GB2594311A

GB2594311A - Racking system

Info

Publication number: GB2594311A
Application number: GB2005948.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Rogers Simon; Thomas David
Original assignee: Shufflestore Ltd
Current assignee: Shufflestore Ltd
Priority date: 2020-04-23
Filing date: 2020-04-23
Publication date: 2021-10-27
Anticipated expiration: 2040-04-23
Also published as: GB2594311B; GB202005948D0

Abstract

A racking arrangement having a plurality of sliding shelf units 48 suspended from a horizontal bearing surface of a rail 12, 14 via a support roller 38 having an outer rotatable wheel supported on a central horizontal axle, and where the shelf unit is supported by the roller 38 resting on the bearing surface. The wheel may be metallic, and the roller bearings may be needle bearings. These provide a smooth-running action which allows guidance rollers to be dispensed with. There may be two rails 12, 14 and each shelf unit may have four support rollers 38, two resting on each rail 12, 14. The bearing surface may be a horizontal ledge projecting form a side of the rail 12, 14 inwardly relative to the shelf unit 48. All rollers 38 may have their axle in a horizontal orientation. The rails 12, 14 may be supported on uprights resting on a floor.

Description

Racking System

S

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a racking system. BACKGROUND ART Racking systems provide an effective means for storing large amounts of items efficiently in a small space. Fixed racking or shelving systems offer shelves on which items can be placed for storage and subsequent retrieval. The efficiency with which the available floor area can be used is limited by the need to provide access to each shelf, which requires that a space in front of each shelf is left which is large enough to accommodate a person and the item they are storing or retrieving. Greater efficiency can be obtained by making the racking unit taller, thus allowing a greater number of shelves, but this is limited by the typical height of a person, by the availability of ladders (and their safe usage) and by the physical stability of a racking system which may be carrying heavy items at an elevated height.

To improve the space-efficiency still further, movable racking systems are known which mount the shelf units on sliding or rolling bogies that can be moved back and forth to open and close the access gap between facing shelf units. By closing the shelf units together, more can be fitted into the same floor area. As and when access is needed to a specific shelf, the shelf units to one side of it can be moved away to create an access aisle in front of that shelf and permit access.

Some mobile racking systems provide bogies on the floor of the workspace, allowing the shelf systems to roll back and forth along rails on the floor. These therefore require an extremely flat floor surface in order to operate reliably and easily. US2017/0332780 provides a mobile hanging suspension system in which the shelf units are supported at their top edge by a bogie which runs along rails running above them, which allows the system to be implemented in buildings with floors that are less smooth as a mounting point to the floor is only needed at either end and can therefore be levelled more easily. The bogie has four supporting rollers arranged vertically, i.e. rotating on a horizontally-arranged axis, which rest on the rails and allow the bogie to roll back and forth, in combination with four guidance rollers arranged horizontally, i.e. rotating on a vertically-arranged axis, which abut on the inner edges of the rails and keep the shelf unit in line with the rails. All eight rollers on each bogie unit are of a plastics construction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention therefore provides a racking arrangement comprising at least one elevated rail having an elongate horizontal bearing surface, a plurality of sliding shelf units, each having at least one support roller comprising an outer rotatable wheel supported on a central horizontal axle and with roller bearings between the axle and the wheel, and at least one shelf suspended below the support roller, wherein the shelf unit is supported by the support roller resting on the bearing surface.

The wheel is ideally metallic, and the roller bearings are ideally needle bearings. These provide a smooth-running action and, whilst typically more expensive than the simple rollers illustrated in US2017/0332780, their better-running action allows the horizontally-arranged guidance rollers to be dispensed with. The resulting structure is therefore significantly easier to construct and maintain yet offers smoother running even with significant masses on the shelves.

Generally, a balanced system is preferred, in which the racking arrangement comprises two rails, one either side over the shelf unit, and each shelf unit comprises at least two support rollers, one resting on each rail. This provides side-to-side balance for the sliding shelf unit; fore/aft balance can be provided by each shelf unit comprising four support rollers, two resting on each rail. Of course, other means of support could be provided in addition to the support roller or rollers, allowing fewer than four rollers to be employed, or more than four could be provided to (for example) allow for very high shelf loadings or the use of lower-specification bearings.

The bearing surface is ideally a horizontal ledge projecting from one side of the rail, preferably inwardly. There is preferably a vertical surface immediately adjacent the bearing surface; where the bearing surface is a ledge, this can be provided by the remainder of the rail structure. A convenient means of providing this is to form the bearing surface of a section of angle secured to the side of a beam, such as by welding. Alternatively, or in addition, a lip can be provided along one or both edges of the bearing surface.

Where the shelf unit has at least four rollers, we find that a vertical surface need only be provided on one side of the bearing surface, thus significantly simplifying the overall design. Provided that the horizontal spacing between rollers is adequate in the light of the width of the bearing surfaces, the shelf unit is unable to twist enough to leave the rails. Guidance rollers such as in 1J52017/0332780 remain unnecessary, and thus we prefer that all rollers of the shelf units are arranged with their axle in a horizontal orientation.

The rail or rails can be supported on uprights resting on a floor, to provide a racking system that can be installed essentially anywhere with a secure floor. Alternatively, the rails could be attached to an upstanding wall at one or both ends.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying figures in which; Figure 1 is a side view of a racking system according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a view on II-II of the racking system of figure 1; Figure 3 is a view from above of part of the racking system of figure 1; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the bogie unit used in the racking system of figures 1 to 3; and Figure 5 is an illustration of the roller bearing used in the racking systems of figures 1 to 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Referring to figure 1, a racking system 10 comprises a pair of parallel rails 12, 14 (only one of which is visible in figure 1) that are supported at a suitable height of (for example) between 1.5 and 2.5 metres above the ground 16 by endposts 18 that are secured firmly to the ground 16. The design of the endposts 18 is not especially relevant to the present invention and any suitable design that is able to support the intended weight of the racking system (including its payload) is suitable. The endposts may be secured to the ground 16 if desired, which will usually add to the stability of the system as a whole, and this may be via any convention fixing means. The endposts 18 may be adjustable for height, in order to allow the rails 12, 14 to be made level, i.e. horizontal; this could be by providing multiple or adjustable fixing points for the rails 12, 14 on the endposts 18 at varying heights, or by allowing for shims beneath the endposts 18 or between the endposts 18 and the rails 12, 14, or a combination of some or all of these.

The rails 12, 14 are arranged generally parallel to each other with a spacing between them able to accommodate the width of a shelf unit, such as between about 1 to 1.5 metres. As shown in figures 2 and 3, each has an elongate horizontal bearing surface 20, 22 projecting inwardly, i.e. toward the other rail, located towards the lower edge of the rail. In this example, the rails are formed of lengths of steel box section and the bearing surfaces are provided by lengths of steel angle section, welded to an inner face of the rail 12, 14 so as to define a ledge projecting from one side of the rail, which projects inwardly toward the opposing rail.

Several sliding shelf units 24a, 24b, 24c, 24d and 24e are suspended from the bearing surfaces 20, 22. Each has a bogie unit shown (in isolation) in figure 4 comprising two cross-members 26, 28 which span the gap between the rails 12, 14, extending beneath them in order to maximise the available width of the shelf units. The crossmembers 26, 28 are joined at either end by endplates 30, 32 which, together with the crossmembers 26, 28 define a rectangular shape located just between the two horizontal bearing surfaces 20, 22 and spanning the gap between them. Each endplate 30, 32 is in the form of a flat horizontal plate 34 which is securely attached to the crossmembers 26, 28 at either end, with an upstanding vertical lip 36 just inboard of the adjacent bearing surface 20, 22.

A pair of support rollers 38 are fixed to each upstanding vertical lip 36, one at either end and thus spaced so as to maximise the stability of the bogie unit. These are shown in detail in figure 5; each comprises an axle 40 which is externally threaded at one end 42 in order to assist with securing the roller 38 to the lip 36. The other end of the axle 40 supports an outer rotatable metallic wheel 44 via roller bearings 46 (in this embodiment, needle bearings) between the axle 40 and the wheel 44 to assist with smooth rotation of the wheel 44 along the bearing surfaces 20, 22.

Thus, each bogie rests on the two bearing surfaces 20, 22 via a set of four rectangularly-arranged wheels 44, each supported centrally by a horizontal axle secured to the bogie. The smooth running ensured by the roller bearings 46 between the axle 40 and the wheel 44 reduces the effort required to move the bogie, and this allows the operator to guide the bogie if necessary, assisted by the rectangular arrangement of the wheels 44 between the rails 12, 14, thus making the multiple guide rollers of US2017/0332780 unnecessary, simplifying the overall structure considerably, and reducing the effort required in order to move the shelf units (or, alternatively, allowing a greater load to be carried on each shelf unit).

As shown in figure 2, a shelf unit 48 is supported by each bogie, suspended beneath the bogie with a small clearance 50 between the base of the shelf unit 48 and the ground 16 to allow the bogies and the shelf units 48 to slide together along the rails 12, 14. Each shelf unit comprises side panels 52 which support horizontal shelves 54 on which items can be placed for storage. Several such shelf units 48 are arranged on the rails 14, 12 as shown in figures 1 and 3, so that they occupy most of the space between then endposts 18 leaving a gap 56 for an operator to walk into, between a pair of shelf units. Thus, access is possible to one or both of the shelf units adjacent the gap 56. Other shelf units 48 can be accessed by sliding the shelf units 48 as necessary in order to move the gap 56 adjacent the desired shelf unit.

Thus, preferred embodiments of the present invention provides a simpler arrangement than that of US2017/0332780 but which is able to carry greater loads and operate more smoothly with less effort required of the operator. Guidance rollers are not necessary as metal rollers supported on roller bearings are partly self-guiding between the rails 12, 14 due to their rectangular layout, and the lesser effort needed means that the operator can provide a degree of guidance.

It will of course be understood that many variations may be made to the above-described embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A racking arrangement comprising; at least one elevated rail having an elongate horizontal bearing surface, a plurality of sliding shelf units, each having at least one support roller comprising an outer rotatable wheel supported on a central horizontal axle and with roller bearings between the axle and the wheel, and at least one shelf suspended below the support roller, wherein the shelf unit is supported by the support roller resting on the bearing surface.
2. A racking arrangement according to claim 1 in which the wheel is metallic.
3. A racking arrangement according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the roller bearings are needle bearings.
4. A racking arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims comprising two rails, one either side over the shelf unit, wherein each shelf unit comprises at least two support rollers, one resting on each rail.
5. A racking arrangement according to claim 4 in which each shelf unit comprises four support rollers, two resting on each rail.
6. A racking arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims in which the bearing surface is a horizontal ledge projecting from one side of the rail.
7. A racking arrangement according to claim 6 in which the ledge projects inwardly relative to the shelf unit.
8. A racking arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims in which all rollers of the shelf units are arranged with their axle in a horizontal orientation.
9. A racking arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims in which the rail or rails are supported on uprights resting on a floor.