A pick assist system may include a pallet destacker storing a front column of pallets and a back column of pallets. At least one rfid reader is configured to read an rfid tag on a pallet in or below at least one of the front column of pallets or the back column of pallets. The pick assist system may include a pallet sled including a display indicating a product to be retrieved. The pallet sled may determine that the product has been placed in a center of a pallet on the pallet sled. A method for verifying a pallet may include identifying skus on exterior products in a layer in a stack of products. Based upon that determination, the skus of the interior products may also be determined. For example, it may be determined that the interior products were part of a layer pick.

An autoloading shingle feeder that singulates an associated stack of media into associated individual articles. The autoloading shingle feeder includes a housing including a base, at least one loading belt with a loading surface that defines a horizontally extending loading plane. The autoloading shingle feeder also includes at least one feeding belt that is distinct from the at least one loading belt and includes a feeding surface that defines a feeding plane. The autoloading shingle feeder also includes a carriage assembly that limits vertical movement of the associated individual article when the associated individual article moves from the at least one loading belt to the at least one feeding belt. The carriage assembly includes at least one separator plate including a pressure portion that linearly extends in the loading direction for direct sliding contact with the associated individual article.

A tray destacker includes a pair of spaced-apart carriages movable vertically relative to a frame. An indexing member is carried by each of the carriages. Each indexing member is movable between a deployed position in which the indexing members are closer to one another and a retracted position in which the indexing members are further from one another. A controller is programmed to automatically split a large stack of trays into two or more smaller stacks.

A container supply device includes a guide plate that guides stacking of a plurality of lids in a vertical direction, a lower claw capable of advancing/retreating and mounting a first container located at the lowermost position in a plurality of stacked containers, an upper claw capable of advancing/retreating and including a recess into which a flange portion of a second container sequentially stacked on the first container in the plurality of stacked containers is inserted, and a suction pad that adsorbs and separates the first container from the second container in a state where the second container is supported by the upper claw.

A drink lid dispenser assembly includes a lid housing which contains a stack of drink container lids. A lid dispenser unit is movably integrated into the lid housing. The lid dispenser unit includes a lid screw which engages a bottommost lid in the stack of drink container lids thereby facilitating the bottommost lid to fall outwardly from the lid housing to deliver the bottommost lid to a user. A straw dispenser is coupled to the lid housing and the straw dispenser contains a stack of drinking straws. The straw dispenser includes a screw engaging a bottommost straw in the stack of drinking straws. The screw in the straw dispenser urges the bottommost straw outwardly from the straw dispenser when the straw dispenser is turned on to deliver the bottommost straw to the user.

A method for automatically forming bundles of metal laminations, adapted for armatures of electrical machines or the like, by automatic precision dosing of a lamination bundle produced by picking up and separating a preset number of laminations, includes grabbing, at one end of a lamination stack, a preset number of laminations; separating the number of laminations of the bundle from the lamination stack by axially moving the bundle away from the lamination stack by a preset distance; detaching one or more laminations, if any, at the end of the lamination bundle facing the lamination stack, which may have remained adherent to a last intended lamination by being clamped by a part of their thickness or glued to the lowest lamination of the lamination bundle; and collecting the lamination or laminations, if any, detached from the lamination stack end in a position axially aligned with the laminations of the stack.

A pallet blocking apparatus for use with a pallet dispenser, and related method and system are described. The pallet blocking apparatus comprises, a first wall, a second wall substantially parallel to the first wall and spaced apart for allowing movement of a pallet stack with a top pallet and a bottom pallet there inbetween, the pallet stack being dispensed from the pallet dispenser, a pallet storage area defined by the space between the first wall, the second wall, and a pallet blocker, and the pallet blocker spanning the first wall and the second wall, and substantially perpendicular to the first wall and the second wall, the blocker for blocking the top pallet in the pallet stack and urging the top pallet into the pallet storage area.

An apparatus for dispensing microorganism culture plates, culture plate loader and culture plate reader comprising the same, as well as method dispensing microorganism culture plates, method of loading such culture plates into a culture plate reader, and method of counting microorganism colonies on such culture plates.

Provided is a pile preparation unit for changing a pallet support of a pile of sheets with a first end and a second end where the pallet has a support side supporting the pile of sheets at the first end. The pile preparation unit may include a rotation unit configured with an infeed opening for receiving a pallet with a pile of sheets, the rotation unit configured with a rotating structure to rotate a lift unit about a rotational axis. The lift unit is configured with a lift structure fixed to the rotating structure and has a lift plate movable along the lift structure to engage with the second end of the pile of sheets and to move and position the pile of sheets transverse, relative to the rotational axis, providing a portal for changing a pallet.

Provided is a pile preparation unit for changing a pallet support of a pile of sheets with a first end and a second end where the pallet has a support side supporting the pile of sheets at the first end. The pile preparation unit may include a rotation unit configured with an infeed opening for receiving a pallet with a pile of sheets, the rotation unit configured with a rotating structure to rotate a lift unit about a rotational axis. The lift unit is configured with a lift structure fixed to the rotating structure and has a lift plate movable along the lift structure to engage with the second end of the pile of sheets and to move and position the pile of sheets transverse, relative to the rotational axis, providing a portal for changing a pallet.