The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 07, 2006
Filed:
Mar. 08, 2005
Ronald H. Burch, Harahan, LA (US);
Ronald H. Burch, Harahan, LA (US);
Laitram, L.L.C., Harahan, LA (US);
Abstract
A conveyor system including a pair of roller-top belts arranged side by side, each individually controllable to cause articles conveyed atop both to rotate into preferred orientations. The roller-top 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 roller-top belt if necessary to rotate the article to change its orientation.