A vending-tote adapted to be moved by a lift-robot across a shelving-unit to rendezvous with a second tote carried by a second robot, the vending-tote comprising: a container designed to contain a plurality of items; and a dispensing mechanism integrated within the container, wherein the dispensing mechanism is configured to be activated by the lift-robot, the second robot, or both for dispensing at least one item of the plurality of items into the second tote.

An object redirection mechanism for a conveying system is provided. The object redirection mechanism is configured to redirect an object moved by the conveying system from a first direction to a second direction. The object redirection mechanism includes an arm tunnel positioned proximate an end of a conveyor configured for moving an object in the first direction. The arm tunnel includes an object stop having an object stopping portion defining at least a first side of the arm tunnel at least substantially parallel with the second direction and configured to engage an object moving in the first direction. The object stopping portion defines at least one finger aperture to enable at least one of the rotationally-retractable fingers to, when aligned with the at least one finger aperture, rotate between a retracted configuration and an extended configuration. A corresponding object conveying system and method of assembling an object stop are provided.

A packaging installation that includes a grouping machine configured to form batches of products and a horizontal form-fill-seal packaging machine arranged downstream the grouping machine and being configured to receive the formed batches of products and to package them in individual packages. The grouping machine includes a receiving area to receive the products and a grouping area where the products are grouped into batches, and, for transporting products to the grouping area. The grouping machine includes a first product path and a second product path, different from the first product path, extending from the product receiving area to the grouping area. According to one embodiment, the grouping machine is configured to cause the products arriving at the grouping area from the first product path and from the second product path to have different orientations.

Present embodiments relate to a tie plate dispenser which aligns tie plates for dispensing based on rail base rather than outer edges of the tie plate. Thus tie plates are aligned and located in a differing manner than prior art systems. Further, the tie plate dispenser includes an opening over which a magnet is disposed to retain a tie plate over the opening. The tie plate over the opening may be selectively released by disengaging the tie plate from the magnet.

The present invention discloses a cell photographing and conveying apparatus, including a cell feeding workstation, a detection workstation, a manipulator and an image acquisition device. The manipulator transfers a cell from the cell feeding workstation to the detection workstation. The image acquisition device includes ultraviolet lamps, illumination lamps, and cameras, where the ultraviolet lamps are used for emitting ultraviolet light to the detection workstation. By means of the cell photographing and conveying apparatus, a relatively complete appearance image of the cell can be acquired, thus ensuring detection accuracy.

The present invention discloses a cell photographing and conveying apparatus, including a cell feeding workstation, a detection workstation, a manipulator and an image acquisition device. The manipulator transfers a cell from the cell feeding workstation to the detection workstation. The image acquisition device includes ultraviolet lamps, illumination lamps, and cameras, where the ultraviolet lamps are used for emitting ultraviolet light to the detection workstation. By means of the cell photographing and conveying apparatus, a relatively complete appearance image of the cell can be acquired, thus ensuring detection accuracy.

A conveyor system for conveying articles, which conveyor system includes a transport device for transporting articles along a predefined path. The transport device includes at least one running rail and at least one running carriage which is attachable to the running rail. The running carriage is configured to run in a conveying direction (F) along the running rail and to convey at least one article. The conveyor system furthermore includes a drivable carrier device which is arranged at least in regions along the running rail and is intended for carrying along the running carriage of the transport device. The carrier device includes at least one carrier element with a freely rotatable carrier roller, wherein the freely rotatable carrier roller can be brought into engagement (E) with the running carriage in order to carry along the running carriage along the running rail.

An apparatus for treating containers includes a transporter that moves containers along a transport direction, a displacer, and a treatment device with two treatment positions. The displacer has three arms that move transverse to the transport direction. The arms are driven independently such that two of the three arms contact bearing points on opposite sides of a container. These two arms move synchronously to displace the container between the transporter and one of the treatment positions.

Present embodiments relate to a tie plate dispenser which aligns tie plates for dispensing based on rail base rather than outer edges of the tie plate. Thus tie plates are aligned and located in a differing manner than prior art systems. Further, the tie plate dispenser includes an opening over which a magnet is disposed to retain a tie plate over the opening. The tie plate over the opening may be selectively released by disengaging the tie plate from the magnet.

The technology described herein generally relates to an automated packaging apparatus and system that packages loose particles into a conical container as well as the final folded packages. More specifically, loose plant matter, such as crumbled dried leaves, are supplied to successive paper cones. The apparatus packs the crumbled leaves into the cones, applies air bursts to pack the material within the cone, closes the wide top portion of the cone, and then runs a quality control check to ensure that the final filled cone meets preset specifications.