A system and an apparatus capable of independently driving movers are described herein. The system and apparatus includes: a track that forms a path for movers; a plurality of movers movably mounted on the track for moving along the path; and a plurality of drive elements fixedly arranged along the track. The drive elements each have a surface that is oriented to contact a driven member of the movers. The drive elements are configured to sequentially engage the driven member of a plurality of the movers to provide controlled independent motion of the movers along the track. The drive elements may be driven by rotary motors. A method of independently driving movers is also described herein.

A system and an apparatus capable of independently driving movers are described herein. The system and apparatus includes: a track that forms a path for movers; a plurality of movers movably mounted on the track for moving along the path; and a plurality of drive elements fixedly arranged along the track. The drive elements each have a surface that is oriented to contact a driven member of the movers. The drive elements are configured to sequentially engage the driven member of a plurality of the movers to provide controlled independent motion of the movers along the track. The drive elements may be driven by rotary motors. A method of independently driving movers is also described herein.

A device and method of adjusting a spacing of holders located on first and second endless loop includes releasing a clutch to allow the endless loops to be adjusted and operating an adjustment assembly to simultaneously move the first endless loop a distance in a first direction and the second endless loop an equal distance in a second direction opposite the first direction. After the adjustment the timing and pitch of the center of articles gripped by the holders is unchanged relative to the system in which the device is located.

A transport trolley for transporting objects for a rail system having at least one rail that has at least three running surfaces, said transport trolley comprising: a base body having an object carrier for receiving at least one object; a roller support which is rotatably supported at the base body and at which at least a first, a second, and a third roller are rotatably supported; and an alignment system having a roller support alignment device for aligning the roller support relative to the base body and having a roller alignment device for a relative alignment of the rollers with respect to one another and/or to the base body.

Conveying equipment with utilization of a conveying traveling body includes a conveying traveling body which includes a plurality of trolleys in a traveling direction and a load bar connecting these trolleys and a friction drive section which is provided in the traveling path of the conveying traveling body. The load bar is provided immediately below a pair of left and right guide rails for supporting and guiding the conveying traveling body, and a friction drive wheel which is pressure-contacted with a side surface of the load bar to propel the conveying traveling body in the friction drive section is arranged below the guide rails.

A loading apparatus for loading food products onto and/or into a slicing apparatus, in particular a high-speed slicer, comprises at least one magazine unit that includes a conveying means that endlessly circulates along a running direction. The conveying means is configured to lift the products to a transferring height at which the products can be transferred to the slicing apparatus and includes several product support surfaces, the product support surfaces being oriented essentially perpendicular to the running direction and positioned subsequently along the running direction with a space between each other. At least one product is loadable onto a respective product support surface for lifting the product to the transferring height.

A system for obtaining a photopolymerized prepolymer for use as a component of a material suitable for manufacturing buildings or building components by 3D printing processes. The system contains a flexible closed loop conveyor stretched between a precursor loading station and a prepolymerization material receiver from which the product is unloaded to a construction 3D printing machine. The conveyor carries a plurality of flexible trays capable of looping around the pulleys of the closed loop conveyor. The trays are shallow troughs that have open tops and carry dosed portions of the precursor, which is photopolymerized on its way from the loading station to the unloading station by sequentially passing under light sources of two photopolymerization stations. When the trays pass through the unloading position, they are turned upside-down and allow the precured material to fall into a receiver.

A system for obtaining a photopolymerized prepolymer for use as a component of a material suitable for manufacturing buildings or building components by 3D printing processes. The system contains a flexible closed loop conveyor stretched between a precursor loading station and a prepolymerization material receiver from which the product is unloaded to a construction 3D printing machine. The conveyor carries a plurality of flexible trays capable of looping around the pulleys of the closed loop conveyor. The trays are shallow troughs that have open tops and carry dosed portions of the precursor, which is photopolymerized on its way from the loading station to the unloading station by sequentially passing under light sources of two photopolymerization stations. When the trays pass through the unloading position, they are turned upside-down and allow the precured material to fall into a receiver.

A bucket elevator adjustable guide system for efficiently transferring and dispensing particulate material from a bucket elevator includes a head housing connected to the bucket elevator, an adjustable guide member disposed therein, an extendable and retractable adjustment member connected to the guide member, a remotely controllable drive unit coupled to the adjustment member, and a remote control. The head housing receives buckets of particulate material to be dispensed from the bucket elevator. The guide member extends in a curved arc over the buckets to engage and guide discharged particulate material into a discharge chute. Remote controls enable the drive unit to be manually or automatically controlled to cause the adjustment member to extend or retract to adjust the position and configuration of the guide member and affect the transfer and dispensing of the particulate material without physically accessing the adjustment member.

The invention relates to a device and a method for controlling a steep conveyor, comprising a control unit (15), a conveyor drive system (5) for driving a conveyor belt (2), and a sensor unit for determining a weight G.sub.1-n of the material to be conveyed (4) assigned to a predetermined section T.sub.1-n of the conveyor belt (2), wherein the sensor unit is adapted to transmit information about the weight to the control unit (15), wherein the control unit (15) is adapted to determine from the information about the weight G.sub.1-n a length L.sub.1-n assigned to the predetermined section T.sub.1-n in a steep conveyor region S of the conveyor belt (2) and to adjust a strain of a drive belt (2) of the conveyor drive system (5) based on the determined lengths L.sub.1-n assigned to the predetermined sections T.sub.1-n.