Transport of bulk material items

A method for operating a device (10) for feeding bulk material items (12) from a mass multiply arranged one above the other in a store (14) into a randomly re-alignable, individually distributed and disentangled position within the reach of a robot (18), the device (10) comprising a substantially horizontally arranged oscillating conveyor surface (16) with first means (58, 60) for the forward feed or reverse transport of the bulk material items (12) in a x-direction or in a x- and y-direction of the space coordinates, second means (62) for exciting an oscillation of the oscillating conveyor surface (16) in a z-direction of the space coordinates, a vision system means for individual detection of the number, position and alignment of the individual bulk material items (12), and generating picture and a processor (56) for processing the sensor signals and generating control commands to actuators, characterised in that an oscillating motion (S) is generated in the z-direction with a programmable amplitude (A) which is continuously increasing in the x-direction, and therefore correspondingly increased speed and acceleration of the bulk material items (12), which oscillating motion (S) in the z-direction takes place alternatingly or at least partially simultaneously and coordinated with a forward feed or reverse transport of the bulk material items (12) in the x- or x- and y-direction, wherein, during the time period of the picture by the vision system means until removal of bulk material items (12) by the robot (18), all movements of the oscillating conveyor surface (16) in the x- or x- and y-direction are stopped and the oscillating motions (S) in the z-direction are damped or stopped.