# US 12,180,017 B2 · Automated de-stacking system and method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,180,017 B2 - Document ID: US12180017B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/865,807 - Filed: 2022-07-15 - Published: 2023-01-19 - Granted: 2024-12-31 - Earliest claimed: 2021-07-16 - Assignees: LCE Technology, LLC - Applicants: LCE Technology, LLC - Inventors: Thomas Walker; Richard Walker; Solomon Plange; Chris Walker - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12180017B2 ## CPC - B65G 47/90: Devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials - B65G 47/06: from a single group of articles arranged in orderly pattern, e.g. workpieces in magazines (de-stacking devices B65G59/00) - B65G 47/902: {provided with drive systems incorporating rotary and rectilinear movements} - B65G 47/907: {with at least two picking-up heads} - B65G 59/02: De-stacking from the top of the stack - B65G 61/00: Use of pick-up or transfer devices or of manipulators for stacking or de-stacking articles not otherwise provided for - B65G 15/00: Conveyors having endless load-conveying surfaces, i.e. belts and like continuous members, to which tractive effort is transmitted by means other than endless driving elements of similar configuration (having load-conveying surfaces formed by interconnected longitudinal links B65G17/06) - B65G: TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS (packaging B65B; handling thin or filamentary materials, e.g. paper sheets or thread, B65H; cranes B66C; portable mobile or lifting or hauling appliances, e.g. hoists, B66D; devices for lifting or lowering goods for loading or unloading purposes, e.g. fork-lift trucks, B66F9/00; emptying bottles, jars, casks, barrels or similar containers, not otherwise provided for, B67C9/00; delivering or transferring liquids B67D; filling or discharging vessels for liquefied, solidified or compressed gases F17C; pipe-line systems for fluids F17D) ## Abstract An automated system for de-stacking a plurality of stacked objects, the automated system comprising a lift assembly and a grabber assembly. The lift assembly comprises a tower, and a number of electric motors. The tower is configured to rotate about a vertically-extending axis. One of the electric motors is configured to rotate the tower. Another one of the electric motors is configured to raise and lower the grabber assembly. The grabber assembly is configured to move with the tower as the tower rotates and comprises a claw and an electric motor. The claw is configured to grasp the objects individually. The electric motor of the grabber assembly is configured to actuate the claw. The first, second, and third electric motors are configured to operate in a refrigerated environment. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An automated system for de-stacking a plurality of stacked objects, the automated system comprising: a lift assembly comprising: a tower configured to rotate about a vertically-extending axis; a first electric motor drivably connected to the tower and configured to rotate the tower; and a second electric motor for a grabber assembly raising and lowering; a grabber assembly configured to move with the tower as the tower rotates and configured to be raised and lowered via the second electric motor, the grabber assembly comprising: a claw configured to grasp the objects individually; and a third electric motor drivably connected to the claw and configured to actuate the claw, the second electric motor being drivably connected to the grabber assembly and configured to raise and lower the grabber assembly, the first, second, and third electric motors being configured to operate in a refrigerated environment; and a conveyor positioned near the tower, the conveyor comprising: a belt configured to move objects placed on the conveyer away from the tower; and a fourth electric motor drivably connected to the belt and configured to advance the belt, the electric motor of the conveyer being configured to operate in the refrigerated environment, the conveyor further comprising a catch configured to reorient the objects after the objects have been placed on the belt. ### Claim 2 An automated system for de-stacking a plurality of stacked objects, the automated system comprising: a lift assembly comprising: a tower configured to rotate about a vertically-extending axis; a first electric motor drivably connected to the tower and configured to rotate the tower; and a second electric motor for a grabber assembly raising and lowering; a grabber assembly configured to move with the tower as the tower rotates and configured to be raised and lowered via the second electric motor, the grabber assembly comprising: a claw configured to grasp the objects individually; and a third electric motor drivably connected to the claw and configured to actuate the claw, the second electric motor being drivably connected to the grabber assembly and configured to raise and lower the grabber assembly, the first, second, and third electric motors being configured to operate in a refrigerated environment; the grabber assembly being a first grabber assembly, the claw being a first claw, the automated system further comprising a second grabber assembly opposite the first grabber assembly, the second grabber assembly being configured to move with the tower as the tower rotates and comprising: a second claw configured to grasp the objects individually; and a fifth electric motor drivably connected to the second claw and configured to activate the claw, the lift assembly further comprising a sixth electric motor drivably connected to the second grabber assembly and configured to raise and lower the second grabber assembly independently from the first grabber assembly. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The automated system of claim 2, further comprising a conveyor positioned near the tower, the conveyor comprising: a belt configured to move objects placed on the conveyer away from the tower; and a fourth electric motor drivably connected to the belt and configured to advance the belt, the electric motor of the conveyer being configured to operate in the refrigerated environment. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The automated system of claim 3, further comprising a docking station near the tower opposite the conveyor, the docking station being configured to receive a cart supporting the objects to position the objects for engagement with the claw. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The automated system of claim 3, further comprising a control system configured to activate the first, second, and third, and fourth electric motors. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The automated system of claim 2, the plurality of objects being separately supported, the grabber assembly being configured to engage any one of the plurality of stacked objects and de-stack the one of the plurality of stacked objects from the remaining stacked objects. ### Claim 7 (depends on 2) The automated system of claim 2, the claw being configured to be shifted to a disengaged configuration only via actuation by the third electric motor. ### Claim 8 (depends on 2) The automated system of claim 2, further comprising a sensor configured to detect proper engagement of the claw with the objects. ### Claim 9 (depends on 2) The automated system of claim 2, further comprising a docking station near the tower and a sensor positioned near a docking station and configured to detect the presence of the stacked objects in the docking station. ### Claim 10 An automated system for de-stacking a plurality of stacked objects, the automated system comprising: a lift assembly comprising: a tower configured to rotate about a vertically-extending axis; a first electric motor drivably connected to the tower and configured to rotate the tower; and a second electric motor for a grabber assembly raising and lowering; and a grabber assembly configured to move with the tower as the tower rotates and configured to be raised and lowered via the second electric motor, the grabber assembly comprising: a claw configured to grasp the objects individually; and a third electric motor drivably connected to the claw and configured to actuate the claw, the second electric motor being drivably connected to the grabber assembly and configured to raise and lower the grabber assembly; a conveyor positioned near the tower, the conveyor comprising: a belt configured to receive the stacked objects from the claw; and a fourth electric motor drivably connected to the belt to advance the belt; and a control system including a controller configured to activate the first, second, third, and fourth electric motors so that actuation of the belt is linked to operation of the lift assembly, the conveyor further comprising a catch configured to reorient the objects after the objects have been placed on the belt. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The automated system of claim 10, further comprising a docking station near the tower opposite the conveyor, the docking station being configured to receive a cart supporting the objects to position the objects for engagement with the claw. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The automated system of claim 11, the control system further comprising a sensor positioned near the docking station and configured to detect the presence of the stacked objects in the docking station. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The automated system of claim 10, the plurality of objects being separately supported, the grabber assembly being configured to engage any one of the plurality of stacked objects and de-stack the one of the plurality of stacked objects from the remaining stacked objects. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The automated system of claim 10, the claw being configured to be shifted to a disengaged configuration only via actuation by the third electric motor. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The automated system of claim 10, further comprising a sensor configured to detect proper engagement of the claw with the objects. ### Claim 16 A method of de-stacking a plurality of stacked objects, the method comprising steps of: lowering a grabber assembly toward one of the plurality of stacked objects via a first electric motor; actuating a claw of the grabber assembly via a second electric motor so the claw grasps the one of the plurality of stacked objects; raising the grabber assembly and hence raising the grasped object via the first electric motor; rotating a tower including the grabber assembly to move the grabber assembly and hence the grasped object via a third electric motor; lowering the grabber assembly and hence lowering the grasped object via the first electric motor toward a conveyor; actuating the claw of the grabber assembly via the second electric motor so the claw releases the grasped object; and actuating the conveyor via a fourth electric motor once the claw has released the grasped object to move the released object along the conveyor, the first, second, third, and fourth electric motors being configured to operate in a refrigerated environment. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, further comprising a step of detecting the plurality of stacked objects in a docking station near the tower via at least one of a cart photo sensor, a pressure sensor, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, and a motion sensor. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, further comprising steps of detecting the claw has improperly or incorrectly grasped the grasped object and actuating the claw to release the grasped object.