MODULAR STORAGE SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A modular system for storage of cargo units in a designated space and for effective exploitation of said designated space, said system comprising:
- a. at least one storage area with one or more storage spaces adapted to store stocks of cargo being inserted into said system until said stocks of cargo are being extracted from said system;
b. at least one service area, said at least one service area adapted to receive stocks of cargo being inserted into said system, transfer said blocks of cargo to said storage area, and to retrieve said stocks of cargo being extracted out of said system, said service area comprising;
i. a plurality of pallets, each is adapted to carry at least one cargo unit;
ii. a plurality of at least partially interconnected active cell units forming a multi-dimensional structure with at least one row and at least one column of storing locations for at least one of said cargo units;
said at least one row of said multi-dimensional structure is parallel to an axis selected from axis X or axis Y, and said at least one column of said multi-dimensional structure is parallel to an axis selected from axis X and axis Y, differently from the axis of said at least one row;
each cell unit having a lengthwise axis X, and a widthwise axis Y, parallel to said axis X and said axis Y of said multi-dimensional structure;
each cell unit comprising a cell transporting mechanism adapted to transport at least one pallet to and from said cell unit in direction selected from said axis X or said axis Y;
each cell unit further adapted to contain at least one pallet on the same;
iii. at least one active shuttle unit movable between said plurality of cell units of said multi-dimensional structure;
said active shuttle unit has a lengthwise X axis, and a widthwise axis Y, parallel to said axis X and said axis Y of said multi-dimensional structure;
each shuttle unit comprising a shuttle transporting mechanism adapted to transport at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets to and from one of said plurality of cell units in direction selected from said axis X, and said axis Y;
said shuttle unit is adapted to enable transportation of at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets from at least one of said cell units to another one of said cell units;
each shuttle unit further adapted to contain at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets on the same; and
,c. a central controller adapted to control the operation of said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism of each one of said cell units and each of said at least one shuttle unit in an independent manner for transporting said plurality of pallets from one predetermined location to another predetermined location within said system;
wherein the operation of each of said cell transporting mechanism of each of said plurality of cell units and each of said shuttle transporting mechanism of each of said at least one shuttle unit is independently performed in said independent manner via said central controller such that a construction of any arrangement of said cell units forming said multi-dimensional structure is performed to effectively exploit said storage area by means of the number of cargo units capable of being inserted and stored within said system, and wherein said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism are adapted to transport at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets from one cell unit to its adjacent cell unit in a time interval of between about 7 to about 13 seconds;
further wherein said plurality of pallets, said at least one active shuttle unit, and said plurality of active cell units are adapted to perform said storage, receiving and retrieval of said cargo in a sequence such that said cargo can be received into said system and other cargoes can be extracted from said system simultaneously;
further wherein each of said active cell units comprises a matrix of at least three blocks, said blocks being of predetermined shape upon which said cargo and said pallets are located;
said matrix of blocks comprises at least one box block and at least two buffer blocks;
said buffer blocks comprising said cell transporting mechanism;
further wherein said matrix of at least three blocks is arranged in a buffer-box-buffer organization.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A modular system for storage of cargo units, comprises: a plurality of pallets; a plurality of interconnected active cell units; each cell unit comprises an cell transporting mechanism; at least one active shuttle unit movable between the plurality of cell units; each shuttle unit comprises a shuttle transporting mechanism adapted to transport at least one pallet of the plurality of pallets to and from one of the plurality of cell units and to and from the at least one shuttle unit; a central controller adapted to control the operation of the cell and the shuttle transporting mechanisms, the operation of which is performed in an independent manner via the central controller such that a construction of any arrangement of the cell units is performed to effectively exploit a designated space.
25 Citations
67 Claims
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1. A modular system for storage of cargo units in a designated space and for effective exploitation of said designated space, said system comprising:
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a. at least one storage area with one or more storage spaces adapted to store stocks of cargo being inserted into said system until said stocks of cargo are being extracted from said system; b. at least one service area, said at least one service area adapted to receive stocks of cargo being inserted into said system, transfer said blocks of cargo to said storage area, and to retrieve said stocks of cargo being extracted out of said system, said service area comprising; i. a plurality of pallets, each is adapted to carry at least one cargo unit; ii. a plurality of at least partially interconnected active cell units forming a multi-dimensional structure with at least one row and at least one column of storing locations for at least one of said cargo units;
said at least one row of said multi-dimensional structure is parallel to an axis selected from axis X or axis Y, and said at least one column of said multi-dimensional structure is parallel to an axis selected from axis X and axis Y, differently from the axis of said at least one row;
each cell unit having a lengthwise axis X, and a widthwise axis Y, parallel to said axis X and said axis Y of said multi-dimensional structure;
each cell unit comprising a cell transporting mechanism adapted to transport at least one pallet to and from said cell unit in direction selected from said axis X or said axis Y;
each cell unit further adapted to contain at least one pallet on the same;iii. at least one active shuttle unit movable between said plurality of cell units of said multi-dimensional structure;
said active shuttle unit has a lengthwise X axis, and a widthwise axis Y, parallel to said axis X and said axis Y of said multi-dimensional structure;
each shuttle unit comprising a shuttle transporting mechanism adapted to transport at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets to and from one of said plurality of cell units in direction selected from said axis X, and said axis Y;
said shuttle unit is adapted to enable transportation of at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets from at least one of said cell units to another one of said cell units;
each shuttle unit further adapted to contain at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets on the same; and
,c. a central controller adapted to control the operation of said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism of each one of said cell units and each of said at least one shuttle unit in an independent manner for transporting said plurality of pallets from one predetermined location to another predetermined location within said system; wherein the operation of each of said cell transporting mechanism of each of said plurality of cell units and each of said shuttle transporting mechanism of each of said at least one shuttle unit is independently performed in said independent manner via said central controller such that a construction of any arrangement of said cell units forming said multi-dimensional structure is performed to effectively exploit said storage area by means of the number of cargo units capable of being inserted and stored within said system, and wherein said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism are adapted to transport at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets from one cell unit to its adjacent cell unit in a time interval of between about 7 to about 13 seconds; further wherein said plurality of pallets, said at least one active shuttle unit, and said plurality of active cell units are adapted to perform said storage, receiving and retrieval of said cargo in a sequence such that said cargo can be received into said system and other cargoes can be extracted from said system simultaneously; further wherein each of said active cell units comprises a matrix of at least three blocks, said blocks being of predetermined shape upon which said cargo and said pallets are located;
said matrix of blocks comprises at least one box block and at least two buffer blocks;
said buffer blocks comprising said cell transporting mechanism;further wherein said matrix of at least three blocks is arranged in a buffer-box-buffer organization. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method for constructing and operating a modular system for storage of cargo units in a designated space and for effective exploitation of said designated space, said method comprising steps of:
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a. providing a modular system for storage of cargo units in a designated space and for effective exploitation of said designated space, said system comprising;
(a) at least one storage area with one or more storage spaces adapted to store stocks of cargo being inserted into said system until said stocks of cargo are being extracted from said system; and
(b) at least one service area, said at least one service area adapted to receive stocks of cargo being inserted into said system, transfer said blocks of cargo to said storage area, and to retrieve said stocks of cargo being extracted out of said system, said service area comprising;
(i) a plurality of pallets, each is adapted to carry at least one cargo unit;
(ii) a plurality of active cell units adapted to form a multi-dimensional structure with at least one row and at least one column of storing locations for at least one of said cargo units;
said at least one row of said multi-dimensional structure is parallel to said to an axis selected from axis X or axis Y, and said at least one column of said multi-dimensional structure is parallel to axis selected from axis X and axis Y, differently from the axis of said at least one row;
each cell unit having a lengthwise axis X, and a widthwise axis Y, parallel to said axis X and said axis Y of said multi-dimensional structure;
each cell unit comprising an cell transporting mechanism adapted to transport at least one pallet to and from said cell unit in direction selected from said axis X or said axis Y;
each cell unit further adapted to contain at least one pallet on the same;
(iii) at least one active shuttle unit movable between said plurality of cell units of said multi-dimensional structure;
said active shuttle unit has a lengthwise X axis, and a widthwise axis Y, parallel to said axis X and said axis Y of said multi-dimensional structure;
each shuttle unit comprising a shuttle transporting mechanism adapted to transport at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets to and from one of said plurality of cell units in direction selected from said axis X, and said axis Y;
said shuttle unit is adapted to enable transportation of at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets from at least one of said cell units to another one of said cell units;
each shuttle unit further adapted to contain at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets on the same;
said system further comprises (c) a central controller adapted to control the operation of said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism of each one of said cell units and each of said at least one shuttle unit in an independent manner for transporting said plurality of pallets from one predetermined location to another predetermined location within said system;b. at least partially interconnecting said active cell units, and thereby forming said multi-dimensional structure; c. installing said at least one active shuttle unit between said plurality of cell units of said multi-dimensional structure; d. providing at least one cargo unit; e. placing said at least one cargo unit one pallet of said plurality of pallets at one predetermined location within said system; f. controlling the operation of said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism of each one of said cell units and each of said at least one shuttle unit via said central controller in an independent manner, g. transporting said at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets to and from at least one of said plurality of cell units and said at least one active shuttle unit via said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism of the same; h. transporting said at least one cargo unit from said one predetermined location to another predetermined location within said system; and
,i. storing said at least one cargo unit within said system; wherein said step (f) of controlling the operation of said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism of each one of said cell units and each of said at least one shuttle unit is performed in said independent manner via said central controller, and thereby said system is efficiently exploiting said designated space by means of the number of cargo units capable of being inserted and stored within said system by allowing a construction of any arrangement of said cell units forming said multi-dimensional structure, and wherein said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism are adapted to transport at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets in a time interval of between about 7 to about 13 seconds; further wherein said step (g) of transporting said at least one pallet further comprises steps of storing, receiving and retrieving said cargo in a sequence such that said cargo can be received into said system and other cargoes can be extracted from said system simultaneously; further wherein said step (a) of providing a modular system further comprises steps of providing each of said active cell units with a matrix of at least three blocks, predetermining the shape of said blocks enabling locating said cargo and said pallets upon said blocks, and further providing said matrix of blocks with at least one box block and at least two buffer blocks, said buffer blocks comprising said cell transporting mechanism; further wherein said step of providing said matrix further comprises a step of arranging said at least three blocks in a buffer-box-buffer organization. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A modular system for storage of cargo units in a designated space and for effective exploitation of said designated space, said system comprising:
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a. a plurality of pallets, each is adapted to carry at least one cargo unit; b. a plurality of at least partially interconnected active cell units forming a multi-dimensional structure with at least one row and at least one column of storing locations for at least one of said cargo units;
said at least one row of said multi-dimensional structure is parallel to said to an axis selected from axis X or axis Y, and said at least one column of said multi-dimensional structure is parallel to axis selected from axis X and axis Y, differently from the axis of said at least one row;
each cell unit having a lengthwise axis X, and a widthwise axis Y, parallel to said axis X and said axis Y of said multi-dimensional structure;
each cell unit comprising a cell transporting mechanism adapted to transport at least one pallet to and from said cell unit in direction selected from said axis X or said axis Y;
each cell unit further adapted to contain at least one pallet on the same;c. at least one active shuttle unit movable between said plurality of cell units of said multi-dimensional structure;
said—
active shuttle unit has a lengthwise X axis, and a widthwise axis Y, parallel to said axis X and said axis Y of said multi-dimensional structure;
each shuttle unit comprising a shuttle transporting mechanism adapted to transport at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets to and from one of said plurality of cell units in direction selected from said axis X, and said axis Y;
said shuttle unit is adapted to enable transportation of at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets from at least one of said cell units to another one of said cell units;
each shuttle unit further adapted to contain at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets on the same; and
,d. a central controller adapted to control the operation of said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism of each one of said cell units and each of said at least one shuttle unit in an independent manner for transporting said plurality of pallets from one predetermined location to another predetermined location within said system; wherein the operation of each of said cell transporting mechanism of each of said plurality of cell units and each of said shuttle transporting mechanism of each of said at least one shuttle unit is independently performed in said independent manner via said central controller such that a construction of any arrangement of said cell units forming said multi-dimensional structure is performed to effectively exploit said designated space by means of the number of cargo units capable of being inserted and stored within said system;
wherein said one cell unit of said plurality of cell units comprises a rotating mechanism adapted to rotate a pallet located on it in a rotation angle between about 1°
to about 360°
, clockwise and counter-clockwise. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. A method for constructing and operating a modular system for storage of cargo units in a designated space and for effective exploitation of said designated space, said method comprising steps of:
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a. providing a modular system for storage of cargo units in a designated space and for effective exploitation of said designated space, said system comprising;
(i) a plurality of pallets, each is adapted to carry at least one cargo unit;
(ii) a plurality of active cell units adapted to form a multi-dimensional structure with at least one row and at least one column of storing locations for at least one of said cargo units;
said at least one row of said multi-dimensional structure is parallel to said to an axis selected from axis X or axis Y, and said at least one column of said multi-dimensional structure is parallel to axis selected from axis X and axis Y, differently from the axis of said at least one row;
each cell unit having a lengthwise axis X, and a widthwise axis Y, parallel to said axis X and said axis Y of said multi-dimensional structure;
each cell unit comprising an cell transporting mechanism adapted to transport at least one pallet to and from said cell unit in direction selected from said axis X or said axis Y;
each cell unit further adapted to contain at least one pallet on the same;
(iii) at least one active shuttle unit movable between said plurality of cell units of said multi-dimensional structure;
said active shuttle unit has a lengthwise X axis, and a widthwise axis Y, parallel to said axis X and said axis Y of said multi-dimensional structure;
each shuttle unit comprising a shuttle transporting mechanism adapted to transport at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets to and from one of said plurality of cell units in direction selected from said axis X, and said axis Y;
said shuttle unit is adapted to enable transportation of at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets from at least one of said cell units to another one of said cell units;
each shuttle unit further adapted to contain at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets on the same; and
, (iv) a central controller adapted to control the operation of said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism of each one of said cell units and each of said at least one shuttle unit in an independent manner for transporting said plurality of pallets from one predetermined location to another predetermined location within said system;b. at least partially interconnecting said active cell units, and thereby forming said multi-dimensional structure; c. installing said at least one active shuttle unit between said plurality of cell units of said multi-dimensional structure; d. providing at least one cargo unit; e. placing said at least one cargo unit one pallet of said plurality of pallets at one predetermined location within said system; f. controlling the operation of said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism of each one of said cell units and each of said at least one shuttle unit via said central controller in an independent manner, g. transporting said at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets to and from at least one of said plurality of cell units and said at least one active shuttle unit via said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism of the same; h. transporting said at least one cargo unit from said one predetermined location to another predetermined location within said system; and
,i. storing said at least one cargo unit within said system; wherein said step (f) of controlling the operation of said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism of each one of said cell units and each of said at least one shuttle unit is performed in said independent manner via said central controller, and thereby said system is efficiently exploiting said designated space by means of the number of cargo units capable of being inserted and stored within said system by allowing a construction of any arrangement of said cell units forming said multi-dimensional structure;
wherein said one cell unit of said plurality of cell units comprises a rotating mechanism adapted to rotate a pallet located on it in a rotation angle between about 1°
to about 360°
, clockwise and counter-clockwise. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67)
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Specification