WO2007007354A1

WO2007007354A1 - System for the general warehouse management of pallets, motor vehicles or the like

Info

Publication number: WO2007007354A1
Application number: PCT/IT2005/000388
Authority: WO
Inventors: Marco Martelli; Davide Martelli; Alessandro Terrizzano; Giulio Bernabei
Original assignee: Marco Martelli; Davide Martelli; Alessandro Terrizzano; Giulio Bernabei
Priority date: 2005-07-07
Filing date: 2005-07-07
Publication date: 2007-01-18

Abstract

Each of a plurality of levels is provided with a network of transit guides according to two orthogonal lines (12, 14); the transit guides identify seats for individual objects (O); robot trucks are suitable to transit alternatively and sequentially with wheels (34, 36) on the guides of the two lines; said trucks are equipped with lifting and lowering means to transport individual objects supported by under-pallets (22); in perimeter positions objects to be stored are delivered and objects to be collected from the warehouse are retrieved.

Description

"SYSTEM FOR THE GENERAL WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT OF PALLETS, MOTOR VEHICLES OR THE LIKE"

DESCRIPTION

The invention relates to a solution for general warehouse space manage- ment and particularly for total utilization of spaces and reducing to a minimum direct action by operators to perform maneuvers.

Therefore, the invention tends to solve warehouse management - for deliveries and collections - of products packaged in pallets, of the parking of motor vehicles (for long and short stays) and for other equivalent functions. Fundamental characteristics are possibility of reducing spaces required until now to perform maneuvers, the possibility of avoiding the presence of personnel in the spaces used for storage, consequently making it unnecessary to comply with rules which also establish the need for specific spaces in areas requiring the presence of personnel. These possibilities are advantageous in particular for cold storage ware- houses, with regard to costs and discomfort.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the text hereunder.

The system in question substantially comprises:

- on each of a plurality of levels of a storage warehouse, a network of real or vir- tual transit guides lying according to two orthogonal directions, said transit guides identifying seats for individual objects;

- robot trucks, or shuttles, suitable to transit alternatively and sequentially on said guides of the two directions using revolving means such as wheels or endless belts; - means for supporting the objects and for transit of the robot trucks under said objects according to said guide network;

- on said trucks, lifting and lowering means to pick and place individual objects, using controls or remote controls;

- at least one or more perimeter positions for delivery of objects to be stored and for retrieval of objects to be collected from the warehouse;

- means to perform, at the level of the crossings between transit guides of the two directions and according to program, selection or variation of the arrangement of the revolving means to be activated for the transit guides to be used by a robot truck, in order to determine transportation of an object deliv- ered for storage to a place chosen to receive said object, and respectively retrieval with a robot truck of an object to transfer it to a perimeter position to remove the object from the warehouse.

A limited number of empty places are kept free on each level for the handling of stored objects, in order to progressively create the route from and to a perimeter position of the truck carrying the object to be stored or to be retrieved; this handling can be managed with a computer program.

As means to support the objects under-pallet supports can be provided, which are suitable to allow transit of the robot trucks under the stored objects and suit- able to be lifted together with the object to be handled, by the lifting and lowering means provided on the robot trucks. Alternatively, said means to support the objects can include spaced projections extending from the floor of the warehouse, on which each object rests either directly or by means of a substantially flat structure.

Said transit guides can be produced by rails for single flange rail wheels, or by magnetic tracks on surfaces of racks defining said floors and on which robot trucks with wheels or endless belts can move, or by lasers, encoders, guiding lines, theodolites or similar systems.

Said guide means can also be power vehicles or combined with power vehicles. Other characteristics of the invention are contained in and defined by the claims set forth at the foot of the present description.

The invention will be better understood by following the description and accompanying drawing, which shows a non-limiting practical example of the invention. In the drawing: Figures 1 to 7 show plan, side and sectional views of various possible solutions of warehouse systems;

Figures 8 and 9 show plan views of two possible embodiments of transit guides;

Figures 10 and 11 show a plan view and a sectional view according to Xl-Xl in Figure 10, enlarged, the operating method of robot trucks for transferring, depositing and retrieving objects;

Figures 12 and 13 show in a vertical section a possible example of embodiment of a robot truck or "shuttle" in two functional arrangements thereof;

Figures 14, 15, 16 and 17, 18, 19 respectively show in a plan view, in a longi- tudinal vertical section and in a side view with partial sections, each of two lower and upper trucks present in the robot truck or shuttle in Figures 12 and 13;

Figures 20, 21 and 22 schematically show a plan view and side views in two arrangements of a robot truck or shuttle according to a further possible embodi- ment of a robot truck or "shuttle".

Figures 1 to 7 show plan views of some possible arrangements of systems for storage and retrieval -using specific robot trucks - of objects such as pallets or the like. Storage and retrieval will be implemented with different criteria allowing operation at different transport speeds, extension of the necessary routes and of the times available for transportation operations.

A "block" or each "block" or each "block" with several racks, comprises of a plurality of zones occupied by the stored objects.

Each "block" can be accessible from ground level on one or on more than one of its sides or on all its sides by routes P of T for vehicles such as lift or horizontal handling trucks or even by motor vehicles to be parked. Lift trucks can be provided to reach the various racks above ground level. Alternatively or additionally, fixed elevators such as hoists or elevators M or N, which can also reach racks below ground level, can also be provided.

Fixed elevators such as hoists M or N or the like can be distributed suitably along the various routes P for the transit of vehicles destined to retrieve objects that are presented on the route P or to receive objects to be stored. The reference

P1 indicates routes to convey the flow of these vehicles C towards a transit lane T, where the objects can be consigned to suitable carriers to reach points of sale

(such as supermarkets or stores) or where the vehicles C can circulate to reach posts which can be posts for direct delivery of the objects or storage shelves in premises accessible to the public for sales in supermarkets.

Hoists M can be provided on the outside of the blocks, or can be incorporated in the blocks, such as those indicated with N; external hoists such as those MX (Figures 5 and 6) can also serve two opposite blocks. For use in supermarkets or the like, a relatively long period of time is available, when the premises accessible to the public are shut, to restock the shelves of these premises with objects such as pallets which are, for example, retrieved during the night according to pre-established programs and according to needs resulting from the final results of daytime sales, to restock the supermarket shelves. Storage in the systems can also be performed at suitable times for transfer from distribution centers and warehouses of sales premises such as supermarkets or other premises and stores.

The layout can be modified in the case of individual objects to be stored upon arrival and to be delivered directly from storage in the blocks I indicated above upon request by the user. This occurs, for example, to deliver motor vehicles being retrieved and respectively to store motor vehicles delivered to be parked in the blocks I. In uses of this type, at least for redelivery of the motor vehicle, a relatively short time must be taken for the maneuvers to retrieve the vehicle from the park- ing or storage place and deliver it to the station for reconsignment, which can be the lowest position reached by the hoist traveling downward (or the position at ground level when traveling upward in the case of parking spaces below ground level). This can be obtained by limiting the spaces on each floor, and/or by increasing the number of retrieval positions (when hoists are provided) and/or by in- creasing speed along the routes for retrieval, and/or by other expedients. In the case of parking, the vehicle can be delivered for parking and redelivered, even locked, in places accessible to the user, from where trucks for internal use transfer the vehicle to the block and retrieve the vehicle from the block for redelivery, without any need to enter the vehicle. Some empty spaces will be provided in each of the various storage zones to allow internal handling of a certain number of objects stored in the same zone, in order to more or less rapidly create the progressive formation of a route to be taken by the object to reach the hoist, i.e. the position indicated with K and Ko in the diagrams of said figures, in the presence of hoists. In solutions in which delivery and retrieval is implemented with lift trucks C or the like - which can reach up to eight or ten floors or more - these delivery and retrieval operations can be performed along the entire perimeter of a block, which can be reached along the routes P or T by said lift trucks.

Each block I is provided with racks R with very limited vertical distances be- tween them, as a function only of the overall dimensions of the objects O to be stored, without any need for the presence or transit of personnel, which do not need to enter the individual blocks except for special maintenance operations and the like.

The hoists will have surfaces equipped with guides which are an extension of the transit guides, to allow the robot trucks to reach the position for the unloading maneuvers and those for loading for storage.

The hoists can be used only to serve the highest racks not easily reached by the lift trucks, the latter instead being used for retrieval from the lower racks, where deliveries and retrievals can consequently take place along the entire perimeter reachable with said lift trucks; therefore, with routes that are relatively very short, i.e. to reach (see Figure 1), from the parking position X1, the position Ko for retrieval with the lift truck E. Instead, in the racks accessible only with hoists (such as M1 in Figure 1 or others), to retrieve an object from the storage position X1 with the hoist M1 routes must be taken, for example according to the arrows, to the station Ko and to the hoist M1 ; from the hoist M1 the object will be transferred to the ground level of each route such as the one T1 , where trucks or transport vehicles E transit (which could also be lift trucks), which can travel along the various routes P, P1 and T, to the destination. Reverse maneuvers will be performed for storage. Hereunder a route such as the one from X1 to Ko will be described in greater detail.

With trucks or transport vehicles which are also lift trucks, objects from at least the lowest racks can be served for direct retrieval.

The transit routes will be sufficiently wide and suitable to allow the movements of the trucks or transport vehicles which are also lift trucks.

To facilitate retrieval with lift trucks, suitable relatively very low sides S (see Figure 11) will be provided in all positions in which retrieval can take place, for the dual purpose of preventing the risk of accidental overrun of a robot truck (to be described) beyond the structure of the block, and of guiding the operator in pre- cise leveling of the forks when these must be inserted in a pallet to retrieve an object.

The transit arrangements between various blocks, the sizing of the various blocks both in width and length, and the equipment provided for handling of the various objects will depend on the needs for which each system is intended, also in relation to the times required or available for handling incoming and, above all, outgoing objects, and to the times available for the operations, which can vary from the relatively long times for, for example, night restocking, to the relatively very short times required to deliver one object previously stored and which must be delivered separately, such as a motor vehicle to be returned to the user who must collect it and who in any case must give prompt notice of the request for collection of the vehicle.

Alternatively to the above, in a parking garage, vehicles can also be transferred autonomously along the routes P, Pl, T, etc., to the platform of a hoist M lo- cated at "ground" level of said routes, after which, when the vehicle has reached the platform of the hoist or the like, it only requires to be fastened - even with its own brake - on a robot truck equipped with under-pallet located on the platform, so that from this moment the object formed of the vehicle is entrusted to the robot truck which transfers it to the storage in the relative zone and to the redelivery zone at ground level, to personnel in charge of collection or to the owner of the vehicle directly.

It is clear that, for example in the case of a system for parking motor vehicles, the various zones must be equipped according to the different shapes and different overall dimensions of the motor vehicles (or other objects), to reduce unused spaces to a minimum; for example, different zones of a block, different blocks, different racks of a block or of a zone of a block could be allocated to categories of motor vehicles with different overall dimensions, with suitable classification as a function of the estimated presences of motor vehicles of different shapes.

Notwithstanding the destination and consequently the design of the fixed and retrieval equipment of the various blocks of a same system, it is clear that means must be provided - in particular loop robots - for storage and for transfer of the stored objects inside the racks of each block or of each zone of a block, to guarantee each time movement of various objects to allow - as can be seen for example in Figure 1 - an object located in position X1 to subsequently find space for the route indicated to reach the position KO and from here optionally the position on the platform of the hoist M1 which must take it to the level of the transit surface T1. By way of a simple example, again considering Figure 1 , an object X1 which is in the position indicated with 4, must be transferred to the position 1 , while the object in position 1 must be transferred to position 2. Immediately after transfer of the object X1 from position 4 to position 1 , the object in position 3 can be transferred to position 4, the object in position 2 can be transferred to position 3 and then the object X1 which has reached position 1 can reach position 2. Subsequently, the object which is in position 4 can be transferred to position 1 , the object in position 3 can be transferred to position 4, the object in position 2 can be transferred to position 3. Immediately afterwards, the free place 3 can be reached by the object in position 6, the object in position 5 can be transferred to position 6 and the object X1 which is in position 2 can reach position 5. With similar transfers from position X1 the object can reach position KO and then the platform of the hoist M1, which in the meantime has reached the level of the rack with the object in position KO for retrieval. While the position KO is empty, the hoist can unload therein an object to be stored. After this similar movements to those described above can be implemented to transfer the object to be stored to a free position, leaving position KO once again empty. It is evident that, when a lift truck is used along a path such as the one T1 in

Figure 1 , an object to be retrieved from position X1 will be transferred to the nearest perimeter, for example to the position Ko'.

Each rack must be provided with robot trucks in sufficient number to implement the operations in the times available and/or with the necessary transfer speed, and with a number of empty places that is at least equal to or greater than the number of robot trucks available.

With this arrangement it is possible to perform, in reasonably acceptable times, storage and retrieval of any object in and from any position located on each floor of each block, with a handling program which can be implemented by a com- puter system, which manages the storage of the individual objects. Therefore, at any moment it must be possible to request retrieval of an object using a program for setting in motion the most suitable of the hoists or other retrieval systems along the perimeter of a rack. Analogous procedures can be implemented for the storage of other objects. Handling of the objects in a single rack R is implemented with the arrangement described hereunder.

Figures 8 to 11 show a solution in which each rack comprises a floor with transit surfaces for trucks, to be described, which are guided by two orthogonal series of transit guides. Recessed rails for trucks with relevant wheels, or mag- netic tracks or strips for wheels or endless belts, which can transit on continuous racks such as those R, can be used as transit guides. Lasers, encoders, guiding lines, theodolites or other systems can also be used as guide means.

Figures 8, 10 and 11 show two directions of magnetic tracks or strips 12 and 14 lying orthogonal to each other and crossing over in the points 16. These mag- netic tracks can be used for guiding by means of sensors positioned in specific positions on the trucks which must transit in the two directions defined by the two lines of guides 12 and 14, to handle - as already indicated -the objects to be stored or already stored and which must be moved by means of robot trucks (to be described) driven along sections of said tracks, with commands which can be sent to each truck in any suitable and known manner, also among those already listed, according to programming to be implemented for suitable individual maneuvers, case by case.

The magnetic tracks or strips can be composed of a simple adhesive strip, which holds a power wire in position, or provided in small channels produced on the rack and by the passage of low voltage current create a magnetic field detected by the instruments installed on the shuttle and allow control of its movement. Power transmissions for the installed powers will also be provided.

Figure 8 shows, as guide tracks, pairs of rail tracks 112 and 114, for relative wheels. In this case the rails can project from the racks or be recessed in the racks Alternatively, a grid-like metallic structure can be provided for the rails. A single guide rail and trucks with wheels for the rail and with wheels or endless belts which transit on the rack can also be provided.

By using trucks on surfaces, it is possible to use wheels or alternatively also endless belts, which are more liable to move rectilinearly.

A description is now provided, in relation to the guides with magnetic tracks 12 and 14 (see Figures 8, 10 and 11) both of the positioning systems for the various objects to be stored, and (see Figures 12 to 19) of the robot trucks for the handling thereof. Objects - such as pallet or multiple packages, or the like - generically indicated with O, are generally positioned on pallets 20 of known type and can be picked up with the forks of lift trucks, such as those indicated above, or which can also be conventional lift trucks. Said pallets 20 with the relative objects O, or said objects directly, are placed on suitable "under-pallets" 22 which extend (as shown in the drawing) with angular projections 22A used as means to support them raised off the racks R and which leave sufficient space for transit of the robot trucks, to be described, in the space underneath said under-pallets 22, 22A. Therefore, along the longitudinal and transverse rows of stored objects O and of relative pallets 20 and under-pallets 22 at the level of the respective tracks 12 and 14, robot trucks, to be described, can transit along the two series of orthogonal or almost orthogonal tracks 12 and 14.

In certain cases, in place of the under-pallets 22, projections can be provided extending from the racks, positioned at the angles of the objects O or pallets or other structures suitable to support the objects, in replacement of the under- pallets.

Each of the robot trucks or shuttles can transit along the tracks of the two orthogonal directions (see for example Figure 12 to 19) with two groups of wheels or endless belts to transit parallel to the transit guides 12 and alternatively parallel to the transit guides 14. Each group of wheels (or endless belts) can alternatively be raised to be idle and lowered to be operative. Moreover, each robot truck must be suitable to lift an under-pallet 22 with relative pallet 20 and/or an equivalent structure and the relative object O, when the robot truck must handle said object for the needs described above. Alternatively, each robot truck can be provided with a wheeled structure which can be angularly oriented according to two directions of the transit guide (see Figures 20 to 22).

Each robot truck, according to Figures 12 and 11, is generically indicated with 28 and in actual fact includes in combination a lower truck 30 and an upper truck 32; the lower truck 30 includes wheels 34 which are suitable to allow transfer according to the double arrow f34. The upper truck 32 has wheels 36 suitable for transfers according to the double arrow f36 orthogonal (or almost orthogonal) to the direction of the arrow f34. The wheels 34 and 36 can be replaced by endless belts which can guarantee a more stable direction of transfer, when the robot trucks are guided by magnetic tracks. The wheels 34 and 36, when cooperating with rails 112 and 114 (Figure 9) are shaped on at least one side as indicated with 134 and 136. Number 34A indicates a motor unit for operation of two wheels 34 and/or 134 coaxial with each other, while number 36A indicates a motor unit for a pair of coaxial wheels 36 and/or 136. The two trucks 30 and 32 are capable of reciprocal vertical sliding, as they are guided by four sliding units 4OA on the lower truck 30 and 4OB on the upper truck 32. Each of these sliding units includes a column on one truck and a sliding seat for said column on the other truck. At least one lifting and lowering jack assembly (optionally multiple - at least triple - for objects such as motor vehicles) operates between the two trucks, indicated generically with 44 and operated by a geared motor 46, to obtain reciprocal controlled vertical movements between the two trucks, by means of a screw column 44A. This assembly 44 operates between plates 3OA and 32A of the structures of the two trucks 30 and 32. The upper truck 32 has a plate 32A while the lower truck has a plate 3OA, which is provided with projections 3OB extending upwards and arranged around the plate 32A. Each robot truck 28 (comprising the two trucks 30 and 32 with the relative components including the jack assembly or assemblies 44) can transit underneath the under-pallets 22 resting with the projections 22A on the racks R or on the equivalent structures of the rails, or can transit on table structures carrying the pallets or the objects directly and resting on the projections extending from the racks.

The functionality of the robot truck described above will now be described, with reference to Figures 10 and 11 , where the truck - in Figure 11 - is shown very schematically. Figure 11 illustrates various conditions taken by the wheels of the robot trucks, of the under-pallets and of the pallets, with respect to the two racks illustrated therein.

Through remote controls the jack assembly 44 can be operated to perform lowering of the lower truck 30 so that the wheels 36 or 136 are active, while the wheels 34 or 134 of the upper truck 32 remain raised. With a control of the same jack assembly 44, the upper truck 32 can alternatively be lowered so that the wheels 34 are active, while the wheels 36 are raised. In this way, the robot truck 28 (including the trucks 30, 32) can be transferred according to the arrows f36 and f34 respectively. These movements are obtained by keeping the robot truck as- sembly 28, 30, 32 limited to a size which allow transit underneath the under- pallets 22 or equivalent structures.

When a robot truck 28, with its two trucks 30, 32 is required to pick up a specific pallet 20 with the relative object O, said truck is stopped underneath the corresponding under-pallet 22 and the jack assembly 44 (or each of the jack assem- blies) is operated to lift the under-pallet 22 with the projections 3OB when the wheels 36 of the truck 32 are resting on the ground, or the under-pallet 22 is raised from the plate 32A of the upper truck 32 when the wheels 34 of the truck 30 are resting on the ground. The choice of lifting by means of the projections 3OB or the plate 32A depends on the direction to be set for the robot truck according to the arrows f34 or f36, on the basis of the program set for transfer of the pallet and of the object to a retrieval position, or respectively for the opposite route for storage of an object arriving at one of the maneuvering positions to be loaded using the hoists or lift trucks. A brief example of an alternative robot truck or shuttle to the one 28 in Figures

12 to 19 is shown in Figures 20 to 22. According to this example the two trucks 30 and 32 are replaced by an upper framework 128 and an underlying wheeled structure 130 equipped with wheels 132 rotating about a vertical axis - when controlled remotely - to take the wheels to two alternative positions at 90° from each other. In this solution means to lift the framework 128 from the running surface of the rack are provided, to lift the object with the optional pallet or under-pallet, and to rest the framework 128 on the rack R and lift the wheeled structure 130 slightly to make the wheels 132 change direction, all with jack means. The truck indicated in Figures 20 to 22 therefore functions like the one indicated in Figures 12 to 19. The motors for moving the robot trucks (like those 34A and 36A) will be provided with actuators, which allow reversal of direction, braking and progressive acceleration. Moreover, the robot trucks will have at least: a communication system based on radio frequency or with carrier waves; one or more on-board measurement systems, for relative or absolute calculation of the position of the truck or shuttle on the surface; shock absorbers and a control system to prevent the load from overturning, during the braking or accelerating phase; components suitable to operate at low temperatures, when required.

A rescue robot truck or shuttle can be provided to take initial action, with onboard camera and mechanical arm, for recovery of a faulty robot truck. Each of the robot trucks is controlled so as to successively reach crossing points 16 between the sliding guides 12 and 14 (respectively in the crossing points 116 between the rails 112 and 114). At the level of the crossing point in which transfer must be switched from transfer in one direction to transfer in an orthogonal direction, the robot truck is controlled in order to invert the position of the two trucks 30 and 32 to exchange the wheels 34 with the wheels 36 or vice versa; or to rotate the wheeled structure 130 through 90°. This requires lowering of the load transported by the truck until it is resting temporarily on the under-pallet 22.

With this arrangement it is possible to successively make a robot truck, used for transfer of a pallet and relative object, take a route which allows movements between the storage position and a loading and unloading position by means of lift truck, hoist or equivalent means; this also requires space to be successively made for the route of this robot truck, through transfers of the adjacent trucks to progressively leave sufficient space to allow it to take the route established by the program.

At the crossings in which switching of the direction of transfer of a robot truck must take place, the truck 28 must be braked and the central jack assembly 44 must be commanded to determine switching between the wheels 34 and the wheels 36 (or the equivalent function for the solution in Figures 20, 22), with con- sequent limited lowering and re-lifting of the load. When a robot truck must be transferred without the load, transit with switching of direction of the route takes place without lifting or lowering and directly with transit of the robot truck underneath the under-pallets 22 or equivalent structure.

When a robot truck arrives in the position in which the load is to be deposited with the under-pallet 22, the pallet 20 and the object O, the jack assembly is commanded to implement lowering and therefore placing of the under-pallet in the desired position.

It must be noted that the stopping position of the pallets and of the under- pallets can correspond geometrically to a crossing point between the guides 12 and 14 and 112 and 114 respectively, i.e. with the crossing points corresponding to the geometrical center of the trucks and under-pallets, as shown in the drawing; however, the arrangement could also differ from the one drawn, providing it is constant for all the positions. The only remaining problem is simply where to position the sensors to receive the commands, with respect to the guide tracks such as 12 and 14 or 112 and 114 or equivalent, the sensors of which are mounted on the robot trucks.

A program for handling the robot trucks for storage and retrieval of objects must be capable of recognizing at all times the position in which each stored object with the relative pallet and under-pallet is in at that moment and thus capable of recognizing the position of all the objects at all times, as well as capable of programming the routes both for storage and for redelivery, also as a function of the movements required to progressively free the trajectory established time by time for a robot truck, utilizing the empty spaces to be chosen appropriately in relation to the existing situation with respect to the filled spaces and to the position estab- _ _

lished by the program to hold an object with the relative pallet in the warehouse or for redelivery.

The management software will therefore be designed to supply at least the following functions: 1. real time situation of the warehouse, with list of pallet places occupied, and indication of the object (and therefore, type of article, expiration date, of arrival date, supplier, delivery note, batch and quantity of "boxes" for goods, or respectively the data relative to parked vehicles and their updated position or the like);

2. search for a specific product, batch or object, with stock in hand and char- acteristics;

3. possibility to accept a list of pallets to be automatically moved to the outer line or outer position for retrieval;

4. control movement of the robot trucks, to perform the movements required by the previous list, automatically and manually; 5. recognize that the pallets in the external position are to be retrieved and therefore, if no other places are available, create a second row of pallets to be retrieved (all automatic transfer work in the case of pallets for retrieval towards the outer line, is performed at night and while stocking is taking place);

6. recognize the pallet removed from the warehouse and update the situation of the warehouse;

7. control movement of each robot truck at all times and real time correction of its direction in the case of slight deviations;

8. in the case of parking of motor vehicles, accept notice of collection of a vehicle and arrange transfer to the retrieval position (to the hoist or similar). To obtain prompt action, in addition to the robot trucks destined to handle the pallets, rescue robot trucks can be provided, again guided by the computer, to take action in the case of an accident or for recovery of a faulty robot truck; at least one rescue robot truck can be provided on each floor of a system.

When human action is necessary, a corridor will be created at the level of the place in which the accident has occurred, if necessary stopping other operations in the zone in which the presence of operators is required.

The system for total management of a warehouse destined to store palletized products or similar materials, motor vehicles or other objects, therefore solves many problems, with respect to existing systems. PREAMBLE

Current operation of a conventional storage warehouse allow goods to be retrieved from existing rows and columns, or which are constructed inside the structure, with a method defined as compaction. The greatest problem lies in the fact that current solutions do not allow goods to be retrieved from inside the structure, in a specific position, without moving those positioned in front of these goods.

A second problem is linked to recovering the pallet, also with automated structures, which must cover long transfer distances for each retrieval. The invention in question is a solution to optimize storage spaces in general, both to obtain total utilization of the spaces and to reduce to a minimum direct action by operators in charge of maneuvers.

Therefore, the invention is directed at solving warehouse management, for deliveries and retrievals of products packaged in pallets, or equivalent articles (such as garaging of motor vehicles), for both long and short stays, without leaving aisles and habitable spaces for their placement, but by making the product itself move.

The solution in question allows the construction, inside the warehouse, of a structure with several floors, (four and more) for storage of pallets or the like, with- out gaps, utilizing practically ajl the space available. For greater heights an elevator or hoist is provided at the side, which supplies the upper floors and when required lowers stock or products with low rotation.

Said structure can be constructed with reinforced concrete floors or only with racks, formed by the supporting bars and by the grid of the rails, which define the route of the pallets, provided for any movement thereof.

In order to move the required pallet, from its position to a position along the external perimeter, or vice versa, some empty pallet places must be provided, which will be used according to the logic of "the puzzle of 15" game, as will be explained in greater detail hereunder. Movement of the required pallet is obtained with the aid of a robot truck, also called shuttle, with wheels or endless belts.

The remote controlled shuttle or robot truck is able to lift and lower the required pallet (obviously with its load) by a few centimeters and to move it in the four directions, forward, backward, right and left, orthogonally, to move it from one _ -

pallet place to an adjacent place, until reaching a perimeter place of its floor, or vice versa. Said movement, controlled in real time by the computer, is guided with extreme precision by a grid of magnetic strips, fixed over the entire surface of the reinforced concrete floor, or by the rails, which are part of the racks, of the alterna- tive structure. Movement can also be controlled by means of lasers, encoders, guiding lines, theodolites and the like.

After reaching the perimeter, the pallet is ready to be picked up by elevators (hoists) and/or by lift trucks, operator-driven or automatic, or, otherwise, it can be placed on sliding surfaces, for automatic exit from the warehouse and for delivery; vice versa, the reverse route is analogously taken for storage operations.

Characteristics of the invention are therefore the reduction of spaces to date required for maneuvers and the possibility of avoiding the presence of personnel in the spaces used for storage. This allows avoidance of an obligation to comply with safety rules which, among other things, establish that specific spaces must be left free in areas in which personnel is present. Pallet places require an empty space of at least 10 cm around the pallet.

The perimeter of each floor is equipped with a railing, which prevents overrun of the shuttle due to an error in maneuver and prevents the lift truck from damaging the shuttle or under-pallet during the maneuver to pick up the pallet. The system is balanceable, as it is able to redistribute the work over several shuttles simultaneously and collaboratively. It is scalable, as it can grow, increasing its performances, at any time.

PARTS OF THE SYSTEM

The system in question comprises: 1. structure with a plurality of levels for storage of pallets composed of concrete floors or metal racks;

2. orthogonal grid, said transit guides, which identifies the loading unit (pallet place), for individual objects;

3. shuttle, capable of performing movements in the three levels of the space, by means of lifting/lowering systems, wheels or endless belts;

4. under-pallets (one for each pallet place occupied), to allow the shuttle to move freely on its floor and position itself under the pallet to be transferred. The under-pallet is lifted by the shuttle together with the object to be moved; _ _

5. computer and control program;

6. radio frequency ortriangulation system using reflection. Structure

General details It is advisable for the plan of the building, and therefore the structure, to be rectangular or L-shaped, to decrease the times required to reach the perimeter delivery area, suitable for retrieval of the pallets. In fact, in this way there is great possibility that even the innermost pallets are positioned relatively close to a free place on the perimeter, for retrieval (and vice versa to reach a storage place). The structure, comprising four or more floors, can be constructed with reinforced concrete floors, or load-bearing racks.

The lift trucks, used as lifting and transport means, can easily reach the fourth floor, while beyond this they cannot be used for safety reasons.

For floors beyond the fourth, it is possible to construct vertically mobile pallet places (to use as hoists), positioned at the four corners of the floor and optionally in useful positions of the perimeter. The pallet to be retrieved reaches these vertical movement places, to reach the free positions in the perimeter of the floors below accessible to the horizontal transport trucks.

On each floor, in order to allow handling of the stored pallets, a certain num- ber of pallet places must remain empty. The greater the number of empty pallet places is, the greater the speed to reach the perimeter retrieval zones will be.

A good empty places/speed ratio can be reached, by providing at least three empty places in the area controlled by the shuttle. This lost space, for the purpose of total utilization of space, is not significant, for systems provided with at least 700 pallet places, managed by at least four shuttles per floor.

At best, the warehouse offers four picking/bulk retrieval sides on which four operators or automatic trucks can operate without knocking into one another.

The warehouse is in continuous movement and most of its work can take place at night, when the perimeter zones are prepared for the next day with the requested consignments or products.

A parking garage can operate in the same way, with total use of space, with premises of reduced height, as opposed to the 1/3 normally utilized in current parking garages.

The structure can also be positioned against the walls, in some solutions, to _

offer a larger single retrieval side, although with less selection and less distribution of work for each operator.

Reinforced concrete floors

By designing the pallet place according to the measurements defined by European standards and to support the maximum number of pallets established, the plans and calculations must be obtained for implementation of the floor and of the load-bearing columns, formulated in order to waste as little space as possible, while guaranteeing the absolute stability of the structure.

After the floor has been constructed, the magnetic guide strips or other equivalent transit guides for movement of the shuttle will be fitted in the floor. With small movements to the right or left, in the opposite direction to deviation, these will correct movement of the shuttle, which is transferring the requested pallet, to maintain it totally rectilinear and stable in the running direction.

In the case of the use of magnetic strips or rails, these are also used to sup- ply power to the shuttle.

The intersection of the strips or rails is used to indicate to the shuttle the exact stopping point and to take one of the two orthogonal directions, if necessary.

Racks

To lighten the structure, while still allowing movement of the shuttle, it is ad- visable not to create the floors to support the pallets using the conventional reinforced concrete floor, but by utilizing the rails provided to guide the shuttle during its movements and the beams to support the pallets.

The rails transmit power to the shuttle and guide its movements perfectly, guaranteeing rectilinear movement devoid of deviations. In the intersection points there is a break in the rails a few millimeters in length, to create a square inside, which allows the crossing to be crossed and, if necessary, positioning of the shuttle.

Transit guides

The transit guides depend on the solution chosen for the structure, and pre- cisely: magnetic strips, lasers, encoders, rails, guiding lines, theodolites or the like, for structure with reinforced concrete floors, with rails, for rack structures.

Magnetic Strips, Guiding Lines or the like

These are composed of simple adhesive tape, which holds an electric wire in position, or provided in small channels produced in the floor, and by the passage _

of a low voltage current create a magnetic field detected by instruments installed on the shuttle and allow control of its movement. The shuttle can move on wheels or endless belts, remaining on top of the magnetic strips.

Rails These are made of hardened iron and channel the wheels to prevent any swerving and supply power to the shuttle.

The intersections allow the shuttle to move at the crossing and to change direction.

Lasers, Theodolites or the like Operating on the principle of the refraction of light, sound or of a frequency

(such as antennas, radars, sonars, and the like) and of the interval of time traveled by it between the emitter and the absorbent or refractive body, they provide triangulation, to define the position of the shuttle.

Encoders Counter, connected to the traction system of the shuttle, of the revolutions and parts of revolutions of the drive shaft, in a manner absolute or relative to a zero point defined in the structure (i.e. the crossing of the rails).

Shuttle (Robot Truck)

The shuttle is a lift truck, capable of moving orthogonally and of being excep- tionally low. It can be provided with:

1. two double pairs of tilting wheels;

2. one or more lifting jacks, screws or bellows, or alternative lifting means;

3. motors provided with actuators, which allow reversal of direction, brak- ing and progressive acceleration;

4. communication system based on radio frequency or with carrier waves;

5. one or more on-board measuring systems, to calculate in a relative or absolute manner the position of the shuttle on the floor; 6. shock absorbers and control system to prevent the load from overturning, during braking or acceleration;

7. components suitable to operate at low temperatures, when required. The speed of the shuttle is influenced by the load. Rescue shuttle. This is provided to take initial action, with on-board camera _

and mechanical arm, for recovery of a faulty shuttle.

Human action, to fix a shuttle in difficulty, is required in the most serious cases and can be implemented by creating a corridor to reach the shuttle in difficulty. The shuttle, designed ad hoc to move under the pallet, lift and transfer it, has the following characteristics:

1. it is capable of moving orthogonally;

2. it has no wires connecting it to a base;

3. it uses rails or strips to receive the current and move orthogonally; 4. it can operate with batteries on board, both on wheels and on endless belts, on the floor or on rails;

5. it is capable of lifting the pallet over it and transferring it to the position required;

6. it is constructed for the warehouse in which it will operate, and therefore in cold storage warehouses it is provided with heating circuits and/or suitable jacks/reducers;

7. to increase speed, it can be provided on board with particular stabilizing, braking and acceleration systems.

Under-paUets The position of the pallets in stock is constantly controlled by the computer, which knows both the nature of the object occupying it and optionally its characteristics (i.e. quantity, weight, measurements, volumes, etc.).

Subsequent to orders for storage or retrieval, the computer will select the pallets to be positioned upon arrival, or to be retrieved and transferred to the pe- rimeter for retrieval. The computer will also control, at all times, the position of the shuttles arranged on each floor and can consequently decide which shuttle is most suitable to move the pallet in question.

The sequence of commands will be as follows: 1. activating the shuttle; 2. guiding it to reach, following an optimal route, the pallet to be transferred;

3. commands for transfer of the pallet, utilizing empty places, and optimizing the number , of movements (as better described hereunder). To obtain movement of the shuttle, indicated in point 2, in order to reach the _

pallet to be transferred, without touching the other pallets, under-pallets, with slightly different characteristics to the pallet, are provided.

While the pallet - being manufactured according to new European regulations, is composed of a supporting surface 80 x 120 cm, or 100 x 120 cm, capable of holding up to 15 quintals, with nine cube shaped feet measuring approximately 8 cm per side, and of 3 spars for connection of the feet and to strengthen the entire structure - would not allow the shuttle to move on the floor underneath it, the under-pallet, provided with only four feet, arranged under corners of the supporting surface, allows the shuttle to circulate freely underneath, as it occupies the same a surface as the supporting surface of the under-pallet, minus the perimeter zone defined by the four feet.

The under-pallet, made of plastic, wood or iron, is therefore required for free movement of the shuttle and must be provided in the same number as the pallet places for each floor, with the exclusion of the pallet places which are to be left empty.

In a variant of the solution described, the under-pallets are eliminated and a fixed under-pallet is applied at the front of the shuttle. In this case raised points must be installed to support the pallets, arranged in order to allow movements of the shuttle. Movement Logics

General details

The principal problem of storage in large warehouses is obtaining maximum use of all the space available, in order to considerably decrease fixed costs.

This is particularly evident for products to be kept in cold storage, the main- tenance of which requires the use of special machinery, and for which the initial and management costs are high.

Another problem to be solved concerns the operators, who, again in the case of cold storage warehouses, are obliged to work in extremely uncomfortable conditions. By occupying all the space available, the warehouse is totally utilized, but blocked completely, preventing whoever from rotating its products.

For this reason some places are left empty on each floor of the structure, to be utilized for movement of the pallets in any direction.

No operator can perform these maneuvers, and therefore a machine had be constructed which can run under the pallets, lift them and transport them towards any position on the floor, both internal and external.

In this way it is no longer necessary to arrange the various products in a specific order, as their position will instead be constantly controlled by the computer, knowing the type and characteristics in real time.

As the computer knows the overall situation of occupied and empty places at all times, it can decide which shuttle to move and which route to take, to reach, optimizing the operation, the required pallet place. The operation to position and arrange the pallets will be performed entirely automatically, upon presentation of orders to be executed (i.e. the evening for the following day), or upon request by the operator, who will transmit individual orders by computer.

The pallets can be organized on a FIFO or LIFO system, or taking account of the expiration date, distributing the entire list of references with priority of rotation on the perimeter for retrieval. Algorithm for movement

A level of the warehouse can be considered like the surface on which the game defined "The puzzle of 15" is played, the fundamental rules of which are as follows:

S the only moves allowed are movements into the empty position of tiles ad- jacent to it;

S there must be at least one empty space;

V each configuration or solution can be reached with a finite number of moves.

The surface of the warehouse can be considered as a rectangular/square structure, in which a series of numbers are positioned and, for example, the numbers can be placed in the order:

1 2 4 1 2 4 1 2 3 4

X X 3 X X X 3 X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

Starting figure 4 to the RIGHT 3 UP

With the same principle - -

1 2 4 X 1 2 4 X 1 2 4 X 1 2 4 .

X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X 3 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Start X in the hole to the LEFT X in the hole below X in the hole below

1 2 4 1 2 3 4

X X 3 X X X X

X X X X X X X X

4 in the hole to the LEFT 3 in the hole above Therefore, let us define a rule for movement:

54 represents the empty space. If, for example, we wish to move the pallet 44 to the position 34, utilizing the empty space 54, the movements will be the following.

Let us define the square we want to move as X and the absolute direction beside it, i.e. X = 54:

35 - > DOWN X-20 -> DOWN 33 -> DOWN X-20 -> DOWN

34 - > RIGHT X-19 -> RIGHT 34 ->" LEFT X-19 -> LEFT

44 > UP X-11-> UP 44 -> UP X- 9 >UP

If₁ instead, we wish to move the pallet 64 to the position 74, again utilizing the empty space 54, the movements will be the following.

Therefore, it can be said:

To move up or down to the RIGHT the numbers 10, 20, 19, 11 are taken and added to or subtracted from the number to be moved and "upward or downward movement" is denied, as this is what is being considered

To move up or down to the LEFT, the numbers 10, 20, 19, 9 are taken and added to or subtracted from the number to be moved and "upward or downward movement and then movement to the RIGHT or LEFT" are denied.

LEFT DOWN DOWN RIGHT UP -> LEFT UP UP RIGHT DOWN RIGHT UP UP LEFT DOWN -> RIGHT DOWN DOWN LEFT UP Software Characteristics The program, which will manage the total storage warehouse, must have the following characteristics:

1. provide the situation of the warehouse in real time, with list of pallet places occupied and optionally indication of the product (type, article, quantity, arrival date, expiration date, supplier, delivery note, batch, or others, specific for the product, such as motor vehicles, building materials, spare parts );

2. allow a search to be performed for a specific product, using any one its characteristics or by indicating two or more characteristics combined; 3. allow sequential operation, following a list of orders, previously programmed; _

4. allow command of shuttle movement, individually and simultaneously, controlling movements and correcting the direction in real time;

5. recognize the pallets positioned on the sides standing by for retrieval and, if no retrieval places are free, create a second retrieval row, to be managed automatically, during effective unloading operations;

6. update the warehouse situation in real time;

7. accept notice for collection of goods and arrange transfer to the retrieval zone, on the date and at the time required;

8. automatically prepare, for each retrieval side, the entire list of refer- ences according to expiration, ready for picking.

To obtain prompt operations, in addition to the robot trucks provided to move the pallets, rescue robot trucks can be provided, again controlled by the computer, to take action in the event of an accident or for recovery of a faulty working robot truck; at least one rescue robot truck can be provided on each level of a system.

It is understood that the drawing only shows an example given purely as a practical embodiment of the invention, which may vary in forms and arrangement without however departing from the scope of the concept on which said invention is based. Any reference numbers in the appended claims are provided to facilitate reading of the claims with reference to the description and to the drawing, and do not limit the scope of protection represented by the claims. For example, perimeter tracks and relative ramps can be provided at intermediate levels to serve the floors above. Further, robot trucks over the objects to be handled could also be devised, with means to engage said objects hanging on the truck.

Claims

_CLAIMS

1. General warehouse management and handling system for the storage of objects - such as pallets, motor vehicles or the like - and for selective retrieval characterized in that it comprises: - on each of a plurality of levels of a storage warehouse, a network of real or virtual transit guides arranged according to two orthogonal or substantially orthogonal directions, said transit guides identifying seats for individual objects;

- robot trucks, or shuttles, suitable to transit alternatively and sequentially on said guides of the two directions using revolving means such as wheels or endless belts;

- means for supporting the objects and for transit of the robot trucks under said objects according to said guide network;

- on said robot trucks, lifting and lowering means to pick and place individual objects, using controls or remote controls; - at least one or more perimeter positions for delivery of objects to be stored and for retrieval of objects to be collected from the warehouse; and

- means to perform, at the level of the crossings between transit guides of the two directions and according to a program transmitted remotely, selection or variation of the arrangement of the revolving means to be activated for the transit guides to be used by a robot truck, in order to determine transportation of an object delivered for storage to a place chosen to receive said object, and respectively retrieval with a robot truck of an object to transfer it to a perimeter position to remove the object from the warehouse wherein a limited number of empty places is kept free on each level for the han- dling of stored objects, in order to progressively create the route from or to a perimeter position of the truck carrying the object to be stored or to be retrieved, all of which can be managed with a computer program.

2. System as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that it comprises - as means for supporting the objects - a plurality of under-pallet supports (22), which are suitable to be lifted together with the object to be handled, by lifting and lowering means provided on the robot trucks.

3. System as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that said means to support the objects include spaced projections, extending from the floor of the warehouse, on which each object rests either directly or by means of a substantially flat structure.

4. System as claimed in at least claim 1 , characterized in that said transit guides are produced by rails (112, 114) for single flange rail wheels.

5. System as claimed in at least claim 1, characterized in said transit guides are produced by magnetic tracks (12, 14) on surfaces of racks (R) defining said levels and on which robot trucks with wheels or endless belts can move.

6. System as claimed in at least claim 1 , characterized in that the guide means are also power vehicles or combined with power vehicles.

7. System as claimed in at least one of the previous claims, character- ized in that each robot truck or shuttle is equipped with two series of revolving means (34, 36) - wheels and/or endless belts - suitable to allow movement of the robot truck according to the two directions, control means being provided to perform lifting or lowering of at least one of the two series of said revolving means at the level of a crossing between orthogonal transit guides, to make the robot either change direction or keep the same direction, according to a computerized program.

8. System as claimed in at least one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that each robot truck or shuttle comprises a wheeled structure (130) with wheels (132), endless belts or the like, which can be moved angularly between positions angled like the transit guides, and means to lift said structure from the transit surface to allow angular movements.

9. System as claimed in at least one of the previous claims, characterized in that it includes, along at least part of the perimeter of the storage warehouse, spaces (P, T1 , T2) for the means to move the objects to be stored or re- spectively to be retrieved from the warehouse, said spaces extending to reach the perimeter position or positions (K) for delivery.

10. System as claimed in at least one of the previous claims, characterized in that lift trucks can be used to reach said perimeter delivery positions (K).

11. System as claimed in at least one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that lifting and lowering means (M) (hoists, elevators or the like), to be used at least to reach the highest levels, are associated with specific perimeter delivery positions.

12. System as claimed in at least claim 11, characterized in that said lifting and lowering means (M) are suitable to receive said robot trucks and exten- _

sions of the relative transit guides.

13. System as claimed in at least claim 7, characterized in that each robot truck (28) has two trucks (30, 32) equipped with wheels (34, 36) oriented to respectively follow the transit guides of the two lines, said two trucks being guided for reciprocal vertical (or almost vertical) movements, to operate the wheels (34, 36) of one or of the other of said trucks, and at least a jack assembly (44, 46) to perform said movements, each truck (30, 32) comprising structures (3OB, 32A) suitable to lift the under-pallets (22).

14. System as claimed in at least one of the previous claims, functioning as a parking garage, characterized in that said under-pallet or equivalent structure to support the vehicle is transportable with the vehicle closed, with said robot trucks, the lifting and lowering means and lift trucks to external delivery and collection stations for retrieval.

15. System as claimed in at least one of the previous claims, character- ized in that it includes along the perimeter of the floors, sides (S) for protection and vertical guides for maneuvers with lift trucks.

16. System as claimed in at least one of the previous claims, characterized in that movement of the robot trucks or shuttles is implemented with a logic and with algorithms programmable by computer.

17. System as claimed in at least one of the previous claims, characterized in that it includes ramps for upward and downward movement to reach perimeter collection positions (K).

18. System for general warehouse management for pallets, motor vehicles or the like; all as described above and represented by way of example in the accompanying drawing.