Patent ID: 8104763

Claim:
A system for high speed delivery of single items to a destination comprising: a feed mechanism utilizing at least one belt to transport items up to and by a double inhibit system, each of the at least one belts utilizing friction to transport the items, said friction of the at least one belts having a first coefficient of friction; and a double inhibit system including: a mounting frame, a friction element having an upstream end, a downstream end, and a working surface, the friction element being mechanically coupled to the mounting frame by an upstream arm, having a first end and a second end, and a downstream arm, having a first end and a second end, such that the downstream end has at least two degrees of freedom, and wherein the upstream end of the friction element is capable of rotating away from the item feed path, a biasing mechanism that mechanically biases the friction element towards the feed path to maintain contact between the friction element and the items being transported by the double inhibit system, and at least one self-lubricating bushing adjacent the first end of the downstream arm, wherein: the double inhibit system is positioned such that the items are transported along a feed path between the double inhibit system and the feed mechanism singulating multiple items as the items are transported by the feed mechanism by the double inhibit system, wherein the working surface of the friction element has a second coefficient of friction that contacts the items as the items are moved by the double inhibit system by the feed system; the items are relatively flat and have a third coefficient of friction between any two of them; and the second coefficient of friction is a value between the first coefficient of friction and the third coefficient of friction such that whenever two items start to be transported by the double inhibit system friction element by the feed mechanism, differences between the first, second, and third coefficients of friction cause a first of the two items to continue to be transported by the feed mechanism while a second of the two items is delayed by friction from the working surface of the friction element at least until the first of the two items has separated from the second.