A sorter for sorting out discrete products includes an arrangement of adjacent sorting fingers. The sorting fingers, depending on pivoted positions, open a sorting gap in a conveying path for bad products to be sorted out or else close the sorting gap in order to support the further conveying of good products.

A weigh-in-motion scale system for a linear synchronous motor conveyor and a method for weighing objects on a linear synchronous motor conveyor are described herein. In one embodiment, the weigh-in-motion scale system includes a support structure for supporting the following: a weigh cell, a section of a linear synchronous motor conveyor track, a vehicle for transporting an object, and an object; and a weigh cell on the support structure on which a section of a linear synchronous motor conveyor track rests directly or indirectly. In one embodiment, the method includes transporting a vehicle with an object thereon along a section of a linear synchronous motor conveyor track; and at a weighing station while the vehicle with the object thereon is being transported, weighing the section of a linear synchronous motor conveyor track, vehicle, and object to determine the weight of the object.

An article sorting facility includes a plurality of storage members each configured to store one or more articles, a plurality of article transport vehicles each capable of traveling in at least a portion of a preset travel lane with one or more support members on board, each support member being configured to support one or more articles; a plurality of work areas each configured to allow work to be performed to transfer articles between one or more storage members and at least one of the one or more support members on board an article transport vehicle in the travel lane, wherein each of the work areas is located adjacent to one or more storage members and to the travel lane, wherein the plurality of work areas are arranged one adjacent to another along the travel lane, and wherein two or more article transport vehicles are in the travel lane simultaneously to travel in a line.

A package sort cell includes a robot with an end of arm tool for transporting packages from an in-feed conveyor to a selected one of a plurality of out-feed conveyors or bins, the robot receiving instruction from the package reader as to which of the plurality of conveyors or bins to hand-off the package. An end of arm tool may be in the configuration of a conveyor which may be aligned with the out-feed conveyor on a bottom up movement. The end of arm tool may also be in the configuration of a hanging carriage frame suspending a conveyor in a top down movement. A worker platform may be provided which may be movable between in-use and out-of-use positions whereby upon robot downtime, the platform may move into the in-use position for a worker to temporarily takeover the transfer functions of the robot. A plurality of sort cells may be arranged in side by side relation adjacent a like plurality of package delivery points (e.g., truck bays) and include diverter conveyors to allow diversion of a selected quantity of packages from one cell to an adjacent cell when the adjacent cell has no associated package delivery occurring at that time.

A conveying module includes a base structure; a first conveying device to convey a unit of goods in a first conveying direction (x) in the horizontal; a second conveying device to convey a unit of goods in a second conveying direction (y) in the horizontal, wherein the second conveying direction runs substantially perpendicular to the first conveying direction; a carrier structure to carry a unit of goods; a first lifting device to raise and/or lower the first conveying device in the vertical (z) between a lower position and an upper position; and a second lifting device to raise and/or lower the second conveying device in the vertical (z) between a lower position and an upper position; wherein a unit of goods located on the conveying module rests on the carrier structure when the first conveying device and the second conveying device are in the lower position.

A conveyor system includes a conveyor belt having a plurality of article-diverting conveyor belt rollers. An underlying drive roller assembly includes a plurality of pivotable rollers carriers, each having a freely rotatable drive roller that contacts the conveyor belt rollers from below. An actuator engages an orientation device to pivot the carriers and change the orientation of the drive rollers. The drive rollers may also move into and out of engagement with the conveyor belt rollers as their orientation changes. The orientation device is sandwiched between three-dimensional support plates to adjust the orientation of the drive rollers relative to the belt rollers. A top support plate includes corrugated vertical walls forming wearstrip holders. The orientation device may raise or lower the drive rollers during pivoting of the roller carriers. The drive roller assembly may be a modular assembly that can be customized for varying sizes, shapes and configurations.

The invention concerns a conveyor system for formatting slice-shaped food products in product stacks. The conveyor system includes an inlet, a lower product conveyor, an upper product conveyor, a vertically swiveling distributor conveyor for distributing the incoming food products selectively to the lower product conveyor or to the upper product conveyor, an output conveyor receiving the food products partially stacked from the lower product conveyor and the upper product conveyor, and an outlet for outputting the stacked food products in product rows. The individual conveying tracks of the distributor conveyor can be swivelled vertically independently of one another in order to forward the incoming food products individually for each conveying track selectively to the lower product conveyor onto the upper product conveyor.

A movement device for moving roller boxes, comprising: a support frame (10), movable along a vertical direction; conveyor plane (11), solidly constrained to the support frame (10) with respect to the movement in a vertical direction and movable with respect to the support frame (10) along a horizontal transversal direction (X), in which the conveyor plane (11) is predisposed to translate objects (O) along a horizontal conveying direction (Y); three operating arms (21,22,23), solidly constrained to the support frame (10), each of which is provided with spindles (S) rotating about rotation axes which are coplanar, horizontal and perpendicular to the conveying direction (Y). A main arm (21) is provided with motorised spindles (S) and is movable along the transversal direction (X) between a first operating position and a second operating position, to selectively interact with one of two roller boxes (B1,B2).

An order picking system includes a paternoster conveyor having a carrier configured to carry products. The paternoster conveyor is on one side associated with at least one transporter; and on an opposite side associated with at least a plurality of further transporters that comprise a plurality of transport boxes. The plurality of transport boxes are configured to receive one or more than one product carried by the carrier. The paternoster conveyor is configured to at least one of: selectively place one or more than one product in a pre-selected transport box of the plurality of transport boxes; and selectively pick up and carry a pre-selected transport box comprising one or more than one product previously received therein. A method of handling products in such an order picking system.

An article sorting facility includes a plurality of storage members each configured to store one or more articles, a plurality of article transport vehicles each capable of traveling in at least a portion of a preset travel lane with one or more support members on board, each support member being configured to support one or more articles; a plurality of work areas each configured to allow work to be performed to transfer articles between one or more storage members and at least one of the one or more support members on board an article transport vehicle in the travel lane, wherein each of the work areas is located adjacent to one or more storage members and to the travel lane, wherein the plurality of work areas are arranged one adjacent to another along the travel lane, and wherein two or more article transport vehicles are in the travel lane simultaneously to travel in a line.