Patent ID: 9670007
Date: 2017-06-06
CPC Classifications: B65G

Claim:
1. A device for accumulating articles within a system, comprising: a frame; an infeed conveyor supported by the frame for receiving articles from the system, the infeed conveyor being a mass-flow conveyor drivable in a first direction; an outfeed conveyor supported by the frame for receiving articles from the infeed conveyor and returning the articles to the system, the outfeed conveyor being a mass-flow conveyor drivable in a second direction opposite the first direction, wherein when the device is in a steady state condition, the outfeed conveyor is driven faster than the infeed conveyor with the ratio of a speed of the outfeed conveyor to a speed of the infeed conveyor speed being substantially equal to the ratio of a width of the infeed conveyor to a width of the outfeed conveyor; a transfer device supported by the frame for transferring articles from the infeed conveyor to the outfeed conveyor, the transfer device moveable along the infeed and outfeed conveyors depending on flow through the system; and at least two endless loops mounted in parallel to each other and to the outfeed conveyor on the frame and drivable independently, an outermost one of the endless loops furthest from the infeed conveyor being drivable at a speed higher than any other of the endless loops so that the outermost endless loop returns articles to the system in single file orientation.