CA1189484A - Continuous rack support apparatus utilizing a gravity feed principle - Google Patents
Continuous rack support apparatus utilizing a gravity feed principleInfo
- Publication number
- CA1189484A CA1189484A CA000397819A CA397819A CA1189484A CA 1189484 A CA1189484 A CA 1189484A CA 000397819 A CA000397819 A CA 000397819A CA 397819 A CA397819 A CA 397819A CA 1189484 A CA1189484 A CA 1189484A
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- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- unit
- thrust rod
- rod member
- pawls
- push
- Prior art date
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Abstract
Abstract of the Disclosure A continuous rack support apparatus utilizing the gravity feed principle and in which goods to be stored are supported on rolling vehicles comprises thrust rods which are formed as motional impulse generators and arranged so as to be longitudinally displaceable in the center of a track.
Pawls are associated with the thrust rod for acting upon the rolling vehicles. Each thrust rod has a locking member for holding it in a locked position following a displacement against the action of a spring. The locking member can be disengaged by the foremost rolling vehicle when the latter is removed.
Along the thrust rods are wedges with which the pawls come into contact upon displacement of the thrust rods against the action of the spring to cause the wedges to swivel into a rest position below the track.
Pawls are associated with the thrust rod for acting upon the rolling vehicles. Each thrust rod has a locking member for holding it in a locked position following a displacement against the action of a spring. The locking member can be disengaged by the foremost rolling vehicle when the latter is removed.
Along the thrust rods are wedges with which the pawls come into contact upon displacement of the thrust rods against the action of the spring to cause the wedges to swivel into a rest position below the track.
Description
Folio No~ 230P43706 ~.
"A Continuo~s Rack Support Apparatus U-tilising a Gravity Fe d Principle"
~his invention relates to continuous rack support apparatus which utilise the gravity feed principle, and on which goods -to be stored are suppor-ted on mobile support and transport units. ~hese are known in a variety of embodimentsO Ihese support and transport units are pu-t into racks provided with rails and the individual rack ch~nnels have a certain inclination of the rails.
lhere are basically two possibilities in this respect:
Tn the first one, the stored goods are removed from the lower end of the rack channel, while the rack ch~nnels are loaded with the goods to be s-tored at the higher end. In this case the mobile support and transport units are conveyed further from the feed end of the rack channel under the effect of gravity; this means that the rack channel must be inclined so that the support and transport units start to move automatically. On the other hand, this construction necessitates the provision of speed control means~ e.g. brakes, along the rack cha~nel, to prevent any of the inserted support and transport ~mits reaching an inadmissably high speed.
- Ihe second possibilit~ is characterised by the loading and removing of the -transport units from -the same, i.e. lower, rack endO In this case the support and transport units to be inserted are driven upwards against the effect of gravity and the load disposed at the lowest point at the end abuts stop members in each case. lhe inclination of the rails on which -the support and trans-port units run must be relatively s-teep in -this case as well, as it must be suf~icien-t to allow -the support and -transport uni-ts to start from a standstill, even under infavourable circumstances~ In this case, however, the movement which has commenced leads to a considerable acceleration of the support and transport units, as the frictional forces are essentially smaller during their movement than when they are stationary~
~he applicants have already proposed, e.g. in Austrian patent 3~8,175, a construc-tion having the advantage that no brakes or speed control devices are required, with-out giving rise to the danger of the support and transport units being accelerated -to inadmissibly high speeds. ~his proposal by the applicants is based on the idea of making the inclination of the rails within a rack channel so slight that this prevents the support and transport units ~rom automatically starting to move, bu-t that, on the other hand, a rolling vehicle is essentially neither accelerated nor braked. ~ach time a rolling vehicle is removed from the apparatus, each of the other vehicles still in the rack channel receives a motional impulse which causes the latter to move towards the removal end.
~hese motional impulses~ which are appropriately triggered by a receiving device which removes a rolling vehicle from the rack channel, suffice to move the in-dividual rolling vehicles by several vehicle lengths, and in practice a rolling vehicle comes slowly to a standstill again wi-thout additional brake devices being necessar~
A preferred embodimen-t o~ an apparatus of this kind comprises a thrust rod which is displaceably moun-ted between -the rails, for exa~ple, and which is subject to the action of a spring which -tends to push the thrust rod 1Q towards the removal end. Ihe thrust rod has entrainment means~ which can lie against a transverse bar of the support and transport units. When the receiving device comes to rest, the thrust rod is pushed back against the action of the spring. ~s soon as the receiving device has received a rolling vehicle disposed at the removal end of the rack channel and moved awa~ from the rack again, the thrust rod is moved under the action of the spring force and imparts to the other rolling vehicles disposed in the rack channel a motional impulse until the latter have reached the removal end~
Although this construction has proved very success~
ful, it does9 however, entail several disadvantages. In order to operate an apparatus of this kind according to the second of the above-mentioned proposals, - i.e. removal and loading of a rack channel takes place at the same, at a lower end -, the pawls applied to the thrust rod should not lie against the support and transport units while the rack channel is loaded with support and transport units.
A further requisite is tha-t the pawls, which are subject to a spring force, do not exert any force on the support and transport units while the lat-ter are at a standstill, i.e. tha-t -these do not permanently press against the end stops. This permanent force represents a momen-t of danger for the operators who, under certain circumstances, might not recognise this force effect. In the case of projecting loads and soft packaging, it may also cause damage to the stored ma-terial.
~he object of the present inve~tion is to improve a continuous rack support appa;^atus of the above-mentioned t~pe so as to eliminate these disadvan-tages~ A particular intention is to provide the possibility of inserting the load which is to be newly introduced into the rack channel against the action of the force of gravity without diffic-ulties and of the stored rolling vehicle remaining s-tation~
ary in the rack channel without an external force effect un-til it is removed.
In one aspect of the present invention there is provided in a continuous shelf storage system in which goods to ~e stored are placed in mobile storage and trans-porting units on shelves, these units each provided a load bearing pallet, a vehicle body and rollers which roll on a pair of rails wh.-h are only slightly inclined, 8~
-4a-a motion ~ impulse generator which is longitudinally displaceable in the center of the spacing between the pair of rails adapted to push one of the units for move-ment along the pair of rails by a distance of at least several vehicle lengths wi.thout requiring braking before coming to a standstill, the generator comprising: a thrust rod assembly formed of an elongated rod member hav-ing a push engaging forward end for pushing engagement against the rear of a vehicle and a spring at the end remote from the push engaging forward end, the spring urging said elongated rod member into a locked non-operative position, a locking device at the push engaging forward end of the thrust rod assembly to lock the assembly in a posi.tion to avoid pushing the unit and thereby place the thrust rod assembly in a non-operative position, pivotable pawls connected to the forward end of the elongated rod member which fit against the unit to adapt the rod member to push the unit when the pawls are pivoted with one surface engaging the unit and adapting the rod member to disengage from the unit when moved away about the pivots of the pivot-able pawls to release the as embly from the unit, wedge shaped guide shoes, one for each pawl, guiding the surface of each pawl in its pushing relation to the end of the mobile unit' and the locking device being displaceable - 4b -from a lockin~ position to an open position by a first rolling unit when the unit is removed9 the wedge shaped gu.ide shoes guiding the pawls under spring action of the thrust rod assembly to bring the guide shoes to a ready position for pushing the next unit.
An embodiment of apparatus in accordance with the invention is described in detail hereafter and is schematically illustrated in the accompanying dràwings, in which:
~ igure 1 is a schematic partial longitudinal section through a support channel in the rest position, without a receiving device in the rest position;
Figure 2 is a section corresponding to Figure 1, but wi-th a receiving device in the res-t position;
~igure 3 is a plan view of the rod;
~ig~lre ~ is a section along line A-A of ~igure 1;
Fi~lre 5 is a section along line B-B o~ re 1;
Figure 6 is a variant of the locking device and ~igure 7 is a detail of ~igure 6.
According to ~igures 1 and 2, the apparatus comprises a bearing support with rails 1, which are suppor-ted on transverse bars 2. Support and transport units 3 ha~e wheels ~ which run on the rails 1 and bear loaded pallets 5, for example. lhe rails 1 comprise end s-tops 6, against which there strike -the front -transverse bars 7 of the outermost support and transport unit 3, as the rails 6 are inclined somewhat in the direction of the arrow P.
~he inclination of the rails 1 is such tha-t the support and transport units 3 can by no means start auto-matically, but, when moving, are at mos-t moderately retarded, as the accelerat]on caused by the inclination of the rails is at most as great as the retardation determined by the rolling resistance of the wheelsn ~ thrust rod, generally indicated by 8, is dis-placeably mounted in the centre between one pair of rails.
lhis thrust rod 8 is subject to the action of springs 9 (figure 3), which tend to move the thrust rod in the direction of the arrow P~ ~he thrust rod 8 has pivotably 6.
mounted pawls 10, which project beyond the surface of the thrust rod 8 when in their swung-out rest position and thus lie i.n the path of movement of the transverse bars 7 of the support and transport units 3. ~hese pawls 10 at the front have a thrust face 11, which extends essentially vertically and which is designed to res-t against the trans-verse bars 7 while the advance impulse is being imparted.
~owever, the rear face 12 of the pawls is inclined, so that a support and transport unit 3 moving over the pa~l can pass over -the pawl 10, as this may dip on account of its pivotable mounting about the axis 1~.
A butt plate 14 is arranged at the front end o~
the thrust rod 8 and a correspondingly arranged butt element of the receiving vehicle, which is not shown, comes to rest against this butt plate 14, when the said receiving vehicle comes to rest at the remo-~al end of the rack ch~nnel~
~his butt elemen-t of the receiving device is indicated as a roller 15 in ~igures 1 and 2.
The thrust rod 8 is displaceably guided on a guide rod 16. The latter has wedges or guide shoes 17, which have an inclined upper abutting surface 18. A guide shoe 17 is associated in sliding arrangment, the shoe being wedge shaped to accommodate the surface of the pawl so that one shoe 17 is combined with each pawl 10. As can clearly be seen from Figure 1, the slide shoes 17 do not have any effect when the thrust rod 8 is extended. However~ if the thrust rod 8 is pushed back under the effect of the roller 15 of the receiving device, the lower faces 19 of the pawls 10 3 ~
reach the range of effectiveness of the abutting surfaces 18 of the guide shoes 17 associated with those pawls 10, so that -the latter are pivoted about their axis 1~ until they are lowered in-to the thrust rod 8. As a result, the thrust faces 11 of the pawls 10 are no longer in -the area of movement of the transverse bars 7 of the support and transport units 3, so that these can be moved against the direction of the arrow P inside the rack ch~nnel.
Means are also provided to lock the thrust rod in its retracted position shown in Figure 1. ~hese means comprise a pivotable locking pawl 20, which is arranged in the region of the front end of the rack channel, and wedge shaped locking cam3 21, which are laterally arranged at the front end 8a of the thrust rod. Further details will be given in the following concerning the specific construction of the locking pawl 20~
It is essential, when the thrust rod 8 is pushed back, for the locking cam 21 to reach the range of effective-ness of the locking pawl 20, which prevents the thrust rod 8 being moved back into its initial position (in the direction of the arrow P). For this purpose the locking pawl 20 has a stop pin 22, against which the locking cam 21 lies, as long as the pawl 20 is in its upright rest position. ~wing to the fact that the receiving device, which presses with its roller 15 against the face 14 of the thrust rod 8, has come to rest, the thrust rod 8 is also prevented from moving under the action of the spring 9`in 8.
the direction of the arrow P (cf~ Figure 2). ~he receiving device then withdraws the foremost support and transport unit from the rack channel; this does not entail any difficulties, as the pawls 10 are lowered and the thrust rod 8 is held in its rear end position.
While the foremost support and transport unit is being withdrawn, the receiving device executes a so-cal].ed partial withdrawal, so that the roller 15 no longer lies against the face 14 of the thrust rod 8. ~he latter, how-ever, is nevertheless held in its pushed back end position, as the upright locking pawl 20 prevents the advance of the rod 8, owing to the fact -that the lug cam 21 lies against the stop pin 2~ of the pawl 20. Shortly before the support and transport unit which is to be removed leaves the rack channel, its rear transverse bar 7 reaches the region of the release bar 23 of the locking pawl 20, swivels the latter and the thrust rod 8 can thus move forwards in the direction of the arrow P, as the stop pin 22 has been swung out of the area of movement of the cam 21. As a result, however, the pawls 10 also move out of the range of effect-iveness of the guide shoes 17, so that the pawls 10 move into an upright position under the effect of gravity and their face 11 strikes against the transverse bars 7 of the support and transport units which are still in the rack channel. During the forward movement of the thrust rod 8, the support and transport units 3 thus receive a motional impulse, which is sufficient to overcome the static friction of the rollers 4 on the rails 1; the support and transport units 3 move gently forwards un-til -the fron-t one is arrested b~ the stop 6.
A constant pressure on the transverse bars 7 is thus prevented in the case of upright suppor-t and transport units, if the spacing and -the arrangement of the individual pawls 10 is smaller than the spacing of the -transverse bars 7 of a single support and transport unit 3. It is thus possible for the support and transport units 3 to receive a true motional impulse, in order freely to roll. The travel of -the thrust rod 8 is correspondingly essentially less than the spacing of the front and rear transverse bars 7 of a support and transport unit 3, so as to ensure that none of the faces 11 of the pawls 10 can permanently lie against one of the transverse bars 7.
lhere are basically two possibilities in -the following motion cycle:
1. A further support and transport unit is to be removed.
"A Continuo~s Rack Support Apparatus U-tilising a Gravity Fe d Principle"
~his invention relates to continuous rack support apparatus which utilise the gravity feed principle, and on which goods -to be stored are suppor-ted on mobile support and transport units. ~hese are known in a variety of embodimentsO Ihese support and transport units are pu-t into racks provided with rails and the individual rack ch~nnels have a certain inclination of the rails.
lhere are basically two possibilities in this respect:
Tn the first one, the stored goods are removed from the lower end of the rack channel, while the rack ch~nnels are loaded with the goods to be s-tored at the higher end. In this case the mobile support and transport units are conveyed further from the feed end of the rack channel under the effect of gravity; this means that the rack channel must be inclined so that the support and transport units start to move automatically. On the other hand, this construction necessitates the provision of speed control means~ e.g. brakes, along the rack cha~nel, to prevent any of the inserted support and transport ~mits reaching an inadmissably high speed.
- Ihe second possibilit~ is characterised by the loading and removing of the -transport units from -the same, i.e. lower, rack endO In this case the support and transport units to be inserted are driven upwards against the effect of gravity and the load disposed at the lowest point at the end abuts stop members in each case. lhe inclination of the rails on which -the support and trans-port units run must be relatively s-teep in -this case as well, as it must be suf~icien-t to allow -the support and -transport uni-ts to start from a standstill, even under infavourable circumstances~ In this case, however, the movement which has commenced leads to a considerable acceleration of the support and transport units, as the frictional forces are essentially smaller during their movement than when they are stationary~
~he applicants have already proposed, e.g. in Austrian patent 3~8,175, a construc-tion having the advantage that no brakes or speed control devices are required, with-out giving rise to the danger of the support and transport units being accelerated -to inadmissibly high speeds. ~his proposal by the applicants is based on the idea of making the inclination of the rails within a rack channel so slight that this prevents the support and transport units ~rom automatically starting to move, bu-t that, on the other hand, a rolling vehicle is essentially neither accelerated nor braked. ~ach time a rolling vehicle is removed from the apparatus, each of the other vehicles still in the rack channel receives a motional impulse which causes the latter to move towards the removal end.
~hese motional impulses~ which are appropriately triggered by a receiving device which removes a rolling vehicle from the rack channel, suffice to move the in-dividual rolling vehicles by several vehicle lengths, and in practice a rolling vehicle comes slowly to a standstill again wi-thout additional brake devices being necessar~
A preferred embodimen-t o~ an apparatus of this kind comprises a thrust rod which is displaceably moun-ted between -the rails, for exa~ple, and which is subject to the action of a spring which -tends to push the thrust rod 1Q towards the removal end. Ihe thrust rod has entrainment means~ which can lie against a transverse bar of the support and transport units. When the receiving device comes to rest, the thrust rod is pushed back against the action of the spring. ~s soon as the receiving device has received a rolling vehicle disposed at the removal end of the rack channel and moved awa~ from the rack again, the thrust rod is moved under the action of the spring force and imparts to the other rolling vehicles disposed in the rack channel a motional impulse until the latter have reached the removal end~
Although this construction has proved very success~
ful, it does9 however, entail several disadvantages. In order to operate an apparatus of this kind according to the second of the above-mentioned proposals, - i.e. removal and loading of a rack channel takes place at the same, at a lower end -, the pawls applied to the thrust rod should not lie against the support and transport units while the rack channel is loaded with support and transport units.
A further requisite is tha-t the pawls, which are subject to a spring force, do not exert any force on the support and transport units while the lat-ter are at a standstill, i.e. tha-t -these do not permanently press against the end stops. This permanent force represents a momen-t of danger for the operators who, under certain circumstances, might not recognise this force effect. In the case of projecting loads and soft packaging, it may also cause damage to the stored ma-terial.
~he object of the present inve~tion is to improve a continuous rack support appa;^atus of the above-mentioned t~pe so as to eliminate these disadvan-tages~ A particular intention is to provide the possibility of inserting the load which is to be newly introduced into the rack channel against the action of the force of gravity without diffic-ulties and of the stored rolling vehicle remaining s-tation~
ary in the rack channel without an external force effect un-til it is removed.
In one aspect of the present invention there is provided in a continuous shelf storage system in which goods to ~e stored are placed in mobile storage and trans-porting units on shelves, these units each provided a load bearing pallet, a vehicle body and rollers which roll on a pair of rails wh.-h are only slightly inclined, 8~
-4a-a motion ~ impulse generator which is longitudinally displaceable in the center of the spacing between the pair of rails adapted to push one of the units for move-ment along the pair of rails by a distance of at least several vehicle lengths wi.thout requiring braking before coming to a standstill, the generator comprising: a thrust rod assembly formed of an elongated rod member hav-ing a push engaging forward end for pushing engagement against the rear of a vehicle and a spring at the end remote from the push engaging forward end, the spring urging said elongated rod member into a locked non-operative position, a locking device at the push engaging forward end of the thrust rod assembly to lock the assembly in a posi.tion to avoid pushing the unit and thereby place the thrust rod assembly in a non-operative position, pivotable pawls connected to the forward end of the elongated rod member which fit against the unit to adapt the rod member to push the unit when the pawls are pivoted with one surface engaging the unit and adapting the rod member to disengage from the unit when moved away about the pivots of the pivot-able pawls to release the as embly from the unit, wedge shaped guide shoes, one for each pawl, guiding the surface of each pawl in its pushing relation to the end of the mobile unit' and the locking device being displaceable - 4b -from a lockin~ position to an open position by a first rolling unit when the unit is removed9 the wedge shaped gu.ide shoes guiding the pawls under spring action of the thrust rod assembly to bring the guide shoes to a ready position for pushing the next unit.
An embodiment of apparatus in accordance with the invention is described in detail hereafter and is schematically illustrated in the accompanying dràwings, in which:
~ igure 1 is a schematic partial longitudinal section through a support channel in the rest position, without a receiving device in the rest position;
Figure 2 is a section corresponding to Figure 1, but wi-th a receiving device in the res-t position;
~igure 3 is a plan view of the rod;
~ig~lre ~ is a section along line A-A of ~igure 1;
Fi~lre 5 is a section along line B-B o~ re 1;
Figure 6 is a variant of the locking device and ~igure 7 is a detail of ~igure 6.
According to ~igures 1 and 2, the apparatus comprises a bearing support with rails 1, which are suppor-ted on transverse bars 2. Support and transport units 3 ha~e wheels ~ which run on the rails 1 and bear loaded pallets 5, for example. lhe rails 1 comprise end s-tops 6, against which there strike -the front -transverse bars 7 of the outermost support and transport unit 3, as the rails 6 are inclined somewhat in the direction of the arrow P.
~he inclination of the rails 1 is such tha-t the support and transport units 3 can by no means start auto-matically, but, when moving, are at mos-t moderately retarded, as the accelerat]on caused by the inclination of the rails is at most as great as the retardation determined by the rolling resistance of the wheelsn ~ thrust rod, generally indicated by 8, is dis-placeably mounted in the centre between one pair of rails.
lhis thrust rod 8 is subject to the action of springs 9 (figure 3), which tend to move the thrust rod in the direction of the arrow P~ ~he thrust rod 8 has pivotably 6.
mounted pawls 10, which project beyond the surface of the thrust rod 8 when in their swung-out rest position and thus lie i.n the path of movement of the transverse bars 7 of the support and transport units 3. ~hese pawls 10 at the front have a thrust face 11, which extends essentially vertically and which is designed to res-t against the trans-verse bars 7 while the advance impulse is being imparted.
~owever, the rear face 12 of the pawls is inclined, so that a support and transport unit 3 moving over the pa~l can pass over -the pawl 10, as this may dip on account of its pivotable mounting about the axis 1~.
A butt plate 14 is arranged at the front end o~
the thrust rod 8 and a correspondingly arranged butt element of the receiving vehicle, which is not shown, comes to rest against this butt plate 14, when the said receiving vehicle comes to rest at the remo-~al end of the rack ch~nnel~
~his butt elemen-t of the receiving device is indicated as a roller 15 in ~igures 1 and 2.
The thrust rod 8 is displaceably guided on a guide rod 16. The latter has wedges or guide shoes 17, which have an inclined upper abutting surface 18. A guide shoe 17 is associated in sliding arrangment, the shoe being wedge shaped to accommodate the surface of the pawl so that one shoe 17 is combined with each pawl 10. As can clearly be seen from Figure 1, the slide shoes 17 do not have any effect when the thrust rod 8 is extended. However~ if the thrust rod 8 is pushed back under the effect of the roller 15 of the receiving device, the lower faces 19 of the pawls 10 3 ~
reach the range of effectiveness of the abutting surfaces 18 of the guide shoes 17 associated with those pawls 10, so that -the latter are pivoted about their axis 1~ until they are lowered in-to the thrust rod 8. As a result, the thrust faces 11 of the pawls 10 are no longer in -the area of movement of the transverse bars 7 of the support and transport units 3, so that these can be moved against the direction of the arrow P inside the rack ch~nnel.
Means are also provided to lock the thrust rod in its retracted position shown in Figure 1. ~hese means comprise a pivotable locking pawl 20, which is arranged in the region of the front end of the rack channel, and wedge shaped locking cam3 21, which are laterally arranged at the front end 8a of the thrust rod. Further details will be given in the following concerning the specific construction of the locking pawl 20~
It is essential, when the thrust rod 8 is pushed back, for the locking cam 21 to reach the range of effective-ness of the locking pawl 20, which prevents the thrust rod 8 being moved back into its initial position (in the direction of the arrow P). For this purpose the locking pawl 20 has a stop pin 22, against which the locking cam 21 lies, as long as the pawl 20 is in its upright rest position. ~wing to the fact that the receiving device, which presses with its roller 15 against the face 14 of the thrust rod 8, has come to rest, the thrust rod 8 is also prevented from moving under the action of the spring 9`in 8.
the direction of the arrow P (cf~ Figure 2). ~he receiving device then withdraws the foremost support and transport unit from the rack channel; this does not entail any difficulties, as the pawls 10 are lowered and the thrust rod 8 is held in its rear end position.
While the foremost support and transport unit is being withdrawn, the receiving device executes a so-cal].ed partial withdrawal, so that the roller 15 no longer lies against the face 14 of the thrust rod 8. ~he latter, how-ever, is nevertheless held in its pushed back end position, as the upright locking pawl 20 prevents the advance of the rod 8, owing to the fact -that the lug cam 21 lies against the stop pin 2~ of the pawl 20. Shortly before the support and transport unit which is to be removed leaves the rack channel, its rear transverse bar 7 reaches the region of the release bar 23 of the locking pawl 20, swivels the latter and the thrust rod 8 can thus move forwards in the direction of the arrow P, as the stop pin 22 has been swung out of the area of movement of the cam 21. As a result, however, the pawls 10 also move out of the range of effect-iveness of the guide shoes 17, so that the pawls 10 move into an upright position under the effect of gravity and their face 11 strikes against the transverse bars 7 of the support and transport units which are still in the rack channel. During the forward movement of the thrust rod 8, the support and transport units 3 thus receive a motional impulse, which is sufficient to overcome the static friction of the rollers 4 on the rails 1; the support and transport units 3 move gently forwards un-til -the fron-t one is arrested b~ the stop 6.
A constant pressure on the transverse bars 7 is thus prevented in the case of upright suppor-t and transport units, if the spacing and -the arrangement of the individual pawls 10 is smaller than the spacing of the -transverse bars 7 of a single support and transport unit 3. It is thus possible for the support and transport units 3 to receive a true motional impulse, in order freely to roll. The travel of -the thrust rod 8 is correspondingly essentially less than the spacing of the front and rear transverse bars 7 of a support and transport unit 3, so as to ensure that none of the faces 11 of the pawls 10 can permanently lie against one of the transverse bars 7.
lhere are basically two possibilities in -the following motion cycle:
1. A further support and transport unit is to be removed.
2~ A new support and transport unit is to be inserted ir. the rack channelO
~5~:
Owing to the fact that the receiving device is coming to rest, - the roller 15 comes to rest against the face 14 -, the thrust rod 8 is locked once more against the action of the spring 9 and the foremost support and transport unit
~5~:
Owing to the fact that the receiving device is coming to rest, - the roller 15 comes to rest against the face 14 -, the thrust rod 8 is locked once more against the action of the spring 9 and the foremost support and transport unit
3 is removed in exactly the same manner as described above~
10~
During the par-tial withdrawal of the receiving device, the thrust rod 8 is released and as soon as the rear transverse bar 7 o~ the removed support and tra~sport unit 3 has passed over the release bar 23 of the locking pawl 20, the thrust rod is released so that the support and transport units 3 which are to be advanced receive their motional impulse and are thus conveyed to the end of the rack channel.
econd possibilit~:
~he receiving device, which has a support and transport uni-t 3 to be stored, comes to rest at the end of the rack channel and the thrust rod 8 is pushed back under the effect of the roller 15 against the action of the spring 9, so that the pawls 10 are pivoted under the effect of the guid e shoes 17- When the support and transport unit 3 is inserted, the release bar 23 of the locking pawl 20 is passed over, so that the pawl 20 is swivelled and the locking effect of the pin 22 and the lug cam 21 is thus discontinued~
Eowever, as the roller 15 continues -to press against the face 14, the thrust rod 8 cannot move forwards. On the o-ther hand, it is easily possible to insert the suppor-t and trans-port lln;t 3 to be stored, as the pawls 10 are held in a lowered state. ~he locking pawl 20 again moves automatic-ally into an upright position under the effec-t of gravity when the transverse bars have passed over the release bar 23, so that the receiving device can move away without the ~8~
11 .
thrust rod 8 being moved in the direc-tion of -the arrow P, since the cam 21 again rests against the stop pin 22 of the loc~ing pawl 20.
The -thrust rod is then in the locked state, as, once a new suppor-t and transport uni-t 3 has been stored, there is no reason to allow the advance of other support and transport units 3 which are already in the rack channel. lhe locking device is only released in the manner described above if the foremost support and transport units 3, which are now disposed in the rack channel, are to be removed.
It should also be no-ted tha-t cther means for moving the thrust rod can also be used instead of the springs 9.
~he following possibilities are mentioned purely b~ ~ay of example:
- Drive by pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder;
- Drive by an electromagnet;
- Gravity drive via a rope and pulley weight system.
In the latter case a plurality of thrust rods can be operated by the same driving weight in a simple manner.
Figure 4 shows the construction of the locking pawl 20 in greater detail. A retaining clip 25 is fastened to one of the transverse bars 2 by screws. ~he two side pieces of the retaining clip 25 receive a pin 24, which projects on both sides and at the ends of which the pawl ~8~
body is pi.votabl~ mounted. ~he release bar 23, which projects upwards is secured to the upper part of the pin 24. Laterally arranged stop pins 22 are mounted on the pawl bod~ and cooperate with the locking cams 21 of the thrust rod 8.
Figure 6 shows a varian-t of the locking device which has just been described. ~he thrust rod 26, which can be moved in the direction of the arrow P and has an open-shaped cross section, is displaceably mounted on a stationary bracing tube 27 b~ means of rollers 28 and 29 7 respectively, which engage at the top and at the bottom. ~ocking members 309 evenly distributed in the longitudinal direction, arç arranged in the centre of the thrust rod 26 and consist in each case of an arm 31 and a locking hook 32. The latter is arranged at the end of the arm 31 which is pivotably mounted about an axis 33.
A catching member 34, which cooperates wi-th the locking member 30, is also arranged on the bracing tube 27.
~he catching member 34 comprises an oblique abutting surface 35 and a vertical stop surface 36, against which the wall 37 of the locking hook comes to rest in the locked position~ A control cam 38 is also displaceabl~
arranged in the region of the catching member 34. The two positions of the control cam 38 are shown in Figs. 6 and 7, respectively, Fig. 6 showing one position of the control cam 38 while Fig. 7 shows both position of the control cam, 3 ~
- 12 a one of both positions being in solid lines and the other one being in phantom lines. Accordingly, the showing in Fig. 6 is of one of two positions and the showing in E'ig. 7 is of two positions. In the position according to Fig. 6, which is one of the two positions and shown in solid lines in Fig. 7, it can be seen that the control cam 38 does not affect the action of the ~ 3~
locking member 30. ~owever, if the control cam is moved into the position shown in Fi~lre 7, which is shown in phantom lines in ~ig. 7, when-the thrust rod ~oves ~o ~he left the lockin~ hook comes into contact with the c~n~rol cam 38 and slides over the catching member.
For this purpose -the con-trol cam ~8 is not connec-ted to the movement of the -thrust rod 26 until the la-tter has executed the norm~l stroke and is fur-ther displaced. If the -thrust rod has only executed the predetermined, normal stroke, the control cam remains in its i operative position and the locking hook 32 engages in the catching member 34. In order to release the locking device, the thrust rod 26 is moved further against the spring action, so that the control cam 38 is entrained, whereupon the locking hook 32 is raised from the catching member 34.
~ he catching member therefore only e~gages if the thrust rod is moved by a predetermined9 normal stroke.
If 7 however, this stroke is exceeded, the control cam 38 is moved towards the catching member 34, so that the locking hook 32 c~nnot engage in the catching member.
~ he decision as whether or not the locking procedure should be performed can therefore be affected b~ the control of the transfer device. ~he catching member is again released b~ a further displacement of the thrust rod 26, which then entrains the control cam 38. The latter swivels the arm 31 in an anti-clockwise direction, as a result of which the locking hook 32 is disengaged.
10~
During the par-tial withdrawal of the receiving device, the thrust rod 8 is released and as soon as the rear transverse bar 7 o~ the removed support and tra~sport unit 3 has passed over the release bar 23 of the locking pawl 20, the thrust rod is released so that the support and transport units 3 which are to be advanced receive their motional impulse and are thus conveyed to the end of the rack channel.
econd possibilit~:
~he receiving device, which has a support and transport uni-t 3 to be stored, comes to rest at the end of the rack channel and the thrust rod 8 is pushed back under the effect of the roller 15 against the action of the spring 9, so that the pawls 10 are pivoted under the effect of the guid e shoes 17- When the support and transport unit 3 is inserted, the release bar 23 of the locking pawl 20 is passed over, so that the pawl 20 is swivelled and the locking effect of the pin 22 and the lug cam 21 is thus discontinued~
Eowever, as the roller 15 continues -to press against the face 14, the thrust rod 8 cannot move forwards. On the o-ther hand, it is easily possible to insert the suppor-t and trans-port lln;t 3 to be stored, as the pawls 10 are held in a lowered state. ~he locking pawl 20 again moves automatic-ally into an upright position under the effec-t of gravity when the transverse bars have passed over the release bar 23, so that the receiving device can move away without the ~8~
11 .
thrust rod 8 being moved in the direc-tion of -the arrow P, since the cam 21 again rests against the stop pin 22 of the loc~ing pawl 20.
The -thrust rod is then in the locked state, as, once a new suppor-t and transport uni-t 3 has been stored, there is no reason to allow the advance of other support and transport units 3 which are already in the rack channel. lhe locking device is only released in the manner described above if the foremost support and transport units 3, which are now disposed in the rack channel, are to be removed.
It should also be no-ted tha-t cther means for moving the thrust rod can also be used instead of the springs 9.
~he following possibilities are mentioned purely b~ ~ay of example:
- Drive by pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder;
- Drive by an electromagnet;
- Gravity drive via a rope and pulley weight system.
In the latter case a plurality of thrust rods can be operated by the same driving weight in a simple manner.
Figure 4 shows the construction of the locking pawl 20 in greater detail. A retaining clip 25 is fastened to one of the transverse bars 2 by screws. ~he two side pieces of the retaining clip 25 receive a pin 24, which projects on both sides and at the ends of which the pawl ~8~
body is pi.votabl~ mounted. ~he release bar 23, which projects upwards is secured to the upper part of the pin 24. Laterally arranged stop pins 22 are mounted on the pawl bod~ and cooperate with the locking cams 21 of the thrust rod 8.
Figure 6 shows a varian-t of the locking device which has just been described. ~he thrust rod 26, which can be moved in the direction of the arrow P and has an open-shaped cross section, is displaceably mounted on a stationary bracing tube 27 b~ means of rollers 28 and 29 7 respectively, which engage at the top and at the bottom. ~ocking members 309 evenly distributed in the longitudinal direction, arç arranged in the centre of the thrust rod 26 and consist in each case of an arm 31 and a locking hook 32. The latter is arranged at the end of the arm 31 which is pivotably mounted about an axis 33.
A catching member 34, which cooperates wi-th the locking member 30, is also arranged on the bracing tube 27.
~he catching member 34 comprises an oblique abutting surface 35 and a vertical stop surface 36, against which the wall 37 of the locking hook comes to rest in the locked position~ A control cam 38 is also displaceabl~
arranged in the region of the catching member 34. The two positions of the control cam 38 are shown in Figs. 6 and 7, respectively, Fig. 6 showing one position of the control cam 38 while Fig. 7 shows both position of the control cam, 3 ~
- 12 a one of both positions being in solid lines and the other one being in phantom lines. Accordingly, the showing in Fig. 6 is of one of two positions and the showing in E'ig. 7 is of two positions. In the position according to Fig. 6, which is one of the two positions and shown in solid lines in Fig. 7, it can be seen that the control cam 38 does not affect the action of the ~ 3~
locking member 30. ~owever, if the control cam is moved into the position shown in Fi~lre 7, which is shown in phantom lines in ~ig. 7, when-the thrust rod ~oves ~o ~he left the lockin~ hook comes into contact with the c~n~rol cam 38 and slides over the catching member.
For this purpose -the con-trol cam ~8 is not connec-ted to the movement of the -thrust rod 26 until the la-tter has executed the norm~l stroke and is fur-ther displaced. If the -thrust rod has only executed the predetermined, normal stroke, the control cam remains in its i operative position and the locking hook 32 engages in the catching member 34. In order to release the locking device, the thrust rod 26 is moved further against the spring action, so that the control cam 38 is entrained, whereupon the locking hook 32 is raised from the catching member 34.
~ he catching member therefore only e~gages if the thrust rod is moved by a predetermined9 normal stroke.
If 7 however, this stroke is exceeded, the control cam 38 is moved towards the catching member 34, so that the locking hook 32 c~nnot engage in the catching member.
~ he decision as whether or not the locking procedure should be performed can therefore be affected b~ the control of the transfer device. ~he catching member is again released b~ a further displacement of the thrust rod 26, which then entrains the control cam 38. The latter swivels the arm 31 in an anti-clockwise direction, as a result of which the locking hook 32 is disengaged.
Claims (4)
1. In a continuous shelf storage system in which goods to be stored are placed in mobile storage and transporting units on shelves, these units each provided a load bearing pallet J a vehicle body and rollers which roll on a pair of rails which are only slightly inclined:
a motional impulse generator which is longitudinally displaceable in the center of the spacing between said pair of rails adapted to push one of said units formovement along said pair of rails by a distance of at least several vehicle lengths without requiring braking before coming to a standstill, said generator comprising:
a thrust rod assembly formed of an elongated rod member having a push engaging forward end for pushing engagement against the rear of a vehicle and a spring at the end remote from the push engaging forward end, said spring urging said elongated rod member into a locked non-operative position;
a locking device at the push engaging forward end of said thrust rod assembly to lock said assembly in a position to avoid pushing the unit and thereby place the thrust rod assembly in a non-operative position;
pivotable pawls connected to the forward end of said elongated rod member which fit against the unit to adapt the rod member to push said unit when the pawls are pivoted with one surface engaging the unit and adapting the rod member to disengage from the unit when moved away about the pivots of the pivotable pawls to release the assembly from the unit;
wedge shaped guide shoes, one for each pawl, guiding the surface of each pawl in its pushing relation to the end of the mobile unit, and said locking device being displaceable from a locking position to an open position by a first rolling unit when the push unit is removed, the wedge shaped guide shoes guiding the pawls under spring action of the thrust rod assembly to bring the guide shoes to a ready position for pushing the next unit.
a motional impulse generator which is longitudinally displaceable in the center of the spacing between said pair of rails adapted to push one of said units formovement along said pair of rails by a distance of at least several vehicle lengths without requiring braking before coming to a standstill, said generator comprising:
a thrust rod assembly formed of an elongated rod member having a push engaging forward end for pushing engagement against the rear of a vehicle and a spring at the end remote from the push engaging forward end, said spring urging said elongated rod member into a locked non-operative position;
a locking device at the push engaging forward end of said thrust rod assembly to lock said assembly in a position to avoid pushing the unit and thereby place the thrust rod assembly in a non-operative position;
pivotable pawls connected to the forward end of said elongated rod member which fit against the unit to adapt the rod member to push said unit when the pawls are pivoted with one surface engaging the unit and adapting the rod member to disengage from the unit when moved away about the pivots of the pivotable pawls to release the assembly from the unit;
wedge shaped guide shoes, one for each pawl, guiding the surface of each pawl in its pushing relation to the end of the mobile unit, and said locking device being displaceable from a locking position to an open position by a first rolling unit when the push unit is removed, the wedge shaped guide shoes guiding the pawls under spring action of the thrust rod assembly to bring the guide shoes to a ready position for pushing the next unit.
2. A continuous shelf storage system as claimed in claim 1 where said locking device comprises a pivoted means mounted at the push engaging forward end of said elongated rod member and further comprises two side pieces, stop pins between the side pieces and a release bar which lies in the path of the unit vehicle.
3. A continuous shelf storage system as claimed in claim 2 wherein said locking device is further provided with wedge-shaped locking cams secured to both sides of said elongated rod member, said locking cam being urged against said pins by the action of the spring to thereby prevent movement of said elongated rod member.
4. A continuous shelf storage system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the swivel axis of the pivoted detent of said locking device lies above the center of gravity of the locking device so that the pivoted detent returns to its initial position following a swivelling motion which passes over the release bar.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000397819A CA1189484A (en) | 1982-03-08 | 1982-03-08 | Continuous rack support apparatus utilizing a gravity feed principle |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000397819A CA1189484A (en) | 1982-03-08 | 1982-03-08 | Continuous rack support apparatus utilizing a gravity feed principle |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1189484A true CA1189484A (en) | 1985-06-25 |
Family
ID=4122240
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000397819A Expired CA1189484A (en) | 1982-03-08 | 1982-03-08 | Continuous rack support apparatus utilizing a gravity feed principle |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1189484A (en) |
-
1982
- 1982-03-08 CA CA000397819A patent/CA1189484A/en not_active Expired
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| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |