METHOD OF MOUNTING A RAIL SYSTEM ON A FLOOR IN A FREEZER STORAGE

Abstract: Method of mounting a rail system on a floor in a freezer storage during operation of the storage. Carriages (10) supporting shelves, pallet racks or the like are designed to run on rails which are put on the floor (24). Sand (29) and liquid water glass are mixed and the mixture is spread out on the floor between the rails so that the mixture forms a cover extending to the same level as the upper part of the rail (17). When the water freezes the cover hardens thereby forming a mainly plane layer for vehicles being moved on the floor.

Description: Method of mounting a rail system on a floor in a freezer storage This invention relates to a method of mounting a rail system on a floor in a freezer storage which is in operation, carriages supporting shelves, pallet racks or the like being designed to run on rails which are put on the floor and fastened thereto. 5 It is known when storing frozen food of different kinds in freezer storages to use compact packing units, i.e. carriages running on rails and supporting pallet racks or shelves. The purpose of these units is to store as large quantities as possible on a minimum of floor area available. This space-saving technique is highly desirable in the above type of storages since a freezer storage needs an lO expensive cooling system which i.a. is designed according to the volume of the storage building. Of course the energy consumption decreases if compact packing units of the above type are used instead of conventional shelves or pallet racks. The carriages in such units can be moved along the rail so that a passageway is formed between two adjacent rows of pallet racks or shelves. The shelves or racks 15 will thus be accessible for inserting and removing goods which can be done manually or by means of loading vehicles, such as fork trucks. Usually the carriages are provided with driving means in the form of electric motors which are operated from one end of the pallet rack or the shelves and by which the carriages are moved along the rail and the desired passageway is opened. 20 In case a freezer storage has already from the beginning been planned for compact packing units the rail is usually placed on the same level as the floor surface so that handling vehicles and personnel serving the unit are not hindered by the rail when the goods are being moved in the freezer storage. The arrangement is however comparatively expensive since the application of insula- 25 tion under the floor surface as well as casting of the concrete floor above the insulation is difficult. T In freezer storages in which old conventional shelves are to be replaced by compact packing units cost problems often arise which are hard to solve. This depends almost as a rule on difficulties in mounting the rail required for the 30 compact packing system in or on an existing floor. Mounting on the floor means that the rail will hinder the handling of goods in the storage. Although the space between the rails can be filled for instance with loose gratings these will be rapidly worn and be a risk since they can easily be displaced under the pressure of a loaded fork truck. Of course there is the possibility of clearing out the storage OMPI and cast a new floor on the old one in which the rail is placed. However, this is problematic from a practical point of view since a freezer storage usually holds great quantities of food which cannot readily be received and stored in another place during the time required for mounting a new floor. Lowering the rail in an existing floor can neither be done in an easy way since the floor usually rests on an insulation which cannot without extensive reinforcing support a rail with carriages. It has previously been proposed, see Swedish patent application 78011620-1, to lay the rail on the existing floor and then to spray water on the floor so that it reaches the upper edge of the rail. However, it has turned out that such an arrangement works only during a limited time since the ice evaporates and cracks are formed. Moreover there is a risk for damages of the existing electric equipment because during spraying water may enter into this equipment. It is also known to use a material consisting of a dry mixture of stone dust and water glass. The material is laid on the floor and water is sprayed over it after which the mixture hardens. This is described in German AS 1,102,376. However, this method cannot be used in the field of technology concerned with the present invention, i.e. in a freezer storage, since the water in such environment will immediately freeze and will not penetrate the powdered layer which is comparatively thick. The object of this invention is to eliminate the above drawbacks and to provide a method by which new as well as existing freezer storages in a simple way can be equipped with compact packing units. In existing freezer storages this can be done without any extensive rebuilding and without interrupting the operation of the storage. The object is achieved in a method according to the invention as defined in the following claims. The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a compact packing system for a freezer storage and Fig. 2 is a vertical section through a floor with rails which is made according to the invention. As seen in Fig. 1 the compact packing unit comprises several carriages 10, 11, 12 each one being provided with columns 13 and horizontal supporting beams 14, which together form two rows of pallet racks of which one row is accessible from each side of a carriage. The lower part of the carriage comprises a frame of beams 15 supported by wheels 16 running on rails 17. In each carriage there is a motor 18 for moving the carriage along the rails. The motor 18 is connected to a wheel, not shown, which engages with and follows a guide rail OMPI comprising a groove-shaped metal profile 19. The motor 18 is activated by means of a switch 20 on a control box 21 at the end wall of each carriage. Each carriage also has a safety strip 22 which is swingably supported in the lower part of the carriage. The strip is connected to a microswitch, not shown, which disconnects the current to the motor as soon as the strip is pressed to the carriage. In addition, this switch is also used to stop the movement of the carriage when a carriage abuts another carriage. As seen in Fig. 1 the rail is placed in the floor, which means that for instance fork trucks for inserting and removing goods without hinder by the rail can be moved into the passageway 23 which is formed between adjacent carriages when separated from one another. In order to create these conditions in a simple and cheap way the invention proposes a method which is illustrated in Fig.2. In this Figure, 24 is an existing floor in a freezer storage. Such a floor usually is of concrete and lies on one or several layers of insulating material 25 resting on a lower floor 26 on the ground 27. By means of levelling pieces 28 the rail 17 and metal profile 19 are placed horizontally and may be fastened to the floor by suitable means, not shown, for instance nails or bolts. Then a mixture of sand and liquid water glass, preferably in the proportion of 5:1 is prepared. The flour is covered by the mixture so that the sand 29 will be flush with the upper part of the rail. Since the temperature in the freezer storage is about -25 to -30 °C, the water in the water glass freezes and forms ice crystals. This means that the water glass co-acts with the sand and forms a compact and hard layer. Then the carriages are mounted and placed on the rail. Of course the grooves in the metal profile 19 are not filled, since a pair of flanges of the driving wheel which runs on the profile are intended to run in the grooves. The expression "water glass" in this connection means an alcali silicate, such as sodium silicate or potassium silicate. Instead of using the metal profile shown in the drawing for the guiding wheel it is possible within the concept of the invention to let one or several wheels with flanges run on a desired rail whereby the sand cover is prevented from associating with the rail in the area in which the flange is intended to run. < W1PO

Claims: Claims 1. A method of mounting a rail system on a floor in a freezer storage during operation, in which carriages supporting shelves, pallet racks, or the like are designed to run on rails which are put on the floor and may be fastened thereto, characterized in that sand (29) and liquid water glass are mixed and spread on the floor (24) between the rails (17) so that the mixture forms a cover extending to the same level as the upper part of the rail, the cover hardening when water is freezing due to the freezing temperature in the storage and thus forming a mainly plane layer for vehicles being moved over the floor. 2. A method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the pro- portion of water glass/sand is 1:5. 3. A method according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterized in that in the upper part of the rail an area is provided which is kept free from the cover.

Inventors: ANDERSSON INGVAR KARL-HENRIK, ANDERSSON, INGVAR, KARL-HENRIK
Applicants: ELECTROLUX CONST AB, ELECTROLUX CONSTRUCTOR AKTIEBOLAG
Application year: 1983
Main classification: F25D23
IPC codes: B65G1, E04H5, F25D23, F25D25