An operation-side communication device that is operated by an operator and a machine-side communication device that is connected to an industrial machine mutually register each other as partners permitted to communicate with each other. A communication device receives a partner ID of a partner communication device intended to be registered as a partner. The communication device wirelessly transmits a signal including the partner ID to the partner communication device. The partner communication device determines whether the partner ID included in the received signal corresponds to the ID of the partner communication device itself, and if so, the communication device registers the partner ID as the ID of a permitted communication partner. The above operations are repeated with the communication device and the partner communication device interchanged.

The present invention concerns an order-picking system, comprising a goods-in buffer (3) with at least one storage area (4), in which the picked goods units are stored before they leave the order-picking system, and at least one staging area (6), in which the picked goods units are staged automatically by an operating device in accordance with a predetermined sequence. In addition, the present invention comprise a pallet racking warehouse for a shipping buffer and a stacker crane for a corresponding pallet racking warehouse. A gravity conveyor (5) for the staging area of the shipping buffer is also the subject-matter of the present invention.

A materials handling vehicle includes a camera, an odometry module to generate odometry data, a processor, and a drive mechanism. The camera captures images of an identifier for a racking system aisle and at least a rack leg portion positioned in the aisle. The processor uses the identifier to generate information indicative of an initial rack leg position and rack leg spacing in the aisle, generate an initial vehicle position using the initial rack leg position, generate a vehicle odometry-based position in the aisle using odometry data and the initial vehicle position, detect a subsequent rack leg using a captured image, correlate the detected subsequent rack leg with an expected vehicle position using rack leg spacing, generate an odometry error signal based on a difference between the expected vehicle position and the vehicle odometry-based position, and update the vehicle odometry-based position using the odometry error signal.

A pallet is housed while being supported from below by a pair of shelf-side support surfaces. The shelf-side support surfaces extend in a second direction and are separate from each other in a first direction by a predetermined separation distance. A pallet inspection device includes a first lift member, a second lift member, a raising and lowering mechanism, and an inspection unit. The first lift member has a first support surface. The second lift member has a second support surface. The first support surface and the second support surface extend in a width direction and are separate from each other in a transportation direction by a predetermined setting distance. The setting distance corresponds to the separation distance between the pair of shelf-side support surfaces. The inspection unit inspects the pallet for bending while the first support surface and the second support surface are at a projecting position.

A contact lens retrieving method is applied to a contact lens, which is placed in a detection container containing a buffer solution and has been inspected in an optical detection. The method comprises steps:

moving a vacuum sucker into the buffer solution at a first speed to make the contact lens depart from the lateral side of the detection container; moving the vacuum sucker away from a bottom of the detection container at a second speed with the vacuum sucker not leaving the buffer solution to make the contact lens flow toward a center of the detection container;

moving the vacuum sucker to approach the contact lens at a third speed to make the vacuum sucker and the contact lens positioned to each other; and using the vacuum sucker to take up the contact lens and carry the contact lens out of the detection container.

An overhead transport vehicle includes: a traveling portion including traveling wheels to travel on a traveling rail, and a main body supported by the traveling portion via a suspension and configured to hold an object to be transported. The overhead transport vehicle includes a contact roller to contact with a curved outside portion of the traveling rail in a curved section from below on an upper surface of the main body facing the traveling rail in a vertical direction.

Embodiments of product handling systems facilitate transfer of individual product items from incoming bulk form into dedicated trays for inspection, sorting, selection, and packaging. Inspection may comprise interrogation of product items within a tray by electromagnetic (e.g., optical, hyperspectral) or other (e.g., physical, acoustic, gas sensing, etc.) techniques. Prior to packaging, product items disposed within the tray may be stored in a moveable carousel responsible for controlling environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, illumination, ambient gases, product-to-product interactions, and/or others. Movement of product items from a carousel's transfer station to an outside staging position may be accomplished using robots and/or conveyor belts. Embodiments may allow rapid, low-cost consumer selection of specific individual product items based upon their accompanying metadata (e.g., source, identifier), in combination with the results of inspection (e.g., visual appearance). Embodiments may receive product items pre-packaged in tray format to expedite inspection, sorting, selection, and packaging.

Drug packets may be dispensed as a belt of drug packets. Machine-readable identifiers in the belt may be automatically read to identify drug packets and associate the drug packets with the received orders. The drug packets may be automatically inspected to confirm contents of the drug packets against the received orders. The belt may be automatically separated into segments of drug packets. Each of the segments may correspond to a supply period and each of the drug packets within each of the segments may correspond to a drug dose event for the multi-drug regimen within the supply period. The segments of the belt may be automatically accumulated into belt rolls such that, for each of the belt rolls, a first segment end is on an interior of the belt roll and a second segment end is on an exterior of the belt roll.

A device for replacing a pallet to be replaced (P) supporting a load (C) with a replacing pallet (S) a bulkhead element (9) connected between uprights (7) and vertically spaced from a slide element (3) by at least the height of the pallet to be replaced (P) so as to form a window (11) for passage of the pallet to be replaced (P) therethrough. The pallet to be replaced (P) and the load (C) are moved into an exchange site (I) in front of the window (11) and in abutment with it, or facing and adjacent to, the bulkhead element (9), wherein a force exerted on the pallet to be replaced (P) by the replacing pallet (S) causes the latter to be inserted (S) under the load and the pallet to be replaced (P) to move away beyond the window until it reaches a collecting site (R).

It is disclosed a system and method for picking and delivering articles (14) in accordance with a plurality of orders from customers (24), wherein the orders comprise pouchable article (14) of an online supermarket, which have been ordered by the customers (24), comprising the steps of: providing a storage and order-picking installation (11), in which the articles (14) of the online supermarket are stored in, preferably different, storage and picking areas (12); filling pouches (16), in accordance with the orders, with the ordered articles (14) within the storage and picking areas (12); coupling the pouches (16) to an overhead conveyor (22); handing over the filled pouches (16) to a delivery vehicle (20) configured to transport the pouches (16) in a hanging manner; transporting the hanging pouches (16) with the delivery vehicle (20) to the customers (24); determining a delivery tour by means of a controlling device (28), wherein the delivery tour defines a sequence in which the customers (24) are delivered by the delivery vehicle (20), in order to hand over to the customers (24) the pouches (16) including the articles (14), which have been ordered by the customers (24); and sorting the filled pouches (16) in accordance with the delivery route by means of the overhead conveyor (22).