US Patent 11180321 Conveyor

A conveyor includes a first conveyor belt with a first surface along which an article is conveyed in a conveyance direction from an upstream end to a downstream end, The first surface has an upstream end and a downstream end along the conveyance direction. A second conveyor belt is directly downstream of the first conveyor belt in the conveyance direction and has a second surface along which the article is conveyed in the conveyance direction from an upstream end to a downstream end. The downstream end of the first surface is at a height greater than the upstream end of the second surface. A first reading unit is positioned to read a symbol on the article through a gap left between the first and second conveyor belts.