Metal working – Method of mechanical manufacture – Assembling or joining
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-24
2002-12-17
Wellington, A. L. (Department: 3722)
Metal working
Method of mechanical manufacture
Assembling or joining
C414S391000, C414S397000, C104S126000, C248S243000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06493921
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to a system and a method of assembling and using the system for conveying articles from a first location to a second location. In particular, this invention is directed to a system and method for conveying articles along a predetermined path from a first location where the articles are unloaded from a transport vehicle to a second location, as in a warehouse.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Unloading articles from a transport vehicle into a warehouse can be a time-consuming, labor-intensive process. The use of fork lifts, the palletization of shipments, and the construction of docks designed to limit the height differential between the floor of the transport vehicle and the floor of the warehouse may have served to reduce the costs associated with unloading transport vehicles in some situations. In other situations, these measures may be of little practical advantage.
For example, during the early stages of construction of a warehouse, it is commonly necessary to unload transport vehicles carrying modular shelving to be installed in the warehouse for the storage of palletized goods. This modular shelving consists of a series of substantially vertical, trussed uprights and a series of substantially horizontal beams disposed at spaced intervals along the uprights to form the shelves on which the palletized goods may be stored. According to the size of the pallets which are to be placed on the horizontal beams for storage, these uprights and beams can be quite wide and long. While the uprights and the beams can be formed into bundles for transport, each of the bundles being secured together using a metal band or strap, the bundles are substantially larger and more unwieldy than the more regularly-shaped palletized loads commonly unloaded from transport vehicles.
Under the construction conditions commonly present at the time when the shelving is to be unloaded, the transport vehicle commonly cannot be brought closer than a remote location ten or twelve feet from the edge of the loading dock. To exacerbate matters, the ground between the transport vehicle is commonly broken terrain, made up of a mixture of sand, gravel and mud.
In those instances where a dock and finished apron exists, and the transport vehicle can be brought in close enough to reach the dock edge, the tight spacing of the transport vehicles along the edge of the dock may prevent a fork lift from approaching the bundles in such a way that the fork lift can be used to any significant mechanical advantage. Additionally, the slope of the apron may be such that unloading is further complicated, or that the bundles may have a tendency to slide off of the arms of the fork lift.
As a result, a hodgepodge of unloading techniques have been put into practice in the industry to remove the bundles, of shelving material from the transport vehicles in this environment. For instance, one technique has been to unbundle the materials on or near the transport vehicle and to transport the individual pieces one at a time into the warehouse, using four to six workmen. This technique may be especially time consuming, and typically may not be very cost-effective. Additionally, the technique may expose the workmen unnecessarily to work-related injury.
A common alternative technique under construction conditions is to use all-terrain fork lifts to approach the transport vehicle parked at the remote location at a construction site and remove a bundle from the transport vehicle. With the assistance of two or more workmen to prevent the bundle from becoming separated from the fork lift, the fork lift operator then proceeds to direct the fork lift backwards and forward in small angular increments until a first end of the bundle rests on the upper edge of the dock.
The fork lift operator may then allow a second end of the bundle to come to rest on the ground in the area of broken terrain between the dock and the transport vehicle. The second end can then be elevated using the fork lift (now approaching the bundle from the end instead of the side) a jack, or even manpower, until the first and second ends are essentially level and the bundle is essentially parallel to the floor of the warehouse. To keep the first and second ends leveled, often wedges are inserted between the second end and the ground.
Once the bundle has been raised, the bundle can be moved so that it rests entirely on the floor of the warehouse by pushing or dragging the bundle at the first end using manpower or a fork lift. Alternatively, two fork lifts can be used, one at the first end and moveable along the warehouse floor and one at the second end and moveable along the broken terrain below the dock, to raise the first and second ends of the bundle slighty to allow for a space between the bundle and the floor of the warehouse while the bundle is moved into the warehouse. As a further alternative, the bundle can be raised by passing a chain around the bundle and using a fork lift on the dock to raised the bundle from the ground level to the dock level.
The technique becomes even more complicated when the uprights and beams must be passed through a doorway from the dock into the warehouse. Often, the doorways are not large enough to accommodate the uprights and beams when these materials are in the orientation which is easiest for the fork lifts. As a consequence, the uprights and beams must be manually maneuvered, or jockeyed, through the doorways.
The techniques presently in use in the industry, as outlined above, may have several significant drawbacks. The most immediate drawback may be the cost of conducting the unloading operation. Sizeable capital outlays may need to be made to purchase or rent the forklifts, jacks and supports used to remove the bundles from the transport vehicle, move the bundles to the dock edge, level the bundles at the dock edge, and then move the bundles off the dock edge and into the warehouse. Sizeable labor expense may also be incurred for the services of the at least one, and possibly two or three, skilled fork lift operators and the two or more workmen necessary to unload each bundle from the transport vehicle.
This technique also causes costs which are not directly assignable as costs of the unloading operation, but which may come about as a direct result of doing business using the techniques outlined above. For example, the uprights and the beams are commonly painted prior to shipment and installation. When the bundles of uprights and beams are taken off the transport vehicle, rested along the edge of the dock, and then pushed or pulled along the warehouse floor, a considerable amount of paint may be removed from the uprights and the beams. Additional damage can be caused to the uprights and the beams, not to mention to the structure, when the uprights and beams are dragged through the doorway from the dock into the warehouse.
Even the arms of the fork lift, or the surfaces of the jacks or chains used to raise the materials to dock level, can cause damage to the materials, especially if the bundles become separated from the arms of the fork lift or if the bundles break open. Damage can also be caused by the arms of the forklift to the uprights of the shelving material because the arms are substantially horizontal, while the struts of the uprights in contact with the arms can be at a 30 or 40 degree angle to the horizontal.
Consequently, the uprights and beams may need to be repainted or replaced. If repainted, then the costs of the paint, the freight charges spent shipping the paint, and the man-hours spent painting the uprights and beams should be added to the costs of using this technique. If the uprights or beams must be replaced, then the cost of replacing the uprights or beams, including the associated freight, should be factored into the costs of this technique.
Additionally, given the size and weight of the bundles, and the rather complicated nature of the procedure, it is not uncommon for the workmen and the fork lift operators to become injured. This is espe
Cadugan Erica E.
Wellington A. L.
Wood Phillips Katz Clark & Mortimer
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