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.

A handling device comprises a gripping unit which is movable in three dimensions and which is specified for receiving the stack of products disposed in a receiving region, for moving the stack, and for depositing the stack in a depositing region. The gripping unit comprises at least one upper holding element for holding down an upper side of the received stack, and at least one lower holding element for supporting a lower side, opposite the upper side, of the received stack.

Embodiments relate to a cart assembly having a lower deck, an upper deck, and a gantry. The lower deck has designated areas for empty containers and for filled containers. The gantry includes a gripper system configured to grab at least one container from the empty-container staging area and transport it to a receiving site, where a crop harvesting apparatus deposits a crop in the container. Once the container is filled, the gantry moves the filled container so as to position it within a filled-container staging area of the lower deck. The gripper system then releases the container. The process is continued while the cart assembly is transported throughout a crop harvesting facility to harvest crops.

Linear conveyor for transferring workpieces between two consecutive positions in a throughput direction, including at least one axis extending in and linearly displaceable to the throughput direction, and a slide, disposed on and displaceable along each axis, and to which a carrier element for accommodating the workpiece is attached, each axis being telescopic and including a first axis element displaceable relative to the base, and a second axis element displaceable relative to the first axis element, on which slide is displaceably disposed, and a coupling for coupling of displacement movements of the first axis element, second axis element and slide with each other, such that when the first axis element is displaced relative to the base the second axis element is displaced relative to the first axis element and the slide relative to the second axis element in the same direction of displacement.

A process for recognizing the orientation of a fruit, having a central axis of symmetry passing through the concave parts of the fruit. The process includes an initial measurement step in which the measuring instrument measures its distance from the sample fruit, an individual measurement step of each fruit to be treated travelling on the fruit multiple lanes tape, a comparison step in which the distance measured in the individual measurement step of each fruit to be treated is compared with the distances measured in the initial measurement step of the sample fruit to assess whether the distance measured in the individual measurement step is that one of a concave part of the fruit or that one of a convex part of the fruit, and a check step that determines that the fruit is correctly oriented or not. An apparatus that embodies this method is also described.

The present invention provides a multi-unit rotary system and method for storage, intelligent sorting and picking of express parcels. Through adoption of layered design of a rotary storage unit, different sizes of parcels are stored in a sorting manner, thereby effectively increasing the utilization rate of the storage space; besides, due to the storage design of the subunits, arrangement of storage units of the system is more flexible, and the number of rotary storage unit subunits can be set freely according to the requirements for site space and the storage capacity for express parcels; through adoption of overall unit combination design of the present invention, the mounting, the layout and the maintenance of the system are more convenient, and during the operation of the system, automatic sorting and storage of the express parcels are achieved.

A gripping device for gripping a binding material from an object comprises first and second elongated blades. The first and second elongated blades are arranged parallel and stationary in relation to each other, and they comprise wedge-shaped protrusions. The adjacent wedge-shaped protrusions of each elongated blades form spacing between said adjacent wedge-shaped protrusions. The device comprises also a third elongated blade arranged between said first and second elongated blades. The third elongated blade comprises finger like protrusions, and is arranged to move in relation to said first and second elongated blades in the direction of said longitudinal axis and between first and second positions. In the first position the finger like protrusions form openings and in the second position the finger like protrusions are deflected from the first position so to closing the openings.

An automated positive pressure solid phase extraction apparatus and method comprising two tiered lifts devices each individually controllable to individually vertically translate within an elevator framework between a base on which the elevator framework is mounted and a manifold plate supported by the framework in a substantially horizontal plane parallel with and vertically above the two tiered lifts devices; a rectilinearly translating shuttle assembly comprising a shuttle supporting labware for rectilinear travel into and out of the elevator framework to handoff the labware to one of the two tiered elevator lifts or both; and a reagent dispensing system comprising a reagent dispensing manifold for dispensing liquids into wells of each column of wells of a labware filter plate carried by the shuttle.

A raising/lowering conveyance device for a container for conveying an article has container supports that can move toward or away from a container in the horizontal direction and up and down with respect to the container. The container supports have a plurality of container support pins that can advance/retreat in the horizontal direction from the container and that are forcibly held at a position protruding from a front surface of the container support. The container supports are configured to lift the container by the container support pins which protrude under a downward step surface formed on the outside of the container. A pin main body of the container support pins protrudes from the front surface and has a flat tip perpendicular to the center axis of the pin main body, and has a tapered shape that increases in diameter toward the flat tip and is thicker toward the end.

A method and apparatus for transferring items of laundry after being separated first of all to a transfer device which then transfers the individual items of laundry to a loading device. The items of laundry are then hung individually by clips of the loading device into a clip which is in each case held ready and is to be loaded on the conveyor. Items of laundry can thereby be rapidly and reliably hung fully automatically into the clips to be loaded.