Automated Warehouse Aisle Maintenance Safety Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional automated warehouse systems face challenges in preventing 'push-through' incidents during maintenance, where neighboring rack serving units inadvertently move storage goods into a maintenance aisle, violating safety standards like DIN EN 528, and existing solutions either require costly mechanical locking devices or reducing system performance by switching off adjacent aisles.
Innovation Solution
An automated warehouse system with a control device that manages rack serving units to operate single-sidedly in neighboring aisles during maintenance, ensuring safety without mechanical devices, by using sensors and aisle-service switches to prevent load handling devices from moving goods into the maintenance aisle, while allowing adjacent aisles to remain partially operational.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mechanical push-through locking devices are installed to prevent storage goods from being moved into the maintenance aisle, then safety compliance is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical push-through locking devices with a control system that uses sensors and automated instructions to prevent load handling devices from moving storage goods into the maintenance aisle. The control device monitors the position of load handling devices and restricts their movement to racks not arranged directly adjacent to the maintenance aisle, eliminating the need for mechanical locking mechanisms while maintaining safety compliance.
Solution Approach 2:
The control device acts as an intermediary between the load handling devices and the racks, mediating their interaction by providing automated instructions that prevent push-through incidents. The control system coordinates the operation of neighboring rack serving units to ensure they do not move storage goods into the maintenance aisle, serving as a software-based mediator that replaces physical locking mechanisms.
2Reliability
If neighboring rack aisles are switched off during maintenance to prevent push-through incidents, then safety compliance is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by restricting the operational constraints only to the specific racks directly adjacent to the maintenance aisle, while allowing other racks in neighboring aisles to continue operating normally. The control device provides automated instructions that limit load handling device movement only for racks arranged directly adjacent to the maintenance aisle, permitting single-sided operation for other racks, thus maintaining partial productivity while ensuring safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The warehouse system is segmented into different operational zones: racks directly adjacent to the maintenance aisle are restricted from receiving storage goods, while other racks in neighboring aisles continue to operate. This segmentation allows the system to maintain safety in the critical zone while preserving productivity in non-critical zones through controlled single-sided operation.
3Reliability
If load handling devices are restricted from moving storage goods into the maintenance aisle, then safety compliance is improved, but the operational flexibility of neighboring aisles deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts operational constraints based on the maintenance status of each aisle. The control device provides automated instructions that are actively applied only during maintenance periods, allowing load handling devices to operate freely when no maintenance is occurring. This dynamic approach maintains operational flexibility by enabling full functionality during normal operation while ensuring safety compliance during maintenance through temporarily activated restrictions.
Data Source
AI summary
A warehouse system comprising a control device; a plurality of racks defining rack aisles each of which includes an access and is secured against unauthorized entry by an operator by the access, wherein a first sensor monitors whether the access is closed or open and transmits corresponding status signals to the control device; a plurality of rack serving units each of which travels in an automated manner along a rack aisle and includes a load handling device for storing and retrieving storage goods. Each load handling device has assigned a second sensor which detects whether the load handling device is in a retracted neutral position, currently extracts, or is extracted, and which transmits a corresponding state signal to the control device. The system further includes an aisle-serving switch device that communicates with the control device and can be shifted physically by an access key between automatic and maintenance positions.