Mid-West Conveyor Company, Inc.

Byron T Collier

Leendert A Vanderlinde

A line shaft driven conveyor includes a right angle drive unit in each of a plurality of accumulation zones. A clutch in each zone couples between the right angle unit and a belt and pulley arrangement which transfers drive from the clutch to the rollers in the zone. The clutch is controlled by a rotating collar which declutches when the collar is immobilized. A clutch control pawl in each zone is slidably mounted and is resiliently urged toward a stop position engaging and thus immobilizing the clutch control collar. A control rod extends between and is slidably engaged with the pawl of a zone and the pawls in the upstream and downstream zones adjacent thereto. Each rod has an abutment at each end for engagement with one of the pawls associated therewith in one direction of movement of the control rod. A sensor roller is positioned in each zone for engagement by an article in that zone and is connected with one of the rods associated with the pawl in that zone. The engagement of an article with the sensor roller of a zone causes the movement of the associated control rod in such a manner to decouple the line shaft from the rollers in that zone and moves an abutment on the other end of the rod away from the pawl in the next upstream zone to enable the decoupling of drive in the upstream zone when an article engages the sensor roller thereof.

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Overland Park, KS, United States of America

Byron T Collier