A horizontally movable load transportation device is equipped with a vertically movable elevator. The elevator has a pivotally mounted conveyor device that is adapted to engage an edge of a load and transfer it toward a selected storage compartment. The storage compartments have movable load engaging devices which are adapted to engage another edge of the load to assist in the transfer of the load between the transportation device and the storage compartment.
A pallet feeder for a manufacturing plant or fabrication system wherein pallets are fed along a substantially circular-shaped track or path of travel. A number of transfer stations or locations are provided at which the pallets are infed and outfed essentially at right angles to the circular-shaped conveying path or track. At the center of the circular-shaped pallet feeder there is located a pallet displacement device which is pivotable about the axis of the circular-shaped track into a position coacting with the different transfer stations or locations, in order to be able to move the pallets towards and away from the conveying or conveyor track.
The automatic vertical storage and retrieval system has an extractor for retrieving items stored and presenting the retrieved items to an operator. The extractor is vertically displaceable between and along vertical rails and is driven by an electromechanical chain drive system. The rails have equally-spaced locking slots for attaching pan brackets to form storage platforms for storage pans. The extractor includes an extractor stabilization mechanism having four locking dogs which engage with the locking slots of the rails to support the extractor and any retrieved items, thereby removing the load on the chains of the chain drive system during extraction or deposition of the storage pan(s). Thus, the extractor can be located in the optimal vertical position without the use of a precision linear encoder, and the extractor can maintain this optimal vertical position as the load is transferred to or from the extractor.
A support or jig (6) for handling packs including elongated articles, especially lumber packs (2a,2b), is adapted to support the lumber pack during the handling and to be brought to an appropriate position in front of an input opening in a rack (1) for the transfer of a loading pack between the handling device (6) and the rack (1). During the transfer between the handling device and the rack, the weight of the pack gives rise to a tilting moment. Therefore, the device (6) is provided with supporting arms (10a,10b) which securely engage supporting means (11a-11e) in the rack (1) so that the handling device (6) during the transfer operation is supported in the area of the rack openings. The arms are locked in their extended positions by the load and hold the jig next to the rack, even if a tilting moment is created during transfer.
A storage and retrieval system includes sat least two pairs of two confrontingly opposed, columnar arrays. Each of the pairs of columnar arrays defines a plurality of vertically spaced tray-receiving recesses. One or more platforms are provided, each vertically displaceable along and between each of the pairs of arrays. Each platform carries an extraction device operable for withdrawing a selected tray from an array recess onto the platform, and for inserting a tray supported on the platform into a vacant recess in either array. The extraction device includes a retractable/extendable pin mounted in a housing configured in a manner to provide engagement with an aperture on a side face of one of the bins to create a bin-engaged state when engaged and a bin-disengaged state when disengaged. Each device has an extended cam-follower portion that rides in a cam. As the endless chains travel in a chain pattern, the extractor assembly is driven along the chain pattern and the extended cam-follower portion cammingly engages the cam, in a manner such that the retractable/extendable pin is caused to move linearly in a pin plane orthogonal to a chain plane (created by the chain pattern) between a retracted and extended position, thereby moving from the bin-engaged state in the extended position to a bin-disengaged state in the retracted position. The pins releasably engage, through rotation of the chains and action of the cam, into apertures in the bins. As a consequence of the configuration, bins or trays can be stacked more tightly in the vertical direction. The insertion/extraction device can be used in many different types of automated storage and retrieval systems. Also provided is tandem operation of two platforms using a single control system.
