WO1982002185A1

WO1982002185A1 - Device for handling packs of elongated articles,especially lumber packs

Info

Publication number: WO1982002185A1
Application number: PCT/NO1981/000045
Authority: WO
Inventors: Karl Dahl
Original assignee: Karl Dahl
Priority date: 1980-12-19
Filing date: 1981-12-09
Publication date: 1982-07-08
Also published as: SE8801749D0; FI822854L; SE8204691L; DE3152637T1; SE8204691D0; SE8801749L; SE460785B; SE434499B; NO940333L; NO153724B; NO940333D0; GB2098579A; GB2098579B; FI822854A0; FI74445C; FI74445B; NO803876L; DE3152637C2

Abstract

A device (6) for handling packs including elongated articles, especially lumber packs (2a, 2b), which is adapted to support the lumber pack during the handling and to be brought to an appropriate position in front of an input opening in a rack (1) for the transfer of a loading pack between the handling device (6) and the rack (1). To avoid that the weight of the article pack during the transfer between the handling device and the rack gives rise to such a weight load that the device (6) and the means by which the device is transported by, will come out of balance, the device (6) is provided with supporting arms (10a, 10b) which are adapted to come into engagement with supporting means (11a-11e) in the warehouse rack (1), so that the handling device (6) during the transfer operation is supported in the area of the rack openings.

Description

Device for handling packs of elongated articles, especially lumber packs

The present invention relates to a device for handling packs of elongated articles, especially lumber packs, comprising a frame-like structure on which the pack can rest during the handling thereof.

In connection with the handling of lumber packs, for example in a lumber warehouse in which the packs are put into racks, the handling of the packs will usually take place whilst the packs are resting on an elongated support. This support which is also called a jig, and extends in the longitudinal direction of the pack, has a certain length corresponding to a certain part of the pack length.

Generally, such a jig is provided with. transverse rollers on which the pack is resting, and there is used a jig which is so adapted that it can be lifted and driven away by for example a fork-lift truck. For the transfer of the pack from the jig to the rack the truck is driven to such a position relative to the rack that the jig is brought into line with the rack opening, and the one end of the pack is positioned as close to the rack opening as possible. The elongated pack of articles can thereafter be rolled off from the jig and into the rack which is appropriately provided with rollers for transferring and supporting the pack.

During the transfer of the pack from the jig and to a designated rack opening, there will, when the jig is resting on the fork-lift truck, take place a weight displacement along the jig, and when the pack has entered the rack opening to a certain degree and only rests on the one end of the jig, such a weight distribution can easily result in that the tower of the forklift truck will be subjected to too large side forces, and in the most unfavourable case the truck may tilt. This condition is especially a problem when the loading of the rack takes place high above floor level, where the insertion of the pack usually is supervised by persons standing on provisional platforms. The forks of the truck are then at a position high above the gravity point of the truck and there is developed a large moment arm onto which a resulting tilting force can work.

The object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned problem.

The object is achieved in connection with a device of the type mentioned in the preamble, which according to the invention is characterized in that the device further comprices supporting arms which are adapted to come into engagement with supporting means in a storage rack, so that the packs of articles can be transferred between the handling device and the rack with a supported handling device in the area of the rack openings.

Such supporting arms secure the jig and thereby the truck from being skewly loaded and possibly tilting even if the picture of the load distribution changes during the input or the output operation of a lumber pack.

It is to be understood that the supporting arms can have any suitable shape as long as they comply with their supporting function, but preferably they may be implemented so as to constitute an extension of the jig in the longitudinal direction thereof.

A simple operation of the arms can be achieved if they can be displaced telescopically in a guiding means on the jig.

The operator can then after the truck has been driven to a position at a rack opening, pull out the supporting arm or arms so far that they will come into position for engagement with corrsponding supporting means in the rack. An engagement relation can easily be implemented by providing at the extremities of each supporting arm a hook-shaped means, and just beneath the rack opening providing supporting irons onto which the supporting arms can be hooked onto. After the supporting arm has been pulled out, the hook can come into engagement with one of the supporting irons when a suitable lowering of the jig with its load is performed. In the following the invention will be further described, reference being had to the drawing which illustrates an embodiment of the device according to the invention.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a rack warehouse in which an embodiment of the handling device according to the invention finds application.

Fig. 2 illustrates on a larger scale a detail of the device according to the invention.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 show front view, top view and side view, respectively, of the device according to the invention.

Fig. 6 illustrates the device according to the invention applied in crane handling.

In Fig. 1, 1 designates a warehouse rack as seen from the one end. The warehouse rack 1 is so designed that it can hold a plurality of elongated packs of articles, for example lumber packs which either from the one or the other side of the rack are inserted or withdrawn through appropriate rack openings. In Fig. 1 there is illustrated a first lumber pack 2a which is located at an upper rack position, whereas a second lumber pack 2b is inserted at an underlying rack position.

At each rack position there are provided rack rollers 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d and 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, etc., respectively, which serve for the transfer and support of the respective lumber packs. Appropriately, the rack rollers 3a-3d, 4a-4d are supported on vertical rack columns 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d and have a width corresponding to a predetermined rack opening. In order to bring the respective lumber packs into position in front of a selected rack position the packs are one by one handled whilst resting on an elongated support, that is a jig 6 which extends in the longitudinal direction of the pack and has a length corresponding to a certain part of the length of the pack. The jig 6 which is further illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, takes the form of an elongated frame structure and is provided with transverse rollers 7a-7e on which the pack 2b is resting (Fig. 1). The jig 6 is also provided with fork guiding means 8a, 8b rendering access for the forks 9a of a fork-lift truck 9 so that the jig 6 can be lifted and transported by means of the fork-lift truck with or without a lumber pack 2b.

As illustrated in Fig. 1 the truck 9 has been driven to such a position relative to the rack 1 that the jig 6 is in line with the rack opening, the pack 2b being partly rolled off from the jig 6 and being partly in position on the rollers 4a-4c of the selected rack position. The jig 6 further comprises supporting arms 10a, 10b which are adapted to come into engagement with supporting means lla-lle in the warehouse rack 1. As appearing from Fig. 1, the pack 2b can therefore be transferred between the jig and the rack 1, the jig 6 in the area of the rack opening in question being supported by the engagement relation between the supporting arm 10a of the jig 6 and the supporting means llb of the rack 1. In Fig. 2 which on a larger scale illustrates a part of the end portion of the jig 6, the extended supporting arm 10a is provided with a hook-shaped means 12 which is hooked onto the supporting means or the supporting iron llb of the rack 1. The supporting arm 10a is adapted for telescopic displacement in a cylinder-shaped guiding means 13 provided on the jig 6, and prior to the transfer of the pack 2b from the jig 6 to the rack 1 the supporting arm 10a is from its retracted position pulled out so far that the hook-shaped means 12 is in line with the supporting iron lib, whereafter the forks 9a with the jig 6b are lowered so much that the arm 10a rests on the supporting iron lib. The supporting arm 10a prevents the jig 6 and thereby the fork truck 9 from being unfavourably loaded and possibly tilting even if there during the displacement of the lumber pack from the jig and into the rack 1 is effected an offset of the weight distribution, which without the supporting arm in the most extreme case could lead to the tilting of the fork-lift truck. Such a situation could easily arise when the pack 2b has entered the rack opening to a certain degree, for example as illustrated in Fig. 1, but the supporting arm 10a secures a locking of the jig 6 in the area of the rack opening for thereby eliminating the possibility of tilting of the truck 9 even in connection with loading at the upper rack positions.

It is to be understood that the supporting arms 10a and 10b, respectively, can have any shape if they only comply with their supporting functions, but for long article packs, which are to be side-ways loaded into racks, it is most appropriate that the arms constitute an extension of the jig in the longitudinal direction thereof.

However, it is to be understood that such a jig can also be adapted for loading and unloading of article packs having other dimensions than those illustrated in Fig. 1, a fact which involves that the jig can have other shapes than elongated, and thus have the supporting arms located at other positions than those discussed above. To facilitate the insertion and retrieval of the supporting arms 10a and 10b, respectively, each of the supporting arms are provided with a handle 14, and the manual force can be reduced to a minimum by mounting the supporting arms 10a, 10b on roller bearings in the cylinder-shaped guiding means 13. A further advantage of the jig 6 is the inclusion of electrical driven rollers 7a-7e, as this is indicated with dashed line as an electric motor 15 in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. The transfer of power from the electric motor 15 can suitably take place by means of a chain transmission which appropriately can be hidden in the frame structure from which the jig 6 is designed. Such a hidden chain transmission includes the advantage that a fork-lift truck can have access to the fork guiding means 8a, 8b from both sides, fact which substantially facilitates the handling operation.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, 4 and 5, the jig 6 also comprises four lugs 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, which are adapted to come into engagement with four attachment claws of a lifting yoke 17, as this is further illustrated in Fig. 6. The lifting yoke 17, which is suspended in a hoisting rope 18, comprises four yoke legs 19, of which two are illustrated in Fig. 6, and which at their lower ends are provided with an attachment claw 20 which by suitable manoeuvering of the hoisting yoke 17 above a loading pack 2c, i.e. by the lowering thereonto and suitable displacement along the pack 2c, can bring the claws 20 into engagement with the lugs 16a-16d of the jig 6.

The handling of the article pack 2c is carried out in a manner which largely corresponds to the fork-lift truck handling, the jig 6 including the article pack 2c being lifted in position outside a rack opening, whereafter the operator pulls out one of the supporting arms so far that the hook-shaped means thereof will come into engagement with a corresponding supporting means in the rack. An engagement relation will then be effected by a small lowering of the jig including the load, until the hook-shaped means of the supporting arm comes into firm engagement with the supporting iron in the rack. As mentioned above the rollers of the jig can be designed for electric operation, the supply of current to the electric motor being implemented either via a suitable battery or via an extension cord from the installed current supply in the warehouse building. It is to be understood that the supporting arms can be provided with remote control so that the operator can automatically extend one of the arms a suitable distance depending on the position of the jig in front of the rack opening. The operator can then either be the crane operator, or the truck-lift operator or an assistance operator being at floor level or at another appropriate position suitable for supervision of the handling course.

It is further to be understood that the stroke length of the supporting arms can be varied within wide limits. In the disclosed telescopic embodiment the stroke length can theoretically be made quite as long as the lengthwise extension of the jig, whereas a stroke length of approximately the half can be appropriate for most practical purposes.

It is also to be understood that the supporting arms can be provided with other embodiments of engagement means than those discribed above. For example, the engagement means can take the form of male or female parts which come into engagement with corresponding female or male means in the rack. If desired, there can be used magnetic/electro magnetic engagement means.

Claims

P a t e n t C l a i m s:

1. Device (6) for short-edge handling of packs including elongated articles, especially lumber packs (2a, 2b), comprising a frame-like structure having transport rollers and being adapted to support the lumber pack during the handling and to be brought to an appropriate position in front of an input opening in a rack (1) provided with rollers for the transfer and support of said lumber pack, so that the transfer of a lumber pack between the handling device (6) and the rack (1) can take place by rolling from the rollers on the device (6) to the rollers (4a-4b) in the rack (1),c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the device (6) further comprises supporting arms (10a, 10b) having a substantially hooked-shape means (12) which can be hooked onto a supporting iron (lla-lle) in the rack (1) for thus not only to constitute a support for the device in vertical direction during the transfer of a lumbaer pack to the rack, but also constitute an abutment means for the reaction forces which can develop in the horizontal direction in case the movement of the timber pack is blocked during the transfer.

2. Device as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the supporting arms (10a, 10b) having the hook-shaped means (12) is so adapted that they in their position of use form an extension in the longitudinal direction of the device, one supporting arm (10a, 10b) being provided at each transverse end of the device (6).

3. Device as claimed in any of the claims 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that each supporting arm (10a, 10b) as known per se can be displaced telescopically in a guiding means (13).

4. Device as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that it comprises guiding means (8a, 8b) for fork-shaped lifting means (9a), for example of a fork-lift truck (9).

5. Device as claimed in any of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that it further comprises lugs (16a-16d) for the hooking thereonto of claws (20) on a load carrying yoke (17) adapted for crane operation.