Patent ID: 8257012

Claim:
A process for picking up, transferring and depositing a whole layer of products to be palletized, comprising: providing a pickup apparatus ( 1 ) that comprises a flexible loading surface ( 5 ) which is movable between i) a wound position for defining a bottom opening, and ii) a deployed position for closing said opening to thereby define the loading surface, said motion being driven by an associated motor unit ( 17 ); reaching a layer of containers ( 3 ) with the flexible loading surface ( 5 ) in the wound position; centering the layer of containers ( 3 ) between centering means ( 8 , 9 ), the centering means ( 8 , 9 ) provided inside a casing ( 4 ) of the pickup apparatus ( 1 ); and transferring the layer of containers ( 3 ) onto the loading surface ( 5 ), said transfer including the substeps of retracting the pickup apparatus ( 1 ) and simultaneously deploying the flexible loading surface ( 5 ) to slide within a corresponding guide means ( 16 ), wherein the flexible loading surface is driven by a belt wound and tightened between a first pulley ( 7 ) and a second pulley ( 23 ), the flexible loading surface and the belt connected by a fastener block, and the first and second pulleys are configured to draw the flexible loading surface in any of a first and an opposite second direction by said motor unit ( 17 ), wherein the flexible loading surface ( 5 ) is freely deployed upon disconnection of a drive between the flexible loading surface ( 5 ) and the motor unit ( 17 ) associated thereto by means of a drive modulation means ( 25 ), and wherein the flexible loading surface ( 5 ) reconnects with the motor unit ( 17 ) at the end of the transferring step.