Device for delivery of sorted elements for feeding a downstream work station that includes a downward drop that brings the elements, a one-at-a-time processor that receives the elements from the drop, an upward conveyor branch that extends from the processor and that receives the elements therefrom, and an ejector that is located in the area of the upward conveyor branch. The device includes at least one viewing unit that is positioned to monitor the elements in the area of the processor, such as a camera.

The object counter is provided which includes a conveyor belt having regularly spaced object retaining posts for retaining single objects on the belt in a lane for transport in single file manner from a lower feed end to an upper discharge end. Each lane has lateral guide members for helping objects to settle in the lane between retaining posts during transport on the conveyor belt between the lower feed end and the upper discharge end. A hopper is arranged at the lower feed end of the conveyor belt for providing a quantity of objects to the conveyor belt. A deflector is arranged over the lane before the upper discharge end for removing objects from the lane that settle on top of objects settled in the lane between said retaining posts. An item detector is arranged at the upper discharge end for detecting the passage or discharge of individual objects.

A food patty aligning and separating apparatus with a conveyor belt having horizontal cleats extending through a hopper beneath patties. Dividers extend longitudinally through the hopper to form lanes. The conveyor belt's cleats urge patties along lanes up a vertical span of the conveyor, thereby aligning the patties horizontally in a line. The patties pass over a peak and slide down a curved plate to distance the aligned group of patties from a next upstream group of patties. Guide members are spaced from the conveyor belt on hopper side to shear combined patties or pivot outward and cause combined patties to roll back into the hopper.

Disclosed is a sorting device for elements of the cap or stopper type, used to close a bottle or vial, or of the plastic preform type. The device includes a continuous conveyor arranged to travel in a conveying direction and equipped with successive transverse stop members between which the elements can rest in transverse alignment. The sorting device includes an ejector for ejecting the elements from the conveyor by moving the elements essentially along the length of the transverse stop members, the ejector include at least one push member which can move at least transversely to the conveying direction so as to push the elements towards the exit zone. Also disclosed is a corresponding method.

A device for separating and aligning pin-shaped piece goods exhibiting a head and a shank includes a funnel-shaped receptacle for receiving the piece goods. The receptacle has two wall sections which delimit the receptacle in a front area, and a rear wall, which are arranged in sections opposite one another and in each case inclined outwards at an angle to the central transversal plane of the receptacle. An endlessly circulating conveying means is arranged underneath a recess which spaces apart the two wall sections and which is arranged at a same angle () as the wall sections inclined relative to the central transversal plane and conveys the piece goods from a receiving plane to a higher discharge plane. The conveying means has a conveying plane provided with drivers. The recess is delimited by parallel front edges of the wall sections which are arranged in a V-shape tapering towards the conveying means and terminate above the conveying means or in a plane with the conveying means. The drivers are in the form of cylindrical pins which are arranged at a distance from one another in the direction of circulation of the conveying means and extend essentially perpendicular to the conveying plane of the conveying means.

A device for separating and aligning pin-shaped piece goods exhibiting a head and a shank includes a funnel-shaped receptacle for receiving the piece goods. The receptacle has two wall sections which delimit the receptacle in a front area, and a rear wall, which are arranged in sections opposite one another and in each case inclined outwards at an angle to the central transversal plane of the receptacle. An endlessly circulating conveying means is arranged underneath a recess which spaces apart the two wall sections and which is arranged at a same angle () as the wall sections inclined relative to the central transversal plane and conveys the piece goods from a receiving plane to a higher discharge plane. The conveying means has a conveying plane provided with drivers. The recess is delimited by parallel front edges of the wall sections which are arranged in a V-shape tapering towards the conveying means and terminate above the conveying means or in a plane with the conveying means. The drivers are in the form of cylindrical pins which are arranged at a distance from one another in the direction of circulation of the conveying means and extend essentially perpendicular to the conveying plane of the conveying means.

A loading workstation comprises a docking station including a first transmission device adapted to transmit a carrier for loading components, and a mobile vehicle. The mobile vehicle includes a second transmission device, a feeding device and a loading device. The second transmission device is adapted to dock with the first transmission device to allow the carrier to be continuously transmitted on the first transmission device and the second transmission device. The feeding device is adapted to supply components to be loaded. The loading device is adapted to load the supplied components onto the carrier that has been transferred to the second transmission device.

A carrier link to convey at least one pellet-shaped article along a predetermined conveyer path in a direction of travel includes at least one pocket adapted to receive a pellet-shaped article and a lead-in surface provided to an upper exterior surface of the carrier link and extending into leading edges of the pocket. Each pocket includes a longitudinal axis that is transverse to a direction of travel of the carrier link. The lead-in surface provides a ramped or declined surface into the pocket to facilitate entry of the pellet-shaped article into the pocket. The lead-in surface is ramped or declined towards a side of the carrier link to facilitate rotating, guiding, and/or orienting of the pellet-shaped article into the pocket.

Bottle caps are oriented and delivered in the proper orientation to a bottle capping machine by an apparatus having a rotating disk and radially extending tabs coupled to the disk such that the disks and radially extending tabs cooperate to carry properly oriented caps through a sort zone to an ejector. Improperly oriented caps fall from the disk without reaching the ejector.

A feeding system comprises a hopper adapted to accommodate a plurality of different types of products, a conveyor belt positioned above the hopper and configured to convey the products, and a lifting mechanism adapted to lift the products in the hopper onto the conveyor belt. The lifting mechanism includes a transferring belt circulating around an annular path and a plurality of step plates evenly spaced along the annular path. The step plates are adapted to carry one or more of the products and the transferring belt is configured to drive the step plates to circulate around the annular path so as to lift the products from the hopper onto the conveyor belt.