Warehouse Rack Auxiliary Support Cables
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Solution Overview
Problem
Warehouse rack systems are prone to collapse due to structural failures, such as damaged support legs from collisions with forklifts, leading to potential domino effects of rack collapses, stock loss, and safety risks, with existing safety systems like barriers being insufficient against heavy impacts.
Innovation Solution
A warehouse rack system equipped with an auxiliary support system comprising leg support cables that bear the weight in case of structural failure, along with a sensor system to detect and alert on leg failures, preventing collapse and allowing for timely repair.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If barriers are installed around rack legs to shield from forklift impacts, then protection against minor collisions is improved, but heavy forklifts can still overcome the barriers and cause leg damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by installing auxiliary support cables that are pre-positioned to provide immediate support when a leg fails. The cables are configured with appropriate tension and attachment points to activate automatically upon leg damage, cushioning the structural failure before it propagates to complete rack collapse.
2Productivity
If rack height is increased to maximize storage capacity, then warehouse space utilization is improved, but the risk of rack collapse increases
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary support cables provide beforehand cushioning for high racks by being pre-installed and tensioned to provide immediate support if a leg fails. This allows the rack to maintain high storage capacity while having a safety mechanism ready to prevent collapse propagation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the structural parameters by adding auxiliary support elements (cables) with specific tension forces and attachment geometries. These parameter changes enhance the overall reliability of the rack system without reducing the height or storage capacity.
3Reliability
If auxiliary support cables are tensioned in normal use, then immediate support is provided upon failure, but the rack assembly experiences unnecessary tension and movement during normal operation
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary support cables are designed with dynamic characteristics - they are installed with specific initial tension that allows them to remain relatively slack during normal operation but automatically engage and provide support when a leg fails. This dynamic behavior ensures reliability upon failure while maintaining ease of normal operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The auxiliary support system effectively prevents rack collapses and identifies damaged legs, reducing stock loss and ensuring worker safety by distributing weight through slack cables that tense only upon failure, while the sensor system provides timely notifications for maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
an auxiliary rack support system comprising a plurality of leg support cables, each leg support cable having a first end attached to a load bearing structure above the rack assembly and a second end attached to one of the plurality of vertical legs; wherein the plurality of leg support cables is configured to bear the weight of the rack assembly only in the event of structural failure of one or more of the vertical legs
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a warehouse rack system having an auxiliary support system to prevent structural failure. Example embodiments disclosed include a warehouse rack system comprising: a floor-mounted rack assembly (100) comprising a plurality of vertical legs (101) supporting a plurality of shelves (102); and an auxiliary rack support system (200) comprising a plurality of leg support cables (201), each leg support cable (201) having a first end attached to a load bearing structure (303) above the rack assembly (100) and a second end attached to one of the plurality of vertical legs (101); wherein the plurality of leg support cables (201) is configured to bear the weight of the rack assembly (100) only in the event of structural failure of one or more of the vertical legs (101).