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 movable 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.

A stabilizer can include an attachment surface and a non-stick surface. Multiple stabilizers can be arranged in a stack, e.g., such that the attachment surface of one stabilizer is engaged with the non-stick surface of another stabilizer. A stabilizer can be removed from the stack and attached to an item having a curved surface along the length of the item. The item, with the stabilizer attached, can be positioned on a conveyance surface, e.g., such that the stabilizer is between the conveyance surface and the item.

A system for interfacing between different types of conveyors is disclosed. The conveyor systems comprise a first serial conveyor system using a sequence of object carriers configured to transport a continuous serial stream of objects, and a parallel conveyor system configured to simultaneously transport one or more arrays of objects. A first accumulator unit can be used to accumulate a batch of the object carriers of the first serial conveyor system. Each of the object carriers can carry an object of the continuous serial stream of objects for accumulating a batch of the objects therein. Two or more first movable trays, each configured to receive an array of the objects from the batch of objects accumulated in the first accumulator unit, can be used to transfer the received array of objects to the parallel conveyor system, and load the objects thereby carried onto grippers of the parallel conveyor system.

A method of and system for producing Class-A fire-protected oriented strand board (OSB) sheets. Each Class-A fire-protected OSB sheet has: a core medium layer made of wood pump, binder and/or adhesive materials; a pair of OSB layers bonded to the core medium layer; a clean fire inhibiting chemical (CFIC) coating on the surface of each OSB layer, made from CFIC liquid applied to the surface by dipping the OSB sheet into the CFIC liquid in a dipping tank, allowing shallow surface absorption into the OSB layers and ends of the core medium layer at atmospheric pressure; and a moisture, fire and UV protection coating spray coated over the CFIC coating to provide protection against moisture, fire and UV radiation from Sunlight, which is quickly dried by passing through a drying tunnel on the production line.

A method of and system for producing Class-A fire-protected oriented strand board (OSB) sheets. Each Class-A fire-protected OSB sheet has: a core medium layer made of wood pump, binder and/or adhesive materials; a pair of OSB layers bonded to the core medium layer; a clean fire inhibiting chemical (CFIC) coating on the surface of each OSB layer, made from CFIC liquid applied to the surface by dipping the OSB sheet into the CFIC liquid in a dipping tank, allowing shallow surface absorption into the OSB layers and ends of the core medium layer at atmospheric pressure; and a moisture, fire and UV protection coating spray coated over the CFIC coating to provide protection against moisture, fire and UV radiation from Sunlight, which is quickly dried by passing through a drying tunnel on the production line.

An electric pallet conveyor includes a slide moveably supported on a guide-rail of a track. The electric pallet includes a motor for propelling the slide along the guide rail. A first gear pulley is attached to the slide and rotatable about a first gear pulley axis of rotation in response to a rotational torque output from the motor. A second gear pulley displaced from the first gear pulley is rotatable about a second gear pulley axis of rotation. A pulley belt connects the first gear pulley to the second gear pulley and is operable for transferring a rotational torque from the first gear pulley to the second gear pulley. A drive pulley fixedly attached to the second gear pulley engages a drive rail of the track to propel the slide along the guide-rail.

An aerial roof height item receiving structure demonstrating novel solutions to issues of item drop damage, noise, aesthetic, weather, item temperature, and safety concerns related to aerial based item delivery systems is presented. A chimney like chute can be made high enough to avoid collisions with people or pets yet still safely receive items dropped into it from heights through the use of impact absorbing pads and a mesh box spring within the chute. Heat exchange with the building structure or active heating or cooling of the box spring mitigate snow, ice, and item temperature issues. A swing door to function as an aerial unit charging platform for added distance delivery can be added to the top of the chute. An item drop box placed at human accessible height can also be added to allow the chute to dual function for traditional item deliveries.

A method of transferring an item between a motor vehicle and a locker can include extending an extension mechanism between a motor vehicle and a locker. The extension mechanism includes a conveyor system having an extension mechanism item carrying surface. The locker includes a conveyor system having a locker item carrying surface. The method assesses whether the motor vehicle is receiving an item from the locker, or transferring an item to the locker. When the item is to be transferred from the locker, the method positions the extension mechanism relative to the locker such that the extension mechanism item carrying surface is vertically lower than the locker item carrying surface. When the item is to be transferred from the motor vehicle, the method positions the extension mechanism relative to the locker such that the extension mechanism item carrying surface is vertically higher than the locker item carrying surface.

A tray conveyor in which plastic trays with rows of embedded translators are driven by stators in multiple conveyor sections. Washing stations in cleaning zones in each conveyor section are provided to automatically clean empty trays in the conveyor's return path. Indicia on each tray identify the tray as belonging to a specific family of trays. Each of the conveyor sections conveys only conveyor trays that belong to a predetermined family assigned to that conveyor section.

In a lumber factory, an automated laminated veneer lumber (LVL) process supported by a lumber production line employing a cross-cutting and rip-sawing stage, a dip-coating stage, a spray-coating stage, a print-marking stage, and a stacking, packaging and wrapping stage. At the dip-coating stage, cross-cut and rip-sawed LVL product is automatically transported and submerged through a dipping reservoir containing clean fire inhibiting chemical (CFIC) liquid, and then wet-stacked and set aside to dry. Once dried, the dip-coated LVL products are returned to the production line and sprayed coated with a moisture, fire and UV protective coating at the spray-coating stage, and then passed through a drying tunnel for quick drying of the spray-coating to produce Class-A fire-protected LVL products. The Class-A fire-protected LVL products are stacked, packaged and wrapped at the stacking, packaging and wrapping stage into a package of Class-A fire-protected LVL products, ready for shipping.