The invention relates to an article store for, for example, carton multipacks or palletized stacks of goods, comprising vertical main supports, front and rear crossmembers, which are arranged transversally to the storage and retrieval directions, and are fastened on the main supports, and at least one bearing profile, which extends in the storage and retrieval directions, which is supported vertically in relation to the front crossmember, of which the upper side is located in a plane higher than the upper edge of the front crossmember and which forms a bearing means for the respective article, wherein the bearing profile is supported vertically on the crossmember by a support, of which the upper end is connected to the bearing profile.
Such an article may be the smallest unit in often extensive rack stores and, in particular, in high-bay stores. The operations of storing and retrieving the individual articles take place from a transverse aisle, by means of fork-lift trucks or by storage-and-retrieval units. From the transverse aisle, article stores arranged on either side can be charged with goods and/or goods can be retrieved therefrom. The article store comprises vertical supports, which are connected to one another by transversally arranged crossmembers. Extending in the storage and retrieval directions between in each case a front and a rear crossmember are bearing profiles, of which the upper side forms the actual bearing means for the articles. The bearing means are open in a forward direction, i.e. in the direction of the transverse aisle, and therefore the article can be retrieved by straightforward pulling action and therefore by a purely horizontal movement. At the other end, that is to say the rear end, the bearing means is delimited by a stop, which thus delimits the depth of the store in the rearward direction and prevents the article from being accidentally stored too far in.
The operation of storing articles takes place by means of a transporting fork which, for the purpose of transporting the article, is raised from beneath against the underside of the article. In order to move the article into a compartment, it is also necessary to have enough space present for the transporting fork to move in. In order to achieve this, the bearing means of the bearing profiles, rather than being located in a plane of the transversally running crossmembers, are located in a higher-level plane, this difference in height being at least equal to the overall height of the transporting fork.
One possible way of arranging the actual bearing means for the article at a higher level than the upper edge of the crossmember consists in using bearing profiles in the cross-sectional configuration of a downwardly open U or of a top-hat profile. It is often the case, however, that the vertical space achieved as a result is insufficient for the task of moving a transporting fork in, stringent requirements having to be met at least by the preciseness of the height positioning of the storage-and-retrieval unit or the fork-lift truck used for storage and retrieval purposes. If, on the other hand, such a bearing profile has a considerably greater profile height, it is also the case that the use of material is correspondingly greater. In addition, a bearing profile with a large profile height, in comparison with the profile width, may be laterally unstable.
Another possible way of arranging the actual bearing means for the article at a higher level than the upper edge of the crossmember is described in EP 0 935 932 A1. The bearing profile is supported at the front here not directly on the crossmember, but indirectly via a vertical support. The latter is connected to the bearing profile by a form fit and, at the other end, is welded to the crossmember. This fastening on the crossmember takes place in a separate production process, prior to the actual assembly of the article store.
It is an object of the invention to create an article store which does not have to meet stringent requirements relating to the preciseness of the height positioning of a storage-and-retrieval unit or of the fork-lift truck used for storage and retrieval purposes and does not require significant production and assembly outlay.