System for identifying and managing pallets

• US 20070069017A1
• Filed: 09/20/2006
• Published: 03/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jungheinrich AG
• Original Assignee: Jungheinrich AG
• Inventors: Magens, Ernst-Peter, Manken, Frank, von Werder, Martin
• Granted Patent: US 7,387,243 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/385
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/137 with arrangements or automatic control means for selecting which articles are to be removed
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1371 with data records
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 43/08 Control devices operated by article or material being fed, conveyed or discharged and controlling the discharging devices B65G47/42
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/0755 Position control; Position detectors

Abstract

System for identifying and managing pallets, which are placed at or picked up from bin locations by means of an industrial truck, with the following characteristics: a box-shaped housing, which contains all components required for communicating with transponders as well as evaluating signals from the transponders, in particular a read/write unit, a send/receive circuit and an evaluation unit, wherein the evaluation unit has an interface to an on-board, the box-shaped housing is attached to the bottom side of the lower cross bar of a support for the loading fork between the fork arms, a single transponder is attached to the front side of the middle block of the pallet, and/or a rack support at the entrance that faces the industrial truck is provided with a transponder on a longitudinal support.

Claims

1. System for identifying and managing pallets, which are placed at or picked up from bin locations by means of an industrial truck, with the following characteristics:

a box-shaped housing, which contains all components required for communicating with transponders as well as evaluating signals from the transponders, in particular a read/write unit, a send/receive circuit and an evaluation unit, wherein the evaluation unit has an interface to an on-board computer of the industrial truck, the box-shaped housing (18) is attached to the bottom side of the lower cross bar (16) of a support for the loading fork (10) between the fork arms (20), a single transponder (32) is attached to the front side of the middle block (26) of the pallet (22), and/or a rack support at the entrance that faces the industrial truck is provided with a transponder (40) on a longitudinal support.

2. System in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that a transponder is provided at a bin location.

3. System in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that, at the bin location, a transponder is arranged in the floor below the bin location.

4. System in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that a U-shaped bracket (42) used to pick up the housing (18) is attached to the bottom side of the lower cross bar (16).

5. System in accordance with claim 4, characterized in that the bracket (42) is suspended in a pivotable manner from a horizontal axis and can be fixed in a received position.

6. System in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that transponders are embedded in the floor of the track systems of the vehicle for navigating the vehicle via a display in the driver'"'"'s cab or intervening in the speed control of the vehicle.