阅读说明：本技术 由无刷直流电机驱动的托盘输送机 (Tray conveyor driven by brushless direct current motor ) 是由 B·G·拉根 于 2018-04-03 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种输送机,用于输送支撑在独立供电且可控的托盘上的物品。每个托盘包括悬挂在物品支撑平台上的叶片。一系列驱动线圈嵌入叶片中。嵌入托盘中的电池和控制器驱动该驱动线圈。叶片架设在支撑托盘平台的两个输送机轨道之间的槽中。沿每个轨道由永磁体阵列来界定该槽。驱动线圈产生电磁场,该电磁场与槽中的永磁场相互作用以形成沿轨道推进该托盘的无刷直流电机。(A conveyor for conveying articles supported on independently powered and controllable trays. Each tray includes a blade suspended from an item support platform. A series of drive coils are embedded in the blades. A battery and controller embedded in the tray drive the drive coil. The vanes ride in slots between two conveyor tracks supporting a tray platform. The slot is defined along each track by an array of permanent magnets. The drive coil generates an electromagnetic field that interacts with the permanent magnetic field in the slot to form a brushless dc motor that propels the tray along the track.)

1. A conveyor, comprising:

a track having an array of permanent magnets extending along a length of the track to form a permanent magnet stator;

a tray supported on the track and having a top article-supporting surface and a series of commutation drive coils that act as movers in cooperation with the permanent magnet stators to form a brushless linear dc motor to propel the tray along the track.

2. The conveyor of claim 1, comprising:

a pallet conveyor segment extending in a conveying direction from a first end to a second end and comprising:

a pair of said tracks closely spaced and separated by a slot and having a top, each said track comprising an array of permanent magnets such that: which generates a magnetic field across the slot;

wherein the tray includes:

a platform forming the top article-supporting surface and a bottom surface supported on the top of the track;

a paddle extending downwardly from the bottom surface and in the conveying direction to ride in the slot and receive the series of commutation drive coils;

a tray controller that drives the drive coil to generate a traveling electromagnetic wave that interacts with the magnetic field to propel the tray in the conveyance direction.

3. The conveyor of claim 2, wherein the drive coils are three-phase coils through which the tray controller commutates current to form the brushless linear dc motor with the array of permanent magnets in the track.

4. A conveyor as in claim 3 wherein the tray includes sensors in the blades for sensing the magnitude of the magnetic field and sending sensor signals to the tray controller to commutate the current.

5. The conveyor of claim 1, wherein the drive coil has a non-ferrous core.

6. The conveyor of claim 2, wherein the tray includes a battery that powers the tray controller and a series of drive coils.

7. The conveyor of claim 2, further comprising a primary conductor loop external to the tray and extending in the conveying direction along the length of the track, and wherein the tray further comprises a secondary coil inductively coupled to the primary conductor loop to provide power to the tray over the length of the track.

8. The conveyor of claim 7, wherein the tray includes a battery that powers the tray controller and the series of drive coils, and wherein the battery is recharged by the secondary coil.

9. A conveyor as in claim 7 wherein the tray includes a battery and a switch for connecting between powering the tray controller by the battery when power is supplied to the tray controller by the secondary coil or when power from the secondary coil is lost.

10. A conveyor as in claim 7 further comprising a primary capacitor connected to the primary conductor loop at spaced apart locations along the length of the primary conductor loop and wherein the tray comprises a secondary capacitor connected to the secondary coil and wherein the primary conductor loop and the secondary coil are tuned for transferring electrical resonance to the tray.

11. The conveyor of claim 7, further comprising a second primary conductor loop extending in the conveying direction along the length of the track on an opposite side and outside of the tray, and wherein the tray further comprises a second secondary coil inductively coupled to the second primary conductor loop.

12. The conveyor of claim 11, wherein the track has a laterally outward extension in which the primary and second primary conductor loops are embedded and which supports the platform below the secondary and second secondary coils.

13. The conveyor of claim 7, wherein the primary conductor loop comprises a first conductor segment in one of the tracks connected to a second conductor segment in another of the tracks, and wherein the secondary coil is located at a center of the tray.

14. A conveyor as in claim 2 wherein the slot widens at the top of the track.

15. A conveyor as in claim 2 wherein the top of the track is convexly curved.

16. The conveyor of claim 2, further comprising a rail base engaging the rail and forming a closed end of the trough, and a series of individual legs extending downward from the base to mount the conveyor to a floor.

17. The conveyor of claim 2, wherein the tray further comprises an antenna for wirelessly communicating with the tray controller.

18. The conveyor of claim 2, further comprising:

a pallet conveyor section similar to the pallet conveyor section but arranged with a pallet track and a pallet slot perpendicular to and diagonal below the track and slot of the pallet conveyor section;

a carrier, comprising:

a carriage platform supported on the top of the carriage rail;

a bracket blade extending downward from the bracket platform to ride in the bracket slot;

a series of carrier drive coils in the carrier blades;

a pair of closely spaced transfer rails separated by transfer slots and extending upwardly from said carrier deck to a top level with said top of said rails in said pallet conveyor section to receive or discharge pallets from or to said pallet conveyor section;

a carriage controller that drives the carriage drive coil to generate a traveling electromagnetic wave that interacts with the magnetic field in the carriage slot to advance the carriage in a lateral direction along the carriage conveyor segment from a first position where the conveyance track is aligned with the track of the pallet conveyor segment to a second position where the conveyance track is laterally offset from the track of the pallet conveyor segment.

19. A conveyor as in claim 18 comprising a plurality of the pallet conveyor segments arranged in parallel on the same or opposite sides of the pallet conveyor segments such that the pallet can receive the pallet from one of the pallet conveyor segments and unload the pallet to another of the pallet conveyor segments.

20. The conveyor of claim 2, further comprising:

a plurality of said pallet conveyor segments, wherein a first one of said pallet conveyor segments extends obliquely across a gap from a first end of a second one of said pallet conveyor segments;

a diverter carriage segment having a cylindrical diverter base containing a ring of permanent magnets that create a magnetic field around the periphery of the diverter base;

a diverter bracket comprising:

a diverter carriage platform supported on the diverter base and having side skirts extending downwardly around the periphery of the diverter base;

a series of diverter carriage drive coils in each of the side skirts;

a pair of closely spaced transfer rails separated by diverter slots and extending upwardly from the diverter carriage platform to a top level with the top of the rails in the first and second pallet conveyor sections to receive or discharge pallets from or to the pallet conveyor sections;

a diverter carriage controller that drives the diverter carriage drive coil to generate traveling electromagnetic waves that interact with the magnetic field around the diverter base to rotate the diverter from a first position at which the diverter track is aligned with the track of the first one of the pallet conveyor sections to a second position at which the diverter track is aligned with the second one of the pallet conveyor sections.

21. The conveyor of claim 2, further comprising a washing machine, the washing machine comprising:

a blade mounted in the slot;

a series of washer coils housed in the blades;

a washer controller that drives the washer coil to generate a traveling electromagnetic wave that interacts with the magnetic field to propel the pallet along the pallet conveyor section;

a supply part for the washing liquid;

a spray nozzle that sprays the cleaning solution onto the track.

22. The conveyor of claim 21, wherein the washing machine further comprises a rotary scrubbing brush mounted in the trough and along an outside of the track to scrub the track.

23. A conveyor, comprising:

a tray, comprising:

a top item support surface;

a series of drive coils;

a tray controller;

a power supply to supply power to the tray controller to commutate the current in the series of drive coils;

a track supporting the tray and having an array of permanent magnets extending along a length of the track;

wherein the array of permanent magnets and the drive coils in the tray form a brushless linear direct current motor to propel the tray along the track.

24. A conveyor as in claim 23 wherein the power source comprises a battery in the tray.

25. The conveyor of claim 23, wherein the track includes an ac power source and a primary conductor loop powered by the ac power source, and wherein the power source in the tray includes a secondary coil inductively coupled to the primary conductor loop to deliver power to the tray.

26. A conveyor tray comprising:

a platform having a first end and a second end defining a length of the tray, a top item support surface, and a bottom surface extending from the first end to the second end;

a blade extending from the first end to the second end downward from the bottom surface;

a series of drive coils in the blade;

a tray controller that drives the driving coil; and

a power supply to power the tray controller and the drive coil.

27. The conveyor tray of claim 26, wherein the power source comprises a battery that powers the tray controller and the series of drive coils.

28. A conveyor tray as in claim 26 wherein the power source in the tray comprises a secondary coil that inductively couples power to the tray from an external source.

29. The conveyor of claim 28, wherein the tray includes a battery that powers the tray controller and the series of drive coils, and wherein the battery is recharged by the secondary coil.

30. A conveyor as in claim 28 wherein the tray includes a battery and a switch for switching between powering the tray controller by the secondary coil and powering the controller by the battery when power from the secondary coil is lost.

31. A conveyor as in claim 28 further comprising a secondary capacitor connected to the secondary coil and wherein the secondary capacitor and the secondary coil are tuned for resonating transfer of power from the external source to the pallet.

32. The conveyor tray of claim 26, wherein the drive coil is a three-phase coil and the tray controller commutates current through the three-phase coil.

33. The conveyor of claim 26, wherein the drive coil has a non-ferrous core.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to electrically driven conveyors and, more particularly, to conveyors (coveyors) in which trays (tray) are independently driven by brushless dc motors.

Background

Conventional conveyor systems, such as those that convey articles on flat belts, modular belts or chains, powered or gravity rollers, provide a number of harborages for pathogens and other contaminants. Motors, gearboxes, roller bearings, shafts, pulleys and sprockets can collect food particles and grease and require periodic cleaning. In food applications, all conveyor components must meet stringent food use standards. Furthermore, conventional conveyors require a significant amount of electrical infrastructure for power and control. Cabling and connections add an additional harborage for contaminants.

Disclosure of Invention

A conveyor embodying features of the invention includes a track having an array of permanent magnets extending along a length of the track to form a permanent magnet stator, and a tray supported on the track. The track has a top item support surface and a series of commutated drive coils (coils) as forcers which together with the permanent magnet stators form a brushless linear dc motor to propel the tray along the track.

Another conveyor embodying features of the invention includes a pallet supported on a track. The tray has a top article-supporting surface, a series of drive coils, a tray controller, and a power supply that supplies power to the tray controller to commutate current in the series of drive coils. The track has an array of permanent magnets extending along its length. The array of permanent magnets and the drive coils in the tray form a brushless linear dc motor to propel the tray along the track.

In another aspect, a conveyor tray embodying features of the invention includes a platform having first and second ends defining a tray length, a top article-supporting surface, and a bottom surface extending from the first end to the second end. A blade (blade) extends downwardly from the bottom surface from a first end to a second end and houses a series of drive coils. A tray controller drives the drive coil, and a power supply supplies power to the tray controller and the drive coil.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a portion of a pallet conveyor embodying features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the pallet conveyor as viewed along line II-II in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the pallet conveyor as viewed along line III-III in fig. 1, with the inner walls of the support rails cut away to expose the permanent magnet arrays.

Fig. 4 is an isometric view of a tray that may be used with the conveyor of fig. 1, with the tray body shown in phantom.

Fig. 5 is an isometric view of a portion of another version of the conveyor shown in fig. 1 having conductor loops along both sides for inductively coupling power to the pallet.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the conveyor of fig. 5, as viewed along line VI-VI in fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a version of the electrical system for a conveyor shown in fig. 5 or fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is an isometric view of a pallet carrier that may be used with the conveyor shown in fig. 1 or 5.

Fig. 9A-9C are sequential isometric views of one end of a conveyor as shown in fig. 5 using the pallet carriage shown in fig. 8 to form an endless conveyor.

Fig. 10 is an isometric view of the tray washer (washer) for the conveyor shown in fig. 1 or 5.

Fig. 11 is an isometric view of the pallet carrier shown in fig. 8 for transferring pallets from one conveyor segment (conveyor segment) to another conveyor segment.

Fig. 12A-12C are sequential isometric views of the pallet diverter segment for a conveyor shown in fig. 1 or 5.

Fig. 13 is an isometric view of a track washer (scrubber) on the conveyor shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 14 is an isometric view of a portion of another version of the conveyor shown in fig. 1, with the conductor loop shared by both sides for inductively coupling power to the pallet through a single secondary coil in the pallet.

Detailed Description

A portion of a conveyor embodying features of the invention is shown in fig. 1. The conveyor section 20 is made up of a series of pallet conveyor sections 22 that are joined end to end at a junction joint 24 to achieve a smooth transition. As also shown in fig. 2, each pallet conveyor section 22 includes a pair of closely spaced rails 26, 27, the rails 26, 27 having convexly rounded tops 28, 29 and bottoms joined by a rail base 30, from which a single leg 32 extends downwardly from the rail base 30 for mounting to the floor. A narrow slot 34 separates the two tracks 26, 27. The tray 36 has a platform 38 with a top item support surface 40 and an opposing bottom surface 41 supported on the tops 28, 29 of the tracks 26, 27. Vanes 42 extend downwardly from a bottom surface 41 of tray 36 into slots 34. The tray 36 and the centrally located blade 42 in the present example are shown forming a T in vertical cross-section. The linear permanent magnet arrays 44 in each track 26, 27 generate a magnetic field that passes through the slots 34 and the tray blades 42. The magnitude and direction of the static magnetic field varies periodically along the length of the slot 34. A forcer coil (not shown in fig. 1) in the pallet blades 42 generates a varying electromagnetic field that interacts with the magnetic field generated by the linear permanent magnet array in the track to produce a force in the conveying direction 46 that propels the pallet 36 along the conveyor.

As shown in fig. 2, the slot 34 above the leg 32 extends upwardly from a lower blind end 48 formed by the rail base 30 to a top opening 50, the top opening 50 widening at the top 28, 29 of the rails 26, 27. Elsewhere, the slot 34 is open at both the top and bottom. As shown in fig. 3, the linear permanent magnet array 44 is embedded in the track 27 near an inner wall 52 of the track that defines the slot 34. To increase the magnetic field strength in the slot 34, the permanent magnets 44 are shown arranged to form a Halbach array. The magnitude and direction of the static magnetic field across the slot 34 in the transport direction 46 varies spatially.

As shown in fig. 4, a series of mover drive coils 54 are housed in the tray blades 42. The coils 54 are arranged in an alternating three-phase pattern (alternating three-phase pattern) along the length of the blade 42. A tray controller 56 housed in the tray 36 electronically commutates the current through the three-phase coil 54 to generate an electromagnetic field that travels along the blades 42 and interacts with the static magnetic field in the slots. The controller 56 and the auxiliary components are mounted on a circuit board 57. The core of the coil 54 is ironless to avoid attracting the track magnets and increasing friction. Thus, the drive coil 54 forms a brushless linear dc motor having an array of permanent magnets in the track. The array of permanent magnets forms the stator of the motor and the cooperating pallet coils 54 form the mover of the motor.

A battery 58, comprised of one or more battery cells (cells) 60, powers the controller 56 and provides a commutation current to the coil 54. No wiring is required in the pallet conveyor section since the permanent magnets are located in the track and the pallets are powered by batteries. The tray section is completely passive. An optional charging coil 62 in one or both sides of the tray 36 may be used to recharge the battery 58. Alternatively, the charging coil 62 may be used to couple power to the tray 36 to power the controller 56 and the mover coils 54. In this alternative mode of operation, in which a primary power source (primary power) is inductively coupled to the tray 36 through the charging coil 62, the battery 58 may be used as a secondary power source when an external power source is not available for the charging coil. Thus, the battery 58 or charging coil 62 may be used as an in-tray power source. The charging coil 62 may trickle charge the battery 58 when the primary external power source is active. A tuning capacitor 64 connected in parallel with the charging coil 62 may be used to tune the charging coil and capacitor circuit to the resonant frequency of the external charging waveform to improve the efficiency of the inductive power (induced power) transferred to the tray 36. As a third alternative, the battery 58 may be non-rechargeable and serve as a dedicated power source. In this case, the charging coil 62 and the tuning capacitor 64 would not be necessary. If the battery 58 is not rechargeable, the battery 58 may be replaced by an end cap (66, FIG. 2), or the entire tray may be disposable.

One or more active conveyor segments 68, as in fig. 5 and 6, are used when the charging coil 62 is used to charge the battery 58 or as part of the main power supply. Two closely spaced rails 70, 71 define a slot 72 to receive and guide the vanes 42 of the tray 36. The rails 70, 71 each have a lateral extension 74, 75 with a flat top 76, 77 that supports the tray 36. A primary conductor loop 78, powered by an ac power source (not shown), extends along the length of the active conveyor section 68 in each track extension 74, 75. The primary conductor loop 78 is mounted in an E-core 80. The conductor loop is for example a low-loss wire (e.g. litz wire). Primary tuning capacitors (not shown) are distributed on the loop along the length of the tracks 70, 71 to provide efficient high Q inductive power transfer to the secondary charging coil 62 in the tray 36. The majority of the conveyor may be made up of an active segment 68 as shown in fig. 5 or a combination of active and passive segments 22 as shown in fig. 1. For example, a conveyor having a main carrier path run (along which items are conveyed) and a return run (return run) may have a passive section on the carrier path run and an active inductive power transfer section on the return to recharge the battery. In another alternative, the active pallet section has a primary conductive loop on only one side. In this case, the tray with the secondary charging coil and the tuning capacitor can be manufactured on only one side.

Another tray charging or powering device is shown in fig. 14. In this version, the tray 180 has a single centrally located charging coil 62 connected in parallel with two tuning capacitors 64. Although two tuning capacitors 64 are shown, a single tuning capacitor may alternatively be used. In this version, the primary conductor loop is formed by connecting the left conductor segment 182 in the left track 184 to the right conductor segment 183 in the right track 185. The annular primary conductor loop is tuned to resonate with one or more tuning capacitors (not shown) and is powered by an alternating current power source (not shown). This version can be used with rails without lateral rail extensions.

One version of the electrical schematic block diagram of the conveyor shown in fig. 1 or 5 is shown in fig. 7. The tray controller 56 in this example is powered by an external ac power supply 82 or battery 58. When external source 82 is available, its power is coupled from primary conductive loop 78 to secondary charging coil 62, which is inductively coupled to the tray. The tuning capacitors 84 and the tray tuning capacitors 64 distributed along the length of the loop 78 tune the primary and secondary circuits to resonate at the frequency of the ac power source 82 to maximize power transfer. The secondary ac voltage is converted to dc by a rectifier or ac-dc converter 86, the output of which is diode or' ed with a battery voltage 92 via a diode 94 to produce a dc supply voltage 88 for powering the tray. Typically, the external source voltage will exceed the battery voltage 92 and power the tray controller 56 and other active devices in the tray. When the external source voltage drops below the battery voltage 92, the battery 58 is turned on to power the tray. When the external voltage exceeds the battery voltage 92, it charges the battery 58 through the charging element 96. The diode or device constitutes a basic switch that switches between the external power supply of the tray and the battery power supply. One example of an alternative switch for switching from an external power source to a battery power source includes an electromechanical switch or an electronic switch that connects the tray's dc supply voltage 88 to the battery voltage 92 from an external dc voltage when the external power source is too low. A low voltage detector sensing the input ac voltage or its rectified dc voltage sends a low voltage signal to the switch to battery power.

A series of magnetic field sensors 98, such as hall effect sensors periodically positioned along the length of the tray blade 42 (fig. 4), determine the position of the tray coil 54 relative to the positive and negative peaks of the magnetic field. The sensor signal 99 is sent to the controller 56, and the controller 56 includes a commutator 100. The commutator 100 is a software routine that runs in a program memory of the controller 56 (e.g., a microcomputer or microcontroller). Commutator 100 produces three output signals 104 that are properly phased as determined by sensor signals 99 to control the current through three-phase mover coils 54. The three output signals 104 are amplified by amplifier 102, and amplifier 102 provides the commutated current waveform to mover coils 54 to drive the pallet.

The tray controller 56 in each tray communicates with a conveyor controller 106 outside the tray. The transmitter-receiver 108 on the tray circuit board 57 is wirelessly connected to the external transmitter-receiver 109 through the antennas 110, 111, and the external transmitter-receiver 109 is connected to the system controller 106. The system controller 106 sends command and data requests to the tray controller 56 and receives data from the tray controller over a wireless link. As one example, the tray antenna 110 is shown in fig. 4 as a dipole embedded in the tray platform 38 along one end of the tray 36.

A pallet carrier 112 for transferring pallets from one conveyor segment to another is shown in fig. 8. The carriage 112 is identical to the previously described tray, but has a pair of passive transport tracks 114, 115 mounted on a top surface 116. Similar to the pallet tracks 26, 27 in fig. 2, the transfer tracks 114, 115 have an array of permanent magnets disposed along their length. The narrow slot 118 between the transfer rails 114, 115 extends over a length perpendicular to the plane of the carrier blade 120.

Fig. 9A-9C illustrate how the carriage 112 transfers pallets from one conveyor segment 68 to another conveyor segment 68'. The pallets 36 advancing along the first conveyor segments 68 at the end of the first conveyor run are received on the transfer rails 114, 115 of the carriage 112. The carriages 112 are supported on carriage conveyor segments 122, which carriage conveyor segments 122 extend perpendicular to the plane of the slots 72 in the first and second conveyor segments 68, 68'. The carrier conveyor section 122 is lower than the height of the pallet conveyor sections 68, 68' so that the transfer rails 114, 115 are at the same level as the pallet conveyor rails 70, 71. In this manner, the transfer rails 114, 115 and transfer slots 118 may be aligned with the tray coils 70, 71 and tray slots 72 on the first tray conveyor segment 68 to smoothly receive the trays 36, as shown in fig. 9A. Once the tray 36 is fully seated on the bracket 112, the tray 36 will stop on its own. The carriage 112 energizes its drive coil and propels itself and the tray 36 laterally along the carriage conveyor section 122 in the transverse direction 116 as shown in fig. 9B. Similar to the pallet conveyor section, the carrier conveyor section 122 has permanent magnet carrier rails 124, 125 and carrier slots 126. The carrier section 122 has legs 118 that are shorter than the legs of the pallet conveyor section to position the top surface 128 of the carrier section 122 perpendicular to and diagonal below the tops 76, 77 of the conveyor sections 68, 68'. As shown in fig. 9C, when the carriage 112 reaches a position where its transfer rails 114, 115 are aligned with the tray rails 70, 71 of the second tray conveyor segment 68', the carriage 112 stops and the tray 36 energizes itself to exit the transfer rails 114, 115 and advance onto the aligned conveyor segment rails 70, 71 on the second conveyor segment 68'. By having identical carrier conveyor sections at opposite ends of the two tray conveyor sections, an endless tray conveyor is formed. The carriage 112 then translates back to the first conveyor section 68 to receive the next pallet.

The tray washer 130 is shown covering a portion of the return stroke 132 in the endless conveyor configuration 134 in fig. 10. At one end of the endless conveyor 134 is shown a carrier conveyor segment 122 for conveying the pallet 36 from the load path run 133 to the return run 132. The tray washer 130 includes spray nozzles and brushes to clean, rinse, disinfect, and dry the tray 36.

As shown in fig. 11, the carrier conveyor section 122 may be used to transfer trays 36 between multiple conveyor sections 136A, 136B, 136C, 136D. The four tray conveyor sections are arranged parallel to each other with two on each side of the gap 138 across which gap 138 the carriage 112 translates perpendicular to the tray conveyor sections 136A-D.

The conveyor configuration of fig. 12A-12C has two aligned tray conveyor segments 140A, 140B spanning a gap 142. The third pallet conveyor section 140C extends obliquely away from the gap 142. The obliquely oriented conveyor segment 140C constitutes a diverted path for the pallet 36 away from the straight-through path on the in-line conveyor segment 140B. The diverter bracket segment 141 includes a diverter bracket 144 that resides in the gap 142. Diverter rails 146, 147 with embedded permanent magnet arrays are selectively aligned with the rails of the in-line pallet conveyor sections 140A, 140B or the inclined pallet conveyor section 140C. The diverter carriage 144 includes a post 148 extending downwardly from the rails 146, 147 to a diverter carriage platform 150, the post 148 being supported on a cylindrical diverter base 152. The pedestal 152 houses a ring of permanent magnets that generate a magnetic field directed radially from the periphery of the pedestal. The diverter carriage platform 150 has a side skirt 154, the side skirt 154 extending downwardly around the periphery of the diverter base 152. A diverter carriage drive coil (not shown) in the skirt, driven by a diverter controller (not shown) in the diverter carriage 144, generates an electromagnetic field that interacts with the permanent magnet field of the base 152 to rotate the diverter carriage 144 between an in-line tray-passing position, as shown in fig. 12A and 12B, and a tilt tray-diverting position, as shown in fig. 12C. The diverter carriage segment 141 can be used to merge products from tray segments 140B, 140C onto tray segment 140A as tray 36 advances opposite the direction of the arrows in fig. 12C.

A track washer 160 that cleans the tray conveyor section 162 is shown in fig. 13. The washing machine 160 has a housing 164 containing water, detergent and sanitizer tanks (not shown). The housing 164 is mounted on a base (not shown), such as a conveyor tray, having drive coil blades that fit in a slot 166 between two rails 168, 169 and propel the washing machine 160 along the conveyor section 162. One or more nozzles 170 spray water, cleaning or sanitizing agents onto the rails 168, 169. The outer rotating brush 172 and the inner rotating brush 173 are mounted on a shaft 174, which shaft 174 is held at its ends by arms 176 attached to the washer housing 164. The outer rotating brush 172 has bristles at least on the inner side to scrub the outer sides of the tracks 168, 169. An inner brush 173 rides in the channel 166 and has bristles on both sides to scrub the inner walls of the tracks 168, 69.