System and method for picking orders

Abstract

An order fulfillment system comprising:-at least one order fulfillment workstation (121); -a first group (17) of automated guided vehicles capable of transporting storage containers containing at least one item to the at least one order picking station (121); -a second group (18) of automatically guided vehicles capable of conveying at least one item collecting containers for collecting at least one item to said at least one order picking station (121), such order picking station (121) comprising:-an inclined ramp (21) through which said vehicles can enter said order picking station (121), the invention relates to a vehicle parking system (1) comprising a first group (21) and a second group (22), said inclined ramp comprising at least:-a vehicle circulation zone (Z1) and-a vehicle temporary storage zone (Z2),-a parking zone (Z3) accessible from said inclined ramp (21) and comprising at least two adjacent parking sites (23, 25) intended to receive vehicles from said first group and from said second group, respectively. Such a vehicle can roll freely on the inclined ramp in at least two mutually perpendicular directions in order to move from the circulation zone to either the temporary storage zone or the parking zone, and vice versa.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The field of the present disclosure is that of store or warehouse logistics, and in particular of automating supply chain logistics.

[0002] More specifically, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for fulfilling at least a portion of an order.

[0003] The systems and methods have particular application in the automation of management of workflows in storage warehouses and / or stores, such as automation of sorting items in a supply chain logistics order fulfillment warehouse, a warehouse or store, or otherwise automating the delivery of orders to a service commonly referred to as a "drive-through" collection point. Background Art

[0004] Workflow management and the movement of products within a warehouse or store are key factors in overall supply chain logistics.

[0005] Traditionally, order fulfillment operators move around the warehouse to collect each product on order inventory from its location on a shelf in a storage rack.

[0006] It has been found that such an organization forces fulfillment operators to walk long distances during the workday, causing fatigue and wasted time when the routes are not optimized.

[0007] Another disadvantage is that the fulfillment operators need to have a full understanding of the warehouse layout in order not to waste time.

[0008] In order to limit fatigue caused by movement, improve "picking" management, and reduce the time taken to fulfill orders, warehouse organizations known as "product-to-person" have been devised whereby products are brought to order fulfillment operators by mechanical means.

[0009] It is therefore known to use conveyors to transport products from a storage area of ​​the warehouse to an order fulfillment station and from the order fulfillment station to a dispatch station. It is also known to use robots to transport products from this storage area to the order fulfillment station, guided by means of endless tracks fitted to the floor of the warehouse.

[0010] Patent document US2018 / 0305123A1 describes this type of technology, whereby in an order determined by a centralized order-inventory management system, a robot is guided to an order fulfillment workstation by means of a guide rail or gear mechanism. Patent document US2019 / 0270591 describes a similar technology.

[0011] However, this known technology has the disadvantage that it is complex and expensive to implement and requires the warehouse to be made larger due to the space occupied by the conveyors or circulating tracks.

[0012] Furthermore, once the storage containers are loaded onto the conveyor, or once the robots are started along the circulating track or the access ramp for accessing the order fulfillment workstation, it is no longer possible to modify the order with which they will arrive at the order fulfillment operator, which means that it is not possible to make last-minute changes to the order of the fulfilled order stock. Specifically, the robots or storage containers must be presented to the operator in the order in which they started on the mechanical member that conveys them to the order fulfillment workstation. Therefore, there is no flexibility that allows the order of the fulfilled order stock to be changed when the priority of the order stock changes: this order fulfillment method is therefore not flexible.

[0013] In order to alleviate these drawbacks, it has been proposed to use mobile robots, and in particular robots of the automated guided vehicle (AGV) type, for picking products from storage shelves and delivering them to order fulfillment stations. There is also the idea of ​​using robots to transport products from the order stock and grouped together at the order fulfillment stations to the order-stock dispatching stations. Such robots preferably move autonomously, thereby providing greater flexibility in the organization of the order fulfillment stations.

[0014] Therefore, patent document US2021 / 0221615A1 proposes a technology for fulfilling orders using a "convene" fulfillment principle, whereby an order fulfillment workstation can be set up in real time at any point in the warehouse, depending on the demand and volume of the orders to be fulfilled.

[0015] A disadvantage of this known technology is that the operation of transferring the product from the robot arriving at the order-stock workstation to the robot intended to deliver the product of the order stock to the dispatch workstation is difficult for the operator to perform: this may cause the product to fall or collide and make the order fulfillment operator's work difficult or even susceptible to affecting the operator's health and ultimately leading to the appearance of musculoskeletal problems. In particular, although such mobile order fulfillment stations offer the advantage of being able to be set up "on the fly", said stations have the disadvantage of not being very ergonomic.

[0016] Furthermore and in general, managing a fleet of robots within a storage store or shop is a complex operation for which there is a constant desire for increased efficiency in terms of workflow flexibility, operational simplicity, and speed of transfer of products constituting order stock and delivering said products to dispatch workstations. Operating order fulfillment stations at variable locations introduces additional complexity into the management of fleets of autonomous mobile robots by increasing the number of possible destinations for these robots and therefore the routes that said robots follow in a cycle in the warehouse, thus complicating the management of the risk of robots colliding with each other. Therefore, there remains a need for solutions that meet these requirements. Summary of the invention

[0017] The present disclosure satisfies this need by proposing an order fulfillment system comprising:

[0018] - At least one order fulfillment workstation;

[0019] - a first set of automated guided vehicles capable of rolling along a floor surface and delivering storage containers containing at least one item to the one or more order fulfillment workstations;

[0020] - A second set of automatically guided vehicles capable of rolling along the ground and delivering a collection container for collecting at least one item to the one or more order fulfillment workstations.

[0021] This order fulfillment workstation includes:

[0022] - an inclined access ramp that allows the carriers to enter the one or more order fulfillment workstations, the inclined access ramp including at least one carrier circulation area on which the carriers circulate and a carrier temporary storage area for temporarily storing the carriers,

[0023] - a parking area accessible from said inclined ramp and comprising at least two adjacent parking places intended to receive a vehicle from said first group and a vehicle from said second group, respectively.

[0024] Furthermore, the carrier can roll freely in at least two mutually perpendicular directions along the inclined ramp so as to move from the circulation area to either the temporary storage area or the parking area, and vice versa.

[0025] On the other hand, an order fulfillment method is proposed, which includes:

[0026] - delivering at least one storage container containing at least one item to an order fulfillment workstation by means of at least one vehicle from a first group of automatically guided vehicles capable of rolling along a ground surface;

[0027] - delivering at least one collection container for collecting at least one object to the order fulfillment workstation by means of at least one vehicle from a second group of automatically guided vehicles capable of rolling along a floor;

[0028] - picking at least one object from one of the storage containers and placing one or more picked objects in one of the collecting containers.

[0029] According to this method, the conveying operation is implemented by moving the carriers in a circulation area formed on an inclined access ramp for entering the order fulfillment workstation. The picking is performed in a parking area accessible from the inclined ramp and comprising at least two adjacent parking places intended to receive carriers from the first group and carriers from the second group, respectively, and in the event that an order of the to-be-fulfilled order stock is modified, the method comprises making at least one carrier of the first group and / or of the second group free to move in at least two mutually perpendicular directions in order to move from the parking area or from the circulation area to a temporary storage area for the carriers formed on the inclined ramp, and vice versa.

[0030] On the other hand, a computer program product is proposed, which includes program code instructions for controlling the movement of vehicles in a first group of automated guided vehicles and a second group of automated guided vehicles capable of rolling along a ground according to the method defined herein when this program is executed by a processor.

[0031] Another aspect proposes a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having such a program recorded thereon.

[0032] Such a recording medium may be any entity or device capable of storing a program. For example, the medium may include a storage member, such as a ROM, such as a CD-ROM or a microelectronic circuit ROM, or a magnetic recording member, such as a USB disk or a hard disk.

[0033] Furthermore, such a recording medium may be a transmissible medium, such as an electrical or optical signal, which may be transmitted via an electrical or optical cable, by radio or by other means, so that the computer program contained therein may be remotely executed. The program according to the invention may be downloaded in particular over a network, such as the Internet.

[0034] Alternatively, the recording medium may be an integrated circuit incorporating a program, the circuit being designed to execute the aforementioned order fulfillment method or for executing the aforementioned order fulfillment method.

[0035] The features set out in the following paragraphs may optionally be implemented independently of one another or in combination with one another.

[0036] The width of the inclined ramp is greater than or equal to the width of four carriers, preferably greater than or equal to the width of six carriers.

[0037] The vehicle circulation area includes at least two vehicle arrival lanes and at least two vehicle departure lanes.

[0038] The temporary storage area is substantially horizontal and is configured for temporarily storing at least two carriers.

[0039] The parking area is inclined relative to the horizontal plane.

[0040] The parking area has an inclination angle relative to the horizontal which is opposite in sign to the inclination angle of the access ramp.

[0041] The temporary storage area and / or the circulation area comprises charging means for charging the batteries of the vehicle.

[0042] Storage containers and collection containers belong to the group that includes:

[0043] -box;

[0044] -Paper box.

[0045] Adjacent parking lots are at different heights.

[0046] At least some of the vehicles in the first group of vehicles are also vehicles belonging to the second group of vehicles, or vice versa.

[0047] The adjacent parking position is located at a position facing the operator or the robot arm.

[0048] According to one aspect, the order fulfillment method comprises:

[0049] - temporarily storing at least one carrier of said second group in said temporary storage area until an order associated with a collection container delivered by the temporarily stored carrier takes priority;

[0050] - moving the temporary storage vehicle from the temporary storage area to the circulation area in a first movement direction and moving the temporary storage vehicle from the circulation area to the parking area in a second movement direction perpendicular to the first movement direction. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from reading the following description of one embodiment of the invention given by way of simple non-limiting illustrative example and from studying the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0052] Figure 1

[0053] [ Figure 1 ] is a drawing of an online shopping distribution warehouse in which an exemplary embodiment of the order fulfillment method according to the present invention is implemented.

[0054] Figure 2

[0055] [ Figure 2 ] is a reference Figure 1 Detailed perspective view of an order fulfillment workstation in a warehouse.

[0056] Figure 3

[0057] [ Figure 3] is a reference Figure 2 A partial front view of an order fulfillment workstation is presented.

[0058] Figure 4

[0059] [ Figure 4 ] is a reference Figure 2 A partial side view of an order fulfillment workstation is presented. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] The general principles of the present invention rely on the design of an order fulfillment station into which an autonomous robot enters along an inclined ramp and which advantageously has three zones, namely:

[0061] - a carrier circulation zone on which the carriers circulate;

[0062] - A temporary storage area for carriers, where carriers can be temporarily stored if the order inventory associated with the carrier is not a priority, or needs to be placed on "hold" or in reserve, for example while waiting for items to be restocked;

[0063] - A parking area comprising at least two adjacent locations intended to receive, respectively, a robot carrying a storage container from an item storage warehouse and a robot carrying a collection container intended to receive inventory items on orders in the process of fulfillment.

[0064] This robot is autonomous in its movements and can move in 2D, in particular on inclined ramps, and circulate freely between three circulation areas, a temporary storage area and a parking area, depending on the priority of the order associated with the robot.

[0065] Thus, it is extremely easy to modify an order, in which the order is fulfilled by sending a command to a robot that has already started along the circulation area or is already present in the parking area to move to the temporary storage area, keeping it temporarily on hold. Conversely, once the processing of the order associated with the robot resumes the priority status, or once the missing inventory items have been delivered to the order fulfillment workstation, the robot can easily leave the temporary storage area and return to the circulation area or directly to the parking area. Subsequently, order fulfillment becomes smooth, which can be started, temporarily interrupted in order to insert the processing of another order at the order fulfillment workstation, and quickly resumed by simple, fast and small movements of the robot within the three circulation areas provided, the parking area and the temporary storage area.

[0066] The fact that there is a temporary storage area at the order fulfillment workstation advantageously enables some inventory items on orders that are in the process of being fulfilled to be temporarily stored, for example while waiting for replenishment of inventory items that have been ordered but are still missing from the warehouse or store, or when the scheduling of an order needs to be postponed.

[0067] Furthermore, such an order fulfillment workstation is particularly ergonomic: it has at least two adjacent locations facing the operator or facing the robotic arm and preferably within its reach to receive one or more storage containers and one or more collection containers for storing / collecting the inventory items on the order being fulfilled, respectively. Thus, the operator does not need to walk on the floor or move the robotic arm in order to be able to transfer the inventory items on the order between the storage container and the collection container. This transfer is performed in a shortened time space with a simple and ergonomic movement of the operator's arm or the robotic arm.

[0068] Furthermore, these adjacent locations accessible from the inclined access ramp for entering the order fulfillment workstation are preferably located at the correct height for a person so that the operator does not have to bend over to handle the inventory items on the order. This, in turn, reduces the magnitude of the movements the operator must perform and therefore reduces the risk of musculoskeletal problems developing.

[0069] The presence of more than two adjacent locations in the parking area also makes it possible to reduce the time taken to fulfill an order. This is because several storage containers can be located in the parking area, which transport different items required to fulfill an order (e.g., one container for table tennis balls and one container for table tennis rackets). The table tennis balls are picked from the first container and placed in the collection container, and then the table tennis rackets are immediately picked from the second container without waiting for the table tennis racket container to replace the ball container in the parking position dedicated to the storage container. It is also possible to have several collection containers in the parking area, and this is advantageous when the same inventory item is needed to fulfill multiple orders. For example, if three customers have ordered table tennis balls, three collection containers can be placed in the parking area together with the storage container containing the table tennis balls. The table tennis balls can then be picked from the storage container and placed in each of the three collection containers continuously and quickly.

[0070] The design of this access ramp therefore has the combined technical effect of making the order fulfillment workstation highly ergonomic and providing flexibility in the organization of orders for fulfillment, thereby significantly reducing order fulfillment time and optimizing the efficiency of the process of handling multiple orders.

[0071] An exemplary embodiment of an order fulfillment system and associated order fulfillment method will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0072] Throughout the document, the term vehicle or robot means any motorized vehicle equipped with at least two wheels for rolling along the ground (and thus may have two, three, four or even a greater number of rolling wheels) and intended to transport a load other than any flying object. The terms robot and vehicle are used interchangeably. Examples of such vehicles are described, for example, in patent documents WO2023001449 and FR3125514 in the name of the applicant.

[0073] Preferably, such a robot or vehicle is autonomous in its movements and is able to change course very quickly within a small footprint. For example, such a robot or vehicle is equipped with a drive wheel mounted on a vertical axis: when the drive wheel rotates around this vertical axis, this wheel pivots just enough to change the rolling direction without turning the chassis of the robot, thus enabling the change of the circulation direction almost on the spot.

[0074] In one embodiment, such a robot not only moves in 2D along the ground, but is also able to move in 3D, pressing against a shelf of the warehouse in order to move upwards along the height of this shelf in order to retrieve storage containers or collection containers stored there.

[0075] The term "container" refers to any device that can be transported by a robot and contains one or more items, objects or products. In the following, the term "container" may indiscriminately refer to boxes, baskets, shells, crates, cartons, etc.

[0076] Furthermore, the terms "article" and "product" are interchangeable. They simply refer to items stored in a workshop, store or warehouse, especially commercial items, intended to be delivered to the ordered end customer by itself or in combination with one or more other items.

[0077] Finally, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, a temporary storage area may be an area designated for storing orders awaiting delivery in a "drive through".

[0078] Figure 1 An automated distribution warehouse 10 of an online shopping company is shown. This warehouse is organized into three areas: a storage area 11, an order fulfillment workstation 12, and a storage area 13. 1 The order fulfillment area 12 and the packing and packing dispatching workstation 13 1 Allocation area 13.

[0079] The storage area 11 comprises a plurality of shelf units 14 formed by shelves on a plurality of levels supported by uprights 15 and organized in continuous parallel rows. Storage containers 16 which may contain all similar items or a plurality of different items from the same product range are stored on these shelves. Furthermore, it should be noted that before the various items constituting the order stock are delivered to the dispatch workstation 13 1Previously, some of these racks were reserved for storing collection containers intended to collect the various items described.

[0080] A first team of automated guided vehicles 17 (equipped with, for example, four wheels for rolling along the ground) is positioned between the storage area 11 and the order fulfillment workstation 12. 1 Transport storage containers 16 between.

[0081] When the robot 17 receives an instruction to extract a box 16 from a shelf unit, the robot 17 rolls along the floor to the bottom of the shelf unit 14 on which this box 16 is stored, and climbs along this shelf unit, pressing against its opposite shelf unit, until the robot reaches the level of the shelf where this box 16 is stored and collects the box. Subsequently, the carrier 17 moves downward between the two shelf units and, once it has reached the floor, transports the box 16 to the order fulfillment workstation 12. 1 .

[0082] This first group 17 thus groups together a first set of automated guided vehicles that are able to roll along the floor and are intended to pick up storage containers storing one or more items stored in shelves and to transport said storage containers to order fulfillment workstations.

[0083] The second team of automated guided vehicles 18 transports the collection container:

[0084] - On the one hand, when empty, from the shelf unit 14 to the order fulfillment workstation 12 1 ;

[0085] - and on the other hand, when the robot has collected one or more items from the same order, the items having previously been delivered to the order fulfillment workstation 12 1 The storage box 16 is picked from the order fulfillment workstation to the dispatch workstation 13 1 .

[0086] Thus, this second set 18 groups together a second set of automated guided vehicles that are capable of rolling along the ground and are intended to carry collection containers containing at least some inventory items of one and the same order from the order fulfillment workstations 12. 1 Transport to order dispatch workstation 13 1 , temporary storage areas or conveyors connected to order dispatch workstations.

[0087] It may be provided that either robot 17 or 18 is used to transport the storage box 16 to the order fulfillment workstation 12. 1 , and intermittently used to transport the collection box to the dispatching workstation 13 1 , or vice versa, depending on how the requirements and availability of other robots in these fleets evolve at any given moment.

[0088] This provides great flexibility in the management of the vehicle fleet, since one and the same vehicle can be used alternatively for transporting storage containers or collection containers and thus form part of the first or second group of vehicles as required. Thus, at least some of the vehicles of the first group of vehicles are also vehicles belonging to the second group of vehicles, or vice versa, so that the total number of vehicles used for transporting storage containers and collection containers can be reduced.

[0089] The second group of vehicles may be a subset of the first group of vehicles, or vice versa.

[0090] When fulfilling an order or part of an order begins:

[0091] - assigning a collection container to the carrier and recording the identification of the collection container associated with the order number in a centralized management system;

[0092] - a carrier from the second group 18 picks up this collection container from the shelf;

[0093] - This carrier 18 transports the picked collection container to the order fulfillment workstation 12 1 At the order fulfillment workstation, the carrier is positioned at a first parking location facing an operator or a robot arm.

[0094] Likewise, by recording the identification of the carrier and the identification of the storage container associated with each other in the centralized management system, a storage container containing at least one inventory item on an order or a partial order is assigned to a carrier in the first group 17. The carrier 17 picks the storage container assigned to it from the shelf and delivers the storage container to the order fulfillment workstation 12. 1 A second parking location is provided which is adjacent to the first location already occupied by the collecting container and which likewise faces the position of the operator or the robot arm.

[0095] An operator or a robotic arm may then pick one or more inventory items on the order from a storage container that has occupied its location at the second parking location and then place the one or more inventory items in a collection container that has occupied its location at a first parking location adjacent to the second parking location.

[0096] If all inventory items on an order have been placed in a collection container, the collection container can be transported by carrier 18 to a dispatch station or on a conveyor leading to this dispatch station, or, if the collection container for the order to be dispatched is a carton, to a box sealing device.

[0097] This order fulfillment technology advantageously allows for the simultaneous fulfillment of several orders consisting of inventory items stored at different storage locations in a shop, store or warehouse in a reduced time space, as described by reading the following Figures 2 to 4 The description will be better understood.

[0098] Figure 2 Detailed depiction of order fulfillment workstation 12 shown in perspective outline view 1 .

[0099] This order fulfillment workstation 12 1 It is equipped with a robot arm 26 known per se, which can also be replaced by a human operator. 1 Is fixed or rotates about an axis that is fixed relative to the ground.

[0100] The storage container 16 is delivered to the order fulfillment station 12 by a carrier 17 in a first group of automated guided vehicles. 1 , the carrier enters the inclined entry ramp 21, for example, from the left side. In this particular embodiment of the invention, the carrier 18 in the second group of automated guided vehicles exits the inclined entry ramp 21 from the right side of the inclined entry ramp 21. In this example, the entry ramp 21 is an upward ramp that allows the robots 17, 18 that move around by rolling along the floor of the warehouse from the storage area 11 to the order fulfillment area 12 to move up to the order fulfillment workstation 12. 1 In another example where the robot is rolling around at a higher level in the warehouse, the inclined access ramp 21 may equally allow the robot to descend from this upper level to the order fulfillment workstation 12. 1 .

[0101] As in Figure 4 You can see in more detail, Figure 4 yes Figure 2 The illustrated order fulfillment workstation 12 1 From a side view, the inclined access ramp 21 comprises two distinct zones:

[0102] - a zone marked Z1 in which the vehicle circulates;

[0103] - A zone marked Z2, which is used for temporary storage of vehicles.

[0104] The temporary storage zone Z2 is substantially horizontal and allows temporary storage of at least two carriers, for example a carrier from the first group 17 and a carrier from the second group 18. If necessary, the dimensions of the zone can also be designed to allow a greater number of carriers to be stored simultaneously.

[0105] This zone Z2 may comprise means for charging the batteries of the vehicles 17, 18 when they are temporarily stationary in the zone Z2. This may be, for example, an inductive charging module, also called a "pad", which enables the batteries of the vehicles to be charged when the vehicles are parked on the ramp. This saves time and space, since no additional charging stations need to be provided, or at least the capacity and / or number of such other charging stations can be reduced. These charging means may also be positioned in the circulation zone Z1. For example, a charging pad 28 is provided on each edge of the ramp 21 to recharge the batteries of the robot 17 or 18.

[0106] The vehicle circulation zone Z1 includes at least two vehicle arrival lanes and at least two vehicle departure lanes. Figure 2 1, 18, and thus allow for the simultaneous management of the fulfillment of several orders. For example, the width of the inclined ramp 21 is greater than or equal to the width of four carriers, preferably greater than or equal to the width of six carriers, so as to allow multiple crossings and to allow the simultaneous up and down movement of carriers 17, 18 into the ramp 21. Thus, a carrier 17 transporting a first storage container and a carrier 18 transporting a first collection container can simultaneously go up the ramp 21 in order to enter the order fulfillment station, where the fulfillment of the order associated with the carrier begins, while a carrier 17 transporting a second storage container and a carrier 18 transporting a second collection container simultaneously go down this ramp, since the fulfillment of the order associated with the carrier has been completed.

[0107] The order fulfillment station also includes a parking area, referenced Z3, into which the vehicles 17, 18 enter from an inclined ramp 21. The upper end of the ramp 21 is covered by a fence 27, which separates the parking area Z3 from the vehicle circulation area Z1 and the vehicle temporary storage area Z2 for the vehicles 17 and 18. In addition, an opening 29 is formed in this fence to allow the vehicles 17 and 18 to enter the parking place of this parking area Z3 within the reach of the robot arm 26. Figures 2 to 4 The exemplary embodiment of depicts a parking zone Z3 comprising exactly two parking places, and therefore the opening 29 is dimensioned to allow two vehicles to pass through simultaneously. However, the parking zone may comprise a greater number of parking places, for example four or six, depending on the width of the ramp 21. In said case, the opening 29 in the fence 27 is of course sized to allow four or six vehicles to pass through simultaneously, depending on the number of parking places.

[0108] Installed on fixed base 26 1 The robot arm 26 is intended to move the vehicle from a predetermined parking location 25 (at the end of the ramp 21) to the vehicle. Figure 2 and Figure 3 The dotted line indicates the order fulfillment workstation 12 1The storage container 16 transported by the carrier 17 in the front view of FIG. 1 picks the items and places the items in the predetermined parking place 23 (with a parking space 24) at the end of the ramp 21. Figure 2 and 3 1 (indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 1 ) into a collection box 24 for an object transported by a carrier 18 in a storage bin 16. Because the first parking place 25 and the second parking place 23 for the robot are advantageously adjacent to and facing the robot arm 26, the movement of the arm 26 for each object handled is limited to: picking the object from the storage bin 16, rotating the arm to position the arm above the collection box 24, placing the object in the collection box 24 with a substantially vertical movement, and returning to its initial position, which means that these operations can be repeated quickly. The same is true in configurations with three, four or six adjacent parking places, except that the arm movement amplitude is larger.

[0109] Furthermore, it will be readily appreciated that in variations of this embodiment in which the operations performed by the robotic arm are performed by an operator, in addition to the time savings provided by this arrangement, the risk of the operator developing musculoskeletal problems and the risk of items falling to the floor when slipping from the operator's grasp is greatly reduced.

[0110] The first parking place 25 and the second parking place 23 are formed by two substantially adjacent flat surfaces which constitute a parking zone Z3 which forms part of the upper part of the extended ramp 21. In configurations involving four or six parking places, the zone Z3 takes the form of an inclined flat surface extending in the upper part of the ramp and the width of the zone Z3 corresponds substantially to the width of four or six vehicles, depending on the number of parking places.

[0111] Thus, the items to be picked can easily be placed at the correct height for the operator, thus also making it easier to place the items in the collection container.

[0112] exist Figure 4 31 that the parking area marked Z3 is inclined relative to the horizontal plane. When the inclined access ramp 21 is an upward ramp, this parking area Z3 has in particular an angle of inclination relative to the horizontal plane, which is opposite in sign to the angle of inclination of the access ramp 21. Therefore, the respective parking places 23 and 25 for the robots 18 and 17 are located on the inclined plane 31, making it easier for the robot arm 26 to access the objects in the storage container 16 and place them in the collection container 24.

[0113] In order to further improve the ergonomics of the order fulfillment workstation, provision can be made for the respective parking places 23 and 25 for the robots 18 and 17 to be adjustable in height or to be at different heights in order to adapt to the dimensions of the storage container and the collecting container. Thus, the height of the upper opening of the storage container and the height of the upper opening of the collecting container can be adapted independently, for example so as to position these openings substantially at the same level in the case where the storage container and the collecting container have different height dimensions. This is particularly advantageous in the case of a parking place intended to receive a collecting container, in which case this collecting container is directly the carton in which the order is to be dispatched, and as will be readily appreciated, this size may vary from order to order, depending on the number of items ordered by the customer or the size of these items. In the case where multiple orders are to be fulfilled in parallel and therefore multiple dispatch boxes are parked in adjacent locations of the parking area, the height of the parking place can therefore be adjusted individually for each collecting box according to the size of the collecting box, which size will be selected according to the volume of the items ordered.

[0114] By making it possible to adjust the height of the parking place for the collection box according to the height of this box, it is possible to ensure that the upper opening of the box is always positioned at the correct level for the operator or the robot arm, so as to improve the ergonomics of the order fulfillment workstation. This height adjustment can be achieved according to the dimensions of the collection box selected from the shelf by means of adjusting the shelf or using motorized lifting members, which can be controlled by the centralized management system. These dimensions are known to the centralized management system, according to the identification of the collection box that has been associated with the identification of the order that is in the process of being fulfilled.

[0115] As through research Figures 2 to 4 It will be appreciated that the first collection container brought by the carrier 18 in the second group can thus be used to order the order fulfillment workstation 12 1 The first order is fulfilled at the same time, and the operator or the robot arm 26 is required to place some items from the first order in the first collection container. These items contained in different storage containers have been previously transported to the order fulfillment workstation 12 by multiple carriers from the first group 17 of carriers. 1 .

[0116] In the case where the fulfilment of the second order now receives priority, or in the case where it is not possible to complete the fulfilment of the first order due to missing stock items on this first order, a vehicle in the second group 18 gives up its position in the first parking location 23 to another vehicle in the second group 18, which carries a second collecting container for fulfilling the second order and transports the first collecting container in which some items from the first order have been placed to a temporary storage area Z2, in which the first collecting container is placed in a holding pattern, awaiting completion of the first order.

[0117] Subsequently, the fulfillment of the second order may begin, requiring an operator or a robotic arm to bring the carrier from the second order and contained in the first group 17 to the order fulfillment workstation 12. 1 Once all or some of the items from the second order have been placed in the second collecting container, the second collecting container can be sent to a temporary storage area Z2 (in case the fulfillment of this second order is not complete, for example because items are missing), to a dispatching workstation (in case the fulfillment of this second order is complete) or to a conveyor connected to the dispatching workstation.

[0118] In short, there is a Figures 2 to 4 There are at least three conceivable modes of operation of the system for fulfilling orders:

[0119] Example 1: Fulfilling a "simple" order with inventory of only one item

[0120] After associating a carrier in the first group 17 with a storage container containing a single inventory item on an order, the carrier transports the storage container to the order fulfillment workstation 12. 1 : The carrier circulates via the circulation zone Z1 of the access ramp 21 to the parking zone Z3, where it is parked in the second predetermined parking location 25. An operator or a robot arm 26 picks the items and places them in a collection container located in the first predetermined parking location 23. This collection container has been transported by a carrier of the second group 18 of carriers through the circulation zone Z1 to the parking zone Z3. Subsequently, the collection container can be transported to a temporary storage area (for example, while waiting for the "drive-by" picking of an order by an end customer) or to a dispatch workstation.

[0121] If multiple "simple" orders for multiple customers consist of one and the same stock item, multiple collection containers together with storage containers containing the ordered single stock items can also be located at multiple adjacent locations in parking zone Z3. An operator or a robot arm picks the items and places them successively in each collection container, which can then be transferred to a temporary storage area or a dispatch workstation.

[0122] Example 2: Fulfilling a "simple" order with inventory of several different inventory items stored at different locations in a warehouse.

[0123] The procedure for fulfilling the order is substantially similar to that of Example 1. Since the order stock consists of a plurality of stock items, a plurality of carriers from the first group 17 are caused to travel and pick storage containers each containing one of the stock items on the order, after each carrier is associated with one of the storage containers to be picked and the carriers are caused to successively go to the second predetermined parking location 25. Subsequently, an operator or a robot arm 26 successively picks the various stock items on the order and places the stock items in a collection container located in the first predetermined parking location 23 and is brought there by a carrier from the second group 18 of carriers.

[0124] Thus, if the parking area has two parking places 23 and 25, a first carrier 17 conveying a first storage container containing a first stock item on an order ascends via the circulation zone Z1 into the ramp 21 and enters the parking area Z3. The first stock item is picked up by the robot arm 26 and placed in a collection container located at a place 23 next to the parking place 25 occupied by this first carrier 17. Subsequently, this first carrier can immediately descend the inclined ramp 21 again via the same lane of the circulation zone Z1 used for the ascending ramp or via another descending lane of this circulation zone Z1. The carrier can easily switch from one lane to another by performing a movement in a direction perpendicular to the direction of these circulation lanes, for example by rotating the drive wheels of the carrier at said point. While this first carrier descends from the ramp 21, the second carrier 17 conveying a second storage container containing a second stock item on an order ascends into the ramp 21 via an empty circulation lane entering the ramp 21. The ascending and descending of the two carriers can occur simultaneously, resulting in a significant time saving in fulfilling orders. When the vehicle reaches the top of the ramp 21, if the ascending lane used by the vehicle does not face the parking area, the second vehicle 17 can be moved in a direction perpendicular to its ascending direction until the vehicle faces its parking place. Subsequently, the vehicle is pivoted again by 90° to advance to its parking place in a direction parallel to its ascending direction along the ramp 21.

[0125] Again, the robotic arm 26 picks the second inventory item on the order from the storage container parked in the parking spot 25 and places the second inventory item in the collection container parked in the adjacent parking spot 23. Subsequently, the second carrier 17 can leave the parking area Z3 to return to the storage area 11 via the circulation area Z1, where the second carrier will return the storage container to the shelf 14. The carrier can also leave the parking area Z3 to proceed to another order fulfillment workstation, where the items contained in the carrier are needed to fulfill another order. Finally, the items contained in the carrier can be used to fulfill the expected delivery at this same order fulfillment workstation 12. 1In case of another order that is expected to be fulfilled, the carrier can leave the parking area Z3 and be temporarily parked in the temporary storage area Z2. In particular, in such a case, it is advantageous that the carrier remains at the order fulfillment workstation to avoid any unnecessary movement and thus reduce the time spent processing the order. Therefore, it is beneficial that the temporary storage area Z2 can store several carriers if all of these carriers can be used to fulfill the upcoming order.

[0126] When order fulfillment is complete because all inventory items on the order have been collected, the collection container associated with the order may be transferred to a temporary storage area or a dispatch workstation.

[0127] On the other hand, if parking zone Z3 has more than two parking places, the collection container transported by carrier 18 and the various storage containers transported by carriers 17 of the first group and each containing the stock items on the order can be parked simultaneously in this zone. Subsequently, this further speeds up the time taken to process the order, because the various stock items can be quickly and sequentially picked from each storage container by the robot arm and placed in the collection container. Once the items are picked from the storage container by the robot arm, the carrier transporting the items can leave the ramp and give up its place to another carrier.

[0128] Example 3: Fulfilling a portion of an order for inventory with several inventory items, where this order is put on hold in order to fulfill another order that has simultaneously become a priority.

[0129] In this example, the fulfillment of order C1 is started according to the procedure of example 2. If another order C2 becomes a priority, the transfer of the stock items of order C1 in the process of being fulfilled in the collection container in the parking zone Z3 is suspended, and this collection container on the carrier of the second group 18 carrying said items is moved to the temporary storage zone Z2. This vacates the first predetermined parking place 23 for the carrier of the second group 18 carrying the collection container associated with the order C2 that has become a priority, and the fulfillment of the order C2 that has become a priority can start with the transport of the storage container containing the stock items on order C2 to the second parking place 25 using the carrier of the first group of carriers 17.

[0130] Therefore, the carrier 18 associated with the order C1 is temporarily parked in the temporary storage area Z2. During this period of time, the carriers 17 that transport storage containers containing inventory items on the order C2 circulate through the circulation area Z1 and enter the parking area Z3 in sequence. When the robot arm 26 has picked up the inventory items on the order C2 from one of these carriers 17, the carrier can leave the ramp 21 through the circulation area Z1, and the next carrier 17 goes up in parallel through the other entry lane of the ramp. When the fulfillment of order C2 is completed, the carrier 18 associated with order C1 leaves the temporary storage area Z2 to return to the parking area Z3, where the fulfillment of order C1 can be resumed. The carrier can switch from one entry lane to another, or from the circulation area to the temporary storage area, or from the temporary storage area to the parking area by moving in at least two mutually perpendicular directions (i.e., a direction parallel to the entry lane and a direction perpendicular to the entry lane).

[0131] The above-described example of the mode of operation in no way limits the approach taken to the management of carriers, inventory items and orders when implementing the method of the present invention. The example merely attempts to illustrate the flexibility provided by the method regarding the management of carriers and regarding the fulfillment of order inventory.

[0132] Specifically, structuring the order fulfillment workstation into three zones and configuring the inclined access ramp with several up and down lanes for carriers, combined with the very large mobility that the carriers have in their movement, allows for greater flexibility in order management for order fulfillment, holds, and returns depending on how the priority of the orders evolves.

[0133] In order to limit the amount of time lost in delivering the various storage containers used to make up the order inventory to the second parking location 25, the robots 17 advantageously line up one after another on the ramp 21 while waiting for a space in one of the parking locations 25 to become free by being vacated by a carrier preceding the carrier, after one or more inventory items on the order have been picked up by the robot arm 26 from the storage containers supported by the carrier, and then the carrier moves away to the side to descend the ramp via a descending lane parallel to the ascending lane.

[0134] Citation list

[0135] Patent Literature

[0136] For reference, the following patent documents are cited:

[0137] -patcit1: US2018 / 0305123A1 (publication number);

[0138] -patcit2: US2019 / 0270591 (publication number);

[0139] -patcit3: US2021 / 0221615A1 (publication number);

[0140] -patcit4: WO2023001449A1 (publication number);

[0141] -patcit5:FR3125514A1(publication number).

Claims

1. An order fulfillment system, comprising: a. at least one order fulfillment workstation (121); b. a first group (17) of automatically guided vehicles capable of rolling along a floor surface and delivering a storage container (16) containing at least one item to said at least one order fulfillment workstation (121); c. a second group (18) of automatically guided vehicles capable of rolling along the ground and delivering a collection container (24) for collecting at least one item to the at least one order fulfillment workstation (121); Characterized in that the at least one order fulfillment workstation (121) comprises: i. An inclined access ramp (21) that allows the carrier to enter the at least one order fulfillment workstation, the inclined access ramp comprising at least: - a carrier circulation zone (Z1) in which the carriers circulate, and - a carrier temporary storage area (Z2) for temporarily storing said carriers, ii. a parking area (Z3) accessible from said inclined ramp (21) and comprising at least two adjacent parking places (23, 25) intended to receive vehicles from said first group (17) and vehicles from said second group (18), respectively, And wherein the carrier is able to roll freely along the inclined ramp (21) in at least two mutually perpendicular directions so as to move from the circulation area (Z1) to either the temporary storage area (Z2) or the parking area (Z3), and vice versa.

2. The order fulfillment system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The width of the inclined ramp (21) is greater than or equal to the width of four carriers, preferably greater than or equal to the width of six carriers.

3. The order fulfillment system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The vehicle circulation zone (Z1) includes at least two vehicle arrival lanes and at least two vehicle departure lanes.

4. The order fulfillment system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The temporary storage area (Z2) is substantially horizontal and is configured for temporarily storing at least two carriers.

5. The order fulfillment system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The parking area (Z3) is inclined relative to the horizontal plane.

6. The order fulfillment system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The parking area (Z3) has an angle of inclination relative to the horizontal plane, which is opposite in sign to the angle of inclination of the access ramp (21).

7. The order fulfillment system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The temporary storage zone (Z2) and / or the circulation zone (Z1) comprise charging means (28) for charging the batteries of the vehicle.

8. The order fulfillment system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The storage container (16) and the collection container (24) belong to the group comprising: -box; -Paper box.

9. The order fulfillment system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The at least two adjacent parking places (23, 25) are located at different heights.

10. The order fulfillment system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: At least some of the carriers of the first group (17) of carriers are also carriers belonging to the second group (18) of carriers, or vice versa.

11. The order fulfillment system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: The at least two adjacent parking locations (23, 25) are located facing the operator or the robot arm.

12. An order fulfillment method, comprising: i. delivering at least one storage container (16) containing at least one item to an order fulfillment workstation (121) by means of at least one vehicle from a first group (17) of automatically guided vehicles capable of rolling along a ground surface; ii. delivering at least one collection container (24) for collecting at least one item to the order fulfillment workstation (121) by means of at least one vehicle from a second group (18) of automatically guided vehicles capable of rolling along the ground; iii. picking at least one item from one of the storage containers (16) and placing the at least one picked item in one of the collection containers (24); Characterized in that the conveying operation is implemented by moving the carrier in a circulation zone (Z1) formed on an inclined access ramp (21) for entering the order fulfillment workstation (121), wherein the picking is performed in a parking area (Z3) which is accessible from the inclined ramp (21) and comprises at least two adjacent parking places (23, 25) intended to receive a vehicle from the first group (17) and a vehicle from the second group (18), respectively, And wherein, in the event that an order of the to-be-fulfilled order inventory is modified, the method includes enabling at least one of the first group of vehicles and / or the second group of vehicles to move freely in at least two mutually perpendicular directions so as to move from the parking area (Z3) or from the circulation area (Z1) to a temporary storage area (Z2) for vehicles formed on the inclined ramp (21), and vice versa.

13. The order fulfillment method according to claim 12, characterized in that: The method comprises: - temporarily storing at least one carrier of said second group in said temporary storage zone (Z2) until an order associated with a collecting container (24) delivered by said temporarily stored carrier takes priority; - moving the temporarily stored carrier from the temporary storage area (Z2) to the circulation area (Z1) in a first movement direction and moving the temporarily stored carrier from the circulation area (Z1) to the parking area (Z3) in a second movement direction perpendicular to the first movement direction.

14. A computer program product comprising program code instructions for controlling the movement of vehicles in a first group of automated guided vehicles and a second group of automated guided vehicles capable of rolling along a ground surface according to the method of any one of claims 12 and 13 when the program is executed by a processor.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having a program recorded thereon, which, when executed by a processor, is used to control the movement of vehicles in a first group of automated guided vehicles and a second group of automated guided vehicles capable of rolling along a ground according to the method of any one of claims 12 and 13.

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