A personnel platform facilitates maintenance on a loop sorter of a material handling system in a distribution center. The personnel platform includes wheeled axle assemblies, having left and right wheel hub assemblies connected by a lateral support structure, engaged for longitudinal travel to opposing wheel channels of a section bed of the loop sorter that guide a train of material handling carriages. The personnel platform also includes a carrier platform comprising multiple sub-platforms, such that each sub-platform is pivotally attached to an adjacent sub-platform. Further, the personnel platform includes a rail assembly having upright structures and side rail assemblies attached between an adjacent pair of upright structures. Further, the side rail assemblies extend and retract according to changing spacing between the adjacent upright structures as the personnel platform moves along a curved section.

A device for selecting and discarding pucks (2,3) for holding bottles (1) with a support and travel plane (110), a plurality of teeth (120) where the teeth (120) are arranged in the plane (110) to form a routing path towards a discarding path (OUT2) for discarding empty pucks (2) without a bottle (1) and a routing path towards an exit path (OUT3) for outputting full pucks (3) containing a bottle (1).

The invention relates to a conveying device having a first and a second conveyor belt and a moveable turnout which directs a flow of products onto the first and/or second conveyor belt.

An automated storage and retrieval system includes a three-dimensional storage grid for storing storage containers; first and second container handling vehicles operating on the storage grid; and a central communication system for controlling and communicating with the container handling vehicles for handling storage containers in the storage grid. The automated storage and retrieval system includes a barrier separating the three dimensional storage grid into a first section and a second section. The barrier has two states: a first state in which the container handling vehicles are allowed to move between the first section and the second section; and a second state, in which the container handling vehicles are physically prevented from moving between the first section and the second section by means of the barrier.

A system and method are provided for automated engaging of a truck trailer at a loading dock. Sensors measure a distance and an angle of alignment between the incoming trailer and a wall of the loading dock. An outside lighting system guides a truck driver backing the trailer toward the dock door. A vehicle restraint system fixates the trailer within the loading dock in response to signals from the sensors. An overhead dock door opens once the trailer is successfully fixated by the vehicle restraint system. A dock leveler deploys after the overhead dock door opens. An inside dock light indicates to dock personnel that the trailer is ready to be serviced. Once servicing of the trailer is finished, an automated release of the trailer from the loading dock may be initiated by PLC communication.

The invention relates to a storage rack for accommodating cuboid-shaped piece goods such as loaded standard pallets or standard containers, comprising front and rear vertical support elements (1, 4), storage lanes extending over the rack depth, which are provided with at least two horizontal profiled supporting elements (10), which are arranged parallel to each other, in order to provide supports (11) for the piece goods, and stop elements (7) at the ends of the storage lanes facing away from the placement-into-storage and removal-from-storage ends, wherein the stop elements (7) are located at a level above the level of the supports (11). In order to reduce the risk that the rack can be damaged when piece goods are placed into storage too hard in the direction of the rack depth in the case of a storage rack for accommodating cuboid-shaped piece goods such as loaded standard pallets, by means of economical measures that are simple in respect of assembly, the stop elements (7) are fastened to the rear support elements (4) and/or the profiled supporting elements (10) by means of connecting elements (8) that are designed to be deformable in a yielding manner in the longitudinal direction of the storage lanes.

An emergency stop device for a shuttle moveable in a horizontal plane on two elongated rails arranged in parallel includes at least one pressure biased locking shoulder displaceable in a horizontal plane, and at least one stabilizing wheel arranged together with the locking shoulder in a holder and protruding outside the locking shoulder, wherein the stabilizing wheel is rotatable in a horizontal plane. The locking shoulder and the stabilizing wheel together have an extension such that they together can be received, at least partially in a hole provided in a substantially vertical web of the rails at an end portion of the rail, when biased by the pressure bias. A frictional coupling is arranged between the shuttle and holder and allows limited movement of the shuttle in the horizontal plane after the locking shoulder has reached a locked position vis-à-vis the rails. Further, a stockroom system includes a plurality of pairs of parallel, elongated rails, arranged in a horizontal plane, and a shuttle movable on a pair of rails, and along the rails, wherein each rail is designed with a substantially vertical web and at least one protruding horizontal portion for bearing of load, the at least one protruding horizontal portion protruding from the substantially vertical web, wherein the stockroom system comprises an emergency stop device according to the above.

A cargo handling apparatus includes a first conveyor portion, a first detection portion, a second conveyor portion, a gripping portion, a second detection portion, and a controller. The first conveyor portion is configured to convey an article to be handled in a first direction. The first detection portion is configured to detect article information. The second conveyor portion is configured to convey the article in a second direction. The gripping portion is configured to arrange the article in an accumulating portion. The second detection portion is configured to detect stacking information. The controller is configured to control operation of the gripping portion based on the article information and the stacking information.

Systems, devices, and methods including: a conveyor belt (302) having a plurality of openings (608, 610, 612); a first plurality of nozzles (314) disposed in complementary opposition to a top surface (310) of the conveyor belt; a shard plate (318, 320) disposed below the top surface of the conveyor belt opposite from the plurality of nozzles, the shard plate disposed at an angle from the conveyor belt; and a shard catch (322, 324) disposed along at least one edge of the shard plate; where shard passes through the openings of the conveyor belt, falls onto the shard plate, and is collected in the shard catch.