Material or article handling – Plural – static structures for supporting discrete loads and... – Load-underlying members
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-12
2004-05-11
Bidwell, James R. (Department: 3651)
Material or article handling
Plural, static structures for supporting discrete loads and...
Load-underlying members
C211S188000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06733222
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains to a commissioning device with product storage units arranged in positions ranging from vertical to horizontal, in which products are stacked, arranged one on top of another or next to each other in a row, wherein the product of a selected product storage unit, which product is the lowermost or frontmost in the stack, can be pushed out in the transverse direction of the shelf by a positionable ejector unit or push-out unit.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A commissioning device of the above-mentioned type has been known from, e.g., EP 0 403 726. The shelf is preferably designed as a double shelf back to back, is gently sloped to the vertical, and has an A-shaped front view, and a longitudinal conveyor belt is arranged at least at the base of the “A”, and a plurality of push-out planes may be provided at different levels, with which additional longitudinal conveyor belts may be associated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a commissioning device of the type mentioned in the introduction, which has a simple design and can be used in various variants in a versatile manner and is characterized, in particular, by simple and rapid mounting of the shelf.
The essence of the present invention is that the shelf is provided as a frame components system, especially as a plug-in frame system and it comprises modular individual components, and the shelf can be built variably in terms of height, width and/or length and can be optionally expanded by attaching additional modular individual parts.
The shelf is preferably composed of at least four vertical supports of identical design, a plane that can be suspended and at least two cross struts of identical design, which can be brought into a preferably positive-locking plug-in connection with the vertical supports in a selected position, as well as at least one longitudinal strut, and it has at least one guide rail, on which the push-out unit is guided movably along the shelf at a selected product storage unit and is fastened. If this design variant is based on the above-mentioned minimum numbers of pieces for vertical supports, cross struts and longitudinal struts, this leads to the simplest form of a commissioning device in the form of a shelf module with integrated guide rail and a push-out unit, which makes commissioning possible in one push-out plane in the case of a plurality of product storage units arranged in a row in the shelf. The above-mentioned individual parts of the shelf form a sufficiently stable structure in the mounted state of the shelf including the guide rail and a plurality of product storage units.
In the case of longer vertical supports, the aforementioned shelf can be expanded upward with additional cross struts and longitudinal struts and additional guide rails with additional push-out units at equal overall length. At least one second push-out plane, which can be operated independently from the first push-out plane, is embodied in this case, without the push-out units interfering with one another during their longitudinal movements during commissioning.
However, the shelf can also be expanded in its overall length, which is achieved by attaching additional vertical supports, cross struts and longitudinal struts. The guide rail is extended in this case by an extension piece or, which is better for the stability and the function of the entire system, by a correspondingly longer guide rail, on which at least one push-out unit is longitudinally displaceable. Commissioning in one push-out plane is now possible over a greater length at a larger number of product storage units.
It is apparent that the above-mentioned expansion of the shelf in terms of height and length and optionally width according to the modular principle may be continued, in principle, up to commissioning units the size of a shop, where it is possible, e.g., not only to embody many push-out planes in height, but even to set up a second or third operator plane on the side of the high shelf for a person to walk on.
It is especially advantageous for the shelf to additionally comprise a fastening rail with a longitudinal conveying means extending in the longitudinal direction of the shell, especially with a longitudinal conveyor belt, on which a commissioned product pushed out by the positioned push-out unit can be given out and removed. In this case, the commissioned products do not fall under the shelf into a container made ready, especially in case of a short overall length of the shelf, but the products, sorted according to commission or according to an order, are conveyed to a remote location, depending on the local individual conditions.
Longitudinal conveyor belts may be provided in different push-out planes. In particular, a separate longitudinal conveyor belt may be associated with each push-out plane.
At least the vertical supports, the cross struts, the longitudinal struts and the push-out unit are preferably modular individual parts, which may also be used multiply in various sizes or lengths within the framework of a comprehensive modular system to individually shape a commissioning device, and, in particular, a layman or the user of a commissioning unit can also install especially the shelf of the commissioning device for the most part himself in a reliable manner and in a short time.
An especially advantageous commissioning device is characterized in that at least one additional shelf is connected to a shelf, which is provided with a guide rail, a push-out unit, a buffer storage area and optionally a longitudinal conveyor belt as a so-called commissioning shelf according to the frame components system, especially the plug-in frame system, preferably in a plug-type connection, or such an additional shelf is associated with the shelf, the additional shelf being designed as a so-called non-commissioning shelf without push-out unit and preferably also without product storage unit, without guide rail and also without longitudinal conveyor belt, and having, instead, flat shelf bottoms arranged preferably on the cross struts, preferably at a different level, on which bottoms products can be arranged, intermediately stored and handled. Such a commissioning device consequently comprises individual parts, many of which are of an identical structure and consequently have the same optical appearance, and individual shelves are commissioning shelves and other shelves are non-commissioning shelves basically in the form of storage shelves which are known per se, but are built according to the modular principle according to the present invention.
Such non-commissioning shelves can be made according to the present invention into a commissioning shelf with especially simple means, i.e., they can be converted if the user so desires. Only the flat shelf bottoms must be removed in this case, the product storage units are inserted instead into the modular basic frame comprising the above-mentioned vertical supports, cross struts and longitudinal struts, and the push-out units are installed, optionally also with guide rails and longitudinal conveying means, unless they are already installed in a non-commissioning shelf.
Likewise, commissioning shelves can preferably be converted according to the present invention into additional shelves, i.e., into non-commissioning shelves with simple means if the user so desires. Consequently, a user can, e.g., expand an already installed, small commissioning unit comprising a few commissioning shelves and a few non-commissioning shelves practically as desired, and the function of the non-commissioning shelves can be changed to that of commissioning shelves to expand the capacity of the entire unit, without the basic structure and the site of fastening of the unit having to be changed, doing so with astonishingly simple and consequently inexpensive means. If, furthermore, the user wishes to change the function of existing commissioning shelves, so-called dynamic shelves, into that of non-commissioning shelves, so-called static shelves, this
Bidwell James R.
Knapp Logistik Automation GmbH
McGlew and Tuttle , P.C.
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