SORTING SYSTEM USING A ROLLER-TOP CONVEYOR BELT

摘要

A sorting conveyor system in which a main conveyor (10) is intersected by one or more cross conveyors (34) forming sorting stations at one or more gaps (14) along a main conveying path (12). The cross conveyor (34) includes a roller-top belt (36) having rollers (50) extending outward of a top article-supporting side (52) and arranged to rotate about axes (54) perpendicular to the main conveying path (12). The cross conveyor (34) includes a bidirectional drive (38) to selectively advance the roller-top belt in one of two opposite directions to discharge articles (20) transferred onto the cross conveyor in the gap off the side of the main conveying path. The cross conveyor also serves as a low-friction roller-top bridge when the roller-top belt (36) is stopped. The bridge allows articles to cross the gap from an upstream portion (16) of the main conveyor to a downstream portion (18).