DE102022002688A1 - Storing autonomously moving hanging bags in a hanging bag warehouse with storage lines and shunting lines - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a hanging bag warehouse (1) with stored goods (3) held in hanging bags (5). An improvement in storage and retrieval with simultaneous sorting of stored goods with as little effort as possible, preferably space-saving, and in the shortest possible time can be achieved by storing the stored goods (3) stored in the hanging pockets (5) in a row (60) on a storage line ( 62) of the hanging bag warehouse (1), - planning one of the stored goods (3) of the row (60) for removal, - clearing a removal path (70) for the planned storage goods (3) by, - relocating further of the stored goods (3 ) of the row (60) into a shunting line (66) of the hanging bag warehouse (1), and retrieval of the planned storage goods (3) along the cleared retrieval path (70).

Description

Field of invention

The invention relates to a method for operating a hanging bag warehouse with stored goods stored in hanging bags and a hanging bag warehouse according to the method.

State of the art

In automated warehouses, production facilities and when transporting goods, such as in mail order, it is necessary to pick up conveyed goods in conveyor containers and unload them from them again as automatically as possible. The goods can be stored in these conveyor containers before they are delivered and then reach the station where they are packaged for onward transport to the customer. Transport within the warehouse usually takes place via overhead conveyors. The containers for conveyed goods are usually bags that are made like fabric bags and are hung on a rail system at the top with a kind of wire bracket. Such a conveyor container is, for example, from the WO 2014/012965 A1 known. The side wall elements are controlled via a linkage in such a way that the side wall elements connected to one another via a connecting area can be opened. In the area of a loading station, the containers are also transferred to a horizontal or inclined position.

Comparable containers for conveyed goods and associated overhead conveyor devices are, for example, from DE 10 2004 018 569 A1 , EP 2 130 968 A1 or EP 2 196 415 A known. The transport bags described there are made of flexible materials in the form of a loop in which the goods to be conveyed are held. For loading, these transport bags are opened from above so that the goods to be conveyed can be placed in the loop. Unloading occurs when the material to be conveyed is either removed or ejected from the side of the loop or, for example, according to the EP 2 130 968 A1 the loop is opened downwards. Furthermore, from the DE 103 54 419 A1 a conveyed goods carrier is known which has a relatively stiff and flat plastic wall with a cutout for loading and unloading conveyed goods. Other conveyed goods containers are made like hanging flat tubs made of plastic, which are covered on one side with elastic materials, which clamps the conveyed goods.

It is known to load such conveyor containers in a mechanized manner and to unload them again manually. A transport cycle is based on the slowest process, which also depends on the amount of transported goods. In particular, a large number of individual items to be conveyed can slow down loading and/or unloading. For example, unloading and/or assembling dismantled transport containers can determine the maximum possible transport cycle. The EP 2 686 258 B1 relates to a hanging conveyor system with a transport bag for automatically unloading loaded cargo and with an unloading station. The transport bag has a horizontal base on which the cargo can be stored for transport purposes. The bottom cooperates with a lifting device, which is set up to lift the bottom of the transport bag loaded with at least one piece of goods when the transport bag is in an unloading position in a vertical direction in such a way that the at least one piece of goods is pushed through a pushing device Front side of a base body of the transport bag can be pushed out centrally, the pushing device having a slider which engages through another end face of the base body into an interior of the base body, where the at least one piece of goods is located when the floor is raised. For unloading, the two opposite open end faces, the floor that can be raised in the vertical direction and the slide of the pushing device that passes through one of the end faces are required. From the DE 20 2017 100 206 U1 a conveyor container for a hanging conveyor device for transporting conveyed goods is known, which is adjustable between an open position and a closed position. The conveyed goods container has a base that is mechanically assigned to an ejection device. By means of the ejection device, the floor can be adjusted between a transport position in which the conveyed goods can be stored within the conveyed goods container and an ejection position in which the conveyed goods can be ejected from the conveyed goods container.

From the DE 10 2018 105 795 A1 a method for loading or unloading a conveyed material picked up on a flexible material of a conveyed goods container by means of a station such as an unloading station and / or a loading station of a hanging conveyor system as well as a conveyed goods container, unloading station and hanging conveyor system according to the method are known. The conveyed goods container is brought closer to the station, where an attractive force is then created between the station and the conveyed goods container for coupling the pliable material of the conveyed goods container. The conveyed goods container coupled in this way is tilted and the conveyed goods are ejected from the conveyed goods container in a sliding movement.

The DE 10 2018 128 417 A1 describes a method for transporting and sorting a sorter bag suspended from a rolling adapter rolling on a rail network of a sorting system for transporting piece goods, marked is characterized by: providing the rail network of the sorting system, providing the rolling adapter of the sorter bag that rolls on the rail network, providing electrical drive energy for the rolling adapter, - converting the provided electrical drive energy using the rolling adapter itself into kinetic energy for transporting the sorter bag and devices according to the method. The roll adapters are used to hang up and move the sorter bags. For this purpose, they each have a chassis with two coaxially rotating wheels, a suspension arranged between the wheels and supported by them, on which the sorter bag is suspended, an electric drive for driving the wheels and a control device or partial control device for autonomous or at least semi-autonomous control of the rolling adapter along a route selected from a variety of routes.

Summary of the invention

Based on this prior art, the present invention is based on the object of enabling storage and retrieval with simultaneous sorting of stored goods in a hanging bag warehouse with as little effort as possible, preferably in a space-saving manner, and in the shortest possible time.

The task is in a method for operating a hanging bag warehouse with stored goods stored in hanging bags by storing the stored goods stored in the hanging bags in a row on a storage line of the hanging bag warehouse, planning one of the stored goods in the row for removal, clearing a retrieval path for the planned storage goods by moving further stored goods in the row into a shunting line of the hanging bag warehouse, and removing the planned stored goods from the row and along the cleared removal path. The stored goods can be stored in the storage line. For this purpose, the stored goods are accommodated in hanging pockets which can be moved autonomously or at least partially autonomously on a network, in particular a rail network. If one or more of the stored goods in the series are to be removed from the storage line, they can be scheduled for removal and/or sorting. It can also be determined whether other stored goods that are also stored in the row are blocking an exit from the storage line. These can be relocated to the shunting lane, thereby clearing the removal path. The planned storage item(s) can be stored on this site. By planning, a predetermined or predetermined order for outsourcing can be observed. Further sorting stages can follow, whereby the planned storage goods on the storage line can be combined with other storage goods on other storage lines. The stored goods can be easily stored, retrieved and sorted at the same time. A special sequence or arrangement of the stored goods in the storage line or somewhere in the hanging bag warehouse is not necessary, but can be useful to further optimize the removal and/or access times. To clear the removal path, the stored goods or the hanging bags with the stored goods can travel in a convoy.

Preferably, a direction of movement of the other stored goods in the row is reversed and the stored goods are moved back into the storage line. This can be done after the planned storage goods have traveled along the free removal path, so that the shunting route can then advantageously be cleared again, with the other stored goods in the row being moved back into this and remaining there until possible further planning. This results in minimal external movement or minimal handling effort for unplanned stored goods.

In a preferred embodiment, the storage line of the hanging bag warehouse is circled with the other stored goods in the direction of movement and after the rounding, the other stored goods in the row are moved back into the storage line in the same direction of movement. This reverses the ordering of the other stored goods in the storage line. The relocation results in a highly dynamic warehouse activity, with less frequently requested storage goods tending to accumulate in the middle of the storage lines. In principle, this effect occurs with or without reversing the direction of movement. This allows the outsourcing effort and outsourcing time to be optimized. Control effort can be minimized, and possible conflicts with other hanging pockets traveling autonomously on the network can be improved by maintaining the direction of movement.

Alternatively or additionally, the other stored goods in the series are rotated or oscillated via the location road, the shunting road, a further storage road connected to the shunting road and a further shunting road connected to the storage road and further storage road and / or the planned storage goods are uncoupled during the Circling or oscillating along the removal path thus cleared. Preferably, the other stored goods in the series are relocated from the storage line the shunting road of the hanging bag warehouse and from there on to another storage road. In this application, gyroscopes can also be understood to mean a movement on a closed path, which may optionally have switches or branches and/or deviate from a circular shape.

Any of the stored goods in the further row that may be in the further storage line can be relocated to another shunting line of the hanging bag warehouse and from there moved further into the row of stored goods. A roundabout is therefore preferably driven or a ring is formed by the storage streets and shunting streets, which can preferably be used by the stored goods in the row/s while maintaining the direction of movement until the removal path is clear or the planned storage goods have arrived at the shunting street and can use this to leave the row. For this purpose, the shunting road can be crossed by the planned storage goods in a simple case or at least driven on in certain areas and then left. For this purpose, the shunting road can have at least one branch and/or intersection. The rest of the stored goods simply move on, back to one of the storage lines and ultimately remain in the stored state or in this state. To be more precise, they also travel on the shunting road for a short time, but are immediately led back from this to one of the storage roads. Alternatively, it is conceivable to only provide the ring or roundabout at least partially and to achieve the same effect by oscillating, i.e. alternately reversing the direction of movement.

A further embodiment involves crossing the shunting road with the planned storage goods, driving the planned storage goods onto the expressway after crossing and/or relocating the planned storage goods from the removal path cleared on the storage road via the expressway of the hanging bag warehouse, a transfer buffer of the hanging bag warehouse and a preferably vertically conveying conveyor system is carried out to remove the planned storage goods. The planned storage goods are preferably transferred from the conveyor system to an unloading station of the hanging bag warehouse, where they can be further processed, for example made ready for dispatch. The removal path can include parts of the storage road and an intersection over the shunting road. This makes it particularly easy and quick to access the planned storage goods. Particularly quick outsourcing can be achieved via the expressway. In this application, an expressway can be understood as a section of the network that can be used by the hanging pockets and which may only be used to transport the stored goods. So no shunting tasks are carried out there. In addition, a shunting road and/or expressway can have a directional specification, so that the hanging pockets are only allowed to travel on it in a predefined or predefinable direction of movement. Furthermore, it is conceivable that an expressway has comparatively few intersections. A shunting road can be understood as a section of the network that can be accessed by the hanging pockets and can be used for a variety of purposes, whereby sorting, picking, relocation, handling, etc. of the stored goods or hanging pockets can preferably take place there. These preferably border directly on the storage streets. A storage line can be understood as a preferably longer and intersection-free section of the network on which the stored goods or hanging bags can be stored without movement. A movement can be reduced to a possible scheduling for retrieval and/or clearing the retrieval path.

A further advantageous possibility is that a large number of identical stored goods are stored distributed over the entire hanging bag warehouse, one of the stored goods is selected from the large number of identical stored goods and the selected one of the stored goods is selected as one of the stored goods in the row for removal from storage. Preferably, a criterion for the selection can be specified, for example a depth within the row of the storage line, a distance to an exit of the hanging bag warehouse. By dislocating the storage of identical stored goods, access times can be shortened.

Furthermore, the method can be carried out by repeating the method for a large number of planned storage goods and in a large number of levels of the hanging bag warehouse, specifying an order for the large number of planned storage goods, pre-sorting the large number of planned storage goods in the transfer buffers of the levels, final sorting of the large number the planned storage goods in the order by transferring the large number of planned storage goods from the transfer buffers of the levels into the conveyor system and / or autonomous or at least semi-autonomous driving of the hanging bags of the hanging bag warehouse on a network which in particular has the storage roads, shunting roads and the expressway as well as the retrieval path of the hanging bag storage. Storage and rapid sorting of the stored goods can take place at the same time with minimal infrastructure effort and/or conveyor technology. Especially compared to Multi-stage inflow sorting systems, which can usually be connected downstream from hanging pocket storage systems known from the prior art with permanently installed conveyor technology for sorting tasks, can provide a space-efficient overall system.

Finally, in order to save electrical energy, it is conceivable to put the hanging bags that can be moved autonomously or at least semi-autonomously on the network into an energy-saving sleep mode while the stored goods are being stored, in which they are preferably stationary and at rest, and to become autonomous or at least partially autonomous When driving and retrieving the stored goods, they should be woken up again and preferably energized accordingly.

The task is also solved by a hanging pocket storage for carrying out a method described above. The advantages described above arise.

Finally, the task is solved with a hanging bag warehouse for storing and sorting stored goods that can be stored in hanging bags. This is characterized by a large number of levels, each with: a network on which the hanging bags can be moved autonomously or at least semi-autonomously, a large number of storage streets of the network arranged parallel to one another for storing the goods stored in the hanging bags, at least one shunting line in which the A plurality of storage streets opens into and/or surrounds the plurality of storage streets in a ring, at least one expressway which is downstream of the plurality of storage streets and/or the at least one shunting line, a transfer buffer downstream of the network and/or the expressway of the network for pre-sorting the stored goods, one preferably vertically conveying conveyor system downstream of the transfer buffers of the levels for final sorting of the stored goods in a predetermined or predeterminable order.

With the hanging bag storage, highly dynamic processing of stored goods, especially storage, quick sorting and retrieval can take place in a comparatively small space. Using the hanging pocket storage, a procedure described above can be carried out. In this respect, reference is also made to the advantages shown above.

Further advantages result from the subclaims and the following description of a preferred exemplary embodiment.

Short description of the characters

• 1 eine schematische dreidimensionale Ansicht von schräg seitlich vorne oben eines Hängetaschenlagers;
• 2 eine schematische Seitenansicht einer Hängetasche für das in 1 gezeigte Hängetaschenlager;
• 3 eine schematische Seitenansicht mehrere der in 2 gezeigten Hängetaschen an einem Schienennetz;
• 4 ein Blockdiagramm einer Übergabeanordnung des in 1 gezeigten Hängetaschenlagers zur Verdeutlichung eines Materialflusses beim Sortieren und Auslagern von Lagergütern;
• 5 eine schematische Ansicht einer Ebene eines Hängetaschenlagers zur Verdeutlichung einer Auslagerung mit einer Umkehr einer Bewegungsrichtung;
• 6 eine schematische Ansicht der Ebene des Hängetaschenlagers zur Verdeutlichung einer Auslagerung mit einer Umrundung einer Lagerstraße;
• 7 eine schematische Ansicht der Ebene des Hängetaschenlagers zur Verdeutlichung einer Auslagerung mit einer Umrundung/einem Pendeln;
• 8 eine schematische Ansicht der Ebene des Hängetaschenlagers zur Verdeutlichung einer Umlagerung eines Lagerguts; und
• 9 ein Ablaufdiagramm eines Verfahrens zum Betreiben des in den vorhergehenden Figuren gezeigten Hängetaschenlagers.

The invention is explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment shown in the figures. Show it:

• 1 a schematic three-dimensional view from diagonally at the front and top of a hanging bag storage;
• 2 a schematic side view of a hanging pocket for the in 1 hanging pocket storage shown;
• 3 a schematic side view of several of the in 2 hanging pockets shown on a rail network;
• 4 a block diagram of a transfer arrangement of the in 1 hanging pocket storage shown to illustrate a material flow when sorting and retrieving stored goods;
• 5 a schematic view of a plane of a hanging pocket storage to illustrate a removal with a reversal of a direction of movement;
• 6 a schematic view of the level of the hanging bag warehouse to illustrate a removal with a circumnavigation of a storage road;
• 7 a schematic view of the level of the hanging bag storage to illustrate a retrieval with a rotation/swing;
• 8th a schematic view of the level of the hanging bag storage to illustrate the rearrangement of a stored item; and
• 9 a flowchart of a method for operating the hanging bag storage shown in the previous figures.

Description of preferred embodiments

Before the invention is described in detail, it should be noted that it is not limited to the respective components of the device or the respective process steps, since these components and processes can vary. The terms used herein are intended solely to describe particular embodiments and are not used in a limiting sense. Furthermore, if the singular or indefinite articles are used in the description or in the claims, this also refers to the plurality of these elements, unless the overall context clearly indicates otherwise.

The 1 shows a schematic three-dimensional view from diagonally to the front and top of a hanging bag storage 1.

The hanging bag storage 1 has at least two levels 9, 13, here a total of four, with a first level 9 and a second level 13 being provided with reference numbers, for example. More or fewer levels are conceivable, for example 10 levels or more, which are arranged vertically one above the other.

Each of the levels 9, 13 of the hanging bag storage 1 each has a transfer buffer 7, 11, of which only a first transfer buffer 7 and a second transfer buffer 11 are provided with reference numbers.

The hanging bag storage 1 is used to pick up, store, sort and/or remove stored goods 3. Optionally as a pure storage or sorting device. The transfer buffers 7, 11 are preferably arranged vertically one above the other, which is symbolized by a line 27. However, it is also conceivable to arrange only at least two of the transfer buffers 7, 11 one above the other and/or to arrange them obliquely to a vertical spatial direction along the line 27.

A ring conveyor system 23, preferably a large number of such, also runs along the imaginary line 27 along which the transfer buffers 7, 11 are arranged. The transfer buffers 7, 11 are arranged adjacent to the ring conveyor system 23 so that the stored goods 3 can be transferred from them into the ring conveyor system 23 and / or stored from there into the levels 9, 13 or the transfer buffers 7, 11 of the levels 9, 13 can be.

In one exemplary embodiment, the stored goods 3 are transferred directly to the ring conveyor system 23. The stored goods 3 are preferably transferred to the ring conveyor system 23 in a hanging bag 5. Particularly preferably, the entire hanging bag 5 is driven, controlled and/or moved autonomously before the hanging bag 5 is made available, when the hanging bag 5 is made available and/or handed over. The method is carried out in particular without a drag chain. For this purpose, the hanging bag storage 1 is constructed, for example, at least in some areas or completely without a drag chain, preferably at least within the levels 9, 13.

For this purpose, the hanging bag storage 1 has a network 49, for example a rail network with connecting sections and branches such as switches. It is preferably a grid with straight rails connected to one another by the switches. For example, with rectangular net meshes.

In order to store the stored goods 3 in the hanging bag warehouse, this has a transfer point 53, via which the individual stored goods are transferred to individual hanging bags 5. Preferably, only one of the stored goods 3 is handed over per hanging pocket 5. However, several are also conceivable, provided they can fit in the corresponding hanging pocket 5. In the transfer point, the stored goods 3 can optionally be buffered and transferred directly to the hanging bags 5, which control the transfer point 53 and then move on autonomously to a storage location in the hanging bag warehouse 1.

At an unloading station 55 of the hanging bag warehouse 1, the stored goods 3 are removed from the ring conveyor system 23 and are preferably available there in a predetermined or predeterminable order 15. It is conceivable that a column of hanging bags 5 move in the desired order 15 from the ring conveyor system 23 into the unloading station 55 or are transferred from the ring conveyor system 23 into this, are unloaded there and then return again for further loading. The unloading station 55 can be arranged inside or outside one of the levels 9, 13, preferably in a lowest level. Alternatively, however, it is also conceivable that the hanging bags 5 are conveyed by means of the ring conveyor system 23 and unloaded at the unloading station 55 in the desired order, i.e. are directly available there without the respective hanging bag 5, for example in order to be packaged for further transport.

The hanging pockets 5 are particularly preferably designed so that they travel the network 49 autonomously. Hanging pocket warehouses 1 with autonomously moving hanging pockets 5 are known and, for example, in DE10 2018 128 417 A1 described, so that a more detailed description is omitted here. Preferably, a control device 25 is provided for monitoring and controlling the hanging bag warehouse 1, in particular for specifying the desired sequence 15 and controlling the ring conveyor system 23, which exchanges information with the functional units of the hanging bag warehouse 1.

2 shows a schematic side view of such a hanging bag 5 for the in 1 shown hanging pocket bearing 1 and 3 a schematic side view of several of the in 2 hanging pockets 5 shown, suspended in the network 49, which is designed, for example, as a rail network. For this purpose, these have wheels 57 and can be driven by means of drive energy, which is only indicated by the reference number 59. In 3 a possible direction of movement of the hanging pockets 3 in the network 49 is indicated by means of a double arrow 51. Particularly to the autonomous or partial set up, programmed and/or designed for autonomous driving.

In 2 the hanging bag 5 is shown with stored goods 3 stored in it. The stored goods 3 are located within a material that hangs down in a U-shape, in particular a pliable material. Loading and unloading can take place in particular from above or from the side.

4 shows a block diagram of a transfer arrangement 10 of the in 1 Hanging pocket storage 1 shown to illustrate a material flow when sorting and retrieving the stored goods 3.

You can see the four levels 9, 13 of the in 1 Hanging pocket storage 1 shown as four blocks shown one above the other. Viewed in the direction of the material flow of the stored goods 3, the levels 9, 13 are each followed by a transfer arrangement 10. For simplicity is in 4 only one of the transfer arrangements 10 is shown. It is conceivable that only one of the levels 9, 13 has a transfer arrangement. It is also conceivable that more than one transfer arrangement is provided, in particular one transfer arrangement per level. Finally, several of the transfer arrangements 10 can be provided in one or more of the levels.

In the exemplary embodiment 4 There are a total of five first-in-first-out buffers 17 downstream of the second level 13, into which the stored goods 3 coming from level 13 can be stored. The order 15 can be specified for the stored goods, which can be divided into a large number of partial orders 41. In 4 the material flow that takes place using the sequence 15 and the partial sequences 41 is symbolized by arrows. Preferably, all stored goods 3 of one of the partial sequences 41 are stored in one of the first-in-first-out buffers 17. This is in 4 symbolized on one of the first-in-first-out buffers 17, which is arranged on the right. The partial sequences 41 can also be sorted ordinally, although it is not important for the method whether this ordinal order is maintained within the first-in-first-out buffers 17. The stored goods 3 of one of the first-in-first-out buffers 17 can optionally be transferred to a pick buffer 19 connected downstream of them. Therefore, compliance with the partial order is not relevant. The stored goods 3 of the sub-sequences 41 from the respective first-in-first-out buffer 17 into the downstream pick buffer 19 are stored in the ordinal order of the sub-sequences, but preferably unsorted.

The respective partial sequence 41 of the stored goods 3 can be produced by means of the pick buffer 19 in combination with the second transfer buffer 11 connected downstream of it. The stored goods 3 stored in the pick buffer 19 particularly preferably shuttle back and forth and are thereby transferred to the transfer buffer 11 in the partial order 41. After the last stored item 3 has been removed, the partial sequence 41 is available there. It is conceivable that the transfer buffer 11 can accommodate several of the partial sequences 41 or fewer of them. This may depend on an overall design of the hanging pocket storage 1.

It can be seen that a pre-sorting using the partial sequences 41 is initially carried out using the first-in-first-out buffers 17. These are then finally brought into the pick buffer 19, ordered according to the ordinal order of the partial sequences, and the picking out of it, ordered according to the respective partial sequence, into the transfer buffer 11 into the higher order 15 of all stored goods 3.

It can be seen that the higher-level order 15 is not limited and may possibly have several thousand, for example up to 1,000, preferably up to 5,000, in particular up to 30,000, of the stored goods per hour. This is possible because the first-in-first-out buffers 17 allow the stored goods 3 to arrive at different times. These can then be collected and thereby pre-sorted, regardless of the arrival time, within an interval of sequence 15 predetermined by sub-sequence 41.

Using the first-in-first-out buffer 17, it is also conceivable to react flexibly to disruptions or severely delayed arrivals of individual stored goods 3. In such a case, a partial sequence 41 that is actually to be processed later can be brought forward. For this purpose, according to one exemplary embodiment, it is advantageous if the sequence 15 and/or the sub-sequences 41 are divided into batches (not shown), which preferably consist of a packing unit of the stored goods 3 to be packed together. When dividing the order 15, the procedure can be such that the batches are specified as the smallest storage unit within one of the first-in-first-out buffers 17, i.e. batches are always complete within the first-in-first-out buffers 17 present. This can lead to an under-occupancy of the first-in-first-out buffers 17, although greater robustness against late arrivals of individual stored goods 3 can be achieved, i.e. the exchangeability of the contents of the first-in-first-out buffers 17 , without having to deliver 55 incomplete batches to the unloading station. Furthermore, it is conceivable to only partially transfer the first-in-first-out buffers 17 into the pick buffer 19, making sure that complete batches are specified as the smallest amount of stored goods 3 to be removed. A Flexi can do that too bility can be increased without having to deliver 55 incomplete batches to the unloading station. An emergency buffer that would otherwise be required there is not necessary. Batches may then reach the unloading station 55 with reduced sorting quality, but in the desired batch sequence.

The ring conveyor system 23 is connected downstream of the transfer buffer 11. The transfer buffer 11 provides the stored goods in the desired order. It is conceivable to dispense with the transfer buffer 11 and to pick the stored goods 3 directly into the ring conveyor system 23 as described above. By means of the transfer buffer 11, better temporal robustness is provided with regard to a transfer time into the ring conveyor system 23, especially if this optionally picks up the stored goods 3 in a time-coordinated manner across the levels 9, 13 and completes the sequence across them. Stored goods 3 of a batch can then be stored distributed across levels 9, 13.

The transfer buffer 11 preferably also has a first-in-first-out structure.

5 shows a schematic view of a level of a hanging bag storage, for example level 9 of the previously described hanging bag storage 1. The level 9 is only partially shown, whereby dimensions and number of individual elements of level 9 described here can be varied depending on the requirements of the hanging bag storage 1. The number of levels themselves can also be varied.

Unless explicitly mentioned, reference is also made to the following figures. The level 9, which is only partially shown, has the network 49 with a large number of rails. The network 49 has, for example, rectangular meshes formed by the rails and crossings, whereby corresponding four-way switches can be provided at mesh nodes. The wheels 57 of the hanging bags 5 can roll on the rails of the network 9. A movement of the hanging pockets 1 can take place autonomously or at least partially autonomously. For this purpose, each of the hanging pockets 5 can have its own drive acting on the wheels 57 and a corresponding control.

In principle, the network 49 can be used in any way by the hanging pockets 5, with the switches preferably being designed to be passive and the hanging pockets 5 interacting with the switches through corresponding steering devices (not shown in detail) in such a way that the desired change of direction can be effected. Movements of hanging pockets 5 are shown in bold dashed lines in the figure.

Preferably, however, the network 49 is used and driven on by the hanging pockets 5 - regardless of the free travel and usage options described above - in accordance with predetermined or predeterminable rules. For this purpose, directions, speeds and preferably types of use can be specified for certain sections of the network 5. In the present case, the network 49 can have at least one storage line 62 for storing the hanging bags 5. In the storage lines 62, one or more of the hanging pockets 5 can be stored in a row 60, symbolized for example by a curved bracket. For this purpose, they remain at rest, preferably in an energy-saving idle state, and parked one behind the other in row 60 of the corresponding storage lines 62.

For storage, all of the hanging pockets 5 that need to be moved can be woken up and moved again accordingly.

In this exemplary embodiment, storage lines 62 are all arranged parallel to one another in the entire plane 9 and are shown horizontally and solidly in the figure. The rules and the arrangement offer the advantage that material flows during storage and retrieval are standardized and can therefore run faster, easier and with less resource conflicts on the network 49.

The hanging pockets 5 are symbolized in the figure by rectangles. The storage streets 62 of the hanging bag warehouse 1 have, in comparison to other areas of the hanging bag warehouse 1, in particular expressways and / or shunting roads, an intersection-free length, in particular by a factor of at least 1.5, preferably of at least 3, in particular at least 10, for example between 3 and 25, preferably around 20. The intersection-free length can be, for example, between 3 and 20 meters, preferably around 15 meters. The length of the storage lines 62 can be made dependent on the use or optimization of the hanging bag warehouse 1, for example shorter for quick access and short dwell times of the stored goods 3 and longer for comparatively low turnover frequencies.

The hanging bag warehouse 1 also has shunting routes 66, preferably at least one shunting route 66. The shunting roads 66 are arranged at an angle to the storage roads 62, preferably orthogonal to them. In the figure, the shunting roads 66 are shown vertically and also as solid lines. Preferably ends at least one of the storage lines 62 at the angle, preferably orthogonally, into at least one of the shunting lines 66. In comparison to the storage lines 62, stopping for storage purposes is not permitted on the shunting lines 66. Reversing the direction of movement is optionally possible. In the present case, the storage lines 62, which are combined in blocks 76, open into two of the shunting lines 66 at least on one side, preferably on both sides and at the angle, in particular orthogonally. The blocks 76 each have a large number of the storage lines 62 arranged parallel to one another. In the present case 5 each. The number can vary, for example between 2 and 30, preferably between 5 and 20, in particular approximately 15. The number can also be adapted to a task of the hanging bag storage 1.

It is optionally conceivable that the blocks 76 are surrounded by a ring of shunting roads 66. However, expressways 72 are provided at an upper and/or lower end of the respective blocks 76 and parallel to the storage lines 62, preferably directly adjacent to each other.

In order to achieve a good and quick outflow of the stored goods 3 or hanging bags 5, a comparatively high speed may be driven on the expressways 72 and in particular a continuous journey is provided, i.e. stopping for no reason is not intended or should be avoided. Reasons for stopping can therefore preferably be limited to collision avoidance. The expressways 72 can particularly preferably have a directional movement of the hanging pockets 5 as a rule. Furthermore, it is optionally possible for the expressways 72 to be arranged parallel to one another at a certain distance, with the blocks 76 being arranged in between. It is conceivable that expressways 72 arranged parallel to one another have reverse specifications for the direction of movement, i.e. at least one pair of expressways 72 arranged parallel to one another is provided with opposite specification of the direction of movement. In addition, the highways 72 may be arranged at an angle to one another, preferably crossing each other at the angle. For example, be arranged orthogonally to each other. In this case, the expressways 72 can be arranged in a grid shape and preferably with alternating specifications of the direction of movement to one another. In this way, at least one or more of the blocks 76 can be formed with ring roads that can be traveled in one direction and particularly quickly. The alternating directions are shown in the figure by arrows 78 and the expressways 72 are shown in dashed lines.

It can be seen in the figure that, in particular, the storage lines 62 are crossed at least on one side by one of the shunting lines 66 and one of the expressways 72 arranged at an angle to the storage lines 62 runs parallel to the respective one of the shunting lines 66. As shown in the figure, it is possible for one of the shunting routes 66 to be arranged on both sides parallel to each of the expressways 72, with one of the blocks 76 adjacent to it, with a large number of connections and junctions connecting one of the shunting routes 66 to the respective expressway 72 and in turn connects to the storage lines 62 of the respective blocks 76. A grid-shaped arrangement of at least two, preferably three parallel rails of the network 49 is formed, which has switches or crossings that can be driven at least partially or autonomously at a distance between the storage lines 62 and the hanging pockets 5 and the trestles 76 are orthogonal to the orientation of the Storage streets 62 are limited or connected to the rest of the network 49 of the hanging bag warehouse 1. The arrangement is divided by the traffic regulations into the shunting roads 66 and the expressways 72, whereby a physical structure can have identical parts on switches and rail sections in order to enable a cheap and easily assembled structure.

In the following, possible uses of this grid-shaped arrangement of the storage lines 62, shunting lines 66 and expressways 72 will be explained in more detail using the example of a relocation. One of the stored goods 3 stored in the hanging bag warehouse 1 is planned for relocation, for example a removal, preferably initially to the unloading station 55. The hanging bag 5 with the planned storage goods 3 is shown in dotted lines in the figure, with the stored goods stored in the hanging bag 5 3 itself is not visible. The planned storage goods 3 can be present identically at one or more locations in the hanging bag warehouse 1, with a selection based on a criterion being able to be made before planning.

As can be seen in the figure, the hanging pockets 5 shown in dotted lines are removed, which is symbolized by a dashed and bold arrow 74.

However, before this can take place, the stored goods 3 shown in dotted lines are first scheduled for removal. This can be done using the control device 25.

In order to clear a removal path 70 on which the planned storage goods 3 can leave the row 60, more of the Stored goods 3 are relocated to a shunting line 66,68 of the hanging bag warehouse 1 shown in solid lines. The shunting road 66 is arranged orthogonally to the storage road 62 and intersects it at a four-way switch at one end of the storage road 62. As soon as the removal path 70 is free, the planned storage goods 3 can be relocated or removed along this, which is shown in the figure by means of bold and dashed arrow 74 is symbolized. The planned storage goods can then optionally be temporarily stored or, if necessary, continue or be conveyed directly to the unloading station 55, preferably enter the ring conveyor system 23 and be conveyed into the unloading station by means of this.

As in 5 To recognize, a reversal of a direction of movement of the other stored goods 3 of the row 60 takes place in order to clear the removal path 70 and then move the other stored goods 3 back into the row 60. In the present case, three of the stored goods 3 are moved out of the row 60 into the storage line 62, preferably in a column. After the planned storage goods 3 have been relocated, the three stored goods 3 of the row 60 are moved back in the opposite direction of movement back to the storage line 62. This process with the reversal of the direction of movement is in 5 symbolized by a dashed and bold arrow 80. A sequence of the three stored goods 3 is retained. The shunting roads 66 can be driven in the same direction, which means that traffic can flow more smoothly.

6 shows a variant for clearing the removal path 70 and relocating the planned storage goods 3 on it, with the storage line 62 of the hanging bag warehouse 1 being circumnavigated with the other stored goods 3 while maintaining the direction of movement. The relocation of the other stored goods 3 of the row 60 is carried out in the same direction of movement after circling into the storage line 62. This allows the ordering of the other stored goods 3 to be reversed. Using the arrow 80 is in 6 circling the camp road symbolizes it. It can be seen that the entire block 76 is surrounded by a large number of storage lines 62, in which the planned storage goods 3 are located. This takes place on a total of four of the shunting roads 66, which are arranged intersecting and surrounding the block 76. In this exemplary embodiment, at least one of the blocks 76, preferably the blocks 76, is surrounded by a ring of shunting roads, i.e. the shunting road 66 and at least one further shunting road 68, preferably four of the shunting roads arranged orthogonally to one another.

7 shows another possibility for clearing the removal path 70 and relocating the planned storage goods 3 on it. For this purpose, the other stored goods 3 are moved in a ring, which is symbolized by the arrow 80, or alternatively in a pendulum movement, which is indicated by a double arrow 88. In contrast, the entire block 76 is not circled, but another storage line 64 is used, as shown by the dashed and bold arrow 80 in 7 drawn. This can preferably take place in an adjacent storage line 62, as in the 7 shown or in any other of the storage roads 62 of the corresponding block 76. When using the further storage road 64, the shunting roads 66, 68 are used on a particularly short section. This means that a comparatively large number of these processes can run in parallel and sorting and/or access times can be further shortened. As soon as the planned storage goods 3 have arrived at one end of the storage line 62, the removal path 70 is free and it can be relocated, in particular outsourced, by crossing the shunting line 66 and over the expressway(s) 72 7 is symbolized by the dashed and bold arrow 74.

The hanging pockets 5 or the stored goods 3 are preferably rotated by 180 degrees each time they are removed. Preferably with an adjacent one of the storage lines 62. The stored goods 3 are therefore exchanged between the storage lines 62, preferably between the two storage lines 62 arranged adjacent to one another, with a sequence of the stored goods 3 being reversed or mirrored and the removal from storage taking place. This simplifies the management of the inventory, since the contents of the respective storage lines 62 are mirrored, but are retained in their entirety except for the planned storage goods. The arrangement of the individual stored goods 3 within the storage lines 62 also plays no role. The planned storage goods 3 can move out autonomously and independently of the unplanned storage goods 3. It also doesn't matter which of the storage lines 62 also takes part in the rotation. It is only important that the planned storage goods 3 are addressed and the storage line 62 with this planned storage goods 3 as well as any other, in particular directly adjacent, storage streets 62 take part in at least half, preferably exactly half, rotation.

It can be seen that half a rotation is sufficient for each of the stored goods 3 of the two storage lines 62 moved in this way to pass exactly once one of the shunting lines 66, 68, which are arranged on both sides of the end faces of the storage lines 62 are. At this moment, the planned storage goods 3 leave the circular movement, in particular onto the corresponding shunting road 66, 68 or by crossing directly onto the adjacent or parallel expressway 72. In this application, circular movement or rotation can also mean a movement that deviates from a pure circular shape on a closed route.

The shunting roads 66 can be driven in the same direction and are subject to comparatively little load due to the roundabouts, which means that traffic flows more smoothly overall.

8th shows a further modification in which the planned storage goods 3 are first relocated or relocated to an additional storage line 82. The additional storage line 82 can be arranged in the same block 76 or a distant, preferably adjacent block 76 of the hanging bag warehouse 1. This process can be repeated as often as desired in order to produce a sequence, for example the sequence 15 and/or partial sequence 41, in the additional storage line 82. The additional storage line 82 is initially empty or at least partially empty and is filled in the new order 15. As a result, the level 9, 13 of the hanging bag storage 1 can be at least partially or completely re-sorted cyclically. The process can take place in waves over the entire level 9, 13 and thus lead to a completely sorted state in all of the storage streets 62. For retrieval, the stored goods 3, which are now sorted in the additional storage line 82, can be moved in a column 84 to the ring conveyor system 23, which in 8th is symbolized by a dashed and bold arrow 86. For this purpose, expressways 72 can be used as described above. Sorting in front of the ring conveyor system 23 can thereby be simplified accordingly or, if necessary, eliminated entirely.

The removal process for the rearrangement can be carried out analogously to the previous figures, preferably as in 7 or 8th described by means of pendulums or gyroscopes. Likewise, one of the stored goods 3 can be planned at a later point in time in the additional storage line 82 and processed as described above.

9 shows a flow chart of a method for operating a hanging bag warehouse 1 with stored goods 3 stored in hanging bags 5. The hanging bag warehouse 1 is preferably constructed as described above. In this respect, reference is also made to the previous figures.

In a first step 90, the stored goods 3 received in the hanging bags 5 are stored in the row 60 on the storage line 62 of the hanging bag warehouse 1. In a second step 92, one of the stored goods 3 in row 60 is scheduled for removal. As a third step 94, the removal path 70 is cleared for the planned storage goods (3). This is done in a fourth step 96 by moving the other stored goods 3 of the row 60 into the shunting line 66 of the hanging bag warehouse 1. Finally, the planned stored goods 3 are removed from storage along the cleared removal path 70, fifth step 98.

Reference symbol list

1

Hanging pocket storage

3

Stored goods

5

Hanging bag

7

first transfer buffer

9

first floor

10

Handover order

11

second transfer buffer

13

second level

15

Series

17

First-in-first-out buffer

19

Pick buffer

23

Ring conveyor system

25

Control device

27

line

41

Partial order

49

network

51

Double arrow

53

Transfer point

55

Unloading station

57

Wheels

59

Propulsion energy

60

Row

62

Warehouse street

64

another warehouse street

66

shunting road

68

another shunting road

70

Swap path

72

Expressway

74

Arrow

76

block

78

Arrow

80

Arrow

82

additional storage line

84

column

86

Arrow

88

Double arrow

90

1st step

92

2nd step

94

3rd step

96

4 step

98

5th step

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• WO 2014/012965 A1 [0002]
• DE 102004018569 A1 [0003]
• EP 2130968 A1 [0003]
• EP 2196415 A [0003]
• DE 10354419 A1 [0003]
• EP 2686258 B1 [0004]
• DE 202017100206 U1 [0004]
• DE 102018105795 A1 [0005]
• DE 102018128417 A1 [0006, 0032]

Claims (10)

Method for operating a hanging pocket warehouse (1) with stored goods (3) held in hanging pockets (5), characterized by : - storing the stored goods (3) held in the hanging pockets (5) in a row (60) on a storage line (62) of the Hanging pocket warehouse (1), - planning one of the stored goods (3) of the row (60) for removal, - clearing a removal path (70) for the planned storage goods (3), - relocating further of the stored goods (3) of the row (60) into a shunting line (66) of the hanging bag warehouse (1), and - retrieval of the planned storage goods (3) along the cleared retrieval path (70). Procedure according to Claim 1 , characterized by : - reversing a direction of movement of the other stored goods (3) of the row (60), - moving the other stored goods (3) of the row (60) back into the storage line (62) in the reverse direction of movement. Procedure according to Claim 2 or 3 , characterized by : - Circumnavigating the storage line (62) of the hanging bag warehouse (1) with the other stored goods (3) in the direction of movement, - Moving the other stored goods (3) of the row (60) back into the storage line (62nd) after circling ) in the same direction of movement. Procedure according to one of the Claims 1 until 3 , characterized by : - Circling or swinging of the other stored goods (3) of the row (60) over the location road (62), the shunting road (66), another storage road (64) connected to the shunting road (66) and one to the Storage road (62) and further storage road (64) connected to another shunting road (68) and/or - uncoupling of the planned storage goods (3) while circling or commuting along the retrieval path (70) thus cleared. Procedure according to one of the Claims 1 until 4 , characterized by : - crossing the shunting road (66) with the planned storage goods (3), - driving the planned storage goods (3) onto the expressway (72) after crossing and / or - relocating the planned storage goods (3) from the removal path (70) cleared on the storage line (62) via the expressway (72) of the hanging bag warehouse (1), a transfer buffer (7, 11) of the hanging bag warehouse (1) and a preferably vertically conveying conveyor system for retrieving the planned storage goods ( 3). Procedure according to one of the Claims 1 until 5 , characterized by : - storing a large number of identical storage goods (3) distributed over the entire hanging bag warehouse (1), - selecting one of the storage goods (3) from the large number of identical storage goods (3), - scheduling the selected one of the storage goods (3) as one of the stored goods (3) of the row (60) for removal. Procedure according to one of the Claims 1 until 6 , characterized by : - repeating the method for a large number of planned storage goods (3) and in a large number of levels (9, 13) of the hanging bag warehouse (1), - specifying an order (15) for the large number of planned storage goods (3 ), - pre-sorting the large number of planned storage goods (3) in the transfer buffers (7, 11) of the levels (9, 13), - final sorting of the large number of planned storage goods (3) in the order (15) by - handing over the Large number of planned storage goods (3) from the transfer buffers (7, 11) of the levels (9, 13) into the conveyor system and/or - Autonomous or at least semi-autonomous driving of the hanging bags (5) of the hanging bag warehouse (1) on one of the storage lines ( 64), shunting roads (66,68) and the network (49) of the hanging bag warehouse (1) which has the expressway (72) and/or the retrieval path (70). Procedure according to one of the Claims 1 until 7 , characterized by : - putting the hanging bags (5) that can be moved autonomously or at least partially autonomously on the network (49) into a sleep mode [energy-saving] while the stored goods (3) are being stored, - waking up the hanging bags (5) for autonomous or at least partially autonomous driving and retrieval of stored goods (3). Hanging pocket storage (1), set up, designed and / or programmed to carry out a method according to one of Claims 1 until 8th . Hanging pocket storage (1) for storing and sorting stored goods (3) that can be accommodated in hanging pockets (5), in particular according to Claim 9 , characterized by : - A large number of levels (9, 13), each with: - A network (49) on which the hanging pockets (5) can be moved autonomously or at least semi-autonomously, - a large number of storage lines (62, 64) of the net (49) for storing the in the hanging pockets (5). nen stored goods (3), - at least one shunting road (66,68) into which the plurality of storage roads (62,64) flows and/or surrounds the plurality of storage roads (62,64,82) in a ring, - at least one expressway (72 ) which is connected downstream of the plurality of storage lines (62,64,82) and/or the at least one shunting line (66), - a transfer buffer (7) connected downstream of the network (49) and/or the expressway (72) of the network (49). , 11) for pre-sorting the stored goods (3), - a preferably vertically conveying conveyor system downstream of the transfer buffers (7, 11) of the levels (9, 13) for the final sorting of the stored goods (3) in a predetermined or predeterminable order (15).

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