A conveyor device for conveying articles includes: travel units, trays provided for the respective travel units, and infill plates, each covering a clearance left between the trays. A swing bar supports the infill plate so as to vertically swing the infill plate and is provided at a position shifted by a predetermined distance L in a direction opposite to the traveling direction of the travel unit from the position of a coupler connecting the travel unit supporting a plate-tilting shaft and the travel unit traveling ahead, the plate-tilting shaft supporting the infill plate so as to laterally tilt the infill plate.

Disclosed are various embodiments for using air pressure to increase or decrease the force of static friction between an item and the surface of a conveyance system. The conveyance system can include a track and a conveyor segment affixed to the track. The conveyor segment can include an air permeable surface on which an item can be placed. Mounted underneath the air permeable surface is an air displacement device.

A conveyor device for conveying articles includes: travel units, trays provided for the respective travel units, and infill plates, each covering a clearance left between the trays. A swing bar supports the infill plate so as to vertically swing the infill plate and is provided at a position shifted by a predetermined distance L in a direction opposite to the traveling direction of the travel unit from the position of a coupler connecting the travel unit supporting a plate-tilting shaft and the travel unit traveling ahead, the plate-tilting shaft supporting the infill plate so as to laterally tilt the infill plate.

An apparatus and method for distributing articles made by series production is configured to deliver articles to selected storage positions in side-by-side rows of adjacent storage positions for stacked articles in a storage compartment. After selection of a storage position, a transport platform movably mounted on a horizontally movable carriage above the rows is driven to a location above the selected storage position with the platform moved between two possible positions for dispensing articles into the respective rows, an article conveyor on the platform is actuated to transport the article off the platform into the underlying storage position, where it is stacked on top of any previously stacked articles, and the platform is driven back to a start position to receive the next article. The procedure is repeated to distribute subsequent articles to selected storage positions in the storage area.

A conveyor system includes a rail that supports multiple carts that move along a track of the conveyor system. A plurality of sensors is operably connected to the rail and configured to measure vibrations of the rail as the carts move along the track. One or more sensors are operably connected to the cart and configured to take measurements of the cart as the cart moves along the track. A central controller collects data from sensors, and a processor analyzes the data to determine whether the data is within a predetermined range that corresponds to normal operation of the conveyor system. A method of operating the conveyor system includes moving the multiple carts along the rail and collecting data from the sensors. The data is analyzed to determine if it is within a predetermined range.

Systems, methods and computer-readable media for automating the restocking of shelves process by sending a notification when a product on a shelf has reached, or will reach, an undesired level of emptiness. This is determined using imaging sensors, such as cameras, which can calculate how full or empty a respective shelf is and predict when the shelf will need to be restocked. When the restocking time arrives, the notification can be sent to automated systems, which automatically cause new products to be stocked on the shelf via a conveyor system.

Facility for sorting items comprising: at least one conveyor comprising supports designed to support the items, and at least one receiving device, the supports being designed to eject at least some of the items in succession into or onto the receiving device, the ejected items describing true paths (Tr) with respect to the receiving device, the true paths being liable to belong to a predefined set (Tr-Out) of potential paths considered as being incorrect. The facility further comprises: a detector designed to supply primary information relating respectively to true paths, and an analyser designed to use the said primary information and to produce at least one secondary information item representative of the belonging of at least one of the true paths to the predefined set (Tr-Out).

A connecting device (2-2) for connecting a conveying carriage (1-1) to a drive chain (4) has a pivot lever (6-6) that is connected pivotally to the conveying carriage (1-1). A chain fastening (8-8) is connectable to the drive chain (4), and an articulated joint (10-10) connects the pivot lever (6-6) and the chain fastening (8-8). The articulated joint (10-10) has three degrees of rotational freedom between the pivot lever (6-6) and the chain fastening (8-8).

A carrier includes a chassis that is configured to travel from a loading point to an unloading point and a tillable platform is mounted on the chassis. A resilient piston is connected between the chassis and the tillable platform, the piston configured to store energy when the platform is rotated from an unloading orientation to a loading orientation. The platform, when in the loading orientation, is configured to stably support one or more items that are loaded onto the platform at the loading point. A restraining mechanism is configured to maintain the platform in the loading orientation and a triggering mechanism is operable to release the restraining mechanism, releasing the stored energy of the piston to exert a restoring force to tilt the platform from the loading orientation to the unloading orientation.

Provided are a sorting vehicle, a goods sorting system and a goods sorting method. The sorting vehicle includes a vehicle body, a belt-type conveying mechanism, an enclosing mechanism and a processor. The belt-type conveying mechanism includes a roller-type drive mechanism disposed on the vehicle body and an endless conveyor belt disposed on a roller of the roller-type drive mechanism. The moving direction of the endless conveyor belt is perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle body. The enclosing mechanism is partially or entirely disposed on the endless conveyor belt, and is configured to form at least one enclosing region above the vehicle body. The processor is configured to control the roller-type drive mechanism to drive the endless conveyor belt to move a preset distance to complete unloading of the goods within the enclosing region; and control the roller-type drive mechanism to complete resetting of the enclosing region.