Slide-out hanger assembly

Abstract

A slide-out hanger assembly comprising a support beam (1) provided with a roller rail (4), a roller bracket (3) supported by the roller rail (4), and an extensible hanger carrier (2) fixed to the roller bracket (3) and provided with hangers (5).

Description

[0001] SLIDE-OUT HANGER ASSEMBLY

[0002] The subject of the present patent is an extendable hanger holder assembly, having a hanger holder and hangers.

[0003] In automated warehousing systems, goods are generally stored on shelves of racking systems, where the goods are generally placed in packaging units, but goods may also be placed on the shelves individually, especially in the case of larger products. Putting the goods in packaging units makes the individual handling of the goods, e.g. the dispatch of small goods one by one, more difficult, and it becomes more labour intensive, requiring the employment of more warehouse workers.

[0004] There are known warehouse systems where the goods are stores in a suspended manner. Patent document No. WO 2014 / 029202 Al describes a warehousing system with automated access and suspended storage, in which goods storage containers are hung on racks, and there are loading and unloading openings at one end of the said racking for the loading and unloading of the containers. The goods are transported between their storage and dispatch locations by a belt conveyor. The system also includes a control unit and photoelectric sensors to determine the position of the containers. The system allows automatic adjustment of the centre of gravity of the packages, which means that the position of the packages can also be restored automatically even if they deviate from the desired direction or are positioned askew, thereby ensuring precise positioning and undisturbed operation during loading and unloading. However, storage and handling in packaging units does not allow the individual management of the goods, their individual loading and unloading, for example because the system does not have a hanger holder beam that can be individually pulled out of the system.

[0005] The racking system described in patent document No. US 2001 / 0051085 Al has likewise been designed for the suspended handling and storage of goods. Here the suspended goods are primarily garments on coat hangers, placed on a horizontal storage bar, where the length of the storage bar, and therefore the number of coat hangers placed on it, is constant. The storage bars are carried by a wheeled lifting tower along the rack system, lifting them to the desired height of the rack system, and lowering them off it. The storage bars placed in the rack system are moved horizontally by a suspension device between the storage units of the rack, powered by a motor with vertical axis, sliding on horizontal beams.

[0006] Therefore, this racking system is not suitable for the individual storage of suspended goods, among others because it does not have a hanger holder that can be individually pulled out of the racking system. By developing our invention, our objective was to devise an extendable hanger holder assembly that can automatically be drawn out from the racking system in an automated storage system and can automatically be pushed back into it, its hanger holder is equipped with hangers, allowing the individual placement of the goods, i.e. they can be individually hung onto and removed from the hangers.

[0007] The solution of the target task is presented by the extendable hanger holder assembly specified in claim 1. The advantageous solutions of the invention are represented by the variants specified in claims 2 - 10.

[0008] Hereinafter, the invention and its functioning are introduced by means of figures, wherein

[0009] Figure 1 is the perspective view of the hanger holder in its pushed-n position,

[0010] Figure 2 is the perspective view of the hanger holder in its pulled-out position,

[0011] Figure 3 shows the position of the roller clevis in the pulled-out position of the hanger holder, Figure 4 shows the position of the roller clevis in the pushed-in position of the hanger holder, Figure 5 is a perspective view of the location of the front plate,

[0012] Figure 6 shows the assembly as installed on the racking system,

[0013] Figure 7 shows the rear structure of the assembly in its closed state, Figure 8 shows the front structure of the assembly in its closed state.

[0014] In the description, the terms ' front or outer and rear or inner ends' of the assembly, the support beam l,and the hanger holder 2 are to be understood as viewed from the aisleways running between the rows of the warehouse racking system.

[0015] In Figures 1 and 2, the perspective drawing of the extendable hanger holder assembly can be seen in its closed state, with the hanger holder 2 pulled out forward. These figures show the key elements of the assembly, i.e. the support beam 1 with the roller rails 4 and hanger holder 2, the roller clevis 3 connecting them to each other, the front plate 14 mounted on the front end of the hanger holder 2, the upright lug 13 on the rear end of the support beam 1, and the horizontal lug 9 on its front outer end, and the hangers 5 on the bottom of the hanger holder 2. In Figure 1, the spacing 18 between the hangers 5 has also been indicated.

[0016] The support beam 1, the hanger holder 2, their connection and the structural elements formed on them are shown in Figures 3 - 5 in greater detail. In Figure 3, the hanger holder 2 is connected to the support beam 1 in its pulled-out state through the roller clevis 3, whose roller 11 runs in the roller rails 4 created on the two sides of the support beam 1. The support beam 1 includes a vertical ridge 6, from which a horizontal rolling plate 7 extends on both sides with flanges 8 on the outside to form the roller rail 4. The ridge 6, the rolling plates 7 and the flanges 8 form the roller rail 4 on both sides, in which the rollers 11 roll. A further element of the roller clevis 3 is the clevis 12, connected from two sides to the axles of the rollers 11, without specific reference codes, surrounding and carrying the hanger holder 2. In principle, the clevis 12 and the axles in the holes of the rollers 11 form a contiguous body made from a single piece of material. The hanger holder 2 is made of a U-profile, having flanges 20, and there are grooves 19 formed in the flanges 20 near its rear end. The clevis 12 is placed in the grooves 19, surrounding and holding the hanger holder 2, and it does not slide off the hanger holder 2 beam even during the back and forth rolling movement of the rollers 11. Figure 3 shows that the front outer end of the support beam 1 has horizontal lugs 9, with holes 10 in them. The lugs 9 and the holes 10 serve to fasten the support beam 1 to the rack beam 17 of the racking system by bolted connections (Figure 6).

[0017] Figure 4 shows the connection of the support beam 1, the hanger holder 2 and the roller clevis 3, rotated into horizontal position in comparison to Figure 3, in closed state. It can be seen that a vertical lug 13 is formed on the inner, rear end of the support beam 1, which allows quicker fastening in comparison to bolted connections such that upon assembly, the lugs are laid flat into the openings 21 of the rack beams 17, then, by rotating the support beam 1 into its service position, the lugs 13 are also turned into vertical position in the openings 21, fixing the support beam (Figures 4, 7 and 8).

[0018] Figure 5 shows the hanger holder 2 pulled out and forward, when hangers 5 are mounted on its bottom, and a front plate 14 is mounted on its front end. The front plate 14 is fitted, on the one hand, with claws 15 bent backwards, seated on a rack beam 17, hanging onto these. The top horizontal plate of the front plate 14 may be furnished with holes 22 (See Figures 1, 2, 6 and 8) to give place for the fastening bolts of the support beam 1, ensuring the contact of the front plate 14 to the rack beam over its entire surface. There are hooks 16 on the front face of the front plate 14 in order to cooperate with a drawing tool not described herein, where the said drawing tool pulls the hanger holder 2 out from between the rack beams 17 by means of the hooks 16, while the roller 11 rolls forward on the rolling plate 7 of the support beam 1, thereby positioning the hangers 5 accessible for loading and withdrawal from storage. This enables a loading and unloading device not introduced herein to place the individual product(s) on hangers 5 (storage) or to lift the product(s) off them (goods dispatch).

[0019] The functioning of the extendable hanger holder assembly being the subject of our invention is therefore the following: Upon storing goods, a loading device not described herein slightly lifts the hanger holder 2 by the hooks 16 such that the claws 15 are detached from the rack beam 17, then the hanger holder 2 is pulled out from its closed state as shown in Figures 1 and 4. Then the hanger holder 2 hangs at the rear on the support beam 1 by the roller clevis 3, from where the roller 11 rolls along the rolling plate 7 of the support beam 1. The roller clevis 3 reaches the extended position according to Figures 2 and 3, while the hangers 5 also move out from under the support beam 1 on the rack beams 17, i.e. outside the racking system. This enables a loading device to hang product(s) on the hangers 5 in the aisleway of the warehousing system (storage) or to lift product(s) off the hangers 5 (dispatch). Then, the loading machine pushes the hanger holder 2 back in the closed position according to Figures 1 and 4.

[0020] Figure 6 shows the assembly according to our invention, mounted on two rack beams 17 of the warehouse racking system. In the figure, the spacing 18 between the hangers 5 has also been indicated.

[0021] Figures 7 and 8 show the extendable hanger holder assembly in closed state, when the roller clevis 3 is positioned near the inner rear end of the support beam 1, and the front plate 14 latches on to the rack beam 17 by means of its claws 15, fixing the hanger holder beam 2 in its retracted position between two rack beams 17.

[0022] It is noted at this point that Figures 1, 2, 5, 6 and 8 show the hangers 5 with equal spacing 18, but during the use of the assembly the hangers 5 may also be placed at different distances from one another, depending on the size and type of the goods to be stored. Furthermore, the handling of the goods and their placement in the appropriate hanger 5 is implemented by means of the sensors, central control system and other electronic means operating in the racking system.

[0023] Advantages of the extendable hanger holder assembly being the subject of our invention:

[0024] - it is suitable for individual suspended storage of goods on a racking system with a simple structural design,

[0025] - it is automatically extendable from the racking system in an automated storage system and can automatically be pushed back into it, its hanger holder is equipped with hangers, allowing the individual placement of the goods on them, i.e. they can be individually hung onto and removed from the hangers. List of reference codes:

[0026] 1 support beam

[0027] 2 hanger holder

[0028] 3 roller clevis

[0029] 4 roller rail

[0030] 5 hanger

[0031] 6 ridge

[0032] 7 rolling plate

[0033] 8 flange

[0034] 9 (horizontal) lug

[0035] 10 hole

[0036] 11 roller

[0037] 12 clevis

[0038] 13 (vertical) lug

[0039] 14 front plate

[0040] 15 claw

[0041] 16 hook

[0042] 17 rack beam

[0043] 18 spacing

[0044] 19 groove

[0045] 20 flange

[0046] 21 opening

[0047] 22 hole

Claims

Claims:

1. An extendable hanger holder assembly, having support beams and hangers, characterised in that it includes a support beam (1) equipped with a roller rail (4), a roller clevis (3) seated on the roller rail (4) and an extendable hanger holder (2) connected to the roller rail (3), and the hanger holder (2) is equipped with hangers (5).

2. An extendable hanger holder assembly according to claim 1, characterised in that the support beam (1) includes a vertical ridge (6), and horizontal rolling plates created at the bottom of the said ridge (7), with upright perpendicular flanges (8) formed on the outer edges of the said rolling plate (7), and, at the outer end of the support beam (1), a horizontal mounting lug (9) with holes (10), and a vertical mounting lug (13) at its rear end.

3. An extendable hanger holder assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that a front plate (14) is mounted on the outer end of the hanger holder (2), the front plate (14) has claws (15) bent backwards and hooks (16) extended forward, and there are grooves (19) created at the rear end of the hanger holder (2).

4. An extendable hanger holder assembly according to claim 2 or 3, characterised in that the roller clevis (3) includes rollers (11) and a clevis (12), the said rollers (11) contact the rolling plate (7) between the ridge (6) of the support beam (1) and the flanges (8), the rollers (11) have axles through which they are mounted to the clevis (12), and the said clevis (12) runs in the grooves (19) created at the rear end of the hanger holder (2).

5. An extendable hanger holder assembly according to any of claims 1 - 4, characterised in that the hangers (5) are mounted on the bottom of the hanger holder (2) with a predefined spacing (18).

6. An extendable hanger holder assembly according to any of claims 3 - 5, characterised in that the hanger holder (2) is made of a U-profile, has flanges (20), and there are grooves (19) running in these flanges (20).

Images