A method for transferring at least one object (7) from a conveying surface (9) of a supply conveyor (6) onto a surface (15), the method including the following steps: —conveying the object (7) in a conveying direction, the object (7) including a base (7a) that rests on the conveying surface (9), —bringing the object (7) into contact with a guide (16) placed in the conveying direction at a distance from the downstream end line (12) of the supply conveyor (6), —ending the contact between the base (7a) of the object and the conveying surface (9), —dropping the object (7) onto the receiving surface (15), the step of ending the contact between the base (7a) of the object (7) and the conveying surface (9) only taking place after the step of bringing the object (7) into contact with the guide (16).

The invention concerns a conveyor system (2) for formatting slice-shaped food products in product stacks. The conveyor system (2) comprises an inlet (4), a lower product conveyor (8), an upper product conveyor (7, 9), a vertically swivelling distributor conveyor (6) for distributing the incoming food products selectively to the lower product conveyor (8) or to the upper product conveyor (7, 9), an output conveyor (10) receiving the food products partially stacked from the lower prod-uct conveyor (8) and the upper product conveyor (7, 9), and an outlet (11) for outputting the stacked food products in product rows. The invention provides that the individual conveying tracks (6G, 6H) of the distributor conveyor (6) can be swivelled vertically independently of one another in order to forward the incoming food products individually for each conveying track selectively to the lower product conveyor (8) or to the upper product conveyor (7, 9). The invention also includes a corresponding operating method.

A method and a device for filling containers with products, in which the products are successively conveyed horizontally to a filling installation in which the products, while being combined to form individual product groups, are grouped, and an offered-up container, which is conveyed horizontally to the filling installation, is filled in a single track with one or a plurality of product groups, wherein the filled containers subsequently are in particular horizontally transported away. The method includes conveying the products in multiple tracks to the filling installation, grouping the products to form product groups, feeding the product groups in multiple tracks to a common revolving vertical conveyor of the filling installation, conveying the product groups to an ejection position from which the product groups are conveyed onward in a single track to an offered-up container, and filling the offered-up container with at least one of the product groups.

Examples of automated gemstone feeding are described. According to an example, a gemstone feeding machine includes a conveyor belt assembly to feed holders carrying gemstones. The conveyor belt assembly can include a plurality of conveyor belts in two sets positioned parallel to each other and the two sets can move in opposite directions. Each belt in one set can be positioned alternately with respect to each belt in the other set. The assembly can include a fixed guiding plate at a first end of the conveyor belts and a detachable guiding plate adjacent to the loading assembly at a second end of the conveyor belts. The fixed guiding plate and the detachable guiding plate each comprises a plurality of transition profiles in alignment with immediately adjacent conveyor belts.

A sorter for sorting out discrete products includes an arrangement of adjacent sorting fingers. The sorting fingers, depending on pivoted positions, open a sorting gap in a conveying path for bad products to be sorted out or else close the sorting gap in order to support the further conveying of good products.

Roller conveyors can only safely convey articles up to a certain width to downstream conveyors without jamming The present invention utilizes at least one and preferably a plurality of jam prevention diverter wheels disposed at a selected angle between adjacent rollers of a conveyor with a portion of the diverter wheels extending above the surface of the conveyor rollers to contact items and limit the width of items that can pass through without jamming the conveyor. The diverter wheels are rotated with power mechanically derived from the main powered conveyor rollers. A portion of diverter wheels extend above the skewed roller conveyor surface a selected distance and at a selected angle to contact conveyed articles and only allow items up to a certain size to pass diverting wide items or misaligned items having a width wider than desired for passing through to a downstream conveyor. Jam prevention is the point. If an item width exceeds a given threshold width the diverter wheels come into contact with the term and engage the item pulling the item away from the conveyor stream.

Roller conveyors can only safely convey articles up to a certain width to downstream conveyors without jamming The present invention utilizes at least one and preferably a plurality of jam prevention diverter wheels disposed at a selected angle between adjacent rollers of a conveyor with a portion of the diverter wheels extending above the surface of the conveyor rollers to contact items and limit the width of items that can pass through without jamming the conveyor. The diverter wheels are rotated with power mechanically derived from the main powered conveyor rollers. A portion of diverter wheels extend above the skewed roller conveyor surface a selected distance and at a selected angle to contact conveyed articles and only allow items up to a certain size to pass diverting wide items or misaligned items having a width wider than desired for passing through to a downstream conveyor. Jam prevention is the point. If an item width exceeds a given threshold width the diverter wheels come into contact with the term and engage the item pulling the item away from the conveyor stream.

Devices and systems are provided for improved article sortation. An example sortation device includes a height adjustable frame and a sortation table movably attached to the height adjustable frame. The sortation table defines a first end, a second end opposite the first end, and a body extending therebetween. The body defines a first surface that supports an article thereon where a location of the body between the first end and the second end pivotally attaches the sortation table with the height adjustable frame. The sortation device performs a tilt operation in which the sortation table rotates about the pivotal attachment between the second end and the height adjustable frame so as to convey the article supported by the sortation table. The height adjustable frame adjusts a vertical position of the sortation table so as to modify a vertical position at which the article is conveyed.

Examples of automated gemstone feeding are described. According to an example, a gemstone feeding machine includes a conveyor belt assembly to feed holders carrying gemstones. The conveyor belt assembly can include a plurality of conveyor belts in two sets positioned parallel to each other and the two sets can move in opposite directions. Each belt in one set can be positioned alternately with respect to each belt in the other set. The assembly can include a fixed guiding plate at a first end of the conveyor belts and a detachable guiding plate adjacent to the loading assembly at a second end of the conveyor belts. The fixed guiding plate and the detachable guiding plate each comprises a plurality of transition profiles in alignment with immediately adjacent conveyor belts.

In order to be able to shingle articles individual slices or partial portions of slices shingled in a longitudinal direction in a transverse direction relative to the running direction of conveyor units on which these articles are transported, the two conveyor units, on each of which one of the two articles is fully supported, are not brought to overlap in order to achieve the transverse shingling, but one of the articles is transported on its conveyor unit with a lateral overhang to the other conveyor unit, and the other article placed there on the edge side with such a height difference that the two articles can finally overlap and be placed on top of each other. However, the two conveyor units only have to be guided closely next to each other for this purpose without overlapping themselves. This simplifies the design of the overlapping unit and reduces its overall height.