Patent ID: 6571933
Filing Date: 2003-06-03
Classification: B65G

Abstract:
A sorter for conveying and sorting articles comprising:a guide rail forming a closed loop, a U-shaped primary rail made from a magnetic conducting material and having a primary coil connected to a power supply unit for generating an actuating current in the primary coil, the primary rail being positioned along at least a part of the guide rail, and a plurality of movable units moving along said guide rail, each unit having article-supporting means defining at least one article-supporting surface, means for discharging articles from said surface and a U-shaped secondary rail made from a magnetic conducting material and having a secondary coil, the secondary rail being so positioned during operation that, over a substantial part of the secondary rail in the direction of motion of the unit, the legs of the primary rail and the legs of the secondary rail overlap perpendicularly to the direction of motion, the overlap being of at least twice the distance between the leg in question of the primary rail and the corresponding leg of the secondary rail, the unit having means for using energy inducted in the secondary coil for driving the means for discharging articles.