GB2410246A

GB2410246A - Mobile storage system

Info

Publication number: GB2410246A
Application number: GB0401391A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Christopher John Richardson; Dean Wilson
Original assignee: RAILEX SYS Ltd
Current assignee: RAILEX SYS Ltd
Priority date: 2004-01-22
Filing date: 2004-01-22
Publication date: 2005-07-27
Also published as: GB0401391D0

Abstract

A mobile storage system includes a storage assembly (1) having upright members (5) interconnected by shelves (14) and having wheels (8) mounted at their lower ends for rolling contact with floor mounted tracks (2), and a drive mechanism for driving the assembly (1) back and forth along the tracks, the loads supported by the respective upright members (5) being transmitted directly to the tracks (2) by the wheels (8) whereby the need for a rigid base frame or chassis is obviated. The drive mechanism may comprise a cog (3) journaled at the lower end of an upright member (5) and in mesh with a chain disposed along the underlying track, the cog (3) being rotated by a hand wheel (45) via a transmission including a chain (46) and sprockets (42, 43), and stub axles (31, 40) coupled by a drive rod (38). The upright members (5) are formed by a pair of sheet metal panels stiffened by an insert (18) at their lower ends where the wheels (8) are journaled between the panels.

Description

241 0246 Mobile Storage System This invention is concerned with a mobile

storage system of the kind in which two or more storage assemblies are guided for movement independently of each other to and fro along a common linear path. Such mobile storage systems are used to provide high density storage of files and the like in offices and other locations.

Known mobile storage systems include floor mounted stationary guide rails or tracks that are spaced laterally apart and parallel to each other for cooperation with the wheels by which the storage assemblies are supported for displacement back and forth along the tracks. Each storage assembly typically includes a storage structure mounted on a rigid base frame or chassis, and comprising several upright panel members separating storage bays and horizontal shelves dividing each bay into a number of storage spaces. The storage bays can be single or double sided.

For moving the storage assembly a single handle or a drive mechanism, either powered by a low voltage electric motor or activated manually, is provided. The latter may comprise a manually rotatable hand-wheel located on the outside of the upright panel member at one end of the storage assembly, and a drive linkage coupling the hand-wheel to a positive drive system including toothed cog which meshes with a floor mounted chain. Alternatively the floor engaging wheels of the storage assembly can be driven by the drive mechanism, motion being achieved through a friction drive due to the direct contact between the tracks and the driven wheels. In either case the floor engaging wheels which run on the tracks are journaled in bearings on the base or chassis frame which includes two longitudinal members extending perpendicular to the floor tracks and several transverse frame members interconnecting the longitudinal frame members, the longitudinal and transverse chassis members being connected rigidly together, for example by welded or tightly bolted together joints. The storage structure forms a superstructure which is assembled onto and supported by the rigid base frame.

The base frame contributes a significant cost factor and is open difficult to design as the sizes and weights of the base parts have to be controlled to assist access to the installation site and due to health and safety regulations. It is especially important to ensure that the base or carriage design supports and spreads the tare weight of the storage system and the live loads (stored media) involved in use of the system. In addition the base frame takes up several centimetres of the storage height above the floor and may restrict the number of storage spaces that can be included within each bay having regard to the ceiling height at the installation location.

The present invention seeks to overcome these drawbacks and in accordance with an embodiment of the invention there is provided a mobile storage system comprising a storage assembly including floor engaging wheels for supporting the assembly for movement along a linear path, and a drive mechanism operable to drive the assembly back and forth along the linear path, the storage assembly including substantially upright members and transverse members positioned between the upright members, wherein the wheels are mounted to the upright members at the lower ends of the upright members whereby loads supported by the respective upright members are transmitted directly to the underlying floor through the wheels at the lower ends thereof.

According to another embodiment the invention provides a mobile storage system comprising two or more storage assemblies with floor engaging wheels supporting the assemblies for independent movement back and forth along a common linear path, each storage assembly including substantially upright members and transverse members positioned between the upright members, the wheels being arranged to run on floor mounted tracks and at least some wheels being guided by the tracks for ensuring linear movement of the storage assembly, wherein the wheels are mounted to the upright members at the lower ends of the upright members whereby load supported by the respective upright members are transmitted directly to the floor mounted tracks through the wheels at the lower ends thereof.

The storage assembly can be displaced along the linear path by manual effort, for example, applied through a simple handle provided on the assembly.

Alternatively a drive mechanism operated either manually such as by a hand wheel, or by a low voltage electric motor can be provided.

By eliminating the conventional base frame, there is achieved a mobile storage system that is economic to manufacture and to install, and is able to maximise use of the storage height available between a floor and a ceiling. The positioning of the wheels at the lower ends of the upright members ensures that loading forces are transmitted directly downwardly to the floor, via the wheels and tracks, when present, and adequate strength and rigidity can be ensured without the need for a rigid chassis extending continuously along the full length of the storage assembly.

In a presently preferred construction the wheels are arranged to run on floor mounted tracks, and the at least some of wheels are guided by the tracks for ensuring linear movement of the storage assembly, for example by the wheels being flanged for cooperation with the tracks. Conveniently two wheels are mounted to each upright member with the wheel axes being parallel and spaced apart in the direction of the linear movement of the storage assembly.

The upright members may comprise generally planar panel members which can be formed from sheet metal, the panel members being in a plane parallel to the direction of linear movement. In an especially expedient construction each upright member includes a pair of panels and the wheels are mounted between the panels with peripheral portions protruding beyond the lower edges of the panels. An inverted channel shaped insert of sheet metal can be inserted between the panels at the lower end of each upright and have cut-outs in registration with corresponding cut-outs in the panels for receiving bearing blocks in which stub axles of the drive mechanism are journaled. The drive mechanism may include a stationary rack or chain fixed to the floor, a toothed cog in mesh therewith and a transmission for rotating the cog in response to operation of a driving member such as a hand wheel or an electric motor, the cog being mounted at the lower end of an upright member and being journaled in bearing blocks secured to the upright member.

The toothed cog can be keyed to a stub axle coupled, such as by a sleeve coupling, to one end of a drive transmission rod, the other end of the rod being coupled to a shaft journaled in bearings at the lower end of an adjacent upright member.

The minimum number of upright members included in each storage assembly is two, but preferably there are at least three upright members and possible up to eleven upright members, defining from two to ten storage bays. The drive mechanism, when there are several upright members, can include toothed driving cogs at the lower ends of two of the upright members and engaged with respective stationary racks or chains, the cogs being Cinematically coupled to be driven in unison in operation of the driving mechanism.

The foregoing and other preferred features of the invention will be understood more clearly from the following detailed description of a mobile storage system embodying the invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a mobile storage system embodying the invention and shown partly in cross-section; Figure 2 is an end view of the mobile storage system of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an isometric view showing a storage assembly of the mobile storage system; Figure 4 is an end elevation of the assembly shown in Figure 3; Figure 5 is an exploded view of a section of the assembly shown in Figures 3 and 4; Figure 6 is a side elevation of the assembly section of Figure 5; Figure 7 is a plan view of the assembly section of Figure 5; Figure 8 shows a cross-sectional detail of Figure I on an enlarged scale; Figure 9 illustrates a modified cross-sectional detail similar to that of Figure 8; Figure 10 shows another cross-sectional detail of Figure I on an enlarged scale; Figure 11 to 14 are cross-sections showing alternative floor details for the guide tracks; and Figures 15a to 15g illustrate drive mechanisms for storage assemblies with from two to eight upright members.

Illustrated in the drawings is a mobile storage system including several, e.g. 4, 5, 6 or possibly more depending on storage demands and space availability, storage assemblies 1 that are movable independently of one another back and forth along a common linear path, as indicated by the arrows in Figure 2, defined by floor mounted guide tracks 2. Only one storage assembly is shown in the drawings, but it will be understood that the other storage assemblies are essentially the same and they are positioned along the tracks 2 so that by operating the assemblies to and fro an access gangway can be opened up between any pair of adjacent storage assemblies, in a manner well known per se, in order to access the storage bays of any selected storage assembly as desired. The guide tracks 2 are substantially square hollow metal sections with a continuous guide slots 3 extending along their uppermost sides, the tracks being disposed in floor mounted extruded profiles 13 as described in greater detail below. In the exemplary embodiment the storage assembly I includes three upright members 5 defining two storage bays 6, and the number of guide tracks 2 is the same as the number of upright members. Housed within and stretched along one guide track is a stationary chain 4 for engagement by a toothed cog 30 included in the drive mechanism of the storage assembly 2 as explained more fully below. Each upright member 5 has a pair of floor engaging wheels 8 mounted at its lower end and positioned to run on the guide track 2 with which the respective upright member 5 is aligned. Each upright member is formed by a pair of pressed sheet metal panels 9, 10 with edge flanges configured to allow the panels to be assembled together with a narrow space therebetween, as best seen in Figure 5. Slots 12 are provided in the panels 9 for receiving shelf clips (not shown) of known form to support intervening transverse horizontal shelves 14 by means of which the adjacent upright members 5 confining each storage bay 6 are interconnected. The adjacent upright members 5 are also interconnected by rear panels 15. The lowermost shelf 14A in each storage bay is slightly higher than the other shelves 14 above it although it is located at wheel height, as may be clearly seen in Figure 2, and it is connected to the upright members 5 in the same way as the other shelves 14.

Inserted between the two panels 9, 10 at the lower end of each upright member 5 is a stiffening metal insert 18 of inverted channel shape which is secured firmly to the panels 9, 10 such as by riveting. The side walls of the stiffening insert 18 have holes 19 which are aligned with corresponding holes 20 in the panels 9, 10 for mounting the pair of wheels 8 so that the wheels have peripheral portions which protrude through the open bottom of the insert 18 and beyond the lower edges of the panels 9,10. With particular reference to Figure 10, each wheel 8 includes a hub 22 and a rim 23 journaled for rotation about the hub by a bearing 24. A bolt is inserted through the centre of the hub 22 and the aligned holes 19, 20 in the panels 9, 10 and stiffening insert 18, and is tightened by a nut 26 to secure the wheel in place at the lower end of the upright member 5. The wheel hub 22 is axially split to facilitate assembly with the inner race of the bearing 24, and the rim is secured to the outer race by a spring clip, particularly a circlip 21. The rim 23 is narrower than the hub 22 so that it can rotate freely within the stiffening insert 18, and the rim 23 has a central radial flange 27 which projects into the slot 3 of the underlying guide track 2 so that the flanged wheels 8 and the tracks 2 guide the storage assembly I for linear movement in the direction of the length of the guide tracks as the wheel rims run on the track flanges either side of the slots 3.

For driving the storage assembly 1 back and forth along the guide tracks 2 a driving mechanism is included. That upright member 5 positioned directly above the guide track housing the chain 4 has the toothed cog 30 mounted at its lower end. As may be seen in Figures 2 and 8, the teeth at the periphery of the cog 30 which projects through the slot 3 in the track 2 are in meshing engagement with the chain 4 so that when the cog 30 is rotated the storage assembly is driven along the guide tracks 2. The cog is keyed for rotation with a stub axle 31 that is journaled for rotation by bearings 32 mounted in bearing blocks 33. The bearing blocks 33 are fitted into notches 34 provided in the lower edges of the panels 9, 10 of the upright member and corresponding notches 35 formed in the side walls of the stiffening insert 18. One end of the stub axle 31 is coupled to a drive transmission rod 38 by a coupling sleeve 37 which is held rotationally fast with the stub axle and drive rod by transverse bolts 39. The other end of the drive rod 38 is coupled by a similar sleeve coupling to a stub axle 40 (Fig 1) journaled at the lower end of the upright member 5 at an outer end of the storage assembly by a pair of bearing blocks 41 which can be the same as the bearing blocks 33. The outer bearing block 41 is reversed, which is possible since there is no driving cog keyed to the stub axle 40, and a driving sprocket 42 is keyed to the outer end of the stub axle 40. An endless chain 46 or belt is trained around the sprocket 42 and an upper sprocket 43 rotationally fast with a shaft 44 which is manually rotatable by means of a handwheel 45. The chain 46 as well as the sprockets 42, 43 are housed within a cover 49 through which the shaft 44 passes. It will be understood that turning the handwheel 45 results in rotation of the toothed cog 30, and hence movement of the storage assembly 1 along the guide tracks by virtue of the drive train of the shaft 44, sprocket 43, chain 46, sprocket 42, stub axle 40, drive rod 38 and stub axle 31.

The drive mechanism is versatile and can be easily adapted to accommodate varying individual and block load conditions by the use of appropriate gearing arrangements and ratios, and to accommodate different storage bay widths by changing the length of the drive rod 38, or to suit different numbers of upright members and guide tracks. For example, if there are four upright members 5, as shown in Fig. 3, with corresponding guide tracks, it may be desirable to position chains 4 in the two inner tracks and to provide toothed driving cogs 30 at the lower ends of the two inner upright members 5. Then the two stub axles 31 to which the toothed cogs 30 are respectively keyed can be interconnected by a further drive rod 47 having sleeved couplings at its ends, as depicted in Figure 8. If there are five or more upright members it may be desirable for the drive transmission to extend through an upright member 5 which does not have a toothed cog and this can easily be achieved with an arrangement as shown in Figure 9 in which a stub axle 31 is journaled in bearing blocks 33 but does not have a toothed cog 30 keyed onto it.

Illustrated in Figures 15a to 15g are suitable drive arrangements for storage assemblies including from two to eight upright members 5, the number of bays 6 between the upright members 5 accordingly being from one to seven. If the upright members 5 are numbered first, second, etc. starting from the outer end from which the drive mechanism is activated, it may be seen from the drawings that: i) In the single bay storage assembly of Figure 1 5a there is a single driving cog 30, for cooperation with a stationary chain 4, located at the bottom of the second upright member; ii) In the two bay storage assembly of Fig. 1 Sb there is a single driving cog 30, in cooperation with a stationary chain 4, located at the bottom of the central, i.e. the second of the three upright members; iii) In the three bay storage assembly of Figure 15c, there are two driving cogs respectively mounted at the bottoms of the second and third upright members and meshing with respective stationary chains 4, the driving cogs being Cinematically coupled to be driven in unison; iv) In the four bay storage assembly of Fig. 15d, there are two driving cogs 30 respectively mounted the bottoms of the second and fourth upright members and meshing with respective stationary chains 4, the driving cogs being Cinematically coupled to be driven in unison, v) In the five bay storage assembly of Fig. 15e there are two driving cogs 30 respectively mounted at the bottoms of the second and fifth upright members and meshing with respective stationary chains 4, the driving cogs being Cinematically coupled to be driven in unison.

vi) In the six bay storage assembly of Fig. 15f there are two driving cogs respectively mounted at the bottoms of the second and sixth upright members and in cooperation with respective stationary chains 4, the cogs being Cinematically coupled to be driven in unison. An alternative arrangement would be to position the driving cogs 30 at the bottoms of the third and the fifth upright members; and vii) In the seven bay storage assembly of Fig. 1 5g there are two driving cogs 30 respectively mounted at the bottoms of the second and seventh upright members 5 and in mesh with respective stationary chains 4, the driving cogs being Cinematically coupled to be driven in unison. The driving cogs could alternatively be positioned at the bottoms of the third and sixth upright members while maintaining a symmetrical arrangement of the driving positions with regard to the length of the storage assembly.

It may be noted that to enhance the stiffening effect of the insert 18 at the lower end of the upright member 5 the top wall of the insert is provided with slots 48 to allow the toothed cog 30 (if present) and the wheel flanges 27 to project above this top wall. In this way the top wall can be positioned closer to the lower edges of the panels 9, 10 than would be possible if no slots were provided. In the particular construction of the upright members as shown, the front and rear edges of the panel 9 are shaped to form post-like elements with the slots 12 for the shelf clips and as a consequence this panel bears all the weight of the shelves. Therefore it is not essential for the other panel 10 to be fastened to the stiffening insert 18.

With the wheels 8 being mounted at the lower ends of the upright members 5, the vertical loadings due to the weight of the shelves and any materials stored thereon are transmitted by the upright members S to the underlying guide tracks 2 and thereby to the floor structure. An effective mobile storage structure is thereby obtained without need for a rigid base frame extending the length of the storage assembly.

The guide tracks 2 can be recessed into a floor if desired or more conveniently can be surface mounted. As shown in the drawings the tracks 2 are housed in the extruded profiles 13 which include a recess to receive the tracks and lateral flanges for cooperation with adjacent floor elements. As shown in Figure 11, the flanges 50 on both sides of the extruded profile cooperate with ramp sections 51 to avoid the tracks forming potentially dangerous trip hazards. In Figure 12 a ramp section 51 is provided at one side of the extruded prod le 13 whereas the flanges SO at the other side cooperate with an infill floor panel 52 arranged to define a level surface between adjacent guide tracks 2. A similar but laterally inverted arrangement is shown in Figure 14. Thus, the guide track arrangement of Figure 12 can be used for the track 2 furthest to the right in Figure 1' the guide track arrangement of Figure 14 can be used for the track furthest to the left in Figure 1, and for the intermediate guide track 2 an arrangement as shown in Figure 13 in which the flanges 50 of the extruded profile 13 cooperate with infill floor panels 52 at both sides is used. There results a slightly raised but level floor surface over the area of the mobile storage system with ramp surfaces S 1 at the edges where spaces opened up between the storage assemblies are accessed by personnel. As shown the ramp sections 51 include grooves 53 to receive visual and contrasting safety strips of carpet, wood, rubber or similar material. Furthermore, the extruded profiles 13 accommodate levelling assemblies 54 by means of which the profiles and hence the tracks 2 can be accurately levelled to eliminate any deviation from level found in the underlying floor structure. Furthermore, holes are provided at the ends of the tracks 2 to allow secure fixing to the underlying floor.

The infill floor panels 52 may be completely solid although as depicted in Figs. 12-14 they consist of solid base boards covered by a layer of carpet or other floor covering material.

Claims

Claims 1. A mobile storage system comprising a storage assembly including

floor engaging wheels for supporting the assembly for movement along a linear path, and a drive mechanism operable to drive the assembly back and forth along the linear path, the storage assembly including substantially upright members and transverse members positioned between the upright member, wherein the wheels are mounted to the upright members at the lower ends of the upright members whereby loads supported by the respective upright members are transmitted directly to the underlying floor through the wheels at the lower ends thereof.
2. A mobile storage system according to claim 1, wherein the wheels are arranged to run on floor mounted tracks.
3. A mobile storage system according to claim 2, wherein the wheels are guided by the tracks for ensuring linear movement of the storage assembly.
4. A mobile storage system comprising two or more storage assemblies with floor engaging wheels supporting the assemblies for independent movement back and forth along a common linear path, each storage assembly including substantially upright members and transverse members positioned between the upright members, the wheels being arranged to run on floor mounted tracks and at least some wheels being guided by the tracks for ensuring linear movement of the storage assembly, wherein the wheels are mounted to the upright members at the lower ends of the upright members whereby load supported by the respective upright members are transmitted directly to the floor mounted tracks through the wheels at the lower ends thereof:
5. A mobile storage system according to claim 4, wherein each storage assembly includes a drive mechanism reversibly operable to drive the assembly back and forth along the floor mounted tracks.
6. A mobile storage system according to claim 3, 4 or 5, wherein the wheels are flanged for guided cooperation with the tracks.
7. A mobile storage system according to any one of claims I to 6, wherein at least two wheels are mounted to each upright member with the axes of the wheels spaced apart in the direction of movement of the storage assembly.
8. A mobile storage system according to any one of claims I to 7, wherein the upright members are generally planar and parallel to the direction of movement of the storage assembly.
9. A mobile storage system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the upright members comprise pressed sheet metal panels.
10. A mobile storage system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein each upright member includes a pair of panels, and the wheels are located between the panels with peripheral portions of the wheels protruding beyond the lower edges of the panels.
11. A mobile storage system, according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein each upright member has an inverted channel-shaped stiffening insert at the lower end thereof.
12. A mobile storage system according to claim 11, wherein the insert is formed of sheet metal and includes cut-outs to receive bearing blocks in which a stub axle of the drive mechanism is journaled.
13. A mobile storage system according to any one of claims I to 3 or 5 to 12, wherein the drive mechanism includes a stationary rack or chain fixed to the floor, a toothed cog engaged with the rack or chain, and a transmission for rotating the cog in response to operation of a driving mcmbcr.
14. A mobile storage system according to claim 13, wherein the cog is mounted at the lower end of an upright member and is journaled in bearing blocks secured to the upright member.
IS. A mobile storage system according to claim 14, wherein the cog is keyed to a stub axle journaled in a pair of bearings, the stub axle being coupled to one end of a drive transmission rod, the other end of the rod being coupled to a shaft journaled in bearings at the lower end of an adjacent upright member.
16. A mobile storage system according to claim 15, wherein the drive transmission rod is coupled to the stub axle and/or to the shaft by a sleeve.
17. A mobile storage system according to claim IS or 16, wherein the shaft has a drive sprocket rotationally fast therewith, and an endless drive chain or belt is trained around the sprocket.
18. A mobile storage system according to any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein the stationary rack or chain is housed in a channel-shaped track, the open side of the channel being uppermost and including at least one lateral flange for the floor engaging wheels to run on.
19. A mobile storage system according to claim 18, wherein the channel is provided within an extruded profile having laterally projecting flanges for cooperation with adjacent floor elements.
20. A mobile storage system according to any one of claims 2 to 19, wherein the floor mounted tracks are housed in extruded profiles having laterally projecting flanges for cooperation with adjacent floor elements.
21. A mobile storage system according to claim 19 or 20, wherein the floor elements include at least one floor panel.
22. A mobile storage system according to claim 19, 20 or 21, wherein the floor elements comprise at least one ramp section.
23. A mobile storage system according to any one of claims l 9 to 22, wherein the extruded profile accommodates levelling assemblies for levelling the profile and track in relation to a floor base.
24. A mobile storage system according to any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein each wheel includes a hub and a rim journaled around the hub by a bearing.
25. A mobile storage system according to claim 24, wherein the hub is mounted to the upright member by a mounting element, such as a bolt, inserted through the hub.
26. A mobile storage system according to claim 24 or 25, wherein the hub is axially split to facilitate assembly with the bearing.
27. A mobile storage system according to claim 24, 25 or 26, wherein the rim is retained on the bearing by a circlip.
28. A mobile storage system according to any one of claims I to 27, wherein there are from three to eleven upright members defining from two to ten single or double storage bays.
29. A mobile storage system according to claim 28, wherein the drive mechanism includes toothed cogs at the lower ends of two upright members and engaged with respective stationary racks or chains, the cogs being coupled to be driven in unison in operation of the drive mechanism.
30. A mobile storage system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the transverse members positioned between the upright members comprise shelf panels.

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31. A mobile storage system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein shelf panels are positioned between the adjacent upright members at wheel level.
32. A mobile storage system according to claim 30 or 31, wherein the shelf panels are supported by clips releasably engaged in slots provided in the upright members.
33. A mobile storage system substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.