Various embodiments are directed to a conveyor assembly and method of using the same. In various embodiments, a conveyor assembly may comprise a plurality of rollers defining a conveyor section configured for transporting one or more objects disposed thereon along a transportation path, wherein the plurality of rollers comprises a drive roller, the drive roller being selectively configurable between a first operating condition and a second operating condition; and a controller configured to generate one or more control signals to control the drive roller; wherein the conveyor section is selectively configurable between a single-zone configuration and a dual-zone configuration based on the configuration of the drive roller in one of the first operating condition and the second operating condition, the dual-zone configuration being defined by the drive roller selectively driving operation of a first conveyor zone and a second conveyor zone defined within the conveyor section independently of one another.

An order processing system includes a plurality of robotic devices, a set of storage systems, an order consolidation system, and a control server. The control server receives a set of orders for an item, determines a cumulative order quantity of the item, and selects a subset of the set of orders to be opened up for consolidation at the order consolidation system. The control server identifies one the storage systems that stores the item as per the cumulative order quantity and assigns the storage system to an operator station for batch picking of the cumulative order quantity. The control server controls a first robotic device to transport the storage system to the operator station, and a second robotic device to collect from the operator station a first portion of the cumulative order quantity and transfer the first portion to a set of order bins associated with the subset of orders.

A system and method for controlling movement of transporting devices arranged to transport containers, the containers being stored in stacks arranged in a facility. A facility having pathways arranged in a grid-like structure above stacks, the transporting devices being configured to operate on the grid-like structure. A control unit configured to determine at least one task to be performed by at least one transporting device, wherein the at least one task is determined based on at least one of: transporting device battery condition, transporting device damage, transporting device maintenance issues, and transporting device service issues.

A method for transporting inventory items includes moving a mobile drive unit to a first point within a workspace. The first point is a location of an inventory holder. The method further includes docking the mobile drive unit with the inventory holder and moving the mobile drive unit and the inventory holder to a second point within the workspace. The second point is associated with conveyance equipment. The method further includes moving the inventory holder to a third point within the workspace using the conveyance equipment.

Disclosed is a method for managing a main module of a production line, with the main module being equipped with a thermal unit that operates in production at a setpoint temperature, method in which during production, when there is a break in production continuity at the main module, the temperature of thermal unit is lowered, and then their temperature is reset until the setpoint temperature is reached. Advantageously, at least data from a past event including at least one temperature rise time of thermal unit from a first temperature to a second temperature is recorded, and based on the data, the temperature of thermal unit is adapted automatically to reach the setpoint temperature, at the latest when the production continuity resumes at the main module. Also disclosed is a corresponding management device.

Devices, systems and methods are provided for monitoring a plurality of articles that are arranged on a support surface according to an article arrangement modeled with a first processing device. One of the methods includes receiving image data generated from the modeled article arrangement. The image data is received by a second processing device, and is indicative of an image of the arranged articles on the support surface. The received image data is used to inspect the arranged articles.

In some embodiments, methods and systems are provided that include interconnected conveyors including multiple sensors configured to detect identifying characteristics and physical characteristics of the products traveling on the conveyors. The product-associated information that is detected by the sensors is analyzed relative to predefined product-associated identifying characteristics and physical characteristics stored in a database, and an error signal is generated if the actual, sensor-obtained product identifying characteristics and/or physical characteristics, do not correspond to the predefined, database-stored product identifying characteristics and/or physical characteristics.

A substrate processing apparatus includes a plurality of arms used for transferring a substrate, a plurality of processing sections for processing the substrate, a recipe storage section storing at least one recipe for designating at least one of the plurality of arms as a usable arm and at least one of the plurality of processing sections as a usable processing section and for specifying processing conditions in the usable processing section, and a control unit for, according to the at least one recipe, controlling the plurality of arms and the plurality of processing sections so that a substrate is transferred using the usable arm and is processed in the usable processing section under the processing conditions.

The disclosure relates to the control of a printed product processing system, which comprises a collecting system having a conveyer and a plurality of feed conveyers for creating product collections from products fed by the feed conveyers, occupancy plans are generated and stored which specify, for the feed conveyers, in each case a chronological sequence of the products to be fed by the feed conveyer to the conveyer to create the product collections. On the basis of the occupancy plans, for the feed conveyers, in each case one product to be fed is determined and transmitted to mobile transport devices. The occupancy plans enable the operating personnel to announce early and in good time which products the feed conveyers are to be occupied with and which must for this purpose be supplied thereto on pallets.

The invention relates to a method for bundling conveyed streams on a material handling element (Ka . . . Kz, K1 . . . K34) comprising a number of incoming conveyor segments (1a, 1b), at least one coupling (2) to an outgoing conveyor segment (3), on which the incoming conveyor segments (1a, 1b) converge, and a number of holding devices (4a, 4b) for holding a conveyed stream on the incoming conveyor segments (1a, 1b). In a first step the conveyed objects (17) are vectorially combined in in ascending/descending order according to a desired sorting sequence. When a conveyed object (17) passes the material handling element (Ka . . . Kz, K1 . . . K34) a vector corresponding to the actual sequence is entered in the vector combination. Conveyed objects (17) are released if a ring with a constant direction is avoided in the vector combination. The invention further relates to a material handling element (Ka . . . Kz, K1 . . . K34) for carrying out said method.