A variable pitch device includes a body, a drive unit fixed to the body, a plurality of movable fingers disposed movably along a longitudinal direction of the body, and a driving force transmission mechanism that transmits a driving force of the drive unit to the movable fingers. The driving force transmission mechanism is formed of a connecting block connected to an end block driven in a vertical direction, a cam plate accommodated in the body and connected to the connecting block, and four finger pins inserted through first to fourth cam grooves of the cam plate. The finger pins are disposed movably in the longitudinal direction along guide holes of the body and connected to the movable fingers.

An apparatus and a method for the transfer of components for inhalers or vaporizers from a loading station in which the components arrive randomly oriented, toward one or more work stations, to which said components are delivered oriented according to a predetermined orientation.

The invention relates to a transport device for an item to be transported, the device comprising: a transport rake having at least one tine; and a counter rake having at least one tine, the counter rake being adjustable relative to the transport rake in the transport direction in order to clamp an item to be transported between the at least one tine of the transport rake and the at least one tine of the counter rake, at least either the transport rake or the counter rake being connected to a transport element which is movable linearly in the transport direction, a drive element being provided to which the transport element is not connected and to which the transport element is coupled or by which the transport element is driven only by means of contactless remote forces.

An improved gripper mechanism for a palletizer apparatus is configured to receive articles from an associated infeed conveyor in any one of a plurality of orientations of the gripper mechanism relative to the infeed conveyor, thus desirably reducing the cycle time required for each of the articles to be handled and positioned by the gripper mechanism. In the preferred embodiment, the gripper mechanism is configured to receive articles through any one of the four sides of the mechanism, thereby desirably reducing the cycle time required for returning the gripper mechanism to a position and orientation for receiving the next successive article from the infeed conveyor.

Apparatus to supply bars which includes a work plane on which to position a bundle of said bars and a removal device configured to remove at least one bar from said work plane in order to transfer it to a destination station. The supply apparatus includes a plurality of containing units each configured to house a respective bundle of a determinate type of bar.

Packaging apparatus and methods include a plurality of article grippers driven by independently controlled motors in an end-of-arm tooling (EOAT), for picking articles, grouping articles, adjusting group pitch and placing article groups in packages where incoming articles and packages are continuously or intermittently moving and without motion of the entire EOAT in the direction in which articles and packages are picked and moved. Hole healing and incoming product registration apparatus and methods are disclosed.

An apparatus for grouped take-up and feeding of a container-group of containers to a cyclical processing machine having a cyclical take-up device for taking up the group of containers includes an intake, a feed, and a transfer apparatus arranged in a transfer region between the intake and the take-up device. The intake forms a closed conveyor section that comprises a linear section, a conveyor, and carrying-and-holding elements that convey containers in a continuous container stream along the conveyor section. The feed uses mechanical propulsion to convey suspended containers to individually transfer the suspended containers to the carrying-and-holding elements. The transfer apparatus has rotatable grippers for taking up a container group from the container stream and after having taken up the group of containers, feeding the group of containers to the cyclical take-up device.

An automated guided vehicle with a multistage loading structure includes a vehicle body, and a loader in the vehicle body and operative to load articles in a multistage manner. The loader has a loading unit that is positioned between the articles loaded in the multistage manner and separately loads the articles. The loading unit moves up and down.

A gripper installation for simultaneously gripping a plurality of elongate flexible items, in particular sausages, having a plurality of gripper portions that are disposed so as to be mutually parallel, wherein each gripper portion has two mutually spaced-apart finger pairs, wherein the fingers of each finger pair grip the item at opposite sides and for gripping an item are capable of being simultaneously converged, wherein the gripper portions are capable of being simultaneously activated.

A robotic system includes a hub assembly rotatable about a vertical axis. A robotic arm has a first end connected to the hub assembly and an opposite second end connected to an end effector, which is configured for holding an item. The system is configured to support an agent on or above the hub assembly for working on the item held by the end effector. The operation of the robotic arm and end effector to move the item does not obstruct operation of the agent.