US 12,358,732 B2
Product conveyor systems and methods of controlling conveyor systems
Willie Montgomery, III, Rogers, AR (US); Charls Christo Irus Antony, Bentonville, AR (US); Nathan A. Waits, Gentry, AR (US); Zhuofei Li, Bentonville, AR (US); Yu Wang, Beijing (CN); and Manoj Krishna, Bentonville, AR (US)
Assigned to Walmart Apollo, LLC, Bentonville, AR (US)
Filed by Walmart Apollo, LLC, Bentonville, AR (US)
Filed on Jun. 3, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/732,385.
Application 18/732,385 is a continuation of application No. 17/188,702, filed on Mar. 1, 2021, granted, now 12,012,292.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/984,226, filed on Mar. 2, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2024/0317509 A1, Sep. 26, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. B65G 47/72 (2006.01); B65G 67/08 (2006.01); G06Q 10/0835 (2023.01)
CPC B65G 47/72 (2013.01) [B65G 67/08 (2013.01); G06Q 10/08355 (2013.01); B65G 2203/0216 (2013.01); B65G 2203/0233 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A product distribution conveyor system of a product distribution facility, wherein the product distribution conveyor system comprises:
a conveyor control circuit;
a plurality of conveyor lane systems configured to receive one or more products of a plurality of products intended to be distributed; and
a plurality of routing systems positioned relative to one or more of the plurality of conveyor lane systems and further communicatively coupled with the conveyor control circuit;
wherein the conveyor control circuit is configured to control one or more of the plurality of routing systems in controlling movement of each of the plurality of products onto an appropriate conveyor lane system, of the plurality of conveyor lane systems; and
wherein the conveyor control circuit is further configured to control throughput comprising associating each of the plurality of conveyor lane systems with at least one of a plurality of retail stores in attempting to balance over a period of time a distribution of a total volume of the plurality of products over the plurality of conveyor lane systems comprising organizationally subdividing the plurality of conveyor lane systems to define a plurality of lane subdivisions each comprising a subsets of multiple conveyor lane systems, of the plurality of conveyor lane systems, in attempting to minimize deviations of subdivision volumes of products moved through each of the plurality of lane subdivisions.