MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRODUCTS MANUALLY PROCESSED

摘要

The present invention provides a material handling system and method for a product to be manually processed by an operator (O) at a work-station ( 10 ). The material handling system ( 100 ) includes: batch delivery means ( 20 ) for automatically delivering batches of the product to the work-station ( 10 ) on an "as required" or "on demand" basis for manual processing by the operator; and packing container delivery means ( 60 ) for automatically delivering individual packing containers ( 61 ) to the work-station on an "as required" or "on demand" basis for filling with the product after manual processing by the operator. Each batch of product is typically supplied in a batch container ( 21 ) and the system may further include batch container dispatch means ( 40 ) for automatically dispatching the batch containers ( 21 ) from the work-station ( 10 ) on an "as required" or "on demand" basis after the operator has finished manually processing the product it contained. The system also typically includes packing container dispatch means ( 80 ) for automatically dispatching product-filled packing containers ( 61 ) from the work-station on an "as required" or "on demand" basis.