Carousel storage conveyor

A carousel storage apparatus for the storage and retrieval of articles being conveyed comprising:

• conveyor means for conveying said plurality of articles along a conveying path and having a conveyor surface for supporting said articles;
• a support frame disposed proximate said conveying means;
• first and second drive assemblies which are disposed above and spaced apart one from the other along said conveying path and which each have a drive member rotatably supported on said support frame that defines at least a first rotation axis, said first rotation axis extending substantially parallel to said conveying path;
• at least one elongate carrying member extending between said first and second drive assemblies and having opposite ends connected respectively to said first and second drive assemblies at a predetermined distance from said first rotation axis so as to move in conjunction with said drive members;
• at least one shelf unit having means for suspending said shelf unit from said carrying member so that said shelf unit moves through a closed loop path in conjunction with said carrying member, each said shelf unit defining opposite, spaced apart side surfaces, an article support surface extending therebetween, and opposite open ends oriented along said conveying path so as to accommodate at least one of said articles within said shelf unit;
• drive means operatively engaged with at least one of said first and second drive assemblies for displacement of said shelf unit along said closed loop path toward and into said conveying path for passage of said articles into or out of said open ends of said shelf unit and for displacement of said shelf unit transversely out of said conveying path to a selected storage position along said closed loop path;
• and
• displacement means for displacing said conveyor means relative to said drive assemblies in one direction toward the other to define a pass-through condition when said shelf unit is in said conveying path where said conveyor surface is above said article support surface and supports said articles received within said shelf units and in an opposite direction away from the other to define a storage condition where said conveyor surface is below said article support surface such that said articles received within said shelf units are supported by said article support surface.

A storage arrangement comprising:

• a generally horizontally elongated roller conveyor for support and transport of articles thereon, said roller conveyor including a plurality of rollers for supporting and conveying articles, said rollers being individually supported for rotation about substantially horizontal axes and being disposed in sidewardly spaced relation so that upper extremities of said plurality of rollers define a generally horizontally extending conveying plane where articles contact said rollers, said rollers defining a generally horizontal conveying direction which extends in a longitudinal direction of the roller conveyor;
• said roller conveyor including at least an elongate roller conveyor section provided with a plurality of clearance spaces which open upwardly through the conveying plane and are horizontally elongated transverse to the conveying direction, said upwardly-opening access spaces being defined between adjacent said rollers at selected intervals through the roller conveyor section;
• a carousel-type conveyor disposed generally over and projecting upwardly from said roller conveyor section for transfer of articles to or from said roller conveyor section;
• said carousel-type conveyor including a supporting means which is positioned above said roller conveyor section and is moveable generally along a closed loop path which is disposed within a substantially vertical plane which transversely intersects said horizontal conveying direction, and a plurality of hanger units mounted on and vertically suspended from said supporting means at generally uniformly spaced intervals along said closed loop path;
• each said hanger unit including a plurality of substantially closed looplike hangers which are generally aligned with one another in a direction parallel with said conveying direction and are generally spaced from one another in said direction so that each said looplike hanger is generally vertically aligned with one of said clearance spaces, each said looplike hanger having a generally flat bottom leg which extends generally horizontally and which at opposite ends joins to a pair of upwardly projecting side legs which in turn join to top legs which suspend the respective hanger from the support member;
• said supporting means when moved through said loop causing the hanger unit to be moved into a lowermost position wherein the respective hanger unit is suspended directly over the roller conveyor section so that the bottom legs of the individual hangers are disposed within the respective clearance spaces at an elevation below said conveying plane, and opposite sides of each hanger being wholly opened so that the aligned hangers of the hanger unit define an open tunnel so that articles can be transferred between the hangers and the conveyor rollers when the hanger unit is in said lowermost position.