The present disclosure relates to a pneumatic suction conveying apparatus for conveying granulated bulk materials and a corresponding method, comprising a pump unit with a vacuum pump and a suction volume, at least two suction lines, which is connected to the suction volume and extends towards storage containers for receiving bulk materials, the suction lines each comprising a conveying hopper for separating the bulk material and a stop valve for blocking the suction line. Hereby, in the suction line there is each provided a closed control loop comprising an adjustable throttle valve and a flow sensor provided in the suction line, the control loop being adapted and designed to adjust the throttle valve depending on a measurement of the flow sensor.

A method is disclosed for sorting a plurality of objects including an object that is one of a grain, a nut, a tree nut, or a bean. The plurality objects are conveyed along a guide plate having at least two channels between a first end and a second end of the corresponding channel. The channels have a first aperture provided at a first longitudinal position thereof and an additional aperture provided at a second longitudinal position on the guide plate located downstream of the first aperture. An optical measurement associated with a property of the object of the plurality of objects is conducted when the object passes the first aperture towards the second end with an object measurement unit. The object conveyed on the corresponding channel is ejected with an ejector unit when reaching the second longitudinal position based on the measured property of the object and a timing signal.

A vibratory apparatus includes a deck, an electro-mechanical sensor and at least one vibratory exciter. The deck has an upper surface configured to receive items to be conveyed in at least a first direction along a longitudinal axis from a first deck end to a second deck end. The electro-mechanical sensor includes a wheel disposed above the upper surface of the deck, the wheel being rotatable about a wheel axis disposed transverse to the longitudinal axis, and an electronic sensor associated with the wheel, the electronic sensor configured to generate a signal representative of the revolutions per unit time of the wheel. The at least one vibratory exciter is attached to the deck and is configured to move the material along the deck.

A system and a method are disclosed for aligning process data to a flow of material in a manufacturing process. That is, the disclosed embodiments enable tracking of material as that material travels (e.g., via a transportation mechanism such as a conveyor belt) between various processing devices in the manufacturing process. Each processing device may include one or more sensors. For example, the disclosed system and method enable tracking the same material over different manufacturing steps.

A method for managing an automation system involving a plurality of synchronous elements, the method including: designating a master signal for controlling the plurality of synchronous elements; determining a communication protocol for communicating the master signal to the plurality of synchronous elements; determining a compensation profile for each of the plurality of synchronous elements based on the communication protocol and characteristics of each of the plurality of synchronous elements; and utilizing the compensation profile in the control of the automation system. A system for managing an automation system involving at least two synchronous elements, the system including: a first controller for controlling a first synchronous element; a second controller for controlling at least a second synchronous element; a configuration module for configuring at least the second synchronous element; a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the second controller, cause the second controller to perform the method above.

An accumulator has a control system for controlling motion of a plurality of buckets on a continuous loop and logs traversing on a log transfer device. The log transfer device delivers a log from an entrance of the log transfer device to a bucket infeed on the accumulator. The bucket infeed receives a log from the log transfer device and allows a bucket to receive the log from the log transfer device. A time for the log to move from the entrance of the log transfer device to the bucket infeed is determined. Based on the time for the log to move from the entrance of the log transfer device to the bucket infeed, the control system controls the accumulator drive to move the continuous loop such that a bucket in the plurality of buckets is positioned at the bucket infeed with sufficient time to allow the bucket to receive the log from the log transfer device.

A non-contact support platform with open-loop control, including: a surface, to support a workpiece by fluid-bearing of fluid flowing through a plurality of nozzles, a supply system, connected to the surface and configured to maintain the fluid-bearing by applying pressure to cause flow of the fluid out of a subset of the plurality of nozzles, and a controller, to control fluid flow in the supply system with an open-loop circuit to support the workpiece while it moves over the non-contact support platform, wherein the fluid flow is controlled based on at least parameter of a group of workpiece parameters consisting of a position of the workpiece, dimensions of the workpiece and a velocity of the workpiece while supported by the surface.

The object is provided with a system (1) for measuring at least one given physical quantity. The method comprises a step of measuring, by the measurement system (1), the time evolution of said physical quantity during the transportation of the object along the conveyance path, a step of recognising a plurality of indicia, each indicium corresponding to a path characteristic in the time evolution of the measured physical quantity, a step of determining a timeline of path characteristics corresponding to a sequence of recognised indicia, and a step of locating the object, which involves determining a match between the determined timeline of path characteristics and a predefined spatial representation relative to the conveyor machine.

Some embodiments of the technology disclosed herein relate to a sensor device. An elongate sleeve has a first end and a second end and extends along a longitudinal axis. A plurality of sensors are fixed relative to the sleeve. A first endcap is coupled to the first end, where the first endcap has an endcap body. A first axle is coupled to the endcap body, where the first axle extends along the longitudinal axis and the first axle defines a retaining feature. An intermediate component is coupled to the first axle, and the intermediate component is selectively rotatable about the longitudinal axis. The sensor device has an orientation locking structure that is configured to be engaged to selectively fix the orientation of the intermediate component about the longitudinal axis relative to the endcap body.

The present invention relates to an anti-skid speed measurement and material flow detection device for a belt conveyor, include a base symmetrically arranged on the intermediate frame of the belt conveyor and arranged between two groups of slotted roller supports, sliding supports arranged on the base, a speed measurement roller and a sensor arranged on the two groups of sliding supports, and a control system connected with the sensor, a speed measurement disk is sleeved on an end face of one end of a barrel of the speed measurement roller, a circular hole is formed on the circumference of the speed measurement disk, the circular hole is arranged corresponding to the position of the senso. Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the advantages of dramatically reduced production cost and maintenance cost, simple structure and high reliability.