A curable sheet-like composite material comprising a layer of curable resin and at least one layer of structural fibres and comprising an outer backing layer of substantially resin-free material which is gas permeable but is substantially non-permeable with respect to the curable resin at room temperature.

A curable sheet-like composite material comprising a layer of curable resin and at least one layer of structural fibres and comprising an outer backing layer of substantially resin-free material which is gas permeable but is substantially non-permeable with respect to the curable resin at room temperature.

The present disclosure provides a system for transferring components of different designs, in particular vehicle components, from one processing station to a production line or further processing station. The system includes at least one transfer unit with at least one holding unit and a plurality of holding elements fixed on the holding unit such that at least one receptacle is formed between them. In order to automate the transfer of the components from the processing station to the production line or further processing station, the system further includes at least one loading unit to mechanically stack the components in the receptacle formed between the holding elements, and at least one unloading unit to mechanically unload the components stacked in the receptacle from the transfer unit and introduce the unloaded components into the production line or into the further processing station.

The present disclosure provides a system for transferring components of different designs, in particular vehicle components, from one processing station to a production line or further processing station. The system includes at least one transfer unit with at least one holding unit and a plurality of holding elements fixed on the holding unit such that at least one receptacle is formed between them. In order to automate the transfer of the components from the processing station to the production line or further processing station, the system further includes at least one loading unit to mechanically stack the components in the receptacle formed between the holding elements, and at least one unloading unit to mechanically unload the components stacked in the receptacle from the transfer unit and introduce the unloaded components into the production line or into the further processing station.

Volumetric dispensers and methods dispense one or more units of a material having units with a volume utilizing independently controllable and linearly movable gates.

A container for separating, storing, and dispensing dental picks includes a container to receive a sheet of dental picks, wherein the sheet of dental picks includes multiple interconnected dental picks, a separating device to separate the sheet of dental picks into singular dental picks, and a dispensing device to dispense the singular dental picks, one at a time. A method for separating and dispensing dental picks includes obtaining a sheet of dental picks, wherein the sheet of dental picks includes multiple interconnected dental picks, loading the sheet of dental picks into a container, separating the sheet of dental picks into singular dental picks, and dispensing the singular dental picks one at a time.

A parts supply apparatus includes a supply tray stacking portion where a supply tray containing parts is stacked; a tray raising/lowering unit for separating one of the supply trays from the supply tray stacking portion; a tray holding unit with which the tray raising/lowering unit is provided; and an empty tray stacking portion where an empty tray, which is the supply tray that is emptied after supply of the parts, is stacked. The empty tray stacking portion is disposed above the supply tray stacking portion in a vertical direction.

A method for dispensing pallets, comprising: moving a pallet stack held in a movable frame from a pallet-storage position to a pallet-dispensation position including: raising the pallet stack held in the movable frame, the movable frame being configured to be moved between the pallet-storage position and the pallet-dispensation position once the pallet stack is raised; and dispensing a pallet from the movable frame.

The invention provides an apparatus for separating a cone sleeve (4) from a nested stack of cone sleeves (1) the apparatus comprising a chamber (2) having an upper (7) and a lower (8) surface connected by a wall or walls (6), the upper surface (7) having an upper circular opening (3) and the lower surface (8) having a lower circular opening (5) characterized in that the upper circular opening (3) has a circumference of from 100-135% of the maximum circumference of the cone sleeve (4), the lower circular opening (5) has a circumference of from 95-99.5% of the maximum circumference of the cone sleeve (4), and the chamber (2) has inlets (9) connectable to a pressurized gas supply. The invention also provides process that employs the apparatus, the process comprising the steps of providing a stack of nested cone sleeves (1); placing the lowermost end of the stack into the chamber (2) from above the chamber (2); and allowing the lowermost cone sleeve (4) to sit within the lower circular opening (5) and allowing the cone sleeves above the lower-most cone sleeve (4) to protrude from the top of the chamber (2) characterized in that pressurized gas is introduced into the chamber via the inlets (9) thereby to create an elevated pressure within the chamber (2).

A product storage device includes: a product storage column storing products aligned in a row in a product storage path; a first gate moving back from and forward to a most downstream area that is downstream of a most downstream product in the product storage path; a second gate disposed in an upstream side with respect to the first gate and moving back from and forward to the most downstream area; a gate operation mechanism keeping the first and second gates in a state of having moved forward to the most downstream area in a standby state and to allow them to move back from the most downstream area when an operation command is given; and a measuring unit measuring the number of taken-out products by counting the number of changes in at least one of the first and second gates from a backward movement to a forward movement.