Abstract: A container-handling system which essentially consists of a spiral slipsheet. To load containers, the slipsheet is rotated and deflected upward so that incoming containers are inserted into the space thus created between the layers of the spiral. As the containers spiral upward on the slipsheet, the upper containers are supported by the containers which have been fed in below them. To unload containers, the entire assembly is rotated 180 degrees and the rotation of the slipsheet reversed to reverse the above process.

Abstract: An overspeed brake mechanism for a storage and retrieval vehicle (SRV). The brake mechanism includes wedges acting between a brake block attached to the load carriage of the SRV and the mast of the SRV. The wedges are biased into engagement with the mast and are held out of engagement under normal operating conditions by electromagnets which apply an attractive force to the wedges, the electromagnets being de-energized by a control system responsive to an overspeed signal from a tachometer generator on the load carriage and having its input member in engagement with the mast. In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, permanent magnets imbedded in the wedges bias the wedges into light contact with the mast to insure that there will be no lost motion between the wedges and the mast when the brake is activated.

Abstract: An article handling system which essentially consists of a spiral slipsheet. To load articles, the slipsheet is rotated and deflected upward so that incoming articles are inserted into the space thus created between the coils of the spiral. As the articles spiral upward on the slipsheet, the upper articles are supported by the articles which have been fed in below them. To unload articles, the entire assembly is rotated 180 degrees and the rotation of the slipsheet reversed to reverse the above process.

Abstract: A hand truck includes a rectangular main frame having a hand grip attached at the upper end of the main frame and a nose attached at the lower end of the main frame. A secondary rectangular frame lies alongside the back side of the main frame, with the secondary frame being pivotally attached at its upper end to the main frame. A pair of primary wheels are attached to the lower end of the secondary frame for rolling the hand truck over a support surface such as the ground or floor. A pair of auxiliary wheels are provided on a swing away frame. The auxiliary wheels can be moved to a position in which the hand truck rests in a stable position on all four wheels. The main frame can then be pivoted about the pivotal connection to the secondary frame to be positioned in a horizontal or near horizontal position elevated from the ground or floor. Heavy objects such as kegs of beer can be rolled directly from a truck, rack or conveyor to the hand truck without requiring the operator to lift the heavy objects.

Abstract: A material handling apparatus is used to sequentially move rolls of material having cores from a loading station to an unwinding station and to sequentially move empty roll cores from the unwinding station. The apparatus includes a generally H-shaped transfer frame having spindle assemblies at opposite ends of the transfer frame. When spindle assemblies at one end of the frame have engaged the core of a first roll at the loading station, the frame is pivoted about the central axes of the spindle assemblies while the first roll remains stationary at the loading station. This pivotal movement moves an empty core along an arcuate path from the unwinding station to a position above the stationary first roll at the loading station. The first roll is then moved from the loading station to the unwinding station. The spindle assemblies have wheels which roll along rails during movement of the first roll from the loading station to the unwinding station.

Abstract: A load rotator assembly rotates and positions loads which are transferred between vehicles which move along aisles. The load rotator assembly includes a carriage which sequentially receives loads from one of the vehicles. A carriage drive assembly rotates the carriage about a vertical axis while maintaining the load on the carriage offset to one side of a vertical plane through the ends of loads at storage locations to eliminate any possibility of interference between the load and a stacker crane which transfers the load to one of the storage locations. The carriage drive assembly is operable to move the carriage toward the vertical plane. By positioning a load on the carriage with its end in the vertical plane, the stacker crane can pick up the load from the carriage and move the load to a storage location. The carriage drive assembly includes a double geneva drive mechanism having upper and lower geneva plates.

Abstract: A wheel mounting assembly for a rail-supported storage/retrieval machine. The drive and idler wheels are each mounted on a removable module which includes a fixed plate having a concave spherical surface formed in it and movable plate to which the wheel is mounted having a convex spherical surface interfitting with the concave surface on the fixed plate to define a spherical joint. The plates are interconnected by bolts fitting loosely in oversize holes formed in the fixed plate and threaded into the movable plate to provide limited relative movement of the plates about a plurality of axes. Four jackscrews arranged in pairs on opposite sides of the movable plate are threaded through a frame holding the first plate and bear against the sides of the second plate. Simultaneous tightening and loosening among combinations of the four jackscrews provides horizontal and vertical alignment of the wheel relative to the rail on which the machine is supported.

Abstract: An overtravel brake system for a storage and retrieval system which is automatically actuated when the load carriage lift motor is deenergized and the load carriage moves downward. The brake system includes a dog mounted on the load carriage and engageable with the mast, the dog being actuated by a chain or cable which applies an actuating force to the dog actuating mechanism only after the load carriage has traveled a predetermined distance. The chain or cable is connected to the output member of a clutch mechanism operable in response to relative movement between the load carriage and the mast, and which is held in a disengaged condition when the lift motor is energized and is automatically shifted to an engaged condition when the lift motor is deenergized.

Abstract: A device for facilitating the field alignment of the drive and idler wheels of a rail supported S/R machine. Vertical alignment is determined by means of a spirit level at the end of a pivotally mounted bar which is initially set perpendicular to a surface of a base member in magnetic engagement with the side of the wheel, the degree of misalignment being indicated by a dial indicator in contact with the bar. Longitudinal misalignment is determined by a parallelogram assembly one side of which is parallel to the surface of the base member and which includes a pair of spaced apart pins, one stationary and one movable, which engage the rail under the influence of a biasing force applied to the parallelogram assembly. The extent and direction of movement of the movable pin indicates the extent and direction of longitudinal misalignment of the wheel as read by a dial indicator in contact with the movable pin.

Abstract: A vehicle (10) particularly adapted for use as an automated guided vehicle uses standard plastic tote boxes as a body shell (13) and as a battery carrier (20). The vehicle includes a drive wheel assembly (14) and a bogey assembly (16) which pivot about center pivot points and are steered by a single motor-driven steering assembly (18) which provides dual fifth wheel steering. Commonly-driven ball screw lift assemblies (122) engage the underside of nestable load-carrying tote boxes (22) for pickup and delivery functions. The weight of the load carrier(s) is transferred through the vehicle frame (12) to load transfer assemblies (76) on the drive and bogey assemblies.

Abstract: A wire-guided vehicle (10) in which a load is carried by a load platform (18) which is suspended from a base frame (12) by link members (42). The load is carried on a load carriage (20) which is moved vertically relative to the load platform by a plurality of screw jacks (92) acting between the load platform and the load carriage. The base frame is articulated about a transverse axis (27), and a power unit (14) which includes drive-steer units (16) is mounted on the base frame for pivotal movement about a longitudinal axis (34). A battery carrier (116) of the vehicle includes a latch assembly (152) which retains the power supply batteries within the vehicle while permitting easy removal when the latch assembly is engaged by a battery cart (170).

Abstract: A multiple-element load handling shuttle assembly (10) which includes means to compensate for the downward deflection of the load carrying element of the shuttle under load. Each shuttle element (12, 14, 16, 20) is supported by a plurality of rollers (35, 43, 51, 57) which engage guide channels (36, 43, 52, 58) in an adjacent element. The end rollers (43c, 43d) on one of the elements are offset upwardly from the remaining rollers (43a, 43b) on that element and the corresponding guide channel (44) is flared upwardly at its outer ends to accommodate the offset rollers. The offset rollers and flared guide channel cause the shuttle assembly to tilt upwardly in its unloaded condition to at least partially compensate for the downward deflection of the shuttle assembly under load.

Abstract: A load support and shuttle combination. The load support (20) is in the form of a central beam (24) disposed fore and aft in a storage bay (22) on top of which are mounted a plurality of spaced apart V-shaped load support members (26), the outer ends of which are bent downward to a substantially horizontal position. The shuttle includes a pair of space apart rails (46) which straddle the beam (24). A plurality of spaced load supporting finger members (48) extend inwardly and downwardly from the rails and are sized and shaped such that they fit in the spaces between the V-shaped load support members. A load resting on the load support member can be transferred to the shuttle by inserting the load supporting finger members into a storage bay beneath the load support members and then lifting the shuttle to move the finger members through the spaces between the load support members.

Abstract: An improved shuttle assembly for use on a load handling apparatus, the shuttle being of the type which moves between a retracted position and an extended position. The shuttle assembly has a base plate which remains stationary and includes a gear train in driving engagement with a rack on the underside of a driver plate to move the driver plate longitudinally relative to the base plate. The driver plate includes at least one gear which rotates in a normally horizontal plane and engages a rack which remains fixed relative to the base plate, so that the gear rotates in response to longitudinal movement of the driver plate. Adjacent the periphery of the gear is a roller or a cam follower which drivingly engages a channel attached to the underside of an intermediate member, thus causing the intermediate member to move relative to the driver plate at a velocity which is generally sinusoidal.

Abstract: Automated method of retrieving and replacing tote pans wherein the handle of the pan is engaged by a retractor comprising a computer controlled warehousing stacker system. A given tote pan is retrieved from storage onto an elevated platform of the stacker and displaced by the stacker to a picking station. The tote pan is automatically removed from the elevated platform of the stacker to a selected location at the picking station where some or all of the contents of the tote pan are removed. The methods provide for removing from any predetermined storage bin location on either side of a storage aisle any such tote pan, removal to a selected site at the picking station and replacement of the tote pan at the same or at another storage bin location.