Hanging Storage on Storage Spacers Located Above Each Other

The present invention relates to a storage goods carrier (1), particularly a shelf board (1), for storage lifts (19) and storage shelves (19), having at least two support bars (4, 5, 5′) running on opposite side edges (3, 34) of the storage goods carrier (1) in an insertion direction (Z) of the storage goods carrier for displaceable support on support profiles (23, 23′) of storage devices comprising at least two storage spaces (24, 24′) disposed above each other in a height direction (Y) for receiving the at least one storage goods carrier, and having a loading and/or removal station (34) at which the at least one storage goods carrier (1) can be disposed such that it is accessible from outside the storage device (1), and having a conveyor device (33) by means of which the storage goods carrier (1) can be moved on a transport path from a loading and/or removal station (34) to the storage spaces (24, 24′). The present invention furthermore relates to a storage device (19) of the above type having at least two storage columns (29, 29′) and to a method, wherein the storage goods (36, 36′) having a plurality of storage spaces (24, 24′) are automatically transferred into storage above each other. According to the invention, a storage area for goods to be stored by hanging can be particularly efficiently utilized in that storage goods are stored in the storage spaces (24, 24′) by hanging below the storage goods carrier (1) in a hanging receptacle (7, 7′, 7″).

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Description

The invention relates to a storage goods carrier, particularly a shelf board, for storage lifts and storage shelves having at least two support bars running on opposite side edges of the storage goods carrier in an insertion direction of the storage goods carrier for displaceable support on support profiles of support lifts and support shelves.

The invention furthermore relates to a storage device for storing storage goods with at least one storage goods carrier that can be fitted with storage goods and to which is assigned a storage area height that can be occupied by the fitted storage goods, with at least one storage column that has at least two storage spaces that are disposed above each other in the height direction for accepting the at least one storage goods carrier, with a loading and/or removal station at which the at least one storage goods carrier can be disposed in such a way that it is accessible from outside the storage device, and with a conveyor device by means of which the storage goods carrier can be moved on a transport path from the loading and/or removal station to the storage spaces.

The invention furthermore relates to a storage device with at least two storage columns with storage spaces disposed above each other and with at least one storage goods carrier for receiving at at least one storage space.

Finally, the invention relates to a method in which storage goods are automatically placed into storage above each other in a plurality of storage spaces.

Storage devices in the form of storage shelves and storage lifts with conveyor devices and storage goods carriers of the aforementioned type and methods for transferring storage goods carriers into or out of these storage devices are known. For better utilization of storage areas, there is usually a multiplicity of storage spaces disposed above and next to one another in the storage devices, whereby storage goods carriers carrying storage goods can be transferred into these storage spaces. In this process, the storage goods carriers are, for example, positioned in a loading and/or removal station by an operator, whereby this loading and/or removal station can be developed as a loading and/or removal opening, for example. In the loading and/or removal station, the storage goods carriers are moved on to a conveyor device by a holding instrument or by a transfer device, whereby the conveyor device can bring the storage goods carriers to a storage space determined for them. This storage space can, for example, be selected by the operator or it can be determined by an electronic controller of the storage device. The selection of the storage space can be supported, for example, by the data available for the storage goods carrier and the goods stored upon it. If the storage goods carrier that has been transferred into storage is to be removed from storage, it is transported by the conveyor device from its storage space back to the loading and/or removal station, where it can be removed from the storage device.

A storage device or a storage lift with a conveyor device developed as a vertical conveyor is known from DE 10115765 A1, for example. Here the conveyor device takes a storage goods carrier developed as a shelf board from a transfer position out of a loading and/or removal station, which is developed as an opening in a storage shelf, and then transports the storage goods carrier to the storage space intended for it. The storage device has a multiplicity of storage spaces lying above each other, each of which is formed by support profiles.

For storage of garments, the aforesaid storage devices and corresponding storage goods carriers are disadvantageous, however, because the garments must be stored individually or in small lot sizes on the storage goods carrier for convenient access, as a result of which they take up a comparatively large storage area. For better utilization of the storage area, the garments can be stacked on the storage goods carrier, but they then can no longer be individually transferred to and from storage in a fast manner.

Until now, only devices of a kind which is described, for example, in the European patent specification EP 1 163 174 B1, are known for storing garments. The publication deals with a device for the storage of garments that are held on coat hangers on an endless conveyor belt developed as a carousel. There are a number of disadvantages with this system, however. For example, a maximum storage area height is defined by the carousel height. The existing storage area can be used only on a storage level stipulated by the carousel.

For transfers into and out of storage involving a particular storage space, it is necessary to move the entire carousel and consequently all storage spaces.

The object of the invention is consequently to improve the storage devices, storage goods carriers and the methods relating to them mentioned at the beginning in order to allow garments to be efficiently transferred into storage.

In the case of a storage goods carrier of the type mentioned at the beginning, this object is solved according to the invention by at least one hanging receptacle, on which the storage goods can be hung in, that is disposed on the bottom side of the storage goods carrier.

The advantage of this solution with respect to the known solutions is that the storage goods carrier can hold a multiplicity of garments disposed next to one another. Consequently it is possible to access the garments quickly and individually and to improve the storage area utilization.

This solution according to the invention can be combined and further improved in any way with the following further embodiments, each of which is advantageous in itself:

For example, according to a first possible advantageous embodiment of a storage goods carrier according to the invention, it can be provided that the hanging receptacle comprises a horizontal guide with a supporting surface that extends substantially horizontally, on which a multiplicity of hanging means to which storage goods can be hung can be held in a displaceable manner. A variable multiplicity of storage goods can consequently be held by a storage goods carrier. The horizontal guide and its supporting surface can thereby be developed so as to interact with the hanging-in instruments of the hanging means. For example, the horizontal guide can be a rod on which hanging means with hook-shaped hanging-in instruments can be held. The horizontal guide can, for example, also be executed as a hollow profile or undercut groove, into which correspondingly executed hanging-in instruments of the hanging means are slid on the front side or in an expanding insertion area. The front side and insertion area can be provided with an unhanging guard that is deactivated for hanging and unhanging and activated for the transfer into storage in order, for example, in the form of a locking bar or a lock, to prevent the hanging means from being unintentionally moved out of the horizontal guide.

In a further possible advantageous embodiment, the horizontal guide can be given position-specifying elements that give hanging positions for the hanging means along the supporting surface. These position-specifying elements can, for example, be formed by notches in the supporting surface running transverse to the horizontal guide or by tappets mounted on it that can specify a horizontal grid for a multiplicity of hanging means. Alternatively, it is also possible to provide displaceable position-specifying elements along the horizontal guide, with the help of which hanging-in positions can be given for the hanging means, whereby these hanging-in positions can be specified individually adapted to the goods to be stored.

According to a further possible advantageous embodiment of a storage goods carrier according to the invention, it can be provided that the hanging receptacle is developed in such a way that it can be pulled out to an extended position at least partially beyond one of the side, particularly the front or rear side, edges of the storage goods carrier. In a pulled out condition, any hanging means can be more simply hung into the storage goods carrier by an operator. This is particularly the case when, for example, there is a rod-shaped horizontal guide and hook-shaped hanging-in elements of the hanging means have to be hung in from above the horizontal guide and consequently between the horizontal guide and the storage goods carrier bottom side. The hanging element or the hook can then namely be simply hung into the extended section of the horizontal guide at the side next to an edge of the storage goods carrier from above, without possibly having laboriously to be inserted between the horizontal guide and the storage goods carrier bottom side.

Particularly in the case of a hollow-profile-shaped horizontal guide and the use with hanging-in means that interact with its cross-sectional profile, according to a further advantageous embodiment of a storage goods carrier according to the invention, it can be advantageous if the insertion area and/or the unhanging guard is integrated into the extension mechanism so that the insertion area is accessible only when the extension mechanism is in the extended state.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, the horizontal guide that can be extended beyond a side edge of the storage goods carrier makes it possible to shape the vertical distance between the supporting surface and the storage goods carrier bottom side smaller than a vertical section of a hanging means or its hanging-in instrument, such as, for example, a hook, that vertically overlaps the horizontal guide in the hung in condition. In this way, it is possible, on the one hand, to minimize the height of the storage goods carrier including its horizontal guide and, on the other hand, to prevent the hanging means from being unintentionally unhung laterally, because its hanging-in element, with its total dimensions, does not fit through a gap between the horizontal guide and the bottom side of the storage goods carrier.

According to a further possible advantageous embodiment of a storage goods carrier according to the invention, it can be provided that a locking means is provided by means of which the hanging receptacle can be locked in the extended position and/or in a non-extended state in a slid-in position. Due to the locking, unwanted sliding in or sliding out of the hanging receptacle can be avoided during loading or removal, as well as during the transport of the storage goods carrier.

In the case of a storage device mentioned at the beginning, the abovementioned object is solved according to the invention in that the storage area height extends in a height direction below the storage goods carrier. A storage goods carrier in the loading and/or removal station is consequently accessible from below, and it can be fitted with hanging storage goods simply and without great effort.

A storage device according to the invention can be combined and improved in any way with the following embodiments, each of which is advantageous in itself:

According to a first possible advantageous embodiment of a storage device according to the invention, it can be provided that a loading and/or removal area comprising at least the storage area height is developed in the loading and/or removal station in such a way that an operator can walk in it in an upright position. The operator can consequently perform the loading and/or removal of the storage goods container below the storage goods container in an ergonomically sensible manner, and does not have to carry out such work from a side of the storage goods container with an increased expenditure of energy. The loading and/or removal station can furthermore be integrated into the storage device in the form of a loading and/or removal chamber and consequently can be located within its dimensions. This is particularly advantageous if a multiplicity of storage devices is disposed, for example, in a warehouse, and paths for the operators and any moving machines, such as, for example, transport devices, are located between the storage devices, whereby these could be obstructed by an operator located on the paths occupied in the loading and removal.

According to a further possible advantageous embodiment of a storage device according to the invention, the loading and/or removal station can be even better integrated into the storage device if it is provided that the conveyor device is disposed in a conveyor shaft between at least two storage columns and if the loading and/or removal station is disposed in or below the conveyor shaft. This can also be helpful for improved utilization of the storage area that is available. The conveyor shaft can for the most part not be provided with storage spaces anyway. That space in the storage device that is occupied by the loading and/or removal station is consequently better exploited or minimized.

According to a further possible advantageous development form of a storage device according to the invention, it can be provided that at least one length measurement device is provided for registering a hanging length occupied by the goods below the storage goods carrier in the height direction. The length measurement device can, for example, be executed as an individual light barrier or can also comprise a light curtain. It is particularly advantageous according to a further possible embodiment of the storage device if the length measurement device is disposed between the loading and/or removal station and the storage spaces. In this way a storage goods carrier with the storage goods can be guided past the length measurement device on the way to the storage spaces and the hanging length can be registered at the same time.

With the execution of the length measurement device as an individual light barrier, the storage goods carrier can, for example, be guided past the length measurement device from below it to above it. The light barrier is thereby interrupted for a time during which the hanging storage goods are located therein, and is closed or released when the lower edge of the hanging storage goods has passed the light barrier. The hanging length then results from the time that the hanging storage goods interrupted the light barrier divided by the vertical movement speed of the storage goods carrier during this time.

The storage goods carrier together with the storage goods hanging upon it can alternatively be guided in a lateral movement through a length measurement device executed as a light curtain. This is particularly advantageous if the storage goods carrier is transferred from the loading and/or removal station into, for example, a conveyor shaft by the conveyor device or a transfer device in a horizontal movement.

According to a further possible advantageous embodiment of a storage device according to the invention, it can be provided that more than two storage spaces are disposed at a preferably uniform grid distance from one another in the height direction. The storage goods carriers can then be held in the storage device at various storage space heights stipulated by the grid spacing. The hanging length of the storage goods can thereby be taken into account for optimal utilization of the space within the storage device by means of appropriately selecting the storage space for the respective total height which results from the height of the storage goods carrier and the hanging length of the storage goods that extends below it.

For a storage device mentioned at the beginning with at least two storage columns, the abovementioned object is solved in that the storage goods carrier is formed according to at least one of the abovementioned embodiments of a storage goods carrier according to the invention. This allows hanging goods to be transferred into storage simply and efficiently in storage devices with at least two storage columns.

In a method mentioned at the beginning, the abovementioned object is solved in that the storage goods are transferred into the storage spaces such that they hang.

This simple solution has the advantage that goods to be stored by hanging can be stored above each other for efficient utilization of a storage area.

A method according to the invention can be combined and further improved in any way with the following further method steps, each of which is advantageous in itself:

According to a first possible advantageous expansion of a method according to the invention, it can be provided that the storage space is automatically selected depending on a hanging length of the storage goods. Consequently a storage space can be selected for goods with longer or shorter hanging lengths that provides a higher or shorter, respectively, stock or transfer-to-storage area height. This allows optimal utilization of the stock, storage or transfer-to-storage area height of individual storage spaces and, as a result, of the entire storage or transfer-to-storage area height of a storage device with storage spaces disposed above each other.

According to a further possible improvement of a method according to the invention, the hanging length of the storage goods can be automatically measured during the transfer into storage. The hanging length can consequently be determined individually for each of the storage goods and, for example, the storage space can be individually selected for each of the storage goods, depending on the hanging length, when the goods are transferred into storage.

According to a further possible improvement of a method according to the invention, it can be provided that the hanging length of the storage goods is measured from top to bottom relative to the storage goods. When, for example, a single light barrier or a number of light barriers disposed in a level or a light curtain forming a measurement level is used as a measuring element of a length measurement device, the hanging length can be very efficiently determined by having the length measurement device or the storage goods move relative to one another in the height direction. In the case of a non-moving length measurement device, the storage goods can accordingly be guided past the respective measurement elements in the height direction, from top to bottom, until these elements have registered the lower end of the storage goods. The length measurement device or its measurement elements can just as well be moved from top to bottom in the height direction to non-moving storage goods until they have, for example, reached the lower edge of the storage goods. In this way, the time required for the length measurement can be minimized in both cases.

A method according to the invention can be improved according to a further possible method step by means of measuring the hanging length of the storage goods during the transport to the storage space. In this way the transport to the storage space can additionally be utilized for the length measurement and consequently it is possible to save time. This can be particularly advantageous if the length measurement device is disposed on the transport path or on a path to the length measurement device that branches from the transport path.

In the following, the invention is explained in more detail by way of example using advantageous embodiments, with reference to the drawings. The described embodiments here represent only possible developments in which, however, the individual characteristics, as is described above, can be implemented and left out independently of one another.

Shown are:

FIG. 1 A schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a storage goods carrier according to the invention;

FIG. 2 A schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a storage goods carrier according to the invention;

FIG. 3 A schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a storage goods carrier according to the invention;

FIG. 4 A schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a storage goods carrier according to the invention with a hollow profile as a horizontal guide and with hanging means that interact with it;

FIG. 5 A schematic perspective view of a grid wall with a light curtain;

FIG. 6 A magnified partial view of the detail IV from the schematic perspective view of the grid wall with light curtain from FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 A magnified side view of the light curtain from FIG. 6 along the cutting line V-V;

FIG. 8 A schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a storage device according to the invention;

FIG. 9 A schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a storage device according to the invention and its loading and/or removal station;

FIG. 10 A schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a storage device according to the invention with a loading and/or removal station that an operator can walk into;

FIG. 11 A schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a storage device according to the invention from the inside;

FIG. 12 A schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a storage device according to the invention with a walk-in loading and/or removal station.

First a storage goods carrier or shelf board 1 according to the invention is described with reference to FIG. 1, which shows the bottom side 2 thereof in a schematic perspective view. At the outside of the side edges 3 going around the bottom side 2, support bars 4 are attached with the help of which the storage goods carrier 1 can be slid in an insertion direction Z on support profiles (not shown here yet) of a storage device (not shown here yet). The support bars 4 in this embodiment are formed from brackets 5, 5′ disposed parallel and on top of each other in a height direction Y. The storage goods carrier 1 can be put down both on an upper bracket 5 and on a lower bracket 5′ on a support profile.

To improve the manageability of the storage goods carrier 1, the brackets 5, 5′ are given outward movement protection means 3′ in the form of holes. A locking means in the form of a tappet on a support profile can engage in these and prevent the storage goods carrier 1 from being unintentionally pushed out of a storage position. The outward movement protection means 3′, like the edge 3 of a conveyor and/or transfer device (not shown here yet), can serve to grasp the storage goods carrier 1.

Furthermore a hanging receptacle 7 in the form of a rod that extends in a lateral direction X of the storage goods carrier 1 is mounted on opposite edges 3 of the storage goods carrier 1 with the help of the mountings 6. Hanging means (not shown here yet) that carry the storage goods can be hung into the hanging receptacle 7.

The storage goods carrier 1 is furthermore provided with a data medium 8 on one of the side edges 3, whereby data regarding the goods stored on the storage goods carrier can be stored on this data medium. The data medium can consequently be used for identifying the storage goods carrier and the goods that it carries, and it can be developed as, for example, a radio frequency chip, barcode, magnetic chip, infrared chip or other information carrier or microchip or identification.

FIG. 2 shows a further embodiment of a storage goods carrier 1 according to the invention in a schematic perspective view. For the sake of simplicity, the following discusses only the differences to the storage goods carrier 1 shown in FIG. 1, whereby elements that are the same in both storage goods carriers are given the same reference numbers.

Unlike the storage goods carrier 1 shown in FIG. 1, the storage goods carrier 1 shown in FIG. 2 has a hanging receptacle 7 in the form of a rod that is attached not to the side edges 3, but to its bottom side 2. The hanging receptacle 7 is attached to the bottom side 2 on only one side with the help of a mounting 6, so that it has a free end 9 at which the hanging means (not shown here yet) can be slid onto the hanging receptacle 7. The hanging receptacle 7 is provided with position-specifying elements 11 in the form of tappets on a supporting surface 10 facing in the height direction Y. The position-specifying elements 11 give positions for the hanging-in instruments, for example in the form of hooks of coat hangers. The position-specifying elements 11 consequently restrict the displacement of the hanging elements in the lateral direction X along the supporting surface 10 of the hanging receptacle 7. This is particularly advantageous in the case of the hanging receptacle 7 shown in FIG. 2, in order to keep the hanging elements from unintentionally sliding off the free end 9 thereof.

FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment of a storage goods carrier 1 according to the invention, whereby here again the same elements are indicated with the same reference numbers as in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the following discusses only the differences to the storage goods carriers 1 described above.

On the bottom side 2 of the storage goods carrier 1 shown in FIG. 3, a multiplicity of hanging receptacles 7 in the form of hooks is mounted. Storage goods that are to be stored by hanging can, for example, be directly hung into the hooks 7′.

FIG. 4 shows a further embodiment of a storage goods carrier 1 according to the invention in a schematic perspective view. In the following, only the differences to the already described storage goods carriers 1 are discussed, whereby the same elements continue to be given the same reference numbers.

A hollow profile with the opening slot 12 facing downwards is mounted as a hanging receptacle 7″ on the bottom side 2 of the storage goods carrier 1 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4. Hanging-in instruments 13 of hanging means 14, 14′, 14″. can be slid in on the hollow profile 7″. The hanging instruments 13 can just as well be introduced on to the hanging receptacle 7″ from below at an extender 15 shown here displaced in an extended position A. The extender 15 is given a downward-facing insertion opening 16 as an insertion area for this purpose. The shape of the insertion opening 16 is coordinated to the shape of the hanging-in instruments 13, so that these can reach through the opening 16 only in a certain alignment.

It is particularly advantageous to form the hanging-in instruments 13 as shown here, for example, as rectangles, if the cross-sectional form of the hollow profile 7″ and the opening 16 is adapted to the shape of the hanging-in instruments 13. In this way, it is possible to prevent the hanging means 14, 14′, 14″ in the form of, for example, hangers 14, hooks 14′ or eyes 14″ from unintentionally turning around the axis pointing in the height direction.

The extender 15 is furthermore provided with a pull-out protection, for example, in the form of a hole 17 disposed on the side of the hollow profile and a tappet 18 that interacts with this and moves in a spring-like fashion. The extender 15 can consequently be locked in a slid-in position E by the tappet 18 engaging in the hole 17. A further tappet (not shown) could be provided on the extender 15 in order to lock this in the extended position A.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary embodiment for a section of a storage device or a storage shelf according to the invention in the form of a storage lift 19 in a schematic perspective view. The section of the storage device 19 shown can be both a loading and/or removal opening 20 of a loading and/or removal station (not shown here yet) and a section of a storage area 21 of the storage device 19.

Side walls 22 of the loading and/or removal opening 20 or of the storage area 21 are provided with support profiles disposed above each other in pairs that form a multiplicity of individual storage levels or storage spaces 24. The support profiles 23 serve to support the support bars 5, 5′ at the opposing side walls 3 of the storage goods carrier 1.

In the area of the loading and removal opening 20 or at the front edge of the storage area 21, a light curtain 29a, 29b is disposed that can be used for measurement of a hanging length of the storage goods located in the particular storage goods carrier and that furthermore fulfils an additional function in that it serves to identify and inspect the position of the particular storage goods carrier 1 introduced into the loading and/or removal opening 20 or into the storage area 21, whereby both its vertical position in the height direction Y and its horizontal position in the transverse direction Z are registered.

Further functionalities of the section of a storage device 19 shown in FIG. 9 are explained in the following with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, in which a detail IV of the partial view according to FIG. 5 is shown in a magnified scale and a section along the line V-V in FIG. 5 is shown.

It becomes clear from FIGS. 6 and 7 that the position of the storage goods carrier 1 is determined with the aid of apertures 26 assigned to it. In the particularly advantageous solution shown in the drawings, the apertures 26 are provided in the area of the opposite ends formed as handle strips 27 or of the front side wall 3 of the storage goods carrier 1. As is apparent from FIG. 7, the respective aperture 26 is formed from a side wall 3 of the respective handle strip 27, whereby the side wall is provided with a window 28. The dimensions of the side wall 3 and of the window 28 here are coordinated to a spacing t for light barriers or storage level registering elements or measurement elements 25 of the light curtain 25a, 25b in such a way that one light beam passes through the aperture 26 and one light beam is interrupted, i.e., cut out, by the aperture 26 respectively. While the light beam that passes through is used for determining the position of the respective storage goods carrier 1, the interrupted light beam serves to inform a control system (not shown) that a storage goods carrier 1 is located in the area of the storage area 21 or of its loading and/or removal opening 20. The spacing t corresponds to half the distance A between the support profiles 23, each one on top of the other following the other in the height direction Y, which represents a vertical grid spacing A between the storage spaces.

This embodiment of a storage device 19 according to the invention offers the advantage that special sensors, for example, in the form of light barriers 29 for inspecting the proper position of the storage goods carrier 1 in the loading and/or removal opening 20 of a storage device 19, are superfluous. Such an inspection is indispensable in order to guarantee a flawless transfer of the storage goods carrier 1 from the loading and removal opening 20 to a transfer device (not shown here yet) or also to a vertical conveyor (not shown here yet). The functioning of such a transfer device or of such a vertical conveyor is explained below.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic perspective view of a storage device according to the invention in the form of a storage shelf or storage lift 19.

The embodiment of a storage device according to the invention in the form of a storage lift 19 shown in FIG. 8 has two shelf columns 29 and 30 that border a conveyor shaft 31. A vertical conveyor 33 that is fitted with a horizontal conveyor device 32 can be moved up and down in the shaft 31 in order to transfer storage goods carriers 1 to different spaces 24′ of the shelf columns 29 or 30. The individual storage spaces 24′ here are formed by support profiles 23′ disposed above one another in pairs and at a distance from one another, whereby these support profiles serve to support the support bars 5, 5′ on the opposite sides of the storage goods carrier 1.

Alternatively, a storage lift 19 can also be introduced as a circulating shelf in which the storage goods carriers 1 move horizontally and/or vertically circularly to a loading and removal opening 20.

In the case of the storage lift 19 shown in FIG. 8, also provided in the loading and/or removal opening 20 are support profiles 23′ that allow the insertion of storage goods carriers at different heights in the height direction Y of the loading and/or removal opening. A particular operator (not shown here yet) consequently has the possibility of sliding the storage goods carriers 1 into the storage lift 19 at the ergonomically optimal position each time.

Depending on the need, a light curtain 25a, 25b can also be disposed in the rear portion of the loading and removal opening 20 of the storage lift 19, whereby this light curtain can register the hanging lengths H of the storage goods stored on the storage goods carriers 1 and determine the position of the storage goods carriers 1.

FIG. 9 shows a further embodiment of a storage device 19 according to the invention in the form of a storage lift 19 in a schematic cross-sectional view. The storage device 19 is provided with two shelf columns 29, 30, between which the conveyor shaft 31 for the vertical conveyor 33 is located. The storage device 19 furthermore has a loading and/or removal station 34 at which an operator 35 can transfer storage goods 36, 36′ into or out of the storage device 19.

A safety device 25″ located on the outside of the loading and/or removal station 34 registers whether or not objects or the operator 35 are improperly positioned in the loading and/or removal opening 20 of the loading and/or removal station 34 during a loading and/or removal process. Should this be the case, a control unit (not shown) interrupts the loading and/or removal processes for safety reasons.

Furthermore disposed in the rear portion of the loading and/or removal station 34 that faces the conveyor shaft 31 is a height or length measurement device 25′ that, just like the safety device 25″, is provided with light curtain elements or light barriers 25. The light curtain elements 25 of the length measurement device 25′ serve to register the hanging length H of storage goods 36, 36′ that are to be stored by hanging.

Found in the situation shown in FIG. 9 is a storage good 36 in the form of a garment on a hanging means 14 developed as a coat hanger that is, in turn, hung into a hanging receptacle 7 of a storage goods carrier 1. The storage goods 36 have a hanging length H1. The vertical conveyor 33 bears a storage goods carrier 1 to which storage goods 36′ in the form of a garment with the hanging length H2 are hung in, whereby the hanging length H2 is greater than the hanging length H1.

Because the length measurement device 25′ measures the hanging lengths H1 and H2 of the storage goods 36, 36′, a control device (not shown) can select a storage space 24 that is optimal for the particular storage goods 36, 36′ and that has a stock, storage or transfer-to-storage area height (not shown here yet) corresponding to the storage area height (not shown here yet) sufficient for the hanging length H1 or H2 of the storage goods 36, 36′.

In the case of the embodiment of a storage device 19 according to the invention shown in FIG. 9, it is especially advantageous that the length measurement device 25′ is located on the transport path for the storage goods 36, 36′ between the loading and/or removal station 34 and the conveyor shaft 31 or the storage spaces 24.

FIG. 10 shows a further possible embodiment of a storage device 19 according to the invention in a schematic cross-sectional view. For the sake of simplicity, the following discusses only the differences to the embodiment of a storage device 19 according to the invention shown in FIG. 9, whereby elements that are the same are given the same reference numbers.

In the embodiment of a storage device 19 according to the invention shown in FIG. 10, the loading and/or removal station 34 is developed below the shelf column 29 in a manner that allows the operator 35 to walk in upright. A person with the average body dimensions of a statistically representative population group is indicated as the operator 35. In particular, however, the measurements of the fiftieth percentile of a group of people relevant for operators 35 of storage devices 19, such as determined in DIN 33402, for example, are decisive. The loading and/or removal station can particularly have a walk-in height of between 200 and 215 cm. This size can, however, be different in the individual regions. For example, the body size of average people in Europe and Asia differs.

In the embodiment of a storage device 19 according to the invention shown in FIG. 10, length measurement devices 25′″ are disposed in the conveyor shaft 31 that holds the vertical conveyor 33. The length measurement devices 25′″ are aligned in the insertion direction Z so that the light beams produced by their light barriers 25 run in a line parallel to the lateral direction X. In this way, a hanging length H of the storage goods 36 can be measured while the storage goods 36 are directed past the length measurement devices 25′″ from top to bottom in the height direction Y. It is accordingly theoretically possible that only one length measurement device 25′″ with a single light barrier 25 is disposed in the shaft 31 relative to the loading and/or removal station 34 at its upper end in order to register the hanging length H of the storage goods 36. The equipping of the shaft 31 with length measurement devices 25′″ along the entire extent of the height of the loading and/or removal station 34, as shown in FIG. 10, is, however, particularly advantageous because the hanging length H of the storage goods 36 can be measured from various initial positions of the conveyor device or of the vertical conveyor 33 and the length measurement devices 25′″ can simultaneously be used as a safety device that can register when the operator 35 is in the conveyor shaft 31.

The embodiment of a storage device 19 according to the invention with walk-in loading and/or removal station 34 shown in FIG. 10 is particularly advantageous if, as shown in FIG. 10, there is a further storage device 19 separated from the storage device 19 shown in a sectional view only by a corridor 37. The corridor 37 can consequently namely be kept free when the operator 35 is in the loading and/or removal station 34 for the purpose of transferring storage goods 36 into and out of storage. The corridor 37 is then not blocked and is free to be used by other operators 35 or, for example, by transport devices (not shown).

FIG. 11 shows a storage device 19 according to the invention in a perspective, schematic partial view of its interior. This storage device 19 has two shelf columns 29, 30 between which a shaft for the conveyor device 33 is located. In the situation shown in FIG. 11, the conveyor device 33 is located in a loading and/or removal position P at the loading and/or removal opening or station 20, 34. The conveyor device 33 bears a storage goods carrier 1 to which storage goods 36 are hung in at its hanging receptacle 7. At the side of and next to the loading and/or removal opening or station 20, 34 is the length/height measurement device 25′, whose measurement elements in the form of light barriers 25 form a light curtain that is aligned in the height direction Y, whereby its light beams run horizontally.

The conveyor device 33 is moved from the loading and/or removal position P in the lateral direction X to the conveyor shaft 31, so that the storage goods 36 are guided through the light curtain formed by the length measurement device 25′ and the hanging length of the storage goods 36 can be determined. The conveyor device 33 then moves in the height direction Y up to a respective storage space 24, at which the storage goods carrier 1 is transferred into storage in the lateral direction X by the conveyor device 33.

In the embodiment of a storage device 19 according to the invention shown in FIG. 11, various storage spaces have different storage or transfer-to-storage area heights R1 to R3. These transfer-to-storage area heights R are selected here only for purposes of illustration and do not have to be specified, but can instead be variable, as in the embodiments of a storage device 19 according to the invention depicted in FIGS. 5 to 10, by respective support profiles 23, 23′ or can have grid spacing A incremented by their vertical spacing A.

The storage or transfer-to-storage area height R is determined by the area below the supporting surface 10 of the storage goods carrier or below its hanging receptacle 7 and formed by it and the upper side of a storage goods carrier 1 below it. A maximum storage area height SMAX of the storage goods carrier 1 is stipulated by a height HB of the loading and/or removal opening or station.

The hanging length H of the storage goods 36 determined by the length measurement device 25′ can be used for selecting an optimal storage space 24 for the storage goods 36, whereby its storage or transfer-to-storage height H is optimally slightly greater than the hanging length H. In the situation shown in FIG. 11, the storage or transfer-to-storage area height R2 would, for example, roughly correspond to the hanging length H. The maximum storage area height SMAX could, for example, be accommodated in the storage or transfer-to-storage area height R3. Shorter storage goods could, for example, be accommodated in a storage area whose transfer-to-storage area height R1 is less than the transfer-to-storage area height R2.

FIG. 12 shows a further embodiment of a storage device 19 according to the invention in a schematic perspective view. This storage device 19 has a walk-in loading and/or removal station 34 from which a loading and/or removal room or area 38 can be accessed. Located in the loading and/or removal station 34 is a storage goods carrier 1 in the loading and/or removal position P. The hanging receptacles 7 of the storage goods carrier 1 are provided with extenders 15′ that can be pulled out in the direction of an area into which an operator 35 can walk in such a way that these storage goods can be simply hung into the hanging receptacles 7. The storage goods carrier 1 can then be transferred into storage in the shelf columns 29, 30 of the storage device 19 via the conveyor shaft 31 with the extenders 15′ slid in.

Deviations from the embodiments described above are possible in the framework of the inventive concept. In this way, the elements of the storage goods carrier 1, the hanging means 14, 14′, 14″ and storage devices 1 can be combined in any way and coordinated with one another.

The hanging receptacles 7, 7′, 7″ can be executed in any way. It is essential that they form a supporting surface 10, whose normal vector points substantially in the height direction Y in order that they can either directly or with the help of a hanging means 14, 14′, 14″ or its hanging-in instrument 13 support storage goods to be stored by hanging. The hanging-in instrument 13 can be executed in any way in order, for example, to be introduced in hook form or into a hanging receptacle 7, 7′ executed as a hollow profile or undercut groove. An extender 15 mounted on the hanging receptacle 7 can be executed in any way in order to allow a simplified fitting of the storage goods carrier with storage goods or their removal in a loading and/or removal position P of the storage goods carrier.

The storage goods carriers 1 can be provided in any way with outward movement protection means or tail hooks 3′ that substantially work transverse to an insertion direction Z so that they prevent an unintentional inward and outward pulling of a storage goods carrier 1 from a storage level 24, 24′ or from a conveyor device.

The edge 3 on the storage goods carrier 1 can be shaped in any way in order to support the storage goods carrier 1, restrict it laterally or function as a handle strip 27 so that the storage goods carrier 1 can be transferred to and from storage by hand with the help of a conveyor device 33 in a storage device 1. Support bars 4 can be developed in any way with brackets or webs 5, 5′ so that the storage goods carrier 1 can be held in a suitable way on storage levels 24, 24′ formed in any way by support profiles 23, 23′.

Data media 8 can be developed in any way and also serve as positioning aids in order to determine the position of the storage goods carrier 1.

Loading and removal openings or stations 20, 34 can be developed in any way so that they are accessible to an operator 35 or a transport cart (not shown) for the transfer of an arbitrary number of storage goods carriers or shelf boards 1 into and out of storage.

Any number of light curtain or storage level registering elements 25, 25′ 25′″ and light barriers 25a and 25b can be used in order to register in any way proper positioning, a presence or a loading and removal position P of the storage goods carrier 1 and/or to determine the hanging length or height H, width and/or depth of the storage goods hung on to the storage goods carrier 1. By means of a registration and storage goods length determination of this kind, it is possible to utilize the available storage space optimally in a storage shelf 1 and on vertical conveyors 33 and to operate automated storage compacting in which the storage goods carriers 1 are transferred to storage optimally above and below each other in storage levels 24, 24′ according to the dimensions of the goods stored on them.

The spacing or grid spacing A between the storage levels 24, 24′ or support profiles 23, 23′ can be selected according to the respective requirements, whereby it is advantageous if it is additionally possible to realize expedient spacing t of the light barriers 29a, 29b. In this connection, it is, in turn, advantageous if a plurality of to-storage transfer options are created on the storage goods carriers 1 with, for example, upper and lower brackets 5, 5′ of the support bars 4, whereby these to-storage transfer options can use a multiple of the storage spaces 24, 24′ provided by the storage levels 24, 24′ with the spacing A.

A height difference ΔY between the storage goods carriers 1 can correspond both to the spacing A and to the fractions A attainable by the upper and lower brackets 5, 5′.

The support profiles 23, 23′ can be executed in any way in order to satisfy their respective purpose of holding a storage goods carrier 2.

Hanging storage goods 36, 36′ are not restricted to the garments mentioned in the embodiments described here. Hanging storage goods can be all goods to be stored by hanging, in the form, for example, of foods, industrial products and semi-finished products, products to be dried or otherwise to be treated, ripened or stored.

Claims

1. Storage goods carrier (1), particularly a shelf board (1), for storage lifts (19) and storage shelves (19) having at least two support bars (4, 5, 5′) running on opposite side edges (3, 24) of the storage goods carrier (1) in an insertion direction (Z) of the storage goods carrier (1) for displaceable support on support profiles (23, 23′) of storage lifts and storage shelves, characterised by at least one hanging receptacle (7, 7′, 7″) disposed on the bottom side (2) of the storage goods carrier (1) on which storage goods (36, 36′) can be hung in.

2. Storage goods carrier (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the hanging receptacle (7, 7′, 7″) comprises a horizontal guide with a support surface (10) extending substantially horizontally, on which a multiplicity of hanging means (14, 14′, 14″) on which storage goods (36, 36′) can be hung can be mounted in a displaceable manner.

3. Storage goods carrier (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the hanging receptacle (7, 7′, 7″) is developed in such a way that it can be pulled out to an extended position (A) at least partially beyond one of the side, particularly the front or rear side, edges (3, 34) of the storage goods carrier (1).

4. Storage goods carrier (1) according to claim 3, characterised in that a locking means (17, 18) is provided by means of which the hanging receptacle (7, 7′, 7″) can be locked in the extended position (A) and/or in a non-extended state in a slid-in position (E).

5. Storage device (19) for storing storage goods (36, 36′) with at least one storage goods carrier (1) that can be fitted with storage goods (36, 36′) and to which is assigned a storage area height (S) that can be occupied by the fitted storage goods (36, 36′),

with at least one storage column (29, 30) that has at least two storage spaces (24, 24′) that are disposed above each other in the height direction (Y) for accepting the at least one storage goods carrier,
with a loading and/or removal station (34) at which the at least one storage goods carrier (1) can be disposed in such a manner that it is accessible from outside the storage device (19),
with a conveyor device (33) by means of which the storage goods carrier (1) can be moved on a transport path from the loading and/or removal station (34) to the storage spaces (24, 24′),
characterised in that the storage area height (S) extends in a height direction (Y) below the storage goods carrier (1).

6. Storage device (19) according to claim 5, characterised in that a loading and/or removal area (38) that comprises at least the storage area height (S) is developed in the loading and/or removal station (34) in such a manner that an operator (35) can walk into it upright.

7. Storage device (19) according to claim 5 or 6, characterised in that the conveyor device (33) is disposed in a conveyor shaft (31) between at least two storage columns (29, 30) and the loading and/or removal station (34) is disposed in or below the conveyor shaft (31).

8. Storage device (19) according to one of the claims 5 to 7, characterised in that at least one length measurement device (25, 25′, 25″, 25′″, 25a, 25b) is provided for registering a hanging length (H) occupied by the goods (36, 36′) below the storage goods carrier in the height direction (Y).

9. Storage device (19) according to claim 8, characterised in that the length measurement device (25, 25′, 25″, 25′″, 25a, 25b) is disposed between the loading and/or removal station (34) and the storage spaces (24, 24′).

10. Storage device (19) according to one of the claims 5 to 9, characterised in that more than two storage spaces (24, 24′) are arranged apart from one another at a preferably uniform grid spacing (A) in the height direction (Y).

11. Storage device (19) with at least two storage columns (29, 30) with storage spaces (24, 24′) located above each other and with at least one storage goods carrier (1) for acceptance at at least one storage space (24, 24′), characterised in that the storage goods carrier (1) is formed according to one of the claims 1 to 4.

12. Method in which storage goods (36, 36′) are automatically stored into a plurality of storage spaces (24, 24′) above each other, characterised in that the storage goods (36, 36′) are stored into the storage spaces (24, 24′) by hanging.

13. Method according to claim 12, characterised in that the storage space (24, 24′) is automatically selected depending on a hanging length (H) of the storage goods (36, 36′).

14. Method according to claim 12 or 13, characterised in that during the transfer into storage, the hanging length (H) of the storage goods (36, 36′) is automatically measured.

15. Method according to claim 13 or 14, characterised in that the hanging length (H) of the storage goods (36, 36′) is measured from top to bottom relative to the storage goods (36, 36′).

16. Method according to one of the claims 13 to 14, characterised in that the hanging length (H) of the storage goods (19) is measured during the transport to the storage space (24, 24′).

Patent History
Publication number: 20120001047
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 19, 2009
Publication Date: Jan 5, 2012
Inventors: Erich Spichtig (Tuggen), Haken Aksoy (Istanbul)
Application Number: 13/055,996
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: Releasable For Lowering (248/320)
International Classification: A47B 57/06 (20060101); A47B 96/02 (20060101);