In a first step of a method for bundling conveyed streams on a material handling element including a number of incoming conveyor segments, at least one coupling to an outgoing conveyor segment, on which the incoming conveyor segments converge, and a number of holding devices for holding a conveyed stream on the incoming conveyor segments, the conveyed objects are vectorially combined in in ascending/descending order according to a desired sorting sequence. When a conveyed object passes the material handling element a vector corresponding to the actual sequence is entered in the vector combination. Conveyed objects are released if a ring with a constant direction is avoided in the vector combination. A material handling element carries out the method.

A method of arranging articles. The method can comprise moving a bucket in a machine direction on a conveyor assembly. The bucket can comprise a receiving space. The method further can comprise loading a plurality of articles into an arrangement of articles in the receiving space as the bucket moves in the machine direction. The arrangement of articles can comprise at least a first article and a second article of the plurality of articles. The method also can comprise elevating at least the first article with respect to the second article in the receiving space of the bucket, and compacting the arrangement of articles in the bucket.

A flowline system for processing food products includes a feeding conveyor is provided for conveying the food products to be processed, a plurality of workstations are arranged along the feeding conveyor, a diverter associated with each of the plurality of workstations for diverting food products from the feeding conveyor to the workstations, and a takeaway conveyor assembly. Each workstation comprises a release mechanism configured to receive a food product after being processed and to transfer the processed food product onto the takeaway conveyor assembly, and where a control unit is provided to allocate a slot length on the takeaway conveyor assembly in accordance to a length of the processed food product.

A logistics center automation system includes a singulator to which a cluster control for simultaneously moving articles unloaded from a plurality of unloading vehicles is applied, a transport robot configured to deliver the articles moved by the singulator to a loading vehicle corresponding to destination information, a mobile multi-recognizer configured to extract destination information of the transport robot, and a controller configured to control the singulator, the transport robot, and the mobile multi-recognizer.

A physical distribution system includes first and second conveyance paths, first and second sensors, and a processor. The first sensor detects a package passing along the first conveyance path. The second conveyance path merges with the first conveyance path at a junction. The second sensor detects a package passing along the second conveyance path. The processor counts a first number of packages present in a first convergence monitoring section determined in the first conveyance path upstream the junction, and counts a second number of packages present in a second convergence monitoring section determined in the second conveyance path upstream the junction, determines an order in which packages in the first and second convergence monitoring sections pass the junction, based on the first number and the second number, and control the first and second conveyance paths, such that the packages pass the junction in the determined order.

System for transporting items to a packaging station comprising at least a first, a second and a third conveyor, said first conveyor configured for transporting arrangements of one or more items in a first transport direction to the third conveyor, said second conveyor configured for transporting arrangements of one or more items in a second transport direction to the third conveyor, said third conveyor configured for transporting said arrangements from the first and the second conveyor in a third transport direction, a fourth and a fifth transport direction towards a packaging station.

An apparatus is disclosed including a robotic system having a robotic picking workstation, tote storage and retrieval and transit decks. The system has bots that autonomously transport totes from the storage and retrieval system to the robotic picking workstation via the transit decks. The robotic picking workstation may have a picking lane where a robotic handler transports eaches from totes on the bots to order totes in the workstation. The robotic picking workstation further has a queuing buffer where bots are cued for the picking lane.

The disclosure relates to a luggage conveyor device (1, 2, 3) for efficiently supplying a plurality of inspection objects to be inspected or individual items in general to an inspection device (4). According to the disclosure, the conveyor device (1, 2, 3) is particularly efficiently designed such that an inspection object inspection is carried out quickly and smoothly. The disclosure also relates to a correspondingly designed method for operating said conveyor device (1, 2, 3), and to a computer programme product including control commands for implementing the method or operating the conveyor device (1, 2, 3).

The present invention relates to an object transportation apparatus for transferring articles from a supply device to a take-away device, comprising at least two, preferably three, transportation belts that are arranged above one another in their width directions and that each have a separate drive; a plurality of reception elements of which at least one is arranged at each of the transportation belts and that serve to receive the articles to be transported; and a screw element that is configured to cooperate with the plurality of reception elements to transfer an article to be transported to one of the plurality of reception elements in a transfer zone or to take it over from one of the plurality of reception elements, wherein the screw element has a first section having an unchanging diameter and a second section having a diameter larger in comparison at which the screw element cooperates with the plurality of reception elements.

An article sortation system and method of sorting articles includes an article sorter having an article support surface moving in a longitudinal direction and a plurality of discharge conveyors extending from the article support surface. The sorter is adapted to discharge articles from the article support surface to said discharge conveyors. One or more of the discharge conveyors includes an active aligner having a driven surface that is adapted to reorient at least some of the diverted articles.