Material or article handling – Plural – static structures for supporting discrete loads and... – Load-underlying members
Patent
1996-01-04
1997-08-12
Werner, Frank E.
Material or article handling
Plural, static structures for supporting discrete loads and...
Load-underlying members
36447802, 414274, 414277, 414282, 414283, 414222, 414908, 414911, 242533, 901 46, B65G 104
Patent
active
056558708
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a stacker crane for use in a multi-tier automatic warehouse and more particularly, to a fork-lift apparatus in a stacker crane for handling roll forms of load. It also relates to a method of controlling the fork-lift apparatus in a stacker crane for lifting and lowering various types of loads which have apertures provided in different regions thereof for accepting a fork(s) of the apparatus or provided in the center of a roll or cylinder form thereof made by rolling a length of wire or a strip of sheet and also, to a control apparatus embodying the method.
BACKGROUND ART
A common multi-tier automatic warehouse includes a stacker crane and two blocks of multi-tier racks disposed on both sides of a track along which the stacker crane travels. Each tier supports a number of loads on their pallets. For unloading a load on its pallet from the rack, the stacker crane is anchored on the track and its carriage is elevated to the rack. Then, a fork-lift apparatus on the carriage is actuated to extend its forks under the pallet. When the carriage is further elevated, the forks lift up the pallet with the load. The fork-lift apparatus is then actuated to retract the forks allowing the load on the pallet to be loaded on the carriage. After the carriage is lowered by a lifting mechanism, the stacker crane travels to unload the load.
In case that the load is of a roll form having a given outer diameter and a center aperture arranged in discrete location and size, it may not appropriately be loaded and unloaded with the use of such a conventional fork-lift apparatus in a multi-tier automatic warehouse. For smooth handling of loads, any improved fork-lift apparatus is desired. In addition, the stacker crane equipped with a conventional fork-lift apparatus is relatively large in width at the carriage and its track occupies a considerable space in the multi-tier automatic warehouse.
If a rolled good is strapped on a pallet for ease of storage (or handling) in a multi-pier automatic warehouse, its overall size including a pallet height and a fork accepting clearance is increased and requires the tiers or racks to be vertically arranged at intervals of a wider distance. This will impair the optimum use of a given interior space of the warehouse. Also, the time required for handling is increased as each rolled good has to be preliminarily strapped on its pallet, thus contributing to the rise of the working cost.
When the rolled goods are identical in the size, their center apertures into which a fork of the stacker crane is inserted are located in the same place. Accordingly, the goods may be loaded and unloaded with a conventional fork-life apparatus by repeating the same fork inserting action.
In most cases, the rolled goods are different in the location of the center aperture and stored in discrete places in the warehouse. Hence, when one of the rolled goods is required for unloading, its center aperture is viewed and identified by the operator of the stacker crane so that it can accept the fork successfully.
When the load to be handled is of a cylindrical shape having a center bore for accepting the fork of a fork-lift apparatus, it is also viewed and identified by the operator for insertion of the fork into the center bore as it is different in the size and location of the center bore from other loads stored in the warehouse.
It is thus necessary for the operator of a conventional fork-lift apparatus to view and identify the size and location of a center aperture of a desired load to be handled and manually control the fork for insertion into the center aperture of the load. This action will not contribute to the reduction of the working time during the handing of load for storage but impairing the working efficiency.
In particular, even if the center aperture of a load into which the fork of the fork-lift apparatus is inserted has been recognized at the loading to a storage space, it has to be examined again at the unloading from the same.
Also, the manual control of t
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Modern Materials Handling--"Stacker Keeps An Eye on Boom Positioning"--pp. 42-44.
Haruta Katsuhisa
Inoue Gennosuke
Kishimoto Shunji
Maeda Akiya
Murakami Katsuaki
Kawasaki Steel Corporation
Okumura Machinery Corporation
Werner Frank E.
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