A carriage (11) has a carriage body (12) to extend across the top face of a track. A fixed bearing arrangement (14) includes a bearing (15a, 15b) to engage a first side of the track and having a rotational axis located in a fixed position on the carriage body. A self-adjusting bearing arrangement (19) includes a movable bearing (20) to engage a second side of the track and mounted on a pivot arm (21) having a pivotal connection (24, 25) with the carriage body. A bias spring is arranged to act on the pivot arm such as to maintain contact between the movable bearing and the second side of the track. The movable bearing (20) is not driven. The movable bearing (20) and the pivotal connection (24, 25) of the pivot arm (21) are both located at a first end of the pivot arm. The bias spring is spaced from the pivotal connection (24, 25) in a first direction. The movable bearing (20) rotates about an axis which is offset from the pivot axis of the pivot arm in a second direction which is transverse to the first direction. Such spacing in the first direction is between five and twenty times the spacing in the second direction.

A sterilizing assembly for on-demand dispensing of sterilized writing utensils includes a housing, which defines an interior space. The housing has a first slot and a second slot positioned in a top and a bottom thereof, respectively. A sanitizing unit and a dispensing unit are engaged to the housing and are positioned in the interior space. The sanitizing unit sterilizes a contaminated writing utensil inserted into the housing through the first slot. The dispensing unit will dispense a sterilized writing utensil from the housing through the second slot. A sensor engaged to the bottom of the housing detects a presence of a hand proximate to the second slot. The sensor is operationally engaged to the dispensing unit and thus is positioned to signal the dispensing unit to dispense the sterilized writing utensil.

A feeder conveyor system having a frame, an actuator with a fixed element and a moving element, and a telescoping assembly. The telescoping assembly has a first member having a first end connected to an actuator output and a first spring seat, and a second member slidably connected to the first member and having a second end and a second spring seat. The second member is movable relative to the first member between a retracted position in which the second end is relatively close to the first end, and an extended position in which the second end is relatively far from the first end, a spring between the first spring seat and the second spring seat, a linkage between the first member and the second member, and a position sensor connected to the linkage and configured to generate a signal indicating a relative position between the first and second members.

In some embodiments, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful to automatically balance and buffer the return of empty containers or other totes to a plurality of areas. In some embodiments, a control circuit employs a logic system in which empty totes are directed along primary, secondary, or tertiary paths depending on information gathered from sensors regarding the availability of space for empty totes at a plurality of potential destinations. In this way, the return of empty totes to one or more points of origin may be buffered to balance the number of empty totes in one or more areas.

An automated parking system of the present disclosure includes a rotatable vertical structure having a plurality of hubs (i.e., parking spots), wherein each hub is equipped with at least one electric car charger and a plurality of sensors and IoT devices for guiding vehicles and managing parking spaces. The system can be underground, ground, above ground or halfway above ground and can be configured to connect to one or more tunnels. The structure is designed to rotate to allow for cars to enter a hub. The system can be used for a dual purpose as parking and as highway, street, or tunnel exits. Once cars are parked in several hubs, a few hubs will remain vacant to allow cars to enter the structure from the tunnel and exit the tunnel as the rotary conveyor mechanism transports the hubs from one level to another.

The invention relates to a conveyor arrangement, comprising a motor-operated conveyor roller, comprising a roller body which is mounted so as to be rotatable about a roller axis, a drive unit which is arranged within the roller body and is mechanically coupled between the roller body and an axle element and is designed to generate a torque between the axle element and the roller body, and a control data interface which is connected in a signal-transmitting fashion to the drive unit. The invention is characterized by an electronic addressing model which can be coupled in a signal-transmitting fashion to the sensor and to the bus line and is designed to encode a sensor signal, which is generated by the sensor and received in the addressing module, to form a bus-encoded sensor data block which comprises a digital sensor signal data block which characterises the sensor signal and a sensor address data block, and to transmit the bus-encoded sensor data block into the bus line.

A contactless monitoring system detects operating performance of movers in an independent cart system. A contactless sensor is provided on an actuator to automatically track a mover as it travels along the track. The sensor includes a transmitter configured to transmit a signal and a receiver configured to receive the signal after it is reflected off the mover. The actuator may be configured to mover the sensor in a single axis or in multiple axes of motion. As a mover travels along the track, the sensor transmits a signal towards the mover and detects the signal after it has been reflected off the mover. A controller may synchronize motion of the actuator with motion of the mover, such that the sensor may continually transmit the signal off the mover for at least a portion of the travel by the mover along the track.

A cleaning assembly for cleaning a conveyor belt comprising: a base member adapted to be mounted relative to the conveyor belt; and a blade mounting assembly associated with the base member and adapted for mounting a scraper blade thereto, wherein the blade mounting assembly is configured for rotational movement relative to the base member, wherein the cleaning assembly is configured to maintain the scraper blade in abutment with the conveyor belt. A conveyor belt cleaning apparatus comprising: a plurality of cleaning assemblies, each of the plurality of cleaning assemblies comprising: a base member associated with the elongate support member, and a blade mounting assembly associated with the base member and adapted for mounting a scraper blade thereto, wherein the blade mounting assembly is configured for rotational movement relative to the base member; and an elongate support member, wherein each of the plurality of cleaning assemblies is adapted to maintain the respective scraper blades in abutment with a conveyor belt.

Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for monitoring and removing contaminants from a conveyor surface based upon predicted frictional engagement qualities detected on a conveyor surface. In some examples, the methods may include monitoring the conveyor surface with at least one sensor configured to sense a condition on the conveyor surface. The sensor may detect the presence of a contaminant, and communicate the location of the detected contaminant to a processor. A treatment cycle may then be initiated to remove or displace the contaminant from the conveyor surface after the presence of a contaminant has been detected.

A suspension conveyor system for sorting products, having a plurality of conveyor bags for at least one product. The conveyor bags may be moved along a continuous closed conveyor path, wherein the suspension conveyor system comprises conveyor means, configured to move the conveyor bags, at least one loading source, configured to load the conveyor bags with the at least one product, a control unit, configured to control the conveyor means, and at least one first unloading line having a plurality of unloading positions along a first closed conveyor path. At least one further unloading line is arranged having a plurality of unloading positions along at least one further closed conveyor path, wherein the at least two closed conveyor paths are connected to one another via at least two gates, wherein the conveyor bags may be controlled, independently from one another, in regard to the conveyor path using the conveyor means.