Patent ID: 11952220
Assignee: LAITRAM, L.L.C.
Field: Handling (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 5:
6. A conveyor system comprising:
a main conveyor conveying articles in a main conveying direction and including a roller belt having belt rollers rotatable on axes parallel to the main conveying direction;
a plurality of first discharge conveyors including slides angling downward from an upper end to a lower end;
a belt-roller activation system including a plurality of first arrays of freely rotatable rollers and a drive system coupled to the first arrays of freely rotatable rollers and including first actuators operable to selectably change the orientations of the first arrays of freely rotatable rollers from a first orientation that causes the belt rollers in contact to rotate in a first direction to a second orientation that causes the belt rollers in contact to rotate in an opposite second direction;
a diverter on each of the slides of the first discharge conveyors, the diverter including:
a second array of freely rotatable rollers on the slides;
a drive system coupled to the second array of freely rotatable rollers and including a second actuator operable to selectably change the orientation of the freely rotatable rollers in the second array to direct articles riding downward along the diverter directly atop the freely rotatable rollers to different destinations over the lower end;

wherein the first and second arrays of freely rotatable rollers are similar mechanisms.