A method and apparatus for feeding a plurality of tread bands in a process for building tyres for vehicle wheels. Each tread band initially includes, on a side thereof, a service fabric. The tread bands are initially arranged at different heights. The method includes positioning a first auxiliary conveyor belt of an auxiliary collection device including a plurality of juxtaposed auxiliary conveyor belts at a first height corresponding to the height of a first tread band, then, proceeding with the removal of the service fabric from the first tread band while the first tread band is transferred onto the first auxiliary conveyor belt. The method also includes positioning at least one second auxiliary conveyor belt of the auxiliary collection device at at least one second height corresponding to that of at least one second tread band.

A conveying system includes a conveyor for moving items along a primary conveyance path. A first buffer table is releasably connected at a first lateral side of the conveyor, and a second buffer table is releasably connected at a second lateral side of the conveyor.

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 method and apparatus for feeding a plurality of tread bands in a process for building tires for vehicle wheels. Each tread band initially includes, on a side thereof, a service fabric. The tread bands are initially arranged at different heights. The method includes positioning a first auxiliary conveyor belt of an auxiliary collection device including a plurality of juxtaposed auxiliary conveyor belts at a first height corresponding to the height of a first tread band, then, proceeding with the removal of the service fabric from the first tread band while the first tread band is transferred onto the first auxiliary conveyor belt. The method also includes positioning at least one second auxiliary conveyor belt of the auxiliary collection device at at least one second height corresponding to that of at least one second tread band.

Systems for storing piece goods are provided. The systems include a picking device having storage locations configured to store piece goods and a separating device. The separating device includes a feed device, a conveyor having a gripper and a control device coupled to the conveyor. The control device is configured to cause the gripper to pick a piece good based on images from a first recording device, a second recording device to take a first image of the picked piece good, the gripper to rotate the picked piece good by a predetermined angle about an axis and the second recording device to take a second image of the picked piece good. Methods of storing piece goods are also provided.

A buffer table of a packaging system includes, at least two infeeds, at least two outfeeds, and a plurality of buffer lines supplied separately from each other, arranged between the infeed and the outfeed. Optimised use of the buffer table is achieved by the infeed supplying the respective package to one of the buffer lines depending on the level of completion of a package and by the outfeed removing the respective package from the respective buffer lines depending on the level of completion of the package.

In order to clean the webs in a belt buffer having a plurality of belts arranged one above the other, a cleaning medium is applied to a running belt by means of a cleaning device and vacuumed off together with the loosened contamination. A device for carrying out this cleaning has a cleaning head for applying and vacuuming off the cleaning medium and a device for adjusting the height of the cleaning head to the level of the web to be cleaned and to move the cleaning head over the web to be cleaned.

Embodiments of product handling systems facilitate transfer of individual product items from incoming bulk form into dedicated trays for inspection, sorting, selection, and packaging. Inspection may comprise interrogation of product items within a tray by electromagnetic (e.g., optical, hyperspectral) or other (e.g., physical, acoustic, gas sensing, etc.) techniques. Prior to packaging, product items disposed within the tray may be stored in a moveable carousel responsible for controlling environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, illumination, ambient gases, product-to-product interactions, and/or others. Movement of product items from a carousel's transfer station to an outside staging position may be accomplished using robots and/or conveyor belts. Embodiments may allow rapid, low-cost consumer selection of specific individual product items based upon their accompanying metadata (e.g., source, identifier), in combination with the results of inspection (e.g., visual appearance). Embodiments may receive product items pre-packaged in tray format to expedite inspection, sorting, selection, and packaging.

A sheet processing system comprising: a plurality of sheet processing apparatuses; a conveying unit conveying a container containing a plurality of sheets; a distribution unit for distributing the container to any one of the plurality of sheet processing apparatuses; an identification information reading unit for obtaining identification information from the container; a communication unit for receiving information about the paper sheets contained in the container; and a controller for controlling a distribution destination of the container, on the basis of information about processing situations of the plurality of sheet processing apparatuses, the identification information about the container, and the information about the sheets contained in the container.

Devices and methods for buffering articles may include use of an infeed conveyor, an outfeed conveyor, and at least two accumulation conveyors defining a path extending between the infeed conveyor and the outfeed conveyor. Each accumulation conveyor includes an entrance portion adjacent the infeed conveyor for receiving articles from the infeed conveyor and an exit portion adjacent the outfeed conveyor for delivering articles to the outfeed conveyor.