Patent ID: 7035714

Claim:
A conveyor system, comprising: a plurality of conveyor beds, each said conveyor bed having a conveying surface and at least one motorized roller propelling said conveying surface; at least some of said conveyor beds each comprising a plurality of motor controllers, at least one of said plurality of motor controllers adapted to control said at least one motorized roller; a sensor, said sensor adapted to detect the presence of an article load on said conveyor bed adjacent to said sensor and to communicate to said at least one motorized roller when the article load is detected by said sensor; a conveyor bed controller in communication with said plurality of motor controllers, said conveyor bed controller adapted to send communications to said motor controllers for controlling said at least one motorized roller; at least one of said conveyor beds comprising a routing component, said routing component operable for selectively directing articles in different directions from said routing component; a master controller adapted to send and receive communications from said conveyor bed controllers for controlling said conveyor bed controllers, said motor controllers, and said routing components; and a network that carries the communications between said master controller, said conveyor bed controllers, said motor controllers and said routing components; wherein said master controller evaluates current operating state of said plurality of conveyor beds and said routing components; wherein said master controller calculates a route for article loads at said plurality of conveyor beds based upon rules using flow and position of article loads at said plurality of conveyor beds and routing components; wherein said master controller transmits a speed command based upon said route to said plurality of conveyor bed controllers over said network; and wherein said conveyor bed controllers send said speed command to said at least one motorized roller to operate said at least one motorized roller at a speed based on said calculated route.