Apparatus to group together oblong products, preferably metal, comprising a sliding plane inclined with respect to a vertical plane and configured to receive a plurality of the oblong products and to allow them to slide in a direction of sliding transverse to the longitudinal development of the oblong products. Retaining elements are provided on the sliding plane.

Elongate workpieces are transported in a transport direction and assembled to a string in the transport direction. A leading elongate workpiece is removed from the string and accelerated in a downstream discharge device such that a gap is formed between the leading elongate workpiece and a following elongate workpiece of the string. A stop is moved into the gap and prevents the following elongate workpiece of the string from being transported farther. The stop is removed when the leading elongate workpiece has left the discharge device and then the following elongate workpiece is removed from the string.

A conveyor assembly comprising a frame, a first conveyor subassembly, a second conveyor subassembly, a transverse conveyor adjustment assembly and a position adjustment assembly. The first and second conveyor subassemblies are configured so as to be transversely moved relative to each other so as to be closer together or further apart. The position adjustment assembly facilitates the adjustment of a part on the conveyor relative to the conveyor as the part proceeds from the first end to the second end.

A conveyor and process for transporting products, wherein a carrier with an associated product holder can be moved along a conveying path by means of a conveyor element. In a processing position, the carrier can be aligned by means of first alignment elements, and second alignment elements are provided for aligning the product holder for disengagement from the carrier.

A grouping station for grouping pallets includes an inbound conveyor, which is a gravity conveyor. The grouping station includes a fixed-height pairing conveyor and a grouping conveyor with three height positions for different grouping functions.

A handling system includes a gravity feed rack, a pick-up rack, a front retaining element, and a rear retaining element. The gravity feed rack includes a retaining mechanism having an axially rotatably mounted shaft. The front retaining element is connected to the shaft. The front retaining element is moveable to a first retaining position to inhibit movement of a first load carrier. The rear retaining element is connected to the shaft and moveable to a second retaining position to inhibit movement of a second load carrier. When the gravity feed rack and the pick-up rack are brought together, at least one contact surface of a deflection element is configured to cooperate with the engagement element in order to rotate the shaft counter to a restoring force causing the front retaining element to move from the first retaining position and the rear retaining element to move to the second retaining position.

A separating device for a gravity conveyor, comprising: a) a conveying plane (E) which is defined by at least two guides (20), in particular sliding guides or conveying rollers, for conveying an item (30) to be conveyed and along which the item (30) to be conveyed can be moved in a conveying direction (F); b) at least one separating stop (40) which can be moved between a position above the conveying plane (E) and a position below or flush with the conveying plane (E); c) an actuating means (50) which, in order to actuate it, comprises a first actuating member (51) and a second actuating member (52) and which is coupled to the at least one separating stop (40) in such a way that, when the actuating means (50) is actuated, a movement of the at least one separating stop (40) from the position above the conveying plane (E) to the position below or flush with the conveying plane (E) is blocked, and when the actuating means (50) is unactuated, a movement of the at least one separating stop (40) from the position above the conveying plane (E) to the position below or flush with the conveying plane (E) is enabled, d) wherein the first actuating member (51) can be moved, by conveyed items (30) being moved in the conveying direction (F), from its unactuated position in which it is situated at least partially above the conveying plane (E), to its actuated position, e) wherein the second actuating member (52) can be moved, by conveyed items (30) being moved counter to the conveying direction (F), from its unactuated position in which it is situated at least partially above the conveying plane (E), to its actuated position, f) wherein the first actuating member (51) and second actuating member (52) are optionally coupled to each other, such that moving the first actuating member (51) into its actuated position causes the second actuating member (52) to be moved into its actuated position and/or such that moving the second actuating member (52) into its actuated position causes the first actuating member (51) to be moved into its actuated position.

A conveyor assembly comprising a frame, a first conveyor subassembly, a second conveyor subassembly, a transverse conveyor adjustment assembly and a position adjustment assembly. The first and second conveyor subassemblies are configured so as to be transversely moved relative to each other so as to be closer together or further apart. The position adjustment assembly facilitates the adjustment of a part on the conveyor relative to the conveyor as the part proceeds from the first end to the second end.

A machine for conveying containers is disclosed. The machine may include a guide, a main carriage slidably mounted on the guide, an auxiliary carriage slidably mounted on the guide, a pressing device mounted on the main carriage and movable between a raised and a lowered position, in which the pressing device applies a pressing force, a control unit electrically connected to the guide and configured for controlling the main carriage and the auxiliary carriage on the guide and a mutual distance thereof, an actuator connected to the pressing device and configured to move the pressing device between the raised position and the lowered position. The control unit is configured to command the variation of the mutual distance between the main carriage and the auxiliary carriage so as to activate the actuator, which is operatively interposed between the pressing device and the auxiliary carriage.

The present disclosure provides loading and unloading equipment and a package loading and unloading system. The loading and unloading equipment includes: a rack; a marshalling device, configured to receive packages and marshal the packages in a predetermined marshalling mode to form package groups; a pre-storage device, configured to temporarily store the package groups formed by marshalling to be taken away by a stacking device; and the stacking device, configured to remove the package groups from the pre-storage device to stacking positions. By applying the loading and unloading equipment, the loading and unloading efficiency of the packages is improved. The package loading and unloading system of the present disclosure includes the loading and unloading equipment of the present disclosure.