Abstract: An apparatus for palletizing/unitizing easily compressible articles comprises a station conveyor having a diverter for selectively positioning the articles longitudinally along a path defined by the rollers of the station conveyor, a turner for selectively orienting the articles transverse to the path, a layer accumulation stop for blocking the travel of individual articles while the articles are combined into a single layer, a flusher for tightening up the articles in a layer, a hand assembly for picking up entire layers of articles while subsequent layers are positioned below the hand assembly and for transporting multiple layers to the turntable of a palletizer, a platen assembly for maintaining the integrity of the stacked articles while they are on the turntable, and a lift for raising the stack during wrapping so that the articles can be underwrapped.

Abstract: A robotic palletizer including a vertical column, a telescoping horizontal arm mounted for vertical movement along the column and a hand assembly mounted at the end of the horizontal arm. A pair of photodetectors, movable with the hand assembly, sense the presence and location of cartons in place on a pallet being loaded and signal the palletizer when the vertical height and horizontal extension of the hand assembly are sufficient to place cartons in the proper position for loading onto the pallet. A circuit controls operation of the palletizer in accordance with the sizes and shapes of the cartons and pallets and permits limited variation of the loading pattern provided by the palletizer. Separate conveyors transport cartons to the palletizer for loading and remove loaded pallets from the palletizer upon completion of the loading cycle.

Abstract: An article stack unifying device having article stacking elements is provided to stack a plurality of articles on a surface on or of a rotatable surface. While the articles are being stacked on the selected surface a quantity of wrapping film is wrapped around the stack of articles at intervals during the stacking process and at the completion of the stack.

Abstract: An article stack unifying device having article stacking elements is provided to stack a plurality of articles on a surface on or of a rotatable surface. While the articles are being stacked on the selected surface a quantity of wrapping film is wrapped around the stack of articles at intervals during the stacking process and at the completion of the stack.