U.S. patent application number 14/609278 was filed with the patent office on 2016-08-04 for mobile inventory rack apparatus and inventory rack system.
The applicant listed for this patent is Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.. Invention is credited to Robert Howard Bartholomew, Bradley Thomas Simpson.
Application Number | 20160220038 14/609278 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 56553656 |
Filed Date | 2016-08-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160220038 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Simpson; Bradley Thomas ; et
al. |
August 4, 2016 |
MOBILE INVENTORY RACK APPARATUS AND INVENTORY RACK SYSTEM
Abstract
An inventory rack system and a mobile inventory rack apparatus
are disclosed. The mobile inventory rack apparatus includes an
inventory conveyor configured to translate articles of inventory
and a receiving system including a requirement indicator disposed
along the inventory conveyor. The requirement indicator has an
inventory required state when not in contact with an article of
inventory. The mobile inventory rack apparatus further includes a
supply system including a pair of spaced stoppers disposed along
the inventory conveyor. Each stopper has an extended position
preventing translation of the articles of inventory and a retracted
position allowing translation of the articles of inventory. The
inventory conveyor is configured to receive at least one article of
inventory when the requirement indicator is in the inventory
required state and to allow removal of at least one article of
inventory when one of the stoppers is in the retracted
position.
Inventors: |
Simpson; Bradley Thomas;
(Rodney, CA) ; Bartholomew; Robert Howard;
(Woodstock, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America,
Inc. |
Erlanger |
KY |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
56553656 |
Appl. No.: |
14/609278 |
Filed: |
January 29, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65G 1/023 20130101;
A47B 2031/004 20130101; B65G 1/08 20130101; A47B 2031/003 20130101;
B65G 65/00 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A47F 1/12 20060101
A47F001/12; B65G 11/20 20060101 B65G011/20; B65G 13/075 20060101
B65G013/075; F16M 11/42 20060101 F16M011/42 |
Claims
1. A mobile inventory rack apparatus, comprising: an inventory
conveyor configured to translate articles of inventory; a receiving
system including a requirement indicator disposed along the
inventory conveyor, the requirement indicator having an inventory
required state when not in contact with an article of inventory;
and a supply system including a pair of spaced stoppers disposed
along the inventory conveyor, each stopper having an extended
position preventing translation of the articles of inventory and a
retracted position allowing translation of the articles of
inventory; wherein the inventory conveyor is configured to receive
at least one article of inventory when the requirement indicator is
in the inventory required state and to allow removal of at least
one article of inventory when one of the stoppers is in the
retracted position.
2. The mobile inventory rack apparatus of claim 1, wherein the
inventory conveyor includes spaced roller channels and the
requirement indicator and the spaced stoppers are disposed between
the spaced roller channels.
3. The mobile inventory rack apparatus of claim 1, wherein the
requirement indicator has an inventory not required state when in
contact with an article of inventory.
4. The mobile inventory rack apparatus of claim 3, wherein the
inventory conveyor is configured to not receive any articles of
inventory when the requirement indicator is in the inventory not
required state.
5. The mobile inventory rack apparatus of claim 3, wherein the
requirement indicator is configured to collapse beneath one of the
articles of inventory in the inventory not required state.
6. The mobile inventory rack apparatus of claim 1, wherein the
receiving system further includes a requirement pin configured to
extend from the mobile inventory rack apparatus when the
requirement indicator is in the inventory required state;
7. The mobile inventory rack apparatus of claim 6, wherein the
conveyor is configured to receive at least one article of inventory
from a supply rack apparatus in response to the requirement pin
being contacted by a supply lever extending from the supply rack
apparatus.
8. The mobile inventory rack apparatus of claim 1, wherein the
supply system further includes a supply lever configured to switch
the positions of both of the spaced stoppers when contacted by a
requirement pin extending from a receiver rack apparatus.
9. The mobile inventory rack apparatus of claim 8, wherein at least
one article of inventory is removed from the inventory conveyor in
response to the supply lever being contacted by the requirement pin
extending from the receiver rack apparatus.
10. The mobile inventory rack apparatus of claim 1, wherein at
least one article of inventory can be positioned along the
inventory conveyor between the spaced stoppers.
11. An inventory rack system, comprising: a supply rack apparatus,
comprising: a supply system, including: a pair of spaced stoppers
disposed along a supply conveyor, each stopper having an extended
position preventing translation of articles of inventory and a
retracted position allowing translation of the articles of
inventory; and a supply lever extending from the supply rack
apparatus and configured to switch the positions of both of the
spaced stoppers; and a mobile inventory rack apparatus, comprising:
a receiving system, including: a requirement indicator disposed
along an inventory conveyor, the requirement indicator having an
inventory required state when not in contact with an article of
inventory; and a requirement pin extending from the mobile
inventory rack apparatus when the requirement indicator is in the
inventory required state; wherein the inventory conveyor is
configured to receive at least one article of inventory from the
supply conveyor in response to the requirement pin of the mobile
inventory rack apparatus being contacted by the supply lever of the
supply rack apparatus.
12. The inventory rack system of claim 11, wherein the supply
conveyor and the inventory conveyor are configured to translate
articles of inventory using spaced roller channels.
13. The inventory rack system of claim 12, wherein the spaced
stoppers are disposed between the spaced roller channels of the
supply conveyor and the requirement indicator is disposed between
the spaced roller channels of the inventory conveyor.
14. The inventory rack system of claim 11, wherein the mobile
inventory rack apparatus further includes: a supply system,
including: a pair of spaced stoppers disposed along the inventory
conveyor, each stopper having an extended position preventing
translation of articles of inventory and a retracted position
allowing translation of the articles of inventory; and a supply
lever extending from the mobile inventory rack apparatus and
configured to switch the positions of both of the spaced
stoppers.
15. The inventory rack system of claim 14, further comprising: a
receiver rack apparatus, comprising: a receiving system, including:
a requirement indicator disposed along a receiver conveyor, the
requirement indicator having an inventory required state when not
in contact with an article of inventory; and a requirement pin
extending from the receiver rack apparatus when the requirement
indicator is in the inventory required state; wherein the receiver
conveyor is configured to receive at least one article of inventory
from the inventory conveyor in response to the requirement pin of
the receiver rack apparatus being contacted by the supply lever of
the mobile inventory rack apparatus.
16. The inventory rack system of claim 15, wherein the receiver
conveyor includes spaced roller channels and the requirement
indicator is disposed between the spaced roller channels.
17. The inventory rack system of claim 11, wherein the requirement
indicator has an inventory not required state when in contact with
an article of inventory.
18. The inventory rack system of claim 17, wherein the inventory
conveyor is configured to not receive any articles of inventory
from the supply conveyor when the requirement indicator is in the
inventory not required state.
19. The inventory rack system of claim 17, wherein the requirement
indicator is configured to collapse beneath one of the articles of
inventory in the inventory not required state.
20. The inventory rack system of claim 14, wherein at least one
article of inventory can be positioned along the inventory conveyor
between the spaced stoppers.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] The manufacturing and assembly process for vehicles requires
workers to install various parts to the vehicle as the vehicle
moves along an assembly line. The supply of these parts, or
inventory, must be replenished during the assembly process, with
some parts requiring replenishment more often than others. The
frequency of replenishment can depend on the storage area allotted
to the parts adjacent to the installation location along the
assembly line, the size of the parts, the quantity of the parts
used per vehicle, and how many vehicles traveling the assembly line
require use of the specific parts.
[0002] Traditional part-replenishment systems can include delivery
of inventory according to a detailed schedule or delivery of
inventory upon specific request by workers on the assembly line.
Parts can be delivered, for example, by forklift drivers or
automated guided vehicles (AGVs) traveling between an inventory
storage location and the various stations of the assembly line
requiring the specified parts. Schedule-based delivery systems can
be overly complicated to manage, and request-based delivery systems
can cause delays along the assembly line. A better
part-replenishment system for supplying inventory is thus required
to improve the manufacturing and assembly process.
SUMMARY
[0003] A mobile inventory rack apparatus serving as part of an
inventory rack system is disclosed. The mobile inventory rack
apparatus can receive articles of inventory on an as-needed basis
from a stationary supply rack apparatus and deliver articles of
inventory on an as-needed basis to a receiver rack apparatus
located adjacent to the assembly line for a vehicle. The mobile
inventory rack apparatus can include an inventory conveyor designed
to receive an article of inventory when a requirement indicator has
an inventory required state as denoted by the lack of contact with
an article of inventory. The mobile inventory rack apparatus can
also supply articles of inventory by repositioning a set of paired
stoppers that prevent translation of the articles of inventory to
allow at least one article of inventory to be removed from the
inventory conveyor when a supply lever is contacted by a
requirement pin extending from a receiver rack apparatus.
[0004] In one implementation, a mobile inventory rack apparatus is
disclosed. The mobile inventory rack apparatus includes an
inventory conveyor configured to translate articles of inventory
and a receiving system including a requirement indicator disposed
along the inventory conveyor. The requirement indicator has an
inventory required state when not in contact with an article of
inventory. The mobile inventory rack apparatus further includes a
supply system including a pair of spaced stoppers disposed along
the inventory conveyor. Each stopper has an extended position
preventing translation of the articles of inventory and a retracted
position allowing translation of the articles of inventory. The
inventory conveyor is configured to receive at least one article of
inventory when the requirement indicator is in the inventory
required state and to allow removal of at least one article of
inventory when one of the stoppers is in the retracted
position.
[0005] In another implementation, an inventory rack system is
disclosed. The inventory rack system includes a supply rack
apparatus and a mobile inventory rack apparatus. The supply rack
apparatus includes a supply system. The supply system includes a
pair of spaced stoppers disposed along a supply conveyor, each
stopper having an extended position preventing translation of
articles of inventory and a retracted position allowing translation
of the articles of inventory. The supply system also includes a
supply lever extending from the supply rack apparatus configured to
switch the positions of both of the spaced stoppers. The mobile
inventory rack apparatus includes a receiving system. The receiving
system includes a requirement indicator disposed along an inventory
conveyor, the requirement indicator having an inventory required
state when not in contact with an article of inventory. The
receiving system also includes a requirement pin extending from the
mobile inventory rack apparatus when the requirement indicator is
in the inventory required state. The inventory conveyor is
configured to receive at least one article of inventory from the
supply conveyor in response to the requirement pin of the mobile
inventory rack apparatus being contacted by the supply lever of the
supply rack apparatus.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The description herein makes reference to the accompanying
drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts
throughout the several views, and wherein:
[0007] FIG. 1 is a side view of a mobile inventory rack
apparatus;
[0008] FIG. 2 is an end view of the mobile inventory rack apparatus
of FIG. 1;
[0009] FIG. 3 is another side view of the mobile inventory rack
apparatus of FIG. 1; and
[0010] FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of an inventory rack system
including a supply rack apparatus, the mobile inventory rack
apparatus of FIGS. 1-3, and a receiver rack apparatus.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] A mobile inventory rack apparatus and an inventory rack
system including the mobile inventory rack apparatus are described
below. The mobile inventory rack apparatus can include at least one
inventory conveyor configured to translate articles of inventory.
The mobile inventory rack apparatus can deliver the articles of
inventory from an inventory source to a line-side storage location
for use in a vehicle assembly process. To accomplish delivery on an
as-needed basis, the mobile inventory rack apparatus can include a
receiving system including a requirement indicator that has an
inventory required state only when not in contact with an article
of inventory and a supply system preventing translation of articles
of inventory until a supply lever on the mobile inventory rack
apparatus is contacted by a requirement pin on a receiver rack
apparatus located at the line-side storage location.
[0012] FIG. 1 is a side view of a mobile inventory rack apparatus
100. The mobile inventory rack apparatus 100 described below can
move through an assembly plant, either automatically if controlled
by an AGV or manually if controlled by an operator. The mobile
inventory rack apparatus 100 can be driven adjacent to a stationary
supply rack apparatus in order to receive new inventory as needed
and be driven adjacent to a stationary receiver rack apparatus to
deliver inventory as needed to various stations on an assembly
line. The mobile inventory rack apparatus 100 thus facilitates part
delivery to the assembly line without the need for either
scheduling deliveries or manually requesting parts.
[0013] To facilitate receipt of new inventory on an as-needed
basis, the mobile inventory rack apparatus 100 includes a
requirement indicator 102 as part of an upper conveyor receiving
system 104 shown in an inventory required state and a requirement
indicator 106 as part of a lower conveyor receiving system 108
shown in an inventory not required state. The upper conveyor
receiving system 104 of the mobile inventory rack apparatus 100
(including the requirement indicator 102) is disposed along an
upper inventory conveyor 110, and the lower conveyor receiving
system 108 (including the requirement indicator 106) is disposed
along a lower inventory conveyor 112.
[0014] The two inventory conveyors 110, 112 are configured to
translate articles of inventory within containers, such as boxes
114a-c, from one side of the mobile inventory rack apparatus 100 to
the other side. In this example, the boxes 114a-c are designed to
hold vehicle parts, i.e. inventory, for use in the vehicle assembly
process. Though the mobile inventory rack apparatus 100 is
described here in the context of part delivery for a vehicle
assembly line, it is also possible to use the mobile inventory rack
apparatus 100 in other delivery contexts, such as in grocery stores
or warehouses. Further, though two inventory conveyors 110, 112 are
shown, any number of inventory conveyors can be included as part of
the mobile inventory rack apparatus 100 since the design is
scalable. Each inventory conveyor 110, 112 can be configured to
deliver different types of parts on an as-needed schedule given the
design of the delivery mechanisms described below.
[0015] The inventory conveyors 110, 112 can be sloped in order to
use gravity to assist in translation of the boxes 114a-c and can
optionally include spaced roller channels to further assist in
translation. The requirement indicators 102, 106 can be disposed
between the spaced roller channels and are designed to collapse
beneath the boxes 114a-c upon contact with the boxes 114a-c in
order to indicate the inventory not required state. The requirement
indicators 102, 106 can include rollers at distal ends for ease of
collapse upon contact. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the
requirement indicator 106 has an inventory not required state,
i.e., no inventory is required to be added to the lower inventory
conveyor 112, since the requirement indicator 106 is in contact
with and has collapsed beneath the box 114b. The requirement
indicator 102 is not in contact with anything and is positioned
upright between the spaced roller channels of the upper inventory
conveyor 110. Thus, the requirement indicator 102 has an inventory
required state, that is, the upper inventory conveyor 110 is ready
to receive an additional article of inventory, e.g. another box of
parts.
[0016] The upper conveyor receiving system 104 further includes a
requirement pin 116 configured to extend from the mobile inventory
rack apparatus 100 when the requirement indicator 102 is in the
inventory required state as shown. The extension of the requirement
pin 116 is based on the upright position of the requirement
indicator 102 and the lack of contact with an article of inventory.
The requirement pin 116 and the requirement indicator 102 can be
joined, for example, by a cable and/or lever system as part of the
upper conveyor receiving system 104. The upper inventory conveyor
110 can be designed to receive at least one article of inventory,
for example, another box of parts, from a supply rack apparatus in
response to the requirement pin 116 being contacted by a supply
lever extending from the supply rack apparatus when the mobile
inventory rack apparatus 100 passes by the supply rack
apparatus.
[0017] The lower conveyor receiving system 108 also includes a
requirement pin 118, the requirement pin 118 having a retracted
position shown in dotted line based on the requirement indicator
106 having an inventory not required state. The retracted position
of the requirement pin 118 is thus based on the collapsed position
of the requirement indicator 106 below and in contact with the box
114b. Since the requirement pin 118 is in the retracted position, a
corresponding supply lever on a supply rack apparatus will not be
able to contact the requirement pin 118, and no parts will be
transferred to the lower inventory conveyor 112 when the mobile
inventory rack apparatus 100 passes by the supply rack
apparatus.
[0018] The mobile inventory rack apparatus 100 also includes
stoppers 200, 202 at the end of the inventory conveyors 110, 112
forming part of an upper conveyor supply system 204 and a lower
conveyor supply system 206. When in an extended position as shown,
the stoppers 200, 202 prevent translation of articles of inventory.
The upper conveyor supply system 204 includes the stopper 200 as
part of a pair of spaced stoppers 200, 208 disposed along the upper
inventory conveyor 110. Similarly, the lower conveyor supply system
206 includes the stopper 202 as part of another pair of spaced
stoppers 202, 210 disposed along the lower inventory conveyor 112.
Each of the stoppers 200, 202, 208, 210 has an extended position
preventing translation of articles of inventory and a retracted
position allowing translation of articles of inventory.
[0019] For example, the extended position of the stopper 200 in the
upper conveyor supply system 204 is preventing the box 114a from
sliding off of the upper inventory conveyor 110. Similarly, the
extended position of the stopper 202 in the lower conveyor supply
system 206 is preventing the box 114c from sliding off of the lower
inventory conveyor 112. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the
stoppers 200, 208 are paired, or coupled, in that the extension of
the stopper 200 leads to the retraction of the stopper 208.
Similarly, the stoppers 202, 210 are paired, and the extension of
the stopper 202 leads to the retraction of the stopper 210. The
paired extension and retraction can be accomplished using a lever
system and common axes of rotation for the connected pairs of
stoppers 200, 208 and 202, 210. The mechanisms shown are similar in
function to a see-saw, though other mechanical, hydraulic, or
electric mechanisms for paired extension and retraction are also
possible.
[0020] The upper conveyor supply system 204 further includes a
supply lever 212 configured to switch the positions of both of the
spaced stoppers 200, 208 when contacted by a requirement pin
extending from a receiver rack apparatus. Similarly, the lower
conveyor supply system 206 further includes a supply lever 214
configured to switch the positions of both of the spaced stoppers
202, 210 when contacted by a requirement pin extending from a
receiver rack apparatus. Once the supply levers 212, 214 are
contacted by the applicable requirement pins, the stoppers 200, 202
can be retracted, and the boxes 114a,c can be automatically
released from the respective inventory conveyors 110, 112. The
spacing between the paired stoppers 200, 208 and 202, 210 is such
that a single article of inventory can be positioned along the
inventory conveyors 110, 112 between the sets of paired stoppers
200, 208 and 202, 210. However, the spacing can be such that any
number of articles of inventory can be designed to be released from
the respective inventory conveyors 110, 112 upon retraction of the
respective stoppers 200, 202.
[0021] FIG. 2 is an end view of the mobile inventory rack apparatus
100 of FIG. 1, more specifically, a right-end view of FIG. 1. In
this view, the supply levers 212, 214 are shown in a stacked
vertical condition, with the supply lever 212 directly above the
supply lever 214. The boxes 114a-c are shown in dotted line so that
the details of the conveyor receiving systems 104, 108 and the
conveyor supply systems 204, 206 located along the inventory
conveyors 110, 112 are visible. This right-end view is included to
show that additional inventory conveyors (not numbered) can be
present as part of the mobile inventory rack apparatus 100, for
example, in the form of another column of two inventory conveyors
located to the right of the inventory conveyors 110, 112. Thus, the
example in FIG. 2 is a mobile inventory rack apparatus 100 capable
of receiving and supplying four different types of inventory. The
remainder of the description refers only to the left side of the
mobile inventory rack apparatus 100 of FIG. 2 for simplicity, but
it is understood that the mechanisms associated with the inventory
conveyors 110, 112 can also be implemented with additional
inventory conveyors forming a larger mobile inventory rack
apparatus 100. Thus, the design is scalable.
[0022] FIG. 3 is another side view of the mobile inventory rack
apparatus 100 of FIG. 1. In this example, the requirement
indicators 102, 106 of both the upper conveyor receiving system 104
and the lower conveyor receiving system 108 have an inventory not
required state. As compared to FIG. 1, another box 114d of parts
has been received on the upper inventory conveyor 110, thus both
the upper inventory conveyor 110 and the lower inventory conveyor
112 are full, with the boxes 114a and 114d located on the upper
inventory conveyor 110 and the boxes 114b and 114c located on the
lower inventory conveyor 112.
[0023] Once received on the upper inventory conveyor 110, the box
114d makes contact with the requirement indicator 102, moving the
requirement indicator 102 beneath the box 114d as shown. The box
114b remains in contact with the requirement indicator 106. Given
the presence of the boxes 114b, 114d in contact with the
requirement indicators 102, 106, both of the requirement pins 116,
118 are in the retracted state, indicating that no additional
inventory is currently required by the mobile inventory rack
apparatus 100. If the mobile inventory rack apparatus 100 passes a
supply rack apparatus in this configuration, no articles of
inventory will be transferred from the supply rack apparatus to the
mobile inventory rack apparatus 100.
[0024] In FIG. 3, the stopper 202 in the pair of spaced stoppers
202, 210 in the lower conveyor supply system 206 has a retracted
position allowing translation of an article of inventory, i.e. box
114c, from the lower inventory conveyor 112. The supply lever 214
has been contacted by a requirement pin extending from a receiver
rack apparatus, leading to the rotated state of the supply lever
214 as shown. In response to the supply lever 214 being contacted
and rotated, the stopper 202 was retracted at the same time that
the stopper 210 was extended. This coordinated motion is achieved
by coupling the motion of the paired stoppers 202, 210 to the
motion of the supply lever 214, using, for example, a combination
of cables and levers. Once the stopper 202 is retracted, the box
114c can slide from the lower inventory conveyor 112 to, for
example, a receiver rack apparatus. The sliding motion of the box
114c is indicated by an arrow.
[0025] At the same time that the box 114c is released by the
retraction of the stopper 202, the box 114b is halted by the
extension of the stopper 210. In this example, the stopper 210
extends into the space between the boxes 114b and 114c to stop the
motion of the box 114b, but if no space is present between the
boxes 114b and 114c, the stopper 210 can be designed to impact the
bottom of the box 114b to stop its motion while the box 114c slides
off of the lower inventory conveyor 112. Thus, the spacing of the
paired stoppers 202, 210 controls the number of articles of
inventory that are released from the lower inventory conveyor 112
upon contact with the supply lever 214.
[0026] The paired stoppers 202, 210 can also include a
counter-weight return mechanism. Once the appropriate number of
articles of inventory is released, in this example, just the single
box 114c, the stopper 202 can return to its extended position and
the leftmost stopper 210 can return to its retracted position,
allowing the box 114b to slide down the lower inventory conveyor
112 to rest at the stopper 202. In turn, the requirement indicator
106 will be released from contact with the box 114b to return to
the inventory required state extending up through the lower
inventory conveyor 112, and the requirement pin 118 will be
triggered to extend from the mobile inventory rack apparatus
100.
[0027] The same supply mechanisms described in respect to the lower
inventory conveyor 112 are present on the upper inventory conveyor
110. That is, the paired stoppers 200, 208 are coupled to the
supply lever 212. Contact made with the supply lever 212 will
retract the stopper 200 and allow removal of the box 114a while at
the same time extending the stopper 208 and stopping translation of
the box 114d just until removal of the box 114a is complete and the
counter-weight mechanism returns the stopper 200 to the extended
position and the stopper 208 to the retracted position. At this
point, the box 114d will be free to slide into contact with the
stopper 200 and the requirement indicator 102 will be released,
allowing extension of the requirement pin 116 indicating the
inventory required state for the upper conveyor receiving system
104. The mobile inventory rack apparatus 100 described in the
preceding figures is further described as part of an inventory rack
system below.
[0028] FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of an inventory rack system
including a supply rack apparatus 500, the mobile inventory rack
apparatus 100 of FIGS. 1-3, and a receiver rack apparatus 502. The
supply rack apparatus 500 includes a pair of supply systems 504,
506 each disposed along a supply conveyor 508, 510 and including a
pair of spaced stoppers 512, 514 and 516, 518. Each stopper 512,
514, 516, 518 has an extended position preventing translation of
articles of inventory and a retracted position allowing translation
of articles of inventory. The upper pair of spaced stoppers 512,
514 is coupled to a supply lever 520 extending from the supply rack
apparatus 500 and the lower pair of spaced stoppers 516, 518 is
coupled to a supply lever 522 extending from the supply rack
apparatus 500. The supply levers 520, 522 are configured to switch
the positions of the respective spaced stoppers 512, 514 and 516,
518 upon contact, for example, between retracted and extended
positions.
[0029] In the example shown in FIG. 4, the supply lever 522 is
being contacted by the requirement pin 118 of the mobile inventory
rack apparatus 100, and the stopper 516 is consequently retracted,
allowing box 114e to move from the supply rack apparatus 500 to the
mobile inventory rack apparatus 100. At the same time, the stopper
518 is extended, impeding the motion of box 114f until the transfer
of the box 114e is complete. The supply lever 520 is not contacted
by the corresponding requirement pin 116 because the requirement
pin 116 is retracted based on the presence of the box 114d in
contact with the requirement indicator 102 on the upper inventory
conveyor 110 of the mobile inventory rack apparatus 100.
[0030] The receiver rack apparatus 502 includes a pair of receiving
systems 524, 526 each disposed along a receiver conveyor 528, 530
and including a requirement indicator 532, 534. The requirement
indicators 532, 534 have inventory required states when not in
contact with an article of inventory and inventory not required
states when in contact with an article of inventory. The receiving
systems 524, 526 further include requirement pins 536, 538
configured to extend from the receiver rack apparatus 502 when the
requirement indicators 532, 534 are in the inventory required
state. In this example, the box 114c was previously transferred to
the receiver conveyor 530 by the mobile inventory rack apparatus
100 and is now in contact with the requirement indicator 534.
Consequently, the related requirement pin 538 is retracted and does
not contact the supply lever 214 of the mobile inventory rack
apparatus 100. Thus, no articles of inventory will be transferred
between the lower inventory conveyor 112 and the receiver conveyor
530.
[0031] The example shown in FIG. 4 has the requirement indicator
532 in a position extending upright through the receiver conveyor
528, making no contact with any articles of inventory. Thus, the
requirement pin 536 is extended from the receiver rack apparatus
502 and can contact the supply lever 212 when the mobile inventory
rack apparatus 100 travels by the receiver rack apparatus 502. Upon
contact between the requirement pin 536 and the supply lever 212,
the stopper 200 located on the upper inventory conveyor 110 is
retracted, and the box 114a can transfer between the upper
inventory conveyor 110 and the receiver conveyor 528. At the same
time, the stopper 208 extends to impede motion of the box 114d
until the transfer of the box 114a is complete. Once the box 114a
transfers from the mobile inventory rack apparatus 100 to the
receiver rack apparatus 502, the box 114a will contact the
requirement indicator 532 which in turn will retract the
requirement pin 536, indicating that the receiver conveyor 528 is
full.
[0032] The mobile inventory rack apparatus 100 described in the
preceding figures allows for as-needed supply of inventory between
an inventory source, such as the stationary supply rack apparatus
500, and assembly stations on the assembly line that include
limited storage for inventory, such as the receiver rack apparatus
502, each shown in FIG. 4. Though not shown in the figures, the
mobile inventory rack apparatus 100 can also be designed to receive
receptacles for articles of inventory, for example, empty boxes,
from the assembly stations and return the empty boxes back to the
inventory source to be refilled using either the same receiving
systems and supply systems described above, or simplified receiving
systems and supply systems designed for empty box return, but
designed in a reverse direction.
[0033] The foregoing description relates to what are presently
considered to be the most practical embodiments. It is to be
understood, however, that the disclosure is not to be limited to
these embodiments but, on the contrary, is intended to cover
various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within
the spirit and scope of the appended claims, which scope is to be
accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such
modifications and equivalent structures as is permitted under the
law.
* * * * *