A quick-change vacuum starwheel assembly including at least one of a quick-change height adjustment assembly or a quick-change vacuum starwheel mounting assembly.

Apparatus for handling containers has a support which is rotatable about an axis of rotation (D), wherein a plurality of receiving discs are arranged on the support, wherein the receiving discs are each rotatable about axes of rotation and are suitable and intended for supporting the containers. The apparatus includes a drive, which is rotatable about predetermined axes of rotation are arranged on the support and which is coupled non-rotatably to the receiving discs, and arranged on the support, wherein the rotary discs can be removed from the drive, and the drive and/or the rotary discs have a coupling for transmitting torque between the drive and the receiving discs.

A material transfer system includes one or more of the following features: (i) a rotatable conveyor assembly is configured to enable adjustment of a radial position of the item guide surface of each item pocket for adjusting pocket depth; (ii) the rotatable conveyor assembly is configured to enable adjustment of an arcuate offset distance between the item guide surface and the item push surface of each item pocket; and/or (iii) the guide surface is formed, at least in part, by at least one flexible rail that is adjustable between multiple orientations and the flexible is configured to flex in a manner such that, in each one of the multiple orientations, the guide surface follows a substantially arcuate path with a set radius, wherein the set radius varies between the multiple orientations.

A conveyor that includes a conveyor frame, a first guide rail assembly, a divert unit having a switch assembly, and an alignment key is described. In this regard, the first guide rail assembly is positioned on a first portion of the conveyor frame such that rails of the first guide rail assembly extends along a length of the conveyor. In some examples, the first guide rail includes a first guide rail and a second guide rail positioned parallel to the first guide rail. Further, the first guide rail defines a groove along a length of the first guide rail assembly. Furthermore, according to some examples, the switch assembly defines a key slot. The key slot is adapted to enable the alignment key to pass through the key slot and further into the groove of the first guide rail, thereby, aligning the switch assembly on the first guide rail.

Systems and methods are provided for conveyor operation and maintenance that employ one or both of a “smart shoe” technology where one or more conveyor shoes incorporate features, such as an RFID tag, and a “missing pin detection” technology where one or more pin components of conveyor shoes incorporate features, such as an RFID tag, allowing selective wireless tracking and identification capability. A conveyor system comprises a shoe management system allowing interactions directly with one or more RFID readers, which can detect, store and/or monitor information associated with “smart shoe” and/or “missing pin detection” RFID tags, where interface between this application and the reader can be implemented via a socket interface. System and method also or optionally provide for unique slat installation and removal.

A parcel processing system (100, 200) includes a merge and align conveyor (102, 202) to transport parcels (108, 208) received at an input end to a discharge end thereof, along a conveying direction (116, 216). The merge and align conveyor (102, 202) includes a link conveyor, wherein the link elements (110, 210) extend longitudinally transverse to the conveying direction (116, 216). A plurality of shoes (112, 212) are provided, each shoe (112, 212) mounted individually on a respective link element (110, 210) and configured to be moved longitudinally along the respective link element (110, 210) while being moved in the conveying direction (116, 216) together with the respective link element (110, 210). The shoes (112, 212) are independently controllable to divert at least a subset of the parcels (108, 208) received at the input end transversely to the conveying direction (116, 216) and stop at a fixed line (122, 222) between opposite edges (130-132, 230-232) of the merge and align conveyor (102, 202). Thereby, a a substantially single file parcel flow exiting the discharge end of the merge and align conveyor (102,202) is obtained along the fixed line (122,222).

A conveying apparatus which is intended for individually separated products, in particular for tablet products produced by means of a tableting apparatus, and has a sliding base and a conveying mechanism, which runs over the sliding base and has a multiplicity of accommodating pockets for the separated products, said accommodating pockets being open in relation to the sliding base located beneath and being movable by the conveying mechanism in a conveying direction along a conveying path over the sliding base. In order for it to be possible in such an apparatus for individual products of those transported with it to be reliably ejected from the conveying route as samples without being damaged in the process, the conveying apparatus includes a discharge device having an aperture, which is provided in the sliding base and encompasses a discharge portion of the conveying path, and having a movable discharge base, which is assigned to the aperture and has at least one closed base region for closing the discharge portion and at least one open through-passage region for giving the discharge portion free, wherein the movement direction of the discharge base for optionally closing or freeing the discharge portion is essentially the same as the conveying direction of the conveying mechanism.

Article picking and treating apparatus The present invention provides an apparatus for picking and treating articles simultaneously, said picking and treating each being operated at a first and a second conveying line.

A station for feeding closing seals for containers includes at least one fixed magazine of seals which is provided with an outlet from which the seals can be taken individually. The station further includes a carousel for feeding seals which can rotate with respect to a first central rotation axis and is provided with pickers which are radially spaced apart from the first rotation axis. The pickers are individually rotatable about a second rotation axis which is not parallel to the first axis of the carousel. During rotation of the carousel, at least one picker is configured to rotate about the second axis from a position for taking the seal from the magazine to a position for releasing the seal.

A preform orienting apparatus for a preform having an integral handle is disclosed. The preform orienting apparatus has a stationary outer guide comprising a friction strip configured to contact a portion of the preform and pick up the preform by the portion of the preform, and configured to rotate the preform, and a moving starwheel assembly comprising a plurality of lugs disposed on an underneath side of the moving starwheel, wherein at least one lug of the plurality of lugs is configured to stop rotation of the preform at a predisposed position of the integral handle.