A system for packing a case with articles, the system including a conveying device to convey articles to be packed, in a serial configuration and a support for a case to be packed with the articles in which the articles are configured to be placed in a plurality of rows, including a first row, a second row adjacent to the first row and a last row adjacent to a side wall of the case.

An end effector adapted to be carried by a robot positioning apparatus for packing items of produce, the end effector adapted in use for holding an open topped elongate container (tube) in an inverted orientation, wherein the tube has a closed bottom end and an open top end; the end effector comprising: at least one actuatable movable element located on the end effector so as to be adjacent the open end of a tube held by the end effector; wherein the actuatable movable element is configured to be operable between: an extended position which at least partially extends over the open end of a tube held by the end effector to at least partially obstruct the open end of the tube; and a retracted position so that the open end of the container is substantially unobstructed to allow items of produce to be received in the tube.

Systems and processes for packing complementary articles of footwear into a container are disclosed. The processes can include utilizing a reusable packing sheet positioned underneath complementary articles of footwear to transfer the complementary articles of footwear into a container. The processes can also include removing the reusable packing sheet from underneath the complementary articles of footwear while the complementary articles of footwear remain positioned in the container. Additional processes can include aligning and sizing complementary articles of footwear for packing in a container.

An order management system and method for automated logistics based on-demand box supplying is disclosed. The system pre-estimates a dimension required by all of the merchandise according to an order data, and selects a sheet material according to the size to form a finished container. The dimension of the unfolded sheet material before folding into the finished container is quite small. In terms of warehouse space utilization, a space required by a single finished and folded box is able to stack dozens of sheet materials, so that the warehousing efficiency is greatly improved. By integrating with a box folding module and a sealing module, fully automated logistics can be achieved with human intervention.

A vacuum-assisted product-handling system is described that includes a carrier to move an unpackaged product into a contact position. The system also includes an actuation unit to move the unpackaged product from the contact position of the carrier to a receiving container. The actuation unit may include a mechanical arm to lift the unpackaged product from the carrier and deposit the unpackaged product in the receiving container, and a vacuum tool connected to an end of the mechanical arm. The vacuum tool may be operable to hold the unpackaged product as the unpackaged product is moved by the actuation unit from the carrier to the receiving container. The vacuum tool may include one or more arrays of suction devices, where each array of suction devices is connected to a single vacuum source.

A system for transferring articles, includes a plurality of gripping devices, configured to grip respective articles which pass along a first conveyor, wherein each gripping device is movable independently from the remaining gripping devices. A control unit is configured for controlling the gripping devices. A first detection sensor is configured to detect a first value indicating a position of an article on the first conveyor. The control unit is configured for receiving the first value; positioning a gripping device at the article, as a function of the first value; gripping the article with the gripping device; adjusting, as a function of the first value, a speed of the gripping device which grips the article, and releasing the article from the gripping device when the article reaches a release position.

A transfer device having a plurality of pick-up heads loads products into receptacles. The products are provided in a random arrangement in a pick-up area, and the position of each product is detected. To pick up the products, the transfer device is moved over the pick-up area and each pick-up head picks up an individual product at a pick-up time and in a pick-up position. The pick-up position and the pick-up time for the products are determined on the basis of the previously detected positions of the products. The placement of the products in a placement area may also occurs while the transfer device is moving relative to the receptacles.

Converting line for paper rolls, including at least one converting apparatus adapted to convert paper plies, wound in parent reels, into rolls, a packing machine that in turn includes—a carrier conveyor, on which the rolls coming from the converting apparatus are arranged, —at least one side area at the side of the carrier conveyor, where the rolls are packed, —at least one robot adapted to take the rolls from the at least one conveyor belt and to put them in the at least one side area.

A box packing apparatus has an accumulating mechanism, a detection unit, and a packing mechanism. The accumulating mechanism is configured to accumulate a plurality of articles to create an article group. The detection unit is configured to detect a posture of the article group. The packing mechanism is configured to pack the article group into a packing box based on a detection result of the detection unit.

An automated apparatus and method for configuring and producing packaging for orders of variable configurations of perishable items includes an automatic case erector-sealer; a packing liner dispenser; a cold pack dispenser; a control system; a point of sale ecommerce platform; and a data processor to capture order configuration, order destination, and available order points of origin. The control system captures and uses the order configuration, destination, and delivery date, to generate a time in transit (TNT), total volume, cold volume, and ambient volume, of items in the order. The total volume and cold volume are used to generate a product cube category (PCC). The TNT and the PCC are used to generate a packaging configuration for the order. The system uses the packaging configuration to generate and send operational directives to one or more of the automatic case erector-sealer, the packing liner dispenser, and the cold pack dispenser.