An unloading apparatus for unloading cargo items from a cargo group on a cargo bed includes a cargo bed lifting and lowering mechanism, a first detection unit that measures heights of cargos items and detects positions of cargo items forming the upper surface of the cargo group, a moving device that moves the cargo items to an unloading position, a second detection unit that detects whether a lower end of a cargo item being held by the moving device is above a position that is higher than the highest position of the cargo items at the upper surface of the cargo group, and a controller. The controller controls the raising and lowering of cargo bed in conjunction with the lifting of cargo items. The controller also controls the moving of the cargo items to the unloading position.

A produce loading and unloading device and system. The device and system has structures for lifting an entire stack of flats loaded with produce such as berries, moving the stack of flats to a conveyor, and dumping the produce off each flat of the stack, one flat at a time. During the process, the operator of the device doesn't have to lift a single flat of produce. The dumping operation operates continuously, with no pauses to load stacks of flats. Throughput and safety are greatly improved.

An automated storage and retrieval system includes a storage array of storage locations for case units. An in-out case conveyor is capable of bi-directionally transporting case units to and from the storage array, and an in-out loaded pallet conveyor is capable of bi-directionally transporting loaded pallets towards and away from the storage array. A palletizer-depalletizer cell includes a bi-directional pallet transport system with more than one independently driven pallet transports, each with a different pallet holder independently movable relative to a cell frame. Placement of case units commissioning a pallet layer loading a pallet, and removal of case units decommissioning a pallet layer unloading another pallet are both effected at the common pallet layer interface at a predetermined level of the cell frame. The pallet transports independently index a first and a second of the different pallet holders, each independently holding the pallet loading at the common pallet layer interface.

A device for handling a pallet includes a pallet through-opening, through which a pallet can be vertically moved while oriented horizontally. The pallet through-opening has in particular at least one extension, which is more than 1200 mm wide and 1200 mm deep, and at least one sidewall, which are each arranged along an associated side of the pallet through-opening. At least one of the sidewalls is detachable or movable.

A produce loading and unloading device and system. The device and system has structures for lifting an entire stack of flats loaded with produce such as berries, moving the stack of flats to a conveyor, and dumping the produce off each flat of the stack, one flat at a time. During the process, the operator of the device doesn't have to lift a single flat of produce. The dumping operation operates continuously, with no pauses to load stacks of flats. Throughput and safety are greatly improved.

An apparatus for repeatedly separating and displacing a topmost bag between a bag stack location and a second location. The apparatus comprises a separating manipulator having a prehension end-effector selectively activable/deactivable to seize and maintain the topmost bag and subsequently release the topmost bag. The separating manipulator is selectively configurable in a bag engaging configuration to seize a separation section of the topmost bag and a lifted configuration where the prehension end-effector is spaced-apart from a second topmost bag of the stack. The displacing manipulator has a prehension end-effector selectively activable/deactivable to seize and maintain a displacement engagement section of and to subsequently release the topmost bag. The prehension end-effector is translatable along the displacement axis X to displace the topmost bag between the bag stack location and the second location. A method for repeatedly separating and displacing a topmost bag of a stack of bags is also provided.

A layer destacking system, for destacking a layer from a stacked layer pallet load, including a layer seating platform configured so as to seat the destacked layer on the layer seating platform, a slip sheet detection sensor arranged to sense a slip sheet in contact with the seated destacked layer, a slip sheet pickup removal mechanism, and a controller that receives a signal from the slip sheet detection sensor identifying presence of the slip sheet. The controller is operably connected to the slip sheet pickup removal mechanism so as to actuate the slip sheet pickup removal mechanism effecting discharge of the slip sheet off the layer seating platform.

The present disclosure provides embodiments of tilt hoists and lumber unstacking systems with a rotation table, a tier alignment system, or both. The rotation table may include a base and a tilt frame supported on the base. The tier alignment system may include an alignment beam and an actuator operable to raise and lower one end of the alignment beam relative to the opposite end to thereby adjust the lateral slope of the spill edge. Optionally, a control system may include distance sensors to detect tiers of lumber as they approach the spill edge and a computer system configured to determine a difference between the lateral slope of the tier and the lateral slope of the spill edge. The computer system may also be configured to automatically adjust the slope of the spill edge to match the slope of the tier before the tier is spilled over the spill edge.

A system for loading elongated members, such as metal tubes and bars, onto a conveyor for later processing features an elevator, pusher arms, a support surface provided at a predetermined height, and gripper arms. The elevator acts to lift a topmost layer of the members, which are typically arranged in a stack thereon, to a predetermined height so that the pusher arms may transfer the members forming the topmost layer onto the support surface at this height. The pusher arms push these members across the support surface by engaging the member farthest from the support surface until the respective elongated member passes over a distal side of the support surface and onto the gripper arms arranged at a height of this side. The gripper arms lower that member to an unloading location below the support surface where an empty support cradle of the conveyor is arranged for receiving same.

A Solar power plant construction method includes a string formation step of arranging solar modules delivered to an assembly plant on support frames to form planar solar strings, a conveyance step of stacking the solar strings in a container and loading the container on a container truck to convey the container to a power plant site, and a solar string installation step of transferring the container delivered to the power plant site to a site machine and measuring distances and directions between a crane included in the site machine placed at a predetermined position of a stand array group for mounting solar array provided in the power plant site and stands to pull up the solar strings by the crane of the site machine to sequentially distribute the solar strings to respective stand positions measured in the stand position measurement step to form and fix a solar array.