Intermodal vehicles may be loaded with items and an aerial vehicle, and directed to travel to areas where demand for the items is known or anticipated. The intermodal vehicles may be coupled to locomotives, container ships, road tractors or other vehicles, and equipped with systems for loading one or more items onto the aerial vehicle, and for launching or retrieving the aerial vehicle while the intermodal vehicles are in motion. The areas where the demand is known or anticipated may be identified on any basis, including but not limited to past histories of purchases or deliveries to such areas, or events that are scheduled to occur in such areas. Additionally, intermodal vehicles may be loaded with replacement parts and/or inspection equipment, and configured to conduct repairs, servicing operations or inspections on aerial vehicles within the intermodal vehicles, while the intermodal vehicles are in motion.

A storage facility includes a storage space, a container handling vehicle, a first upper vehicle support, a first lower vehicle support, a container delivery vehicle, a transit space, and a first separation wall. The storage space encloses a storage and retrieval system including a storage grid configured to store a plurality of storage containers in vertical stacks. The first upper vehicle support extends in an upper horizontal plane above the storage grid. The container handling vehicle is configured: to transport at least one of the plurality of storage containers by a wheel arrangement between at least two locations on the first upper vehicle support; and to vertically displace the at least one storage container by a lifting device. The first lower vehicle support extends in a lower horizontal plane below the first upper vehicle support. The container delivery vehicle operates within a lower section of the storage space above the first lower vehicle support. The container delivery vehicle is configured to receive the at least one storage container from the container handling vehicle and to transport the at least one storage container between at least two locations on the first lower vehicle support by a wheel arrangement. The transit space includes a second lower vehicle support extending in the lower horizontal plane and arranged relative to the first lower vehicle support such that the container delivery vehicle may move between the lower section of the storage space and a lower section of the transit space. The first separation wall separates the storage space and the transit space. The first separation wall includes: a first lower opening sized and positioned to allow the container delivery vehicle to pass through between the lower section of the storage space and the lower section of the transit space; and a first lower closable gate configured to open and close the first lower opening.

A block storage system with a block storage element, which includes a carrier frame and a load-bearing element, and a vehicle and a method for operating the block storage system. The method includes, via the vehicle, at least one of detaching the load-bearing element from the carrier frame or engaging the load-hearing element with the carrier frame.

The present application relates to a movable buffer, an automated material handling system and a corresponding overhead hoist transfer. The movable buffer includes: an inclined track including a first end and a second end opposite to each other, wherein the second end of the inclined track is higher than the first end of the inclined track; a storage tray connected to the inclined track, wherein the storage tray is provided with a space for accommodating a front opening unified pod, the storage tray is provided with at least one opening; and a transmission mechanism, wherein the upper surface of the transmission mechanism is connected to the lower surface of the overhead buffer, the lower surface of the transmission mechanism is connected to the inclined track, and the transmission mechanism is used for driving the storage tray to slide from the first end of the inclined track to the second end.

A loading apparatus for loading food products onto and/or into a slicing apparatus, in particular a high-speed slicer, comprises at least one magazine unit that includes a conveying means that endlessly circulates along a running direction. The conveying means is configured to lift the products to a transferring height at which the products can be transferred to the slicing apparatus and includes several product support surfaces, the product support surfaces being oriented essentially perpendicular to the running direction and positioned subsequently along the running direction with a space between each other. At least one product is loadable onto a respective product support surface for lifting the product to the transferring height.

Embodiments herein provide automated bin packing of heterogeneous objects to fill maximum number of objects in an available bin space in an efficient manner. Conventional methods are less efficient in packing heterogeneous objects in a space and time efficient manner. The apparatus receives a plurality of 3D objects through a primary conveyor and diverts each of the plurality of 3D objects to an identified cuboidal bin through a corresponding secondary conveyor. Each of the plurality of 3D objects are diverted based on a tracking code associated with each of the plurality of 3D objects and a computed available bin space of the identified cuboidal bin corresponding to each of the plurality of 3D objects. Here the available bin space is computed based on a bin space information received from a corresponding bin vision sensor and a corresponding state space of the identified cuboidal bin.

A modular sample store including a storage area; a service area; a transfer area; a motorized robot with a lifting device and at least one platform; and a controller. The sample store service area includes one integrally formed cubic vat module and the sample store storage area includes at least one integrally formed cubic vat module. Each one of the aforementioned vat modules includes an essentially horizontal vat floor and four joining vat walls that are connected to the vat floor and that are leaving an open vat space. The modular sample store also includes upper side walls and a cover plate to close the sample store. Each vat floor and vat wall includes an outside liner and an inside liner, which outside and inside liners in each case are separated by a clearance. This clearance is essentially filled with a polymer foam material that provides fixation of the outside and inside liners to each other as well as thermal insulation of and reinforcement to the thus integrally formed cubic vat module sandwich construction.

Systems, methods, and machine-executable coded instruction sets are disclosed for fully- and/or partly automated handling of goods. The disclosure provides improvements in the storage and retrieval of storage and delivery containers in order processing systems.

A storage system includes at least one consolidation vehicle, a transfer rail grid, an item picking area, and an item delivery station. The consolidation vehicle includes a wheel arrangement for moving the consolidation vehicle in two perpendicular directions upon the transfer rail grid. The consolidation vehicle may be positioned upon the item picking area to receive multiple items picked from at least one storage container, and an item picker is arranged to pick items from the storage container and transfer them to the consolidation vehicle. The consolidation vehicle may be positioned upon the item delivery station to deliver items received from the storage container to a packaging/processing assembly. The consolidation vehicle includes an item carrier arranged such that items may be emptied from the item carrier when the consolidation vehicle is positioned at the item delivery station.

An automated grid based storage and retrieval system includes a storage grid and a plurality of storage containers for storing product items therein. In the storage grid, the storage containers are stacked vertically in stacks arranged beneath openings of a grid-based rail system to provide storage columns of a storage volume. The storage volume includes a flow path extending through a plurality of the stacks. The flow path is formed by spacers positioned within the stacks. The spacers are configured to allow a fluid to flow through the spacer. Each spacer is stacked at a predetermined level between storage containers in a stack and adjacent another of the spacers in a neighboring stack to provide adjacent sections of the flow path.