Low impact article diverter assembly

Details Low impact article diverter assembly Low impact article diverter assembly

1997-09-19

2000-05-30

Bidwell, James R.

Conveyors: power-driven

Conveyor arrangement for selecting among plural sources or...

By loading or unloading section at selected one of a...

B65G 4746

Patent

active

060681055

ABSTRACT:
A pusher assembly for diverting the flow of articles on a conveyor includes a pusher arm that provides smooth engagement of the articles with minimal impact and a return path of the pusher which travels through the space previously occupied by the article being sorted. Consequently, the pusher assembly enables minimum spacing between articles on the conveyor and increases the sortation rate of the pusher assembly. The pusher assembly includes a pusher and a driver, which is coupled to the pusher. The driver moves the pusher from an initial retracted position adjacent the conveyor to a first diverting position, wherein the pusher pivots about a point spaced downstream from a downstream end of the pusher so that an upstream end of the pusher moves into contact with the side of the article. The driver further moves the pusher such that the pusher pivots about the upstream end so that the downstream end of the pusher rolls and moves into contact with the side of the article. The driver then pivots the pusher about an intermediate portion such that the upstream end of the pusher moves out of the path of on coming articles and the downstream end continues to push against the side of the articles to rotate the article in a direction substantially orthogonal to the flow of the conveyor. This movement is followed by the driver pivoting the pusher in an opposite direction about the intermediate portion to disengage the pusher from the article and to return the pusher to its initial retracted position.

REFERENCES:
patent: 3026988 (1962-03-01), Fisk
patent: 3045801 (1962-07-01), Graybeal
patent: 3246733 (1966-04-01), Torbet et al.
patent: 4298117 (1981-11-01), Kobayashi et al.
patent: 4441604 (1984-04-01), Schlig et al.
patent: 4643291 (1987-02-01), Counter et al.
patent: 5010998 (1991-04-01), MacMillan
patent: 5217104 (1993-06-01), Pelletier
patent: 5452786 (1995-09-01), Gilmore
PCT Search Report based on PCT Patent application corresponding to U.S. patent application, Serial No. 08/933,818.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Low impact article diverter assembly does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Low impact article diverter assembly, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Low impact article diverter assembly will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1904167