A packaging line for products, in particular food products, includes a conveyor belt having a longitudinal feed axis and carrying the products arranged in a plurality of rows orthogonal to the longitudinal feed axis, at least one packaging machine for the products, and at least one transfer device for transferring the products from the conveyor belt to the at least one packaging machine along a direction transverse to the longitudinal feed axis. The at least one transfer device has a linear motor having a closed-loop stator and a plurality of conveyor units independently movable along the closed-loop stator, each configured to receive at least one of the products.

The present disclosure relates to a gripper for forming slugs of flat baked products, comprising a longitudinal retainer arranged for individually loading the flat baked products and comprising elongated wall elements extending along a longitudinal direction of the gripper for enclosing the retainer forming a retainer space for retaining the flat baked products a loading element, arranged for displacement of at least a contact surface thereof which is located adjacent a segment of the circumference of a loaded flat baked product near a free end of the retaining space; and wherein the gripper is arranged for displacement of the contact surface of the loading element enabling individually loading the flat baked products for forming the slug in the retainer space, and wherein the gripper is further arranged for rotating the longitudinal retainer over a rotation-axis in a plane parallel to a supporting surface of the conveyer means at the input for bringing the slug from a horizontal vertical orientation into a vertical horizontal orientation, and wherein at least one of the elongated wall elements is arranged for displacement thereof for unloading the vertical horizontally oriented slug into the conveyor means of the packing device.

An automated food grade conveyor, placement and feeder device and system for singulating and placing rolls, egg, meat, or protein patties, and/or cheese and other foodstuffs to assemble and prepare a sandwich, the system being made of food grade materials that are easily cleanable and being made compact and on wheels which results in a system that significantly reduces time, labor, and waste while increasing productivity, quality and freshness; it includes bulk feeding specific food items through a food grade centrifugal feed system, placing the food items with a chain driven pick and place device, transferring food items to separate servo driven trains, automatically placing of a food pattie onto a sliced bun, wrapping of a completed sandwich, and placing the sandwich on a tray, box or container.

A conveyor belt for conveying articles along a conveyor path comprises a plurality of slat members disposed parallel to each other and disposed transversely with respect to the conveyor path, wherein leading and trailing edge portions of the slat members are angled downwardly with respect to the conveying surface upon which articles being conveyed are supported so as to prevent edge portions of the articles being conveyed from being interposed between the leading and trailing edge portions of the slat members so as not to be pinched by adjacent ones of the leading and trailing edge portions of adjacent slat members.

A method and device for conveying and grouping products by supplying the products in a first conveying direction on a track by a first conveying device, wherein the products are located one behind another at arbitrary spacings; grouping the products on the track by a grouping device so that a defined number of products are arranged at defined spacings one behind another in a formed product group on the track behind the grouping device in the conveying direction; and transferring the formed product group to a second conveying device for forwarding in a second conveying direction so that the products maintain their relative alignment at the defined spacings with respect to one another in the formed product group and are essentially located side by side in a row. In a multiple-track embodiment, a product matrix is formed from several product groups which are located side by side.

A conveyor belt for conveying articles along a conveyor path comprises a plurality of slat members disposed parallel to each other and disposed transversely with respect to the conveyor path, wherein leading and trailing edge portions of the slat members are angled downwardly with respect to the conveying surface upon which articles being conveyed are supported so as to prevent edge portions of the articles being conveyed from being interposed between the leading and trailing edge portions of the slat members so as not to be pinched by adjacent ones of the leading and trailing edge portions of adjacent slat members.

Disclosed is a system for processing confectionary product, the system includes a collecting device disposed in line with at least one upstream confectionary production station disposed upstream of the collecting device and at least one downstream confectionary production station disposed downstream of the collecting device. At least one conveying device is configured to convey the confectionary product from the at least one upstream confectionary production station to the collecting device, receive the confectionary product from the collecting device, and convey the confectionary product to the at least one downstream confectionary production station. The collecting device is configured to collect confectionary product from the conveying device while the at least one upstream confectionary station is operational and the at least one downstream confectionary production station is non-operational.

A packaging line for products, in particular food products, includes a conveyor belt having a longitudinal feed axis and carrying the products arranged in a plurality of rows orthogonal to the longitudinal feed axis, at least one packaging machine for the products, and at least one transfer device for transferring the products from the conveyor belt to the at least one packaging machine along a direction transverse to the longitudinal feed axis. The at least one transfer device has a linear motor having a closed-loop stator and a plurality of conveyor units independently movable along the closed-loop stator, each configured to receive at least one of the products.

A system for formation of one or more slugs is provided. The system comprises a first loading unit having one or more first cups and a second loading unit having one or more second cups. The first loading unit and the second loading unit are each configured to receive products therein from a conveyor. The first loading unit and the second loading unit are each configured to move to an unloading position after receiving the products so that the slug(s) are formed. The first loading unit and the second loading unit are each configured to unload the slug(s) when the first loading unit and the second loading unit are in the unloading position. The first loading unit and the second loading unit may be independently driven so that the first loading unit and the second loading unit are configured to move relative to each other.

The present invention relates to a vibrating trough (1) for transporting shingled products (2) in food production comprising a transport surface (3) which is designed to carry the products (2) and is excited to vibrate in order to transport the products (2) along the transport surface (3) from a starting point (A) to an end point (E) of the transport surface (3), wherein the transport surface (3) has wedge-shaped sections (4) which are arranged on a base area (5) of the vibrating trough (1), wherein the wedge-shaped sections (4) each have an ascending region on a side oriented toward the starting point (A) via which the products (2) are lifted with respect to the base area (5) during transport, and a dropping-off region (4b) on a side oriented toward the end point (E) at which the products (2) drop back during transport to a lower lying point on the transport surface (3).