An electronic controller configured to directing a pinion-driven bogie, through an array of a plurality of intersecting vertical and horizontal rack-based tracks in which rack segments extend along vertical and horizontal rails and are interrupted and absent in intersection regions thereof,
- the rack segments are disposed in the rails at least along a bottom end of the horizontal rails and at least on one lateral end of the vertical rails, wherein the pinion-driven bogie comprises two pairs of the direction switching module, wherein each direction switching module comprises:
- a first and a second counterpart pinions mounted in serial configuration on a common pivotable-holder, the pinions are couplable to an external rack for traveling along the rack upon rotation of the pinions, wherein an axis of rotation of the first pinion in in parallel orientation to an axis of rotation of the counterpart pinion, the pivotable-holder comprises a pivoting arrangement in a mid-portion thereof and is couplable to a bogie of a lift robot such that the pivotable-holder can pivot about an axis parallel to the axes of the pinions, between a lateral orientation in which the pinions' axes share a horizontal plane and between a vertical orientation in which the pinions' axes share a vertical plane;
- and
- a motor, wherein a drive-shaft of the motor is coupled to the axis of a first of the counterpart pinions for driving the pinion in a desired rotation velocity, wherein the second of the counterpart pinions is coupled to a driving mechanism configured to drive the counterpart pinion in a velocity equal to that of the first when both pinions are coupled to a linear rack, and varying with respect of the first when the pinions are coupled one to a vertically oriented rack and the other to a horizontally oriented track;
- wherein each direction switching module is configured to communicate with an electronic controller for comoving with the others, thereby making the bogie capable of traveling in any desired one of three motion modes without changing the spatial orientation of the bogie, including (i) moving laterally along a horizontally oriented two-rails track;
- (ii) moving vertically along a pair of vertically oriented two-rails tracks;
- (iii) moving curvedly while simultaneously utilizing said horizontally oriented track and said vertically oriented pair of tracks;
- wherein a ratio between simultaneous rotation velocities of a pinion situated in a horizontally oriented rail and of a counterpart pinion situated in a vertically oriented rail is inversely proportional to the ratio between the respective separations between the axes of rotation of the counterpart pinions and the intersection between the vertical and the horizontal planes in which the axes are situated;
- wherein for heading in a first lateral direction along the horizontally oriented track following a turn from a motion along vertically oriented tracks, the electronic controller is configured to instruct continuous rotation of the pinions in the pivoting direction of the pivotable-holder, wherein for heading in a second lateral direction opposite said first lateral direction along the horizontally oriented track following a turn from a motion along vertically oriented tracks, the electronic controller is configured to instruct rotation of the pinions several rotations in the pivoting direction of the pivotable-holder until the pinions are situated evenly with the horizontal track, then to stop the rotation and immediately instruct continuous rotation of the pinions in a rotation direction opposite to the first;
- wherein for motion in first direction along vertically oriented tracks following a turn from a motion along a horizontally oriented track, the electronic controller is configured to instruct continuous rotation of the pinions in the pivoting direction of the pivotable-holder, wherein for motion in a second vertical direction opposite said first vertical direction along vertically oriented tracks following a turn from a motion along a horizontally oriented track, the electronic controller is configured to instruct rotation of the pinions several rotations in the pivoting direction of the pivotable-holder until the axes of each pair of counterpart pinions are situated in the same vertical plane, respectively, then to stop the rotation and immediately instruct continuous rotation of the pinions in a rotation direction opposite to the first.