresponding diverter segment.

A method of minimizing the length of a diverter in a conveyor system provided for advancing a shingled stream of items in a direction of travel, the items coming through an incoming conveyor unit and exiting through a selected one among two juxtaposed outgoing conveyor units, the method including:

• determining a maximum bending angle of shingled stream of items, with reference to a tangent axis, above which a plastic deformation is likely to occur;
• determining a minimum vertical height between inlet ends of the two outgoing conveyor units;
• assuming a first number of lengthwise-juxtaposed segment(s) for the diverter and that the shingled stream of items is curved substantially at the maximum bending angle inside the incoming conveyor unit when exiting through one of the outgoing conveyor units;
• determining a length for each segment using the first number;
• and
• determining again the length for each segment using at least one different number of lengthwise-juxtaposed segment(s) than the first number while still assuming that the shingled stream of items is curved substantially at the maximum bending angle inside the incoming conveyor unit when exiting through one of the outgoing conveyor units.