SEQUENTIAL DIVERTER FOR NARROW BELT CONVEYOR AND ASSOCIATED METHODS

摘要

A narrow belt conveyor system is provided with a pop-up style diverter comprising a plurality of rows of diverter wheels in which each row raises and lowers independently of any of the other rows. Thus, each row of diverter wheels can be raised before the leading edge of a conveyed article reaches that particular row of diverter wheels and lowered after the trailing edge of the conveyed article has cleared that row. This permits the spacing between the articles to be greatly reduced, greatly increasing the article throughput rate and/or reducing the conveyor speed while achieving the same throughput rate.