Our own innovations: The Automated circumference warehouse system and car park

Idea

The idea of the automated circumference warehouse system is to offer a huge storage capacity with short transfer distances of products. The surface needed for the storage is small in comparison with its’ capacity. Automation decreases considerably for instance the traffic of forklifts.

Structure

The warehouse consists of multilayer racks which are circular around each other. The warehouse circumferences constituting from the multilayer racks are rotating or alternatively some can be fixed. The fixed ones are steadily installed on the floor basis. The rotating circumferences have been sustained on circular rails on the floor via idlers. There are also running motors with drive and un-drive pulleys. By aid of the running motors with drive pulleys the racks are freely rotated on desired position. On pallet storing the racks applied are made by familiar rack manufacturer. For car parks the racks are made of steel in accordance with special design.

In pallet storing products are stored on racks with generally known handling unit (for example FIN- or EUR-pallet). Racks can also be equipped suitable for tire storing etc.

Transfers of products to, in and from a store is made by transfer and lift devices. Details of the device structures are determined by the handling unit, but the basic principle is the same for pallet storing and car parks.
The transfer device consists of so called roller tables which are located with specified numbers in the downstairs of the warehouse. Roller tables are provided with running motors so they can transfer handling units from the lowest floor of the circle to the other.

The lift device consists of so called circle lifts on storage circumferences and arm lifts in the middle of the warehouse. The number and location of lifts is determined by operation speed and capacity requests. Circle lifts move handling units from one circumference to another on the desired rack position. Arm lifts fill the innermost circumference.

Lifts are equipped with a catching appliance applicable with the handling unit. In an arm lift there operates for instance two catching appliances perpendicular to each other. Transport table technique can be used. There are motorized transmissions to engineer linear, horizontal transfers. The right number of racks, circumferences and lifts is always solved case by case.

Examples of dimensions vs. storing capacity:
If the outer diameter of the warehouse building is ca. 16 meters and height 15 meters, the capacity with three circumferences is ca. 800 for pallets. If the outer diameter of the car park is ca. 25 meters and the height 39 meters, the number of parking places with two circumferences is almost 400.

Operation

Products are accepted and settled on proper pallets outside a warehouse. Basic identification information is added on pallets. A pallet moves along a roller track towards the warehouse. Inside the building lift and transfer devices mentioned above moves the pallet on right rack position. To get the pallet out of the warehouse, you have to make a retrieval request to start operation. The lift and transfer devices will bring the right pallet on a roller track. If the pallet is not empty after the collection process, it will be returned on the original rack position. In the case of an empty pallet, an unoccupied rack should be announced.

Cars are driven by the customers into the terminals. There are several terminals per one car park. Identification information links one car to certain parking place. The car moves into the car park straight from the roller table, which is located at the beginning of the terminal. The lift and transfer device (including the catching appliance) takes the car to the right parking position. A retrieval request activates devices to bring the car back into the terminal for the customer. After she or he has left the terminal, there will be one more unoccupied parking place in the system.

The automated circumference warehouse system is fully automated and PC-controlled. Rotation of circumferences, rotation and vertical motion of lifts and operations of transfer/catching devices are put into practice by automation control. Practically invariably, a client already has some kind of enterprise resource planning system. The warehouse management system is one part of the ERPS. We always deliver a connection system joining to the WMS via Ethernet channel. The connection system “talks” with a warehouse automation system via Profibus channel. The warehouse automation system is responsible for all motions of warehouse elements. There are equipments which make possible for example automatic weighing and reading or modifying identification information of a product. Identification and data collection is made in the most appropriate way; for example with RFID or barcode technique. Control logics, relevant identification information and simultaneous vertical and horizontal motions of lifts allow rapid operation cycles. Time of entry or retrieval ranges usually between 20 and 120 seconds.

Application targets

There appears to be numerous application targets for the automated circumference warehouse system. In addition to car and pallet storing for example tires, roll products (including paper), small scale objects, seedlings, plants, cultivated mushrooms,... Warehouse units can be built with the best suitability to environment, taking into consideration all official regulations and other special requests. The system is best fitted on targets where high storing capacity is needed on small surface area, or where the material flow and cycle speed of products are high. Although the idea is new, realization and technique are mainly based around existing and functional solutions.

Animation: principle of circumference warehouse.