Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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WAREHOUSE SYSTEM WITH
PAN EXTRACTOR MECHANISM
BACK5~0UND OF THE INVENTION
_
Technical Field
This invention relates to automated warehouse
systems and more particularly to small parts or mini-
load storage and retrieval apparatus using tote pans,
Information Disclosure Statement
Heretofore others have devised small parts or
mini-load warehousing systems wherein tote pans are slid
into and out of rack compartments at opposite sides of
an aisle by an extractor mechanism. Some such systems
are disclosed in U.S. patent 3,809,259 issued May 7,
15 1974 to George R. Pipes; U.S. patent 3,8B3,008 issued
May 13, 1975 to John A. Castaldi and U.S. patent
4,010,855 issued March 8, 1977 to Joseph F. Smith
wherein an extractor mechanism on a crane carriage has a
finger engagable with a lip or bracket at the lower
20 front portion of the tote pan to slide it into or out of
a rack storage compartment at either side of an aisle.
The pan capacity of sliding ~ote pan systems
currently in use is approximately 500 pounds. The
problem of wear due to slidiny the tote pan has been
25 recognized and alleviated to some e~tent by ma~erial
selection and provision of replaceable wear ~trips such
as nylon strips 42 in before mentioned U.S. patent
3,809,259. The use of endless belts 75, 75' in before
mentioned U.S. patent 3~883,008 is believed to reduce
30 wear as compared to mechanisms which slide the tote pan
on and off the elevatable carriage. In U.S. patent
3,708,077 issued to Kenneth A. Richens et al on
January 2, 1973, rollers 152 are used to reduce friction
and attendant wear of the pan and the carriage. The
35 before mentioned U.S. patent 3,708,077 is also of
interest in that it shows a tote pan extractor mechanism
having a multiple rail mechanism for moving the tote pan
into and out of storage in a warehouse wherein gear
~a
s
racks and gears are used to effect coordinated relati~e
movement between the rails.
U.S. patent 3,892,324 issued July 1, 1975 to
Vincent R. Faletti, Jr. shows a three section extractor
mechanism wherein movement of the top section relative to
the intermediate section is controlled by a cable and
pulley arrangement and movement of the intermediate
section relative to the base section is controlled by
gears on the base section engaging a gear rack on the
intermediate section. U.S. patent 3,881,424 issued
May 6, 1975 to Harry W. Thompson and Canadian patent
826,501 issued November 4, 1969 to Weston R. Loomer each
shows a pair of extensible and retractable load support
mechanisms each of which includes a load support bar
carrying rollers engaging a pair of intermediate support
rails which in turn are supported by rollers on the lift
platform. Relative reciprocating movement between the
load support bar and the intermediate rails is effected
by gear racks on the load support bar and the lift
platform engaged by spur gears rotatably supported by
the intermediate support rails and drive gears on the
lift platform engaging a gear rack on one of the
intermediate support rails7 The prior art harmonic drive
for an extractor mechanism illustrated in Figs. 15-17,
uses four pairs of parallel bars which are cooperatively
engaged by a pair of cam rollers on a drive wheel to move
loads from the hoist to a first or second position in a
rack compartment of the type suitable for receiving two
loads. Rotation of the drive wheel 180 in one direction
from the ~load on hoist~ position shown in Figs. 15 and
16 causes extension of the shiftable load support arms to
a ~first load in racks~ position showing in Fig. 17. A
further 180 rotation of the drive wheel in the same
direction extends the shuttle support to place the load
in the ~second load in racks~ posit~on shown in Fig. 17.
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BRI_SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An automatic storage and retrieval system is
provided in which a crane with an elevatable carriage
carrying a pan extractor mechanism is movable fore and
aft along an aisle having storage racks on each side
thereof defining a plurality of vertical storage
compartments. A plurality of storage pans placed in the
storage compartments each have rigidly interconnected
bottom and side walls with a pair of opposed side walls
presenting a pair of generally horizontal outward flaring
lips of predetermined width extending in length along the
upper parts of the opposed pdir of side walls in
transverse relation to the aisle. The extractor
mechanis~ includes a pair of extensible and retractable
horizontal arms mounted on the carriage parallel to one
. ,: ~.\
another and transverse to the aisle. The arms are
extensible for engagement with the underside of the lips
of a storage pan in a selected one of the storage rack
compartments upon raising of the carriage. The arms are
subsequently retracted to transport the selected storage
pan to a storage position on the carriage wherein the
crane and carriage may be moved along the aisle without
interference with the racks and the pans stored therein.
Thus, the tote pan is lifted off the racks before
10 extraction and carried by the extractor arms, thereby
reducing sliding wear and operating forces as compared
to prior art sliding pan extractors.
Since the tote pan is supported on the
parallel extractor arms during insertion in and
15 extraction from the storage compartment, the tote pan
bottom is not subjected ~o sliding wear during such
operations. Additionally, the use of an extractor
having narrow support arms engaging lips on the tote pan
sides permits more efficient use of available space in
20 the storage facilityO
In the preferred embodiment of the invention a
harmonic drive is used to provide desired acceleration
and deceleration at the beginning and ending of the side
shifting movement of the extractor arms. The harmonic
25 drive reciprocates a shuttle carrying pulleys engaged by
chains, the opposite ends of which are connected to a
stationary base rail and an intermediate rail o an
extractor arm to effect shifting movement of the latter
at a 2 to 1 ratio to shiftins movement of the shuttleO
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention is illustrated in ~he
drawings in which:
Fig~ 1 is a pictorial view of a crane
supported for movement along an aisle of an automated
35 warehouse and including a carriage on which an extractor
i5 mounted;
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Fig. 2 is a pictorial view of the extractor
shown in Fig. 1 out wherein the extractor arms are
partially extended;
Fig. 3 is a front view of the extractor with
the extractor arms in a nonextended condition;
Fig. 4 is a partial view of the extractor
showing the extractor arms in their extend~d positions
and engaging the undersides of lips on opposite sides of
a storage pan;
FigO 5 is a view taken along the line V-V in
Fig. 3;
Fig. 6 is a top view of the extractor with the
support arms shown in an e~tended position and with parts
broken away for illustration purposes;
Fig. 7 is a view taken along the line VII-VII
in FigO 3;
Fig. 8 is a top view of the carriage and
extractor;
Fig. 9 is a view taken along the line IX-IX in
Fig. 8;
Fig. 10 is an end view of an aisle of a
warehouse in which the crane of Fig. 1 operates;
Fig. 11 is a view taken on the line XI-XI in
Fig. 10;
Fig. 12 is an exploded pictorial view of a
combination of a tote pan and an extender therefor;
Fig~ 13 is a view taken along the line
XIII-XIII in Fig. 12;
Fig. 14 is a pictorial view of an al~ernate
construction for the pan extractor; and
Figs. 15-17 illustrate a prior art extractor
mechanism.
DETAILED DESCR ~
Referring to the drawings, a small parts
warehousing system of the present invention may utilize
an automatic storage and retrieval vehicle such as the
illustrated computer controlled crane 21 which carries
suitable rollers 22 at the top thereof for engaging an
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, .
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overhead track 23 and a pair of double flanged wheels 24
vertically engaging a bottom track 26 in the aisle of a
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warehouse, as illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11. As
illustrated in Figs. 1 and 8, a carriage 31 is
reciprocatingly mounted on a mast 32 of the crane 21 by
a plurality of rollers 33. The carriage 31, which is
raised and lowered on the mast 32 by a cable 30, carries
an extractor 34 having a support structure 36 rigidly
secured to and extending horizontally forward from the
carriaye 31. The support structure 36 includes a pair
of horizontal parallel tracks 37, 38 rigidly secured, as
10 by welding, to a longitudinal box frame 40 of the
support structure 36 and extending in transverse
relation to the aisle terminating in mounting pads 44l
welded to their ends. The mounting pads 44' are in turn
welded to the upright flanges of a pair of angles 39, 41
15 at transversely opposite sides of the extractor.
Horizontal flanges 42~ 43 of the angles 39, 41 are in
supporting relation to a pair of parallel base rails 51,
52 of a pair of extensible and retractable extractor
arms or arm structures 53, $4. The rails 51, 52 have
20 reinforcing bars 44, 45 secured to their inner sides by
screws 46. The reinforcing bars 44, 45 have upwardly
diverging surfaces 47, 48 to assist in guiding a tote
pan into proper supported position on the arms 53, 54
should any misalignment occur. The rails 51, 52 and
25 their reinforcing bars 44, 45 are rigidly secured to the
flanges 42, 43 by cap screws 49~ 50.
Referring to Figs. 2 through 9, the arm
structures 53, 54 are d.isposed in parallel relation to
one another and at substantially the same elevation.
30 The arm structures 53, 54 are relatively narrow in the
longitudinal direction of the aisle and reciprocate
horizontally in transverse relation to the aisle between
a nonextended or nested position, as shown in Figs. 1
and 3, and an extended position into a rack storage
35 compartment at one side o~ the aisle as illustrated in
Fig. 4. Referring specifically to the arm structure 54,
the base rail 52 supports an intermediate rail 56 which
in turn supports a pan support rail 57 disposed
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vertically above and spaced from base rail 52. The pan
support rail 57 has an upward facing convex surface 58
which is complementary to and adapted to engage the down-
wardly facing concave underside surface 61 of a lip 62
extending along a side or side wall 63 of a tote pan 64.
The lip 62 forms part of the top rim of the pan 64 and
extends substantially coextensively along the length of
the side wall 63, which side is disposed transverse to
the aisle when it is in a storage compartment in the
10 racks at one of the opposite sides of the aisle and also
when the pan is transported by the crane 21.
The pan 64, as illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, 9,
12 and 13, is molded in a single piece whereby its
bottom 71 is integral with its end walls 72, 73 and side
15 walls 63, 74. The l.ips 62, 76 flare outwardly from the
upper end of the side walls 63, 74 and include raised
ribs 77, 77' presenting downwardly facing cavities or
pockets 78, 78'. Two of the downwardly open pockets 78,
78' on each lip register with upwardly extending
20 projections 81, 81', respectivelyl on the pan support
arms 53, 54. The ribs 77, 77' on the pan lips 62, 76
not only serve to provide cavities 78, 78' nesting with
the projections 81, ~l' to releasably retain the pan 64
on the extractor but also serve as reinforcing structure
25 for the lips 62, 76. While only three ribs are shown on
each of the lips, additional reinforcement of the lips
is achievable by adding additional ribs at selected
points along the length of the lip5 62, 76. The side
walls 63, 74 of the pan 64 are strengthened by shoulders
30 75, 80 which also serve as upport ledges when the pans
are stacked one within the other.
The pan bottom 71 has a corrugated configura-
tion with the alternate ridges and grooves extending
parallel to the end walls 72, 73 and in transverse
35 relation to the side walls 63, 74 and the lips 62, 76.
The corrugated configurations provides a strong bottom
having low deflection, as compared to a flat bottom of
the same thickness o material. As shown in Fig. 4, two
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of the downward facing recesses 82, 83 in the pan bottom
register with and engage front and rear support brackets
84, 86 on the rack uprights 87, 88 to releasably lock
the pan in its stored position in a storage compartment
defined by the vertical spacing of ~he support brackets.
As also shown in Fig. 11, the brackets 84, 86 are
horizontal bars welded at an intermediate portion
thereof to the uprights. Cantilevered ends of the bars
extend parallel to the aisle a relatively short distance
10 toward the adjacent upright. In those instances where
longitudinal braces 89 extend between the aisle uprights
87, the braces serve to support the tote pan thus
replacing the support brackets 84.
As shown in Fig. 12, an extender 90 may be
15 inserted in and secured to the pan to provide a
plurality of storage cells in a single pan. The
extender 90 increases the volumetric capacity of the pan
thus making it particularly suited to storing a
pl~rality of segregated lightweight items.
The intermediate rail 56 of the extensible arm
52 includes an upright plate or beam 91 which is
relatively narrow in the horizontal direction of the
aisle, that is, in the fore and aft direction. The beam
91 has upper and lower portions in juxtaposed, lapped
25 relation to the pan support rail 57 and the base rail
52. In the nested or nonextended condition of the
extractor, as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 8, the rails 52,
56, 57 are coextensive with the support 36. As shown in
Fig. 7, the intermediate rail 56 includes a spacer bar
30 part 92 sandwiched between and secured to the beam 91
and a guide plate 93 by releasable fastening means in
the form of bolts 96 and flat head screws 97 in threaded
engagement with drilled and tapped openings in the bolts
96. In order to maintain an aligned relationship of the
35 rails 57, 56, 52, the plate 93 presents guide parts or
tapered slide or bearing surfaces 98, 99 in horizontal
thrust transmitting relation to confronting and
complementary slide surfaces 98', 99', on the pan
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support rail 57 and base rail 52 and the upper and
lower portions of the beam 91 present flat vertical
surfaces 100, 105 in horizontal thrust transmitting
relation to flat vertical confronting slide surfaces
100', 105' on the pan support and base rails 57, 52.
Referring also to Figs. 3, 5 and 9, the pan
support rail 57 includes wall means defining a
horizontal groove 101 having upper and lower horizon'al
bearing surfaces 102, 103 vertically facing one another
10 and a vertical interior surface 104 facing in a forward
horizontal direction. The base rail 52 includes wall
means defining a horizontal groove 106 parallel to
groove 101 of the pan support rail 57 which presents
upper and lower horizontal bearing surfaces 107, 108 in
15 vertical facing relation to one another and a vertical
interior surface 109 facing horizontally forward. Thus,
both grooves 101 and 106 are open in the forward
direction of movement of the crane 217 A plurality of
upper rollers 111 are rotatably mounted on axles 112
20 and 120 which are secured to the upper poxtion or part
of the beam 91 for rotation about the parallel
horizontal axes 114 of the axles 112 extending in the
horizontal direction of the aisle traversed by the crane
21. The upper rollers 111 are operatively disposed
25 within the groove 101 and are in rolling, vertical load
bearing engagement with the bearing surfaces 102, 103 of
the pan support rail 57 thus serving to support the
latter as it is horizontally reciprocated relative to
the intermediate rail 56. The intermediate rail 56
30 rotatably carries lower rollers 116 on horizontally
spaced parallel axes 117, such rollers being in rolling
vertical load bearing engagement with ~he upper and
lower bearing surfaces 107, 108 of the groove 106 of the
base rail 52 whereby the intermediate rail 56 is
35 vertically supported on the base rail 520 The lower
rollers 116 are rotatably mounted on a lower part of the
beam by axles 113 and 125 mounted on the beam 91.
Rollers 111' and 116' are similarly mounted on an
9 ~ 5
intermediate rail 56' of extensible arm 53 and cooperate
with grooves 101l and 106i in a pan support rail 57' and
the base rail 51. The axles 112 and 118 for the rollers
111, 111', 116, 116' on the portion of the beams
adjacent the reinforcing structures 182, 182' are
threaded to receive nuts 113, 119. The other axles 120,
125 are riveted to the beams 91, 91'.
The pan support arm 57 is caused to move
lengthwise relative to the intermediate rail 56 by a
10 chain and pulley mechanism including a pair of pulleys
121, 122 rotatably mounted on opposite end portions of
the intermediate rail 56 on horizontal, parallel axes
121', 122' extending transverse to the direction of move-
ment of the intermediate rail 56 and a pair of flexible
15 motion transmitting elements in the form of chains 123,
124 having intermediate portions reeved, respectively,
about the pulleys 121~ 122. The opposite ends of the
chain 123 are secured to corresponding ends of the pan
support rail 57 and the base rail 52 at one side of the
20 extractor by anchors 126, 127, respectively, and the
opposite ends of the chain 124 are secured to correspond-
ing ends of the pan support rail 57 and the base rail 52
at the opposite side of the extractor by a pair of
anchors 131, 132, respec~ively.
As illustrated in Figs. 3, 5 and 7, the pulley
121 is rotatably mounted on stub shaft 136 formed on a
slide member 137 with the free end of the shaft 136
confronting the inner side of the beam 91. The slide
member 137 includes a pair of aligned longitudinal slots
30 138, 139 in sliding engagement with a pair of spacer
bushings 141, 142 through which a pair of bolts 96
extend. Thus, the spacer bushings 141, 142 serve to
guide the lengthwise movement of the slide member 137
and to space the beam 91 and plate 93 of the inter-
35 mediate rail 56 relative to one another. The pulley 121and th~ slide member 137 on which it is mounted may be
ad~usted in the lengthwise direction of the intermediate
rail 56 by turning an adjustment member in the form of a
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screw 144. The adjustment screw 144 includes a threaded
portion 146 on one end in threaded engagement with a
drilled and tapped opening 147 in the spacer bar part 92
of the intermediate rail 56. An exteriorly splined
wheel 148 integrally formed on the screw 144 inter-
mediate its length can be turned by the prying action of
a screwdriver, or other prying tool, inserted through an
elongated access opening 149 in the guide plate 93.
Biasing means in the form of belleville washers 151 are
10 interposed between the wheel 148 of the screw 144 and
the end of ~he slide member 137 with an end 152 of the
screw extending loosely into an aligned bore 153 in the
slide member 137. As shown in Fig. 3, a slide member
156, similar to the slide member 137, and an adjusting
15 screw 157 are provided for pulley 122 at the other end
of the intermediate rail 56. The slide member 156 is
positioned so the free end of its stub shaf~ 158 is in
confronting relation to the guide plate 93, thereby
placing the pulley 122 adjacent the plate 93. The
20 offset positioning of the pulleys 121, 122 and the chain
anchors place the chains 123, 124 in side-by-side
relation to one another without interference. As shown
in Figs. 5, 7 and 9, the chains 123, 124 extend through
l1pper and lower passageways 161, 162 between the bottom
25 of the pan support rail 57 and the central spacer part
92 and between the latter and the top of the base rail
520 In the nonextended condition of the extractor, the
pan support rail 57 can be centered on ~made
transversely coextensive with) the intermediate rail 56,
30 when the latter is centered on the base rail~ by turning
the adjusting screws 144, 157. The screws 144, 157 may
also be turned to adjust the tension of the chains 123,
12~.
A similar chain and pulley arrangement is
35 provided for the ex~ractor arm 53 to effect shifting
movement of pan support rail S7lo
Reerring to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, S and 9,
a chain and cable side shift mechanism 166 is provided
2~2~;
for lengthwise extension of the intermediate rail 56
relative to the base rail 52, which movement is
transverse to the aisle in which the crane 21 is
operating. The side shift mechanism 166 includes a
shuttle 167 reciprocatingly mounted on the tracks 37, 38
and rotatably carrying pulleys 168, 169 on its front end
and pulleys 171, 172 on its rear or aft end. The side
shift mechanism 166 also includes chains 173, 174 reeved
about the pulleys 168, 169, respec~ively, and chains
10 176, 177 reeved about the pulleys 171, 172,
respectively. One end of chain 174 is connected to a
threaded fastener 178 which in turn is adjustably
connected to the channel 33 at one side of the extractor
by nuts 179. The other end of the chain 174 is secured
15 by a fastener 181 to one end of a beam reinforcing
structure 182 which is secured to the outer side of the
beam ~1 and extends alon~ only an intermediate portion
of the beam 91. One end of the chain 173 is adjustably
connected to the channel 41 by a threaded fastener 183
20 and nuts 184 and the other end of the chain 173 is
secured by a fastener 186 to the other end of the
reinforcing structure 182. The chains 176, 177 are
similarly fastened at the aft end of the extractor~ The
reinforcing structure 182 is made up of two channels
25 187, 188 with lapped flanges secured by bolts 191 and
nuts 192. The channel 188 is secured to the beam 91,
the spacer bar 92 and the guide plate 93 by bolts 193
and nuts 194. The channel 188 is also secured to the
beam 91 by the.threaded axles 112, 118 and nuts 113,
30 119. h reinforcing s~ructure 182~ includes channels
187', 188i interconnected by bolts 191 and nuts 192 with
channel 188' being rigidly secured to the beam 91'. The
reinforcing structures 182, 182' serve to reinforce the
intermediate rails 56, 56' and their opposite ends serve
35 as anchor points for the ends of chains 173, 174 and
176~ 177. When the extractor is extended into a storage
compartment for pan depositing or pan retrieval purposes
as illustrated in Fig. 4, the end of the reinforcing
- 12
structure 182 confronts but stops shor~ of the rack
upright 87.
The shut~le 167 inc~udes a flat plate 201 to
which downwardly extending roller supporting brackets
202, 203, 204, 206 are rigidly secured as by welding.
Each of the transversely spaced brackets 202, 203 at the
front end of the plate ~01 includes an upper guide
component in the form of a roller 208 in downward
rolling thrust transmitting engagement with the top,
10 upward faclng horizontal surface 209 of the track 38 and
a bottom guide component in the form of a roller 211 in
upward confEonting relation to a downward facing
horizontal surface 212 on the underside of the track 38.
The rollers 208, 211 are identical and have threaded
15 stub shafts 213, which are disposed on parallel
horizontal axes and are ~ecured to the brackets 202, 203
by nuts 214. The transversely spaced brackets 204, 206
at the rear end of the plate 201 are reverse images of
one another and each rotatably support an upper guide
20 component or roller 216 in vertical thrust transmitting
relation and rolling engagement with an upward facing
horizontal surface 217 on the top of the track 37 and a
bottom guide component or roller 218 in upward thrust
transmitting relation to a downward facing horizontal
25 surface 219 on the underside of the track 37. The
brackets 204, 206 also rotatably support fore and aft
guide components in the form of horizontal thrust
transmitting roller 221, 222 in horizontal confronting
relation to parallel vertical surfaces 223, 224 on the
30 fore and aft sides of the track 37. The upper and lower
guide components or rollers 216, 218 guide the shuttle
horizontally on the track 37 preventing relative
vertical displacement between the plate 201 and the
track 37 and the upper and lower guide components or
35 rollers 208, 211 guide the shuttle transversely to the
fore and aft direction of movement of the crane to
prevent relative displacement between the plate 201 and
the track 37 in the fore and aft direction of the aisle.
-- 13 --
Thus, the rollers 216, 218, 221, 222 guide the shuttle
157 horizontally and transversely on the bearing
surfaces 217, 219, 223, 224 of the rear track 37 and the
shuttle 167 is guided only horizontally on the fron~
track 38 since fore and aft guide rollers are not
provided at the front track 38.
Side shift movement of the shuttle 167 on its
tracks 37, 38 is effected by power operated means
including a harmonic extrac~or drive which includes a
10 driver lever 131 whose central hub 132 is nonrotatably
secured ~o a vertical shaft 133 rotatably mounted on the
support structure 40 of the carriage 31 on a vertical
axis 134 by flange bearings 136l 137 bolted to the top
and bottom plates 13B, 139 of the support structure 40
15 by bolts 141 and nuts 142. The driver lever 131 carries
a pair of horizontal thrust transmitting elements in the
form of rollers 143, 144 rotatably mounted on vertical
axes on the upper outer opposite ends of the lever 131
at e~ual distances (radii) from the axis 134. In the
20 retracted condition of the extractor as shown in FigsD 8
and 9, the rollers 143, 144 are disposed in the forward
ends of the fore and aft extending and downwardly open
grooves defined by the parallel and transversely spaced
cam bars 146, 147, 148, 149 rigidly secured to the
25 underside of the plate 201 by screws 151. The cam bars
146, 147, 148, 149 are tapered slightly at their front
ends to provide a flared opening at the front end of
each groove to facilitate entrance and exit of the
rollers 143, 144 from the grooves formed by the cam bars
30 146-149. A large diameter sprocket 152 and a small
diameter sprocket 153 are nonrotatably secured to the
vertical shaft 133. The large diameter sprocket 152 is
connected in driven relation to a reversible electric
motor 154 by an output or drive sprocket 156 driven by
35 the motor 154 mounted on the carriage 31 and an endless
drive chain 157 operatiYely reeved about sprockets 156
and 152.
z~
- 14 ~
OPERATION
~ hen the shaft 133 is rotated clockwise 180g
about its vertical axis 134, as viewed in FigO 8, the
roller 143 will bear against cam bar 147 causing the
shuttle to move transversely on the tracks 37, 38 to the
position shown in Fig. 6 wherein the arms 53, 54 are
fully extended at one side of the aisleO At this point
the motor i5 automatically stopped by a control 161
mounted on ~he carriage 31 which includes a sprocket 162
10 operatively connected to the shaft 133 by a timing chain
163 which is reeved about the sprockets 162 and 153, as
is illustrated in Fig~ 8. When the shaft 133 is rotated
180 in the opposite direction from its transport
position shown in Fig. 8, the shuttle 167 will be
15 shifted in the opposite transverse direction to fully
extend the pan support arms 53, 54 into a storage
compartment at the opposite side of the aisle.
For every inch the shuttle 167 moves on the
tracks 37, 38, the intermediate rails 56, 56' will
20 simultaneously move two inches, and the pan support
rails 56, 56' will move four inches in the same
direction as the shuttle moves.
When extracting a pan 64 Erom a storage
compartment in a rack structure, the crane and carriage
25 are positioned so that upon extension of the arms 53, 54
they will be beneath the lips of the selected pan. Upon
raising the carriage 31 a short distance, the rails 56,
56' of the arms 54, 53 will engage the underside of the
lips 62, 76 and the pan will be raised from the support
30 bars 84 a sufficient distance so that the pan bottom
will clear the support bars 84 during retraction of the
arms and pan from the storage compartment. Registration
of the rib cavities 78, 78' with the projections 81, 81'
prevents relative movement between the pan 64 and the
35 pan support rails 56, 56' during a storage or extraction
operation or during transport of the pan by the crane.
An alternate extractor 301 is illustrated in
Fig. 14 wherein a reversible electric drive motor 302
- 15 ~
and a pair of extensible and contractible pan support
arms 303, 304 are mounted on a support structure
extending forwardly from a carriage 307. The support
structure includes a pair of horizontal forks 308, 309
rigidly secured, as by welding, at their rear ends to
the carriage 307. An L-shaped bracket 311 has a
vertical leg welded to the arm 308 and the motor 302 is
releasably secured ~o the horizontal leg of the bracket
311 by cap screws 312. Referring to the arm 304, a pan
10 support rail 315 is supported on an intermediate rail
317 by vertical load bearing engagement between a set of
upper horizontally spaced rollers 318 on the inter
mediate support and the upper and lower surfaces of a
forwardly open groove 319 in the pan support rail 316.
15 The intermediate rail 317 is supported on a base rail
321 of arm 304 by vertical load bearing engagement
between lower horizontally spaced rollers 322 on the
intermediate rail 317 and the top and bottom surfaces of
a forwardly open groove 323 in base rail 321. The arm
20 303 is a reverse image of arm 304 with an intermediate
rail 324 carrying rollers 326 engaging groove 327 in pan
support rail 328 and lower rollers, not shown, engaging
a groove 329 in a ~ase rail 331. A combined base rail
reinforcing member and pan guide in the ~orm of bar 332
25 is secured to the front of base rail 331 and presents
tapered edges 333, 334 at its opposite ends. A similar
bar, not shown, is secured to the rear side of base rail
321. Relative transverse shifting of the pan support
rail 328 of the arm 303 relative to the intermediate
30 rail 324 is effected by a plurality of transversely
spaced spur gears 336 meshing with a rack gear 337 on
the bottom of the pan support rail 328 and a rack gear
338 on the top of base rail 331. The gears 336 are
rotatably supported on shafts 339 mounted at their
35 opposite ends in a beam part 340 and a guide part 343 of
~he intermediate rail 3240 Similarly a plurality of
transversely spaced spur gears~ not shown, are carried
by shafts, not shown, whose ends are supported on a beam
- 16 ~
part 344 and a guide part 345 of the intermediate rail
317 of the arm 304 and mesh with gear racks 341, 342 on
the rails 316 and 321 of the extensible arm 304. The
power operated means for side shifting the extractor
arms 303, 304 includes the reversible electric motor 302
having a through shaft 346 to which a pair of double
flanged drive sprockets 347, 348 are secured by keys for
rotation therewith and a pair of endless double cog
belts 351, 352 driven by the sprockets 347, 348. Belt
10 352 is reeved about an idler pulley 353 and its upper
run is maintained substantially horizontal by support
rollers 354, 356, 357. An idler tensioning roller 358
engages the lower run of the belt 352. Support rollers
354, 357 are rotatably mounted on the ends of the forks
15 308l 309, respectiYely, and support roller 356 is
rotatably supported on the base rail 321 by a bracket
361. The idler roller 353 is al50 rotatably supported
on the base rail 321 by a bracket, which is not shown,
but which is a reverse image of a bracket 362 supporting
20 the stub shaft 363 on which an idler pulley~ not shown,
for belt 351 is mounted. ~he tensioning pulley 358 is
adjustably mounted on a bracket 364 depending from the
front end of the fork 303. The outside cogs of the
upper run of the belt 352 mesh with the teeth of a rack
25 gear 366 on a central reinforcing section or part 367 of
the intermediate rail 317 of the extensible arm 304.
Similarly a rack ~ear, not shown, on a reinforcing part
368 of the intermediate rail 324 of the extensible arm
303 meshes with the teeth or cogs on the upper run of
30 the drive belt 351 The drive belt 351 i5 supported in
its upper run by a support roller 371 rotatably mounted
on a bracket 372 welded to the underside of the base
rail 331. A low friction replaceable wear pad 373 is
releasably secured to the top side of the fork 308 below
35 the upper run of the belt 351 and a similar wear pad,
now shown, is fastened to the top side of the fork 309
in upward confronting relation to the underside of ~he
upper run of the belt 351. The wear pads, which may be
- 17 -
made of a low friction high density plastic, serve to
maintain engagement of the upper run of the belt 351 with
the gear rack, not shown, on the intermediate rail 324.
During operation, clockwise rotation of the
motor shaft 346 causes the upper run of the belt 352 to
move to the right toward one side of the extractor
thereby causing the intermediate rail 317 to also move in
that direction. The gears, not shown, on the intermediate
rail 317 cause the pan support rail 316 to move twice the
distance in the same direction relative to the base rail
321 as the intermediate rail 317 is moved relative to the
base rail 321~ When the extractor 301 has been extended
in such one direction to the position illustrated,
automatic controls, not shown, will stop the motor and
after a preprogrammed lifting or lowering of the carriage
307 for a pan extraction or a pan depositing function,
the motor will be reversed and the extractor contracted
to nonextended condition wherein the extractor and any
pan thereon will not interfere with the racks and pans
stored in the racks when the extractor is transported
down the aisle by the crane, not shown, on which the
carriage 307 is mounted.
DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
The prior art extractor mechanism illustrated
in Figs~ 15-17 includes a base frame 401 having a pair of
base rails 402, 403 interconnected by a base plate 404.
Rollers 406, 407 support the rails 408~ 409 of a first
intermediate shuttle section 411 for horizontal
reciprocating movement. Rollers 416, 417 on rails 418,
419 of a second intermediate shuttle section 421 engage
horizontal grooves in rails 408, 409 to permit relative
horizontal reciprocation between shuttle sections 411 and
421. Rails 426, 427 of a third intermediate shuttle 428
are reciprocatingly carried on rollers 4~9, 431 mounted
on the rails 418, 419 and a load platform 436 is
supported through rollers 4371 438 on rails 441, 442 of
the platform 436 cooperating with laterally inner grooves
in the I-section rails 426, 427 of shuttle section 428.
.~
s
The rails 408 and 409 are interconnected by a
horizontal plate 444 to which a pair of pulleys 446, 447
and four sets of parallel bars 448, 449, 451, 452, 453,
454, 456, 457 are secured. When the bars are engaged by
one of the two cam rollers 461, 462 on an operating disc
463, the shuttle section 411 ~ill be shifted laterally
relative to the hoist on which the extractor mechanism is
carried. The disc 463 is secured to a shaft 466 to which
a pair of sprockets 467, 468 are secured. The sprocket
467 is driven by an electric motor 471 through a
gear-type speed reducer 472 having an output shaft
carrying a drive sprocket 473 connected to sprocket 467
by an endless drive chain 474. The sprocket 468 drives a
timing mechanism 476 through a timing chain 477.
Referring particularly to Fig. 16, when the
disc 463 is rotated clockwise 180~, the bars 451, 452
will be moved to the position occupied by rails 453, 454
and camming roller 462 will enter between rails 448 and
449 which will have moved to the position of rails 451,
452 illustrated in Fig. 16. In this condition of side
shifting, the load on the platform 436 will be shifted to
the ~first load in racks~ position as illustrated in Fig.
17. If a second 180 of clockwise rotation is imparted
to the disc 463, the camming roller 462 will move the
bars 448, 449 to the position occupied by bars 453, 454
in Fig. 16. In this condition of side shifted
adjustment, the load will be in the ~second load in
racks" position illustrates in Fig. 17. It should be
understood that counterclockwise rotation of the
operating disc 463 causes the shuttle to extend in the
opposite lateral direction whereby loads may be stored in
or retrieved from rack compartments on both sides of the
aisle of the storage facility.
