A tolerance adjuster and wear device, e.g. spring clip, is provided for automatically adjusting the tolerance or clearance between a pusher shoe surface and an adjacent surface of a linear slat of a positive displacement sorter. The spring clip includes an engagement portion to couple the clip to a pusher shoe and a wear portion to automatically bias or adjust a tolerance between the pusher shoe and a corresponding slat. The engagement portion includes a retainer, in the form of a pair of opposing elastic grips or teach that are insertable through a receiver in a surface of the shoe. The wear portion includes a wear surface and spring element, such as a spring arm or convex dome. The spring element is elastic to provide a consistent and automatic bias against the slat surface. Preferably, the spring clip is extruded from a resilient, wear-resistant self-lubricating polymer.

A sortation conveyor includes a conveying surface extending in a longitudinal direction and configured to carry an article along a conveying path. The sortation conveyor also includes a pusher element configured to be selectively diverted transversely relative to the longitudinal direction for engaging and diverting the article away from the conveying path. The sortation conveyor further includes a flexible divert guide including at least one compressible member configured to transition between an uncompressed state and a compressed state.

In a case where an article (A) is advanced along an inclined transport direction (C) by use of an article transverse-pushing body (4) configured to move along a main transport direction (T) and to be movable in a width direction (W) perpendicular to the main transport direction (T), the article transverse-pushing body (4) is accelerated in the width direction (W) in a sorting region (B) and then inertially moved such that the article transverse-pushing body (4) thus moving inertially is brought into contact with the article (A).

A device for loading, conveying and discharging objects, comprising: a plurality of trays each one of which is intended for carrying an object from a loading position to a discharge position, in which discharge position the object leaves the tray via an unloading section of the tray, a drive system for conveying the trays in a conveyance direction from the loading position to the discharge position, wherein for the purpose of conveying the trays along a path, the drive system comprises a series of linked driving elements, a drive for transferring a drive power onto the drive system, which drive power is required for conveying the trays, and a pusher arm arranged on the tray for by means of pushing away, discharging an object present on the tray, wherein pushing away takes place substantially transverse to the conveyance direction of the tray and wherein at least during conveyance of an object present on the tray the pusher arm is in a first position facing away from the unloading section, and wherein at least for discharging an object present on the tray, the pusher arm moves to a second position in which the pusher arm is near the unloading section of the tray, characterized in that a retaining means is arranged at the unloading section of the at least one tray so as to retain, in a first operation mode, an object present on the at least one tray when the object is moving towards the unloading section as a result of being exposed to dynamic forces during conveyance, and to allow, in a second operation mode, the pusher arm to discharge the object present on the tray by means of pushing away, and an adjusting means is arranged to position the retaining means either in the first or second operation mode.

A transfer system for piece objects includes a pushing device and a main conveyor with a conveying region. The pushing device includes first and second pushing members. The transfer system includes a supply zone, which is behind the conveying region in a pushing direction. In an initial position of the pushing device, the first pushing member is between the conveying region and the supply zone and the second pushing member is behind the supply zone in the pushing direction. In an end position of the pushing device, the first pushing member is in front of the conveying region in the pushing direction and the second pushing member is between the conveying region and the supply zone. The first pushing member, between the initial position and the end position, is at a fixed spacing to, and in front, of the second pushing member in the pushing direction.

A conveyor system with a pop-up transfer assembly for transferring articles off the end of conveyor belt having protrusions extending above the belt's outer conveying surface. The transfer assembly is cantilevered over the reversing path of the conveyor belt from a pivot. When a protrusion from the belt hits the transfer assembly, the transfer assembly pivots away from the belt about the pivot. When the protrusion is clear, the transfer assembly drops, by gravity, back to its home position proximate the belt. A bilateral transfer assembly is cantilevered in opposite directions to transfer articles off the end of one conveyor belt onto another conveyor belt that may or may not have protrusions. The transfer assembly can have powered driving surfaces to aid the transfer of articles.

A speed control system for sorters (e.g. sliding shoe sorters) comprises a sensor for measuring a sorter current speed of a sorter and a speed controller for setting peripheral conveyor commanded speeds for peripheral conveyors in communication with the sorter. During acceleration or deceleration of the sorter (e.g., in response to start or stop events of the sorter, or from one operating speed to another operating speed), the speed controller sets the peripheral conveyor commanded speeds to match or track the sorter current speed in order to ramp up or ramp down speeds of the peripheral conveyors with that of the sorter, which accelerates or decelerates more slowly than the peripheral conveyors. The speed controller may control the speed of different types of peripheral conveyors (e.g., upstream, intermediate, downstream) in various ways based on the type of the peripheral conveyors and/or based on user-configurable exception settings.

The invention relates to a sorting system for sorting products, comprising a central control server, a conveyor, movable, successive combinations of an elongated carrying body and a pusher body, a supply device for products, each combination further being provided with a pusher body moving device with a driving device for moving the pusher body along the carrying body, wherein the sorting system is provided, per combination or per group of combinations, with a controller, wherein the central control server and the controllers are configured to ensure that in operation, the supply device and the conveyor are controlled in such a way that the carrying body associated with not more and not less than one intermediate combination located between two successive products, is free from the two successive products and so that the pusher body moving device thereof moves the pusher body to a position in which it is located within the widths of the two successive products.

A method of sorting articles with a sorter apparatus and a sorter apparatus having a conveying surface that is adapted to transport articles in a direction of conveyance and a mechanism adapted to displace articles on the conveying surface, the sorter apparatus having an endless web of bodies travelling in an endless loop defining the conveying surface includes a distributed drive system having at least one drive that is adapted to produce to provide force with at least one of the bodies to propel the endless web. A diagnostic device traveling with the web and positioned at one of the bodies of the endless web. The diagnostic device is adapted to monitor operation of the sorter apparatus and includes at least one sensor that is adapted to detect at least one parameter of a proximate drive that is proximate to the at least one sensor, and a controller adapted to receive the at least one parameter from the at least one sensor. A stationary thermal sensor may also monitor the endless loop via another controller including receiving thermal data from the stationary thermal sensor and the another controller correlates the thermal images with a portion of the endless loop.

A sortation conveyor has an endless apron supported for longitudinal movement on an elongate frame that includes a pair of lateral side frames. An induction conveyor deposits articles on an offset lateral portion of a top conveying run of the apron. A pin guide assembly is coupled between the pair of lateral side frames and is upwardly presented to selectively receive the pin of pushers that laterally move across the apron. An upstream pre-sort section thereof positions articles from the offset lateral portion to an opposite lateral portion of the top conveying run. A downstream divert section of the pin guide assembly selectively diverts the articles to a divert target on the corresponding lateral side to the selected one of offset lateral position and the opposite lateral position.