Automated work center

• US 5,161,929 A
• Filed: 09/05/1990
• Issued: 11/10/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 01/02/1986
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Robert Lichti Sr
• Original Assignee: Robert Lichti Sr
• Inventors: Lichti, Robert Sr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Werner, Frank E.
• Application Number:
  US07/579,101
• Time in Patent Office: 797 Days
• Field of Search: 414/331, 414/278, 414/285, 414/286, 414/273, 414/274, 414/287, 414/276, 414/263, 414/222, 364/478, 211/1.5, 193/35 A, 198/469.1, 198/475.1, 198/474.1, 198/478.1, 198/481.1, 198/793, 198/794, 198/797, 198/798, 198/799, 198/800, 198/339.1, 198/340, 198/345, 198/346.2 , 198/855, 198/575, 198/570, 198/571, 198/572, 198/502.2, 198/361, 198/346.1
• US Class Current: 414/331.04
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/0485 Check-in, check-out devices
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1371 with data records
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2201/02 Articles

Abstract

The present invention relates to an automated integrated work station for handling goods within distribution and production environments. In one of the preferred embodiments the work station is specifically adapted for consolidating goods.

Claims

1. A randomly accessible storage queue for use in an automated warehousing system, the storage queue receiving containers from a conveyor system and randomly discharging the received containers onto conveyor means, the storage queue comprising:

a vertically oriented frame;

queue track means carried by the frame and forming a vertically oriented endless loop having an up travel reach and a down travel reach;

a multiplicity of vertically spaced apart shelves carried by the queue track means, the shelves being positioned at substantially equal increments about the queue track means such that at any given time a first multiplicity of shelves are located on the up-travel reach and a second multiplicity of shelves are located on the down-travel reach, each said shelf being pivotally coupled to said queue track means such that the shelves remain substantially horizontal as they are carried between the up travel reach and down travel reach;

drive means for rotating the shelves about the endless loop;

a loading ramp for receiving containers from said conveyor system;

a selectively operable loading means for transferring containers from said loading ramp onto said shelves; and

a selectively operable unloading means for automatically transferring containers from selected shelves located on one of the travel reaches to said conveyor means wherein containers positioned on unselected shelves may freely pass the unloading means without being transferred to said conveyor means to then further circulate about the endless loop, the loading and unloading means being arranged to allow simultaneous insertion of containers onto and extraction of containers from different shelves of the storage queue; and

whereby to load the vertical storage queue, the shelves are rotated until an empty shelf is disposed adjacent the loading ramp and the loading means is activated to load a particular container onto the empty shelf, and whereby to unload a selected container from the storage queue, the shelves are rotated until the shelf carrying the selected container is disposed adjacent the conveyor means and the unloading means is activated to remove the selected container from the storage queue.

2. A storage queue as recited in claim 1 wherein said queue track means includes a compression chain comprised of:

a multiplicity of pivotally coupled linkage bars; and

a multiplicity of axles for pivotally coupling adjacent linkage bars.

3. A storage queue as recited in claim 2 wherein:

said queue track means further comprises a multiplicity of brackets, wherein a first end of each said bracket is mounted to a particular one of said axles and a second end of each said bracket is secured to an adjacent bracket at a position that is spaced apart from said compression chain to form a pivot point; and

each said shelf includes a pair of suspension struts that are pivotally coupled to a particular one of said pivot points.

4. A storage queue as recited in claim 3 wherein said queue track means includes a pair of identically sized facing compression chains that each carry an identical number of brackets and each said shelf includes two pairs of suspension struts wherein a first one of the suspension strut pairs if pivotally coupled to a first compression chain and the second suspension strut pair is pivotally coupled to the opposite compression chain.

5. A storage queue as recited in claim 4 further comprising guide means for insuring that the shelves remain substantially horizontal as they pass between the up travel reach and the down travel reach of the endless loop.

6. A storage queue as recited in claim 5 wherein;

said guide means includes a guide channel mounted on said frame;

each said shelf further includes a guide tube extending outwardly from the shelf for engaging the guide channel as the shelf travels between the up travel reach and the down travel reach of the endless loop; and

the drive means is arranged to rotate the shelves about the endless loop in both directions.

7. A storage queue as recited in claim 1 wherein said unloading means includes a multiplicity of power operated gates for retaining containers on the various shelves, each said shelf carrying at least one power operated gate.

8. In a materials handing operation that makes use of a work station having a work area for providing an operator with access to containers adapted to carry various articles, the work station including a supply conveyor for delivering containers from an external storage system to the work station, and delivery means for delivering the received containers to said work area, the improvement comprising a randomly accessible storage queue including:

a vertically oriented frame;

queue track means carried by the frame and forming a vertically oriented endless loop having an up travel reach and a down travel reach;

a multiplicity of vertically spaced apart shelves carried by the queue track means, the shelves being positioned at substantially equal increments about the queue track means such that at any given time a first multiplicity of shelves are located on the up-travel reach and a second multiplicity of shelves are located on the down-travel reach, each said shelf being adapted to carry at least one of the containers, said shelves being pivotally coupled to said queue track means such that the shelves remain substantially horizontal as they are carried between the up travel reach and the down travel reach;

a selectively operable unloading means for automatically transferring selected containers from said shelves located on one of the travel reaches to said delivery means wherein the shelves carrying unselected containers may freely pass the unloading means without transferring the containers carried thereon to the delivery means to then further circulate about the endless loop;

drive means for rotating said shelves about the queue track means;

a loading ramp for transferring containers from said supply conveyor onto said shelves, said loading ramp including a selectably actuatable discharge means for holding said containers on the loading ramp in a position free from interference with the rotation of the shelves until a selected shelf is positioned to receive a new container and for selectively discharging the containers from said loading ramp onto to selected shelf; and

a control system for automatically controlling the drive means, the discharge means and the unloading means, whereby to load a particular container onto the vertical storage queue, the control means directs the drive means to rotate the shelves until an empty shelf is disposed adjacent the loading ramp and then activates the discharge means to load the particular container onto the empty shelf, and whereby to unload a selected container from the vertical storage queue, the control means directs the drive means to rotate the shelves until the particular shelf carrying the selected container is disposed adjacent the delivery means and then activates the unloading means to remove the selected container from the vertical storage queue and wherein the loading and unloading means are arranged to allow simultaneous loading of containers onto and unloading containers from different shelves of the storage queue.

9. An automated work station as recited in claim 8 wherein each of the containers has an identification indicia that individually identifies the container, the storage queue further comprising a scanning means for identifying containers inputted onto the storage queue and wherein the control means records the identity of the containers loaded onto the various shelves, as well as the identity of the particular shelf onto which each container is loaded.

10. An automated work station as recited in claim 9 wherein:

said loading ramp includes a receiving end disposed adjacent said supply conveyor for receiving containers from the supply conveyor, a discharge end for loading containers onto said shelves, and a plurality of rollers for supporting said containers on the loading ramp; and

said discharge means includes a power operated blocker disposed on said loading ramp for selectively retaining containers thereon, said power operated blocker having a first operable position that retains said containers on the loading ramp and a second operable position wherein said containers are free to pass over the power operated blocker.

11. An automated work station as recited in claim 10 wherein said discharge end of the loading ramp is lower than said receiving end of the loading ramp to provide that the loading ramp is gravity motivated.

12. An automated work station as recited in claim 10 wherein said loading ramp rollers are power actuated.

13. An automated work station as recited in claim 8 wherein each said shelf includes a gate for positioning said containers on the shelf, said storage queue further comprises a soft stop means for absorbing a substantial portion of the momentum of the containers as they are loaded onto the shelf adjacent the loading ramp before the container strikes said gate, the soft step means being arranged so as not to interfere with the rotations of the shelves about the frame.

14. An automated work station as recited in claim 13 wherein said soft stop means includes:

a strike bar;

a plurality of coupling members for pivotably coupling the strike bar to the frame; and

a shock absorber coupled between two of the coupling members for absorbing a substantial portion of the momentum of the containers as they are loaded onto the shelves from the loading ramp; and

wherein the strike bar is arranged to contact the container before the container strikes the gate associated with the shelf being loaded.

15. A randomly accessible storage queue for temporarily holding containers received from a supply conveyor an automatically discharging selected containers upon receiving instructions from a control system, the storage queue comprising:

a vertically oriented frame;

queue track means carried by the frame and forming a vertically oriented endless loop having an up travel reach and a down travel reach;

a multiplicity of vertically spaced apart shelf pans carried by the queue track means, each said shelf pan being pivotally coupled to said queue track means such that the shelf pans remain substantially horizontal as they are carried between the up travel reach and the down travel reach;

drive means for rotating the shelf pans about the endless loop;

loading means for automatically transferring containers onto said shelf pans; and

a selectively operable unloading means for automatically removing selected containers from the storage queue, the unloading means including a multiplicity of power operated gates for retaining containers on the various shelf pans, each said shelf pan carrying at least one power operated gate, wherein the shelf pans carrying unselected containers may freely pass the unloading means without transferring the containers carried thereon to a delivery means;

a soft stop mechanism carried by the frame, the soft stop mechanism including a strike bar, a plurality of coupling members for coupling the strike bar to the frame, and a shock absorber pivotally coupled between two of the coupling members for absorbing a substantial portion of the momentum of any containers being loaded onto selected shelf pans before the loaded container strikes the power operated gate carried by the shelf pan onto which it is loaded;

whereby to load the storage queue, the control means directs the drive means to rotate the shelf pans until an empty shelf pan is disposed adjacent the loading means and the control means activates the loading means to load a particular container onto the empty shelf, and whereby to unload a selected container from the storage queue, the control means directs the drive means to rotate the shelf pans until the shelf pan carrying the selected container is disposed adjacent the unloading means and the control means activates the unloading means to remove the selected container from the storage queue.

16. A randomly accessible storage queue for use in an automated warehousing system, the storage queue receiving containers from a supply conveyor system and randomly discharging the received containers onto conveyor means, the storage queue comprising:

a frame;

queue track means carried by the frame and forming a vertically oriented endless loop having an up travel reach and a down travel reach, the queue track means including,

a compression chain having a multiplicity of pivotally coupled linkage bars,

a multiplicity of axles for pivotally coupling adjacent linkage bars,

a multiplicity of brackets, wherein a first end of each said bracket is mounted to a particular one of said axles and the second end of each said bracket is secured to an adjacent bracket at a position that is spaced apart from said compression chain to form a pivot point;

a multiplicity of vertically spaced apart shelves carried by the queue track means, each said shelf pan including a pair of suspension struts that are pivotally coupled to a particular one of said pivot points, the shelves being positioned at substantially equal increments about the queue track means such that at any given moment a first multiplicity of shelves are located on the up-travel reach and a second multiplicity of shelves are located on the down-travel reach, each said shelf being pivotally coupled to said queue track means;

guide means for insuring that the shelves remain substantially horizontal as they pass between the up travel reach and the down travel reach of the endless loop;

drive means for rotating the shelves about the endless loop;

a loading ramp for transferring containers from the supply conveyor onto said shelves, said loading ramp including a selectively actuatable discharge means for holding the containers on the loading ramp in a position free from interference with the rotation of the shelves until a selected shelf is positioned to receive a new container and for selectively discharging the containers from the loading ramp onto the selected shelf;

a selectively operable unloading means for transferring containers from selected shelves to said conveyor means, the unloading means including a multiplicity of power operated gates for retaining containers on the various shelves, each said shelf carrying at least one power operated gate, wherein containers positioned on unselected shelves may freely pass the unloading means without being transferred to the conveyor means, the loading and unloading means being arranged to allow simultaneous insertion of containers onto and extraction of containers from different shelves of the storage queue;

scanning means for identifying containers received by the storage queue; and

a control system for automatically controlling the drive means, the discharge means and the unloading means, whereby to load a particular container onto the storage queue, the control means directs the drive means to rotate the shelves until an empty shelf is disposed adjacent the loading ramp and then activates the discharge means to load the particular container onto the empty shelf, and whereby to unload a selected container from the vertical storage queue, the control means directs the drive means to rotate the shelves until the particular shelf carrying the selected container is disposed adjacent the conveyor means and then activates the unloading means to discharge the selected container from the storage queue, the control means further recording the identify of each container stored on the various shelves as well as the identity of the shelf on which each container is loaded.

17. A storage queue as recited in claim 16 wherein:

said queue track means includes a pair of identically sized facing compression chains that each carry an identical number of brackets and each said shelf includes two pair of suspension struts wherein a first one of the suspension strut pairs is pivotally coupled to a first compression chain and the second suspension strut pair is pivotally coupled to the opposite compression chain;

each said shelf further includes a guide tube extending outwardly from the shelf for engaging the guide channel as the shelf travels between the up travel reach and the down travel reach of the endless loop; and

said drive means can rotate the shelves about the endless loop in two opposing directions.

18. A storage queue as recited in claim 16 wherein:

said loading ramp includes a receiving end disposed adjacent said supply conveyor for receiving containers from the supply conveyor, a discharge end for loading containers onto said shelves, and a plurality of rollers for supporting said containers on the loading ramp; and

said discharge means includes a power operated blocker disposed on said loading ramp for selectively retaining containers thereon, said power operated blocker having a first operable position that retains said containers on the loading ramp and a second operable position wherein said containers are free to pass over the power operated blocker.

19. A storage queue as recited in claim 18 wherein:

said discharge end of the loading ramp is lower than said receiving end of the loading ramp so that the loading ramp is gravity motivated; and

said storage queue further comprises a soft stop means for absorbing a substantial portion of the momentum of the containers as they are loaded onto the particular shelf positioned adjacent the loading ramp before the container strikes the particular power operated gate associated with the shelf being loaded, the soft stop means including a strike bar pivotally coupled to the frame and a shock absorber for absorbing a substantial portion of the momentum of the containers as they are loaded onto the shelves.

20. A storage queue as recited in claim 19 wherein said soft stop mechanism further includes:

a first member having a first end pivotally coupled to the strike bar and second end slidably coupled to the frame;

a second member having a first end pivotally coupled to the strike bar, a second end pivotally coupled to a first end of the shock absorber, and an intermediate position;

a third member having a first end pivotally coupled to a second end of the shock absorber and a second end pivotally coupled to the intermediate position, the third member being pivotally coupled to the frame at a position intermediate of its first and second ends.

21. A randomly accessible storage queue for use in an automated warehousing system, the storage queue receiving containers from a supply conveyor system and randomly discharging the received containers onto conveyor means, the storage queue comprising:

a vertically oriented frame;

queue track means carried by the frame and forming a vertically oriented endless loop having an up travel reach and a down travel reach;

a multiplicity of vertically spaced apart shelves carried by the queue track means, each said shelf having a selectively operable gate for retaining containers on the shelf, and being pivotally coupled to said queue track means such that the shelves remain substantially horizontal as they pass between the up travel reach and the down travel reach of the endless loop;

drive means for rotating the shelf pans about the endless loop;

a loading ramp for transferring containers from the supply conveyor onto said shelves, said loading ramp including a selectively actuatable discharge means for holding the containers on the loading ramp in a position free from interference with the rotation of the shelves until a selected shelf is positioned to receive a new container and for selectively discharging the containers from the loading ramp onto the selected shelf;

soft stop means for absorbing a substantial portion of the momentum of the containers as they are loaded from the loading ramp onto the particular shelf positioned adjacent the loading ramp before the container strikes the particular gate associated with the shelf being loaded, the soft stop means having a strike bar pivotally coupled to the frame, and an energy dissipation system for absorbing a substantial portion of the momentum of the containers as they are loaded onto the shelves, the energy dissipation system including,

a shock absorber,

a first member having a first end pivotally coupled to the strike bar and a second end slidably coupled to the frame,

a second member having a first end pivotally coupled to the strike bar;

a second end pivotally coupled to a first end of the shock absorber, and an intermediate position disposed between said first and second ends,

a third member having a first end pivotally coupled to a second end of the shock absorber and a second end pivotally coupled to the intermediate position of the second member, the third member being pivotally coupled to the frame at a position intermediate of its first and second ends;

unloading means for transferring containers from selected shelves to said conveyor means;

a controller for automatically controlling the drive means, the discharge means and the unloading means, whereby to load a particular container onto the storage queue, the control means directs the drive means to rotate the shelves until an empty shelf is disposed adjacent the loading ramp and then activates the discharge means to load the particular container onto the empty shelf.

22. A storage queue as recited in claim 21 wherein said soft stop mechanism further includes a second energy dissipation systems, the energy dissipation systems being coupled to opposite ends of the strike bar, the second energy dissipation system being arranged such that its shock absorber is oriented at an acute angle relative to the shock absorber in the first energy dissipation system.