Patent ID: 7946412

Claim:
A conveyor for moving objects along a conveyor path in a first direction, said conveyor comprised of: a plurality of spaced-apart rollers defining said conveyor path of said conveyor, the upper edges of said rollers being aligned to define the surface of said conveyor path; two spaced-apart side rails having inward-facing surfaces that extend above said upper edges of said plurality of spaced-apart rollers to define two side boundaries of said conveyor path, one of said side rails having a gap formed therein to define a loading/unloading station for loading and unloading objects onto said conveyor in a second direction, said second direction being generally transverse to said first direction; and a barrier assembly disposed within said gap formed in said one of said side rails, said barrier assembly comprised of: a mounting plate mounted to said conveyor; and a barrier pivotally mounted to said mounting plate along an axis generally parallel to said first direction, said barrier having a wall section generally aligned with the inward-facing surface on said one of said side rails, said barrier being movable within said gap between a first position wherein said wall section is elevated relative to the upper edges of said roller to define a portion of one of said side boundaries of said conveyor path and a second position wherein said wall section is disposed below the upper edge of said rollers, thereby allowing movement of objects onto said conveyor through said gap in said second direction.