DESC:TECHNICAL FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of intralogistics automation. More specifically, it relates to an automatic storage and retrieval system for mother baby shuttles across multiple floors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The background information herein below relates to the present disclosure but is not necessarily prior art.

US20200247650A1 related to a vertical reciprocating conveyor that can be transported in a storage condition and assembled at a work facility in an operating condition. The vertical reciprocating conveyor includes a carriage assembly that is movable along a pair of spaced vertical rails of a support frame. The carriage assembly includes a pair of spaced uprights and a carriage deck designed to support material moved along the pair of spaced vertical rails of the support frame. The carriage deck is movable between an operating condition and a storage condition, where the carriage deck is perpendicular to the pair of spaced uprights in the operating condition and parallel to the pair of spaced uprights in the storage condition. The movement of the carriage deck allows the overall size of the vertical reciprocating conveyor to be reduced for shipping.

US6360848B1 related to a vertical reciprocating conveyor having a safety mechanism for automatically locking the carriage of the conveyor at an elevated level upon uncontrolled vertical movement of the carriage. The conveyor includes a safety mechanism having a locking device mounted onto the movable carriage. The locking device includes a safety cam that is movable between an engaging position and a non-engaging position, such that when the safety cam is in the engaging position, the safety cam prevents the carriage from moving along the vertical support columns. The safety mechanism further includes a speed-sensing device that detects the speed of vertical movement of the carriage. When the speed of the conveyor exceeds an upper speed limit, the speed-sensing device releases the locking device. The speed-sensing device includes a cylindrical housing having a weighted shaft that slides into and out of the housing. When the housing rotates at an elevated speed, the weighted shaft remains extended from the housing and contacts an abutment and releases the safety cam of the locking device.

US20130205257A1 described a computer implemented system and method for displaying information pertaining to physical infrastructure in a building or on a property via a mobile software application operating or a mobile device are provided. The mobile software application includes steps of optionally displaying a list of selectable buildings and/or areas at a property, optionally displaying a list of selectable floors if a building having multiple floors is selected, displaying a list of points of interest for the selected floor, building or area, and displaying a floor plan or area map with selected points of interest highlighted.

OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide an automatic storage and retrieval system for mother baby shuttles across multiple floors.

Yet another objective of the invention is to optimize the usage of mother-baby shuttles across multiple floors within an Automatic Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS).

Yet another objective of the invention is to allows for flexible storage and retrieval based on the specific requirements of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) or products on each floor.

Yet another objective of the invention is to enhance safety during vertical reciprocating carriage operation, the system includes speed governors (OSG) and dampers to control and stabilize the movement of the shuttle changeover VRC.

Yet another objective of the invention is to ensures a continuous and efficient power supply to the shuttles during their transition between the floor tracks and the carriage tracks, utilizing bus bars and current collectors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly the following invention an automatic storage and retrieval system for mother baby shuttles across multiple floors. Shuttle changeover a vertical reciprocating conveyor system allows automated storage and retrieval systems to transfer mother-baby shuttles among floors. allowing the system to optimize the number of shuttles and eliminate the compulsion to provide an MB shuttle on every floor, even if the system's throughput requirement is very low with high volume storage.

The system is provided with an automatic position correction utility. Speed governors (OSG) is provided along with dampers for the vertical reciprocating conveyor system. Whereas, active mechanical stoppers provisioned at every floor ensure safety backup by locking shuttles at any floor when the vertical reciprocating conveyor system is in operation, but if the shuttle is malfunctioning and moving towards the vertical reciprocating conveyor system.

An innovative system is provided called the ‘Shuttle Change over VRC (Vertical Reciprocating Carriage) Machine (2) (8). Instead of providing a dedicated Mother Baby shuttle (1) to each floor, a shared set of Mother Baby shuttles is provided in the invention. As per the storage or retrieval requirement plan of Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) / pallet / product (which will henceforth be called SKU) (), from or to a particular floor in ASRS, Mother Baby shuttles (1) are transferred to do the work using ‘Shuttle Changeover VRC’ (2) (8).
The proposed invention utilizes ‘Shuttle Change over VRC’ (2). This is a special VRC that carries Mother Baby Shuttles (1) from floor to floor. ‘Shuttle Change over VRC’ (2) (8) has many components and control systems. Automatic position correction or control utility is one important mechanism used in ‘Shuttle Change over VRC’ (2) (8) Speed Governor (OSG) (12) and Dampers (13) are provided in the ‘Shuttle Change over VRC’ (2) (8) as safety equipment. Active mechanical stoppers (7) provisioned at every floor ensure additional safety and prevent Mother Baby Shuttle (1) from accidentally trying to enter reciprocating carriage (8) if carriage (8) is not aligned to the floor and ready to receive Mother Baby Shuttle (1).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

This invention is described by way of example with reference to the following drawing where,

Figure 1 of sheet 1 illustrates the shuttle changeover vertical reciprocating conveyor system.
Whereas,
1 denotes mother baby shuttle,
2 denotes VRC Structure (Uprights or Tubes),
3 denotes Top Structure & Motor Mounting Frame,
4 denotes Ropes or Belt or Chain (to lift the Carriage with 1:1 or 2:1 hoisting principle),
5 denotes Mother Baby Shuttle Tracks: Barcode Provision on 1st (of 2 tracks per floor) track & Busbar provided at 2nd track (Located in Racks) along with Busbar funnel at end where it connects to Shuttle Changeover Capella,
6 denotes vertical guide rails,
7 denotes Mechanical Active Stopper every floor,
8 denotes Carriage - with 2 tracks, 1 track with barcode provision & 2nd track with barcode & funnel provision,
9 denotes dead weight trolley,
10 denotes Racking Structure,
11 denotes Geared Drive Motor/Gearless Drive Motor,
12 denotes Speed governors (OSG) & Brakes,
13 denotes Dampers.

Figure 2 of sheet 2 illustrates the shuttle changeover vertical reciprocating conveyor system.

Figure 3 of sheet 2 illustrates the shuttle changeover vertical reciprocating conveyor system.

Figure 4 of sheet 3 illustrates shuttle changeover capella carriage.

Figure 5 of sheet 3 illustrates shuttle changeover capella counter weight trolley.

Figure 6 of sheet 4 illustrates active stopper frame erected when carriage is moving among floors.

Figure 7 of sheet 4 illustrates active stopper lowered when Carriage Aligned to Floor with MB Shuttle

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes plural reference unless the context
clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

The present invention is related to an automatic storage and retrieval system for mother baby shuttles across multiple floors. An ASRS is built using Steel Racking sections. An ASRS which uses Mother Baby Shuttle (1) to carry SKU (), consists of Rack with 2 Tracks (5) provided on every floor for Mother Baby Shuttle (1) to move on them. One Track (5) has Barcode for position tracking purpose Another Track (5) has Busbar mounting for Power supply purpose.

Thus provision of Barcode funnel () is added to track (5) at its end from ‘Shuttle Change over VRC’ (2) (8) side for Smooth travel of Busbar current collector on Shuttle while movement of Mother Baby Shuttle (1) from Floor track to ‘Shuttle Change over VRC’ (2) (8). Once the Carriage (8) receives Mother Baby Shuttle (1) Carriage (8) moves and aligns to destined floor and delivers Mother Baby Shuttle (1) to floor.

Shuttle Changeover VRC Carriage is a vertically reciprocating Frame which has tracks to onboard the Shuttle. This frame has Grooved sheaves for Ropes or Belt or chain locking element if VRC is driven using belt or chain. Carriage is hoisted vertically using Drive motor.

As carriage frame also has provision for Wedge Plate Mounting Frame that actuates Pivoted Lever with Ball Setup of Active stopper. As carriage is aligned to any particular floor, this wedge plate on carriage actuates this pivoted lever, causing it to deactivate mechanical active stopper at that floor where the carriage is aligned. Shuttle then enters from that floor to Carriage.

As floor tracks have current supply busbar provision. To have this power supply inside the carriage, Carriage tracks are also provided with their individual busbar mounted on tracks of carriage. As carriage reciprocates vertically, flat cable or drag chain provision allows the cables to provide power supply to busbar of carriage.

As carriage is aligned to any floor, Shuttle will move from Floor track to carriage. During this transition, shuttle will extract power from Floor track using current collector number 2 when 1st Current collector is disconnected from Track busbar & getting engaged with Carriage busbar.
As soon as this current collector No. 1 engages with Carriage busbar, shuttle initiates to collect supply from current collector 1 & shuttle motion is not interrupted. Thus, the shuttle gets onboard on carriage. Next carriage is hoisted to different floor. As soon as carriage starts moving, carriage wedge plate deactivates the pivoted lever with ball causing active stopper to again erect at that floor (as it is mechanically operated.

Carriage moves to desired floor. Same as earlier floor, active stopper is activated causing it to be lowered down the frame to allow shuttle movement from carriage to this floor. Shuttle starts its motion (collecting power supply from current collector No.1 on shuttle from carriage mounted busbar while current collector No.2 is disengaged from carriage track & engages with floor track busbar while this horizontal motion of shuttle.

As soon as current collector no. 2 is engaged with floor track busbar, it extracts power from floor track & shuttle completes its travel from carriage to floor. Thus, the shuttle is now ready to travel in floor 2 for Pallet Storage & Retrieval at this new floor. Carriage is provided with Top 7 Bottom side dampers.

Usually from top spring dampers are provided. Whereas from bottom, damping tubes are welded in case of failure, it will damp on oil dampers on ground. There is another mechanical safety device provided with VRC as OSG to catch the trolley if in case of freefall.

Apart from mechanical safety devices, there are sensors & instrumentation provided for Programmed control movement of Carriage. In case rope elongation is observed while shuttle loading on carriage, carriage will tend to overshoot same amount as that of the ropes elongation.

In order to avoid or minimize this effect, VRC is provided with auto position correction utility for which scanner 7 barcode system is integrated. These scanners are also mount on Carriage. For smooth transfer of Shuttle Busbar current collectors while horizontal motion, Busbar full is provided at the end of track which allows fluctuation in current collector trolley if carriage starts to overshoot due to ropes elongation while shuttle onboarding the carriage & auto position correction utility is correcting carriage position. These funnels do not let current collectors break & allows smooth & safe travel of collector attached to shuttle in or out of carriage from floors.

The counterweight trolley is located opposite to Carriage. As the carriage moves up, counterweight trolley moves down & vice versa. Provision of counterweight is to counterbalance the carriage trolley such that relative torque for liftin or lowering carriage with Shuttle to be reduced & hence Drive motor rating selection to be optimized.

Counterweight trolley is loaded with dead weights usually made up or Type 1 – Steel plates which allows the trolley design to be compacted as steel density is high so in less volume, we can create desired weight of counterweight trolley total loaded weight to counter balance carriage with shuttle. Whereas alternate option is concrete weight blocks, but this will cause to increase requirement of Trolley space as concrete density is less than steel weights.

Automatic Position Correction Utility in Shuttle Changeover Capella:

There is Automatic position correction Utility developed in this invention. When Shuttle is getting transferred from Sample 1 Floor track to Carriage of Shuttle Changeover Capella, carriage tends to change its position due to elongation effect in Ropes/Belt/Chain. This may cause the Busbar current collector to get damaged if Automatic position correction feature is absent. This Automatic Position Correction Utility Allows Shuttle Changeover Capella

Carriage to regain its floor level alignment if it is overshot due to Rope/Belt/Chain elongation. This causes Level alignment of Carriage track with Floor track & smooth transfer of Shuttle from Floor track to Carriage Track & avoiding busbar damage on Shuttle.

As tracks of all floors are provided with Busbar funnels. Same busbar funnels are also mount on track mounted on Carriage which moves vertically in this Shuttle Changeover Capella.

Thus, Funnel allows to adjust the Busbar current collector even if there is Carriage position correction is going on during the effort of leveling carriage track with floor track.

To get the live location track of carriage in vertical movement, Barcode is provided on Structure and Scanner is mounted on Carriage. This allows Motor to autocorrect its position if gradual overshoot is observed in carriage position while shuttle is getting transferred from some floor to carriage.

Active Stopper in Shuttle Changeover Capella:

Mechanical Active Stopper has Wedge Shaped Stopper Mounted on Shaft & this shaft is connected with Pedestal bearings which are locked to a base frame. There is a wedge-shaped component mount on moving carriage which actuates the Lever. When carriage is aligned with any floor, this wedge element actuated the ball connected lever mounted on structure. This actuation of lever pulls the Wire rope connected to Stopper frame & Lever through Guide pulleys routine.

It Pulls the Stopper frame & lowered it down to let Shuttle travel from that floor & get onboard the carriage. As soon as Carriage initiates its travel to another Floor to deploy Shuttle to another floor, Wedge shaped component mounted on Carriage deactivates the Lever & Rope is pulled back by virtue of Dead weights & Stopper again is elevated up.

This mechanical active stopper lets shuttle travel in shuttle changeover Capella when it is aligned to that floor. But if shuttle in case is malfunctioning & not stopping in case carriage is not present in front of that floor, this active stopper will stop the Running shuttle & not let it fall in Shuttle Changeover Capella. It basically acts as Gates & operates on Mechanical linkages logic purely.

While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described herein, it will be clear that the disclosure is not limited to these embodiments only. Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions, and equivalents will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure, as described in the claims.
,CLAIMS:1. An automatic storage and retrieval system for mother baby shuttles across multiple floors, comprising of;

a plurality of mother baby shuttles (1) shared among multiple floors;

a vertical reciprocating conveyor system (2) for transferring mother-baby shuttles (1) between said multiple floors;

two tracks (5) on each floor provided for movement of mother-baby shuttles (1), wherein the first track includes barcode provisions for position tracking, and the second track includes busbars for power supply;

a shuttle changeover VRC (8) machine, including a carriage (8) with vertical tracks for receiving and transporting mother-baby shuttles (1) among said multiple floors;

active mechanical stoppers (7) provisioned at every floor, ensuring safety and preventing the entry of mother-baby shuttles (1) into the vertical reciprocating conveyor system when not aligned with the carriage (8);

a vertical guide rails (6) facilitating the vertical movement of the carriage (8);

ropes, belts, and chains (4) for hoisting the carriage (8) with mother-baby shuttles (1);

a dead weight trolley (9) opposite to the carriage (8) for counterbalancing during vertical movement;

a racking structure (10) for supporting the vertical reciprocating conveyor system components;

a geared drive motor (11) for controlled vertical movement of the carriage (8);

speed governors (12) and brakes on the Shuttle Changeover VRC (2) (8) for controlling and stabilizing the vertical movement;

dampers (13) on the carriage (8) for providing controlled damping during vertical reciprocating carriage operations.

2. The automatic storage and retrieval system for mother baby shuttles across multiple floors as claimed in claim 1 wherein current collectors on the mother-baby shuttles (1) and carriage (8) tracks, respectively, ensuring continuous and efficient power supply during transitions.

3. The automatic storage and retrieval system for mother baby shuttles across multiple floors as claimed in claim 1 wherein the busbars provided on floor tracks and carriage tracks, with the current collectors extracting power as the shuttle transitions between them.

4. The automatic storage and retrieval system for mother baby shuttles across multiple floors as claimed in claim 1 wherein the barcode provisions on structure and carriage for live location tracking.

5. The automatic storage and retrieval system for mother baby shuttles across multiple floors as claimed in claim 1 wherein the busbar funnels at the end of tracks for smooth transfer of current collectors during horizontal motion.

6. The automatic storage and retrieval system for mother baby shuttles across multiple floors as claimed in claim 1 wherein the carriage (8) autocorrecting its position in response to observed overshoot during shuttle loading.

7. The automatic storage and retrieval system for mother baby shuttles across multiple floors as claimed in claim 1 wherein a wedge-shaped stopper mounted on a shaft, connected to a lever with ball setup.

8. The automatic storage and retrieval system for mother baby shuttles across multiple floors as claimed in claim 1 wherein the wedge-shaped component on the moving carriage (8) actuating the lever, lowering the stopper frame during alignment with a floor.

9. The automatic storage and retrieval system for mother baby shuttles across multiple floors as claimed in claim 1 wherein a mechanical linkages and guide pulleys for activating and deactivating the stopper, preventing shuttle movement in the absence of the carriage (8).