ANGLED-ROLLER ARTICLE-ROTATING BELT CONVEYOR

摘要

A conveyor system including two roller-top belts arranged side by side, each individually controllable to cause articles conveyed atop both to rotate into preferred orientations. The belts include rollers that rotate about axes oblique to the direction of belt travel. The rollers on each belt direct conveyed articles toward the other belt as the belts advance in the direction of belt travel and the rollers contact an underlying bearing surface in rolling contact. The rotation of the rollers exerts a force on articles conveyed atop the rollers. The force has a component directed toward the other belt and another component directed downstream. A sensor array senses the footprint of an article at an upstream location and sends signals to a controller that determines the size and orientation of the article to selectively stop one or the other belt if necessary to rotate the article to change its orientation.