A conveyor controller for being implemented into a conveyor system includes control circuitry and one or more network interfaces for coupling with other conveyor controllers. In one embodiment, the control circuitry configured for detecting whether a another conveyor controller is connected and to determine which network interface is used in order to set the direction of the conveyor system. In another embodiment, the control circuitry is configured, to receive configuration data from a conveyor controller connected to a network interface, and to detect if another conveyor controller is and to transmit configuration message to another conveyor controller that includes additional configuration data associated with the conveyor controller. In still another embodiment, the control circuitry transmits configuration data to a replacement conveyor controller upon getting a request from the replacement conveyor controller that has been connected to a network interface.

Disclosed are a method and a system (1) for arranging a plurality of articles moved in at least one mass flow (M1, M2). Articles designed identically in respect of an allocation feature (A, B, C) are fed to a separate buffer station (P1, P2, P3) from the at least one mass flow (M1, M2) and stored in the buffer station (P1, P2, P3). A specified compilation (Z1, Z2) of articles is then formed wherein stored articles are removed from one or more of the buffer stations (P1, P2, P3) in consideration of the specified compilation (Z1, Z2) and forwarded and/or guided to a handling station (10) in a defined sequence and/or arrangement.

A conveyor system and method for cascaded accumulation on a series of in-line roller belts. An accumulation system comprises a series of roller belts that can be actuated in contiguous zones to accelerate conveyed articles forward at twice the belt speed. When articles start to accumulate on the accumulation conveyor, the belt rollers are deactuated downstream to upstream zone by zone. Then the belts are stopped as they fill with accumulated articles. The process is repeated in cascade for the upstream roller belts as articles continue to accumulate.

Methods, apparatuses, and program products for controlling a conveyor. One embodiment of the method includes operating a motorized roller of the conveyor to rotate in a first direction corresponding to a direction of travel, and in response to detecting that a jam has occurred, operating the motorized roller to rotate in a second direction opposite the first direction. Another embodiment of the method includes sending a message to a second controller controlling a downstream conveyor requesting data to determine whether the downstream conveyor is occupied by an article. In response to determining the downstream conveyor is not occupied by the article, operating a motorized roller of an upstream conveyor to convey an incoming article at a target speed, and in response to determining the downstream conveyor is occupied by the article, operating the motorized roller to convey the incoming article at an adjusted target speed slower than the target speed.

A method and device for grouping packages into specified package groups in an interference-free and fault-free manner with a conveyor having multiple individually actuatable conveyors arranged one behind the other with an inlet-side and a discharge-side end. The packages are supplied to the conveyor device at the inlet-side end one after the other, and a control algorithm is carried out to interpolate and/or detect the position and/or the speed of each individual package. A target speed is determined for each individual package based on the detected and/or interpolated position and/or speed of the package. A target speed is determined for the individual conveyors to achieve the target speed for each package to set a specified distance to the leading and/or following package at the discharge-side end. The speed of the individual conveyors is controlled to the respective determined target speed for the conveyor.

A grouping system for grouping containers including a track oriented in a horizontal plane, a plurality of lugs coupled moveably to the track, and a plurality of grippers, wherein each gripper is coupled to a lug, wherein the grippers are configured to move a stream of containers about the track.

An article transferring apparatus includes a vehicle configured to travel along a travel rail installed on a ceiling, a vehicle main body connected to the vehicle and defining loading spaces in which articles are to be loaded, and a hoist module including a grip unit configured to grip a desired one of the articles and load and unload the articles to/from the loading spaces.

A method of controlling an accumulation conveyor is provided. For each of a plurality of zones of the accumulation conveyor, the presence of an object is detected with a sensor associated with the zone. A long object mode is entered when the object is detected by the sensor in the zone and by the sensor in the upstream adjacent zone. When in the long object mode, instead of outputting a signal representative of whether the sensor is blocked or clear, a signal is output representing the drive state of the drive unit associated with the zone. In the long object mode, the drive unit of the upstream adjacent one of the zones receives the signal and matches the drive state.

A system for controlling a flow of articles includes two or more conveyor sections driven in a feed direction to convey articles. A plurality of sensors, each sensor associated with a conveyor section, count the articles in each lane. An accumulator conveyor is associated with a conveyor section and runs in an opposite direction to permit accumulation.

The invention relates to a grouping device for grouping objects, comprising a magnetic levitation conveying device with a working surface, a plurality of movers and a control device for controlling the movement of the movers, at least one feeding device for feeding objects and loading at least one mover located in a loading position, and at least one transfer device which transfers the at least one object in an unloading area to a downstream further device. According to the invention, the grouping device comprises a plurality of feeding devices, and the movers are moved along crossing-free movement paths from the loading positions to the at least one unloading area.