Mast assembly for a shelf-service device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mast arrangements for storage and retrieval devices are laborious to produce and difficult to automate due to complex welding requirements, which affects stability and rigidity, and are costly.
Innovation Solution
The mast arrangement incorporates interface elements with external openings for reinforcing elements, such as hollow tubes, which provide local stiffening and allow for simplified assembly and reduced bulkhead usage, enabling easier automation and reduced material costs through screw connections or welding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If partition plates are placed at regular intervals inside the hollow profile of the mast to prevent buckling, then stability and rigidity are improved, but manufacturing complexity and labor intensity increase due to required welding operations
Solution Approach 1:
The mast is divided into modular components: a box profile structure with separately attachable interface elements and reinforcement elements. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured independently and assembled through simplified connections rather than complex internal welding operations.
Solution Approach 2:
Reinforcement elements are inserted through openings in the side plates into the hollow box profile, nesting these stiffening components within the mast structure. This approach provides internal reinforcement without requiring complex welding, as the elements are simply inserted and secured through the openings.
2Ease of manufacture
If openings are provided in side plates to access weld seams for partition plates, then assembly is enabled, but welding complexity increases and automation becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The welding operation is extracted from the internal mast structure and replaced with external opening-based assembly. Interface elements extend through openings in the side plates, allowing connections to be made from the outside rather than requiring welders to access internal seam positions through restricted openings.
Solution Approach 2:
Interface elements serve as intermediary components that connect the rail to the mast structure through openings in the side plates. These intermediaries enable simple mechanical connections (screw connections or locking ring bolts) instead of complex welding operations, making the process automatable.
3Device complexity
If reinforcement elements are inserted through openings in side plates, then local stiffening is achieved and bulkhead plates are reduced, but additional components are required
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using multiple full-length partition plates throughout the mast, reinforcement elements are strategically positioned at specific locations where local stiffening is needed, particularly in the area of interface elements. This provides targeted reinforcement with fewer components.
Solution Approach 2:
The mast structure combines the box profile (formed from flange plates and side plates) with inserted reinforcement elements (such as hollow tubes). This composite construction integrates two different structural approaches: the external box section and internal reinforcement members, achieving enhanced stiffness with reduced overall component count.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The present invention relates to a mast arrangement (10) for a storage and retrieval machine, comprising a mast with a box profile and a substantially rectangular cross-section formed by a front flange plate (12), two side plates (14), and a rear flange plate (16); a plurality of interface elements (18) attached in pairs to the side plates (14), which extend in the area of the front flange plate (12); and a rail (20) for guiding the storage and retrieval machine, wherein the rail (20) is attached to each of the interface elements (18). The interface elements (18) of at least one pair of interface elements (18) are each provided with an opening through which, and through corresponding openings in the side plates (14), a reinforcing element (22) extends, which is connected on both sides to the respective interface elements (18).