Battery plate loading mechanism

A battery plate loading system, the system comprising:

• a battery plate separator apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
• a work surface for receiving a stack of battery plates;
• and,
• a loading mechanism comprising an arm coupled to the work surface;
• the arm being pivotable around an axis to move the work surface between a substantially horizontal position and a substantially vertical position;
• a pallet comprising at least one surface arranged to receive a plurality of stacks of battery plates, each stack being arranged in at least a first or a second orientation;
• and,
• a robot head arrangement configured to transfer stacks of battery plates from the pallet to the battery plate separator apparatus;
• wherein the robot head arrangement comprises a sensor configured to detect the orientation of each stack on the pallet prior to the transfer of each stack to the battery plate separator apparatus;
• and,
• wherein the pivotable arm is configured to move the work surface to the substantially horizontal position or to the substantially vertical position in response to the detected orientation of a selected stack to be transferred.