Automated system for handling, in particular for overturning, containers such as cage trays for housing laboratory animals. The automated system being suitable to be positioned at the outlet module of a station for treating or washing, said containers and possibly other component parts of said cages such as the lid, the trough and similar component parts. The system then receives said containers and/or other component parts at the outlet from said treatment station, in particular washing station. The system can comprise a first conveyor belt capable of interfacing said outlet module so as to receive said containers and/or said component parts at the outlet of said treatment station. A second conveyor belt can be arranged in succession so as to define a transport direction of said containers and/or component parts substantially parallel to the feed direction of said containers and/or component parts at the exit from said treatment station.

A system for grouping and rotating packages (101) includes a first conveyor (102) configured to drive a stream of packages from a first end (102A) to a second end (102B) at a predefined first speed, an actuation section (104) situated at the second end (102B) of the first conveyor (102) configured to receive the stream of packages from the first conveyor (102) and actuate the stream of packages to an orienting section (108) at a predefined second speed, wherein the second speed is less than the first speed, and a plurality of lugs (106) adjacent to the actuation section (104) configured to actuate forward packages in the stream of packages forming groups (105) of two or more packages (101).

A method for forming pairs of packs, comprising providing a supply of individual packs (100), arranging a first pack in a vertical transport device (40), arranging a second pack in the vertical transport device (40), thereby arranging the second pack vertically spaced from the first pack in the vertical transport device (40). The method further comprises vertically transporting the first and the second pack in the vertical transport device, then simultaneous pushing the first and second packs as a pair of packs out of the vertical transport device and into a receiving device (50), wherein the first and second packs are transferred in a vertically spaced manner as the pair of packs to the receiving device and are arranged in a vertically spaced manner in the receiving device.

A method for filling a package with a group of pairs of packs, comprising supplying a group of pairs of packs simultaneously from a transport device to a package, vertically spacing the two packs of each pair of packs of the group of pairs of packs from each other in the package, and horizontally spacing each pair of packs from each other in the package. The method further comprises maintaining a horizontal spacing between each pair of packs of the group of pairs of packs while supplying the group of pairs of packs to the package by guiding the pairs of packs of the group of pairs of packs along space bars provided in the transport device.

The invention relates to an apparatus and a method handling moved piece goods. The apparatus comprises a manipulator for the piece goods, at least one transport device transporting the moved piece goods to a seizing range of the at least one manipulator and at least one horizontal conveying device assigned to the seizing range and/or to a movement range of the at least one manipulator, via which horizontal conveying device the moved piece goods are transported in the seizing range of the at least one manipulator. Furthermore, the apparatus comprises at least one detection device for obtaining space coordinates and/or position data and/or contour data of piece goods to be seized by the manipulator, wherein the at least one horizontal conveying device and the at least one transport device are calibratable and/or controllable based on the space coordinates and/or position data and/or contour data.

Loading units are collections of goods to be placed in sequence and compiled, as onto a pallet, for shipment. An apparatus is provided for sequencing loading units in a predetermined order. The apparatus includes a sequencing zone with a plurality of belts for receiving units to be sequenced, and a feeding device for units arranged upstream of the sequencing zone. Also included is a separation device with intakes for loading units. A distribution device distributes units onto the belts; a relocation device conveys separated units toward a downstream conveying device. The distribution device and the relocation device include a transverse pusher for pushing the units transversely to the belts or the intakes.

The invention relates to a method for operating a supply device, comprising at least one feed conveyor, at least one intermediate conveyor, a discharge conveyor and at least one handling device, wherein individual products are continuously conveyed from the at least one feed conveyor to a work area of the at least one handling device; the products are displaced by the at least one handling device from the at least one feed conveyor onto the at least one continuously running intermediate conveyor for forming an article layer according to a placement pattern; the article layer is transferred from the at least one intermediate conveyor to the discharge conveyor, wherein during the formation of the article layer, the at least one intermediate conveyor runs at a transfer speed, during the transfer of the article layer, the at least one intermediate conveyor and the discharge conveyor run at an equal speed, and after the formation of the article layer, the discharge conveyor is accelerated to a discharge speed which is greater than the transfer speed. The invention relates to a supply device for forming an article layer from individual products and for transferring the article layer to a downstream device, comprising at least one feed conveyor, at least one intermediate conveyor, a discharge conveyor and at least one handling device, which is adapted for carrying out the method according to the invention.

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.

The invention relates to a handling device and/or layer forming device (10) and a method for forming piece good layers. Piece goods (14, 14a) are conveyed on a horizontal conveying device (16) to a grouping station and/or layer forming station (12) comprising a manipulator (20). In a work cycle the manipulator (20) seizes at least one piece good (14, 14a) and moves it into a defined relative target position and/or target alignment, in particular with regard to a piece good layer to be formed.

The horizontal conveying device (16), which is arranged upstream of the grouping station and/or layer forming station (12) in the transport direction (18) of the piece goods (14, 14a), comprises at least one sensor device (24) for obtaining positional data and/or dimensional data and/or alignment data of the transported piece goods (14, 14a). Electronic output signals (26) are generated from the obtained data, which processed in a control device (28). The control device (28) controls the movements of the manipulator (20) within the movement range (22) for the purpose of the layer formation.

A control system and method for a robotic palletizer. The control system and method include or are implemented by a home screen displaying a plurality of application icons. The applications each provide a quick access to control features and methods. The control system includes methods and components for planning and/or monitoring a product pallet configuration by the palletizer. Animation and/or other virtual depiction of the palletization is displayed through a graphical user interface for the palletizer. The animation and/or other virtual depiction can illustrate the conveyor palletization before or during the palletization and/or provide an augmented confirmation overlaying a video feed of a palletization of a plurality of products.