A pouch-placement machine includes an elevator assembly that receives pouches from one conveyor, lifts them up for presentation to robot arms. The robot arms pick pouches from the elevator assembly and place them into cartons that are on a second conveyor.

A conveyor device for advancing articles adapted to contain a pourable product and having an input station, at which the articles are fed to the conveyor device; an output station, at which the articles exit the conveyor device; a fixed endless track defining an endless path passing through the input station and the output station; and at least one article-holding device movably coupled to the track and configured to receive and support one article at a time and to advance the article along the endless path from the input station to the output station. The endless path comprises a rotation branch arranged downstream of the input station and upstream of the output station, relative to the direction of advancement of the articles along the endless path. Each article is rotatable about its longitudinal axis along the rotation branch by magnetic-inductive interaction between the article-holding device and the track.

A conveyance device has a drive route part wherein conveyance carriages travel at predetermined intervals, which is connected to a storage route part having a drive conveyer chain that supports the conveyance carriages for free travel. The drive route part has a drive conveyer chain including spaced carriage propulsion claw parts. The conveyance carriages have moved pins that horizontally extends in the left/right direction and which are freely detached/re-fitted in the up/down direction with the carriage propulsion claw parts. The conveyance device has a carriage-positioning mechanism which positions a conveyance carriage at a fixed position wherein the moved pin is positioned immediately before a guide ring for a corresponding one of the carriage propulsion claw parts, and has a carriage pushing-out mechanism which pushes out the conveyance carriage positioned at the fixed position, at a timing when the moved pin is fitted to the carriage propulsion claw part.

The invention relates to a transportation system (1) for an installation, in particular a production, packaging, filling, assembly and/or processing installation, comprising a carrier system (2) having a conveying section and having a multiplicity of carrier elements (21), a first drive device (3), wherein the carrier elements (21) have in each case one coupling mechanism by means of which the carrier elements (21) for a movement along the conveying section are capable of being coupled to the first drive device (3), at least one second drive device (4), wherein the carrier elements (21) by means of the coupling mechanism for a movement along the conveying section are capable of being coupled to the at least one second drive device (4), and at least one switching mechanism (5) that is positioned on the conveying section, wherein the coupling mechanisms of the carrier elements (21) by means of the at least one switching mechanism (5) for a movement along the conveying section are capable of being coupled selectively to one of the drive devices (3, 4). The invention furthermore relates to an installation, in particular a production, packaging, filling, assembly and/or processing installation having a transportation system. The invention furthermore relates to a method for transporting carrier elements in an installation, in particular a production, packaging, filling, assembly and/or processing installation.

Embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to systems and methods for emptying and/or cleaning a tray within in an assembly line grow pod. In one embodiment, a sanitizer component for cleaning a tray coupled to a cart in an assembly line grow pod is disclosed. The sanitizer component is coupled to a track such that the cart and the tray are received in the sanitizer component via the track. The sanitizer component comprises a first actuator arm positioned underneath the track and extendable through an opening in the track and an aperture at a bottom end of the cart to contact the tray such that the tray rotates in a first direction. The sanitizer component further includes an actuator motor coupled to the first actuator arm for extending the first actuator arm and a controller. The controller is communicatively connected to the actuator motor in the sanitizer component.

Transmission equipment is provided. The transmission equipment includes a carrier and a transmission rail. The carrier includes at least one carrier guiding structure. The transmission rail includes a first rail, a second rail and a turning unit. The first rail includes at least one first transmission member. The second rail includes at least one second transmission member. The turning unit includes a first guiding slot, a second guiding slot and a turning member. At least one portion of the first guiding slot is parallel to the first rail. At least one portion of the second guiding slot is parallel to the second rail. The turning member moves between a first position and a second position.

Transmission equipment is provided. The transmission equipment includes a carrier and a transmission rail. The carrier includes at least one carrier guiding structure. The transmission rail includes a first rail, a second rail and a turning unit. The first rail includes at least one first transmission member. The second rail includes at least one second transmission member. The turning unit includes a first guiding slot, a second guiding slot and a turning member. At least one portion of the first guiding slot is parallel to the first rail. At least one portion of the second guiding slot is parallel to the second rail. The turning member moves between a first position and a second position.

A conveying system for longitudinally transporting elongate items, including a circulating traction belt and a supporting structure for the circulating traction belt, wherein a plurality of supports are connected by means of at least one traction element to form the circulating traction belt, wherein each of the supports comprises an indentation for supporting the elongate item. Each of the supports is fastened at at least two spaced-apart fastening points to the at least one traction element and the circulating traction belt is mounted, at least in a conveying region of the conveying system, by rollers so as to be movable with respect to the supporting structure.

Embodiments of product handling systems facilitate transfer of individual product items from incoming bulk form into dedicated trays for inspection, sorting, selection, and packaging. Inspection may comprise interrogation of product items within a tray by electromagnetic (e.g., optical, hyperspectral) or other (e.g., physical, acoustic, gas sensing, etc.) techniques. Prior to packaging, product items disposed within the tray may be stored in a moveable carousel responsible for controlling environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, illumination, ambient gases, product-to-product interactions, and/or others. Movement of product items from a carousel's transfer station to an outside staging position may be accomplished using robots and/or conveyor belts. Embodiments may allow rapid, low-cost consumer selection of specific individual product items based upon their accompanying metadata (e.g., source, identifier), in combination with the results of inspection (e.g., visual appearance). Embodiments may receive product items pre-packaged in tray format to expedite inspection, sorting, selection, and packaging.

In one example in accordance with the present disclosure an object transportation device is described. The device includes a continuous belt having an inner surface and an outer surface. The inner surface interacts with a belt transport system. The device also includes a number of attachment devices disposed on the outer surface of the belt. An object attaches to the belt via an attachment device. An attachment device includes two angled protrusions extending from the outer surface from a common joint.