STORAGE ARRANGEMENT

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a bearing arrangement for storing movers not belonging to the bearing arrangement of a conveyor device designed using magnetic levitation technology, which also does not belong to the bearing arrangement, the bearing arrangement comprising a storage device with a plurality of bearing levels arranged one above the other in the vertical direction, each with a plurality of storage locations, and a transfer device designed to transfer at least one of the movers from a working surface of the conveyor device to at least one of the storage locations or from at least one of the storage locations to the working surface of the conveyor device, wherein the bearing arrangement is made of a non-magnetizable material.

[0002] To load or unload movers from such a conveyor system, human intervention is usually required. The movers must be manually removed from the storage unit and placed on the conveyor, or manually removed from the conveyor and placed back in the storage unit. One problem that arises with such manual mover changes is dealing with the magnetic fields emanating from the permanent magnets built into the movers. These magnetic fields are so strong that, for example, people with pacemakers are not permitted to perform the mover changes, and even the metal strap of a watch poses a risk of injury to the operator performing the mover change.

[0003] To minimize or completely eliminate this risk, a storage arrangement for automated mover exchange was proposed in Figures 36 and 37 of the generic US 2020 / 0030995 A1. The storage device of this arrangement has multiple storage levels arranged one above the other, each of which in turn has multiple storage locations for movers. To store or remove a mover from a specific storage level, the storage device is adjusted vertically until the relevant storage level is at the same height as the working surface of the conveyor. Only when this is the case is the transfer device, located at the same height as the working surface of the conveyor, activated.

[0004] In practice, it has been shown that the storage and retrieval process takes a relatively long time with the generic storage arrangement.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to remedy this situation.

[0006] This task is solved by a storage arrangement of the type mentioned above, in which the storage locations of the storage device are fixed in the vertical direction and the transfer device comprises a transfer unit that is adjustable in the vertical direction.

[0007] The inventors deserve credit for recognizing that the slow speed of storing and retrieving the movers is due, among other things, to the fact that the entire storage arrangement, including the movers currently stored within it, must always be moved vertically to control the individual storage levels. The measures according to the invention significantly reduce the mass to be moved, which has a beneficial effect not only on the time required to store or retrieve a mover, but also on the energy consumption associated with this process.

[0008] To further accelerate the storage and removal of a mover, it is further proposed that those parts of the storage arrangement whose distance to the movers may fall below a predetermined value during operation, preferably the entire storage arrangement, be made of a material whose electrical conductivity does not exceed a predetermined limit, preferably an electrically non-conductive material. Since the magnetic field of the mover's permanent magnets, which is agitated during storage and removal, induces eddy currents in an electrically conductive material that attempt to slow down the mover's movement, the use of electrically conductive materials makes storing and removing the movers more difficult, even if these conductive materials are non-magnetic. This effect is counteracted by the measure according to the invention.Since the eddy current braking effect decreases with the distance between the electrically conductive material and the moving magnetic field, a frame of the storage device, which always maintains a certain distance from the movers, can certainly be made of a metallic but non-magnetic material, such as aluminum. However, for all other parts of the storage arrangement, the use of plastics is recommended.

[0009] According to a first alternative embodiment of the invention, it is proposed that the bearing locations of the storage device be adjustable in at least one direction other than the vertical direction. This simplifies the design of the bearing arrangement, since the movements of the bearing locations in the storage device and the transfer device can be decoupled from each other.

[0010] For example, the adjustability of the storage locations can be designed such that they can be moved in a linear direction away from or towards the transfer device. While this only allows for storage and retrieval according to the LIFO (Last In First Out) principle, this does not pose a practical limitation, as a format change typically involves replacing a large number of identical movers of one type with a large number of identical movers of a second type.

[0011] To allow individual access to each storage location, the adjustability of the storage locations can also be designed such that the storage locations can be moved along a closed path passing by the transfer device. In this case, the storage device can, for example, be designed as a storage carousel.

[0012] According to a second alternative embodiment of the invention, the transfer unit of the transfer device can also be adjustable not only in the vertical direction but also in at least one other direction. This embodiment can be designed in a manner known per se, similar to a vertically oriented XY adjustment mechanism. In this case, the storage locations in the storage device can be rigidly arranged. For example, the storage device can be designed like a shelf with a plurality of shelves arranged one above the other.

[0013] According to a third alternative embodiment of the invention, the transfer device can also be configured to have a plurality of transfer units, preferably adjustable together in the height direction. In this case, too, the storage device can be designed like a shelf with a plurality of shelves arranged one above the other. Each of the transfer units can simultaneously place a corresponding plurality of movers onto or remove them from one of the shelves.

[0014] In a further development of the invention, the storage device can be designed to be mobile. In the context of the present invention, the word "mobile" does not refer to movement of the storage device itself, as occurs, for example, in a storage carousel configuration, but rather to movement of the storage device as a whole away from or towards the conveyor. Such mobility makes it possible to remove the movers stored in the storage device during a format change from the conveyor, thus improving accessibility to the conveyor during operation. Naturally, the mobile storage device can be moved back towards the conveyor for a subsequent format change.

[0015] In this context, but not only in this context, it can be advantageous if the storage device is at least partially enclosed by boundary walls. These boundary walls can, for example, prevent the movers from falling out of their storage locations. In this case, a storage rack becomes a storage cabinet.

[0016] To ensure reliable and reproducible transfer of the movers to and from storage locations, it is proposed that the transfer unit incorporate a gripper element. This gripper element could, for example, be a suction gripper.

[0017] In a further development of the invention, it can also be provided that each storage location is designed to accommodate a plurality of movers. This embodiment merely requires that the gripper element of the transfer unit be able to access each of the storage surfaces of the storage location.

[0018] The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to exemplary embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

[0019] It represents: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a bearing arrangement according to the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a bearing arrangement according to the invention; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a bearing arrangement according to the invention; and Figure 4 is a perspective view of a variant of the third embodiment.

[0020] In Figure 1 A bearing arrangement according to the invention is generally designated by 100. The bearing arrangement 100 is assigned to a conveyor device F designed using magnetic levitation technology.

[0021] The conveying device F comprises a stator arrangement S, the surface of which forms a working surface A of the conveying device F, as well as a plurality of movers M, of which in Figure 1 For clarity, only two are shown. The movers M are each equipped with a plurality of permanent magnets that interact with a magnetic field generated by the stator arrangement S. By appropriately controlling the stator arrangement S and thus the magnetic field, the movers M can be lifted from the work surface A and moved along it in a floating position.

[0022] For transporting products, the movers M are typically equipped with supports B, the design of which is adapted to the number and shape of the respective products. When changing formats, i.e., transitioning from one product type to another, the movers currently on the work surface must be replaced with movers whose supports B are adapted to the second product type. This is facilitated by the bearing arrangement 100 according to the invention.

[0023] For this purpose, the storage arrangement 100 comprises a storage device 102 with a plurality of storage locations 104 and a transfer device 106, which is designed to transfer movers one by one from the work surface A to at least one of the storage locations 104 or vice versa.

[0024] At the in Figure 1In the illustrated embodiment, the storage device 102 is designed in the manner of a carousel. In particular, the storage device 102 comprises a plurality of vertical stacks 108, each of which includes a plurality of storage locations 104 that are not adjustable in the vertical direction H. The storage locations 104 of adjacent stacks 108 are arranged in pairs at the same height, so that they together form a plurality of storage levels 110 arranged one above the other in the vertical direction H. Figure 1 Two of these storage levels 110 are shown schematically by a dashed line as examples.

[0025] The upper ends 108a and the lower ends 108b of the stacks 108 are each connected by a conveyor belt 112 which runs around two pulleys 114, wherein in Figure 1Only the upper pulleys are visible. By rotating the pulleys 114 accordingly, each of the stacks 108 can be brought into a loading and unloading position P, in which the storage locations 104 of the respective stack 108 can interact with the transfer device 106. As a result of this rotation, the stacks 108 are moved past the transfer device 106 in the X-direction.

[0026] According to the invention, the transfer device 106 comprises a transfer unit 116, which is adjustable in the height direction H by means of a lifting unit 118. The transfer unit 116 in turn comprises a lifting platform 120 and an engagement device 122.

[0027] To transfer a mover M from the stator arrangement S to a predetermined storage location 104, the following procedure is performed. First, the mover M is moved from the work surface A to the lifting platform 120 of the transfer unit 116 using magnetic levitation technology. The transfer unit 116 is then adjusted in the vertical direction H by means of the lifting unit 118 until the lifting platform 120 is at the same height as the predetermined storage location 104. Finally, the mover M is moved from the lifting platform 120 to the predetermined storage location 104 using the engagement device 122. In the illustration of the Figure 1 This adjustment takes place in the Y direction. The transfer unit 116 then returns to the height level of the work surface A.

[0028] To transfer a mover M from a predetermined storage location 104 to the working surface A of the stator arrangement S, the steps are performed in an analogous but reversed order.

[0029] To facilitate the transition from the work surface A to the lifting platform 120 and / or from the lifting platform 120 to the predetermined storage location 104, the lifting platform 120 can be designed as a conveyor, for example as a belt conveyor. Furthermore, the engagement device 122 can include a gripper element, for example a suction gripper.

[0030] In order to prevent a direct magnetic interaction between the permanent magnets installed in the movers M and the bearing arrangement 100, i.e., an interaction based on the alignment of magnetic dipoles present in the materials of the bearing arrangement 100, the bearing arrangement 100 is made of a non-magnetizable material according to the invention. This can be, for example, plastics, but also metals such as copper or aluminum.

[0031] Furthermore, in order to prevent an indirect interaction between the permanent magnets installed in the movers M and the bearing arrangement 100, i.e., an interaction based on magnetic induction, according to the invention, at least those sections of the bearing arrangement 100 that are close to the movers M should be made of a material whose electrical conductivity does not exceed a predetermined limit, preferably an electrically non-conductive material. These can be, for example, plastics, but not metals in which eddy currents can be induced.

[0032] In Figure 2 A second embodiment of the bearing arrangement according to the invention is shown, which differs in essential features of the bearing arrangement of the Figure 1 corresponds. Therefore, in Figure 2 Analogous parts are marked with the same reference symbols as in Figure 1 , however, increased by 100. In addition, the storage arrangement 200 of the Figure 2The following descriptions will only cover aspects that differ from the storage arrangement 100 of the Figure 1 distinguishes, to whose description reference is hereby expressly made.

[0033] The storage arrangement 200 of the Figure 2 differs from the storage arrangement 100 of the Figure 1This is achieved solely by the fact that the storage device 202 is not designed as a circulating carousel, but rather that each of the storage levels 210 is formed by a conveyor belt 230, each of which has a plurality of storage locations 204. This does mean that the individual storage locations 204 cannot be controlled individually, but rather that each of the conveyor belts 230 can only be loaded and unloaded by movers M according to the LIFO (Last In First Out) principle. However, since a format change typically involves replacing a large number of identical movers of one type with a large number of identical movers of a second type, this does not pose a limitation in practice.

[0034] Regarding the structure and function of the transfer device 206, reference is made to the description of the transfer device 106 and the transfer unit 216 of the embodiment of the Figure 1 referred.

[0035] In Figure 3A third embodiment of the bearing arrangement according to the invention is shown, which differs in essential features of the bearing arrangement of the Figure 1 corresponds. Therefore, in Figure 3 Analogous parts are marked with the same reference symbols as in Figure 1 , however, increased by 200. In addition, the storage arrangement 300 of the Figure 3 The following descriptions will only cover aspects that differ from the storage arrangement 100 of the Figure 1 distinguishes, to whose description reference is hereby expressly made.

[0036] The storage arrangement 300 of the Figure 3 differs from the storage arrangement 300 of the Figure 1 by the fact that the storage device 302 is designed as a storage rack with a plurality of shelf compartments 340 arranged one above the other in the vertical direction H, each of which has a predetermined number of storage locations 304.

[0037] The immobility of the shelf compartments 340 compared to the conveyor belts 230 of the embodiment of the Figure 2 In the embodiment of the Figure 3 This is compensated for by the fact that the transfer device 306 has a plurality of loading and unloading positions P1 to P5, one for each storage location 304 of each shelf compartment 340. Accordingly, the transfer unit 316 is also designed to be able to simultaneously remove a mover M from or store it in each of these storage locations 304, or for this purpose an identical number of transfer units 316 to the plurality of movers M is provided, which are adjustable together.

[0038] It should also be noted that the storage device 302 is designed as a closed rack, i.e., it has side walls 342, a rear wall 344, and a top wall 346. The bottom wall is formed by the lowest shelf compartment 340. Furthermore, the storage device may also have front doors (not shown). These walls together form a housing 348.

[0039] Furthermore, the storage device 302, as described in Figure 3 as indicated by rollers 350, it is designed as a mobile storage device which, after the Mover M has been stored away from the conveyor device F, can be moved towards the conveyor device F, or for the removal of the Mover M.

[0040] Furthermore, one can recognize in Figure 3 , that the storage device 302 is designed to be so deep in the Y direction that each storage location 304 can accommodate a plurality of (here two) movers M arranged one behind the other in the Y direction.

[0041] It should be added that the storage devices 102 according to Figure 1 and 202 according to Figure 2 They may be equipped with a housing of 148 or 248 and / or casters of 150 or 250, as shown in the Figure 1 and 2 indicated by dotted lines.

[0042] In Figure 4 is a variant of the third embodiment of the bearing arrangement according to the invention. Therefore, in Figure 4 Analogous parts are marked with the same reference symbols as in Figure 3 , however increased by 100, i.e. compared to Figure 1 by 300. In addition, the storage arrangement 400 of the Figure 4 They will only be described below insofar as they differ from the storage arrangement 300 of the Figure 3 distinguishes, to whose description reference is hereby expressly made.

[0043] The only difference to the embodiment of the Figure 3The limitation is that the transfer unit 416 of the transfer device 406 of the storage arrangement 400 is only capable of moving a single mover M at a time. In order to nevertheless be able to supply all storage locations 404 of the shelf compartments 440 with movers M, the transfer device 406 is designed such that it is able to adjust the transfer unit 416 not only in the vertical direction H, but also in the X-direction.

Claims

1. Storage arrangement (100) for storing movers (M) not belonging to the storage arrangement (100) of a conveying device (F) formed in magnetic levitation technology and also not belonging to the storage arrangement (100), the storage arrangement (100) comprising: • a storage device (102) having a plurality of storage levels (110) arranged one above the other in the height direction (H), each having a plurality of storage locations (104), and • a transfer device (106) that is designed to transfer at least one of the movers (M) from a work surface (A) of the conveying device (F) to at least one of the storage locations (104) or from at least one of the storage locations (104) to the work surface (A) of the conveying device (F), wherein the storage arrangement (100) is made of a non-magnetizable material, characterized in that the storage locations (104) of the storage device (102) are fixedly arranged in the height direction (H) and in that the transfer device (106) comprises a transfer unit (116) that can be adjusted in the height direction (H).

2. Storage arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that those parts of the storage arrangement (100) whose distance from the movers (M) can fall below a predetermined value during operation, preferably the entire storage arrangement (100), are made of a material whose electrical conductivity does not exceed a predetermined limit value, preferably of an electrically non-conductive material.

3. Storage arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the storage locations (104; 204) of the storage device (102; 202) can be adjusted in at least one (X; Y) direction different from the height direction (H).

4. Storage arrangement according to claim 3, characterized in that the adjustability of the storage locations (204) is designed such that the storage locations (204) can be moved in a linear direction (Y) away from or toward the transfer device (206).

5. Storage arrangement according to claim 3, characterized in that the adjustability of the storage locations (104) is designed such that the storage locations (104) can be moved along a closed path passing the transfer device (106).

6. Storage arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the transfer unit (416) of the transfer device (406) can also be adjusted in at least one direction (X) different from the height direction (H) in addition to the adjustability in the height direction (H).

7. Storage arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the transfer device (306) has a plurality of transfer units (316) that are preferably jointly adjustable in the height direction (H).

8. Storage arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the storage device (302) is designed to be mobile.

9. Storage arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the storage device (302) is at least partially enclosed by boundary walls (342, 344, 346).

10. Storage arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the transfer unit (116) has a gripper element.

11. Storage arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that each storage location (304) is designed to receive a plurality of movers (M).