AUTOMATED PLATE STORAGE AND ITS OPERATING METHOD

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automated plate storage capable of storing pallets of the equivalent number without reducing the number of pallets to be stored in comparison with a system having no crane with a one-piece picking device. SOLUTION: The automated plate storage (1) has a pallet transfer crane (20) equipped with an entering/delivering device (21) on one side of a plate storage shelf (10) in an elevating/lowering manner, and a crane (30) equipped with a one-piece picking device (31) on the other side of the plate storage shelf (10) in an elevating/lowering manner. When a plate is taken out of an arbitrary pallet in the shelf by the crane (30) with the one-piece picking device, a control device (40) moves the pallet transfer crane (20) to the position corresponding to a shelf one stage above the previous shelf to perform the taking-out operation of the pallet by the entering/delivering device (21) at the position. The plate can be taken out by the one-piece picking device (31) of the crane (30) equipped with a one-piece picking device by utilizing the shelf space from which the pallet is taken out. COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI