Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a system for arranging objects transported on conveyor belt. The invention also relates to a centering and positioning unit for arranging the objects.

Background of the invention

Transport of products, objects and goods such as parcels on conveyor belts in packaging lines is well-known and widely used. Occasionally, when the products are supplied to a system including conveyors, which should carry out a specific work procedure, the products are not aligned or centered — i.e. positioned and orientated — such that this system works without fault. The products can, for example, be rotated and/or laterally displaced.

In packaging lines, parts processing lines, and assembly lines for various products, which use conveyor systems, articles having been processed or worked by automatic machinery or robots are placed on the conveyor or conveyed by the conveyor. It is generally performed such that a conveyed object is automatically taken out by an automatic machine device or a robot and subjected to various processing and operations. However, if the conveyed product placed on the conveyor is in an irregular posture or position, such as being rotated and/or laterally displaced, the work in the subsequent process is hindered, so that the regular posture or position is corrected and aligned.

In addition, such a device for aligning parcel goods may also be accommodated in a packaging line in which the items to be packaged are stacked on pallets with a certain pattern of positions. In palleting articles, at least the longitudinal and/or transverse alignment of the parcel goods must be taken into account which is why a rotation by at least 90 degrees is necessary. In many application cases, however, the alignment of certain features of the parcel goods in certain directions is important, e.g., it is often necessary to align the labeling on the parcel goods so that it faces outward in the pallet stack and is legible. Thus, for example, a rotation by 180 or 270 degrees is necessary, or to achieve shorter angles of rotation, a rotation by -90 degrees may also be necessary. If the incoming parcel goods are not already correctly positioned, continuous rotation to achieve the correct position may also be necessary. US 8636137 B2 relates to a method for the alignment of food products in which food products arriving on an input conveyor in the supply direction arrive at an alignment station at which the products are aligned by rotation and from which the aligned products arrive at an output conveyor. US 9221622 B2 describes a similar product orientor including a turner conveyer.

US 11420833 B2 describes a linear sorter sorting piece goods. The linear sorter contains a closed circulation of tracks having a plurality of cross-belt elements, in which the piece goods are transported on an upper run on the cross-belt elements and are sorted by unloading to corresponding destination points, and the cross-belt elements returning on a lower run.

US 7896151 B2 discloses a method for combining and aligning packing unit groups having the steps of supplying, on an allocating conveyor, individual packing units and/or packing unit groups in an abutting relationship, operating a transportation conveyor downstream of the allocating conveyor with a first transportation speed, forming batches of packing units and/or packing unit groups.

US 11130641 B2 discloses a system with three or more conveyor belt adapted for transporting packings where a first conveyor transport the packing in a first direction, a second conveyor transport the packing in a second direction and a third conveyor transport the packing in the first direction.

FR 2792921 , US 4618057 and WO 2004/067412 A1 describes conveyor systems where the conveyor is divided into three sections with a first stationary section where the belt is movable in a first direction, a second section where belt can be move in several directions and a third transverse movable section where the belt moves in the first direction.

WO 2004/067418 A1 discloses a conveyor device which can swing upwards and downwards and also has conveying surface which can slide in sideways direction during operation thereby connecting with a number of conveyors. When the conveying surface slides from side to side it can only slide to be in two positions over the slide distance. The existing conveyor systems operate within the conveyor lanes with specific purpose. The current setups are limited in actions and are typically hard-wired installations, and the current systems have fixed starting positions and end positions that lock the throughput. Thus, the problems are based on the lack of adaptability. The systems are based on several dependencies within the downstream to achieve a centering or a displacement through a pattern mixer. The systems are not mobile in their installations and limit the current setups, and , through their installations, the systems are hard to maintain, service or alter in their setups. The traditional systems utilized touch, through push, to achieve relocation, thus creating a risk of damaging the objects and their labels by the touch applied by the system. Consequently, the traditional systems often cannot utilize their full capacity because the way the objects are “patterned” by the machines. This happens through their way of relocation, displacement and centering , which often leaves the “patterns” incomplete, because the system cannot push together shapes that are not flexible.

It is therefore necessary to take measures for centering and positioning the products according to the demands of the respective system.

Summary of the invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a system for centering and positioning items in a transport system with conveyor belts with reduced risk of damaging the items.

A further object is to provide a system which is more compact than presently known systems and able to provide a better throughput.

The present invention relates to a system and a centering and positioning unit for arranging objects. In the system, the centering and positioning unit is arranged between a first conveyor unit and a second conveyor unit transporting objects. The centering and positioning unit has a moveable belt moveable in longitudinal direction between the first conveyor unit and the second conveyor unit. The moveable belt is also movable in a direction transversely to the longitudinal direction, at least over a length of the centering and positioning unit. The system and the centering and positioning unit according to the invention open up the possibility to decrease the floorplans in an existing or a new operational site. The system can therefore enable a change in how new sites can be planned by end user customers owning distribution centers or factory sites.

The invention relates to a system for arranging objects comprising:

- a first unit with at least one first conveyor belt having a first length and a first width and comprising a delivering end at the delivering end of the first unit,

- a second unit with at least one second conveyor belt having a second length and a second width and comprising a receiving end at the receiving end of the second unit,

- a centering and positioning unit having a moveable belt with a centering and positioning length adapted for transporting objects longitudinally along the length of the centering and positioning unit between a first end and a second end of the of centering and positioning unit, said movable belt having a centering and positioning width, said centering and positioning width being movable in a direction transversely to the longitudinal positioning length of the movable belt at least along a part of the length of the centering and positioning unit, and wherein the first end of the centering and positioning unit communicates with the delivering end of the first unit, and wherein the second end the of centering and positioning unit communicates with the receiving end of the second unit such that the movable belt of the centering and positioning unit can communicate with the first conveyor belt and the second conveyor belt.

Unique utilization of the system is possible to optimal utilization and capacity of objects in relocation. Through this, a better throughput can be established by using the new functions of the centering and positioning unit by maximizing output usage.

This, in turn, enables new ways of establishing a better downstream system through the entire site by creating better systems with a more optimal throughput in less space/floor plan usage than before.

Consequently, in a first aspect, the invention relates to a system for arranging objects comprising:

- a first unit with at least one first conveyor belt having a first length and a first width and comprising a delivering end at the delivering end of the first unit, - a second unit with at least one second conveyor belt having a second length and a second width and comprising a receiving end at the receiving end of the second unit,

- a centering and positioning unit having a moveable belt with a centering and positioning length adapted for transporting objects longitudinally along the length of the centering and positioning unit between a first end and a second end of the of centering and positioning unit, said movable belt having a centering and positioning width, and moveable in longitudinally direction over a first section extending in longitudinally direction from the first end to a center line and second section extending from the center line to the second end, said centering and positioning width is only moveable in longitudinally direction in the first zone and being movable in longitudinally direction and in a transverse width in a direction transversely to the longitudinal centering and positioning length of the movable belt in the second section of the centering and positioning unit, where the first end of the centering and positioning unit is adapted for communicating with the delivering end of the first unit or the receiving end , and the second end the of centering and positioning unit is adapted for communicating with the delivering end of the first unit or the receiving end of the second unit such that the movable belt of the centering and positioning unit can communicate with the first conveyor belt and the second conveyor belt.

The moveable belt differs from the traditional conveyor belt by being moveable in two directions, i.e. longitudinal and transverse directions, while the traditional conveyor belts only transport objects in longitudinal direction. The first and second conveyor belts may be traditional and well-known conveyor belts, and conveyor belts, which can change direction in transverse direction, are also known, but the change of direction is normally static and not dynamic as in the centering and positioning unit. Preferably, the movements in two directions appear in one plane, such as a substantially horizontal plane, although the plane may also have an inclination in respect of horizontal.

The first and second conveyor unit are generally conventional conveyors, which may be fixed or mobile conveyors. The conveyor belt transports items along the length of the conveyor, and the width of the conveyor is adapted to the width of the conveyor belt. The centering and positioning unit may also be fixed or mobile. When the centering and positioning unit is mobile it can be used in several locations in e.g. a distribution center and improve the efficiency of the conveyor systems. In some embodiments the length of the second section in longitudinal direction may about meter and also the length of the of the first section may have a length from about 1 meter. Thus, the length of the centering and positioning unit can be about 2 meter in total which makes it quite easy to move around, e.g. in a warehouse.

The transverse movement of the moveable belt means that the moveable belt is able to have the centering and positioning width moved over a distance in side-to-side movement, preferably a horizontal side-to-side movement, over at least a part of the width of the centering and positioning unit, and thus, change the position of the moveable belt at the second end of the centering and positioning unit, such that the moveable belt can deliver or receive objects at any position over the transverse width at second end of the centering and positioning unit. The width over which the moveabled belt may move in side-to-side movement may be at least twice the width of the moveable belt and up to five times the width of the moveable belt. In an embodiment the moveable belt has a width of about 400 to about 800 mm, such about 500 to about 700 mm, such as about 600 mm.

The moveable belt may preferably move with a speed of the side-to-side movement of between 0.5 to 1.0 m/sec. such as 0.6 to 0.8 m/sec., and provide a delivery precision of goods from 0.5 to 1.0 mm, i.e. deliver the goods on a plane which is displaced only 0.5 to 1.0 mm from the desired plane. Thereby the centering and positioning unit is capable of deliver objects to form a desired pattern on a receiving conveyer belt, tray or pallet, which may e.g. facilitate palletizing of the goods. This enables pattern mixing into delivery items such as trays. It is possible to place up to thirty pieces of goods, such as twenty eight pieces of goods, such as 7x4 pieces in a single tray with millimeters accuracy, even at speeds of the pieces of goods of up to between 0.5 to 1 .0 m/sec.

The moveable belt on the centering and positioning unit can receive and transport one or more objects at a time and/or at the transportation speed in longitudinal direction of between 0.5 to 1.0 m/sec. The transportation speed in longitudinal direction is the speed of the moveable belt, but also the speed of the goods on the moveable belt when moving from the first end to the second end or moving from the second end to the first end. The speed between 0.5 to 1.0 m/sec is an improvement of up to 30% when compared to the conveyors with flexible lanes.

Thus, the centering and positioning unit is located between the first unit and the second unit, such that the conveyor belt of the first unit may deliver items to the moveable belt of the centering and positioning unit which may then re-arrange the position of the item by displacement, i.e. side-to-side movement of the moving belt, before the item is delivered to the second conveyor belt of the second unit. The re-arrangement and/or displacement can be carried out by moving the moveable belt in the transverse direction over the width of the centering and positioning unit to re-arrange or displace the item. In contrast to the known conveyor belt with side to side movement, the centering and positioning unit of the present invention is capable of handling more than one object at a time which increases the efficiency of the system.

The movement of the moveable belt is controlled by a control device, such as a program- able device, e.g. a computer, receiving information from one or more sensors. Thus, when the control device receives information from one or more sensors monitoring the first conveyor belt that an object is being transported on the first conveyor belt, which information may include precise position at one time, size and shape of the object and optionally weight, the control device checks, if the moveable belt is in a position on the centering and positioning unit to bring the object to a correct position on the second conveyor belt. If the conveyor belt is in correct position, the moveable belt transports the object to the second conveyor belt without any movement in transverse direction. However, if the moveable belt is not in a position to transport the object to the correct position on the second conveyor belt, the control device instructs the centering and positioning unit to move the movable belt in transverse side-to-side direction to bring the object to the correct position on the second conveyor belt. The transport of the object on the moveable belt and the second conveyor belt may be monitored by further sensors and reported to the control device to ensure correct transportation.

The movement of the moveable belt in side-to-side direction on the centering and positioning unit is e.g. actuated and driven by a linear guide driven by a motor. The linear guide may e.g. be a belt drive guide, a spindle driven guide, a chain driven guide, or a linear servo motor. The motor may e.g. be a step-motor or a servo motor.

In an embodiment, at least one sensor for object detection is adapted for detecting an object on the first conveyor belt and for communication with a control device to determine, if the object is arranged correctly on the conveyor table, and if the object is not correctly arranged, the control device instructs the centering and positioning unit to perform movements with the movable belt to ensure that the object is correctly arranged on the second conveyor belt. The terms “item”, “goods”, “object” and “package” may be used interchangeably and may refer to devices which are transported on the conveyor belts.

According to an embodiment, sensors for object detection are adapted for detecting objects on the movable belt of the centering and positioning unit and on the second conveyor belt. This improves the possibility to control that the object is positioned and orientated correctly when reaching the second conveyor belt.

To achieve the correct position of the object when reaching the second conveyor belt, the centering and positioning width is movable in a side-to-side movement in a direction transversely to the longitudinal positioning length. Thus, it is possible to control and ensure that the object will be positioned correctly on the second conveyor belt.

For the purpose of functioning as centering and positioning unit for an object, the centering and positioning width of the moveable belt is moveable in a transverse width extending in a direction transversely to the longitudinal positioning length in the second section of the centering and positioning unit, and the transverse width corresponds to at least twice the width of the centering and positioning width. Thereby, the moveable belt is capable of covering a wide range which makes it possible to place objects in a desired position on the second conveyor belt in an easy and careful manner, i.e. without using any pushing devices or compressed air which may damage the object.

The centering and positioning unit may also be used for other tasks, such as sorting objects, mixing objects, e.g. pattern mixing, and, on the other hand, separate or “singu- late” objects if the direction of travel is reversed.

In an embodiment, the centering and positioning unit is divided by a center line along its length into a first section capable of communicating with the first or the second conveyor belt and a second section capable of communicating with the first or the second conveyor belt. In an embodiment, the centering and positioning width is non-movable in a direction transversely to the longitudinal positioning length in the first section, but movable in a transverse width extending in a direction transversely to the longitudinal positioning length in the second section. Preferably, the transverse width in the second zone may be up to at least twice the width of the centering and positioning width. The division of the centering and positioning unit into two zones along the length of the centering and positioning unit allows improved design and function of the centering and positioning unit. The transverse width may be up to at least twice the width of the centering and positioning width at the second end, and the moveable belt can deliver or receive objects at any position over the transverse width at the second end. The transverse width normally increases from the center line to the second end.

The division of the moveable belt into two sections or zones, where the moveable belt is not moveable in transverse direction in the first section or zone has several advantages compared to the known conveyor belts with side-to-side movement, as those can only move in side-to-side movement in their entire length, i.e. they are not separated into zones in which the belt can move differently, they need to have at least three zones which make the construction more complicated and space-consuming. This has the drawback that the known types of conveyor belts as a general rule can only handle one object at a time, and it is difficult to obtain a precise delivery. Thus, the present invention provides the advantages that the moveable belt can handle several objects at a time and deliver the objects in precise and desired positions, whereby the centering and positioning unit according to the invention is more efficient and provides a better throughput.

The centering and positioning unit of the present invention may deliver objects to a tray, pallet or conveyer belt with a precision of 0.5 mm, meaning that the centering and position unit can deliver the objects to position which deviates no more than 0.5 mm from a desired position when measured in a plane with x-y axis.

Although, the width of the first and second conveyor belts and the moveable belt system can be chosen freely, the present invention provides an embodiment, wherein the centering and positioning width is equal to or smaller than the width of the first width of the first conveyor belt, and, wherein the centering and positioning width is equal to or smaller than the width of the second width of the second conveyor belt. By selecting the centering and positioning width of the moveable belt to be smaller than the widths of the first and second conveyor belts, it is possible to design the centering and positioning unit and the entire system in a compact design. In an embodiment of the system according to the invention, the first unit includes two or more first conveyor belts. The second unit may also include two or more second conveyor belts. The two or more conveyor belts may be arranged in parallel and e.g. provide the options that objects from the first unit may be sorted onto two or more conveyor belts on the second unit, or alternative objects on more conveyor belts on the first unit may be collected on one conveyor belt on the second unit.

For the purpose of optimizing the positioning and sorting availability of the system, in an embodiment, the delivering end of the first unit comprises a turntable, and/or the receiving end of the second unit comprises a turntable. The turntable provides the option of optimizing the positioning and sorting of objects and also of changing or correcting the aligning of objects transported be the system.

The system according to the invention may include at least one sensor for object detection, said at least one sensor being selected from a camera, a laser sensor, or a pressure sensor. In an embodiment of the system, both the first unit, the centering and positioning unit, and the second unit are supervised by sensors communicating with a control device which control device operates the system.

The invention also includes a centering and positioning unit having a moveable belt with a centering and positioning length adapted for transporting objects longitudinally along the length of the centering and positioning unit between a first end and a second end of the centering and positioning unit, said movable belt having a centering and positioning width, said centering and positioning width being movable in a width in side-to-side movements in a direction transversely to the longitudinal positioning length of the movable belt at least along a part of the length of the centering and positioning unit.

Consequently, in a further aspect, the present invention also relates to a centering and positioning unit having a moveable belt with a centering and positioning length adapted for transporting objects in longitudinal direction along the length of the centering and positioning unit between a first end and a second end of the centering and positioning unit, the movable belt having a centering and positioning width, and the centering and positioning width being movable over the length of the centering and position unit through a first section and a second section and in a transverse width in a side-to-side direction transversely to the longitudinal positioning length of the movable belt at least along a part of the length of the second section of the centering and positioning unit. In an embodiment of the centering and positioning unit, the transverse width is substantially twice as broad as the broadness of the centering and positioning width, thus allowing the centering and positioning unit to change position of an object and delivering the object in a different position than when received. The moveable belt is capable to stop the transverse movement over the transverse width at the second end at any position, thereby being able to deliver objects to any desired position on a receiving surface such as a conveyor belt.

At the first end of the centering and positioning unit, in the first section, the moveable belt should move in longitudinally direction. In the second section the moveable belt is moveable in transverse direction over the width of the second section at the second end of the moveable belt. In the latter embodiment, the moveable belt will not be moveable in transverse direction over the width of the centering and positioning unit at the first end of the centering and positioning unit, but will only be moveable in longitudinally direction. This may facilitate the delivering of objects to the moveable belt from the first conveyor belt.

The centering and positioning unit may communicate with transport devices at both the first and the second end of the unit. The transport devices are preferably transport devices with conveyor belts. The first end of the centering and positioning unit may communicate with a delivering end or a receiving end of a transport device. In a similar manner, the second end of the centering and positioning unit may communicate with a delivering end or a receiving end of a transport device. When the first end communicates with a delivering end of a transport device, and the second end communicates with a receiving end of a transport device, the direction of transport of an object transported on a moveable belt, will be from the first end to the second end. When the first end communicates with a receiving end of a transport device, and the second end communicates with a delivering end of a transport device, the direction of transport of an object transported on a moveable belt, will be from the second end to the first end. Thus, the moveable belt of the centering and positioning unit can move in a side-to-side direction over the width of the centering and positioning unit transversely to the longitudinal positioning length of the movable belt at a receiving end or a delivering end of a transport device. Consequently, the system and centering and positioning unit according to the invention offer a high degree of flexibility and the possibility to change the end position, as compared to the known systems which have fixed starting positions and end positions locking the throughput.

The system and the centering and positioning unit offer a wide range of options for positioning object travelling on conveyor belts in the system, such as centering objects on a conveyor belt or mixing several objects in a desired pattern, e.g. with fixed end or flexible zones.

Moreover, the system and centering and positioning unit provide a system having decreased length of the supporting downstream by that system compared to the length of a traditional centering system or pattern mixer.

The system and the centering and positioning unit also provide a system, which, due to precise positioning, decreases the occurrences, where objects touch the sides of the lanes. The effects are that the labels, which are used traditionally for object recognition to register its position in the Warehouse Control Software (WCS), are not damaged or lost.

Detailed description of the invention

In the following, the invention will be described in further details with reference to the drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows an embodiment of the system according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows the system according to the invention from above;

Figure 3 shows a second unit with two parallel conveyor belts;

Figure 4 shows a second unit with turntable; and

Figure 5 shows details of the system according to the invention.

The figures are only intended to show the principles of the invention, and details, which do not form part of the invention, may be omitted. The same reference numbers are used for the same parts. Figure 1 illustrates the system according to the invention. The system includes a centering and positioning unit 1 A with a moveable belt 2 with a centering and positioning width CPW.

Figure 1 is a three dimensional depiction of the system according to the invention. The system includes the centering and positioning unit 1A with the zones 7 and 8 located between the first unit 10 and the second unit 20, such that the delivering end 4 and the first conveyor belt 11 of the first unit 10 communicate with the first end 4 and the moveable belt 2 of the centering and positioning unit 1 A. At the second end 5 of the centering and positioning unit 1A, the moveable belt communicates with the receiving end 22 and the second conveyor belt 21 of the second unit 20.

In the depicted embodiment, the centering and positioning unit 1A includes guiding bars 9A at end zones of the moveable belt 2. The guiding bars 9A serve to control the motion of the moveable belt 2. The figure also shows the motor and control device 9 operating the centering and positioning unit 1A.

The system depicted in figure 1 also includes non-shown sensors for object detection communicating with the control device.

The centering and positioning unit 1A is located between a first unit 10 and a second unit 20. The first unit 10 has a first conveyor belt 11 with a first width FW and a delivering end 12. Similarly, the second unit 20 has a second conveyor belt 21 with a second width SW and a receiving end 22. In principle, the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 may be standard conveyors which are well-known in the art.

The moveable belt 2 on the centering and positioning unit 1A in the zone 8 is arranged to slide on the centering and positioning unit 1 in a side-to side motion as indicated by arrow A. The maximum range, within which the moveable belt can slide, is defined by the width of the centering and positioning unit, and as it can be seen, the moveable belt can slide over the second width SW of the second conveyor belt 21 on the second unit.

The centering and positioning unit 1A includes a driving system including a motor and activating system 9 which communicates with a control device. The control device sends instructions to the activating system whether or not the moveable belt 2 shall slide to a side and which distance the moveable belt 2 should slide. The control device receives data input from sensors monitoring the system and uses the data to control the transport of objects from the first unit to the second unit.

Figure 2 also illustrates a system according to the invention. Figure 2 shows a centering and positioning unit 1A with sections or zones. The centering and positioning unit 1A is placed between a first unit 10 and a second unit 20 which correspond to the first and second units in figure 1 , said centering and positioning unit 1A being adapted for changing the position of objects being transported from the first unit to the second unit.

The centering and positioning unit 1A in figure 2 includes a first zone 7, where the movable belt 2 is not movable in a side-to-side movement, but able to move in longitudinal direction as a conventional conveyor belt. The centering and positioning unit 1A also includes a second zone 8, where the movable belt, besides moving in longitudinal direction, is movable in side-to-side movement as indicated by arrow A. Where the first zone 7 and the second zone 8 meets is a center line. Thus, the centering and positioning unit uses a flexible moveable belt which is moveable in longitudinal and transverse direction in a side-to-side motion over the width of the second zone which increases over the length of the second zone 8. In the depicted embodiment in figure 2, it can be seen that at the second end 5 of the centering and positioning unit 1A, the width of the second zone 8 corresponds to the width of the second unit 20.

The moveable belts on the first conveyor belt 11 and the second conveyor belt can each carry an object 30, e.g. a package, in the direction of transport D. The object 30 on the first conveyor belt is in a different position than the object 30 on the second conveyor belt, illustrating that the centering and positioning unit 1A can change the position of an object when transporting the object from the first unit 10 to the second unit 20. The system and objects transported by the system are monitored by sensors 31 , such as laser sensors for object recognition. The sensors 31 also communicate with the control device. The figure shows three sensors, but the system can be monitored with more sensors, e.g. six or eight, and the sensors can be of different types.

Figure 3 shows the system according to the invention with a centering and positioning unit 1A corresponding to the centering and positioning unit depicted in figure 2 including a first zone 7, where the moveable belt 2 is not moveable in a side-to-side movement, and a second zone 8, where the movable belt 2 is movable in side-to-side movement. The centering and positioning unit 1A is located between a first unit 10 with a first conveyor belt 11 and a second unit 20 with two second conveyor belts 21a and 21b arranged in parallel. The two second conveyor belts 21a and 21b may be mounted on separate second units or mounted on the same unit. The conveyor belts 21a and 21 b both communicate with the second end of the centering and positioning unit 1A. The centering and positioning unit 1 A also communicates with the first conveyor belt 11 on the first unit 10, and an object 30 transported on the first conveyor belt 11 can be delivered to either the second conveyor belt 21a or the second conveyor belt 21 b in a desired position via the moveable belt on the centering and positioning unit 1A.

In operation, the system and centering and positioning unit 1A are supervised and monitored by the sensors 31 which communicate with a control device also communicating with the centering and positioning unit, and the first unit and the second unit. The control device may send instructions to the centering and positioning unit, and the first unit and the second unit, when an object 30 is detected by the sensors 31 on the first conveyor belt 11. The control device may instruct the first unit 10 to let the first conveyor belt 11 deliver the object 30 to the moveable belt 2 on the centering and positioning unit 1 A. The control device may further instruct the centering and positioning unit 1A to operate the moveable belt 2 such that the object 30 is delivered to the second conveyor belt 21a or the second conveyor belt 21 b. Finally, the control device may instruct the second unit where and how to transport the object 30.

In figure 3 the direction of transport as indicated by arrow D is from the first conveyor belt 11 to the second conveyor belts 21a and 21 b. However, in other embodiments the direction of transport may be opposite, i.e. the object is transported from either conveyor belt 21a or 21b to conveyor belt 11 by the moveable belt 2.

Figure 4 illustrates the system and the centering and positioning unit 1A in an embodiment, where the second unit 20A includes a turntable 24.

The turntable 24 is integrated with the receiving end 22 of the second unit 20A and can be used for angling objects, before they are transported to the second conveyor belt 21 of the second unit 20 after being transported by the moveable belt 2 on the centering and positioning unit 1A. By using the turntable 2, it is possible to change the angling of the objects 30 into delivery position without physically touching/pushing the objects 30 which is an improvement in comparison with the traditional methods using contact points for touching/pushing by e.g. an arm or compressed air, thereby increasing the risk of damaging the objects. Moreover, the effect is a unique flow pattern which ensures that objects never touch the sideguards of the lane in its relocation.

Another advantage is that the objects can be relocated into more complex patterns than traditional systems can.

Through the centering and positioning unit 1A, coupled with the turntable 24, the system can realign objects 30 to turn objects 30, such as a parcel, into a tighter formation which saves space. Although, figure 4 shows the turntable 24 integrated with the second unit 20, the turntable can also be integrated with the first unit 10. In other embodiments, both the first unit and the second unit may include a turntable.

The new effective pattern, which can be obtained by the system, can ensure a better throughput by the added control of an end delivery zone.

The effects are better usage of the patterns for optimal tray usage/object handling into layers for layer picking or into storage systems in warehouses.

Another bonus is the no touch option created by the objects never touching the sides or safeguards of the lanes.

Figure 5 illustrates the principles of how the moveable belt can slide from side to side in the second zone on the centering and positioning unit.

The moveable belt is connected with a linear guide 9B which is operated by a motor 9 connected with a control device and drive means 9C. The linear guide 9B moves from side to side by means of the drive means 9C, and as the linear guide is attached with the moveable belt 2, the moveable belt is pulled from side-to-side by the action of the linear guide 9B. The side-to-side movement of the moveable belt may appear quite rapidly ensuring an effective centering and positioning of objects in the system.

Although the invention has been described above with specific embodiment, the skilled person will realize that the invention can be carried out in many other ways within the scope of the claims. List of references:

1A centering and positioning unit with zones

2 moveable belt

CPW CPW centering and position width

4 first end

5 second end

7 first zone

8 second zone

9 motor and control device

9A guiding bars

9B linear guide

9C drive means

A arrow

A 1 arrow

A2 arrow

10 first unit

11 first conveyor belt

FW first width

12 delivering end

20 second unit

20A first unit with turntable

21 second conveyor belt

21a second conveyor belt

21 b second conveyor belt

SW second width

22 receiving end

24 turntable

30 object

31 sensor

D direction of transport