WO2018064259A1

WO2018064259A1 - Case manipulator apparatus and method for use with an inline palletizing system

Info

Publication number: WO2018064259A1
Application number: PCT/US2017/053887
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stephen L. Heston
Original assignee: Top Tier, Llc
Priority date: 2016-09-29
Filing date: 2017-09-28
Publication date: 2018-04-05

Abstract

A single-axis inline case manipulator apparatus and system that performs only a simple lateral manipulation of cases to laterally shift the case position for proper row build positioning, coupled with rotation of the case where needed according to a pre-determined layer build menu. The single axis movement after case engagement from the manipulation engagement point can be performed rapidly or at slower speeds based on throughput needs. Consequently several methods of lateral of movement are possible ranging from servo positioning to pneumatic with fixed position stops. Operationally, manipulators engage a case or sub group of cases in motion or when at a stop against a removable stop. Lateral movement and or case rotation is achieved nearly simultaneously. Release of positioned cases at the same time by all manipulators retains their orientation relative to one another in direction of travel as when they entered.

Description

Case Manipulator Apparatus and Method for use With an Inline Palletizing System

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to palletizing apparatus and methods for organizing items such as cases into layers and for depositing the layers onto a pallet, and more specifically, to a case manipulator apparatus and system for use with an inline palletizing system.

Background

[0002] Described generally, a palletizer is an apparatus that receives and manipulates items, such as boxes, also called cases, or other items, organizes the items in pre-determined positions and orientations in organized rows, layers and stacks to form a stable stack of boxes arranged on a pallet for shipping. Palletizers are often combined with stretch wrapping machines that are either a component of the palletizer assembly itself or a separate machine. In either case, the stretch wrapping machine overwraps the stack of cases that the palletizing machine has deposited on the pallet in order to form a highly stable load that is ready for shipping and which will remain stable throughout the shipping process.

[0003] There are innumerable devices for palletizing articles, but described in a very general sense all palletizers receive a sequence of items and manipulates those items to produce a palletized stack of them. As noted, typically, a completed stack of cases is stretch wrapped as part of the palletizing operation in order to finalize the stack for shipping.

[0004] Stated in very general terms, a typical palletizer receives a series of items from an infeed device of some type, organizes the items into desired orientations in one or more rows on a row building device, organizes the rows into layers on a component such as a layer head, and generates a stack of layers on a pallet.

Depending on the type of machine, individual cases, or complete rows of cases may be transferred to onto a pallet or a complete layer of items (i.e. , multiple rows of items) may be assembled and transferred at once onto a pallet.

[0005] Efficient shipping of palletized items calls for efficient stacking of items on the pallet to minimize open space within the stack and to help insure the stability of the stack to prevent relative movement between items, and ultimately, to insure that the items in the stack arrive at their destination undamaged. Of course, items that are being palletized come in a variety of sizes. For instance, many boxes are

rectangular with opposed parallel side panels and therefore have different width and length dimensions. Other boxes are square and thus have identical width and length dimensions. Different sized standard pallets are used widely throughout the shipping industry. Depending upon the size and shape of the item to be palletized, and by varying the orientation and/or pattern of items from layer to layer, a stable stack of items may be constructed upon a standard-sized pallet. Accordingly, a variety of "box patterns" have been established for stacking specific box sizes on standard pallets. By using an established box pattern for given rectangular boxes that are to be stacked on a standard pallet, the result is an efficient and stable stack of the boxes on the pallet that will perform well during shipping and handling.

Modern palletizers are under the control of a microprocessor that controls all aspects of the palletizing operation. Among other things, the controller has pre-determined "build menus" that correspond to box patterns and which are specific to specific box dimensions and pallet load specifications. During operation of the palletizer, the build menu determines how the palletizer orients and arranges the plural boxes so that the finalized stack on the pallet is optimally stable.

[0006] A common palletizing system comprises several components that work together to perform the palletizing operation. Items to be palletized are initially placed on an infeed system that delivers the boxes to a row build system. Often the infeed system includes box turning equipment that orients individual boxes in the correct orientation relative to adjacent boxes for the specific box pattern that is being used. Rows are assembled on the row build system - each row is a set of plural boxes arranged according to the box pattern as set by the build menu. A row is transferred by one of a variety of methods from the row build system to a layer building station where plural rows are arranged into a layer. A stack is formed by depositing a first layer onto a pallet or slip sheet and subsequent layers are deposited atop the next adjacent lower layer. Layers are added until the stack is complete. Typically, the palletizing operations at the various stations run

simultaneously to the extent possible to increase throughput efficiency. As would be expected, there are many variations of the equipment used to palletize, and the general themes of operation.

[0007] Regardless of the equipment that is being used, palletizing requires efficiency in design and operation of the device. Among other design and operational criteria, efficiency is often one of the most important considerations. In many applications, time is most critical and a palletizer that more quickly organizes an incoming series of items into a palletized stack of items represents an advantage by increasing throughput and thus greater production levels and economic efficiency.

[0008] That said, different operations have different requirements for palletizing equipment. A high speed, high throughput palletizer might be appropriate for a high volume manufacturer but a lower speed system would be just as appropriate for a lower volume manufacturer. As would be expected, the higher speed palletizing systems tend to be more expensive than the lower speed system. Therefore, there is a need in the marketplace for many different palletizing systems that meet the variety of needs of the consumers of these systems.

[0009] It will be appreciated that mishandling of boxes in the palletizing process should be minimized as part of an efficient operation and that a palletizing system must be designed to avoid delivery of boxes to the palletizer in an incorrect orientation. For example, a box that is delivered to a palletizer in the incorrect orientation for the specific box pattern that is being used will cause formation of a defective layer. This results in shut down, or at least significant slowdown of the entire palletizing sequence and operator intervention is often required in order to correct the orientation of the mis-oriented box. Unfortunately, delivery of such "out of bounds" boxes - that is, boxes that are either in the incorrect orientation or which are otherwise improperly placed - to palletizing systems continues to be a significant problem and is the cause of much slowdown in palletizing operations. Moreover, any time operator intervention is required to correct out of bounds situations there are a safety concern for workers.

[0010] Many years ago another type of palletizer was developed and is now known as an inline palletizer. A so-called inline palletizer utilizes a continuous motion flow divider that guides items into the desired area on a layer forming platform. One style of an inline palletizer uses one or more clamps that grip an item such as a case that is moving along a transport belt. The clamps move in 2 axes: longitudinally in the direction of belt travel and laterally in a cross-belt direction; as the cases are shifted laterally the articulated grip shifts and can also rotate the case if needed for the specific build menu to a position that allows the case to be in its final loose pattern position across a wide belt. Throughout the case articulation process above, the relative position of the case is not changed significantly in the direction of belt travel. As a sequence of items move down the transport belt they are shifted and rotated as required until a complete layer is assembled in a desired relative loose orientation. The final position of a case typically includes some gap between adjacent cases so that adjacent cases can interleave into a final loose layer that will be deposited on a pallet in a tightened finished pallet configuration. Once a pattern group is assembled into a layer, secondary compression systems might be used to pre-tighten the loose pattern group into a tight pattern and the layer is transferred onto a layer head, and then onto a pallet. Some systems perform all final layer tightening at the final layer conditioning and deposit location.

[0011] Such inline systems are fairly sophisticated as there is continual movement requiring the case manipulator to track and perform all manipulation at a speed matching the transport belt. Because the clamps travel in the belt movement direction, these XY dual axis systems, which typically also are movable in the Z axis for case release, also require a lot of space which is not desired for in many installations.

[0012] Typical inline palletizers release single cases for manipulation with gaps - a manipulation envelope - between cases to allow manipulation (i.e. , rotation) without conflicting with adjacent cases. The exception is sometimes smaller cases can be released as a group tightly inline together allowing manipulation of the case group in one manipulator cycle. Still a gap is required between each case group release.

[0013] There are inherent space requirement needs for release of individual or groups of cases with gaps needed to manipulation that may require rotation. At a minimum there must be a gap between cases to allow the arc circle of case diagonal between each case to allow rotation without conflicting with a following or preceding released case.

[0014] Additional space is required for current inline palletizing because cases are engaged while in motion and manipulated at the belt speed to the release point. Consequently an XY case manipulator envelope must include direction of travel space free of other manipulators to avoid work envelope conflicts when more than one manipulator is required for achieving needed throughput. In nearly all inline manipulator palletizer systems more than one manipulator is required to achieve needed throughput. The cost and complexity of current inline manipulators is not often justifiable for slower applications.

[0015] Because cases are engaged while traveling at belt speed, manipulated laterally to a layer-pattern-required-position and sometimes rotated with the case still occupying the same relative "X" position on the belt, the manipulator envelope is often several feet long. Manipulator motion control is also necessarily sophisticated because "X" direction of belt travel and Ύ" lateral travel require coordinated positioning.

[0016] There is a need therefore for an inline palletizing system that reduces overall space needs for manipulating cases to a positive loose pattern orientation including case rotation. Furthermore there is a need to reduce the complexity and cost for coordinated X, Y motion required for current inline palletizer case manipulation systems. [0017] The present invention comprises systems that address these and other needs as detailed herein. The invention comprises an inline case manipulator apparatus and system that performs only a simple lateral manipulation of a case to laterally shift the case position for proper row build positioning, coupled with rotation of the case where needed according to a pre-determined layer build menu. The case manipulating grippers are fixed and unmovable along the X axis - the axis of belt travel. The single axis movement after case engagement from the manipulation engagement point for a short distance can be performed rapidly or slower based on throughput needs. Consequently several methods of lateral of movement are possible ranging from servo positioning to pneumatic with fixed position stops. The simplicity of single axis movement compared to prior coordinated XY movements provides options to tailor capabilities to application requirements and budget. All manipulation occurs in significantly less space than prior technology.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] The invention will be better understood and its numerous objects and advantages will be apparent by reference to the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the following drawings.

[0019] Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an exemplary embodiment of a case manipulator and inline palletizing system according to the present invention, shown in an operable position to receive slugs of cases from an upstream conveyer that accumulates a group of cases equal to a desired slug release; the slug release equipment is common in the industry and is thus shown generically.

[0020] Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of an inline case manipulator according to the present invention illustrating select components, and specifically, a top plan view of a receiving conveyer that is part of the inline case manipulator according to the invention, three overhead single axis carriage tracks with the associated carriages and case clamps.

[0021] Fig. 3 is a schematic representation of a specific 10 case pattern that is broken into groups - "slugs" - of three cases, each slug representing a release from a slug release system common in industry and each slug distinguished from other slugs by reference numbers.

[0022] Fig. 4 is a schematic representation with more specific detail of the 10 case pattern illustrated in Fig. 3. In Fig. 4 there are 4 layers of cases illustrated on the left side of the drawing, each layer comprising ten cases, and on the right side of the drawing are details of three cases that form one slug release that will eventually form a selected row or part of a row in a selected layer, and in which the cases are shown in in the induction position and in a manipulated position after they have been manipulated by the inline case manipulator according to the invention prior to row formation and accumulation. [0023] Fig. 5 is a schematic representation showing 18 cases and illustrating the cases as they would be manipulated and turned by the inline case manipulator according to the present invention and with reference numbers in the drawing identifying the cases in six separate slugs of three cases each.

[0024] Fig. 6 is schematic representation of the same 18 cases shown in Fig. 5 except showing transfer of ten cases (i.e. , one layer) onto an accumulation conveyer that is located immediately downstream of the inline case manipulator described in detail herein.

[0025] Figs. 7 through 21 are a series of illustrations of one preferred embodiment of an inline case manipulator according to the invention, in which each drawing represents a sequential step in the case manipulation processing. For each position of the case manipulator in the sequence illustrated by the Figs. 7 - 21 , there is a perspective view that is identified with the letter "A" (e.g. , Fig. 7A) and that view is paired with a top plan view of the case manipulator in the same position as the perspective view and it identified with the letter "B" (e.g. , Fig. 7B).

[0026] Fig. 7A is a perspective view of the inline case manipulator showing the case clamps gripping three cases and is an exemplary first step in a sequence of steps illustrating case manipulation in the process of building a stack of cases on a pallet;

[0027] Fig. 7B is a top plan view of the inline case manipulator shown in Fig. 7A;

[0028] Fig. 8A is a perspective view of the inline case manipulator, showing a next sequential step relative to the view of Fig. 7A. [0029] Fig. 8B is a top plan view of the inline case manipulator shown in Fig. 8A.

[0030] Fig. 9A is a perspective view of the inline case manipulator, showing a next sequential step relative to the view of Fig. 8A

[0031] Fig. 9B is a top plan view of the inline case manipulator shown in Fig. 9A.

[0032] Fig. 10A is a perspective view of the inline case manipulator, showing a next sequential step relative to the view of Fig. 9A

[0033] Fig. 10B is a top plan view of the inline case manipulator shown in Fig. 10A.

[0034] Fig. 1 1 A is a perspective view of the inline case manipulator, showing a next sequential step relative to the view of Fig. 10A

[0035] Fig. 1 1 B is a top plan view of the inline case manipulator shown in Fig. 1 1 A.

[0036] Fig. 12A is a perspective view of the inline case manipulator, showing a next sequential step relative to the view of Fig. 1 1 A

[0037] Fig. 12B is a top plan view of the inline case manipulator shown in Fig. 12A.

[0038] Fig 13A is a perspective view of the inline case manipulator, showing a next sequential step relative to the view of Fig. 12A

[0039] Fig. 13B is a top plan view of the inline case manipulator shown in Fig. 13A.

[0040] Fig. 14A is a perspective view of the inline case manipulator, showing a next sequential step relative to the view of Fig. 13A

[0041] Fig. 14B is a top plan view of the inline case manipulator shown in Fig. 14A. [0042] Fig. 15A is a perspective view of the inline case manipulator, showing a next sequential step relative to the view of Fig. 14A

[0043] Fig. 15B is a top plan view of the inline case manipulator shown in Fig. 15A.

[0044] Fig. 16A is a perspective view of the inline case manipulator, showing a next sequential step relative to the view of Fig. 15A

[0045] Fig. 16B is a top plan view of the inline case manipulator shown in Fig. 16A.

[0046] Fig. 17A is a perspective view of the inline case manipulator, showing a next sequential step relative to the view of Fig. 16A

[0047] Fig. 17B is a top plan view of the inline case manipulator shown in Fig. 17A.

[0048] Fig. 18A is a perspective view of the inline case manipulator, showing a next sequential step relative to the view of Fig. 17A

[0049] Fig. 18B is a top plan view of the inline case manipulator shown in Fig. 18A.

[0050] Fig. 19A is a perspective view of the inline case manipulator, showing a next sequential step relative to the view of Fig. 18A

[0051] Fig. 19B is a top plan view of the inline case manipulator shown in Fig. 19A.

[0052] Fig. 20A is a perspective view of the inline case manipulator, showing a next sequential step relative to the view of Fig. 10A

[0053] Fig. 20B is a top plan view of the inline case manipulator shown in Fig. 20A.

[0054] Fig. 21 A is a perspective view of the inline case manipulator, showing a next sequential step relative to the view of Fig. 20A [0055] Fig. 21 B is a top plan view of the inline case manipulator shown in Fig. 21 A.

Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiments

[0056] The drawings illustrate the structure and operation of a preferred embodiment of a single axis inline case manipulator 10 according to the present invention. With reference to Fig. 1 , the inline case manipulator 10 is shown operatively adjacent to a slug release system shown generically at 100 that delivers - "releases" - cases 12 in groups of three cases to the inline case manipulator 10. Each group of three cases released from an upstream system is referred to as a "slug" and in the discussion herein and in the drawings, a slug always consists of three individual cases 12. It will be appreciated that this is for illustrative purposes only and that a slug may be greater or fewer cases than three. It will further be appreciated that while the preferred embodiments are described and illustrated with "cases" shown as rectangular boxes, this is for illustrative purposes only and that the invention is suited for manipulation of any items that may be palletized.

[0057] For purposes of clarity, it is assumed that the inline case manipulator 10 is positioned on a horizontal floor surface that defines a horizontal plane. In Fig. 1 , the direction illustrated by arrow A is the X direction - the X axis, also referred to as the conveyance axis. The Y axis is transverse to the X axis and the vertical axis -the Z axis - is the direction normal to the plane of the floor. As a naming convention, individual cases are at times identified with reference number 12; in other instances, other reference numbers are used to identify specific cases to clarify their positions. When in the drawings a case, regardless of its identifying reference number, is shown with a circle encircling the case, it means that the circled case in question has been rotated by a case clamp about the vertical axis. Conversely, cases that are illustrated without a circle have not been rotated about the vertical axis, although they may have been shifted laterally by the manipulators. Further, it will be understood that the relative words "upstream" and "downstream" refer to the direction of travel along the X axis: "upstream" refers to the direction from which cases are moving and "downstream" is the opposite direction. In Fig. 1 the arrow A is pointing in the downstream direction.

[0058] For purposes herein the discussion assumes that upstream system releases a slug of three cases every four seconds indexed to the time needed for the case manipulators described herein to complete a manipulation cycle. A manipulation cycle consists of gripping a case with a case clamp, laterally moving a case to the needed lateral position (i.e., "laterally" meaning moving the case along the Y axis) and simultaneously rotating the case if needed after sufficient lateral movement from an adjacent case in slug release is achieved for pattern requirements. Space for rotation becomes available as soon as manipulators traveling in opposite directions laterally create adequate offset for rotation needs. It will be understood that adjacent cases in a slug may be spaced apart from one another rather than tightly grouped as shown in the drawings; spacing between adjacent cases in a slug makes no difference with respect to operation of the case manipulator 10 described and shown herein. Once the cases have been shifted laterally to the desired position and in the desired orientation, the case clamps disengage from the cases and are retracted vertically - along the Z axis - so the cases may continue downstream through processing.

[0059] Layer patterns consist of rows of cases that are laterally offset relative to each other. Manipulation of cases by an inline palletizer generally moves cases to desired positions in order to construct each row of a pattern sequentially. The lateral offset position after manipulation for position in a loose pattern of any two adjacent cases tightly together prior to manipulation will always be shifted laterally in opposite directions relative to each other to allow for rotation without conflict once total opposing lateral relative movement is greater than the width of the case.

Consequently there is always adequate lateral offset movement needed between adjacent cases of a release to allow nearly an immediate start of rotation once engaged cases are moved laterally in opposite directions by an inline palletizer system using more than one manipulator. Should a pattern build menu be such that manipulators do not shift laterally enough to allow rotation, the manipulator can simply over travel along the Y axis, rotate the case, and then return along the Y axis to release the case at the desired release position. In such instances total travel distance will remain less than the longest required travel need so there is no throughput consequence for the rare bi-directional manipulation event. [0060] If cases enter at a conveying surface centerline, which is usually a belt conveyor, lateral direction movement - that is, movement of a case in a direction normal to the direction of belt movement along the Y axis - is minimized in both directions and is usually 24" or less. Although centerline entrance is illustrated in the drawings, centerline entrance is not necessary, just most efficient for reducing manipulator travel distance for maximizing throughput potential. The wide conveying surface can be any type of conveying surface or can be a static surface with a flight bar pusher or other means to index a release group to a manipulation point and move manipulated group downstream after manipulation while nearly simultaneously inducting the next group.

[0061] The manipulation point is where the manipulator gripper center is at or very close to centerline of inducted case when grip engagement occurs. If more than one manipulator is used, each manipulator is at a fixed center distance to adjacent manipulators so that each is at centerline or close to centerline of each case in the released group. A released group of cases can be one case for each manipulator or more than one case for each manipulator. Each manipulator is adapted to shift a case (or cases if the manipulator is gripping plural cases) laterally from the manipulation point. However, the manipulators are fixed along the X axis so that there is never any movement of the manipulators along the X belt travel axis

(although as detailed below, automatic or manual adjustment of the distance between adjacent manipulators along the X axis may be necessary when changing build menus to accommodate different sized cases). [0062] The released group of cases can engage a physical stop to stop forward motion on the manipulation transport surface provided the stop is able to retract from the path of case rotation and case travel of a manipulated group after release from gripper then return to stop the next released group. Then the first manipulation point is half or very close to half the case or sub group of cases to be manipulated length relative to the stop. Each additional upstream manipulator or manipulators if used in the system is located a fixed distance relative to the first manipulation point that is equal to the case length or subgroup of cases to be manipulated length.

Alternatively, this may be realized by the manipulator or manipulators traveling on a slide that moves the manipulator or manipulators as a group at conveying surface speed until gripper engagement is confirmed. Total travel distance of manipulator or manipulators is only the distance required for confirmed gripper engagement so overall length of the system is not increased significantly.

[0063] Changing manipulator center distances to match or closely match case or sub group case length center distance when more than one manipulator is used can be manual or automatic with positioning systems commonly known in industry when a new case size is handled. But again, the inline case manipulator 10 is a single axis machine that is adapted to move cases only along the Y axis.

[0064] Each manipulator performs only a simple lateral manipulation of a case along the Y axis, and may include rotation of the case about the vertical axis. Single axis movement after case engagement from the manipulation engagement point for a short distance can be performed rapidly or slower based on throughput needs. Consequently several methods of lateral of movement are possible ranging from servo positioning to pneumatic with fixed position stops. The simplicity of single axis movement compared to prior coordinated XY movements provides options to tailor capabilities to application requirements and budget. All manipulation occurs in significantly less space than prior technology. And while the case manipulators shown in the drawings and detailed below operate lineally, it will be understood that the cases may equally be manipulated by other mechanical devices such as 2 axis delta robots.

[0065] High throughput is possible by increasing the number of manipulators because each manipulator is able to move their respective case laterally in an opposite direction relative to adjacent manipulators to create needed staggered position of cases always required for a pattern. Low throughput applications can be handled using a single manipulator requiring less space and at lower cost than industry standard meter and bump and turn infeed systems.

[0066] With reference now to the drawings, in Fig. 1 the inline case manipulator 10 is shown operatively positioned adjacent to a layer head 250. Cases in a slug release that are destined to be formed into rows are manipulated on a conveyer 14 that defines the case manipulation zone. The manipulated cases are indexed onto a downstream accumulation conveyer 70. Additional cases are indexed onto the accumulation conveyer to combine with cases already on the accumulator conveyer to form layers. Fully formed layers of cases 12 that are formed on the accumulator are transferred as a complete layer onto the layer head 250, and then deposited on a pallet or on an already-deposited layer to build a stack according to know methods and with known equipment. A forklift is shown delivering pallets to the system. Inline case manipulator 10 includes a receiving conveyer belt 14 that moves at a predetermined speed, and stops and starts motion, according to the build menu stored in a controller 72, and which is dependent upon other factors such as the size of the cases and the build menu for those cases. The receiving conveyor belt 14 is preferably a plastic matt top belt 2500mm long operating at a constant speed of 39 meters per minute. The width of conveyer belt 14 is about 1550mm. About

1250mm from the start of the receiving conveyor belt 14 - that is, its most upstream end in terms of case movement on the conveyer (arrow A, Fig. 1 , which defines the X axis or "movement axis" of the inline case manipulator 10). A vertically movable case stop 16 that is about 300mm wide is located at the centerline of conveyer belt 14. A case infeed conveyer 5 is shown upstream of the inline case manipulator 10 with three cases 12 ready to be delivered to the manipulator onto belt 14. The three cases 12 are aligned on conveyer 5 in what is known as the "induction position." This is the orientation of the three cases as they are delivered onto belt 14 - when the three cases are transferred onto belt 14 and prior to the cases being

manipulated; they are in the induction position. In this description of the invention the induction position is with the cases aligned on or near the centerline of conveyer 14.

[0067] It will be appreciated that the word "case" as used herein refers generically to items that may be manipulated with inline case manipulator 10, such as boxes, bags, bundles, overwrapped trays of bottles and other containers, and many other things that may be palletized. It will further be appreciated that the conveyer 14 described above may be any type of conveyance apparatus.

[0068] The case stop 16 may be mounted to an overhead structure and is movable between a stop position in which the case stop 16 is adapted to stop case

movement, and a retracted position in which the case stop is retracted from the stop position so that cases movement may continue. It will be appreciated that the case stop 16 may be defined by plural sections of stop plate that may be actuated separately so that the selected cases may be stopped or allowed to pass, depending on the build menu.

[0069] With reference now to both Figs. 1 and 2, also mounted to the overhead structure are three single axis carriage tracks 18, 20 and 22 that allows carriages (not shown in detail in Fig. 1 ; see Fig. 2) mounted thereon to move laterally, that is, along the Y axis in the direction transverse to the direction of case movement - perpendicular to the X axis - as shown by arrow A of Figs. 1 and 2, across most the belt width. Each carriage track carries a carriage and in Fig. 2 the carriages are identified with reference numbers 19, 21 and 23. The position of carriage tracks 18, 20 and 22 is manually (or automatically depending on the installation) adjustable along the X axis of belt movement to change their center distance between each other and the end case stop. The distance between adjacent carriages 19, 21 , 23 is dependent upon the size of the case on which a gripper will act - the gripper always engages a case about the centerline of the case. Said another way, and as detailed below, the gripper is positioned above the centerline of a case so that the two clamp pads of a gripper always compress against the case in a coordinated movement in which each clamp pad makes contact with the gripped case simultaneously. It will be appreciated that there are numerous different types and styles of case gripping devices that engage a case or cases in a group that may be used with the present invention, and in which the carriage pivot of the gripper is located about the centerline of each case (or case group) that is being manipulated. Moreover, simultaneous gripper pad engagement may be replaced by a method using a fixed grip face whereby an opposite side articulated gripper squeezes the case through a pivoting or liner gripping means against the fixed gripper. Preferably, each carriage 19, 21 and 23 is moved independently of the other carriages by a single positioning motor (not shown in the drawings).

[0070] Turning momentarily to Fig. 7A, the structure of the case manipulators will be described. Three cases 12 are shown in the induction position on belt 14, engaged by the clamps (described below), and three cases are also in the induction position on infeed conveyer 5 upstream from the belt 14. It will be appreciated that each slug of three cases forms a row in a layer of cases that will be formed, or contributes a case to different rows, as detailed below.

[0071] Each carriage track 18, 20 and 22 and each carriage 19, 21 and 23 that is mounted to a respective carriage track, is mounted vertically above the conveyer 14 on a gantry 50 that is defined by corner posts 52 that are interconnected with beams 54 that support the carriage tracks 18, 20 and 22. Each of the carriages is adapted for lateral movement back and forth along the carriage tracks 18, 20 and 22 by action of the positioning motor, which is under the control of controller 72. And as noted, the positions of the carriage tracks 18, 20 and 22 is fixed along the X axis during operation of the device, but the position is adjustable along the X axis when necessary due to a change of case size. The case clamping assembly of each carriage 19, 21 and 23 is identical and identified generally with reference number 60. Each case clamp assembly 60 has a clam shell type case clamp 24 mounted to the lower end of the clamp assembly and the case clamp 24 is able to grip a case 12 of varying width. The clamp assembly is adapted for vertical movement so that when a case is released from the clamp, the clamp may be retracted upwardly to an open position about 300mm above the transport belt 14, above the cases. The case clamp 24 has opposed clamping paddles 26, or "grippers" that may be moved inwardly and outwardly to grip and release cases. Actuation of the case clamps 24 and the clamping paddles 26 is preferably pneumatic and the entire operation is under the control of controller 72. Each case clamp assembly is also adapted so that the case clamps 24 are reciprocally movable vertically, and also so that the case clamps may be rotated around the vertical axis. Thus, the case clamp assembly 60 is moved vertically in the downward direction along the Z axis to position the clamping paddles in a position where they can clamp a case, and the clamp assembly may rotate around the vertical axis to rotate the clamped case. These motions are shown schematically in Fig. 7A with the double arrow B, showing vertical reciprocal movement, and the circle arrow C showing rotational movement. Rotational movement may be facilitated with, for example, a 90 degree pneumatic rotary actuator.

[0072] There are many different structural mechanisms that may be used for the case clamp assemblies 60 - the structures shown in the drawings are exemplary only. As noted above, a 2 axis delta robot may be used to achieve the same operational and functional manipulation of cases, although a 2 axis delta robot does not have Z axis motion and that motion would be provided with appropriate arm linkage. Further, the clamp assemblies 60 described herein and shown in the drawings, which include opposed clamping paddles 26, may be equivalently replace with any structural device that is capable of engaging and shifting items on the conveyer 14 in a direction transverse to the X axis, including for example, L paddles and the like.

[0073] In Fig. 7 A the three cases 12 that are on conveyer 14, clamped by the clamp assemblies 60 that are associated with carriages 19, 21 and 23, are shown in the induction position. In other words, they are aligned and oriented in the same positions that they were in when delivered from the upstream infeed conveyer 5. For the purposes of Figs. 7 through 21 the leading case is labelled with reference number 12a, the next case is 12b and the trailing case in a slug is 12c. Moreover, the relative directions "left" and "right" refer to movement along the Y axis using as a reference the top plan views and considering movement of the cases in the downstream direction of the X axis. [0074] The case stop 62 is in a stop position to prevent downstream movement of the three cases. In the illustrations of Figs. 7 through 21 , the induction position shows the cases aligned at or near the centerline of the conveyer 4, although as noted the induction position may be offset from the centerline. The slug of three cases on conveyer 4 represents the first release. A second slug of three cases also may be seen on the infeed conveyer 5 - that slug is ready for release onto the conveyer 4 once the first release has been moved onto downstream processing such as the downstream accumulation belt 70 (see Fig. 1 ).

[0075] Having described the basic structure of the manipulators, reference is now made to the schematic drawings of Figs. 3 through 6. Fig. 3 is a schematic representation of cases that define six separate layers, and in which each layer is numbered 30, 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40 respectively - in the drawings the dashed lines labelled L1 , L2, L3, L4, L5 show the separation between the six layers of cases. Each of the layers comprises ten cases. Again, individual cases that have a circle around them have been rotated about the vertical axis during manipulation by the clamps, and cases without circles are oriented in the same position that they were delivered to the inline manipulator - the circles around cases illustrate the rotation envelopes for the cases. It will be appreciated that Figs. 3 through 6 are schematic, and that the six layers 30 through 40 will be stacked atop one another on a pallet to make a complete load. In Fig. 3 the six layers are shown side by side in a schematically represented accumulation belt such as belt 70; this in order to illustrate case orientation within each layer and layer to adjacent layer position. The ten cases in each layer comprise three slugs of three cases, with one additional case being delivered to the layer from a next-following slug. The reference numbering system used in Figs. 3 through 6 identifies the cases in a slug and differentiates those cases from cases in other slugs. Thus, a. Cases in layer 30 are labelled with a number in the 200 series as follows:

(1 ) Cases in the first row of layer 30 are identified with 200a, 200b and

200c;

(2) Cases in the second row are identified with 202a, 202b and 202c;

(3) Cases in the third row are identified with 203a, 203b and 203c;

(4) Because the third row of layer 30 includes 4 cases, the 4^th case, which was delivered in the next following slug, is labelled with reference number 203t1 (the "t" representing a case that was transferred from one slug during the accumulation process to the next adjacent group of cases to form a complete row and the number " referring to the first transferred case in the row. In some instances, two cases are transferred and the numbering will thus include a "t1 " and a "t2" case).

[0076] This basic numbering protocol is used in all of Figs. 3 through 6. Continuing with Fig. 3, layer 32: b. Cases in layer 32 are labelled with a number in the 300 series as follows, using the same protocol just explained: (1 ) There are 4 cases in the first row of layer 32. The two interior cases in the leading row were from the slug of cases from which case 203t1 of layer 30 was derived. Those two cases are labelled 300a and 300b. The two outer cases are labelled 300t1 and 300t2 since they were transferred to the leading row of layer 32 from the second slug of three cases that was used to form layer 32. Accordingly, the first row of layer 32 includes 2 cases from the original slug, and 2 cases from the next-following slug. As noted, the two cases from the original slug are identified with 300a, and 300b, and the two other cases that comprise the first row of layer 32, which were transferred from what was the second row of layer 32, are identified as 300t1 and 300t2;

(2) Cases in the second row are identified with 302a, 302b and 302t1 (because the case 302t1 was originally from the next adjacent, trailing slug);

(3) Cases in the third row are identified with 203a, 203b and 203c; c. Cases in layer 34:

(1 ) The first row has 3 cases, moving from left to right, 400t1 , 400a, and 400t2. As such, the two outer cases 400t1 and 400t2 in the first row were transferred to the first row during accumulation;

(2) The second row has three cases 402a, 402t1 and 402b - the middle case 402t was transferred to the second row; (3) The third row has 4 cases (none of which were rotated) and they are, from left to right, 403a, 403b, 403c and 403t1 ; the last case in this third row, 403t1 was transferred from the next-following slug.

[0077] Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the reference numbers in Fig. 3 for layers 36 and 38 follow the same numbering scheme just described so the origin of the cases in any row of any layer can be identified.

[0078] Reference is now made to the schematic representation of Fig. 4, which depicts the required manipulation of cases in released groups of three cases (again, each case is distinguished by reference numbers). Once the three case clamps 24 (not shown in Fig. 4) grip their respective cases, the end stop(s) 16 retract(s). The grippers 24, which are traveling perpendicular to conveyor direction of travel (i.e. , along the Y axis) move as needed to laterally shift and rotate (if rotation is called for) to thereby position their respective cases at the proper centerline position for interleaving with already released cases per the build menu pattern.

[0079] The grippers 24 preferably release the three manipulated cases at the same time, although release may be staggered in some instances, and the grippers travel back to the centerline of conveyer 14 and position their grippers in a position to grip their next respective case.

[0080] Fig. 4 provides more detail on the formation of layers 30, 32, 34 and 36 shown in Fig. 3 and specifically illustrates the formation of selected rows in selected layers. On the left hand side of the drawing of Fig. 4 are layers 30, 32, 34 and 36 that are identical to the same layers having those reference numbers in Fig. 3. In the middle column on the page are three top plan views of conveyer 14, labelled A, B, and C from top to bottom, and each of the three views having three cases on the conveyer aligned in the orientation in which the cases are delivered from the upstream case infeed conveyer 5: these three cases are in the induction position. On the right hand column on the page are three top plan views of conveyer 14, labelled D, E, and F from top to bottom, and each of the three views has the same three cases on the conveyer but the cases are shown after they have been manipulated by the apparatus described herein according to the build menu, that is, moved laterally (in the Y axis) and rotated if specified in the build menu. This is referred to as the "shifted position" or "zipped position."

[0081] The plan views A and D correspond to the first, leading row of cases in the first layer shown on the left - that is, layer 32, cases 200a, 200b and 200c. The orientation of the three cases of layer 32 in the leading row of the finished layer is called the "accumulation position." This is the orientation of the cases when the layer 32 is complete. It may be seen that from the induction position (view A), case 200a is moved laterally to the left and is rotated by 90 degrees, case 200b is rotated 90 degrees but is not laterally shifted, and case 200c is moved laterally to the right and rotated by 90 degrees.

[0082] The plan views B and E illustrate cases that will be part of the first and second rows of layer 34, specifically, cases 300t1 and 300t2 in the leading row of layer 34, and case 302t of the second row of layer 34. In the induction position of view B, all three of the cases are aligned as they are delivered to conveyer 14 from the upstream infeed conveyer. The three cases are shown in the shifted position in view E. There, the first case 300t1 has been shifted laterally to the left and not rotated. The second case 300t2 has been shifted laterally to the right and not rotated. Case 302t has not been laterally shifted but has been rotated by 90 degrees. When the cases 300t1 , 300t2 and 302t are moved to the accumulated position, cases 300t1 and 300t2 are in the leading row of layer 34, outwardly of cases 300a and 300b, and case 302t is in the second row of layer 34 (in the middle position between two other cases, 302a and 302b).

[0083] The plan views of C and F show the cases that will be part of the first and second rows of layer 36, and more specifically, case 500t1 in the first row, and cases 502a and 502b of the second row. From the induction position of view C, case 500t1 is moved laterally to the right, not rotated. Case 502b is rotated 90 degrees but not rotated and case 502a is rotated 90 degrees and moved laterally to the left.

[0084] The build menu for the six layers shown in Fig. 3 calls for some cases in a layer to be oriented differently from other cases in the layer so that the cases in the layer build are interlocked - that is, some cases are rotated by 90 degrees relative to other cases, as shown with those cases that are surrounded by a circle. The pattern of Fig. 3 repeats after six layers and formed on a complete stack on a pallet.

Regardless of how many layers are stacked per complete load the inline case manipulator 10 will repeat manipulating cases 12 according to the build menu, as shown by the positions indicated in Fig. 3. Of course, any other pattern can be constructed in the same manner.

[0085] Fig. 5 illustrates six releases of three cases each as the cases would be turned by the clamps 24 according to the build menu. Again, the numbering in Fig. 5 correlates to the numbering of Fig. 3 so that the individual cases may be identified.

[0086] Fig. 6 is the same release that is illustrated in Fig. 5, but in Fig. 6 the illustration is showing transfer of the cases onto the palletizer lift conveyor. Thus, layer 32 has already been transferred to and accumulated on the accumulator conveyer belt 70 that is downstream of belt 14 and which receives the layer (prior to consolidation, compaction of the cases). Specific attention is made to case 203t1 , which is in the third (last) row of layer 32. This case was from the 4^th slug release and was transferred to the last row of layer 32. After the first stop at the centerline of the case manipulation zone of belt 14, all cases travel to the stop between the belts or a stop on the lift belt and accumulate into a tight group in one direction - that is, the induction position. When the rows of cases are moved from the shifted positions (i.e. , views D, E and F of Fig. 4) into the accumulation positions, the cases are interleave according to the build menu and are tightened in the opposite direction.

[0087] The nominal and exemplary operation of the system described above calls for a timed release every four seconds but this may be varied widely according to need. In other applications, a slug of two or four cases or even one case in a low speed application can be releases for manipulation. The release timing interval can be a function of the capabilities for lateral movement speed for the grippers 24 and the time required for engagement and disengagement of the gripper. The system described herein and shown in the drawing is an optimized staggering of grippers away from centerline initial grip.

[0088] In some patterns and build menus, requiring manipulation of cases closer to centerline where there could be conflict between two cases that need to be rotated closely adjacent to centerline for instance is contemplated. In such a situation, the grippers can over travel to clear rotation space relative to another gripper in opposite directions, perform rotation then return to release centerline. Such applications may be facilitated with vertical movement of the gripper without a swing clam shell release. As an example of the vertical articulation of a gripper, reference is made to the series of drawings in Figs. 7 through 21 in which in some drawings in the series the grippers are seen to have released a case and then retract vertically upwardly to move out of the way of cases approaching the grippers from the upstream direction.

[0089] The series of sequential drawings in Figs. 7 through 21 illustrate the operational and structural characteristics of inline case manipulator 10. It will be appreciated that there are sixteen drawing sheets in Figs. 7 through 21 , and that the sixteen sheets comprise sixteen pairs of drawings. In each pair there is first an isometric view of the inline case manipulator 10 according to the invention in a given operational position, and immediately following the isometric view is a top plan view of the case manipulator 10 in the identical operational position. The sequential pairs of drawings illustrate the case manipulation facilitated by the invention as cases are transported through the apparatus and rows are assembled and complete layers are formed. Moreover, Figs. 7 through 1 1 illustrate a complete manipulation cycle for a first group of 3 cases. Figs. 12 through 16 show a complete manipulation cycle for a second slug of 3 cases, and Figs. 17 through 21 show a cycle for a third slug of 3 cases.

[0090] The position of the three clamp assemblies 60 shown in Figs. 7A and 7B is the "home" position in which the cases in the induction position are initially gripped. Moving to Figs. 8A and 8B, the leading case 12a has not been moved and the case stop 62 is in the engaged position to stop movement of case 12a. Case 12b has been shifted laterally to the left and case 12c has been shifted laterally to the right. In Figs. 9A and 9B each of the three cases 12a, 12b and 12c have been rotated by 90 degrees - the stop 62 will be moved to a disengaged position to allow for rotation of the case 12a. It will be understood that the lateral shifting of the cases (e.g. , Fig. 8A) and the rotation of the cases (e.g. , Fig. 9A) may be done simultaneously and not necessarily in separate movements. The grippers 26 as still engaging the cases 12 in Figs. 9A.

[0091] In Figs. 10A and 10B the grippers 26 have been moved to the expanded positions to release their engagement of the cases 12 and have been moved vertically upward to a disengaged position so that the case clamp assemblies are vertically above the cases. Case release by the three grippers and retraction along the Z axis may be simultaneous or at different times. In Figs. 1 1 A and 1 1 B the three carriages 19, 21 and 23 have been moved back to their "home" positions, aligned with the centerline of conveyer 4, which is the position at which they will engage the cases in the next release of slugs (for this particular build menu). Cases 12a, 12b and 12c are still on conveyer 4 in Figs. 1 1 A and 1 1 B.

[0092] The present invention is operational with a variety of different conditions for movement of belt 14 during case manipulation, depending on throughput speeds, case sizes and other factors. In one exemplary embodiment the belt 14 is stopped during gripping and lateral shifting/rotation, the, after the grippers have released their respective cases, the belt 14 movement is initiated. In a second embodiment, the belt 14 is moving but case movement is stopped in the desired positions for engagement by the grippers with stop plates, and with conveyance of belt 14 remaining live during lateral shifting/rotation and release. In yet another

embodiment, the belt 14 is actively moving and the cases are moving, with the grippers clamping the cases as they move, and shift/rotate/release the cases as the conveyer continues to move.

[0093] After the three cases of the first slug are manipulated as shown in Figs. 7 through 1 1 the conveyer 14 moves them onto accumulation conveyer 70 for accumulation and final row build positioning.

[0094] Figs. 12A and 12B represent release of a second slug of three cases 12 onto the conveyer 4 - the first slug has been moved downstream and those cases are no longer in the view of the drawings. Figs. 12A and 12B are analogous to Figs. 7A and 7B - the three carriages 19, 21 and 23 are in their home positions and the second slug of three cases is in the induction position, clamped. However, the build menu has instructed that the cases in this slug release be moved differently from the prior slug and in Figs. 13A and 13B case 12a has been shifted left, 12b is shifted right and 12c is not shifted. In Figs. 14A and 14B case 12c has been rotated by 90 degrees but cases 12a and 12b are not rotated. As would be expected, in Figs. 15A and 15b the grippers 26 have released the cases that they had manipulated and in Figs. 16A and 16B the carriages 19, 21 and 23 have been moved to their home positions. Belt 14, regardless of which operational mode it is in, moves the cases of the second slug downstream onto the accumulation belt 70 where the cases of the second slug meet the cases from the first slug, thereby forming two rows.

[0095] Yet another slug of three cases has been released in Figs. 17A and 17B, with the three cases shown in the induction position analogous, again, to Figs. 7A and 7B.

[0096] In Figs. 18A and 18B, the three cases are shown in the shifted positions. Specifically, leading case 12a has been shifted right, middle case 12b has remained stationary along the centerline of conveyer 4, and trailing case 12c has been shifted left. None of the three cases has been shown rotated in Figs. 18A and 18B but in the next sequential drawings of Figs. 19A and 19B cases 12b and 12c have been rotated by 90 degrees. The case clamps have been moved upwardly in Figs. 20A and 20B to disengage from their respective cases, and have been moved to their home positions in Figs. 21 A and 21 B.

[0097] It will be appreciated that the processes described above and shown in Figs. 7 through 21 of slug releases into the induction position, manipulation of the cases into the shifted position, and transport of the shifted cases for accumulation into rows and layers, repeats as called for by the build menu until a complete stack of cases has been assembled on a pallet. In the context of the build menu shown in, for example, Fig. 3, each layer comprises ten cases.

[0098] It will be understood that while the embodiment of case manipulator 10 shown in the drawings and described herein shows three carriages 19, 21 and 23 and associated case clamps assemblies 60, the number of case clamp assemblies and carriages may vary according to the needs and speed of the system in question. For example, a "bank" of 5 carriage tracks/carriages/case clamps may be appropriate for some high-throughput systems whereas a single carriage track/carriage/case clamp may be appropriate for slower systems. The number of carriage

tracks/carriages/case clamps in a case manipulator 10 will typically correspond to the number of cases in a release. Thus, if a slug consists of three cases as shown in the drawings, then there will be three carriages and associated grippers. But if a release is five cases, then the case manipulator 10 may have a bank of five carriages and associated grippers. Of course, where a case manipulator 10 has a bank of five carriages and associated grippers but the system is operating with a slug consisting of three cases, two of the carriages and associated grippers in the bank of five may be disabled to allow the system to work with three operating grippers. Just as well, each gripper in a bank of grippers is adjustable relative to other grippers in the bank to position the gripper at the centerline of an approaching case on which the gripper will operate. This is true even where a case release is a multiple number of cases where each gripper operates on a group of cases. As an example, if a case release is 2 x 5, or 3 x 5, each gripper thus engages 2 or 3 cases per cycle, respectively. Importantly, each gripper in a bank of grippers is adapted for reciprocal movement in a direction perpendicular to case travel.

[0099] As described previously, inline case manipulator 10 includes plural

pneumatically actuated case stops, one of which is shown in Fig. 7A as stop 62, that are preferably mounted below the case-supporting surface 64 of conveyer 14 and selectively retractable between stop and retracted positions. There may be about five to seven stops that will all be normally extended up except one or two in some instances to allow the one or two cases of a release to travel and complete a layer. All case stops 62 lower to release a partial or full layer to the lift deck belt. In Fig. 7A a case stop 62 is shown in the "stop position" in which the case stop extends vertically above the case supporting surface 64 in order to stop the movement of the three cases 12 shown on the conveyer 14.

[00100] With returning reference to Fig. 1 , the accumulation belt 70 is preferably about 1500mm long is at the end of the receiving conveyer belt 14 and the case stops described above will operate between the two belts. The

accumulation belt 70 is adapted to receive the cases that define a fully formed layer of cases 12 and is configured for vertical reciprocation between the elevation of upstream belt 14 and the elevation of the receiving surface of the layer head 250 and is thus operable to transfer a fully formed layer of cases 12 from the inline case manipulator 10 to the layer head 250. [00101] From the foregoing it will be understood that as cases 12 move along the movement axis on belt 14 the case clamp assemblies 60 manipulate selected cases in each slug to either shift the case position laterally (relative to the movement axis) and/or rotate the case by 90 degrees, all as directed by the build menu. The lateral shifting of a case relative to other cases in a slug results in a shift of case position along the Y axis; when the cases in a slug are stopped by case stop such as stop 62 the thus laterally shifted cases align side by side in the desired orientation as dictated by the build menu, except as noted above in some instances the build menu calls for one or two cases of a release to travel and complete a layer without being stopped by a case stop 62. It will also be understood that operation and timing of the entire apparatus is with controller 72 (Fig. 1 ).

[00102] Operationally, as detailed above, manipulators defined by the grippers 24, may engage a case or sub group of cases in motion at belt speed or when at a stop against a removable stop. Lateral movement and or case rotation are achieved nearly simultaneously. Release of positioned cases at the same time by all manipulators retains their orientation relative to each other in direction of travel as when they entered. Or, each manipulator can release immediately after completing their respective move. The next group to be manipulated can be released

simultaneous with the release of a just manipulated group when manipulators have high speed capabilities to maximize throughput or released after a delay if return speed of manipulators is slower. [00103] Below are two additional examples of the various operational scenarios described above and as contemplated by the invention:

1 . a. A group of cases is delivered to the induction position in a tight group; b. Motion of the group is stopped in the X axis direction by a removable stop; c. All of the cases of the group are gripped in motion and the conveyer stops motion simultaneously with gripping (or close to simultaneously) and the cases are shifted laterally right and left according to the build menu; d. During the shifting process the conveyer may be either stationary or moving.

2. a. A group of cases is delivered to the conveyer of the inline manipulator; b. One or more cases of the group is gripped on the fly by the most downstream gripper in the bank of grippers - this engagement may be done with the conveyer stationary or in motion; c. Each successive one or more cases is stopped by the downstream group, which has already been gripped, and this is repeated until the grip bank is full (i.e., each gripper has gripped one or more cases); d. The gripped groups are shifted right / left according to the build menu. [00104] The feasibility of achieving very high speed throughput using existing dual axis XY inline manipulators is finite as the Y travel distance increases as belt speed increases. For instance a 16" long case with a 30% of case length gap requires 21 .8" of belt length. If rates are 100 cases per minute, belt speed is 181 feet per minute. If a XY system must track, perform lateral and rotate motions, then return to be ready to manipulate the next case, the X distance the manipulator must travel when performing 30 cycles a minute is about 48" in the X direction assuming a 50% faster return speed to be ready to engage the next case. Adding more manipulators does not change the equation because the belt speed remains fixed based on input speed, case length and gap needs.

[00105] In stark contrast to the prior dual axis machines, the single axis inline case manipulator 10 according to the present invention with its simple short stroke Y only motion each able to perform 33 cycles per minute can achieve 100 CPM throughput with a belt speed of 191 FPM. The manipulation area is less than 5', much shorter than the area required for dual axis machines. If two groups of 5 manipulators are located on opposite edges of the manipulation belt using a common Y travel slide and moving cases towards belt center, each side can fill and while the opposite side is processing allowing belt speed to be less than 140 FPM and manipulation zone space can be less than 8'. Simpler Y only motion provides the option to use multiple lower cost manipulators that occupy less space to achieve high rates previously not achievable with single case XY in line case manipulation. [00106] As an example, an inline case manipulator 10 adapted for slugs of 2 cases 12 the operation is the same as described herein but the receiving section belt is about 900mm rather than 1300mm. The belt length after case manipulation zone in this instance may also be less.

[00107] The timing of the system described herein contemplates the following considerations in a preferred embodiment:

[00108] There is effectively about 4 seconds to perform operations. There are two seconds of induction with each cycle, but those two seconds are effectively neutral because start of release to start of next release remains 4 seconds apart.

[00109] The same is true for clearing the case manipulation area of already- positioned cases. Those cases will clear the case manipulation area in the same amount of time new cases are entering for positioning manipulation.

[00110] All three cases of each released slug are discreetly handled by a separate carriage track system that engages each case at case centerline due to all cases being stopped and aligned end to end at the centerline vertical moving case stop. When lateral movement is initiated, the case ends slide against each other until each case is completely separated by the staggered final case position in the manipulation zone.

[00111] Clam shell grippers do not require vertical actuation but as noted may be adapted for vertical movement to facilitate operational optimization. [00112] Rotation of individual cases 12 can always occur at end of lateral positioning after separation from other cases; this is assured by the case end position stagger of the manipulation area.

[00113] Clam shell grippers move away from the case when retracting faster than the case will be catching up due to constant belt movement once the case is released. Accordingly, a downstream gripper face after turning is not an obstacle to case travel.

[00114] All manipulated cases will be released at the same time so that case stops between the two belts have a window in which actuation occurs. There will be the same staggered gap of traveling cases as there were at the centerline case stop. As such there is time to extend stops between incoming case gaps at the belt gap and allow some stops to stay down so that final cases needed are able to travel to complete a layer being assembled on the lift deck.

[00115] The worst case lateral movement is 625mm for the inline case manipulator 10 described herein. If travel back and forth requires two seconds, travel speed will be relatively slow 625mm a second.

[00116] Allowing 2/3 of a second each for grip, release and rotation achieves all operations in 4 seconds.

[00117] Each of the above timing constraints is achieved programming in the controller 72. [00118] The layer puller needs to travel the belt width minimum, or 1550 mm.

[00119] The speed of the layer transfer need not be greater than the time it takes to build a layer. Ten-case layers at a rate of 45 cases per minute allows a layer transfer cycle time of 13.3 seconds.

[00120] Many palletizers also incorporate concurrent stretch wrapping capabilities. When concurrently stretch wrapping a load it will be important that the layer puller be able to extend and the lift deck lower faster than normal operation to assist with final wrap delay recovery. Design is be such that full transfer is achieved in 8 seconds or two release cycles.

[00121] Finally, as yet another alternative contemplated herein, and applicable to simpler systems adapted for many stable products at slower speeds, it is possible to simply stop and start the belt prior to each engagement by a gripper and after release and gripper group vertical lift.

[00122] The present invention has been described in terms of preferred and illustrated embodiments, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill that the spirit and scope of the invention is not limited to those embodiments, but extend to the various modifications and equivalents as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

Claims:

1 . An item manipulator for a palletizer, comprising:

a conveyer moving along a conveyance axis;

a manipulator movable transverse to the conveyance axis and adapted for engaging an item on the conveyer and moving the item only in a direction transverse to the conveyance axis.

2. The item manipulator according to claim 1 in which the manipulator is

reciprocally movable in the direction transverse to the conveyance axis and is further adapted for rotating the engaged item.

3. The item manipulator according to claim 2 in which the manipulator is further defined by:

a carriage that is reciprocally movable in the direction transverse to the conveyance axis;

an item clamp movable between open and clamped positions, and the item clamp vertically movable between an extended position in which the item clamp engages an item and a retracted position in which the item clamp is above the item.

4. The item manipulator according to claim 3 including plural item manipulators, each of the plural manipulators adapted for engaging an item on the conveyer and for moving the engaged items only in a direction transverse to the conveyance axis.

5. The item manipulator according to claim 4 in which a group of items is delivered onto the conveyer in an induction position and each of the plural item manipulators clamps one or more of the items and one or more of the plural item manipulators shifts the one or more clamped items in a direction transverse to the conveyance axis.

6. The item manipulator according to claim 5 in which the conveyer is moving along the conveyance axis when the item manipulators clamp the one or more items.

7. The item manipulator according to claim 5 in which the conveyer is stationary when the item manipulators clamp the one or more items.

8. The item manipulator according to claim 5 in which the items are staggered along the conveyance axis after being shifted in a direction transverse to the

conveyance axis.

9. The item manipulator according to claim 8 in which the staggered items are accumulated into a row.

10. The item manipulator according to claim 9 in which plural rows are accumulated into a layer, and wherein each row is formed by a group of items delivered onto the conveyer in an induction position and each of the plural item manipulators clamps one or more of the items and one or more of the plural item manipulators shifts the one or more clamped items in a direction transverse to the belt axis.

1 1 . A method of organizing items, comprising the steps of:

a. delivering one or more items onto a conveyer that is adapted for longitudinal movement along a conveyance axis;

b. engaging at least one item with an item manipulator and shifting the item manipulator and the at least one engaged item in a direction transverse to the conveyance axis without moving the item manipulator along the conveyance axis.

12. The method according to claim 1 1 including the step of rotating the at least one engaged item.

13. The method according to claim 1 1 including the steps of:

a. delivering a first group of plural items onto the conveyer;

b. providing plural item manipulators;

c. engaging at least one item in the first group with a first item manipulator and engaging at least one item in the first group with a second item manipulator;

d. moving at least one or both of the first or second item manipulators in the direction transverse to the conveyer axis to laterally shift the position of the engaged items without moving the first or second item manipulators along the conveyance axis.

14. The method according to claim 13 including the step of engaging the at least one item in the first group with the first item manipulator and engaging the at least one item in the first group with the second item manipulator while the conveyer is moving.

15. The method according to claim 13 including the step of engaging the at least one item in the first group with the first item manipulator and engaging the at least one item in the first group with the second item manipulator while the conveyer is stationary.

16. In an item manipulator for a palletizer, the improvement comprising:

at least one item manipulator operationally located to engage an item on a conveyer movable along a first axis, wherein the item manipulator is movable only along a single axis.

17. The improvement according to claim 16 in which the single axis is transverse to the first axis and the item manipulator is further adapted for rotating the engaged item.

18. The improvement according to claim 16 including plural item manipulators where each of the plural item manipulators manipulate items only in a direction transverse to the first axis.

19. The improvement according to claim 18 in which the items are manipulated while the conveyer is moving.

20. The improvement according to claim 18 in which the items are manipulated while the conveyer is stationary.