Patent ID: 7815060

Claim:
A case flow bed having a longitudinal extension and a lateral extension, comprising: a) a loading end and, longitudinally opposite thereto, an unloading end, b) a plurality of inclined bed sections, each bed section including a plurality of rollers, said bed sections being positioned between said loading end and unloading end for supporting and permitting longitudinal sliding movement of articles from the loading end to the unloading end; c) lane adjustment means associated with at least said loading end for removably receiving at least one lane divider in any of a plurality of laterally spaced positions for delimiting lanes of travel for the sliding movement of the articles, said at least one lane divider having at least a portion with a non-circular cross-section wherein each of said loading end and unloading end comprises a laterally extending end frame having a top portion and a bottom portion and said lane adjustment means comprises a laterally extending first row of a plurality of non-circular apertures in at least the top portion of the end frame, said apertures for removably and non-rotatingly engaging one or more lane dividers at the portion with the non-circular cross-section, wherein the lane adjustment means further comprises a laterally extending second row of a plurality of non-circular apertures in the bottom portion of the end frame, each of said apertures in said second row being vertically aligned with a corresponding aperture in the first row, the case flow bed further comprising at least two lane dividers, each lane divider comprising a single piece member having a vertical first end portion, an angled middle portion connected to the vertical first end portion at a first bend, and a horizontal second end portion connected to the angled middle portion at a second bend, wherein the vertical first end portion of each of the lane dividers can be removably and non-rotatingly disposed through any of the apertures in the first row of apertures and the corresponding aperture in the second row of apertures, wherein at least a first lane divider is engaged in the end frame of the loading end of the case flow bed and a second lane divider is engaged in the end frame at the unloading end of the case flow bed, wherein the horizontal second end portions of each of said first and second lane dividers are respectively connected to opposite ends of a tubular guide rail extending therebetween.