JP2019135193A - Automatic feeder stack control system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an automatic stack feeder that maximizes the article feeding speed and minimizes damage and double feeding.SOLUTION: The automatic stack feeder 100 includes: a plurality of belts 120; at least one paddle 161; and a vacuum drive individualizing device and a sorting part 180. The automatic stack feeder receives a stack of flat things from the container and moves the stack along the belts to the vacuum drive individualizing device, where the stack is individualized and sorted out.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Cross-reference of related applications]
The present application is entitled US AND METHOD OF UNLOADING A CONTAINER OF 13 and US Patent Application No. 13 / 797,291, filed March 12, 2013, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD OF AUTOMATIC FEEDER STACK MANAGEMENT. United States Patent Application No. 13 / 797,731 filed on March 12, United States Patent Application No. 13,797,698 filed March 12, 2013 entitled ARTICLE FEEDER WITH A RETRACTABLE PRODUCT GUIDE; -U.S. Patent Application No. 13 / 801,7 filed March 13, 2013 entitled ROTATION DEVICE AND METHOD OF USE No. 9; and entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD OF ARTICLE FEEDER OPERATION, claims priority and benefit thereof to U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 13 / 827,122 filed on March 14, 2013.

  The present disclosure relates to the field of automatically feeding and sorting items. More particularly, the present disclosure provides for a product guide that can be shingled, individualized, and sorted, and retractable, from a mass stack and / or container. Regarding automatic stack feeder.

  Articles such as mail items are often provided in bulk and must be sorted into individual articles or items for processing or routing. This sorting, or individualization, into individual items can be done automatically by placing a large stack of items or articles in the feeder. However, often the items to be sorted are thin and must be supported while in the feeder. If the article stack is not accurately positioned at the feeder or collapses, the individualization process may be slowed or hindered by errors such as picking more than one article at a time. Articles are often provided in bulky containers, and their contents or extent to be filled can be difficult to predict. When the container is lowered to the sorting device, articles on both the sorting device and in the container may collapse, i.e., fall to a location that is not ideal for individualization. The container is placed on the conveyor belt of the automatic stack feeder and positioned flush with the stack guide. The container has some thickness of sidewalls, and when the article stack is lowered from the container, the article stack may not contact the stack guide due to the thickness of the container sidewall.

  Individualized articles can be sorted into various sorting windows on the feeder. The sorter operates at high speed and generates a sort window that can be used to insert articles at high speed. If the operation of the article feeder and the sorter are not synchronized with each other, the article feeder may not properly sort the articles into the various sort windows. Furthermore, if the article feeder is not configured to operate at high speed, damage to the article and the selection of two or more articles in the individualization process, or multiple feeds may occur.

  Furthermore, during individualization or individualization, the feeder uses a vacuum to apply force to the articles in the feeder. The article is then moved along the conveyor belt. This can cause problems when sorting articles with unbound edges because the vacuum and conveyor belt operate to move different parts of the article in different directions.

  Accordingly, there is a need for systems and methods that automatically personalize, individualize, and sort articles from a large stack of articles to maximize article delivery speed and minimize breakage and overlap feed. Need to ensure that the article stack can contact the stack guide when it is lowered from the container, thereby properly supporting the article stack as it advances along the automatic stack feeder There is also sex.

  Some embodiments described herein are systems for managing articles in an automated stack feeder, wherein the frame is configured to support the article stack; a perforated drive belt assembly comprising: A drive belt having an opening; a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the perforated drive belt assembly is pivotally attached to the frame and the second end of the perforated drive belt assembly; Is pivotable about an axis of rotation defined by attachment of the first end of the perforated drive belt assembly, the drive belt extending rotatably about the first end and the second end, A perforated drive belt assembly including one end and a second end; a conveyor connected to the frame and configured to move the article stack relative to the drive belt; A sensor proximate to the drive belt assembly, the sensor configured to detect a force applied to a portion of the perforated drive belt assembly by the article stack; and configured to receive input from the sensor And a system comprising a controller configured to control the conveyor based on the received input.

  In some embodiments, the perforated drive belt assembly comprises a vacuum unit that is configured to exert a vacuum through an opening in the drive belt.

  In some embodiments, the pivotable attachment of the perforated drive belt assembly includes a spring configured to resist movement of the perforated drive belt assembly due to the force of the article stack.

  In some embodiments, the sensor is configured to sense pressure applied to the perforated drive belt assembly by the article stack.

  In some embodiments, the sensor senses pressure applied to the perforated drive belt assembly according to movement of the second end of the perforated drive belt assembly about an axis of rotation defined by the attachment of the first end. As such, it is connected to the first end of the perforated drive belt assembly.

  In some embodiments, the sensor is configured to sense angular displacement of the perforated drive assembly relative to the frame according to the force applied by the article stack.

  In some embodiments, the conveyor includes a belt and a paddle, the belt and paddle are independently movable, the paddle is configured to provide vertical support of the article stack, The stack is configured to be transported toward or away from the perforated drive belt assembly.

  In some embodiments, the controller is configured to control the adjustment of the paddle position or move the belt in response to an input received from the sensor.

  In some embodiments, the system further comprises a photoelectric sensor positioned to detect the angle of the article stack relative to the frame.

  In some embodiments, the controller is configured to receive input from the photoelectric sensor.

  Some embodiments disclosed herein are automatic feeder stack management methods, wherein one or more articles are placed in contact with a conveyor; a drive belt assembly including a drive belt having an opening therein The drive belt assembly is pivotally attached to the frame and the drive belt assembly free end is rotatable about an axis of rotation defined by the attached end. Sensing the force applied to the perforated drive assembly by one or more articles; and controlling the position of the conveyor based on the sensed force, thereby controlling the position of the article stack. , Including controlling.

  In some embodiments, the method further includes individualizing the article from the one or more articles using a vacuum applied to the perforated drive belt assembly.

  In some embodiments, the pivotable attachment of the perforated drive belt includes a spring that resists movement of the perforated drive belt assembly due to forces applied by one or more articles.

  In some embodiments, sensing the force includes sensing pressure applied to the perforated drive belt assembly by one or more articles.

  In some embodiments, sensing the pressure applied to the perforated drive belt assembly by one or more articles is the movement of the perforated drive belt assembly about an axis of rotation defined by the attached end attachment. Sensing the pressure applied to the perforated drive belt assembly in accordance with.

  In some embodiments, sensing the force includes sensing an angular displacement of the free end of the perforated drive belt assembly relative to the frame according to the force applied by the one or more articles.

  In some embodiments, the conveyor includes independently movable belts and paddles that convey one or more articles toward or away from the perforated drive belt assembly. And the paddle is configured to support the article stack.

  In some embodiments, controlling the conveyor includes moving at least one of the belt or paddle to adjust the position of the one or more articles relative to the perforated drive belt assembly.

  In some embodiments, the system further includes sensing the angle of the one or more items with respect to the frame using a photoelectric sensor.

  In some embodiments, the system further includes controlling the conveyor in response to the sensed angle of the one or more items.

  Some embodiments described herein are systems for individualizing articles, a frame configured to support an article stack; a perforated drive belt assembly; a perforated drive belt assembly by an article stack Means for sensing pressure applied to a portion of the article; means for conveying the article stack toward or away from the perforated drive belt assembly; and based on input received from the means for sensing pressure And a means for controlling the means for transporting the article stack.

  In some embodiments, the perforated drive belt assembly includes means for providing a vacuum force that attracts the leading article in the article stack toward the perforated drive belt assembly.

  Some aspects of the present disclosure are a stack feeder, a frame; a singulator connected to one end of the frame; a conveyor disposed on the frame, configured to receive an article stack and containers A conveyor, further configured to move the article stack and containers toward the singulator; a motor connected to the frame; a stack connected to the motor and aligned substantially parallel to the belt A stack guide comprising a series of surfaces configured to contact an edge of an article stack, the motor moving the stack guide from a first position to a second position and placing a container on the conveyor Including a stack feeder that is operable to respond to receiving

  In some embodiments, the stack feeder is a sensor configured to detect the presence of a container on the conveyor; and a controller in communication with the sensor and the motor for detecting the presence of the container on the conveyor. In response, the apparatus further includes a controller configured to control the movement of the motor and move the stack guide between the first position and the second position.

  In some embodiments, the sensor is further configured to detect the absence of a container on the conveyor, and the controller is configured to detect between the second position and the first position in response to detecting the absence of the container. It is configured to control the movement of the stack guide at.

  In some embodiments, the stack guide contacts the article stack when in the first position.

  In some embodiments, the stack guide, when in the second position, contacts the container and does not contact the article stack.

  In some embodiments, the controller is configured to control movement of the stack guide from the first position to the second position when the presence of the container is detected.

  In some embodiments, the controller is configured to control movement of the stack guide from the second position to the first position when the absence of the container is detected.

  In some embodiments, the stack guide is movable at a plurality of positions between the first position and the second position.

  In another aspect, a container removal system is a container configured to hold articles; an automatic stack feeder: a singulator; a conveyor configured to receive a first article stack and containers Wherein the containers have a second article stack therein, and the conveyor is further configured to move the first article stack and containers toward the singulator, substantially with respect to the conveyor; A series of substantially vertical surfaces configured to contact edges of the first article stack and the second article stack, the stack guide being aligned parallel to the first position A stack guide movable to a second position; a sensor configured to detect the presence of a container on the conveyor; and communicate with the sensor Both are configured to control movement of the stack guide between a first position and a second position in response to the presence of the container on the conveyor, a controller, an automatic stack feeder.

  In some embodiments, the stack guide is configured to contact the first article stack when in the first position.

  In some embodiments, the stack guide is configured to contact the container and not the first article stack when in the second position.

  In some embodiments, the stack guide further comprises a motor in communication with the controller, the motor being configured to move the stack guide between a first position and a second position.

  In some embodiments, the sensor is further configured to detect the absence of a container on the conveyor, and the controller is between the second position and the first position in response to the absence of the container. It is configured to control the movement of the stack guide.

  In some embodiments, the controller is configured to move the stack guide from the first position to the second position when the presence of the container is detected.

  In some embodiments, the controller is configured to move the stack guide from the second position to the first position when the absence of the container is detected.

  In some embodiments, the stack guide is movable at a plurality of positions between the first position and the second position.

  In another aspect, a method of sorting articles operates a stack feeder with a stack guide; receiving a container having a first article stack therein on a conveyor of an automatic stack feeder; Detecting the presence; moving the stack guide in response to the detected presence of the container; removing the first article stack from the container; detecting the absence of the container; and depending on the absence of the container Moving the stack guide.

  In some embodiments, moving the stack guide in response to the detected presence of the container includes moving the stack guide from the first position to the second position.

  In some embodiments, moving the stack guide in response to the absence of the container includes moving the stack guide from the second position to the first position.

  In some embodiments, removing the second article stack from the container includes: moving the first article stack from the container onto the conveyor; the first article stack being the second article already on the conveyor. Combining with the stack; and removing the containers from the conveyor.

  In some embodiments, the method further comprises contacting the stack guide in the first position with the combined first article stack and second article stack.

  In some embodiments, prior to detecting the presence of the container, the stack guide contacts the first article stack when in the first position.

  In some embodiments, the stack guide, when in the second position, contacts the container and does not contact the first article stack.

  In some embodiments, the stack guide is connected to a motor that moves the stack guide from the first position to the second position and from the second position to the first position.

  Some embodiments disclosed herein relate to an automatic stack feeder. An automatic stack feeder picks one or more articles from a positively stacked article stack, which is configured to receive the article stack and generate a positively stacked article stack. A plurality of picking devices configured to generate one or more individualized articles, and one or more individualized articles sent to one or more sorting windows. One or more synchronizers can be included.

  In some embodiments, the solidification device comprises a bottom conveyor belt having a conveyor surface extending in a first direction; a shearing device; and a perforated belt having a surface extending in a second direction different from the first direction. And adjacent to the bottom conveyor belt, the bottom conveyor belt and the perforated belt are configured to move the article stack toward the shearing device, the shearing device applying a shear force to a portion of the article stack. A perforated belt configured to apply and produce a positively stacked article stack. In some embodiments, the automatic stack feeder can include a vacuum system configured to apply suction through one or more openings in the perforated belt.

  In some embodiments, the individualization device is a plurality of bottom transport belts, each bottom transport belt having a transport surface extending in a first direction; a plurality of bottom transport belts; a shearing device; Each of the perforated belts, each perforated belt having a surface extending in a second direction different from the first direction, adjacent to at least one of the plurality of bottom transport belts, and a plurality of bottom portions At least one of the conveyor belts and at least one of the plurality of perforated belts are configured to move the article stack toward the shearing device, the shearing device shearing a portion of the article stack. A plurality of perforated belts configured to impart force and produce a positively stacked article stack.

  In some embodiments, each of the plurality of picking devices is a vertically oriented perforated belt having one or more openings in its surface and configured to be driven by a motor. A perforated belt in a suitable orientation; a vacuum manifold adjacent to the perforated belt; a vacuum unit configured to provide suction through the vacuum manifold, the vacuum manifold being one or more openings in the surface of the perforated belt A vacuum unit configured to apply suction through; and a vacuum valve configured to control the amount of suction applied to the vacuum manifold by the vacuum unit. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of picking devices is configured to pick an article from a positively stacked article stack and opens the vacuum valve and exposes the vacuum manifold to suction from the vacuum unit. The vacuum manifold is configured to apply suction through the one or more openings in the perforated belt and attach the article to the perforated belt; and to create an individualized article; Use to separate the article from the positively stacked article stack by driving the perforated belt forward with the attached article.

  In some embodiments, the plurality of picking devices are arranged in rows and are substantially completely covered by a positively stacked article stack, wherein the most downstream picking device in the row is a positively stacked article. Picking from the stack and creating an individualized article.

  In some embodiments, each of the plurality of picking devices is positioned on a respective picking thorn, each respective picking thorn includes a picking device and a double prevention device opposite the picking device, and double prevention The apparatus is configured to prevent more than one article from being picked from a positively stacked article stack at a time. In some embodiments, the double prevention device is configured to detect presence of a first article, a presence sensor configured to detect the first article, positioned upstream of the presence sensor, and to detect an edge of the second article. And an edge detection sensor configured to apply suction to the second article when the presence sensor detects the first article during the period in which the edge detector detects the edge of the second article. Including vacuum unit. In some embodiments, the presence sensor includes a photoelectric sensor. In some embodiments, the perforated belt is driven by a single servo motor.

  In some embodiments, the one or more synchronizers include a group of paired pinch wheels driven at a variable speed by a pinch wheel motor.

  In some embodiments, the automated stack feeder synchronizes a first time point when each of the one or more individualized articles reaches the exit point with a second time point when the sorting window reaches the exit point. And a controller configured to control movement of each article in the article stack. In some embodiments, the synchronization of the first time point and the second time point includes the position where the first article is picked by the first picking device, the speed of the first article, the position of the sorting window, the sorting window. Speed, acceleration of each of the plurality of perforated belts included in each of the plurality of picking devices, acceleration of one or more synchronizers, maximum permissible of each of the plurality of perforated belts included in each of the plurality of picking devices Speed, maximum permissible speed of perforated belt included in the individualizing device, maximum permissible speed of one or more synchronizers, respective lengths of the plurality of perforated belts included in each of the plurality of picking devices, individualizing device Based on one or more of the perforated belt length, the number of perforated belts, the length of one or more synchronizers, and the number of one or more synchronizers.

  Some embodiments disclosed herein relate to a method of managing articles in an article feeder. The method receives an article stack at an individualization device and generates a positively stacked article stack; picking one or more articles from a positively stacked article stack using one or more picking devices; Generating one or more individualized articles; and sending the one or more individualized articles using one or more synchronization devices to one or more sorting windows.

  In some embodiments, the step of generating a positively stacked article stack is the step of moving the article stack toward the shearing device using the bottom conveying belt and the perforated belt of the individualization device, wherein the bottom portion The transport belt has a transport surface extending in a first direction, and the perforated belt has a surface extending in a second direction different from the first direction; and moving the article stack using a shearing device Applying a shearing force.

  In some embodiments, the method further comprises applying suction through the one or more openings in the perforated belt using a vacuum system.

  In some embodiments, picking one or more articles from a positively stacked article stack comprises opening a vacuum valve of the first picking device and moving the vacuum manifold of the first picking device from the vacuum unit. Exposing to suction; applying suction to one of the one or more articles from the vacuum manifold through one or more openings in the perforated belt of the first picking device; and one using suction Attaching the article to the perforated belt through the opening. In some embodiments, the step of creating one or more individualized articles is positively superimposed by using a motor to drive forward with the perforated belt attached article. Separating from the article stack. In some embodiments, the individualized articles are picked and generated by the most downstream picking device in the row of picking devices that is substantially completely covered by the positively stacked article stack.

  In some embodiments, the method further comprises preventing multiple items from being picked at once from a positively stacked article stack using a double prevention device located in each picking zone. Each individual picking zone includes an individual picking device. In some embodiments, the method includes detecting a first article using a double prevention device presence sensor and an edge detection sensor of the double prevention device, the upstream detection sensor being disposed upstream of the presence sensor. Detecting the edge of the second article using the edge detection sensor, and when the presence sensor detects the first article during the period in which the edge detector is detecting the edge of the second article, Applying suction to the second article using a vacuum unit.

  In some embodiments, the method synchronizes a first time point at which each of the individualized one or more articles reaches the exit point with a second time point at which the sorting window reaches the exit point. The method further includes controlling the movement of each article in the stack. In some embodiments, the synchronization of the first time point and the second time point includes the position at which the first article is picked by the first picking device, the speed of the first article, the position of the sorting window, the sorting window position, Speed, acceleration of each of the plurality of perforated belts included in each of the plurality of picking devices, acceleration of one or more synchronizers, maximum allowable speed of each of the plurality of perforated belts included in each of the plurality of picking devices , The maximum permissible speed of the perforated belt included in the individualization device, the maximum permissible speed of one or more synchronization devices, the length of each of the plurality of perforated belts included in each of the plurality of picking devices, Based on one or more of the length of the perforated belt included, the number of perforated belts, the length of one or more synchronizers, and the number of one or more synchronizers.

  Some embodiments disclosed herein relate to an automatic stack feeder having a sorter with a plurality of picking devices, wherein at least one of the plurality of picking devices receives an article stack and positively receives it. Creating a stacked article stack; picking one or more articles from a positively stacked article stack to generate one or more individualized articles; one or more individualized articles It is configured to send out to the above sorting window.

  The present disclosure describes an apparatus and method used to mitigate article rotation when individualizing a large stack of articles. In some embodiments, the devices and methods disclosed herein are for applying a frictional force to the back of an article while suction and acceleration forces are applied to the front of the article. In some such embodiments, the frictional force is for holding the articles together to resist tearing and move the articles as individual unitary articles. Some embodiments disclosed herein reduce the amount of folding, tearing, or other damage that the article undergoes during the article separation and sorting process.

  Each of the embodiments disclosed herein has several innovative aspects, and none of them alone is responsible for the desirable attributes of the present invention. Without limiting the scope represented by the appended claims, more prominent features are briefly disclosed herein. By reviewing the present description, it will be understood how the features of the various embodiments provide several advantages over conventional personalization methods and apparatus.

  One aspect of the present disclosure relates to an apparatus for mitigating article rotation when individualizing an article stack. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a torsion element connected directly or indirectly to the base and a torsion element pivotable about an inner axis of the torsion element between at least a first position and a second position. A pivot member coupled to the pivot member; and a pivot member configured to rotate about a central axis extending at an angle with respect to the major axis of the pivot member and coupled to the pivot member. At the first position of the turning member, the outer surface of the rotating member is in contact with the drive belt. In the second position of the swivel member, the torsion element exerts a torque on the swivel member and the rotating member, the outer surface of the rotating member contacts and acts on the back of the article, and the front of the article contacts the drive belt. Yes.

  In some embodiments, the torsion element is a torsion bar connected to the base. In other embodiments, the torsion element is a torsion coil spring disposed in or around the structural support member, the structural support member being connected to the base.

  In various embodiments, the pivot member is configured to transition from the first position toward the second position when the article is brought into contact with the rotating member by the drive belt. In some embodiments, the pivot member is a lever arm.

  In some embodiments, a central axis that is configured to rotate about the rotating member extends perpendicular to the major axis of the pivot member.

  In some embodiments, the force applied to the back of the article by the rotating member includes a frictional force.

  The rotating member of some embodiments includes a plurality of wheels. In some embodiments, the device further comprises a shaft disposed along the central axis. The shaft is coupled to the pivot member, and the rotating member is disposed about the shaft and is configured to rotate relative thereto. In another embodiment, the rotating member has a shaft portion and an expansion wheel portion fixed to the shaft portion. The shaft portion and the extension wheel portion are configured to rotate around the central axis, and the shaft portion is coupled to the turning member.

  A further aspect of the present disclosure relates to a system for personalizing an article stack while reducing the damage that each article suffers. The system of various embodiments includes a conveyor belt configured to move the article stack in a forward direction, a drive belt configured to accelerate the articles in the article stack laterally, and a laterally accelerated system. An anti-rotation device configured to apply a frictional force against the upward movement of the back surface of the article when the back surface of the article is applied. An anti-rotation device includes a torsion element connected directly or indirectly to a base, and a pivot member coupled to the torsion element so as to be pivotable about an inner axis of the torsion element between at least a first position and a second position. And a rotating member configured to rotate about a central axis extending at an angle with respect to the major axis of the turning member and coupled to the turning member. At the first position of the swivel member, the outer surface of the rotating member is in contact with the drive belt. In the second position of the pivot member, the torsion element applies a torque to the pivot member and the rotating member. Further, in the second position, the outer surface of the rotating member is in contact with the back surface of the article, and the front surface of the article is in contact with the drive belt.

  In some such embodiments, the drive belt and conveyor belt are arranged on separate non-parallel planes. The drive belt of some embodiments is perforated. In some embodiments, the system further comprises an air moving element configured to provide a suction force to the front surface of the article to couple the lateral movement of the drive belt to the lateral movement of the article.

  A further aspect of the present disclosure relates to another system for personalizing an article stack while reducing the damage that each article suffers. The system includes a means for moving the article stack in a forward direction, a means for separating and laterally accelerating the foremost article from the article stack, and an upward movement of the back of the article when laterally accelerated. And means for imparting friction to the back surface of the article.

  In some embodiments, the means for moving the article stack in the forward direction includes a first conveyor belt. In some embodiments, the means for separating the articles from the article stack includes an air moving device and a second conveyor belt having air holes. In some such embodiments, the air moving device includes a vacuum device, and in other embodiments, the air moving device includes a forward blower fan. In some embodiments, the means for imparting friction includes a rotating member indirectly coupled to the torsion element.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for individualizing an article stack is provided, thereby reducing the damage experienced by articles in the stack. In various embodiments, the method includes moving the article stack in a forward direction, separating and laterally accelerating the foremost article from the article stack, and the foremost article when laterally accelerated. Applying a force to the foremost article to resist the upward movement of the back surface. The force is applied to the back surface by a rotating member that is indirectly connected to the torsion element.

  In some embodiments of the method, the force includes a frictional force. In some such embodiments, the frictional force causes the lever arm coupled to the rotating member to rotate from the first position to the second position about the longitudinal inner axis of the torsion element, and the torsion element causes the lever to rotate. When torque acts on the arm, it is applied by the rotating member. In some such embodiments, the torsion element is a torsion bar or a torsion coil spring.

  These and other features of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. With the understanding that the drawings are only representative of some embodiments according to the present disclosure and should not be considered as limiting the scope thereof, by using the accompanying drawings, The present disclosure will be described more specifically and in detail.

It is a perspective view of one embodiment of an automatic stack feeder and an individualization device. FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of the lower paddle assembly of the automatic stack feeder of FIG. 1. 2B is a perspective view of the z-axis element of the lower paddle assembly of FIG. 2A. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a lower paddle assembly and conveyor of the automatic stack feeder of FIG. 1. Fig. 5 shows a side view of the lower tine and upper tine of the automatic stack feeder. FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a container for use in an automatic stack feeder. FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a stack guide of the automatic stack feeder of FIG. 1. It is a top view of the goods stack in an automatic stack feeder. It is a top view of the goods stack and container in an automatic stack feeder. FIG. 6B is a top view of the merged stack of articles after the article stack is removed from the container shown in FIG. 6B. Fig. 4 shows a side view of a container on an automatic stack feeder with its door closed. The side view which opened the door of the container on an automatic stack feeder is shown. It is a schematic diagram of the connection of the controller to the component of an automatic stack feeder. It is a perspective view of the automatic stack feeder which shows the procedure of taking out from the container using an upper side and a lower side paddle. It is a perspective view of the automatic stack feeder which shows the procedure of taking out from the container using an upper side and a lower side paddle. It is a perspective view of the automatic stack feeder which shows the procedure of taking out from the container using an upper side and a lower side paddle. It is a perspective view of the automatic stack feeder which shows the procedure of taking out from the container using an upper side and a lower side paddle. FIG. 3 is a top view of one embodiment of a perforated drive belt assembly in a first position. FIG. 6 shows a top view of one embodiment of a perforated drive belt assembly in a second position. 1 is a side view of one embodiment of an article stack and a perforated drive belt assembly. FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a controller for use in an automatic stack feeder. It is a side view of the goods stack in an automatic stack feeder. It is a side view of the goods stack which shows collapse in an automatic stack feeder. It is a side view of the articles | goods stack leaning ahead in an automatic stack feeder. It is a perspective view of one Embodiment of the sorting part of the automatic stack feeder of FIG. FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of an exemplary article stack. FIG. 4 shows a top view of an example of an article stack after individualization in which one or more articles are positively stacked. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a personalization device. It is a perspective view of another embodiment of an individualization apparatus and a sorting part. FIG. 18B is a side view taken along line 18B-18B 'of FIG. 18A. It is a perspective view of one Embodiment of the sorting part containing a picking apparatus and a double prevention apparatus. 19B is an enlarged portion of the picking device indicated by a broken line 19B in FIG. 19A. It is a perspective view of one Embodiment of the classification part containing a picking zone group. FIG. 7B is a side view taken along line 20B-20B 'of FIG. 7A, showing an example of detecting an individualized stack of articles or attached articles approaching the picking zone. It is a perspective view of one Embodiment of a synchronizer. It is a side view of one Embodiment of a rotation prevention apparatus. It is a perspective view of one embodiment of a rotation prevention device. It is a schematic diagram which shows the force which acts on the open article | item in the case of individualization, when the rotation prevention apparatus of one Embodiment is provided. It is a side view of one Embodiment of the torsion rod seen in the rotation prevention apparatus of one Embodiment. FIG. 6 is a side view of one embodiment of a torsion element. FIG. 6 is a top view of another embodiment of a torsion element. It is a side view of one embodiment of the structural support member found in the rotation prevention device of one embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process using a movable stack guide. 6 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a method for controlling personalization in an automatic stack feeder. It is a top view of the sorting part which has a floating pick point. It is a top view which shows the example sorting part which operate | moves using a virtual window. It is a top view of the pulley system for driving the perforated belt of the picking device. It is a perspective view of a perforated timing belt. 6 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a method for determining a velocity or a movement profile. It is a side view of the classification part which uses a virtual window for the synchronization with an article | item and a classification window. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the method of controlling a virtual axis. It is a side view of a sorting part, and shows an example of a method of synchronizing an article with a sorting window using picking zone operation. It is a side view of a classification part, and shows an example of a method of adjusting operation of a picking zone using a master axis and a slave axis in order to control picking of articles. It is a side view of the sorting part containing a picking zone and a sensor. It is a side view of a sorting part and shows an example of a method of variably controlling a picking zone vacuum system based on sensor feedback. It is a side view of the sorting part which uses a picking zone operation for correction control. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for managing articles in an automatic stack feeder.

  In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof. In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. Thus, in some embodiments, some numbers may be used for similar components in several drawings, or some numbers may vary from drawing to drawing. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be employed and other changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein. Aspects of the present disclosure, as outlined herein and further illustrated, can be arranged, substituted, combined, and designed in a variety of different configurations, all of which are clearly defined. Will be readily understood as being part of this disclosure.

  The term singulation, as used herein, means to separate an article stack into individual articles into a series of individual articles that are transferred to a sorter or picking machine. obtain. The term shingulation can mean separating articles from a bulk stack, but in this case they are not completely separated from other articles in the stack. The individualized articles, like the overlapping pattern of roof shingles, partially overlap each other and are transferred to a sorter or picker in successive rows with overlapping articles. A singulator, as used herein, can be capable of both individualization and individualization of an article stack, and for convenience and ease of explanation, the term singulator Describe both processes by using. As used herein, positively superimposed or positively superimposed can mean the organization of the position of the front edge of the articles in the stack. Details regarding personalization and positive stacking are further described below. The term individualization as used herein may also mean picking articles from individual stacks that are positively stacked into individual articles.

  The term motor is used herein to refer to any device that provides mechanical or electrical power to the components of an automatic high-speed flat feeder. The motors described herein can be mechanically or electrically driven, can be pneumatic or hydraulic sources, or can be any other type of motor. The system described herein provides for faster and more efficient removal from a container holding an article stack for the purpose of separating, individualizing, or individualizing large quantities of articles, such as mail items, for example. . Articles such as mail including magazines and catalogs are too long to be considered standard size letters and are often referred to as flat. Flats are often easy to bend and in some cases are thin and prone to breakage, which can cause problems during individualization or individualization in automatic stack feeders. These articles or flats can be processed as a stack. As used herein, the term stack can refer to a single article, or one or more articles grouped together, and this term can be used in an automated stack feeder. While this disclosure describes systems and devices for sorting and / or personalizing mail, catalogs, and magazines, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosure presented herein is not limited thereto. It will be clear. Articles or flats can be supplied in containers and must be removed from those containers to an automated stack feeder for individualization. In order to ensure proper personalization or individualization, proper stack pressure must be maintained throughout the container removal process. Embodiments described herein provide systems and methods that ensure that sufficient stack pressure is maintained when an article is removed from a container.

  As used herein, the terms horizontally and vertically are used with reference to the general layout of an automatic stack feeder. The horizontal direction refers to a direction substantially parallel to a surface (for example, floor or ground) on which the automatic stack feeder is placed in its normal configuration. The horizontal direction is also called the x-axis. The direction or motion described as being vertical is a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the horizontal direction and need not be strictly perpendicular to the horizontal direction. The vertical direction may be a direction that extends generally away from the horizontal plane of the automatic stack feeder, as will be described in more detail herein. The vertical direction is also called the z-axis.

  The term singulation, as used herein, means to separate an article stack into individual articles into a series of individual articles that are transferred to a sorter or picking machine. obtain. The term shingulation can mean separating articles from a bulk stack, but in this case they are not completely separated from other articles in the stack. The individualized articles, like the overlapping pattern of roof boards, partially overlap each other and are transferred to a sorter or picking machine in successive rows with overlapping articles. A singulator, as used herein, can be capable of both individualization and individualization of an article stack, and for convenience and ease of explanation, the term singulator Describe both processes by using.

  To assist in the description of the devices and methods described herein, some terminology representing some relationship and directness is used. As used herein, “connected” and “coupled” and variations thereof are continuously formed relative to other elements, on other elements, in other elements, etc. It includes not only direct connections such as being made or directly connected, but also includes indirect connections where one or more elements are placed between the connected elements. “Connected” and “coupled” may mean a permanent or non-permanent (ie, removable) connection.

  As used herein, “secured” and variations thereof may be bonded, screwed, or directly to other elements, over other elements, within other elements, etc. Indirect means of attaching two elements to each other by placing one or more elements between the elements to be fixed, as well as methods of fixing elements directly to other elements, such as other methods of fixing Is also included.

  The system described herein provides for faster and more efficient removal from a container holding a stack of articles, for example for the purpose of separating, individualizing or individualizing mail items. Articles such as mail, including magazines and catalogs, are too long to be considered standard size letters and are called flat. Flats are often easy to bend and in some cases are thin and prone to breakage, which can cause problems during individualization or individualization in automatic stack feeders. These articles or flats can be processed as a stack. As used herein, the term stack can refer to a single article, or one or more articles grouped together, and this term can be used in an automated stack feeder. Articles such as flats can have a variety of different dimensions including a long dimension or long side, a short dimension or short side, a front side, and a back side. In general, when processed with an automatic stack feeder, the long dimension, often the binding edge of an article or flat in the stack, is placed parallel to the floor, and the front of each article or flat is Arranged in the same direction, the individual articles in the stack are arranged back and forth. When processed with an automatic stack feeder, the short sides are usually aligned by vertical walls or stack guides.

  The system described herein provides faster and more efficient separation or individualization of large quantities of articles, such as mail. Mail items such as magazines and catalogs are too long to be considered standard size letters and are often called flat. Flats are often easy to bend and in some cases are thin and prone to breakage, which can cause problems during individualization in an automatic stack feeder. These articles or flats can be processed as a stack. The term stack as used herein can refer to a single article or one or more articles grouped together, and this term can be used in the automatic stack feeder 100. While this disclosure describes systems and devices for sorting and / or personalizing mail, catalogs, and magazines, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosure presented herein is not limited thereto. It will be clear. For example, the development described herein can be applied to a variety of manufacturing, assembly, or sorting applications.

  FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of an automatic stack feeder 100. The automatic stack feeder 100 includes a frame 110, a plurality of belts 120, a singulator 140, a lower paddle assembly 150, an upper paddle assembly 160, a carrier 170, and a sorting unit 180.

  Frame 110 provides support for belt 120, lower paddle assembly 150, and singulator 140. In general, the frame 110 is generally table-shaped that is lifted from the ground by a plurality of legs (not shown) or other means known in the art. The frame 110 has a first end 111 and a second end 112. The frame 110 supports a singulator 140 connected to the second end 112 of the frame 110. The scintillator 140 has a vertical portion 142 attached at right angles to a substantially flat horizontal surface of the frame 110. Singulator 140 can be attached directly to a flat surface at second end 112 of frame 110. In some embodiments, the singulator 140 is positioned within the vertical portion 142 such that the second end 112 of the frame 110 is located near or in contact with the singulator 140. It can be placed close to the end 112. The main plane of the singulator 140 is arranged substantially perpendicularly to the substantially horizontal plane of the frame 110 at a right angle. The scintillator 140 includes an individualizing belt 144 having perforations 145 disposed therein so that the individualizing belt 144 allows air flow to pass while maintaining the structural integrity of the belt. It is possible. By applying a vacuum force through the perforated holes of the belt of the singulator 140, the article placed on the belt 120 moves forward to the individualizing belt 144 when the vacuum force acts on the surface of the adjacent article. Contact. The vacuum force acting through the individualizing belt 144 is sufficient to attract the leading article in the article stack and maintain the leading article in contact with the individualizing belt 144. Within the range of the vertical portion 142, the scintillator 140 can be arranged so that the surface of the individualizing belt 144 is flush with the surface of the vertical portion 142. The singulator 140 is configured to perform individualization or individualization as required. In order to simplify the explanation, a component that can be individualized and individualized is simply called a singulator. The process of individualization and individualization will be further described later.

  The frame 110 further includes a stack guide 130 mounted on one side of the frame so as to extend parallel to the belt 120, which aligns articles, items, or containers when placed on the belt 120. And has a smooth vertical surface 133 provided for guiding.

  The belt 120 is a continuous loop disposed on rollers (not shown) disposed near the first end 111 and the second end 112 of the frame 110, which are rotatably attached to the frame 110. Yes. The rollers are connected to a motor and are configured to rotate, thereby moving the belt 120 in the same manner as a standard conveyor belt. As shown in FIG. 1, the belts 120 are aligned substantially parallel to each other at a distance. The belt 120 extends in the length direction along the automatic stack feeder 100 from the first end 111 to the second end 112. Accordingly, an opening 122 corresponding to the gap between the belts 120 may exist between the belts 120. The belts 120 can be driven independently or together, for example. The upper surface 121 of the belt 120 is disposed in the same plane as the substantially horizontal flat surface of the frame 110.

  The upper paddle assembly 160 has an upper paddle 161 and upper tines 165 that are secured to the upper paddle 161 at their upper portion, and their lower portion passes over the upper paddle 161. It extends downward toward a substantially flat horizontal surface of the frame 110. Upper paddle assembly 160 is connected to a track, cable, rail, or drive belt, which in turn is connected to an x-axis motor (not shown), all of which are substantially flat in frame 110. It is arranged above the horizontal plane. As the motor operates, the track or drive belt moves, which in turn moves the upper paddle assembly 160. The motor is configured to move the upper paddle assembly 160 in a horizontal direction to approach or move away from the second end 112 of the frame 110. Upper paddle assembly 160 is movable along the length of frame 110.

  The upper paddle assembly 160 is also movable so that the vertical positions of the upper paddle 161 and the upper tine 165 can be adjusted. The upper paddle assembly 160 is connected to the z-axis motor via a slidable track, rail, or guide (not shown), thereby allowing the upper paddle assembly 160 including the upper paddle 161 and the upper tine 165 to be The belt 120 can be moved in a direction to approach or separate from the upper surface 121 of the belt 120. Upper paddle assembly 160 is positioned such that upper paddle 161 and tine upper tine 165 are positioned at an angle with respect to belt 120. The z-axis motor connected to the upper paddle assembly 160 is configured to extend the upper paddle 161 downward toward the upper surface 121 of the belt 120, whereby the upper tine 165 is disposed on the belt 120. It can be positioned to provide vertical support for the article stack. The z-axis motor connected to the upper paddle assembly 160 is further configured to move the upper paddle 161 assembly and the upper tine 165 upwardly away from the surface of the belt 120, thereby causing the upper tine 165 to move. The position of the article stack disposed on the belt 120 is not hindered.

  A door opener 162 is connected to the rearward portion of the upper paddle assembly 160. The door opener 162 has a hook, latch, or other similar device that can releasably engage the container door to open or remove the door. The door opener 162 is connected to the upper paddle assembly 160 via a z-axis motor and a movable connection driven by a gear, cable, cord, pneumatic or hydraulic piston, or any other desired mechanism. The door opener 162 is vertically movable so that the door opener 162 extends below the upper paddle 161 to engage a latch, hook, or receiver of a container door disposed on the belt 120. And then open the container by retracting the door vertically. This process will be described in more detail later.

  The frame 110 further provides support for the carrier 170. The carrier 170 is attached on one side to a movable linear guide (not shown) that extends parallel to the frame 110 and the belt 120 on the opposite side of the stack guide 130. The carrier 170 has a first surface 171 disposed substantially parallel to the belt 120 and a second surface 172 disposed perpendicular to the belt 120 and substantially perpendicular. The carrier 170 is attached to the frame 110 so that the carrier 170 does not contact the belt 120. In some embodiments, there is a gap between the bottom of the carrier 170 and the top surface 121. The carrier 170 is configured to receive a container (not shown). The container is placed on the first surface 1711 and abuts against the second surface 172 on the rear surface of the container. In this way, the container can be moved back and forth along the frame 110 by the carrier 170 independently of the movement of the belt 120.

  FIG. 2A shows a perspective view of one embodiment of the lower paddle assembly 150. The lower paddle assembly 150 has a support member 151 connected to the cross member 152. The cross member 152 has a roller 153 disposed at one end, and is connected to the drive connector 155 at the other end. The roller 153 is movably engaged with a rail 154 that extends in parallel to the belt below the belt 120 and is connected to the frame 110. The drive connector 155 is movably engaged with the drive member 156. The drive member 156 is supported by the frame 110. In some embodiments, the drive member 156 can be a belt, track, cable, gear, pneumatic or hydraulic piston, or other similar device, to which the drive connector 155 is movably connected. can do. The drive member 156 is then connected to an x-axis motor (not shown). When the x-axis motor is activated, the drive member 156 is moved along a track, belt, gear, cable, etc., which in turn causes the entire lower paddle assembly 150 to move in a horizontal direction parallel to the path of the belt 120. Move to. Lower paddle assembly 150 is movable along the length of frame 110. For ease of explanation, the lower paddle assembly 150, in conjunction with the belt 120, can be referred to as a conveyor.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the lower paddle assembly 150 further includes a z-axis member 157 that is movably connected to the support member 151. The z-axis member 157 can be movably connected to the support member 151 using a track, cable, gear, piston, or other similar connection method. The z-axis member is movably attached to the support member 151 and connected to a z-axis motor (not shown) configured to move the z-axis member 157 up and down along the z-axis with respect to the horizontal plane of the frame 110. ing. A lower paddle 158 is attached to the z-axis member, and one or more lower tines 159 are attached to the lower paddle so as to extend upward from the lower paddle 158.

  FIG. 2C shows the lower paddle assembly 150 disposed within the frame 110. As shown, the lower paddle assembly 150 is disposed generally below the horizontal plane of the frame 110. The lower tine 159 protrudes upward through a gap or opening 122 between or around the belts 120.

  As described above, the lower paddle assembly 150 is movable in the horizontal direction or the x-axis direction. That is, the lower paddle assembly is movable in the horizontal direction between the first end 111 and the second end 112 of the frame 110. To move the lower paddle assembly 150 from the first end 111 to the second end 112 or from the second end 112 to the first end 111, the x-axis motor is actuated. Actuation of the x-axis motor moves a drive member 156 (eg, drive belt, track, gear, or other similar device) to which a drive connector 155 is connected. Accordingly, when the motor is activated, the drive connector 155 moves between the first end 111 and the second end 112 of the frame 110. Since the drive connector 155 is connected to the support member 151, when the motor is operated, the z-axis member 157, the lower paddle 158, and the lower tine 159 all move together in the horizontal direction. The motor is connected and configured to move the lower paddle assembly 150 toward or away from the second end 112 of the frame 110. Accordingly, the lower paddle assembly 150 is movable along the length of the frame 110. The frame 110 has a gap or gap on its surface corresponding to the opening 122 disposed in the region around or between the belts 120. The lower tines 155 are aligned with their openings 122 so that the tine 155 can move within the openings 122 along the length of the frame 110 as the lower paddle assembly 150 moves. In general, the lower paddle assembly 150 provides support to an article stack (not shown) to maintain sufficient stack pressure to ensure proper individualization or individualization. It is movable along the length of

  In addition to horizontal movement, lower paddle 158 and lower tine 159 can move vertically when the z-axis motor is actuated. As described herein, a z-axis member 157 is connected to the support member 151 and the z-axis member can be a track, cable, belt, gear, pneumatic or hydraulic piston, or other similar device. Can be used to move vertically. When the z-axis motor is activated, the z-axis member 157 moves along the support member 151, thereby moving the lower paddle 158 and the lower tine 159 in the vertical direction. The z-axis member 157 allows the entire lower tine 159 to be located below the horizontal plane of the frame 110 in the initial reach of the operation, and further the lower tine is an article on the upper surface 121 of the belt 120. The support member 151 is sized and supported at such a position to allow the lower tine 159 to protrude vertically through the opening 122 sufficiently to provide forward or backward support to the stack. It is connected to the.

  The vertical movement of the z-axis member 157 need not be perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the frame 110. As mentioned above, the term vertical is used to indicate horizontal movement of the lower paddle assembly 150 or a direction that is generally perpendicular to the x-axis, and is not necessarily strictly vertical. Absent. In some embodiments, the z-axis member 157 can be connected to the support member 151 such that the z-axis member 157 and the lower paddle 158 are disposed at an angle other than perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the frame 110. For example, in some embodiments, the z-axis member 157 can be connected to the support member 151 to form an angle θ (not shown) with the surface of the belt (s) 120. In some embodiments, the angle θ is greater than 90 °, such as 91 °, 92 °, 93 °, 94 °, 95 °, 100 °, 110 ° or more, or any angle therebetween. It can be an angle. In some embodiments, the z-axis member 157 and the lower paddle 158 move such that the angle θ is maintained constant.

  During operation of the automatic stack feeder 100, an article stack (not shown) is placed on the belt 120 and is supported on its rear side by either the upper tine 165, the lower tine 159, or both. . The upper paddle 161 and the lower paddle 158 can move independently of each other and further independently of the belt 120. The belt 120 is configured to move the article stack in either direction toward or away from the singulator 140 as required. In general, the belt 120 advances the article stack toward the singulator 140 such that the top article in the stack strikes the singulator 140. As the article stack is advanced toward the singulator 140 by the belt 120, the upper paddle 161 or the lower paddle 158 moves with the stack, thereby abutting the adjacent surface of the singulator 140 and supporting the article stack vertically. And maintain the stack pressure.

  An article stack may be composed of various articles or items. For example, an article stack can be composed of magazines, catalogs, mail items, containers, tiles, boards, stackable components or materials, or other articles that require individualization or personalization. In some embodiments of the automatic stack feeder 100, the article stack can be positioned such that some articles in the article stack are closer to the singulator 140 than other articles. In this case, the stack may include a leading article that is the article that is closest to the singulator 140 in the stack.

  FIG. 3 shows a side view of the lower tine 159 of the lower paddle 158 and the upper tine 165 of the upper paddle assembly 160. As shown, when the lower tine 159 and the upper tine 165 are in close contact with the stack guide 130 and the container 190 is placed on the carrier 170, the upper tine 165 is It is configured and sized so as not to extend beyond the side and / or stack guide 130. In some embodiments, as shown, one or more of the lower tines 159 can be aligned vertically with a corresponding one or more of the upper tines 165. In some embodiments, the lower tine 159 and the upper tine 165 of the upper paddle assembly 160 are aligned with each other such that the lower tine is aligned with the gap between the upper tine 165. It can be arranged to offset and engage. In some embodiments, the lower tine 159 and the upper tine 165 do not contact each other when the lower paddle 158 and the upper paddle assembly 160 move toward each other.

  FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of the container 190. The container 190 has an open top 191, a plurality of side surfaces 192, a bottom, and a door 195, which together enclose the article stack 196. In some embodiments, the container may have a capped top, in which perforations or slots (not shown) corresponding to the location of the upper tine 165 may be placed. A perforation or slot in the top of the container 190 allows the upper tine 165 to be inserted into the container 190. The door 195 is disposed on one side of the container 190. The door 195 is a component that can be removed in the vertical direction. In some embodiments, the door 195 has a ridge, lip, or other protrusion disposed on at least two sides of the door 195, which corresponds to a corresponding slot, groove, or other on the side 192 of the container 190. Removably held in the recess.

  One of the side surfaces 192, specifically the side surface 192 opposite the door 195, has a groove or notch 193 disposed on the side surface, which is vertically downward from the top of the container 190. It extends. The grooves or notches 193 do not extend the entire vertical length of the side 192 in which they are placed. The notch is sized and positioned to align with the upper tine 165 so that the upper tine 165 moves through the groove or notch 193 and contacts the article stack 196 disposed in the container 190. It is possible.

  FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of the stack guide of the automatic stack feeder of FIG. The stack guide 130 is connected to the frame by a bearing, and is disposed along the belt 120 substantially in parallel. The stack guide 130 has a first end 131 generally disposed near the first end 111 of the frame 110 and a second end generally disposed near the second end 112 of the frame 110. In the illustrated embodiment, the stack guide 130 has a vertical surface 133 that extends in a substantially vertical direction at a right angle from the horizontal plane of the frame 110 and the belt 120. Stack guide 130 is configured to provide support for the edges of the article stack (not shown) when the article stack is placed on belt 120 as processed by automatic stack feeder 100. .

  The stack guide 130 has a vertical portion 510 configured to contact the article stack. The stack guide 130 is configured to move the vertical portion 510 between the first position and the second position. In some embodiments, the stack guide 130 is configured to move the vertical portion 510 between various positions. The vertical portion 510 has a back surface 512 to which one or more braces 520 are attached. The braces 520 are fixedly attached to the back surface 512 of the vertical portion 510 at intervals along the length of the vertical portion 510. The brace 520 is further connected to one or more bearings 530. In some embodiments, not all of the braces 520 are connected to the bearings 530. The bearing 530 is connected to the guide support 540. The guide support 540 is fixedly connected to the frame 110 (not shown) so as to be parallel to the belt 120. The bearing 530 is configured to allow the brace 520 to slide and move in a linear direction. As the brace 520 moves, the vertical portion 510 of the stack guide 130 also moves. In some embodiments, as will be described in more detail below, the direction of movement allowed by the bearing 530 is a direction perpendicular to the length of the stack guide 130 and the frame 110.

  The stack guide 130 further includes a motor 550 configured to move the vertical portion 510 of the stack guide 130. The motor 550 is connected to the piston 260. Piston 560 is connected to motor 550 such that piston 560 moves when motor 550 is actuated. In some embodiments, the motor 550 is a pneumatic cylinder powered by air supply that generates sufficient energy to move the piston 560 from the first position to the second position, or any position therebetween. . In some embodiments, the piston 560 extends vertically from the motor and engages the ring gear 570. In some embodiments, the piston 560 has teeth at one end that engage the gear teeth of the ring gear 570. The ring gear 570 is then connected to the crankshaft 580. The crankshaft 580 is a cylindrical rod that extends long in the direction parallel to the vertical portion 510 along the back surface 512 of the vertical portion 510. The ring gear 570 surrounds the crankshaft 580 and provides a mechanical linkage and / or gear system with the piston 560 so that the vertical linear motion of the piston 560 is on the long axis of the crankshaft 580. It converts into the rotational motion of the crankshaft 580 along.

  The crankshaft 580 has one or more cams 590 attached to the end of the crankshaft 580, which in some embodiments are attached at intervals along the length of the crankshaft 580. ing. The crankshaft is supported by a housing 581 that supports the crankshaft 580 and has a bearing that allows the crankshaft to rotate about its long axis. The housing 581 is attached to the guide support 540 and supports the crankshaft 580.

  Cam 590 can be oval, oval, hourglass, can include a combination of various linkages, or can be of any other desired shape or type. Cam 590 can further include a tie rod 591 rotatably connected to cam 590. The tie rod 591 is connected to the back surface 512 of the vertical portion 510. The cam 590 and the tie rod 591 are connected to each other and to the vertical portion 510, whereby the rotational motion of the crankshaft 580 can be converted into the linear motion of the vertical portion 510.

  For example, when removing an item stack from a container, it may be desirable to move the vertical portion 510 of the stack guide 130. The movement of the vertical portion 510 will be described below. The vertical portion 510 is in the original position or the first position, where the front side of the vertical portion 510 can contact the edge of the article stack. In order to move the vertical portion 510, a control signal is sent from the controller to the motor 550. The control signal can be an electrical signal, a pneumatic signal, or any other desired signal that can initiate motor operation. In some embodiments, the motor is a pneumatic cylinder, so a pneumatic signal is sent to the motor 550. The pneumatic signal activates the motor 550 and thereby moves the piston 560. The piston 560 moves linearly upward. The gear teeth of the piston 560 mesh with the gear teeth of the ring gear 570. When the piston 560 moves upward, the ring gear 570 is rotated by the meshing gear teeth. The ring gear 570 then rotates the crankshaft 580 so that the crankshaft rotates about an axis extending through the center of the crankshaft 580 along the length of the crankshaft 580.

  The rotation of the crankshaft 580 causes the cam 590 to rotate, and when the cam 590 rotates, the tie rod 291 moves. The tie rod 591 is connected to the vertical portion 510. Therefore, the vertical portion 510 is moved to the second position by the movement of the tie rod 591.

  When the pneumatic signal is removed from the motor 550 or applied to another port of the pneumatic cylinder, the piston 560 moves downward and the above process is repeated in the reverse direction so that the vertical section 510 has its Move back to the original position.

  The distance that the vertical portion 510 is moved by the operation of the motor 550 can be equal to the wall thickness of the container 190. In some embodiments, the motor is configured such that the vertical portion 510 can be positioned at multiple locations or positions. This can be achieved by maintaining the position of the vertical portion 510 by holding the position of the piston 560 by moving the piston 560 by a predetermined amount by the operation of the motor 550. By having multiple possible positions, the vertical portion 510 of the stack guide 130 can be used for various containers 190 with different wall thicknesses. In some embodiments, the distance traveled by the vertical portion 510 of the stack guide 130 is programmable using a controller described in more detail below.

  It will be understood that the above description is illustrative only. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that vertical movement can be achieved by other means, such as an electric motor, a different gear mechanism, or any other desirable method.

  In some embodiments, the stack guide 130 moves. In some embodiments, the entire stack guide 130 does not move, but some of the components of the stack guide 130, including the vertical portion 510, move.

  FIG. 6A shows a top view of one embodiment of an automatic stack feeder 600 with an article stack. A first article stack 670 is disposed on the belt 620 and supported by a vertical support member 650 along a rearward facing surface, and further along the stack guide 630 along one of the short sides or short dimensions. Is supported by Paddle 650 is in contact with article 672 at the end of first stack 670 and operates as described elsewhere herein. The first stack 670 is supported at the edge 675 by a stack guide 630. By maintaining the edge 675 of the first stack 670 in contact with the stack guide 630, the edge 675 of the article in the stack when reaching the singulator 140 is uniform, thereby allowing for individualization. The possibility of misfeeds, breakage and other errors of the article is reduced.

  The stack guide 630 is shown in a first position where the stack guide contacts the edge 675 of the first stack 670. The edge 675 of the first stack 670 is in contact with and aligned with the stack guide 630, and the first stack 670 is flush with the stack guide 630. As the first stack 670 is moved toward the singulator 640, the edge 675 is maintained in alignment by the stack guide 130.

  FIG. 6B shows a top view of one embodiment of the automatic stack feeder of FIG. 6A with additional containers. Container 660 surrounds second article stack 680. The second article stack 680 is generally positioned within the container 660 such that the shorter dimension edge of the article contacts the container wall 665. A wall 665 disposed against the stack 680 is located on the side of the container that contacts the stack guide 630 when the container 660 is disposed on the belt 620.

  Container 660 is placed on carrier 665 so that stack 680 can be removed onto belt 620 for personalization. In some embodiments, articles are removed through the open door 662 of the container 660 using a paddle (not shown) that pushes the stack 680 forward.

  Container 660 includes at least one wall 665 having a thickness D1. When the container 660 is placed on the belt 620, the stack guide 630 is moved to receive the thickness D1 of the wall 665. This ensures that the second stack 680 is aligned with the first stack 670 when the second stack 680 is removed from the container 660. FIG. 6B shows the stack guide 630 in the second position, the stack guide 630 being moved to receive the container 660. Stack 680 is pushed through open door 662 as it is removed from container 660. At this point, the stack 680 is not aligned with the stack guide 630 and is spaced apart from the stack guide 630 by a distance equal to the thickness D 1 of the wall 665.

  FIG. 6C shows the automatic stack feeder of FIGS. 6A and 6B after the container 660 has been removed. The stack guide 630 is shown in the first position moved after the container 660 is removed. After the second stack 680 is removed from the container 660, the second stack 680 is advanced until the leading article of the second stack 680 contacts the trailing article 672 of the first stack 670, Merged into first stack 670, thereby forming merged stack 685. When the stack guide 630 is initially in the second position, the merged stack 685 is not flush with the stack guide 630. After removing the container from the belt 620, the stack guide 630 is moved back to the first position, and at this time the stack guide 630 contacts and provides support to the merged stack 685, thereby providing the merged stack. Helps ensure efficient and accurate personalization of items within 685.

  FIGS. 7A and 7B show one option for removal from a container onto an automatic stack feeder as described herein, or as a process of removal from a container for use with an automatic stack feeder. Provided for illustrative purposes. This description is provided merely as an example of container removal in automated stack feeder technology and should not be construed as limiting any of the disclosure contained herein.

  Referring to FIG. 7A, an automatic stack feeder 700 is shown. The automatic stack feeder 700 has a first end 702 and a second end 704, and a belt 720. The second end 704 includes a singulator 740. The automatic stack feeder 700 has a paddle 750 that supports the first article stack 741 and provides sufficient stack pressure for proper personalization or individuation of the first article stack 741. Stack pressure is defined as the pressure exerted by the stack on the singulator 740. If the stack pressure is not properly maintained, the stack may collapse or fall forward or backward, which hinders individualization and individualization. Maintaining the proper stack pressure ensures sufficient surface area of the leading article in the stack in contact with the singulator 740 to ensure efficient and accurate personalization or individualization of the stack. . In the automatic stack feeder 700, the belt 720 moves the first article stack 721 toward the singulator 740, and the paddle 750 provides vertical support and moves with the first article stack 721 to reduce the stack pressure. maintain. If the first article stack 721 is not maintained on the singulator 740 by sufficient pressure, the first article stack 721 may begin to collapse or collapse, which is an efficient individualization or individualization. It becomes an obstacle.

  When the first article stack 121 is moved toward the singulator 106 by the belt 140, the container 790 is received in a carrier (not shown), which causes the container 790 to move to the first article stack 121. Moved to the back position. Container 790 has a door 795 positioned behind paddle 750. Container 790 contains second article stack 742. As shown in FIG. 7A, when the container 790 is initially placed on the belt 720, the door 730 is closed.

  FIG. 7B shows the automatic stack feeder 700 when the door 730 of the container 790 is opened. The paddle 750 opens the door 730 by removing the door 795 from the container 790 in the vertical direction. Paddle 750 must move vertically with door 795 to ensure a path for second article stack 742 to exit container 790. When the paddle 750 moves vertically away from the first article stack 741 when opening the door 795, the first article stack 741 loses vertical support and the first article stack 741 is , May collapse or collapse into container 790, in which case sufficient stack pressure is not maintained. The operation of the paddle 750 will be described in detail later.

  FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of the controller and its connection to the various components of the automatic stack feeder 100. The automatic stack feeder 100 can include an automatic control system 800 under the direction of a processor-based controller 810. The controller can be controllably connected to the x-axis motor and the z-axis motor described herein. The connection of the controller 810 to the various motors described in this specification is either an electrical connection, wired or wireless, or configured to transmit control signals to and receive signals from various components. Any other desired type of connection made. The controller 810 includes a lower paddle assembly x-axis motor 820, a lower paddle assembly z-axis motor 830, a belt motor 840, an upper paddle x-axis motor 850, an upper paddle z-axis motor 860, a door opener motor 870, And connected to the carrier motor 880. The controller is configured to coordinate the various components and motors of the automatic stack feeder 100 to achieve removal from the container 190, as described with reference to FIGS.

  9A-9D illustrate side views of the stages of the container removal process that represent the movement and position of the upper paddle 965 and the lower paddle 959 during the container 990 removal process. As illustrated in FIG. 8A, an automatic stack feeder 900 can hold a first article stack 915 on a belt 920, and those articles can be individualized with a singulator 940 or individual It becomes. During individualization or individualization, the article can be supported along the back of the article by either the lower tine 959 or the upper tine 965. When the article is individualized or individualized with the singulator 940, the upper tine 965 or the lower tine 959 is moved into the first article as the first article stack 915 moves toward the singulator 940. Support stack 915. The first article stack 915 can be moved toward the singulator 940 by movement of the belt 920.

  Referring to FIG. 9A, prior to placing container 990 on carrier 970 in automatic stack feeder 900, z-axis member 957 extends vertically and lower tine 959 passes vertically through opening 922 between belts 920. Make it protrude. The lower tine 959 supports the first article stack 915 and maintains the stack pressure by moving toward the singulator 940 by the belt 920. The x-axis motor 820 operates under the instruction of the controller 810. In some embodiments, the controller 810 adjusts the movement of the x-axis motor 820 by the belt motor 840 so that the first article stack 915 moves as the first article stack 915 moves toward the singulator 940. And the stack pressure between the lower tine 959 is maintained. The controller 810 also coordinates the movement of the belt 920 and the lower paddle assembly 950 such that the first article stack 915 is approximately relative to the belt 920 when the first article stack 915 moves toward the singulator 940. To maintain the same angle.

  Container 990 is disposed on carrier 970, and carrier 970 positions container 990 at or near first end 911 and first article stack 915 is disposed between container 990 and singulator 940. Like that. When placed on the carrier 970, the container 990 is movable by the carrier 970 toward or away from the first stack.

  Referring now to FIG. 9B, the upper paddle 960 is positioned on the door 995 of the container 990. When the container 990 surrounding the second stack 916 is placed on the belt 920, the upper paddle 960 is moved to a position on the door 995 by an x-axis motor 850 attached to the upper paddle 960. In some embodiments, the container 990 and carrier 970 can be moved with the belt 920 or at the same speed as the belt. The controller 810 can synchronize the movement of the carrier 970 with the belt motor 840. In order to maintain the upper paddle 860 above the door 995, the controller 810 may synchronize the x-axis motor 850 and the carrier motor 850. This synchronization allows the paddle to stay in the correct position, such that opening the door 995 when the container 990 is moved along by the carrier 970. When the upper paddle 960 is in the position above the door 995, the controller sends a signal to the Z-axis motor 870 to extend the door opener 962 downward and hook, latch, or other similar on the door opener 962. The door 995 is engaged through the mechanism. FIG. 9B illustrates the door opener 962 extending below the upper paddle 960 and the upper tine 965 engaged with the door 995. The door opener 962 is then retracted vertically to remove the door 995 from the container 990. As described elsewhere herein, the term vertical does not necessarily require the door to be removed straight, for example, at an angle as illustrated in FIG. 9B. May be removed.

  As described above, the first article stack 915 is supported by the lower tine 959 when the container 990 is placed on the carrier 970. Since the first article stack 915 is supported by the lower tine 959 when the door 995 is opened or removed, the first article stack 915 does not collapse or fall into the open space of the container 990.

  Referring now to FIG. 9C, after removing the door 995, the controller 810 signals the x-axis motor 850 to position the upper paddle 960 behind the container 990 and then moves the upper tine 965 behind the container 990. When the signal is sent to the x-axis motor 860 so as to extend downward to the position, the upper tine 965 is closer to the first end 911 than to the container 990. The x-axis motor 850 moves the upper tine 965 forward toward the second end 912, and the upper tine 965 passes through a groove or notch in the container 930 similar to that described elsewhere herein. Into container 990. Upper tine 965 then contacts the last or last article in second article stack 916. When the upper tine 965 contacts the second article stack 916, the x-axis motor 850 moves the upper tine 965 forward until the upper tine 965 provides vertical support for the second article stack 916. The upper tine 965 is moved further forward in the container 990 and towards the opening formed by removing the door 995. Upper tine 965 pushes second article stack 916 forward and applies stack pressure to second article stack 916 to bring the leading article in second article stack 916 into contact with lower tine 959. The stack pressure applied to the second article stack 916 by the upper tine 965 is sufficient to compress the second article stack 916 so that when the lower tine 959 is subsequently removed, the second article stack 916 Expanding and filling the void left by the lower tine 959, the resulting stack pressure is appropriate for the individualization or individualization operation after expansion of the second article stack 916. FIG. 9C illustrates this stage of the container removal process. Here, the second article stack 916 is supported by the upper tine 965 and contacts both the upper tine 965 and the lower tine 959.

  After the second article stack 916 is in contact with the lower tine 959 and the upper tine 965 applies sufficient stack pressure to the second article stack 916, the carrier 970 then moves away from the second article stack 916. The container 990 is then withdrawn from the automatic feeder 900 to move backwards. As container 990 is withdrawn from automatic feeder 900, second article stack 916 contacts belt 920. The controller 810 sends a signal to the z-axis motor 830 to retract the lower tine 959 downwardly through the opening 922 in the belt 920. As the lower tine 959 is retracted, the stack pressure applied to the second article stack 916 causes the second article stack 916 to expand into the void left by the lower tine 959. The second article stack 916 and the first stack 915 are grouped into a merged stack 917 that is vertically supported only by the upper tine 965 so that the resulting stack pressure on the merged stack 917 is an efficient and precise individualization. Or a stack pressure suitable for individualization. By combining the article stack in this manner, the stack pressure is continuously maintained on the article stack throughout the container removal process. This is illustrated in FIG. 9D which shows the lower tine 959 retracted below the horizontal surface of the belt 920. Second article stack 916 and first article stack 915 are merged stacks 917 that are vertically supported by upper tine 965.

  To repeat the process, the controller 810 sends a signal to the x-axis motor 820 to move the lower tine 959 behind the merge stack 917, and the controller 810 passes through the opening 922 in the belt 920 to lower the tine 959. A signal is sent to the z-axis motor 830 so as to extend. The z-axis motor 820 moves the lower tine 959 forward to contact the last article in the merged stack 917, and the lower tine 959 meshes with the upper tine 965, as described with reference to FIG. When the lower tine 959 provides vertical support for the merged stack 917 and is providing stack pressure, the controller 810 signals the z-axis motor 860 to retract the upper tine 965 vertically. . Thereafter, the container removal process can be repeated.

  FIG. 10A illustrates a top view of an embodiment of a perforated drive belt assembly, such as a singulator 140. Perforated drive belt assembly 1010 includes a first end 1011, a second end 1012, and a perforated drive belt 1044. The first end 1011 includes a first spindle 1013 and the second end 1012 includes a second spindle 1014. The first spindle 1013 and the second spindle 1014 are connected to each other via a connection arm (not shown) so that a fixed distance between the first spindle 1013 and the second spindle 1014 is maintained. And allows rotation of the first spindle 1013 and the second spindle 1014 about a vertical axis passing through the center of the first spindle 1013 and the second spindle 1014. The connecting arm, as well as the first spindle 1013 and the second spindle 1014, provide a rigid form on which the perforated drive belt 1044 is arranged.

  A hole 1045 is disposed in the perforated drive belt 1044. As used herein, the term perforated drive belt may refer to a drive belt having one opening or multiple openings so that air flow can pass through the drive belt. However, the perforated drive belt 1044 maintains its structural integrity. In some embodiments, the perforated drive belt 1044 has a plurality of small holes extending between the front and back surfaces, the holes being generally uniformly distributed on the surface of the perforated drive belt 1044. . In some embodiments, the perforated drive belt 1044 can have one or more elongated holes arranged in a straight line parallel to or perpendicular to the length of the perforated drive belt 1044. In some embodiments, the holes can have other suitable shapes. The holes 1045 may be concentrated in one region or section of the perforated drive belt 1044 or may be uniformly distributed on the surface of the perforated drive belt 1044.

  A first end 1011 of the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 is pivotally attached to the frame 110 such that the first end 1011 of the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 pivots about an axis. The second end 1012 is not attached to the frame 110 but is connected to the first end via a connection arm that connects the first spindle 1013 and the second spindle 1014 together. As the first end 1011 pivots about the vertical axis 1070, the second end 1014 moves in an arcuate shape about the axis 1070. The pivotable attachment mechanism of the first end 1011 can include a spring or similar device that applies a restoring force that resists rotational movement about the axis 1070. This resistance prevents free movement of the second end 1012 so that, for example, as shown in FIG. 10A, the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 is in a predetermined orientation when no external force is applied. Force.

  The perforated drive belt 1044 is a continuous annular belt disposed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the first spindle 1013 and the second spindle 1014. The first spindle 1013 and the second spindle 1014 are configured to rotate around an axis passing through the center of the first spindle 1013 and the second spindle 1014 in the longitudinal direction. In some embodiments, the first spindle 1013 is mechanically connected to a drive mechanism or motor (not shown) that rotates the first spindle 1013. The perforated drive belt 1044 contacts the outer peripheral surfaces of the first spindle 1013 and the second spindle 1014 so that the perforated drive belt 1044 is sufficiently moved when the first spindle 1013 is rotated by a drive mechanism or a motor. Accordingly, the perforated drive belt 1044 is moved. When the perforated drive belt 1044 is moved by the first spindle 1013, the second spindle 1014 is also moved by the movement of the perforated drive belt 1044.

  As described above, when the automatic stack feeder 100 is operating, the article stack rests on or is placed on the belt 120. A weight sensor (not shown) can be attached to the frame 110 or to the belt 120 or its rollers. The weight sensor is disposed below the frame 110 and is attached to either the frame 110 or a roller that operates the belt 140. The weight sensor is configured to sense the weight of the stack on the frame 110 or the belt 120. The weight sensor may be one of many weight sensors known in the art. For example, the weight sensor may be a scale, load cell, force sensor, strain gauge, or any other known sensor capable of detecting weight or force and outputting an electrical signal. The weight sensor can sense the weight or force applied to the frame 110 or to a roller connected to the belt 120. The weight sensor can indicate whether a stack is present on the belt 120 or the frame 110.

  As further described above, the lower paddle assembly 150 is attached to a track or drive belt that is attached to the frame 110. The paddle 150 is movable along the length of the frame 110 and is configured to vertically support the article stack and the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 as the stack moves toward the singulator 140. . In general, the belt 120 advances the article stack toward the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 so that the top article in the stack strikes the perforated drive belt 1044 and is individualized. The top article in the stack may be the article in the stack that is closest to the perforated drive belt assembly 1010.

  As the stack impacts the perforated drive belt 1044, the stack applies a force to the perforated drive belt assembly 1010. This force is resisted by a spring or similar device at the attachment of the first end 1011. A spring or other resistance force calculates the pressure exerted by the stack on the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 based on the displacement of the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 from its position when no force is applied. Can have a predetermined value that can be used in

  Personalization is achieved when the stack pushed or pulled by the belt 120 moves toward the perforated drive belt assembly. As will be described in more detail below, when the leading article in the stack collides with the perforated drive belt assembly 1010, the leading article is perforated by the vacuum force applied to the leading article through the holes in the perforated drive belt 1044. It is held on the surface of the drive belt 1044. Thus, the individual articles are separated from the mass stack by moving the top article of the stack held against the perforated drive belt 1044 in the direction of movement of the perforated drive belt 1044.

  Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the surface of the frame is in the plane of the surface of the perforated drive belt 1044 facing the article stack. The vertical portion of the frame includes a void or hole 1035 that is aligned so that the bottom of the void or hole 1035 is aligned with the generally flat horizontal surface of the frame 110. The air gap or hole 1035 corresponds to the size of the perforated drive belt assembly 110.

  Perforated drive belt assembly 1010 includes a vacuum unit 1018. The vacuum unit 1018 is located between the first spindle 1013 and the second spindle 1014 so that the inner surface of the perforated drive belt 1044 can be in close proximity to or in direct contact with the vacuum unit 1018. Be placed. The vacuum unit 1018 generates a vacuum state that applies a force directed toward the vacuum unit 1018. The vacuum unit 1018 provides a clamping force for the articles in the stack and holds the adjacent surface of the article in the stack against the surface of the perforated drive belt 1044 so that the surface of the article is in full contact with the perforated drive belt 1044. Since the article can be held against the perforated drive belt 1044 by the vacuum force, efficient individualization of the stack is facilitated. More specifically, vacuum unit 1018 provides a vacuum force that is transmitted through perforated drive belt 1044 through hole 1045. The vacuum unit 1018 develops a vacuum force acting through the holes in the perforated drive belt 1044 to attract air, articles or anything in the range of vacuum forces toward the perforated drive belt 1044.

  As the stack moves toward the perforated drive belt assembly 1010, at least a portion of the leading article in the stack approaches or contacts the perforated drive belt 1044. As the leading article in the stack approaches or contacts the perforated drive belt 1044, the vacuum force generated by the vacuum unit 1018 pulls the leading article from the stack to the belt. The vacuum force acting through the hole 1045 holds the leading article in close contact with the outer surface of the perforated drive belt 1044.

  Since the perforated drive belt 1044 moves in response to the rotation of the spindles 1013 and 1014, articles or flats held against the outer surface of the perforated drive belt 1044 are separated from the stack and conveyed away from the stack. . In some embodiments, the articles are conveyed to the sorting unit 180.

  Perforated drive belt assembly 1010 includes a sensor 1019. In some embodiments, sensor 1019 is located proximate to perforated drive belt assembly 1010. In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIGS. 10A-10B, sensor 1019 is mechanically attached to second end 1012 via a pushable linkage attached to the upper portion of spindle 1014. It is done. Sensor 1019 is configured to sense the force applied to the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 by the stack. When the stack impacts the perforated drive belt 1044, the second end 1012 of the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 is displaced and measured by depressing a depressible linkage as illustrated in FIG. 10B. Possible forces can be generated. In some embodiments, the sensor 1019 can sense displacement by using a pushable linkage in conjunction with a spring assembly. When the depressible linkage is depressed against a spring in sensor 1019, the depression of the depressible linkage is measured and the depression corresponds to the pressure applied to the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 by the stack. Converted to a signal. Although one type of sensor is described herein, other types of sensors configured to sense pressure or force may be used in various configurations and applied by the stack on the perforated drive belt assembly 1010. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the purpose of sensing the applied force can be achieved.

  For example, in some embodiments, displacement can be sensed by a spring sensor 1017 attached to a spindle 1013 located at the first end 1011 via a displacement spring (not shown). In this case, as the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 is displaced and rotates about the axis 1070, the spring in the spring sensor 1017 is compressed or expanded. This compression or expansion of the spring can be measured and can be converted electrically or electronically into a pressure measurement. In some embodiments, the pushable linkage displacement and / or spring compression or expansion is not electrically converted to a pressure reading. For example, in some embodiments, an electronic signal relating to the displacement of the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 can be transmitted to the controller. In some embodiments, the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 can have both a sensor 1019 and a spring sensor 1017. Having both sensor 1019 and spring sensor 1017 can provide redundant pressure readings or sensors, or increase the accuracy of pressure or force measurements.

  In some embodiments, sensor 1019 or spring sensor 1017 senses a change in the angular position of perforated drive belt assembly 1010 relative to frame 1010, shown as angle ψ rather than pressure. In these embodiments, rather than generating a pressure signal, sensor 1019 and spring sensor 1017 generate an electrical signal corresponding to a change in angle ψ. One skilled in the art will understand that the same functionality can be provided by measuring either pressure or angle ψ. This functionality will be described later in this specification. 10A-10B illustrate a sensor 1019 and / or spring sensor 1017 connected to the second end 1012, the sensor 1019 and / or spring sensor 1017 can be placed at various locations on the perforated drive belt assembly 1010. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that they can be arranged. For example, sensor 1019 and / or spring sensor 1017 can be attached to first end 1011 or any location between first end 1011 and second end 1012. Sensor 1019 and / or spring sensor 1017 is configured to output a sensed amount, such as pressure, position, displacement, etc., for use in controlling the operation of automatic stack feeder 100. Sensor 1019 and / or spring sensor 1017 can be calibrated to output an appropriate or usable signal based on its position on the perforated drive belt assembly 1010.

  Referring to FIG. 11, a side view of an article stack on the belt 120 near the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 of the automatic stack feeder 100 is illustrated. For optimal individualization of the stack 1060, the angle indicated by θ, which is the angle between the plane of the belt 120 and the articles in the stack 1060, must be maintained in the desired range. In some embodiments, the angle θ is maintained with a variation of 90 degrees to less than 10 degrees. In some embodiments, the angle θ is maintained at less than 100 degrees and greater than 90 degrees. The angle θ can be adjusted by moving the lower paddle assembly 150 toward or away from the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 while not moving the belt 120. The angle θ can also be adjusted by moving the belt 120 toward or away from the perforated drive assembly 1010 while not moving the lower paddle assembly 150. Is also moved by moving the lower paddle assembly 150 in a first direction and in a second direction opposite to the direction in which the lower paddle assembly 150 is moving. Can be adjusted.

  In some embodiments, the paddle can maintain the stack 1060 at an angle θ slightly greater than 90 degrees. However, for example, if the angle θ is greater than 90 degrees, or if the stack is tilted too far backward, the leading edge of the leading article in the stack 1060 moves forward to contact the bottom of the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 As a result, an inappropriate portion of the surface of the leading article is brought into contact with the surface of the perforated drive belt 1044, and individualization is hindered. As the stack 1060 pushes the perforated drive belt assembly 1010, the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 resists movement. The perforated drive belt assembly 1010 resists movement, but generally does not resist movement, and may cause the second end 1012 to displace when the stack 1060 collides with the perforated drive belt 1044. It should be noted.

  By increasing the speed of travel of the lower paddle assembly 150 or belt 120 toward the perforated drive belt assembly 1010, the leading and other articles in the stack 1060 can be in a further vertical position. If the angle θ is less than 90 degrees, or if the stack 1060 is tilted forward, the leading edge of the leading article in the stack 1060 moves forward and contacts the top of the perforated drive belt assembly 1010. The drive belt assembly 1010 resists movement and the leading article in the stack 1060 and the article behind it can be brought to a further vertical position by accelerating or moving the lower paddle assembly 150 travel. .

  In some embodiments, maintaining the position of the lower paddle assembly 1050 and moving away from the perforated belt assembly 1010 when the stack is tilted significantly rearward of the lower paddle assembly 150 or collapses. The stack 1060 can be in a further vertical position by moving the belt 120 in this manner. In some embodiments, by accelerating the movement of the lower paddle assembly 150 toward the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 and decelerating the movement of the belt 120 toward the perforated drive belt assembly 1010. , The stack 1060 can be in a further vertical position. A speed mismatch between the lower paddle assembly 150 and the belt 120 may change the orientation of the articles in the stack 1060 to the proper position. Using a similar method of changing the speed or direction of movement of the lower paddle assembly 150 and belt 120 relative to each other, when tilted significantly forward, or when the angle θ is less than about 90 degrees The stack 1060 can be corrected.

  In some embodiments, the singulator 1040 includes a photoelectric sensor 1090. The photoelectric sensor 1090 can be placed in close proximity to the frame 110 to have an angular field of view of the stack 1060. In some embodiments, the photoelectric sensor 1090 can be attached to the vertical portion 142 of the frame 110. The photoelectric sensor 1090 is positioned and configured to sense an angle θ that indicates the position of the stack 1060 relative to the belt 120 or the frame 110, or a similar isometric or co-inclined angle. As described herein, the stack angle detected by the photoelectric sensor 1090 can be used as an input to control the automatic stack feeder 100.

  FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a controller circuit of the automatic stack feeder 100. The controller 1200 can be part of the control system described with reference to FIG. 8, or can be part of a separate control system. The controller 1200 receives input from the spring sensor 1017 and / or sensor 1019. In some embodiments, the controller 1200 also receives input from the photoelectric sensor 1090. Used to receive input from spring sensor 1017 and / or sensor 1019 and / or photoelectric sensor 1090 to evaluate the state of stack 1060 in automatic stack feeder 100 and to develop control signals to conveyor 130 Is done. The controller 1200 may have a pre-built algorithm that determines how to adjust the position of the belt 120 and / or the lower paddle assembly 150 according to specific inputs from the sensor 1019. Once the control signal is developed, the controller 1200 can send the signal to the belt / paddle controller 1203. The belt / paddle controller 1203 may be similar to the controller described herein with reference to FIG.

  As described above, in some embodiments, sensor 1019 may be configured to sense pressure exerted by stack 1060 on perforated drive belt assembly 110. The controller 1200 can be configured to maintain the pressure applied by the stack 1060 on the perforated drive belt 1044 within a specified range. For example, as the pressure sensed by the sensor 1019 increases, the controller 1200 may reduce the speed of the stack 1060 by either slowing or stopping either the belt 120 or the lower paddle assembly 150, or both. The speed of advance can be reduced or stopped. Conversely, if the pressure sensed by spring sensor 1017 and / or sensor 1019 decreases below the set point, controller 1200 may maintain the pressure sensed by spring sensor 1017 and / or sensor 1019 within the optimum band. The speed of movement of the stack 1060 toward the perforated drive belt assembly 110 can be increased.

  The controller 1200 can also receive input from the photoelectric sensor 1090. Photoelectric sensor 1090 determines the angle of stack 1060 and uses that angle as an input to the controller. In response to input from spring sensor 1017, sensor 1019, and / or photoelectric sensor 1090, controller 1200 can generate a signal to control the speed or direction of belt 120. Further, the controller 1200 can generate a signal to control the movement or angle of the lower paddle assembly 150.

  The controller 1200 can receive an input signal from the weight sensor 110 attached to the frame 110 or the belt 120. When the weight sensor 1201 senses the weight of the stack 1060 resting on the belt 120 or the frame 110, the weight sensor 1201 sends a signal to the controller that the stack 1060 is present and that the stack 1060 is not all individualized. When the weight sensor 1201 does not sense the presence of the stack 1060, the weight sensor 1201 sends this signal to the controller 1200. When the controller 1200 receives a signal that there is no stack on the frame 110 or the belt 120 in the automatic stack feeder 100, the controller 1200 signals the belt 120, the lower paddle assembly 150, or both to stop. be able to.

  In some embodiments, the vacuum unit 1018 includes a vacuum sensor 1202. The vacuum sensor 1202 is positioned in the air flow provided by the vacuum unit 1018 and passes through a hole on the perforated drive belt 1044 to flow through the vacuum unit 1018 at a speed, velocity, flow rate, or other suitable Perceived parameters. When the vacuum sensor 1202 senses that the airflow is obstructed or reduced, this indicates that the top article of the stack 1060 is positioned flush with the perforated drive belt 1044. When the vacuum sensor 1202 senses that the airflow or speed is unimpeded or at their maximum, this means that there are no items being personalized and personalization is still initiated. May indicate that the stack 1060 is not personalized.

  The vacuum sensor 1202 can input to the controller 1200. Controller 1200 may use this input alone or in combination with other signals it receives to determine whether personalization is in progress or whether stack 1060 is all personalized. it can. With this information, the controller 1200 can send appropriate control signals to operate the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 and / or other system components.

  In the automatic stack feeder 100, it is possible to develop a state in which the stack is not aligned for optimal personalization. Typically, the articles in the stack 1060 are positioned so that the longer dimensioned articles or flats are positioned generally parallel to the belt 120 and the shorter dimensioned generally perpendicular to the belt 120 and the perforated drive belt assembly. It is arranged so as to be positioned substantially parallel to 1010. Some examples that are not aligned are shown in FIGS. 13A-13C. Referring to FIG. 13A, the stack 1060 includes an article stack or flat. The stack 1060 rests on the lower paddle assembly 150 and rests on the belt 120. The belt 120 moves the stack 1060 toward the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 in the direction of the arrow. If the stack 1060 is unable to maintain sufficient pressure against the perforated drive belt assembly 1010, or if the belt 120 or lower paddle assembly 150 is moving too slowly to keep up with individualization, the stack 1060 begins to collapse. There is a case. If the stack 1060 collapses, the angle A may increase. As the angle A increases, it becomes increasingly difficult to bring the article into full contact with the surface of the perforated drive belt assembly 1010. If the article cannot make sufficient contact with the perforated drive belt assembly, the vacuum condition prevents the leading article in the stack 1060 from being attracted and retained to the perforated drive belt 1044, thus hampering individualization. As a result, the automatic stack feeder 100 may fail to feed, improperly separate, or malfunction. Breakage in the stack 1060 may cause damage to the items in the stack 1060. In some embodiments, the stack 1060 may collapse if the angle A increases 10 degrees from the vertical state.

  The collapsed state shown in FIG. 13A can be detected by the spring sensor 1017 and / or the sensor 1019. When either the spring sensor 1017 or the sensor 1019 alone, or in combination with a photoelectric sensor that senses the stack angle, senses pressure below a certain threshold acting on the perforated drive belt assembly, the spring sensor 1017, sensor 1019 And / or the photoelectric sensor 1090 can transmit the detected pressure or angle of deflection to the controller 1200. The control system set point is recognized so that when the pressure falls below a certain threshold, the belt 120, the lower paddle assembly 150, or both, must be advanced to compensate for the collapsing stack. Can be set. With respect to the angle θ, this correction is achieved by controlled movement of one or both of the belt 120 and the lower paddle assembly 150, as described above.

  FIG. 13B shows a second type of collapse that may occur in an automatic stack feeder. If the articles in the stack 1060 are fragile, they may bend in the stack 1060, resulting in a void 1065. Because the bent article may not be in sufficient contact with the perforated drive belt assembly 1010, the vacuum force cannot hold the article against the perforated drive belt 1044 to facilitate individualization. As described above, improper stack alignment can cause damage to the article, misfeeds, improper individualization, or failure of the automatic stack feeder.

  A collapsing stack 1060 having an air gap 1065 may apply a pressure outside the preset threshold pressure to the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 as sensed by the spring sensor 1017 and / or sensor 1019. is there. Photoelectric sensor 1090 can also be used to detect a collapsed stack, as illustrated in FIG. 13B. When the stack collapses, the pressure on the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 is sensed by the spring sensor 1017 and / or sensor 1019 and the pressure is transmitted to the controller 1200, which sends the transmitted pressure to the appropriate for the automatic stack feeder 100. Compared to a set point or threshold stored internally or preset for specific operation. If the transmitted pressure is other than a threshold or set point value, the controller 1200 sends a signal to move the belt 120, the lower paddle assembly 150, or both for optimal personalization. Correct the collapsed stack 1060.

  FIG. 13C illustrates the stack 1060 being tilted forward and no longer supported vertically by the lower paddle assembly 150. Again, in order to effectively hold the article in contact with the perforated drive belt 1044 with the force generated by the vacuum unit 1018, the leading article in the stack 1060 has a suitable surface with the perforated drive belt assembly 1010. Individualization cannot be achieved properly because they are not in contact.

  The forwardly tilted stack 1060 can apply pressure to the perforated drive belt assembly 1010. The spring sensor 1017 and / or sensor 1019 is applied to the upper portion of the perforated drive belt assembly 110 and is greater than a threshold pressure and can sense pressure indicating that the stack 1060 is incorrectly positioned. The photoelectric sensor 1090 can also sense that the stack is tilting forward and can provide the controller 1200 with a stack angle signal indicating this condition.

  When the spring sensor 1017 and / or sensor 1019 detects a pressure above or below the threshold pressure, the controller 1200 causes the belt 120, lower paddle assembly 150 to return the stack 1060 to its optimal configuration for personalization. Or both. In some embodiments, the controller receives inputs from spring sensor 1017 and / or sensor 1019 and photoelectric sensor 1090 and uses these inputs to use belt 120, lower paddle assembly 150, or Generate control signals for both.

  In some embodiments, the perforated drive belt assembly 1010 can have two pressure sensors. One such sensor can be attached to the upper portion of one of the spindles 1013 and 1014. The second sensor can be attached to the lower part of the same one of the spindles 1013 and 1014. In this arrangement, the pair of pressure sensors can be capable of detecting a pressure difference between the upper and lower portions of the perforated drive belt assembly.

  If the stack 1060 is tilted forward, the pressure exerted by the stack 1060 can be applied to the upper portion of the perforated drive belt assembly. In this embodiment, when the stack 1060 is tilted forward, the sensor attached to the upper portion of one of the spindles 1013 and 1014 senses pressure above the sensor attached to the lower portion of the spindle 1013 or 1014. be able to. Thus, if the pressure applied to the bottom of the perforated belt exceeds the threshold, the controller 1200 will confirm the problem and differentiate it from the case where the pressure applied to the top of the perforated drive belt exceeds the threshold. Will be able to. In these two cases of stack misalignment, different measures can be taken to correct two different problems as described above.

  Although specific issues that may arise with the stack 1060 are described herein, those skilled in the art will recognize that the described issues are exemplary. Embodiments of the present disclosure can be configured to address the problem of stack misalignment in addition to those specifically described. The method for controlling stack collapse is described in more detail below.

  Referring back to FIG. 1, the automatic stack feeder 100 includes a sorting unit 180. Articles can be individualized into individual articles for processing or routing, and this processing or routing is automatically performed by placing the article stack in an article feeder that can route the articles to various sort windows. Can be done. The sorting unit operates at high speed and presents an available sorting window for inserting articles at a high rate. If the article feeder operation and the sorting unit are not synchronized with each other, an error may occur. For example, the automatic stack feeder 100 may not properly sort the articles into the various sorting windows or may miss the windows completely. Also, if the article feeder is not properly configured to operate at a high rate, damage to the article and / or selection of two or more articles in the individualization process, or overlap feed may occur. Accordingly, systems and methods for automatic personalization, individualization, and sorting of articles from a mass stack of articles, including synchronization of article feeder operations, are described. For example, articles from a mass stack of articles can be individualized, and the articles can be delivered to individual cells by synchronizing the movement of the individualized individual articles.

  FIG. 14 illustrates an embodiment of the sorting unit 180 of FIG. 1 for use in the automatic stack feeder of FIG. As described above, the automatic stack feeder includes a plurality of belts 1420. These belts are similar to those described elsewhere herein. For simplicity of illustration, only a single belt is illustrated in FIG. 14 and description of other components of the automatic stack feeder 100 is omitted here. The sorting unit includes a picking device 1410, a double prevention device 1422, one or more anti-rotation devices 1418, and a synchronization device 1424. The sorting unit 1480 has a first end 1412 and a second end 1413.

  As described elsewhere herein, the belt 1420 is configured to move in a direction 1426 toward the singulator 1440. The singulator 1440 is disposed substantially perpendicular to the belt 1420. Different embodiments of the singulator 1440 are described in further detail below.

  One or more anti-rotation devices 1418, picking devices 1410, and anti-double devices 1422 are located downstream of the singulator 1440. As used herein, the term downstream can indicate the direction from the first end 1412 to the second end 1413 of the sorting section. The various sensors can also be located in close proximity to the anti-double device described in more detail below. Picking device 1410, anti-double device 1424, sensor and / or anti-rotation device 1418 may be collectively referred to herein as a picking zone. One or more anti-rotation devices 1418 can be located adjacent to the first two picking devices 1410. The anti-double device 1422 can be located downstream of the anti-rotation device 1418 and can be adjacent to the remaining three picking devices 1410. Although five picking devices are shown in FIG. 14, those skilled in the art will recognize that any other number of picking devices can be included as part of the sorter 1480. Different embodiments of the picking zone are described in more detail below.

  Synchronizer 1424 is located downstream of picking device 1410. Synchronizer 1424 includes one or more pairs of pinch wheels. Synchronizer 1424 is described in further detail below.

  FIG. 15 shows an example of an article stack 1502. Each article in the stack 1502 includes a front side, a back side, two sides, an upper part, and a lower part. Article stack 1502 can be placed on belt 1420 such that the bottom of each article is in contact with belt 1420 and the front side of each article is positioned to move in the direction of the arrows shown in FIGS. Each article in the stack 1502 includes a bonded state 1504 along the bottom of each article that is aligned substantially parallel to the belt 1420. The front side of each article is aligned substantially parallel to each of the other articles in the stack 1502, and the front side of each article is aligned to face the same direction. The front and back sides of each article are aligned to be substantially perpendicular to the belt 1420. In some embodiments, the article stack 1502 may be angled with respect to the belt 1420 at any suitable angle. For example, the stack 1502 may be positioned at an angle of 0-10 degrees with respect to the conveyor. The articles in the stack 1502 are also aligned from front to back, where each article touches and supports an adjacent article in the stack 1502.

  Different components of the sorting unit 1480 are used to personalize, personalize, and synchronize the stack 1502. In some embodiments, the singulator 1440 is configured to personalize the stack 1502. As used herein, the term individualization can refer to a process that results in a positively stacked article stack that pushes the stack 1502 and travels toward the picking device 1410 group. As used herein, reliable stacking can indicate knitting of the position of the front edge of the articles in the stack 1502. For example, FIG. 16 shows an individualized article stack 1502 having one or more positively stacked articles 1604 that include the front edge of each article positioned downstream relative to the front edge of an adjacent article. Indicates. As the articles in the stack 1520 travel in the direction 1606 towards the singulator 1440, the articles are personalized by the singulator 1440 to produce a positively stacked article stack 1602. After being individualized, the positively stacked article stack 1502 travels in the direction 1608 toward the picking device 1410 group.

  FIG. 17 shows an example of the singulator 1440. As the belt 1420 moves, the article stack 1502 travels along the belt 1420 in a direction 1426 toward the singulator 1440. As noted above, the support structure or arm can provide support for the stack 1502 as the stack 1502 travels along the belt 1420. The singulator 1440 receives the stack 1502 and operates to individualize the article to produce a positively stacked article stack 1502.

  The singulator 1440 includes a bottom conveyor belt 1704, a shearing device 1708, and a perforated belt 1706. The bottom conveyor belt 1704 has a conveyor surface extending in the first direction. The first direction may be substantially horizontal. The bottom conveyor belt 1704 is configured to move downstream toward the shearing device 1708 using one or more belt drives 1710. In some embodiments, shear device 1708 is a spring that is loaded. The perforated belt 1706 includes one or more openings. In some embodiments, the one or more openings include a plurality of eyelets distributed substantially uniformly across the surface of the perforated belt 1706. In some embodiments, the one or more openings include one or more elongated holes arranged in a straight line parallel to or perpendicular to the length of the perforated belt 1706. In some embodiments, the opening may have other suitable shapes. The openings may be concentrated in a region or area of the perforated belt 1706 or may be uniformly distributed across the surface of the perforated belt 1706. Perforated belt 1706 further includes a surface extending in a second direction different from the first direction. The second direction may be substantially perpendicular to the bottom conveyor belt 1704. For example, the perforated belt 1706 may be perpendicular to the generally horizontal direction of the bottom conveyor belt 1704. The perforated belt 1706 is adjacent to the bottom conveyor belt 1704 and is configured to move downstream toward the shearing device 1708 using one or more belt drives 1710.

  The singulator 1440 further includes a vacuum system similar to that described elsewhere herein. The bottom conveying belt 1704 and the perforated belt 1706 are configured to move the stack 1502 in a downstream direction toward the shearing device 1708 by the vacuum force that holds the article against the perforated belt 1706. The shearing device 1708 is configured to apply a shear force to a portion of the article stack to produce a positively stacked article stack 1604. The stack 1502 rests on the lower belt 404 and is connected to the perforated belt 1706 by suction provided through one or more openings. For example, as described above, the article is held against the surface of the perforated belt 404 by a vacuum force applied to the article through one or more openings in the perforated belt 404. Therefore, the stack 1502 held against the perforated belt 1706 and resting on the bottom conveyance belt 1704 moves in the downstream direction. As these belts move forward and in the downstream direction, the stack 1502 is pressed against the shearing device 1708, which provides the shearing force to the stack 1502. For example, as the shear device 1708 enters the first picking point 1722, it can apply a constant pressure to the stack 1502 and apply a shear force to the stack 1502 by pushing only a portion of the stack 1502. In some embodiments, the shear device 1708 is a spring that is loaded and can use a spring to apply pressure to the stack 1502 to provide the shear force. By applying a shear force to the stack 1502, the shearing device 1708 effectively pushes out resulting in a positively stacked configuration of the stack 1502, so that a positively stacked, individualized article stack 1604 is produced. Arise.

  The singulator 1440 sends out an article stack having a positively stacked configuration at a system rate up to a first picking point 1722, which is a point where the transition from an individualized state to an individualized state starts. It may be constituted as follows. In some embodiments, the bottom conveyor belt 1704 and the perforated belt 1706 can move at a slower and more continuous speed relative to the belt of the picking device 1410, as will be described below. In some embodiments, each individualized belt may not start and stop with each picked article. In some embodiments, the bottom conveyor belt 1704 and the perforated belt 1706 of the singulator 1440 may be automatically turned off when there is no article within a certain distance from the belt. When the stack 1502 contacts or is within a certain distance from the bottom conveyor belt 1704 and / or the perforated belt 1706, these belts are automatically turned on in preparation for stack 1502 incarnation. May be. The stack 1502 may be sensed by sensors such as infrared, phototubes, or proximity sensors.

  FIG. 18A shows another example of the singulator 1440. Singulator 1440 includes bottom conveyor belts 1804 and 1806. Each of the conveyor belts 1804 and 1806 has a conveyor surface that extends in a first direction, such as a substantially horizontal direction. Sorting unit 1480 further includes a plurality of perforated belts 1808, each of which includes one or more openings similar to those described elsewhere herein. Each of the perforated belts 1808 has a surface extending in a second direction different from the first direction. The second direction may be substantially perpendicular to the bottom conveyor belts 1804 and 1806. For example, the perforated belt 1808 may be perpendicular to the generally horizontal direction of the bottom conveyor belts 1804 and 1806. The plurality of perforated belts 1808 are adjacent to at least one of the plurality of bottom conveyor belts 1804 and 1806. Sorting unit 1480 further includes a shearing device 1810 that is used to apply shear to stack 1502. As the belt 1420 moves forward, the stack 1502 rests on the bottom transport belts 1804 and 1806, and the articles in the stack 1502 are also affected by suction provided through one or more openings in the respective perforated belts 1808. Connected to each of the hole belts. As the bottom conveyor belt 1804 and the first two perforated belts move forward, the stack 1502 is pressed against the shearing device 1810, resulting in a positively stacked configuration of the stack 1502.

  FIG. 18B shows another embodiment of the sorting unit 1480 showing a side view at line 18B-18B ′ of FIG. 5A. Sorting unit 1480 includes a perforated belt 1808A located in the individualization zone and a perforated belt 1808B located in the intermediate zone. The bottom conveyor belt 1804 shown in FIG. 18A may be located in the individualization zone along with the perforated belt 1808A. The bottom conveyor belt 1806 shown in FIG. 18A may be located in the intermediate zone with the perforated belt 1808B. In some embodiments, the bottom conveyor belt 1804, the perforated belt 1808A, and / or the corresponding vacuum state (s) are automatically turned off when there is no article within a certain distance from the belt. Good. When the stack 1502 is in contact with or within a certain distance from the bottom conveyor belt 1804 and / or the perforated belt 1808A, the belt and vacuum state (s) are automatically prepared for individualization of the stack 1502. May be turned on automatically. The stack 1502 may be sensed by a sensor such as an infrared, phototube, or proximity sensor located at the starting point of the bottom conveyor belt 1804 and / or the perforated belt 1808A.

  In some embodiments, the bottom conveyor belt 1804, perforated belt 1808A, and corresponding vacuum conditions are variably controlled to control the flow of articles relative to the perforated belt 1808B and the bottom conveyor belt 1806. can do. For example, the bottom conveyor belt 1804 and / or the perforated belt 1808A may be started or stopped at the first time depending on the number of articles initially located in the intermediate zone, or the bottom conveyor belt 1804 and / or 1808A The speed may be increased or decreased. For example, the thickness sensor 1814 can determine the thickness of the article stack in the intermediate zone. For example, the thickness sensor 1814 may be a scale, load cell, force sensor, strain gauge, or any other known sensor capable of detecting force or weight and outputting an electrical signal. In response, the bottom conveyor belt 1804 and / or the perforated belt 1808A can be controlled (eg, started, stopped, slowed, increased in speed, etc.) based on the sensed thickness. For example, if the thickness sensor 1814 indicates that there are too many articles located in the intermediate zone determined by the thickness threshold, the bottom conveyor belt 1804, the perforated belt 1808A, and / or the corresponding vacuum state (s) The bottom conveyor belt 1806 and the perforated belt 1808B in the intermediate zone may be stopped so that the amount of articles in the intermediate zone can be reduced by passing the articles through the picking devices 1812 and 1816. After the amount of articles is reduced below the threshold level, belts 1804 and 1808A, and the vacuum state (s) may be reinitiated. In some embodiments, sensor 1818 may be located in first picking device 1812 and may be used to determine the speed at which bottom conveyor belt 1804 and / or perforated belt 1808A are operated. For example, if there is no article sensed by sensor 1818, the speed of bottom conveyor belt 1804 and / or perforated belt 1808A may be increased until the article is sensed. Sensor 1818 can be configured to detect the front edge of the article and can include any suitable sensor, such as infrared, phototube, or proximity sensor.

  In some embodiments, the bottom conveyor belt 1806, the perforated belt 1808B, and the corresponding vacuum state (s) are variable to control the flow of articles relative to the picking device 1812 and / or 1816. Can be controlled. For example, if there is no article sensed by the sensor 1818, it indicates that there is no article located in the first picking device 1812, and the first picking device 1812, the bottom transport belt 1806, and / or the perforated belt 1808B are You may start and / or increase speed. If more than one article is sensed by the sensor 1818, the intermediate perforated belt 1808B may be stopped or slowed down until the sensor is clear. The vacuum state (s) can be started or stopped by the belt depending on the result of the sensor 1818.

  In some embodiments, sensor 1818 may be configured to count the number of articles detected. The bottom conveyor belt 1806, the perforated belt 1808B, and / or the corresponding vacuum state (s) may be variably controlled according to the number of articles sensed. In some aspects, a controller, processor, and / or memory can be coupled to sensor 1818 and used to count the number of articles detected or sensed by sensor 1818. . For example, if the sensor 1818 indicates that one article has been detected, an intermediate zone vacuum state (not shown) may be turned on, similar to the bottom conveyor belt 1806 and the perforated belt 1808B. Similarly, if sensor 1818 indicates that there is no article to be detected, an intermediate zone vacuum condition, belts 1806 and 1808B can be turned on. On the other hand, for example, if the sensor 1818 indicates that two or more articles are detected, the intermediate zone vacuum condition can be turned off and the bottom conveyor belt 1806 and the perforated belt 1808B can be stopped. it can. The controller or processor is a general purpose microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA), programmable logic device (PLD), controller, state machine, gate logic, individual hardware components, dedicated hardware It can be implemented by a wear finite state machine, or any combination of any other suitable entity capable of performing information calculations or other operations. Memory includes random access memory (RAM) circuit, electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), read only memory (ROM), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), magnetic disk , Optical discs, and / or other types of memory known in the art.

  By variably controlling the belt and vacuum state (s), the singulator 1440 is the first picking point where the article begins to transition from the individualized state to the individualized state. The device 1812 can be configured to deliver an article stack in a positively stacked configuration at a system rate.

  Referring to FIG. 14, each of the picking devices 1410 is configured to individualize one or more of the articles from the individualized article stack 1052. Here, personalization can indicate picking an article from a personalized stack 1604 that is positively stacked to produce an individual article. One or more of the picking devices 1410 can include an anti-rotation device 1418 or a double-prevention device 1422. The anti-rotation device 1418 can be thorough so that the article stack remains in a stacked configuration and does not sink when individualized and / or sorted. FIG. 19A shows another example of a sorting unit 1480 that includes a picking device 1910 and a double prevention device 1922. The double prevention device 1922 includes an edge detection sensor 1911 and a presence sensor 1912. Details regarding the double prevention device 1922, the edge detection sensor 1911, and the presence sensor 1912 are discussed below with reference to FIGS. 20A and 20B.

  FIG. 19B shows an enlarged portion of picking device 1910 as shown by dashed line 19B in FIG. 19A. Picking device 1910 includes a perforated belt 1906, a perforated belt drive pulley 1914, a vacuum manifold 1908 positioned adjacent to the perforated belt 1906, a vacuum unit (not shown), and a vacuum valve 1916. A bottom conveyor belt 1904 may be located adjacent to the picking device 1910 to support the article during movement. In some embodiments, the bottom conveyor belt 1904 may be the same as the bottom conveyor belt 1704 shown in FIG. In some embodiments, the sorting device 1480 does not include a bottom conveyor belt 1904 that is located adjacent to the picking device 1910, and thus includes only a perforated belt 1906 to convey articles downstream. In some embodiments, the picking device 1910 is configured in a row, and the most downstream picking device in that row that is substantially completely covered by the positively stacked article stack is the article from the positively stacked article stack. And picking up and providing individualized articles. As used herein, substantially completely covered can indicate that a picking device having a certain number of sensors is blocked by one or more articles. For example, if each picking device includes four sensors (e.g., a photoelectric sensor, a proximity sensor, an infrared sensor, and an optical sensor, etc.), three of the four sensors are blocked by one or more items, The picking zone may be considered substantially completely covered. As another example, a picking device is substantially completely covered when all of the sensors for the picking device are blocked by one or more items.

  The perforated belt 1906 may be oriented vertically and may have one or more openings in its surface and a vacuum source may be applied through the openings. As used herein, being oriented vertically can indicate a substantial vertical angle. As another example, being oriented vertically can indicate any other suitable angle, such as an angle of approximately 50-60 degrees (eg, 50 degrees, 60 degrees, 70 degrees, 80 degrees). The perforated belt 1906 is moved or transferred using a perforated belt drive pulley 1914. The perforated belt drive pulley 1914 may be driven by a motor such as a single servo motor. The vacuum unit can be configured to provide a suction force through the vacuum manifold 1908, and the vacuum manifold 1908 can be configured to apply suction through one or more openings in the surface of the perforated belt 1906. The vacuum valve 1916 can be configured to control the amount of suction applied to the vacuum manifold 1908 by the vacuum unit.

  Individualization or picking can be achieved when the stack 1502 moves toward the perforated belt 1906 by opening the vacuum valve 1916 and exposing the vacuum manifold 1908 to vacuum force. The leading article of the stack 1502 can be pulled out from one or more openings of the perforated belt 1906 by vacuum force, and the leading article can be effectively connected to the perforated belt 1906. The leading article is the article in the stack 1502 that is closest to the perforated belt 1906. Thus, when the leading article in the stack 1502 collides with the surface of the perforated belt 1906, the vacuum valve 1916 can expose the vacuum manifold 1908 to a vacuum force (if not already applied). The leading article is held on the surface of the perforated belt 1906 by a vacuum force applied to the leading article 0 through one or more holes in the perforated belt 1906. Thus, the leading article held against the perforated belt 1906 moves in the direction of movement of the perforated belt 1906 using the perforated belt drive pulley 1914, thereby personalizing the leading article. , Separated from the positively stacked stack 1604.

  A plurality of picking devices 1910 can be used, each including a perforated belt, a perforated belt drive pulley, a vacuum manifold, a vacuum valve, and a vacuum unit, as described herein. For example, five picking devices can be used to personalize the article stack 1502. Those skilled in the art will recognize that any other number of picking devices can be used to achieve the goal of individualizing the stack 1502.

  With the picking device, individual articles can be individualized from the stack 1502 and the flow of the individualized articles can be acted upon by the anti-double device 1422. The anti-double device 1422 helps to ensure the fidelity of the flow of individualized articles. For example, when an article is picked by one of the picking devices, it can be brought into close contact for a variety of reasons, and attaching only one side of the article to the perforated belt makes another article There may be cases where it is not possible to prevent contact with the other side of the attached article on the opposite side of the perforated belt 1906. When one or more articles are picked from the stack 1502 at the same time, a double prevention device 1422 can be used to subject the articles attached to the other side of the desired article to the action of a vacuum source. A vacuum source applied to the attached article is used to separate the attached article from the desired article.

  FIG. 20A shows an example of a sorting unit 1480 including a picking zone 2004 group. The picking zone 2004 includes double prevention devices 2022A and 2022B, and a picking device 2010. Double prevention devices 2022A and 2022B include an edge detection sensor and presence sensor (not shown in FIG. 20A) similar to edge detection sensor 1911 and presence sensor 1912 shown in FIG. 19A. Edge detection sensor 1910 can be positioned upstream of presence sensor 1912 and can be configured to detect the edge of the article. In some embodiments, presence sensor 1912 includes a photoelectric sensor or an optical sensor. Although certain types of sensors are described herein, those skilled in the art will recognize that other suitable types of sensors can be used in various configurations to achieve the purpose of sensing the presence of an article. Let's go.

  Three anti-duplication devices 2022A and 2022B can be used to ensure that the picking device 1410 properly individualizes the article from the stack 302. In some embodiments, certain combinations of anti-duty devices 1422A and / or 112B may provide a low level of constant to facilitate personalization of the article before being individualized by one of the picking devices. It will have the following vacuum state. For example, if the sorting unit 1480 does not include the dedicated singulator 1440, the first two anti-double devices 2022A may always have a certain level of vacuum to effectively individualize the stack 1502. it can. As another example, even if the sorting unit 1480 includes a dedicated singulator 1440, the picking zone 2004 can be used to re-individate the article stack if the article shifts in transit. A certain level of constant vacuum pressure can be measured and used to ensure that the article does not break when it is individualized.

  In some embodiments, the first two double prevention devices 2022A detect the presence of an individualized article stack or an article attached to a desired article to be individualized (not shown). ) It can be activated by one or more edge detection sensors. When the one or more edge detectors indicate that an individualized stack or attached article is located in a particular picking zone, the double prevention device 2022A and / or 2022B is placed at a high vacuum level and is individualized. From the desired item, one can attempt to keep other items of the individualized stack, or attached items. FIG. 20B shows an example of a dual prevention device 1422 that detects an individualized article stack or attached group of articles approaching the picking zone. At time 1 (T1), the first article 2002 traverses the edge detection sensor 1910. In response, it is determined that an edge is found. For example, the controller or processor can receive an indication that an edge is detected by the edge detection sensor 1910. The controller or processor is a general purpose microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA), programmable logic device (PLD), controller, state machine, gate logic, individual hardware components, dedicated hardware It can be implemented by a wear finite state machine, or any combination of any other suitable entity capable of performing information calculations or other operations. At T1, presence sensor 1912 is not blocked. Accordingly, it is determined that only the first edge has been detected, indicating that there is only a single article in the picking zone. As a result, the vacuum pressure cannot be increased to a high vacuum state at T1.

  At time 2 (T2), the first article 2002 crosses the presence sensor 1912. Since the second edge is not reported by the edge detection sensor 1910 at T2, the vacuum pressure does not increase at T2. At time 3 (T3), the second article 2004 breaks the plane of the edge detection sensor 1910, and the edge detection sensor 1910 reports the edge of the second article 2004 to the controller or processor. At time T3, presence sensor 1912 is also blocked by first article 2002. As a result, it is determined that there are two or more articles, one of which requires strong double prevention to properly personalize the desired article. Thus, the anti-double device 2022 is turned on to full vacuum to separate any article from the desired article that is individualized by the picking zone. For example, if two or more articles are separated from the individualized stack at the same time, the double protection device 2022 can be in a full vacuum to separate the desired article from the other articles. As shown in FIG. 20B, the downstream edge 2006 of the double prevention device 2022 body is positioned just downstream of the edge detection sensor 1910, so that the sensor 1910 is acting only on the second article 2004. known.

  Referring to FIG. 14 again, the sorting unit 1480 further includes a synchronization device 1424. FIG. 21 shows an example of a synchronizer 1424 that includes a pair of pinch wheels 2104. The synchronizer 1424 may be located downstream of the last picking zone 2106. The pinch wheel 2104 may be driven at a variable speed by one or more pinch wheel motors (not shown). The pinch wheel motor may include a servo motor or any other suitable motor for driving the pinch wheel. Although a certain number of pinch wheel pairs are shown in FIG. 21, those skilled in the art will recognize that any other number of pinch wheels can be used to accomplish the purpose of transferring articles from the sorter 1480 to the contact point 1416. Will recognize. Contact point 1416 may also be referred to herein as an exit point. The contact point 1416 is a point where the sorting unit 1480 is moved away in order to place the article in the sorting window of the sorting device. This process will be described in more detail later.

  Referring to FIG. 14, the sorting unit 1480 includes an anti-rotation device 1418. FIG. 22 shows a side plan view of one embodiment of an anti-rotation device 2200. In some embodiments, anti-rotation device 2200 includes a torsion element, such as, for example, a torsion bar 2210. The torsion bar 2210 is connected to the base 2205. Base 2205 may be any ancillary component or surface of the stack feeder. In some embodiments, the torsion bar 2210 is pivotally connected to the base 405 such that the torsion bar 2210 pivots about an axis of rotation 2212 that passes through the center of the torsion bar 2210. It is a material. In some embodiments, the torsion bar 2210 is made of an elastic material that allows the torsion bar 2210 to be flexible or elastic when rotated. A pivotable connection between the torsion bar 2210 and the base 2205 allows pivoting between at least one relaxed position and a second twisted position where torque is applied to at least a portion of the torsion bar 2210. Become. In the second twisted position, potential energy is stored in the torsion bar 2210 that causes the torsion bar 2210 to return to the first configuration. In some embodiments, as described in more detail below, the torsion bar includes a rotational resistance member, or is otherwise configured to resist rotational movement.

  The anti-rotation device of some embodiments includes a rotatable member, such as a lever arm 2220, for example. In the illustrated embodiment, the lever arm 2220 has a through hole 222 that is threaded on a proximal portion of the lever arm 2220. The thread of the through hole is centered on a (invisible) complementary thread disposed on at least a portion of the outer surface of the torsion bar 2210 and is configured to positively engage. In some embodiments, the lever arm 2220 can be mounted to the torsion bar 2210 utilizing any other suitable engagement mechanism known to those skilled in the art. For example, in some embodiments, a snap fit, rivet, screw, friction fit, or permanent bond or weld, or any other desired engagement mechanism can be used. In some embodiments, the torsion bar 2210 and the lever arm 2220 may be different parts of the same unitary object and, as a non-limiting example, are integrally formed by injection molding. When the lever arm 2220 is attached to the torsion bar 2210, the lever arm 2220 is rotatable about at least 2212 rotation shafts of the torsion bar 2210 between the first position and the second position. The anti-rotation device 2200 of FIG. 22 is shown in the first non-rotating position. In some embodiments, the degree of rotation between the first position and the second position is no more than a few degrees. In other embodiments, the degree of rotation between the first position and the second position may be 5 degrees, 15 degrees, or any value therebetween. In some embodiments, the range of rotation between the first position and the second position may be greater than 15 degrees. In some embodiments, lever arm 2220 rotates about axis of rotation 2212 of torsion bar 2210 in a plane of rotation that is substantially parallel to base 2205.

  Some embodiments of the anti-rotation device include a pivot member coupled to the distal portion of the lever arm 2220. For example, anti-rotation device 2200 includes a plurality of wheels 2240 coupled to a distal portion of lever arm 2220. In some embodiments, the plurality of wheels 2240 are coupled to the distal portion of the lever arm 2220 by a wheel shaft 2230. The wheel 2240 is disposed about the wheel shaft 2230 and rotates relative to the wheel shaft 2230 via low friction bearings spaced on the wheel shaft 2230.

  The wheel shaft 2230 is coupled to the distal portion of the lever arm 2220 via a (invisible) thread positioned on the lower end of the outer surface of the wheel shaft. The thread is configured to securely engage a complementary thread disposed about the through hole 424 in the distal portion of the lever arm 2220. In other embodiments, other suitable engagement mechanisms known to those skilled in the art can be utilized to secure the wheel shaft 2230 to the lever arm 2220. For example, in some embodiments, a snap fit, rivet, screw, friction fit, or permanent bond or weld, or any other desired engagement mechanism can be used. In some embodiments, wheel shaft 2230 and lever arm 2220 may be different parts of the same unitary object.

  In some embodiments, the wheel 2240 is fixed against movement with respect to the wheel shaft 2230 and the wheel shaft 2230 is coupled to the lever arm 2220 via a low friction bearing. In such an embodiment, the wheel shaft 2230 is configured to rotate relative to the lever arm 2220 and further rotate the wheel 2240. In some embodiments, the rotating cylinder or other pivot member can be coupled to the lever arm 2220 via a wheel bracket extending from one end of the pivot member or via a shaft portion. In various embodiments, the pivot member spins about an axis that extends at an angle to the major axis of the rotatable member.

  In some embodiments, each of the plurality of wheels 2240 has an equal diameter and shares a rotation axis 2445. The wheel 2240 spins about the wheel shaft 2230 about a rotation axis 2245 positioned perpendicular to the major axis 426 of the lever arm 2220.

  FIG. 23 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the anti-rotation device 2300 shown in the first position. Anti-rotation device 2300 may be similar to the anti-rotation device described with respect to FIG. As described above, the anti-rotation device 2300 can be configured to rotate at least between a first position and a second position. In the first position, the torsion bar 2310 is in an initial state. The torsion bar 2310 is pivotally connected to the base 2305 and the pivotable connection is located near the drive belt 2350. The lever arm 2320 extends from the torsion bar 2310 at an angle at which the outer surface 2342 of the wheel 2340 that contacts the drive belt 2350 is disposed. Wheel 2340 is rotatably connected to wheel shaft 2330. The proximity of the pivotable connection between the torsion bar 2310 and the base 2305 allows the wheel 2340 to rest in contact with the drive belt 2350 without causing significant loss of energy in the drive belt 2350 due to friction. .

  The outer surface 2342 of the wheel 2340 is configured to rotate. Thus, when the drive belt 2350 moves, the wheel 2340 rotates around the wheel shaft 2330 due to friction between the outer surface 2342 of the wheel 2340 and the drive belt 2350. As described above, the drive belt 2350 can be used to individualize articles using a vacuum force applied through one or more openings in the drive belt 2350.

  As described above, the drive belt 2350 moves an open article, such as an article 2360, eg, a magazine, catalog, or any other article, laterally into the stack feeder as part of the individualization process. Configured as follows. As drive belt 2350 moves article 2360, article 2360 contacts a portion of outer surface 2342 of wheel 2340, article 2360 applies a force to lever arm 2320, thereby causing torsion bar 2310 to rotate. The rotation of the torsion bar 2310 causes the wheel 2340 to move away from the belt 2350 and advance onto the back cover outside the article 2360. Lever arm 2320 is pushed into a second position by a laterally moving mail piece 2360, thereby clearing space for article 2360 and passing between drive belt 2350 and outer surface 2342 of wheel 2340. . The extrusion from the moving mail piece 2360 causes the lever arm 2320 to rotate at an angle in its plane of rotation parallel to the base 2305 and the floor. This rotation of the lever arm 2320 applies torque to a portion of the torsion bar 2310, which causes the torsion bar 2310 to twist or rotate about the axis. As will be described below, the torsion bar 2310 is configured to resist such movement, and twisting creates tension or potential energy in the torsion bar 2310. By tension, the torsion bar 2310 applies a reverse torque to the lever arm 2320, thereby resisting rotation and biasing the lever arm 2320 back toward the first position. Due to the rotation, tension, counter torque and resulting force generated by the torsion bar 2310, the wheel 2340 applies a force on the article 2360, thereby effectively pushing the article 2360 into the drive belt 2350, and The back cover 2362 is pushed out toward the front cover of the mail 2360.

  FIG. 24 illustrates at least some of the forces acting on the article 2400 when an anti-rotation device 2440 having a wheel 2440 is present in the stack feeder. In various embodiments, each wheel 2440 has a high friction outer surface 2442 that resists any upward movement of the back cover 2402 of the article 2400 due to forces applied to the front cover. Specifically, the lateral acceleration force 2410 is applied to the front cover of the article 2400, and the inertial force 2412 acts on the back cover 2402 in the opposite direction when the article is individualized or individualized. The interaction of these forces causes the back cover 2402 to pivot about the corner 2406 upstream of the coupled state 2404. To counteract this pivot, the wheel 2440 applies a reverse force to the back cover 2402 of the article 2400, thereby preventing twisting of the coupled state 2404. By holding the front and back covers 2402 of the mailpiece 2400 together and providing a downward reaction force 2416 on the back cover 2402, the anti-rotation device provides lateral acceleration force across both the front and back covers. The torque 614 generated by the 2410 and inertial force 2412 is distributed to reduce the shear stress applied to the bonded state 2404 of the article 2400.

  Further, pushing the back cover 2402 toward the front cover using the resistance of the wheel 2440 and the torsion bar causes friction between the covers in the article 2400, which friction is applied to either of the covers. Acts to resist inertial shear forces generated in Thus, various embodiments of the anti-rotation device allow acceleration force 610 to be applied to article 2400 without damaging bonded state 2404, front cover or back cover 2402. Further, the wheel 2440 rotates freely about the wheel shaft 2430 via a low friction wheel bearing so that the presence of the wheel 2440 does not apply any new significant shear forces to the article 2400.

  FIG. 25 illustrates a portion of an embodiment of an anti-rotation device 2500. In FIG. 25, the torsion bar 2510 and a part of the lever arm 2520 are in the second position. As shown, by rotating the lever arm 2520 from a first position to a second position by an angle 2502, the torsion bar 2510 is twisted. As described in detail above, twisting causes a reaction torque in the torsion bar 2510, thereby causing the torsion bar 2510 and the connected lever arm 2520 to return toward the first position. The torsion bar 2510 can be formed of any suitable elastic material known to those skilled in the art. In some embodiments of the anti-rotation device, the torsion bar may be configured at least in part by a helical torsion spring. In other embodiments, any other torsion element known to those skilled in the art can be used.

  One embodiment of a torsion element, specifically a helical torsion spring 2600, is illustrated in FIGS. 26A and 26B. As shown in FIG. 26A, the helical torsion spring 2600 can be a coiled rod made of any suitable elastic material known to those skilled in the art, such as metal, steel, plastic, or other desired material. Formed from wire 2602. The torsion spring 2600 includes an upper end portion 2604, a lower end portion 2608, and a plurality of coils 2606. As shown in FIG. 26B, when a lateral force, also called a bending moment or torque, is applied to the upper end 2604, the upper end 2604 rotates inward from the first position 2600a to the second position 2600b, for example. The coil 2606 winds tighter. The rotation generates a reaction torque in the torsion spring 2600, thereby causing the torsion spring 2600 and the connected lever arm 2620 (shown in FIG. 26C) to return toward the first position 2600a.

  In an anti-rotation device embodiment having a torsion spring 2600, such as, for example, the anti-rotation device partially illustrated in FIG. The structural support member 2610 is connected to the base 2605 so as not to move. In some embodiments, a torsion spring 2600 with an upper end 2604 protruding from the structural support member 2610 and integrated with the lever arm 2620 is at least partially disposed within the structural support member 2610. In some embodiments, the upper end 2604 can be embedded in the lever arm 2620 or can be clamped by mechanical means such as a weld, bracket, screw, rivet, or any other suitable clamping mechanism. is there. The lower end 2608 of the torsion spring 2608 can be fixedly attached to the base or the non-moving torsion bar 2610.

  In operation, the article applies a force acting on the lever arm, and movement of the lever arm 2620 causes the upper end 2604 of the torsion spring 2600 to move. The lower end 2608 does not move because it is fixed and attached. Movement of the upper end 2604 compresses the tension spring and accumulates potential mechanical energy within the torsion spring 2608 to resist movement of the lever arm 2620. In some embodiments, torsion spring 2600 is secured to and disposed about structural support member 2610 within a bearing surrounding structural support member 2610. In such an embodiment, the upper end 2604 of the torsion spring 2600 is once again integrated or coupled to the lever arm 2620 so that movement of the lever arm 2620 from the first position 2600a to the second position 2600b results in The upper end 2604 of the torsion bar 2600 moves accordingly. Such movement creates tension in torsion spring 2600 that applies a force to lever arm 2620 that resists the rotational movement of lever arm 2620.

  FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for controlling the position of stack guide 130. Process 2700 begins at block 2702. In process 2700, the position of the container is received as described with reference to FIGS. If the container is present, the process 2700 moves to block 2704 where the stack guide is moved away from the article stack or from the first position to the second position. With the stack guide 130 moved away from the article stack, the process 2700 moves to block 2706 where the container is removed. The controller 810 coordinates the movement of the belt motor 840, the lower paddle assembly x-axis motor 820, the lower paddle assembly z-axis motor 830, and the carrier motor 880, as described elsewhere herein. Thus, removal of the container can be achieved.

  Process 2700 then moves to decision state 2708, where it is determined whether the container has been removed. This determination may be made as described above. If it is determined that the container 190 has not been removed from the belt 120, the process waits until the container 190 is removed. If the container 190 has been removed, the process 2700 moves to block 2710 where the stack guide 130 is moved back to its original position in contact with the article stack.

  Process 2700 then proceeds to decision state 2712 where it is determined whether there is another container 290 to be removed. This determination may be made based on a predetermined number of containers to be removed that has been input to the controller 810, and the controller 810 can count the number of containers 190 that have been removed. In some embodiments, this determination can be made based on receiving sensor input, manual input, or any other desired input after removal of each container 190. If another container 190 is removed, process 2700 returns to block 2702. If there are no more containers 190 to be removed, the process 2700 ends at block 2714.

  FIG. 28 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a process 2800 for controlling the automatic stack feeder 100. When the article stack is placed in the automatic stack feeder 100, the process 2800 can begin. Process 2800 proceeds to block 2802 where article stack personalization begins. Individualization as described herein uses vacuum force to pull and hold the article on the perforated drive belt 144, which transports a single article along the sorter 180. To do. During individualization, both the belt 120 and the lower paddle assembly 150 can move independently or together to advance the stack for individualization.

  At block 2804, the pressure applied by the article stack to the perforated drive belt assembly is sensed. As described herein with respect to FIGS. 10A-10B, pressure can be sensed by spring sensor 1017 and / or sensor 1019 connected to perforated drive belt assembly 1044. The sensed pressure is transmitted to the controller 1200. At decision block 2806, it is determined whether the sensed pressure is within a certain range or whether it is above or below a specified threshold. If the pressure is within a specified range and / or threshold, this can indicate that the stack is properly aligned and does not require adjustment. In decision state 2806, if it is determined that the sensed pressure is out of the specified range, or above or below a given threshold, this may cause problems with the stack, its location, or the individualization process. May show.

  If the answer to decision block 2806 is no, the process 2800 proceeds to block 2810 where the controller 2800 positions the lower paddle assembly 150, the belt 120, or both to correct the stack position or Generates a signal that adjusts the speed. These adjustments may be similar to those described elsewhere herein. If the answer to decision block 2806 is yes, process 2800 proceeds to block 2808 where no adjustment is necessary and the belt and paddle continue without changing their operation.

  From block 2808, the process 2800 proceeds to block 2812 where the photoelectric sensor 1090 senses the angular position of the stack 1060. The angular position is transmitted to the controller 1200. The process 2800 then proceeds to decision block 2814 where it is determined whether the angle of the stack 1060 is above or below a specified range or some threshold. If the sensed angular position is not within the specified range or threshold, the process 2800 proceeds from block 2814 to 2810 and proceeds as indicated above.

  If the sensed angular position is within the specified threshold, the process 2800 proceeds from block 2814 to block 2816, where stack personalization continues without adjustment.

  Process 2800 proceeds from either block 2810 or 2816 to decision block 2818 where it is determined whether stack 1060 is fully personalized. This determination can be accomplished in response to a weight sensor 1201 that senses the weight of the stack 1060 on the belt 120. Alternatively, the vacuum sensor 1202 can be used to determine that there is no stack 1060 by sensing whether there is any obstruction to the vacuum airflow. These ways described herein for sensing whether the stack is completely individualized are exemplary only. One skilled in the art will appreciate that there are other ways to sense whether the stack is completely individualized. For example, sensing whether the stack is completely individualized can be done by an optical sensor, timing circuit, counter, or any other desired method.

  If the stack 1060 is not completely individualized, the process 2800 returns from block 2818 to block 2804 and the process is repeated. This loop can continue until the stack 1060 is all individualized so that the process 2800 can continuously control belt and paddle rates and positions throughout the individualization process. When the stack is completely individualized and there are no remaining articles, the process proceeds from block 2818 to block 2820 where the individualization process ends.

  Processes 2700 and 2800 do not need to be performed in the exact order specified, and some blocks of processes 2700 and 2800 can be omitted, or other steps can be performed in addition to those described. Those skilled in the art will recognize that this is possible.

  The operation of the sorting unit 180 will now be described. Referring again to FIG. 14, in some embodiments, the synchronization device 1424 further synchronizes the various items and sorting windows by the picking zone as the item is picked and transported between picking zones. Can be achieved. In some embodiments, synchronization can be achieved using only the picking zone, as further described below. For proper synchronization, the leading edge of the article must be delivered to the contact point 1416 at a line speed within a small timing window into the sorter. For example, the line speed may be 3.15 m / s and the sorting window may be ± 15 milliseconds. In some embodiments, when an article is being sent to a contact point 1416 in the timing window, the speed of the article is determined by the rest of the process as the article is transported to and routed to the sorter's sort window. It can remain constant throughout. When the system is synchronized, the article and sorting window are connected to each other so that the article is accurately placed in the window. The synchronization of the article and the sorting window can allow accurate processing of the article at the desired rate. For example, synchronization may allow processing of articles at a rate of 6 or more articles per second. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other rates can be achieved using a sorter and synchronization process as desired for a particular application.

  The flow of the individualized article stack should be adapted to the system output rate in order to achieve proper synchronization. Controlling the feed rate of an individualized article stack can be difficult due to the positively stacked configuration of articles. This difficulty is due to the fact that the feed rate can be determined in the same way used for individualized articles using the speed of the article flow and the distance between the front edges of the article. Is due to. In the case of an individualized article flow, there is a gap between each article, so the front edge can be easily identified using a sensor (eg, a photoelectric sensor). In the case of an individualized article stack, there are no gaps because the articles are reliably stacked. The distance between the front portions is determined by the amount of articles to be stacked, and when the articles move downstream, the amount of overlap varies from end to end.

  To overcome this control problem, the sorter 1480 may allow the picking point to flow or vary. As used herein, the term picking point can indicate a point where a positively stacked article stack 1502 transitions from an individualized state to an individualized state. By allowing all picking devices 1410 to operate with both an individualization capacity and picking (individualization) and synchronization capacity, the picking point can be varied. In some embodiments, using picking zones that perform picking device 1410 only and / or individualization, picking (individualization), and synchronization without the use of an individualization device or synchronization device, Synchronization between the article and the sorting window can be achieved.

  FIG. 29A shows a top view of a portion of a sorter 1480 that can flow at a picking point and allows continuous synchronization of each article with a desired sort window. In some embodiments, the automatic stack feeder 100 may not include a dedicated personalization device 1440 or a dedicated synchronization device 1424, as in FIG. In these embodiments, a picking zone that includes a picking device 1410 and a double prevention device 1422 may be used to individualize, pick, individualize, and synchronize articles as they are transported downstream. it can. Thus, when an article is picked and individualized by a picking device, the individualized feed point and picking point will be changed to that picking device and will therefore flow or fluctuate. In some embodiments, as each article is picked and individualized from a picking device downstream from the previous article, the rate of the individualization device may be delayed (e.g., bottom conveyor belt and / or present). The speed of the hole belt may decrease). In some embodiments, the rate of the individualization device can be increased when the item is picked from a picking device upstream from the previous item. As a result, the picking point will flow or fluctuate based on where the previous article was picked. The nominal picking point may be located at a picking device located in the middle of the picking device. Details regarding FIG. 29A will be described in further detail below.

A software program or controller can be used to determine whether the item being picked can be synchronized to the next available sorting window based on various criteria. Criteria that may be considered are: the position of the current item being picked by the picking device, the current speed of the item being picked, the position of the sorting window to which the item is synchronized, the speed of the sorting window, the picking device and / or the individual Design acceleration rate of the perforated belt of the synthesizing device, possible design acceleration rate of the synchronizer, the maximum permissible speed of the perforated belt of the picking device and / or individualization device, and the maximum permissible of the synchronizer Including but not limited to speed. In some embodiments, the speed of the sorting window may be constant. Other constraints include various perforations of the sorting unit, such as the length of the perforated belt of the picking device and / or the personalization device, the number of perforated belts, the length of the synchronizer, and the number of pinch wheels in the synchronizer. The design geometry of the component can be included. Trajectory calculations can be used to ensure synchronization between the article and the sorting device. For example, the following standard linear motion with uniform acceleration / deceleration may be used to determine whether the article can be synchronized assuming various initial conditions.
Distance = Speed x Time (Formula 1)
Distance = time x (Vfinal + Initial) / 2 (Formula 2)
Time (Vfinal-Vinitial) / Acceleration (Formula 3)

Equations 1-3 can be expanded as follows to develop a velocity or movement profile for the article based on the initial conditions of the sorting section.
Dw = Vw × Trp (Formula 4)
Dm = [Tap × {(Vfap + Vipa) / 2)] + [Tdp × {(Vfdp + Vidp) / 2}] + [Tc × Vc] + [Tas × {(Vfas + Vias) / 2}] + [Tds × {(Vfds + Vids) ) / 2}] (Formula 5)
Dw + Dm = dP (Formula 6)
Tap = (Vfap−Viap) / ap (Formula 7)
Tdp = (Vfdp + Vidp) / dp (Formula 8)
Tas = (Vfas + Vias) / as (Formula 9)
Tds = (Vfds + Vids) / ds (Formula 10)
Where
Dw = distance from sorting window to contact point Vw = speed of sorting window, which may be constant in some embodiments Trp = time to contact point for sorting window and article Dm = from article to contact point Distance Tap = Time for the article to accelerate in the picking zone Tdp = Time for the article to decelerate in the picking zone Tc = Time for the article to travel in the picking zone or synchronizer at a constant speed Tas = Time for the article to accelerate in the synchronizer Tds = Time when the article is decelerated by the synchronization device Trp = Time when the article reaches the contact point (Trp = Tap + Tdp + Tc + Tas + Tds)
Vfap = final speed after acceleration movement in the picking zone Viap = initial speed before acceleration movement in the picking zone Vfdp = final speed after deceleration movement in the picking zone Vidp = initial speed before deceleration movement in the picking zone Vc = picking zone or synchronization Constant speed of article in any of the devices Vfas = final speed after acceleration movement in the synchronizer Vias = initial speed before acceleration movement in the synchronizer Vfs = final speed after deceleration movement in the synchronizer Vids = before deceleration movement in the synchronizer DP = the distance between the article and the sorting window ap = acceleration rate in the picking zone as = acceleration rate in the synchronizer dp = deceleration rate in the picking zone ds = deceleration rate in the synchronizer

  Solving the above equation using, for example, a controller or processor to determine whether an article can be assigned to a sorting window, i.e., whether the article can be synchronized to the sorting window based on initial conditions. it can. The controller or processor is a general purpose microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA), programmable logic device (PLD), controller, state machine, gate logic, individual hardware components, dedicated hardware It can be implemented by a wear finite state machine, or any combination of any other suitable entity capable of performing information calculations or other operations. If the initial condition does not allow synchronization of the article with the currently available sorting window, the article can wait for the next available window, or the article is too close to the end of the sorting section The case may be rejected. If it is determined that the article can be synchronized with the sorting window, a speed profile is determined. The above set of extended equations (Equations 4-10) can be solved to determine the speed profile required for the synchronized article based on the initial conditions. The traveling time for the sorting window and the article to reach the contact point is the traveling time starting from the initial condition. The traveling distance of the sorting window and the article will vary based on the initial conditions.

  The system can adjust the velocity profile of each article by scanning each control logic as conditions change. For example, an extended set of equations (Equations 4-10) can be used to adjust the velocity profile of the article as it travels downstream based on sensor feedback. The sensor can include an edge detection sensor such as a photoelectric or phototube sensor or a proximity sensor. Since the motivation of the article is not positive, the article may slide as it moves towards the exit of the sorting section. Since sensors can be positioned along the article path, the front edge position of each article can be determined and / or determined. This position feedback ensures a high degree of synchronization accuracy between the article and the sorting window. Thus, synchronization can be based on article position feedback from sensors located along the article flow path, thereby sensing the position of the article as it is transported downstream by the picking zone and the synchronization device. . Thus, the velocity profile of the article can be adjusted based on the position of the article through the picking zone and the synchronizer (if present).

  FIG. 30 is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of a method 3000 for determining a speed or movement profile. At block 3002, the next controller scan is started. For each scan of control logic, the method continues to block 3004 where Trp Equation 4 is solved to obtain the equation Trp = Dw / Vw. As noted above, Trp is the time at which the article reaches the contact point, Dw is the distance from the next sort window to the contact point, and Vw is the constant speed of the next sort window. is there. Dw and Vw are known and are used to calculate Trp.

  At block 306, Equation 5 can be solved for Vfap, Vfdp, Vc, Vfas, Vfds, Tap, Tdp, Tc, Tas, and Tds. Equation 5 defines the velocity or motion profile of the article at any given point. Equations 5-10 can be used to solve Equation 5 for these variables. Dm is the distance from the article to the contact point, and is known, for example, based on one or more sensors located near the picking zone along the article flow path. The acceleration rate (ap) in a given picking zone, the distance between the article and the next sorting window (dp), the acceleration rate (as) in the synchronizer and the deceleration rate (ds) in the synchronizer are all known. And all are constants. Trp is known from block 3004. Trp = Tap + Tdp + Tc + Tas + Tds is already known. Tap is the time for the article to accelerate in the picking zone, Tdp is the time for the article to decelerate in the picking zone, and Tc is the time for the article to travel at a constant speed in either the picking zone or the synchronizer. Tas is the time for the article to accelerate in the synchronizer and Tds is the time for the article to decelerate in the synchronizer. The initial speed conditions Viap, Vidp, Vias and Vids are also known. Viap is the initial speed before being accelerated in the picking zone, Vidp is the initial speed before being decelerated in the picking zone, Vids is the initial speed before being decelerated in the synchronizer, and Vias is , Initial speed before being accelerated in the synchronizer.

  In block 3008, Equation 5 may be used to determine and / or adjust the article velocity or motion profile at any given point using these known constants and variables. In particular, using Equation 5, the final speed of the article after being accelerated in the picking zone (Vfap), the final speed of the article after being decelerated in the picking zone (Vfdp), either in the picking zone or the synchronizer The constant velocity of the article (Vc), the final velocity of the article after being accelerated in the synchronizer (Vfas), the final velocity of the article after being decelerated in the synchronizer (Vfds), the time for which the article is accelerated in the picking zone (Tap) ), The time for the article to decelerate in the picking zone (Tdp), the time for the article to travel at a constant speed in either the picking zone or the synchronizer (Tc), the time for the article to accelerate in the synchronizer (Tas), and By solving for the time (Tds) at which the article decelerates in the synchronizer, the speed or operation of the article It is possible to determine the profile and / or regulation.

  From block 3008, the process 3000 returns to block 3002 when the next controller scan begins. For example, the method can adjust the speed or movement profile of each article by performing a respective scan of the control logic as conditions change, so that the position of the article through a picking zone or synchronizer (if present) The speed profile of the article can be adjusted based on

  Returning to FIG. 29A, the sorter 1480 enables flow or variable picking points and allows for continuous synchronization of each article with the desired sort window based on feedback from sensors 2912, 2914 and 2920. To. Sensors can include proximity sensors or edge detection sensors such as photoelectric sensors, phototube sensors, infrared sensors, and optical sensors. Sorting unit 1480 includes a belt that carries stack 1502 moving in the direction of arrow 1426. Stack 1502 is at a distance 2908 from the article guide. Sorting unit 1480 includes a plurality of picking devices 1410 including picking devices S1 to S5. Each of the picking devices S1-S5 includes a perforated belt 606 and a vacuum system 2916 that includes vacuum systems V1-V5. Each of the vacuum systems V1-V5 includes a vacuum unit, a vacuum manifold 1908, and a vacuum valve 1916, as shown in FIG. 19A. Each of the picking devices can further include a vacuum unit and a vacuum valve, as described above. For example, feedback can be provided using sensors 2912, 2914 and 2920. For example, sensor 2912 can be used to detect the leading edge of stack 1502. The remaining sensors 2914 and 2920 can be used to continuously indicate the position of the stack 1502 and / or the position of the individualized item picked by one of the picking devices S1-S5.

  In some embodiments, the picking devices S1-S5 can be parallelized, individualized, and / or synchronized, and one or more picking devices located opposite one or more picking devices. Double prevention using the double prevention device 1422 is possible. In some embodiments, the sorter 1480 can include both dedicated personalization devices and dedicated synchronization devices to support personalization and synchronization similar to that shown in FIG.

  In some embodiments, virtual windows can be used to synchronize each article with the sorting window. FIG. 29B shows an example of a sorting unit 1480 that operates using a virtual window. The sorting unit 1480 includes picking zones P1 to P5, a sensor 2904, and virtual windows 2902 and 2906. Each of the sensors 2904 can correspond to any of the sensors 2914, 2920, and 2912 of FIG. 29A. Each of the picking zones P1-P5 can include a vacuum system 2916 that includes V1-V5. Each of the vacuum systems V1-V5 can include a vacuum unit, a vacuum manifold 1908, and a vacuum valve 1916, as shown in FIG. 19B. Each of the vacuum zones P1-P5 also includes a picking device as described above with respect to FIGS. 19B and / or 29A. One or more of the picking zones P1-P5 may include a double prevention device opposite the picking device. As described above with respect to FIGS. 20A-20B, certain combinations of anti-double devices can have a low level of constant vacuum to facilitate the personalization of the article. For example, the picking devices S1 and S2 of FIG. 29A can have a low level constant vacuum power source to personalize the article. When the edge detection sensor 1910 and the presence sensor 1912 detect two or more articles (for example, when an undesired article comes into close contact with the desired article after picking and individualization), one of the picking devices S3 to S5 is detected. The associated double protection device can be turned on to full vacuum in order to separate any article from the desired article to be individualized by the picking zone.

  Each of the picking devices further includes a perforated belt 1906 (not shown in FIG. 29B). Each of the perforated belts 1906 can be driven using a dedicated motor and / or gearbox (not shown). For example, a servo motor such as a KollMogen C042B high torque, low speed, bearingless, direct drive cartridge motor, or a KollMogen C041B motor can be used. FIG. 29C shows an example of a pulley system for driving the perforated belt 1906 of the picking device 1410. A drive pulley 2922, a tensioner pulley 2924, and two front idler pulleys 926 under the control of a controller or processor (not shown) are used to coordinate the movement of the articles to each belt 1906 of the picking device. Can be driven. The controller or processor is a general purpose microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA), programmable logic device (PLD), controller, state machine, gate logic, individual hardware components, dedicated hardware It can be implemented by a wear finite state machine, or any combination of any other suitable entity capable of performing information calculations or other operations.

  In some embodiments, a flat belt can be used as the perforated belt 1906. Perforated belt 1906 does not include any tracking or teeth along the center of the belt. In some embodiments, a perforated timing belt can be used as the perforated belt 1906. The perforated timing belt is easy to pull, does not slide on the drive pulley 2922, has a built-in tracking function, and does not require a take-up pulley. FIG. 29D shows an example of a perforated timing belt 2928. A built-in tracking feature 2930 along the center of the timing belt can eliminate the need for a crown pulley that can reduce the cost of the system. The built-in tracking feature 2930 can include timing teeth to allow the use of a flat metal drive pulley rather than a lagging pulley. In some embodiments, instead of timing teeth, flat ribs can be used on the timing belt 2928, which can provide a better tracking function at the expense of pulley grip. Most of the tension in the timing belt 2928 is conveyed through a timed central built-in tracking function 2930. Thus, the remainder of the timing belt 2928 may contain larger holes because this portion of the perforated timing belt 2928 is not initially used to move the belt.

  Referring to FIG. 29B, each of the virtual windows 2902 and 2906 defines the position on the sorting unit 1480 where the front edge of the article should be located in order to place the article (eg, article 2910) in the corresponding sorting window. Including. Using equations 1-10 above, the controller or processor can be programmed to cause the sorting unit 1480 to align the front edge of each article with a virtual window that is not reserved in advance at this time. The controller or processor is a general purpose microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA), programmable logic device (PLD), controller, state machine, gate logic, individual hardware components, dedicated hardware It can be implemented by a wear finite state machine, or any combination of any other suitable entity capable of performing information calculations or other operations. The picking process can start from a stopped state at any given picking zone and remain synchronized with the virtual windows 2902 and / or 2906. The system provides continuous synchronization with the virtual windows 2902 and / or 2906 so that articles can be sent efficiently and continuously. For example, each picking zone P1-P5 can monitor the next unreserved virtual window position associated with its own position along the article picking route. The picking zones P1-P5 can be configured to coordinate movements synchronized with each other to translate the articles so that the front edge of each article is one of the virtual windows 2902 and / or 2906. Is accurate. The speed profile described above can be used to coordinate the synchronized movement of the picking zone component. A sensor 2904 along the article travel path can provide feedback regarding the exact position of the front edge of each article at a given point in time. The leading edge feedback position can be compared to the position where the article must be associated with the corresponding virtual window 2902 or 2906. This data can be used to modify the speed profile of the current article and reposition and resynchronize the article and the virtual window.

  FIG. 31 shows an example of a sorting unit 1480 that can be used to properly synchronize each of the articles with the sorting window using a virtual window. Sorting unit 1480 includes a picking zone operation 3104 for controlling picking zone 3108 including picking zones 1-5. Picking zone operation 3104 includes vacuum control, correction control, overlay detection, and error monitoring. The sorting unit 1480 further includes a virtual window detection and virtual axis manager 3106. Picking zone operation 3104 and virtual window detection and virtual axis manager 3106 can be implemented using a controller or processor (not shown). The controller or processor is a general purpose microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA), programmable logic device (PLD), controller, state machine, gate logic, individual hardware components, dedicated hardware It can be implemented by a wear finite state machine, or any combination of any other suitable entity capable of performing information calculations or other operations. For example, one or more software or computer programs can be developed to cause a controller or processor to implement picking zone operation 3104 and virtual window detection and virtual axis manager 3106.

  FIG. 32A shows an example of controlling virtual axes using virtual window detection and virtual axis manager 3106. Master virtual axis 3202 may be a reference point on which virtual windows 3204-3208 are based. For example, the virtual window (VW) pulses 1-3 for each of the virtual windows 3204-3208 are used at a fixed interval of line speed rate (eg, 3.15 m / s) using the master virtual axis 3202 as a reference point. Can be generated. Based on the master virtual axis 3202, all the components of the sorting section described above can be controlled to synchronize each article with the sorting window by aligning the front edge of each article with the corresponding virtual window. is there.

  FIG. 32B shows an example of using the picking zone operation 3204 to synchronize the first article 3210 with the sorting window. When the process of picking one or more articles from the stack 1502 begins, the sorter 1480 is started and the first article 3210 is ready to be picked. When the system is started, the virtual axis is error free, moving at the line speed rate (eg 3.15 m / s) and the virtual window is detected. The downstream picking zone, vacuum system 2916 (eg, vacuum unit, vacuum manifold, and vacuum valve), belt, and synchronizer (s) (if any) are safe and ready to begin operation. Yes.

  After the picking process has begun, the picking and personalization of each article is done on a zone availability basis so that the most downstream available picking zone is selected to pick the article. The next available virtual window is assigned to the farthest upstream article to be picked, thereby aligning the front edge of the article with the virtual window. Each position of the article is known based on feedback from the sensor. One or more of the picking zones cooperate in the synchronization process. Each of the picking zones operates independently of one another, but may be motion commands inherited simultaneously by picking zone operation 3104 to achieve synchronization between the picking zones. Picking zone operation 3104 commands one or more of the picking zones to turn on and control the speed at which each of the picking zones operates to align the front edge of article 3210 with virtual window 3204. For example, picking zone operation 3204 can command the picking zone to operate at a specific gear ratio between each of the master and slave axes, forward from the synchronization point. The gear ratio can accelerate and decelerate the perforated belt of each picking device so that the speed is increased and decreased as the article 3210 crosses the picking zone. FIG. 32C shows an example of adjusting the operation of the picking zone by the master axis and the slave axis in order to control the picking of the article 3210. The master sync position 3212, master start distance 3214, slave start distance 3216, and acceleration and speed limits commanded the slave axis for each particular picking zone according to the final gear ratio determined for the picking zone. It defines how to move at the master speed. The picking zone operates by detecting the leading edge of the next picked article based on sensors located in each picking zone. The available picking zones that are available to participate in synchronization are determined along with the parameters of start distance and synchronization position. Once the available picking zones and parameters are determined, picking zone operation 3104 commands the available picking zones to translate the picked article 3210 in synchronization with the assigned virtual window. When the virtual window 3204 and / or the article 3210 passing through the picking zone is unhindered through the picking zone, the zone can disengage and stop, the vacuum system 2916 can be turned off, If a picking zone is chosen for picking and synchronizing an article with its virtual window, the picking zone prepares for the next virtual window.

  The vacuum system 2916 of each picking zone may be variably controlled by the picking zone operation 3104 according to the position of the article sensed by the various sensors in each picking zone.

  FIG. 33A shows picking zone 3304 and sensor 3306. Sensor 3306 may include proximity sensors or edge detection sensors, such as photoelectric sensors, phototube sensors, infrared sensors, and light sensors, as described elsewhere herein. Each of the sensors 3306 may correspond to any of the sensors 2914, 2920 and 2912 of FIG. 29A and / or the sensor 2904 of FIG. 29b. As shown in FIG. 33A, four sensors are provided for each picking zone. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that some sensors can be included if desired. The vacuum system 2916 operates to hold the article against the perforated drive belt during synchronization as the article being picked is transported downstream along the sorting section. A third downstream sensor in each picking zone operates to initiate a vacuum condition in each zone. As a result, the picking zone cannot turn on control of the article until the third sensor of the picking zone is blocked by the article. For example, the picking zone can be triggered when the front edge of the article blocks the third downstream sensor of that picking zone. The picking zone cannot relinquish control of the article until the fourth downstream sensor of the next picking zone is blocked. Vacuum valve output and travel path sensor input can be controlled and monitored via high speed input / output.

  FIG. 33B illustrates an exemplary process for variably controlling the picking zone vacuum system 2916 based on sensor feedback for transporting articles 3308 downstream along the sorter 1480. As noted above, each of the vacuum systems 2916 can include a vacuum unit, a vacuum manifold, and a vacuum valve. At time 1 (T1), article 3308 crosses and blocks sensor 3, which is the third downstream sensor in picking zone 1. Accordingly, the sensor 3 operates to start the vacuum state of the picking zone 1. Since picking zone 1 is the first picking zone, the system waits for the next approaching virtual window and gives the picking zone 1 a response notification time period to develop a vacuum condition. During the response notification time period, the vacuum state of the picking zone 1 is effective and is developed to a sufficient vacuum strength. When developed to sufficient vacuum strength, picking zone 1 controls article 3308. Each picking zone can include a picking device and can also include a double prevention device. As described above with respect to FIG. 19B, the picking device can include a perforated belt, a perforated belt drive pulley, and a vacuum system. As article 3308 moves toward the perforated belt, the vacuum valve is opened to develop sufficient vacuum strength, exposing the vacuum manifold to vacuum force. The vacuum force is used to pull the article 3308 from the article stack through one or more openings in the perforated belt (if not yet individualized) to effectively connect the article 3308 to the perforated belt. The article 3308 is held against the surface of the perforated belt by a vacuum force applied to the article through one or more holes in the perforated belt and accelerated forward by a certain acceleration amount. In some embodiments, picking zone operation 3104 can instruct picking zone 1 to slow down to synchronize article 3308 with the virtual window.

  At time 2 (T2), article 3308 crosses sensor 7, which is the third downstream sensor in picking zone 2. At this point, the picking zone 2 vacuum system is started. However, picking zone 1 still controls article 3308. Accordingly, the vacuum state of the picking zone 2 is started before the picking zone 2 controls the article 3308 from the picking zone 1. The time period from the time when picking zone 1 controls article 3308 to the time when picking zone 1 gives up control over picking zone 2 is picking zone to develop sufficient vacuum strength to drive article 3308 downstream. Give time for 2 vacuum conditions.

  As noted above, picking zone 1 cannot relinquish control of article 3308 until the fourth downstream sensor of the next picking zone (picking zone 2) is blocked. At time 3 (T3), article 3308 crosses sensor 8, which is the fourth downstream sensor in picking zone 2. When sensor 8 is blocked, picking zone 1 can give up control of article 3308 relative to picking zone 2. At this point, the vacuum state of the picking zone 1 is turned off. In some embodiments, the remaining components of the picking zone 1 including the perforated belt and the pulleys and gears (if present in the picking zone 1) that drive the anti-double device can be turned off. At T3, since the vacuum state of the picking zone 2 is sufficiently strong, the picking zone 2 performs sufficient control and is responsible for driving the article 3308 downstream.

  At time 4 (T4), article 3308 blocks across sensor 11. Since sensor 11 is the third downstream sensor in picking zone 3, it develops a vacuum force sufficient to control article 3308 by activating the picking zone 3 vacuum to give the vacuum sufficient time. Let Picking zone 2 still has sufficient control over article 3308, and picking zone 3 cannot take over control until the fourth downstream sensor of picking zone 3 is blocked.

  At time 5 (T5), article 3308 crosses sensor 12, thereby causing picking zone 2 to give up control of article 3308 to picking zone 3. At this point, the vacuum state of the picking zone 2 is turned off. The remaining components of picking zone 2, including the perforated belt and the pulleys and gears (if present in picking zone 2) that drive the anti-double device, can also be turned off. At T5, the vacuum state of the picking zone 3 has sufficient strength to allow the picking zone 3 to fully control the article 3308. At this point, picking zone 3 is responsible for driving article 3308 downstream to the next picking zone.

  The process of variably controlling the picking zone vacuum system continues until the article 3308 reaches the most downstream picking zone. For example, if there are five picking zones, the process continues through picking zone 5 until article 3308 transitions to either the sorting window or the synchronizer pinch wheel (if present in the sorting section).

  The picking zone operation 3104 further performs correction control to ensure that the article is synchronized with the virtual window. Movement of the picking zone perforated belt 1906 using the motor and gear ratio can be precisely controlled using the virtual window detection and virtual axis manager 3106, so the belt 1906 remains synchronized with the virtual window. However, the position of the article on the perforated belt 1906 cannot be assured due to various effects that the article experiences when moving along the belt 1906, such as sliding of the article, gusts of air, and collapse.

  FIG. 34 shows an example of using the picking zone operation 3104 for correction control. Sensor 3306 can be used to detect the position of article 3404 as article 3404 is synchronized through sorter 1480. The sensor 3306 can include a proximity sensor or an edge detection sensor such as a photoelectric sensor, a phototube sensor, an infrared sensor, and an optical sensor. Once the position of the article 3404 is detected by one or more of the sensors 3306, it can be compared to the corresponding virtual window position upon activation of each sensor to determine an absolute error in the position of the article 3404. This error value can be sent to a picking zone controller or processor (not shown) so that the picking zone operation 3104 can locate and retrack the article 3404 so that the article 3404 resynchronizes with the corresponding virtual window. Is done. For example, the picking zone operation 3104 can instruct one or more picking zones to accelerate or decelerate the article 3404, and as described above to resynchronize the article 3404 and the virtual window accordingly. In addition, the vacuum state can be controlled. The picking zone controller or processor is a general purpose microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA), programmable logic device (PLD), controller, state machine, gate logic, discrete hardware components, It can be implemented by a dedicated hardware finite state machine, or any combination of any other suitable entity capable of performing information calculations or other operations.

  The absolute error is updated by the picking zone operation 3104 in each cycle of the activated sensor and can be stored in a specific value. Each of the picking zones that participate in the synchronous motion to synchronize the article 3404 with the virtual window can receive an equivalent value that stores an absolute error. The joining picking zone can use that value to perform an offset to synchronize the article 3404 back to match the virtual window. In some embodiments, a maximum error limit can be determined based on the position of the article 3404 and the corresponding error for the virtual window. If the absolute error as detected by sensor 3306 indicates that this maximum error limit is exceeded, picking zone operation 3104 determines that article 3404 needs to be abandoned on the current virtual window. And article 3404 can be assigned to the next available window.

  By performing the correction control, the sorting unit 1480 can perform real-time error compensation at high speed using the feedback from the sensor 3306, thereby compensating for the positive shift and the negative shift of the article 3404.

  In some embodiments, sensor 3306 can be used to help prevent double. For example, the sensor 3306 may detect whether the article appears to be long or whether the article appears to turn into two articles during travel, depending on the article attached to the desired article. it can. A double prevention device can be used to separate the attached article and assign the article to the next available virtual window.

  In some embodiments, the movement profile can be generated to reduce breakage due to acceleration when the article is moved along the sorting section described above. In some embodiments, the movement profile may be the same as the velocity profile described above and may be calculated using equations 1-10 described above and / or according to FIG. For example, if an article is accelerated and / or decelerated along a personalization device and / or picking device, the article may be damaged. For example, a mail piece having a cover with poor structural integrity, such as a mail having thin glossy staples that join the cover, may be more easily damaged. As another example, open mail may break more easily than mail in an envelope. As used herein, open mail refers to articles (eg, periodicals, magazines, etc.) that are joined along only one edge and open along the other three edges. As described above, the article is accelerated from the article stack to the speed required to synchronize with the sorting window (eg, using a virtual window). As article processing rates and lengths increase, design acceleration and deceleration must increase. The perforated belt of the picking device translates the article by accelerating and decelerating the article from one side of the article, and a high acceleration or deceleration rate may produce a high inertial force. These inertial forces are proportional to the acceleration and deceleration rates. As the article is accelerated or decelerated, the inertial force generated in the body of the article resists changes in speed. This resistance can impart shear and torque to the side being translated by the picking device, thereby damaging the article.

  The movement profile can be designed to allow the sorter to operate at a constant acceleration and deceleration rate as low as possible so that the system can match the entire desired design rate to the longest article. In order to reduce the effective acceleration and / or deceleration experienced when an article is picked and individualized, the moving profile stops the perforated belt for each picking and opens the vacuum valve to create a vacuum. While waiting for the state to develop and assuming that the longest possible article is picked, the picked article can be accelerated at the lowest possible acceleration rate. By gradually increasing the speed of the perforated belt to be controlled, the article is accelerated at the lowest possible acceleration rate. If the vacuum condition does not develop quickly enough, the effective acceleration may be greater than the rate performed by the perforated belt motor, so the vacuum condition is not pressurized when the belt is accelerated. Rather, acceleration does not increase until a vacuum is developed. After the valve is pressurized, the system can sense the vacuum level in the manifold. Feedback regarding the vacuum level can be generated using a valve having a spool sensor and / or a vacuum gauge. If a vacuum condition is established, the motor can perform a travel profile. The longest designed article and the design processing rate determine the minimum acceleration, thereby determining the rate at which the article is individualized from the article stack. If a dedicated synchronizer is present, the article can be accelerated more aggressively in the synchronizer because it is stabilized by pushing and driving the article together on both sides by a pinch wheel. Thus, in some embodiments, the movement profile may be used only by the personalization device and picking device.

  By using a moving profile, damage to the article may be reduced. The movement profile can also allow for more precise article movement along the sorter, since the vacuum system can be used more efficiently. More precise movement of the article along the system may be useful in synchronizing the article with the sorting window.

  FIG. 35 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a process 1400 for managing articles at the sorting unit 1480. Process 3500 can begin when stack 1502 is placed on belt 1420. The process 3500 proceeds to block 3502 where the stack 1502 is received at the personalizer 1440 and a positively stacked article stack 1604 is generated. Stack 1502 is personalized to yield a positively stacked article stack 1604. Any of the embodiments of the personalization device 108 described above can be used to personalize the article stack. As used herein, the term individualizing or individualizing can refer to the process of pushing the stack 1502 to produce a positively stacked article stack 1604. . At block 3504, one or more picking devices 1410 are used to pick one or more articles from the positively stacked article stack 1502, resulting in one or more individualized articles. Any of the personalization devices disclosed herein can be used to pick and individualize articles from the stack 1502. Individualization, as used herein, uses vacuum force to pull and hold the article to the perforated belt, which carries a single article downstream along the article feeder. . At block 3506, one or more synchronizers 1424 are used to deliver one or more individualized articles to one or more sorting windows. Using the synchronizer 1424 described above, individualized articles can be delivered to the sorting window.

  In some embodiments, providing a positively stacked article stack 1604 uses the bottom conveyor belt 1704 and perforated belt 1706 of the individualization device 1440 to move the stack 1502 toward the shearing device 1708. And applying a shear force to the article stack using a shearing device 1708. The bottom conveying belt 1704 has a conveying surface extending in a first direction, and the perforated belt 1706 has a surface extending in a second direction different from the first direction. The first direction may be substantially horizontal and the second direction may be substantially perpendicular to the bottom conveyor belt. For example, the perforated belt 1706 may be perpendicular to the generally horizontal direction of the bottom conveyor belt 1704. The perforated belt 1706 is adjacent to the bottom conveyor belt 1704 and can be configured to move downstream toward the shearing device 1708 using one or more belt drives 1710.

  In some embodiments, the process 3500 further includes applying suction through one or more openings in the perforated belt 1706 using a vacuum system. For example, one or more articles can be held on the surface of the perforated belt 1706 by a vacuum force applied to the article through one or more openings in the perforated belt 1706. The stack 1502 is held against the perforated belt and rests on the bottom conveyor belt and can move downstream toward the shearing device 1708.

  In some embodiments, picking one or more articles from the positively stacked article stack 1604 opens the vacuum valve 1916 of the first picking device 1410 and the vacuum manifold of the first picking device 1410. Exposing 1908 to suction from the vacuum unit and drawing suction from the vacuum manifold 1908 through one or more openings in the perforated belt 1906 of the first picking device 1410 to one of the one or more articles. And applying the article to the perforated belt 1906 using suction through one or more openings. In some embodiments, generating one or more individualized articles can be accomplished by using a motor to drive the perforated belt 1906 forward with the attached article, thereby positively stacking the articles. Separating from the stacked article stack 1604. In some embodiments, the individualized articles are picked and generated by the most downstream picking device in the row of picking devices that is substantially completely covered by the positively stacked article stack.

  In some embodiments, process 3500 uses double prevention device 1422 located in the corresponding picking zone to prevent two or more articles from being picked from a positively stacked article stack 1502 at a time. To further include. Each corresponding picking zone includes a corresponding picking device 1410 and a double prevention device 1422. Using the anti-double device 112 as described above, two or more articles can be prevented from being picked at once using, for example, the process described above with respect to FIG. 20B. For example, the process 3500 uses a double prevention device presence sensor 1912 to detect a first article and a double prevention device edge detection sensor 1910 to detect the edge of a second article. That is, the edge detection sensor 1910 is positioned upstream of the presence sensor 1912, and during the time that the edge detection sensor 1910 detects the edge of the second article, the presence sensor 1912 detects the first article. Can further include applying suction to the second article using the vacuum unit of the anti-double device 1422.

  In some embodiments, the process 3500 includes an article stack to synchronize a first time when each of the one or more individualized articles reaches the exit point with a second time when the sorting window reaches the exit point. And further controlling the movement of each of the articles. The exit point corresponds to the contact point 1416 described above. For example, the virtual window described above can be used to synchronize the article with the sorting window. In some embodiments, the synchronization between the first time point and the second time point is the position of the first article picked by the first picking device, the speed of the first article, the position of the sorting window, the speed of the sorting window. , The acceleration rate of each of the plurality of perforated belts included in each of the plurality of picking devices, the acceleration rate of one or more synchronizers, the maximum permissible of each of the plurality of perforated belts included in each of the plurality of picking devices Speed, maximum permissible speed of a perforated belt included in the individualization device, maximum permissible speed of one or more synchronizers, each length of a plurality of perforated belts included in each of the plurality of picking devices, individualization device Based on one or more of the length of the perforated belt, the number of perforated belts, the length of one or more synchronizers, and the number of one or more synchronizers There.

  In some embodiments, the instantiation, picking and instantiation, and synchronization of the process 3500 is only in a picking zone that includes a picking device 1410, double prevention device 1422, edge detection sensor 1911, and / or presence sensor 1912. Is achievable using For example, as described above, the sorting unit moves from an individualized state of an article stack to an individualized state, and uses a variably controlled picking zone to change a picking point that flows or fluctuates. Can be possible.

  Numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations are operable. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments and / or configurations that may be suitable for use with the present invention include personal computers, server computers, handheld or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, programmable homes Including, but not limited to, appliances, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and distributed computing environments including any of the above systems or devices.

  As used herein, instructions indicate computer-implemented steps for processing information in the system. The instructions can be implemented in software, firmware, or hardware and include any type of programmed steps performed by system components.

  The microprocessor can be any arbitrary, such as a Pentium® processor, a Pentium® pro processor, an 8051 processor, a MIPS® processor, a Power PC® processor, or an Alpha® processor. It may be a conventional general purpose single or multichip microprocessor. Further, the microprocessor may be any conventional special purpose microprocessor such as a digital signal processor or a graphics processor. A microprocessor typically has a conventional address line, a conventional data line, and one or more conventional control lines.

  A system connected to various operating systems such as Linux (registered trademark), Unix (registered trademark), or Microsoft Windows (registered trademark) can be used.

  The system control can be written in any conventional programming language such as C, C ++, Basic, Pascal, or Java, and can operate under a conventional operating system. C, C ++, Basic, Pascal, Java, and FORTRAN are industry standard programming languages that can produce executable code using many commercial compilers. System controls can also be written using interpreted languages such as Perl, Python, or Ruby.

  Various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein are stored in electronic hardware, computer-readable media, and can be executed by a processor. Those skilled in the art will further recognize that the implementation can be implemented as simple software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. A person skilled in the art can implement the described functionality in various ways for each specific application, but the determination according to such embodiments is interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention. Should not be done.

  Various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein include general purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), Field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, individual gate or transistor logic, individual hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein Can be implemented or implemented. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, eg, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Can be done.

  If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. The steps of the method or algorithm disclosed herein may be implemented in a processor-executable software module that may be on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and computer communication media including any medium that can allow transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer readable media can be RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device, or any desired form in the form of instructions or data structures. Any other medium used for storing program code and accessible by a computer may be included. In addition, any connection can properly be referred to as a computer-readable medium. Discs and discs as used herein include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy discs, and Blu-ray discs. The (disk) normally reproduces data magnetically, and the disk (disc) optically reproduces data with a laser. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. Further, the operation of the method or algorithm may be as one or any combination or set of codes and instructions on machine-readable and computer-readable media, which can be incorporated into a computer program product.

  Although the foregoing description details certain embodiments of the systems, apparatus, and methods disclosed herein, in many ways, no matter how detailed the foregoing is disclosed in the text, the system It will be understood that the apparatus and method can be practiced. Also, as stated above, the use of a particular terminology when describing a feature or aspect of the invention includes any particular characteristic of the technical feature or aspect with which the terminology relates. It should be noted that, as limited, it should not be taken as implying that it has been redefined herein.

  Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the described technology. Such modifications and changes are intended to be within the scope of the embodiments. In addition, a part included in one embodiment is compatible with the other embodiments, and a part or a plurality of parts of the illustrated embodiment can be included in other illustrated embodiments in any combination. Those skilled in the art will understand. For example, any of the various components described herein and / or shown in the figures may be combined with, compatible with, or excluded from other embodiments.

  For the use of substantially any plural and / or singular terms herein, those skilled in the art will recognize from the plural to the singular and / or singular as appropriate to the situation and / or application. You can convert from shape to plural. Various singular / plural permutations can be clearly described herein for ease of understanding.

  In general, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the terms used herein are generally intended as “open” terms (eg, the term “including” includes “ The term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least” and the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to”. Should be). Where a specific number of statements is intended in the claims to be introduced, such intentions will be explicitly stated in the claims, and in the absence of such statements, such intentions It will be further appreciated by those skilled in the art that is not present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the appended claims may include the use of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases may be used even if the same claim contains indefinite articles such as the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and “a” or “an”. Implementation of a claim statement by the indefinite article “a” or “an” includes any particular claim that contains the claim statement so introduced, only one such statement Should not be construed as implying that the form is limited (eg, “a” and / or “an” are typically “at least one” or “one or more”). Should be taken to mean). The same applies to the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. Also, even if a specific number is explicitly stated in a claim statement that is introduced, such description should typically be interpreted to mean at least the stated number. (E.g., mere description of “two descriptions” without other modifiers typically means at least two descriptions, or two or more descriptions). To do). Further, in cases where a conventional expression similar to “at least one of A, B and C, etc.” is used, such syntax generally means that those skilled in the art will understand the customary expression. (For example, “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” includes A only, B only, C only, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together). And / or a system having A, B, and C together, etc.). In cases where a customary expression similar to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, such syntax generally means that one skilled in the art will understand the customary expression. Contemplated (eg, “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” means A only, B only, C only, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together And / or a system having A, B, and C together, etc.). Any disjunctive word and / or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms may be any one of the terms, the term, anywhere in the specification, claims or drawings. It will be further appreciated by those skilled in the art that it should be understood that the possibility of including either or both terms is intended. For example, it will be understood that the phrase “A or B” includes the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B”.

  All references cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. To the extent that publications and patents or patent applications incorporated by reference contradict the disclosure contained herein, this specification supersedes and / or supersedes any such inconsistent material. Is intended.

  As used herein, the term “comprising” is synonymous with “including”, “containing”, or “characterized by” and is inclusive or open-ended; It does not exclude further unexplained elements or method steps.

  It should be understood that all numbers expressing components, reaction conditions, and other amounts used in the specification and claims are modified by the term “about” in all cases. Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the specification and appended claims can vary depending on the desired properties sought to be obtained by the present invention. At the very least, each numerical parameter should be interpreted in consideration of the number of significant figures and the usual rounding method, rather than as an attempt to limit the application of principles equivalent to the scope of the claims.

  The above description discloses several methods and materials of the present invention. The present invention is not only amenable to modification in terms of methods and materials, but is also amenable to modification in terms of manufacturing methods and equipment. Such modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this disclosure or practice of the invention disclosed herein. Therefore, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, but that the invention be the true scope of the invention as embodied in the appended claims. And includes all modifications and alternatives that fall within the spirit of the invention.

Claims (84)

An automatic stack feeder,
Frame,
A plurality of belts positioned relative to each other on the frame to define an opening therebetween, the belts configured to support a container surrounding the article stack;
A lower support movably connected to the frame, the lower support being movable to extend partially through at least one of the openings between the plurality of belts; A lower support that is movable between at least a portion of one end and at least a portion of a second end of the plurality of belts;
An upper support configured to open the container and supply support pressure to a side of the article stack, wherein at least a portion of the first end and the second end of the plurality of belts; An upper support movable between, and
A controller configured to coordinate movement of the plurality of belts, the lower support and the upper support;
An automatic stack feeder.   The feeder according to claim 1, wherein the upper support includes an upper tine extending downward from the upper support, and the lower support includes a lower tine extending upward from the lower support.   The feeder according to claim 2, wherein the upper tine and the lower tine are offset from each other so as to engage in the same plane without colliding with each other.   The lower support is disposed under the plurality of belts, and the lower tine is axially aligned with at least one of the openings between the plurality of belts. Feeder.   The feeder according to claim 4, wherein the lower tine is connected to a drive mechanism operable to drive the lower tine upward through the openings between the plurality of belts.   The upper tine is a drive mechanism operable to drive the upper tine downward toward the plurality of belts and operable to retract the upper tine upward toward the upper support. The feeder according to claim 2, which is connected.   The upper support comprises a door opening member configured to extend downward from an upper paddle and engage a door of the container while the container is positioned on a belt assembly. Feeder as described in. A system for taking out a container,
A container configured to enclose an article stack, the container including a door and at least one channel formed in a side of the container;
A feeder,
A frame having a first end and a second end, wherein the second end includes a scintillator;
A belt assembly disposed on the frame, having at least one opening disposed therein, for supporting the container and the article stack and moving the article stack toward the singulator. A belt assembly,
A lower paddle disposed substantially below the belt assembly, a portion of the lower paddle being movable through the opening of the belt assembly;
An upper paddle disposed generally over the belt assembly, wherein at least a portion of the upper paddle is configured to extend through the at least one channel formed in the side of the container; An upper paddle,
With
The upper paddle and the lower paddle are configured to provide support pressure against the article stack when the article stack is on the belt assembly;
A system comprising:   The system of claim 8, wherein the belt assembly includes a plurality of parallel belts with openings disposed therebetween.   The system of claim 9, wherein the lower paddle includes a plurality of lower tines aligned with the openings disposed between the plurality of parallel belts.   The system of claim 8, wherein the upper paddle includes at least one upper tine aligned with the at least one channel formed on a side of the container.   9. The upper paddle includes a door opener that extends downwardly from the upper paddle and is configured to engage the door of the container when the container is positioned on the belt assembly. System.   At least the lower paddle, the upper paddle, and the belt assembly are connected to a drive mechanism, and the system is configured to control the drive mechanism connected to the lower paddle, the upper paddle, and the belt assembly, respectively. 9. The system of claim 8, comprising a controller that is configured.   The system of claim 13, further comprising a controller connected in communication with the drive mechanism, the controller configured to direct movement of the drive mechanism.   The system of claim 13, wherein the drive mechanism connected to the lower paddle is operable to move the lower paddle in a first direction and a second direction.   The system of claim 15, wherein the first direction is substantially parallel to the belt assembly and the second direction is substantially perpendicular to the belt assembly.   The system of claim 13, wherein the drive mechanism connected to the upper paddle is operable to move the upper paddle in a first direction and a second direction.   The system of claim 17, wherein the first direction is substantially parallel to the belt assembly and the second direction is substantially perpendicular to the belt assembly.   The controller is configured to synchronize the movement of the upper paddle, the lower paddle, and the belt so that the belt can move substantially continuously when the container is lowered. The system according to claim 14. A method of taking out a container,
Operating the feeder, the feeder comprising:
A frame having a first end and a second end, wherein the second end includes a scintillator;
A belt disposed on the frame, having an opening therein and configured to move an article toward the second end to contact the singulator;
An upper paddle disposed on the belt;
A lower paddle movably connected to the frame and at least partially disposed under the belt;
A step comprising:
Extending at least a portion of the lower paddle upward through an opening disposed in the belt at a position closer to the second end of the belt than the position of the container;
Receiving a container enclosing an article stack on the first end of the belt, the container including a door and a rear surface formed with at least one channel therein;
Using the upper paddle to open the door of the container, the upper paddle being movable between the first end and the second end of the feeder; and
Moving at least a portion of the upper paddle through the channel on the rear surface of the container;
Supporting the article stack in the container with the portion of the upper paddle;
Move the upper paddle toward the second end of the feeder, thereby pushing the article stack through the door of the container and extending the leading article in the article stack over the belt Colliding against the portion of the lower paddle;
Including a method. Removing the container from the feeder while the article stack is sandwiched between the upper and lower paddles;
Withdrawing the lower paddle through the opening located in the belt;
Advancing the article stack toward the singulator using the belt and supporting the article stack by the at least part of the upper paddle;
21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:   21. The method of claim 20, wherein the portion of the lower paddle that extends over the belt supports a second article stack prior to receiving the container at the first end of the belt.   23. The method of claim 22, wherein withdrawing the lower paddle comprises merging the article stack and the second article stack from the container into a single article stack.   Synchronizing the movement of the lower paddle and the belt so that the article stack is maintained at substantially the same angle relative to the belt as the article stack moves toward the second end of the feeder. The method of claim 20, further comprising the step of:   The movement of the upper paddle is synchronized with the movement of the belt and the lower paddle so that the step of opening the container and supporting the article stack in the container is performed without changing the movement of the belt. The method of claim 24, further comprising a step. A system for managing articles in an automatic stack feeder,
A frame configured to support an article stack;
A perforated drive belt assembly comprising:
A drive belt having an opening therein;
A first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the perforated drive belt assembly is pivotally attached to the frame, and the second end of the perforated drive belt assembly is Pivotable about an axis of rotation defined by attachment of the first end of the perforated drive belt assembly, the drive belt being rotatable about the first end and the second end Extending, a first end and a second end;
A perforated drive belt assembly comprising:
A conveyor connected to the frame and configured to move the article stack relative to the drive belt;
A sensor proximate to the perforated drive belt assembly, the sensor configured to detect a force applied by the article stack to a portion of the perforated drive belt assembly;
A controller configured to receive input from the sensor and to control the conveyor based on the received input;
A system comprising:   27. The system of claim 26, wherein the perforated drive belt assembly comprises a vacuum unit configured to exert a vacuum through the opening of the drive belt.   The pivotable attachment of the perforated drive belt assembly includes a spring configured to resist movement of the perforated drive belt assembly due at least in part to forces from the article stack. Item 27. The system according to Item 26.   27. The system of claim 26, wherein the sensor is configured to sense pressure applied to the perforated drive belt assembly by the article stack.   The sensor is coupled to the perforated drive belt assembly due at least in part to movement of the second end of the perforated drive belt assembly about an axis of rotation defined by attachment of the first end. 30. The system of claim 29, connected to the first end of the perforated drive belt assembly to sense the applied pressure.   27. The system of claim 26, wherein the sensor is configured to sense an angular displacement of the perforated drive assembly relative to the frame that is at least partially in accordance with the force applied by the article stack.   The conveyor includes a belt and a paddle, the belt and the paddle are independently movable, and the paddle is configured to provide vertical support of the article stack, the belt comprising the article 27. The system of claim 26, wherein the system is configured to transport a stack toward or away from the perforated drive belt assembly.   34. The system of claim 32, wherein the controller is configured to control adjustment of the position of the paddle or move the belt in response to the input received from the sensor.   27. The system of claim 26, further comprising a photoelectric sensor positioned to detect an angle of the article stack relative to the frame. An automatic stack feeder management method,
Receiving one or more items on a conveyor;
Operating a drive belt assembly including a drive belt having an opening therein, wherein an end of the drive belt assembly is pivotally attached to a frame, and a free end of the drive belt assembly is an end to be attached A step rotatable about an axis of rotation defined by
Sensing a force applied to the drive belt assembly by the one or more articles;
Controlling the position of the conveyor based on the sensed force, thereby controlling the position of the article stack;
Including a method.   36. The method of claim 35, further comprising the step of individualizing an article from the one or more articles using a vacuum applied through the drive belt assembly.   36. The pivotable attachment of the perforated drive belt includes a spring that resists movement of the perforated drive belt assembly due at least in part to a force applied by the one or more articles. The method described.   36. The method of claim 35, wherein sensing the force comprises sensing pressure applied to the perforated drive belt assembly by the one or more articles.   Sensing the pressure applied to the perforated drive belt assembly by the one or more articles includes moving the perforated drive belt assembly about the axis of rotation defined by attachment of the attached end. 39. The method of claim 38, comprising sensing pressure applied to the perforated drive belt assembly due at least in part.   Sensing the force includes sensing an angular displacement of the free end of the perforated drive belt assembly relative to the frame that is at least partially in accordance with the force applied by the one or more articles. 36. The method of claim 35.   The conveyor includes independently movable belts and paddles that convey the one or more articles toward or away from the perforated drive belt assembly. And wherein the paddle is configured to support the article stack, and the step of controlling the conveyor includes moving the belt or the paddle to move the at least one of the perforated drive belt assemblies. 36. The method of claim 35, comprising adjusting the position of the article.   36. The method of claim 35, further comprising sensing an angle of the one or more articles with respect to the frame using a photoelectric sensor and controlling the conveyor in response to the sensed angle of the one or more articles. The method described. A stack feeder,
Frame,
A singulator connected to the frame;
A conveyor disposed on the frame, the conveyor configured to receive an article stack and a container, and further configured to move the article stack and the container toward the scintillator; ,
A motor connected to the frame;
A stack guide connected to the motor and aligned substantially parallel to a belt, the stack guide comprising a series of surfaces configured to contact an edge of the article stack; ,
With
The motor is operable to move the stack guide from a first position to a second position to accommodate receiving the containers on the conveyor. A sensor configured to detect the presence of the container on the conveyor;
A controller in communication with the sensor and the motor, wherein the movement of the motor is controlled in response to detection of the presence of the container on the conveyor, and the stack guide is moved between the first position and the second position. A controller configured to move between, and
The stack feeder according to claim 43, further comprising:   45. The stack guide contacts the article stack when in the first position, and the stack guide contacts the container and does not contact the article stack when in the second position. Stack feeder described in 1.   46. The stack feeder of claim 45, wherein when the presence of the container is detected, the controller is configured to control movement of the stack guide from the first position to the second position.   46. The stack feeder of claim 45, wherein the controller is configured to control movement of the stack guide from the second position to the first position when the absence of the container is detected. A system for taking out a container,
A container configured to hold an article;
An automatic stack feeder,
A singulator,
A conveyor configured to receive a first article stack and the container, the container having a second article stack therein, the conveyor including the first article stack and the container. A conveyor further configured to move toward the singulator;
A series of stack guides aligned substantially parallel to the conveyor and configured to contact edges of the first article stack and the second article stack. A stack guide that includes a vertical surface and is movable from a first position to a second position;
A sensor configured to detect the presence of the container on the conveyor;
A controller in communication with the sensor and configured to control movement of the stack guide between the first position and the second position in response to the presence of the containers on the conveyor;
An automatic stack feeder comprising:
A system comprising:   49. The stack guide further comprising a motor in communication with the controller, the motor configured to move the stack guide between the first position and the second position. System.   The sensor is further configured to detect the absence of the container on the conveyor, and the controller is configured between the second position and the first position in response to the absence of the container. 49. The system of claim 48, wherein the system is configured to control movement of the stack guide.   When the presence of the container is detected, the controller is configured to move the stack guide from the first position to the second position, and when the absence of the container is detected, the controller 49. The system of claim 48, wherein the system is configured to move the stack guide from the second position to the first position. A method for sorting articles,
Operating a stack feeder with a stack guide;
Receiving a container having a first article stack therein on a conveyor of an automatic stack feeder;
Detecting the presence of the container on the conveyor;
Moving the stack guide in response to the detected presence of the container;
Removing the first article stack from the container;
Detecting the absence of said container;
Moving the stack guide in response to the absence of the container;
Including a method.   The step of moving the stack guide in response to the detected presence of the container includes the step of moving the stack guide from a first position to a second position, the stack guide in response to the absence of the container. 53. The method of claim 52, wherein the step of moving comprises moving the stack guide from the second position to the first position. The step of removing the second article stack from the container comprises:
Moving the first article stack from the container onto the conveyor;
Combining the first article stack with a second article stack already on the conveyor;
Removing the containers from the conveyor;
54. The method of claim 52, comprising: An automatic stack feeder,
A personalization device configured to receive the article stack and generate a positively stacked article stack;
A plurality of picking devices configured to pick one or more articles from the positively stacked article stack and to generate one or more individualized articles;
One or more synchronizers configured to deliver the one or more individualized articles to one or more sorting windows;
An automatic stack feeder. The personalization device comprises:
A bottom conveyor belt having a conveyor surface extending in a first direction;
A shearing device;
A perforated belt having a surface extending in a second direction different from the first direction, adjacent to the bottom conveyor belt, the bottom conveyor belt and the perforated belt separating the article stack from the shearing device. And the shearing device is configured to apply a shear force to a portion of the article stack to produce the positively stacked article stack. Belt,
56. The automatic stack feeder of claim 55, comprising:   57. The automatic stack feeder of claim 56, further comprising a vacuum system configured to apply suction through one or more openings in the perforated belt. The personalization device comprises:
A plurality of bottom conveyor belts, each bottom conveyor belt having a conveyor surface extending in a first direction;
A shearing device;
A plurality of perforated belts, each perforated belt having a surface extending in a second direction different from the first direction, adjacent to at least one of the plurality of bottom transport belts; At least one of the plurality of bottom conveyor belts and at least one of the plurality of perforated belts are configured to move the article stack toward the shearing device, the shearing device comprising: A plurality of perforated belts configured to impart shear to a portion of the article stack to produce the positively stacked article stack;
56. The automatic stack feeder of claim 55, comprising: Each of the plurality of picking devices includes:
A vertically oriented perforated belt having one or more openings on its surface, the vertically oriented perforated belt configured to be driven by a motor;
A vacuum manifold positioned adjacent to the perforated belt;
A vacuum unit configured to apply suction through the vacuum manifold, wherein the vacuum manifold is configured to apply suction through the one or more openings in the surface of the perforated belt; A vacuum unit;
A vacuum valve configured to control the amount of suction applied to the vacuum manifold by the vacuum unit;
56. The automatic stack feeder of claim 55, comprising: Each of the plurality of picking devices includes:
Opening the vacuum valve and exposing the vacuum manifold to suction from the vacuum unit, the vacuum manifold being configured to pick the article from the positively stacked article stack, Applying suction through the one or more openings of the perforated belt, and attaching the article to the perforated belt;
A positively stacked article stack configured to produce individualized articles and using the motor to drive the perforated belt forward with the attached articles. 60. The automatic stack feeder of claim 59, comprising separating from.   Each of the plurality of picking devices is positioned on a respective picking thorn, each respective picking sone includes a picking device and a double prevention device facing the picking device, the double prevention device once 60. The automatic stack feeder of claim 59, configured to prevent more than one article from being picked from the positively stacked article stack. The double prevention device is
A presence sensor configured to detect the first article;
An edge detection sensor positioned upstream of the presence sensor and configured to detect an edge of a second article;
A vacuum unit configured to apply suction to the second article when the presence sensor detects the first article during a period in which the edge detection sensor detects an edge of the second article; ,
62. The automatic stack feeder of claim 61, comprising:   56. The automatic stack feeder of claim 55, wherein the one or more synchronizers include a group of paired pinch wheels driven at a variable speed by a pinch wheel motor.   In order to synchronize a first time point at which each of the one or more individualized articles reaches an exit point and a second time point at which the sorting window reaches the exit point, movement of each article in the article stack is performed. 56. The automatic stack feeder of claim 55, further comprising a controller configured to control.   The synchronization between the first time point and the second time point includes the position of the first article picked by the first picking device, the speed of the first article, the position of the sorting window, the speed of the sorting window, Acceleration of each of the plurality of perforated belts included in each of the plurality of picking devices, acceleration of the one or more synchronizers, maximum permissible of each of the plurality of perforated belts included in each of the plurality of picking devices Speed, maximum permissible speed of perforated belt included in the individualizing device, maximum permissible speed of the one or more synchronizers, length of each of the plurality of perforated belts included in each of the plurality of picking devices One of the length of the perforated belt, the number of perforated belts, the length of the one or more synchronization devices, and the number of the one or more synchronization devices included in the individualization device Based on the above Automatic stack feeder according to claim 64. A method for managing articles in an automatic stack feeder,
Receiving the article stack at the personalization device and generating a positively stacked article stack;
Picking one or more articles from the positively stacked article stack using one or more picking devices to generate one or more individualized articles;
Sending the one or more individualized articles to one or more sorting windows using one or more synchronization devices;
Including a method. Generating the positively stacked article stack comprises:
Using the bottom conveying belt and the perforated belt of the individualizing device to move the article stack toward the shearing device, the bottom conveying belt having a conveying surface extending in a first direction; The hole belt has a surface extending in a second direction different from the first direction; and
Applying a shear force to the article stack using the shearing device;
68. The method of claim 66, comprising:   68. The method of claim 67, further comprising applying suction through one or more openings in the perforated belt using a vacuum system. Picking the one or more articles from the positively stacked article stack comprises:
Opening a vacuum valve of the first picking device to expose the vacuum manifold of the first picking device to suction from the vacuum unit;
Applying suction from the vacuum manifold to one of the one or more articles through one or more openings in the perforated belt of the first picking device;
Attaching the article to the perforated belt through the one or more openings using suction;
68. The method of claim 66, comprising:   The step of generating the individualized one or more articles comprises using a motor to drive the perforated belt forward with the attached article to remove the article from the positively stacked article stack. 70. The method of claim 69, comprising the step of separating.   71. The individualized article is picked and generated by a picking device downstream of a row of picking devices that is substantially completely covered by the positively stacked article stack. Method.   The method further includes preventing two or more articles from being picked from the positively stacked article stack at a time using a double prevention device positioned in each picking thorn, each 71. The method of claim 70, wherein the picking thorn includes a respective picking device. Detecting a first article using a presence sensor of the double prevention device;
Detecting an edge of a second article using an edge detection sensor of the double prevention device, wherein the edge detection sensor is positioned upstream of the presence sensor;
When the presence sensor detects the first article during the period in which the edge detection sensor detects the edge of the second article, the vacuum unit is used to suck the second article;
73. The method of claim 72, further comprising:   In order to synchronize a first time point at which each of the one or more individualized articles reaches an exit point and a second time point at which the sorting window reaches the exit point, movement of each article in the article stack is performed. 68. The method of claim 66, further comprising the step of controlling.   The synchronization between the first time point and the second time point includes the position of the first article picked by the first picking device, the speed of the first article, the position of the sorting window, the speed of the sorting window, Acceleration of each of the plurality of perforated belts included in each of the picking devices, acceleration of the one or more synchronization devices, maximum allowable speed of each of the plurality of perforated belts included in each of the plurality of picking devices A maximum permissible speed of the perforated belt included in the individualization device, a maximum permissible speed of the one or more synchronization devices, a length of each of the plurality of perforated belts included in each of the plurality of picking devices, One or more of the length of the perforated belt, the number of perforated belts, the length of the one or more synchronization devices, and the number of the one or more synchronization devices included in the individualization device Based on the claims The method according to 4.   57. The automatic stack feeder of claim 56, further comprising an anti-rotation device. The anti-rotation device is
Base and
A torsion element connected to the base, disposed in proximity to the perforated belt;
A rotatable member coupled to the torsion element, the rotatable member being rotatable between at least a first position and a second position about an axis extending through a center of the torsion element; ,
A pivot member coupled to the rotatable member and configured to pivot about an axis perpendicular to the base;
With
When the rotatable member is in the first position, the outer surface of the pivot member contacts the perforated belt,
When the rotatable member is in the second position, the torsion element exerts a torque on the swivel member via the rotatable member, and the outer surface of the swivel member is likewise the perforated belt. 77. The automatic stack feeder of claim 76, wherein the automatic stack feeder contacts and exerts a force on the article.   78. The apparatus of claim 77, wherein the torsion element is a helical torsion spring disposed in or around a structural support member connected to the base.   78. The apparatus of claim 77, wherein the rotatable member is configured to transition from the first position toward the second position when a drive belt contacts the article with the pivot member.   78. The apparatus of claim 77, wherein a central axis extends perpendicular to a major axis of the rotatable member.   78. The apparatus of claim 77, wherein the force applied to the article by the pivot member includes a frictional force.   78. The apparatus of claim 77, wherein the pivot member includes a plurality of wheels rotatably disposed on a wheel shaft, the wheel shaft being coupled to the rotatable member. A method of individualizing an article stack while reducing damage to each article,
Moving the article stack forward;
Separating the foremost article from the article stack and accelerating laterally;
Applying a force to the rear face of the foremost article to resist upward movement of the rear face during lateral acceleration of the foremost article;
Including
The method wherein the force is applied to the back surface by a pivot member indirectly coupled to a torsion element.   The force causes a lever arm coupled to the pivot member to rotate from a first position to a second position about an axis extending through the torsion element, thereby causing the torsion element to move relative to the lever arm. 84. The method of claim 83, comprising a frictional force applied by the pivot member when applying torque.

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