Patent ID: 9527680
Filing Date: 2016-12-27
CPC Classification: B07C,B65G

Claim Text:
1. A tipping actuator for a conveyor system, the conveyor system comprising a plurality of article carriers moving on an endless conveyor in a conveying direction, each article carrier having a carrier frame for bearing an article, the carrier frame being pivotally mounted on the article carrier and operable to tip to enable discharge of the article borne on the carrier frame, the tipping actuator comprising: a trigger member having a contact portion for contacting a contact surface of the article carriers; and an actuation mechanism operable to move the trigger member between a non-contact position, in which the contact portion is positioned out of the path of the article carriers contact surfaces so as to avoid contact therewith, and a contact position, in which the contact portion is positioned in the path of the article carriers to make contact therewith and effect tipping thereof away from the trigger member, wherein the trigger member is configured such that, when in the non-contact position, the article carriers are able to tip only partly towards the trigger member, the article carriers being able to tip fully once conveyed past the trigger member, wherein the contact portion is received by a portion of the article carrier prior to the article carrier contacting the trigger member.