Ermanco Incorporated

Jonathan R Davis

A live roller zero pressure accumulation conveyor and trigger assembly for sensing the presence or absence of articles on the conveyor are described. The trigger assembly includes a cam which is mounted to the conveyor for pivotal movement about an axis at or above the axes of rotation of the conveyor rollers, a leg on the cam spaced from the pivotal mounting and extending upwardly between a pair of the conveyor rollers, and a cam roller rotatably mounted adjacent the end of the leg. The cam roller is rotatable about an axis which is substantially parallel to the axes of rotation of the conveyor rollers. The cam roller is movable to a first upper position in which the cam roller extends above the plane of the conveyor rollers in the absence of an article and the axis of rotation of the cam roller remains below the plane of the conveyor rollers in the uppermost position, and a second position in which the uppermost portion of the cam roller is urged by an article moving in either direction on the conveyor so that it is substantially in the plane defined by the plane of the conveyor rollers. A sensor is responsive to movement of the cam roller for controlling the operation of the conveyor. A plurality of conveyor roller sections having live rotatable rollers are driven by endless belts and independently rotating torque tubes in each of the sections. Each of the sections includes one of the trigger assemblies for controlling movement of the rollers in a section. The conveyor may be operated to handle articles in either a slug or singulation mode.

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Dallas, TX, United States of America

Jonathan R Davis