Expansion joint for connecting a first region and a second region of a rail system

Abstract

A storage system includes a first region and a second region of a rail system. Each of the first region and the second region has rails with a profiled upper surface that define one or more tracks for supporting container handling vehicles, and each rail of at least one pair of parallel rails of the first region is connected to a corresponding rail of a pair of rails of the second region via an expansion joint. The expansion joint includes a first rail element, a second rail element, and a profiled upper surface. The rail elements are elongate and configured at a first end to allow the first ends of the first and second rail elements to move relative to one another in a longitudinal direction in a junction area where they overlap. The profiled upper surface defines one or more tracks. The tracks extend from the first rail element through the junction area to the second rail element. A second end of the first rail element is pivotably connected to the first region of the rail system around a first vertical axis. A second end of the second rail element is pivotably connected to the second region of the rail system around a second vertical axis.