A station for feeding closing seals for containers includes at least one fixed magazine of seals which is provided with an outlet from which the seals can be taken individually. The station further includes a carousel for feeding seals which can rotate with respect to a first central rotation axis and is provided with pickers which are radially spaced apart from the first rotation axis. The pickers are individually rotatable about a second rotation axis which is not parallel to the first axis of the carousel. During rotation of the carousel, at least one picker is configured to rotate about the second axis from a position for taking the seal from the magazine to a position for releasing the seal.

This box assembling and packing system is provided: a first jig which is fixed at a predetermined position and against which a side part of a body of a packing box is thrust; a second jig which is fixed at a predetermined position and against which a flap part and a tuck part of the packing box are thrust; and a robot having two articulated arms. A first articulated arm of the two articulated arms holds and moves the packing box in a flatly collapsed form by a packing box holding mechanism, folds and raises the body of the flatly collapsed packing box into a rectangular tubular shape in cooperation with the first jig, and maintains the folded and raised body of the packing box in the rectangular tubular shape by a packing box rectangular tubular shape maintaining mechanism. The second articulated arm moves a folding member into contact with the flap part and the tuck part of the packing box being held by the packing box holding mechanism of the first articulated arm, forms each of a bottom and a lid of the packing box in cooperation with the second jig, and moves an object-to-be-packed being grasped by an object-to-be-packed grasping mechanism and inserts it into the body from an end portion at a timing between forming the bottom and forming the lid.

The present invention provides, in various embodiments, a batch feeder and a method for stocking and gravity conveying of piece goods made of flat material. A feeder pit comprises an upper opening for inputting the piece goods in batches, a lower opening for extraction of the piece goods, and at least two lateral pit delimitations, which are located opposite to one another, for guiding of the piece goods. As carrying structures for supporting the piece goods on one side, that are arranged on top of each other as floors and that protrude into the feeder pit, are formed on at least one of the pit delimitations, the piece goods can be retained alternatingly on the carrying structures in an easy way and move up respectively for each floor.

A destacking system for cardboard blanks comprises a deposition unit for cardboard blanks with first and second deposition positions, a first destacker comprising a first stacking magazine for accommodating a first stack of cardboard blanks, a first retaining system for retaining the cardboard blanks at a first stacking position, and a first conveying unit with a first gripper to grip a first cardboard blank of the first destacker at the first stacking position and convey the first cardboard blank to the first deposition position, a second destacker comprising a second stacking magazine for accommodating a second stack of cardboard blanks, a second retaining system for retaining the cardboard blanks at a second stacking position, and a second conveying unit with a second gripper configured to grip a second cardboard blank of the second destacker at the second stacking position and convey the second cardboard blank to the second deposition position.

Methods and apparatus for forming containers from container blanks are provided. An apparatus comprises a blank holding apparatus operable to releasably hold a plurality of carton blanks in a first configuration. The apparatus also has a rotary apparatus operable to rotate an engagement device along a rotational path from a first retrieval location where the engagement device is operable to engage with and retrieve a blank from the plurality of blanks held in the blank holding apparatus, to a second operational location. The apparatus also has a movement apparatus inter-connected to the rotary apparatus. The movement apparatus is operable to move the rotary apparatus and the engagement device with the engaged blank away from the blank holding apparatus, which may be translational movement away from the blank holding apparatus.

A dispenser (200) includes a supply structure (202) and a biasing structure (206). The supply structure holds mailers (204). A mailer from the mailers includes a first wall and a second wall. The first and second walls are closed at a first side of the mailer, closed at a second side of the mailer, and closed at a closed end of the mailer. The first and second walls are not closed at an open end of the mailer. The mailer is arranged to be dispensed from the supply structure (202). The biasing structure (206) is arranged to engage the mailer as the mailer is dispensed from the supply structure (202). The biasing structure (206) has narrowing surfaces configured to contact the sides of the mailer as the mailer is dispensed. The narrowing surfaces of the biasing structure (206) are arranged to narrow the open end of the mailer thereby causing the open end to be biased open.

This box assembling and packing system is provided: a first jig which is fixed at a predetermined position and against which a side part of a body of a packing box is thrust; a second jig which is fixed at a predetermined position and against which a flap part and a tuck part of the packing box are thrust; and a robot having two articulated arms. A first articulated arm of the two articulated arms holds and moves the packing box in a flatly collapsed form by a packing box holding mechanism, folds and raises the body of the flatly collapsed packing box into a rectangular tubular shape in cooperation with the first jig, and maintains the folded and raised body of the packing box in the rectangular tubular shape by a packing box rectangular tubular shape maintaining mechanism. The second articulated arm moves a folding member into contact with the flap part and the tuck part of the packing box being held by the packing box holding mechanism of the first articulated arm, forms each of a bottom and a lid of the packing box in cooperation with the second jig, and moves an object-to-be-packed being grasped by an object-to-be-packed grasping mechanism and inserts it into the body from an end portion at a timing between forming the bottom and forming the lid.

A dispenser (200) includes a supply structure (202) and a biasing structure (206). The supply structure holds mailers (204). A mailer from the mailers includes a first wall and a second wall. The first and second walls are closed at a first side of the mailer, closed at a second side of the mailer, and closed at a closed end of the mailer. The first and second walls are not closed at an open end of the mailer. The mailer is arranged to be dispensed from the supply structure (202). The biasing structure (206) is arranged to engage the mailer as the mailer is dispensed from the supply structure (202). The biasing structure (206) has narrowing surfaces configured to contact the sides of the mailer as the mailer is dispensed. The narrowing surfaces of the biasing structure (206) are arranged to narrow the open end of the mailer thereby causing the open end to be biased open.

Methods and apparatus for forming containers from container blanks are provided. An apparatus comprises a blank holding apparatus operable to releasably hold a plurality of carton blanks in a first configuration. The apparatus also has a rotary apparatus operable to rotate an engagement device along a rotational path from a first retrieval location where the engagement device is operable to engage with and retrieve a blank from the plurality of blanks held in the blank holding apparatus, to a second operational location. The apparatus also has a movement apparatus inter-connected to the rotary apparatus. The movement apparatus is operable to move the rotary apparatus and the engagement device with the engaged blank away from the blank holding apparatus, which may be translational movement away from the blank holding apparatus.

The present invention relates to a vacuum plate (10) which may be used in a vacuum plate sheet material handling system (1) in which sheet material articles (4) are handled by the vacuum plate, for example by being lifted, held down, moved or deposited by the vacuum plate. The vacuum plate (10) comprises a first wall (22), a plurality of bores (24) in the first wall extending between opposite first and second sides (18, 57) of the first wall, and at least one air outlet (25) for connection to a source of vacuum pressure (16) for applying a vacuum pressure to the bores from the second side (57) of the first wall. The first wall (22) provides, in use, a vacuum lifting surface (20) for pulling and holding the sheet material article (4) to the vacuum surface when vacuum pressure is applied to the bores. Each bore comprises a flared opening (91) terminating at the vacuum surface (20) for admitting air (100) pulled through the bore by the applied vacuum pressure, and opposite this opening, an exit (99) for said air pulled through the bore, this exit being surrounded by a rim (96) that extends above a surrounding surface of the second side of the first wall.