1. A cable lift comprising:
a single compartment or shaft (1) housing a movable cage (2) and apparatus (3) including at least one winch (4) with a cable fixed on a wall (16) in an upper space (1a) of the shaft (1) opposite a side wall of the cage (2) when the cage (2) is fully elevated in the shaft (1);
wherein the upper space (1a) is occupied only by the apparatus (3) during operation of the movable cage (2);
wherein the winch (4) has a traction pulley (4c) with an axis of rotation (4a) parallel to the wall (1b) on which the winch (4) is fixed and a traction pulley (4c) over which the cable travels and extends to travel around at least one drive pulley (5a) on a counterweight (5) for displacement of the cage (2);
wherein the cable (6) has a first end (6a) fixed to the cage (2) and a second end (6b) fixed in the upper space (1a);
wherein the counterweight (5) is always located below the cage (2) during ascent or descent of the cage (2); and
wherein during any displacement of the cage (2), travel of the cable (6) around the drive pulley (5a) results in displacement of the counterweight (5) equal to substantially half the displacement of the cage (2).
2. The lift according to claim 1, comprising a support (7) on which the winch (4) is fixed, wherein the support is fixed to the wall (1b) of the shaft (1), so that the winch (4) is independent of structures which support and guide the cage (2).
3. The lift according to claim 1, wherein the end (6b) of the cable (6) is attached to the support (7) for the winch (4) 80 as to limit the spread of noise from the apparatus (3).
4. The lift according to claim 1, having a hatch (9) allowing access to the upper space (1a) of the shaft (1) inside which the winch (4) is housed.
5. The lift according to claim 1, wherein the axis (4a) of the pulley (4c) is located at a height, with respect to the last floor at which the cage (2) stops, of between sixty centimeters and two meters ten centimeters, so as to allow direct frontal viewing of the winch (4).
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A circulating storage system (1) comprising at least two storage columns (4) of stored-goods carriers (5) that are arranged one above another and circulate during operation, comprising at least one horizontal conveyor device (8, 9) by means of which, during operation, the stored-goods carriers can be transferred from one storage column to the other storage column, and comprising a vertical conveyor device (7) by means of which, during operation, at least part of the storage column can be moved in the vertical direction, wherein at least one further vertical conveyor device (7) is provided, wherein each vertical conveyor device is assigned to a storage column (4), and wherein each storage column can be moved in the vertical direction, independently of the other storage column, by the vertical conveyor device assigned to it.
2. The circulating storage system (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stored-goods carriers (5) of a storage column (4) are supported substantially in the manner of a stack on a lower stored-goods carrier which is in engagement with the vertical conveyor device (7).
3. The circulating storage system (1) as claimed in one of the aforementioned claims, wherein the vertical conveyor device (7) comprises at least one flexible drive mechanism (18).
4. The circulating storage system (1) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the vertical conveyor device (7) comprises two flexible drive mechanisms (18a, 18b) running in opposite directions.
5. The circulating storage system (1) as claimed in one of the aforementioned claims, wherein the stored-goods carriers (5) are provided with a coupling section (31) which can be coupled into the vertical conveyor device (7) during the circulation of the stored-goods carriers (5).
6. The circulating storage system (1) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the coupling section (31) is configured as a rack (31) that can be brought into engagement with a chain drive (18).
7. The circulating storage system (1) as claimed in one of the aforementioned claims, wherein the vertical conveyor device (7) is arranged in the lower area of the storage column (4).
8. The circulating storage system (1) as claimed in one of the aforementioned claims, wherein a separately controllable horizontal conveyor device (8, 9) is provided in each case at the upper and at the lower end of a storage column (4).
9. The circulating storage system (1) as claimed in one of the aforementioned claims, wherein the horizontal conveyor device (8, 9) comprises a sliding rail (13) that extends substantially in the horizontal direction and on which a sliding section (39) of the stored-goods carriers (5) is supported in a sliding manner when being transported from one storage column (4) to the other.
10. The circulating storage system (1) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the sliding rail (13) of the upper horizontal conveyor device (9) has cutouts (41) in the area of each storage column (4), which cutouts act together with projections (28, 38, 39) on the stored-goods carriers and permit the stored-goods carriers (5) to be removed only at predetermined positions relative to the storage columns (4).
11. The circulating storage system (1) as claimed in one of the aforementioned claims, wherein at least one transfer device (10, 11) is provided for each storage column (4), is arranged between lacuna horizontal conveyor device (8, 9) of this storage column (4) and the vertical conveyor device (7) of this storage column (4) and by means of which the stored-goods carriers (5) can be transferred from the horizontal conveyor device (8, 9) to the vertical conveyor device (7).
12. The circulating storage system (1) as claimed in claim 11, wherein each storage column (4) is assigned at least an upper (10) and a lower (11) transfer devices sic.
13. The circulating storage system (1) as claimed in claim 11 or 12, wherein the transfer device (10, 11) forms a cam drive (14, 15, 16, 22, 23, 25).
14. The circulating storage system (1) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the cam drive (14, 15, 16, 22, 23, 25) comprises a flexible drive mechanism (14).
15. A construction set for a circulating storage system (1) as claimed in one of the aforementioned claims, which comprises a plurality of substantially identical storage column modules which can be built against one another, in which in each case at least one storage column (4) is accommodated and which are in each case provided with at least one vertical conveyor device (7), and comprises a plurality of horizontal conveyor devices (8, 9) by means of which the storage column modules can be connected to form a circulation.
16. A method of managing a circulating storage system (1) comprising a plurality of stored-goods carriers (5) arranged in storage columns (4), in which one of the stored-goods carriers is brought from a storage column into a predetermined access position by the stored-goods carriers circulating and being transferred from one storage column to another storage column, wherein the storage columns (4) are moved in the vertical direction independently of one another.
17. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the weight of the storage column (4) is accommodated substantially by the stored-goods carrier (5) in each case located at the lower end of the storage column.
18. The method as claimed in claim 16 or 17, wherein the storage column is moved in the vertical direction by introducing force to its stored-goods carrier in each case located at the lower end of the storage column.
19. The method as claimed in one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the stored-goods carriers (5) are transported from the horizontal conveyor device (8, 9) to the end of a storage column (4) by a transfer device (10, 11) and are coupled to the storage column.
20. The method as claimed in one of claims 16 to 19, wherein the stored-goods carriers (5) are removed from the horizontal conveyor device (9) by the transfer device (11) and placed on a storage column (4).
21. The method as claimed in one of claims 16 to 20, wherein, in the case of more than two storage columns (4), the circulation is controlled through any desired pair of storage columns.