Patent ID: 7611006

Claim:
A conveyor system for selectively diverting articles from a primary conveying surface onto one of a plurality of branch lines, comprising a sortation conveyor comprising a driven primary conveying surface for supporting and transporting articles thereon; two or more branch lines extending away from the primary conveying surface; a plurality of pusher elements mounted for movement with the primary conveying surface for selective movement across the primary conveying surface so as to selectively divert articles onto the branch lines; activating elements configured to divert said pusher elements across said primary conveying surface; and a control system configured for selectively operating the activating elements, wherein the control system is configured to assign one or more of the pusher elements to the article to be diverted, and to selectively operate the activating elements when the assigned pusher elements are located adjacent a predetermined branch line for the article to which the pusher elements are assigned, wherein the control system is configured to facilitate transporting articles in an at least partially laterally overlapping side-by-side configuration along the primary conveying surface and to ensure proper diversion of articles from the primary conveying surface to any of a plurality of secondary paths assigned to the articles.