Patent ID: 8167119

Claim:
A low-pressure accumulation system comprising: a conveyor belt arranged to advance longitudinally in a direction of belt travel along a carryway run, wherein the conveyor belt includes: a top surface extending laterally in width from a first side to an opposite second side; a plurality of article-supporting belt rollers, each having a salient portion extending above the top surface of the conveyor belt to a contact level at the bottoms of supported articles conveyed atop the article-supporting rollers, wherein the article-supporting belt rollers rotate freely on lateral axes perpendicular to the direction of belt travel, and wherein the article-supporting belt rollers are arranged in one or more laterally spaced longitudinal lanes of article-supporting belt rollers, and wherein the article-supporting belt rollers in each lane are arranged in longitudinally spaced groups, wherein longitudinally consecutive article-supporting belt rollers in each group are spaced apart a first distance and wherein longitudinally consecutive groups are spaced apart a second distance greater than the first distance; side supports laterally flanking the first and second sides of the conveyor belt to support the bottoms of articles conveyed on the conveyor belt.