A brick layering system includes an infeed conveyor that brings layers of bricks, one or more brick layer compacting systems that remove unwanted gaps in the layers of bricks, an outfeed carousel for receiving compacted piles of bricks and a robot arms that moves the brick layer between the infeed, outfeed and compacting systems. The brick layer compacting system includes a table top having a generally flat surface for receiving the brick layer; and two mechanical stops secured to the table top on the generally flat surface so as to define two straight edges on the table top that are perpendicular to each other. The table top is oriented so that a virtual intersection of both straight edges is lower than any other parts of the two straight edges. Bricks received on the flat surface are moved by gravity towards the virtual intersection of the two straight edges, thereby removing gaps between the bricks and indexing the bricks relative to both straight edges.

A case manipulator receives cases from an infeed conveyer and manipulates individual cases or groups of cases and transfers the manipulated cases to a row accumulator platform in a desired and pre-determined orientation and positioned on the accumulator platform to a desired and pre-determined location. The manipulation of individual cases, or groups of cases, is continued in a sequential operation until a complete row is formed on the accumulator platform according to a pre-determined build menu. The case manipulator includes a swing plate pivotal on a first axis and a paddle arm that is attached to the swing plate and pivotal on a second axis that is transverse to the first axis. The invention allows the palletizer to have the next case in a row transferred from the infeed conveyer to the row-build staging area while the case manipulator is operating on an already-delivered case.

A method of arranging articles. The method can comprise moving a bucket in a machine direction on a conveyor assembly. The bucket can comprise a receiving space. The method further can comprise loading a plurality of articles into an arrangement of articles in the receiving space as the bucket moves in the machine direction. The arrangement of articles can comprise at least a first article and a second article of the plurality of articles. The method also can comprise elevating at least the first article with respect to the second article in the receiving space of the bucket, and compacting the arrangement of articles in the bucket.

A system for forming and moving an article array including a consolidation area having a support surface for receiving and arranging rows of articles to form an article array from an article row delivery device while the consolidation area continuously stabilizingly supports the periphery of the article rows positioned on the support surface as the article rows are arranged to form the article array that is moved onto a transfer support surface for moving the article array toward a collection area.

The invention includes a method and a handling system for manipulating and/or for handling piece goods (2) moved one after another in at least one row (1, 1a, 1b) in a transport direction (TR) on a horizontal conveying device (6). In each work cycle, seizing at least one transported piece good (2) from the at least one row (1, 1a, 1b) by at least one handling device (10); spatially separating it from the row (1, 1a, 1b); and bringing it into a specified relative target position and/or target alignment relative to subsequent piece goods (2). After a failure event with an at least a temporary standstill of the horizontal conveying device (6) and/or of the handling device (10), the handling device (10) is initialized, and, after the failure has been remedied, the horizontal conveying device (6) automatically restarts and continues the previously interrupted process.

A conveyor device for conveying food products on a plurality of parallel conveyor tracks and for formatting the food products in a specific product format, especially for conveying and formatting stacks or interleaved units made of a plurality of slices of cheese or meat products is provided. The conveyor device fills a product gap on one of the conveyor tracks incoming on the input side with a food product so that on the output side all parallel conveyor tracks are supplied with the food products when a product gap is sensed. A corresponding method is also provided.

The invention relates to an apparatus and a method handling moved piece goods. The apparatus comprises a manipulator for the piece goods, at least one transport device transporting the moved piece goods to a seizing range of the at least one manipulator and at least one horizontal conveying device assigned to the seizing range and/or to a movement range of the at least one manipulator, via which horizontal conveying device the moved piece goods are transported in the seizing range of the at least one manipulator. Furthermore, the apparatus comprises at least one detection device for obtaining space coordinates and/or position data and/or contour data of piece goods to be seized by the manipulator, wherein the at least one horizontal conveying device and the at least one transport device are calibratable and/or controllable based on the space coordinates and/or position data and/or contour data.

An article accumulation pattern building load plate assembly is provided. The assembly includes a deck for support of patterned articles, a stop for retaining deck supported articles, and spaced apart guides adjustably positionable in relation to the deck so as to transversely guide articles thereacross towards the stop. Articles of the patterned articles are received at an ingress portion of the assembly from a metered article source, the articles extendable at least across a width of the deck in a direction transverse to an article ingress direction. The stop is adjacent the deck, extending in a direction transverse to the article ingress direction, the stop delimiting an egress portion of the assembly.

The invention relates to a device for the flexible distribution of packages, comprising at least one conveyor belt for transporting the packages along a transport direction, and at least one distributing device for moving the packages relative to the conveyor belt, wherein the distributing device has a plurality of sliding elements which are mounted movably on the distributing device, and wherein the sliding elements can be driven independently of each other. In order to achieve a reliable movement of individual packages of different sizes at individual speeds, it is proposed that the sliding elements respectively have two contact surfaces which are arranged at an angle to each other.

The invention relates to a method for operating a supply device, comprising at least one feed conveyor, at least one intermediate conveyor, a discharge conveyor and at least one handling device, wherein individual products are continuously conveyed from the at least one feed conveyor to a work area of the at least one handling device. The invention relates to a supply device for forming an article layer from individual products and for transferring the article layer to a downstream device, comprising at least one feed conveyor, at least one intermediate conveyor, a discharge conveyor and at least one handling device, which is adapted for carrying out the method according to the invention.