Patent ID: 7147097

Claim:
A sorting conveyor comprising: a sorting station forming a segment of a conveying line conveying articles in a conveying direction, the sorting station comprising: a roller-top conveyor belt extending in width laterally from a first side to a second side and traveling in the conveying direction, the roller-top conveyor belt including a plurality of rollers having salient portions protruding outward from an outer surface of the belt to support a conveyed article and capable of being rotated to enable conveyed articles atop the rollers to be diverted toward the first or second side of the belt, an elongated guide extending in length from a first end to a second end and suspended above the outer surface of the belt and selectively positionable in a first position traversing the width of the belt to intercept a conveyed article and guide it atop the rollers off the first or second side of the belt and in a second position not intercepting a conveyed article to allow it to continue to advance in the conveying direction, a linear drive disposed at a first location defining a lateral track above the roller-top conveyor belt and traversing the belt, the linear drive having a downwardly extending arm selectively driven along the track, and wherein the first end of the elongated guide is attached to the arm and the guide is in the first position when the arm is at the first side of the belt and in the second position when the arm is at the second side of the belt.