WO1989010885A1

WO1989010885A1 - Storage device

Info

Publication number: WO1989010885A1
Application number: PCT/GB1989/000520
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thomas Frederick Higgins
Original assignee: Supac (Europe) Limited
Priority date: 1988-05-13
Filing date: 1989-05-12
Publication date: 1989-11-16
Also published as: AU3691289A; GB8811353D0

Abstract

A storage carousel which consists of a plurality of carriers (42) suspended between two endless loops of chain (10, 12) arranged in vertical, spaced-apart planes. Rotation of the carrier (42) relative to the chains during transfer around the ends of the chain loops is restrained by cam followers (58) engaging in cams (50, 52) on the ends of the carriers. The cam followers (58) are mounted on arms (54) which rotate in synchronism with the movement of the chains (10, 12). Projections (44) on each carrier engage in a recess (43) in the next adjacent carrier when the carriers are located in the runs of the chain loops (10, 12) to prevent rotation of the carriers relative to the chains.

Description

STORAGE DEVICE

This invention relates to a storage device and more particularly a storage device of the kind that is known as a "Carousel".

Storage carousels consist of a plurality of carriers mounted at each end on endless transmission chains. The chains are arranged to travel in spaced apart vertical planes. The carriers are disposed so as to be horizontal. By moving the chains any particular carrier can be presented to a pick up station where items can be removed from, or placed in, the carrier.

In order to maximise storage space the carriers in the carousel are placed as close together as possible and the front and rear runs of the loops of the chains, are also as close together so as to limit the space between the stack of carriers on the front runs of the chain loops and the stack of carriers on the rear runs of the chain loops. However, sufficient space must be provided to ensure that adjacent carriers do not foul each other, particularly one stack to another.

It is also important to maintain the horizontal disposition of the carriers and not permit them to swing or turn upside down. Considerations of space do not permit the use of gravity to maintain the carriers horizontal as in a ferris wheel. So carousels have been constructed with additional rollers at the ends of the carriers and track for the rollers. These arrangements are complicated and, therefore, expensive. Moreover they are not always reliable.

According to the invention there is provided a storage carousel comprising two endless loops of chain arranged in vertical spaced apart planes, a plurality of carriers supported at each end by the chains, means at the ends of a chain loop for engaging the adjacent ends of carriers during transfer from one run of the loops to the other to prevent pivoting of the carriers relative to the chains during said transfer, and means provided on each carrier being adapted to engage adjacent carriers while located in either run of the chain loops to prevent pivoting of the carriers relative to the chains.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention each carrier is provided at one end with cam surfaces. Cam followers at the top and bottom of the chain loop adjacent the said one end engage against the cam surfaces as the carrier is moved around the ends of the chain loops. Projections are provided on the top or bottom of each carrier and a corresponding recess is provided in the bottom or top of the adjacent carrier in which said projection is received while the carriers are in either run of the chain loops. The combined effect of these features ensures that the carriers cannot swing about during any part of their travel either along the straight runs of the chain loops or around the arcuate ends of the chain loops.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-

Fig.l is a partial side elevation of a storage carousel with some parts omitted for clarity;

Fig.2 is a partial front elevation of the carousel of Fig.l;

Fig.3 is a perspective view of part of a chain.

Fig.4 is a perspective view of an end of a carrier;

Fig.5 is a side elevation of the top part of the carousel of Fig.l on an enlarged scale and with the carriers in a different position;

Fig.6 is a side elevation of the other side of the carousel illustrated in Fig.5. Referring to the drawings the carousel is supported on a frame 8 which, can be enclosed with access to the interior being provided for example at a convenient height.

The carousel comprises two endless loops of chain ID,, 12 arranged in spaced apart vertical planes. Sprockets 14 and 16 mounted on sprocket shaft 13 are arranged at the top of each respective loop. Similar sprockets one of which, 15, is shown in Fig.l are provided at the bottom of each loop. The vertical runs of chain 10 run in U-shaped channels 18, 20 and the vertical runs of chain 12 run in similar U-shaped channels 22, 24. The pairs of channels are arranged with their open sides directed outwardly and away from each other.

Pairs of spaced apart, triangular shaped support members 26, 28 are fixed to each chain at intervals therealong. As can be seen more clearly in Fig.3 the said support members are fixed to the chain along their bases by shafts 30, 32. The shafts extend laterally outwardly of the chain and rollers 34 are journalled on the outward projections. Further rollers 36 are provided on the shafts 30 and 32 between the chain links. The purpose of rollers 34 is to provide smooth running of the chains through the U-shaped channels 18, 20, 22, 24 and the purpose of rollers 36 is to provide smooth running of the chains over the sprockets at each end of the chain loops. The chain construction is thus in the nature of a conveyor chain rather than a transmission chain as conventionally used in carousels.

The apices of the triangular shaped support members project outwardly from the chain loops. In the vertical runs the said apices extend through the open sides of the U-shaped channels 18, 20. A bore extends through the said apices of each pair of support members 26, 28, to receive a mounting 40 for a storage carrier 42. As will be apparent from Figs.l and 2 the carriers 42 are thus supported at opposite ends by mountings 40 fixed to the chain loops. As can be seen in Fig.4 the mounting 40 consists of a cylindrical boss fixed to a support 41 which in turn is fixed to a top hat section member 43 which extends down the centre of the end of the carrier 42. As an alternative to the illustrated assembly the mountings 40 may be fixed from inside the carrier so that serviceing of the carrier mountings can be effected from the access point to the carriers rather than by removal of any housing around the carousel.

A triangular projection 44 is provided at the top of the end walls of each storage carrier, above each member 43. When the carriers are disposed in a stack along the vertical runs of the chain loops the projections 44 engage in the bottom of the members 43 and prevent pivoting movement of the carriers about the mountings 40. However, when the carriers are moved around the ends of chain loops the projections 44 disengage from the members 43 and additional means is required to prevent the carriers from pivoting about their mountings 40. These means will now be described.

The members 43 at each end of the carriers, as can be seen in Fig.4 are provided with a pair of part cylindrical cam surfaces 50, 52. The cam surfaces are located on the vertical centre line of the carrier end wall one, 50, near the top of the carrier end with the open concave side 51 facing upwardly and the other 52, near the bottom of the carrier end with the open concave side 53 facing downwardly in a mirror image of the cam 52 so that the convex sides of the said cam surfaces 50 and 52 face each other. Four arms 54 extend radially at 90° intervals from a rotatable shaft 56 driven synchronously with shaft 13 by a belt 55. The free ends of the arms 54 are provided with cam followers in the form of rollers 58.

The disposition of the arms 54 is such that when a carrier 42 reaches the top of a vertical chain run two of the arms are horizontal and the other two vertical. The chains can be moved in either direction, but assuming a clockwise movement (as viewed in Figs.l and 5) - 1 - the roller 58 on the arm 54 that extends horizontally towards the left (as shown in Fig.l) engages in cam 52 just as the carrier referenced 42A leaves the top of the left hand vertical run and begins to be moved around the top of the carousel. During that movement the roller 58 remains engaged in cam 52 and thus maintains cam 52 vertically below mounting 40 and prevents any rotation of the carrier about the mounting 40. As can be seen in Fig.l when the carrier arrives in the top dead centre position the arm 54 whose roller is engaged in the cam

52 is vertically disposed. Finally when the carrier 42 descends into the right hand run the roller 58 on arm 54 disengages from the cam. It will be evident from the foregoing description that if the carousel is moved in the other sense, that is to say anticlockwise (as viewed in Fig.l) a similar sequence of events takes place with the rollers 58 on the ends of arms 54 engaging in cams 52 on the carriers 42 as they leave the right hand vertical chain run. The rollers remain engaged in said cams 52 while the carriers are moved around the top of the carousel until the carriers enter the left hand vertical chain run whereupon the rollers 58 disengage from the cams 52.

Although not illustrated and described in detail similar provision to restrain the carriers against rotation is provided at the bottom of each chain loop. Thus as the carriers move around the sprockets at the bottom of the chain loops, an arrangement of cam followers and arms similar to arms 54 and cam followers 58 engages the upper cam surfaces 50.

The invention is not restricted to the described embodiments and many variations and modifications can be made. For example other shapes of cam surfaces and/or cam followers can be adopted which will provide the same restraint against pivoting of the carriers during transfer of the carriers from one chain run to the other. In addition different shaped projections can be provided for engaging an adjacent carrier or carriers while the carriers are located in one or other run of the chain loops. In the embodiment shown in the drawings cam surfaces are provided at both ends of the carriers and cam followers are provided on both sides of the carousel for engagement with the cam surfaces. It is possible to provide cam followers to engage cam surfaces on one end only of the carriers.

Claims

1. A storage carousel comprising two endless loops of chain arranged in vertical, spaced-apart, planes, a plurality of carriers supported at each end by the chains characterised in that means are provided at the ends; o±. each chain loop for engaging the adjacent ends of: the. carriers during transfer from one run of the loops to the other to prevent pivoting of the carriers relative to the chains during said transfer, and means provided on each carrier for engaging an adjacent carrier while located in either run of the chain loops to prevent pivoting of the carriers relative to the chains.

2. A storage carousel as claimed in Claim 1, wherein cam surfaces are provided on at least one end of each carrier, said means at the ends of a chain loop for engaging the adjacent ends of carriers comprising cam foi.lowers movable synchronously with the chains and engageable with the said cam surfaces.

3. A storage carousel as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the cam surfaces comprise part cylindrical members and said cam followers comprise means receivable in said part cylindrical members.

4. A storage carousel as claimed in Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein the cam followers are mounted on arms, said arms being mounted on a shaft rotatable synchronously with movement of the chain loops.

5. A storage carousel as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said means for engaging the ends of carriers during transfer from one run of the loops to the other are provided on both sides of the carousel.

6. A storage carousel as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the means provided on each carrier to engage an adjacent carrier while located in either run of the chain loops comprises a projection on the top or bottom of each carrier and corresponding recess in the bottom or top of the adjacent carrier in which recess the projection is receivable.

7. A storage carousel as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the means provided on each carrier to engage an adjacent carrier while located in either run of the chain loops is provided adjacent at least one end of each carrier.