Embodiments herein describe a control system that determines a location of an item on a first conveyor belt which affects the transfer of the item from the first conveyor belt onto a second conveyor belt. The control system includes a distance sensor which determines a location of the item on the first conveyor (or a location of the item on a queue belt that provides the item to the first conveyor). Using the distance sensor, the control system can identify the offset of the item relative to the center of the first conveyor belt. The control system can then control the time at which the item transfers from the first conveyor belt to the second conveyor belt by, for example, speeding up or slow down the first conveyor belt to compensate for the offset or adjusting an induct time.

Methods and apparatus for shutting down a conveyor when an article moves past a discharge point are provided. A shutdown device includes a contact member disposed in a spaced relationship with a discharge end of a conveyor comprising a conveyor belt, wherein the contact member extends substantially across a width of the conveyor belt, wherein the contact member is positionable between a first position and a second position, a force regulator coupled to the contact member configured to set a minimum threshold force for moving the contact member from the first position to the second position, and a switch operably connected to the contact member, wherein the contact member causes the switch to toggle the conveyor between an operating mode when the contact member is in the first position and a shutdown mode when the contact member is in the second position.

Disclosed is a production system for spectacle lenses made from spectacle lens blanks, having a left-hand outer transport track, multiple left-hand processing devices which are arranged on the left-hand side next to the left-hand outer transport track, a right-hand outer transport track, and a central transport track which is arranged between the left-hand outer transport track and the right-hand outer transport track. The transport direction of the left-hand outer transport track and the transport direction of the right-hand outer transport track are identical, and the transport direction of the central transport track is opposite to the transport directions of the left-hand outer transport track and the right-hand outer transport track or can be reversed. The multiple right-hand processing devices are arranged on the right-hand side next to the right-hand outer transport track. A processing device pair made of left-hand and right-hand processing devices is paired with a transfer device.

A sorting conveyor system sorting parcels into volume-adjustable containers with movable floors and an associated method for adjusting the depth of the container's interior volume. The containers are mounted on carts and have movable floors that are raised and lowered to decrease and increase the depth of the container's interior volume below an upper rim as a function of the load of parcels in the container.

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate an apparatus for inspecting and sorting a plurality of substrates. The apparatus includes a sorting unit, a first conveyor lane disposed within the sorting unit in a first direction and a first plane, and at least a second conveyor lane disposed within the sorting unit, the second conveyor lane positioned in a second direction at an angle of greater than about 45 degrees relative to the first direction, wherein the second conveyor lane is positioned in a second plane that is different than the first plane.

A sorting system having a main sorting conveyor sorting articles to discharge conveyors feeding articles to diverters having freely rotatable, gravity-activated rollers arranged in an inclined plane. The orientations of the rollers are selectably changed to divert articles riding downward along each diverter to different destinations. The main sorting conveyor comprises a roller belt with belt-roller actuators at sorting locations. The belt-roller actuators and the diverters are identical mechanisms.

A transfer device for a transport container has a plurality of rotation/transport devices arranged in the form of a matrix. Each of the rotation/transport devices has a bearing for the transport container, wherein the bearing is formed at least as a three-point bearing and each of the rotation/transport devices has a dedicated drive for rotation purposes and a dedicated drive for transportation purposes.

Device for lifting an article from a roller conveyor having a fork that can be raised and lowered, and having a plurality of spaced-apart elongate tines which, in the lowered position, move with the tines between or below the rollers of the roller conveyor in order to lift one or a plurality of articles from the rollers as the fork is being raised into the raised position with the tines, where the tines form a carrier surface for the article and the tines can be expanded in the direction transverse to the longitudinal extension thereof in order to form an expanded carrier surface.

A sorting method, cross-belt system, and computer-storage media are provided for conveying and sorting items. The cross-belt system includes a plurality of interlocking palettes that form a conveyor belt. Each palette may be engaged by a series of rollers that are triggered to discharge items on the palettes to appropriate loading areas. The rollers are configured to move a belt of the palettes in one of at least two directions to a selected loading area that is positioned on either side of the cross-belt system.

Described is a sorting machine comprising: a plurality of carriages (2), each carriage (2) comprising a loading-unloading device (3) which can be selectively activated for loading-unloading an object (0) from the carriage (2) and an electronic unit (4) configured to receive and analyse a loading-unloading signal and actuate the loading-unloading device (3) as a function of an operating mode, selected from a plurality of operating modes and uniquely associated with the loading-unloading signal; a plurality of loading stations (9) and a plurality of unloading stations (10) positioned along a sorting direction (X) comprising respective actuating units (11) configured to generate the loading-unloading signal.

Each carriage (2) comprises a permanent magnet (4c) which generates a stationary magnetic field and each actuating unit (11) comprises a Hall effect transducer (12) configured to detect the presence of the stationary magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet (4c).