WAREHOUSING SYSTEM USING SLOWDOWN AND STOP BIN INDICATORS

• US 3,786,929 A
• Filed: 11/01/1971
• Issued: 01/22/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Interlake Companies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: James S. Hathcock Jr
• Inventors: Hathcock, James S. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Forlenza, Gerald M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Libman, George H.
• Application Number:
  US05/194,713
• Time in Patent Office: 813 Days
• Field of Search: 214/16.4A 187/29R 246/2S
• US Class Current: 414/273
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/0421 with control for stacker crane operations

Abstract

To identify vertical slowdown and stop positions for a stacker crane, each vertical bin is uniquely located by a binary coded slowdown plate and a separate binary coded stop plate. A vertical drive control is responsive to photoelectric sensors, mounted on a crane hoist, as the sensors are driven adjacent the binary coded plates. To reduce the minimum vertical spacing between bins, the coded plates are interleaved so that the slowdown plate for an adjacent bin is located between each stop plate and slowdown plate for a different bin. Various combinations of detectable elements are carried on each coded plate to provide strobe, high or deposit, and low or retrieve information.

Claims

1. In a warehousing system having a plurality of load storing means, rail means extending along and fixed with respect to said load storing means, carriage means movable along said rail means and including load carrier means for depositing and retrieving loads from adjacent load storing means, and drive means for moving said carriage means including drive slowdown means actuable to decrease the speed of said carriage means in anticipation of reaching a selected load storing means and drive stop means actuable to stop said carriage means at the selected load storing means, the improvement comprising:

a plurality of separate address means mountable at different spaced locations on said rail means for uniquely identifying slowdown and stop positions for each of said load storing means, each separate address means including coded slowdown indicating elements for identifying the slowdown position at which said drive slowdown means should be actuated and coded stop indicating elements separate and spaced from said slowdown indicating means for identifying the stop position at which the drive stop means should be actuated when the load carrier means is to service the load storing means associated therewith, each separate address means further including control elements for modifying the operation of the drive means for the same address as identified by the indicating elements;

interleave means for mounting said separate address means at desired spaced locations along said rail means with at least one of said coded slowdown indicating means being mounted to said rail means at a location between the coded slowdown indicating means and the coded stop indicating means for a different load storing means;

plural sensor means mounted to said carriage means and movable adjacent said rail means for detecting said indicating elements and said control elements;

control means responsive to detection of the coded slowdown and coded stop indicating elements in conjunction with the control elements associated with the selected load storing means for actuating the drive slowdown means and the drive stop means, respectively.

2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein each coded slowdOwn indicating element carries a plurality of detectable indicia which uniquely identifies the load storing means associated therewith and each of said coded stop indicating elements carries a plurality of detectable indicia which uniquely identifies the load storing means associated therewith, one of said plural sensor means detecting said detectable indicia for transmission to said control means.

3. The improvement of claim 2 wherein each of said address means carries a binary code for uniquely identifying the slowdown and stop positions of the associated load storing means, and the detectable indicia on the slowdown indicating element and the stop indicating element for the same load storing means comprises identical binary bits defining said binary code.

4. The improvement of claim 3 wherein said control means includes selective address means for storing a binary code of a selected load storing means, match means having inputs coupled to said sensor means and said selected address means and actuated when a match has occurred, slowdown relay means actuated each time the sensor means detects one of said slowdown indicating elements, stop relay means actuated each time said sensor elements detects one of said stop indicating means, slowdown circuit means responsive to actuation of said match means and said slowdown relay means for actuating said drive slowdown means, and stop circuit means responsive to actuation of said match means and said stop relay means for actuating said drive stop means.

5. The improvement of claim 1 for a warehousing system in which the drive means is bidirectional for moving said carriage means in opposed directions adjacent the load storing means, wherein said coded slowdown indicating element comprises first and second coded slowdown members spaced on opposed sides of the associated coded stop indicating element for the same load storing means.

6. The improvement of claim 5 wherein said first coded slowdown member defines a slowdown position located in one direction preceding the associated coded stop indicating element and said second coded slowdown member defines a slowdown position located in an opposed direction preceding the associated coded stop indicating element, and said interleaving means mounts the first coded slowdown member for an adjacent load storing means between the second coded slowdown member and the coded stop indicating element for the same load storing means.

7. The improvement of claim 5 wherein each of said coded slowdown members carries an identical plurality of detectable indicia which define the same unique number.

8. The improvement of claim 7 wherein each coded stop indicating element carries a plurality of detectable indicia identical to the plurality of detectable indicia on the associated pair of coded slowdown members.

9. The improvement of claim 1 wherein at least one of said coded indicating elements for each address means carries a plurality of detectable binary bits which identify a unique binary number associated with only that coded address means, each coded stop indicating element includes at least one strobe element for indicating when information detected by said plural sensor means is valid, each coded slowdown indicating element carries at least one strobe element for indicating when information detected by said plural sensor means is valid, said plural sensor means includes at least binary bit detector means for detecting said binary bit elements and strobe means for detecting said strobe elements, and said control means being enabled only when said strobe means indicates that valid information is present.

10. The improvement of claim 9 wherein each coded stop indicating element includes at least two strobe elements corresponding to said control element, and said control means includes safety means responsive to selected combinations of detected strobe elements on said coded stop indicating element for indicating that the carriage means is positioned within a predetermined stop Zone.

11. The warehousing system of claim 1 in which the plurality of load storing means comprises horizontally spaced and vertically stacked bins, said carriage means comprises a stacker crane having hoist means vertically movable adjacent the vertically stacked bins for depositing and retrieving loads therefrom, said drive means includes vertical drive means for vertically propelling said hoist means in upper and lower directions for servicing the vertically stacked bins, vertical drive slowdown means actuable to decrease the vertical speed of propulsion of said hoist means and vertical drive stop means for precisely stopping the hoist means at a selected bin, each of said control elements includes a high position element and a low position element for identifying high and low vertical positions, respectively, for each vertically stacked bin, said plural sensor means includes address detector means for detecting the unique address associated with each address means and control element detector means for detecting said control elements, and said control means includes deposit circuit means responsive to detection of the stop indicating element having a selected unique address and the high position element for actuating said vertical drive stop means and retrieve circuit means responsive to detection of the stop indicating element having a selected unique address and the low position element for actuating said vertical drive stop means.

12. The improvement of claim 11 wherein each coded stop indicating element carries a pair of identical binary bit means located at positions corresponding to said high and low vertical positions, and said high and low position elements comprise strobe indicators aligned with the pair of binary bit means.

13. The improvement of claim 1 wherein each of said coded indicating elements and each of said control elements includes a plurality of areas which each either pass or block a photobeam to indicate the state of a bit, and said plural sensor means comprises light source means generating photobeams directed at a spaced photocell means and mounting means for locating said photobeams in a path which passes through the areas of said coded indicating elements and said control elements in order to detect said bits.