A tote bin gripper for safe gripping and effective work

The handling of tote bins is a very common task because in many companies products have to be transported or stored between different production areas and delivered to the customer. Small load carriers can be used in many ways, e.g, in terms of storing small parts, transport or taking samples for quality assurance, as the tote bins are particularly well suited because they can be stacked. A further advantage of the tote bins is: due to the standardized construction, the use of several different transport and storage boxes is no longer necessary. This simplifies many processes. In addition, they are dimensionally stable and robust. At interfaces where tote bins have to be removed from a shelf and placed on a pallet or from a conveyor belt to a workstation, manual handling is strenuous and ergonomically poor due to the bending and stretching of loads.

This can be remedied by different handling solutions. In the warehouse, where individual small load carriers have to be moved in different aisles, the mobile lifting aid ezzLIFT, with a plastic platform or, for heavier loads, with a roller platform with a lock to prevent it falling, is well suited.

If large quantities of tote bins have to be moved in a limited space, such as when palletizing, grippers for smal load carriers work very well in conjunction with an ezzFAST vacuum lifter or an ezzFLOW balancer. Grippers for small load carriers with automatic locking are perfectly made for fast work. When placed on the small load carrier, the gripper locks automatically and is lifted with the lifting device. When it is placed again, the gripper for small load carriers unlocks automatically and is placed on the next tote bin with the lifting device, where the same process begins again.

If the weights of the loaded tote bins are always similar across a batch, lifting can also be switched automatically. As soon as the tote bin gripper locks, the balancer switches to its "load level" and the operator can move the tote bin almost weightlessly. When unlocked, the balancer switches back to its "empty weight level" and the gripper can be guided to the next tote bin almost weightlessly.

A simpler design of the tote bin gripper is particularly suitable for vacuum lifters. The gripper is guided to the edge of the tote bin with the operating handle and placed on it. To do this, reach under the edge of the tote bin and lift it with the operating handle. For setting down, the same process is carried out in reverse order, with the operator assisting the gripping and releasing by tilting the gripper.