Modular storage system

Abstract

A modular system for storage of cargo units, comprises: a plurality of pallets; a plurality of interconnected active cell units; each cell unit comprises an cell transporting mechanism; at least one active shuttle unit movable between the plurality of cell units; each shuttle unit comprises a shuttle transporting mechanism adapted to transport at least one pallet of the plurality of pallets to and from one of the plurality of cell units and to and from the at least one shuttle unit; a central controller adapted to control the operation of the cell and the shuttle transporting mechanisms, the operation of which is performed in an independent manner via the central controller such that a construction of any arrangement of the cell units is performed to effectively exploit a designated space.

1 . A modular system for storage of cargo units in a designated space and for effective exploitation of said designated space, said system comprising:
 a plurality of pallets, each is adapted to carry at least one cargo unit;   a plurality of at least partially interconnected active cell units forming a multi-dimensional structure with at least one row and at least one column of storing locations for at least one of said cargo units; said at least one row of said multi-dimensional structure is parallel to said to an axis selected from axis X or axis Y, and said at least one column of said multi-dimensional structure is parallel to axis selected from axis X and axis Y, differently from the axis of said at least one row; each cell unit having a lengthwise axis X, and a widthwise axis Y, parallel to said axis X and said axis Y of said multi-dimensional structure; each cell unit comprising a cell transporting mechanism adapted to transport at least one pallet to and from said cell unit in direction selected from said axis X or said axis Y; each cell unit further adapted to contain at least one pallet on the same;   at least one active shuttle unit movable between said plurality of cell units of said multi-dimensional structure; said—active shuttle unit has a lengthwise X axis, and a widthwise axis Y, parallel to said axis X and said axis Y of said multi-dimensional structure; each shuttle unit comprising a shuttle transporting mechanism adapted to transport at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets to and from one of said plurality of cell units in direction selected from said axis X, and said axis Y; said shuttle unit is adapted to enable transportation of at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets from at least one of said cell units to another one of said cell units; each shuttle unit further adapted to contain at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets on the same; and,   a central controller adapted to control the operation of said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism of each one of said cell units and each of said at least one shuttle unit in an independent manner for transporting said plurality of pallets from one predetermined location to another predetermined location within said system; wherein the operation of each of said cell transporting mechanism of each of said plurality of cell units and each of said shuttle transporting mechanism of each of said at least one shuttle unit is independently performed in said independent manner via said central controller such that a construction of any arrangement of said cell units forming said multi-dimensional structure is performed to effectively exploit said designated space by means of the number of cargo units capable of being inserted and stored within said system; wherein said one cell unit of said plurality of cell units comprises a rotating mechanism adapted to rotate a pallet located on it in a rotation angle between about 1° to about 360°, clockwise and counter-clockwise.   
     
     
         2 . The modular system of  claim 1 , wherein said shuttle unit comprising a lifting mechanism adapted to lift said at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets in the direction of axis Z of said multi-dimensional structure when said multi-dimensional structure of said cell units comprises more that more than one layer of cell units. 
     
     
         3 . The modular system of  claim 1 , wherein said central controller is adapted to insert and extract at least one of said cargo units to and from a specific cell unit within said system by an arrangement and movement of said plurality of pallets selected from the group consisting of: cyclic movement, linear movement, or any combination thereof; said arrangement and movement of said plurality of pallets is in a direction selected from the group consisting of: said axis X, axis Y, axis Z, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         4 . The modular system of  claim 1 , wherein said system is a parking system, said cargo units are vehicles, and each cell unit of said plurality of cell units is adapted to contain one vehicle of said vehicles. 
     
     
         5 . The modular system of  claim 1 , wherein the dimensions of said multi-dimensional structure are selected from the group consisting of: 2D, 3D, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The modular system of  claim 1 , wherein said system further comprises at least two substantially parallel rails on which said at least one shuttle unit is movable between said plurality of cell units. 
     
     
         7 . The modular system of  claim 1 , wherein said central controller comprises a set of predetermined algorithms for any possible structure of said multi-dimensional structures; said algorithms are responsible for transporting said plurality of pallets from one predetermined location to another predetermined location along a shortest possible route within said multi-dimensional structure. 
     
     
         8 . The modular system of  claim 7 , wherein said predetermined location is selected from one cell unit of said plurality of cell units or one shuttle unit of said at least one shuttle unit. 
     
     
         9 . The modular system of  claim 1 , wherein said system further comprises at least one entry and at least one exit points; said at least one entry and at least one exit points are selected from one cell unit of said plurality of cell units or one shuttle unit of said at least one shuttle unit. 
     
     
         10 . The modular system of  claim 1 , wherein said plurality of cell units are at least partially interconnected by mechanically connected means selected from the group consisting of: shafts, rods, axles, bars, balks, staffs, levers, pales, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The modular system of  claim 1 , wherein said system is characterized by a characteristic selected from the group consisting of: kit-like, LEGO-like, easy for construction, easy for assembly, easy for disassembly, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         12 . The modular system of  claim 1 , wherein said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism comprise rotating wheels adapted to move said at least one pallet by their rotation, such that said at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets is transported to and from one of said plurality of cell units and to and from said at least one shuttle unit; further wherein the operation of said rotating wheels is controlled by said central controller, such that the direction of the rotation of said rotating wheels and the rotation time interval are set. 
     
     
         13 . A method for constructing and operating a modular system for storage of cargo units in a designated space and for effective exploitation of said designated space, said method comprising steps of:
 providing a modular system for storage of cargo units in a designated space and for effective exploitation of said designated space, said system comprising:   a plurality of pallets, each is adapted to carry at least one cargo unit;   a plurality of active cell units adapted to form a multi-dimensional structure with at least one row and at least one column of storing locations for at least one of said cargo units; said at least one row of said multi-dimensional structure is parallel to said to an axis selected from axis X or axis Y, and said at least one column of said multi-dimensional structure is parallel to axis selected from axis X and axis Y, differently from the axis of said at least one row; each cell unit having a lengthwise axis X, and a widthwise axis Y, parallel to said axis X and said axis Y of said multi-dimensional structure; each cell unit comprising an cell transporting mechanism adapted to transport at least one pallet to and from said cell unit in direction selected from said axis X or said axis Y; each cell unit further adapted to contain at least one pallet on the same;   at least one active shuttle unit movable between said plurality of cell units of said multi-dimensional structure; said active shuttle unit has a lengthwise X axis, and a widthwise axis Y, parallel to said axis X and said axis Y of said multi-dimensional structure; each shuttle unit comprising a shuttle transporting mechanism adapted to transport at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets to and from one of said plurality of cell units in direction selected from said axis X, and said axis Y; said shuttle unit is adapted to enable transportation of at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets from at least one of said cell units to another one of said cell units; each shuttle unit further adapted to contain at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets on the same; and,   a central controller adapted to control the operation of said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism of each one of said cell units and each of said at least one shuttle unit in an independent manner for transporting said plurality of pallets from one predetermined location to another predetermined location within said system;   at least partially interconnecting said active cell units, and thereby forming said multi-dimensional structure;   installing said at least one active shuttle unit between said plurality of cell units of said multi-dimensional structure;   providing at least one cargo unit; placing said at least one cargo unit one pallet of said plurality of pallets at one predetermined location within said system;   controlling the operation of said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism of each one of said cell units and each of said at least one shuttle unit via said central controller in an independent manner,   transporting said at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets to and from at least one of said plurality of cell units and said at least one active shuttle unit via said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism of the same;   transporting said at least one cargo unit from said one predetermined location to another predetermined location within said system; and,   storing said at least one cargo unit within said system; wherein said step of controlling the operation of said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism of each one of said cell units and each of said at least one shuttle unit is performed in said independent manner via said central controller, and thereby said system is efficiently exploiting said designated space by means of the number of cargo units capable of being inserted and stored within said system by allowing a construction of any arrangement of said cell units forming said multi-dimensional structure; wherein said one cell unit of said plurality of cell units comprises a rotating mechanism adapted to rotate a pallet located on it in a rotation angle between about 1° to about 360°, clockwise and counter-clockwise.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising lifting said at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets via a lifting mechanism in the direction of axis Z of said multi-dimensional structure when said multi-dimensional structure of said cell units comprising more that more than one layer of cell units. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising inserting and extracting at least one of said cargo units to and from a specific cell unit within said system via said central controller by arranging and moving said plurality of pallets by an arrangement and movement selected from the group consisting of: cyclic movement, linear movement, or any combination thereof said arrangement and movement of said plurality of pallets is in a direction selected from the group consisting of: said axis X, axis Y, axis Z, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the dimensions of said multi-dimensional structure are selected from the group consisting of: 2D, 3D, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said system further comprises at least two substantially parallel rails on which said at least one shuttle unit is movable between said plurality of cell units. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising step of providing said central controller with a set of predetermined algorithms for any possible structure of said multi-dimensional structures; said algorithms are responsible for transporting said plurality of pallets from one predetermined location to another predetermined location along a shortest possible route within said multi-dimensional structure. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising providing said system with at least one entry and at least one exit points; said at least one entry and at least one exit points are selected from one cell unit of said plurality of cell units or one shuttle unit of said at least one shuttle unit. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said plurality of cell units are at least partially interconnected by mechanically connected means selected from the group consisting of:
 shafts, rods, axles, bars, balks, staffs, levers, pales, or any combination thereof.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said system is characterized by a characteristic selected from the group consisting of: kit-like, LEGO-like, easy for construction, easy for assembly, easy for disassembly, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said cell transporting mechanism and said shuttle transporting mechanism comprise rotating wheels adapted to move said at least one pallet by their rotation, such that said at least one pallet of said plurality of pallets is transported to and from one of said plurality of cell units and to and from said at least one shuttle unit; further wherein the operation of said rotating wheels is controlled by said central controller, such that the direction of the rotation of said rotating wheels and the rotation time interval are set.