A plant for forming compound pallet units having a plurality of master pallet units, and an automatic robotic apparatus having a de-stacking robot configured for removing product layers from tops of master pallet units positioned in a de-stacking area and for placing add-on product layers on top of the master pallet unit positioned in a stacking station, so as to form in the stacking station a compound pallet unit having a height greater than a height of the master pallet unit.

An automated warehouse includes shelves, a carrier, an elevator, and a controller. The shelves include a first shelf storing a first article and a second shelf which is larger than the first shelf and stores the first article and the second article. The carrier is provided at each shelf and transfers articles. The elevator moves articles up or down. When the vacancy rate of the second shelf is equal to or more than the predetermined ratio, the controller controls the carrier and the elevator to store the first article onto the second shelf. When the vacancy rate of the second shelf is less than the predetermined ratio, the controller controls the carrier and the elevator to store the first article only onto the first shelf.

The invention relates to a device for assembling or disassembling rows of parcels such as boxes and stacking or destacking these rows of parcels into or from a space, such as a container. The device of the invention comprises a transport conveyor to maneuver goods from or to the space, a stacking conveyor (300) positioned adjacent to the transport conveyor to align the parcels in a row or to break up a row of parcels, a pusher system (600) associated with the stacking conveyor (300) to push the row of parcels of the stacking conveyor, a loading arm (200) for sending and/or receiving, for transferring and stacking the row of parcels pushed off the stacking conveyor (300) in the space or pick a row of parcels from the space and transfer this row of parcels to the stacking conveyor (300) .

An automated storage and retrieval system includes a storage array of storage locations for case units. An in-out case conveyor is capable of bi-directionally transporting case units to and from the storage array, and an in-out loaded pallet conveyor is capable of bi-directionally transporting loaded pallets towards and away from the storage array. A palletizer-depalletizer cell includes a bi-directional pallet transport system with more than one independently driven pallet transports, each with a different pallet holder independently movable relative to a cell frame. Placement of case units commissioning a pallet layer loading a pallet, and removal of case units decommissioning a pallet layer unloading another pallet are both effected at the common pallet layer interface at a predetermined level of the cell frame. The pallet transports independently index a first and a second of the different pallet holders, each independently holding the pallet loading at the common pallet layer interface.

A sequencing station includes a buffer including a plurality of positions, each position being configured to receive an item. An industrial robot is configured to place items to the positions and pick items from the positions, and a transport device is configured to move items into and out of a work area of the robot. The robot has at least four degrees of freedom. A robot with four degrees of freedom manages both sequencing and restacking tasks faster and with lower investment than conventional machines dedicated to specific tasks.

A system is provided comprising a carton conveyor and a bypass carton accumulator adjacent to, and interfaced with, the carton conveyor. The bypass carton accumulator may comprise: a carton pick apparatus comprising a carton pick head; at least one stop device comprising a stopper movable between a first and a second position; and a storage apparatus. When in the first position, the stopper does not interfere with the flow of cartons along the conveyor and when in the second position, the stopper engages with a carton to stop a flow of cartons along the conveyor. The carton pick apparatus may be configured to pick up via the carton pick head a set of cartons from a pick-up zone of the carton conveyor after the stopper has moved to its second position and place the set of cartons in the storage apparatus.

A confection mold conveying system and methods for manufacturing of confection products, the system including a first conveyor segment and a second conveyor segment. The first conveyor segment has a first pusher bar and a series of spaced apart first pusher fingers extending therefrom. The first pusher fingers are oriented to engage confection mold trays while the first pusher bar is translated in a first direction. The first pusher fingers are re-oriented to avoid engagement with the confection mold trays while the first pusher bar is translated in a second direction opposite the first direction. The second conveyor segment receives the confection mold trays from the first conveyor segment and can include a first rotatable shaft with a first helical channel to receive a first tab of one of the confection mold trays. Rotation of the rotatable shaft thereby continuously advances the respective confection mold tray in the first direction.

A stacking device for handling loading aids for the automated feeding of a machine tool has a base, a stud frame that is held by the base and that supports a first vertical guide and a second vertical guide, and a first side and a second side. The first side has a vertically movable support segment for receiving a conveyor that carries two or more loading aids that are arranged one above the other. The support segment is moveable along the first vertical guide. The second side has a vertically movable lifting console for receiving at least one loading aid. The lifting console is configured to receive two or more loading aids arranged one above the other. The lifting console is moveable along the second vertical guide. The support segment and the lifting console are arranged facing away from each other at the stud frame. The support segment and the lifting console are coupled to each other in a forced coupling via a common coupling member and vertically movable in opposite directions via a common vertical drive. An automation module includes a stacking device and a handling unit. A method for feeding a machine tool uses such a stacking device.

A picking facility is realized that can shorten the time required to transfer an article from a first support body to a second support body. Of a plurality of articles 50 supported by the first support body 51, the article 50 located at the highest position and the article 50 whose upper face T1 is present in a range of a set distance D downward from the upper face T1 of the article 50 located at the highest position are set as transfer-target articles 50A, and the control device performs a selection control to preferentially select, from the transfer-target articles 50A, a transfer-target article 50A in the normal orientation SC, and a transfer control to control the transfer device so as to transfer the transfer-target article 50A selected through the selection control from the first support body 51 to the second support body.

A picking facility is realized that can shorten the time required to transfer an article from a first support body to a second support body. Of a plurality of articles 50 supported by the first support body 51, the article 50 located at the highest position and the article 50 whose upper face T1 is present in a range of a set distance D downward from the upper face T1 of the article 50 located at the highest position are set as transfer-target articles 50A, and the control device performs a selection control to preferentially select, from the transfer-target articles 50A, a transfer-target article 50A in the normal orientation SC, and a transfer control to control the transfer device so as to transfer the transfer-target article 50A selected through the selection control from the first support body 51 to the second support body.