Product picking stacker crane system

Claim 1

A stacker crane system for picking products from warehoused pallet loads of products comprising, a series of storage bins for holding pallets, a stacker crane movable along said bins and having vertical guides, a platform in the form of a carriage movable along said guides to a selected elevation, said platform having a width lengthwise of said bins at least equal to the width of two of said bins, first and second pallet positions on said platform, a pallet handling structure on said said platform for transferring a storage pallet between a bin and the first pallet postion on the platform, said second pallet position being for a shipment pallet, a frame mounted on said platform for vertical movement toward and away from said pallet positions, coacting tracks and track followers on said frame and platform providing for said last-mentioned vertical movement, said frame being of a skeletal construction wth perimeter members positioned to provide an open interior which encompasses both of said pallet positions whereby said frame may descend beneath the level of products on a pallet, a vacuum head having peripheral dimensions generally corresponding to that of a pallet to peripherally encompass an entire layer of products on the storage pAllet with the capability of picking up the number of products that may be in a layer on the storage pallet, members associated with the vacuum head mounting said vacuum head on the frame for vertical movement with the frame and lateral movement relative thereto, drive means for lowering said frame and vacuum head to a first level immediately above the level of products on said pallets, and drive means for moving said vacuum head laterally on said frame and while at said level between positions overlying said pallet positions.