Automatic high shelf store

Claim 1

An automatic high shelf storage apparatus especially adapted for storing heavy metal rods, pipes and sections to be moved by sliding in containers along longitudinal slideways in and between blocks of storage racks comprising: individual compartments located with said blocks of storage racks having central parts which constitute a side by side pair of longitudinal slideways, an entrance and an exit for the slideway; a cassette serving as the container for the heavy metal rods, pipes and sections which is constituted of a steel lattice body with end cross bars and two longitudinal smooth bottomed runners for sliding movements, said runners having upwardly bent ends which extend beyond the edge of a block to facilitate pulling or pushing of the loaded cassette as a sled from the cross bars at the end; transfer mechanism to convey cassettes through the exit out one side of slideway of the pair and for loading a block with cassettes through another side of the slideway of the pair; slide pieces fixed horizontally in the slideways of the compartments and in the racks which receive the cassette and also receive said transfer mechanism; said slide pieces being impregnated with solid lubricant to provide a lubricated surface having controlled sliding properties so that static friction between a slide piece and the cassette is adequate to prevent unintentional shifting on the slideway during loading and unloading while facilitating pushing or pulling of the cassette; a storage machine including a draw out device, lifting mechanism lifting table conveyor on tracks and entrainment means, said entrainment means adapted to extract a cassette from the rack for pushing the cassette into a slideway by hooking an end cross bar of the cassette from a direction below the cross bar under limited rotational movement of the lifting table and by being pushed by conveyor movement on the racks into the slideway; pawls for effecting said hooking of the cassette by an end cross bar of the cassette said hooking being facilitated by the projection of the end of the cassette beyond the edge of the block whereby limited pivotal upward movement of the lifting table entrains the cross bar and permits vertical movement of the lifting table by the lifting mechanism; a transverse thrust means for pushing the cassette sideways; and endless chain means adapted to handle two cassettes on side by side relation, said chain means being attached to said entrainment means.