Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Siemens Aktiengesell Schaft

Korber Supply Chain Logistics Gmbh

Licentia Patent-verwaltungs Gmbh

Siemens Logistics LLC

Peter Enenkel

Armin Zimmermann

Holger Schererz

Dirk Nolte

Max Umbach

Peter Berdelle-Hilge

Michael Schwarzbauer

Werner Frank

Thomas Moser

Rainer Vogel

Bernd Bulle

Dieter Powollik

Rainer Zisch

Klaus König

Markus Osswald

Klaus Koenig

Michael Matt

Dolores Gerstmayr

Arndt Felder

A driverless transport vehicle, a conveying system, and a method for transporting piece goods. The driverless transport vehicle overcomes a climbing section equipped with a primary side of an energy transmission device. The driverless transport vehicle, which can be moved individually and autonomously on a conveying plane, has a secondary side for energy pick-up in order, assisted by the energy pick-up, to overcome a height difference of the climbing section and/or a transition between the conveying plane and the climbing section. The formation of a connection between the primary side and the secondary side and the overcoming of the climbing section and of the transition between the conveying plane and the climbing section take place at a throughput speed without a slowing-down.

Conveying system having vertically traveling driverless transport vehicles

A driverless transportation vehicle for piece goods has a chassis, a traction drive, a load-transfer device with a load-transfer drive, and a control system. The chassis has at least two wheels arranged on an axle and the traction drive is configured to drive the wheels. The load-transfer device picks up an item of piece goods and transfer its center of mass on the vehicle. The control system controls the traction drive to prevent the transportation vehicle from tilting about the axle of the chassis, while the driverless transportation vehicle balances on only the at least two wheels. The control system additionally actuates the load-transfer drive in such a way that the position of the center of mass of the cargo is adapted for a driving maneuver that is to be carried out.

Self-balancing driverless transport vehicle

A sorting system and a method for sorting piece goods provide for conveying the piece goods to be sorted on a delivery level to a delivery point and delivering them there into or onto a receiving device moving on a collection level receiving the piece goods. The collection level is disposed below the delivery level. The receiving device travels over an individually determined route on the collection level.

Flat sorter over at least two levels

An apparatus for handling articles in a transporting unit, which may be an interchangeable container, having a mobile conveying unit that is moved into the transporting unit to unload the unit, collect and receive articles stacked in the unit under the control of an operator, and convey the articles out of the transporting unit in an unloading direction for further processing. The apparatus generally facilitates removal from the transporting unit with a small amount of effort during the unloading of non-uniformly or randomly stacked articles. The conveying unit has a floor conveyor which conveys in a loose random arrangement the articles that have been toppled or removed from the stack of articles.

Apparatus for handling articles in a transporting unit, in particular an interchangeable container, and unloading apparatus

A device for handling objects includes an unloading head, onto which the objects can be transported and from which the objects can be unloaded by an operator. A lifting apparatus is connected to the unloading head. The height of the unloading head can be adjusted by way of the lifting apparatus and a sensing apparatus that can be activated and the height of the unloading head can be adjusted. In order to achieve a throughput increase in the handling of objects, the sensing apparatus is arranged in such a way that the sensing apparatus can be triggered by the operator by way of an object that is located on the unloading head.

Device and method for handling objects

A device for loading a transporting unit provided for transporting piece goods, in particular mail deliveries, includes a first conveying unit which can be moved into the transporting unit and is provided for conveying and unloading a first stream of piece goods in the transporting unit. At least one second conveying unit is provided for conveying and unloading a second stream of piece goods in the transporting unit in order to optimize loading with respect to a transport filling density of the transporting unit, along with an increased loading throughput and increased working convenience. The piece goods are distributed among the streams of piece goods according to at least one sorting criterion.

Device and method for loading a transporting unit

An apparatus and a method transport articles by way of a plurality of parallel buffer sections. A feeding device transports the articles to a buffer device at a predetermined feeding speed. Each article is then directed into in each case one buffer section, which is either in a feeding mode or in a transporting-away mode. Each buffer section transports the articles which have been directed into this buffer section to a transporting-away device. In the feeding mode, the buffer section transports to the transporting-away device at a feeding buffer speed which depends on the feeding speed. In the transporting-away mode, the buffer section transports to the transporting-away device at a transporting-away buffer speed which depends on the transporting-away speed. The transporting-away device transports the articles away at a predetermined transporting-away speed.

Method and apparatus for transporting articles in a plurality of parallel buffer sections

An apparatus and a method stand up and process articles of different dimensions, in particular flat mail items. A conveying device transports articles to an up-ending apparatus. The up-ending apparatus transports the articles further and, in the process, up-ends the articles such that the up-ended articles stand on an edge. Up-ended articles are transported to a separating apparatus. The separating apparatus separates flat articles such that a stream of upright, spaced-apart articles leaves the separating apparatus. Up-ended and separated articles are transported to a format-separating device. The format-separating device divides the articles as a function of the dimensions thereof into article classes such that all of the articles of a set of articles belong to the same format class. All of the articles of a set of articles are transported as a stream of upright and spaced-apart articles to an appropriate processing device. The processing device processes the articles.

Apparatus and method for processing articles of different dimensions

A device for unloading a container having a removal opening has a rotatably mounted supporting surface mounted to turn around a first turning axis, a rotatably mounted retaining device, and a synchronizing device. The unloading device causes a container on the supporting surface to tilt so that the removal opening of the tilted container points obliquely or vertically downwards. The retaining device prevents an article inside the tilted container from moving linearly through the removal opening. The retaining device is mounted to turn around a second turning axis. The synchronizing device is configured for synchronizing turning of the supporting surface around the first turning axis and the retaining device around the second turning axis. The synchronized turning of the supporting surface and retaining device causes the container standing on the supporting surface to tilt such that the removal opening of the tilted container points obliquely or vertically downwards.

Device for unloading a container

In a mail processing system, a support element has a flat floor with elements spaced from each other so that a comb-type or fork-type structure is produced, wherein the elements have front section extending upwards. A first transport device has a number of bands equipped with sectional separators, which are spaced from one another. To transfer piled postal items from the support element to the first transport device the floor is aligned with the transport device, and the floor and the transport device are interlocked, so that at least a part of one of the bands extends between the elements.

Pile transfer device and method

A system for extracting mail items in a mail processing system includes at least one pocket for containing at least one mail item and an extraction device. The pocket has a bottom area and two lateral walls, wherein each lateral wall has at least one opening. The pocket further includes a release mechanism at the bottom area configured to place the bottom area in an open state and a closed state. The extraction device is configured to engage the lateral walls of the pocket so that contact elements of the extraction device extend through the lateral walls and urge the at least one mail item away from inner surfaces of the lateral walls. The extraction device is further configured to cause the at least one mail item to pass through the bottom area when in the open state.

Method and system for extracting sorted mail items in mail processing systems

A self-correcting conveyor facility has a conveyor belt for transporting flat objects, in particular mail items. The self-conveying correcting conveyor facility has an elastic conveyor belt for transporting flat objects, in particular mail items. The conveyor belt rests on a correction roller, which is supported in a rotatable manner in a roller support. The roller support is supported in a fixed support in such a manner that it can be rotated about a support rotation axis. The fixed support is arranged in such a manner that an angle results between the support rotation axis and the belt axis of the conveyor belt. Displacement of the conveyor belt causes rotation of the correction roller. This rotation stretches the conveyor belt. The rotation produces a restoring force, which displaces the conveyor belt back.

Self-correcting conveyor facility

Disclosed is a device for conveying a stack of flat objects, in particular a stack of mail items, in a conveyance direction. The conveyor device comprises a base face, a side wall, which is perpendicular to the base face, a base face conveyor facility let into the base face and a side wall conveyor facility let into the side wall. The side wall is divided into two partial side walls. The rear partial side wall&#x2014;viewed in the conveyance direction&#x2014;is offset outward in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction in relation to the front partial side wall. The side wall conveyor facility is let into the rear partial side wall. The base face conveyor facility is embodied to exert a force on the objects, which moves the objects toward the side wall conveyor facility.

Device for conveying a stack of flat objects

A device for filling and removing containers () for sorted mail. The containers are filled from two sorting points () of a sorting device () that are arranged in two rows one above the other and can be transferred to a storage and transport device (). A telescopic retaining mechanism () for holding two containers () one behind the other is located beneath the two sorting points () that are arranged one above the other, the mechanism being extended halfway to fill the front container () or completely to fill the rear container () or both containers ().

Device for filling and removing containers for sorted mail

The invention relates to a box-like container for flat mailings in the upright position, comprising a stack support, which may be removed from the container open at the top, a base, two narrow front face walls and two lateral longitudinal walls. The mailings are arranged with the largest sides thereof facing the front face walls. The inner sides of the lateral longitudinal walls comprise straight long recesses, open to above, arranged at regular intervals perpendicular to the base, which are wider in the longitudinal direction of the lateral longitudinal walls than the slot like openings thereof to the container interior. The stack supports have formed elements at both lateral ends thereof which may only be slid into place in the long recesses perpendicular to the base with a positive fit connection through the slot like opening.

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Constance, Germany

Peter Enenkel