GB2493079A - Goods Loading Apparatus - Google Patents

Goods Loading Apparatus Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2493079A
GB2493079A GB201212506A GB201212506A GB2493079A GB 2493079 A GB2493079 A GB 2493079A GB 201212506 A GB201212506 A GB 201212506A GB 201212506 A GB201212506 A GB 201212506A GB 2493079 A GB2493079 A GB 2493079A
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United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
goods
storage area
platform
height
movement
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
GB201212506A
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GB201212506D0 (en
Inventor
William Mark Adams
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Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Publication of GB201212506D0 publication Critical patent/GB201212506D0/en
Publication of GB2493079A publication Critical patent/GB2493079A/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G69/00—Auxiliary measures taken, or devices used, in connection with loading or unloading
    • B65G69/22—Horizontal loading or unloading platforms
    • B65G69/24—Horizontal loading or unloading platforms having platform level adjusting means
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G69/00—Auxiliary measures taken, or devices used, in connection with loading or unloading
    • B65G69/28—Loading ramps; Loading docks

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Warehouses Or Storage Devices (AREA)

Abstract

An apparatus 2 for the movement of goods from a first storage area 4 (with a fixed location) to a second storage area 6 (which is movable); the apparatus 2 being located in the gap between the two storage areas; the goods to be moved may be loaded into containers and rolled from one storage area to the other. The apparatus comprises at least one platform 10 which is movable along a substantially vertical axis 16, and bridges the gap between the floors 17 of the respective storage areas. A ramp 22 is provided so that the floors of the two storage areas 4, 6 are substantially the same height during the movement of goods. The second storage area may be moved along the ramp onto a support surface 24 leading to the first storage area. A weight monitoring system is also disclosed which comprises; a frame, a guide, at least one platform movable along the guide in a vertical direction. The apparatus has a weight-detection for goods located on the platform, the weight calculated with reference to at least one parameter of the hydraulic drive system for the movement of the guide.

Description

Apparatus for Handling Goods The invention which is the subject of this application relates to the provision of apparatus to allow the improved handling of goods and, in particular, the movement of goods between a first storage area and a second storage area. Particularly, but not necessarily exclusively, the first storage area is a fixed warehouse and the second storage area is a transportable storage area such as that which is provided integrally with, or attached to, a vehicle.
FreqLlently, in many delivery and logistic systems it is necessary to move goods between the first and second storage areas to allow goods to be delivered into warehouses from sLippliers and/or to allow the goods to be distributed from the warehoLises. In order to assist this movement of goods it is known to provide lifting apparatus at the interface between the opening into the warehouse and the opening into the vehicle storage area. The lifting apparatus includes a platform which is movable in the vertical plane and thereby allows goods thereon to be moved to the height of the floor of the storage areas from and to which the goods are to be moved. The platform is required as, typically, several different forms of storage area will be presented to the warehouse, such as, for example, single floored storage areas or double floored storage areas in which case the platform needs to be moved to the required height in order to access the goods on the respective floors of the storage area.
A common problem with loading and unloading using this apparatus is that the movement of the platform is required to be performed relatively frequently in order to achieve the movement of the goods between the storage areas and this is particularly the case when the vehicle storage area has a relatively low floor, at least at the opening into the same, and with respect to the level of the floor at the opening into the other of the storage area. Thus, if the floor levels do not match, the mismatch between the levels means that there is no continuous flow of goods between the first and second goods storage areas. Thus, at present when the floor of the vehicle transport area is different to that of the warehouse the movement of goods between the same comprises the movement of the goods onto the platform of the lifting means when the same is at the height of, say, the warehouse, shutting the safety gates on the platform, moving the platform down to the height of the floor of the vehicle storage area and then opening the gates on the platform to allow the movement of the goods from the platform into the vehicle storage area. Once unloaded the platform has to be moved back to the height of the warehouse floor and the process started again.
When one considers that this process can need to be repeated a number of times for each vehicle storage area and that a number of vehicle storage areas will need to be loaded and unloaded each day it wilt readily be appreciated that this process represents a significant bottleneck in the speed of movement of goods between the storage areas. The problem is increasing as the use of vehicle storage areas with a floor which is lower than the conventional height of floor of the warehouse increases.
It is known to provide apparatus which is referred to as a dock leveller but these tend to be provided to bridge relatively small differences in height between respective floors and/or the platform and a floor, and therefore the range of movement of this type of apparatus is insufficient with respect to the difference in height between the storage area floors which is addressed in this application.
The aim of the present invention is therefore to provide apparatus which allows the improved flow of goods as they are being moved between first and second goods storage areas.
In a first aspect of the invention there is provided Apparatus to facilitate the movement of goods between a first goods storage area which is provided in a fixed location and a second storage area which is moveable, said apparatus located in a gap between openings into the respective goods storage areas, said apparatus including a platform which is moveable along a substantially vertical axis, said platform bridging the gap between floors of the respective goods storage areas to allow the goods to be moved therebetween and wherein a ramp portion is provided such that the floors of the first and second goods storage areas, at least adjacent to the respective openings into the same, are provided at substantially the same height to allow the platform to be moved to, and retained at the same height as the floors during the movement of goods between the respective goods storage areas.
In one embodiment the goods are Located in roll cages or similar movable containers and in accordance with the invention the same can be rolled directly from one storage area to another without having to change the height of the platform during this process to achieve the same.
In one embodiment the ramped portion is provided externally of the first storage area and adjacent the end of the apparatus to which the second storage area is to be presented. In this embodiment the vehicle which is provided with the second storage area moves up the ramped portion such that at least the said storage area is positioned on a portion leading from the ramp to the apparatus and on which, in one embodiment, the apparatus is also located. In this embodiment, the floor of the storage area is brought to the height of the floor of the first storage area and the platform can be positioned at that height.
In an alternative embodiment the ramped portion is provided on the floor of the first storage area and leads from the warehouse floor to its lowest point at the opening into and from the warehouse and adjacent to which the apparatus is provided.
Typically, in this embodiment, the lowest point of the ramp portion is at a height at which the platform of the apparatus can be positioned and at which the floor of the second storage area is located.
The provision of the invention as herein described allows the movement of goods between the first and second storage areas to be achieved when the platform is provided at a height which matches that of the floors at the respective openings of the storage areas and thereby allows the goods to be moved directly from one goods storage area to the other along the platform.
The ability to do this without having to adjust the height of the platform to move the same between different heights with the goods thereon, significantly reduces time for loading and unloading of goods between the respective storage areas.
In a further aspect of the invention there is provided appatatus for use in the movement of goods, said apparatus including a frame, guide means located on the frame and at least one platform for movement along the guide means in a substantially vertical direction, said apparatus including means for detecting the weight of goods which are positioned on the platform by calculating the weight with reference to at least one parameter of a hydraulic drive system which is used to drive the movement of the platform along the guide means.
In one embodiment the storage areas is a transportable storage area.
Tn one embodiment the weight value is calculated with reference to at least one parameter of the hydraulic drive system which is used to drive the movement of the platform along a substantially vertical plane.
In one embodiment the hydraulic system includes a plurality of rams and, in order to avoid the need to monitor the condition of each individual ram, the parameter which is monitored is the fluid which is supplied as a common supply feed, prior to being split to supply each of the rams.
In one embodiment control means are provided with the weighing system to allow specific features of the operation of the apparatus to be controlled with regard to the information received from the weighing system. In one embodiment, if the detected \veight is greater than a predetermined level, an alarm is provided and/or the operation of the apparatus to move further goods is prevented until the weight issue has been resolved.
In one embodiment the information relating to the weight of the loaded storage area is logged and, if desired, provided to the vehicle driver with which the storage area is provided so that they have a record of the load they are carrying for reference.
Specific embodiments of the invention are flow described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein; Figures 1-4 illustrate a first embodiment of the invention; and Figures 5 -8 illustrate a further embodiment of the invention. (3
Referring to the drawings, each illustrates apparatus 2 for use in the movement of goods between a first storage area 4 in the form of a warehouse and a second storage area in the form of a vehicle trailer 6 transported by a tractor unit 8. The apparatus 2 includes a platform 10 located on guide means 12 within a housing 14. The platform 10 is movable along a substantially vertical axis 16 to allow the same to be presented to a height which matches the height of at least one of the floors 17, 19 of the respective storage areas. The apparatus is located such that the platform bridges the gap between the floors 17, 19 at the openings 18, 20 of the respective first and second storage areas 4,6.
In order to move the goods between the first and second storage areas, 4,6 it has conventionally been the case, at least with the storage areas 6 of certain configurations, to move the platform to the height of the floor of one of the storage areas, load the goods onto the platform from that storage area, move the platform to the height of the floor of the other of the storage areas and then unload the goods from the platform. 1-lowever this is time consuming. This problem is overcome in accordance with the present invention by providing a ramp portion 22 so as to therefore allow the platform 10 to be moved to the common height of the floors 17, 19 at the openings 18,20 of the first and second storage areas 4,6.
In Figures 1-4 the ramp portion 22 is located so as to allow the storage area 6 and tractor unit 8 to move up and along the same as indicated by arrow 21 to bring the same to a raised height with respect to the surrounding support surface 24. This allows the floor 19 of the storage area 8 to be raised with respect to the floor 17 of the warehouse 4. Endeed, the height of the ramp portion 22 and portion 26 leading therefrom and on which the apparatus 2 is also located, is selected such that the height of the floor 19 of the storage area 8 will match the height of the floor 17 of the storage area 4 and hence, once the platform 10 has been moved to the height of the floors 17 and 19 a continuous, one level passageway 28 is created between the storage areas and so goods can be moved between the same without the need to alter the height of the platform.
Figures 5-8 illustrate an alternative embodiment in which the ramp portion 22 is provided in the floor of the warehouse 4. In this case the ramp portion is provided such that the height of the floor 17 of the same at the opening 18 is lower than the floor 30 of the remainder of the warehouse 4. This matches the height 17 of the floor at the opening 18 to that of the floor 19 of the storage area 6 with, in this case, the storage area 6 and vehicle as a whole being at the level of the support surface.
Once again the ramp portion is formed so as to allow the respective heights of the floors of the storage areas at the openings into the same to be common and hence allow the platform to be moved to that common height to create the same level passageway 28.

Claims (1)

  1. <claim-text>Claims 1. Apparatus to facilitate the movement of goods between a first goods storage area which is provided in a fixed location and a second storage area which is moveable, said apparatus located in a gap between openings into the respective goods storage areas, said apparatus including a platform which is moveable along a substantially vertical axis, said platform bridging the gap between floors of the respective goods storage areas to allow the goods to be moved therebetween and wherein a ramp portion is provided such that the floors of the first and second good5 storage areas, at least adjacent to the respective openings into the same, are provided at substantially the same height to allow the platform to be moved to, and retained at the same height as the floors during the movement of goods between the respective goods storage areas.</claim-text> <claim-text>2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the goods are located in moveable containers which are rolled directly from one goods storage area to another without having to change the height of the platform.</claim-text> <claim-text>3. Apparatus according to claim I wherein the ramp portion is provided externally of the first goods storage area and adjacent to the end of the apparatus to which the second goods storage area is positioned.</claim-text> <claim-text>4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the second goods storage area is moved along the ramp portion such that the said goods storage area is positioned on a support surface portion reading from the ramp portion to the apparatus.</claim-text> <claim-text>5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein a floor of the second goods storage area is at the height of a floor of the first goods storage area and the platform is positioned at the height of the floors to form a continuous floor for the movement of goods therealong 6. Apparatus according to claim I wherein the ramp portion is provided on the floor of the first goods storage area and defines at one end the lowest floor height at the opening of the first goods storage area.7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the lowest point of the ramp portion is the height at which the platform of the apparatus is positioned and substantially equal to the height of the floor of the second goods storage area.8. Apparatus according to claim I wherein the apparatus includes means to allow the weight of the load of goods held thereon to be detected.9. Apparatus for use in the movement of goods, said apparatus including a frame, guide means located on the frame and at least one platform for movement along the guide means in a substantially vertical direction, said apparatus including means for detecting the weight of goods which are positioned on the platform by calculating the weight with reference to at least one parameter of a hydraulic drive system which is used to drive the movement of the platform along the guide means.Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the hydraulic drive system includes a p]urality of rams and the parameter which is monitored is the pressure of the fluid which is supplied as a common supply feed to the rams.11. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein control means are provided to allow control of movement of the platform of the apparatus with respect to the detected weight of goods on the platform at that time.</claim-text>
GB201212506A 2011-07-21 2012-07-13 Goods Loading Apparatus Withdrawn GB2493079A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB201112525A GB201112525D0 (en) 2011-07-21 2011-07-21 Apparatus for handling goods

Publications (2)

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GB201212506D0 GB201212506D0 (en) 2012-08-29
GB2493079A true GB2493079A (en) 2013-01-23

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GB201112525A Ceased GB201112525D0 (en) 2011-07-21 2011-07-21 Apparatus for handling goods
GB201212506A Withdrawn GB2493079A (en) 2011-07-21 2012-07-13 Goods Loading Apparatus

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN111377259A (en) * 2018-12-27 2020-07-07 北京优挂信息科技有限公司 Trailer loading and unloading completion time estimation method

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB710863A (en) * 1951-02-27 1954-06-23 Emanuel Kaye Improvements in or relating to goods handling platforms and vehicles
FR2369985A1 (en) * 1976-11-05 1978-06-02 Prost Transports Sectional concrete loading ramp - has inclinable platform to align vehicle floor with loading area to allow easy movement of goods
DE3327182A1 (en) * 1982-08-19 1984-02-23 Meershoek-Thulin-Byggen AB, 33100 Värnamo Loading and unloading unit

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB710863A (en) * 1951-02-27 1954-06-23 Emanuel Kaye Improvements in or relating to goods handling platforms and vehicles
FR2369985A1 (en) * 1976-11-05 1978-06-02 Prost Transports Sectional concrete loading ramp - has inclinable platform to align vehicle floor with loading area to allow easy movement of goods
DE3327182A1 (en) * 1982-08-19 1984-02-23 Meershoek-Thulin-Byggen AB, 33100 Värnamo Loading and unloading unit

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN111377259A (en) * 2018-12-27 2020-07-07 北京优挂信息科技有限公司 Trailer loading and unloading completion time estimation method

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB201212506D0 (en) 2012-08-29
GB201112525D0 (en) 2011-08-31

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