AUTOMATED THREE DIMENSIONAL WAREHOUSE

摘要

An automated warehouse includes first and second stacked racks parallel to each other; first and second shipping-and-receiving stations placed at the same end of the stacked racks; transfer shuttles located between the stacked racks and between the shipping-and-receiving stations; elevator mechanisms equipped with first and second elevator platforms for receiving or transferring the packages to stand-by conveyors; and means for transferring the packages to and from the first and the second elevator platforms. The direction of motion of the stand-by conveyor of the first shipping-and-receiving station and the direction of the motion of the stand-by conveyor of the second shipping-and-receiving station, on the same level of stack, may be opposite; and the direction of motion of some of the stand-by conveyors pertaining to the first shipping-and-receiving station may be opposite to that of the rest of the stand-by conveyors of the first shipping-and-receiving station.

主权项

1. A storage and retrieval method performed in a three-dimensional automated warehouse having first and second stacked racks that are oriented parallel to each other, each includes a plurality of levels of shelves, first and second shipping-and-receiving stations placed next to each other at a same end of the first and the second stacked racks, each of said stations having a plurality of stand-by conveyors, one of said stand-by conveyors of each of said shipping-and-receiving stations being at a particular level of shelves, said automated warehouse including a plurality of transfer shuttles that each operate in a horizontal direction at one of said levels to transfer packages between said shelves of said first and second stacked racks and said stand-by conveyors of said first and second shipping-and-receiving stations, said automated warehouse further including an elevator located next to the first and the second shipping-and-receiving stations, said elevator including a first elevator platform that transfers packages to and from said stand-by conveyors of said first shipping-and-receiving station and a second elevator platform that transfers packages to and from said stand-by conveyors of said second shipping-and-receiving station, and an external transfer system adapted to transfer packages to and from said first and second elevator platforms, said method comprising:
operating a first stand-by conveyor of the first shipping-and-receiving station to dispatch packages from said first stand-by conveyor to said first elevator platform and operating a second stand-by conveyor of the second shipping-and-receiving station on the same first level of said stacked racks to store packages from said second elevator platform, wherein storage and retrieval of packages on said first level of said stacked racks are balanced; and operating a third stand-by conveyor of the first shipping-and-receiving station on a second level of said stacked racks that is different from said first level to store packages from said first elevator platform.