Patent ID: 7185754

Claim:
A conveyor assembly including: a first slip conveyor segment having a longitudinally extending conveyor surface upon which items to be conveyed are longitudinally transported, the segment having an upstream end and a downstream end, the upstream end being provided to receive said item; a second slip conveyor segment, said second segment having a longitudinally extending conveyor surface upon which the items to be conveyed are longitudinally transported, the second segment having an upstream end and a downstream end, with said second segment being mounted relative to said first segment so that items leaving the first segment downstream end are delivered to the second segment upstream end, said segments being mounted to provide for lateral displacement between the first segment downstream end relative to the second segment upstream end from an aligned position at which a desired quantity of said items pass from said first segment to said second segment, and a displaced position at which a further desired quantity of said items is removed from said conveyor as a result of relative displacement between the first segment downstream end and the second segment upstream end; and a transverse conveyor positioned below said first segment downstream end and said second segment upstream end so that items leaving said first segment downstream end and not delivered to said second segment upstream end are delivered to said transverse conveyor.