Patent ID: 7648020

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: a transition plate to cover at least a portion of a gap between a motor-driven conveyor and a run-out ramp; a hinge coupled to the transition plate to allow pivoting of the transition plate between a seated position substantially covering the gap and an unseated position providing access to the gap; a fin plate extending from a bottom side of the transition plate, the fin plate having an aperture therethrough; a light emitter and a light detector positioned in a stationary spaced-apart relationship on opposing sides of the fin plate and aligned to emit and detect light through the fin plate aperture only when the transition plate is in its seated position, and wherein the fin plate blocks the path between the light emitter and light detector throughout the range of hinged motion of the transition plate; and a signal generator coupled to the light detector for sending a motor-enabling signal while the aperture is positioned between the light emitter and the light detector.