Article handling apparatus

Claim 1

AN ARTICLE ACCUMULATOR HAVING A LOADING END AND A DISCHARGE END, SAID ACCUMULATOR INCLUDING LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING FRAME MEANS, A PLURALITY OF ROLLER ASSEMBLIES DISPOSED WITHIN SAID FRAME MEANS WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE AXES PARALLEL, SAID ASSEMBLIES BEING LONGITUDINALLY SPACED APART AND COMPRISING AN IDLER PORTION AND A DRIVEN PORTION, A PLURALITY OF SETS OF BELTS FITTED OVER SAID ASSEMBLIES, THE BELTS IN ANY ONE OF SAID SETS BEING WRAPPED AROUND AN IDLER PORTION IN ONE ASSEMBLY AND A DRIVEN PORTION IN AN IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT ASSEMBLY, SEPARATE DRIVE MEANS FOR EACH OF SAID ASSEMBLIES ADAPTED TO ROTATE SAID BELT SETS, AND MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID DRIVE MEANS FOR DETECTING THE PRESENCE OF ARTICLES ON SAID BELTS, SAID DETECTING MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO STOP THEIR ASSOCIATED DRIVE MEANS WHEN SAID ARTICLES ARE DETECTED, AND WHEREIN SAID ASSEMBLIES EACH COMPRISE A SINGLE SHAFT, SAID DRIVE MEANS BEING OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE SHAFT OF EACH ASSEMBLY, DRIVEN PORTIONS ON EACH SHAFT FOR CARRYING INDIVIDUAL BELTS IN ONE BELT SET AND IDLERS INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID DRIVEN PORTIONS IN ALTERNATING FASHION FOR CARRYING AN ADJACENT BELT SET WHEREBY OPERATION OF THE DRIVE MEANS FOR A GIVEN ASSEMBLY WILL MOVE THE BELT SET CARRIED BY SAID DRIVEN PORTION WITHOUT MOVING THE ADJACENT BELT SET CARRIED BY SAID IDLERS.