Apparatus for identifying, measuring and positioning piece goods with an increased throughput of piece goods are provided. An apparatus includes an optically transparent turntable having a support surface for piece goods which support surface extends in an X and Y direction of the apparatus, a first conveying device for arranging a piece good on the support surface of the turntable, a first optical reading device arranged below the turntable for detecting the dimensions of a piece good and an identifier, a second optical reading device for detecting the height of a piece good resting on the support surface and an identifier, a storage area for a plurality of piece goods which storage area is arranged downstream of the turntable, a second conveying device with a gripping device for piece goods, wherein the gripping device is movable over the storage area, at least in an X and Y direction, in such a way that piece goods can be arranged side by side in the storage area in the X and/or Y direction. Methods for identifying, measuring and positioning piece goods are also provided.

A product selection and grouping system for the metering, selection, grouping and accumulation of varying size and/or configuration products into packs for packing in a substantially continuous motion operation is provided. The product selection and grouping system includes a metering station that receives the products in a substantially continuous line of flow from a product infeed, and meters the line of products to selectively form a series of spaces therebetween. The metered products are formed and fed to a product grouping conveyor in groups of sets a selected number of products, and are engaged by laning flights of a laning unit, which transfer the product groups to selected ones of a series of lanes defined along the product grouping conveyor. The groups of products are accumulated for transfer to a downstream packing machine.

A control device (10) of an article transfer facility (100) determines the size of a first dead space surrounded by a set article (Wd) and a target article (Wc) located at a first candidate position (P1). If the size of the first dead space is smaller than a first threshold (TH1), the control device (10) sets the first candidate position (P1) as the arrangement position of the target article (Wc). If the size of the first dead space is greater than or equal to the first threshold (TH1), the control device (10) determines the size of a second dead space surrounded by the set article (Wd) and the target article (Wc) located at a second candidate position (P2). If the size of the second dead space is smaller than a second threshold (TH2), the control device (10) sets the second candidate position (P2) as the arrangement position of the target article (Wc).

The present patent application for the invention of a device, coupled to a robot or other handling system, deals with the pressure on the container, which allows the product to be moved to be held, moving and rotating them, defining their positioning and organizing them for later palletizing or positioning for subsequent operations. The invention comprises a device (D) composed of a headstock or structure (1) made of metal or another type of material, to be coupled, by means of a coupling (2), to a robot (R1) or other handling equipment; and, in the lower part of the device (D), an elastic blanket (3) made of material such as elastic/polymer is installed, which must have the property of maintaining the integrity of the product handled, in this case the container (4), single or grouped, and allow it to be moved over the work area (A1). The device (D), according to the invention, is operated from movements for the formation of layers or mosaics (M) from a dedicated software, and this association enables the movement of the containers (4) in transverse and longitudinal axes, or swivels.

A system is provided comprising a carton conveyor and a bypass carton accumulator adjacent to, and interfaced with, the carton conveyor. The bypass carton accumulator may comprise: a carton pick apparatus comprising a carton pick head; at least one stop device comprising a stopper movable between a first and a second position; and a storage apparatus. When in the first position, the stopper does not interfere with the flow of cartons along the conveyor and when in the second position, the stopper engages with a carton to stop a flow of cartons along the conveyor. The carton pick apparatus may be configured to pick up via the carton pick head a set of cartons from a pick-up zone of the carton conveyor after the stopper has moved to its second position and place the set of cartons in the storage apparatus.

A pickface builder for a storage and retrieval system for storing goods units and having an in-feed conveyor and a picking device, each goods unit holding at least one product package therein, the pickface builder including a frame, a pusher member movably coupled to the frame, and a snugger member movably coupled to the frame, wherein the pickface builder is configured to receive goods units from the in-feed conveyor and the pusher member and snugger member are movable at least in a direction transverse to a direction of goods unit travel on the in-feed conveyor and configured to form the goods units into a pickface picked by the picking device as a unit and having a predetermined reference datum relating the pickface to a placement position of goods units forming the pickface along a storage surface of the storage and retrieval system.

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus (10) for handling piece goods (2) moved one after another in at least one row (1). Immediately consecutive piece goods (2) in a row (1) without spaces or with minimal spaces are transported as a closed formation (F). At least one transported piece good (2, 2*) is seized in a clamping and/or force-locking and/or form-locking manner from the closed formation (F); is spatially separated from the closed formation (F); and is brought into a specified relative target position (P) and/or target alignment in relation to subsequent piece goods (2).

A packaging installation that includes a grouping machine configured to form batches of products and a horizontal form-fill-seal packaging machine arranged downstream the grouping machine and being configured to receive the formed batches of products and to package them in individual packages. The grouping machine includes a receiving area to receive the products and a grouping area where the products are grouped into batches, and, for transporting products to the grouping area. The grouping machine includes a first product path and a second product path, different from the first product path, extending from the product receiving area to the grouping area. According to one embodiment, the grouping machine is configured to cause the products arriving at the grouping area from the first product path and from the second product path to have different orientations.

A method for formatting food products on a conveyor device includes a) receiving the food products in a plurality of parallel conveyor tracks, some of which include product gaps; b) outputting the food products into the parallel conveyor tracks in a specific product format; c) detecting the product supply in the conveyor tracks incoming on the input side individually for each of the conveyor tracks; and d) filling the product gaps in the conveyor tracks with food products, so that on the output side all of the parallel conveyor tracks are supplied with the food products. The product gaps are also filled with food products from a product buffer in that at least one of the food products is transferred from the product buffer to the conveyor track only when an odd number of product gaps exist in one of the conveyor tracks.

The invention includes a method and a handling system for manipulating and/or for handling piece goods (2) moved one after another in at least one row (1, 1a, 1b) in a transport direction (TR) on a horizontal conveying device (6). In each work cycle, seizing at least one transported piece good (2) from the at least one row (1, 1a, 1b) by at least one handling device (10); spatially separating it from the row (1, 1a, 1b); and bringing it into a specified relative target position and/or target alignment relative to subsequent piece goods (2). After a failure event with an at least a temporary standstill of the horizontal conveying device (6) and/or of the handling device (10), the handling device (10) is initialized, and, after the failure has been remedied, the horizontal conveying device (6) automatically restarts and continues the previously interrupted process.