AN APPARATUS AND A METHOD FOR CLEANI NG A STORAGE SYSTEM

FI ELD OF THE I NVENTI ON

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a m ethod for cleaning a storage system com prising a plurality of storage cells, in particular for cleaning a storage system in which the storage cells are arranged in a m atrix pattern. The apparatus and m ethod according to the invention are particularly suitable for cleaning a storage system for storing food products, e.g. m eat.

BACKGROUND OF THE I NVENTI ON

There is som etim es a need to store products in a storage system . This m ay, e.g. , be in order to interm ediately store products between various processing steps, and/or in order to store finished products before distributing them . A storage system for this use m ay advantageously com prise a plurality of storage cells which m ay be accessed individually. The storage cells m ay be arranged in a matrix pattern, e.g. in a large rack, or in a num ber of large racks, positioned side-by-side in a storage building or a warehouse.

Such storage systems m ay be very large, i.e. they m ay com prise a vast number of storage cells. I n order to be able to gain access to each of the storage cells for positioning a product in a storage cell or for retrieving a product, which has previously been positioned in a storage cell, in an easy m anner, the storage system m ay be provided with a movable apparatus, e.g. in the form of a robot, which m ay be program m ed to access a desired storage cell. Such a robot m ay advantageously be mounted in one or more rails on the floor, the rail(s) being arranged along a rack in such a m anner that the robot m ay slide along the rack, i.e. in a substantially horizontal direction. The robot m ay further com prise a unit which is adapted to position products in the storage cells and to retrieve products from the storage cells. This unit is norm ally mounted on the robot in such a m anner that it is movable in a substantially vertical direction. Thus, it is possible for the unit of the robot to access each of a plurality of storage cells positioned in a two-dim ensional rack. The robot m ay be able to move the unit

into a storage cell in order to position or retrieve an article. The robot m ay even be able to reach storage cells of two racks positioned adjacent and parallel to each other with an alley there between, the robot being mounted on a rail in the floor of the alley.

Storage m ay take place using suitable containers, such as crates, which are positioned in the storage cells. This is, e.g. , the case in the food industry and in the pharm aceutical industry. The products m ay be stored packed or unpacked and in open or closed containers, respectively.

Due to hygiene requirem ents such storage systems m ust be cleaned and, in som e cases, disinfected on a regular basis. This is of particular im portance in the food industry. So far such cleaning has been perform ed m anually. This is very cum bersom e, tim e consum ing and expensive. Furthermore, in order for the cleaning personnel to be able to reach each of the storage cells it is necessary to use ladders and/or movable platforms. The cleaning personnel will also have to bring various cleaning articles, such as spray lances, brushes, cleaning m aterial, such as soap and/or disinfectant, etc. I t m ay therefore be necessary to provide sufficient space between adjacent racks to allow cleaning personnel to clim b or be lifted to each of the storage cells in a safe m anner, while carrying the necessary articles along with them . Thereby less space will be available for storing products, and this is a further disadvantage.

SUMMARY OF THE I NVENTI ON

I t is thus an object of the invention to provide an apparatus which allows for cleaning of a storage system com prising a plurality of storage cells while avoiding or considerably reducing the need for m anual labour.

I t is a further object of the invention to provide a method for cleaning a storage system com prising a plurality of storage cells in such a m anner that the need for manual labour is avoided or at least considerably reduced.

I t is an even further object of the invention to provide a storage system having a plurality of storage cells arranged in a m atrix pattern, in which it is possible to store an increased number of articles, while allowing for sufficient cleaning of the storage system .

According to a first aspect of the invention the above and other objects are fulfilled by providing an apparatus for positioning and retrieving articles in/from a storage system com prising a plurality of storage cells arranged in a m atrix pattern , the apparatus com prising :

- a positioning/ retrieval part adapted to position/retrieve an article in/from a selected storage cell,

- m eans for moving the positioning/retrieval part along at least two independent directions, the positioning/ retrieval part thereby being capable of reaching each of the storage cells of the storage system in order to position/retrieve an article in/from a selected storage cell, and

- a cleaning unit com prising one or more cleaning parts, said cleaning unit being movable along with the positioning/retrieval part, the cleaning unit thereby being adapted to selectively perform cleaning operations at least at interior parts of each of the plurality of storage cells of the storage system .

I n the present context the term 'storage system ' should preferably be interpreted as described above, i.e. as one or more racks com prising a plurality of storage cells. I t could be a com plete storage site, e.g. delim ited by a storage building or a warehouse, or it m ay be part of a com plete storage site, e.g. a single rack or a few racks of a storage site comprising a plurality of racks.

The plurality of storage cells are arranged in a m atrix pattern. This m ay be obtained by arranging the storage cells in a rack (form ing a two-dim ensional matrix pattern) or in a plurality of racks (form ing a three-dim ensional m atrix pattern) .

The positioning/ retrieval part is a part of the apparatus which is adapted to position or retrieve an article in/from a given storage cell when the positioning/ retrieval part is positioned in or adjacent to that storage cell. The specific design of the positioning/retrieval part depends on the kind and shape of the articles being stored in the storage system , and on the design of the storage cells. Thus, the positioning/retrieval part m ay com prise gripping m eans for gripping an article while positioning it in or retrieving it from a storage cell. Alternatively or additionally, the positioning/ retrieval part m ay com prise a platform which can support an article during positioning or retrieval. This is particularly suitable if the stored articles are carried in containers of uniform size and shape, and which can be supported in the storage cells by sm all carrying units, the carrying units being arranged in such a m anner that the platform is allowed to enter beneath a storage cell. Such a platform m ay advantageously be operated as follows. When an article is to be positioned in a selected storage cell it is initially positioned on the platform . The platform is then moved to a position im m ediately adjacent to the selected storage cell in a m anner which will be described further below. Then the platform is moved in a direction towards the selected storage cell at a level above a level defined by the carrying units. Subsequently, the platform is moved in a downwards direction until the article is supported by the carrying unit and is no longer supported by the platform . The platform is then retracted from the storage system . When an article is to be retrieved from a selected storage cell, the steps described above are perform ed in a reverse sequence.

The m eans for moving the positioning/ retrieval part may advantageously be a robot as described above. I n this case the positioning/retrieval part is movable along a substantially horizontal direction, e.g. by m eans of a rail mounted on the floor or on the ceiling, and along a substantially vertical direction by m eans of a lift or crane arrangem ent. Thereby the positioning/ retrieval part can be positioned adjacent to each of a plurality of storage cells arranged in a rack. I t should be noted that the two directions do not need to be perpendicular to each other as long as they are independent, i.e. the two directions in com bination define a plane spanned by vectors arranged along the directions. The

positioning/retrieval part may further be movable along a third direction being at least substantially perpendicular to the directions defined above. In this case the positioning/retrieval part is further movable along a direction which is at least substantially normal to a plane spanned by vectors arranged along the two previously defined directions. This allows the positioning/retrieval part to enter a storage cell when the positioning/retrieval part has been positioned adjacent to that storage cell.

The cleaning unit is adapted to perform various cleaning operations, i.e. it is capable of cleaning the storage system. This will be described in further details below. The cleaning unit is movable along with the positioning/retrieval unit. Since the positioning/retrieval unit, as explained above, is movable in such a manner that it can be positioned adjacent to and/or enter each of the storage cells, the cleaning unit can also be positioned adjacent to and/or enter each of the storage cells. Accordingly, the cleaning unit can perform cleaning operations in each of the storage cells. In particular, the cleaning unit can at least perform cleaning operations in interior parts of a selected storage cell, i.e. in parts where articles are actually stored, and where cleaning is therefore essential. It should, however, be understood that the cleaning unit may additionally be capable of performing cleaning operations on exterior parts of a selected storage cell. Thus, the storage cells can be individually cleaned, at least in interior parts, by means of the cleaning unit, i.e. with no or only little manual effort. Accordingly, the storage system can be cleaned in an automatic manner rather than in a manual manner, and the disadvantages described above are thereby avoided. In particular, the cleaning becomes more cost effective and less cumbersome, the necessary space between racks may even be reduced to only allow a robot to fit in, and the space available for storing articles may thereby be increased, thereby increasing the number of stored articles per unit area of the storage site. This is very advantageous.

The cleaning unit may be mounted on or form part of the positioning/retrieval part. According to this embodiment the cleaning unit may form an integral part of the positioning/retrieval part, i.e. it may be manufactured along with the positioning/retrieval part. Alternatively, the cleaning unit may form a separate

unit which can be mounted on the positioning/retrieval unit, either detachably or in a permanent m anner. I n the case that the cleaning unit is mounted on the positioning/ retrieval unit in a detachable m anner, the cleaning unit m ay be mounted when it is desired to perform cleaning operations on the storage system , and when the cleaning operations have been com pleted, the cleaning unit m ay be detached, i.e. it will not be present on the positioning/retrieval part during norm al operation of the apparatus.

As an alternative, the cleaning unit m ay be a separate unit form ing part of or being mounted on , perm anently or detachably, another part of the apparatus. However, it should be noted that the cleaning unit should be movable along with the positioning/retrieval part, the cleaning unit thereby being capable of reaching each of the storage cells of the storage system .

The cleaning part(s) m ay be selected from the group consisting of : fixed nozzles, movable nozzles, m ulti nozzle units, fixed brushes, movable brushes, dosing units, drying units, suction units, scrapers, and wiping units.

I t should be noted that cleaning parts from two or more of these groups m ay be selected.

Nozzles m ay be for providing water and/or for providing waterborne or airborne cleaning m aterial, such as soap, disinfectant, etc. The nozzles may be fixed, i.e. they m ay be mounted in such a m anner that they spray in one direction only. Fixed nozzles m ay, e.g. , provide a spraying pattern which forms a jet, a two- dim ensional 'wall', has a conical shape, or any other suitable pattern. Fixed nozzles should be interpreted as nozzles which are fixed relatively to the cleaning unit, and it should be understood that such nozzles m ay be moved along with the cleaning unit.

Alternatively, the nozzles m ay be movable, i.e. they m ay be mounted in such a manner that they are movable in order to form a desired spraying pattern , e.g. a conical pattern. Movable nozzles m ay be advantageous if it is desired to target

surfaces which are not readily accessible from the cleaning unit. The movable nozzles may be rotatable and/or linearly movable.

Nozzles may also be in the form of multi nozzle units. In this case a plurality of nozzles, fixed and/or movable, may be mounted on a nozzle head, thereby providing a desired spraying pattern.

As an alternative to nozzles mounted on the cleaning unit, water and/or cleaning material may be provided by means of nozzles fixed on the storage system and/or directly on the building construction.

Brushes may be used for scrubbing selected parts of the storage system, e.g. surfaces. The brushes may be fixed, i.e. fixed relatively to the cleaning unit, in which case the brushes are only movable along with the cleaning unit, in which case a scrubbing action is performed by moving the entire cleaning unit. Alternatively, the brushes may be movable, e.g. rotatable or linearly movable, in which case a scrubbing operation may be performed by moving the brushes relatively to the cleaning unit.

Dosing units are units which are adapted to dose cleaning material, such as soap, disinfectant, etc., and/or water. The dosing units may be connected to or comprise nozzles as described above for delivering the dosed cleaning material or water. The dosing units are also preferably connected to a source. Thus, in the case that the dosing units are dosing a specific kind of cleaning material, they should be connected to a reservoir or container containing the relevant kind of cleaning materials. In the case that the dosing units are dosing water, they should be connected to a water supply, e.g. a tap.

Drying units are units which are adapted to provide drying for the storage system when cleaning operations involving water have been performed. Drying units may advantageously comprise blowers supplying a stream of hot or cold air onto surfaces of the storage system. Such blowers may be fixed or movable as defined above.

Suction units are units which are adapted to provide suction in order to suck up dirt, leftovers, etc. in the storage system . Thus, the suction units m ay function as a vacuum cleaner.

Scrapers are parts which are adapted to scrape off leftovers or dirt which stick to surfaces of the storage system .

Wiping units are units which m ay be used for wiping surfaces of the storage system . The wiping units m ay, e.g. , be or com prise cloths, mops, etc.

I t should be noted that other cleaning parts than those m entioned above could be envisaged.

The cleaning unit m ay be adapted to sim ultaneously perform cleaning operations on two or more storage cells. According to this em bodim ent, the cleaning unit may be designed in such a m anner that, when positioned in an appropriate manner, it m ay enter two or more storage cells sim ultaneously. The storage cells m ay be positioned adjacent to each other, e.g. side-by-side or one above the other. Alternatively, they m ay be positioned in separate racks facing each other with an alley there between.

The cleaning unit m ay be detachably mounted on the apparatus. As mentioned above, the cleaning unit m ay in this case be mounted on the apparatus during cleaning and detached during norm al operation.

The apparatus m ay advantageously be positioned in or form part of a storage system com prising a plurality of storage cells arranged in a m atrix pattern, and the storage system m ay be adapted to store food products.

According to a second aspect of the invention the above and other objects are fulfilled by providing a m ethod of cleaning a storage system com prising a plurality of storage cells arranged in a m atrix pattern, the m ethod com prising the steps of :

- selecting a moving pattern for a cleaning unit,

- selecting a cleaning operation pattern for one or more cleaning parts of the cleaning unit, and

- moving and operating the cleaning unit in accordance with the selected moving pattern and the selected cleaning operation pattern, thereby obtaining a desired kind of cleaning in selected desired parts of the storage system.

It should be noted that a skilled person would readily recognise that any feature described in combination with the first aspect of the invention may equally be combined with the second aspect of the invention, and vice versa.

The method according to the second aspect of the invention may advantageously be performed using an apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention. The method according to the second aspect of the invention offers cleaning of the storage system in an automatic manner, and the advantages described above with reference to the first aspect of the invention are thereby obtained.

The step of selecting a moving pattern may comprise selecting a velocity pattern for the cleaning unit. The velocity pattern may define a constant velocity by which the cleaning unit should be moved. Alternatively, it may define that the cleaning unit should be moved by varying velocities depending on the position along the movement path. Thus, the velocity pattern may define that the cleaning unit should be moved relatively slowly past a storage cell which is to be cleaned, while cleaning operations are performed, and that the cleaning unit should be moved somewhat faster when being moved from one storage cell to the next. The velocity pattern may even specify that the cleaning unit should be kept immovable while cleaning operations are performed on a storage cells which the cleaning unit is positioned adjacent to.

Alternatively or additionally, the step of selecting a moving pattern may comprise selecting a pattern which leads the cleaning unit past a plurality of selected storage cells. At least some of the storage cells being passed in this manner are preferably cleaned. According to this embodiment, the moving pattern specifies directions of movement for the cleaning unit.

Alternatively or additionally, the step of selecting a moving pattern may further comprise selecting a pattern in which the cleaning unit enters at least some of the selected storage cells. According to this embodiment, the moving pattern preferably specifies a path which moves the cleaning unit to a position adjacent to a selected storage cell. When the cleaning unit has been moved to such a position, it is moved in a perpendicular direction into the selected storage cell, and cleaning operations are then performed on that storage cells before the cleaning unit is retracted and moved to a position adjacent to the next storage cell.

The selected storage cells may be positioned adjacent to each other in the matrix pattern. In this case the selected storage cells form a 'sub-matrix' of storage cells. Alternatively, the selected storage cells may be arranged in any other suitable manner. It may, thus, be desired to clean each storage cell in every second row, or every third storage cell in each row, or the storage cells may be selected in any other suitable manner.

Thus, the selected storage cells may form a limited part of the storage system, such as a part known to be particularly dirty, or needing a special kind of cleaning.

The step of selecting a cleaning operation may comprise selecting one or more cleaning sequences from a plurality of cleaning sequences. According to this embodiment, the cleaning operation may be composed by means of standard cleaning sequences, and a desired cleaning operation may be obtained by selecting one or more such standard cleaning sequences and putting them together in a desired order.

The step of selecting a cleaning operation m ay com prise selecting one or more cleaning operations from the group consisting of : kind of applied cleaning material, amount of applied cleaning material, pattern of applied water, pressure of applied water, amount of applied water, tem perature of applied water, drying, scrubbing pattern, scrubbing m eans, suction pattern , and suction m eans.

As described above, applied cleaning m aterials m ay be soap, disinfectant, etc. A cleaning operation could be to select which kind of cleaning m aterial should be applied at a specific point during the cleaning operation , and/or the amount of cleaning m aterial supplied at a specific point during the cleaning operation .

Other cleaning operations could relate to applied water, e.g. the pressure, amount, and/or tem perature of water applied at a specific point during the cleaning operation. Alternatively or additionally, the pattern of the applied water could be specified, e.g. a jet, a two-dim ensional 'wall', a conical pattern, a moving pattern, etc. , as well as when water should be applied, and when no water should be applied.

Drying m ay be provided by m eans of one or more blowers as described above, and this operation m ay specify when drying should be provided, in which direction, at which pressure and/or at which tem perature the blower should provide drying.

Scrubbing m ay specify when scrubbing should be applied, the kind of scrubbing m eans, such as fixed or moving brushes, wiping m eans, the scrubbing pattern , such as rotating, linearly moving, etc.

Suction m ay specify the kind of suction m eans, e.g. a vacuum cleaner or the like and/or the suction force applied. The suction m eans m ay com prise a movable inlet, in which case a suction pattern m ay be defined.

I t should be noted that other kinds of cleaning operations than the ones m entioned above could be envisaged.

The step of selecting a cleaning operation may comprise selecting a cleaning operation which provides cleaning of interior parts of at least one storage cell. As described above, such a cleaning operation makes it possible to clean the storage system, in particular the parts of the storage system where articles are stored, in an automatic manner.

The step of moving may comprise moving the cleaning unit along with a positioning/retrieval part adapted to position/retrieve an article in/from a selected storage cell. In this case the cleaning unit may be mounted on or form part of the positioning/retrieval unit. This has already been described in details above.

The step of moving may comprise moving the cleaning unit along a meandering path. In this case a large number of storage cells may be reached while the distance which the cleaning unit must travel is kept at a minimum. Alternatively, the cleaning unit may be moved along any other suitable path.

BRIEFDESCRIPTION OFTHEDRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in details with reference to the accompanying drawings in which

Fig.1 is a side view of a storage system comprising a plurality of storage cells arranged in a matrix pattern, and an apparatus for positioning and retrieving articles in/from the storage system,

Fig.2 is a view from above of the storage system of Fig.1 ,

Fig.3 is a side view of a part of the storage system of Fig.1 ,

Fig.4 is a side view of a positioning/retrieval part of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention,

Fig.5 is a side view of the storage system of Fig. 1 and illustrating part of a moving pattern in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, and

Fig.6 is a view from above of the storage system of Fig.2 and illustrating part of a moving pattern in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OFTHE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a side view of a storage system 1 comprising a plurality of storage cells 2 arranged in a matrix pattern. In the storage system 1 of Fig. 1 , the storage cells 2 are arranged in a large rack, and each of the storage cells 2 is provided with a crate 3 for carrying an article being stored in the corresponding storage cell 2.

The storage system 1 is further provided with an apparatus 4 for positioning and retrieving articles in/from the storage system 1. The apparatus 4 is movable in a substantially horizontal direction along the rack by means of rails 5. Thereby it is possible to position the apparatus 4 at a desired location along this direction. The apparatus 4 is provided with lift means 6 adapted to move a positioning/retrieval part 7 along a substantially vertical direction. Thus, by moving the apparatus 4 along the rails 5 and operating the lift means 6 in an appropriate manner, it is possible to position the positioning/retrieval part 7 adjacent to any of the storage cells 2 of the storage system 1. As described above, an article may thereby be positioned in or retrieved from that storage cell 2.

Fig.2 is a view from above of the storage system 1 of Fig. 1 , illustrating that the storage system 1 comprises six racks identical to the rack shown in Fig. 1. Furthermore, the storage system is provided with three apparatuses 4, each apparatus 4 being capable of gaining access to storage cells 2 positioned in two adjacent racks.

Fig.3 is a side view of a part of the storage system 1 of Fig. 1. I n the part of the storage system 1 shown in Fig.3 the crates 3 have been removed. However, the

position of the crates 3 in the storage cells 2 during norm al operation of the storage system 1 is illustrated by a dotted line. Each storage cell 2 is provided with a set of supporting surfaces 8 adapted to support and hold a crate 3 as illustrated by the dotted line. This has been described in detail above. I t should be noted that when the storage system 1 is being cleaned, there is preferably no crates 3 present in the storage system 1 , or at least in the part being cleaned. Thereby it is possible to gain access to all the surfaces of the storage system , in particular in each of the storage cells 2, in such a m anner that sufficient and appropriate cleaning can be provided.

Fig. 4 is a side view of a positioning/retrieval part 7 of an apparatus according to an em bodim ent of the invention. A nozzle arrangem ent 9 com prising two nozzles 1 0 is mounted on the positioning/ retrieval part 7. Water and/or one or more relevant cleaning m aterials can be delivered via the nozzle arrangem ent 9, thereby providing water and/or cleaning m aterial to a part of the storage system where the positioning/retrieval part 7 is positioned.

The positioning/ retrieval part 7 is further provided with two rotating brushes 1 1 which m ay be used for scrubbing a part of the storage system where the positioning/ retrieval part 7 is positioned.

The nozzle arrangem ent 9 and the rotating brushes 1 1 in com bination form a cleaning unit mounted on the positioning/ retrieval part 7, and thereby being movable along with it. Thus, if the positioning/ retrieval part 7 is moved to a position adjacent to a selected storage cell as described above with reference to Fig. 1 , the nozzle arrangem ent 9 and the brushes 1 1 can perform cleaning operations on that storage cell. This m ay advantageously be done by spraying water and/or one or more relevant cleaning m aterials onto surfaces of the selected storage cell by m eans of the nozzle arrangem ent 9, and subsequently scrubbing the surfaces by m eans of the rotating brushes 1 1 . At least part of this cleaning operation m ay be perform ed while the cleaning unit, and optionally the entire positioning/ retrieval part 7, has entered the storage cell.

Fig.5 is a side view of the storage system 1 of Fig. 1. In Fig.5 part of a moving pattern 12 for the positioning/retrieval part 7 is illustrated. The illustrated moving pattern 12 forms a meandering path which leads the positioning/retrieval part 7 past every second row of storage cells 2 in the matrix pattern. In the case that the cleaning unit is deigned in such a manner that it is capable of simultaneously performing cleaning operations on two storage cells 2, the moving pattern 12 illustrated in Fig.5 could result in each of the storage cells 2 of the storage system 1 being cleaned.

Fig.6 is a view from above of the storage system of Fig.2 and illustrating part of a moving pattern 13 for the positioning/retrieval part 7 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The moving pattern 13 leads the positioning/retrieval part 7 into each of the storage cells 2 which is passed by the positioning/retrieval part 7. Thereby cleaning operations are performed on the storage cells 2 while the positioning/retrieval part 7 has entered the storage cells 2.

As mentioned above, it should be noted that during cleaning the crates 3 will normally not be present in the storage system 1. However, for the sake of clarity they are shown in Figs.5 and 6.