Apparatus and method for pick and placement of bulk items

    公开(公告)号:US10414602B1

    公开(公告)日:2019-09-17

    申请号:US15782369

    申请日:2017-10-12

    摘要: An assembly and method for moving bulk items from a first location to a second location is disclosed. The items are moved from the first location to the second location through a pick-up head. Vacuum pressure is supplied to the head to pick-up an item at the first location and carry the item to the second location. A detector is located between the first location and the second location to detect if an item has been picked up by the head. If no item is detected, the head is closed to the vacuum pressure through a control mechanism or closure element.

    Sorting device and method of operating the sorting device

    公开(公告)号:US10384234B2

    公开(公告)日:2019-08-20

    申请号:US15357846

    申请日:2016-11-21

    申请人: Eurosort B.V.

    摘要: A sorting device comprises a support member for supporting and transporting an article. The support member is drivable in a conveying direction. The sorting device also comprises a loading station at which at least an article can be loaded to the support member, and an unloading station at which at least an article can be removed from the support member. The unloading station is provided with a plurality of receivers for receiving an article that is removed from the support member. The receivers are arranged transversely with respect to the conveying direction and disposed such that they are below the support member when the support member is at the unloading station. Furthermore, the sorting device comprises a controller for directing an article that is supported and transported by the support member to a selected one of the receivers.

    METHOD FOR OPERATING A CONVEYOR SYSTEM
    73.
    发明申请

    公开(公告)号:US20190248587A1

    公开(公告)日:2019-08-15

    申请号:US16329286

    申请日:2017-08-28

    申请人: EISENMANN SE

    发明人: Jörg Robbin

    IPC分类号: B65G17/12 B65G43/00

    摘要: A method for operating a conveyor system for objects, in which a conveyor apparatus is present at an operating site and is operated with a plurality of conveyor carts each having at least one fastening device for at least one object. The number of conveyor carts available at the operating site for operating the conveyor apparatus for a process sequence defines an actual number; the number of conveyor carts needed at the operating site to operate the conveyor apparatus for the process sequence defines a target number. The difference between the actual number and the target number defines a required number if the actual number is less than the target number, or defines an excess number if the actual number is greater than the target number. A conveyor cart pool is provided and comprises a stock number of conveyor carts, at least some of which are stored at a pool site which differs from the operating site of the conveyor apparatus. A number of conveyor carts corresponding to the required number is physically transferred from the conveyor cart pool to the operating site, as a result of which the actual number is increased by the required number and the stock number is reduced by the required number, or a number of conveyor carts corresponding to the excess number is assigned to the conveyor cart pool, as a result of which the actual number is reduced by the excess number and the stock number is increased by the excess number.

    Conveyor systems and methods of controlling moving stage

    公开(公告)号:US10364103B2

    公开(公告)日:2019-07-30

    申请号:US15974100

    申请日:2018-05-08

    IPC分类号: B65G43/00 B65G54/02

    摘要: A conveyor system includes a moving stage, a track, a control circuit and a driver. The moving stage has a plurality of magnets and an optical scale. The track carries the moving stage and includes a first work area provided with a plurality of Hall sensor modules and a second work area provided with the Hall sensor modules and a read head module. When the moving stage is in the first work area, the Hall sensor module generates a first sensing signal. When the moving stage is in the second work area, the Hall sensor module generates the first sensing signal and the read head module generates a second sensing signal. The control circuit determines the position of the moving stage based on the first sensing signal and the second sensing signal, and generates a driving signal. The driver drives the coil windings according to the driving signal.

    Conveyance system
    75.
    发明授权

    公开(公告)号:US10354902B2

    公开(公告)日:2019-07-16

    申请号:US15780680

    申请日:2016-10-13

    摘要: A conveyance system includes a track, ceiling conveyance vehicles, storage apparatuses, and a conveyance controller configured or programmed to control operations of the ceiling conveyance vehicles and a local vehicle in accordance with an operation mode. The storage apparatus includes a storage plate and the local vehicle that transfer a FOUP between the storage plate and an apparatus port. The conveyance controller switches the operation mode among a first mode prohibiting transfer from the apparatus port to the storage plate by the local vehicle, a second mode prohibiting transfer to the storage plate by any of the ceiling conveyance vehicles and transfer from the storage plate to the apparatus port by the local vehicle, and a third mode that does not restrict transfer by the local vehicle.

    SORTING MACHINE
    76.
    发明申请
    SORTING MACHINE 审中-公开

    公开(公告)号:US20190185272A1

    公开(公告)日:2019-06-20

    申请号:US16222537

    申请日:2018-12-17

    IPC分类号: B65G17/34 B65G43/00

    摘要: Described is a sorting machine comprising: a plurality of carriages (2), each carriage (2) comprising a loading-unloading device (3) which can be selectively activated for loading-unloading an object (0) from the carriage (2) and an electronic unit (4) configured to receive and analyse a loading-unloading signal and actuate the loading-unloading device (3) as a function of an operating mode, selected from a plurality of operating modes and uniquely associated with the loading-unloading signal; a plurality of loading stations (9) and a plurality of unloading stations (10) positioned along a sorting direction (X) comprising respective actuating units (11) configured to generate the loading-unloading signal.Each carriage (2) comprises a permanent magnet (4c) which generates a stationary magnetic field and each actuating unit (11) comprises a Hall effect transducer (12) configured to detect the presence of the stationary magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet (4c).

    CONVEYOR CONTROL COMPONENT MOUNTING
    78.
    发明申请

    公开(公告)号:US20190178441A1

    公开(公告)日:2019-06-13

    申请号:US16144022

    申请日:2018-09-27

    申请人: Dematic Corp

    IPC分类号: F16M13/02 B65G43/00 B65G41/00

    摘要: A conveyor system, control assembly used with the conveyor system, and method of assembling a control assembly to a member made of ferromagnetic material. The control assembly has a control housing that houses at least one control component that is adapted to perform a control function. A support mechanism supports the control housing with the member. The support mechanism includes at least one permanent magnet mounted at a surface of the control housing that is adapted to attract the housing to the ferromagnetic material and a positioning feature. The positioning feature resists movement of the housing with respect to the member. The positioning feature may be adapted to resist movement of said housing with respect to the member in at least one degrees of freedom and perhaps in at least two degrees of freedom.

    SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING AND CONTROLLING STATUS AND LOCATION OF AN OBJECT

    公开(公告)号:US20190087774A1

    公开(公告)日:2019-03-21

    申请号:US16194019

    申请日:2018-11-16

    申请人: PINC Solutions

    发明人: Aleks GÖLLÜ

    摘要: Techniques are described with regard to determining and controlling a location and status of assets directly and/or indirectly. The techniques may be used to track and control the respective locations and status of any number of objects. Applications include but are not limited to tracking dry and refrigerated trailers and their status in a supply-chain yard; tracking pallets and boxes and their status in a warehouse; tracking items in a retail environment; tracking finished goods and work in progress in and around a manufacturing plant; tracking vehicles in a parking lot; tracking cargo and equipment at an airport; tracking equipment in a lay down yard; etc. In all cases the laborious and error prone data gathering is replaced with automated data collection methods reducing cost, increasing accuracy, and increasing efficiency.

    CONVEYOR CONTROL DEVICE
    80.
    发明申请

    公开(公告)号:US20190084807A1

    公开(公告)日:2019-03-21

    申请号:US16304275

    申请日:2017-05-24

    发明人: Stephen Nelson

    摘要: A control device adapted to be connected to a conveyor system having a drive motor, a motor control unit which provides a motor control signal to the drive motor and a motor speed sensor adapted to output a motor speed signal to the motor control unit. The control device comprises: a motor speed alteration unit adapted to intercept the motor control signal and to provide a modified motor control signal to the drive motor so as to cause the motor speed to increase or decrease by a speed change value from a first motor operating speed to a target motor operating speed; and a feedback unit adapted to intercept the motor speed signal and to provide a scaled motor speed signal to the motor control unit based on the intercepted motor speed signal, the scaled motor speed signal indicating to the motor control unit that the motor speed has not been increased or decreased from the first motor operating speed by the speed change value.