Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B66—HOISTING; LIFTING; HAULING
  • B66F—HOISTING, LIFTING, HAULING OR PUSHING, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, e.g. DEVICES WHICH APPLY A LIFTING OR PUSHING FORCE DIRECTLY TO THE SURFACE OF A LOAD
  • B66F9/00—Devices for lifting or lowering bulky or heavy goods for loading or unloading purposes
  • B66F9/06—Devices for lifting or lowering bulky or heavy goods for loading or unloading purposes movable, with their loads, on wheels or the like, e.g. fork-lift trucks
  • B66F9/07—Floor-to-roof stacking devices, e.g. "stacker cranes", "retrievers"
  • B66F9/072—Travelling gear therefor

Definitions

• the invention relates to a goods handling crane which is horizontally movable along storage shelves and to take goods out of and put goods into these, comprising a travelling carriage, a lifting stand on the travelling carriage, a lifting arrangement for goods, a first driving means for moving the goods handling crane in the horizontal direction along the storage shelves and a second driving means for raising and lowering the lifting arrangement in the vertical direction along the lifting stand.
• Goods handling cranes of the type indicated above can be very tall in order to be capable of being used on tall storage shelves and there are examples of goods handling cranes which are several tens of metres tall.
• the horizontal movement of the goods handling crane takes place with known art normally by the generally rail-mounted travelling carriage being moved by the wheels of the travelling carriage being driven or by means of longitudinal traction devices in the form of belts, wire cables, chains or corresponding acting on the travelling carriage or at the very bottom of the lifting stand, the goods handling crane being pulled by means of a motor which acts on the belts, the wire cables, the chains or corresponding.
• the motor or the motors which pulls or pull the goods handling crane can either be situated on the travelling carriage/the goods handling crane or be firmly mounted at the end or the ends of the movement path of the goods handling crane.
• the force for the horizontal movement of the goods handling crane acts close to the lowest part of the goods handling crane.
• lifting stands up to 40 m tall exist - this means a very unfavourable force load with a great moment acting on the lifting stand on acceleration and retardation of the goods handling crane.
• the lifting stand is subjected to oscillatory movements which must cease before the goods handling crane can be said to have been positioned for delivering and taking out goods to and from one of the shelf compart ⁇ ments.
• the acceleration and the retardation of the horizontal movement of the goods handling crane must be limited, which of course reduces the handling speed.
• the lifting stand must be constructed to be more stable so that it has a higher moment of inertia, which, however, leads to higher manufacturing costs and greater mass which in turn requires great motor power for acceleration and retardation.
• a goods handling crane is also known which is moved in the horizontal direction by wire cables which are fastened to the goods handling crane at a height corresponding to the vertical centre point of the goods handling crane.
• the prerequisites are thus created for being capable of reducing the abovementioned oscillatory movements.
• Characteristic of the goods handling crane according to US 3 690 479 is further that it is moved in the horizontal direction by a motor arranged remote from the goods handling crane, from which the goods handling crane is driven via a wire cable which is fastened at a front and a rear point on the goods handling crane which together with the cable forms an endless loop, the path of which is defined by a number of guide wheels.
• the lifting stand of the goods handling crane is relatively broad in the travelling direction which means that the lifting handling crane can be moved in the vertical direction between the fastening points of the cable.
• this construction also means that the goods handling crane has a very stable and thus heavy construction with the disadvantages this implies, which have been discussed above.
• Another disadvantage is that the driving wire cable must have a considerable length.
• the pulling force in the cable in such a construction it is not possible to avoid considerable elastic, varying extensions in the wire cable, which impairs the precision and/or the speed in the positioning of the goods handling crane.
• the hanging-down of the cable also leads to impaired precision, especially as it is not possible in the known construction to prevent hanging down by means of support arrangements. This applies at least to the part of the cable which extends between the goods handling crane and the drive motor at one end point of the transport path and between the goods handling crane and the first guide wheel at the other end point of the transport path.
• the aim of the invention is to offer an improved goods handling crane which does not have the abovementioned disadvantages and/or limitations.
• said first driving means comprising at least one driving motor and at least one longitudinal traction device which is arranged to act on the goods handling crane, more specifically on the lifting stand between the travelling carriage and the top of the stand at a considerable height above the travelling carriage, and by said traction device being located at least on one side of the goods handling crane along the horizontal travelling direction thereof at a distance from the centre line of the goods handling crane which is sufficient for allowing the lifting arrangement to pass it on its vertical movement along the lifting stand.
• the traction device is preferably arranged to act on the lifting stand at a height corresponding essentially to the centre of gravity of the goods handling crane exclusive of the weight of the vertically movable lifting arrangement.
• the longitudinal traction device can e.g. consist of a driving belt, wire cable, chain or corresponding. In principle, it is also possible to envisage a rack interacting with gearwheel and driving motor on the goods handling crane.
• the driving motor which forms part of the first driving means for the horizontal movement of the goods handling crane is expediently arranged on the goods handling crane, preferably on the lifting stand, and arranged to act via a transmission on said traction device/traction devices which is/are firmly clamped between fastening points at both ends of the transport path.
• the traction device/traction devices e.g. the behJbelts or corresponding
• the invention also makes it possible for a driving belt or corresponding arranged in this manner to be supported by one or more support arrangements, e.g. a rail, which extend horizontally along the entire length of the storage shelves. This possibility is used in the preferred embodiment of the invention, as a result of which the belt or corresponding traction device is prevented from hanging down, something which would impair the precision.
• Fig. 1 shows a schematic picture of a goods handling crane according to the invention
• Fig. 2 shows motors and parts of the transmissions which are arranged to pull the goods handling crane in the horizontal direction and which move the lifting arrangement in the vertical direction
• Fig. 3 shows, in the direction of arrow A in Fig. 1, the lifting stand in a cross-section and parts of said first driving means for the horizontal movement of the goods handling crane
• Fig. 4 shows corresponding parts in a view in the direction of arrow B in Fig. 1.
• the goods handling crane 1 comprises a travelling carriage 2, a lifting stand 3 and a lifting arrangement 4 with goods 5.
• the toothed belt 22 is made of steel- wire reinforced plastic and rests with the teeth facing downwards on a rail 28 which is fastened to vertical posts 29 forming part of the storage shelves 30. The toothed belt 22 is thus prevented from sagging down, which would impair the possibilities of positioning the goods handling crane rapidly with great precision.
• the toothed belt 22 is furthermore firmly anchored with its two ends at fastening points 31, 32 close to the two end positions of the goods handling crane 1 and is extended, i.e. subjected to pulling tension, between these fastening points, which is also positive for exact and rapid positioning.
• On the other longitudinal side of the goods handling crane there is a corresponding arrangement (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4) in which the same motor, by means of a driven gearwheel 11' and guide wheels 12' and 13', acts on a second toothed belt 22' resting on a second fixed rail 28'.
• the lifting arrangement 4 with any goods 5 is moved vertically along the lifting mast 3 by means of a motor 14, a driving wheel 19 driven by the motor 14 and guide wheels 20 and 21 and e.g. a belt, wire cable, chain or corresponding 23.
• the arrangements 4, 14-21 and 23 do not constitute part of the invention and are not described in detail in this text.
• Figs 2, 3 and 4 show motors, transmissions and other arrangements for the horizontal movement of the goods handling crane and for the vertical movement of the lifting arrangement.
• the motor 6 is provided with a belt pulley 7 which is connected via a belt 8 to a second belt pulley 9. This is mounted on an axle 10 which is at each end provided with the gearwheels 11 and 11' respectively.
• the drawings also show guide wheels 12 and 13, and 12' and 13' respectively, which, like the driving wheels 11 and 11', are partly surrounded by sections 32, 32' of the belts 22 and 22' respectively and lay the belts on the respective rail 28, 28'.
• the travelling carriage 2 of the goods handling crane is provided with wheels 25, 26 and 25', 26' which are made as rail-mounted travelling and guiding wheels. There is moreover a pair of guiding wheels at the top of the lifting stand.
• the lifting stand 3 of the goods handling crane 1 is supported at the top 24 in the transverse direction by means of one or more rails which prevent the lifting stand from swaying laterally.
• the goods handling crane 1 is moved horizontally with the travelling carriage 2 rolling on rails (not shown) horizontally as the arrows show to the desired position where goods, after vertical movement and very accurate positioning of the lifting arrangement, are automatically taken out of or delivered into storage shelves 30, 30' situated on both sides along the travelling direction of the goods handling crane 1.
• the horizontal movement takes place in the preferred embodiment by the motor 6 driving, via the belt pulley 7, the belt 8, the belt pulley 9 and the axle 10, the two gearwheels 11 and 11', one on each of the sides of the goods handling crane which face towards the storage shelves 30, 30'.
• the driving wheels 11 and 11' are, by means of the guide wheels 12, 13 and 12', 13', partially surrounded by belt parts 32, 32' of the tensioned belts 22 and 22'.
• the goods handling crane 1 On rotation of the motor 6 and through the engagement of the partially surrounded gearwheels 11, 11' with the teeth in the fixed, tensioned toothed belts 22, 22', the goods handling crane 1 is moved along the tensioned belts in the horizontal direction to a position, in which the lifting arrangement is in a desired horizontal position in front of a desired storage place (if appropriate the vertical position of the lifting arrangement is taken up simultaneously with the horizontal movement of the goods handling crane so that the lifting arrangement 4 is in the desired place when the goods handling crane 1 stops).
• the lifting arrangement 4 can be moved vertically unhindered to the correct height without being blocked by the toothed belts 22 and 22', whether the vertical movement takes place after the goods handling crane has stopped or - preferably - simultaneously with the goods handling crane 1 being moved horizontally.
• traction device/traction devices are made as a toothed belt/toothed belts, especially when they are supported by a support arrangement, but other alternatives have also been mentioned in the text, such as wire cables, chains and racks.
• the support arrangement in the form of a rail can be modified, e.g. made as a longitudinal channel.
• a rack is also possible as traction device, which can be carried by brackets or other support arrangements along the storage shelves. What it is desired to protect through the patent is therefore not to be limited by the preceding, detailed description of a possible embodiment.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Transportation (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Geology (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Warehouses Or Storage Devices (AREA)

Priority Applications (3)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=20395193

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Cited By (1)

Citations (4)

• 1994
  • 1994-09-12 SE SE9403026A patent/SE503421C2/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1995
  • 1995-09-06 AU AU35360/95A patent/AU3536095A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1995-09-06 WO PCT/SE1995/000995 patent/WO1996008430A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1995-09-06 EP EP95932266A patent/EP0776307A1/en not_active Withdrawn
• 1997
  • 1997-03-11 NO NO971105A patent/NO971105L/no unknown

Patent Citations (4)

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