JPH06293404A - Shelf equipment with transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To eliminate the need for any special space for diversion by using a rotating unit provided on a lifting table to cause a pallet on the lifting table to rotate about a vertical axis located approximately at the center of the pallet. CONSTITUTION: A plurality of racks having a plurality of vertically stacked rack sections are arranged, and a conveying apparatus causes pallets carrying articles such as automobiles to move into and out of the rack sections, and transports the pallets between each rack section and a parking station. The conveying apparatus includes an automobile mount 7 which moves horizontally on a passage provided along the plurality of racks, vertical posts 6 erected at the front and rear of the automobile mount 7 along the direction of movement, and a lifting block 11 which can rise and fall along the vertical posts 6 and which has pallet transfer means 17, 18. The lifting block 11 is provided with a rotating unit 15 rotatable about a vertical axis, and the interval between the vertical posts 6 is determined such that the rotating unit 15 allows the pallet on the lifting block 11 to rotate 180 degrees or more about the vertical axis located approximately at the center of the pallet.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention has a plurality of shelves having a plurality of vertically stacked shelving compartments arranged side by side, and a pallet carrying articles such as automobiles is put in and taken out of each shelving compartment. A transfer device for transferring between the shelf compartment and the loading / unloading station is provided, and the transfer device horizontally moves along a passage provided along the plurality of shelves, and stands up and down in the moving direction of the chassis. With a vertical column installed,
The present invention relates to a shelf facility including an elevating table which is movable up and down along the vertical column and has a pallet transfer means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A shelf facility of this type is generally used as a multi-storey parking lot, although not particularly limited thereto. In such a multi-storey parking lot, an automobile that has entered the storage station is placed on a pallet, and the transport device transports the pallet to each shelf compartment. Further, the transfer device transfers the pallets taken out from each shelf section to the delivery station. Normal,
The elevating table of the transfer device is equipped with a pallet transfer means such as an extendable fork that moves in and out in the horizontal direction to support the pallet, so that the pallet can be moved between each shelf section or loading / unloading station and the elevating table. Reprinted in.

In such a multi-storey car park, it is usual that an entrance and an exit are provided side by side. The loaded vehicle is placed on the pallet by the transport device and is transported to one of the shelving sections, and the vehicle to be unloaded is transferred from the shelf section to the transport device together with the pallet and is transported to the shipping station (exit port). If there is no change in the direction of the car during the process from entering to exiting, a car that has entered the parking lot in the forward direction must exit the car in the backward direction. Depending on the situation, it may be difficult to get the goods out.

In order to eliminate such an inconvenience, a structure of a multi-storey parking lot has been already known in which a car is turned around in the parking lot so that the garage can be moved in and out of the parking lot. It was common to provide a special space with a turntable for turning vehicles.

[0005]

However, the provision of the turning space provided with the rotating table as described above is an obstacle to downsizing and space saving of the multi-story parking lot, which causes an increase in installation cost. Becomes Therefore, an object of the present invention is to add a function for changing direction to a means originally provided for another function,
It is to provide a shelf facility that can be used as a multilevel parking lot that does not require a special space for changing directions.

[0006]

In a shelf facility equipped with a conveyor according to the present invention, a plurality of shelves having a plurality of vertically stacked shelving sections are arranged in parallel, and articles such as automobiles are placed in the respective shelving sections. A transfer device is provided for transferring the pallet in and out and transferring the pallet between each shelf section and the receiving station or the output station.
It has a chassis that horizontally moves along a passage provided along the plurality of shelves, vertical columns that stand up and down in the direction of movement of the chassis, and vertically moveable pallet transfer means along the vertical columns. A lifting unit is provided, and a characteristic configuration thereof is that the lifting unit is provided with a rotating unit rotatable about a vertical axis, and the rotating unit allows the pallet on the lifting table to be almost the same as the pallet. In order to be able to rotate more than 180 degrees around the vertical axis centered at the center,
This is in that the distance between the vertical columns is determined. Other specific configurations will be described later together with the operation.

[0007]

In explaining the operation of the above-described characteristic structure, the shelf equipment of the present invention will be described as a multilevel parking lot for the sake of clarity, but other applications will be understood in the same manner. According to the above-mentioned characteristic configuration, the car that has been stored changes the direction on the elevating table of the carrier device while being transported to the shelf compartment by the carrier device, or while being taken out of the shelf compartment at the time of leaving and being carried to the shipping station. To be done. The structure to be provided on the lift for changing the direction is relatively simple. Basically, it is sufficient that the pallet on which the automobile is placed can be rotated 180 degrees on the lift table.

As a structure of a three-dimensional parking lot, basically, a vertical parking and a horizontal parking can be considered. When transferring a pallet on which a car is mounted between a conveyor device and a shelf section of a passage, the pallet is transferred from the side of the car in vertical parking and from the front or back of the car in horizontal parking. Loading and unloading of vehicles is usually done at either end of the aisle, but one or more shelf compartments may be assigned to the loading and unloading station midway along the length of the juxtaposed shelves.

The transfer device is not limited to one, but a plurality of transfer devices may be provided. When two vehicles are provided, these chassis move separately from two parallel paths provided at a predetermined distance along a common passage, and the lifting platform moves from the vertical support to the center side of the passage. The structure can be projected horizontally. Further, it is preferable that the two transfer devices can freely pass each other along the passage in a state where the heights of the elevations of the two transfer devices that alternately project are different. Since the two transport devices can independently move from one end to the other end of the passage, for example, vehicles can be loaded and unloaded at the same time, which improves the work efficiency of loading and unloading. Further, when one transfer device fails, as long as the other transfer device is operating, the function of the multi-storey parking lot can be maintained without stopping the loading / unloading work.

As a rotation unit for rotating a pallet on which an automobile is mounted on a lift, bridge means having an area corresponding to the pallet is provided, and the bridge means is provided between the shelf section and the loading / unloading station for palletizing. It is preferable to provide a transfer device for transferring.
More specifically, it is preferable that the rotating unit includes a lifting unit that supports the pallet, lifts the pallet a little, and then lowers the pallet to the original position, and that the lifting platform includes a pallet transfer unit. In this case, when the pallet is pulled out from, for example, the shelf section by the transfer means provided in the lift table and reaches the space on the lift table, the lift means supports the pallet and slightly lifts it and rotates it by a predetermined angle. It descends to the original position (height).

As the pallet transfer means, it is sufficient that the lifting table or the rotary unit is provided with an arm that moves in and out in the horizontal direction, such as the retractable fork described above as the prior art.

[0012]

As described above, according to the present invention, a pallet is loaded into and unloaded from a shelf compartment and a pallet is transferred between each shelf compartment and a loading / unloading station to change the direction of an automobile or the like. By providing such a function, it was possible to provide a shelf facility such as a multilevel parking lot that does not require a special space for changing directions.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The three-dimensional parking lot shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 to which the three-dimensional shelf facility of the present invention is applied has an elongated outer shape in plan view. The shelves 2 arranged in two rows along the longitudinal direction have a plurality of shelving sections stacked one above the other, and each shelving section is provided with a pallet 3 supported by a suitable mounting means. Between the two rows of shelves 2 is a passage 4 that is slightly wider than the width (depth) of the shelves 2.
Is formed, and a rail 8 for a carrier is laid along the center of the floor surface of the passage 4. The carrier is
It is provided with a chassis 7 that horizontally moves along a rail 8 and a pair of vertical columns 5 and 6 standing up and down in front of and behind the chassis 7, and the distance between them is longer than the diagonal length of the pallet 3. Stanchions 5, 6
The upper ends of are connected to each other by a beam member 9, and the beam member 9 is movably supported along a rail 10 laid on the ceiling of the multi-story parking lot. The rail 10 is laid parallel to the rail 8 on the floor.

A cross beam member 11 formed in a U shape is provided so as to be vertically movable along columns 5 and 6 via vertical arms 12 and 13. The elevating horizontal girder member (hereinafter referred to as elevating table) 11 supports a bridge member 15 via a rotating member 14, and the bridge 15 is rotatable around an axis 16 with respect to the elevating table 11. Further, the bridge is provided with forks 17 and 18 which extend and retract in a telescopic manner, by which the pallet 3 is carried out of or carried into the shelf 2.

As shown at the front end on the left side in FIGS. 1 and 2, there are provided two stations 20 and 21 used for loading and unloading of a parked vehicle. These stations are formed as a compartment which is an enclosed room, and set a pallet 22 for storing a parked vehicle or receive a pallet (not shown) on which a vehicle to be parked is placed.

The carrying device takes out a pallet on which an automobile to be stored is placed and moves it to a position above the pallet 23 which is stocked below the position of the pallet 22 shown in FIG. This place will be a space to change the direction of the car. In this embodiment, it is impossible to change the direction of the pallet 22 at the height of the pallet because of the wall of the loading / unloading section. The turning of the car (the pallet on which it is mounted) on the bridge 15 is carried out at the above-mentioned location when the car enters or exits the multi-story parking lot.

Since the function of changing the direction of the automobile so that the vehicle can enter the multi-storey car park forward and exit from the multi-storey car park forward is added as a part of the structure of the transport device. The big advantage is that it does not require space. Moreover, the structure for performing this direction change is very simple. Further, the space for changing the direction of the vehicle is the space that originally exists for the loading / unloading compartment, and the need for extra space can be avoided.

The pallet 22 used for loading and unloading automobiles is held by a locking member 24 after being unloaded from the transport facility. The locking member 24 protrudes when the pallet is delivered from the transport facility.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are partially enlarged views of FIGS. 1 and 2, and the same members are designated by the same reference numerals.
Note that, for example, the following alternatives can be easily considered. That is, the bridge 15 can be omitted by directly providing the forks 17 and 18 on the lifting table 11 and moving the pallet 3 directly by the lifting table itself. In this case, the lifting / rotating mechanism instead of the rotating member 14 moves up and down. The pallet 3 transferred to the table 11 is lifted from the forks 17 and 18 and rotated by 180 degrees.

Next, an embodiment of a multi-storey parking lot having a different form from that shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. In this alternative embodiment, unlike the case where the shelves of the above-described embodiments are configured to park the vehicles vertically, as shown in the plan view of FIG. 7, two shelves are provided along the longitudinal direction of the building. The shelves 31 arranged in a row are configured to park the vehicles side by side. In each shelf section that is stacked vertically,
The pallet 32 is mounted by an appropriate mounting means as in the above-described embodiment. Pallet 3 between two rows of shelves 31
A passage 33 having a width slightly wider than the longitudinal width of 2 is formed, and two conveyors run on the floor along this passage. Parallel rails 36, 37, 38, 39 for guiding the respective conveying devices are laid on the floor and ceiling of the passage.

Each transfer device is provided with a chassis 50 that moves along the floor rail 36 or 38, and a pair of vertical columns 34 and 35 standing up and down in front of and behind the chassis 50. Both columns 34,3
The interval of 5 secures a distance such that both columns 34 and 35 do not get in the way when the pallet rotates on the lifting table as described later. The upper ends of the columns 34 and 35 are connected by a beam member (not shown) and are movably supported along the rails 38 or 39. The cross beam member 40 or 41 is passed between the vertical arms 42 and 43 (or 44 and 45) that move up and down along the columns 34 and 35.
A frame member (hereinafter referred to as an elevator) 46 or 47 is cantilevered. That is, as can be seen from FIG.
The vertical arm and the elevating table are connected to each other in an L shape in a side view through a cross beam member, and the elevating tables 46 and 47 are projected from both sides of the passage 33 toward the center. The two transfer devices can pass each other if the heights of the elevating tables 46 and 47 are different from each other, and can move the common passage 33 from one end to the other.

Rotating members 48, 49 on the elevators 46, 47
A bridge 5 rotatable about the axes 53 and 54 by
1, 52 are provided. Forks 55 and 56 (or 57 and 58) that extend and retract in the bridges 51 and 52
Is equipped with a pallet 32 on which a car is placed.
Are stored and stored in and out of the shelf compartment. Fork 5
Instead of 5, 56 (57, 58), a chain driven chain having a locking member for a pallet, or a roller conveyor capable of protruding at least a part may be provided.

As can be seen from FIG. 7, in the case of this embodiment, the direction change of the vehicle on the lift table at the time of loading and unloading can be performed in the passage 33. As described above, the space between the vertical columns 34 and 35 of the carrier is set so that the pallet on which the automobile is mounted can be rotated.
In addition, the entry and exit of a vehicle from the multi-storey parking lot can be performed at both ends of the passage 33 or at one of the ends. Similar to the above-described embodiment, it is also possible to use one or two shelving sections at the same height as the road, for example, the shelving section 60 in FIG. 6 for loading and unloading. The degree of freedom of which shelf section 60 is selected for loading and unloading is very high. Furthermore, this multi-storey car park has the advantage that the efficiency of work for loading and unloading is high because it uses two transfer devices. In the unlikely event that one of the transportation devices fails, the remaining one can continue loading and unloading without any hindrance, though the efficiency is reduced.

Incidentally, in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, it is possible to modify the vertically-arranged parking mode to the horizontally-arranged parking mode. On the contrary, in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, it is possible to modify the side-by-side parking mode to the vertically-arranged parking structure. Besides, various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the present invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

[Fig. 1] Side sectional view of a multi-storey car park

[Fig.2] Plan sectional view of a multi-storey car park

[Figure 3] Front sectional view of a multi-storey car park

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of the periphery of the transfer device of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of the periphery of the transfer device of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a front sectional view of a multi-story car park according to another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a plan sectional view of the multilevel parking lot shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2; 31 shelves 4; 33 passages 5,6; 34,35 vertical columns 7; 50 chassis 11; 46,47 lifts 15; 51,52 rotating unit 16; 53,54 vertical axis 17,18; 55-58 Transferring means 20, 21; 60 Loading / unloading station

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Paul Stolzer, Federal Republic of Germany De-77855 Aheln Franz-Kusafer-Render-Schutlasse 12

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of shelves (2; 31) having a plurality of vertically stacked shelving sections are arranged side by side, and a pallet on which articles such as automobiles are placed is taken in and out of each shelving section, and each pallet is placed in each shelving section. Compartments and loading / unloading stations (20, 21;
60) is provided with a transport device for transporting to and from the chassis, and the transport device horizontally moves through a passage (4; 33) provided along the plurality of shelves (2; 31). 5
0), vertical columns (5, 6; 34, 35) standing up and down in the moving direction of the chassis, and the pallet transfer means (17, 18; 55) that can be moved up and down along the vertical columns. 5
8) Elevating platform (11; 46, 47) having a vertical axis (16; 5) to said elevator (11; 46, 47).
Rotating unit (15; 5)
1, 52) are provided, and the rotating unit allows the pallet on the lifting table to rotate 180 degrees or more around the vertical axis (16; 53, 54) located substantially at the center of the pallet. Prop (5,6; 34,3
Shelving equipment equipped with a transfer device whose interval is determined in 5). 2. The two transport devices are provided, and these chassis (50) individually move along two parallel paths provided along a common path (33) at a predetermined interval.
The lifts (46, 47) are connected to the vertical columns (34, 3).
5) horizontally project to the center of the passageway (33), and
Alternating protrusions (46, 4)
The shelf equipment provided with the transfer device according to claim 1, wherein two transfer devices move freely along the passage (33) while the heights of (7) are different. 3. The rotating unit is a bridge means (15; 51, 52) having an area corresponding to a pallet, and the bridge means is a transfer means (1) for the pallet.
7, 18; 55-58). 4. The pallet is supported and slightly lifted,
The rotating unit is provided with an elevating means for descending from the position to the original position, and the elevating table (11; 46,
47) pallet transfer means (17, 18; 55-5)
8) The shelf equipment provided with the conveying device according to claim 1 or 2. 5. An arm (17, 18; 55-58) that moves in and out in the horizontal direction is used as the pallet transfer means, and the lift table (11; 46, 47) or the rotary unit (1).
5; 51, 52), which is provided with a transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. Shelving equipment provided with the transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the pallet transfer means is constituted by push-pull means.