SORTING
Sortation of material is accomplished through a unique conveyor method. It utilizes a patented technology called Activated Roller™ Belt (ARB) to divert material to one side of the conveyor line. This technology allows us to design larger AMH systems that follow along walls and not into the center of a room. Planning systems in this manner consumes much less precious floor space. ARB belting also means our conveyors do NOT use bands or belts to move material. As a result, little maintenance is required and frequent replacement of warn-out parts is non-existent. Finally, the sort conveyor’s size and engineering afford long-term durability with reliable day-to-day operation. Sortation systems start at 4-zones and are scalable up to any number of sorts desired; technicians can add or remove sections in single increments of 24 inches per zone.
Located in Ottawa Public Library, this 4-zone sort system utilizes as rotating conveyor to deposit items forward or backward into the designated bin using RFID technology.
Utilizing this style of sorter and belting means NO worrying about books jamming in bands or material getting pinched between rollers.
Pueblo City/County Library District like the concept so much it has two 4-zone sort systems, one at Lamb Library and another at it's Barkman branch. PCCLD successfully implemented RFID district wide in 2012.
In many system lay-outs, we can double back the sorter on the separation conveyors to conserve floor space. Staff appreciate the fact the rest of the workroom can be organized to accommodate desk and storage space
All our large sorting conveyors direct material off into bins positioned on the same side. This design concept allows systems to follow along outer walls, thereby eating up less usable workroom space.
Pictured is a close-up view of the Sorter Conveyor Belt. It is composed of individual interlocking plastic pieces. Each piece has roller ball situated inside that sits at an angle to the path the belt travels. When an item reaches its sort zone, an actuator rises up to spin the ball and push the item down the transition into the bin.