Systems and processes for packing complementary articles of footwear into a container are disclosed. The processes can include utilizing a reusable packing sheet positioned underneath complementary articles of footwear to transfer the complementary articles of footwear into a container. The processes can also include removing the reusable packing sheet from underneath the complementary articles of footwear while the complementary articles of footwear remain positioned in the container. Additional processes can include aligning and sizing complementary articles of footwear for packing in a container.

A mold configuration for forming a pocket in a film comprising: a film support surface; a perimeter edge at said film support surface; wall surfaces inward of the perimeter edge defining a mold cavity; the wall surfaces including transition wall surfaces extending to a bottom wall surface; and a plateau surface inward of the perimeter edge. In one form, the perimeter edge includes sharp corner profile perimeter edge portions defining at least one sharp corner profile. A method of forming a pouch, includes using the disclosed mold configuration.

Embodiments of product handling systems facilitate transfer of individual product items from incoming bulk form into dedicated trays for inspection, sorting, selection, and packaging. Inspection may comprise interrogation of product items within a tray by electromagnetic (e.g., optical, hyperspectral) or other (e.g., physical, acoustic, gas sensing, etc.) techniques. Prior to packaging, product items disposed within the tray may be stored in a moveable carousel responsible for controlling environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, illumination, ambient gases, product-to-product interactions, and/or others. Movement of product items from a carousel's transfer station to an outside staging position may be accomplished using robots and/or conveyor belts. Embodiments may allow rapid, low-cost consumer selection of specific individual product items based upon their accompanying metadata (e.g., source, identifier), in combination with the results of inspection (e.g., visual appearance). Embodiments may receive product items pre-packaged in tray format to expedite inspection, sorting, selection, and packaging.

A vibrating device (14) ensures the ordered rearrangement of folding boxes (3) in a receptacle (2) for an evacuation conveyor (8), provided with driving elements (12) whose vertices define a horizontal transport plane (S2). The device comprises: a movable support (15) able to support a receptacle (2) loaded with folding boxes (3), the support (15) having a contact surface (51) designed to be in contact with the receptacle (2), and at least one controllable actuator (16a, 16b, 16c, 16d) comprising a displaceable end connected to the support (15) and able to displace the support (15) between: a retracted position in which the contact surface (S1) is positioned beneath the horizontal transport plane (S2), allowing a contact between the receptacle (2) and the driving elements (12), and a deployed position in which the contact surface (S1) is positioned above the horizontal transport plane (S2), preventing the contact between the receptacle (2) and the driving elements (12),
the actuator (16a, 16b, 16c, 16d) being likewise designed to cause the support (15) to vibrate about the deployed position in order to reorder the disposition of the folding boxes (3) contained in the receptacle (2).

Provided is a boxing apparatus that may repeatedly push products packaged in a soft packaging material into a box through a lateral opening and to pack the products in a plurality of rows, wherein product-filled rate may be easily enhanced without damaging the products. A boxing apparatus 10 may pack a plurality of rows of bagged products into a box. The boxing apparatus may be provided with a push-in mechanism 50, a shutter, a vertical movement mechanism, and a controller 41. The push-in mechanism may push the products into the box through a lateral opening in the box. The shutter may enter and exit the box through the opening. The vertical movement mechanism may move the box and the shutter up and down relative to each other.

Embodiments of product handling systems facilitate transfer of individual product items from incoming bulk form into dedicated trays for inspection, sorting, selection, and packaging. Inspection may comprise interrogation of product items within a tray by electromagnetic (e.g., optical, hyperspectral) or other (e.g., physical, acoustic, gas sensing, etc.) techniques. Prior to packaging, product items disposed within the tray may be stored in a moveable carousel responsible for controlling environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, illumination, ambient gases, product-to-product interactions, and/or others. Movement of product items from a carousel's transfer station to an outside staging position may be accomplished using robots and/or conveyor belts. Embodiments may allow rapid, low-cost consumer selection of specific individual product items based upon their accompanying metadata (e.g., source, identifier), in combination with the results of inspection (e.g., visual appearance). Embodiments may receive product items pre-packaged in tray format to expedite inspection, sorting, selection, and packaging.

Embodiments of product handling systems facilitate transfer of individual product items from incoming bulk form into dedicated trays for inspection, sorting, selection, and packaging. Inspection may comprise interrogation of product items within a tray by electromagnetic (e.g., optical, hyperspectral) or other (e.g., physical, acoustic, gas sensing, etc.) techniques. Prior to packaging, product items disposed within the tray may be stored in a moveable carousel responsible for controlling environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, illumination, ambient gases, product-to-product interactions, and/or others. Movement of product items from a carousel's transfer station to an outside staging position may be accomplished using robots and/or conveyor belts. Embodiments may allow rapid, low-cost consumer selection of specific individual product items based upon their accompanying metadata (e.g., source, identifier), in combination with the results of inspection (e.g., visual appearance). Embodiments may receive product items pre-packaged in tray format to expedite inspection, sorting, selection, and packaging.

An article transfer apparatus includes a holding portion, a driving portion that moves the holding portion, a control unit, and a reference detection portion that detects a reference position of a target article held by the holding portion. The control unit performs reference detection control to detect, by the reference detection portion, the reference position in a state in which the target article is lifted, determination control to determine a positional relationship between the holding portion and the reference position based on a result of detection by the reference detection control, and position calculation control to calculate, based on the positional relationship determined by the determination control, a movement destination position that is a position, of the holding portion at the movement destination, at which an outer edge of the target article held by the holding portion fits within a movement region.

Embodiments of product handling systems facilitate transfer of individual product items from incoming bulk form into dedicated trays for inspection, sorting, selection, and packaging. Inspection may comprise interrogation of product items within a tray by electromagnetic (e.g., optical, hyperspectral) or other (e.g., physical, acoustic, gas sensing, etc.) techniques. Prior to packaging, product items disposed within the tray may be stored in a moveable carousel responsible for controlling environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, illumination, ambient gases, product-to-product interactions, and/or others. Movement of product items from a carousel's transfer station to an outside staging position may be accomplished using robots and/or conveyor belts. Embodiments may allow rapid, low-cost consumer selection of specific individual product items based upon their accompanying metadata (e.g., source, identifier), in combination with the results of inspection (e.g., visual appearance). Embodiments may receive product items pre-packaged in tray format to expedite inspection, sorting, selection, and packaging.

A mold configuration for forming a pocket in a film comprising: a film support surface; a perimeter edge at said film support surface; wall surfaces inward of the perimeter edge defining a mold cavity; the wall surfaces including transition wall surfaces extending to a bottom wall surface; and a plateau surface inward of the perimeter edge. In one form, the perimeter edge includes sharp corner profile perimeter edge portions defining at least one sharp corner profile. A method of forming a pouch, includes using the disclosed mold configuration. A resultant pouch has a perimeter seal seam having at least one sharp corner profile.