Patent ID: 7591365

Claim:
A system for controlling zones in a conveyor system for handling objects traveling therealong comprising: a plurality of controllers, each having a signal processor/generator, memory allocation having at least one event logic program element, and at least one two-way controller communication port; a plurality of position-sensitive program elements, each associated with a controller for identifying the position of a controller in a series of controllers; a plurality of object detectors, each adapted to be operably coupled with a controller; a plurality of conveyor zone actuators, each adapted to be operably coupled with a controller; and at least one two-way controller communication port operably coupled with at least one of an adjacent upstream controller communication port and an adjacent downstream controller communication port, an event logic program element being responsive to inputs from at least two adjacent upstream controller communication ports and at least two adjacent downstream controller communication ports; whereby, when each object detector and each conveyor zone actuator is coupled with a controller, and when at least one two-way controller communication port is coupled with one of at least two adjacent upstream controller communication ports and at least two adjacent downstream controller communication ports, each signal processor/generator is responsive to communication from an object detector and communications from at least one adjacent upstream and downstream controller, and an at least one event logic program element can control the state of a conveyor zone actuator.