Disclosed herein is an automated cross-dock management system configured to optimize moves on a cross-dock. The automated cross-dock management system uses inbound manifest data to calculate ordered move instructions for all inbound movable platforms, inbound modular decks, and inbound freight. The ordered move instructions can be assigned to be carried out by manual conveyance vehicles or by automated guided vehicles based upon a plurality of criteria. The automated cross-dock management system is also able to detect damaged freight on the cross-dock using a combination of streams from video cameras.

A system, method, and apparatus for palletizing cargo on a rack for shipment are provided. The system generally includes a tiered rack having a base tier, a support framework extending from the base tier, and a second tier adjustably attached to the support framework. The system may further include a plurality of lower frame support members positioned longitudinally across the bottom of the base tier, and a plurality of pneumatically actuated rollers spaced to cooperatively engage the plurality of lower frame support members, the rollers being selectively extendable from a plurality of raised tracks positioned longitudinally along a floor of the railcar, where the rollers are configured to pneumatically extend past an upper surface of the track when actuated and allow for linear motion thereover.

Disclosed herein is an automated cross-dock management system configured to optimize moves on a cross-dock. The automated cross-dock management system uses inbound manifest data to calculate ordered move instructions for all inbound movable platforms, inbound modular decks, and inbound freight. The ordered move instructions can be assigned to be carried out by manual conveyance vehicles or by automated guided vehicles based upon a plurality of criteria. The automated cross-dock management system is also able to detect damaged freight on the cross-dock using a combination of streams from video cameras.

The problem of potentially damaging a pallet layer that is gripped by clamps of a depalletizing tool is solved i) by detecting the real position of the layer using a pad on the tool that is movable with the clamps towards the pallet layer and whose detected stopping position determines the real position of the layer, and ii) while the layer is gripped by the clamp, by inserting under the layer curtains; the pressure on the layer by the clamps being adapted to the ease to go underneath the layer.

A transport device has a position detection portion, a holding portion attached to an arm, a driving portion to drive the holding portion and the arm, and a control portion. A control portion controls the position detection portion and the driving portion to perform, as one cycle, a procedure to detect a position of a parcel, select parcels based on a predetermined condition, and set priority for the selected parcels, and a procedure to refer to a result of the detection, and cause the holding portion to take out one or more parcels from the accumulation portion in accordance with the priority to transport the parcels to a predetermined location, and excludes, from parcels to be taken out, a second parcel that is present within a predetermined distance from a first parcel and has priority lower than the priority of the first parcel, during the one cycle.

A control device executes retrieval control to, in response to a transport request in which a type and an order of each of a plurality of articles that are transported to a transport target location are specified, retrieve all the articles specified in the transport request from a target automatic warehouse, which is one automatic warehouse selected from among a plurality of automatic warehouses, to a retrieval transport device in a specified order that is specified in the transport request. The control device executes, before execution of the retrieval control, inter-warehouse movement control to, if at least one of the plurality of articles specified in the transport request is not stored in the target automatic warehouse, move the article that is not stored in the target automatic warehouse from another automatic warehouse to the target automatic warehouse by using an inter-warehouse transport device.

The problem of potentially damaging a pallet layer that is gripped by clamps of a depalletizing tool is solved i) by detecting the real position of the layer using a pad on the tool that is movable with the clamps towards the pallet layer and whose detected stopping position determines the real position of the layer, and ii) while the layer is gripped by the clamp, by inserting under the layer curtains; the pressure on the layer by the clamps being adapted to the ease to go underneath the layer.

A flat storage facility includes a storage/retrieval device having a Y-direction moving member that is horizontally movable at a certain height above a storage item placement plane. A carriage is horizontally movable in an X direction on the Y-direction moving member, and a storage item gripping mechanism is provided in the carriage. The storage/retrieval device performs storage/retrieval on a storage item between the storage/retrieval device and respective storage item placement points set on the storage item placement plane. The storage item placement plane is divided into a plurality of unit sections at various heights with respect to a reference plane. When the storage/retrieval operation is performed with the storage/retrieval device, the lowering distance of the storage item gripping mechanism with respect to the carriage is adjusted according to the height of the unit section to which the storage item placement point of a storage/retrieval target belongs.

The problem of potentially damaging a pallet layer that is gripped by clamps of a depalletizing tool is solved i) by detecting the real position of the layer using a pad on the tool that is movable with the clamps towards the pallet layer and whose detected stopping position determines the real position of the layer, and ii) while the layer is gripped by the clamp, by inserting under the layer curtains; the pressure on the layer by the clamps being adapted to the ease to go underneath the layer.

A method of distributing freight between an intermodal shipping container and the freight containers of one or more surface-road transports, comprising the steps of: providing a freight container of at least a first surface-road transport; providing a first intermodal shipping container containing freight having a collective weight in excess of the maximum weight that can be lawfully carried in the freight container of each surface-road transport; providing a selectively moveable cross-dock having a body defining an interior storage area and at least first and second openings in the body through which freight may be moved into and out of the interior storage area; positioning a loading/unloading opening of the first intermodal shipping container proximate one of the openings in the cross-dock; positioning a loading/unloading opening of the freight container proximate the other opening in the cross-dock; and distributing freight between the intermodal shipping container and the freight container via cross-dock, the distribution step not continuing beyond the point at which the collective weight of all freight in each freight container would cause each surface road transport to exceed the maximum lawful surface-road transportation weight.