Order fulfillment systems and methods using nested totes

Abstract

Some embodiments provide order fulfillment systems comprising: sub-totes; and order totes each sized to receive and store multiple sub-totes; the sub-totes comprise a body comprising: first and second lateral sides, first and second end sides extending between the first and second lateral sides, and a base comprising: a door pivotably secured with and pivots relative to the first lateral side between a closed position and an open position, wherein in the closed position the door closes at least a portion of the interior cavity, and in the open position exposes the interior cavity through the base; and a first latch mechanically cooperated with the door, the first latch moves between a latched position and an unlatched position, and in the latched position maintains the door in the closed position, and transitions to the unlatched position when actuated releasing the door enabling the door to move to the open position.

Description

ORDER FULFI LLMENT SYSTEMS AND METHODS USING NESTED TOTESCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 627,473 filed January 31, 2024, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.TECHN ICAL FI ELD

[0002] This invention relates generally to automated inventory storage and retrieval.BACKGROU N D

[0003] The management of inventory can be critical to the operation of many industries. Some industries use systems to move inventory. There is a need to improve the control and distribution of inventory.BRI EF DESCRI PTION OF DRAWI NGS

[0004] Disclosed herein are embodiments of systems, apparatuses and methods pertaining automated inventory storage and retrieval. This description includes drawings, wherein:

[0005] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary tote system that includes an exemplary tote and one or more and typically a plurality of exemplary sub-totes that are configured to allow multiple sub-totes to be positioned within the tote, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0006] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary tote system comprising an exemplary tote with a plurality of exemplary sub-totes removed from the tote, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0007] FIG. 3 illustrates an elevated perspective view of an exemplary tote, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0008] FIG. 4 illustrates a lower perspective view of an exemplary tote, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0009] FIGS. 5-12 illustrate different views at different angles of an exemplary sub-tote, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0010] FIG. 13 illustrates a simplified perspective view of an exemplary tote system with an exemplary tote containing multiple exemplary sub-totes, and an exemplary sub-tote positioned vertically aligning the bottom of the compartment of the sub-tote with a container, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0011] FIG. 14 illustrates the exemplary latch mechanism in the latched position of the latch, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0012] FIG. 15 illustrates the exemplary latch mechanism in the unlatched position of the latch when the actuator is in an actuated position in response to activation of the trigger, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0013] FIG. 16 illustrates a close-up view of the exemplary latch in the latched position, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0014] FIG. 17 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary tote, comprising one or more door closing guides, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0015] FIG. 18 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary tote system and showing a sequence of sub-totes, of the tote system, at different stages of being inserted into an exemplary tote, of the tote system, engaging respective guides, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0016] FIG. 19 illustrates an exemplary order fulfillment system that may at least partially automate retrieval of items, order picking, and discharging of orders in response to customer orders made over time, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0017] FIG. 20 illustrates an example tote transfer robot supporting an example tote containing nested example sub-totes, and an example sub-tote positioned relative to an example container, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0018] FIG. 21 illustrates a simplified flow diagram of an exemplary order fulfillment process, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0019] FIG. 22 illustrates a simplified flow diagram of an exemplary order fulfillment process that discharges an order at a customer vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0020] FIG. 23 illustrates a simplified flow diagram of an exemplary order fulfillment process that discharges an order into a shopping cart, trolley, movable rack and / or other transport device, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0021] FIG. 24 illustrates an exemplary system for use in implementing methods, techniques, devices, apparatuses, systems, servers, sources and providing product order fulfillment, decanting, consolidation and inventory management, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0022] Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and / or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments. Also, common but well-understood elements that areuseful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments. Certain actions and / or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.DETAI LED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The following description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing the general principles of exemplary embodiments. Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "some embodiments", "an implementation", "some implementations", "some applications", or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment," "in an embodiment," "in some embodiments", "in some implementations", and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

[0024] According to some embodiments, tote systems are provided that include totes with sub- totes nested therein. The tote systems may be employed in order fulfillment systems, also provided herein. In certain embodiments, the order fulfillment systems may be automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) and may be used in retail supply chains to fulfill orders for individual product units, referred to herein as "eaches" or "items" herein.

[0025] The field of each-picking within retail supply chains can be viewed, in at least some instances, as comprising two application domains: (1) store-replenishment applications, in which the orders are placed by retail stores and the picked eaches are delivered to those stores and placed on shelves to be selected and purchased by customers in the stores, and (2) direct-to- consumer applications, in which the orders are placed by end users or customers and the picked eaches are discharged directly to those end users. For instance, in direct-to-consumer applications, picked items associated with customer orders may be consolidated and then discharged to customers at discharge locations in a store (e.g., a pick-up location) or at a customer vehicle.

[0026] Direct-to-consumer applications can have numerous inefficiencies. For instance, in one typical direct-to-consumer workflow, several plastic bags are disposed in an empty order tote and eaches associated with an order are picked and placed into the plastic bags at a picking workstation. The order totes containing the filled bags are then directed to a customer by an associate in the store or at the customer's vehicle and the customer departs with the filled bags. In such a process, fastening and unfastening plastic bags to order totes is time-consuming and labor intensive. In addition, plastic bags are not environmentally friendly and are not reusable in the order fulfillment system. Further, customer-supplied reusable bags cannot be introduced into an automated order fulfilment system to replace the plastic bags due to potential contaminants.

[0027] The systems and methods described herein are particularly useful, for example, in direct- to-consumer each-picking applications and resolve some of the above-noted problems, and in some instances can be particularly useful in store-replenishment applications, as well as other applications. Embodiments of the tote systems and order fulfillment systems provide more efficient and less time-consuming discharging of orders to customers. In some embodiments, the tote systems and order-fulfillment systems are environmentally friendly because they facilitate a workflow in automated order fulfillment that can incorporate customer-supplied reusable bags. Specifically, the sub-totes are reusable within the order fulfillment system, can be efficiently nested and de-nested from the main totes, and are configured to easily discharge ordered items directly into a bag or other container, such as a customer-supplied reusable bag. In embodiments, items of the orders may be discharged from sub-totes into a container or bag in a shopping cart or vehicle, or directly into a shopping cart.

[0028] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary tote system 100 that includes an exemplary tote 110 and one or more and typically a plurality of exemplary sub-totes 140 that are configured to allow multiple sub-totes 140 to be positioned within the tote 110, in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary tote system 100 comprising an exemplary tote 110 with a plurality of exemplary sub-totes 140 removed from the tote 110, in accordance with some embodiments. The tote system 100 may be part of an order fulfillment system such as an exemplary order fulfillment system 300 illustrated in FIG. 19 and described fully below, in accordance with some embodiments. For instance, an order fulfillment system 300 may employ a tote system 100 having a plurality of totes 110 and a plurality of sub- totes 140 to be nested in the totes 110. In a non-limiting approach, the totes 110 and sub-totes 140 are "order totes", that is, used to consolidate picked items associated with a customer orderin the process of fulfilling the order. The tote systems, totes, and sub-totes described herein, however, are not limited in their use to order fulfillment and may be employed for other suitable purposes in other domains.

[0029] As used herein, a "tote" (and "sub-tote") is generally understood as a container that has an open top (or top that can be opened) and at least one interior cavity. In embodiments, the totes described herein are five-sided containers in the shape of a rectangular solid, having a base or bottom, four contiguous side walls, an interior cavity defined by the side walls and bottom, and an open top. It will be appreciated, however, that other shaped totes can also be utilized without departing from inventive aspects of the invention.

[0030] In some embodiments, the totes 110 of the tote system 100 may each be dimensioned to receive three sub-totes 140 side-by-side. However, in some embodiments the totes 110 may be dimensioned to receive one, two, four, six, or eight sub-totes. Other quantities of sub-totes 140 per tote 110 are also contemplated.

[0031] In some approaches, the tote system 100 may include different sized totes 110 that are dimensioned for different reasons, for example to receive different sized and / or different amounts of sub-totes 140, cooperate with different equipment, fit into different storage locations, etc. In some tote systems 100, all of the totes 110 are the same size and all of the sub- totes 140 are the same size, which may maximize interchangeability or to simplify automation of some or all of the system 100. In certain applications, the totes 110 and sub-totes 140 may also be used independently of one another. Further, in some embodiments, different sized totes and / or different sized sub-totes can be utilized within a tote system 100.

[0032] The number and size of sub-totes 140 nested within a tote 110 may be selected or configured so that the sub-totes 140 entirely fill or almost entirely fill the tote 110. For instance, in the illustrated embodiment there are three sub-totes 140 which each take up about one-third of the interior space of the tote 110. For example, one of the sub-totes may take up one-third of the space of the tote at a first end portion of the tote, a second of the sub-totes may take up one- third of the space of the tote in a middle portion of the tote, and a third of the sub-totes may take up one-third of the space of the tote at a second end portion of the tote. The sub-totes 140 may be nestable within the totes 110 so that one of the sides of two of the sub-totes 140 are flush or almost flush with the sides of the tote 110, and adjacent sides of the middle sub-tote 140 are flush or almost flush with the sides of adjacent sub-totes 140. The bottoms of the sub-totes 140, in some embodiments, may be seated on the bottom of the tote 110 while the open tops of the sub-totes 140 may be substantially level with the open top of the tote 110. In certain approaches, the sub-totes 140 may protrude from the open top of the tote 110 and expose a portion of the side walls (or handles) of the sub-tote 140 above the tote 110. In other approaches, the open tops of the sub-totes 140 may be below the open top of the tote 110 when nested therein.

[0033] FIG. 3 illustrates an elevated perspective view of an exemplary tote 110, in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 4 illustrates a lower perspective view of an exemplary tote 110, in accordance with some embodiments. With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the tote 110 in some embodiments may be a generally rectangular container having a generally rectangular compartment 116 or interior and an open top to access the compartment 116. For instance, the tote 110 may have a rectangular base or bottom 115 and four side walls 111, 112, 113, 114 extending upwardly therefrom. The side walls can include a first end-side 113, a second end-side 114, a first lateral side 111, and a second lateral side 112, and, together with the bottom 115, define the rectangular compartment 116. The sides 111, 112, 113, and 114 may be generally perpendicular to the bottom 115 or may, in certain approaches, be slightly angled or tapered radially outwardly from bottom to top so that the compartment 116 has a gradually increasing cross-sectional area from bottom to top. The latter configuration, in some approaches, permits the tote 110 to be nestable or with other identical totes 110 (e.g., in storage). The totes 110, however, may be implemented in other relevant shapes, such as but not limited to cubic, octagonal, and / or other such shapes.

[0034] In some embodiments, the tote 110 may include a flange 118 adjacent a top or upper rim of the tote 110. For instance, the flange 118 may extend from and about a top perimeter of the tote 110. The flange, sides and / or ends of the tote may include one or more engaging structures to facilitate transferring, gripping, stacking, or other handling of the totes 110. These engaging structures can include, but are not limited to posts, pins, recesses, openings, extensions, handles, slots, other such engaging structures, or a combination of two or more engaging structures. For example, the illustrated embodiment includes four slots 120 defined in the flange adjacent each corner of the tote 110 to facilitate handling of the tote 110 (e.g., by a robot or human). The engaging structures, in some embodiments, can be similar to those described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20220063910, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In some approaches, the tote includes one or more handles at the top, ends, and / or sides of the tote 110.

[0035] In some embodiments, the interior compartment 116 of the tote 110 may be separated into multiple compartments or sections for receiving and positioning sub-totes. For instance, there may be multiple registration features to align and / or position each individual sub-tote within a respective compartment 116 of the tote 110. The compartments may be provided by structures such as but not limited to dividing walls, ridges, ribs, slots, notches, guides, inserts, recesses (not shown) other such structures or a combination of two or more of such structures that can aid in proper positioning of the sub-totes within the tote 110 and / or constrain movement of a nested sub-tote 140 regardless of whether one or more other sub-totes 140 are installed in the tote 110. One or more sensors may additionally or alternatively be used to properly position the sub-totes 140 within the tote 110, such as when used in an automated system, in helping direct a worker in inserting a sub-tote and / or other such instances.

[0036] FIGS. 5-12 illustrate different views at different angles of an exemplary sub-tote 140, in accordance with some embodiments. With reference to FIGS. 5-12, the sub-tote 140 may be a generally rectangular container having a generally rectangular compartment 146 or interior and an open top to access the compartment 146. For instance, the sub-tote 140 may have a rectangular base or bottom 145 and four lateral sides 141, 142, 143, 144 extending therefrom. The side walls include a first end-side 143, a second end-side 144, a first lateral side 141, and a second lateral side 142, and, together with the bottom 145, define the rectangular compartment 146. The first lateral side 141 and second lateral side 142 extend along a length of the sub-tote 140 and the first end-side 143 and the second end-side 144 extend along a width of the sub-tote 140. As illustrated, the sides 141, 142, 143, 144 may be slightly angled or tapered radially outwardly relative to the bottom 115 so that the compartment 146 has a gradually increasing cross-sectional area from bottom to top. The latter configuration, in some approaches, permits the sub-tote 140 to be nestable with other identical sub-totes 140 (e.g. in storage) or facilitates insertion of the sub-tote 140 into a tote 110 that has correspondingly angled sides. The sub-totes 140, however, may be implemented in other relevant shapes, such as but not limited to cubic, octagonal, and / or other such shapes.

[0037] With reference to FIGS. 1, 3, and 5, the lateral sides 141, 142 of the sub-totes 140 may have a length that is about the width of the compartment 116 of the tote 110, so that each sub- tote 140 extends lengthwise along a width of the tote 110 (i.e., from the first lateral side 111 of the tote 110 to the second lateral side 112 of the tote 110). In some embodiments, the sub-totes140 may be sized to contact the sides of the tote 110 when inserted therein. In other approaches, there may be some space between the sub-totes 140 and the tote 110.

[0038] The end-sides 143, 144 of the sub-tote 140 may have a width selected so that a certain number of sub-totes 140 fit along a length of the tote 110 (i.e., between the first end-side 113 of the tote 110 and the second end-side 114 of the tote 110). For instance, as illustrated, the width of the end-sides 143, 144 of the sub-tote 140 is about one-third of the length of the compartment 116 of the tote 110 so that three sub-totes 140 can be seated side-by-side along the length of the tote 110.

[0039] The sub-tote may include one or more handles 151 for handling the sub-tote 140. In one approach, there may be handles 151 adjacent a top portion of one or more of the lateral sides 141, 142, 143, 144. For instance, there may be opposing handles disposed on the lateral sides 141, 142 and / or on the end-sides 143, 144. In other approaches, there may be four handles 151, 152, 153, 154 disposed on all four sides 141, 142, 143, 144 (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 5). The handles may be configured to be handled by a human, a robot, and / or other transport systems. As illustrated, in one non-limiting approach the handles 151, 152, 153, 154 are defined by elongated openings at top portions of each of the respective four sides 141, 142, 143, 144. The handles, however, can be positioned in other relevant locations. Further, the handles are illustrated as apertures extending through the sides. In other embodiments, however, the handles may be formed as part of the totes and not as an aperture (e.g., one or more ridges, shelves or other portions extending from one or more of the sides).

[0040] Advantageously, the bottom 145 of the sub-tote 140 may be defined by at least one movable door that can be moved into a closed position or into an open position. The movable door may be configured to pivot between the closed position and the open position, for example, via one or more hinges on one of the sides of the sub-tote 140. In the closed position of the bottom 145, the door closes the compartment 146 at the bottom 145 and any items inserted into the sub-tote 140 are contained within the compartment 146. In the open position of the bottom 145, the interior of the compartment 146 is exposed through the bottom 145. In this position, items inserted into the sub-tote 140 may be released or discharged from the bottom 145 of the sub-tote 140.

[0041] FIG. 13 illustrates a simplified perspective view of an exemplary tote system 100 with an exemplary tote 110 containing multiple exemplary sub-totes 140, and an exemplary sub-tote positioned vertically aligning the bottom of the compartment 146 of the sub-tote with a container199 (e.g., bag, box, bin, tub or other such container), in accordance with some embodiments. With reference to FIGS. 5-13, in one non-limiting approach, the bottom 145 of the sub-tote 140 can comprise one or more moveable doors, which are configured to move, pivot, rotate and / or otherwise move to expose the interior of the sub-tote. In some embodiments, for example, the sub-tote 140 can include two opposing movable doors 155, 165. A first movable door 155 may be pivotably secured proximate to a bottom of the first lateral side 141 via one or more hinges 155a while a second movable door 165 may be pivotably secured proximate to a bottom of the second lateral side 142 via one or more hinges 165a. Each of the one or more doors may extend along at least some of the length of a bottom or base of the compartment 146 of the sub-tote 140, and extend across at least some of a width of the bottom of the compartment. In some embodiments, the first and second movable doors 155, 165 may each extend approximately or an entire length of the compartment 146 of the sub-tote 140 and approximately half a width of the compartment 146 so that the movable doors 155, 165 each enclose approximately half of the bottom of the compartment 146 and together enclose some, a majority of or the entire bottom of the compartment 146. In other approaches, the movable doors 155, 165 may instead be hinged on the end-sides 143, 144 of the sub-tote 140 with each movable door 155, 165 extending an entire width of the compartment 146 and half a length of the compartment 146. In some embodiments, the movable doors 155, 165 are configured to open outwardly away from the interior of the compartment.

[0042] FIG. 6 illustrates a closed position of the first and second movable doors 155, 165, of an exemplary sub-tote 140, while FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary sub-tote 140 with exemplary first and second movable doors 155, 165 opening, in accordance with some embodiments. The first and second movable doors 155, 165 each include a first outer side or edge 159a, 169a, a second outer side or edge 159b, 169b opposite the first outer edge 159a, 169a, and an inner side or edge 159c, 169c extending therebetween. In one approach, in a closed position, the movable doors 155, 165 engage one another in a lap joint 158 along the inner edges 159c, 169c. Specifically, the first movable door 155 has a first inner lap joint portion 156 and the second movable door 165 has a corresponding second outer lap joint portion 166. In the closed position, the first inner lap joint portion 156 rests on and is held into position by the outer lap joint portion 166.

[0043] FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary use of the tote system 100, in accordance with some embodiments. One of the sub-totes 140 nested in tote 110 can be removed from the tote 110.The sub-tote 140 can be aligned with (e.g., positioned above, partially within or fully inserted into)a bag 199, box, or other container. The first and second movable doors 155, 165 can be activated to transition from the closed position to into the open position while the sub-tote 140 is aligned with the bag 199 or other container. Items or products contained within the sub-tote 140, such as picked items to fulfill a customer order, are released into the bag 199 when the first and second movable doors 155, 165 are opened. The same process may occur for the remaining sub-totes 140 in the tote 110 with the same bag 199 or container or one or more other bags or containers.

[0044] In the context of fulfilling a customer order, the process of aligning one or more sub-totes with one or more bags and / or containers may continue until a customer order is filled. A customer order may utilize, for example, multiple sub-totes 140 that each receive one or more items and can be nested in one or more totes 110, and the process may output multiple bags 199 and / or containers with the one or more items for the customer to take home. In this context, the volume of each sub-tote 140 may be configured, in some embodiments, to correspond generally to a particular volume, such as the volume of an expected bag or container that the customer may take home, so that the volume of picked items in each sub-tote 140 fit within a single bag or container. For example, the sub-totes 140 may be dimensioned to fit predefined standard sized paper bags, plastic bags and / or standard sized reusable bags. The expected bag or container can have a top opening with a size and geometry that permits the bottom doors 155, 165 of the sub- tote 140 to at least substantially align, and typically fully align with the opening of the bag 199 or container so that the items are released into the bag or container when the doors 155, 165 are opened without falling outside the bag or container. In some approaches, the opening of the take- home bag or container should be slightly bigger than the bottom 145 to ensure that the customer bag or container catches all of the items. In one approach, the bottom 145 of the sub-tote 140 is slid into the opening of the bag 199 or container before opening the bottom 145 to ensure that all the items are caught. In some embodiments, the sub-tote 140 has a volume that is somewhat smaller than the volume of the predefined or expected standard size bag or container to ensure that items in the sub-tote 140 fit in the bag or container. Other bags or containers can be utilized that have sufficient size to enable dispensing one or more items from multiple different sub-totes into a single large bag and / or container. Similarly, in some instances, two or more sub-totes corresponding to an order may not be full, and as such multiple items from different sub-totes may be dispensed into a single standard sized bag and / or large bag or container.

[0045] In some embodiments, the one or more movable doors defining the bottom 145 may include and / or cooperate with one or more latch mechanisms mechanically cooperating with themovable door or doors. The latch mechanism can be movable between a closed or latched position and an open or unlatched position. In the latched position the one or more latch mechanisms can maintain one or more movable doors in the closed position, and a transition of one or more latch mechanisms to the unlatched position when actuated can release one or more movable doors so the movable door or doors move to the open position. The latch mechanism may comprise a latch and an actuator secured to the sub-tote 140 that activates movement of the latch between the latched position and the unlatched position. The actuator may include a trigger, described further below. While mechanical latches are described herein, it is also contemplated that the latches for the movable door or doors may have an electronic or power component and may be electronically operable.

[0046] With reference to FIG. 12, the sub-tote 140 can in some embodiments include one or more latch mechanisms 175, 190, which may be employed to open the first and second movable doors 155, 165 and / or secure one or more of the first and second movable doors 155, 165 in the closed position. For instance, the first latch mechanism 175 can include a first latch (not shown) that cooperates with first outer sides of the first movable door 155 and the second movable door 165 adjacent the first end-side 143 of the sub-tote 140. The second latch mechanism 190 can include a second latch (not shown) that cooperates with opposing second sides of the first movable door 155 and the second movable door 165 at the opposing second end-side 144 of the sub-tote 140. In certain embodiments, maintaining the movable doors 155, 165 in a closed position or fully opening the movable doors 155, 165 requires both latch mechanisms 175, 190. Additionally, multiple latch mechanisms may be included in a sub-tote as a safety feature. For example, the multiple latch mechanisms avoids an opening of the one or more doors when a user or system mistakenly releases one of the multiple latch mechanisms. Other embodiments, however, utilize a single latch mechanism. Further, some embodiments activate two or more latch mechanisms in response to an activation of a single trigger.

[0047] The sub-tote 140 may include one or more actuators. In the illustrated embodiment in FIG. 12, for example, one or more of the latch mechanisms 175, 190 may include a respective actuator that actuates the latches, moving the latches between the latched position and the unlatched position. In some embodiments, the actuators may be secured to or within opposing side walls of the sub-tote 140 and may be biased in an unactuated position, maintaining the latches in the latched position. In some approaches, the actuators each include a respective trigger 176, 191 that when activated moves the respective actuator into an actuated position,inducing movement of the latches to the unlatched position. An external force on the triggers176, 191 (e.g., exerted by a human or robot) can move the actuators into the actuated position.

[0048] In some approaches, the triggers 176, 191 may be disposed and accessed adjacent to the handles of the sub-totes. For instance, in the illustrated embodiment in FIG. 12, the exemplary triggers 176, 191 are positioned in and / or proximate to the elongate openings 153, 154 defining the handles in the first end-side 143 and the second end-side 144. In this configuration, the actuators are at least in part disposed, respectively, adjacent to and / or internally within the walls of the first end-side 143 and the second end-side 154. In some embodiments, the triggers 176, 191 of the actuators can extend along the interior, exterior and / or upwardly through the walls of the first end-side 143 and the second end-side 144 to align with the elongate openings 153, 154 and extend at least partially into the area of the openings. For example, the triggers 176, 191 may be sized to be generally seated in the openings 153, 154 and movable along a portion of the length of the openings 153, 154. In the unactuated position, the triggers 176, 191 may be positioned close to one side of the respective opening 153, 154 though slightly spaced from that one side of the opening. The actuators may, in some embodiments, be actuated when a force is exerted on the triggers 176, 191 to move the triggers 176, 191 along the elongate openings 153, 154 closer to the nearest side. For instance, in some embodiments the triggers 176, 191 may move from an extended position exposed in the elongated opening to a retracted position at or near an end of the elongated opening, and / or to contact or abut the sides of the openings 153, 154 when they are moved to actuate the actuators.

[0049] FIGS. 14-16 illustrate an exemplary, non-limiting, latch mechanism for an exemplary sub- tote 240, in accordance with some embodiments. The illustrated sub-tote 240 may include some or all of the features described above with respect to sub-tote 140. Features that are in common with the sub-tote 140 are denoted with the same number except the number will begin with a "2" for sub-tote 240. In addition, it is noted that since the first and second latch mechanisms on opposing sides of the movable doors 255, 265 are the same, only the first latch mechanism 275 will be described in detail below.

[0050] In some embodiments, the latch mechanism 275 can include a first latch 279 which cooperates with the movable doors 255, 265 to latch and unlatch the doors, a first actuator 277 for the first latch 279, and a first trigger 276. The first latch 279, in some embodiments, has a hook-like configuration, ridge, "L" shapes protrusions and / or other such structure and can bemoved or pivoted from the latched position to the unlatched position and vice-versa, as described in further detail below.

[0051] In some embodiments, the first actuator 277 can have an elongate rod or stem 278 that extends along and / or within a corresponding elongate passage 285, guide or the like along and / or in an interior of the first end-side wall 243. In some embodiments, the passage 285 extends generally vertically or at an angle along and / or within the first end-side wall 243 from one side of the elongate opening 253 of the handle to a substantially central opening 285a at the bottom of the first end-side wall 243. The passage 285 can have varying widths and typically is slightly wider than the first actuator 277 so that in different positions of the actuator 277 (described below) the actuator 277 may contact a first angled side surface 287 of the passage 285 or an opposing second angled side surface 288 of the passage 285. In some embodiments, the actuator 277 is pivotably coupled to the passage 285 by a pivot pin 282, bolt, rivet, hinge, etc., which can be defined to separate a first upper portion 280 of the stem 278 from a second lower portion 281 of the stem 278. In some embodiments, the portion of the passage 285 at or immediately adjacent to the pivot pin 282 may be narrower than distal portions of the passage 285 above and below the pivot pin 282.

[0052] The first latch 279 can in some embodiments extend from a bottom end of the first actuator 277 and through the opening 285a. A top end of the first actuator 277 can be cooperated with and / or may form the trigger 276, which in some embodiments may extend into the elongate opening 253 of the handle, protrude above the sub-tote and / or otherwise be positioned to be accessed by a user and / or robot.

[0053] In some embodiments, a biasing element 289 can be included in the latch mechanism 275 to bias the actuator 277 so that the first latch 279 is in the latched position. In the illustrated embodiment, a cavity 286 extends off of the passage 285 adjacent the latch 279 (e.g., proximate a top portion of the passage 285, a bottom portion of the passage or other relevant location to induce a biasing of the latch 279 in an intended direction). The biasing can be induced by one or more springs, coiled springs, magnets, deformation of a portion of the actuator 277, other such biasing mechanism or a combination of two or more biasing mechanisms. In the illustrated embodiment, for example, the biasing element can comprise one or more U-shaped springs that can at least partially disposed in the cavity 286, and can engage the actuator 277 (e.g., at the upper first portion 280 of the actuator 277) to bias the actuator 277 in an intended direction and cause the latch 279 to be maintained in the latched position. Specifically, the spring in its neutralposition may extend in part into the passage 285 to engage the actuator 277. The opening of the cavity 286 between the cavity 286 and the passage 285 may be sized so that the actuator 277 is exposed to and can engage some or all of an entire length of a proximate side of the U-shaped spring. The biasing element 289 is not limited to a U-shaped spring or a spring. Other elastomeric biasing elements or non-elastomeric biasing elements (e.g., magnets) may also be used to accomplish the contemplated biasing of the actuator 277.

[0054] FIG. 14 illustrates the exemplary latch mechanism 275 in the latched position of the latch 279, in accordance with some embodiments. In this position, the U-shaped spring extends in part into the passage 285 and biases the actuator 277 so that the first upper portion 280 of the actuator 277 is forced away from the second angled side surface 288 of the passage 285 and towards the first angled side surface 287. In this position, the trigger 276 is also forced away from the side of the elongate opening 253 of the handle so that it is spaced therefrom. The pressure of the first upper portion 280 of the actuator 277 against the first angled side surface 287 forces the latch 279 into the latched position, for example by forcing the second lower portion 281 of the actuator 277 against the second angled side surface 288 of the passage 285. In this position, the latch 279 is positioned to engage and hook under and in some instances around a receiving portion (e.g., projecting pin 267 (FIG. 16), ledge, ridge and / or other such structure) on at least one of the movable doors (e.g., the second movable door 265) to latch one or more of the movable doors 255, 265 in a closed position.

[0055] FIG. 15 illustrates the exemplary latch mechanism 275 in the unlatched position of the latch 279 when the actuator 277 is in an actuated position in response to activation of the trigger 276, in accordance with some embodiments. When the trigger 276 is forced towards the side of the elongate opening 253 of the handle, the first upper portion 280 of the actuator 277 is simultaneously forced away from the first angled side surface 287 of the passage 285 and towards the second angled side surface 288. This motion results in the first upper portion 280 of the actuator 277 acting on the biasing element 289 (e.g., compressing the U-shaped spring further into the cavity 286) so that the first upper portion 280 can engage the second angled side surface 288 of the passage 285. In some embodiments, since the distance the trigger 276 is moved towards the side of the elongate opening 253 is greater than the space between the first upper portion 280 of the actuator 277 and the second angled side surface 288 of the passage 285, moving the trigger 276 to its full extent (e.g., until it abuts the side wall of the elongate opening 253) causes the first upper portion 280 of the actuator 277 to exert pressure on the second angledside surface 288. The angling of the second angled side surface 288 forces the second lower portion 281 of the actuator 277 to pivot away from the second angled side surface 288 and towards the first angled side surface 287. The hook of the latch 279 is thus pivoted away from the projecting pin 267 (FIG. 16) on the second movable door 265 so that one or more of the movable doors 255, 265 are unlatched and released into an open position.

[0056] FIG. 16 illustrates a close-up view of the exemplary latch 279 in the latched position, in accordance with some embodiments. As noted above, the hook-like latch 279 extends from the passage 285 through an opening 285a at the bottom of the first end-side wall 243 that can be centrally positioned so that the latch 279 extends through the opening 285a, and in some embodiments below the bottom of the first end-side wall 243 at an interface between the first movable door 255 and the second movable door 265.

[0057] The latch 279 can extend from a gradually narrowing or tapering end portion 281a of the second portion 281 of the actuator stem 278. The tapering portion 281a of the stem 278 can conform against a protruding portion 288a of the angled second side surface 288 of the passage 285 in the unbiased, latched position, and pivots away from the protruding portion 288a in the actuated, unlatched position.

[0058] In some embodiments, the movable doors 255, 265 engage one another in the closed position via one or more lap joints 258, ridges, shelves, extending tabs or the like which can extend over one or more portions of a length of the door or from one side of the movable doors 255, 265 along a length to the other side of the movable doors. The first movable door 255, in some embodiments, can have a first inner lap joint portion 256 and the second movable door 265 can have a corresponding second outer lap joint portion 266. In the closed position, the first inner lap joint portion 256 is seated on and held into position by the outer lap joint portion 266. In embodiments, there may be a space or slot 268 formed between the movable doors 255, 265 adjacent the lap joint portions 256, 266 and below the opening 285a of the passage 285. The latch 279 extends downwardly into the slot 268, which is large enough for the latch 279 to pivot as described above between the latched position and the unlatched position.

[0059] The second movable door 265 can, in some embodiments, include a pin 267 that projects laterally and outwardly from a side edge of the second movable door 265 and within the slot 268. In the latched position, the latch 279 hooks under and around the pin 267 to hold the second movable door 265 in the closed position. In this position, the first movable door 255 is also held closed along with the second movable door 265 due to the lap joint 258. When the actuator 277is actuated, the latch 279 pivots away from the pin 267 to the unlatched position, disengaging the pin 267 and releasing the doors 265, 255 into the open position. In certain embodiments, a second pin 257 projects from the first movable door 255. The first and second pins 267, 257 may function to assist in closing the movable doors 255, 265, as described further below. In some embodiments, one or both pins 267, 257, project outwardly from side edges of the movable doors 255, 265 and beyond the first end-side wall 143 so they are protruding from the sides of the sub-tote 140.

[0060] As noted above, it is contemplated that in some embodiments the movable doors 255, 265 are released into the open position when two or more latches of two or more latch mechanisms are cooperatively unlatched (e.g., simultaneously, in sequence, etc.). In some embodiments, for example, the movable doors 255, 265 are released into the open position when two or more latches of two or more latch mechanisms similar to or identical to the first mechanism are cooperatively unlatched (e.g., simultaneously, in sequence, etc.) from a pin projecting from an opposite side of the second movable door 265 at the opposite end-side of the sub-tote 240.

[0061] In embodiments, once the movable doors 255, 265 are open and force is no longer exerted on the trigger 276, the actuator 277 returns to the unactuated position, which returns the latch 279 to the "latched" position, but this time without actually latching the doors 255, 265. In some approaches, the movable doors 255, 265 need to be moved upwardly back into the closed position (e.g., manually, robotically, or by being placed back into the main tote, as described further below) to close the doors 255, 265 and engage the latch 279. In certain embodiments, moving the movable doors 255, 265 back into the closed position causes the movable doors 255, 265 to engage one or more latches (e.g., the first and second latches) to re-latch the doors in the closed position.

[0062] In some embodiments, for example, the force of the movable doors 255, 265 moving into the closed position may cause the pin 267 to push against a lower angled surface of the latch 279 to pivot the latch 279 slightly out of the way until the pin 267 passes the latch 279 (and in some instances overcoming the biasing) and the latch 279 swings back under the pin 267. In some implementations, a similar action can occur on the opposite sides of the movable doors 255, 265, and in some instances simultaneously, so that the movable doors 255, 265 are fully closed and relatched at both ends of the doors.

[0063] FIG. 17 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary tote 210, comprising one or more door closing guides 295, in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 18 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary tote system 200 and showing a sequence of sub-totes 240a-240c, of the tote system 200, at different stages of being inserted into an exemplary tote 210, of the tote system 200, engaging respective guides 295, in accordance with some embodiments. With reference to FIGS. 17 and 18, in some embodiments where the pins 267, 257 (and opposing pins of the second latch mechanism on the opposite sides of the movable doors 255, 265) project outwardly from the edges of the movable doors 255, 265 so that they are protruding past the end-sides 243, 144 of the sub-tote 140, the pins 267, 257 may be configured to cooperate with the main tote 210 to close and re-latch the doors 255, 265. For instance, in some embodiments, interior surfaces of opposing lateral sides of the tote 210 include one or more guides 295 that guide pins 257, 267 and thus the movable doors 255, 265 of the sub-tote 140 into a closed and latched position when the sub-tote 140 is placed back into the tote 210 while the doors 255, 265 are open.

[0064] FIG. 17 illustrates a simplified view of the first lateral side 211 of the exemplary tote 210 having a plurality of guides 295 on an interior surface thereof. As illustrated in FIG. 17, in some embodiments where multiple (e.g., three) sub-totes 240 may be nested side-by-side within the tote 210, there may be, for example, three sets of opposing guides 295 on interior surfaces of the first lateral side 211 and the second lateral side (not shown) of the tote 210. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that more or fewer guides 295 may be included depending one or more factors, including but not limited to dimensions of the tote 210 and dimensions of the sub-totes 240a-240c that may be cooperated with the tote 210. The guides 295 may be recesses, protruding ridges, ribs, or other variations in the surfaces that are configured to align with and engage with the projecting pins and / or other portion of the door on one or both sides of the sub-tote 240 as the sub-tote 240 is positioned or dropped into the tote 210. The guides 295 may be shaped to gradually draw the pins closer together as the sub-tote 240 drops into the tote 210 so that the movable doors 255, 265 are drawn into the closed position and automatically latched.

[0065] In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, each guide 295 includes a first guide portion 296 that is positioned to engage the second pin 267 on the second movable door 265 and a second guide portion 297 that may be symmetrically disposed relative to the first guide portion 296 and positioned to engage the first pin 257 on the first movable door 255. The guide portions 296, 297 may, for example, be a ridge, recess, or curvature in the interior surface of the lateral side wall 211. The guide portions 296, 297 may extend generally vertically along the interior surface of thetote 210 so that the pins 267, 257 of the sub-tote 240 are guided downward along the guide 295 as the sub-tote 240 drops into the tote 210.

[0066] In some approaches, the first and second guide portions 296, 297 may be widely spaced from each other towards the top of the guide 295, defining a wide portion 295a of the guide 295. The first and second guide portions 296, 297 may gradually curve and / or angle closer to one another and define a narrow portion 295b of the guide 295 adjacent the bottom of the tote 210. The gradually curving and / or tapering geometry of the guide portions 296, 297 towards each other causes the pins 267, 257 of the sub-tote 240 to be gradually drawn towards each other and the latches 279 on the way down into the tote 210.

[0067] FIG. 18 shows a simplified cross-sectional view of an exemplary tote 210 and exemplary sub-totes 240a-240c being cooperated within the tote 210, in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 18 further illustrates a simplified, progressive view of the first end-sides 243 of the exemplary sub-totes 240a, 240b, and 240c as they are positioned into the exemplary tote 210. Referring to at least FIGS. 17-18, one or more pins 257, 267 and / or other parts of the one or more doors 255, 265 contact the guides 295 that can guide and move the movable doors 255, 265 of each sub-tote 240 from the open position into the closed position. A first sub-tote 240a is shown being first inserted into the tote 210 with the one or more pins 257, 267 initially engaging the guides 295. With the movable doors 255, 265 in a fully open position, the pins 267, 257 are spaced and aligned with and engaging top regions of respective guide portions 296, 297 of the guide 295. As the first sub-tote 240a is pushed into and / or falls further down into the tote 210, the inwardly curving guide portions of the guides draw the pins 257, 267 of the sub-tote 240a towards each other, which begins to fold the movable doors 255, 265 into the closed position.

[0068] A second sub-tote 240b is shown with the movable doors 255, 265 almost in the closed position, with the pins 257, 267 about to ride the guide 295 into the narrow portion 295b of the guide 295, which will move the lap joint portions 256, 266 (FIG. 15) on the movable doors 255, 265 into engagement with one another, with the outer lap joint portion 266 under and supporting the inner lap joint portion 256.

[0069] A third sub-tote 240c is shown with the movable doors 255, 265 fully closed as the sub- tote 240c is fully seated proximate to or against the bottom of the tote 210. In some approaches contact of the at least partially inwardly folded doors 255, 265 with the bottom of the tote 210 or other portion of the tote (e.g., protrusion) forces the movable doors 255, 265 securely into the closed position and latched by the one or more latching mechanisms. The process of moving themovable doors 255, 265 fully into the closed position also latches the movable doors 255, 265, as described above. Similarly, the movable doors 255, 265 can be closed prior to being inserted into the tote 210 where the doors and / or pins do not engage the guides 295.

[0070] Advantageously, in for example an order fulfillment context, the above-described guides 295 simplify the process of transitioning sub-totes 240 between different orders and totes, since simply inserting the sub-totes 240 back into a tote 210 automatically closes and re-latches the movable doors 255, 265 and an additional step and / or machinery for closing the doors 255, 265 can be skipped and / or is not required.

[0071] In other approaches, other forms of guides may be used to guide the movable doors 255, 265 closed. For instance, the guides may be disposed on an insert or container within the tote 210. In addition, in some embodiments the movable doors 255, 265 may be closed manually by a human or by a robot and inserted into totes with or without guides. Further, in some embodiments, the guides 295 can conform to and / or based on a shape of the lower body of a sub-tote when a sub-tote 240 is positioned in the tote 210 and after the sub-tote is retrieved, the guides may return to original configuration to receive a subsequent sub-tote.

[0072] The totes and / or sub-totes described above may also include a tag or an ID to identify and distinguish particular totes or sub-totes from other totes or sub-totes. For example, the totes and / or sub-totes may include a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, barcode, QR code, alphanumeric characters, other such tags or IDs, or a combination of two or more of such tags and / or IDs on an exterior side and / or interior that may be scannable by a scanning device (e.g., on a robot, on a conveyor system, in a workstation, and / or other such systems). In some approaches, the tag may be used to associate the tote or sub-tote with a particular customer order, associate a sub-tote with a tote, associate an item with a sub-tote in which it is placed, and / or other such associations. The tag may also be associated with other information such as a location of a tote within a system, a type of tote (e.g., a product tote, an order tote, decant tote, etc.), a status of the tote and / or sub-tote (e.g., full, empty, number of items, number of sub-totes within a tote, etc.), other such associations, or a combination of two or more associations.

[0073] In some embodiments, the totes and / or sub-totes disclosed herein may be configured to store items at different designated temperatures (e.g., a chilled temperature, a frozen temperature, an ambient temperature, one or more heated temperatures, etc.). Generally, a chilled temperature may range, for example, from 0°F to 34°F, and a frozen temperature may be less than or equal to 0°F. For instance, the totes and / or sub-totes may include one or more of theinsulating features described in PCT Publication No. 2022 / 133353 published June 23, 2022, which is incorporated herein in its entirety. For instance, the totes and / or sub-totes may include a lid, for example, a hinged lid, to better maintain the tote or sub-totes at a desired chilled or frozen temperature. In addition, the chilled or frozen sub-totes may have one or more thermally insulating panels disposed along the interior and / or exterior surfaces of the compartment formed from various materials including, but not limited to, polystyrene foam and urethane foam. A thermal insert may also be included in the compartment that may include a phase change material such as, for example, pure water, water mixed with propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, glycerin, and / or salt, sodium polyacrylate, and dry ice. The sub-totes may also include sensors to monitor the temperature of the compartment.

[0074] Other insulating features that may be provided in the totes and / or sub-totes may be found in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2020 / 071076 published March 5, 2020 and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2021 / 0300664 published September 30, 2021, each of which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

[0075] As noted above, the totes, sub-totes, and tote systems described above may be used as part of an order fulfillment system, for example an order fulfillment system that includes an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) and / or goods to picker (G2P) system. Generally, such an order fulfillment system may employ a centralized control system, product totes and order totes, a tote storage structure for storing totes and stock items, a tote transfer system that may include autonomous mobile robots or vehicles that transfer and transport the totes, picking workstations where human or robotic pickers remove eaches from product totes and place them into order totes, an output / discharge system for discharging the order to take-home bags or containers for a customer to take home, and an input system where totes enter or are cycled back into the system.

[0076] This application incorporates by reference the entirety of each of the following U.S. and WO patent publications related to automated order fulfillment systems and many have any of the additional systems, processes, and features described therein: U.S. Publication No. 2014 / 0288696 published September 25, 2014, having U.S. Application Serial No. 14 / 213,187, filed on March 14, 2014, and entitled "Automated system for transporting payloads"; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2017 / 0313514 published November 2, 2017, having U.S. Application Serial No. 15 / 591,956, filed on May 10, 2017, and entitled "Order fulfillment system"; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019 / 0270591 published September s, 2019, having U.S. Application Serial No. 16 / 419,910, filedon May 22, 2019, and entitled "Order fulfillment system"; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018 / 0134492 published May 17, 2018, having U.S. Application Serial No. 15 / 816,832, filed on November 17, 2017, and entitled "Automated-service retail system and method"; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018 / 0194556 published July 12, 2018, having U.S. Application Serial No. 15 / 867,373, filed on January 10, 2018, and entitled "Interchangeable automated mobile robots with a plurality of operating modes configuring a plurality of different robot task capabilities; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018 / 0150793 published May 31, 2018, having U.S. Application Serial No. 15 / 826,045, filed on November 29, 2017, and entitled "Automated retail supply chain and inventory management system"; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018 / 0305123 published October 25, 2018, having U.S. Application Serial No. 15 / 956,346, filed on April 18, 2018, and entitled "Picking workstation with mobile robots & machine vision verification of each transfers performed by human operators"; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018 / 0247257 published August 30, 2018, having U.S. Application Serial No. 15 / 903,993, filed on February 23, 2018, and entitled "Inventory management system and method"; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018 / 0341908 published November 29, 2018, having U.S. Application Serial No. 15 / 987,736, filed on May 23, 2018, and entitled "Fully automated self-service store"; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019 / 0047787 published February 14, 2019, having U.S. Application Serial No. 16 / 058,065, filed on August 8, 2018, and entitled "Universal gripper for tote and sub-tote transport"; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2020 / 071076 published March 5, 2020, having U.S. Application Serial No. 16 / 554,512, filed on August 28, 2019, and entitled "Tote handling for chilled or frozen goods"; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2020 / 0156871 published May 21, 2020, having U.S. Application Serial No. 16 / 676,732, filed on November 7, 2019, and entitled "System having robotic workstation; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2020 / 0223630 published July 16, 2020, having U.S. Application Serial No. 16 / 742,119, filed on January 14, 2020, and entitled "System having workstation with tote retention and release mechanism"; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2021 / 0300664 published September 30, 2021, having U.S. Application Serial No. 16 / 831,468, filed on March 26, 2020, and entitled "Tote handling for chilled or frozen goods"; U.S. Publication No. 2021 / 0323769 published October 21, 2021, having U.S. Application Serial No. 17 / 236,082, filed on April 21, 2021, and entitled "Transport Rack Cartridge"; U.S. Publication No. 2023 / 0230031 published July 20, 2023, having U.S. Application Serial No. 17 / 927,851, filed on November 25, 2022, and entitled "High Density Micro Fulfillment Center "HD-MFC" with Nightly G2P Storage Batch Pick Replenishment from Store Floor and Method of Operating Same"; and WO Publication No. 2022 / 133353 published June 23, 2022,having PCT Application No. PCT / US2021 / 064424, filed on December 20, 2021, and entitled "Methods and apparatus for facilitating transport of items between a store and a customer via a customer access location".

[0077] With reference to FIG. 19, an exemplary order fulfillment system 300 is shown that may at least partially automate retrieval of items, order picking, and discharging of orders in response to customer orders made over time, in accordance with some embodiments. The system 300 can include a centralized control system 380 comprising software, computers, servers, circuitry, memory, databases, other network equipment or a combination of two or more of such components, which manages resources within the system 300 (including some or all of various robots and robot circuitry, when present), orchestrates the order fulfillment processing and related processes for some or all pending orders, and provides status and control interfaces to human operators, users of the system, control systems, and / or to external systems. Further, in some embodiments, the control system 380 can provide instructions to and / or control computer systems (e.g., smartphones, tablets, desktop computers, user wearable devices, etc.) that direct one or more workers to move through a retail facility with sub-totes and / or totes containing sub- totes in manual picking (e.g., one or more items of one or more orders can be picked from a store sales floor, a store fulfillment area, one or more areas of a fulfillment facility, and / or other such locations, and made available to customers, such as dispensed to a customer vehicle).

[0078] The order fulfillment system 300 may also include a material control system 382, which can comprise one or more control circuits, processors, servers and the like executing one or more software applications used to control the operation of various components in the system 300. For example, the material control system 382 may manage the operation of an output / discharge system 320 by controlling the transport of order totes into the output / discharge system 320 and the timing and sequence of order totes to be staged at discharge locations or customer access locations 322 for pickup by one or more customers. In another example, the material control system 382 may designate a particular workstation 315 (e.g., picking workstation, decanting workstation, universal workstation, etc.) to fulfill a customer order and thereafter instruct one or more robots 312a to transport product totes and order totes to the workstation 315, provide instructions to a human operator or a robotic picker containing the type and quantity of items to transfer from the product totes to one or more order totes, instruct the robots to transport the product totes back to the tote storage structure 302 and the order totes to the output / discharge system 320 or an order storage structure 318. In some embodiments, totes are maintained withinan order fulfillment system. For example, a first set of one or more product totes 140 containing sub-totes may be maintained in the system while one or more sub-totes may be picked from one or more products totes, and those one or more picked sub-totes can be placed into one or more order totes for fulfillment of an order, which may include fulfillment outside of the system. In other embodiments, product totes with one or more sub-totes may be presented to a picker at a workstation where the picker sequentially extracts one or more sub-totes and dispenses one or more items from the one or more extracted sub-totes into one or more bags or containers. The extracted sub-totes may be placed back into the system (e.g., back into the same tote or a different tote), while the one or more bags of an order can be delivered to the respective customer.

[0079] The order fulfillment system 300 may be integrated in an E-commerce system where a customer of a retail facility (e.g., fulfillment facility, warehouse, store, etc.) may browse and select items using a software application or a website on a computer device, such as a computer (desktop computer, laptop computer, kiosk) or personal mobile device (e.g., a tablet, a cellular phone, a smartphone), to place an order. When the customer places an order for the items, the order is fulfilled automatically by the order fulfillment system 300 which may be located in a store, in a separate fulfillment facility, or distributed in several different stores and / or fulfillment facilities. Specifically, picking workstations 315 of the order fulfillment system 300 may success pick items from product totes 305 to consolidate the order. In this manner, the order fulfillment system 300 may appreciably save time for the customer by delegating the task of picking items for the order to a worker and / or an automated system. Once the customer's order is prepared, the customer may then travel to the store to pick up the order or may have the order delivered.

[0080] The various eaches or items processed in the order fulfillment system 300 may be stored and transported in one or more totes, such as any of the totes disclosed hereinabove. Some of the totes may be used as product totes 305 that are used to store one or more stock items. In certain embodiments, a given product tote stores at least one corresponding product with a unique stock keeping unit (SKU). Some product totes may be configured to contain multiple products with different SKUs via one or more sub-totes or dividers. The product totes 305 may be like the totes described above (e.g., totes 110, 210), or may have another configuration. Other totes may be used as order totes 310 which contain one or more items that have been picked to fulfill a specific customer order. It is contemplated that at least some of the order totes 310 are configured like the totes described above (e.g., totes 110, 210) and have one or more of thefeatures or all of the features described above. For instance, the order totes 310, in certain embodiments, may include the internal guides described above for facilitating closure of the sub- totes 340.

[0081] The system 300 further includes order sub-totes 340 which can be nested within the order totes 310. The order sub-totes 340 may be configured like the sub-totes (e.g., sub-totes 140, 240) described above, and may have some or all of the features described above. For instance, the sub- totes 340 include movable doors and latching mechanisms similar to those described above, and also may include the identification or temperature-maintaining features described above.

[0082] In an illustrative approach, the various totes 305, 310 in the system 300 are designed to have a common shape and size, and the various sub-totes 340 are designed to have a common shape and size, which generally facilitates any automated functions of the system 300 by providing a standardized component to store and transport items. In one aspect, the common shape and size of the respective totes facilitate an implementation of a tote transfer system 312 that employs multiple mobile robots (discussed in further detail below) to transport the totes between at least a tote storage structure 302 and the workstation(s) 315 of the system 300. In addition, a common shape and size of the sub-totes 340 may correspond to a conventional shape and size of a take-home bag or container (e.g., a customer-supplied reusable bag), ensuring that the discharging mechanism of the sub-totes 340 works properly. Although totes that conform to a common shape and size may be preferable in some instances, it should be appreciated that the various concepts and features of the system 300, in principle, aren't limited to a single tote design. The system 300 may also use totes and sub-totes with different sizes and / or shapes with the various automated elements of the system 300 designed to be compatible with the different totes. For example, in some approaches the system 300 may include small, medium, and large sized totes to carry correspondingly small, medium, and large sized items. In addition, different sized sub-totes 340 may be available in the system to correspond to different sized take-home containers or bags (e.g., different sized reusable bags supplied by the customer).

[0083] The system 300 includes a tote storage structure 302 which provides the structural support for storing totes and also for mobile robots operating therein. The tote storage structure 302 includes one or more multi-level storage rack structures and is generally configured to maximize space utilization of available cubic volume from floor to ceiling for shelving modules that hold totes in storage separated by aisles that provide robots access to different locations in the tote storage structure 302. The multi-level storage rack structures store product totes 305filled with stock items. The tote storage structure 302 may also store empty totes and empty sub- totes that may be used as order totes 310 and order sub-totes 340 to fulfill customer orders. In some implementations, the tote storage structure 302 may include multiple temperature zones to accommodate, for example, chilled and frozen food items and other items stored at room temperature.

[0084] The system 300 also includes a tote transfer system 312 which may include various robots, vehicles, conveyors, rails, tracks, or other transit structures. The tote transfer system 312 may be used in various ways and in various implementations in and between different portions of the system 300, for instance, in the tote storage structure 302, at the picking workstations 315, for discharging orders, and for inputting totes back into the system. In embodiments, the tote transfer system 312 provides a unified system of transporting the totes. In some embodiments, the tote transfer system 312 is entirely or nearly entirely automated. In some approaches, certain portions of the tote transfer system 312 may involve some human operation. For instance, in certain approaches where an order is discharged at a customer's vehicle, or to a customer at certain parts of a store, a human may transfer an order tote 310 and order sub-totes 340 to and from the customer.

[0085] In exemplary embodiments the tote transfer system 312 includes autonomous tote transfer mobile robots. In certain approaches, transit structures (e.g., a rail or track structure) are included to guide the movement of the tote transfer mobile robots. The transit structures may include multiple paths between or within various portions of the system so that multiple totes can be transported by the mobile robots. Among their functions, the mobile robots are able to traverse the storage rack structures of the tote storage structure 302 and readily access and transport product totes 305 to one or more picking workstations 315, where items are picked to fulfill a customer order. Each mobile robot may be capable of navigating and traversing a multilevel storage rack structure in all three dimensions (i.e., on any of multiple vertical levels, and along the horizontal width and length of the structure) so as to access any tote in a given storage rack structure. In some embodiments, the mobile robots travel horizontally on planar transit decks that interconnect the rack structure and workstations 315 and vertically on vertical tracks or ramps that interconnect storage lanes and workstations 315 at multiple elevations.

[0086] Additionally, the tote transfer system 312 may include one or more tote transfer or tote- handling mechanisms to move totes into and out of their stored position in the tote storage structure 302 and / or into and out of other portions of the system as described further below. Forexample, if the tote transfer system 312 includes multiple robots to transport the totes, each robot may include a tote transfer mechanism to move the tote into and out of the robot. For instance, tote transfer robots 312a may be employed to retrieve product totes containing items for an order from storage racks in the tote storage 302 using the tote transfer mechanisms. The same tote transfer robots 312a may transport the retrieved product totes to a picking workstation 315. The tote transfer mechanism of the tote transfer robots 312a may be used to transfer the retrieved product totes from the tote transfer robots 312a to the picking workstation 315. In embodiments, the tote transfer mechanism may include an extendable arm or other gripper and may be rotatable and movable along at least three axes to position or align the tote during the transfer.

[0087] The tote transfer robots 312a may also be used to transport order totes 310 and sub- totes 340 from tote storage structure 302 or from another location to picking workstations 315. The tote transfer robots 312a may, for example, switch roles between carrying a product tote 305 or order tote 310 on a transaction-by-transaction basis. In some approaches, the tote transfer robots 312a transfer the order totes 310 with the sub-totes 340 nested therein to the picking workstations 315. In certain implementations, the tote transfer robots 312a may also be configured to nest the sub-totes 340 in the order totes 310 prior to delivering them to the picking workstation 315. For instance, the tote transfer robots 312a may have a tote transfer mechanism that includes retrieving sub-totes 340 and nesting them within order totes 310. In some approaches, the tote transfer robots 312a that transfer the totes 310 to the workstations 315 do not also nest the totes 310 and sub-totes 340. In this approach nesting robots 330 may be employed to nest the sub-totes 340 in the order totes 310.

[0088] At least some of the tote transport robot tasks are typically round-trip transactions comprising of two segments, the first segment being the removal of a tote from tote storage 302 and transport of the tote to a destination (e.g., a workstation), and the second segment being return of a tote from that same or a different destination back to tote storage 302. It is noted, however, that a tote may be transported between multiple different destinations within a facility before being returned to a storage location (e.g., transferred between two different workstations, to a decanting system, to a customer pickup location, etc.). Different tote transport robots 312 can perform different parts of the tasks. Often, tote transfer robots 312 are traveling with a tote payload onboard.

[0089] The system 300 further includes one or more picking workstations 315 to pick one or more items to fulfill a customer order. In embodiments, product totes 305 corresponding to each of the ordered items and order totes 310 containing sub-totes 340 nested therein are transported to the picking workstations 315. The workstations 315 may be human-operated, automated using one or more robotic pickers or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the workstation 315 includes a conveyor system that moves the order totes 310 and product totes 305 into position for picking, for example as described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018 / 0134492 published May 17, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The order totes 310 are presented to a picker in a sequence that matches the sequence of arriving product totes 305 so that each order tote 310 for a specific customer order can be filled before moving on to fill a next order tote 310. Ordered items are picked from the product totes 305 and placed into the sub-totes 340 nested in the order totes 310 until all of the ordered items for the order have been consolidated.

[0090] In some approaches, the product totes 305, order totes 310, and the sub-totes 340 nested in the order totes 310 are presented to the picker in a predetermined sequence corresponding to an optimal insertion of one or more items in filling of the sub-totes 340. For instance, as described above, one or more sub-totes 340 in the order totes 310 may be configured (e.g., with insulation and / or inserts) to store items at chilled or frozen temperatures. Thus, for example, the picking sequence may be predetermined so that chilled or frozen items are picked into sub-totes configured to store chilled or frozen items and items without temperature-sensitivity are picked into sub-totes designated to store items at room temperature. This can be advantageous for several reasons in one or more instances. First, for example, the sub-totes can aid in maintaining the temperature of any temperature-sensitive items throughout the rest of the order fulfillment process, including when the order totes 310 and sub-totes 340 may be temporarily stored in an order storage structure 318 after picking and before discharging the order (described further below). Second, for example, the picked items in the sub-totes 340 may be eventually discharged directly out of the bottoms of the sub-totes 340 into bags for a customer to take home, with each sub-tote 340 generally sized so that its contents may fit in a single bag, as described below. Grouping items together by temperature in each sub-tote 340 thus will result in the take-home bags also having items grouped together by temperature. Thus, for example, chilled or frozen items picked into one sub-tote 340 configured to store chilled or frozen items will be discharged into a take-home bag together, which may help keep the items chilled as the items are 1transported home. It is noted that even if sub-totes 340 specifically configured to store chilled or frozen items are not used, chilled or frozen items may still be sequenced to be generally grouped together when they are picked into the sub-totes.

[0091] In addition, since the picked items in the sub-totes 340 may be discharged directly out of the bottoms of the sub-totes 340 into take-home bags, the sequencing of the product totes may also be optimized to provide other desirable packing results. For instance, in one approach, the sequencing may account for fragile items (e.g., eggs) or heavy items when determining a sequence for placement into the sub-totes 340. For instance, fragile items may be isolated into a separate sub-tote or picked into a sub-tote last, so that they are on top in both the sub-tote and the take- home bag. Large or heavy items may be picked first into a sub-tote so that they are at the bottom of both the sub-tote and the take-home bag. In other embodiments, one or more items may be prevented from being inserted into sub-totes, such as but not limited to fragile items in some embodiments may be prevented from insertion into sub-totes when it is predicted that the dropping out of the sub-tote into the bag or container may have a threshold percentage of cause damage to the fragile item.

[0092] In some embodiments, implementing the sequencing of the sub-totes 340 begins prior to presenting the order totes 310 to the picker to ensure that different types and amounts of sub- totes (e.g., chilled or frozen sub-totes) may be nested within the order totes 310 in the correct sequence. For instance, the system 300 may determine a volume and / or number of chilled or frozen items included in an order and determine how many chilled or frozen sub-totes are needed and how many standard sub-totes are needed in order to determine the picking sequence for the order. Sub-totes 340 may then be nested or re-nested in the order totes 310 to correspond to the amounts of the different types of sub-totes 340 required for the order and the resulting determined picking sequence.

[0093] Other features and mechanisms associated with picking eaches at picking workstations that may be incorporated herein are described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018 / 0305123 published October 25, 2018, having U.S. Application Serial No. 15 / 956,346, filed on April 18, 2018, and entitled "Picking workstation with mobile robots & machine vision verification of each transfers performed by human operators", U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018 / 0247257 published August 30, 2018, having U.S. Application Serial No. 15 / 903,993, filed on February 23, 2018, and entitled "Inventory management system and method", U.S. Patent Publication No. 2020 / 0223630 published July 16, 2020, having U.S. Application Serial No. 16 / 742,119, filed on January 14, 2020,and entitled "System having workstation with tote retention and release mechanism", and WO Publication No. 2022 / 133353 published June 23, 2022, having PCT Application No. PCT / US2021 / 064424, filed on December 20, 2021, and entitled "Methods and apparatus for facilitating transport of items between a store and a customer via a customer access location" which are each incorporated herein in its entirety for all purposes.

[0094] The order fulfillment system 300, in some embodiments, can further include an output or discharge system 320 that includes one or more discharge locations 322 or stations to discharge an order into take-home bags or containers. In some embodiments, the discharge location 322 may be located at a customer access location and may provide the customer at least one access point to pick up ordered items. The picked order totes 310 may be transported to the discharge locations 322 via the tote transfer system 312, for instance, via autonomous tote transfer mobile robots 312b and / or conveyors. In some cases, the tote transfer robots 312b are configured to transport a single order tote 310 to the discharge location 322, while in other examples the tote transfer robots 312b may include a caddy that supports transporting multiple picked order totes 310 at once to the discharge location 322.

[0095] In embodiments, the discharge location 322 may be at a customer access location that may be located in a customer-facing part of the order fulfillment facility or store. In some approaches, there may be customer access locations inside of a store where customers can pick up their orders. At the discharge location 322, orders may be discharged from the order totes 310 into take-home bags or containers, including customer-provided reusable bags. In one approach, described further below, ordered items may be discharged directly into a shopping cart (e.g., at a customer access location or some other area in the facility or store) or into bags or containers within the shopping cart. This may be useful to the customer because it provides a process for the customer to save time transporting their order out of the store to their vehicle. In addition, in some embodiments the customer may have the option of paying for their order at a point-of-sale register at the store after receiving the ordered items in their shopping cart.

[0096] There may additionally or alternatively be discharge locations 322 or customer access locations that are accessible to an outdoor vehicle pickup area. For instance, some designs of a customer access location may include a customer pulling right up to a discharge location or customer access location with their vehicle and then receiving their order directly at their car without needing to go into the store. As described further below, in some embodiments, a discharge location 322 may simply be a parking spot where a vehicle is parked or a designatedarea outside the store (e.g., "curb pick-up") where the order can be transported to and discharged directly at the customer's vehicle.

[0097] In some approaches, filled order totes 310 (i.e., in which the nested sub-totes 340 are filled with picked items) may be temporarily stored in an order storage structure 318. For instance, the totes 310 may be transported from the picking workstations 315 directly to the order storage structure 318. The order storage structure 31 may be used to store multiple order totes 310 for several customers expected to arrive and pick up orders around the same time or if the order is picked in advance of the customer's arrival. The order storage structure 318 may be used to reduce the transit time to transport order totes 310 to the discharge location 322. This may be especially beneficial during "peak hours" when many customers arrive to pick up ordered items. For example, the order storage structure 318 may include multiple racks that each support multiple order totes 310 for multiple customers. The racks may be positioned near or at discharge location 322 so that once one customer picks up their order, the next customer may pick up their order soon thereafter. In another example, the order storage structure 318 may be one or more shelves that define a buffer space near or at the discharge location 322 that may be accessible by robots or humans.

[0098] When the order storage structure 318 is in a separate area from the discharge location 322, it is preferably nearby in order to reduce transit times. The order storage structure 318 may include one or more multi-level storage rack structures similar to the storage structures used in the main tote storage structure 302. In some approaches, autonomous tote transfer robots may transport totes to and from the order storage structure 318 in a similar manner that occurs in the main tote storage structure 302. In some embodiments, the picked order totes 310 may instead be stored in the main tote storage structure 302 to await pickup before they are transported to the discharge location 322.

[0099] In some embodiments, the order storage structure 318, as well as any storage structures at the discharge location 322 may be configured to store the filled order totes 310 with sub-totes 340 nested therein at different temperatures. For instance, the order storage structure 318 may have different temperature zones (e.g., room temperature zone, chilled temperature zone, and / or frozen temperature zone). Based on their item contents, the order totes 310 and sub-totes 340 may be transported to an appropriate zone of the order storage structure 318 until customer pickup. However, in other approaches the order storage structure 318 does not include different temperature zones because chilled or frozen items are picked into different types of sub-totes240 configured to maintain a chilled or frozen temperature during order storage, as described above.

[0100] In some approaches, the system 300 may be configured to transport a filled order tote 310 from the order storage structure 318 to the discharge location 322 when the customer is in transit to the store or before a specified pickup time slot so that the customer waits a shorter amount of time for their order. In some approaches, the filled order tote 310 is transported from the order storage structure 318 to the discharge location when an indication is received that the customer has arrived at the store or at the discharge location 322. The order tote 310 may be moved back into the order storage structure 318 if the customer does not pick up the order as expected. In some approaches, there may be a maximum amount of time the order tote 310 may be held in the order storage structure 318 without customer pickup before the order is cancelled.

[0101] In some embodiments, the output / discharge system 320 may be a partially automated or substantially fully automated system. For instance, as noted above, the order totes 310 may be moved to and from the discharge location 322 automatically via mobile robots and / or other transit elements (e.g., conveyor systems of the tote transfer system 312). In this manner, the output / discharge system 320 may reduce the amount of labor required to operate the order fulfillment system 300. For example, in some embodiments, orders may be discharged to customers without the aid of any workers.

[0102] In some embodiments, the customer access location or discharge location 322 includes a discharging mechanism for discharging orders from the sub-totes 340 into take-home bags or containers. The discharging mechanism may include a tote location 322a and a container location 322b adjacent one another for staging one order discharge at a time. The tote location 322a temporarily holds a filled order tote 310 that is ready to be discharged. In some approaches, the tote transfer system 312 transports the order tote 310 to the tote location 322a. The tote location 322a has a support structure for supporting the order tote 310, which may, for example, be a raised platform, table, workstation, or even the floor. In one approach, the order tote 310 remains on a tote transfer robot 312b (see FIG. 20) and the tote transfer robot 312b supports the order tote 310 at the tote location 322a. For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 20, an exemplary mobile tote transfer robot 312b, in accordance with some embodiments, may have a platform with a retaining structure that supports and retains a single order tote 310. The retaining structure is open on top so that sub-totes 340 can be lifted up and out of the tote 310 to dispense the order into the bag or container 399.

[0103] Bags 399 and / or other types of containers for the customer and / or other individuals to take the order (e.g., take the order home) can be positioned at the container location 322b adjacent the tote location 322a. In some embodiments, human workers or robots stage a number of bags or containers that may correspond to a number of sub-totes 340 comprising the order. The bags or containers may be set up successively or all at once at the container location 322b. When bags are used, workers or robots may position the bags so that they are fully open on top. In some embodiments, a bag blower system 326 may be used that blows air into the bags during the order discharge in order to keep the bags in a suitably open position.

[0104] Once the tote 310 is at the tote location 322a and respective bags or containers are at the adjacent container location 322b, a human worker or robot may discharge the items from each sub-tote 340 into the respective bags or containers. In an exemplary discharging mechanism, the human worker or robot lifts a sub-tote 340 out of the tote 310, positions and holds the sub-tote 340 at a predefined location and / or directly over a take-home bag or container (e.g., based on sensor data, such as but not limited to image processing, distance measurements, etc.), and actuates one or more latch mechanisms of the sub-tote 340 to open the one or more bottom doors and release the items contained within the sub-tote 340 into the aligned bag or container. In some cases, the sub-tote 340 may be partially inserted and / or slid inside the bag or container to ensure alignment and that the items are caught by the bag or container. The worker or robot continues to discharge items from additional sub-totes 340 from one or more order totes 310 into additional take-home bags or containers until the customer order is complete at least for items that are stored in sub-totes. The take-home bags or containers may then be provided to the customer to take home.

[0105] In certain approaches, the bags or containers may include standard plastic bags or brown paper bags. However, in particularly advantageous embodiments customer-supplied reusable bags are utilized. In these embodiments, the customer provides the reusable bags to the worker, for example, at the discharge location or customer access location 322, before the items are discharged from the sub-totes 340. Additionally or alternatively, the customer may bring the bags or containers and the customer can position the bag and / or container at a position to align with the sub-tote (e.g., feedback may be provided to the customer and / or a worker based on sensor data in detecting alignment between the sub-tote and the bag or container). In some cases, the customer may have the option to purchase bags, containers and / or reusable bags that are then used to fulfill the order. By some approaches, if the customer does not provide enough reusablebags for all the ordered items, the remaining ordered items may be discharged into standard plastic or paper bags and / or other relevant containers provided by the system and / or purchased by the customer. Other types of containers (e.g., cardboard containers, coolers, etc.) are also contemplated.

[0106] As explained above, the sub-totes 340 may be sized to have a volume that generally corresponds to an expected and / or predefined volume range of one or more types of conventional customer reusable bags or containers, though usually somewhat smaller to ensure the items in the sub-totes 340 are securely contained in the bag or container. In some approaches, the system 300 may also provide variable size sub-totes 340 sized to fit variable size customer reusable bags. In some embodiments, to participate in the order-fulfillment system 300 described herein, the customer may be instructed to bring or provide a specified type and quantity of reusable bags.

[0107] In some embodiments, the output / discharge system 320 may include a sanitizing or decontaminating station 325 to decontaminate the sub-totes 340 and / or totes 310. For instance, in embodiments where customer-supplied reusable bags or containers are employed, the sub- totes 340 may be subject to contamination. Customer-supplied reusable bags or containers are subject to unknown contaminants, and the bottoms and / or sides of the sub-totes 340 may become subject to such contaminants upon contact with the reusable bags or containers during discharging of the items. In addition, in some approaches, workers or customers may physically touch one or more of the sub-totes 340 or totes 310 during discharging of the order, which could contaminate the sub-totes 340 or totes 310 with pathogens.

[0108] In some approaches, at least the outer surfaces of the sub-totes 340 may be decontaminated before placing the sub-totes 340 back into the order totes 310, with the aid of a human worker, robot, and / or other machinery. For instance, the sanitizing station 325 may include a food-safe sanitizing fluid, soap, disinfectant, etc. that is sprayed or otherwise disposed onto at least the outer surfaces of the sub-totes 340. In some embodiments, the sanitizing station 325 comprises a conveying system that moves totes through a wash and / or disinfection cycle (e.g., similar to a dishwasher) and / or may include a drying subsystem to dry the sub-totes 340 before they are placed back into the order totes 310. In certain approaches, sanitization of the sub-totes 340 may occur as the sub-tote 340 is being placed into the tote 310. In some embodiments, one or more ultraviolet (UV) light sources are used to illuminate the various surfaces of the sub-tote 340. In some configurations, the sub-totes 340 may be transportedthrough a decontamination module containing the UV light sources via a mobile robot or conveyor system. The sub-totes may be exposed for a sufficient amount of time to the UV light so that the surfaces are sterilized. In general, the overall size or length of the decontamination module may vary depending on the velocity of the robot or conveyor and the intensity of the UV light emitted by the UV light sources. In some implementations, the velocity of the robots traveling through the decontamination module may be varied to ensure the sub-totes 340 are exposed to UV light for a sufficient period of time.

[0109] In some approaches, the order totes 310 may also be decontaminated, for example, in a manner similar to that described above with respect to the order sub-totes 340. This may occur within the output / discharge system 320, for instance, at sanitizing station 325, or may occur in a separate sanitizing system 332 within the input system 328.

[0110] In some approaches, the human worker or robot returns the sub-tote 340 back into its original position in the tote 310 when it is emptied, and / or inserted into a different tote. In some embodiments, for example in embodiments where the sub-tote 340 has a latching mechanism similar to that described above for sub-tote 240 and the tote 310 includes guides for guiding the doors of the sub-tote 340 closed, this maneuver simultaneously closes and re-latches the doors of the sub-tote 340. By this approach, a separate step or machinery to close and re-latch the doors of the sub-totes 340 is not necessary.

[0111] In other approaches, the sub-tote 340 is not placed back into the tote 310 right away and may be nested again within a tote 310 after being cycled back through the input system 328. In some approaches, the human worker or robot may close the doors of the sub-totes 340 after an order is discharged and transport sub-totes 340 and / or totes 310 to the input system 328 via the tote transfer system 312 where they are re-nested at a later stage. By this approach, decontamination of the sub-tote 340 (and / or tote 310) may occur later in the process (e.g., in the input system 328). In other embodiments, sub-totes may be stacked for storage to await later use. Further, in some embodiments, sub-totes may include one or more door closing guides 295 similar to those described above to induce closing of the one or more doors upon stacking in another sub-tote.

[0112] The output / discharge system 320 may also be configured to discharge an order from the sub-totes 340 directly into a shopping cart or into bags or containers within the shopping cart. That is, the container location 322b is within a shopping cart that may be brought to the discharge location 322. Discharging the order into a shopping cart may enable the customer to process andpay for their order at a traditional point-of-sale register at the store. Further, in cases where the order is discharged into bags within the shopping cart, the customer is provided a way to easily transport their order out of the store to their vehicle.

[0113] The output / discharge system 320 may be configured so that the final discharge location 322 is at a customer vehicle. The order totes 310 and sub-totes 340 for a specific customer order may be transported directly from the picking workstation or order storage structure 318 to the vehicle, or may first be transported to an intermediate order staging area of the store where a human worker may assume responsibility for transporting the order to the customer vehicle.

[0114] The order totes 310 and sub-totes 340 may, for example, be transported by a worker to a vehicle using a cart or dolly. The vehicle may be located at a "curb-pick up" spot or at a designated space in a parking lot. Once at the vehicle, the human worker may discharge the ordered items from the sub-totes 340 into take-home bags or containers by opening the bottom doors of the sub-totes 340 in the manner described above. In some approaches, the bags or containers are supplied by the customer at the vehicle and may be arranged in the trunk of the car, on the ground, or in a cart or dolly to receive the items from the sub-totes 340. After discharging the order, the human worker returns the empty totes 310 and empty sub-totes 340 back to the facility and transitions them to the tote transfer system 312 and / or the input system 328. In some approaches, as explained above, at least the empty sub-totes 340 may be decontaminated before being nested back into the totes 310, for example, back at a designated discharge location 322 within the store or within a sanitizing system 332 in the input system 328.

[0115] In some embodiments, as noted above, the output / discharge system 320 may be almost fully automated, requiring minimal assistance from human workers or store associates for the discharging mechanism. In some approaches, for example, a discharge robot system 324 is employed at a discharge location 322. In one approach, for instance, a tote transfer robot 312b or other tote transfer robots of the tote transport system 312 may support an individual tote 310 containing nested sub-totes 340 at a tote location 322a, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 20. The discharge location 322 may include one or more discharge robots of the discharge robot system 324 that lift the sub-totes 340 out of the totes 310, position and align the sub-totes 340 over bags or containers positioned at the container location 322b, and actuate the latch mechanisms on the sub-totes 340 to open the doors and release the ordered items from the sub-totes 340 into the bags or containers.

[0116] In embodiments, the discharge robots may be mobile robots and may include one or more sub-tote grippers (e.g., a movable arm) controlled by the system 300 to engage and remove the sub-totes 340 one-by-one from the order totes 310. For instance, the discharge robots may be disposed adjacent the tote location 322a and the container location 322b and the sub-tote grippers may extend towards the sub-totes laterally (e.g., towards a top of the sub-tote) or from above. In some embodiments, the plurality of sub-tote grippers extend to grasp the handles of the sub-tote 340. In this approach, the height of the sub-tote 340 may be slightly taller than the tote 310 so that the handles can be readily accessed. The sub-totes, in certain embodiments, may include other gripping portions, for example, flanges, surface variations, knobs or other protrusions, pulls, grooves or other indentations, etc., configured to be engaged by the sub-tote grippers. In some embodiments, the discharge robots are 6-axis articulated robots. Once gripping the sub-tote 340, the discharge robots are controlled to lift the sub-tote 340 upwardly out of the tote 310, translate the sub-tote 340 to align the sub-tote 340 over the bag or container at the adjacent container location 322b, and, in some embodiments, lower the sub-tote 340 until the sub-tote 340 is partially received in the bag or container.

[0117] In some approaches, the discharge robots hold the sub-tote 340 up in position at the container location 322b and a human worker, robot or customer positions the bag or container under the sub-tote 340. The human worker, the discharge robot or customer may actuate the latch mechanism to release the items into the bag or container. In yet another approach, the discharge robots hold the sub-totes 340 up in position at the container location 322b and containers or bags are configured to successively pass under the sub-totes 340 to align therewith, for example, via a conveyor system. In this approach, the discharge robots actuate the latch mechanisms to release the items into the bag or container when the bag or container is aligned therewith.

[0118] In certain approaches, the bags or containers may be positioned at the container location 322b by a human worker or robotically. A bag blower system 326, as described above, may be used to blow air (e.g., one or more streams of air) into bags at the tote location 322b to fully open the bags to received items released from the sub-totes 340.

[0119] Sensors may be included as part of an automated discharging mechanism using discharge robots. The sensor systems can include one or more motion sensing systems, identifying readers (e.g., bar code readers, QR code readers, RF identifying (RFID) tag detectors), cameras, image processing systems, weight sensor systems, accelerometers, gyroscopes, other such senorsystems, or a combination of two or more of such sensor systems. The foregoing examples are intended to be illustrative and are not intended to convey an exhaustive listing of all possible sensor systems. Instead, it will be understood that these teachings will accommodate sensing any of a wide variety of circumstances in a given application setting. The sensors may be used, for example, to align the sub-tote gripper of the discharge robots with the sub-totes 340 and to align the sub-tote 340 (or specifically the sub-tote bottom doors) precisely over the bag or container before releasing the latching mechanism.

[0120] In one illustrative embodiment a release sensor having one or more of the above sensing mechanisms is communicatively coupled with the discharge robot. The release sensor is configured to detect a threshold alignment of the bag or container with the sub-tote or the doors of the sub-tote. When the threshold is met, the discharge robot triggers the latch mechanism to open the doors. The discharge robot may include an arm that extends from the sub-tote gripper or a separate arm that is configured to apply force to a trigger of the latch mechanism (e.g., at the handle of the sub-tote) to open the doors.

[0121] After dispensing items from the sub-tote 340 into the container or bag, the discharge robot may return the sub-tote 340 to its initial nested position in the tote 310 or move the sub- tote into the sanitizing station 325 for automated decontamination, as detailed above, before the sub-tote 340 is returned to the tote 310 (by the discharge robot or a different robot). As noted above, in some embodiments the sub-totes 340 may not be re-nested in the totes 310 in the output / discharge system 320 and may instead be transported to the input system 328 separately.

[0122] In some embodiments, when the discharge robot returns the sub-tote 340 back into its initial position in the tote 310 the same maneuver simultaneously closes and re-latches the bottom doors of the sub-tote 340. This may occur, for example, in embodiments where the sub- tote 340 has a latching mechanism similar to that described above for sub-tote 240 and the tote 310 includes guides for guiding the doors of the sub-tote 340 closed. By this approach, a separate step or machinery to close and re-latch the doors of the sub-totes 340 is not necessary. In other approaches, however, the bottom doors may be robotically closed or closed by a human worker.

[0123] The discharge location or customer access location 322 may include a customer interface to facilitate interaction between the customer and the discharge location 322. The user interface may be a physical device (e.g., a terminal) at the discharge location 322. For example, the user interface may generally include a display, a scanner, a microphone, a camera, a keypad, and / or a speaker. When a customer arrives at the discharge location 322, they may scan or enter an ordernumber, a product code, or a credit card, which in turn may initiate steps taken to complete the order fulfillment (e.g., transport of the filled order totes 310 for the order to the discharge location 322 from the order storage 318 or initiating of the discharging mechanism described above). It should be appreciated that, in some implementations, the discharge location 322 may not include a user interface. Instead, the customer may access a software application installed, for example, on the customer's computer or mobile device (e.g., a cellular phone or smartphone).

[0124] In some approaches, the customer is not able to access or view the areas of the discharge location or customer access location 322 where the discharging mechanism takes place. Preventing the customer from accessing automated areas of the discharge location 322 ensures customer safety and reliable automation. The customer may provide any customer-supplied bags to be used in the discharging mechanism, for example, to a human worker, to a conveyor system, or into a container that is transported to the area of the discharging mechanism.

[0125] In certain approaches that use a discharge robot system 324 as described above, the discharging mechanism does not occur at the vehicle (i.e., outside). However, in some embodiments the discharge location 322 may be positioned within the facility so that windows and / or doors provide convenient access to a customer vehicle that pulls up to a pickup station. The customer may provide customer-supplied bags through the door or the window, and, after the discharging mechanism occurs via the discharge robot system 324, the filled bags may be provided to the customer through the windows and / or doors to place into the vehicle. In some approaches the filled bags may be delivered by a human worker directly into the vehicle. A similar approach may also be used for a discharge location 322 that does not employ a discharge robot system 324.

[0126] As noted above, after discharging orders, the empty totes 310 and sub-totes 340 are inducted back into the system 300 to be available for use in future orders (or other purposes) via the input system 328. The input system 328 may also be used to input new totes into the system 300. In embodiments, the input system 328 includes the empty totes 310 and sub-totes 340 being transported by the tote transfer system 312 (e.g., tote transfer robots 312c and / or a conveyor system) from the discharge location 322 to an input station 329 and / or directly back to tote storage 302. At the input station 329, for example, the empty totes 310 and sub-totes 340 may be picked up by a different tote transfer robot that transports the empty totes 310 and sub-totes 340 to the tote storage structure 302.

[0127] As noted above, the input system 328 may include a sanitizing system 332 (e.g., like sanitizing station 325 described above) that sanitizes or decontaminates the totes 310 and / or sub- totes 340 returning into the system. The input system 328 may also include nesting robots 330 which may re-nest the sub-totes 340 back into order totes 310 to the extent this has not been done in an earlier stage (e.g., at the discharge location 322). In some approaches, the nesting robots 330 may re-nest the sub-totes 340 according to the requirements of a next order to be fulfilled (e.g., selecting appropriate types of sub-totes 340 depending on temperature-sensitive items in the order and sequencing the nesting of the sub-totes accordingly, as described above). In some embodiments, the input system 328 is positioned adjacent to the tote storage structure 302.

[0128] FIG. 21 illustrates a simplified flow diagram of an exemplary order fulfillment process 400, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the order fulfillment process 400 may be used in any of the systems (e.g., systems 100, 200, 300) described above. At step 405, sub- totes are inserted into order totes so that the sub-totes are nested within the order totes. As described above, the nesting may be done by nesting robots or other tote transfer robots that are configured to engage sub-totes. Nesting may also be done manually by a human, or nested by one or more robotic nesting systems. In some embodiments, nesting occurs upon input of the order totes and sub-totes into the system and the tote storage structure. Nesting may also occur when sub-totes and totes are re-nested after an order is discharged from the sub-totes into a container or bag, as described above. Nesting or re-nesting may also occur when a next order to fulfill determines different types (e.g., chilled or frozen sub-totes) or amounts of sub-totes required for the order and a sequence of presenting the sub-totes to a picker. That is, responsive to a specific customer order, the sub-totes are selected, sequenced, and nested in the totes accordingly.

[0129] At step 410, product totes storing one or more items, the order totes, and the sub-totes are transported to a workstation. This may occur via a tote transfer system, described above. In some approaches, the transport occurs via at least one mobile robot (e.g., a tote transfer robot) of a plurality of robots controlled by a robot control circuit. Specifically, tote transfer robots may remove product totes containing items to fulfill the order from the tote storage structure and transport the product totes to the workstation. The tote transfer robots may also transport nested order totes and sub-totes from the tote storage structure, from the input system to the workstation or other locations of the facility. In some approaches, the process does not includerobots. For example, human workers may transport the product totes and nested order totes and sub-totes to the workstation.

[0130] At step 415, at the workstation, at least one ordered item is picked from the one or more items stored in the product totes. A first sub-tote nested in a first order tote is filled with the at least one ordered item. If the order includes more ordered items than can fit in one sub-tote, optional step 420 includes picking at the workstation, at least one additional ordered item from the one or more items stored in the product totes and filling a second sub-tote, and, if needed, additional sub-totes nested in the first order tote and nested in any additional order totes, with the at least one additional ordered item. This continues until all of the ordered items for the order that are intended to be placed into sub-totes are picked and placed into sub-totes. Some embodiments include optional step 422, where an order tote and one or more sub-totes may be transported to an order discharge location or customer access location. For instance, the totes may be transported via a tote transfer system, which may include, for example, one or more tote transfer robots, conveyors, other such transfer systems or combination of two or more of such transfer systems.

[0131] In some embodiment, the order fulfillment process 400 may include optional step 423 where bags and / or containers are received. This can include, in some instances, receiving customer-supplied (e.g., reusable) bags or containers from the customer. The one or more bags and / or containers may be arranged in an open configuration at the order discharge location in preparation to successively receive the ordered items from the one or more sub-totes.

[0132] At step 425, a "filled" sub-tote containing one or more items is removed from its respective order tote. At step 430, the filled sub-tote is positioned over a container or bag (e.g., a take-home container or bag) and / or positioned at a predefined location to allow alignment of a bag or container. The bag or container may have previously been positioned at a predefined location, positioned in response to the positioning of the sub-tote, and / or other such actions. One or more sensors provide feedback to establish alignment between the sub-tote and the bag (e.g., a user interface, lighting, lasers, audio and / or other such feedback may be provided to help guide alignment). At step 435, the at least one ordered item is released from the filled sub-tote into the container by opening at least one bottom door of the filled sub-tote. In some embodiments, step 435 comprises activating or moving a first latch mechanically coupled to the at least one bottom door from a latched position to an unlatched position (e.g., via actuating an actuator secured to a body of the first sub-tote and mechanically coupled with the first latch), which the at least onebottom door to move from a closed position to an open position. The actuator, in some embodiments, is biased in an unactuated position maintaining the first latch in the unlatched position, and movable in response to an external force applied to a trigger to an actuated position inducing movement of the first latch to the unlatched position. Actuating the actuator to move the first latch to the unlatched position may include moving a trigger, button, lever or the like of the actuator, which in some instances may be movably secured at a first handle of the sub-tote. In some embodiments, there may be two bottom doors that can be opened and closed. In some approaches, include two or more latches, two or more actuators, and / or two more triggers disposed at opposite ends of the sub-tote unlatch one or more bottom doors allowing the two or more doors to open, as described above. At step 440, when the order is not yet complete, one or more of steps 425, 430, and 435 may be repeated until the sub-totes associated with the order have discharged ordered items into successive containers or bags 199. In some embodiments, the order fulfillment process 400 may include optional step 442, where one or more bottom doors of the sub-tote may be closed and / or latched by inserting the sub-tote back into the order tote. In some embodiments, this relatching may occur via a projecting pin positioned on the at least one bottom door engaging a guide positioned along a portion of an inner surface of the tote, with the guide guiding the projecting pin to move one or more bottom doors from an open position to a closed position as the sub-tote is nested into the tote.

[0133] At step 445, when the order is determined to be complete, at least for those items being retrieved from sub-totes, the process can advance to step 450. In optional step 450, one or more sub-totes and / or totes may be cleaned, sanitized and / or decontaminated. For instance, internal and / or external surfaces of sub-totes may be cleaned and / or sanitized before being nested back into a tote. This step is advantageous, for example, when the containers or bags are supplied by the customer, to mitigate the transfer of unknown contaminants from the containers or bags into the system via the sub-totes which may come in contact with the containers or bags during the discharging mechanism. In some embodiments, the main totes are additional or alternatively sanitized. The sanitizing step 450 may be entirely automated or may include at least some human aid, and may include the sanitizing methods described above. In optional step 455, one or more sub-totes may be returned to / re-nested in a respective order tote and the sub-totes and order totes may be inducted back into the system and / or storage structure for storage, routed to a workstation to fulfill additional orders and / or routed to another location within the system.

[0134] In different approaches steps 425-435 may be performed by a human worker, one or more robots, or by both a human worker and one or more robots in collaboration. These approaches are described above with respect to systems 100, 200, and 300.

[0135] In some embodiments, steps 425-435 occur via one or more discharge robots. For example, a sub-tote gripper of a discharge robot engages and removes the sub-tote from the order tote and positions the sub-tote over the container. When positioned and properly aligned, the discharge robot may also actuate the actuator on the sub-tote to move the latch to the unlatched position to open the at least one bottom door and release the ordered items from the sub-tote into the container. In some embodiments, sensors are used to provide feedback in aligning and / or ensuring the sub-tote is properly aligned with the container. For instance, the method may include sensing, via a release sensor communicatively coupled with the discharge robot, a threshold alignment of the container with the sub-tote, and, responsive to the sensing, triggering the discharge robot to actuate the actuator to move the first latch to the unlatched position to open the at least one bottom door, and / or providing confirmation to a user. The method may also utilize a bag blowing system. When the container is a bag, the bag blowing system may be configured to blow air into the bag to more fully open the bag when the first sub- tote is positioned and aligned with the container facilitating alignment of an opening of the bag with the sub-tote.

[0136] FIG. 22 illustrates a simplified flow diagram of an exemplary order fulfillment process 500 that discharges an order at a customer vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the order fulfillment process 500 may be used in any of the systems (e.g., systems 100, 200, 300) described above and may have steps that are similar to those described above with respect to the order fulfillment process 400.

[0137] At step 505, one or more items associated with an order are picked and one or more sub- totes nested within one or more order totes are filled with the one or more items. At step 510, the one or more sub-totes nested within the one or more order totes are transported to a discharge location proximate to or at a customer vehicle associated with the order. At steps 515 and 520 a sub-tote is removed from its respective order tote and positioned over a container or bag at the customer vehicle. At step 525, the one or more items associated with the order are released from the sub-tote into the container or bag by opening at least one bottom door of the sub-tote. At step 530, when the order is not yet complete, one or more of steps 515, 520, and 525 may be repeat until the sub-totes associated with the order have discharged ordered items intosuccessive containers or bags. At step 535, when items of an order that are maintained in sub- totes have been retrieved and the order is determined to be complete at least relative to items stored in sub-totes, the process in some embodiments can advance to step 540, or in some instance return to step 515 when not complete. In step 540, sub-totes may be returned to totes and the sub-totes and order totes can be inducted back into the system for storage, to fulfill additional orders and / or other functions.

[0138] In some embodiments, the order fulfillment process 500 may include receiving customer- supplied (e.g., reusable) bags or containers from the customer and arranging them at the vehicle to successively receive the ordered items from the sub-totes. As described above in relation to at least the above order fulfillment process 400, in some approaches the order fulfillment process 500 may also include a cleaning and / or sanitizing step to clean, sanitize and / or decontaminate one or more sub-totes (e.g., sub-totes that made contact with customer-supplied containers or bags). In some approaches, both the totes and the sub-totes may be sanitized after discharging the order to the customer (e.g., when the discharging step occurred outside). The order fulfillment process 500 may also include one or more other steps described above with respect to the order fulfillment process 400. For example, the bottom doors of the sub-totes may be opened and closed in the ways described above.

[0139] FIG. 23 illustrates a simplified flow diagram of an exemplary order fulfillment process 600 that discharges an order into a shopping cart, trolley, movable rack and / or other transport device, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the order fulfillment process 600 may be used in any of the systems (e.g., systems 100, 200, 300) described above and may have steps that are similar to those described above with respect to the order fulfillment processes 400 and 500.

[0140] At step 605, one or more items associated with an order are picked and placed into one or more sub-totes. The one or more sub-totes already be nested in an order tote, or the sub-totes may be inserted into and / or nested within one or more order totes. Typically a control circuit of a workstation and / or a central control circuit can obtain identifying information the one or more order totes and / or sub-totes and associate the one or more totes and / or sub-totes with the order. At step 610, the one or more sub-totes nested within the one or more order totes are transported to an order discharge station or order discharge location. At step 615, one or more shopping carts are transported to the order discharge station. Optionally, bags or containers may also betransported to the order discharge station and arranged in an open configuration in the shopping cart (or on a rolling-rack, trolley and / or other such transport device).

[0141] At steps 620 and 625, a sub-tote is removed from its respective order tote and positioned over the shopping cart or positioned over a container or bag in the shopping cart. At step 630, the one or more items associated with the order are released from the sub-tote directly into the shopping cart or into the container or bag in the shopping cart by opening at least one bottom door of the sub-tote. At step 635, when the order is not yet complete, steps 620, 625, and 630 may be repeat until the sub-totes associated with the order have discharged ordered items into one or more shopping carts or in successive containers or bags within the one or more shopping carts, rolling-racks, carts, etc. At step 640, the order is determined to be complete at least for items of the order being maintained in sub-totes. In step 645, the empty sub-totes are processed. This empty sub-tote processing can include one or more of returning one or more sub-totes to their respective order totes and inducting the empty sub-totes and order totes back into the system for storage or to fulfill additional orders, cleaning and / or disinfecting one or more sub- totes, transporting one or more sub-totes to a sub-tote staging area to be subsequently used (e.g., a decanting station to receive one or more items), other such processing or a combination of two or more of such processing.

[0142] The order fulfillment process 600, in some embodiments, may also include step 650 where the filled shopping cart containing the ordered items and / or bags containing the ordered items can be provided to the customer, transported to the customer and the bags and / or containers provided to the customer and / or other such actions. In some approaches, the method may include processing and receiving payment from the customer for the ordered items in the shopping cart at a point-of-sale register.

[0143] In some embodiments, the order fulfillment process 600 may include receiving customer- supplied (e.g., reusable) bags or containers from the customer and arranging them in an open configuration in the shopping cart to successively receive the ordered items from the sub-totes. As described above at least with respect to the order fulfillment process 400, in some approaches the order fulfillment process 600 may also include a sanitizing step to ensure that any sub-totes that made contact with customer-supplied containers or bags are decontaminated. In some approaches, both the totes and the sub-totes may be sanitized after discharging the order. The order fulfillment 600 may also include many of the other steps described above with respect tothe order fulfillment process 400. For example, the bottom doors of the sub-totes may be opened and closed in the ways described above.

[0144] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that one or more steps of the described processes 400, 500 and 600 can be excluded, repeated one or more times, implemented in different orders and / or other such modifications. Similarly, some or all of the steps of the described processes 400, 500 and 600 may be implemented as part of one or more of the other of the processes 400, 500 and 600.

[0145] Further, the circuits, circuitry, systems, devices, processes, methods, techniques, functionality, services, servers, sources and the like described herein may be utilized, implemented and / or run on many different types of devices and / or systems. FIG. 24 illustrates an exemplary system 700 that may be used for implementing any of the components, circuits, circuitry, systems, functionality, apparatuses, processes, or devices of the order fulfillment system 300 and / or other above or below mentioned systems or devices, or parts of such circuits, circuitry, functionality, systems, apparatuses, processes, or devices. However, the use of the system 700 or any portion thereof is certainly not required.

[0146] By way of example, the system 700 may comprise one or more control circuits or processor modules 712, one or more memory 714, and one or more communication links, paths, buses or the like 718. Some embodiments may include one or more user interfaces 716, and / or one or more internal and / or external power sources or supplies 740. The control circuit 712 can be implemented through one or more processors, microprocessors, central processing unit, logic, local digital storage, firmware, software, and / or other control hardware and / or software, and may be used to execute or assist in executing the steps of the processes, methods, functionality and techniques described herein, and control various communications, decisions, programs, content, listings, services, interfaces, logging, reporting, etc. Further, in some embodiments, the control circuit 712 can be part of control circuitry and / or a control system 710 (e.g., centralized control system 380), which may be implemented through one or more processors with access to one or more memory 714 that can store instructions, code and the like that is implemented by the control circuit and / or processors to implement intended functionality. In some applications, the control circuit and / or memory may be distributed over a communications network (e.g., LAN, WAN, Internet) providing distributed and / or redundant processing and functionality. Again, the system 700 may be used to implement one or more of the above or below, or parts of, components, circuits, systems, processes and the like.

[0147] The user interface 716 can allow a user to interact with the system 700 and receive information through the system. In some instances, the user interface 716 includes a display 722 and / or one or more user inputs 724, such as buttons, touch screen, track ball, keyboard, mouse, etc., which can be part of or wired or wirelessly coupled with the system 700. Typically, the system 700 further includes one or more communication interfaces, ports, transceivers 720 and the like allowing the system 700 to communicate over a communication bus, a distributed computer and / or communication networks (e.g., a local area network (LAN), the Internet, wide area network (WAN), etc.), communication link 718, other networks or communication channels with other devices and / or other such communications or combination of two or more of such communication methods. Further the transceiver 720 can be configured for wired, wireless, optical, fiber optical cable, satellite, or other such communication configurations or combinations of two or more of such communications. Some embodiments include one or more input / output (I / O) ports 734 that allow one or more devices to couple with the system 700. The I / O ports can be substantially any relevant port or combinations of ports, such as but not limited to USB, Ethernet, or other such ports. The I / O interface 734 can be configured to allow wired and / or wireless communication coupling to external components. For example, the I / O interface can provide wired communication and / or wireless communication (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, RF, and / or other such wireless communication), and in some instances may include any known wired and / or wireless interfacing device, circuit and / or connecting device, such as but not limited to one or more transmitters, receivers, transceivers, or combination of two or more of such devices.

[0148] In some embodiments, the system may include one or more sensors 726 to provide information to the system and / or sensor information that is communicated to another component, such as the centralized control system 380, tote transfer systems 312, output / discharge system 320, picking workstations 315, input system 328, (FIG. 19) and other such systems. The sensors can include substantially any relevant sensor, such as but not limited to optical-based scanning sensors to sense and read optical patterns (e.g., bar codes), radio frequency identification (RFID) tag reader sensors capable of reading RFID tags in proximity to the sensor, distance measurement sensors (e.g., optical units, sound / ultrasound units, etc.), weight sensors, motion sensors, imaging systems, and other such sensors. The foregoing examples are intended to be illustrative and are not intended to convey an exhaustive listing of all possible sensors. Instead, it will be understood that these teachings will accommodate sensing any of a wide variety of circumstances in a given application setting.

[0149] The system 700 comprises an example of a control and / or processor-based system with the control circuit 712. Again, the control circuit 712 can be implemented through one or more processors, controllers, central processing units, logic, software and the like. Further, in some implementations the control circuit 712 may provide multiprocessor functionality.

[0150] The memory 714, which can be accessed by the control circuit 712, typically includes one or more processor-readable and / or computer-readable media accessed by at least the control circuit 712, and can include volatile and / or nonvolatile media, such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory and / or other memory technology. Further, the memory 714 is shown as internal to the control system 710; however, the memory 714 can be internal, external or a combination of internal and external memory. Similarly, some or all of the memory 714 can be internal, external or a combination of internal and external memory of the control circuit 712. The external memory can be substantially any relevant memory such as, but not limited to, solid-state storage devices or drives, hard drive, one or more of universal serial bus (USB) stick or drive, flash memory secure digital (SD) card, other memory cards, and other such memory or combinations of two or more of such memory, and some or all of the memory may be distributed at multiple locations over the computer networks. The memory 714 can store code, software, executables, scripts, data, content, lists, programming, programs, log or history data, user information, customer information, product information, and the like. While FIG. 24 illustrates the various components being coupled together via a bus, it is understood that the various components may actually be coupled to the control circuit and / or one or more other components directly.

[0151] Some embodiments provide order fulfillment systems comprising: sub-totes; and order totes, wherein each order tote is sized to receive and store multiple sub-totes, of the sub-totes, each positioned along a length of the respective order tote and adjacent at least one of another of the multiple sub-totes. One or more of the sub-totes can comprise a body comprising: a first lateral side and a second lateral side extending along a length of the respective sub-tote, a first end side and a second end side each extending from and between both of the first and second lateral sides along a width of the respective sub-tote, and a base. The first and second lateral sides, the first and second end sides, and the base define an interior cavity of the respective sub- tote. The base can comprise: a first door pivotably secured with the first lateral side, wherein the first door pivots relative to the first lateral side between a closed position and an open position, wherein in the closed position the first door closes at least a portion of the interior cavity at the base, and in the open position exposes the interior cavity through the base; and a first latchmechanically cooperated with the first door, wherein the first latch moves between a latched position and an unlatched position, wherein the first latch in the latched position maintains the first door in the closed position, and transitions to the unlatched position when actuated releasing the first door enabling the first door to move to the open position.

[0152] Some embodiments provide methods for order fulfillment, comprising: inserting sub- totes into order totes so that the sub-totes are nested within the order totes; transporting product totes storing one or more items, the order totes, and the sub-totes to a workstation; picking, at the workstation, a first ordered item from the one or more items stored in the product totes and placing the first ordered item into a first sub-tote nested in a first order tote; removing the first sub-tote from the first order tote; positioning the first sub-tote over a container; and releasing the first ordered item from the first sub-tote into the container by opening at least one bottom door of the first sub-tote.

[0153] Those skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety of other modifications, alterations, and combinations can also be made with respect to the above described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention, and that such modifications, alterations, and combinations are to be viewed as being within the ambit of the inventive concept. Numerous alternative embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode for carrying out the present invention. Details of the structure may vary substantially without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and exclusive use of all modifications that come within the scope of the appended claims is reserved. Within this specification embodiments have been described in a way which enables a clear and concise specification to be written and illustrated, but it is intended and will be appreciated that embodiments and relevant portions of embodiments may be variously combined or separated without parting from the invention. It is intended that the present invention be limited only to the extent required by the appended claims and the applicable rules of law.

Claims

Claims1. An order fulfillment system comprising: sub-totes; and order totes, wherein each order tote is sized to receive and store multiple sub-totes, of the sub- totes, each positioned along a length of the respective order tote and adjacent at least one of another of the multiple sub-totes; wherein each of the sub-totes comprises a body comprising: a first lateral side and a second lateral side extending along a length of the respective sub- tote, a first end side and a second end side each extending from and between both of the first and second lateral sides along a width of the respective sub-tote, and a base, wherein the first and second lateral sides, the first and second end sides, and the base define an interior cavity of the respective sub-tote; wherein the base comprises: a first door pivotably secured with the first lateral side, wherein the first door pivots relative to the first lateral side between a closed position and an open position, wherein in the closed position the first door closes at least a portion of the interior cavity at the base, and in the open position exposes the interior cavity through the base; and a first latch mechanically cooperated with the first door, wherein the first latch moves between a latched position and an unlatched position, wherein the first latch in the latched position maintains the first door in the closed position, and transitions to the unlatched position when actuated releasing the first door enabling the first door to move to the open position.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the sub-totes further comprises an actuator secured with the body and mechanically coupled with the first latch and when activated causes the first latch to move from the latched position to the unlatched position and actuate release of the first door to the open position.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein each of the sub-totes further comprises: a first handle within the body; wherein the actuator comprises a trigger movably secured at the first handle, the actuator biased in an unactuated position maintaining the first latch in the latched position, and movable in response to an external force on the trigger to an actuated position inducing movement of the first latch to the unlatched position.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein each of the sub-totes further comprises: a cavity opening separated from the base by a height of the first and second lateral sides, and having a cavity opening area; wherein the first and second lateral sides extend and taper along a height of the respective sub- tote between the cavity opening and the base such that an area of the base is less than the cavity opening area.

5. The system of claim 2, further comprising: an order discharging station comprising a discharge robot, wherein the discharge robot comprises a sub-tote gripper controlled to engage and remove a first sub-tote from a first order tote, position the first sub-tote at a discharge location and activate the actuator of the first sub-tote causing the first door to open and release at least one ordered item into a container positioned aligned with the first door.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising: a release sensor communicatively coupled with the discharge robot, wherein the release sensor detects a threshold alignment of the container with the first door, and the discharge robot triggers the actuator opening the first latch and releasing the first door to move from the closed position to the open position.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the order discharging station further comprises a bag blower system activated to blow air as the container is positioned and aligned with the first sub-tote after the first sub-tote is removed from the first order tote facilitating alignment of the container with the first door.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising: a sub-tote transport robot separate from the order totes and the sub-totes, wherein the sub-tote transport robot engages at least one of the multiple sub-totes and inserts and positions the sub-totes into the order totes to nest at least one of the sub-totes within each of the order totes.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the first door comprises a projecting pin; and wherein each of the order totes comprises a guide positioned along a portion of an inner surface of the first tote, wherein the projecting pin engages the guide upon insertion of one of the sub-totes in the open position into a respective one of the order totes guiding the first door to the closed position as the respective sub-tote is nested into the respective one of the order totes.

10. A method for order fulfillment, comprising: inserting sub-totes into order totes so that the sub-totes are nested within the order totes; transporting product totes storing one or more items, the order totes, and the sub-totes to a workstation; picking, at the workstation, a first ordered item from the one or more items stored in the product totes and placing the first ordered item into a first sub-tote nested in a first order tote; removing the first sub-tote from the first order tote; positioning the first sub-tote over a container; and releasing the first ordered item from the first sub-tote into the container by opening at least one bottom door of the first sub-tote.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein in the step of transporting, the product totes, the order totes, and the sub-totes are transported to the workstation via at least one mobile robot of a plurality of robots controlled by a robot control circuit.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of inserting the sub-totes into the order totes so that the sub-totes are nested within the order totes is performed by one or more robots of a plurality of robots controlled by a robot control circuit.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of releasing the first ordered item from the first sub-tote into the container includes moving a first latch mechanically coupled to the at least one bottom door from a latched position to an unlatched position via actuating an actuator secured to a body of the first sub-tote and mechanically coupled with the first latch.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of actuating the actuator to move the first latch to the unlatched position including moving a trigger of the actuator movably secured at a first handle of thesub-tote, the actuator biased in an unactuated position maintaining the first latch in the unlatched position, and movable in response to an external force applied to the trigger to an actuated position inducing movement of the first latch to the unlatched position.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein: the steps of removing the first sub-tote from the first order tote and positioning the first sub-tote over a container occurs via a discharge robot, a sub-tote gripper of the discharge robot engaging and removing the first sub-tote from the first order tote and positioning the first sub-tote over the container; and the step of releasing the first ordered item from the first sub-tote into the container occurs when the discharge robot actuates the actuator for the first sub-tote to move the first latch to the unlatched position to open the at least one bottom door.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising sensing via a release sensor communicatively coupled with the discharge robot a threshold alignment of the container with the first sub-tote, and, responsive to the sensing, triggering the discharge robot to actuate the actuator to move the first latch to the unlatched position to open the at least one bottom door.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising blowing air into the container via a bag blower system when the first sub-tote is positioned and aligned with the container facilitating alignment of the container with the first sub-tote.

18. The method of claim 10, further comprising, after the step of picking and before the step of removing the first sub-tote from the first order tote, transporting, via a first robot of a plurality of robots, the first order tote and the first sub-tote to an order discharging location.

19. The method of claim 10, further comprising, after the step of releasing, sanitizing the first sub- tote before nesting the first sub-tote back into the first tote.

20. The method of claim 10, wherein the container is located at a customer vehicle and the method further comprises, after the step of picking and before the step of removing the first sub-tote from the first order tote, transporting the first order tote and the first sub-tote to the customer vehicle;wherein the first ordered item is released from the first sub-tote into the container at the customer vehicle during the step of releasing.

21. The method of claim 10, wherein the container is located in a shopping cart and the method further comprises, after the step of picking and before the step of removing the first sub-tote from the first order tote, transporting the first order tote and the first sub-tote to the shopping cart; wherein the first ordered item is released from the first sub-tote into the container in the shopping cart during the step of releasing.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising providing the shopping cart to a customer after the step of releasing.

23. The method of claim 10, the method further comprising, after the step of releasing, closing and latching the at least one bottom door of the first sub-tote by inserting the first sub-tote back into the first order tote.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of closing and latching the at least one bottom door occurs via a projecting pin positioned on the at least one bottom door engaging a guide positioned along a portion of an inner surface of the first tote, the guide guiding the projecting pin to move the at least one bottom door from an open position to a closed position as the first sub-tote tote is nested into the first order tote.