GB2197859A

GB2197859A - Transfer station in mechanised store

Info

Publication number: GB2197859A
Application number: GB08718608A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roberto Biava; Giancarlo Bosco
Original assignee: Comau SpA
Current assignee: Comau SpA
Priority date: 1986-11-24
Filing date: 1987-08-06
Publication date: 1988-06-02
Anticipated expiration: 2007-08-06
Also published as: IT208374Z2; IT8654118V0; CH670615A5; GB8718608D0; DE3725484C2; FR2607116B1; FR2607116A1; GB2197859B; DE3725484A1

Description

1 Mechanised Store 21978.59 The present invention relates to mechanised

stores and, more particularly to those of the type comprising: a plurality of article storage compartments disposed side by side in horizontal and vertical rows along at least one passage and open on the side adjoining the passage, a conveyor/elevator device comprising afirst support structure movable horizontally along the passage and carrying a series of auxiliary compartments for the simultaneous conveying of a plurality of articles; a second support structure movable vertically on the first support structure and movement means carried by the second support structure and adapted to transfer articles from the auxiliary compartments to the storage compartments.

and vice versa, an article transfer station situated outside the passage and accessible from the conveyor/elevator device in order to permit the simultaneous loading into the auxiliary compartments of a plurality of articles for insertion into corresponding storage compartments and the simultaneous unloading from the auxiliary compartments of a plurality of articles intended to be routed to the outlet of the store, the transfer station comprising at least one article accumulation tower provided- with a series of superposed supports.

a transfer device comprising a support structure movable horizontally outside the passage in a direction at right angles to it and arranged to receive and support the conveyor/elevator device and to transport it from the outlet of the passage to a 2 point corresponding to the transfer station, and vice versa, first pusher means arranged to be actuated when the conveyor/elevator device is situated adjoining the transfer station to push simultaneously a plurality of articles contained in the auxiliary compartments of the conveyor/elevator device onto the supports of the accumulation tower of the transfer station, and second pusher means disposed in the transfer station and arranged to be actuated when the conveyor/elevator device is disposed adjacent to the transfer station to push simultaneously a plurality of articles carried by the supports of the accumulation tower onto the auxiliary compartments of the conveyor/elevator device. Such a mechanised store will hereinafter be referred to as nof the kind described'.

A mechanised store of the kind described is described and illustrated in our Italian Patent Application No. 67504-A/81 and in our corresponding US-A-4466765.

In this known store the first pusher means are carried by the transfer device, which consequently has a relatively complex and bulky structure.

The present invention seeks to provide a store of the type specified which has a simpler and more functional structure.

According to the present invention a mechanised store of the kind described is characterized in that the first pusher means are also disposed in the transfer station, the first and second pusher means being situated on the two sides of a zone in which the conveyor/elevator device is received to permit the exchange of articles between the conveyor/elevator device and the transfer station.

3 i- The conveyor/elevator device and the transfer device are guided on rails respectively along and at right angles to the passage,, and the support structure of the transfer device is provided with an auxiliary rail parallel to the passage in order to receive and support the conveyor/elevator device; the zone receiving the conveyor/elevator device in the transfer station is likewise provided with a portion of rail parallel to and at the same level as the auxiliary rail.

As the result of these characteristics the conveyor/elevator device coming from a passage of the store is in a first stage 'embarked" on the transfer device and then unloaded into the receiving zone of is the transfer station. At points corresponding to this zone the first and second pusher means, both disposed in the transfer station. are adapted to transfer simultaneously a plurality of articles from an accumulation tower of the transfer station to the conveyor/elevator device, which will then be able to proceed to deposit them in the compartments of the store, and another series of articles from the conveyor/elevator device to the transfer stationf from which they will then be carried to the outlet of the store.

This result can obviously be achievedy similarly to the description given in the abovementioned USA patent. by providing two tower structures in the support structure of the conveyor/elevator device, each of the structures carrying a series of superposed auxiliary compartments. In this case it is necessary to provide two corresponding accumulation towers in the transfer station. in order to be able to effect the simultaneous exchange of the articles arriving in and departing from the transfer station and the conveyor/elevator device.

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge from the following description referring to the accompanying drawings, which are given solely by way of non-limitative example and in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic elevational view of a part of the store according to the invention, Figure 2 is a plan view corresponding to Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a side view store shown in Figures 1 and 2.

In the drawings the reference numeral 1 designates generally a mechanised store comprising a series of racks 2 separated from one another by passages 3 and each extending in height from the floor to the roof of the store. Each rack 2 comprises a series of storage compartments 4 disposed side by side in horizontal and vertical rows, each of them being open on the side facing the adjacent passage. In the example illustrated each rack 2, with the exception of the end racks of the store is disposed between two passages 3 and comprises storage compartments facing both the adjacent passages 3. At points corresponding to each passage 3 the floor and the roof of the store are provided with rails 5 for guiding a conveyor/elevator device 6. Although Figure 1 shows a single conveyor/elevator device, the mechanised store may be equipped with a series of devices of this kind. 30 The above-described structure of the racks 2 and also the structure of the conveyor/elevator device 6 are identical to those described in our earlier Italian Patent Application No. 67504-A/81 as well as in the corresponding US-A-4466765. The structure of the conveyor/elevator device 6 is however described in detail below for ease of reference.

in elevation of the The conveyor/elevator device 6 comprises a first support structure 7 (Figure 1) adapted to be moved horizontally on the guide rails 5 of each passage 3. The first support structure 7 includes two tower structures 8 carried at the bottom by a carriage 9 provided with a pair of rollers 10 adapted to engage the bottom rail 5 of a passage 3. The two tower structures 8 are connected at the top by a cross structure 11 having two pairs of rollers 12 whose axes are vertical and which are adapted to engage the sides of the top rail 5 of the passage 3. Each tower structure 8 comprises a series of superposed floors 13 which define a series of auxiliary compartments 14 which are superposed on one another and the number of which is equal to the number of floors of each rack 2.

The conveyor/elevator device is therefore provided with a first and a second series of auxiliary compartments 14 corresponding to the two tower structures 8. Between the latter a second support structure 15 is mounted for vertical sliding and is composed of a platform on which two carriages 16 are mounted for sliding in a horizontal direction parallel to the rails 5, each carriage 16 carrying a gripper for manipulating the articles which are to be stored. In conformity with the description in our earlier patent application referred to above, the body of the gripper is supported for horizontal sliding on a support member which is mounted for rotation about a vertical axis on the respective carriage. The movement of the platform 15 in the vertical direction in relation to the two tower structures 8 is controlled by a motor unit 21 with the aid of a chain transmission 22 to which a counterweight 22a is connected. The movement along the rails 5 of the conveyor/elevator device on the other hand is controlled by a motor unit 23 disposed

6 at a point corresponding to the bottom rail 9. The movements of the conveyor/elevator device can be controlled by an operator or by a computer programmed for the purpose.

In the drawings the reference numeral 24 designates generally a transfer device comprising a support structure movable horizontally outside the passages 3 in a direction at right angles to the passages. The support structure is provided with a bottom platform 26 and a top platform 27, which are connected by a framework 28. The bottom platform 26 is guided on two rails 30 disposed on a part 29 of the floor of the store which is lower than the part of the floor on which the racks 2 are disposed. The bottom platform 26 and the top platform 27 are each provided with a rail 31 which can be engaged by the bottom and top rollers of the conveyor/elevator device 6.

The transfer device 24 is therefore adapted to be moved on the guide rails 30 until they reach a point corresponding to the outlet of a passage 3, and to receive and support on the platform 26 a conveyor/elevator device 6 passing out of the passage.

In the drawings the reference numeral 41 designates generally a transfer station forming part of the mechanised store. The transfer station 41 comprises two frameworks 40 disposed on the two sides of a zone 39 of the floor of the store in which the conveyor/elevator device 6 is received to permit the transfer of articles from the transfer station to the conveyor/elevator device, and vice versa. To this end the reception zone 39 is provided with a rail 38 parallel to the direction of the passages 3 of the store.

Each framework 40 comprises a pair of towers 42a, 42b. Each of the two towers 42a is provided on the side facing the rail 38 with two pairs of closed 7 1 ring chains 43 mounted on sprockets 44 and 45 disposed respectively at the top and bottom of each tower 42. Each chain 43 has its vertical lengths contained in a vertical plane parallel to the direction of the rail 38. The sprockets 44 are rotated by a motor unit 46 (Figure 3) disposed at the top of each tower 42a. Each pair of chains 43 is provided with a series of supports 47 disposed at regular intervals. The supports 47 carried by the adjacent sides of the-chains 43 define a series of superposed supports the number of which is equal to the number of floors of the racks 2. The storage compartments 4 of the racks 2 are intended to receive containers, each of which is intended to hold goods of a determined type. The two towers 42a are intended to serve as accumulation towers for the containers to be stored and for the containers intended to be sent to the outlet of the store, as will be clear from the description given below.

Similarly to the description given in our earlier patent application, the transfer station 41 may be provided with two belt conveyors (not shown) disposed at the bottom of the station for the purpose of supplying containers to the accumulation towers 42a. and with two belt conveyors (likewise not shown) disposed at the top of the station to despatch the containers from the accumulation towers to the outlet of the store.

The towers 42ap 42b are in addition each provided with pusher means 53ap 53b. Each of the structures 53a, 53b is composed of a series of horizontal pusher bars 54 superposed on one another and joined by uprights 55 (Figure 3). Similarly to the pusher means illustrated in our earlier patent application, each structure 53a. 53b comprises one or more toothed racks meshing with corresponding pinions driven by a motor unit 59. which in this way can 8 bring about a translatory movement of the structures in the horizontal direction. Each horizontal pusher bar 54 is in addition provided in this case also with a vertical plate at its free end.

The above-described mechanised store operates in the following manner:

It will be assumed that one of the two accumulation towers 42a of the transfer station 41 is full of containers which are to be stored in corresponding compartments 4 in the racks. This means that all the supports 47 of the accumulation tower 42a carry a container. This condition can be achieved by feeding the containers in succession to the accumulation tower by means of the respective bottom belt conveyor. The belt conveyor obviously feeds a container from time to time to the support 47 which is situated at the bottom of the pile of supports 47 of the accumulation tower 42a. Every time a container is transferred from the belt conveyor to the support, the chains 43 are operated to move the support upwards and to bring new support into a position of readiness to receive container in the position previously occupied by the support which has already received a container. By proceeding in this way it is possible to fill the entire accumulation tower 42a with containers intended to be stored.

As an example let it be assumed that the conveyor/elevator device 6 has left a passage 3 and has been received by the transfer device 24. Assuming that the conveyor/elevator device has passed out of a passage 3 which is not in alignment with the reception zone 39 in the transfer station 41, the transfer device 24 will therefore move on the rails 30 until it brings the conveyor/elevator device into alignment with the rail 38. When the transfer device 24 has reached that position (shown in Figure 2), the 9 1 w conveyor/elevator device can be wembarkedw on the rail 38. so as to move it into the zone 39 between the two frameworks 40. It will be assumed, still by way of example, that the tower structure 8 facing the accumulation tower 42a, which is full of containers to be stored. is empty and that the other tower structure 8 of the conveyor/elevator device is full and the accumulation tower 42a facing it is empty.

In such a case each support 47 of the accumulation towers 42 faces and is situated at the same height as a corresponding floor 13 of the respective tower structure 8.

At this point the pusher structure 53b associated with the accumulation tower 42a which is full and the pusher structure 53a facing the accumulation tower 42a which is empty will be operated simultaneously. In this way the containers intended to be stored are transferred simultaneously from the accumulation tower 42a to the tower structure 8 of the conveyor/elevator device. Each container leaves its support in the accumulation tower 42a because of the thrust of the structure 53b, and is received in a corresponding auxiliary compartment 14 of the tower structure 8 of the conveyor/elevator device. At the same time, the containers intended to be sent to the outlet of the store leave the auxiliary compartments 14 of the other tower structure 8 because of the thrust of the structure 53a and are received on the supports 47 of the corresponding accumulation tower 42a.

Finally. because of the above-de.scribed operation the containers conveyed by the conveyor/elevator device, which are intended to be sent to the outlet of the store. are transferred to the station 41. while at the same time the station 41 transfers the containers intended for storage to the conveyor/elevator device 6.

On completion of this operation, the accumulation tower 42a which has been filled with containers is emptied of such containers by means of the respective top belt conveyor. In this phase the chains 23 of the tower 42 are naturally operated intermittently to bring the various containers in succession to the top position. where each container is deposited on the belt conveyor 50. In this way the containers are routed to the outlet of the store by means of the belt conveyor.

At the same time, once this wexchange' operation of containers between the transfer station 41 and the conveyor/elevator device 6 has been completed, the conveyor/elevator device 6 has one of its two tower structures 8 completely "empty" and the other tower structure 8 "full' of containers intended for storage in a corresponding number of storage compartments 4.

In order to make this storage possible, the conveyor/elevator device 6 is moved on the rail 38 until it is Rembarkedn on the transfer device 24. The latter moves on the rails 30 until it brings the conveyor/elevator device 6 to a position corresponding to the desired passage 3. On completion of the translatory movement of the transfer device 24, the conveyor/elevator device 6 is moved in a direction parallel to the passage, in this way leaving the transfer device 24 and engaging the rails 5 with which the passage is equipped.

The movement of the carriage 9 in the horizontal direction and the movement of the platform 15 of the conveyor/elevator device 6 in the vertical direction enable the grippers of the carriages 16 to reach any storage compartment facing the passage. Once the platform 15 has been brought with its central zone in a position corresponding to the desired compartment 4, the carriage 16 associated 1 with the tower structure 8 which is empty is brought to the centre of the platform 15. The grippers with which the carriage is equipped are then rotated and moved forward until they reach the position in which they can grip a container disposed in the preselected compartment and intended for despatch to the outlet of the store. The body of the grippers is thus made to slide in such a manner as to move out of the compartment 41 whereupon the grippers are turned about a vertical axis so as to face the respective tower structure 8. The carriage 16 is advanced towards the tower structure in such a manner as to enable the grippers to deposit the container which has been taken from the storage compartment into an auxiliary compartment 14 of the tower structure 8 which is empty. In the meantime the platform 15 is brought by its vertical movement and by the horizontal movement of the carriage 9, where applicable. to a position corresponding to the empty storage compartment intended to receive one of the containers to be stored which was carried by the tower structure 8 which is filled with such containers. The carriage 16 associated with this tower structure proceeds at this point. with a phase sequence similar to but the reverse of that described above, to take one of the containers to be stored from the corresponding aixiliary compartment 14 of the tower structure 8 and to deposit it in the storage compartment ready to receive it.

The above-described operations are repeated by each gripper a number of times equal to the number of floors of each rack 2. At the end of this sequence of operations all the containers which are to be stored, and which were originally carried by one of the two tower structures 8 of the conveyor/elevator device 6, have been transferred to a similar number of storage compartments 4. while the auxiliary 12 compartments 14 of the tower structure 8 which was originally empty are filled with an equal number of containers intended for despatch to the outlet of the store. At the end of these operationst thereforer the conveyor/elevator device 6 once again has one tower structure 8 full and the other tower structure 8 empty.

At this point the conveyor/elevator device 6 again passes out of the passage 3 and is received by the transfer device 24, which proceeds to carry it to the station 41, where a new 'exchangen of containers similar to that described above takes place.

In comparison with the solution provided by our earlier patent application, the mechanised store according to the invention is characterized by the fact that the pusher means needed for transferring containers from the transfer station and the conveyor/elevator device are all disposed in the transfer station. The conveyor/elevator device is not provided with pusher means and therefore has a simpler, more functional and less expensive structure 1 13

Claims

1. A mechanised store of the kind described, characterized in that:

the first pusher means are also disposed inthe transfer stationy the first and second pusher means being situated on the two sides of a zone in which the conveyor/elevator device is received to permit the exchange of articles between the conveyor/elevator device and the transfer station.

2. A mechanised store according to Claim 1, characterized in that: the conveyor/elevator device and the transfer device are guided on rails directed respectively along and at right angles to the passage; that the support structure of the transfer device is provided with at least one auxiliary rail parallel to the passage in order to receive and support the conveyor/elevator device; and that the zone of the transfer station which receives the conveyor/elevator device is also provided with a portion of rail parallel to and at the same level as the auxiliary rail.

3. A mechanised store according to Claim it substantially as described with refernce to the accompanying drawings.