Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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l'he presen-t invention relates to a fully automatic
storehouse for storing and controlling articles, and more
particularly to a small scale fully automatic storehouse which
is suitable for use in homes or oEfices.
I-t is often -the case in the home -that an excess of
household articles, such as furni-ture, ki-tchenwares, clothes,
books, and bedclo-thes occupies space in the home inhibiting
the effective use of rooms and maintai.ning -the rooms nea-t and
confortable and fur-ther to have easy access -to desired articles.
The same may be said of offices or stores.
To solve these problems, a mul-tifloor automatic
storehouse in proposed which is usually used in a factory or
1.5 -the 1.:ike. However, this -type of automat:lc storehouse is, in
general, .Eabr.icated on site and accorcl:lng1y :i.t :is expensive.
Moreover, such a storehouse .i9 st:ruct~:l.rc~ .y unsu:itccl Eor pe:r-
sonal use and requ:ires a :La:rge space to set :i.t up.
The present inven-tion provides a prefabricated fully
au-toma-tic storehouse which is capable of being mass-produced
in a fac-tory and -therefore capabl.e of being manufactured at
a reasonable cost and which can be easily se-t up a-t any
desired place, for exampl.e, underground to save space above the
ground required for :ins-tall.ing -the storehouse.
Accordi.n~ to the present invention thereEore there
is provided a ~-ul.l.y automat:ic storehouse compri.sin~J: a sel.f-
contained storeroom of transportable size con-taining a plurality
of modular racks for storing articles therein, the racks being
arrayed -to form a pair o:E ver-tical rectangular s-torage matrices
which extend horizontal.ly in spaced parallel relationship so
as to deEine a prallel space extending therebe-tween, said
storage matrices being horizon-tall.y and ver-tical.ly coterminous;
a travel.ling crane in said space horizon-tal.ly movable therein
between and parallel to said storage ma-trices, said crane
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having a vertically movabl.e base -therein adapted to convey
storage ar-ticles to and from any vertical level of said storage
matrices; a lift adjoining said s-torage ma-trices a-t one of -the
I paris of co-terminous horizon-tal ends -thereof and vertically
i 5 extending from -the in-terior to the ex-terior of said storeroom,
! said l.if-t having a ver-ticall.y movable base -therein adap-ted -to
convey s-torage articles into and from said s-toreroom; an
operating station ex-terior -to said storeroom for controlling
said crane and said lift to convey storage ar-ticles to and :Erom
any selected rack in said matrices and to and from said store-
room, and spaces which are formed a-t least a-t one end of said
storeroom vertical.ly along by the vertical extending position
of said lif-t for installing piping for air-conditioner, elec-
trical devices, a ladder for emergencyr wiring for said opera-
ting sta-tion.
'I`hus :Ln accordance w:Lth the preserll. i.nvellt:iorl, the
;Eu.l:ly automat1.c sto:reht)~:lse compr:ises: a stoxe.roc)m composetl oE
one or more boxes of a t:ransportable size which is or are each
provided wi-th racks for storing articl.es thereon; at leas-t one
-travelling crane disposed in said s-toreroom and adapted -to
move for conveying ar-ticles to be stored to the racks or taking
s-toring articles from the racks; and an operating sta-tion for
controlling said travelling crane -to convey -the ar-ticles to
and from a desired positon of the racks.
In one embodl.men-t of the present lnvention the store-
room and said operating station are formed resepc-t.ively of un.its
separate from each o-ther. Suitably said storeroom, opera-ting
station and li.ft are formed respec-tively oE units separa-te
form one another. Preferably said storeroom is assembled from
a plurality of horizon-tally adjoining boxes. Alternatively
said storeroom is assembled from a pl.urali-ty of vertically
adjoining boxes. Desirably said crane comprises a clamp mem-
ber for transferring storage articles be-tween -the base of said
crane and said racks. More desirably the s-torehouse includes
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transfer means for -transferring storage articles between -the
base of said crane and the base of said lif-t. Suitably said
storeroom is adapted to be buried under -the ground while -the
operating s-tation is located above -the ground for use as a
retreat or shel-ter having a space in which condi-tioner or an
air cleaner, a bed, a refrigerator, food, water, e-tc. may be
provided or stored according -to necessity.
The present invention will be fut-ther illustrated
by way of the accompanying drawings, in which:-
Fig. l is a longitudinal sectional view of one em-
bodimen-t of a fully automatic storehouse according -to -the pre-
sent invention;
Fig. 2 ls a sectional view oE the Eully automatic
storehouse talcen along :line :CC-:[C of F:ig. :I;
Fig. 3 is a partially cu-t-away plan view of the fully
automatic storehouse of Fig. l;
Fig. ~ is a fragmentary plan view of -the fully au-to-
matic storehouse of Fig. l;
Fig. 5 is a perspec-tive view of an opera-tlng sta-tion
ot` the Eully automatic storehouse;
F'ig. 6 is a chart show:in~ the pos:itions oE racks
diagrammatically;
Fig.s 7 and ~ are perspective views of pallets to
be placed on the racks;
Fig. 9 is an explanatory view showing an ins-tallation
example of the Eully automa-tic storehouse of E'ig. l;
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i Fig. 10 is a perspec-tive view of another embodiment
oE ~ fully au-toma-tic storehouse according to -the present in-
vention;
Fig. 11 is a partially cut-away plan view of -the
fully automatic storehouse of Fig. 10;
Fig.s 12 and 13 are similar partially cut-away plan
views of further embodimen-ts of fully automatic s-torehouse
according -to the present inven-tion;
, Fig. 14 is fragmentary enlarged sec-tional view of
', coupling por-tions of boxes constituting a s-toreroom;
JS Fig. 15 is a :Longitudinal sectional v:iew oE the fully
automatic storehousc o e ~:L~3~ 1.0;
Fig. 16 is a longltudinal sectional view oE a box
unit employable in the present invention;
Fig. 17 is a partially cut-away side elevational
view of a still another embodiment of a fully au-tomatic store-
house according -to -the present inven-tion;
~5 Fig. 18 is a perspec-tive view of a still another
embodimen-t oE a fully automatic storehouse according to the
present invention;
Fig. 19 is a side elevational view of a s-till another
embodiment of a fully automatic storehouse according to the
presen-t inven-tion; and
Fig. 20 is a longitudinal sectional vlew of a s-till
another embodiment of a fully au-toma-tic s-torehouse according
-to -the present invention.
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ReEerring now to Fig.s 1 -to 9, there is illustrated
one embodi.ment of -the present inven-tion.
A Eully au-tomatic storehouse of this embodiment com-
prises a storeroom 1 which is formed of a box 10, a -t:ravelling
crane 2, racks 3 and a lift 4.
The box 10 has a s-truc-ture herme-tically sealed but
an openinc3 11 and has a size transportable for example
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by a truck. The size of the box 10 is for example about
2 m in height and width and about 6 m :in length. The
framework of the box 10 preferably has a strength sufficient
to resist a pressure of the earth when buried under the
ground as wlll be described later. For this reason, the
box 10 is ~ormed for example of a rectangular frame and
panels of iron or polyvinyl chloride fixed thereto. The
box 10 may have a double-wall structure with a heat
insulator inserted between the walls.
Within the box 10, the traveling crane 2 such
as a stacker crane is d:isposed in a space 13 defined by
the racks 3 which are provided on the opposite s:Ldes of
the box 10 so as to extend along the substantial length
thereof, The racks 3 open at the sides thereoE adjacent
to the space 13 to allow articles to be brou~ht into the
racks or taken out ~.rom the racks. The racks 3 may be
divided into an appropriate number of sections 3a and may
be partitioned with walls according to necessity,
The traveling crane 2 is adapted to run along
a path formed within the space 13. In the embodiment as
illustrated, the crane 2 runs in a longitudinal direction
of the box 10 along guide rails 14, 14 provided centrally
on a floor of the box 10 and a guide rail 15 provided
centrally on a ceiling of the box 10. The crane 2 has a
base 21 which is adapted to move up and down along a frame
o~ the crane 2. The base 21 has a cramp means 22 through
which an article B held on the base 21 is transferred to
the rack 3 or an article B on the rack 3 is transferred
to the base 21 of the crane 2. These operations are
automatically carried out in response to a signal from an
instruction section of an operating station 5 as will be
described in detail later.
At a longitudinal end of the box 10 is formed
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centrally a space 12 for allowing the lift 4 to move up
and down. In the embodimen-t as illustrated, the space 12
communicates, at its upper end, with the outside. In this
arranyement, the lift 4 i5 associated with the traveling
crane 2 so as to meet it at predetermined vertical positions
thereof. The lift 4 may be a crane having a base 41 which
is adapted to move up and down to rece:ive an article to
be stored from the outside or to discharge an article from
the storeroom 1 at the upper extreme end of the storehouse.
The lift 4 Eurther has a transfer means 42 for example a
reach fork to transfer an article on the base 41 to the
base 21 of the traveling crane 2 or receive an article from
the base 21 of the crane 2.
~s d~scrlbed above, the travellng crane 2~ the
racks 3 and the llft 4 ar~ preliminarily set in the box
10 to form the storeroom 1. Thus~ the storeroom
transportable for example by a truck can be prefabricated
in a factory and mass-produced.
When it is required to set the storehouse of the
present invention under the ground and there is a
considerable distance from the surface of the ground to
the top of the box 10, another unit separate from the box
10 may be used, in combination, for forming an extension
of the passa~e of the lift ~. This separate unit may
include the operating station 5.
On the opposite sides of the space 12 are formed
spaces 16 and 17 for installing piping for air-conditioner,
electrical devices, a ladder for emergency, wiring for the
instruction section of the operating station S, etc.
As can be seen from Figs 1, 4 and 5~ the
operating station 5 is combined with the storeroom 1 to
constitute a storehouse The operating station 5 includes
the instruction section 51 for controlling the traveling
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crane 2 and the lift 4 and a port 52 for delivering or
receiving articles.
When this operating station 5 is incorporated
in the unit which is provided with the extension of the
passage for the lift 4 as described above, this unit may
be assembled, at the site where the storehouse is set, with
the box 10, for example, at the opening 11 of the bo~ 10.
The wiring, piping and connection of guide rails for the
lift 4 may be carried out after such assemblage.
Alternatively, the operating station 5 may be incorporated
in the box 10 when the operating station is not so bulky.
The port 52 is used to deliver an article to the
base 41 of the lift 4 or to receive an article therefrom
as described above. I'he port 52 may have a hatch. The
hatch may be so formed that it can be opened only by an
instruction from the instruction section 51 of the operating
station 52. In this case, -the articles stored in the
storeroom 1 can be protected from theft.
The instruction section 51 includes switches,
a keyboard and a microcomputer, if necessary, for
remote-controlling the traveling crane 2, the lift 4~ the
clamp means 22 and the transfer means 42.
The operation of the instruction section 41 for
controlling the delivery of articles will now be described
referring to Fig. 6.
The traveling crane 2 makes a horizontal movement
from a first row to a tenth row oE the racks 3 and a
vertical movement from a first step to a fourth step of
the racks 3. The lift 4 makes a vertical movement in a
row 0 from the first step to the fourth step and further
to a step E.
The lift 4 carries out the transfer of articles
at a block O-E~ i.e.~ the intersection of the row 0 and
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the step E relative to the port 52 and at a block 0-4
relative to the traveling crane 2 located at a block 1-4.
The -traveling crane 2, in turn, carries out the transfer
of the articles relative to any desired block of the racks
Oll either side.
More specifically, in order to convey articles
to the racks 3, a carrying-in switch oE the instruction
section 51 is operated to move the traveling crane 2 to
the block 1-4 and to call the lift 4 to the block O-E so
as to deliver the articles onto the base 41 of the ]ift
4. When a key associated with a block into which the
articles are to be sent is depressed, the lift 4 is lowered
to the block 0-4 so as to transfer the articles to the
traveling crane 2 which is standing-by at the block 1-4.
The transfer of the articles to the base 22 oE the crane
2 is carrled out, for example~ by the transfer means 42.
Thereaf-ter, the traveling crane 2 moves to the desired block
and stands before the desired section 3a of the rack 3.
The articles on the base 21 of the crane 2 is held by the
clamp means 22 and sent in or pushed into the section 3a
of the rack. Thus, the storage operation is completed.
To take out the stored articles from the rack
3, first, a taking-out switch is opera-ted and a key for
a block (e.g. a block 9-3 as shown in Fig 1) from which
the articles are to be carried out is depressed. As a
result, the traveling crane 2 is operated to position the
base 21 before the desired section 3a of the rack 3. Then~
the clamp means 22 draws the articles out of the section
3a and put them on the base 21. The crane 2 then moves
horizontally to a block 1-3. The articles on the base 21
of the crane 2 is transferred by the trans~er means 42 to
the base 41 of the lift 4 which has been preliminarily moved
to a block 0-3. After receiving the articles~ the li~t
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4 ascends to the block O-E~ where the articles are picked
up through the port 52 of the operating station 5.
The articles may be handled through a container
61 made for example of plastics which is put on an L-shaped
pallet 6. This container S1 is suitable for containing
ordinary clothes, bedclothes such as blankets etc.,
kitchenwares or the like. For small wares, books or other
articles which are needed frequently may be stored through
a pallet 6 having sectioned spaces 62.
The pallets 6 each have a coupling member ~not
shown) on the respective front faces thereof which is
adapted to cooperate, for example, with a rod of the clamp
means 22 extensible by a cylinder etc. rrhe clamp means
22 and the transfer means 42 may be formed of a pincller
member or an adsorber Eixed to a tip end oE the cylinder
rod.
The pallet 6 may have rollers which are engaged
with a guide rail or guide rails provided in each section
3a of the rack 3 to facilitate the insertion or drawing
out of the pallet 6 into or out of the section 3a of the
rack 3. The articles may, of course, be stored in each
of the sections 3a without using the pallet 6 or
container 61.
The box 10 llas at its top surface a plurality
of loops 18 which are engaged for example with hooks oE
a crane to carry the storeroom 1 prefabricated in the
factory onto a truck or to unload the storeroom 1 to a place
where the storeroom 1 is to be set.
~^ To install the storehouse of the present
invention~ for example, a hole is ~ under a floor F
of a house etc. and preferably lined with concrete to form
an ~ space 23 as illustrated in Fig. 9. The
storeroom 1 is placed in the space 23 so as to locate the
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operating station 5 at an appropriate position in the house~
The gaps around the storeroom 1, i e., the box 10 are filled
pre~erably with concrete. The passage for the lift 4 may
be extended into a room etc. through an opening F1 of the
floor F from the box 10 as illustra-ted in Fig 9 In this
case, the box 10 can be fully buried under the ground and
the operating station 5 can be above the floor F.
Alternatively, the storeroom 1 may simply be put on the
~ ground of a ~ etc. In this case, the operating
station 5 may be provided within a room etc. through the
wall of the house and a crane for the lift 4 may move in
the horizontal direction.
Figs. 10 and 11 illustrate another embodiment
of the present invention, in which a ~ ~automatic
storehouse is composed oE a storeroom 1 Eormed of a
plurality of boxes 10a, 10b and 10c, a unit 7 for containing
a lift 4 and a unit Eor containing an operating station
5. The boxes 1Oa, 1Ob and 10c are each formed in a
transportable size and each have openings at opposite ends
in the horizontal direction and flanges 19 formed around
the peripheries of the respective openings. These boxes
10a, 10b and 10c are combined in the horizontal direction
through the respective flanges 19 to form the storeroom
1. In this combined s-tate~ rails 14, 14 provided on floors
~5 of the respective boxes 1Oa, 1Ob and 10c are aligned with
one another and extend through the length of the storeroom
1. One end of the box 10c is provided with a wall member
to close the storeroom 1 and an opposite end of the box
1Oa is combined with the unit 7 to install the lift 4 in
the storehouse. The operating station 5 is positioned on
the unit 7. The so constructed storehouse has, as a whole,
substantially the same f ~ as that of the first
embodiment except that the storeroom 1 is formed o~ a
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plurality of boxes 10a, 10b and 10c and the lift 4 is
disposed in the unit separate from the storeroom 1.
Fig. 13 illustrates a modification of the
embodiment illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12. In this
modification, a storeroom 1 is formed of boxes 10a and 10b
and two units 7 each containing a lift 4 are coupled to
the storeroom 1 at the opposite ends thereof.
Fig. ~3 illustrates another modification oE the
embodiment illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12. In this
modification, two traveling cranes 2, 2 and two sets of
guide rails 14a, 14b are provided within a storeroom 1 which
is formed of boxes 10a', 10b', 10c' and 10d' and three racks
3, 3~ 3 are provided in association wi-th the traveling
cranes 2~ 2. In this case, the center rack 3 may be
accessible by either of the c~anes 2. Two units 7~ 7 are
coupled to the storeroom 1 so as to be associated with the
respective traveling cranes 2, 2.
In order to couple the boxes to form one storeroom
1 as described above, the coupling flanges may for example
have a structure as illustrated in Fig. 14. 'In this
example, the boxes 10 are firmly coupled to each other
through a female flange 19a and a male flange 19b secured
by a bolt 19c.
As illustrated in Fig. 14, walls o~ the boxes
10 may be each Eormed of an outer member 101, an inner
member 102 and an intermediate member 103. ~ggregate may
also be employed in the wall. Racks 3, 3 provided within
the boxes 10~ 10 are combined by a bolt 31 as illustrat~d
in Fig. 14. Guide rails (not shown) for a crane 2 may be
coupled to each other in a similar manner.
Fig. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view of the
storehouse of Figs. 10 and 11. 1Oe is a wall panel attached
to the end of the box 10c to close the storeroom 1. Instead
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of using the panel 10e, another type of box which has an
end wall may be employed in place of the box 10c.
Fig. 16 shows a detailed structure of a box 10
used for example in the embodiment of Figs. 11 and 12.
The box 10 has openings 11, 11 at the opposite ends in the
horizontal direction and flanges 19, 19 around the
peripheries of the respective openings 11, 11. A .rack 3
may be sectioned by plates 3a, 3b in a way suited to the
use of the rack 3. If necessary, such a larger space as
provided at the left, lower portion of the box 10 in Fig.
16 may be reserved.
In Fig. 17, -there is illustrated a still another
embodiment oE the present invention, A plurality of boxes
1Oa, 1Ob, 10c and 1Od are laid upon one another to orm
a storeroom 1. The boxes may be locked relative to each
other through appropriate means such as projections and
recesses formed at the tops and the bottoms of the boxes,
respectively. The boxes 1Oa to 1Od each have an opening
11 which is communicated with the inside of a unit 7 for
containing a lift 4. The unit 7 extends through at least
the height of the storeroom 1 so that the lift 4 may have
access to any of the boxes 1Oa to 1Od and a traveling crane
2 provided in each oE the boxes. In the embodiment
illustrated in Fig. 17, an operating station 5 is provided
at the bottom of the storehouse which is set up on the
ground or above the ground. Alternatively, the operating
station 5 may be provided at the top of the storehouse as
illustrated in Fig. 18 so that the s-torehouse may be
installed under the ground. In the embodiment illustrated
in Fig. 18, boxes of different heights are piled on one
another to form a storeroom, so that~ for example, small
articles may be stored in a low box such as the box 1Qd
and large articles may be stored in a high box such as the
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box 10a.
According to a still another embodiment of the
present invention, plural boxes of smaller size may be
combined in the horizontal direction to form a storehouse
S having a desired length as illustrated in Fig. 19. In this
case, the transportation of the units of the storehouse
can be facilitated.
In Fig. 20, there is shown a still another
embodiment of the present invention, in which a box 10f
~0 is reserved for use as a retreat or a shelter. An air
conditioner or an air cleaner may be provided in this space.
~f course, a bed 8, a refrigerator, food~ water, etc may
be provided or stored according to necessity.
Although the storerooms of the Eoregoing
embodirnents are formed of a box or boxes~ they may be ~ormed
of a cylindrical member or members.
As described above, according to the present
invention, the storehouse can be set up easily by using
a prefabricated storeroom or prefabricated boxes or other
units, so that the cost of the storehouse can be reduced
very much. When the storeroom is composed of prefabricated
box units, a variety of formations and sizes may be obtained
easily. In addition, the storehouse of the present
invention may be installed under the ground, a space on
the ground can be used Eor another purpose effectively~
