Abstract: A carriage of the tiltable plate kind for a sorting apparatus has a carrying structure having idle wheels for running in a feed direction along rails on one side of the carrying structure and a pair of spaced uprights projecting from the opposite side of the carrying structure. A frame is hingedly linked to the one side of the carrying structure, the frame having pairs of wheels for engaging opposite sides of a fixed rail. A motor drives at least one wheel of the pairs of wheels of the frame for self-driving the carrying structure. A plate is hinged to end portions of the uprights for rotation about an axis substantially parallel to the feed direction of the carrying structure. A rotatable threaded shaft is between the uprights in the feed direction of the carrying structure.

Abstract: A swivelling bin-filling conveyor comprising a frame including two main wheels and a nosewheel assembly, on which frame there is mounted a conveyor extending obliquely upwardly from the frame, and which is further fitted with a foot resting, in operation, on the ground. The foot is adapted for rotation relative to the frame about a vertical axis lying in the median perpendicular plane of the connecting line between the axles of the two main wheels. The main wheels are each adapted to be brought from the normal position of travel into a swivelling operating position transverse to the connecting line between the vertical axis and the axle of the respective main wheel. Each of the two main wheels includes a separately energizable drive motor. An arrangement is provided for ensuring that at least in the swivelling operating position only the rear main wheel, as viewed in the direction of movement of the bin-filling conveyor, is driven.

Abstract: The fiber sliver can transporting device uses rails which are driven in an alternating manner to lift and roll a can along a horizontal guide plate in a step-wise manner with the can being guided by the vertical boards through a non-linear path.

Abstract: A belt conveyor system carrying bagged product toward a packing station is interrupted and offset downward to form the basis of an automatic collating station for placing the bags in a column, side-by-side and upright, for easier packing into a carton. A rearwardly inclined guide surface at the offset between the upper and lower conveyor portions begins the erection of each bag as it is discharge by the upper conveyor portion and slides down into contact with the lower conveyor portion. Automatic sensing of a bag in this position actuates a reciprocating erector platen which emerges from the guide surface and tilts the bag forward against a previously erected bag. Further automatic sensing of this new forward tilted position of the bag actuates forward indexing of the lower conveyor to make room for the next bag. Then automatic retraction of the erector permits the next bag to be delivered into the collating station.

Abstract: A conveyor apparatus is divided into a plurality of end-to-end arranged conveyor tracks to advance flat items, in an edgewise upstanding, face-to-face engaging orientation to an item processing machine situated downstream of the conveyor apparatus. Each conveyor track is separately driven and is associated with a sensor which detects the extent of inclination of the items on the respective conveyor track. The drive of any individual conveyor track is de-energized if the items situated thereon assume an orientation having a steepness of predetermined extent and if, at the same time, the item processing machine and the drives of all conveyor tracks situated downstream of the individual conveyor track are at a standstill.