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US 9,592,983 B2Granted
Missort prevention system in a conveying system
AssigneeLaitram, L.L.C.
InventorsMark Costanzo, David Herbert Myers, Matthew L. Fourney
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A missort prevention system prevents missorts in a sortation conveying system. The missort prevention system includes a sensor for detecting the presence of an unexpected article on a chute transitioning articles off of a conveyor and a missort preventer for blocking the further passage of the unexpected article on the chute.
Claims12
A method of preventing a missorted article from passing down a chute from a conveyor, comprising the steps of:
- sensing the presence of a missorted article on a chute by generating a missort signal when a missort sensor is blocked outside of a selected time window;
- and
- activating a missort preventer along the chute to block the missorted article.
A conveying system for sorting articles, comprising:
- a conveyor for conveying articles in a direction of travel;
- a first chute extending at an angle down from the side of the conveyor for receiving articles sorted off of the conveyor;
- a missort sensor associated with the chute for generating a signal indicating a missort when the missort sensor is blocked outside of a selected time window;
- and
- a missort preventer for selectively blocking the chute when the missort sensor generates a signal indicating a missort.
2 more elements
A method of sorting articles, comprising the steps of:
- directing the articles along a path of travel with a conveyor;
- detecting the presence of a characteristic of the articles;
- directing articles with a first characteristic from the conveyor to a first chute;
- generating a missort signal when a missort sensor is blocked outside of a selected time window;
- and
- blocking the first chute if the missort sensor is blocked outside of a selected time window.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.