Equipment for lifting, transporting and setting down elongate goods

Equipment for lifting, transporting and setting down an elongated group of goods, or individual goods arranged in a row one behind the other, comprising a lifting and transporting apparatus positioned longitudinally between two storage racks on which the goods are removed and are placed by said lifting and transporting apparatus which is in the form of a flexibly jointed roller chain driven by an endless roller chain with pawls in either direction, e.g., to or away from either rack. The lifting and transporting apparatus comprises a plurality of hingedly connected elongated shifting elements serving to raise the load, lower the load and support the load while moving by the roller chain in either direction. Each shifting element comprises a first lower U-profiled member, a second upper and capping U-profiled member slightly larger in width than the first member and an expansible swelling member in the space between the first and second members which displaces the second member upwardly or downwardly to the extent permitted by the inturned side walls of each of said first and second members in assembled condition in response to the pneumatic pressure to the swelling member. Effectively, each shifting element serves to raise the load for transport and lower it for placement in storage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to an equipment for lifting, transporting and 
setting down elongate goods or individual goods arranged in a row one 
behind the other. The equipment is especially suitable for picking up and 
transporting loads out of space which is limited, narrow, and fixed to 
various movable storage locations. Furthermore, the equipment may also be 
used to take over a load from one roller conveyor to another adjacent one. 
In particular, the invention provides an equipment for conveying long rows 
of boxes or other loads arranged in a row one behind the other one, 
whereby these loads have to be taken out of narrow and space-limited 
locations or have to be conveyed to such narrow locations. The equipment 
is also useful in such circumstances where the storage locations are not 
straight but conveying must be performed along a curved path. The 
equipment can be designed so as to be able to take over loads that are not 
received by especially constructed load receiving elements, such as 
pallets, which usually are easily handled. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Prior art solutions, which solve these problems mostly only in part or not 
adequately, have been described in German Patent Publication 2'205'505 and 
2'509'028 and in the literature (Hepner: "Fordern und Heben" as well as 
Stocklin, Article in the "Schweiz.Handelszeitung"). 
Difficult problems have arisen with the known equipment in picking-out 
packages, boxes, pallets or the like from continuously running conveying 
equipment like roller conveyors, by means of transverse roller conveyors, 
or other transverse conveyors which engage between the individual rollers 
of the roller conveyor and which are raised under the influence of a 
single arm lever. These pick-out devices need a relative large distance 
between the individual rollers where the loads have to be picked out, 
thereby preventing small load pieces to be conveyed with such roller 
conveyors. A further disadvantage lies in the fact that the load is easily 
tilted when raised, causing a shift of the load on a pallet which is not 
securely fixed. Therefor it has already been proposed to use vertically 
displaceable lifting rails which are liftable through gaps in the roller 
conveyor. These lifting rails are connected to the main frame of the 
roller conveyor by linked parallelograms, thereby avoiding a tilt of the 
load, but resulting in a considerable horizontal shift during raising of 
the lifting rails and in long distances to be covered. 
A further solution to this problem has been proposed by the present 
inventors in the German Patent No. 2'139'842, to give a construction which 
comprises two or more lifting rails arranged in spaced relationship 
transverse to the direction of conveying between the individual rollers of 
a roller conveyor. The lifting rails are vertically displaceable and are 
equipped with conveying means running along these lifting rails. The 
lifting rails are connected to a basic frame by means of two angular 
levers mounted on each side of said basic frame. The free arms of these 
angular levers are connected to an auxiliary frame which is driven by a 
motor by means of a connecting rod and an eccentric disc. The auxiliary 
frame is of a rigid construction and is moveable in horizontal direction 
by means of the to-and-fro motion of the connecting rod, driven by the 
motor and eccentric disc. This construction works very reliably and 
economically, but needs considerable space below the roller conveyor for 
the framework and require a quite large distance between the individual 
rollers. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide equipment of the kind 
described above to solve all problems which have been discussed in the 
foregoing, which is simple in construction and by means of which the known 
constructions can be considerably improved and simplified. In particular, 
it is an object of the invention to provide equipment which needs much 
less space than the constructions of conventional design, enabling loads 
to be transferred also in space-limited locations and in connection with 
roller conveyors, the rollers of which are very tightly one besides the 
other. Finally, the equipment to be proposed should be drivable along 
curved paths. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention provides equipment for lifting, setting down and transporting 
elongate goods or individual goods arranged in a row one behind the other 
one which comprises load receiving elements for the lifting and conveying 
of goods with two members displaceable in relation to each other in 
vertical direction and driving means to displace said members relative to 
each other. 
A further embodiment of the equipment of the invention consists in a 
construction to be used with two roller conveyors to transfer a load from 
one of the conveyors to the other one or to load or unload a roller 
conveyor and ensuring all of the advantages mentioned before. Such 
equipment comprises at least two conveying tongue trains consisting of a 
plurality of load receiving elements according to the invention each of 
these load receiving elements being equipped with two rollers. These 
conveying trains can be shifted into the space between two rollers of a 
roller conveyor, each of the load receiving elements having a member that 
can be raised and lowered in relation to the other member. 
Preferably, the conveying tongue trains comprise a plurality of individual 
load receiving elements hinged together and being equipped with freely 
rotatable roller pins. The interconnection between the individual elements 
can be accomplished by freely movable rollers or by universal joints, e.g. 
in the form of a cardan joint. 
The two members which are movable in vertical direction in relation to each 
other comprise two profile members, the amount of displacement being 
limited by extensions provided on each profile member, a swell member 
being provided in the space between the two profile members which can be 
increased or decreased in volume by pneumatically or hydraulically 
inflating or deflating the same.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1a there are provided two rows of 
storage racks 1 and 2, and in the space 3 between the two rows there is 
provided a lifting and transporting means, like a stacker crane for 
putting in and taking out the goods in the racks 1 and 2. The lifting and 
transporting apparatus is displaceable in a direction transverse to the 
direction of the rows of the storage racks 1 and 2. A lifting table 4 is 
provided on the lifting and transporting apparatus which comprises a chain 
pull means in the form of an endless roller chain 5, driven by a driving 
gear 6. The roller chain 5 has the purpose to displace a shifting element 
7 in the direction of the double arrow, the shifting element being loaded 
with e.g. packages 8. 
The design of the shifting element 7 can best be seen in FIG. 1b. There can 
be seen that the shifting element 7 comprises a first lower, U-profiled 
member 9 and a second, inverted capping and upper, U-profiled member 10, 
which engage in such a way that they are displaceable in vertical 
direction relative to each other, the amount of displacement being limited 
by outwardly protruding extensions 9a provided on the first lower member 9 
and by inwardly protruding extensions 10a provided on the second, upper 
member 10. An expansible member 11 is arranged in the space between the 
first, lower profile member 9 and the second, upper profile member 10, the 
volume of which can be increased or decreased either by hydraulic or 
pneumatic means. The two profile members 9 and 10 are arranged in a 
U-profiled support member 12 serving as a rail and being rigidly secured 
on the lifting table 4 of the lifting and transporting apparatus. 
Alternatively, the support member 12 may serve as the lifting table 4 of 
the lifting and transporting apparatus and may be raised and lowered in 
known manner. 
The shifting element 7, comprising the lower profile member 9 and the upper 
profile member 10, is hingedly connected to the roller chain 5, whereby 
upon inflation of the swell member 11 the load 8 is taken off from the 
support member 12 and supported by the upper profile member 10. Now, the 
two profile members 9 and 10 can be jointly displaced in relation to the 
support member 12, enabling the load 8 to be conveyed in either direction 
of the arrow in FIG. 1a. As soon as the swell member 11 is deflated, the 
load 8 is set down on the support member 12 again. With this arrangement, 
the shifting element 7 of FIG. 1a, driven by the roller chain 5, is 
enabled to convey the load 8 either to the right into the racks 1 or to 
the left into the racks 2. Another embodiment and the basic features of 
various shifting elements are shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 10 and will now 
be described in detail. There is provided a plurality of individual 
transporting elements 14, e.g. three as shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 2 
and 3, to form a conveying tongue train 13. Each of the individual 
elements 14 is provided with rollers 15, and the elements 14 are 
interconnected by means of bolts or universal joints 16 in the form of a 
Cardan joint coupling so that the conveying tongue train can be driven 
also along a curved path. 
The detailed construction of the elements 14 can be seen from the enlarged 
cross section in FIG. 4. Each element 14 comprises a first, lower, 
U-profiled member 17 and a second, upper, U-profiled member 18 which 
engage each other so as to be displaceable in relation to each other in 
vertical direction. To limit the amount of displacement, the first, lower 
U-profiled member 17 is equipped with outwardly protruding extensions 19, 
which cooperate with inwardly protruding extensions 20 provided on the 
second, upper U-profiled member 18. Between the side walls of the first 
lower U-profiled member 17 are provided rollers 15 which are freely 
rotatable. In the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, each element 14 is equipped 
with two rollers 15 arranged in spaced relationship. In the space between 
the two profile members 17 and 18 there is received a swelling member 11, 
the volume of which can be increased and decreased by pneumatic or 
hydraulic means e.g. by inflating or deflating. As can be seen from FIG. 
10, a load placed on the upper surface of the upper profile member 18, 
e.g. a pallet 30 in FIG. 10, can be raised from the ground floor by 
inflating the swelling members 11 in each of the hingedly connected 
lifting elements 14 whereupon it can be transported away by driving the 
two conveying tongue trains. 
To set the pallet 30 down on the ground floor, the swelling member 11 is 
deflated so that the profile member 18 drops in relation to the lower 
profile member 17 until the pallet 30 touches the floor. The raising and 
lowering of the upper profile member 18, i.e. the inflating and deflating 
of the swelling members 11 can be accomplished by hydraulic or pneumatic 
means, which can easily be controlled by means of control units of 
conventional design, which are not described further. As the elements 14 
are hinged to each other, the loaded conveying train 13 can be easily 
driven even along a curved path. 
According to FIG. 5, the upper surface 22 of the upper profile member 18 is 
provided with suction cups 23 which serve to fix this member to the 
undersurface of a load placed thereon. With this arrangement, the load is 
reliably secured against slipping off, especially when the elements 14 are 
driven along uneven or inclined paths. With this embodiment, it is 
advantageous to inflate the swelling members 11 pneumatically and to 
provide a further pneumatic connection to the suction cups. Thereby, upon 
inflation of the swelling members 11, the suction cups 23 can 
simultaneously be deaerated (pressed) to firmly hold the load placed 
thereon. Upon deflation of the swelling members 11, the suction cups will 
be aerated (released) so that the load is now free from the profile member 
18. In this way it is possible to use the lowermost row of a rack for 
light packages, even if the lifting table of the lifting and transporting 
means cannot be lowered to the ground level of this row, and the conveying 
train can be driven down from the lifting table under the load to be 
transported. 
The hinged coupling between the elements 14 enabling the conveying train to 
be driven along curved paths is especially advantageous in the freight 
compartments of cargo planes and ships. Another possibility is to use a 
steel rope with great flexural rigidity for the coupling of the individual 
elements 14. 
The embodiment in FIG. 10 shows how two conveying tongue trains 13 are used 
to transport a number of loaded pallets 30, one placed behind the other to 
form a pallet row. Due to the flexible coupling between the elements 14, 
small differences in level, e.g. from one room to another one, can easily 
be overcome. 
In FIG. 6 there is shown how the equipment according to the invention can 
be used with a stacker crane provided for the bulk sidewise loading of 
trucks, railway wagons or the like. The stacker crane 31 is displacable on 
rails 32 and comprises a framework 33, which at its top is guided by a 
guiding rail (not shown) mounted at the roof of a warehouse. Within the 
framework 33 a lifting table 4 is received, which can be raised and 
lowered. The table 4 is suspended on two chains 35 which are guided and 
driven by sprocket wheels 36 by means of a driving gear 37 of 
conventional, well known design, e.g. an electric motor. The lifting table 
4 is provided with four conveying tongue trains 38 to receive a total of 
four pallets 30. In the embodiment according to FIGS. 6 to 8, the 
conveying trains can be pushed-out and withdrawn only towards to one side. 
For taking over the load from the other side, there are provided chain 
conveyors 39, comprising an endless conveying chain. The conveying tongue 
trains are driven out and pulled back by means of push-and-pull vehicles 
41 with pawls (FIG. 7). In an analogous manner, the conveying tongue 
trains can be driven into racks or standby compartments of a warehouse 
(not shown) in order to take over pallets by inflating the swelling 
members 11 (FIG. 5). Then the loaded conveying trains are displaced on to 
the load receiving bridge 40 of e.g. a truck, where the swelling members 
11 (FIG. 5) are deflated to lower the pallets on the floor of the bridge. 
Now the conveying trains are free from the pallets and can be pulled back 
onto the lifting table 4. To unload a truck, the proceeding as described 
above is simply reversed. 
In FIG. 9 a truck is loaded from the back side with a total of 480 
standardized packages 42. The packages are brought to the loading platform 
43 by means of chain conveyors 39, then taken over by conveying tongue 
trains 38, the construction thereof described above, raised by inflating 
the swelling members 11 (FIG. 5) of the conveying tongue trains and 
displaced onto the load receiving bridge 40 of the truck, where they are 
set down by deflating the swell members of the conveying tongue trains. 
The bridge 40 of the truck has been fixed on the same level as the loading 
platform 43 in order to prevent a diving of the bridge under the influence 
of the load placed thereon. It may be advantageous when the bridge 40 of 
the truck comprises or consists of a plurality of lengthwise arranged 
U-profiled members to receive the packages. This enables the conveying 
tongue trains, when deflated, to be pulled back from the bridge 40 within 
the so formed U-channels without hindering. 
A further embodiment using the equipment according the invention is shown 
in FIGS. 11 and 12 and will now be described in more detail. The 
arrangement comprises two roller conveyors and two conveying tongue trains 
to displace a load from one of the roller conveyors to the other one. The 
conveying tongue trains are arranged perpendicularly to the conveying 
direction of the roller conveyors and are driven for example by means of 
endless roller chains of conventional design. The construction of the 
conveying tongue trains is substantially the same as described before. 
As can be seen from the drawing, the arrangement comprises a main roller 
conveyor 51 with an elongated frame 52 which receives a plurality of 
driven rollers 53. Only a small part of the conveyor is shown in FIGS. 11 
and 12; in fact it extends further in both directions. An auxiliary roller 
conveyor 54 ends in the region of the main conveyor 51 and is arranged in 
an acute angle to the latter one. The auxiliary conveyor 54 similarly 
comprises an elongated frame 55 in which a plurality of driven rollers 56 
are received. The two conveying tongue trains have the purpose of 
transporting a load from the main conveyor 51 to the auxiliary conveyor 54 
or vice versa. 
The transverse conveyor, generally designated by 57, comprises two 
conveying tongue trains 58 the construction thereof being similar to the 
one as described in connection with FIGS. 2 to 4. The transverse conveyor 
57 is placed in the space between the main roller conveyor 51 and the 
auxiliary roller conveyor 54 and is so aligned that the conveying tongues 
58 can be displaced in the space between the rollers 53 resp. 56. In FIG. 
11 there is shown the position where the conveying tongues are shifted to 
the left side, i.e. between the rollers 56 of the auxiliary roller 
conveyor 54. The conveying tongue trains are driven by means of roller 
chains (not shown) of conventional design, which are equipped with catches 
engaging the conveying tongues. Advantageously, there are provided 
U-profiled guide members for the conveying tongue trains so that the 
latters can be displaced in the space between the rollers 53 resp. 56 and 
pulled back again. The U-profiled guide members, providing a slide path 
for the conveying tongue trains, are not shown in detail, but are 
indicated by the two dashed lines in FIG. 11. To displace a load, which 
has arrived at the end of the auxiliary roller conveyor 54, to the main 
roller conveyor 51, the tongue trains 58 are driven between the rollers 
56, its swelling members are activated to raise the load and the tongue 
trains together with the load now resting on the tongues are pulled back 
and shifted between the rollers 53 of the main conveyor 51. Then the 
swelling members of the tongue trains are deflated, the load thereby 
placed on the roller conveyor 51 and conveyed further in either direction 
of the double arrow. 
The transverse conveyor as described above needs no space under the roller 
conveyors 51 and 54 and can even be used with roller conveyors which have 
a very small distance between the individual rollers. The transverse 
conveyor is of a very low profiled construction, is simply and rigidly 
constructed and works quickly and reliably. 
In summary the equipment according to the invention provides optimum 
exploitation of a given limited storage space yielding an excellent 
storage factor, whereby both the free space and the load units can be kept 
very small. The design as shown and described in this invention can be 
used even if several pallets, one behind the other, have to be transported 
simultaneously, even though the technical expenditure is limited and the 
space available very small.