Stacker storage system

Abstract

A plant work transport and storage system having horizontally spaced delivery and pick-up conveyor tracks on which work carriers travel in the system, a work storage area disposed adjacent the conveyor tracks, a first spur track section extending from the delivery track to a first work transfer point adjacent to the work storage area and adapted to transport work carriers from the delivery track to the work storage area, a second spur track section extending from a second work transfer point adjacent to the work storage area and connecting with the pick-up track and adapted to transport work carriers from the work storage area to the pick-up track, the work storage area having at least one bank of vertically and horizontally spaced work storage compartments provided with an overhead storage track section, a stacker crane assembly movable horizontally alongside the bank of work storage compartments between individual work storage compartments and to and from said first and second work transfer points and provided with a transfer track section, the stacker crane assembly including elevating means for moving the transfer track section vertically of the work storage compartments and between individual compartments, means mounted on the elevating means and movable thereon for selectively positioning the transfer track section in aligned, substantially butting end-to-end relation with a selected spur track section and selectively individually with the storage track sections when the elevating means is at selected vertical and horizontal positions relative to the storage area, and means for moving work carriers onto and off of the transfer track section at the transfer points and at the storage compartments.