EP0499251B1 - Warehouse-stacker with two liftable load supports which are separately controlled - Google Patents

Abstract

A warehouse stacker with two liftable load supports (13, 16) which can be separately controlled is of portal type of construction and is provided with two lift frames (12, 15) which are arranged one behind the other in the travel direction and are preferably designed as side lift frames. One lift frame (12) is fastened to the front-end chassis leg (4) of the transverse portal (5) of the vehicle chassis (1). Suspended on the latter is the first load support (13) which is provided with a layer-receiving device (18) for taking hold of at least one goods layer (34) in a layer-receiving position located outside the transverse portal (5). The lift frame (15) of the further load support (16) is arranged suspended in front of the transverse portal (5) and can be pivoted beyond the side of the stacker contour remote from the portal opening. The front chassis leg (3) lying between both load supports (13, 16) is of a flat type of design with a low height. The layer-receiving device (18) of the first load support (13) with a received goods layer (34) can thereby be brought essentially within the longitudinal contour of the stacker in a congruent manner over a load-supporting device (17) of the further load support (16) on which a warehouse pallet (41) is located. The compact type of construction permits efficient warehousing even under restricted space conditions while simultaneously relieving the physical strain on the warehouse worker. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a layer picking stacker with two separately controllable, vertically movable load carriers, of which a first load carrier with a layer pick-up device that can be moved at least on one side beyond the length of the stacker for detecting at least one product position in a layer pick-up position located outside the stacker, and a second load carrier with one located in the action area of the layer pick-up device Load carrying device for receiving and / or stacking goods layers transferred from the load receiving device is provided.

Three-sided or three-way forklifts are generally known which can take up loads by means of swivel or rotary push forks or similar load carriers on one side outside the forklift contour and can set them down again on the opposite side. Such forklifts are mainly used to transfer loads. Since they can neither pick up layers of goods nor stack them on the vehicle, they are therefore unsuitable for picking.

In a rack operating device disclosed in DE-GM 77 08 142, two lifting masts with load forks are arranged one behind the other in the direction of travel for moving commission pallets, whereby one pallet can always remain on one of the lifting forks while another pallet is removed from the shelf or is stored in the same. Although this eliminates the need to put down pallets on the floor, the relocation process after removing the first pallet always requires a time-consuming longitudinal movement and positioning of the control unit so that the second lifting fork can be used at all. In addition, this control unit can only handle entire pallets and no layers of goods.

From DE-PS 30 17 456 a freely movable high-rack stacker is known, in which a rotatable load suspension device arranged on a front portal lifting frame absorbs loads on the front and on both sides of the vehicle and, after their rotation by the portal lifting frame, to a storage space behind or within the chassis a, on a second mast arranged vertically movable and telescopic second load handling device can transfer. This high-bay stacker is used exclusively for the simultaneous handling of two palletized loads to increase the handling speed, in particular increasing the Chassis should be kept within the limits given by the load dimensions, but the width of the pallets to be handled is limited by the clear width of the mast portal. The load pallets parked within the chassis can only be removed from the side in their entirety using the rear load carrier, but cannot be set down at floor level. This requires the repeated use of the front load carrier, which can individually pick up the pallets with their load, return them through the front portal and set them down on the side of the floor, which, however, requires extensive longitudinal positioning of the high-bay stacker. However, picking cannot be carried out with this device.

The tight price calculation forces mail order and department stores as well as discount and supermarkets to purchase individual items and goods in particularly large quantities in order to be able to achieve favorable purchase prices. In addition to the maintenance of modern warehouses of considerable size, this also requires, in particular, a fast and economical turnover of goods, which can no longer be achieved with the help of human labor alone and which requires at least partially automated technical support. Since the individual articles and goods are usually delivered and stored on pallets, only a limited number of them is required to deliver to branches or for direct sale, which is why it is necessary to remove individual layers of goods from a large number of batches of goods at different locations in the Warehouse needs. After being removed, these goods layers are placed on an empty commission pallet to form so-called goods commissions, on which goods layers of various types are ultimately located. The picking processes required for this are time-consuming and, in particular, are carried out with great physical exertion by so-called warehouse or order picking workers, who sometimes have to remove individual articles and goods from the stack of goods or from shelves over many hours of work and put them down on the picking pallets Daily output of over 20 tons per order picking worker can occur. This explains the need for technical support, as this work is not only unreasonable for anyone who is physically weak, old and especially sick, but in the long run.

The possibility of picking is therefore available in a stacking vehicle described in DE-OS 34 04 882, in which two load carriers are guided vertically on a common mast, of which the upper load carrier is designed to be rotatable and provided with load clamps for receiving goods layers, while the lower side telescopic load carrier is used for palletized stacking of the goods layers and outsourcing of finished commissions. Due to the superimposition of both load carriers and their limited relative movement to each other, the height of the layers of goods to be stacked and thus the economy of the vehicle are also limited. In addition, the ground clearance is undesirably restricted due to the possibility of a likewise limited height movement of the lower load carrier, and an operation towards the front is completely ruled out. Due to the type of fixed layer gripping by means of rods that can be moved apart and moved together with hook-like approaches, damage to the packaging and goods cannot be ruled out, meanwhile the voluminous and particularly high construction of the layer gripper prevents use directly in shelf compartments. The field of application of this known stacking vehicle is therefore limited to certain areas.

The minimization of the physical strain on a goods picker despite fast picking performance is also served by a forklift according to DE-PS 30 46 027, in which an upper, rotatable load carrier is designed for the lateral reception of individual goods layers and a lower load carrier located on the same mast for receiving a pallet and for depositing and stacking the layers of goods is provided. The flat design of the layer gripper even enables the direct loading and unloading of shelves right up to an intermediate floor. However, the height of the product layers to be stacked and the ground clearance are also significantly restricted by the joint arrangement of two lifting supports on a common lifting frame in this forklift truck. In contrast to the previously mentioned stacking vehicle, this known device does not allow side stacking on the ground, so that working to the side requires an expensive longitudinal positioning of the forklift.

Proceeding from this, the object of the invention is to create a particularly reliable, easy-to-use and economical layer picking stacker, largely avoiding the disadvantages of known devices, which is particularly suitable for removing goods in tight spaces - for example directly in the rack aisle - and in a clear manner enables a quick and time-saving transfer, handling and stacking of goods layers in all directions, with the number of goods layers increasing building commission should not be restricted by structural conditions, ie kept relatively large, and the physical strain on the picking worker should be kept to a minimum.

To achieve this object, it is proposed according to the invention that each load carrier is assigned its own mast and both load carriers can be moved independently of one another in height and lowered to the pallet level, the mast of the first load carrier being arranged in a transverse portal of the vehicle frame and the mast of the further load carrier located in front of the side portal is and wherein the layer receiving device is substantially congruent within the forklift longitudinal contour in the direction of travel over the load carrying device and the load carrying device at least over the side of the forklift longitudinal contour opposite the layer receiving position. This compact design enables fast load or layer turnover and brief assembly of even large commissions, even in tight spaces, so that the operator remains physically unencumbered and maintains the best possible clarity during the order-picking process, a particular advantage of which is that of his own unlimited height movability of the additional load carrier, picked pallets can be stacked directly on shelves or on top of each other.

In an advantageous development of the inventive concept, the two masts are designed as side masts arranged one behind the other parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, which simplifies the construction and thereby ensures good visual contact with the two load carriers, in particular in their position outside the vehicle contours, at all times.

An expedient embodiment of the invention provides that the rear frame leg of the transverse portal, viewed in the direction of travel, is designed as a vehicle control center and is provided for receiving vehicle function groups, the vehicle function groups at least including drive, steering, hydraulics, battery and vehicle electronics, which not only serves to improve the functionality of the vehicle body, but also benefits from easier and shorter maintenance intervals.

Since the front frame leg of the cross portal, seen in the direction of travel, is constructed in a flat construction with a low height, in such a way that the layer receiving device essentially can be moved within the vehicle's longitudinal contour via this frame leg, in addition to achieving independence from the length of the product layers to be picked up, functional paths within the vehicle are also shortened, the narrow construction of the layer order picking truck being an additional advantage.

A preferred development of the invention is that the layer pick-up device is equipped with a goods position transfer console, a goods position centering gripping device and a goods position hold-down device, thereby ensuring reliable recording and transfer of goods positions without running the risk that the goods positions or . change the spacing between individual parcels of goods or the packaging is damaged.

A particularly sensible arrangement provides that at least the upper side of the goods layer transfer console carrying the goods layer at least partially has a friction-reducing surface and / or is at least partially equipped with friction-reducing elements in such a way that it can be easily extended between two goods layers. This measure allows the frictional resistance to be minimized and individual packets of goods to not slip when the goods layer transfer console is pulled out.

The goods position hold-down device, which is arranged within the goods position centering gripping device and is designed to be height-adjustable, also serves this purpose, so that it presses the goods position to be picked against the goods position transfer console when it is picked up and when it is placed on the picking pallet against the underlying goods position.

To facilitate this process, the special further development of the inventive concept also serves, according to which the side of the layer holding down device facing the position of the goods at least partially has a friction-increasing and / or layer-fixing surface and / or is at least partially equipped with friction-increasing and / or layer-fixing elements.

A special feature of the invention is that the movement sequences of the goods position transfer console, the goods position centering gripping device and the goods position hold-down device can each be controlled separately and / or at least partially in a coordinated manner.

It is particularly preferred that the movement sequences of the goods position transfer console, the goods position centering gripping device and the goods position hold-down device can be controlled manually and / or at least partially, whereby a special variant of the invention provides for the control of the goods position transfer panel, at least in some areas, of its motion sequence to be designed as a follow-up control and / or lead control for the goods position centering gripping device. Depending on the application, the operator is free to choose the control of the layer order stacker.

In order to be able to place a fully equipped picking pallet outside the vehicle contour at floor level or to be able to pick up a new empty picking pallet, the lifting frame of the additional load carrier is freely suspended and can be pivoted at least 90 ° beyond the side of the vehicle's longitudinal contour opposite the position of the pickup position.

Another further measure of the invention is that the goods position transfer console is provided with at least one optical and / or optoelectronic height adjustment device for manual and / or automatic height adjustment on a pallet and / or goods layer top edge.

Further advantageous refinements of the invention are laid down in the further claims and in the description below.

Fig. 1

eine schematische Prinzipskizze eines Lagenkommissionierstaplers nach der Erfindung in Seitenansicht,

Fig. 2

eine schematische Draufsicht auf den Lagenkommissionierstapler gemäß Fig. 1 mit ausgefahrener Lagenaufnahmevorrichtung in Lagenaufnahmeposition,

Fig. 3

die gleiche Ansicht wie in Fig. 1 in detaillierter Darstellung mit strichpunktiert angedeutetem Bewegungsablauf einer Lagenaufnahmevorrichtung der Erfindung in Fahrzeuglängsrichtung,

Fig. 4

eine Vorderansicht des Lagenkommissionierstaplers ohne frontseitiges Hubgerüst mit teilgeschnittener Lagenaufnahmevorrichtung im Querportal,

Fig. 5

eine Draufsicht von Fig. 3,

Fig. 6

eine Vorderansicht eines Hubgerüstes mit der Lagenaufnahmevorrichtung,

Fig. 7

eine Seitenansicht von Fig. 6 mit teilgeschnittener Lagenaufnahmevorrichtung gemäß der Schnittlinie AB von Fig. 6,

Fig. 8

einen auszugsweisen Querschnitt durch eine erfindungsgemäße Niederhalterplatte der Lagenaufnahmevorrichtung mit linksseitig verfedert und rechtsseitig unverfedert dargestellten Fixierstiften nach der Erfindung,

Fig. 9

eine Teiluntersicht von Fig. 8,

Fig. 10

eine stark vereinfachte Schemazeichnung der Bewegungsabläufe des Lagenkommissionierstaplers

The invention permits numerous embodiments. One of them is shown as an example in the figures and described below. It shows:

Fig. 1

1 shows a schematic outline sketch of a layer order picking stacker according to the invention in side view,

Fig. 2

1 shows a schematic top view of the layer picking stacker according to FIG. 1 with the layer pick-up device extended in the layer pick-up position,

Fig. 3

1 shows the same view as in FIG. 1 in a detailed illustration with the movement sequence of a layer pick-up device of the invention indicated in dash-dot lines in the vehicle longitudinal direction,

Fig. 4

a front view of the picking stacker without front-mounted mast with partially cut layer pick-up device in the cross portal,

Fig. 5

3 shows a plan view of FIG. 3,

Fig. 6

a front view of a mast with the layer receiving device,

Fig. 7

6 is a side view of FIG. 6 with a partially cut layer receiving device according to section line AB of FIG. 6,

Fig. 8

an excerpt cross-section through a hold-down plate according to the invention of the layer receiving device with spring-loaded spring pins on the left and spring-loaded pins on the right-hand side according to the invention,

Fig. 9

8 is a partial bottom view of FIG.

Fig. 10

a very simplified schematic drawing of the movements of the layer order picker

1 and 2, a stacker vehicle designed as a layer picking device is shown schematically in a side portal construction. The vehicle frame 1 consists of a rear frame leg 2 as seen in the direction of travel, a front frame leg 3 as seen in the direction of travel and a frame leg 4 connecting the two frame legs 2 and 3 on the front side. The frame legs 2-4 can be used for stiffening the frame for reasons of stability via a stiffening plate (not shown) or a Plate connected to each other, wherein the stiffening plate is preferably welded. The frame legs 2-4 together form a transverse portal 5 which is open towards a vehicle side. A vehicle control center 6 is arranged on the rear frame leg 2 as viewed in the direction of travel, which can be equipped with a driver's station 7 or instead with a driver's seat and is the carrier of various vehicle function groups . The latter can include, among other things, a traction drive, a steering system, working hydraulics, vehicle electronics or electronics and a dash-dot battery 8, which at the same time fulfills a counterweight function. Other structural arrangements and divisions of these vehicle function groups are conceivable.

At least one drive wheel 9 is located centrally below the vehicle control center 6 and can be steered and controlled manually by an operator and / or automatically. The automatic steering can take place by mechanical, optical or inductive guidance of the drive wheel 9, by means of a steering program or by means of distance sensors operating on the basis of ultrasound or a laser. In the exemplary embodiment, the picking stacker travels on a continuous inductive guideline 10; instead, the vehicle can also align itself with individual, spaced active and / or passive data carriers. Although not shown, 9 pivotable support wheels can be arranged on both sides of the drive wheel.

The front frame leg 3 seen in the direction of travel is of flat construction with a low height and is provided at both ends with at least one impeller 11 which, depending on the payload weight to be accommodated, may also be designed as a twin wheel (FIG. 2). On or on the front frame leg 4 of the cross portal 5, a lifting frame 12 is attached, which can be designed as a single or multiple lifting frame and on which a first load carrier 13 is vertically movable and controllable.

On the end of the front frame leg 3 facing away from the portal opening, a free-hanging lifting frame 15 designed as a pivoting frame is articulated in a pivot point 14, which can also be designed as a single or multiple lifting frame and on which the further load carrier 16 is also movable and controllable a load-carrying device 17 is located, which in the exemplary embodiment is designed as a possibly long-telescopic load fork. The lifting frame 15 can be pivoted about its pivot point 14 by an angle of at least 90 ° beyond the side of the vehicle contour facing away from the portal opening.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 in more detail, the first load carrier 13 is designed as a lifting slide. A layer pickup device 18 is attached to the load carrier 12 and is equipped with a goods layer transfer console 19, a goods layer centering gripping device 20 and a goods layer hold-down device 21. For this purpose, on both sides of a lifting bracket 22 of the first load carrier (lifting carriage) 13 telescopic rails 23 projecting into the cross portal 5 are fastened, in which a transport carriage 26 is guided on roller trains 24 transversely to the longitudinal axis 25 of the vehicle, the movement of which towards the portal opening by mechanical stops (not shown) or a Thrust limitation of one or more known, and therefore push cylinder, not shown, is limited. Telescopic cables 27 are attached at both ends to the underside of the transport carriage 26 and transversely to its direction of movement, and can be extended along or parallel to the longitudinal axis 25 of the vehicle in the direction of travel of the layer order picking truck. On the side facing the vehicle control center 6, these telescopic cables 27 carry a frame 28 which runs downwards parallel to the rear frame leg 2 and to the lower end of which the goods position transfer console 19 is fastened. In front of the frame 28, driving brackets 53 are arranged on the underside of the telescopic cables 27 and extend in their telescopic direction. As a result, the goods position transfer console 19 can be moved across the front frame leg 2 in the direction of travel by means of the transport slide 26 transversely to the longitudinal axis 25 of the vehicle and by means of the telescopic cables 27.

Without impairing the movability of the transport carriage 26 in the transverse portal 5, the underside of the telescopic rails 23 must be centered between its side cheeks and transversely to their direction of travel, i.e. parallel to the longitudinal axis 25 of the vehicle, a first horizontal mast 29 is attached, the stroke of which is in the direction of travel. The horizontal lifting mast 29 is the carrier of a further, second horizontal lifting mast 30, which runs transversely to the direction of movement of the horizontal lifting mast 29 in the center of its underside. The goods position centering gripping device 20 is fixed to this horizontal mast 30. The goods position centering gripping device 20 can thus be separately brought across the front frame leg 2 via the second horizontal lifting mast 30 transversely to the longitudinal axis 25 of the vehicle and via the first horizontal lifting mast 29.

The product layer centering gripping device 20 consists of four centering grippers 33 arranged at right angles to one another, which are designed as a product layer 34 in length and width and at least one product layer 34 or possibly also several product layers 34 in the height of all-embracing clamp plates. To facilitate the detection of layers of goods 34, the lower horizontal edges of the centering grippers 33 are angled slightly outward, which simplifies the lowering of the centering grippers 33 from above onto the layer of goods 34. At least one of the centering grippers 33 is designed to be movable and controllable. For this purpose, this centering gripper 33 is movably supported at its upper end about a horizontal axis of rotation and at its lower end can be pivoted outward by an arbitrary angle, at least 10 °, so that the picking up and detection of product layers 34 is facilitated. Of course, an additional or possibly even all centering grippers can also be used 33 can be arranged movably in the manner described above. It is advantageous to control two centering grippers 33, which adjoin one another at right angles, or two opposing centering grippers 33 in parallel. In the exemplary embodiment in FIGS. 3-5, the centering gripper 33 facing the first lifting frame 12 and located in the transverse portal 5 is fixedly arranged, meanwhile the remaining centering grippers 33 are designed to be movable and the two side centering grippers 33 are controlled in parallel.

At the same time, it is advisable to design the centering grippers 33 as interchangeable grippers so that they can be exchanged in a simple manner depending on the surface properties of the goods to be picked up or their packaging, or, if necessary, also by individual grippers, for example suction grippers, for receiving individual goods or goods packages with a homogeneous one Surface can be replaced. Mechanical, electromechanical, hydraulic or pneumatic latching means of known design can be used for locking when changing the gripper, which at the same time also serve as an energy coupling, for example for the transmission of the suction air etc.

Within the cover area formed by the centering grippers 33, the height-adjustable fabric hold-down device 21 is suspended on the support frame 31. This consists of a commercially available scissor lift table 35 of known design, one end of the scissors is articulated at the top and bottom in fixed bearing points and the other ends of the scissors are movably guided in guide rails via rollers. A hold-down plate 32 is attached to the underside of the scissor lift table 35.

In order to be able to pick goods layers 34 with piece goods of any height dimension - and thus also relatively thin - the hold-down plate 32 can be lowered directly to the goods layer transfer console 19 by means of the scissor lift table 35, so that every height range can be covered. The lowering movement of the scissor lift table 35 required for this can be done in a simple manner by its gravity generated by its own weight, or it can also be hydraulically supported or hydraulically damped for the purpose of gentle contact with the surface of the material layer. For this purpose, at least one hydraulic lifting and / or damping element 36 is provided, which is preferably designed as a known lifting cylinder and / or gas pressure spring and is arranged between one or both scissor levers and the upper support frame 31 or the hold-down plate 32. To depending on the particular nature of the goods layer surface To be able to achieve a defined contact pressure of the hold-down plate 32, it has proven to be advantageous to make the lifting and / or damping element 36 controllable in such a way that the stroke and / or damping can be regulated.

In addition, the scissor lifting table 35 can be raised by means of a separate chain drive 70, the chain of which is articulated via a deflection roller 71 to a lifting cylinder 72 which is fixed horizontally on the support frame 31.

According to FIGS. 3, 4 and 8, the underside of the hold-down plate 32 is at least partially equipped with friction-increasing and / or position-fixing elements 37 in order to prevent individual packets of goods or the entire pack of goods 34 from being displaced when picking them up and setting them down. Fixing pins 37 ′ or rubber and foam knobs or similar fixing means can preferably be used here, which are arranged in geometrically regular and / or irregular formation on or in the surface of the hold-down plate 32. The entire hold-down plate 32 and / or its elements 37 are interchangeable depending on the material and type of packaging. In order to fix the hold-down plate 32 to the scissor lift table 35, known mechanical-type connecting means, such as screws, etc., are provided.

As can be seen from the detailed sectional view in FIG. 8, in a preferred embodiment the hold-down plate 32 is designed as a double-wall perforated plate 59. Both perforated plates 60 and 63 of the double-wall perforated plate 59 are provided with aligned fixing bores 73, in which the fixing pins 37 'are arranged loosely and can be moved in height. According to the result of extensive test series, semicircular tubular rivets are particularly suitable for use as locating pins 37 ', since they are not only inexpensive as a commercially available bulk article, but also have particularly good properties for locating layers of goods 34 consisting of canned goods and cardboard boxes and because they easily intervene in the layer interspaces between the individual packages of the goods layer 34 and thus prevent their displacement. Depending on the size of these interlayer spaces, there is the possibility of making the spacing 74 of the aligned fixing bores 73 larger or smaller from one another and thus of arranging the fixing pins 37 ′ in a narrow or wide geometric formation.

Above the double-wall perforated plate 59, a spacer plate 62 is arranged by means of spacer sleeves 75 and fixing screws 76, the distance 77 of which from the upper perforated plate 63 corresponds to a maximum dimension 61 by which the fixing pins 37 ′ protrude from the lower perforated plate 60. As a result, the height displaceability of the fixing pins 37 'is limited in such a way that they are generally in the raised state. protrude slightly from the lower perforated plate 60. When picking up a layer of goods 34, the fixing pins 37 'lying congruently opposite one another fall between the individual packages of goods and thus secure their position, meanwhile the remaining fixing pins 37' more or less come to lie directly on the packages of goods depending on the length dimension outstanding from the lower perforated plate and generate a relatively gentle contact pressure there to the desired extent.

gegenüber der Distanzplatte 62 zu verfedern, beispielsweise durch Einlage eines komprimierbaren, elastischen Materials zwischen dem oberen Lochblech 63 und der Distanzplatte 62 oder mittels Druckfedern 64. Der Einsatz letzterer erfordert, das Maß 61 der Länge des aus dem unteren Lochblech 60 hervorragenden Ende der Fixierstifte 37

um das Maß der Federblocklänge 65 zu verringern bzw. den Abstand 77 zwischen dem oberen Lochblech 63 und der Distanzplatte 62 entsprechend zu vergrößern.In the case of piece goods with strong packaging material - for example canned goods, glasses or solid boxes - it is advisable to use the fixing pins 37

to spring against the spacer plate 62, for example by inserting a compressible, elastic material between the upper perforated plate 63 and the spacer plate 62 or by means of compression springs 64. The use of the latter requires the measure 61 of the length of the end of the fixing pins 37 protruding from the lower perforated plate 60

to reduce the size of the spring block length 65 or to increase the distance 77 between the upper perforated plate 63 and the spacer plate 62 accordingly.

Instead of the friction-increasing or layer-fixing elements 37 or in addition to their support, at least a partial area of the hold-down plate 32 is provided with a friction-increasing surface design of a selectable degree of roughness and a selectable roughness depth. The desired roughness can be produced by mechanical processing of the surface of the hold-down plate 32, for example by means of knurling, beading or graining. An alternative to this is to provide the hold-down plate 32 with a rough, interchangeable coating, preferably with emery paper, such as is done in a known manner with hand-held orbital sanders. A rubber-like, anti-friction surface coating or a corresponding plastic coating serves the same purpose.

Likewise, the surface of the goods layer transfer console 19 facing the goods layer 34 to be picked up is at least partially provided with friction-reducing elements 38, for example spring-loaded balls 38 ', driven belts or the like, in order to push on a goods layer 34 to facilitate their adoption. It has proven to be expedient to arrange the friction-reducing elements 38 at the same time on the underside of the goods position transfer console 38 or to have them act on them, thereby facilitating the movement of the goods position transfer console 19 from two superimposed goods layers 34.

As an alternative or in addition, the surface of the layer transfer console 19 can be designed to reduce friction, at least in some areas, for example by means of fine polishing, Teflon coating and similar technical measures.

For manual and / or (semi) automatic height adjustment, the goods position transfer console 19 is equipped with at least one, preferably with two optical and / or optoelectronic height adjustment devices 39 and 57. A first height alignment device 39 is arranged on the front edge of the goods position transfer console 19 facing the goods stack 50 to be picked and is preferably designed as an optical sighting device, for example in the form of a known light button, by means of which the operator manually positions the goods position transfer console 19 and by means of a light button generated light beam can visually align the upper edge of the goods layer 34 lying under the goods layer 34 to be picked. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in which the forklift vehicle is shown as a layer picking stacker in portal construction, the front edge of the goods level transfer console 19, which carries the height alignment device 39, faces the portal opening.

The second height alignment device 57 is arranged on the front edge of the goods layer transfer console 19 facing a picking pallet 41. It is designed as an infrared reflex light barrier and is optically operatively connected to a vertical reflector bar 40 in order to automatically adjust the height of the goods position transfer console 19 to the upper edge of the order-picking pallet 41 located on the further load carrier of the forklift vehicle or to a goods position already stacked thereon 34 align. It goes without saying that this alignment process can be stored as a program step and can run automatically, at least partially, without the operator having to intervene. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in which the stacker vehicle is shown as a position picking stacker in portal construction, the height alignment device 57 is at that The front of the forklift truck and the further load carrier 16 located there with its load carrying device 17 facing the front edge of the goods layer transfer console 19 are preferably arranged in the corner area facing the portal opening. In this case, the reflector bar 40 corresponding to the height alignment device 57 is fastened to the lifting frame 15 of the further load carrier 16 in the middle over its entire height.

Other commercially available optical and / or optoelectronic elements of known construction can also be used as height alignment devices 39 and 57. To minimize the complexity of the control technology and the manufacturing costs, there is also the possibility of providing a common light source for both height alignment devices 39 and 57, which can perform both alignment functions. Such a light source would then be arranged in the mutually facing corner area of the front edge facing the portal opening and the front edge facing the stacker front of the goods position transfer console 19 in the middle of an imaginary diagonal connection line between the two-sided light exit openings for height detection.

The most important component of the vehicle electronics, not shown and described in greater detail, is at least one per se programmable logic controller 55, abbreviated to PLC, or alternatively, alternatively, a microcomputer, which is only schematically indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The control programs for the steering behavior of the layer order picking truck and the movement sequences of the first and further load carriers 13 and 16 and the layer pick-up device 18 with their individual components 19-21, 32 and 33 are at least partially stored in the PLC or MC 55. These can be changed at any time in a simple and quick manner by exchanging, supplementing, etc.

The mode of operation of the layer picking stacker according to the invention is described in more detail below.

10, the movement sequences and directions of the position picking stacker are indicated schematically by means of the movement arrows 42-48. Movement arrow 42 illustrates the extension of the first load carrier 13 with the layer pick-up device 18 from the transverse portal 5 into its layer pick-up position for the left-hand pick-up of a layer of goods 34 outside the side vehicle contour directly from the shelf of a schematically indicated shelf 58 or of stacked goods 50 free-standing pallets 51. The opposite Direction of movement after picking up a layer of goods 34 back into the cross portal 5 is indicated by the arrow 43. The movement of the layer pickup device 18 within the lateral vehicle contours over the front frame leg 3, as seen in the direction of travel, for the purpose of transferring and stacking the goods layer 34 on the front picking pallet 41 of the load carrying device 17 of the further load carrier 16, is signaled by the movement arrow 44, meanwhile the movement arrow 45 indicates the opposite direction of movement illustrated back to cross portal 5.

Arrow 46 indicates the pivoting of the mast 15 with the load carrier 16 and the load carrier device 17 located thereon with a stack stacked thereon by 90 ° beyond the side of the vehicle contour opposite the position receiving position. The longitudinal movement for depositing the fully equipped picking pallet 41 on the right-hand side of the vehicle, which can take place by means of the telescopic load fork of the load carrying device 17 or by means of the longitudinal movement of the position picking stacker, is indicated by the movement arrows 47. The movement arrow 48 signals the pivoting back of the mast 15 into the starting position of the load-bearing device 17 within the vehicle contour in front of the front frame leg 3. In the same FIG. 10 there is a layer picking device, which is shown in mirror image, on the right side and moves in the opposite direction of travel on the rack aisle 52.

The exact movement play of the load carrying device 17 and the layer receiving device 18 and the interaction of their individual components 19-21 can be easily understood on the basis of the individual movement sequences.

Before the actual picking process begins, the layer picking stacker must be placed in a suitable picking position in rack aisle 52. By moving the layer picking stacker longitudinally, its cross portal 5 with the layer pick-up device 18 located therein is positioned congruently with respect to the pallet 51. The goods stack 50 from which a goods layer 34 is to be picked is seated on this pallet 51. In a first step, the layer pick-up device 18 is raised with the first load carrier 13 designed as a lifting slide on the lifting frame 12 until the lower edge of the layer transfer console 19 comes to lie above the uppermost layer 34. Now the second horizontal mast 30 is pushed transversely to the vehicle longitudinal axis 25 from the cross portal 5 until the attached goods layer centering device 20 is located over the goods layer 34 to be picked. Thereafter, the centering grippers 33 of the goods-centering gripping device 20 are swung outward about their upper horizontal axis of rotation.

The goods position transfer console 19 is now lowered together with the goods position centering gripping device 20 by moving the first load carrier 13 vertically on the lifting frame 12 until there is visual visual contact between the height alignment device 39, which is designed, for example, as a light sensor, on the front edge of the goods position transfer console 19 and the Lets produce the upper edge of the goods layer 34, which lies below the goods layer 34 to be picked. The upper edge of the layer transfer console 19 is now at the same height level as the upper edge of the second layer 34 of the stack 50 viewed from above. The telescopic rails 23 allow the transport carriage 26 by means of the roller trains 24 to have a limited horizontal travel of approximately 200 mm. This is now used to move the goods layer transfer console 19 suspended on the transport carriage 26 directly to the outside of the second goods layer 34 seen from above, which lies below the goods layer 34 to be picked.

The centering grippers 33 then come into operation. Since the centering gripper 33 facing the mast 12 is preferably fixed and therefore acts as a mechanical stop, the remaining three centering grippers 33 exert a centering function on the goods position 34 with respect to the fixed centering gripper 33 and move the goods position 34 into the intended position. During the closing process, the two lateral centering grippers 33 lying transversely to the longitudinal axis 25 of the vehicle are controlled in parallel, meanwhile the centering gripper 33 opposite the fixed centering gripper 33 is controlled separately.

, nicht nur die Lagenposition insgesamt sondern auch die Position deren einzelnen Lagenpakete untereinander während des nachfolgenden Verschiebens der gesamten Warenlage 34 auf die Warenlagen-Übernahmekonsole 19 sichert (Fig. 4).Depending on the type of general cargo of the goods layer 34 to be picked up and the type and material of their packaging, there is now the possibility of lowering the goods layer hold-down 21 so that the hold-down plate 32 comes to lie on the goods layer 34 and - as already described above - with its friction-increasing and / or position-fixing elements 37, preferably the fixing pins 37

, not only the position of the layer as a whole but also the position of its individual layer packs with one another during the subsequent shifting of the entire layer of goods 34 onto the layer-receiving console 19 (FIG. 4).

To actually pull the goods layer 34 to be picked from the goods stack 50 and push them onto the goods position transfer console 19 in front, the second horizontal lifting mast 30 is pushed back into the transverse portal 5 transversely to the longitudinal axis 25 of the vehicle. So that the initial additional thrust of the goods position transfer console 19 of 200 mm is compensated again, the goods position transfer console 19 with the goods position 34 lying on top and the goods position centering gripping device 20 are retracted together when the second horizontal lifting mast 30 is pushed back in over the last 200 mm. For this purpose, a ramp switch of known type located on the second horizontal mast 30, but not shown in more detail, is contacted with a remaining stroke of 200 mm and the simultaneous entrainment of the transport carriage 26 up to the stop 54 is effected via a synchronous control. Alternatively, the transport carriage 26 can be carried along on the remaining 200 mm by means of mechanical stops.

The layer pick-up device 18 is now seen from the control sequence at the interface between manual and automatic control. While the movement sequences described above are preferably controlled manually, the subsequent movement steps are stored in the programmable circuit 55 or alternatively in the MC and are therefore subject to automatic control which can be triggered by the operator by means of a control command.

After this command is triggered, the layer pick-up device 18 with the goods layer transfer console 19 and the goods layer centering gripping device 20 and the goods layer hold-down device 21 moves in the direction of travel along the longitudinal axis 25 of the vehicle over the front frame leg 2 of the cross portal 5 over the load carrying device 17 on which the empty picking pallet 41 is located. The goods position centering gripping device 20 is automatically carried over the driving brackets 53 by the goods position transfer bracket 19 when the telescopic cables 27 are extended, so that the lifting cylinders of the goods position centering gripping device 20, not shown and described in more detail, can remain depressurized.

In accordance with the stored program sequence, the goods position transfer console 19 with the goods position 34 located thereon is lowered onto the picking pallet 41 together with the goods position centering gripping device 20. The lowering depth is controlled on the basis of the vertical reflector bar 40, which is automatically adjusted on the front of the truck with the height aligning device 57, which is designed, for example, as a reflective light barrier facing front edge of the layer transfer console 19 is diagonally operatively connected. Now that the goods position transfer console 19 lies on the picking pallet 41 together with the goods position 34 located thereon, the goods position transfer console 19 is retracted back into its initial position in the transverse portal 5 by retracting the telescopic trains 27 in the opposite direction to the direction of travel between the stacked goods layers 34, as a result of which the top layer of goods 34 finally settles on the underlying one.

gegen die Warenlage drückt, damit sich beim Zurückziehen der Warenlagen-Übergabekonsole 19 die Warenlage 34 nicht in sich verschiebt.On the one hand, the lifting cylinder or cylinders (not shown and described in more detail) for triggering the pivoting movement of the centering grippers 33 must be pressurized so that they remain closed and the goods layer 34 with the centering grippers 33 comprising them remains above the picking pallet 41. On the other hand, in particular the lifting element 36 must also remain pressurized so that the scissor lifting table 35 holds the hold-down plate 32 with its fixing pins 37

presses against the goods position so that the goods position 34 does not move when the goods position transfer console 19 is withdrawn.

Following this, the centering grippers 33 are pivoted outwards and the goods layer centering gripping device 20 with the goods layer hold-down device 21 is raised by an upward vertical movement of the first load carrier 13. Thereafter, the goods position centering gripping device 20 is also moved into its starting position in the transverse portal 5 by means of the first horizontal lifting mast 29 over the front frame leg 2. Since this sequence of movements can also be automated, it is advisable, in order to save time, to superimpose the horizontal upward and the vertical backward movement of the goods position centering gripping device 20 into a resulting diagonal movement and to store the necessary steps in the program sequence. The use of such a program control then presupposes that when the resulting diagonal movement of the goods position centering gripping device 20 is triggered, the centering grippers 33 on the front, as seen in the direction of travel, are automatically opened, opening of further centering grippers 33 being superfluous in principle.

The layer picking stacker is now free to pick other layers of goods from the same or one or more other pallets 51. After the finished commission on the picking pallet 41 is completed, the Layer picking stacker again to a manual control in order to put the fully equipped picking pallet 41 on the floor and to pick up an empty one.

For this purpose, the freely suspended lifting frame 15, which is designed as a swivel frame, is pivoted outward about its pivot point 14 by 90 ° to the side of the vehicle contour opposite the position receiving position. Then the picking pallet 41 is lowered to the floor level by means of the initial stroke that is sufficiently known from forklift vehicles. The layer picking stacker is now moved back by approx. 2 m so that the load carrying device 17 is clear of the picking pallet 41. When using a long-telescopic load fork as the load carrying device 17, it is also possible to leave the order picking stacker in place and to place the order picking pallet 41 on the floor by pushing out the telescopic forks.

Due to the design, a new picking pallet 41 can be picked up in various ways. A first possibility in this regard is to raise the already swung out further load carrier by approx. 200 mm again by means of the initial stroke and to move the position picking stacker backwards in the longitudinal direction via a free picking pallet 41, which after lowering the load carrier 16 either by means of a vehicle movement or a longitudinal telescoping the forks of the further load carrier 16 can be added. Then the mast 15 is pivoted back by 90 °, so that the load bearing device 17 comes to rest in front of the front frame leg 3 in its starting position.

If the load carrying device 17 of the further load carrier 16 is designed as a longitudinally telescopic load fork, a picking pallet 41 on the side of the cross portal 5 is suitable, whereby the pivoting of the mast 15 can be omitted.

Another alternative is to use the layer pick-up device to grasp a new order-picking pallet 41 and then place it on the front load-bearing device 17 of the further load carrier 16. As soon as the layer picking stacker has picked up a new picking pallet 41, the picking process can start again.

The invention is of course in no way limited to the exemplary embodiment shown in the figures and laid down in the description. It goes without saying that Numerous structural and functional modifications in the mode of operation of the layer order picking stacker as well as constructive configurations are within the defined scope of the invention. So it is z. B. conceivable to arrange one or both of the masts 12 and 15 transversely to the longitudinal axis 25 of the vehicle, in which case one or both of the load carriers 13 and 16 can be arranged in or opposite to the direction of travel. Other structural designs and structural arrangements of the two masts 12, 15 and their load carriers 13 and 16 are self-evident, provided that they are useful for the desired position picking function.

It is also possible within the scope of the specialist to arrange a further frame leg in front of the front frame leg 3 and parallel to it at a distance from it, which together with the front frame leg 3 would form a further portal accommodating the further load carrier 16, the left-hand side or right-hand alignment of this portal would be reserved for the respective conditions of use. Instead, there is also the possibility of installing the first load carrier 13 with the position receiving device 18 on a push mast that can be extended from the cross portal 5. The design changes naturally also include the use of numerous alternative embodiments of the two load carriers 13 and 16, for example their design as a side thruster, pivotable side thruster, side shifters, transversely and longitudinally telescopic load forks and the like. Finally, the use of an automatic, fully programmed control of the entire position picking stacker is in the range of possible, as is its entire manual control by hand, which understandably also includes the steering behavior.

Claims (44)

1. Layer picking truck with two separately controllable lifting load carriers (13, 16), of which a first load carrier (13) is provided with a layer picking device (18) movable beyond the truck longitudinal contour on at least one side to pick up at least one layer of goods (34) in a layer picking position outside the truck, and a further load carrier (16) is provided with a load carrying device (17) lying in the area of action of the layer picking device (18) to pick up and/or stack layers of goods (34) transferred from the layer picking device (18), characterised in that each load carrier (13, 16) has its own lifting framework (12, 15) and both load carriers (13, 16) can be raised and lowered to pallet level independently of one another, the lifting framework (12) of the first load carrier (13) being disposed in a transverse portal (5) of the vehicle frame (1) and the lifting framework (15) of the further load carrier (16) being disposed at the front before the transverse portal (5), and the layer picking device (18) being movable essentially within the truck longitudinal contour in the direction of travel into exact alignment over the load carrying device (17), and the load carrying device (17) being movable at least beyond the opposite side of the truck longitudinal contour to the layer picking position.
2. Layer picking truck according to claim 1, characterised in that the two lifting frameworks (12, 15) take the form of side lifting frameworks disposed one behind the other parallel with the longitudinal axis (25) of the vehicle.
3. Layer picking truck according to claim 1 and/or 2, characterised in that the two lifting frameworks (12, 15) are aligned at right-angles to the longitudinal axis (25) of the vehicle.
4. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that one of the lifting frameworks (12 or 15) takes the form of a side lifting framework and the other lifting framework (15 or 12) is aligned at right-angles to the longitudinal axis (25) of the vehicle.
5. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the first load carrier (13) and/or the further load carrier (16) are disposed on the lifting framework (12, 15) in the direction of travel.
6. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the first load carrier (13) and/or the further load carrier (16) are disposed on the lifting framework (12, 15) in the opposite direction to the direction of travel.
7. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the first load carrier (13) and/or the further load carrier (16) are disposed on the lifting framework (12, 15) at right angles to the direction of travel.
8. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the lifting framework (12) of the first load carrier (13) is disposed opposite the portal opening by or on the front frame limb (4) of the transverse portal (5).
9. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the lifting framework (12) of the first load carrier (13) is disposed on the front frame limb (3) of the transverse portal (5) viewed in the direction of travel.
10. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the lifting framework (12) of the first load carrier (13) is disposed on the rear frame limb (2) of the transverse portal (5) viewed in the direction of travel.
11. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the rear frame limb (2) of the transverse portal (5) viewed in the direction of travel takes the form of a vehicle operating centre (6) and is provided to accommodate vehicle function assemblies.
12. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the vehicle function assemblies comprise at least propulsion, steering, hydraulics, battery and vehicle electrics.
13. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one manually and/or automatically steerable driving wheel (9) is disposed underneath the vehicle operating centre (6) and at least one rigid wheel (11) is disposed on both sides of the front frame limb (3) of the transverse portal (5) viewed in the direction of travel.
14. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the front frame limb (3) of the transverse portal (5) viewed in the direction of travel takes the form of a flat construction of low height such that the layer picking device (18) can essentially be brought inside the vehicle longitudinal contour over this frame limb (3).
15. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that both load carriers (13, 16) are provided with at least three degrees of freedom such that the first load carrier (13) is designed so that it can be moved vertically, longitudinally and transversely and the further load carrier (16) is designed so that it can be moved vertically and longitudinally and swivelled.
16. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the lifting slide of the first and/or further load carrier (13, 16) can be moved longitudinally and/or transversely and preferably can be telescoped.
17. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the layer picking device (18) is mounted pivotably on the first load carrier (13).
18. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the layer picking device (18) is equipped with a goods layer transfer table (19), a goods layer centering and gripping device (20) and a goods layer hold-down device (21).
19. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the goods layer centering and gripping device (20) is provided with four centering grippers (33) disposed at right-angles to one another and gripping the goods layer(s) (34) on all sides, of which at least two adjacent centering grippers (33) are designed to be movable and controllable.
20. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the controllable centering grippers (33) are mounted pivotably about an upper pivot axis, the pivoting angle being at least 10°.
21. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the goods layer transfer table (19) is designed to pick up the goods layer(s) (34) and controllable in the transverse and longitudinal direction such that it can be brought at least temporarily and/or partially out of the area of alignment formed by the goods layer centering and gripping device (20) and the goods layer hold-down device (21).
22. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least the upper side of the goods layer transfer table (19) carrying the goods layer(s) (34) exhibits at least in part a friction-reducing surface and/or is equipped at least in part with friction-reducing elements (38) such that it can easily be extended between two goods layers (34).
23. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the goods layer hold-down device (21) is disposed inside the goods layer centering and gripping device (20) and is designed to be movable vertically.
24. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the side of the goods layer hold-down device (21) facing the goods layer (34) exhibits at least in part a friction-increasing and/or position-fixing surface and/or is equipped at least in part with friction-increasing and/or position-fixing elements (37).
25. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the vertical movement of the goods layer hold-down device (21) is controllable at least in one direction.
26. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the lowering movement of the goods layer hold-down device (21) and/or the friction-increasing and/or position-fixing elements (37) is produced by the gravity produced by their own weight.
27. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the movements of the goods layer transfer table (19), the goods layer centering and gripping device (20) and the goods layer hold-down device (21) are in each case controllable separately and/or at least partially coordinated.
28. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the movements of the goods layer transfer table (19), the goods layer centering and gripping device (20) and the goods layer hold-down device (21) are controllable manually and/or at least partially programmed.
29. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the control of the goods layer transfer table (19) at least in part areas of its movements takes the form of following control and/or leading control in relation to the goods layer centering and gripping device (20).
30. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the goods layer transfer table (19) can be telescoped transversely and/or longitudinally.
31. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the two load carriers (13, 16) are controllable separately and/or at least partially with coordinated movements.
32. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the two load carriers (13, 16) are controllable manually and/or at least partially programmed.
33. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the lifting framework of the further load carrier (16) is freely suspended and can be swivelled at least through 90° beyond the opposite side of the vehicle longitudinal contour to the layer picking position.
34. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the lifting framework of the further load carrier (16) takes the form of a swivelling frame the pivot point (14) of which is articulated at the connection between the front frame limb (4) and the front frame limb (3) of the transverse portal (5) viewed in the direction of travel.
35. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the load carrying device (17) takes the form of lifting forks which can be telescoped longitudinally and/or transversely.
36. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the layer picking device (18) and/or the load carrying device (17) take the form of a side thrust device.
37. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the layer picking device (18) and/or the load carrying device (17) take the form of a swivelling side thrust device.
38. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the layer picking device (18) and/or the load carrying device (17) take the form of lifting forks which can be telescoped laterally.
39. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the layer picking device (18) and/or the load carrying device (17) take the form of swivelling thrust forks.
40. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the goods layer transfer table (19) is provided with at least one optical and/or optoelectronic height alignment device (39, 57) for manual and/or automatic height alignment with the upper edge of a pallet and/or goods layer.
41. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that a first height alignment device (39) is disposed on the front edge of the goods layer transfer table (19) facing the portal opening and a second height alignment device (57) is disposed on the front edge facing the front of the truck.
42. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the height alignment device (39) takes the form of an optical sighting device, preferably a light sensor, for manual height alignment of the goods layer transfer table (19) with the upper edge of the goods layer (34) lying under the goods layer (34) to be picked.
43. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the height alignment device (57) takes the form of a reflex photoelectric cell preferably working on an infrared basis for automatic height control of the goods layer transfer table (19) in relation to the upper edge of the picking pallet (41) or a goods layer (34) on it.
44. Layer picking truck according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that a vertical reflector strip (40), which is in diagonal operative connection with the height alignment device (50) for automatic height control, is disposed on the lifting framework (15) of the further load carrier (16).

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