Recirculating continuous storage apparatus

1. A continuous, recirculating storage apparatus that transports items through a housing ( 10 ) enclosing a controlled environment, the storage apparatus comprising:

first substantially horizontal tunnel ( 12 ) inside the housing ( 10 );

a second substantially horizontal tunnel ( 13 ) inside the housing ( 10 ); and

at least one internal transport conveyor system ( 34 ) inside the housing ( 10 ),

each internal transport conveyor system being occupied, in operation, by a plurality of internal recirculating carriers ( 20 A),

and each internal transport conveyor system configured as a closed loop having, in reversible sequence, a first vertical transport means ( 21 ) and a second vertical transport means,

wherein the first vertical transport means ( 21 ) operably lifts carriers past a loading and unloading station, and terminates at the first tunnel ( 12 ), the first tunnel ( 22 ) provided with a first set of rails ( 22 ) that operably supports and conveys each suspended carrier of a stacked array of carriers off of the first vertical transport means ( 21 ), each carrier maintained in contact with adjacent carriers within the first tunnel ( 12 ), the first tunnel ( 12 ) terminating at the second vertical transport means,

wherein the second vertical transport means operably receives each carrier from the first set of rails ( 22 ) of the first tunnel ( 12 ) and lowers the carriers to the second tunnel ( 13 ), the second tunnel ( 13 ) having a second set of rails ( 22 ) and terminating at the first vertical transport means ( 21 ),

each carrier having a consistent height and thickness and width, and disposed either

(a) as a stack of carriers in contact with adjacent carriers, suspended from the rails of either the first or the second tunnel ( 12 , 13 ), or

(b) held in end-to-end orientation with respect to adjacent carriers upon the vertical transport means ( 20 ) when traversing the loading and unloading station,

each carrier having a plurality of transverse horizontal shelves ( 26 ) each having a length and a consistent inter-shelf spacing,

a spacing maintained between one carrier and an adjacent carrier located vertically above or below said one carrier when both carriers are traversing the loading and unloading station being so that, in operation, the apparatus receives a continuous and uninterrupted flow of items from an inflow conveyor.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the loading and unloading station includes an inflow conveyor ( 34 ), disposed beside and along the length of any one shelf ( 26 ) of a carrier ( 20 A) and between the shelf and a product pusher ( 37 ) having a first pushing surface nearly as wide as the length of the shelf.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , wherein motion of the vertical transport means ( 21 ) is controlled, in operation, in step with actuation of the product pusher ( 37 ) such that each push of the product pusher loads one of a vertical series of shelves of the plurality of carriers with sequentially carried items from the inflow conveyor ( 34 ) at the loading and unloading station, thereby permitting uninterrupted unloading of the incoming conveyor.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the loading and unloading station further includes the second or outflow conveyor disposed beside and along the length of any one shelf ( 26 ) of a carrier ( 20 A), and at a lower height, relative to the inflow conveyor ( 34 ) and equal to one or more inter-shelf spacings of the carrier ( 20 ), than that of the product pusher ( 37 ) and at a side opposite to a position of a product pusher ( 36 ).

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4 , wherein two product pushers ( 37 , 36 ) are coupled together and are extended and retracted at the same time such that, in operation, one push causes the lower, loaded shelf to be cleared of items after storage for a retention time to the second or outflow conveyor ( 37 ), and causes the upper, unloaded shelf to be loaded with items to be stored from the inflow conveyor ( 34 ).

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , wherein a single product pusher ( 37 ) includes a second pushing surface ( 36 ) vertically spaced apart from and connected to the first pushing surface.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the internal transport conveyor system includes a first carrier actuator ( 24 ) that operably pushes an adjacent carrier supported by the first vertical transport means sideways and off the first vertical transport means and into the first tunnel, thereby pushing a carrier at a far end of the tunnel out of the tunnel to be picked up by the adjacent second vertical transport means, and a second carrier actuator ( 25 ) that operably pushes an adjacent, loaded carrier sideways off the second vertical transport means and into the second tunnel such to cause a carrier at the far end of the tunnel to emerge from the tunnel and be picked up by the adjacent first vertical transport means.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the controlled environment comprises recirculated air having an actively controlled temperature that is forced through the second tunnel and then the first tunnel in a direction opposite to that of movement of the carriers in order to cause a change of state of the items on the shelves of the carriers during the retention time, the change of state being selected from the group consisting of: sterilizing, cooking, chilling and freezing.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the controlled environment comprises recirculated air having an actively controlled temperature that is forced through the first tunnel and then the second tunnel in a direction the same as that of movement of the carriers, thereby causing a change of state of the items on the shelves of the carriers during the retention time; the change of state being selected from a range including sterilizing, cooking, chilling and freezing.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the apparatus includes a plurality of separate internal transport conveyor systems, each configured as a separate closed loop within the housing ( 10 ) of the apparatus.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the separate closed loops each define recirculation paths of different lengths thereby providing different retention times.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the separate closed loops are when in use operated at different controlled velocities, thereby providing different retention times.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein air control means ( 40 a , 40 b , 40 c) are provided that, in operation, selectively diverts flow of air into at least one of said recirculation paths, thereby providing control over temperature change within items in the recirculation paths.

14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the inflow conveyor and the outflow conveyor are the same conveyor.

15. A recirculating storage apparatus having an enclosed housing ( 10 ), wherein one or more items received from a first or incoming item transport means or conveyor ( 34 ) are held in an internal transport conveyor having a closed loop configuration providing for a retention time within a controlled environment, and then are transferred to a second or outgoing item transport means or conveyor ( 33 ), comprising:

a plurality of internal recirculating carriers ( 20 A) occupying the internal transport conveyor, each carrier having a vertical series of horizontal shelves ( 26 , 26 A) each having a length, and wherein the input conveyor ( 34 ) has a direction of movement aligned along the length of the shelves so that each shelf can be loaded at a loading station from a series of transported items by one pushing motion of an actuator ( 37 ) having a pushing surface nearly as wide as the length of any shelf,

wherein the output conveyor has a direction of movement aligned along the length of the shelves so that each shelf ( 26 , 26 A) can be unloaded on to at least one conveyor ( 33 ) at an unloading station by one pushing motion of an actuator ( 36 ), the loading and the unloading stations being adjacent,

wherein the closed loop configuration of the internal transport conveyor includes a first vertical transfer means traversing the loading station and the unloading station at which the shelves of the carrier are unloaded and re-loaded, a first carrier actuator ( 24 ) capable when activated of pushing an adjacent, loaded carrier sideways into and so capable of pushing a stack of like carriers through a first substantially horizontal tunnel ( 12 ), then a second vertical transfer means ( 21 ), then a second carrier actuator ( 25 ) capable when activated of pushing an adjacent carrier sideways into, and so capable of pushing a stack of like carriers through a second substantially horizontal tunnel ( 13 ) and back to the first vertical transfer means ( 21 ) thereby causing the stack of carriers to traverse the tunnels at a controlled average velocity and thereby controlling the retention time within the controlled environment,

wherein the width and height of any one carrier is less than a width and a height of each tunnel, and wherein a controlled environment comprising recirculated air having an actively controlled temperature is forced through the second tunnel and then the first tunnel in a direction opposite to that of movement of the carriers, thereby optimizing contact of items on shelves of carrier with the air in order to cause a change of state of the items during the retention time, the change being selected from a range including sterilizing, cooking, chilling and freezing, and

wherein the recirculated air is forced through the first tunnel and then the second tunnel in the same direction as that of the carriers, thereby optimizing contact of items on shelves of carrier with the air in order to cause a change of state of the items during the retention time, the change being selected from a range including sterilizing, cooking, chilling and freezing.