Patent ID: 7028830

Claim:
Apparatus for diverting a stream of articles, comprising: a first conveyor driven in a first direction and at a first speed around a first axle; a second conveyor driven in a second direction generally opposite of the first direction and at a second speed around a second axle; the first and second conveyors disposed generally parallel to each other; a diverter element extending at least partially across the first and second conveyors to divert articles conveyed on the first conveyor onto the second conveyor; a first transfer axle exterior to the first conveyor and rotated via the first axle; a second transfer axle exterior to the second conveyor and rotated via the second axle; a differential drive mechanism driven by the first and second transfer axles in a direction responsive to a relative rotation speed difference between the first and second transfer axles; and a diverter element mover operatively connected to the diverter element and the differential drive mechanism, the diverter element mover being driven by the differential drive mechanism to thereby move the diverter element in a path generally parallel to the first and second conveyors.