A spreader beam and related method provide a simplified repair or rebuilding capability for wear parts of the spreader beam. The disclosed spreader beam includes removable sheave nests containing sheaves, which are the wear parts in a spreader beam. The disclosed spreader beam saves time and costs since an entire spreader beam need not be transported to a repair shop, rather only the removable sheave nests, or only the sheaves. In one embodiment, sheaves and sheave nests may be removed and replaced without the need for unwinding supporting cables.

A handling system for sterile goods containers, in particular for automatically opening sterile goods containers, includes at least one tool apparatus for opening sterile goods containers. The at least one tool apparatus has at least one first tool element for being brought into engagement with a locking bracket mounted on a sterile goods container lid of a sterile goods container so as to be pivotable about a pivot axis, and in a storage position is oriented in parallel or substantially in parallel with a lid top side of the sterile goods container lid for locking the sterile goods container lid on a sterile goods container tray of the sterile goods container in a closing position. The first tool element has a lifting wedge for engaging under the locking bracket. The handling system can be used in a method for machine handling of sterile goods containers.

A container handling vehicle operates on a two-dimensional rail system. The two-dimensional rail system includes a first set of parallel rails arranged to guide movement of container handling vehicles in a first direction across the top of a frame structure, and a second set of parallel rails arranged perpendicular to the first set of rails to guide movement of the container handling vehicles in a second direction which is perpendicular to the first direction. The container handling vehicle includes a wheel base unit, a support section, a cantilever section, a lifting frame, four guiding sheaves, four lifting bands, a lifting shaft, and a lifting device motor. The wheel base unit includes first and second sets of wheels for guiding the container handling vehicle along the rail system in the first and second directions respectively. The support section extends vertically from the wheel base unit. The support section has a footprint with a horizontal extent. The cantilever section extends from the support section. The lifting frame is suspended in a horizontal orientation from the cantilever section by a plurality of lifting bands. The lifting frame includes a releasable connection for connecting to a storage container. The guiding sheaves are provided in the cantilever section. Each of the guiding sheaves are arranged for guiding and supporting one of the four plurality of lifting bands and the lifting frame. The lifting shaft for winding up and unwinding the plurality of lifting bands. The lifting device motor rotates the at least one lifting shaft. A first and second wheel in a first pair of wheels in the first set of wheels are arranged closer to the cantilever section than a third and fourth wheel in a second pair of wheels of the first set of wheels. At least one of the lifting shaft and the lifting device motor are arranged closer to the third and fourth wheel than the first and second wheel in the first set of wheels. At least one of the lifting shaft and the lifting device motor is arranged within the wheel base unit.

A lifting assistance apparatus includes a vertically-suspended lift control device configured to selectively linearly retract, linearly extend, or hold a retractable load-bearing feature, a lifting attachment attached to the retractable load-bearing feature, where the lifting attachment includes an angled portion having two horizontally opposed lifting arms connected via a member and configured to fit to a container with a protrusion, such that the two lifting arms when positioned directly below the protrusion are configured to selectively contact and lift the container as the lifting attachment is at least partially lifted by a retraction of the load-bearing feature, and a graspable portion configured to permit a user to select a horizontal position and height of the container using the control device by moving the container vertically and/or horizontally, where the control device operates to provide assistance to the user when moving the container in the vertical direction.

A grid framework structure includes a first set of parallel rails or tracks and a second set of parallel rails or tracks extending substantially perpendicularly to the first set of rails or tracks in a substantially horizontal plane to form a grid pattern. The grid is supported by a set of uprights to form a plurality of vertical storage locations beneath the grid for containers to be stacked between and be guided by the uprights in a vertical direction. A load handling device includes a body mounted on a first set of wheels and a second set of wheels arranged to engage with the tracks. A gripper assembly is provided for latching to a storage container via a deformable flexure mechanism movable between a locked configuration and a release configuration.

A spreader beam and related method provide a simplified repair or rebuilding capability for wear parts of the spreader beam. The disclosed spreader beam includes removable sheave nests containing sheaves, which are the wear parts in a spreader beam. The disclosed spreader beam saves time and costs since an entire spreader beam need not be transported to a repair shop, rather only the removable sheave nests, or only the sheaves. In one embodiment, sheaves and sheave nests may be removed and replaced without the need for unwinding supporting cables.

A load-handling device for lifting and moving containers, the load-handling device including a body configured to house one or more operation components; a container-receiving space configured to accommodate at least part of a container; a container-engaging assembly configured to releasably engage a container; and a raising and lowering assembly configured to raise and lower the container-engaging assembly.

A robotic load handling device for lifting and moving one or more storage containers stackable in a storage and retrieval system The container lifting mechanism includes: a grabber device comprising a first gripper assembly configured to releasably engage the storage container and a second gripper assembly configured to releasably engage the insert nested within the storage container; at least one actuating mechanism configured to actuate the second gripper assembly independently of the first gripper assembly to separately engage the insert nested within the storage container; and (iii) a drive mechanism configured to raise and lower the grabber device to vertically move the insert out of the storage container to a raised position at which the insert base is above the storage container and to a lowered position at which the insert is nested within the storage container when the second gripper assembly is engaged with the insert.