Automated storage systems and apparatus therefor

Claim 1

Load storage apparatus having a plurality of load storage locations arranged in substantially horizontally co-planar parallel storage aisles extending at right angles from a service aisle, a carriageway in said service aisle extending from a loading and unloading location past each of said storage aisles; a carriage in said carriageway adapted to be moved therealong; a load supporting platform for each of said storage locations in said storage aisles, said load supporting platforms being of uniform size and being adapted for movement along said storage aisles and having driven channel elements adapted to cooperate with drive means on said carriage; carrying means on said carriage adapted to carry one said load supporting platform and to receive or deliver such loading platform from or to any selected one of said storage aisles or said loading or unloading location, first drive means for driving said carriage along said carriageway, said first drive means comprising means on said carriage for driving at least one pusher means along a closed locus with respect to said carriage, said locus having a forward and rearward dead centre position at which the tangent thereto is at right angles to the direction of said carriageway, said forward and said rearward dead centre positions being spaced apart a distance equal to the distance between the centres of two adjacent storage aisles, a plurality of spaced apart channel members adapted to cooperate in driven relationship with said pusher means providing channels fixed in relation in said carriageway at right angles thereto, each said channel member being so positioned as to provide said driven relationship only during movement of said pusher means along said locus between said forward and said rearward dead centre positions on one side thereof but to be free of such engagement during movement of said pusher means along said locus between said forward and rearward dead centre positions on the other side thereof, the positions of said channel members in relation to said carriageway being such as to correspond, when a pusher member in engagement therewith is at one of said dead centre positions, with a position of registry of said carriage with one of said storage aisles or said loading and unloading location whereby continuous operation of said drive means moves said carriage along said service aisle in a manner providing a plurality of automatic dwell positions in the course of such movement as said carriage comes into a position of registry with each of said storage aisles and said loading and unloading location; second drive means mounted on said carriage and comprising second pusher means adapted to cooperate in driving relationship with said driven channel elements on said load carrying platforms to move a load carrying platform carried by said carrying means on said carriage into an adjacent load storage location in a storage aisle with which said carriage is in registry or to move a load carrying platform in such position onto said carrying means on said carriage when the latter is empty; control means for said first drive means whereby said first drive means may be caused to move to and stop at any of said automatic dwell positions corresponding to registry of said carriage with any selected one of said storage aisles or said loading and unloading location; and control means for said second drive means whereby when said carriage is stopped at any of said automatic dwell positions said second drive means may be actuated to move a load carrying platform into or out of said load carrying means on said carriage into or out of a storage aisle with which said carriage is in register or into or out of said loading and unloading location if said carriage is in registry therewith.