An end effector for the packaging industry comprises has a frame, a bridge on top of the frame, a rack and pinion assembly, actuation rods, carrier assemblies, and vacuum ports. The rack and pinion assembly is configured to be operatively connected to a robot's rotatable shaft, and to the actuation rods. The actuation rods are fixedly connected to one or more of the carrier assemblies. As the robot's shaft rotates, the rack and pinion assembly is actuated, which actuates the actuation rods, which causes the carrier assemblies fixedly connected to the actuation rods to move longitudinally along the frame. Each carrier assembly includes a carrier block and at least one pick-up member. Each carrier block has at least one arm with a grabber to cooperate with an adjacent arm with grabbers of an adjacent carrier block(s) of the same subgroup.

The invention relates to a device (100) for loading/unloading stackable cargo units (101) such as boxes (101) from a cargo space, such as a sea container (102). Such a device (100) comprises a movable arm (104) with a head (110), comprising an array with downwardly directed gripping bodies (e.g. suction cups (211)). According to the invention there is a second grip section (220) with which the cargo units (101) can be gripped at the sides thereof. Hereby also cargo units (101) of a top row can be unloaded quickly. The invention also relates to a method for the loading/unloading of a cargo space.

An apparatus for picking a product, including: at least one vacuum cup including at least one axis passing through the at least one vacuum cup; and at least one damping device surrounding at least a portion of the at least one vacuum cup in a radial direction orthogonal to the at least one axis. The at least one vacuum cup is arranged to create negative pressure and adhere, with the negative pressure, the at least one sheet of material to the at least one vacuum cup. The at least one damping device is arranged to contact the at least one sheet of material to limit displacement of the at least one sheet of material with respect to the at least one vacuum cup.

A food product handling device includes a movable loading head having a plurality of coupling rails, a vacuum system operatively associated with the loading head, a plurality of suction devices carried by the loading head and configured to pick up and transport a food product, a plurality of mounting blocks slidably coupled to each other by the coupling rails, and an actuating device operatively associated with the mounting blocks for sliding each of the mounting blocks between a first position and a second position. Each of the suction devices is selectively coupled to the vacuum system. At least one of the suction devices coupled to each of the mounting blocks. The actuating device includes an actuating cylinder configured to displace the mounting blocks between the first position and a second position.

A gripping head for a loading robot or manipulator of a cartoning machine capable of nesting articles arranged on two substantially parallel rows, the gripping head comprising a row of gripping members, wherein each of the gripping members comprises a gripping section adapted to receive two adjacent articles and on opposite sides with respect to a centerline plane, and wherein at least the gripping members having even index position or odd index position in the row rotate by about 180 degrees around an axis.

What is disclosed is a robot gripper having a receiving area which is configured to be connected to an industrial robot, and having at least one suction unit which is configured to be connected to a vacuum source. The suction unit comprises a suction surface on which a preferably plate-shaped workpiece, which preferably consists at least in sections of wood, wood materials, plastic, aluminum or the like, can be held by means of negative pressure. The suction unit comprises a substantially straight pressing edge in an edge section. The robot gripper further comprises an actuator configured to tilt the suction unit about a first tilt axis relative to the receiving area.

A robotically-operated gripping device is provided and includes a frame assembly, a vacuum device, a clamping device, and a robotic arm. The vacuum device is connected to the frame assembly and configured to selectively attach to and position at least a portion of an object. The clamping device is connected to the frame assembly and provided for selectively clamping the object attached to the vacuum device. The robotic arm is connected to the frame assembly and provided for selectively positioning the vacuum device and the gripping device.

An end-of-arm-tool attachment deploys gripper arms to help stabilize picked items. The arms rotate around the lower body of the tool and, depending on the size of the item, will either support the item from below or help reduce swinging by applying pressure to the sides/top. When not in use, the arms are stowed on the upper body of the tool to minimize potential for collision and to provide a smaller profile for maneuverability.

Unit for sorting parts moving along a conveyor belt comprising a transfer device (3) which comprises a roller (31) which is rotatably movable above the belt and a plurality of gripping tools (32) at the periphery of the roller which are each capable of selectively removing a part from the belt when the tools are brought into a removal position, each tool comprising a suction cup (321) attached to a tubular support sleeve (322) which is capable of creating a connection between the suction cup and an internal chamber (312) of the roller, said connection being kept at a negative pressure relative to the surrounding air, all of the suction cups which are brought into the removal position being depressurized, each sleeve being mounted so as to be translatably movable along the axis thereof through a wall (311) of the roller, an actuator (34) being designed to selectively control, in the removal position, the movement of the sleeve so that the suction cup engages with the part to be removed.

A subsystem for orienting articles, the subsystem comprising a tool assembly comprising a carriage. A tool head has a first and a second article gripper rotationally coupled thereto. A first drive mechanism is coupled to the first article gripper. A second drive mechanism is coupled to the second article gripper. A sensor is configured to observe two adjacent articles. A controller is provided in communication with the first and second drive mechanisms and the sensor. The controller is configured to determine the orientation of each of the two adjacent articles and to control the first and second drive mechanisms to rotate each of the two adjacent articles to a predefined orientation.