A transport and feed unit for preforms, in particular for PET bottles, in which the transport and feed unit can be charged with preforms at its upstream end and supplies the preforms to a conveyor unit arranged at the downstream end of the transport and feed unit. The transport and feed unit has a first conveyor and a second conveyor, in which at the downstream end of the first conveyor a funnel-like device is provided through which the preforms reach the second conveyor which supplies the preforms to the conveyor unit arranged at its downstream end.

Disclosed herein is a conveyor system comprising a plurality of work piece carriers, each presenting a machine readable and writable tag and being adapted for supporting at least one work piece during transportation. The system further comprises distribution highway conveyors each in the form of an endless conveyor adapted for transporting and circulating the work piece carriers, flow balancing conveyors and operation unit conveyors. Control of the system is achieved by autonomous switch control devices arranged at each intersection between conveyors to control the flow of the work piece carriers at the respective intersection.

The invention relates to a thermal treatment device, such as a pasteurizer, cooler or heater, having at least one container feed device for feeding containers each to one mass flow conveyor comprised by the thermal treatment device. The treatment device adjoins the at least one container feed device. The container feed device comprises: an at least one-track infeed conveyor; a first group of a plurality of parallel first conveyors; a second group of a plurality of parallel second conveyors which are arranged so as to be parallel and adjoining the first group. The containers can be transferred from the second group to a mass flow conveyor transversely to the second direction, in the direction. The invention furthermore relates to a method for operating the thermal treatment device with the at least one container feed device.

A slaughtered animal meat handling device and a method for transporting meat products from a receiving area to a discharge area device are provided. The device includes at least one supply conveyor, a suction transporter and at least one return conveyor. Meat products that are not engaged by the suction transporter are transported away from the transfer area towards the receiving area by the return conveyor. The meat products are reintroduced onto the supply conveyor away for the transfer area, for again being transported towards the transfer area. The supply conveyor and the return conveyor provide a circulation of meat products. By reintroducing the meat products onto the supply conveyor away from the transfer area, the chance of getting the meat products correctly positioned on the supply conveyor with respect to a suction opening of the suction transporter is increased.

A material handling system includes a very high speed linear sortation conveyor that receives articles at an operating speed of 650 to 700 feet per second (fps) and up to 100 fps with gapping as small as one inch. In one or more embodiments, a recirculation sortation conveyor receives articles that are not diverted by the linear sortation conveyor with dynamic capacity sufficient to handle a high speed shutdown of the linear sortation conveyor. The recirculation sortation conveyor is itself a very high speed linear sortation conveyor having a pusher pre-sort feature that can distribute received articles at different lateral positions on an endless conveyor to align with more than one recirculation sortation conveyors that may be operating at a slower operating speed. In an exemplary embodiment, the recirculation sortation conveyor has a divert section for diverting articles to a divert target on a lateral side.

An automatic article sorting conveyor apparatus includes a supply unit configured to include first and second oblique roller frames having a plurality of first and second oblique rollers and to convey articles, an arranging unit configured to include third and fourth oblique roller frames having a plurality of third and fourth oblique rollers and a middle belt frame including a middle belt having a front coupled to the first and second oblique roller frames, and an article drop unit configured to include first and second counter-oblique roller frames having a plurality of first and second counter-oblique rollers on the left and right sides of the middle belt, first and second drop chutes having one ends coupled to the first and second counter-oblique roller frames, and first and second conveying belt frames have one ends coupled to the first and second drop chutes and including conveying belts circulate.

Parcel processing systems and methods. A parcel processing system includes a parcel singulation transport configured to transport a stream of singulated parcels. The parcel processing system includes a parcel sorter configured to sort individual parcels in the stream of singulated parcels into a plurality of buffers. Multiple buffers comprise a set of buffers corresponding to a single load builder, and each buffer accumulates and buffers sorted parcels before transfer to the load builder. The parcel processing system includes a parcel flow merge configured to selectively receive buffered parcels from each of the buffers in the set and feed the received parcels to the load builder. The parcel processing system includes the load builder, configured to receive the parcels from the parcel flow merge and build successive stacks of parcels on a parcel pallet.

An automated method and system for distributing prescription vials from upstream locations of a pharmacy to various downstream destinations using a stacked configuration of outbound lanes so that vials will enter the first outbound lane that is not blocked. The distribution table of the present invention has a lower portion having outbound lanes and an upper portion having outbound lanes and where the table is adapted to move vials in a loop pattern around the lower and upper portions.

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 automated method and system for distributing prescription vials from upstream locations of a pharmacy to various downstream destinations using a stacked configuration of outbound lanes so that vials will enter the first outbound lane that is not blocked. The distribution table of the present invention has a lower portion having outbound lanes and an upper portion having outbound lanes and where the table is adapted to move vials in a loop pattern around the lower and upper portions.