Patent ID: 7575407
Filing Date: 2009-08-18
Classification: B65G

Abstract:
1. An article storage facility comprising: an article storage rack having a plurality of storage units arranged in horizontal rows and vertical columns; a single track extending in a vicinity of said article storage rack; a plurality of article-conveying movable bodies configured to move horizontally on said track in order to convey an article between said article storage rack and a loading/unloading article support unit; article transfer means, provided to each of said movable bodies and being capable of vertical movement, for transferring said article between the movable body and a storage unit or the article support unit; and control means for controlling the movements of said movable bodies; wherein the dimensions of said movable bodies are determined such that when two of said movable bodies are positioned adjacent each other on said single track in the horizontal direction, the two article transfer means, provided to the two adjacent movable bodies, overlap in the vertical direction; and wherein one of the two article transfer means provided to the two adjacent movable bodies is overhead the other article transfer means.