Technical Field

The present invention relates to a storage system used in enterprises to store goods, raw materials, products, and semi-finished products.

The present invention, in particular, relates to a storage system that allows products to be stored in plastic boxes stacked on carrier profiles and transported by a programmable carrier robot, thereby eliminating human errors and the need tor additional storage spaces.

State of the Art

Enterprises use specific areas as warehouses to store goods, raw materials, finished products, and semi-finished products for a variety of purposes. Various systems are installed in these warehouse areas to allow for easy access to the products stored in general.

Racks are the most prominent feature of conventional storage systems. The said racks are structures that are typically divided into side-by-side and overlapping partitions. In these structures, areas are left in front of or behind the racks for stackers to work, allowing products to be taken and placed from the racks. This wastes a lot of warehouse space. Furthermore, as the number of floors of racks increases, there are some difficulties in removing products from racks and placing them in their proper locations. In conclusion, due to intermediate spaces, traditional rack storage systems require significantly more storage space.

Another well-known conventional storage method is stacking boxes or plastic boxes on top of each other and on a pallet. In the said system, in addition to the rack storage system, when a product is removed from the lower boxes, the upper boxes must also be removed. Pallets must be transported using large forklift-type work machines. More warehouse space is needed because forklift-type vehicles require a large movement area. As the number and variety of products stored by businesses increases over time, so do the challenges of warehouse management. A common issue in warehouse management is that raw materiais or products cannot be delivered to the specified location without wasting time. This causes production processes to be disrupted and goods to be delivered late.

When a warehouse employee requires a product, the product is taken to the rack at the address and delivered to the required place in systems where racks are planned by addressing in storage systems. These systems, however, are a conventional practice that is prone to errors and wastes time due to the employee's reaction time. Furthermore, in this system, it is not possible to pre-program warehouse activities to be performed the following day. At the same time, because semi-finished products are shipped in bulk, the traditional storage system in question requires additional prestorage areas in the production areas. For example, if 500 units of semi-finished products are required during production based on the daily calculation, a special extra area is required to stack such semi-finished products in the production area at the start of production.

There are also robotic systems in use today that do not require humans to work in storage areas. One of the said robotic systems is the one that controls the robots that travel to the target using GPS data or various sensors. However, workspaces are required during stacking, just as they are when working with robots. This results in a loss of space.

Vertical storage systems created by making various constructions and robots working on the said vertical storage systems are examples of alternative storage systems created to take up less space in storage areas. Because the carrier robots are mounted on vertical storage systems, there is no need for additional workspace. However, in this system, structures that reduce ceiling height, such as ventilation, water, electricity, and lighting on the ceilings of storage areas, cause the ceilings to be of varying heights. As a result, the working height of the robot is limited by the height of the lowest part of the structures in question. This results in a loss of storage space. Furthermore, vertical storage systems extend to the top plastic box. As a result, a vertical profile system can be used throughout the warehouse space. Within the warehouse areas, there may be sections at various levels. For example, a section of the tank may be 6 m long and another 4 m long. Storage systems should be installed separately for each compartment or based on the lowest remaining elevation in this case. This results in a reduction in storage space. When using this type of system, vertical profile storage sections must be tall enough to reach the maximum working height. Furthermore, because the load will be carried on the storage areas with vertical profiles, they must be strong and thick. This implies that the aluminum or metal profiles used are expensive.

At the delivery points in storage systems with robotic systems, a different second system is used in current applications. When the product arrives at the delivery point, it is transferred to a different system and transported to the location where the product will be received via that system. If these systems are relocated due to a warehouse relocation, the new location's ceiling height must be the same. When the ceiling height is low, the profiles are cut; when the ceiling height is high, the profiles are completely renewed. Furthermore, each of these systems must use its own unique plastic boxes. Because the robots working on vertical storage systems and the boxes in question have been synchronized. As a result, the requirement to purchase the boxes from the system manufacturer arises.

The document numbered US1028911 1 can be used to demonstrate the state of the art in the literature research. The said document is concerned with automated warehouses in general, and one or more types of warehouse devices in particular for picking up items on the warehouse floor and returning them to a suitable location. The system in question consists of an autonomous or semi-autonomous robot with additional equipment for picking up and removing items from the warehouse floor in order to move rack units. Rack units are carried by the said autonomous or semi- autonomous robots. As a result, in the said system, a working area for the robots is required, and there are losses from the warehouse area.

Another example of the state-of-the-art is the document WO2017081281. The said document is about a robotic picking system for retrieving objects from bulk storage boxes in storage systems. The said stacks are contained within a grid structure. This grid structure is also utilized by robots. There is no need for additional working space in the invention in question because the robots are housed in vertical storage systems. However, in this system, if there are structures on the storage area ceilings that reduce the ceiling height, the working height of the robot is limited to the height of the bottom part of the said structures, resulting in warehouse space loss. Furthermore, because the grid structure extends to the top frame, grids can be used throughout the entire height of the warehouse. This has serious financial consequences.

The document numbered EP3459879 can be used as another example of the state of the art. The said document is about a robot-based storage system. The said storage system includes at least one frame structure with several vertical shafts for receiving storage containers and at least one lifting device mounted horizontally on the frame structure. The lifting device can also be used to lift a storage container from one of the vertical shafts and transport it to another location. A transport system is also installed in the storage system to transport the shipping container to and from a receiving position. The ceiling height in the said vertical shaft storage system must be at a certain distance for the transport system, and there are structural issues that limit the ceiling height.

As a result of the existence of the said problems and the inadequacy of existing solutions, advancement in the relevant technical field was required.

Objectives of the Invention

The present invention relates to a storage system that eliminates the said disadvantages while also introducing new advantages to the related technical field.

The main objective of the invention is to present a storage system that allows products to be stored in plastic boxes stacked on carrier profiles and transported by a programmable carrier robot, thereby eliminating human errors and the need for additional storage space.

The objective of the invention is to present a storage system that can be used in areas with different level heights by transferring carrier robots to carrier profiles at different elevations using lifts in storage areas with different level heights.

Another objective of the invention is to present a storage system that can store on carrier profiles without the use of specially designed boxes. Another objective of the invention is to provide a storage system that can be modularly disassembled, transported, and easily reinstalled.

Another objective of the invention is to present a storage system that does not require any additional systems because the products are delivered to the delivery point by being transported by a programmable carrier robot.

Another objective of the invention is to present a storage system that can be adapted to different heights and elevation differences thanks to the positioning of the carrier profiles on the floor at a height (approximately 1 m) where the carrier robot can work on the underside of the carrier profiles, and the stacking of the plastic boxes on top of the carrier profiles, which can be installed with fewer carrier profiles and the system height is created with plastic boxes.

To address all of the above-mentioned and detailed explanations, the invention relates to a storage system used in enterprises to store goods, raw materials, products, and semi-finished products. The features of the invention;

- at least one carrier profile positioned vertically above the ground in the storage area,

- a plastic box that stores products by stacking on carrier profiles,

- a lock located on the carrier profile and locking the lowest plastic box stacked on the carrier profile onto the carrier profile,

- a rail system located on the floor under the carrier profiles,

- a carrier robot that moves on the rail system and delivers the plastic boxes stacked on top of each other on the carrier profiles to the delivery point by taking them from under the carrier profile, or placing the plastic boxes taken from the delivery point on the carrier profile or under the lowest plastic box stacked on the carrier profile, a control panel, which is connected with the management system of the enterprise and which controls and commands the working regime of the storage system in order to ensure the storage according to the data coming from the management system and the preparation of the stored products in line with the demands,

The figures below, as well as the detailed description written with reference to these figures, will help you understand the structural and characteristic features of the invention, as well as all of its advantages. As a result, the evaluation should take these figures and detailed descriptions into account.

Figures For A Better Understanding of the Invention

Figure 1 is an overall view of the storage system which is the subject of the invention. Figure 2 is the detailed view of the lock of the storage system which is the subject of the invention.

Figure 3 is the view of the carrier robot of the storage system which is the subject of the invention.

Figure 4 is the view of the lock of the storage system, which is the subject of the invention, locked to the plastic box.

Figure 5 is the unlocked view of the storage system that is the subject of the invention.

Figure 6 is the view of the overlapping carrier profiles of the storage system in an alternative embodiment of the invention.

Figure 7 is the view of side-by-side carrier profiles at different elevations of the storage system in another alternative embodiment of the invention.

Figure 8 is the view of the carrier profiles in the protruding storage area of the storage system in another alternative embodiment of the invention.

Disclosure of Partial References

10. Carrier profile

20. Plastic box

30. Lock

40. Rail system

50. Carrier robot

51. Car

52. Lifting system

53. Wheel

54. Unlocking mechanism

60. Delivery point

70. Control panel

80. Lift b. space y. protruding structure

Detailed Description of the Invention

In this detailed explanation, the preferred alternatives of the invention's storage system are explained only for the purpose of a better understanding of the subject and have no limiting effect.

Figure 1 depicts a general view of the storage system under consideration for the invention. Accordingly, the storage system, in its most basic form, comprises; a carrier profile (10) positioned vertically from the floor in the storage area, a plastic box (20) that stores the products by stacking on top of the carrier profiles (10), a lock (30) that locks the lowest plastic box (20) stacked on the carrier profile (10) on the carrier profile (10), the rail system (40) located on the floor under the carrier profiles (10), a carrier robot (50), which moves on the rail system (40) and carries the plastic boxes (20) stacked on top of each other on the carrier profiles (10) from under the carrier profile (10) and delivers them to the delivery point (60), a control panel (70), which controls and commands the operating regime of the storage system, a lift (80) that carries the carrier robot (50) between carrier profiles (10) in case the carrier profiles (10) are connected side by side with more than one storey on top of each other or at different heights in the storage area.

The carrier profile (10), which constitutes the main structure of the storage system subject to the invention, is positioned vertically above the floor in the storage area, and its interior is in the form of a rectangular shape with a hollow structure. Plastic boxes (20) are stacked on top of the carrier profiles (10). The said plastic boxes (20) are the sections where the products are stored.

As seen in Figure 2, there is a lock (30) on the carrier profile (10) that locks the lowest plastic box (20) stacked on the carrier profile (10) onto the carrier profile (10). Thus, the safe stacking of plastic boxes (20) on carrier profiles (10) is ensured.

The rail system (40) is connected to the floor on the underside of the carrier profiles (10). The carrier robot (50) carrying the plastic boxes (20) moves on the said rail system (40). The carrier robot (50) carries the plastic boxes (20) stacked on top of each other on the carrier profiles (10) from under the carrier profile (10) and delivers them to the delivery point (60) or places the plastic boxes (20) taken from the delivery point (60) on the carrier profile (10) or under the lowest plastic box (20) stacked on the carrier profile (10).

As seen in Figure 3, the carrier robot (50) basically has a car (51 ) with wheels (53) with a 90° rotation movement on its lower surface. There is a lifting system (52) on the said car (51 ) that opens and closes by moving up and down. When the carrier robot (50) is positioned under the carrier profile (10) to carry the plastic boxes (20) or when it reaches the delivery point (60), it lowers and lifts the plastic boxes (20) utilizing the lifting system (52). There is an unlocking mechanism (54) on the carrier robot (50) to unlock (30) the plastic box (20) that is locked on the carrier profile (10). The closed position of the mentioned lock (30) is seen in Figure 4 and the open position of the mentioned lock (30) in Figure 5 is seen.

The operating regime of the storage system is controlled and commanded by the control panel (70). The control panel (70) is connected to the management system of the enterprise and provides storage according to the data coming from the said management system and the preparation of the stored products in line with the demands.

As can be seen in Figure 6, there may be more than one storey carrier profiles (10) in the storage area. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 7, carrier profiles (10) can be connected side by side at different elevations in storage areas. In both cases, a lift (80) can be connected next to or between the carrier profiles (10) in order to transport the carrier robot (50) to the carrier profiles (10), and the carrier robot (50) can be transported between the carrier profiles (10) utilizing the said lift (80).

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, there may be protruding structures (y) such as a building beam, ventilation duct, fire extinguishing system on the ceiling of the storage area, as seen in figure 8. In this case, plastic boxes (20) can be stacked on each carrier profiles (10) in accordance with the height of the protruding structures (y) in the storage area. As a result, a storage system is formed according to the physical and mechanical structure of the storage area.

The following is the operating principle of the storage system under consideration for the invention; The storage activity is initiated from the control panel (70) in response to a command from the enterprise's management system. The carrier robot (50) moves beneath the carrier profiles (10) via the rail system (40) in order to receive the plastic box (20) at the specified address.

When the carrier robot (50) is positioned beneath the carrier profile (10) at the specified address, the lifting system (52) moves up and carries the lower plastic boxes (20) to the spaces (b) that do not exist in the carrier profiles (10) in order to reach the plastic box (20) that must be removed from the stacked plastic boxes (20). During the removal of each plastic box (20) with the carrier robot (50), the unlocking mechanism (54) on the carrier robot (50) opens the lock (30) that locks the plastic case (20). As a result, the plastic box (20) is released from the carrier profile (10) and transferred to the carrier robot (50). The plastic box (20) on the plastic box (20) taken from the carrier profile (10) is locked to the carrier profile (10) by a lock (30) instead of the plastic box (20) taken.

The carrier robot (50) transports the plastic box (20) to the delivery point (60) by moving it along the rail system (40).

In the storage area, if the carrier profiles (10) are connected side by side with more than one storey on top of each other or at different heights, the carrier robot (50) is transported between the carrier profiles (10) via a lift (80).