Article retrieving and positioning system and apparatus for articles, layers, cases, and pallets

• US 20050281641A1
• Filed: 03/31/2005
• Published: 12/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Michael D. Maynard, Richard C. Young, Ronald E. Ward
• Original Assignee: Michael D. Maynard, Richard C. Young, Ronald E. Ward
• Inventors: Young, Richard C., Maynard, Michael D., Ward, Ronald E.
• Granted Patent: US 7,682,122 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 414/273
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1375 the orders being assembled on a commissioning stacker-crane or truck
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/901 provided with drive systems with rectilinear movements only
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/902 provided with drive systems incorporating rotary and rectilinear movements

Abstract

A warehousing system and apparatus for retrieving articles from a preselected storage area containing a quantity of the same and delivering them to a designated area spaced therefrom. A track extends a selected distance along a predetermined path that is offset a selected distance from the stored articles. A motorized carriage is rollingly mounted on the track and has a load carrying support surface thereon on which a payload is accumulated one article after another during the building of such load. A rigid superstructure is carried by the carriage and an extendible and retractable reach is mounted on thereon. A power operated article gripping assembly is carried by the reach for grasping articles one at a time in the storage area and loading them in sequence onto the carriage for delivery to the designated area. The apparatus is controlled from a location spaced from the storage area and inter-relates and controls movement of the carriage along said track, extension and retraction of the reach, and operation of the article gripping assembly to retrieve articles.

Claims

1. Apparatus for retrieving articles from various different locations in a preselected area with a quantity of such articles therein and delivering the same to a designated area spaced from said preselected area, said apparatus comprising:

(A) a carriage rollingly mountable on a track system having a predetermined path offset a selected distance along said preselected area for the articles, said carriage having a load carrying support surface thereon for holding articles as they are retrieved in succession one after another from said preselected area and first power means on said carriage to propel the same along said track

(B) a rigid support superstructure carried by said carriage;

(C) reach means mounted on said superstructure and second power means to extend and retract the same; and

(D) a power operated article gripping assembly carried by said reach means for grasping an article to be retrieved from said preselected area and place it on said carriage load carrying surface.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 including means to inter-relate and control movement of the carriage along said track, movement of said reach means, operation of the article gripping assembly to retrieve articles one after another from said storage area to accumulate a load on said carriage and deliver such load to said designated area.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said control means is disposed at a location remote from said carriage.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said reach means comprises an extendible and retractable boom.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said boom includes a telescopic section.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 including means mounting said boom on said superstructure comprising a pair of interconnected gear head rotators with respective first and second angularly related pivot axes, means mounting one of said rotators on a section of said boom and the other on said superstructure.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 including a mono rail, means mounting said mono rail on said superstructure, a mono rail carriage mounted on said mono rail for movement thereon and wherein said other one of said rotators is secured to said mono rail carriage.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said reach means comprises a frame structure reciprocally mounted for vertical up and down movement on said superstructure and an extendible and retractable reach unit reciprocally mounted on said frame structure for extension and retraction in a horizontal direction.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 including power means on said superstructure and drivingly connected to said reciprocally mounted frame structure to raise and lower the same and power means mounted on said reciprocally mounted frame structure and drivingly connected to said reach means to selectively extend and retract the same.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said reach unit is extendible respectively beyond each of opposite sides of said superstructure.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said article gripping assembly comprises

a base assembly;

a first elongate member mounted said base assembly, said elongate member extending in a first direction and terminating in a first jaw member on a free outer end thereof, said jaw member having an article engaging face thereon;

a second elongate member movably mounted on said first elongate member for movement longitudinally there along in a direction toward and away from said first jaw member, said first and second elongate members being angularly related with respect to one another, a second jaw member mounted on said second elongate member and being moveable in a direction toward and away from said first elongate member and

power means for moving said second jaw member.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 11 wherein said elongate members are disposed perpendicular to one another.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said article gripping means comprises a variable in size peripheral frame for embracing an article to be retrieved, power means connected to said variable in size frame selectively to vary the size of the same for receiving and grasping an article and means mounting said variable in size frame on said reach means.

14. Apparatus as defined in claim 13 wherein said reach means comprises a frame structure reach unit reciprocally mounted for vertical up and down movement on said superstructure and an extendible and retractable reach unit reciprocally mounted on said frame structure for extension and retraction in a horizontal direction and wherein said article gripping means is mounted on said reach unit.

15. Apparatus for retrieving articles from various different locations in a preselected area with a quantity of such articles therein and delivering the same to a designated area spaced from said preselected area, said apparatus comprising:

(A) a track system having a predetermined path along said preselected area for the articles and offset a selected distance therefrom;

(B) a carriage having a load carrying surface thereon for receiving and holding articles as they are retrieved from said preselected area, first power means on said carriage to propel the same along said track system;

(C) a rigid support superstructure carried by said carriage;

(D) reach means mounted on said superstructure and having second power means to extend and retract the same; and

(E) a power operated article gripping assembly carried by said reach means for grasping articles to be retrieved from said predetermined area one after another and place the same one after another on said carriage load carrying surface.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 including means to inter-relate and control movement of the carriage along said track, movement of said reach means, operation of the article gripping assembly to retrieve articles one after another from said storage area to accumulate a load on said carriage and deliver such accumulated load to said designated area.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said control means is disposed at a location remote from said carriage.

18. Apparatus for retrieving articles from a stack of the same in a selected storage area and load the same onto a mobile carriage means, said apparatus comprising:

(A) a support structure;

(B) an extendable and retractable boom;

(C) means mounting said boom, adjacent one end thereof, on said support structure;

(D) a work head tool; and

(E) means mounting said work head tool on a free outer end of said boom opposite to said one end, said work head tool comprising a yoke attached to said boom and extending from said free outer end thereof, a first jaw member pivotally attached to said yoke, a first elongate member secured to and extending from said first jaw member, a second elongate member movably mounted on said first elongate member for movement longitudinally therealong a second jaw member mounted on said first elongate member and being reciprocally movable in directions toward and away from said first elongate member, said second jaw member having an article engaging face positionable in face-to-face relation with said first jaw member.

19. An article gripping assembly comprising a base assembly;

a first elongate member mounted said base assembly, said elongate member extending in a first direction and terminating in a first jaw member on a free outer end thereof, said jaw member having an article engaging face thereon;

a second elongate member movably mounted on said first elongate member for movement longitudinally there along in a direction toward and away from said first jaw member, said first and second elongate members being angularly related with respect to one another, a second jaw member mounted on said second elongate member and being moveable in a direction toward and away from said first elongate member and

power means for moving said second jaw member.

20. A work head tool comprising a yoke attachable to an extendible and retractable boom;

a first jaw member pivotally attached to said yoke;

a first elongate member secured to and extending from said first jaw member;

a second elongate member movably mounted on said first elongate member for movement longitudinally there along;

a second jaw member mounted on said first elongate member and being reciprocally movable in directions toward and away from said first elongate member and wherein said second jaw member has an article engaging face positionable in face-to-face relation with said first jaw member.