An article sorting method and a system to perform the method, in which a plurality of articles having different sorting destinations are sorted out in a highly efficient manner by one carriage. The article sorting system includes a carriage (3) movable along a track (5). This carriage has on it a plurality of conveying mechanisms (13a, 13b, 13c and 13d) which are provided on the carriage (3). On these conveying mechanisms, articles (11) can be placed. A control device (23) controls the operations of the plurality of conveying mechanisms (13a, 13b, 13c and 13d) independently of one another. The control device drives the conveying mechanisms (13a, 13b, 13c and 13d) individually according to the sorting destination data of the articles, so that a single or plural articles (11) are sorted out by the individual operations or combined operations of the driving mechanisms (15a, 15b, 15c and 15d).

A mechanized multitier storage apparatus includes a housing, main load-carrying brackets located in the housing and installed vertically in pairs, removable shelves installed on the main load-carrying brackets, and at least two carriages connected with a drive providing vertical movement. Each carriage is provided with a pull-out shelf-engaging element. Additionally, the storage apparatus is provided with an industrial robot having a gripper movably installed on a horizontal guide mounted on a side of the housing opposite to the direction in which the shelf-engaging element is pulled out, and a pair of additional brackets located in line with the main load-carrying brackets. The housing provided with a side opening for the gripper of the industrial robot.

A carrier assembly including a carrier container (e.g., a box) and a bag (e.g., a flexible transparent plastic bag) for holding an article, e.g., a garment belt. The garment belt has scanner-readable indicia associated with it (e.g., a bar code is disposed on a hang tag secured to the belt's buckle). The carrier assembly is arranged to be used with other such assemblies, each holding an article (e.g., a garment belt), by an automatic dispensing machine to select the carrier assembly from other similar carrier assemblies and to dispense the selected carrier assembly therefrom based on the scanner readable indicia. The automatic dispensing machine includes a scanner for scanning the scanner-readable indicia. The bag is adapted to hold the garment belt in a compact, e.g., coiled, configuration therein. The bag with the coiled belt therein is located within the interior of the hollow carrier container and is held in place therein (e.g., the carrier container includes a slit for engaging a portion of the bag). The carrier container includes at least one window through which the scanner-readable indicia is visible to be readily scanned by the scanner of the automatic dispensing machine to enable the machine to selectively dispense the carrier assembly therefrom based on the scanner-readable indicia read.

Device which is part of a picking system, including a conveyor for carrying containers, a device for automatically labelling the containers, and a device for removing the labels from the containers. In order to allow a straightforward inspection of the contents of a container, the containers feature on their outside a holder, which is open on its top side, designed to hold waybills. The device for labelling the containers comprises a printer arranged above the conveyor, and the device for removing the labels comprises a suction nozzle.

An efficient package sorting system in which a stationary matrix of multi-directional conveyor cells sorts packages to a plurality of destination locations. In a preferred embodiment, the matrix delivers sorted packages to a plurality of lift assemblies that further transfer the packages to receiving conveyors or chutes on different levels. According to another preferred aspect of the system, a selectively elevating stop bar is provided to control side transfer between conveyor cells. A controller is operative to plan a path for each of the objects from the input cell to a destination location, to monitor availability of successive conveyor cells along the path, and to cause an object to be moved to the next conveyor cell along its path only when the next conveyor cell is available. The system may include a plurality of sensors positioned to sense the passage of objects from one conveyor cell to another, the sensors being connected to the controller. The sensor input is used to guide the packages through the matrix, and to optimize the speed at which a plurality of packages can be sorted.