Rack-Climbing Storage Retrieval for Lift Bottleneck Elimination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storage facilities face bottlenecks due to lifts, requiring complex control and coordination, and lack scalability and flexibility in handling storage units within racks.
Innovation Solution
Implementing vertical climbing rails and retractable wheels for storage and retrieval apparatus, allowing efficient vertical movement and horizontal traversal within racks without dedicated lifts, enabling easy scalability and flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If lifts are used for vertical movement in storage facilities, then goods can be transported between levels, but lifts become bottlenecks and require complex control and coordination
Solution Approach 1:
The storage facility is divided into multiple independent storage racks, each with its own climbing apparatus. This segmentation eliminates the bottleneck effect of centralized lifts by distributing vertical transport capabilities across multiple independent units, reducing control complexity while maintaining transport speed.
Solution Approach 2:
Climbing apparatus with retractable climbing wheels act as intermediaries between storage racks and load units. These climbing apparatus can vertically move along the racks and horizontally transfer load units, replacing the complex coordination required by lifts with a more flexible intermediary mechanism that simplifies overall system control.
2Adaptability or versatility
If dedicated lifts are installed for vertical movement, then goods can be moved between storage levels, but the system lacks scalability and flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The climbing apparatus serves multiple functions: vertical movement along racks, horizontal transport of load units, and flexible positioning at any rack level. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for dedicated lifts while enhancing system scalability and adaptability, as the same apparatus can serve different storage configurations without additional specialized equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs dynamically adjustable climbing wheels that can engage or disengage from the rack structure as needed. This dynamic capability allows the system to scale flexibly by adding or removing climbing apparatus without requiring fixed infrastructure like dedicated lifts, thereby improving adaptability while reducing overall equipment complexity.
3Quantity of substance
If multiple storage racks are used to increase storage capacity, then storage density improves, but access rates decrease due to bottleneck at lifts
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the storage system into multiple independent racks, each with its own climbing apparatus, the system eliminates the single-point bottleneck of centralized lifts. Multiple climbing apparatus can operate simultaneously and independently across different racks, maintaining high access rates while increasing overall storage capacity through parallel operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The climbing apparatus can continuously move between racks and levels without waiting for centralized lift scheduling. This continuous operation capability ensures that access rates remain high even as storage capacity increases, as multiple climbing units can service multiple racks simultaneously without coordination delays inherent in lift-based systems.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2D
Figure 3A
AI summary
A storage facility (1) having a plurality of storage racks (R) and storage rack levels (3) for storage of load units (T), wherein two storage racks (R) have an aisle (2) between them, each storage rack level having running rails on the opposing faces of the storage racks (R), on which at least one storage and retrieval apparatus (5) may travel the length of the aisle (2). Each storage and retrieval apparatus (5) having a first set of four traveling wheels for traveling along the running rails horizontally along the respective storage rack level (3) of an aisle (2). Each storage and retrieval apparatus (5) has climbing means for vertical movement, along vertical climbing chimneys, that include vertical climbing rails (15). The climbing means of each storage and retrieval apparatus (5) include a set of four climbing wheels (16) for interaction with the vertical climbing rails (15). The storage facility additionally includes maintenance platforms (14) arranged in a maintenance area (14A) at the other side of the storage rack or side opposite to that where the climbing rails (15) are positioned.