Automated storage and retrieval system for palletless dairy cases
First Claim
1. A compact automated storage system for receiving, storing and returning palletless articles, comprising:
- a storage rack having a rigid support framework containing a plurality of open ended storage lanes having a cross sectional extent sufficient to allow the palletless articles to be conveyed into and out of said storage lanes, said open ends of said storage lanes being generally positioned adjacent a shelving pathway extending along said storage rack;
an article transporter, movable within said shelving pathway, between loading/unloading stations in which said article transporter is alignable with corresponding open ends of said storage lanes, said article transporter including at least one shuttle means for moving an article along a storage lane when said article transporter is aligned with the open end of said storage lane and for vertically moving an article into and out of a stored position within said storage lane; and
a plurality of support rail sets mounted on said support framework, respectively, within said plurality of open ended storage lanes, each said support rail set including a pair of outer support rails for providing vertical support to articles located in stored positions within the corresponding said storage lane and at least one pair of inner support rails for providing additional vertical support to said articles, said at least one pair of inner support rails being spaced, respectively, from said outer support rails by a distance sufficient to allow said shuttle means to pass therebetween when transporting an article along said storage lane, said inner support rails being spaced apart by a substantial horizontal distance to provide distributed support to articles stored directly on said plurality of support rail sets,whereby said storage system is adapted to provide undergirding support that is distributed to accommodate palletless articles.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An automated storage system for receiving, storing and returning dairy cases stored without pallets. Specifically, the automated storage system comprises an article transporter which includes a shuttle that deposits and retrieves dairy cases stored in storage lanes of a storage rack and a rail system for supporting the shuttle and dairy cases stored thereon. One or more shuttles may be used in the automated storage and retrieval system and are coupled via a shuttle bridge. The rail system includes two or more outer support rails and two or more inner support rails for supporting the shuttle and dairy cases. The rail system also supports normal Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) pallets or other special slave pallets. The bottom flange of the rail system has a "drip pan" style to contain leakage from the dairy cases. This "drip pan" design allows personnel to walk inside the storage lanes safely. The automated storage system also includes top guide rails and side guide rails mounted on the rigid framework of the automated storage system which prevent stacked dairy cases from tilting, tipping or misaligning when the dairy cases are stored within and transported through the storage lane. The automated system further includes predetermined gravity-feed storage lanes with roller conveyors which include two outer roller rails and one inner roller rail positioned so as to receive and support the stacked goods at the same position as the outer support rails and the inner support rails. The two outer roller rails also include tilt-in rollers which further prevents misalignment of the goods as they are transported on the roller conveyors through the gravity-feed storage lane.
72 Citations
53 Claims
-
1. A compact automated storage system for receiving, storing and returning palletless articles, comprising:
-
a storage rack having a rigid support framework containing a plurality of open ended storage lanes having a cross sectional extent sufficient to allow the palletless articles to be conveyed into and out of said storage lanes, said open ends of said storage lanes being generally positioned adjacent a shelving pathway extending along said storage rack; an article transporter, movable within said shelving pathway, between loading/unloading stations in which said article transporter is alignable with corresponding open ends of said storage lanes, said article transporter including at least one shuttle means for moving an article along a storage lane when said article transporter is aligned with the open end of said storage lane and for vertically moving an article into and out of a stored position within said storage lane; and a plurality of support rail sets mounted on said support framework, respectively, within said plurality of open ended storage lanes, each said support rail set including a pair of outer support rails for providing vertical support to articles located in stored positions within the corresponding said storage lane and at least one pair of inner support rails for providing additional vertical support to said articles, said at least one pair of inner support rails being spaced, respectively, from said outer support rails by a distance sufficient to allow said shuttle means to pass therebetween when transporting an article along said storage lane, said inner support rails being spaced apart by a substantial horizontal distance to provide distributed support to articles stored directly on said plurality of support rail sets, whereby said storage system is adapted to provide undergirding support that is distributed to accommodate palletless articles. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A compact automated storage system for receiving, storing and returning palletless articles, comprising:
-
a storage rack having a rigid support framework containing a plurality of open ended storage lanes having a cross sectional extent sufficient to allow the palletless articles to be conveyed into and out of said storage lanes; a plurality of support rail sets mounted on said support framework, respectively, within said plurality of open ended storage lanes, each said support rail set including a pair of outer support rails for providing vertical support to articles located in stored positions within the corresponding said storage lane and at least one pair of inner support rails for providing additional vertical support to said articles, said at least one pair of inner support rails being spaced, respectively, from said outer support rails by a distance sufficient to define channels therebetween, said inner support rails being spaced apart by a substantial horizontal distance to provide distributed support to articles stored directly on said plurality of support rail sets; and at least two shuttle means adapted to pass through the pair channels formed by each said support rail set for moving an article along a corresponding storage lane. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
-
-
32. A compact automated storage system for receiving, storing and returning articles, comprising:
-
a storage rack having a multi-tiered rigid support framework containing a plurality of open ended storage lanes having a cross-sectional extent sufficient to allow the articles to be conveyed into and out of said storage lanes, said open ends of said storage lanes being generally positioned adjacent a shelving pathway extending along said storage rack, said framework further including a drip pan means rigidly attached to an end of at least one of said storage lanes, said drip pan means being inclined with respect to said storage lanes; an article transporter, movable within said shelving pathway, between loading/unloading stations in which said article transporter is alignable with corresponding open ends of said storage lanes, said article transporter including a plurality of shuttle means for moving an article along a storage lane when said article transporter is aligned with the open end of said storage lane and for vertically moving an article to and from any tier of the multi-tiered framework; a support rail means mounted on said support framework within said plurality of open ended storage lanes, said support rail means formed to include at least two troughs having a pair of outer support rails for providing vertical support to articles located in stored positions within the corresponding said storage lane and at least one pair of inner support rails for providing additional vertical support to said articles, said outer support rails and said at least one pair of inner support rails being continuously connected by bottom portions which extend the length of said outer support rails and said at least one pair of inner support rails; and a cleaning means connected to said rigid framework and positioned adjacent said support rail means to clean said support rail means, wherein said cleaning means is used to remove any leakage from said articles trapped in said troughs, wherein said at least one pair of inner support rails is spaced, respectively, from said outer support rails by a distance sufficient to allow said shuttle means to pass therebetween when transporting an article along said storage lane, said at least one pair of inner support rails being spaced apart by a substantial horizontal distance to provide distributed support to articles stored directly on said support rail means. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
-
-
44. A compact automated storage system for receiving, storing and returning articles, comprising:
-
a storage rack having a rigid support framework containing a plurality of open ended storage lanes having a cross sectional extent sufficient to allow the articles to be conveyed into and out of said storage lanes, said open ends of said storage lanes being generally positioned adjacent a shelving pathway extending along said storage rack; an article transporting means, movable within said shelving pathway, between loading/unloading stations in which said article transporting means is alignable with corresponding open ends of said storage lanes, said article transporting means including a plurality of shuttles for moving an article along a storage lane when said article transporting means is aligned with the open end of said storage lane and for vertically moving an article into and out of a stored position within said storage lane; a plurality of support rail sets mounted on said support framework, respectively, within said plurality of open ended storage lanes, each said support rail set including a pair of outer support rails for providing vertical support to articles located in stored positions within the corresponding said storage lane and at least one pair of inner support rails for providing additional vertical support to said articles, said at least one pair of inner support rails being spaced, respectively, from said outer support rails by a distance sufficient to allow said shuttle means to pass therebetween when transporting an article along said storage lane, said at least one pair of inner support rails being spaced apart by a substantial horizontal distance to provide distributed support to articles stored directly on said plurality of support rail sets; and a bridge means extending between said inner support rails for providing a support platform for said articles stored thereon. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
-
Specification