The invention relates to a conveyor device (10) for conveying food products on a plurality of parallel conveyor tracks and for formatting the food products in a specific product format, especially for conveying and formatting stacks or interleaved units made of a plurality of slices of cheese or meat products. It is proposed that the conveyor device (10) fills a product gap on one of the conveyor tracks incoming on the input side with a food product so that on the output side all parallel conveyor tracks are supplied with the food products. The invention also includes a corresponding method.

Embodiments described herein relate to apparatuses and methods for chronological grouping of individual goods, the groups which are formed being displaced one after another out of a first into a second collecting zone in such a way that an oldest group is always displaced as far as a target position which is defined in the second collecting zone.

An example pallet auto box with robot palletizer includes a conveyor to move a pallet into a loading area adjacent a robot for loading bags onto the pallet. The example pallet auto box with robot palletizer also includes an auto box having at least one wall, and in an example four walls, that can be raised and lowered. The at least one wall is raised as the robot stacks bags onto the pallet to maintain a border around the edge of the pallet for the bags to be stacked on the pallet. At least one wall opens as a door or gate after the pallet has been loaded with bags so that the loaded pallet can be moved out of the loading area and a next pallet moved into the loading area. The at least one wall is lowered again for stacking bags onto the next pallet.

Multi-reference palletizing device comprising first displacement means (11) for moving a load (2) in a direction transverse to a pallet (6) and second displacement means (12) for moving the load (2) in a direction longitudinal to the depth of the pallet (6), comprising a surface (50) on which the load (2) rests, the surface (50) being movable in the longitudinal direction (6). The first displacement means (11) comprise a surface (40) on which the load (2) rests, movable in the transverse direction and suitable for positioning the load (2) in a final transverse position. It further comprises fastening means (20, 21) for fastening the load (2) to stabilize the load (2) during the movement thereof from the final transverse position to the final position in the longitudinal direction. The fastening means (20, 21) comprise members configured to laterally fasten the load (2).

A palletizing installation comprising two palletizing devices (10, 20) and a linear common feed conveyor (1). Each palletizing device has a stationary mounted shutter device (22) and a pallet lifter (26). A stationary mounted row formation platform (28) is present to form thereon a row of products, which platform has a lateral side that extends adjacent a lateral side of the common feed conveyor. Each palletizing device comprises a product row transfer mechanism (30) that is adapted to slide a row of products from the row formation platform onto the layer formation surface of the shutter device in closed state. The installation further comprises a product ejector system and one or more product ejector devices (41) which are adapted to eject a product from the common feed conveyor such that the product moves onto a selected product location of said at least two row formation platforms.

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 conveyor device (10) for conveying food products on a plurality of parallel conveyor tracks and for formatting the food products in a specific product format, especially for conveying and formatting stacks or interleaved units made of a plurality of slices of cheese or meat products. It is proposed that the conveyor device (10) fills a product gap on one of the conveyor tracks incoming on the input side with a food product so that on the output side all parallel conveyor tracks are supplied with the food products. The invention also includes a corresponding method.

The invention relates to a palletizing apparatus (10) and a method for conveying articles (16), piece goods, and/or bundles (18) and/or palletizable article layers, piece good layers, and/or bundle layers (20) with at least two conveyor line sections (12, 14), each in a particular conveying direction (28, 29). Each conveyor line sections include consecutive handling stations, grouping stations, and/or transfer stations (32, 33, 40, 44, 48, 50), which lead to a central loading station (24), where the article layers, piece good layers, and/or bundle layers (20) are stacked on top of each other and/or palletized in a common loading place (25). The loading station (24) is located between at least two vertically adjustable support surfaces and/or conveying surfaces (52). The common loading place (25) is supplied with article layers, piece good layers, and/or bundle layers (20).

A case manipulator receives cases from an infeed conveyer and manipulates individual cases or groups of cases and transfers the manipulated cases to a row accumulator platform in a desired and pre-determined orientation and positioned on the accumulator platform to a desired and pre-determined location. The manipulation of individual cases, or groups of cases, is continued in a sequential operation until a complete row is formed on the accumulator platform according to a pre-determined build menu. The case manipulator includes a swing plate pivotal on a first axis and a paddle arm that is attached to the swing plate and pivotal on a second axis that is transverse to the first axis. The invention allows the palletizer to have the next case in a row transferred from the infeed conveyer to the row-build staging area while the case manipulator is operating on an already-delivered case.

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.