Patent ID: 8047976

Claim:
An item handling system, comprising: a vacuum source; a transport element including a vacuum belt operative to transport an item along a direction of travel, the vacuum belt defining a plurality of vacuum openings in fluid communication with the vacuum source to create a securing force on an item proximate to the transport element for holding the item in contact with the vacuum belt, the vacuum belt further defining at least two arrays of elongate sensor openings disposed through the vacuum belt, each of the elongate sensor openings being substantially parallel to the direction of travel, furthermore, the elongate sensor openings of one array being staggered relative to the elongate sensor openings of another array along the direction of travel, a drive element for driving the transport element to transport the item; and a sensor associated with each array of sensor openings for sensing energy passing through the sensor openings and operative to sense the longitudinal position of the item on the transport element, wherein each sensor is disposed at a common longitudinal position relative to the transport element, and wherein the staggered arrangement of the elongate sensor openings facilitates sensing of the item at the common longitudinal position irrespective the relative position of the sensed item and the transport element.