MATERIAL HANDLING RACK, SYSTEM AND METHOD

Abstract

A material handling rack, material handling system, powder coating system, and method utilizing the material handling system. The rack includes a series of tracks within which a series of movable track racks are disposed. In the material handling system, the tracks align with tracks of an adjacent rack to allow the track racks to be easily moved from one rack to another.

Claims

1. A material handling rack comprising: a rack frame comprising a top section to which a plurality of tracks is disposed: wherein said plurality of tracks are disposed in parallel relation to one another; wherein said plurality of tracks are spaced such that said tracks of one of said rack frames align with said tracks of another of said rack frames; wherein each of said plurality of tracks is of substantially uniform cross section; and wherein each of said plurality of tracks comprises a pair of open ends, a bottom, an open slot through said bottom, and two open slot sides on either side of said open slot; and at least one track bar comprising: a part racking portion comprising a top, wherein said at least one track bar is adapted to fit within one of said tracks such that said part racking portion extends below said bottom of said track and such that said track bar easily slides in and out of said open ends of said track; and at least two track casters dimensioned to fit within one of said tracks and attached to said top of said part racking portion such that said part racking portion is suspended below said bottom of said track.

2. The material handling rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tracks are spaced by precision formed cross members.

3. The material handling rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tracks are formed of sheet metal channels comprising flat portions along said bottoms of said tracks, wherein said flat portions are parallel to each of said open slot sides of said open slot.

4. The material handling rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein said material handling rack comprises an equal number of said track bars and said tracks.

5. The material handling rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein said part racking portion of said track bar is a rectangular metal bar sized to correspond to a size of said tracks, and said part racking portion comprises a plurality of perforations extending through said rectangular metal bar.

6. The material handling rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least two track casters are four track casters.

7. The material handling rack as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one stop mechanism that allows said track bars to be locked into place.

8. The material handling rack as claimed in claim 7, wherein said at least one stop mechanism is at least one track lock that creates a barricade at said open end of each of said tracks.

9. The material handling rack as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a protrusion, wherein said at least one track lock comprises a locking tube, and wherein said locking tube is pivotable upward to clear said open ends of said tracks by said protrusion of adjacent material handling racks.

10. The material handling rack as claimed in claim 7, wherein said at least one stop mechanism is at least one toggle cam style mechanism comprising a pivoting toggle, wherein said tracks further comprise a series of cams extending through slots in said tracks, and wherein said pivoting toggle is manually rotatable to engage said series of cams.

11. The material handling rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rack frame is manufactured of metal and is formed as an open sided rectangular parallelepiped comprising four side members, four top members, and four bottom members.

12. The material handling rack as claimed in claim 11, wherein four casters extend from each of said four bottom members of said rack frame.

13. The material handling rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rack frame is manufactured of metal and comprises at least two top members.

14. The material handling rack as claimed in claim 13, wherein said at least two top members comprise flexible attachments.

15. The material handling rack as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a rack attachment system that allows one of said material handling racks to be attached to another of said material handling racks.

16. The material handling rack as claimed in claim 15, wherein said material handling rack comprises two sides, and wherein said rack attachment system is a toggle latch system comprising toggle latches mounted to each of said two sides of said material handling rack and sized and dimensioned to slide into said toggle latches on an adjacent material handling rack.

17. A material handling system for handling parts, comprising slidable track bars onto which said parts are attached, a booth rack, and an oven rack: wherein each of said booth rack and said oven rack comprises a top section and an array of tracks arrayed across said top section; and wherein said arrays of tracks of said booth rack and said oven rack are aligned such that when said oven rack abuts said booth rack, said slidable track bars are transferrable from said booth rack to said oven rack.

18. The material handling system as claimed in claim 17, wherein said booth rack and said oven rack are identical racks.

19. The material handling system as claimed in claim 17 further comprising an oven and said oven rack is dimensioned to fit in said oven and is removable from and replaceable to said oven.

20. A method for processing parts comprising the following steps: aligning two racks together such the tracks of one rack correspond to the tracks of the other; processing parts mounted to a first track bar disposed in a first track of the first rack; sliding the first track bar from the first rack to the second rack; processing parts mounted to a second track bar disposed in a second track of the first rack; sliding the second track bar from the first rack to the second rack; continuing to process parts mounted to track bars disposed in tracks of the first rack; continuing to slide the track bars from the first rack to the second rack until the second rack is full; moving the second rack into a batch processing station for batch processing; and removing the second rack from the batch processing station after the parts have been processed.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a preferred embodiment of the material handling system of the present invention.

[0030] FIG. 2A is an isometric view of a preferred booth rack of the material handling system of the present invention.

[0031] FIG. 2B is an exploded partial view of the ends of tracks of the booth rack of FIG. 2A showing alignment tabs and a toggle latch type rack attachment system.

[0032] FIG. 2C is an exploded partial view of and end of the top frame of the booth rack of FIG. 2A showing a chain type flexible attachment.

[0033] FIG. 3A is an isometric view of a preferred track bar of the rack of the present invention and a partial view of the end of the top frame of the booth rack showing the engagement of the track bar with the track.

[0034] FIG. 3B is an exploded partial view of the end of the top frame of the booth rack of FIG. 3A showing the engagement of the track bar with the track.

[0035] FIG. 4 is a partial side view of the ends of the tracks of a rack of the present invention showing a track lock type stop mechanism.

[0036] FIG. 5 is an end view of the preferred embodiment of the cross member that holds the tracks in place.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0037] Referring first to FIG. 1, the preferred material handling system 10 utilizes two racks 12, 14, each of which contain rows of tracks 16 arrayed across the top section 18, or ceiling, of the racks 12, 14. The first rack 12 is referred to as the booth rack and the second rack 14, to which parts are transferred from the booth rack, is called the oven rack. The array of tracks 16 on each rack 12, 14 is precisely aligned so that when the oven rack 14 abuts the booth rack 12, slidable track bars 50 onto which parts are attached may be transferred from the booth rack 12 to the oven rack 12. This allows sheets of parts to be transferred from one rack to the other on individual tracks.

[0038] The oven rack 14 of the present invention includes a rack frame 22 having a top section 18 to which a plurality of tracks 16 is disposed. The tracks 16 are disposed in parallel relation to one another and are spaced in a predetermined manner such that the tracks 16 of the oven rack 14 will align with the tracks 16 of the booth rack 12. In the preferred embodiment, the tracks 16 of each rack 12, 14 are spaced by the use of precision formed cross members 28, which align the tracks 16 and provide structural support for the tracks to allow them to be used in heavy duty applications. The preferred embodiment of the cross members 28 is shown in FIG. 5.

[0039] Each track 16 is of substantially uniform cross section and includes a pair of open ends and an open slot through its bottom. As shown in greater detail in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the preferred tracks 16 are formed sheet metal channels having flat portions 40 along the bottom 43 parallel to each side 42 of the open slot 44. However, other tracks may be extruded or formed by other processes known in the art.

[0040] The racks 12, 14 also include at least one track bar 50, and preferably include one track bar 50 for each track. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3A and 3B, the track bar 50 is adapted to fit within the track 16 such that a part racking portion 52 thereof extends below the bottom 43 of the track 16 and such that it may be easily slid in and out of the open ends 32, 34 of the track 16. The part racking portion 52 of the track bar 50 is preferably a rectangular metal bar having a plurality of perforations 54 therethrough to allow parts to be hung from hooks or sub-racks (not shown). The part racking portion 52 is preferably sized to correspond with the size of the track but, in some embodiments, may be shorter or longer. The preferred track bar 50 includes at least two, and preferably four, track casters 56 attached to the top of the part racking portion 52 of the track bar 50. The casters 56 are dimensioned to fit within the track 16 and are attached to the part racking portion 52 such that the part racking portion 52 is suspended below the bottom 43 of the open slot 44 in the track16. The casters 56 allow the track bar 50 to be quickly and easily slid into and out of the open ends 32, 34 of the track 16.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 4, the preferred oven rack 14 includes a stop mechanism that allows the track bars 50 to be locked into place, which prevents them from inadvertently sliding out of the tracks when the oven rack 14 is moved. In the preferred embodiment, the stop mechanism is a track lock 60 that creates a barricade at the open end 32 of each track 16. The preferred track lock 60 includes a locking tube 64 that is pivoted upward by a pivot 62 and clears the ends 32 of the tracks 32 by a protrusion 80 extending from an adjacent rack. It is noted that FIG. 4 shows the locking tube 64 in the position that it would be in were the both rack 12 and oven rack 14 joined together with the protrusions 80 holding the locking tube 64 in position. However, when the oven rack 12 is removed from the booth rack 12, the locking tube 64 automatically falls back into place in front of the open ends 32 of the tracks 16 to prevent their movement. In another embodiment, the stop mechanism is a toggle cam style mechanism (not shown), in which a pivoting toggle is manually rotated to engage a series of cams that extend through slots in each track and exert a downward force upon each track bar to maintain it in place.

[0042] Referring again to FIG. 1, the rack frame 22 of the oven rack 14 is preferably manufactured of metal and takes the form of an open sided rectangular parallelepiped having four side members 23, four top members 22 and four bottom members 25. In the preferred embodiment, four casters 27 extend from the bottom four members 25 of the rack frame 22 to allow it to be easily moved from one location to another. However, these casters 27 are omitted in other embodiments and, instead, the racks are moved by external means, such as carts or rails.

[0043] In some embodiments, the oven rack 14 and the booth rack 12 are substantially identical. However, in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2A-2C, the rack frame 22 of the booth rack 12 is made up only of a series of top members 28 to which the tracks are disposed. As shown in FIG. 2C, in these embodiments, the top members 28 preferably include flexible attachments 31, such as chains, cables or the like, that suspend the rack from a ceiling and allow it to be more easily aligned with an adjacent rack.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 2C, the preferred rack also includes a rack attachment system that allows one rack to be attached to another. The preferred rack attachment system is a toggle latch system 70 in which toggle latches 72 are mounted to each side of one rack and slide into mating latches on an adjacent rack. However, in other embodiments the rack attachment system may simply take the form of a pin or magnetic latch that affixes the racks in the desired position.

[0045] Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions would be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein.