Disclosed is a spacer gripper, a bead-apex storage system and a method for lifting one or more of the spacers from a stack of bead-apexes, wherein each spacer has a central aperture, wherein the central apertures of the spacers in the stack of bead-apexes are aligned in a stacking direction to form a central space, wherein the spacer gripper has a gripper head and a plurality of spacer engagement members protruding from said gripper head for reaching into the central space of the respective stack at least up to a second spacer of the respective stack from the top of the respective stack, wherein the plurality of spacer engagement members are movable into an engagement position for engaging said second spacer to lift said second spacer from the respective stack simultaneously with a first spacer at the top of the respective stack.

A device for picking up products stacked on pallets comprises a receiving station configured to receive a pallet, an unloading station comprising a support surface, a transfer equipment movable between the receiving station and the unloading station and configured to pick up a separation sheet from the receiving station and deposit it in the unloading station. The transfer equipment comprising a plurality of grippers, wherein each gripper is configurable between a closed condition in which it grips the separation sheet made of flexible material and an open condition in which it releases the separation sheet made of flexible material. A main pusher is placed in the unloading station and is movable along the support surface following an active section of a first path.

A layer destacking system for destacking layer from stacked layer pallet load, including layer seating platform configured to seat the destacked layer on layer seating platform, conveying surface with conveyance traverse direction traverses the seated destacked layer off layer seating platform, slip sheet detection sensor coupled to layer seating platform and arranged to sense slip sheet in contact with seated destacked layer on uppermost surface and bottom surface of seated destacked layer, slip sheet pickup removal mechanism extending over layer seating platform configured to engage, above layer seating platform, slip sheet contacting one uppermost surface and bottom surface of seated destacked layer controller communicably coupled to slip sheet detection sensor to receive signal from slip sheet detection sensor identifying presence of slip sheet, controller is operably connected to slip sheet pickup removal mechanism to actuate slip sheet pickup removal mechanism engaging slip sheet contacting one uppermost surface and bottom surface.

An end effector includes a base, a first leg, a second leg, a first arm, and a second arm. The first leg is connected to the base. The second leg is connected to the base and is offset from the first leg. The first arm is pivotably connected to the first leg. The second arm is pivotably connected to the second leg. The first leg and the first arm are configured to releasably hold a first portion of a dunnage unit. The second leg and the second arm are configured to releasably hold a second portion of the dunnage unit.