Bar storage apparatus

A bar storage apparatus comprises: a shelf frame (19) provided with a plurality of pallet accommodating shelves (17) each for movably accommodating a pallet (15) on which a plurality of bars are mounted; an elevator device (23) disposed on one side of the shelf frame so as to be movable up and down and provided with a traverser (21) for moving each pallet into and from each of the pallet accommodating shelves; and a bar supplying device (25) for supplying a bar, mounted on the pallet moved from the pallet accommodating shelf and further located at a predetermined position by the elevator device, to a bar processing machine (3). The bar storage apparatus can store a great number of bars of various kinds and various dimensions, select any required bars from a great number of bars, and supply the selected bars to a bar processing machine easily and quickly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a bar storage apparatus for storing bars 
to be supplied to a bar processing machine such as a sawing machine, and 
more specifically to a bar storage apparatus capable of storing a great 
number of bars of various sorts and further of facilitating conveyance of 
any required bars into and out of the bar processing machine. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
As the prior arts related to the present invention, there are such 
documents as U.S. Pat. No. 4, 362, 454; Laid-Open German Patent No. DE 4, 
018,139-A1; and PCT/JP92/00061 (filed by the same Applicant). 
In prior art bar storage apparatuses for storing various bars to be 
supplied to the bar processing machine such as the sawing machine, as 
disclosed in the above-mentioned documents, a roller conveyer is arranged 
on the rear side of the bar processing machine; and a chain conveyer is 
disposed along a direction perpendicular to the bar feeding direction of 
the roller conveyer; and bars to be processed are mounted on the chain 
conveyer in accordance with the order of processing. 
In the above-mentioned construction, when the chain conveyer is driven, 
bars mounted on the chain conveyer are conveyed in sequence onto the 
roller conveyer, and further into the bar processing machine by the roller 
conveyer, so that it is possible to realize an unmanned bar processing 
system. 
In the prior art construction as described above, however, since bars must 
be mounted previously on the chain conveyer in sequence, and further the 
arrangement of bars is of two-dimensional way (which is because bars are 
arranged on the chain conveyer), there exists a problem in that it is 
difficult to store a great number of bars. 
To overcome the above-mentioned problem, a construction for storing bars in 
three-dimensional way has been proposed. 
In the prior art construction for storing bars in three-dimensional way, 
however, since bars are directly mounted on each of a plurality of 
shelves, bars must be conveyed into and out of the respective shelves by 
use of a conveying machine such as a ceiling crane or a gantry crane. 
Consequently, in the above-mentioned prior art construction, although a 
great number of bars can be stored, there exists another problem in that 
the whole construction is large in size and further it take a relatively 
long time to convey bars to and from the bar processing machine. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
With these problems in mind, therefore, it is the first object of the 
present invention to provide a bar storage apparatus of capable of storing 
a great number of bars of various kinds, of selecting any required bars 
from a great number of bars, and of easily supplying the selected bars to 
a bar processing machine. 
The second object of the present invention is to provide a bar storage 
apparatus of capable of supplying bars to a bar processing machine 
quickly. 
To achieve the above-mentioned objects, the present invention provides a 
bar storage apparatus comprising: a shelf frame provided with a plurality 
of pallet accommodating shelves each for movably accommodating a pallet on 
which a plurality of bars are mounted; an elevator device disposed on one 
side of said shelf frame so as to be movable up and down and provided with 
a traverser for moving each pallet into and from each of the pallet 
accommodating shelves; and a bar supplying device for supplying a bar, 
mounted on the pallet moved from the pallet accommodating shelf and 
further located at a predetermined position by said elevator device, to a 
bar processing machine. 
The pallet preferably has a lattice structure. 
Further, the pallet is preferably provided with a plurality of vertical 
rollers for partitioning bar mounting positions, and said bar supplying 
device is slightly inclined to shift the bar into contact with the 
vertical rollers. Alternatively, the pallet may be formed with grooves 
each for stably supporting the bar. 
Yet further, the bar supplying device is preferably provided with a 
plurality of bar feeding rollers for lifting a bar relative to the pallet 
located at the predetermined position and further for feeding the bar in a 
longitudinal direction of the bar, each of said bar feeding rollers being 
formed with a circumferential groove for guiding the bar in the 
longitudinal direction thereof. 
Still further, a pallet support table is preferably disposed on one side of 
said shelf frame opposite to the other side on which said elevator device 
is disposed, to support the pallet moved by said elevator device, the 
pallet support table being provided with a second traverser for moving the 
pallet. 
Additionally, the bar supplying device preferably includes a bar lifting 
device for lifting a bar on the pallet located at the predetermined 
position, and a bar feeding device for receiving the bar lifted by said 
bar lifting device and further feeding the received bar in a longitudinal 
direction of the bar, wherein the the bar supplying device includes a 
plurality of push rods aligned in a longitudinal direction of the bar to 
be supplied and spaced from each other by a suitable distance, each push 
rods being adapted to be moved in the vertical direction independently of 
each other. 
Furthermore, the bar supplying device preferably includes a bar lifting 
device for lifting the bar mounted on the pallet located at the 
predetermined position, a bar conveying device for receiving the bar 
lifted by said bar lifting device and further conveying the received bar 
in a direction perpendicular to bar longitudinal direction, and a bar 
feeding device for receiving the bar from said bar conveying device and 
further feeding the received bar in the bar longitudinal direction, 
wherein the bar conveying device includes a first bar supporting portion 
for supporting a new bar, and a second bar supporting portion for 
supporting a residual bar.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
To facilitate understanding of the present invention, an overall 
construction of a cutting processing system to which a bar storage 
apparatus according to the present invention is applied will be first 
described hereinbelow. 
With reference to FIG. 1, the bar storage apparatus 1 of the present 
invention is disposed on the rear side of a bar processing machine 3 such 
as a band sawing machine. On the front side of this bar processing machine 
3, a cut-off workpiece conveying apparatus 5 is disposed to convey 
workpieces W cut off by the bar processing machine 3 from the cutting 
position of the bar processing machine 3 to the front side. 
The bar processing machine 3 is an ordinary well-known band sawing machine 
or a circular sawing machine, so that any detailed descriptions thereof 
are omitted. 
The cut-off workpiece conveying apparatus 5 is provided with such functions 
as to convey the cut-off workpieces W in the forward direction and further 
to sort and arrange the cut-off workpieces W according to the shapes and 
the dimensions thereof. 
To achieve the above-mentioned functions, in the cut-off workpiece 
conveying apparatus 5, a carriage 9 provided with a work clamp 7 for 
clamping the cut-off workpieces W is disposed along a guide frame 11 so as 
to be movable to and fro in the front and rear direction. Further, on one 
side of the passage along which the carriage 9 is moved to and fro, a 
stock table 13 is arranged to store the cut-off workpieces W temporarily. 
Therefore, the cut-off workpieces W cut off by the bar processing machine 3 
are conveyed in the forward direction and further stored temporarily on 
the stock table 13 according to the shapes and dimensions of the cut-off 
workpieces W. 
The cut-off workpieces W arranged on the stock table 13 are appropriately 
carried to another machine tool such as a lathe for the succeeding 
process. 
Further, since being well known, the cut-off workpiece conveying apparatus 
5 is not described in detail herein. 
As understood above, in the above-mentioned cutting processing system, it 
is possible to automatize the bar material cutting processing, by 
supplying various bar materials automatically to the bar processing 
machine 3 and further by storing the cut-off processed bars automatically 
as occasion demands, thus enabling the labor saving in various bar 
material cutting processing. 
In the cutting processing system as described above, the bar storage 
apparatus of the present invention is so constructed as to store a great 
number of bars of various kinds and various dimensions to be supplied to 
the bar processing machine 3, to supply any required bars from the storage 
position to the bar processing machine 3, and further to return the 
residual bars to the storage position. 
In more detail, with reference to FIG. 2, tile bar storage apparatus 1 is 
composed roughly of a shelf frame 19, an elevator device 23 and a bar 
supplying device 25. The shelf frame 19 is provided with a plurality of 
pallet accommodating shelves 17 each for removably accommodating a pallet 
15 on which a plurality of elongate bars B (including the shortened 
residual bars) are mounted. An elevator device 23 is disposed on one side 
of the shelf frame 19 so as to be movable up and down in the vertical 
direction and provided with a traverser 21 for moving the pallet 15 to and 
fro horizontally relative to the pallet accommodating shelf 17. The bar 
supplying device 25 supplies any required bar B arranged on the pallet 15 
pulled out of the pallet accommodating shelf 17 and located at a 
predetermined position by the elevator device 23, to the bar processing 
machine 3. 
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the pallet 15 is formed into an elongate lattice 
structure or shape extending in the front and rear direction by combining 
belt-shaped plates. On both sides of the longitudinal direction of the 
pallet 15, a plurality of rollers 27 are rotatably arranged to move the 
pallet 15 smoothly. 
Further, on one side of the right and left direction of the pallet 15, a 
hook 29 engageable from below is provided. In addition, on the upper 
surface of the pallet 15, a plurality of vertical partition rollers 31 are 
arranged to partition the bar mounting space into plural bar mounting 
sections in the transverse direction (perpendicular to the longitudinal 
direction of bars). 
The shelf frame 19 is of parallelepiped structure constructed by a 
plurality of upright columns 33 standing at the corner portions of the 
base and a plurality of horizontal connecting beams 35 for connecting the 
respective upright columns 33. Further, the pallet shelf 17 is partitioned 
into a plurality of vertical stages by a plurality of pallet support rails 
37 for connecting the respective upright columns 33 in the right and left 
direction. 
To move each of the pallets 15 into and out of each of the pallet 
accommodating shelves provided for the shelf frame 19, the elevator device 
23 is disposed on the left side of the shelf frame 19 so as to be movable 
up and down. 
As shown in FIG. 3, the elevator device 23 is of rectangular shape formed 
by connecting two front and rear elevator bases 41 by a connecting member 
43. The two front and rear elevator bases 41 are guided in the vertical 
direction by a plurality of guide rollers 39 rotatable along the upright 
columns 33 of the shelf frame 19. 
An elevator operating device 45 is disposed on the upper portion of the 
shelf frame 19, in order to move the elevator device 23 in the vertical 
direction along the upright columns 33 of the shelf frame 19, as shown in 
FIG. 2. 
In more detail, a drive sprocket 47 is rotatably attached to the upper 
portion of the shelf frame 19, and a driven sprocket 49 is rotatably 
attached to the lower portion of the shelf frame 19. Further, a 
loop-shaped chain 51 linked with the elevator device 23 is reeled around 
the drive sprocket 47 and the driven sprocket 49, respectively. 
An elevator motor 53 and a reduction gear 55 such as a worm reduction gear 
are mounted on the upper portion of the shelf frame 19. The elevator motor 
53 and the reduction gear 55 are linked by an endless chain 57. 
In the above-mentioned structure, when the elevator motor 53 is driven, the 
drive sprocket 47 is rotated in the forward and reverse directions through 
the reduction gear 55 and the endless chain 57, so that the elevator 
device 23 is moved up and down by the chain 51 in the vertical direction 
along the upright columns 33. 
The elevator device 23 can be easily stopped at a height position 
corresponding to the respective pallet accommodating shelf 17 of the shelf 
frame 19 as follows: 
For instance, appropriate sensors (not shown) or dogs are attached at the 
respective positions of the respective pallet accommodating shelves 17 of 
the shelf frame 19. Further, the similar dog or sensor is attached on the 
elevator device 23 in such a way that the vertical motion of the elevator 
device 23 can be stopped when the sensor is operated by the dog. 
Further, alternately, it is also possible to mount a rotation detector (not 
shown) such as a pulse encoder, for instance on the drive sprocket 47 or 
the elevator motor 53. In this case, when the rotation detector detects 
the vertical position of the elevator device 23, that is, when the 
elevator device 23 is moved to a height corresponding to any required 
pallet accommodating shelf 17, the vertical motion of the elevator device 
23 is stopped automatically. 
In other words, it is possible to adopt various methods of stopping the 
elevator device 23 at any required vertical positions corresponding to the 
required pallet accommodating shelves of the shelf frame 19. 
The traverser 21 for pulling out the pallet 15 from the pallet 
accommodating shelf 17 to the elevator device 23 and further for returning 
the pallet 15 from the elevator device 23 to the pallet accommodating 
shelf 17 can be constructed as follows: 
As shown in FIG. 3, the traverser 21 is formed into a long shape extending 
in the front and rear direction. On both sides of the longitudinal 
direction of the traverser 21, a plurality of guide rollers 61 are 
rotatably arranged so as to be guided by two guide rails 59 attached to 
the elevator device 23. 
Further, a rotary shaft 65 driven by a motor 63 is provided for the 
traverser 21 so as to extend in the front and rear direction. Two pinion 
67 are attached to both ends of the rotary shaft 65. The two pinions 67 
are in mesh with two racks 69 provided for the elevator device 23 so as to 
extend in parallel to the guide rails 56, respectively. 
Accordingly, when the motor 63 is driven, the traverser 21 can be moved to 
and fro along the guide rails 59. 
The traverser 21 is provided with a hook 71 movable up and down so as to be 
engaged with or disengaged from the hook 29 of the pallet 15. In more 
detail, an actuator 73 such as an air cylinder is mounted on the traverser 
21 to move the hook 71 up and down. Therefore, when this actuator 73 is 
actuated, the hook 71 can be moved up and down into engagement or 
disengagement from the hook 29 of the pallet 15. 
By the construction as described above, after the elevator device 23 has 
been located at any height position corresponding to the required pallet 
accommodating shelf 17, the motor 63 is driven to move the traverser 21 
close to the pallet 15 in the pallet accommodating shelf 17; the actuator 
(cylinder) 73 is actuated to engage the hook 71 of the traverser 21 with 
the hook 29 of the pallet 29; and then the motor 63 is driven in the 
reverse direction to return the traverser 21 to the original position, so 
that it is possible to move any given pallet 15 from any required pallet 
accommodating shelf 17 onto the elevator device 23. 
As understood already, it is of course possible to return the pallet 15 
from the elevator device 23 to any required pallet accommodating shelf 17. 
As described above, after the required pallet 15 has been pulled out from 
the pallet accommodating shelf 17 of the shelf frame 19 onto the elevator 
device 23 and further moved down at the lowest position as shown in FIG. 
2, the bar supplying device 25 is used to supply any required bar B on the 
pallet 15 to the bar processing machine 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the bar 
supplying apparatus 25 is disposed on the right side of the shelf frame 
19. 
In FIG. 2, since the elevator device 23 is disposed on the left side of the 
shelf frame 19 and further the bar supplying device 25 is disposed on the 
right side of the shelf frame 19, the pallet 15 on the elevator device 23 
must be moved to the bar supplying device 25. 
Therefore, a pallet passing shelf 17L is formed at the lowermost position 
of the shelf frame 19, to pass the pallet 15 therethrough in the right and 
left direction in FIG. 2. In more detail, the pallet passing shelf 17L is 
provided with two guide rails 75 and two racks 77 (as shown in FIG. 3) 
operationally connectable to the guide rails 59 and the racks 69 of the 
elevator device 23, respectively, when the elevator device 23 is 
positioned at the same height as the pallet passing shelf 17L. 
Accordingly, it is possible to move the traverser 21 from the elevator 
device 23 through the pallet passing shelf 17L, so that the pallet 15 can 
be moved through the pallet passing shelf 17L. 
Further, in order to support the pallet 15 moved from the elevator device 
23 through the pallet passing shelf 17L, a pallet support table 79 is 
installed on the right side of the shelf frame 19 of frame structure, as 
shown in FIG. 2. The pallet support table 79 is provided with two guide 
rails 79R operationally connectable to the two guide rails 75 of the 
pallet passing shelf 17L, as shown also in FIG. 3. 
As shown in FIG. 2, the bar supplying device 25 is disposed within the 
pallet support table 79, in order to supply the bar B mounted on the 
pallet 15 supported on the pallet support table 79 to the bar processing 
machine 3. 
That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the bar supplying device 25 is installed on 
the rear side of the bar processing machine 3 so that the bar B can be 
directly supplied to the bar processing machine 3. 
In more detail, with reference to FIG. 4, the bar supplying device 25 is 
provided with a lifting frame 81 extending in the front and rear direction 
(the supply direction of the bar B). 
The lifting frame 81 can be moved up and down by an appropriate number of 
lifting cylinders 83 arranged in the bar supply direction. On the upper 
surface of the lifting frame 81, a plurality of vertical brackets 85 which 
can pass through the partitions of the pallet 15 of lattice structure in 
the vertical direction are arranged at regular intervals. Further, a bar 
feeding roller 87 for lifting and further feeding the bar B on the pallet 
15 in the front and rear direction is rotatably provided at the upper 
portion of each of the vertical brackets 85. 
In more detail, as shown in FIG. 4, the lifting frame 81 is provided with a 
plurality of chain sprockets 89 linked with a bar feeding motor (not 
shown). These sprockets 89 are linked with a sprocket 91 attached to the 
bar feeding roller 87 via a chain 93. Further, the bar feeding roller 87 
is inclined slightly at an appropriate angle as shown in FIG. 4. 
Accordingly, when the lifting cylinders 83 are actuated to move the lifting 
frames 81 upward respectively, the bar B on the pallet 15 can be moved up 
by the bar feeding rollers 87 of the respective lifting frames 81. Here, 
since the bar feeding roller 87 is inclined slightly, the bar B moved up 
can be supported by the bar feeding rollers 87 and the partition rollers 
31 vertically disposed on the pallet 15. 
As described above, when the bar B is being pushed up by the bar feeding 
rollers 87, and the bar feeding motor is driven to rotate the bar feeding 
rollers 87, the bar B is fed and supplied toward the bar processing 
machine 3. 
As understood already, in this embodiment, it is possible to select any 
required bar B on the pallet 15 and further to supply the selected bar B 
to the bar processing machine 3, by adjusting the position of the pallet 
15 relative to the bar supplying device 25 in the right and left direction 
in FIG. 2. Further, it is also possible to return a residual bar processed 
by the bar processing machine 3 onto the pallet 15 for storage again. 
Further, when the bar B on the pallet 15 is being processed by the bar 
processing machine 3 after having been supplied, it is possible to return 
the traverser 21 onto the elevator device 23 by disengaging the hook 71 of 
the traverser 21 from the hook 29 of the pallet 15. 
Therefore, when the bar B supported by the pallet 15 on the pallet support 
table 79 is being processed, it is possible to pull out an empty pallet 
15, for instance from an appropriate pallet accommodating shelf 17 onto 
the elevator device 23 and then lower the elevator device, in order to 
replenish the empty pallet 15 with new bars. In this way, it is possible 
to prepare, in the shelf frame 19, the bars B to be processed next. 
As described above, in the first embodiment i of the bar storage apparatus 
of the present invention, a great number of bars of various kinds can be 
stored; any required bars can be selected and supplied to the bar 
processing machine 3 automatically; and further the residual bar processed 
by the bar processing machine 3 can be stored again. In addition, after 
the pallet 15 has been moved onto the pallet support table 79 and further 
any required bar B has been supplied to the bar processing machine 3, the 
shelf frame 19 can be replenished with new bars B during a processing 
being effected in the bar B, thus enabling the automatization and the 
labor saving of the bar processing. 
With reference to FIG. 5, the second embodiment of the bar storage 
apparatus according to the present invention will be described 
hereinbelow. In this second embodiment, the bar supplying device 25 is 
arranged inside the shelf frame 19 so as to correspond to the bar 
processing machine 3. Since the construction other than above is the same 
as with the case of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals have 
been retained for the similar parts or elements which have the same 
functions, without repeating any detailed description thereof. 
In this second embodiment, since the bar supplying device 25 is installed 
inside the shelf frame 19, it is possible to reduce the size of the 
overall system construction and thereby to reduce the space necessary 
therefor. 
With reference to FIG. 6, the third embodiment of the bar storage apparatus 
according to the present invention will be described hereinbelow. In this 
third embodiment, the axis of the bar feeding roller 87 of the bar 
supplying device 25 is set horizontally (without being inclined slightly 
as in the first embodiment), and in addition the bar feeding roller 87 is 
replaced with a groove roller formed with a groove 87G in the outer 
circumferential surface thereof. Further, the pallet 15 is also formed 
with V grooves 15G for stably supporting the bars B, without using the 
vertical partition rollers 31. 
In this third embodiment, even if the diameter of the bar B changes, since 
the bar B can be supported stably by the circumferential grooves 87G of 
the bar feeding rollers 87, it is possible to feed the bar B at the 
central position of the bar feeding rollers 87. In addition, it is 
possible to simplify the construction of the pallet 15 in the number of 
the parts. 
FIG. 7 shows the fourth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the 
present invention. In this fourth embodiment, the second embodiment shown 
in FIG. 5 is further improved. That is, the pallet 15 is provided with two 
hooks 29 on both right and left sides of the pallet 15, and further a 
second traverser 21A is additionally provided on the pallet support table 
79 so as to be freely movable to and fro in the right and left direction. 
The second traverser 21A is arranged on the pallet support table 79 in 
symmetrical positional relationship with respect to the traverser 21 
arranged on the elevator device 23. Since the function and the composing 
elements of the second traverser are the same as with the case of the 
traverser 21 of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals have 
been retained for the similar parts or elements, without repeating any 
detailed description thereof. 
In the fourth embodiment, after the traverser 21 has moved the pallet 15 
from the elevator device 23 to the pallet support table 79 and thereafter 
has been returned to the elevator device 23 (by disengaging the hook 71 of 
the traverser 21 from the hook 29 of the pallet 15), it is possible to 
further move the pallet 15 on the pallet support table 79 by the second 
traverser 21A in the right and left direction. 
Accordingly, it is possible to use the first traverser 21 only to move the 
pallet 15 between one of the pallet accommodating shelves 17 and the 
pallet support table 79, while using the second traverser 21A only to 
locate the pallet 15 on the pallet support table 79 at an appropriate 
position corresponding to the bar processing machine 3. 
In other words, two different works can be effected simultaneously by the 
first and second traverser 21, 21A, and therefore the working efficiency 
can be improved. Here, the first work is to move the elevator device 23 up 
and down, to pull out any required pallet 15 from the pallet accommodating 
shelf 17 onto the elevator device 23, to replenish the pallet 15 with new 
bars B, and to return the pallet 15 into the pallet accommodating shelf 
17. The second work is to supply a plurality of bars B supported, through 
the pallet 15, on the pallet support table 79 to the bar processing 
machine 3. 
FIG. 8 shows a fifth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the present 
invention. In this fifth embodiment, the elevator device 23 is disposed on 
the right side of the shelf frame 19 so as to be movable up and down. 
Further, the partition rollers are omitted from the pallet 15. The pallet 
15 is moved to and fro by engaging its hook 29 with the hook 71 of the 
traverser 21 to lift the side of the pallet 15 provided with the hook 29. 
Further, in this fifth embodiment, the bar supplying device 25 comprises a 
bar lifting device 95 for lifting the bar B from the pallet 15 on the 
elevator device 23, and a bar feeding device 97 for feeding the bar B in 
the longitudinal direction of the bar B. 
In more detail, the bar lifting device 95 is composed of a plurality of 
lifting cylinders 99, an elongate lifting frame 101 moved up and down by 
the lifting cylinders 99, and a plurality of push rods 103 arranged 
vertically at regular intervals on the upper surface of the lifting frame 
101. Further, a V-shaped groove is formed on the upper end surface of each 
of the push rods 103 to push up the bar B. 
The bar feeding device 97 is provided with an elongate frame 109 movable in 
the right and left direction. This bar feeding device 97 is supported by a 
guide rail 105 via a plurality of guide rollers 107. The guide rail 105 is 
fixed to the shelf frame 19 and extended in the right and left direction. 
On the right side of the movable frame 109, a plurality of horizontal 
support rollers 111 of cantilever type are arranged at regular intervals 
so as to receive or support the bar B pushed up by the push rods 103. 
Further, a plurality of vertical rollers 113 are also arranged at regular 
intervals on the right side end of the movable frame 109. 
The construction of the fifth embodiment other than the above is the same 
as with the case of the already explained embodiments, so that the same 
reference numerals have been retained for the similar parts or elements 
which have the same functions, without repeating any detailed description 
thereof. 
In the fifth embodiment, the pallet 15 is pulled out of any required pallet 
accommodating shelf 17 by the traverser 21, and moved downward to the 
lowermost position by the elevator device 23. Then, any required bar B on 
the pallet 15 is positioned over the bar lifting device 95 by the 
traverser 21. 
Thereafter, the lifting cylinder 99 of the bar lifting device 95 is 
actuated to lift the lifting frame 101, so that the bar B on the pallet 15 
can be pushed up by a plurality of the push rods 103. 
While the bar B is being kept pushed up by the push-rods 103, the movable 
frame 109 of the bar feeding device 97 is shifted from the left side 
position to the right side as shown in FIG. 8, so that the horizontal 
support rollers 111 of the movable frame 109 are positioned under the bar 
B lifted by the bar lifting device 95. 
Accordingly, when the lifting frame 101 is lowered, the lifted rod B can be 
supported by a plurality of the horizontal support rollers 111. Therefore, 
it is possible to feed and supply the bar B to the bar processing machine 
3 by rotating the horizontal support rollers 111 with a motor (not shown). 
Further, it is possible to return the residual bar processed by the bar 
processing machine 3 to the pallet 15 by rotating the same motor in the 
reverse direction. 
In this fifth embodiment, since the bar B lifted by the bar lifting device 
95 is received by the bar feeding device 97 at the bar feeding position, 
and the received bar B is further fed by the bar feeding device 97 from 
the bar feeding position to the bar processing machine 3, it is possible 
to obtain the same effect as with the case of the fourth embodiment. 
FIG. 9 shows a sixth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the present 
invention. In this sixth embodiment, the elevator actuating device 45 is 
disposed on the lower portion of the shelf frame 19. Further, the bar 
lifting device 95 and the bar feeding device 97 are both disposed inside 
the shelf frame 19, respectively. The construction other than the above is 
the same as with the case of the fifth embodiment, so that the same 
reference numerals have been retained for similar parts or elements which 
have the same functions, without repeating any detailed description 
thereof. 
In this sixth embodiment, the bar feeding device 97 is disposed inside the 
shelf frame 19; thus, after any required bar B has been moved to the bar 
feeding device 97 and further supplied to the bar processing machine 3, 
the following operation can be performed during the processing being made 
in the supplied bar B: to return the pallet 15 from the elevator device 23 
to the original position (the pallet accommodating shelf 17) and further 
to prepare a new pallet 15 on the elevator device 23 or to replenish the 
shelf frame 19 with new bars. 
FIG. 10 shows a seventh embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the 
present invention. In this seventh embodiment, a plurality of support 
plates 115 for supporting the bars B is provided on the pallet 15 in such 
a way as to align in the longitudinal direction of the bar B and to be 
spaced from each other by a suitable distance. Further, a plurality of 
support plates 117 are arranged under the movable plate 109 in such a way 
as to align in the longitudinal direction of the bar B, to be spaced from 
each other by the suitable distance, and to be offset in horizontal 
position from the support plates 115 of the pallet 15. Thus the respective 
support plates 115 of the pallet 15 can be moved into between the two 
adjacent support plates 117 of the bar feeding device 97. Further, a 
horizontal support roller 111 and a vertical support roller are rotatably 
provided at the end of each of the support plates 117, respectively. 
Accordingly, in this embodiment, when the pallet 15 is moved in the arrow 
direction A to shift the bar B onto the horizontal support rollers 111, 
and moved down in the arrow directions B and C, it is possible to mount 
the bar B directly from the pallet 115 onto the horizontal support rollers 
111. Thereafter, the pallet 15 is moved up in the arrow direction D to 
return the original position. By repeating the above-mentioned motion, the 
bar B on the pallet 15 can be mounted in sequence on the horizontal 
support rollers 111. 
Accordingly, in this seventh embodiment, when the bars B are mounted on the 
pallet 15 in the order of processing of the bars B, it is possible to feed 
or supply the bars B in sequence to the bar processing machine 3. 
FIG. 11 shows an eighth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the 
present invention. In this eighth embodiment, the bar supplying device 25 
is composed of a bar lifting device 121 for lifting the bar B from the 
pallet 15, a bar conveying device 123 for receiving the bar B lifted by 
the bar lifting device 121 and further conveying the received bar B in a 
direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the bar B, and a 
bar feeding device 125 for feeding the bar B toward the bar processing 
machine 3. 
In more detail, the bar lifting device 121 has an elongate movable base 127 
movable in the right and left direction in FIG. 11. The movable base 127 
is provided with a plurality of rollers 129 at the lower portion thereof, 
and a plurality of push rods 131 at the upper portion; the plurality of 
push rods 131 are arranged at appropriate regular intervals in the 
longitudinal direction of the bar B. 
The bar conveying device 123 has a movable frame 135 movable along a guide 
rail 133 extending in the right and left direction. The movable frame 135 
is provided with a fork-shaped bar receiving member 137 for receiving the 
bar B which is lifted by the bar push rods 131. The bar receiving member 
137 can be moved up and down by a lifting cylinder 139. 
The bar feeding device 125 disposed inside the shelf frame 19 is composed 
of a base 141, a plurality of brackets 143 arranged vertically on the base 
141 at regular intervals, and a support roller 145 and a vertical roller 
147 both provided at the upper portion of each of the brackets 143, 
respectively. 
In the construction as described above, before any required pallet 15 is 
pulled onto the elevator device 23 and further lowered, the bar lifting 
device 121 is moved in the right and left direction to such a position as 
to correspond to the required bar B on the pallet 15. 
Thereafter, when the elevator device 23 is lowered to the lowermost 
position, since the lifting rods 131 project beyond the upper surface of 
the pallet 15, the required bar B is pushed upward relative to the pallet 
15. Then, the bar conveying device 123 is moved to the position of the bar 
lifting device 121 so that the bar receiving member 137 is moved under the 
bar B. Thereafter, the bar receiving member 137 is lifted by the lifting 
cylinder 139 to receive the bar B on the bar receiving member 137. 
Thereafter, the bar conveying device 123 is returned to the position where 
the bar feeding device 125 is disposed. The bar receiving member 137 is 
lowered, so that the bar B can be mounted on the support rollers 145 of 
the bar feeding device 125. Therefore, it is possible to feed the bar B in 
the longitudinal direction toward the bar processing machine 3 by rotating 
the support rollers 145 of the bar feeding device 125. 
In this eighth embodiment, it is possible to pull out any required pallet 
15 from the pallet accommodating shelf 17 and further to supply the 
pulled-out bar B to the bar processing machine 3. Further, the pallet 15 
can be returned to the original position (in the pallet accommodating 
shelf 17) while the bar B is being supplied to and processed by the bar 
processing machine 3. Further, it is also possible to pull out an empty 
pallet 15 onto the elevator device 23 for replenishment of the pallet 15 
with new rods, in the same way as with the case of the afore-mentioned 
embodiments. 
FIG. 12 shows a ninth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus according to 
the present invention. In this embodiment, a lifting cylinder 149 is 
mounted on the movable base 127 of the bar lifting device 121 of the 
eighth embodiment in order to move the bar push rods 131 up and down. 
Further, the bar conveying device 123 and the bar feeding device 125 of the 
eighth embodiment are combined and used in common. That is, the movable 
frame 135 of the bar conveying device 123 has a fork-shaped support member 
151, and the support rollers 145 and the vertical rollers 147 are provided 
on the fork-shaped support member 151. 
In this embodiment, after the support rollers 145 have been positioned 
under the bar B lifted by the push rods 131 of the bar lifting device 121, 
when the push rods 131 are lowered, it is possible to mount the bar B 
directly on the support rollers 145. 
As described above, after the bar B has been supported by the support 
rollers 145, the movable frame 135 is shifted to and located at the 
original position corresponding to the bar processing machine 3. Under 
these conditions, when the support rollers 145 are rotated, it is possible 
to supply the bar B to the bar processing machine 3. 
In this ninth embodiment, the construction can be simplified as compared 
with that of the eighth embodiment. 
FIG. 13 shows a tenth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the 
present invention. In this embodiment, a bar lifting device 153 is 
disposed at an appropriate position inside the shelf frame 19. A bar 
feeding device 155 is composed of a movable frame 159 movable along guide 
rails 157 fixed to the shelf frame 19 and extending in the right and left 
direction, an elongate lifting frame 163, a plurality of lifting cylinders 
161 for moving the elongate lifting frame 163 up and down, and a plurality 
of horizontal support rollers 145 and a plurality of vertical support 
rollers 147 rotatably attached to the lifting frame 163, respectively. 
The bar lifting device 153 is composed of an elongate lifting frame 167 
moved up and down by a plurality of lifting cylinder 165 and a plurality 
of lifting rods 169 arranged at regular intervals on the upper surface of 
the lifting frame 167. 
In this tenth embodiment, the pallet 15 on the elevator device 23 is moved 
into the shelf frame 19 along the guide rails 171, and located at such a 
position that a required bar B on the pallet 15 can be placed over the bar 
lifting device 153. 
Thereafter, the required bar B on the pallet 15 is lifted by the push rods 
169 of the bar lifting device 153. 
Then, the movable frame 159 is moved along the guide rails 157 so that the 
support rollers 145 can be moved under the bar B lifted by the push rods 
169, and further the bar push rod 169 is lowered to pass the bar B to the 
support rollers 145. Subsequently, the movable frame 159 is returned to 
the original position, and the lifting frame 163 is moved up and down so 
that the height of the support rollers 145 correspond to that of the bar 
processing machine 3. Thereafter, when the support rollers 145 are 
rotated, it is possible to feed and supply the bar B to the bar processing 
machine 3. 
The tenth embodiment as described above is also provided with the same 
effects as with the case of the afore-mentioned embodiments. 
FIG. 14 shows an eleventh embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the 
present invention. In this eleventh embodiment, the eighth embodiment 
shown in FIG. 11 and the tenth embodiment shown in FIG. 13 are combined 
with each other. 
In more detail, the bar lifting device 153 and the bar feeding device 173 
similar to the bar feeding device 125 of the eighth embodiment shown in 
FIG. 11 are both provided at appropriate positions inside the shelf frame 
19. In addition, the bar conveying device 175 similar to the bar conveying 
device 123 in FIG. 11 is provided. 
In the bar feeding device 173 and the bar conveying device 175, the same 
reference numerals have been retained for the similar parts or elements as 
with the case of the bar feeding device 125 and the bar conveying device 
123, without repeating any detailed description thereof. 
In this embodiment, the bar B lifted by the lifting rods 169 of the bar 
lifting device 153 is received by the bar receiving member 137 of the bar 
conveying device 175, and further shifted onto the support rollers 145 of 
the bar feeding device 173. This embodiment is also provided with the same 
effects as with the case of the afore-mentioned embodiments. 
FIG. 15 shows an twelfth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the 
present invention. In this twelfth embodiment, the bar receiving member 
137 of the bar conveying device 175 of the eleventh embodiment shown in 
FIG. 14 is divided into two upper and lower members (a first and second 
bar supporting portions) 137A and 137B, respectively. 
The upper side bar receiving member (the first bar supporting portion) 137A 
is used to supply the bar B onto the bar feeding device 173, and the lower 
side bar receiving member (the second bar supporting portion) 37B is used 
to take the residual bar from the bar feeding device 173. 
In more detail, when the bar B is to be supplied to the bar feeding device 
173, the bar B lifted by the push rods 169 of the bar lifting apparatus 
153 is received by the upper side bar receiving member 137. Further, the 
bar B is mounted on the bar feeding device 173 in the same way as with the 
case of the eleventh embodiment shown in FIG. 14. 
Here, when the bar B on the upper side bar receiving member 137A is mounted 
on the bar feeding device 173, if the residual bar has been already 
returned on the bar feeding device 173, the residual bar is first received 
by the lower side bar receiving member 137B and then shifted onto the push 
rods 169 of the bar lifting device 153. 
Thereafter, the rod B on the upper side bar receiving member 137A is 
mounted onto the bar feeding device 173. As described above, it is 
possible to mount the succeeding bar B quickly onto the bar feeding device 
173. 
FIG. 16 shows a thirteenth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the 
present invention. In this thirteenth embodiment, the support rollers 145 
of the bar feeding device 173 are constructed as being of cantilever type, 
and the upper side bar receiving member 137A and the lower side bar 
receiving member 137B are separated from each other by a suitable distance 
for the support roller 145 supporting a bar B to be freely placed between 
the upper and lower side bar receiving members 137A and 137B. 
In this embodiment, the support rollers 145 are of cantilever type. Thus, 
when the succeeding bar B is supported on the upper side bar receiving 
member 137A of the bar receiving member 137, for example, it is possible 
to receive the residual bar on the bar feeding device 173 by the lower 
side bar receiving member 137B. Further, thereafter it is possible to 
mount the bar B on the upper side bar receiving member 137A onto the 
support rollers 145, by moving the lower side bar receiving member 137B 
under the support rollers 145 while the residual bar is being kept 
supported on the lower side bar receiving member 137B. 
In this embodiment, before the residual bar is returned onto the pallet 15, 
the succeeding bar B can be mounted on the bar feeding device 173, so that 
it is possible to convey the bar B onto and from the bar feeding device 
173 more quickly. 
In the afore-mentioned embodiments, it is assumed that bars B including 
residual ones are arranged on the pallet 15 in parallel to each other. 
However, in this arrangement, when the shortened residual bars are 
returned to and arranged on the pallet 15 in parallel to each other, the 
pallet availability is not high. To overcome this problem, it is possible 
to mount a plurality of the shortened residual bars in series on the 
pallet 15. 
In order to mount and arrange a plurality of residual bars on the pallet 15 
in series and further the mounted residual bars can be supplied again to 
the bar processing machine 3, it is possible to move up and down each or a 
group of the bar push rods of the bar lifting device independently or 
separately in the respective embodiments as shown in Figs. 1 to 16, 
respectively. 
With the bar lifting device constructed as described above, it is possible 
to selectively lift a required residual bar from a plurality of residuals 
on the pallet, by the push rods corresponding to the required residual 
bar, and thereby the pallet 15 can be used more effectively. 
As described above, in the bar storage apparatus of the present invention, 
it is possible to pull out any required pallet 15 from the pallet 
accommodating shelf 17, and to supply any required bar B mounted on the 
pallet 15 to the bar processing machine 3 automatically. Thus, a great 
number of bars B of various kinds and dimensions can be stored previously, 
and further any required bars can be selectively supplied to the bar 
processing machine 3 easily; this in turn enables the bar processing to be 
automatized and the labor required for bar processing to be saved.