Patent ID: 7963384

Claim:
An automated case order preparation system for cases, including means for providing the system with at least partial production pallets of cases of products, means for depalletizing cases from said pallets, means for palletizing a stream of sequenced said cases from an output sequencing conveyor to form a client pallet, and computerized means to control the operation of said system, the system comprising: means for forming handling units from depalletized said cases, said handling units comprising at least one linear grouping of said cases of one said products wherein a length of each linear grouping includes between two and a predetermined amount of individual said cases depending on the length and width of each said case of a corresponding said product; a crane transporting at least one handling unit from a handling-unit forming area to at least one receiving case guide; a crane attachment mounting on said crane to load and unload handling units from said forming means and to said case guide; at least one removal apparatus, each said removal apparatus connecting to one said case guide being designated to contain said cases of said corresponding said products; the sequencing conveyor at least temporarily connecting to a downstream end of each said removal apparatus, wherein an output of said conveyor being the stream of said cases in a predetermined sequence.