Apparatus and method for creating spacings between individual groups of conveyed goods during simultaneous transport of the groups of conveyed goods

A conveyor system for establishing distances between a first conveyed-good unit and a second conveyed-good unit during the simultaneous transport of the conveyed-good units in one conveying direction, comprising:

• a feeding device for feeding at least one first conveyed-good unit and the second conveyed-good unit, wherein the first conveyed-good unit and the second conveyed-good unit have a first distance,
• one or a plurality of subsequent conveyor sections with a plurality of conveyor drives positioned in the conveying direction one behind the other and next to each other for the transport of the conveyed-good units at an actual velocity,
• detection means for the typifying detection of the individual conveyed-good units,
• means of determining a target position of the first conveyed-good unit and the second conveyed-good unit,
• a control system/regulator for controlling or regulating a target distance in any direction on a conveying plane between of the first conveyed-good unit and the second conveyed-good unit on the basis of the said target position, wherein
• the conveyor drives are configured to move individually or jointly in a plurality the individual conveyed-good units in any direction on the conveying plane comprising both in the conveying direction and at a variable angle deviating from the conveying direction in such a way that the target distance between of the first conveyed-good unit and the second conveyed-good unit exists in any direction on the conveying plane at the point of its transfer to a subsequent conveyor section, wherein the target distance is different from the first distance, wherein
• the conveyor drives each are individually driven by a motor and individually controllable by the control system/regulator, and wherein:
• the detection means is capable of sending a signal to the control system/regulator with information on the characteristics of the first conveyed-good unit and the second conveyed-good unit, the control-system/regulator receives signals from the means for determining a target position of the first conveyed-good unit and the second conveyed-good unit and, depending on these signals, generates and outputs control/regulating signals to the conveyor drives for moving the first conveyed-good unit and the second conveyed-good unit to the target position in such a way that the first conveyed-good unit and the second conveyed-good unit are capable of being individually moved in a variable manner in each direction on the conveying plane by the conveyor drives to establish the target distance in any direction on the conveying plane, wherein the first conveyed-good unit and the second conveyed-good unit are simultaneously transported in the conveying direction, wherein at least two rotational axes of the conveyor drives of a drive module are not arranged orthogonally to the conveying direction.