Patent ID: 7413072

Claim:
Apparatus for diverting a stream of articles, comprising: a first conveyor belt conveying a stream of articles along a conveying surface; a second conveyor belt disposed parallel to the first conveyor belt and having a conveying surface; a carrier arranged to travel along a path parallel to the first and second conveyor belts; a first drive mechanism for driving the first conveyor belt at a first speed in a first direction; a second drive mechanism for driving the second conveyor belt at a second speed in a second direction opposite to the first direction; a diverter element affixed to the carrier and extending across at least a portion of the conveying surfaces of the first and second conveyor belts to divert articles in the stream on the first conveyor belt onto the second conveyor belt; and a differential drive mechanism for driving the carrier at a speed and in a direction that depend on the first speed and the second speed, the differential drive mechanism including a first rotating member receiving input based on the speed of the first conveyor belt, a second rotating member receiving input based on the speed of the second conveyor belt, and a differential gear arrangement operationally connected to the first and second rotating members.