Abstract: A locking apparatus configured to restrict access to articles on a conveyor, such as hooked members, by having a locking piece which, when mounted adjacent to a portion of the conveyor and moved to an extended position, the locking piece rests against the articles and conveyor, thereby preventing an operator from removing the articles from the conveyor. The movement of the locking piece can be automated by coupling each locking piece to an actuator which moves the locking piece to the extended position, and coupling each actuator to an air solenoid unit controlled by a computer system. A series of locking pieces used together selectively restrict access to articles suspended only from certain slots within a frame on the conveyor.

Abstract: A tagging apparatus configured to selectively tag articles on a conveyor, such as hooked members by activating an automated tag injector to apply a tag to a selected article or hooked member. The automated tag injector has a linear slide moveably mounted inside, and a motor and a separating mechanism both coupled to the linear slide. The linear slide is driven by the motor. The movement of the linear slide activates the separating mechanism to separate a foremost tag from a remainder of tags. The linear slide applies the tag to an object. When the tags are connected to one another in a roll, the automated tag injector, mounted adjacent to a conveyor, can be configured to separate the tag from the roll, and apply the separated tag to a hooked member on the conveyor while the hooked member is moving on the conveyor along the conveyor path.