摘要 |
An accumulation-and-release conveyor using a roller belt with rollers arranged to rotate in the direction of belt travel. The rollers extend through the thickness of the belt to support conveyed articles. The belt continuously advances along a conveyor carryway from an upstream end to a downstream end. A movable stop divides the carryway into an upstream article-accumulation zone and a downstream article-acceleration zone. In the accumulation zone, the rollers are freely rotatable; in the acceleration zone, the rollers roll on a bearing surface underlying the belt. The stop is selectively moved between a blocking position preventing articles from passing and accumulating them with low back line pressure on the freely rotatable rollers in the upstream accumulation zone and a release position allowing articles to pass to the accumulation zone where they are propelled forward and separated from each other by the rotation of the rollers rolling on the bearing surface.
|