Automatic control translation system for material stacker

Claim 1

In a warehousing system having an area of operation, first guide means extending horizontally lengthwise of said area in first and third opposite directions; second guide means extending horizontally crosswise of said area in second and fourth opposite directions substantially perpendicular to the first and third directions, said second guide means being movable along said first guide means in the first and third directions; a load carrier assembly including a trolley, a vertically extending mast rotatable about its vertical axis and rotatably supported by said trolley, and a control station and load handling means carried by said mast and rotating therewith, said control station including a rectangular coordinate system having its origin therein and having one axis extending in a forward and rearward direction and the other axis extending to the left and right, said load carrier assembly being movable along said second guide means in the second and fourth direction; first motor means having first and third control contacts for moving said second guide means along said first guide means in the first and third directions in response to energization of said first and third control contracts respectively; second motor means having second and fourth control contacts from moving said load carrier assembly along said second guide means in the second and fourth directions in response to energization of said second and fourth control contacts respectively; means for reversibly rotating said mast about its vertical axis; circuit means connected to said first and seconD motor means; first control means in said circuit means and connected to said control contacts of said first and second motor means for selective energization thereof; the improvement which comprises: means for sensing and indicating rotational orientations of said mast and control station in said first, second, third and fourth directions, said orientations occurring at rotational positions in which the axes of the control station coordinate system extend substantially in said first, second, third and fourth directions; manually actuable switch means in said first control means having a plurality of output terminals for providing thereat a plurality of energizing signals to said first and second motor means, said signals being responsive to and indicative of a desired direction of motion relative to said control station coordinate system; and control translation means connected in said first control means intermediate the output terminals of said manually actuable switch means and the control contacts of said first and second motor means and responsive to said orientation indicating means for translating the application of said energizing signals to the control contacts of said first and second motor means in each of said four rotational orientations whereby resultant motion of said load carrier assembly is substantially in said desired direction of motion.