Patent ID: 8100397

Claim:
A method of feeding articles in a timely manner to a conveyor which is moving at a first speed for delivering the articles for processing downstream of the conveyor in accordance with a predetermined time cycle, the steps comprising: feeding the articles at a speed greater than the first speed and then decelerating the articles to reach said first speed when the articles reach said conveyor, driving the articles with an indexing mechanism having an input shaft rotatable at a velocity and an output shaft connected to a feed member for driving the articles, disengaging the feed member from the articles when they reach said conveyor, said indexing mechanism having a time cycle including a feeding phase driving the articles in acceleration and deceleration and a dwell phase during which the output shaft is at zero velocity and the feed member is not engaged with the articles, wherein during the feeding phase operating the input shaft at constant velocity while the output shaft accelerates and decelerates the feed member and the articles, and wherein during the dwell phase varying the velocity of the input shaft to vary the time cycle.