Automated self-powered material handling truck

An automated handling system intended for a storehouse, ware-house or other industrial premises in which miscellaneous articles are stored, for allowing either the restocking of the storehouse or the regrouping of articles picked up in the storehouse to constitute lots of articles corresponding to a cutstomer's order, said storehouse comprising an assembly of modular racks, a plurality of lanes along which said modular racks are disposed, and a multiplicity of unitary stock bins in which said articles are stocked according to their nature and reference symbol, said racks consisting of an assembly of juxtaposed columns in which said unitary stock bins are disposed in superposed relationship, said system comprising essentially:

• a central computer for managing and controlling the system and the customers' orders;
• at least one automated self-powered handling truck adapted to handle said bins in said storehouse and to pick up articles from the bins of said storehouse and constitute lots of articles and gather said orders, said self-powered truck comprising essentially;
• a motorized chassis and translation means for moving said truck along the lanes of said storehouse along said modular racks,
• an inboard computer in interactivated relationship with said central computer for managing the movements and stoppages of said truck in said storehouse and controlling its movements,
• an inboard store structure consisting of an assembly of columns adapted to receive and hold in superposed relationship a plurality of order receiving bins,
• said motorized chassis comprising essentially:
• a bin receiving platform adapted to carry at least one stock bin and/or one order receiving bin, said platform being movable at least linearly either in front of said racks of said storehouse or in front of at least one or said columns of said inboard store structure
• bin draw-out means adapted alternatively to transfer a unitary bin between said racks of said storehouse and said bin receiving platform, and to transfer an order receiving bin between said inboard store structure and said bin receiving platform,
• means for recentering said bin receiving platform so as to accurately position said draw-out means in both abscissa and ordinate in front of a bin disposed in said racks of said storehouse, and
• gripping means responsive to said inboard computer and adapted to pick-up one of the articles contained in said stock bin carried by said receiving platform for subsequently depositing said article into said order receiving bin.