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EP-4472874-B1 - IMPROVED OVERHEAD CONVEYING DEVICE FOR AN ORDER-PICKING SYSTEM

EP4472874B1EP 4472874 B1EP4472874 B1EP 4472874B1EP-4472874-B1

Inventors

  • KRIECHBAUM, THOMAS
  • REISCHL, JOSEF
  • PAUZENBERGER, Christoph
  • OEGGER, Bernhard
  • KAMEL, Hussam

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20230203

Claims (18)

  1. An overhead conveying device (1a..1b) for an order-picking system, comprising a support structure (71) configured as a guide rail (2a..2b) with a running surface (A, A1, A2, K1, K2) extending along the guide rail (2a..2b), a transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) for transporting a hanging article (4) having a base body (8a, 8b) and a plurality of wheels (13a..13b', 18a..18b', 20a, 20b, 25a, 25b, 27a, 27b, 45a, 45b, 47a, 47b, 49a, 49b, 51a, 51b, 53a, 53b) rotatably mounted on the base body (8a, 8b), and a drive device (10a, 10b) for moving the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) along the guide rail (2a..2b), wherein the drive device (10a, 10b) has an electrically powered motor (11a, 11b) which is mounted on the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b), a wheel of said plurality of wheels is configured as a drive wheel (13a..13b', 45a, 45b) which is coupled to the motor (11a, 11b), the guide rail (2a..2b) is two-part and comprises a first partial guide rail (43a) with a first running surface (A1, K1) and a second partial guide rail (43b) with a second running surface (A2, K2), wherein the first running surface (A1, K1) and the second running surface (A2, K2) extend parallel to or inclined towards one another with a mutual horizontal spacing, the electrically powered motor (11a, 11b) is arranged above the guide rail (2a..2b) when the transport carrier (3b) is suspended from the guide rail (2a..2b), and the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) has a support body (9) with a receiving means for suspending the hanging article (4), characterized in that the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) has current collectors which are electrically connected to the motor (11a, 11b), and an electrical energy supply system (29a, 29b) is provided which comprises an insulator and exposed electrical conductors (30a, 30b, 31a, 31b, 57a, 57b, 58a, 58b), wherein the electrical conductors are arranged along and with a spacing to the guide rail (2a..2b) and can be contacted with the current collectors and slide, brush or roll on the electrical conductors when the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) moves.
  2. The overhead conveying device (1a..1b) according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive wheel (13a..13b', 45a, 45b) lies on the running surface (A, A1, A2, K1, K2) in a rollable manner and in that the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) is suspended from the guide rail (2a..2b) by the drive wheel (13a..13b', 45a, 45b).
  3. The overhead conveying device (1a..1b) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the overhead conveying device (1a..1b) comprises the hanging article (4) which is transportable with the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b), and the hanging article (4) has a transport bag with a bag body (5) for storing an article (7).
  4. The overhead conveying device (1a..1b) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) and/or the hanging article (4), in particular the transport bag, has an energy storage (87) electrically connected to the motor (11a, 11b) and/or an energy source electrically connected to the motor (11a, 11b).
  5. The overhead conveying device (1a..1b) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the drive wheel (13a..13b', 45a, 45b) of the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) is configured as a first drive wheel (13a, 13a', 45a, 73a) of a first drive wheel pair (14, 46, 74) and a further wheel of said plurality of wheels of the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) is configured as a second drive wheel (13b, 13b', 45b) of the first drive wheel pair (14, 46, 74), wherein the first drive wheel (13a, 13a', 45a, 73a) and the second drive wheel (13b, 13b', 45b, 73b) of the first drive wheel pair (14, 46, 74) are arranged coaxially on a first drive shaft coupled to the motor (11a, 11b).
  6. The overhead conveying device (1a..1b) according to claim 5, characterized in that the first drive wheel (13a, 13a', 45a, 73a) of the first drive wheel pair (14, 46, 74) lies on the first running surface (A, A1, A2, K1, K2) in a rollable manner and the second drive wheel (13b, 13b', 45b, 73b) of the first drive wheel pair (14, 46, 74) lies on the second running surface (A, A1, A2, K1, K2) in a rollable manner.
  7. The overhead conveying device (1a..1b) according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) is suspended from the guide rail (2a..2b) by said drive wheels (13a, 13b, 13a', 13b', 45a, 45b).
  8. The overhead conveying device (1a..1b) according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the overhead conveying device (1a..1b) comprises a diverter (37, 37a, 37b) in a diverter section (E, N, W), wherein the guide rail (2a..2b) comprises a first rail route (F1, O1) upstream of the diverter (37, 37a, 37b) in a first transport direction (D1) of the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) and a second rail route (F2, O2) and third rail route (F3, O3) downstream of the diverter (37, 37a, 37b) in the first transport direction (D1) of the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b), and in that the diverter (37, 37a, 37b) has a diverter element (38, 62) which is switchable between a first switch position and a second switch position in order to selectively direct the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) along a first transport path between the first rail route (F1, O1) and the second rail route (F2, O2) or along a second transport path between the first rail route (F1, O1) and the third rail route (F3, O3).
  9. The overhead conveying device (1a..1b) according to claim 8, characterized in that the diverter element (38, 62) is horizontally or vertically displaceable, in particular pivotable or slidable.
  10. The overhead conveying device (1a..1b) according to one of claims 5 to 7 in combination with one of claims 8 or 9, characterized in that at least some of the plurality of wheels of the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) are configured double and are arranged in pairs symmetrically to a vertical plane (G) extending in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail (2a..2b), wherein in a switching state of the diverter (37, 37a, 37b) one set each of the wheels (13a..13b', 18a..18b', 20a, 20b, 25a, 25b, 27a, 27b, 45a, 45b, 47a, 47b, 49a, 49b, 51a, 51b, 53a, 53b) provided in pairs on the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) is engaged with the diverter element (38, 62), or wherein in a switching state of the diverter (37, 37a, 37b) both sets of the wheels (13a..13b', 18a..18b', 20a, 20b, 25a, 25b, 27a, 27b, 45a, 45b, 47a, 47b, 49a, 49b, 51a, 51b, 53a, 53b) provided in pairs on the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) are engaged with the diverter element (38, 62) until a drive force for the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) can be completely taken on by one set of the drive wheels (13a..13b', 45a, 45b) provided in pairs.
  11. The overhead conveying device (1a..1b) according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b), the guide rail (2a..2b) and the diverter (37, 37a, 37b) have lateral guide elements which are provided with mutually complementary lateral guide surfaces in order to guide the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) during a transport movement of the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) along a longitudinal extension of the guide rail (2a..2b) or along a longitudinal extension of the diverter (37, 37a, 37b).
  12. The overhead conveying device (1a..1b) according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) has a driving control (95) and a writably and readably configured memory (96) connected to the driving control (95).
  13. The overhead conveying device (1a..1b) according to claim 12, characterized in that the support structure (71) has at least one control element and the driving control (95) is configured to control a movement of at least one control element of the support structure (71) on the basis of control data stored in the memory (96), wherein the driving control (95) of the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) and/or the at least one control element of the support structure (71) is configured for optical, wired or wireless communication, wherein the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) has a light source (56) connected to the driving control (95) and the control element of the support structure (71) has a light-sensitive element (100), wherein a control command can be transmitted from the driving control (95) of the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) to the control element of the support structure (71) with the light source (56) via the light-sensitive element (100).
  14. The overhead conveying device (1a..1b) according to claim 13, characterized in that the control element of the support structure (71) is configured as a diverter (37, 37a, 37b), and a control command of the driving control (95) of the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) triggers a switching of the diverter (37, 37a, 37b) into a predeterminable switch position.
  15. The overhead conveying device (1a..1b) according to claim 12 to 14, characterized in that the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) has a driving surface sensor (91) connected to the driving control (95) with which a driving marking (U) and/or control marking (V) arranged on the support structure (71) is readable, with which a movement of the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) on the support structure (71) can be influenced.
  16. The overhead conveying device (1a..1b) according to one of claims 12 to 15, characterized in that the driving control (95) of the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) is configured to closed-loop control a speed of the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b), and/or to closed-loop control a distance from another transport carrier (3, 3a..3b).
  17. The overhead conveying device (1a..1b) according to claim 16, characterized in that the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) has a plurality of distance sensors (92), which are connected to the driving control (95) and are arranged in such a way that the distance sensors (92) form an angle greater than 0° and less than 180° in pairs.
  18. The overhead conveying device (1a..1b) according to one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that a desired speed of the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) or a desired distance of the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) from another transport carrier (3, 3a..3b) is set on the basis of the control marking (V), which is arranged in the region of the support structure (71) and can be detected by the transport carrier (3, 3a..3b).

Description

The invention relates to an overhead conveyor for a picking system, comprising a support structure designed as a guide rail with a running surface extending along the guide rail. The overhead conveyor further comprises a transport carrier for transporting hanging goods, which has a base body, and a drive device for moving the transport carrier on the guide rail. The drive device has an electrically operated motor mounted on the transport carrier. One of the multiple wheels is designed as a drive wheel coupled to the motor. The guide rail is divided into two sections: a first guide rail with a first running surface and a second guide rail with a second running surface. The first running surface and the second running surface are parallel or inclined to each other at a horizontal distance. The electrically operated motor is located above the guide rail when the transport carrier is suspended from the guide rail. The transport carrier has a support body with a receptacle for suspending the hanging goods. The invention further relates to a transport carrier for an overhead conveyor for transporting hanging goods. A suspended conveyor device and a transport carrier are known from the prior art. For example, the WO 2020/160585 A2 In this context, a transport carrier system for an overhead conveyor device is described. In particular, the transport carrier has a universally usable base body and a support body that can be exchanged via a connecting device. In a first configuration, the support body is equipped with a fully enclosed receiving opening for transporting transport bags, and in a second configuration, with a hook for transporting goods on clothes hangers. From the WO 2021/195682 A1 as well as the DE 10 2018 209 722 A1 A transport carrier system for an overhead conveyor is known, wherein the transport carriers are moved along a guide rail via a linear drive. A drive force is transmitted from a stationary primary element of the linear drive arranged on the guide rail to a secondary element of the linear drive arranged on the transport carrier. A multitude of individually controllable drive segments can be provided. where all transport carriers within a drive segment are essentially controlled together. The US 2017/057750 A1 Disclosing a suspended conveyor device for a picking system according to the preamble of claim 1, comprising a support structure designed as a guide rail with a running surface extending along the guide rail, a transport carrier for transporting hanging garments, which has a base body and several wheels rotatably mounted on the base body, and a drive device for moving the transport carrier along the guide rail, wherein the drive device comprises an electrically operated motor mounted on the transport carrier. One wheel of said wheels is designed as a drive wheel coupled to the motor. The guide rail is divided into two sections, each comprising a running surface that runs parallel to each other at a horizontal distance. The electrically operated motor is arranged above the guide rail when the transport carrier is suspended from the guide rail. A disadvantage of these and other known transport carrier systems is that they do not allow for individual movement of a transport carrier by a picking system. Instead, in known picking systems, transport carriers are moved collectively with other transport carriers. This leads to performance losses in the operation of known picking systems and results in them requiring a comparatively large amount of installation space. Furthermore, the support structure of known picking systems cannot be designed with much flexibility. One object of the invention is therefore to provide an improved overhead conveyor device. The object of the invention is achieved with a suspended conveyor device for a picking system according to claim 1, wherein the transport carrier has current collectors which are electrically connected to the motor. An electrical power supply system is provided which comprises an insulator and exposed electrical conductors, wherein the electrical conductors are arranged along and at a distance from the guide rail and are contactable by the current collectors and slide/wipe or roll on the electrical conductors when the transport carrier moves. The proposed measures make it possible to move a transport carrier individually and (largely) independently of other transport carriers in the order picking system. Specifically, the route, speed, acceleration, and/or distance of the transport carrier to another, preceding transport carrier can be individually selected. By appropriately specifying the speed and/or distance of the transport carrier to another, preceding transport carrier, a specific throughput of transport carriers can also be defined or achieved. For example, the aforementioned speed and distance can be reduced in curves and increased on straight sections. The throughput can be kept constant. It is also possible to individually control an