A feeder bowl and preparation system for packaging stick-like objects including a feeder bowl, vee shaped spacing conveyor, and a collator mechanism which permits a robotic pick-up station sufficient time to pick and place the stick-like object. The system simplifies programming the transfer of the objects by presenting a desired amount of product for a specific picker and allowing time to pick and place the object, the system eliminates a feed rate by a robotic process in the system, the system allows for essentially higher feed rate overall due to an oriented pick-up area presentation, and the system provides a sanitary design compatible with a transfer of food products in a food industry.

A handling system in a machine for processing containers, including a plurality of support plates circulating in a closed circuit, each support plate including one or more housings, each housing being able to hold a container, for example of the bottle type, a working portion, in which the support plates circulate in a generally horizontal position, with a first member for moving the support plates, wherein each of the support plates has a turning plate configured to be pivoted through 180° between a first position and a second position, with, in the first position, the container having its neck oriented upwards and, in the second position, the container having its neck oriented downwards.

Conveying equipment for holding and transporting a container, including a support base for a container and holding devices movable along respective gripping directions (D1, D2) between a retracted position and an advanced position. Each holding device includes a plurality of restraining bodies placed one above the other, wherein each restraining body of a respective holding device is separated from an underlying restraining body by a separating volume. Each restraining body includes a contact element adapted to be resiliently deformed and configured to conform at least partially to a portion of the outer surface of a container. Restraining bodies of a first holding device are at least partially received, at least in the respective advanced position, in respective separating volumes of a second holding device.

Conveying equipment with utilization of a conveying traveling body includes a conveying traveling body which includes a plurality of trolleys in a traveling direction and a load bar connecting these trolleys and a friction drive section which is provided in the traveling path of the conveying traveling body. The load bar is provided immediately below a pair of left and right guide rails for supporting and guiding the conveying traveling body, and a friction drive wheel which is pressure-contacted with a side surface of the load bar to propel the conveying traveling body in the friction drive section is arranged below the guide rails.

PA system (20) for removing pallets (22) from carriers (24) may include an infeed conveyor (30) configured for conveying carriers with pallets, a pallet takeaway conveyor (34) configured for conveying pallets, and a removal conveyor (32) between the infeed conveyor and the pallet takeaway conveyor. The removal conveyor is configured for removing the pallets from the carrier, the removal conveyor driven in synchronicity with the infeed conveyor so as to remove the pallets with continuous motion.

A cart-type transporting device has a first endless chain and a second endless chain that move in conjunction with and parallel to one another in a lifting/lowering pathway section, and the first and second endless chains have engaging parts. A transporting cart has engaged parts that engage with the engaging parts of the first endless chain in a horizontal pathway section In the first endless chain, the engaging parts are provided at regular intervals, and the engaging parts of the first endless chain and the engaged parts of the transporting cart are detachably fitted together such that the transporting cart can be attached/detached in the vertical direction in the horizontal pathway section.

This invention relates to an apparatus (1) for carrying out a non-destructive inspection on a wooden board (9) or a similar object. The apparatus (1) comprises a movement system (3) comprising at least two chains or belts (32) that are at a distance from one another and substantially parallel to each other. The chains or belts (32) are slidable parallel to a movement path (30) and are and intended to support the wooden board (9). The apparatus (1) also comprises a non-destructive inspection station (2) that is positioned on the movement path (30), for carrying out a non-destructive inspection on the wooden board (9) that is supported by the chains or belts (32). The non-destructive inspection station (2) comprises at least one operating component (22) that is positioned on the same side as the chains or belts (32) and emits or receives a signal or an image, with an emission or reception field (220) that faces towards a region between two chains or belts (32). Each chain or belt (32) comprises an elongate flexible body (320) and at least one rest element (36) that is positioned on the elongate flexible body (320). The at least one rest element (36) projects upwards from the elongate flexible body (320) and has a top face (361) with a width (L36) that is less than the width (L32) of the elongate flexible body (320). The top faces (361) are intended to provide a surface on which the wooden board (9) can rest, so that the wooden board is kept at a distance from the elongate flexible body (320) of each chain or belt (32).

A production line includes at least one electronically controlled assembling station in which a chain conveyor device moves a plurality of part transporting pallets to be assembled in continuous movement along the production line. In one example, each assembling station includes an implement dedicated to the assembly station and freely movable in the assembly station along the transport direction of the pallets for use by an operator to execute manual assembling operations on the parts transported by each pallet. In one example, the production line assembling station further includes a plurality of automated drawers containing components for use in the manual assembly operations and a human machine interface accessible by the operator. In one example, the chain conveyor chain includes front and rear hook units to engage the pallet for movement along the production line. The rear hook unit moves from a pallet engaged position to an optical beam interception position when the pallet is confronted with an obstacle preventing movement of the pallet along with the chain. When the rear hook unit is positioned in the optical beam interception position, an electronic control system generates a command signal which stops the conveyor device.

A tray conveyor in which plastic trays with rows of embedded translators are driven by stators in multiple conveyor sections. Washing stations in cleaning zones in each conveyor section are provided to automatically clean empty trays in the conveyor's return path. Indicia on each tray identify the tray as belonging to a specific family of trays. Each of the conveyor sections conveys only conveyor trays that belong to a predetermined family assigned to that conveyor section.

A method for transferring conveyed items from at least one feed conveyor onto an outgoing conveyor, in a transfer region, wherein the at least one feed conveyor includes a conveying member that is driven along a feed conveying stretch, for conveying conveyed items into the transfer region, and the outgoing conveyor includes conveying containers that are movable along a transfer conveying stretch for taking over the conveyed items that are delivered by the at least one feed conveyor. The conveyed items that lie on the conveying member are accelerated relative to the conveying member along the feed conveying stretch towards the transfer region via an acceleration device and for the purpose of delivery of the conveyed items are brought into a cyclically synchronous side-by-side conveying with a conveying container of the outgoing conveyor.