Patent ID: 6152282
Filing Date: 2000-11-28
Classification: B07C,B65G

Abstract:
A conveyor apparatus for segregating articles, comprising:an infeed roller;an outfeed roller spaced apart from the infeed roller;a product-carrying belt forming a closed loop around the infeed and outfeed rollers, the product-carrying belt movable about the infeed and ourfeed rollers and defining an instantaneous conveying region having a length spanning between the infeed and outfeed rollers and a width, one of the infeed and outfeed rollers defining an instantaneous roller surface contacting region of the product carrying belt;a plurality of endless elastic separating bands removably positioned around the infeed and outfeed rollers and the product-carrying belt, the separating bands contacting the product-carrying belt to form a frictional interface that causes the separating bands to move in coordination with movement of the product-carrying belt, the roller surface contacting region defining a pitch diameter of the product-carrying belt and a pitch diameter of the separating bands, the ratio of the pitch diameter of the separating bands to the pitch diameter of the product-carrying belt defining a pitch diameter ratio;a drive mechanism operatively coupled to the product-carrying bell for driving the product-carrying belt at a linear belt velocity, the pitch diameter ratio resulting in the movement of the separating bands, when driven by the movement of the product-carrying belt, at a linear band velocity that is faster than the linear belt velocity of the produce-carrying belt; anda guide mechanism having multiple guide features spaced apart at intervals along the width of the conveying region for determining the position of the separating bands along the width of the conveying region, the separating bands forming multiple lanes along the conveying region.