GB2147282A

GB2147282A - Storage plant

Info

Publication number: GB2147282A
Application number: GB08424310A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Wolf-Michael Scheid
Original assignee: Rosenkaimer GmbH
Current assignee: Rosenkaimer GmbH
Priority date: 1983-09-29
Filing date: 1984-09-26
Publication date: 1985-05-09
Also published as: FR2552740A1; JPH064448B2; JPS60157402A; GB2147282B; FR2552740B1; GB8424310D0; DE3335289A1; DE3335289C2

Abstract

Storage plant comprises a shelving installation (3) with storage compartments (9) and a conveyor device (5) with a vertical mast (6), which is drivable along a gangway (2) and on which vertically spaced load transfer devices are arranged, at least one load transfer device being provided for each shelf (8, 8', 8'', 8'''. . .) The load transfer devices may be forks, grippers, push-and-pull arms or robots, and the conveyor means (5) may be charged or discharged via a patemaster device (13), loaded in turn via a belt (12), the device (13) being arranged adjacent the installation (3) when being charged or discharged by device (5). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Storage plant The present invention relates to a storage plant.

In order to be able to place load units, for example pallets, containers, cartons and so forth, in storage and take them out of storage in tall shelving installation, it is known to use conveying devices which are movable along the shelving walls.

These conveyor devices have vertically movable load transfer means which can put the load units into storage in shelf compartments or take them out of the shelf compartments. A particular feature of such conveyor devices is that they can execute a horizontal movement along the shelving wall, whilst the respective load transfer means is at the same time capable of performing a vertical movement. Compared with conventional fork stackers, a shortening of the times for putting into and out of storage is achieved through the superimposition of the horizontal and vertical movements. In order to be able to place a load unit into storage in a shelf compartment or to take it out of storage from the shelf compartment, an additional movement is necessary in the depth direction of the shelf compartments, which movement is performed during standstill of the conveyor device.A downward movement of that kind can additionally be combined with raising and lowering movement of the load transfer means.

In order, in the same time intervals, to be able to put more load units into and out of storage, it has been proposed to increase the speed, acceleration and retardation of the individual movements of the conveyor device. It has also been proposed to utilise several load transfer means arranged horizontally one beside the other and operating indepently. In recent times, it has also been proposed to arrange two load transfer means, which operate independently, to be vertically movable.

In all these conveyor devices, however, long idle times result from the fact that, for example, in the case of movement towards a shelf compartment with a short travel in horizontal direction and a long travel in vertical direction, the conveyor device is already at standstill whilst the load transfer means is still being brought into position.

It would thus be desirable to reduce idle times and provide higher material throughputs per unit time compared with the known conveyor devices.

According to the present invention there is provided a storage plant comprising a shelving installation with a plurality of vertically spaced shelves each comprising a row of storage compartments, and load transfer means comprising an upright support structure which is provided with a plurality of load transfer devices so arranged that each shelf level has at least one such device associated therewith and which is movable along a path to position the transfer devices for load transfer at individual compartments of the shelves.

In a preferred embodiment, the plant comprises a tall shelving installation with a shelving conveyor device consisting of a vertical mast structure, drivable along a shelving gangway, with a load transfer devices which are alignable with the shelving compartments to be charged or to be emptied. At least one transfer device for each shelf is firmly arranged at the mast structure. As a result, movements in vertical direction become superfluous, so that long idle times may be avoided. Additionally, a large material throughout is made possible, since load units can be put into and out of storage at the same time on each shelf.

It may be of advantage if the transfer devices are arranged vertically one above the other. It is, however, also expedient to arrange the transfer devices adjacent in vertical direction to be displaced one relative to the other when the dimensions of the devices invertical direction are greater than the required openings of the shelf compartments.

It may be advantageous if the transfer devices are movable towards the shelf compartments at right angles to the path or gangway through driving of the structure. In that case, only one drive, to move the transfer devices in depth direction of the shelving, is necessary.

Preferably, however, the transfer devices are movable towards the shelf compartments, so that the devices are movable independently in depth direction towards the shelf compartments.

The transfer devices may comprise forks, telescopic forks or grippers. It is, however, also advantageous to equip the transfer devices with push and pull arms lowerable into operative setting or to construct the transfer devices as robots.

In order to achieve particularly fast times for putting into and out of storage, a drive of the structure can be coupled with drives of the transfer devices and the movement of the structure can then be superimposed on the movement of the devices.

The plant may also comprise charging and discharging means for the transfer devices, the charging and discharging means comprising at least one conveying means, which is constructed in the manner of a paternoster with conveying compartments corresponding with the spacing of the shelves, and transport means, such as a conveyor belt, associated with the conveying means. This construction of the charging and discharging means ensures simultaneous charging and discharging means ensures simultaneous charging and discharging all transfer devices and a problemfree transport from the conveying means to the transport means and conversely.

It is expedient if the charging and discharging means is arranged stationarily at the start and/or at the end of the path or gangway or, alternatively if it is movable relative to the shelving installation, in which case the conveying means may be arranged on a drivable mast construction.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be more particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic end view of shelving plant embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of the plant of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a front view of the plant, with load transfer means thereof omitted.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown storage plant comprising a tall shelving installation 1 seen in direction of a gangway 2. The shelving installation 1 has shelving frames 3, of which two are partially shown in Figure 1. The frames 3 have a cantilever mode of construction. However, other modes of shelf construction can be used.

A conveyor device 5 is drivable on rollers 4 along the gangway 2. Load transfer devices 7, 7', 7", 7"' ... are firmly arranged at a mast structure 6 of the conveyor device 5. The transfer devices are provided at the level of each shelf 8, 8', 8", 8"' ...

and aligned with shelf compartments 9 of the frames 3 (see Figure 2).

It can be seen from Figure 2 that the transfer devices are constucted as forks 10. The forks 10 are movable towards the compartments 9. In that case, telescopic forks or grippers can also be used.

The load transfer devices can also comprise push and pull arms (not shown), which can consist of a telescopic arm to the end of which is fastened a U-profile with downwardly pointing flanges. The U-profile is lowered from above onto load units which are to be put into and out of storage and the dimensions of which correspond with the free space between the flanges. The flanges in the operative setting of the push and pull arms serve as abutments for the pushing-on or pulling-off the load units. A push and pull arm driven into a shelf compartment can remain in the driven-in state during travel of the conveyor device 5, as the U-profiles pass over the load units.

It is possible to couple the drive of the conveyor device 5 with the drives of the push and pull arms so that the movement of the conveyor device and the movement of the push and pull arms are superimposed. As a result, the load units are not put into storage at right angles to the shelving, but on an oblique path, the obilqueness of which is dependent on the ratio of the speeds of the conveyor device and the push and pull arms. Very short times for putting into and out of storage are possiblue with an installation of that kind.

In place of grippers, forks, telescopic forks or pull and push arms, robots can be fastened to the mast structure 6. Due to the mobility of such robots, two or more shelves 8, 8'; 8', 8", 8" ... can be served each time by a robot which is fastened to the mast structure. Expediently, the operating ranges of adjacent robots overlap so that short times for putting into and out of storage result.

Figure 3 is an elevation of the shelving instaliation 1 from the gangway 2, with a partially illustrated shelving frame 3. Charging and discharging stations for the load transfer devices are provided at the start and at the end of the gangway 2 or of the shelving installation. The illustrated charging and discharging stations each consist of a respective conveying means 11 constructed in the manner of a paternoster and conveying belts 12 associated with these. The conveying means 11 has conveyor belts 13, 13', 13", 13"' which correspond to the rastering of the shelves as well as to the width of the compartments 9.

In order to be able to load and unload the load transfer devices, the conveyor device 5 drives to the start or the end of the gangway 2, so that it comes to rest in front of the conveying means 11 stopped for charging or discharging. The conveying means 11 is halted in a setting, in which the bottoms of the conveying compartments 13, 13', 13" ... lie at the same height as the shelves. The transfer devices are now moved in depth direction towards the conveying means 11 and loaded or unloaded. As soon as the loading or unloading operation has been completed and the transfer devices driven out of the region of the conveying compartments, the conveying means 11 means operates in such a manner that each conveying compartment is stopped at the level of the conveyor belt 12.The load units are unloaded from the individual conveying compartments onto the conveyor belt 12 or loaded from the conveyor belt 12 into the individual conveying compartments. The conveyor belts 12 in Figure 3 end behind the conveying means 11.

It is also possible for the conveying means to be connected to the conveyor device 5 so that the transfer devices can deliver the load units directly to the conveying compartments of the co-travelling conveying means or receive them from this. The conveyor belt in this case would be mounted in the gangway so that the conveying means 11 drives along the conveyor belt 2 during each movement of the conveyor device 5.

In order to achieve even shorter times for putting into and out of storage, several transfer devices can be mounted firmly one beside the other on the mast structure so that a number of the devices can simultaneously serve one shelf.

Claims

1. Storage plant comprising a shelving installation with a plurality of vertically-spaced shelves each comprising a row of storage compartments, and load transfer means comprising an upright support structure which is provided with a plurality of load transfer devices so arranged that each shelf level has at least one such device associated therewith and which is movable along a path to position the transfer devices for load transfer at individual compartments of the shelves.

2. Storage plant as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transfer devices are vertically aligned.

3. Storage plant as claimed in claim 1, wherein adjacent transfer devices in vertical direction are disposed out of vertical alignment.

4. Storage plant as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the structure is additionally movable perpendicularly to the direction of the path to move the transfer devices towards and away from the shelves.

5. Storage plant as claimed in any cne of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transfer devices are individually movable towards and away from the shelves.

6. Storage plant as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of the transfer devices comprises one of a fixed or movable fork and a gripper.

7. Storage plant as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the transfer devices comprise push and pull arms lowerable into operative settings.

8. Storage plant as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the transfer devices comprise robotic pick-up and deposit devices.

9. Storage plant as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising first drive means to effect movement of the structure along the path and second drive means to effect movement of the transfer devices towards and away from the shelves, the first and second drive means being coupled together for superimposition of the movement on the transfer devices on that of the structure.

10. Storage plant as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising load charging and discharging means for the transfer devices, the charging and discharging means comprising conveying means with a series of conveying compartments arranged in correspondence with the spacing of the shelves, and a transport device assocaited with the conveying means.

11. Storage plant as claimed in claim 10, the charging and discharging means being arranged in a fixed position at at least one of the ends of the path.

12. Storage plant as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, the charging and discharging means being arranged to be movable relative to the shelving installation.

13. Storage plant substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.