ontainer-handling facility for handling containers such as cans or bottles or the like in the beverage-processing industry, the container-handling facility compris at least one transport device for transporting the containers and a drone can be brought into the transport device, wherein the drone comprises an acceleration sensor for measuring an acceleration acting on the drone and a pressure sensor for measuring a pressure acting on the drone in the transport device, wherein the drone can transmit data corresponding to a measured acceleration and a measured pressure to a control unit, and wherein the control unit is ed to regulate at least one operating parameter influenc the acceleration of the drone and/or the pressure acting on the drone, ding o a comparison between the data received the drone and nominal values for the operating parameter and/or the acceleration and/or the pressure, stored in a memory.

A system is provided for conveying dough along a conveying section, and the system comprises an elongate dough-conveying element that defines the conveying section. The dough-conveying element comprises a dough-supporting region that forms a supporting surface for dough conveyable or to be conveyed by means of the system, and at least one lateral region extending laterally along the dough-supporting region in the longitudinal direction of the dough-conveying element. The at least one lateral region is movably disposed or formed, in particular pivotally disposed or formed, relative to the dough-supporting region. Furthermore, the dough-conveying element exhibits flexurally-rigid material behavior in the vicinity of the dough-supporting region and resiliently-extensible material behavior in the vicinity of the at least one lateral region.

An apparatus for guiding products along a conveyor in a conveying direction. The apparatus includes a first guiderail for at least partially forming a conveying path for articles on the conveyor. A guiderail adjuster includes a flexible or collapsible support, which make take the form of a linkage, and which provides support for the first guiderail along the conveyor. The flexible or collapsible support is adapted for being extended and retracted along a support rail extending in the conveying direction to selectively position the first guiderail relative to the conveyor, and thereby alter (increase or decrease) the width of the conveying path. Related methods are also disclosed.

An apparatus for unscrambling articles, in particular containers fed randomly to an inlet of the apparatus, includes a transport system for transporting the articles fed to the inlet, devices for picking and releasing the articles configured to pick up the articles arranged randomly on the transport system and release them to an extraction system with a predefined orientation and/or position, a detection system designed to detect the position and the arrangement of the articles in transit on the transport system and to provide the information for controlling the pick and release devices, and a unit for processing and controlling the components and the drives of the apparatus. The extraction system includes a plane for supporting the containers being extracted and means for extracting the articles, designed to pick up the articles released by the pick and release devices and transport them on the plane towards the outlet of the apparatus.

A guiding device for a goods conveyor includes a support coupling with a fixed structure of the conveyor at least one sliding profile manufactured as a separate component with respect to the support structure and arranged for coupling with at least one corresponding grooved guide formed on the second side of such support structure and is oriented along the second axis. The grooved guide extends over the entire length of the support structure and includes a central rib arranged to abut against the rear surface of a respective sliding profile. The central rib divides the respective grooved guide into two cavities each having an L-shaped cross-section, so that linear projections are arranged to be inserted into a corresponding cavity of the grooved guide so that the free ends of the linear projections abut against respective abutment walls of the cavities.

The inventive technology, in certain of its many embodiments, may present a y-number of physically biased, pressurized positioner assemblies, in a single positioner zone, where each assembly includes, inter alia, a plurality of n number of non-precision springs configured in a bimodal or trimodal configuration, and wherein an average of the absolute values of individual deviations, from a design effective spring rate, of the measured, effective spring rates of said positioner assemblies of said zone is less than an average of the absolute values of individual deviations, from said design effective spring rate, of y-number of non-precision springs manufactured to have said design effective spring rate. Spring configurations may be, e.g.: single/double/triple cylinder; single/double pressure cylinder; unimodal/bimodal/trimodal parallel, series and/or nested; internal/external; and/or symmetric/asymmetric. Certain embodiments may include an anti-buckling disc established between series configured springs. Additional aspects of the inventive technology may relate to, e.g., ability to use shorter springs to achieve an intended rate, inter alia.

An apparatus for guiding products along a conveyor in a conveying direction. The apparatus includes a first guiderail for at least partially forming a conveying path for articles on the conveyor. A guiderail adjuster includes a flexible or collapsible support, which make take the form of a linkage, and which provides support for the first guiderail along the conveyor. The flexible or collapsible support is adapted for being extended and retracted along a support rail extending in the conveying direction to selectively position the first guiderail relative to the conveyor, and thereby alter (increase or decrease) the width of the conveying path. Related methods are also disclosed.

An apparatus for transporting objects, preferably containers, which has a transporting device. The transporting device is designed to transport objects. The apparatus also has a railing which is designed to guide the objects transported on the transporting device. The railing has a guide element which is designed to guide the objects. In addition, the railing has a plurality of reinforcing segments which are arranged adjacent to the guide element and are designed to reinforce the guide element.

A conveying and sorting apparatus has a plurality of tilting conveyor units in the conveying direction. Each tilting conveyor unit is able to swing to the left and right about a support shaft, between a horizontal conveying orientation and a tilted orientation for ejecting objects being conveyed by means of gravity. Both side edges in the left and right swinging direction are provided with side guides which restrict the width of the conveying path, and at least the side guide on the side to which the conveyor unit swings in the tilted orientation, is supported so as to be able to open in the swinging direction towards the tilted orientation with respect to the structure of the tilting conveyor unit, and is held in a standing orientation by the orientation holding means until a certain load or more is applied in to said side guide in the opening direction.

A package unit capturing arrangement includes a belt conveyor for transporting a package unit having an identification marking along a conveying direction and includes an optical sensor. The belt conveyor has, parallel to the conveying direction, a sideguard for preventing the packing unit from falling off a belt of the belt conveyor. The sideguard is designed to have a grate in a region. The sensor is arranged laterally with respect to the belt and behind the grate on a side of the sideguard facing away from the belt so that the belt and the grate lie in a field of view of the sensor. A depth of field region of the sensor is narrower than a width of the belt, with the result that the identification marking of the packing unit is optically capturable by the sensor.