A conveyor system for conveying goods having a lying conveyor for conveying the goods horizontally, where the lying conveyor includes a sorting device with multiple delivery points, and having an overhead conveyor, by way of which the goods are conveyed in a suspended manner on a goods carrier, where the overhead conveyor is connected to at least one of the delivery points for delivering the goods.

An automated storage and retrieval system includes an automated storage and retrieval grid and a delivery system. The automated storage and retrieval grid includes a container handling vehicle rail system for guiding a plurality of container handling vehicles, the container handling vehicle rail system including a first set of parallel rails arranged in a horizontal plane (P) and extending in a first direction (X), and a second set of parallel rails arranged in the horizontal plane (P) and extending in a second direction (Y) which is orthogonal to the first direction (X), which first and second sets of rails form a grid pattern in the horizontal plane (P) comprising a plurality of adjacent container handling vehicle grid cells, each container handling vehicle grid cell including a container handling vehicle grid opening defined by a pair of neighboring rails of the first set of rails and a pair of neighboring rails of the second set of rails, the container handling vehicles being operable to retrieve a storage container from a stack of storage containers beneath the container handling rail system; a plurality of container handling vehicles operable on the container handling vehicle rail system, the container handling vehicles being operable to retrieve a storage container from a stack of storage containers beneath the container handling rail system; and a delivery column adapted for transport of a storage container between a container handling vehicle and a delivery port situated at a lower end of the delivery column. The delivery system includes: a delivery rail system, the delivery rail system comprising a first set of parallel rails arranged in a horizontal plane (P1) and extending in a first direction (X), and a second set of parallel rails arranged in the horizontal plane (P1) and extending in a second direction (Y) which is orthogonal to the first direction (X), and a remotely operated delivery vehicle configured to travel on the delivery rail system, the remotely operated delivery vehicle including a container carrier adapted to support the storage container; a second location on the delivery rail system including a robotic operator for handling of product items in the storage container. The delivery port is arranged at a level above the delivery rails system allowing the delivery vehicle to be positioned directly below the delivery column The delivery vehicle is further adapted to transport the storage container between a first location represented by the delivery port and the second location. The robotic operator is able to reach multiple positions within the delivery system in order to access storage containers transported on remote

It is disclosed storage and order-picking system, comprising: a control device configured for performing two-stage picking of articles, wherein the two-stage picking comprises a first article-orientated picking stage, and a second order-orientated picking stage; a warehouse, wherein the articles in the warehouse are stored in storage containers in an article-pure manner, and wherein the articles are retrieved in an article-orientated manner from the warehouse in the first picking stage; a sorter comprising: a loop-shaped main line operated continuously; at least one branch line, wherein each of the branch lines is coupled, preferably mesh-shaped, to the main line and is operable discontinuously; and a plurality of sorter trays, wherein each of the trays is configured to be moved along the lines and to be fed into and out from the main line; one or more separation stations, wherein each of the separation stations: is coupled to the main line via one of the branch lines; is coupled to the warehouse for being supplied with storage containers; and is configured for reloading the articles from the storage containers onto the trays for transferring the articles in the first picking stage in accordance with order lines and/or individually onto respectively one of the trays located on the one of the branch lines; and a plurality of automatically and/or manually operated target locations for the second picking stage, wherein each of the target locations is coupled: to one of the branch lines; and/or directly to the main line.

A method for measuring dustiness of a product. The method can include providing the product onto a ramp. The method further can include allowing gravity to move the product down the ramp, toward a discharging end of the ramp, and to exit the ramp through a dam at the discharging end of the ramp. The dam can be configured to control a mass flow rate of the product exiting the ramp. The method additionally can include measuring, by a sensor, airborne particles to determine the dustiness of the product, wherein the airborne particles are generated by the product exiting the ramp and freely falling onto a support surface. Other embodiments are disclosed.

A rejection chute for a conveyor system, which receives and redirects rejected parcels, includes: a conduit defined by a plurality of side walls; a door; and an actuator operably connected to the door. The conduit includes an enclosed upper portion defining a first opening for receiving parcels into the rejection chute and a lower portion defining a second opening for discharging parcels from the rejection chute. The door is mounted proximate to the first opening and is configured to transition between a first position to cover the first opening and a second position to uncover the first opening. The rejection chute can be integrated into a walking surface alongside of a conveyor to receive and redirect parcels transferred off of the conveyor to a location below the walking surface. An enclosure can be combined with the rejection chute to regulate access and guide parcels into the rejection chute.

A method includes: storing (i) a reference image of a chute for receiving objects, and (ii) a region of interest mask corresponding to a location of the chute in a field of view of an image sensor; at a processor, controlling the image sensor to capture an image of the chute; applying an illumination adjustment to the image; selecting, at the processor, a portion of the image according to the region of interest mask; generating a detection image based on a comparison of the selected portion and the reference image; determining, based on the detection image, a fullness indicator for the chute; and providing the fullness indicator to notification system.

A sorting facility (1) for sorting parcels (2), has a sorting conveyor (3), sorting outlets (4) distributed along said conveyor, and a monitoring and control unit (7) for controlling the conveyor so as to sort the parcels into the outlets as a function of their destination addresses. Each outlet is arranged to store a plurality of receptacles (6), each of which is associated with a parcel destination address in a memory of the unit. At each outlet, the facility has a swap-over device (8) for swapping the receptacles over. The unit controls the swap-over device so that a receptacle for which the destination address associated with it in the memory of the monitoring and control unit corresponds to the destination address of a current parcel to be sorted is held stationary in a filling position in which the receptacle is positioned under the sorting outlet so as to receive a parcel.

Methods and apparatuses for performing article singulation are provided. An article singulator can include an intake conveyor, an out-take conveyor, and multiple intermediate conveyors. The intake conveyor can receive multiple articles and convey the articles to the multiple intermediate conveyors. Further, the out-take conveyor may convey singulated articles from amongst the multiple articles (e.g. to an outfeed). Further, the multiple intermediate conveyors may include successive conveyors to convey the articles and provide the singulated articles to the out-take conveyor. In some examples, each successive conveyor of the multiple intermediate conveyors may be positioned at a lower level than a preceding conveyor. Further, each successive conveyor can convey the articles in a different direction and at a different speed than a preceding conveyor such that the articles are singulated upon conveyance by the article singulator.

The present invention relates to a package receptacle assembly that is integrated into a column of a home. The compartment in some embodiments has a door that is positioned in a front wall of the compartment so that the door is positioned between the rear wall of the compartment and a front door of a home, which obscures the door from view. The door in some arrangements has a locking assembly, which is configured to send out notification and provide remote control of the locking assembly in various iterations of the present invention. Some embodiments have a chute that extends through the column and between the compartment and the roof to allow delivery of a package onto the roof and through the column to the compartment, such as by way of a UAV. Other embodiments include a chute that extends from the compartment to the home.

The present invention provides devices, systems and methods for reliably inserting packing trays into packing crates. Thus, the present invention solves the problems of conventional packaging lines by providing a positioning device for depositing packing trays into packing crates. Particularly, the present invention can be incorporated into existing fruit and vegetable packing lines.